Luminescence

Escaping Twilight

            Harsh, icy cold engulfed him. Water poured into his mouth and ears. Scrambling to the surface he hacked and coughed, choking on his own tongue once or twice. Dog tongues were a lot longer than human tongues, you see. Zelda surfaced up beside him, gasping for air. To the side with her wings still half open hunched Luna, filling the bottom of the tower with her strange, luminescent light. Black flakes of the world fell up before her, casting shadows against the walls.

Luna jerked her chin up once she met his eyes. His sharp hearing picked up the sounds of the Twili hitting the metal grating of the top and only floor.

Zelda wheezed. "I can't...run...another step...I swear."

He paddled to the shore towards Luna. Soaked, he climbed out next to her and shook energetically, earning a reproving glare from the silent girl. She had been the only one of the three who had been dry, though not anymore thanks to him. He tried to give her an apologetic smile, but how does a wolf do that anyways?

The moment the Princess had made it to them they started off down the tunnel. The tower now echoed with the rattles of Twili. Link led the way through the semi-darkness lit up by Luna's light, dispensing of any small rat-turned-shadow creature along the way. The further they went around twists and turns, the more the scent of water, mold, and earth grew stronger and soon he thought he would choke on the humidity. The rattling steadily grew quieter and Luna finally tucked her wings back in, expression grim.

"I sometimes wonder if the goddesses gave us the means to hold our form in twilight just to leave us responsible." said Zelda after some time. "If we had not this gift, we wouldn't have to worry about harm from the monsters. Spirits can't really be harmed by shadows."

Luna turned her face to the princess and shook her head, frowning. Zelda looked startled.

"Are you saying they can?"

She nodded, then turned back to the tunnel. Link eyed her. Her legs were shaking. Was it just him, or did the stone on her forehead seem dimmer?

What felt like an eternity later they came up to a small grate underneath a street. Zelda, as the tallest, pushed it up for them and slipped through. They came out to an apparently empty street. The rattling's of the Twili had fallen silent.

"I think we're in the north district." said Zelda, twisting water out from her skirt. Her long, gold-brown hair stuck to her neck and face. She picked at it in annoyance. Luna teetered, but straightened quickly. He sniffed her in concern, but couldn't pick up any wounds.

"Where...where to now?" she looked about her. "If I recall we can't get out of twilight completely on our own, but then again that's supposing this twilight hasn't consumed our land completely."

Luna stumbled towards a building and leaned against it, hand to her face. Link brushed up against her in concern and Zelda finally noticed her weakening.

"Luna? What's wrong?" her hands fluttered over her uncertainly. "Did they hurt you?"

She shook her head. Her knees knocked together and she clenched her scalp in effort, hissing through her teeth. He started to become more than concerned. What if Luna was some type of creature that was poisoned by twilight? What if they had hurt her in only a way her kind could? Dang it, if only he knew what Luna was, where she came from, or at least her connection with all this. What if she died before he could figure all this out?

It was then he noticed the return of the rattling beneath them...and behind them...and to the side of them from the alleyways...

Zelda clutched her face in fear. "Oh Farore help us,"

With a raspy spit of a growl Luna pushed off the wall and grabbed the princess's hand. The sheathed sword tinkled at her side. Without warning she ran forward, dragging the princess along with her towards the open gateway down the road. Even as he ran after them, he caught a glimpse of the hoards of black appearing from around the allies.

This was a nightmare. Where had they all come from? And Din, what the heck was going on?

Despite her determination, Luna stumbled. Zelda nearly tripped over her. She tried to help her up and continue on with her, but the white girl shook her head and yanked Zelda ahead of her. The princess stood their uncertainly. All the while the hoards of Twili were gaining on them.

"I can't..."

Link took a jawfull of her dress with a growl and tugged her forward. With one last look at the winged girl, Zelda turn and ran after the wolf. Of course, it hadn't occurred to Link what exactly Luna was doing like it had to Zelda. All he was aware of was the burn of his lungs and legs as he pounded across the cobblestones, wrapped in amber light. He didn't know how long they ran, girl and wolf, before he noticed the lack of white. By the time he did notice they had ran all the way to the overview of Lake Hylia and he had turned around sharply, alarmed. Zelda collapsed onto the ground, gagging for breath and spent.

Where is she? he asked desperately, spluttering on his hanging tongue and panting. For the love of Nayru, where is she?

But of course, Zelda didn't answer. She probably didn't even hear his unintelligible canine whimpers and grunts.

Despite the urge to collapse as she had, he began to panic, which made him paw at the ground restlessly.

Where is she? Goddesses, where is she? She didn't...she wouldn't...

The memory of her bloody body flashed through his mind and he flinched. His heart, already pounding away in his chest, grew hot and icy at once. But even above his ragged pants and drumming heart he could hear the quiet tinkle of twilight, devoid of the sounds of pursuit.

Whatever Luna had done, it probably saved their lives.

But how dare he think that!? She probably just fell behind, or perhaps now flew too high for them to see—he would've known if she had meant to do anything that stupid. Why would she had done something like that, whatever it was she could have done? But now he remembered—he remembered how Luna had shoved Zelda forward and fallen behind on her quivering limbs. Maybe he could even remember the sound of a sword being drawn beneath the noise of Twili. She wouldn't have been able to run with them. And if she had been too weak or exhausted to run, how would she have had the ability to fly when flying took more energy? Why hadn't he thought that? For the love of Nayru, why hadn't he thought that!?

Zelda fought for her voice through her starving gasps for air.

"She...she's back there...she's...I saw."

His first instinct was to run back, but what would be left of her anyways? What would the shadow creatures have done to her this time if last time they had shredded her within an inch of her life? And why hadn't they followed after them? Surly there would have been enough of them to deal with Luna in her weakened state as well as chase after them.

Unless...it had been her they had been after all along.