Silver and Cold [ Noah, Kane ]

[Piper]

She looked down to her knees when the stranger yelled at her. He never got to finish his sentence, but she knew very well what he was going to say. Sometimes, being childish was not always a good thing. Without Noah, she was still puny and she was aware of that. However, the actions preformed proved it. She flinched when Noah walked past and grabbed the boy’s arm. It made her nervous. Covering her mouth from a muffled squeal after Noah had said her name sternly, she followed. She hadn’t been this upset and guilty since she was a little girl!

They were taken away from the market, where Piper had to muster up an apology. Her pride was easily demolished, so she had no trouble preparing it. “I’m sorry I stole stuff from innocent people. They didn’t deserve it,” she mumbled. She turned her attention to the bleeding victim. “I’m sorry I took your pretty sapphire. I’ll never do it again, pinky pact.” To keep said pact, she twisted her pinky around his and released it. “I just wanted to get you something pretty, Noah. You’ve done so much for me…”

Twisting her feet awkwardly, she turned to the stranger again. She looked like she was on the edge of crying—a very heart tugging expression for the little fox to send. “I can fix you up,” she turned to Noah, “Could I, please? He’s hurt, Noah. We can’t leave him like that.”

Suddenly, she sparked an idea. Piper's changed for the better. "Say..." She turned to Kane once more. She didn't know his name and she was still going to ask. "Why don't you come with us? After we fix you up! We could use a third member to our party!"

[Kane]

"WHAT!?" That was the last thing he had ever expected to hear from anybody.
No one had ever wanted to anything to do with him.
Ever.
He couldn't help but smirk, wiping his still bleeding nose on his sleeve. After what this girl had said about wanting to repay her large friend, he didn't feel as angry towards her knowing that there was a good reason behind her actions.
She seemed too clueless otherwise. Maybe she's been dropped on her head one too many times.
It was her friend he was hesitant about. He would need to sleep with one eye open at night. The guy was still glaring at him.
She girl grinning like a stupid fox. Her eyes were massive, glittering. He couldn't say no.
Besides… he needed a friend.
The only other person he had been able to call a friend was separated from him years ago.
These two were offering him to be with them, not chasing him away.
"…As long as you don't touch my stuff." He smirked, letting the girl tend to his nose. He didn't know what to do about it anyway, "What's this 'party' for anyway? Going somewhere?" He held out his hand to the girl, "Call me Kane. You?"
Her companion only glared at him.

[/size][/justify]

[Piper]

The young man was no more a threat to her than a butterfly, while Noah was around. She bent his knees by pushing down on his shoulders to get face-to-face. She tried pretending she didn't notice the distance and of course, Piper failed. She squeezed the ripped cloth on his nose while pressuring the bridge to slow the blood. He agreed to follow them! In delight, she gave a toothy grin. The deal included that his things were to be left alone. Piper nodded. "Cross my heart!" she exclaimed. Seconds only past until she was jumping around with joy. She rummaged through Noah's bag and produced bandages that were easily wrapped around Kane's head. It still was tight enough to keep the bridge of his nose in place. He looked cute that way but she'd never say it outloud.

"We're looking for his sister," she pointed to Noah, then to herself, "and my brother. We're taking all the help we can get. Wherever we plan going next is up to Noah." Piper didn't know what more to say or why this boy could come along to begin with. She wanted him there out of guilt and friendliness. With two boys, she was bound to be safer than ever. Kane introduced himself, to Piper's surprise. Then, she took his not-bloody hand and shook it with both of hers. "Piper. Piper Thimble."

She turned her entire body to Noah's and dropped her big eyes on him. Coming near, she pressed her cheek on his arm, folded her hands close to her heart and touched her tail on his leg. "Can we keep him, Noah? Please? I promise I'll be a good and I won't steal anymore." It was a low blow for a man, but Piper had diabolical tendencies. She imagined that if Kane could come, she'd have a playmate that wasn't quite so intimidating as Noah. A game of tag with Noah was too scary to think about.

[Noah]

Asdfghjkjhjk… Noah scratched his head, gritting his teeth. He wanted to shake some sense into Piper but was afraid he would give her more brain damage. This girl just clung to everyone she met! She might bring home a giant lizard next!
He allowed her to tend to Kane's nose, frowning when she used his own supplies that he was saving for more important times, but he said nothing, he didn't see any harm in helping but he kept a steady glare on Kane as she worked. He could tell the boy was trying hard to not make eye contact.
He would have to get used to their new companion, weather he liked it or not. For Piper's sake. He crossed his arms, "I'm Noah Griffiths."
Then she did the worst thing, the last thing he had wanted her to do. It was even worse than stealing.
He stiffened and started at the sky as she pressed against him, staring, with those huge innocent eyes, "Piper…"
She kept staring.
For a long time.
…A long time.
Finally he was forced to look, "Alright, you can keep him." He smirked at how they were talking about him like a pet. He faced Kane, glaring and poking his chest hard, making him stumble back, "But I'm watching you, kid. I'm warning you, if you hurt her again, I won't hold back." He glanced down at Piper, who seemed as cheerful as usual.

[/size][/justify]

[Piper]

Noah’s threats were harmless to Piper. She breezed over it, thinking that as long as she was in the room, he wouldn’t kill the kid. She couldn’t say she was certain, however. She secretly thought that Noah was a giant stuffed animal in need of a hug. She held her stare for as long as physically possible, without even twitching. Most Minish had some advanced power—Piper had her glossy eyes. She pet his arm lightly, thinking the touch would help. When he made eye contact, he was a dead man walking. Excellent. The response was positive!

“Yay!” she cheered, running up and giving Kane a little hug around the waist. She released him just as fast while Noah continued to threaten him. She was learning to assume they were never directed to her, so her happiness never phased. She took Noah’s hands and began to dance. There was always this unusual simplicity with Piper. Never did anything upset her until it gave her a reason to be upset. For instance, watching Kane get punched in the face. He was going to have to sit with those bandages for a few days and she would gladly tend to him.

“Let’s get going. I’m bored of this place,” she said, waving off the market. She still held onto Noah’s hand, where she stared toward the land and away from civilization. Both her hands had to be used because he was so much bigger than her. Being that Piper couldn’t just walk, she decided to spice things up with their new traveler. She let go of Noah and ran to walk in front of Kane. She faced him, stepping backwards without looking or fumbling (surprisingly). A smile proceeded and then innocent intentions followed. “I’ll race you to that big oak tree over there and back to Noah. No rules,” she said. “Noah, you can be the judge!”

Turning on her heel, she pushed Kane to a stop and bent her knees. No rules were stated, so she decided to leave it that way. “One… GO!” Piper’s feet started and dust was kicked up behind her. Midway through her run, she leaped through the air like a madman. Now, this seemed rather strange! A girl jumping so high in a skirt! However, before she hit the ground, fur came through her skin and her body shrunk. She was clearly a girl before jumping and now she was clearly a fox! This way, she was much faster.

“Last one’s a smelly cow!" she exclaimed. She hit her paws on the tree, finding that exhaustion had yet to find her. Since there were no rules, she decided to do a little sabotage. Piper turned around and jumped at Kane, with the hopes to knock him on the ground before she headed back to Noah. Turning into a human, she grabbed Noah's jacket and bent forward to gasp for air. "Noah! Say he's a smelly cow! Say it!"

[Kane]

Kane willingly followed the two out of the town. He wanted to get away from there before the authorities came and stirred up more trouble. Much to his relief the town was small and they were far from it in only a few moments. Maybe because the whole group was walking so fast.
Back to Hyrule Field. Recently, Kane decided that he will never get tired of this field. No matter how far he traveled, he would always end up back here (not only because it was the center of the country of Hyrule itself).
He walked ahead, not facing Noah. He knew he would have to forgive him someday, he knew that he was only protecting piper. But his nose said otherwise.
The cause of all this was skipping around them happily. His blue eyes followed her as she twirled in front of him then vanished out of sight.
Then appeared again in his face.
She wanted to race. He only raised an eyebrow at her. Before he could say that he'd had enough chasing her today, she was bolting off.
Growling, he found himself sprinting after her. His type of monster was faster than others, within moments he was right behind her, and oh boy she was fast!
He almost fell over when he was suddenly chasing a fox. It laughed, Piper's voice coming out of its golden furry nose and he let out a small squeak.
A flash of that same color and he was on his back for the second time that day. He could hear her laughing and gritted his teeth.
"N-No fair! You knocked me down!" He leaped up, his tail sticking straight out behind him while Piper tried to catch her breath, again in her human form.
That dammed clever, little fox.

[/size][/justify]

[Noah]

He watched with amusement as the two sprinted off like little kids. He wished he could run that fast. Flying on the other hand, was completely different.
His feathers brushed against each other in the breeze, and he had the itching to fly. Ooca's could hide their wings, it wasn't easy or even that comfortable, which was one reason he still had feathers on his arms. They were long, yes, but not his full length wings. He shoved his hands in his pockets. He hadn't flown in two years, afraid to miss his sister, wherever she may be.
Not only that, he preferred walking. He liked the landscape of this country.
He heard Kane yelling again up ahead and Piper's laughing. He looked up to see a small fox shooting through the tall grass towards him. As he watched, the fox stood on two legs, its fur vanishing and growing out on her head, it's beady eyes transforming into Piper's massive, pathetic eyes.
As this happened, out of the corner of his eye Noah saw Kane pick something up out in the field. He held it up to examine it, revealing Piper's shirt she was wearing moments ago. His eyes grew as large as Noah's and the two shared a surprised look.
Piper of course, didn't notice. Or care. She leaned against Noah, much to his embarrassment, while trying to catch her breath after the race she obviously won.
"Noah! Say he's a smelly cow! Say it!" She gasped between breaths, grinning.
Noah only blushed and looked away, "P-Piper… Please put on some pants… Put on something!"

[/size][/justify]

[Piper]

While Piper transformed back, she didn’t notice the lack of her clothes. She did, but her concern wasn’t very pressing. It was more of Kane’s anger at being thrown to the floor. “You’re just a smelly cow!” she attempted at an insult, sticking her tongue out. “No rules, remember?!” She laughed at his irritation in a playful way, moving on by looking at the blushing Noah. He wouldn’t look at her! “Pants are for boys!” she pointed out. “Kane has my clothes, anyway. Poor guy is so far behind. I’ll go help him out.”

She gave Noah mercy by releasing him and took herself to Kane. While holding her clothes, she gave him a little wave. He didn’t even try to win! “You’re so chivalrous!” she exclaimed. “You didn’t have to get those for me.” Walking up to him, she noticed her shoes were spaced apart. She must’ve kicked them off in her leap. Looking up at Kane, she felt a sort of guilt for knocking him down when he was already hurt. She took the clothes away from his hand and did what was everything but common sense. Her arms slipped under his.

Piper hugged him.

After a few long seconds of silence, she looked up so that her chin was on his chest. She did it to examine his nose and also his expression. Piper obviously could not read faces. She smiled gently and blushed out of innocence; her tail wagged. “You’re not a smelly cow, I was just kidding.” She squeezed him around the waist a little before letting go. She slipped on the shirt and long skirt, then ran forward to get her shoes. She examined them and their red faces.

“You two are so awkward!”

[Kane]

Piper hugging him so suddenly of course gave him a surprise. Especially with the position she was in.
Her massive eyes looked up at him, smiling and adorable. He blushed harder but looked right into her eyes, biting back more angry words that would just go straight through her pointed ears. He had to admire her carelessness, and how she always saw the good in the people and world around her.
He wished he could be like that.
After what seemed like forever, she finally slipped back on a shirt and her skirt while he helped retrieve her other shoe. He glanced up at Noah, who still seemed uncomfortable. He had to laugh. It was like the guy had never seen a girl before!
Piper exclaimed almost what Kane was thinking about Noah himself.
This time their journey brought then close to Hyrule castle. By the time they reached the gates late that night, the drawbridge had already closed for the night and they were forced to camp out away from the castle in open ground.
Kane sat with his back turned to the fire, gazing out at the dark landscape around them. In the distance was the lights from the castle walls where the guards stood, everywhere else was darkness.
So far, there were no bandits jumping out at them. He held his sword ready just in case.
He noticed piper sitting by the fire, happy and smiling while the others were exhausted, "…Piper, where on earth do you get all that energy? Were you born in candyland or something?"

[/size][/justify]

[Piper]

That question doomed them both. For Piper, room had to be made for the stories she could spur. She delivered him a funny glance, wondering just why he said “candyland” and how ridiculous it sounded. She shook her head. “Candlyand?! Hardly!” she exclaimed with a squeak in between. “I was born in Peak Province. It’s so cold and nasty; I think I would’ve died if it hadn’t been for my brother’s care. Ask Noah! That’s where I met the poor guy, sitting all by his lonesome.”

She nudged Noah with her elbow. “All this energy’s a trained thing, Kane! I bet you could be the same way if you really wanted. I mean, when you’re raised to believe the only fun you’ll ever has is with yourself, you have to be more fun than anyone else. If that makes any sense. A game of tag proves difficult without a partner. You end up slapping yourself in the face and chasing your own tail! You know,” she faced Noah, “you remind me of my brother!” Her finger tapped the tip of Noah’s little nose. The circles under his eyes, the lack of color in his skin; it was all very Sage. “Quiet, with good intentions. You two would get along… if you could start up a conversation.”

“If only I could find him,” Piper sighed. With such a story to be told, she couldn’t imagine saying this without upsetting herself. The thought of her sick minded parents, their intentions and their results. What horrible people. Her poor, poor Sage. “We could all be friends. The four of us.” Piper didn’t like to dwell over the past often. The past created fear and fear was one thing Piper had been raised to be without. Even when she met the large and frightening Noah, she did not fear him. Most of the time, it gets her into trouble, but times like these, she gets a positive outcome. She had no idea the very thought of two boys versus one Kane was not a safe bet. He’d have a reformed face by the end of that season!

Piper’s decision to sleep was ultimately because she didn’t want to make them think she was sad. She smiled, giving Noah a peck on the forehead and hugging Kane again, before making a bed separate from either side of them, very close to the fire. It was warm enough to deal without blankets, but that wasn’t Piper’s style. “Dream happy, fellows.” With that, she pretended to nod off.

[Noah]

Noah let the feathers on his arms slip out more while Piper spoke. He listened silently, growing more and more surprised as she went. He chuckled at the image of her chasing her tail, it was almost frightening at how well he could imagine it.
With the mention of his similarities with her missing brother surely brought on a surprise. From the little information he knew of this Sage before, he had always thought of her brother as a cheerful, small child just like his sister. But then he remembered how his own younger sister was almost as cheerful as Piper. She wasn't as clueless, thank goodness, but still the happier of the group. She was always complaining about how boring he was.
Piper seemed to like his boring-ness.
"That's funny, because you remind me of Layla yourself." He smiled, wrapping his now fully fledged wings around himself. The heat from the fire warmed up the wings, along with the blanket wrapped around him as well.
His wings were large and bulky, too hard to sleep with in a tree like when he and Piper first met. He didn't like sleeping on the ground, but they had no choice out here.
Just like his sister used to, Piper kissed him on the forehead. For once, he didn't think anything of it but closed his eyes peacefully.
When he looked back up, the girl was asleep.
Looking back out into the darkness, he didn't hear anything sneaking about. Kane seemed pretty occupied with his watch anyway.
For tonight, Noah decided to trust him. Trust him solely on the fact that Piper would get upset if he tried anything, and no one wanted Piper to be upset.
Tightening his wings around himself, Noah leaned his head back onto his bag, placing it on the opening so no one could get in it without moving his head.

That night he dreamed that Piper and his sister dragged him into a tea party. Layla sat giggling, a white fox tail stuck out from her dress, small pointed ears coming out of her white hair. Piper faced him, her eyes larger than usual and she smiled, grabbing his hand and pulling him closer to where they sat.
A large fox boy sat with them. Noah didn't recognize this man but somehow, he knew the man's name was Sage.

[/size][/justify]

[Piper]

While Piper assumed the night was going to be warm, she was wrong. Once everyone rested to sleep, she sat with her chin tucked into her knees; fetal position, wishing some warmth would blanket her. Eventually, she got tired of wishing and decided that only those who take action will ever succeed in something. She sat up, her eyes already adjusted to the dark, and glanced over the two who were part of the traveling circus. She smiled, thinking Noah was so peaceful when he slept. Yet, her eyes couldn’t help to fall on Kane. Piper wanted to admit that her worst fear and greatest hope were so divinely twisted. Nothing she told him was entirely true.

She loved Sage, but did he hate her? Did he even want to see her? Piper couldn’t blame him if it was out of the question. She crawled to Kane’s side, lying down so they faced one another. “Kane,” she whispered. Her fingers extended to touch his cheek. When his eyes opened, he would see she was literally centimeters from his face. Thoughts of Noah awakening breezed over. This was her first priority. Aside from this, Piper was a quiet whisperer. Or so she thought. “I have to tell you something, please.”

Waiting, she scooted her body to be parallel to his. They now separated entirely only by centimeters. Her lip quivered. Piper tried covering this by her hand, but he would see her eyes glossed with water that readied itself for the fall. “I betrayed him,” she whispered. “My brother. I lived with him all my life, I believed everything he said, but I thought he lied to me the second a couple of strangers come down and claim to be my parents. Now, he’s out there, thinking I’m just another bad soul. I’m afraid to find him.”

The expression of a worried Piper in the dark changed once she let a tear fall. Her breath hitched, “What I want most is what I’m most afraid of. He hates me so much he left me there, alone.” Piper’s forehead fit into the crook of his neck. She did not sob; her cry was light like a drizzle from a thunderstorm. For a few long minutes, she sat quietly, thinking of the two she was stuck with now. Noah was her protection, Kane her playmate. Both brought things to the table that Sage would never and she had only known them a short while! It was then, she decided she needed the subject changed before her cries became noticeable to the angel on the other side of the fire. “Tell me a story. A happy one.” His shirt was going to be wet with tears. Still, the rhythm of his heartbeat brought her an unnamed comfort.

[/size][/justify]

[Kane]

After a few hours of watch, Kane felt his eyelids drooping. He shook his head, staring straight ahead and gripping his sword harder. His head bobbed after a few more moments, and he decided a few hours of sleep was best. Besides, they were so close to the castle they should be fine.
Not long after he settled down, he felt himself drifting to sleep.
He didn't know how long he was in that slumber when a small voice creeped into his dreams. He awoke slowly, not opening his eyes just yet. The voice came again. Realizing how close it was, and the fact that he could feel breath on his face and cold fingers on his cheek made his eyes rip open.
Piper's massive eyes were glazed, her entire frame reeked guilt, only centimeters from him.
"I betrayed him." Was the last thing he ever expected to hear coming from her quivering lips. Being only half awake, he listened to her confession, letting her stay close to him for comfort and privacy, careful not to wake up the sleeping Noah. Who knows what he would do if he saw them like this.
When Piper began to sob into his shirt, his heart swelled with sadness. Before, he had thought Piper was some stupid, little girl, but now he knew the hidden pain within her.
His body reacted on its own. His arms reached out and pulled her close against his chest, resting his chin on the top of her head.
She was trying to stop her tears but with no avail.
She was so cold, he realized, and hugged her tighter.
She asked for a happy story and he was caught in an awkward position. To put it simply, he sucked at telling stories. Especially happy ones. He tried to think back, to one of the happier times in his life. It took a while to find one…
"When I was younger, I knew this girl from the Gerudo Tribe. Her name was Nahla. We were always getting in trouble, but we didn't care… One time, she dragged me into pranking the tribe's elders." He smirked, "We hid outside and made monster sounds the best we could while Nahla stomped around on the roof. They started freaking out, then we were caught by one of the guards…" He tried again to make her feel better by telling other stories if his pranks, but once he had ran out of stories Piper had fallen asleep in his arms.
For a moment he thought of rolling back over, but after their ordeal tonight he was exhausted, and ended up falling asleep protecting her…

[/size][/justify]

[Piper]

For the longest time, he really didn’t say a word. Piper wondered how he’d manage all that information being thrown at him. She felt stupid, spewing out all her secrets like a rocket. She imagined how very unlucky he felt to have met this strange pair of people—one always smiling, the other always quiet—then suddenly to discover they were nothing they seemed to be. In her case, Piper was mostly everything she appeared. Not one of those descriptions ever went through the trouble of calling her perfect. She was far from it. The warmth shared between them drew her body’s attention and she wormed about happily.

Kane held her like she was made of porcelain and kept himself quiet until she requested his voice. The sound felt like a lull of white noise that she used to cradle her to sleep. Funny how the kindest actions were simple. She laughed at his stupid stories, even commenting with an occasional, “You’re silly.” Then, as the stories began to fade along with her consciousness. She slept with hot eyes but otherwise, like a baby. In her dreams, she found herself in a small cottage, where Kane was out hunting and Noah was chopping wood.

When she woke up, she was quite disappointed to find herself without a cabin or the wood that was supposed to be chopped. However, she was very happy to find herself cuddling with Kane and getting away with it. Somehow, she awakened before the others. In fact, this was much earlier than the others. So much so, she was beginning to get bored waiting. Piper stood up, not thinking of her actions, and wandered off into the grass. It took two hours for light to hit the clouds. By then, she came across a large pond (or—in Piper’s term—a baby lake). Her skirt was lifted above her ankles. Dipping her feet in, the bone rattling cold surprised her. Her tail poofed.

Piper ran into the lake, squealing as her dress mushroomed in the water. It stayed like that even after she began to swim around. This was a good shower for her. She didn’t stop to think what Kane and Noah were thinking at the moment. Surely, they were awake by now. When they find her, they were in serious need for a bath.

[/size][/justify]

[Noah]

Noah was awoken by an unknown force. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes then shivered, cuddling back down into the blanket to realize the cold was coming from the ground. This is why he preferred trees.
Kane's tail whipping about in his sleep caught his attention seconds before he realized the little one of the group wasn't the reason for his awakening that day.
"…Piper? He looked around, their fire was gone, but her own blanket was still crumpled near Kane.
"Piper!?" Throwing his own makeshift bed aside, he shook Kane awake before grabbing his bow and running into the woods.
He prayed that she hadn't wandered off too far. Maybe she was just taking a bathroom break? He searched the outer edge of the forest but saw nothing of the little fox girl.
Images of when Layla first vanished ran through his mind.
Waking up to find her bed empty. Rushing around the inn, asking everyone he came across if they had seen a little white haired girl. Waiting back in the inn for three hours on the hope that she would return and giving up after. His two year search beginning…
No… No, no, no, no!
He barely knew Piper, but in their short time together he had already grown a protective bond over her. In a way she was beginning to fill the hole that Layla's disappearance had torn in him. There was no way he was loosing someone else.
His sharp hearing picked up a squeal. A happy squeal.
Who else would be expressing such joy out here?
Following the sound, he came across a pond, lowered into the ground and surrounded by large rocks jutting out over the water. Kneeling on one of the rocks, he let out a large sigh, "PIPER! What are you doing!?

[/size][/justify]

[Piper]

There are many things Piper finds herself becoming finicky over—her tail being the most important of all. She brushed it regularly, along with her hair. Grooming was regular and most of all. She dunked her head underwater, staying for as long as her breath could hold. Coming up, her eyes opened to Noah leaning on a rock and shouting her name. Flickering ears and ecstatic tail, she trudged through the water so they were close. Then, she spurted water from her mouth, damping his face. “Bathing, of course. We haven’t showered in one moon too many!”

She took ten steps back and flopped into the water. Thinking she’d stay afloat was a mistake. Piper’s clothes made her sink like an anchor. She found Noah’s reaction to any article of clothing missing was dramatic and irritating him would be a mistake. Her face emerged up to the bottom lip. “You need to bathe, too,” she informed him. “Kane, too.” With that, her feet splashed water in Noah’s direction. “Come on! Get in!” she exclaimed. Her eyes searched for Kane and once he came into view, her hands fit onto her hips. The night before gave her a little insight and flutter in her heart. Kane wasn’t the brute he tried to be. He was cuddly and sweet like Noah! Big softies. “Bath time, Kane! We stink.”

Piper dropped under the water. She tried to stay under for as long as she could. Her eyes opened to the blue world beneath and, like a shark, she came darting toward the surface at Kane. This was it. He was going to hate her until the last moments of their lives, but he wouldn't mind. Jumping out, she stood up with her arms raised into claw-formation. Suddenly, her hands belted his waist and she pulled him in. Her first reaction was to dunk him, so she did exactly that. Squealing, she exclaimed, "Get behind those pointy ears!"

[/size][/justify]

[Kane]

He was awoken annoyingly my Noah, who darted off before he even knew what was going on. He could hear Noah calling for Piper in the woods.
Sighing, he hauled himself to a sitting position, stretching and breathing in the cool morning air. He smiled to himself, relieved they weren't robbed or attacked during the night. He patted his pockets, reassuring himself that his sapphire and other belongings were still intact.
Now to find that damn girl.
He took his time rolling up their blankets, then, because he is such a nice person, he tossed the bundles over his shoulders and trotted after Noah.
His monster nose picked up Noah's scent almost immediately. It smelled like a huge, well-bathed chicken.
Chicken sounded good.
He also smelled water. Figuring he might as well fill up his canteen while he was near it, Kane headed towards the scent to find a small pond.
Sure enough, there was Piper.
He dropped the bags and looked down at her in the water, memories of the night before swirling in his head. He was too distracted with thinking of a way to greet her when suddenly her soaked arms soared out of the water, and before he knew it, he was surrounded.
The deep blue swirled around him. His heart immediately began racing. He tried to surface but he was shoved under, nails scraping behind his ears.
He wanted to scream.
He felt sick.
All his senses went on high alert, the icy water stabbed into his bones and he thrashed wildly.
His lungs squeezed painfully in his chest.
No, no, no, NO, NO!
Images flashed over his eyes, of being chased out of the Gerudo Tribe, his only way of escape was a river. The black water threw him about, into rocks and who knows what else. Waking up half drowned on the shore of Lake Hylia.
Finally, his panic consumed him, "P-P-PIPER!!!" In a blind panic, his hand swung out, shoving her away and he surfaced immediately.
The water only went to his chest, he trudged to the shore and sat against a rock, coughing and shivering.
What the hell just happened?

[/size][/justify]

[Piper]

Generally, one would let on some restraint when holding someone's head underwater, but not Ms. Thimble. Oh, no. The idea that this motion-saavy, disregarding girl had any second thoughts on accidental torture seemed fairly untouchable. She held down Kane's head until he lost control. He literally shoved her off and came marching out of the water in what seemed like a fragile state. She fell back into the water, once more drenching herself. At first, his reaction made her think he was playing, so she let out a careless giggle. Then, when he left her, she found herself a little smited with guilt.

"Hey..." she trailed, watching him shiver. She looked at Noah to ensure she was not the only one who didn't understand. Then, turning back to Kane, she lifted her skirt to her calves and tried walking out of the water. His back on a rock, she shook her head. "I didn't mean to scare you." She hadn't known most of the story; if any. She dipped her tail back into the water and wrung it out to use as a towel. Piper took his face with her hands and shook her own head. "I'm sorry. How about we give you sponge baths instead?" With the question, she petted his face with the wet tail. His face wasn't entirely healed, as far as Piper could tell, and so looking at him made him seem pathetic. Piper stepped into the water and bowed until most of her tail was wet.

The next few minutes were spent with a soggy tail slapping Kane around in order to clean him. Along with that, Piper had to climb and shove and push in order to get behind the ears. She decided washing their clothes was for another day. Noah didn't need to be uncomfortable for her sake and none of them had a change of clothes. Once she finished, she couldn't help but smile at the poor monster. "Squeaky clean!"

[/size][/justify]

[Noah]

From where he sat perched on the ledge, Noah watch with amusement and a bit of worry as Piper dunked their hot-tempered comrade into the cool bath he needed. He was just about to warn her to not keep him under too long when the kid shoved her back roughly, automatically making him tense.
But no, he didn't have a need to attack. Kane stumbled out of the water and curled up on shore, looking completely stunned and paler than usual.
He and Piper exclaimed a confused glance, hers was full of worry and grief.
Was Kane afraid of water?
Being that he and Kane weren't on the best of terms at the moment, he watched from his spot while Piper gently pulled the poor kid out of his panicked state and managed to at least clean him.
When all seemed calm, definitely still tense, but calm, he slipped off his poncho and undershirt, leaving them folded nicely with his bag on the ledge along with his shoes and belt, leaving his pants on for Piper's sake.
Letting his wings slip out to full length, he sloshed into the water and splashed his wings around.
For anyone without this stunning feature, the scene was hilarious. Imagine an oversized, clumsy bird splashing around in an oversized birdbath.
He scrubbed his fingers around in his silver hair, submerging his whole body underwater.
When he came back up for air, Piper and Kane were still on the shore, Kane was standing up and seemed to have recovered. Noah climbed out of the water a ways away from the two, shaking the water off his wings before merging his feathers back into his arms. It was an itchy, tingling feeling, but it subsided after a while. Letting the air dry him itself, he approached Kane and Piper, giving her a hard stare, not needing to scold her. She knew what she did this time.
"…If you two are done, should we get going? Kane, did you leave everything at camp?"
He hoped to the gods he didn't.

[/size][/justify]

[Kane]

"N-No, it's right over there… I hauled everything over here when you two ditched me." He shot an annoyed look at them both, then, on shaky legs led then into the trees where he dumped their belongings away from the water, wringing out his coat as he went, making sure his pockets still had all their items in them.
He was afraid of water, yes. Like he would ever admit it. It wasn't the thought of drowning that scared him, like most people. But just the painful memories associated with his first dip in a real body of water after growing up in the desert.
"See, they're right he-"
Three pairs of eyes widened at the sight of their bags thrown about, pockets left open, ties cut straight through and almost everything completely empty except for a few, unimportant items.
"…What…
No words were exchanged during Kane's next march of rage. The monster stomped ahead, his comrades following a safe distance behind, carrying what was left from the robbery. Kane's thin tail whipped from side to side, his hands shoved into his pockets. All that remained of his share of money was a small emergency pack of enough coins for a place to stay he had chained to the inside of his pocket, along with the sapphire Piper herself had attempted to take. Everything else, his hunting weapons and tools for making more tools were all gone.
His feet took him straight to the castle. The bridge was open now, people streaming in and out. He checked his pockets constantly, reminding the other two, who hopefully still had some money worth stealing, to check theirs too. Anyone could be the thief, his blue eyes pierced every human passing, ignoring their frightened looks at his monster ears and tail.
He looked over his shoulder once they were in the main square, sitting by the fountain, "Well? You guys still have any money? We should buy some food and… hell, maybe something to drink." He rubbed his forehead, "I could really use one right now…"

[/size][/justify]