[center][h1][color=darkgreen]Linkle[/color][/h1][/center]
[center][h3][color=red]Merge Rate: 33%[/color][/h3][/center]

[center]Word Count: 1190[/center]

[center][color=darkgreen]Level 10[/color] - (12/100) + 3[/center] 

[center]Location: Frozen Highlands ~ Snowdin[/center]
[@Majoras End][@Lugubrious]
[hr]

Luckily for them it was Albedo to the rescue. According to him Treat lived on a mountain on the village outskirts, and led the way down the street. "Right! Let's go." She said, grabbing the handle of her sled. She noticed as she did that Frisk had set their own gift beside hers. They didn't need to apologize for anything, so they must have grabbed a present just because they wanted to give one. She couldn't blame them, giving gifts was almost more fun than getting them.

She also noticed Albedo's dog following them out into the snow. "Aw, are you worried about her too?" She asked it, leaning down to dog level. That also involved leaning down into the snow, so Linkle picked up the little pooch and set it on the sled as well. It immediately leaped down. She set it up there again, only to have the same thing happen. She tried a third time, and this time the wagging of the dogs tail as it jumped down told her that the dog thought of this as a some kind of fun game. She sighed. "Fine, you win. But hop on if you get cold, okay?" She told it.

During this exchange she failed to notice the man she had been eager to meet all day stepping past her into the restaurant. It did, however, serve to hammer in the notion that other people got cold. So, when they began to set off, it kind of gnawed at Linkle that Frisk seemed to be making due with only a sweater over their shirt. "Can we stop somewhere first?" She asked. "I have to pick something up before we leave town."

So they made a quick stop at the motel where Linkle had spent the night before, the hylian ducking into her room for just a moment before emerging with the [url=https://styles.redditmedia.com/t5_378cg/styles/communityIcon_vookjgltqgg11.png?width=256&s=e382bef04ab34710c2a61303a2e2c22545d1e34c]cute hat[/url] she had gotten from crushing that monster spirit. "Here you go. Don't want you catching your death out there." She said, handing the hat over to her new friend and enduring that it fit snugly. She had had that one earmarked for the other mysterious kid she knew, but she supposed she would just have to find Hat Kid a different gift. As it turned out Frisk had somewhere they wanted to stop as well, but for the life of her Linkle couldn't figure out why. Frisk led them to a spot that, as far as she could tell, didn't have anything of important and then walk up to seemly random random spot. They stood there for a little bit, seemed satisfied, then moved off. As they did Linkle to a moment to step forward and stand in the same spot, watching the child's retreating back. She couldn't feel anything different. "Huh." Maybe it was a local custom, like the tree. Stand in this spot, get good luck on your journey. She would have to ask about it later.

After that they were [i]really[/i] off, leaving Snowdin and it's cheery light behind for a trail that was so dismal that she could feel the Skull Hearts approval for it radiating from the back of her mind. The trees were twisted enough to blot out the light of the midday sun and cast the entire path in gloom, but not so covering that they managed to keep the snow off the path. She kept a wary eye on them as the trio moved along, hands on the grips of her crossbows ready to blow up a third forest today should it prove to be as hostile as the first two. From among the branches black birds watched them with beady red eyes, but more disturbing than that were the dolls. From the branches of the trees hung down many dead eyed dolls, swaying in the breeze and making as uncomfortable knocking noise against one another and the branches. "Looks like she either really likes dolls, or really hates them." She said, trying to get a sound out that wasn't that knocking.

Soon she got her wish. She was the first to pick up on the constant, relaxing sound as they neared the edge of the forest. When they found the stairs Linkle looked back at her sled as the dog began clambering up them. She parked it behind a nearby tree, and as she picked up her gift she thought for a moment before sliding the big intimidating firearm off her back and placing it on the sled. It took another to take her crossbows and lay them beside it. Nothing had harassed them in the forest, after all, despite its spooky nature. If Treat was able to take this road safely by herself there was probably nothing to worry about, especially not thieves. If the wolf girl wanted to be alone this place definitely did the trick. 

It was a crying shame that no one came here, because as they reached the top of the stairs the view was breathtaking. She had seen a lot of beautiful vistas today, but none of them had contained a [i]waterfall[/i]. The torrent of water roared over the top of the mountain, loud enough to her now to almost hurt, and from the lake it filled snaked away rivers to other lakes that spread as far as the eye could see. She wondered if this waterfall fed all those rivers that she had passed on the way to Snowdin?

The waterfall bathed the gloomy mansion that sat on the edge of the of the cliff in mist, and Linkle though that with a bit of love and elbow grease you could turn this into a fetching place to live. Put some warm candles in the windows, beat the iron fence back into shape, maybe convince the sun to shine a little harder, and anyone would want to stay here. As it stood, though, she could see why the only inhabitant was someone that wanted other people to stay away. As Frisk pushed their way through the gate she added oiling the joints to that list of improvements as it let out a cliché and audibly annoying [i]SCREEEEEEEEEE[/i]. Linkle followed after them, noting that they were a little on edge.

"You know, in The Legend of the Twilight Princess," Linkle began as the four of them crossed the courtyard, "the Hero had to explore a spooky mansion at the top of a frozen mountain. And while it really was haunted by vicious old monsters, it was mainly the home of a big nice yeti and his adorable yeti wife. They made a stew together, and the yetis taught him how to snowboard." She left out the part where the adorable Yeti wife had been possessed by visions shone to her in an accursed mirror and the hero had had to beat her up with a giant iron ball until she was better. That probably wasn't how this was going to go down. Best to keep optimistic. 

When they reached the front door Linkle made double sure her hat was on, her hood was up, and she had the brightest smile she could muster on her face before reaching out and giving the door three loud knocks.