Me: Finally, I managed to get something done.
Rendan: You've been gone quite a while, is everything okay?
Me: ... Not exactly, but I won't bother anyone with it. For those that care, I will explain my long absence at the end of the chapter. No reason to get into too much detail now.
Zero: So, this is another new one?
Me: Not exactly. This is a revamp of the first story I ever wrote for fanfiction. Everything's been changed this time around. New characters, new setting, more detail, new plot, new basically everything. So, without further ado, would anyone care to get this one started?
Bumi: How about me?
Me: Why not. You're one of our new friends here.
Zero: Jesus Christ, another one.
Me: Another three, actually.
Bumi: Anyways, The Legend of Zelda is the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo. Azard owns nothing except for the OCs, and the plot... I.E. anything that's not canon.
Me: Thank you, Bumi. Anyway, read and enjoy!
Chapter 1: First Origin: Bumi & Suki
The day started out like any other in the Kokiri forest, fast asleep underneath a cover made of leaves within the shelter of a hollowed out tree, awakening to the birds chirping, the twang of an arrow being loosed from a bowstring, and the angry fairy jumping on his head to wake him up. Rose red eyes opened to greet the new day and opened just in time to see a tiny pair of feet poke him in said eyes. After a moment of rolling on the floor for whatever reason, some argued that the fairy poking him in the eyes was the reason, he lifted himself up and took a look into his washbasin to get a better look at himself before he wandered off for the morning.
The Kokiri he looked at, himself, was of a husky build. His short brown hair had, to his immense displeasure, gone flat again as he slept. To remedy this, he quickly ran his fingers through his hair in the most random way possible, the end result of which caused his hair to take on a semi spiky quality. He took a quick look at his sleeveless green tunic and long green pants and gave himself a nod. Satisfied with how he looked, he turned his head to see the purple ball of light circling his head. Said light was actually the fairy that had been attempting to wake him earlier. The Kokiri child grinned broadly at the sprite, something that earned him an annoyed sigh from the fairy.
"Really, Bumi?" The fairy questioned. "After thirty minutes of trying to wake you, that's all you're giving me? No good morning? No 'Hey, Suki, how are you this fine, foggy, morning'? Nothing!?" Bumi chuckled lowly for a moment, an act that he could swear caused the fairy, Suki, to huff in annoyance. "You know what? Forget it. I don't care anymore. So what's on the agenda for today? You actually going to do work around the forest or are you going to wander off again today?"
"Do you really have to ask, Suki?" Bumi replied with a bigger grin. "If there's one thing I love doing, it's annoying the crap out of Mido! Seriously, what the heck is with that guy? He acts like he runs the damn forest! He doesn't! The Great Deku Tree does! Who gave him the right to act like Mr. King Kokiri?" Suki sighed. It was the same thing every morning, the exact same routine. First, wake up and mess with appearance, then ignore the fairy that spends time she could be spending doing better things to wake him up, finally complain about Mido for about ten minutes before bothering said Kokiri and running off and doing his own thing, inevitably forcing his friends to take over his chores. Of course, as of late, Bumi's friends had stopped doing his chores, leaving them for him to complete whenever he got back.
They would always tell him that he had to do his chores before leaving since all he did was wander around the Lost Woods for most of the day. If only they knew. The truth of the matter was, for the past several years, Bumi had actually been exploring many other places besides the Lost Woods. The idea came when he heard some of the other Kokiri talking about what the world outside the Kokiri Forest was like, accompanied by the belief that any resident of the forest would die if they ventured out. Sure the forest was fun and all but Bumi wanted to experience more. Bumi had become so bored with forest life that he would've happily died if he'd only caught a glimpse of the outside world. With no fear in his eyes, Bumi stepped out of the forest and felt the sun on his face and then promptly... stared at the sky. He hadn't died that day, nor any day since so far.
From that day forward, Bumi would travel out of the woods without anyone noticing and then explore the outside world, being the first Kokiri, probably in a few hundred years, to see the fields of Hyrule. Of course, since he'd do so quietly, no one was aware he'd left the forest at all, leaving many of the other Kokiri to believe that he simply wandered in the Lost Woods all day.
"Hey!" Suki shouted as she bonked him on his head as roughly as she could. "Are we going to do anything or are we just going to sit here and do nothing all day?" Bumi chuckled and scratched at his head in a humorously clueless manner, as if he hadn't heard his guardian fairy. He looked up through the trees at the grey sky, through the slight fog, and took in a deep breath whilst savoring the morning air.
"We're going, we're going," Bumi said as he raced out of the tree and to a friend of his. Said friend was holding a bow and speaking lowly to himself for every shot he'd hit in the bullseye of the target he'd placed roughly ten yards away. The boy himself was a strange sight. He had long emerald green hair and jade green eyes. On his back rested a quiver that was slowly being emptied of the arrows that once rested within and in his hand was a long bow. Well, it was a long bow by Kokiri standards anyway. The boy let out a breath he'd been holding as he released another blunted arrow. As the arrow struck the bullseye, he breathed out a word.
"Twenty," he said lowly. The Kokiri was so focused in his shooting that he never noticed Bumi sneaking up on him. The emerald haired boy nocked another arrow and prepared to let it fly, taking a deep breath as he steadied his aim. Just as he readied to release the arrow, Bumi made his presence known.
"Hey, Lotan!" Bumi shouted from right behind the boy.
"GAH!" Lotan shouted as he fell backwards. As he fell, his hand slipped from the bowstring, releasing the arrow much further than he'd intended it to go. It flew away and disappeared into the foggy morning. "Damn it, Bumi! I was getting close to breaking my old record!" Lotan groaned and covered his face with his palm before slinging the bow onto his back. Bumi smiled widely at him.
"You've been trying to break that old record for weeks, Lotan," Bumi pointed out. "How many was your old record anyway?"
"I think it was twenty-one," Suki said.
"I thought it was twenty-nine," Bumi commented.
"It was twenty-three," Lotan stated. Lotan looked like he was ready to say more when a cry broke through the normally quiet forest air.
"Ow!" A voice shouted. "Lotan! I know you're behind this! Show yourself!" Lotan gained a large sweat drop on the side of his head as did Bumi. Both Bumi and Lotan knew exactly who that was; it was Mido, the self proclaimed leader of the Kokiri.
"Scatter!" Bumi shouted as the two split up. Bumi darted off to the left while Lotan raced right, the two of them disappearing without a trace. Bumi never stopped running and quickly darted into the Lost Woods, slowing to a stop as soon as he was sure Mido was at least a good distance away, provided the Kokiri 'leader' decided to follow him instead of Lotan. As he walked through the woods, he placed both hands behind his head as he peered off into the sky, seemingly thoughtful on one subject or another. As he continued his brisk walk through the woods, hopefully without Mido following him, Bumi pondered exactly what he was going to ask this time around. Hopefully they wouldn't block him in like they did last time.
"You're thinking about heading to Death Mountain again, aren't you?" Suki asked. Bumi's grin was all she needed. "I should've known. Ever since you met those rock creatures you've been going back and annoying the living heck out of the poor things! How your friends put up with you is beyond me!"
"Aw, don't be that way, Suki," Bumi said in mock hurt. "Besides, we all know you're far more annoying than I am!" The purple fairy suddenly turned red in anger.
"Why you little pest!" Suki shouted.
"What are you going to do about it, fairy girl?" Bumi taunted. "Face it, you can't do anything to me!" Bumi couldn't be sure, but he could swear Suki grinned evilly.
"Oh, I wouldn't say I couldn't do anything," Suki began threateningly. Bumi blinked and continued to stare at the little fairy. "Let's just say that since I've been your guardian fairy, I've seen quite a few things that could break your reputation among the Kokiri." Bumi paled considerably.
"Okay, okay! You win this round!" Bumi yelled. Suki beamed at her victory but didn't miss Bumi's dark smile. "You win this time but soon, very soon, I'll have information on you that'll make you the loser! Soon." Bumi finished his little tirade by rubbing his hands together as diabolically as he could muster. Of course, he could also swear that Suki rolled her eyes at his comment. He didn't care. He loved teasing her since it'd usually start an argument.
"Still teasing poor Suki eh, Bumi?" Came a girl's voice from the side. Bumi turned his head and smiled broadly as he spotted his second friend. She was a slender Kokiri, standing only slightly shorter than himself. She had long ruby red hair, an oddity amongst the others in the forest, and sunny yellow eyes. She wore a green short sleeved shirt and short green skirt. Around her, flying in little circles, was a white light. Bumi knew that light as the girl's guardian fairy.
"Poor Suki?!" Bumi cried incredulously. "What about poor me, Niema? Suki threatened to reveal my deepest, darkest, secrets to everyone in the forest!" Bumi crossed his arms and pouted. Niema shook her head and giggled, even her fairy was laughing.
"Face it, Bumi," the fairy at Niema's side began, "Suki basically rules over you." Bumi gave a mock growl while Suki laughed jovially at the other fairy's comment.
"Thanks, Lop!" Suki shouted. Lop gave a laugh of his own as the two fairies flew about in the air, laughing the entire time. Niema shook her head while Bumi crouched by a nearby tree and began to sulk, taking that time to draw little circles in the dirt with his finger. Niema, stifling a giggle, moved over to Bumi and sympathetically patted his back.
"Don't take it so hard, Bumi," Niema said. "You know how Lop is." Bumi nodded once and picked himself back up. He sighed before he realized exactly what just happened.
"Wait a second," Bumi started, "What are you doing out here in the Lost Woods?" Niema tilted her head to the side as cutely and innocently as she could muster. "Last time I checked, only me and Saria routinely come into the forest. What's out here that you desperately need and why didn't you just ask me to get it?" Niema tapped a finger on her chin momentarily as both Lop and Suki returned to their assigned children.
"There's nothing out here that I need," Niema explained. "Saria invited me out here because she had something she wanted to show me and I'm waiting out here for her so she can show me the way. Just so you know, I don't know what she wants to show me. What are you doing out here?" Bumi grinned.
"I'm out here exploring," Bumi said. "I've been trying to figure this place out for ages but last time I went this way, I ended up falling into a hole in the ground. That wasn't fun." Niema stared at him with a disbelieving expression. "Okay, okay, it was fun, but the fall still... you know, it didn't hurt. It just made me want to explore more." Bumi's smile became so wide it practically threatened to split his face in two. Niema rolled her eyes. "So, for now, I'm just looking for another hole to fall in or a new passageway into the unknown!"
"Really, Bumi?" Lop questioned. "Wouldn't be the first time you dropped into a bad situation!" The small group grew deathly quiet before three simultaneous slaps sounded as Bumi, Niema and Suki slapped their palms over their faces in perfect unison.
"Really, Lop? Really!?" Bumi cried out before lunging at the white glowing fairy. "I swore the next time you told a bad joke I'd eat you!" As Bumi kept trying to chomp on Lop, the fairy in question flew just out of his reach with each attempt.
"Oh come on, Bumi," Lop continued. "What makes you think you can eat me when you can't stomach one bad joke?" Bumi faltered on his latest attempt and ran, face first, into a tree. "Guess your bark was worse than your bite!"
"That's enough, Lop," Niema mercifully said as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Well, we'll be on our way. Something tells me this isn't the spot Saria wanted to meet at." Bumi managed to pull his face out of the tree and nodded his response whilst in a daze from the impact. "Bumi?" Bumi slowly began spinning his head, whether forced or natural Niema didn't know. "Bumi, how long does it take for Link to outrun Mido?"
"Three deku leaves," Bumi responded. Niema shook her head.
"Don't worry about him," Suki began. "He'll be fine, just give him some time." Bumi began to giggle as he stumbled around the forest in a daze. "Really. Do what you gotta do, I'll keep an eye on him." What Suki didn't realize was that while she spoke to Niema, Bumi wandered off in his daze.
"If you say so," Niema giggled. "By the way, Bumi's gone." Suki seemed to appear lost, herself, for a moment.
"Bumi's wha—?" Suki suddenly realized that the Kokiri she was supposed to be watching was actually gone. "OH CRAP! I'll talk to you later!" Suki immediately darted away in a desperate plea to catch up to her idiot charge. Knowing where Bumi was originally planning to go, she of course darted in that direction. She managed to catch up to him just as he made his way to the section of the forest with a large stone doorway that seemed to lead nowhere. The doorway, if it could be called such, was at least seven feet high and appeared to be carved from the stone itself. In the stone several patterns were carved that seemed to accentuate the stone from the surrounding area. "Bumi!"
"Oh, hey Suki! Where've you been?" Bumi asked as he smiled, finally coming back to his full senses.
"Don't 'hey Suki' me!" Suki yelled. "What in the world were you thinking? You wandered off without me! Oh wait, you don't think! Seriously, would it kill you to—" Suki was brought out of her rant as Bumi raised a finger, a sign that he wished to say something. "What?" Bumi tilted his head to the left slightly and scratched his chin.
"Who's the bigger fool? The fool or the fool that can't keep track of the fool?" Bumi innocently questioned. Suki turned bright red in a mixture of embarrassment and anger.
"S- shut up," Suki stated lowly, knowing he'd beat her with that question. She really had no argument to it, at least none that she could readily think of. Bumi smiled as Suki flew onto his shoulder. "Just go, Bumi. Just, let's just go." Bumi walked through the doorway and into the darkness. Of course, unlike the common Kokiri, Bumi knew exactly where he was going. Once in the dark Bumi took off at max speed, running as quickly as his legs would carry him. It took him roughly two hours before he reached his destination. He stepped into the light and continued walking, finding himself surrounded by stone. As Bumi continued, he found his pathway blocked by multiple large boulders.
"Oh come on!" Bumi complained. "Guys! This was funny the first twelve times! It's not funny anymore!" He shouted over the boulders to anyone or anything that might've been listening.
"Don't lie!" A deep voice shouted back. "It's still funny!" Bumi pouted but soon found himself laughing. If there was one thing he didn't expect it was to find out that the rock people of the mountains, the Gorons, were just as big of pranksters as he was. "Stay back, Bumi! We're lighting the bomb flowers now!" Bumi nodded, not that anyone could see him, and took a few steps back. Seconds later an explosion wracked the air, destroying the boulders that were once in Bumi's way and creating many smaller rocks. On the other side of the now destroyed boulders were three rock-like creatures. They had big smiles on their faces and big round bodies with lanky limbs. How they moved at all was a mystery.
"Very funny, Korog," Bumi stated as he walked towards them. "So, how goes the metalwork?" The largest, and noticeably oldest of the three, Korog, stood tall and let out a deep chuckle that was laced with pride. Bumi wasn't completely sure if the pride in the chuckle was pride in himself or pride in his work. Bumi knew Korog as the greatest ironsmith in the land. Of course, his view of the land was limited to Hyrule Field, Kokiri Forest, and Death Mountain so there could've been someone better. Bumi surely didn't think so.
Years ago, when Bumi first entered Death Mountain and found Goron City, the first goron he'd met had been Korog. Over time, the two of them had become quite good friends and, rumor was, Bumi single-handedly kept Korog in business. The two walked through Goron City to Korog's workshop, just next to the market on the bottom floor. As they walked in one thing immediately caught Bumi's eye, a beautifully made battle-axe lying on the workbench. What Bumi didn't notice, or didn't care to notice, was the ring of perfectly smooth, oval shaped, rocks that encircled the axe.
"I've found something I'm sure you'll find interesting," Korog stated. If Korog didn't have Bumi's attention before, he certainly had it now. "I couldn't finish your request since I'd used up a great deal of our materials to make it, so I went into the caverns to grab some more materials and I found these." Korog walked to and picked up one of the small rocks with some difficulty. Bumi looked at the powerful looking goron in surprise. Those rocks weren't even bigger than Bumi's fists! "These are special rocks that form... hell, I don't know! Some consider these rocks the finest of delicacies, one of these and a goron won't be hungry for several years. Others, however, find a more... practical use for them. Most gorons are lucky to see one of these in their entire lifetimes."
"What are they, Korog?" Bumi asked. Korog motioned for Bumi to hold out his hands, which Bumi did, and Korog promptly dropped the rock into Bumi's hand, immediately sending the surprised Kokiri's hands and upper body straight to the floor. Now hunched over, Bumi tried his damnedest to lift up the small rock, only to struggle as he did so. "This thing must weight at least a hundred stones!" Korog grinned.
"That's the beauty of these rocks. One of these will always be heavier than you can handle," Korog explained. "No one quite knows the conditions that forge them, but they're an invaluable asset to any warrior. Some of our ancient warriors used to train by fitting a couple of these in their armor, giving them constant training. Once taken off, the goron warriors would be stronger and faster than ever before. I figured you could use them." Bumi's eyes were practically sparking.
"How much?" Bumi asked intently, his mouth contorted into a smile that would've threatened to split his face in two had he not been used to smiling so widely. Suki, who had been flying next to Bumi the entire time, chose that moment to land on his shoulder and look at the rock before turning her gaze toward the goron.
"Tools like this are often very expensive," Korog pointed out. "One of these sells for at least one thousand rupies, and I've got at least ten of them." Bumi's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets at the mention of the cost. There was no way he could ever afford that! "Although, I'd be willing to part with them if you'd do a favor for me."
"Yes! Yes! Whatever it is, YES!" Bumi declared. Suki took to the sky and smacked Bumi in the back of the head for not even waiting until Korog asked for the favor. People got into trouble over things like that! Korog's laughter did nothing to quell her newly arisen anxiety.
"What he means is," Suki began, "we'll hear out your request and determine whether or not it's worth the trouble." Korog stopped laughing and smiled at the little fairy flying around Bumi's head. The slight nod of his head calmed Suki some, but not enough to believe that Bumi wouldn't just screw up everything as soon as he next opened his mouth.
"The one thing I want is," Korog started but suddenly stopped as his expression changed. Korog went from appearing in a businesslike manner to almost wistful. "I want you to promise me something. Promise me that you won't stay tied down to one place, at least until you've decided that you've seen enough of the world. I want you to promise me that you'll explore more of the world than I have." Bumi and Suki stared at the goron. Korog's wistful expression said more than his words did. He regretted not exploring all that he wanted to and was forced to settle down for one reason or another. Bumi's excitement suddenly changed as well. Bumi nodded determinately at the goron.
"I promise," Bumi stated with conviction. Suddenly, the Kokiri boy smirked. "Hey, old man, can I ask you for a favor?" Korog let out a chuckle and nodded once. "If I bring in an order for some weapons for a few friends of mine, would you mind making them? I know there's no smith better."
"Of course," Korog said. "But, after I make the weapons, could I meet these friends of yours? Any friends of yours are sure to be friends of mine." Bumi nodded. "Although, I need to know what you're looking for if I'm going to make these weapons." Bumi, of course, surprised the old goron by running up and hugging him.
"You've got it, Korog," Bumi agreed. "Just give me some time to gather everything. First though, I'm going to need full iron armor for myself, with a few pockets for some of those rocks. I think one other person will be thankful for those." At Korog's agreeing nod, Bumi raced out, happier than he'd been in a while. Finally, a chance! An opportunity, one he wasn't about to squander. Still, right now, he had a mission. He had to find both Lotan and Niema. Though, last he remembered Lotan was on the run from Mido... and so was he. With that in mind, Bumi resolved to find Lotan last, if only to keep himself from dealing with Mido for just a little while longer.
The long walk from Death Mountain to the Lost Woods gave Bumi ample time to think, mostly about what weapons and such would suit his friends. Lotan was practically in love with that freaking bow of his, but if he ran out of arrows he'd be a sitting duck. Bumi vaguely remembered that Lotan had a gardening scythe he used for chores but not much else. Maybe Korog could make that into a weapon? Nah, scythes were good for medium range, but if an enemy got too close... then again, he could always have a pair of daggers for really, really close range. That'd work. Still, a battle scythe didn't seem to suit Lotan's style. Meh, Bumi'd think more on it later.
Niema was another story entirely. She didn't favor a long range weapon and, though she was rather agile, she still tended to falter in close quarters. She needed range, or something of the like but the girl couldn't use a bow to save her life. Both he and Lotan knew it since the latter had tried to teach her. She couldn't even hit the target, to say nothing of the bulls-eye. It wasn't that she had bad aim, the bow just didn't suit her right. Still, Bumi remembered the one time Niema got a deku stick into her hands and moved about so fluently with it that she seemed to be doing a dance with it. Perhaps a spear? That sounded good. Still, close range is where Niema was at her weakest and the only truly battle-conscious Kokiri had no idea how she could overcome that. Practice could only do so much but a real fight was a different story entirely. He'd have a harder time thinking of good alternative weapons for Niema, that was for sure.
As his thoughts on the weaponry his friends could use ended, Bumi found himself back inside the Lost Woods. For a time, he heard nothing, a truly odd occurrence. Usually there were birds or something making noise but this was the first time he ever truly heard nothing at all. That very notion worried Bumi a great deal. Finally, a sound reached his ears. Footsteps, rapid footsteps, moving in his direction. Bumi lowered his stance and picked up his fists, getting ready for a fight if need be. Finally, the one making the sounds made himself present. The person was a Kokiri, much like him, wearing a green sleeveless shirt, green shorts and shoes. He had orange hair that stuck out of the small green hat on his head and blue eyes. Bumi groaned. Mido, the last person he wanted to see.
"Bumi," Mido began, "where the hell have you been?! You've been shirking your... never mind, that's not important right now. Bumi, have you seen Niema at all today?" Bumi blinked.
"Niema?" Bumi wondered aloud. "I saw here wandering around the Lost Woods earlier... like, a couple hours earlier actually. She said she was meeting with Saria out here. Why?"
"Saria never found her and came back looking for her," came a voice from above them. Mido and Bumi looked up and saw Lotan sitting in the branches of the closest tree looking down at them. "Saria's worried that Niema got lost and asked the rest of the Kokiri to help look for her. I figured to check the Lost Woods and it seems Mido had a similar idea." Bumi smirked. He hadn't heard Lotan approach. Must've used Mido's charge to cover his own movements. Clever bastard.
"Niema's missing and Mido is on the case?" Bumi questioned. "If that's the case, Niema's doomed." Mido growled angrily at Bumi's assessment while Bumi and Lotan had to suppress their laughter.
"Why you!" Mido shouted while shutting his eyes, trying to hold back his anger, though he did no other action. Mido, contrary to Bumi's assumption, wasn't stupid. He was well aware that Bumi was much stronger, physically, than he was. "Look, this isn't the time to argue and fight! We've gotta find... Uh..." In the time that Mido had taken to quell his anger, he was left alone by the two others. "Oh for the love of... I hate those two sometimes." With nothing more to add, Mido headed back home to search there.
Lotan and Bumi raced through the Lost Woods as quickly as their legs could carry them, looking for their missing friend. Lotan kept traveling through the trees to keep up his vantage point from the high ground. Even with the trees, Lotan still had the better range of sight.
"Anything, Lotan?!" Bumi shouted up to him.
"Nothing yet!" Lotan responded. "Was it okay to leave Mido behind like that?"
"He knows his way out!" Bumi yelled back. "He'll be fine. Niema's never been this deep in the Lost Woods before..."
"Bumi, Niema could be long gone by now," Suki pointed out.
"She's not!" Bumi exclaimed. "There's no way she's gone! She won't become a Skull Kid. She won't!" Suki went quiet and flew into a pocket in Bumi's tunic. "We'll find her... We have to!"
"Keep your cool, Bumi!" Lotan shouted from the trees. "If you let yourself get too anxious or mad you might miss something very obvious!" Lotan picked up his pace and raced ahead of Bumi, attempting to go ahead of him lest Bumi miss something on the ground in his panic. It was never easy when one of the Kokiri was lost to this place. It was always like losing a family member. In the time Lotan and Bumi had been alive, they'd seen at least a hundred of their closest friends and family disappear here, never to be seen again. In truth, it was one of the reasons Bumi would spend his days exploring the Lost Woods. He wanted to be able to navigate through it blindfolded if need be. That way they'd never lose a friend again. "Bumi! Heads up!"
"Wha—?" Bumi questioned before he collided with something, knocking over whatever he collided into and ended up in a mass of tangled limbs with him on the bottom and the thing he crashed into on top of him. Bumi shut his eyes as soon as the collision occurred, if only to spare himself the view of him tumbling across the ground.
"Wow, Bumi," came an irritatingly familiar voice. "I knew you were a forward kinda guy but not that forward!" Bumi groaned.
"Damn it, Lop!" Bumi shouted before pausing. If that was Lop, then... He opened his eyes only to see Niema lying on top of his chest, her eyes dizzy and unfocused. Clearly the tumble was a bit much for her. Lotan leaped from the trees and landed next to the two as he helped them up. "Niema, what the hell happened?"
"Yeah, you had the entire forest worried sick!" Lotan added. Niema at least had the decency to blush embarrassedly as she found herself under the gazes of her two closest friends. She too, like every other Kokiri, knew about those that got lost in this forest.
"Well, I waited for Saria but she never showed, so I tried to explore a bit and fell down a hole—"
"I've been there," Bumi stated.
"—And, well, when I was knocked out by the fall and when I woke up I made my way out," Niema continued as if Bumi hadn't interrupted. "Then I stepped out and you crashed into me."
"Well, don't do that again!" Bumi and Lotan simultaneously stated. Niema nodded and motioned with her head, suggesting silently that they return home. Anger momentarily forgotten, the three headed back home, finally, after a long day.
Me: And that's the chapter. So, comments?
Rendan: I liked it.
Zero: Me too. Lop's funny.
Me: You would think he was funny, Zero.
Rendan: Now will you explain your absence?
Me: Fine, fine. My family and I suffered a hell of a loss over the summer. My grandfather, who's been badly ill for the longest time, passed away in July. As a man who practically raised me from infancy, being more of a parent than my own parents (not entirely their fault), and being the one who gave me my imagination, who supported me and everything, his passing hit me very, very, hard. I lost my second father and that loss created a hell of a mental block. It's still there, but it's lessening some, since I know he'd want me to continue doing what I love to do. For any fans of my other stories that are reading this, I sincerely apologize for my absence, but I couldn't bring myself to write because of grief. Again, I'm sorry, and I hope you will be willing to work with me when it comes to updates.
Rendan: Goddamn, Azard.
Zero: Shit.
Rendan: I think I speak for all of us when I say you've still got us if you need us.
Zero: I'll second that notion.
Everyone else: We're here if you need us.
Me: Thanks. Anyway, that's the first chapter of the revamp, so review if it pleases you. If you have suggestions, feel free to PM me so if need be we can discuss what can be done. Anyway, I think that'll do it for this time.
Bumi: Be good and be safe, everyone.
Me: I'm outta here.