Kokiri Forest was damp with rain as the storm surged on throughout the day. Outside, rain gently fell upon the trees and flowers, leaving a pleasant fragrance in the air. The dirt paths that ran through the village turned to mud, and the stream that divided the crossroads overflowed with fresh water. The abundance of forest creatures that roamed the woods, vanished. Like the animals, the Kokiri children retreated to their homes, anxious to wait out the storm until they could play again. However, the rainy seasons were upon Hyrule, meaning the children would soon have to improvise. Their daily routine consisted of playing ouside, eating outside, and sometimes if the weather was right, sleeping outside. Needless to say, they weren't used to being confined to their homes. In a little treehouse, this seemed to be the case with Link and his best friend, Saria, who had been waiting for the rain to stop.

"Saria! I'm soooooo bored!" Link said, staring out the window of his tree dwelling. He was never one for sitting still, especially during the rainy seasons.

"Me too," Saria replied, letting out a disheartened sigh as she shifted to change her position on Link's bed. She had been staring at the wall for the past hour, slowly becoming mesmerized by the patterns of bark that ran to Link's ceiling. She let out another sigh after trying to think of a way to keep the two of them occupied. "Wanna play twenty questions?"

"Nah, you always think of the same thing, trees." replied Link who continued staring out his window.

"Hey! Trees have feelings too, ya know!" retorted Saria in a mock-offended attitude. "You take that back!"

"Why don't you make me?" Link grinned, knowing exactly how to push Saria's buttons. He looked over to her and stuck out his tongue. She stirred herself from Link's bed with a devious smile on her face. She had an idea, and knowing her, it would probably lead to something fun. Suddenly, her face turned pale as she let out a gasp.

"Oh my gosh, Link! What's that outside?!" Saria cried out, pointing toward Link's window. Link quickly turned around to see what frightened her. Lucky for Saria, Link was still as gullible as ever. She quietly tiptoed her way over to Link who was still searching out his window. Once she was close enough, Saria swiped his hat off of a confused Link.

"Hey! Give that back!" Link shouted at her as she bolted around his house. Saria ran as fast as she could, avoiding the various pieces of furniture while avoiding Link, who was not far behind her. She dodged the wooden table in the center of the room, and jumped on to Link's bed. "Hey! Stop that!" Saria jumped off and held out her hand.

"Okay. Fine, here you go," Saria said as she walked over to Link. She glanced at the door before another devious smile spread across her face. "Not!" She dashed out the door and into the rain.

"Get back here with my hat!" Link cried out. He started to run outside but retreated back inside, thinking if he refused to play, she'd give up. Link sat back down and stared out the window again, pretending not to be amused. "If I wait long enough, she'll come back eventually." Link thought. His eye caught a green-clothed girl running through the village. He noticed that she was wearing his hat, and making her way toward the Lost Woods. He promptly ran outside and slid down his ladder, trying to get her to return, but she had already disappeared. "She can't be serious..."

Link climbed up the ladder back into his house. If he was going searching for Saria in the Lost Woods, he'd need warmer clothes. He grabbed a long sleeve shirt and put on another tunic to keep warm. Once he was prepared, he bolted out the door, anxious not to let Saria get any further ahead. He began climbing down his ladder, careful not to slip and fall into the mud that awaited him at the bottom. He ran through the village, dodging puddles and mud as he made his way over to the vines that lead to the entrance of the Lost Woods. "I can't believe I'm doing this. I think staring out the window was more fun!" Link said to himself, brushing his now soaked blond hair out of his blue eyes. He slowly climbed the vines, trying to be careful about slipping. The small hill that lead up to the entrance had become a small mudslide as Link trudged through the slippery slope. Wherever Saria was, he'd give her hell for dragging him out of his warm, cozy home. He finally arrived to the top of the hill and made his way into the Lost Woods.

The Lost Woods echoed the rhythm of the raindrops that hit the various trees that blocked out the sky. Everywhere, flowers and shrubs were covered in a glistening, wet dew. Link faintly heard the music of the woods playing and took off running toward its sound. "She must be at our special spot," Link thought. He ran through the seemingly limitless forest, dodging branches and vines. A light fog had blocked his visibility, so he slowed down to avoid tripping on the roots that stuck out of the ground. His boots were now covered in mud and his tunic was dripping with water, no longer keeping him warm. The sound of the music grew louder as Link approached another tree trunk. "Which way from here?" Link pondered. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the direction of the music. He made up his mind and turned east. He came to the center of the forest and approached an unguarded gate. He was close now. "Now I just have to make it past the Deku Scrubs." Link triumphantly smiled as he reached for his shield. His hand grabbed for the shield handle, only to be met with thin air. His smile vanished as he realized his one mistake about not properly preparing. "You've GOT to be kidding me!" Link cried out.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Saria sat underneath the broken staircase of the mysterious building that resided in the center of the forest, providing her solace from the rain. Atop her head was a little green cap, now drenched from the rain. To pass the time, she pulled out her ocarina and played her usual song, bringing life to the forest. The forest seemed to come alive whenever she played, and she was more than happy to play her music for it. She loved playing her music for anyone willing to listen, which seemed to be most of the Kokiri, but especially the forest. It talked to her in a way that made her feel different from the others. Every Kokiri had a special connection to the forest, but to Saria it seemed even more special. Whatever the case, she continued playing as a smile spread across her lips.

Saria finished her song and looked up to see if Link had finally caught up to her. "He sure is taking long..." Saria thought. Almost as if on cue, she heard the faint sound of someone cursing. "He forgot his shield again," Saria laughed as she brought the ocarina to her mouth to play again.

"Ow! Dammit! Leave me alone; I wasn't going to hurt you! Ow! I said quit it!" Link shouted.

Saria couldn't help but start laughing as Link reached the top of the staircase leading to the temple with a Deku Scrub hanging off his leg. He looked down to see what was so funny and saw the Deku Scrub looking back at him.

"Get off me!" Link cried. The Deku Scrub stared back out him and cocked its head, confused by what Link was saying. "I said get off!" The Deku Scrub only continued to stare. Link pinched the bridge of his nose and pointed down the staircase. The Deku Scrub glanced down toward the path and back at Link and down the staircase again. Looking back to Link one last time, it shot a Deku Nut at Link, hitting him directly in the forehead before it wobbled away. "Ow!"

Saria had abandoned any effort of trying to play her ocarina at this point and was laughing hysterically at Link. Link, not finding what was so funny, dragged his bruised and battered body over the place where Saria was sitting. He let out a defeated groan before collapsing to the ground beside her; his exhaustion was apparent. She had calmed down, only letting out giggles every now and then. Link finally picked his head off the ground, and glared at Saria, who had been laughing at him since he came.

"What? It's not my fault you forgot your shield!" Saria proclaimed as she took off Link's hat and handed it back to him. "Besides, you could have just used the ladder to get around them like me!"

"There's a ladder!?" Link half questioned, half shouted. He had neither seen nor heard of this ladder before. Link's bewildered face mustered Saria into another fit of giggles. Link let out one last sigh before he picked himself off the ground. He offered his hand to Saria, who gratefully took it as they began to walk back toward the village. The rain had been letting up, and the sky was now clear. Halfway through the Lost Woods, Link let out a gasp and pointed in toward a bush. "Saria! What was that?! Did you see it?!"

"What was what?!" Saria cried, now visibly frightened by whatever Link was point at. Link seized the opportunity to grab hold of her green headband before he ran off toward the village.

"Ha! Gotcha!" Link shouted back at her as he made his way into the forest.

"You've got to be kidding me, Link..." Saria sighed as she took off running.

End