In a few minutes they were in the midst of the trees, the fluttering of leaves flowing strong around them. As good as Zephyr's hearing was, it was nothing compared to that of a hawk. "Do you hear anything, Daran?" Daran was silent for a moment, then (Here.) He sped off into the trees, and Reyn followed quickly, struggling to keep up with the bird. Finally Zephyr could hear something too...someone, possibly quite young or female, breathing hard. The movement of some object through the air. And several deep, low growls. (We're here!) Reyn called back. Using Daran's sight he scanned the clearing. From his perch to the right, he could see a large grey Wolfos in front of him, easily twice his size, and two smaller ones behind a single girl. She didn't look very old, perhaps two or three years younger than him. Her midnight-black hair was tied loosely behind her head, some of it hanging limply over her face. She was standing in a defensive position, knife in hand, trying to hide her fear and failing miserably. Her eyes reflected the crimson of the setting sun brilliantly...but Zephyr didn't think about how it was only early afternoon. Already pressure was building in his head from the strain of initiating the spell, and he was focused on the Wolfos' teeth and claws, shining harshly in the light. Without a second thought he leaped off Reyn, landing between the large Wolfos and the girl. He heard her gasp from behind him. He allowed the spell to dissolve as he began negotiating with the Wolfos. He didn't need eyes to fight. "Tsei. Cela daeli de verti fuun. Tu daeli gyo cela." Go. You will not hunt here. I will kill you. The smaller Wolfos' went silent. Evidently they knew who he was and what he was capable of. The large Wolfos, however, just growled louder and barred its teeth at the boy. (Enak! Ghar-lumayo daeli verti hraken Ghar-lumayo daeli!) Idiot! We will eat where we will! The creature leapt at him, a flurry of fur and claws. Zephyr leaned back coolly as the Wolfos lashed out at him, the gust of wind from its paw blowing his hair to the side. In one swift movement he freed his blade from its sheath and thrust it deep into the monster's chest. It let out a gravelly yelp, blood spraying from its mouth. Zephyr barely managed to twist out of the way as it collapsed heavily onto the ground. He turned sharply to the remaining Wolfos, who's tails were between their legs. "Xavei," he spat at them, "ei." Disappear, now. (Rta, Sengriuntsa...) Even the beasts had a name for him? Despite what had happened he was not some monster to be branded with a title! He lunged at the canines, and they fled into the safety of the forest. He was tempted to chase them down, but a soft voice from his right stopped him. He'd almost forgotten about the girl. "T-thank you, for uh...helping me." He turned to the girl, straining to remember what the words meant. (She said "danista cela uun khea", I think.) Daran translated as he perched on Zephyr's shoulder. Zephyr simply nodded, clueless as to what the proper reply was. Fortunately the girl didn't seem to notice. She laughed nervously, shifting her feet. "I can usually protect myself just fine, but I've never fought such a big Wolfos before, or taken on three. That was amazing." Daran translated again, and once again Zephyr just nodded. She sure was talkative... "So why'd you save me anyway?" Zephyr felt Daran dig into his shoulder. (She asked why you saved her. What do you want to say?) (I don't know! What do you think I should say?) (I'm not sure about the words, but...)
"Uh...we need...um...return..." Zephyr repeated Daran's words as best he could, which wasn't very well. In fact it was utterly lame. The girl stopped staring at the forest floor to look up at the blindfolded boy in front of her. "Wha?"
He gulped involuntarily. Daran was right; he was crazy for thinking this would work. He'd probably just said something grossly insulting. He knew that last word wasn't the right one, but he couldn't remember what-
"Help!" he exclaimed, making the girl jump. THAT was the word. "We...need help."
She stood there for a minute, contemplating whether to help a complete stranger. There were some weirdos in Hyrule, and this guy definitely seemed the type. But she had to admit, she was curious.
"You need help? With what?"
The boy stood for a moment, his face twisted with confusion, then his eyes widened and he began to stutter. He probably needs help learning to speak, the girl mused. But then again he really did seem to be having trouble understanding her and forming replies. And he had been speaking in a foreign, but vaguely familiar language before. Could it be that he only spoke that one?
Zephyr was still waiting frantically for Daran's response when the girl spoke up again. "C-cela, Fenla Venja?" Zephyr stiffened. It wasn't a standard sentence, but he could have sworn she had just asked if he spoke the animal language, in the tongue of the beasts. He nodded.
The girl smiled. Now they were getting somewhere. "Tu...uh...oh, venja. Tu venja..." At a loss for the rest of the phrase, she made a pinching motion with her fingers. Zephyr squinted, figuring out what she meant. "Cela venja pikun Fenla Venja?" he asked, finishing her sentence. Again she smiled, and nodded vigorously. She spoke a little bit of the animal language.
(This is great!) Reyn sang, rearing up in joy for her master. (You understand each other, even if just a little bit. Ask her if she'll help you!) But how was he supposed to do that? She seemed alright at deciphering what he said, but the way she spoke, her accent and use of only the most basic of words, implied that she was just learning; she might not even know half of the words he used. At least he had been taught most of the human language before he forgot most of it, and under those circumstances it seemed the better choice.
"I forget to...talk human. But, better than you talk Fenla Venja. I try to...ugh. Make you...know...what I need. Yes?" He almost winced at his terrible speech, but the girl smiled sweetly and said "Rta, sure."
