Want of care does us more damage than want of knowledge.

-Benjamin Franklin


"Really, Groose, it's five in the morning," Gondo spoke from behind clenched teeth, lifting crates onto the table, "I don't see why you think I can help you."

Groose stood idly, the light of the candles casting long shadows across the small wooden home, distorting the figure of malfunctioned inventions and intimidating machinery into unrecognizable, eerie terrors. Gondo hadn't left his house since Rupin ran away to the Mogmas, except for to get food, and in that short time, seemed to have taken all hell out on the scraps of metal lying around. "When it's all said and done, it won't be me that you're helping- the entire village will benefit."

"Yeah, yeah," Gondo sighed heavily, placing his hands on his hips, "Quit trying to butter me up. Why do you need me to get all my tools out? I don't have anything to make, you know that."

"You might not have anything to make," Groose explained, taking the large sack off of his shoulder and dropping it on the table beside the tools with a huge crashing noise, "But I have things you can improve." He opened the burlap sack and on the table spilled out an old slingshot, a rusting axe, a crudely chipped tea set, and various small tools that Groose had brought down from Skyloft.

Gondo examined the items carefully, scrutinizing the conditions, lifting them up to eye level like a jeweler. He gently ran his finger along the blade of the axe, bits of red, powdery rust crumbling off onto his skin and the table. The axe hadn't been used much after all the houses had been built, and so the metal still held a bite to it, as Gondo soon found out as he quickly removed his fingers. The teapot and cups weren't in bad condition, merely chipped and dirty from lack of care, and the slingshot was missing splinters of wood and the elastic had gone lax. As for the tools, many of them merely needed to be sharpened or cleaned.

"It's nothing too fancy," Gondo concluded, stepping back, "I could get it done by this afternoon, but it's going to cost you a bit, but that seems to be your goal, so…"

"How much?" Groose asked eagerly, pulling his wallet off his belt.

Gondo took a look once more at the tools sprawled out like a child's toys before him and appraised them, "A good one hundred fifty rupees."

While it really was a costly number, and normally if someone charged him that, he wouldn't have hesitated in causing a ruckus, declaring injustice, but if all went according to plan, Gondo would be using this money on his meals or anything else he'd manage to palm off of the other villagers.

Giving a slightly disgruntled reply- just so Gondo would know he couldn't set his prices as high as he pleased- Groose slapped down several red and blue rupees onto the table. With his great, enormous hands, Gondo clutched the gems like a bundle of particularly shiny flowers and dumped them into a crate sitting idly on the floor.

"Thank you very much, sir," Groose gave a bow of his head and stuck his most gracious grin on his face, "You've done a real service." A real service proving to Zelda that I can do something good without any malicious intent.

"Yeah, whatever," Gondo pulled a rag off his belt, dowsed it in a murky oil, and began wiping the tea set, "Just go do whatever and I'll drop it off at your place this afternoon."

"Actually," Groose admitted, "I'm part of the expedition to search for Karane, so you'll just have to give it to Cawlin and Strich- they'll be outside running the stand."

"Sure, you got it," Gondo deadpanned, already engrossed in his work. Groose took that as his cue to get out of there, and within moments, he was greeted by the sharp air of the autumn morning. It would be another hour and a half before rays of sun would jut through the fortress of trees- even then, he suspected it wouldn't get much warmer.

He readjusted his cloak over his shoulders- dark green, and if he was being honest, was more for show rather than warmth- and started towards the northern part of the village, his boots against the well-worn path being the only noise in the darkness. Before he traveled to the meeting place- Zelda's house- he stopped in front of Cawlin's house and rapped on the door several times.

In all likelihood, Cawlin would still be fast asleep, forgetful of Groose's orders the past night, and so it was probably a good idea that he would be here to give him a friendly- if not threatening- reminder. No noise came from behind the door after a few long minutes, and so he tried a second time.

"Cawlin!" Groose pounded his fist on the door again, "Get up, dammit!" He waited a few seconds more, and had raised his hand to knock once more, but lowered it when he heard a few muffled obscenities and the sound of feet thudding across the floor. The door swung open violently, nearly hitting Groose in the face as it gave way to reveal Cawlin standing in his pajamas, agitated and flustered.

"What is it, Groose?" He snapped, unable to look him in the eye.

"You're going to set up the stand today, right?"

Cawlin stood silently for a moment, frozen to the ground, and Groose nearly thought he had fallen asleep standing in his doorframe, but he rubbed his eyes and responded.

"Yeah, of course. Just lay out the bread," He made a delirious gesture that looked somewhat like he was dealing out cards, "And sell it for some rupees."

"Ten rupees," Groose specified.

"Ten rupees," Cawlin clarified sleepily, "We take their money and then you'll pay us. Can I go back to bed now?"

"Sure. I'll go wake up Strich and tell him the same thing."

Suddenly, Cawlin seemed wide awake, "No, no, no, you don't have to do that." He laughed sheepishly, "I can go over to his house and tell him in a little bit."

"Why? His house is on the way to where I'm headed," He pointed northward, his brow furrowed in confusion, "It's no trouble."

"No," Cawlin insisted, grabbing Groose's arm, "I can definitely do that myself. You're already stressed enough as is- you don't want to open the door and have a million, uh… spiders come stampeding out, do you? That's what it's like at his house."

Groose gave him an incredulous look and huffed, "Whatever. Just sell the bread. Oh, and Gondo will be over later to drop some stuff off. Make sure you take it and put it inside the house. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Oh, and can I borrow your dagger? I can't seem to find mine."

To his surprise, Cawlin stepped away for a moment and immediately returned with his own dagger in hand, stuffing it in Groose's awaiting palm.

"Thanks, I owe you," Groose pocketed the knife and waved a quick goodbye.

Cawlin yawned, and slammed the door shut just as quickly as he had opened it. Groose gave a huff of discontent and began sauntering off towards the head of the village, the biggest house.

From what he could tell, he'd be the first one there, which was good, he supposed, because Zelda would emerge from her house, probably looking adorably vallant in one of the knight's uniforms, her long, golden hair braided loosely down her back- and Groose would be standing there nonchalantly, his hair styled perfectly, his uniform fresh and fitting perfectly as he flipped his dagger in his hand casually. He'd act surprised to see her, flash her a shy grin, and when she blushed, he'd say, "Say, aren't you a little late?"

But all of this never played out, because Groose arrived outside the house at the exact same time as Pipit, whose gait was like that of a tin soldier's, only somewhat happier- surprising, considering that his girlfriend was missing. Groose sighed heavily, his daydream being sawn in half by Pipit's appearance.

"Good morning, Groose," Pipit said, taking in a deep, fresh breath of morning air. He exhaled, and a little cloud left his mouth, "Sorry we had to have a bit of a disagreement last night. We were all scared, of course, but that's no matter now- fear will get us nowhere."

He stuck out his hand for Groose to shake and he accepted, however reluctantly. "Yeah," Groose said, taken slightly aback, "She's out there, for sure. No need to worry." He raised an eyebrow, wondering if he was helping Pipit's mental state at all- but then again, who cared?

"I'm pumped for this, are you?" Pipit began bouncing on his heels, an athlete warming up, "We're going to get out there, kick some butt, and Karane will come running to me, tears of relief running down her face and she'll leap into my arms…" Dreamily, Pipit trailed off, and while his ramblings sounded very familiar, Groose suddenly found the ground rather interesting. On a whim, he changed the subject.

"Have you got a weapon, Pipit?"

"A weapon?" Pipit scoffed incredulously, "Why would I need a weapon?"

Seizing the opportunity to expand Pipit's knowledge of his previous adventure on the surface, he continued, putting on his best expression of nostalgia, "Well, this place is really rough, you know. The monsters might be gone, but you haven't seen the least of the creatures around here."

"I saw the Kikwi. They're not scary."

"Oh, no, no," Groose shook his head wildly, "They might be cute and innocent, but their leader is three times the size of a man- huge, could crush you with his foot if he wanted. But that's not all: there's another whole tribe of marine creatures with three really long tentacles," He waved his arms, wiggling them like jelly. "They have two beady yellow eyes on either side of their head and a snout shaped like a straw, probably filled with countless rows of teeth. They look like they're from another world as they propel themselves through the water, Pipit. The Parella are really a sight to see."

Pipit paled, "Th-they can't really be that many of them in the lake. What if Karane went swimming there?! Oh gods, she might've drowned…"

Groose bit his lip and looked up at the trees above, as if he might see some kind of meaning in them, "But they're not the worst part."

Pipit looked as if he might faint.

"A dragon…" Groose whispered with a riveting tone, quiet enough to hear Pipt whimper, "A dragon guards Lake Floria with wings the size of trees and a body as giant and powerful as a waterfall. And you know what? Link tells me she doesn't take kindly to strangers."

"He said that?!" Pipit screeched, his face in his hands. Peeking out between his fingers, he asked, "Groose? Do you, you know, have an extra knife?"

Ah, yes. Pipit was exactly where Groose wanted him. Sliding his hand under his cloak, he felt around for Cawlin's dagger, strung from his belt beside his own. He might have told Cawlin a white lie, but in the long run, it was necessary. Groose pulled out Cawlin's dagger and displayed it on his palm, "I do, as a matter of fact. I have this one extra."

"Oh, thank the gods," Pipit, relieved, made a grab for it, but Groose nimbly yanked it out of the way.

"But, things like these are pretty difficult to come by around here, and while you're a pretty cool guy, I can't just let it go. How does eighty rupees sound?"

Pipit made a pained sound, as if giving up the money would wound him. But just as Groose had hoped- and planned- Pipit pulled his wallet out of his pocket and fished around inside it. Presenting four red rupees, Groose snatched them easily and handed Cawlin's dagger over to Pipit. He'd have to make it up to Cawlin eventually, but that wasn't important now.

"Thanks, Groose," Pipit unsheathed the dagger and examined it closely before tying it to his belt. He seemed thoroughly shaken, if not traumatized, but Groose had made a sale, and over half of what he had lost to Gondo had been regained- not only that, but Pipit was now a customer and could set in a good word for him.

He probably would've filled the silence with uncomfortable small-talk, if not for the creaking of a door that filled and echoed throughout the whole village. Groose and Pipit turned their attention to the big house, and much to Groose's joy, Zelda walked out, dressed as he had predicted- in a navy blue knights uniform- and her golden hair tied neatly in the back. His heart shamelessly raced a speed that even the swiftest birds would envy as she strode towards them, and he might have even asked her if she was running a little late if not for one thing.

Following behind her, leaving the house in his signature green uniform with a sword and shield strapped against his back, was Link.

Groose's heart stopped hammering and instead hurtled to the ground and shattered into a billion pieces. Embarrassed by his own thoughts, he felt his face heat up in the- thankfully- dark morning, burning a shade brighter than his own hair.

Followed by Link was Gaepora, which put him a little at ease; surely, nothing could've really happened with him around. Perhaps Link just stopped over earlier this morning to discuss things with Zelda, or maybe he fell asleep on a sofa after having a conversation with Gaepora? All reasonable predicaments, he was sure. But Link had an unfaltering grin on his face that would've been easy to punch off. Fun, even. And for that, Groose felt suddenly ill.

Gaepora clapped his hands to initiate the meeting, "Thank you, you four, for being so courageous as to search for a fellow knight-"

"WAIT!" Came a loud, but easily recognizable cry, "Wait for me!"

Hurdling into the group tumbled Fledge, exhausted from running, "I… want to help… too." He breathed heavily, hands on his thighs as he struggled to catch his breath.

"No need to exert yourself," Gaepora laughed to himself, but the rest were too stunned by Fledge's sudden appearance that they just stared at him.

"The more the merrier," Pipit mused, and offered for Fledge to stand beside him.

"Anyway," Gaepora continued, his colorful and elegant robes sweeping to the side in the wind, "Now that we're all here, I'd like to give out specific directions to ensure no one else gets lost or injured. First and foremost, we'll break you into two groups in order to cover the most ground. However," He shot a stern glare at all of them, "It is paramount that you stay in these groups and do not venture out by yourselves."

Groose found himself eyeing Zelda- with luck, he'd be in her group. With even more luck, they'd be the group of two and she could watch him valiantly blaze the way through the forest and rescue Karane without Link.

"Pipit, Zelda, and Link," Gaepora pointed to his daughter and the others, "You're a group."

Groose inwardly groaned, that meant he was stuck with…

"Fledge, you and Groose will be traveling together."

To be honest, Groose would not have been surprised if Fledge took off and sprinted back towards his house. Never having been the best of allies, or even classmates, considering how much Groose had bullied him over the years, it was going to be wildly uncomfortable to work together. As Groose looked at Fledge and he returned the stare, his eyes widened like an animal being hunted, he knew it would be a lot easier to just run into the forest and never come back.

"Secondly," Gaepora said, his words muffled by his facial hair, "If you find Karane, shoot up these flares." He displayed two red cylinders in his palm, both about the size of his palm. When Groose gave him a bewildered look, Gaepora continued, "Link and Zelda were hard at work making these last night." Well, at least now Groose knew what they were doing.

"Using a powder traded from the wandering Goron, they created two explosives that will send off a flare into the sky when the string is pulled. However, do not use them unless absolutely necessary. They are only to be triggered if you find Karane, no matter what state she's in…" Pipit visibly flinched.

"Or, if you are in mortal danger. The latter is unlikely, due to the calm nature of the forest and that the sun will will soon rise," Gaepora finished, gesturing to the horizon that was glowing with the precursors of dawn. "Are there any questions?"

Suddenly remembering what Wryna had said the previous day, Groose spoke up, "Cawlin's house was robbed yesterday. He was wondering if you could investigate it."

Fledge gasped, "Just now? His house was robbed?"

"No; it was robbed yesterday morning. But with all the chaos neither of us got around to reporting it."

"That's really terrible!" Zelda exclaimed, "I can't even think of anyone who would do that!"

"Well, thank you for reporting it, Groose," Gaepora gave a meek smile, "I will speak with Cawlin later, but for now, I wish all of you luck." With a graceful turn of his hand, he handed one flare to Groose, and the other to Zelda.

Only now did Groose suddenly feel a tightness in his gut, an inexplicable fear growing like a forest fire and bringing drops of sweat to his neck, even in the chilly air. It wasn't, of course, like he hadn't been in the forest before now, but somehow, as they marched between the towering trees that blotted out what little light there was, the woods felt foreign. Soon, they were surrounded by trees that jutted so far into the heavens, he couldn't see the tops, only where they melded together to form one, great canopy. He wondered how he could've ever marveled at the sight of a tree back in Skyloft.

They agreed that Link, Zelda, and Pipit would travel to the left, and Fledge and Groose would go to the right. At noon, they would return to that spot and further elaborate a plan to find Karane, if merely looking didn't accomplish anything. And so, Groose and Fledge trekked eastward, stepping carefully over sharp rocks and fallen branches far into the depths of the woods.

After a nearly intolerable fifteen minutes of dead silence between the two, as a dense morning fog began settling into the forest like a thick blanket, the sun not yet high enough to burn it off. Groose knew there was more to the forest, more spacious regions, but the more rugged regions had to be first conquered.

"I, uh… wonder why all these weird things are happening," Groose found it incredibly difficult to speak, "You know, Rupin taking off, Cawlin's house being robbed, Karane going missing… the works. It makes me wonder if we really should've just stayed in Skyloft."

Fledge said nothing.

"These woods are pretty big, huh? It's gonna be pretty hard to find Karane in here, don't you think?"

After another minute of silence, Groose let out a huff of frustration, "Look, Fledge, I know we've never exactly gotten along, but what d'ya say we, I don't know, burry the hatchet or something?" He sighed heavily, "I'm… sorry, okay? Sorry for making your life a miserable hell back on Skyloft."

Fledge was already a small guy, but he seemed to be making himself even tinier in comparison to Groose. "It's okay," He whimpered, not exactly with any convincing fervor.

"Good," Groose said, even though he knew it wasn't precisely good.

For another hour they walked in silence, keeping their eyes wide for signs or clues as to Karane's whereabouts. Beams of sunlight were beginning to seep into the forest, but dimmed by the passing, grey clouds overhead. Groose hoped they didn't promise rain.

"Groose, look at this," Fledge said suddenly, so quietly Groose almost didn't hear him. Groose approached Fledge, who was crouched down in the shrubbery, pointing to something almost unidentifiable. Initially, it looked like a piece of the shrubbery, but as Fledge picked it up, Groose could see it was anything but that.

"Karane's hat…"

"Yeah," Fledge whispered, as if speaking loudly would cause an avalanche of bad omens to cascade upon them, "Do you think this is enough to pull the flare for?"

"No, but it means she's in the forest for sure, which is a good start."

Fledge stood up, and the two were about to continue searching when a loud voice broke the hushed silence of the forest.

"Groose! Fledge! I found you!"

Groose turned on his heel in the direction of the voice so quickly he nearly stumbled to the ground. Fledge, on the other hand, did fall down.

"Pipit?" Groose squinted at the figure bounding down the hillside before them, "Aren't you supposed to be with Link and Zelda?"

Pipit dashed towards them, breathing heavily, and leaned against a tree to catch his breath, "I got separated from them. I wanted to climb that hill over there so I could get a good view of the forest, but…" He took a deep breath, "I couldn't find them after that. They didn't shoot up their flare, so I don't think they're in danger."

Fledge had climbed to his feet and was brushing the dirt off of his clothes, "Why did you venture away from them? You know Gaepora told us not to."

"I told them to stay where they were, and by the time I got to the top of the hill, I was so disoriented and every direction looked the same that I didn't even know where I came from."

Groose face-palmed, "Well, at least you're not lost." He stopped to think for a moment, "I wonder how Zelda is?"

Pipit groaned, "She's fine, Groose. Having fun, even. She doesn't need you to worry about her. Zelda can hold her own, and you know that."

"She is a goddess, after all," Fledge added.

Groose shook his head, "Whatever. Where should we go now?"

"I was thinking we could go back up the hill," Pipit said, "With all three of us, we could get some spatial sense and find out what area we've covered, and where else we can look."

"Good idea," Fledge agreed, though Groose found it to be an awful suggestion, considering they'd probably just forget where they were going again. However, he couldn't think of a better plan, and so he followed in suit as they began striding towards the hill.

Walking at such an angle made the muscles in his legs burn and cold sweat form on his neck. He looked over at Fledge and Pipit, finding that they were in a similar condition. The hill jutted out of the canopy of the forest, and it was after passing most of the treeline that they felt the fluid breeze and gentle warmth of the sun. The naked hill was covered by a meager layer of grass and dirt, but was one of the highest in the area. Fledge stood in the direction from which they came as Groose and Pipit scoped out the region. For miles on end it seemed to be nothing but an endless blanket of trees carpeting the landscape in all directions. To the west, however, the village was visible, minute in comparison to the land surrounding. Groose was amazed at how far they actually had traveled.

Squinting in the opposite direction, he saw a break in the trees in the distance, giving way to a region of brown dust and dirt, streams of water, and even further, Lake Floria.

"That's the way we need to go," Groose stated, "If anything, we might find Link and Zelda there- they're familiar with the forest."

"I thought you were familiar with the forest," Pipit said in a way that made Groose's skin crawl.

"I am. I spent a lot of time down here- even more than Link, probably."

"Really?" Fledge beamed, "That's so cool! Did you meet any Kikwi? Did you study the plants that grow down here in the spring? What about the birds?" It suddenly struck Groose that Fledge was far less of a nobody he had once thought. He had hobbies, interests in science, that Groose had never bothered to learn.

"Shut up," Groose pressed, "It wasn't like that- I was helping out Link, Zelda, and…" he thought of Impa and felt a foreign pang in his chest.

"And…?"

"Just Link and Zelda. Come on. We don't have all day."

They shuffled down the hill tenaciously before heading in the direction of the lake, and while Fledge and Pipit discussed the aspects of living on the Surface with such zeal that it almost gave Groose a headache, he avoided the conversation and stayed a good ten paces behind both of them.

By the time another hour had passed, Groose could tell that all three of them were growing weary. However, it was growing near ten o'clock, and they neither had time to stop, nor the means to. Unless they made it to the open regions of the forest, they would have made no headway besides finding Karane's hat.

"Guys," Groose said, exhausted, and leaned against a tree, "We need to make some kind of strategy, we can't just keep walking forward-"

He looked up, finding Pipit and Fledge to be frozen in place, like their entire bodies had turned suddenly to stone. Upon further inspection, Groose realized they were looking at something, but whatever it was, was obscured by a tree from Groose's angle. Taking cautious, quiet steps, he inched towards them, and once the previously concealed item was revealed, he stifled an unwarranted gasp.

The Kikwi chief was even larger than Link had described. He towered over them, casting a shadow as tall as several trees from base to top, and yet had not noticed the three of them. His huge mass made Groose feel like he was being sucked in like a planet into orbit, and despite knowing that this species was docile, he suddenly felt a terror far different than anything he had ever experienced.

After a moment of trying to collect his breath and sanity, he turned his head to Pipit and Fledge, about to tell them to calm down.

Pipit let out a great cry, ripped the dagger Groose had sold him from his belt, and launched himself at the Kikwi's abdomen, thrusting the blade into the soft fur.

The Kikwi gave a terrible moan and staggered as Pipit ripped his dagger out, and if Groose hadn't hurled himself at the fellow knight, he probably would've gone in for another stab. Groose and Pipit tumbled down several rocks, the former trying to keep the latter from squirming out of his grasp. The Kikwi chief reeled in several directions, lurching between trees before collapsing to the ground with a great thud that rocked the earth so strongly that Groose felt himself fall straight onto a painfully sharp boulder and Pipit break free of his grasp. Given the cries the creature was making, Groose figured he probably- thankfully- wasn't dead, and Pipit seemed to be shaken enough that he wasn't going to go in for another attack.

Before any of them could figure out any possibility of a solution, the ground shook with bushes and grasses exploding and shedding their foliage to give way to countless oktoroks emerging from the ground, all with their snouts prepared to shoot dozens of rocks in their direction.

Eyes wide, and heart hammering in his chest, Groose ripped the flare off of his belt, yanked the string with all his might, sending a coil of red and black smoke spiralling into the air, breaking through the tree tops and into the sky, leaving the ground covered in a heavy mist of dust.

A/N: Thanks for reading this latest chapter! The next one will have more character interaction, I swear.