Treehugging
You know what's disappointing? Swords not being claimed like they should be.
The buckets of water and rags were not as good as a change of clothes and a proper bath but they worked well enough. The broken arrow shafts burned nicely on the campfire and sleeping on a mattress of leaves was much better than a cell cot. Even Linkle slept well past noon despite her desire to claim the divine weapon. Whatever the Koroks put in the poultices worked amazingly and it was easy to forget just how close they'd all come to total annihilation.
Linkle had considered waiting for everyone to wake up before getting the sword but decided against it. She was the first to wake up at about two-o-clock PM. She was way too excited to go back to sleep and besides, the snoring was loud. She cleaned up a little for the momentous occasion and happily thanked the Koroks. The spirits had retrieved her sword, her bags, and the pieces of her Grandma's crossbow. A pile of stuff was being sorted and fixed up at the request of the Deku Tree it seemed. New bows, a spear, and a large sword were being piled next to adventurer pouches. Linkle could not decline when the Koroks asked for the crossbow back to see if they could fix it. She left them crowded around the other sleepers with a little apprehension. It looked like they were plotting something if the guys planned on sleeping all day. One named Chio greeted her at the exit with excitement. He offered a trial to hone her skills.
Linkle was shocked when she failed to draw the sword.
In fact, she nearly got herself killed with her refusal to give up. The Deku Tree stopped her from pulling at it with a small push of magic force, then went back to dozing off. This was one of his duties when not dispensing advice or listening to Koroks report on everything. The Great Deku Tree often wondered how people would think if the legends spoke about the unofficial information network. Koroks were like having children tattling about everything that caught their interest, everywhere. The Deku Tree was amazing at extrapolating and analyzing seemingly useless information. Having the knowledge inherited from previous Great Deku Trees helped too. He did have some serious magic power as the guardian appointed by Farore, it just didn't make sense to waste it when the information network was there to tell him about how many cats there were in Kakariko. If he had a use for rupees and a lack of scruples, the Deku Tree would have a terrifying amount of blackmailees.
He heard his name being called and returned to wakefulness with the very distressed girl in front of him. "Great Deku Tree, why couldn't I take the sword out? So do I need to do trials first or gather some sages or pendants or-"
"Child..." The Deku Tree had a lot of patience, but he also didn't care to put much effort into avoiding stuff. "Even the Legendary Hero sometimes has had trouble drawing the Sword. It requires true strength of the spirit to use. You may have the courage and spirit necessary to be worthy of the Sword, but it will not obey you when its true master walks the earth."
"But-but-" Oh darn it, she had the puppy dog eyes. The girl was barely a teenager which did not help. He couldn't turn down that expression. It was the same problem he had when a small lost Yiga child was begging not to be eaten, then begging to stay here. The Great Deku Tree sighed.
"You do have a heroic spirit... I recommend testing your strength on the trials the Koroks prepared?" Linkle recovered and bounded off to see what adventures were in store for her. She called backward, "I'll finish the trials and prove myself to the sword! You can count on me!"
"That's not what I mea... oh well." He was glad that at least one person was done recovering and ready to go. Groose and Strich would be with a bit more sleep. Ravio's quick recovery was evident not only from the return of color to his face, there was the fact he was snoring away like the rest of them. The Koroks recovered what stuff they could and triumphantly had the account book when the small expedition returned. Macca referred to it as the Book of Boring things and did not understand the need for so many rupees.
The Deku Tree understood the forest's limitations: Koroks were a pack of nudists but Ravio wanted to wear clothing and avoid freezing to death. It was also tradition for the Deku Tree to have Koroks travel when they were older and see the world. Ravio could only learn so much from assassins and living tree people. It had taken much convincing to get Ravio to leave the forest and travel. He dyed his white-blond hair black as an extra precaution against recognition but it may not have been necessary. He had gained a lot of confidence over the years since he'd left the Yiga clan.
Shad finished the climb up the watchtower ladder and settled to read in peace with a wave at the guy on duty. Roland was a Zora given to quiet contemplation and didn't like small talk which worked fine for Shad. Shad unsettled after a moment's thought, checked the rest of the platform for errant like-likes, and resettled. The account book had been missing on his return from Medilia's questions. Oddly enough, this wasn't as concerning as it should have been. Medilia's bright red ponytail was visible on the road to the forest. If Shad cared to, he could pull out the spyglass to look at the thawing mass of iced charcoal where the forest entrance stood. Shad instead cracked open "On the Geography of the Hebra Mountain Region."
It was mid-afternoon when he got a response on his slate from the Hyrule Castle library.
We found a match for that handwriting in the account book. It was that letter. - Sarahasla
Along with the words of Gustaf's brother was an image copy of a letter from a small boy which had been received sixish years ago, then promptly ignored. Most people thought it was a childish prank. Others had trouble interpreting the scrawl. The letter was a long one if you included the sketches and location descriptions.
Dear Knights,
The Great Deku Tree said I should write and tell you what I remember about the Yiga Clan. Please keep this a secret, I don't want my mother to find out I'm here. This is top secret stuff! They liked to keep a really close eye on kids so I didn't get to look outside much but here's what I remember from the caves I could look out of or explore. I think they were worried kids like me would want to run away or that someone might see us outside. Don't worry about me, I like it here in the woods. Everyone is so nice! They didn't want to eat me or anything!
-An ex-Yiga
The sketches and doodles were not very good, but Shad paid close attention to the line of the mountains to see if he could puzzle something out. The letter was much more detailed about the interior of the hideout with hot spring water locations and lava-filled rooms. As a bonus, the longer Shad spent up here, the more likely it was the fan club horde down there would dwindle to manageable noise levels. They were eager to try their hands at amateur detective work. Numerous wannabe bounty hunters joined the tracking in hopes of obtaining the prize. Shad wondered if it would have been a good idea to bring a hammock.
The second and third to wake up were Strich and Groose. Sleeping longer would have been nice. It was five in the afternoon and they were hungry. Ravio's quiet snoring filled the corner with the makeshift mattresses. They all had needed this day, Groose thought as he cleaned himself with the buckets. Invisible people lingering on the edge of visibility was annoying, but not as creepy as it should have been.
Both of them were surprised that the sword was still present outside. Groose and Strich dared each other to give pulling it a go. Neither succeeded. The Great Deku Tree spoke up while Strich was massaging his sore arms.
"It would be unwise to try that again..."
"Yeah, my feathers are tingling something awful."
"The divine blade does not take kindly to being treated with disrespect."
"Hey, what's Linkle doing? She didn't get killed by the sword did she?" Groose asked. if their best hope for drawing the sword was dead this was bad news. Also she was more of a comrade in arms at this point than a mere quirky acquaintance.
"No. She is challenging herself with the trials of the Forest... The Koroks set them up for training in case you or the Hero wants to try it."
"Maybe later. Do you have a good way to clean clothes off here? The like-like saliva is probably going to start smelling terrible." Groose noticed his hair was still pristine and clean this morning. It would only go so far in making up for terrible smelling shoes. Strich was already looking at the grass.
"Also, are there unique bugs in the forest? I imagine there's some here you can't find anywhere else."
"The Koroks have stolen many Yiga Clan uniforms and disguises over the past week... something should fit you. The pile is around the back, by the pond. There are also numerous insects here. Please do not leave the areas with clear air. You would eventually be brought back here by the Lost Woods... but it may take a while." Groose and Strich thanked the tree and went to take care of clothes, food, and bugs. If the only clothes they could find to fit would be Yiga uniforms Groose wouldn't bother.
Hazel and Ana watched their Grandfather paraglide down from the Divine Beast. It didn't take long for them to decide on a plan of action, the hard part would be telling Mom and Dad they were leaving on their own. Leon would want to follow his daughters into the very jaws of the Calamity if he could. So would many of the aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was tempting to leave before people sensed the power emanating from Hazel. The sisters decided to tell them, let everyone freak out for a while, then slip away with the transport rune before their plans were shot down. Ana was worried about her friends and Hazel agreed, going to the forest first was a good idea.
It was well after five-o-clock in the evening when Ravio became aware of the rich scent of his home. Was this heaven? If he was dead and in heaven, he wouldn't have the bandages. He needed to know if everyone made it past Veran okay. Could he call them friends? He considered them friends as much or even more than the ship crew he'd sailed with. He'd not been comfortable sharing any secrets with the friendly treasure hunting crew. Linebeck was the closest he'd come to telling stuff to, but knowledge of the Yiga Clan would have put him in danger. Linebeck had picked up a vague idea 'Cawlin' had run away from a bad home situation at least over the two-month trip. Linebeck felt responsible for taking care of everyone under him, especially the stupid kids.
Linkle would have drawn the sword and run off to rescue Hyrule from the clutches of evil by now. Ravio hoped everyone remembered to use armor and weapons without any metal in them. He was also keenly aware of the stench of his clothes. He felt he could sleep forever but then he'd miss food. First, he resolved to clean himself up a little because it would be hard to enjoy food when he smelled like the interior of a Like-Like. Oddly, he didn't even feel an echo of the pain and exhaustion he should have felt from over-channeling.
Ravio got around to opening his eyes with a good deal of reluctance.
Ravio scrambled away from the phantasm in terror. "GAAAAAAH! ... You guys! That's not funny!" The rotting mask dangled right in front of his face. Tasho was right, that puppet the Skull Kid made was terrifying. He didn't want to know where they found the bones to make it look like a freshly-risen Redead. (Stalely-risen Redead? Fresh was the wrong word.) It even reeked of moldy bananas.
"We missed you!" giggled one of the offending Koroks.
"Did everyone make it here? Did they leave yet with the sword?" Ravio felt an odd twinge of emotion when he mentioned the Sword.
"Miss Hero is in the middle of trying to get a better score on the trial we made. Mister Guard and Mister Bird Guard are washing their clothes by the shrine. We got as much of your stuff back from the guards as we could. There's some stuff we made too so that you won't have any metal that can be picked up by the Fake Liarpants."
"Thanks Walton! You're awesome!" Ravio said as he went to talk to Grandpa. First, though, he stopped at the Goddess Statue to say a quick prayer of gratitude. It wouldn't do to forget how amazing it was to still be alive and not in the claws of the clan. The Great Deku Tree would not approve of ingratitude. He caught a glimpse of the sword when he left the interior of the tree which was somewhat confusing. Was Linkle waiting for him or?... Ravio climbed up the branches. Some of the Koroks followed along and others went around back with their puppet. His thoughts kept drifting between the Master Sword and the Deku Tree.
"Grandpa! I'm so glad to be home! Did you get my letter?"
"Welcome home child... I did receive your letter. You've grown so much. Are you planning to stay here?"
"I, um, well I really want to just stay here. These guys are heroes! I know they can save Hyrule but..." Ravio scratched at the back of his head while he searched for the right words. "I... I think I'll go with them and help. It's scary but I can't just stand back and watch any more. I wanted to find a hero and send them off with some gear to fix everything but I- I can help. Veran needs to be stopped. Also, I had no idea I could pull off that much magic! Being in your domain must have helped a lot."
"Good to see you've found your courage."
"I guess! I think I learned it from these guys! I was worried after Linkle got the sword they'd leave without me." Ravio sat down in front of the massive face. He'd missed this a lot, being able to talk with his Grandpa. "Do, do you think they'll still want to be friends with me?"
"Why would they not be?"
"Well... They know my family is a bunch of murderous psychos..." Ravio muttered with his shoulders slumped. The Korok sitting next to him took offense.
"HEY! I know we scared you pretty good but we aren't psychos!" he squeaked and Ravio hastily corrected him.
"No- I meant my genetic family! Veran! Honestly! Why would you think I was saying that about you guys? Sorry, Maca." The Great Deku Tree was not prone to eye-rolling and no one would have been able to see past the tree eyebrows if he did.
The Deku Tree said with sincerity, "Ravio, I think your traveling companions have seen you as the good person you are. There will be people out there who will judge you for past relations... but you will always have a home here. You are one of my children." The tree was promptly hugged by a smiling, crying Ravio. It made up for the low hug-to-surface-area ratio with how very earnest it was.
Zeldana and Hazelda set the transport rune to the center of the Great Forest. Both gripped onto the slate before Hazel confirmed the transport. The angry voices of a protective family were replaced by a rushing flow, then the sounds of wind in trees. They breathed the air laden with magic, looked at the greenery, and then saw the uniforms laid out to dry on the stone. They were Knight uniforms. One large one, and one Rito one. Ana and Hazel stepped around the side of the shrine to a pond where Groose and Strich were wearing unfamiliar and ill-fitting clothing. Koroks kept moving things every time they turned away. The two guards were staring at a very creepy puppet made to look like an undead Yiga. Strich prodded the handle of the strings.
"...Yeah, I know it's a prank of theirs but I still feel like it's going to pounce on us the moment it gets dark out." Strich said.
"Groose? Strich?" Ana said and they whirled around with wide eyes. "Mind telling us what you've been up to?" A cheerful Korok greeted the sisters.
"Hi, Miss Princess!"
Notes: Thank you for the error checking, kind reviews, and for still reading these two, three, whatever chapters. It feels cheap to use cuccos for comedy but they just work so well. This story has gotten out of control and way longer than intended, please send psychiatric assistance. Edited again 9/1/19