II
A cool breeze wafted in between the trees as the sun slowly hit the horizon, stretching the shadows of the trees towards the east. The grassy forest floor was patched with dirty areas devoid of any green at all, giving the entire forest a varied colour palette. Pollen drifted in the air, some in strings, which shifted with the slightest variety in wind direction. Through this forest, the Lost Woods, two foreigners attempted to make sense of where exactly they were headed.
"What the…hey!" The smaller man looked up at the sun. "Hey! Haak! Come here!" The thin, red-brown eyebrows sloped inward in frustration.
The taller, bulkier man caught up. "What's up, V?"
"Look up there Haak," the thinner man said, pointing to the sun. "You were in charge of the map, right?" Haakev Mainz scratched his blonde hair, looking at the sun.
"Sure, V, so?"
"So, if you were in charge of directing us to Lon Lon Ranch, where should we have been heading?" Jodo Valley had a very rhetorical tone in his voice, and Haakev didn't think he would like what was coming.
"Well...as soon as we stepped into the woods from Ailartsua, we should have headed east. That would have taken us directly into Hyrule Field, where we could continue east to get to Lon Lon Ranch. Why?"
"Now, look at the sun again. What's it doing?"
"It's setting."
"...And where does the sun set, Haak?"
"...In the West...oh..."
"Haak! We've been walking SOUTH all day! Meaning we probably haven't got any closer to Hyrule Field!" Jodo brushed his brown hair out of his face, scowling. "Nice work, Haak, really."
"Geez...sorry V, honest," the big man said, guiltily. "The map, it's not really very clear…"
"Oh, shut up." Jodo wasn't the most patient man in the world. "Give me the map." Haakev reached into his pack and withdrew the crumpled map. Jodo snatched it from Haakev's large hand. "Okay, then…let's see…" Haakev leaned against a tree and sunk to the grassy forest floor. "Oh, geez…you weren't kidding about it not being clear," Jodo said, scratching his unshaven chin. Jodo Valley wasn't the most presentable man on the planet, with his wild uncombed hair that flowed into an untidy ponytail. He wore working man's pants made of tough material and a long sleeved shirt with a thick brown jacket, as opposed to tights and tunic.
"Nice woods, huh, V?" Haakev sniffed the air, his head filling with the delicious scent of the woods. He surveyed the terrain. There were 2 tree stumps, one high and one short. He was propped against the tall one. Jodo sat down on the short one, still puzzled by the map. It was a far cry from the usually dense forest of trees that was the majority of the woods.
"Yeah," V scoffed. "Hope you like them, because we may be stuck here for a while..." his slight southern accent trailed into the woods and faded, dropping them into silence. "I'm too tired to figure this out…what say we settle down for the night and figure out where the hell we are tomorrow?"
"Sounds good," Haakev said. He was glad Jodo had calmed down. As it got darker, they built a fire from dead wood and ate some bean nuts they had brought from Ailartsua. With things the way they were over there, they were the only things you could find easily. Haakev was different to Jodo in a lot of ways. He was bigger for one thing, and stronger. He was clean cut and clean shaven, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore overalls and a long sleeved shirt, working man clothes like Jodo. It was common attire for ranch-to-ranch workers. Haakev was also a lot for patient than Jodo, and more sensitive. While Jodo had a tendency to be blunt, Haakev cared more about how others felt. It was amazing that the two got along.
Having eating, they settled down on their sleeping mats to get some sleep. It was a peaceful night, the insects humming tunes so softly it was eerie. It was almost too peaceful. It made Haakev feel uncomfortable.
"V, I don't feel very good." When he said he didn't feel well, he meant it. He shifted uncomfortably in his sleeping bag. It was no longer just a psychological discomfort, it was a physical one.
"Been in the woods too long, Haak?" Jodo tried to joke, laughing weakly. He felt it too. It was if something was slowly draining him, and he grew even wearier, but he knew it wasn't sleep. It was something much darker that he couldn't understand.
A cool breeze wafted in between the trees as the sun slowly hit the horizon, stretching the shadows of the trees towards the east. The grassy forest floor was patched with dirty areas devoid of any green at all, giving the entire forest a varied colour palette. Pollen drifted in the air, some in strings, which shifted with the slightest variety in wind direction. Through this forest, the Lost Woods, two foreigners attempted to make sense of where exactly they were headed.
"What the…hey!" The smaller man looked up at the sun. "Hey! Haak! Come here!" The thin, red-brown eyebrows sloped inward in frustration.
The taller, bulkier man caught up. "What's up, V?"
"Look up there Haak," the thinner man said, pointing to the sun. "You were in charge of the map, right?" Haakev Mainz scratched his blonde hair, looking at the sun.
"Sure, V, so?"
"So, if you were in charge of directing us to Lon Lon Ranch, where should we have been heading?" Jodo Valley had a very rhetorical tone in his voice, and Haakev didn't think he would like what was coming.
"Well...as soon as we stepped into the woods from Ailartsua, we should have headed east. That would have taken us directly into Hyrule Field, where we could continue east to get to Lon Lon Ranch. Why?"
"Now, look at the sun again. What's it doing?"
"It's setting."
"...And where does the sun set, Haak?"
"...In the West...oh..."
"Haak! We've been walking SOUTH all day! Meaning we probably haven't got any closer to Hyrule Field!" Jodo brushed his brown hair out of his face, scowling. "Nice work, Haak, really."
"Geez...sorry V, honest," the big man said, guiltily. "The map, it's not really very clear…"
"Oh, shut up." Jodo wasn't the most patient man in the world. "Give me the map." Haakev reached into his pack and withdrew the crumpled map. Jodo snatched it from Haakev's large hand. "Okay, then…let's see…" Haakev leaned against a tree and sunk to the grassy forest floor. "Oh, geez…you weren't kidding about it not being clear," Jodo said, scratching his unshaven chin. Jodo Valley wasn't the most presentable man on the planet, with his wild uncombed hair that flowed into an untidy ponytail. He wore working man's pants made of tough material and a long sleeved shirt with a thick brown jacket, as opposed to tights and tunic.
"Nice woods, huh, V?" Haakev sniffed the air, his head filling with the delicious scent of the woods. He surveyed the terrain. There were 2 tree stumps, one high and one short. He was propped against the tall one. Jodo sat down on the short one, still puzzled by the map. It was a far cry from the usually dense forest of trees that was the majority of the woods.
"Yeah," V scoffed. "Hope you like them, because we may be stuck here for a while..." his slight southern accent trailed into the woods and faded, dropping them into silence. "I'm too tired to figure this out…what say we settle down for the night and figure out where the hell we are tomorrow?"
"Sounds good," Haakev said. He was glad Jodo had calmed down. As it got darker, they built a fire from dead wood and ate some bean nuts they had brought from Ailartsua. With things the way they were over there, they were the only things you could find easily. Haakev was different to Jodo in a lot of ways. He was bigger for one thing, and stronger. He was clean cut and clean shaven, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore overalls and a long sleeved shirt, working man clothes like Jodo. It was common attire for ranch-to-ranch workers. Haakev was also a lot for patient than Jodo, and more sensitive. While Jodo had a tendency to be blunt, Haakev cared more about how others felt. It was amazing that the two got along.
Having eating, they settled down on their sleeping mats to get some sleep. It was a peaceful night, the insects humming tunes so softly it was eerie. It was almost too peaceful. It made Haakev feel uncomfortable.
"V, I don't feel very good." When he said he didn't feel well, he meant it. He shifted uncomfortably in his sleeping bag. It was no longer just a psychological discomfort, it was a physical one.
"Been in the woods too long, Haak?" Jodo tried to joke, laughing weakly. He felt it too. It was if something was slowly draining him, and he grew even wearier, but he knew it wasn't sleep. It was something much darker that he couldn't understand.