"The Destiny Stone"
Disclaimer: No. Justno.
*****
Author's Note: Wow. Thank you to all who reviewed! Really. An' since Toki reviewed the first (well after Sond ^_^), I'll be in touch with her to see if she wants me to draw something. Since a whole ton of you reviewed, I'm gonna try and make this chapter super uber cool! *looks at what she just wrote* Uber cool?' Huh. Well, that's what I get for writing Author's Notes past 1 in the morning. Well, I just wanna say that I did a lot of research for this chapter. You'll probably see why when you read it. *in a voice like the parrot from the Coca-Cola commercial* Enjoy!
*****
"The Destiny Stone" – Chapter 3: The Forest's Guardian
Timbre and Link were too stunned to move as the voice rang out clearly from somewhere above:
"Stop where you are, intruders!"
A couple of Kokiri faces sneered at them both from the safety of their treehouses.
"You'm gonna get it now," one particularly scrawny freckled boy said scathingly, pulling on his eyelid and sticking out his tongue.
Link squinted. On the verge of identifying the Kokiri who had spoken, a dark shape descended from the roof of the freckled boy's treehouse. It seemed to glide effortlessly, silently as an owl on the wing. Landing on the ground softly, the figure, taller by far than any Kokiri, strode grandly towards them, footfalls softened by leathery boots.
"What are you doing here?" The newcomer declared, in the same voice that had hailed them from the trees. Apparently the voice and this shadow were one and the same.
Link squinted again. "Whowho are you?"
There was a rustle and a creak, and Link suddenly found himself staring cross-eyed down the shaft of an arrow, nocked on a bow that was aimed directly at his forehead.
"I'm asking the questions here," the figure declared loudly, and as if in response, the tip of the nocked arrow suddenly started to glow. In the dimness of twilight, this effect was quite dramatic. Shadows suddenly seemed darker, and bright light reflected off of their eyes. The wolf's eyes seemed to light up themselves in response to the sudden flare.
A light arrow?! Timbre thought to himself, finding the strong coffee smell to be very distracting. But there's only one person I know who could manage that-
As the Light Arrow flared, it also lit up the stranger's face, and Link stared, despite the flashing painful afterimages that danced in front of his eyes.
"Sond?!" Behind him, Link heard Timbre snort in surprise. Apparently, he too recognized the face of the young woman.
Of course! Timbre thought. Sond's always drinking coffee. She practically smells of it perpetually. The wolf chided himself for being so slow on the pick-up. He should have recognized the scent right away. It was like he was suddenly becoming forgetful.
It was Sond's turn to squint. Lowering the arrow's aim ever so slightly, she opened both eyes, and raised an eyebrow. "Odd that you know my name, stranger." Both blue eyes roved from the Hylian over to the wolf. The eyes narrowed critically. "And odder yet is the company you keep."
"Sond, don't you recognize me?" Link said, hands held out almost pleadingly. "It's Link."
The young woman frowned. "I've never seen you before in my life," she said sternly, the arrow tightening again. The forest green cape about her shoulders ruffled slightly.
"But" Link stuttered, a bit lost for words. "We've been friends ever since we were five years old, don't you remember?"
"Whatever sympathy you're trying to pull from me, it won't work," Sond said simply. "Now, either state your business or get out of here. I really don't feel like cleaning up after your corpses," she added, slightly menacingly.
Okay, time to stop this before they both ended up as pincushions. Timbre stepped forwards. There was a slight shimmer, and an instant later, he reappeared in human form. As he stood up, he heard a chorus of small gasps coming from the Kokiri peanut gallery, who'd otherwise been silent through this whole ordeal. Ignoring stares, he looked Sond in the eye.
"We didn't mean any harm. We simply got lost in the Lost Woods-"
"Thus the name," Sond interrupted, turning to face him with a half-smirk printed on her face. "And what, pray tell, were you doing in the Lost Woods?"
"It's a long story," Timbre sighed. "But honestly, we're not here to hurt you or the Kokiri."
"Liars!" The freckled boy who'd sneered at them from his doorway had exited his haven and scampered over, looking pathetically short next to the three taller people. He scowled up at Timbre. "You're a Wolfos, y'can't be trusted!" Timbre flinched visibly. He looked up at Sond. "I say drive em out of here!"
Sond just gave the Kokiri a vexing look. Link smirked as he recognized the boy.
"Nice to see you too, Mido."
"Wah?!" Mido took a step back. "H-how did he know my name too?"
The young woman's bow was no longer aimed at anyone, though she hadn't exactly made any more to put it away either. "You two are rather suspicious, you know. Knowing names" Sond stared at Timbre again. "And having deceptive appearances."
Link sighed, exasperated. "Look, we're telling the truth!"
Mido laughed humorlessly. "That's just what a liar would say!"
"Can it, Mido," Sond snapped, not taking her eyes off the newcomers.
"Hey, that's no way to talk to the Boss of the Kokiri!" Mido puffed out his chest importantly.
"And that's no way to talk to the only person that stands between you Kokiri and a forest full of monsters" Sond said angrily. "Get back to your treehouse, Mido. Now."
Mido seemed to lose quite a bit of bravado. "Yes, ma'am," he said sullenly, and slunk back towards his domicile. When they heard the door slam loudly, Sond spoke again.
"Mido might be a brat, but he's right. I don't have any reason to believe you."
"But-"
Timbre silenced Link with a glance. "We honestly were just trying to find a way out of the Woods, onto Hyrule Plain," he said. "But I followed the wrong trail, apparently. I was following the smell of coffee-"
"So that's what you were smelling," Link muttered.
"Most creatures avoid areas of the forest that smell like me," Sond remarked. "And those who fail to take that warning seriously often find themselves reminded of the danger." The quiver strapped to her back seemed to rattle ominously as she slowly unnocked the Light Arrow and put it away. The illumination of the grove slowly sunk back into bare twilight. "I've never run across any creature that would dare approach Kokiri Village this closely, er-" She stared at Timbre expectantly.
"Timbre," the young man offered. This is weird, he thought, I'm introducing myself as if we'd never met before. "Are you sure you don't recognize us?" He asked after a moment.
Sond shook her head slowly. "Well then, what about everyone else?" Link offered. "How are they?"
The young woman shook her head, and her eyebrow seemed to almost collide with her hairline. "What?"
"All our other friends," Link clarified. "Kat, an' Kafei, and Chiron, and T-"
"I don't know who or what you're talking about," Sond said stiffly. "I've lived in this forest all my life, and I've never heard of those names before."
Timbre and Link shared a puzzled look.
"You two are strange," Sond said quizzically. "I'm still not trusting you."
Link suddenly looked very serious. "Sond," he intoned in his gravest tone, "I swear on the name of the Great Deku Tree that we have not come here with any thought of harm to you or the Kokiri." His normally jovial blue eyes seemed to glaze over slightly.
Sond's mouth fell open slightly, and there was another collective gasp from the peering Kokiri children. Swearing on the name of the guardian of the Lost Woods was about the most solemn oath Link could recall, and its effect was not wasted here. Sond stared into Link's eyes for a moment, and then finally bowed her head. "Very well then." She said quietly. "But if you go against your word, so help me" she drew a finger across her throat. The cape swept about as she turned and walked, the two young men following her.
"I suppose you two will be staying the night?"
"Wewe were thinking along those lines," Link said.
The woman smirked. Gesturing over at a treehouse Link knew all too well, she nodded. "You can have my house for tonight, I won't be needing it." Not pausing to explain why this was the case, she added, "You two might want to clean yourselves up while you're at it." Sond's nose wrinkled, and she strode away.
It was Link and Sond's old treehouse, of course. As Link struggled up the small ladder that led to the balcony, he reflected a moment. "What's going on here, Tim?"
From below, Timbre's voice answered him. "I have no clue. It's weird. It's like she'sforgotten everything. I mean, she didn't know who we wereshe didn't remember anything about our other friends either.
Both young men sighed, Link leaning gently on the balcony's railing. It creaked a little, complaining of the weight it was suddenly forced to bear. After a moment, Link's voice returned, though it was lowered to a conspiratorial whisper. "Youyou don't think, all our friends don't remember?"
Timbre rubbed his chin. "Well, I'm trying to remember the Stone's rhymehelp me out here Uh, it started with"Destiny struggled against the spell's will-"
"Uh'And so you remember-" Link added
"'Though no one else will!'" Timbre mumbled something that sounded eerily like a lupine curse word. "So nobody is going to remember us!" He said angrily. He too then leaned against the railing, which creaked in agony against the double weight.
Link stared forwards, the Stone seemingly twice as heavy around his neck. "So that's why they never came back for us," he said quietly. "They didn't remember. That spellseparated us." Link looked over at Timbre. "Someone, or something powerful wanted us all separated." Link blinked in surprise as the Stone about his neck abruptly turned green. "Hey, it's agreeing with me!"
But Timbre didn't seem to be listening. The anger had faded from his posture. His shoulders were now slightly hunched, and his normally taciturn face had become slightly pale and frail looking, his jaw set. There was a bit of a dullness in his eyes that hadn't been there before. Link, concerned, spoke up.
"You alright there?"
Timbre sighed, sounding a lot older than he had earlier. "Yeah. It's justwell, there's an old saying'a wolf is nothing without his pack.'" He closed his eyes. "And right nowthat's kind of how I feel"
"Like you're nothing?" Link asked. Timbre nodded dully.
After a moment, he started talking again, his voice ashen. "Before I was with you guys, I was completely worthless. I couldn't focus. I couldn't do anything. And I just didn't care. But then you guys came along, and suddenly, I felt like I could do anything I wanted, if I just believed it. But now, all that's gone, our friends, gone"
"You feel like we've lost our friends? But we haven't, they're all out there, they just don't remember us"
"Well, it's almost the same thing, you knowfor a friend to forget you, that's kind of like you've lost them" Timbre's voice was definitely weary-sounding now. "And without everyoneI dunnoI feelvulnerable." He swallowed with difficulty. "Like I feel like I can't do anything anymore. And that scares me."
"Hey!" Link said. "At least you and I still remember, right? We've got that going for us."
"Yeah, lucky us," Timbre said, his eyes flickering. "I kind of almost wish I'd forgotten toothen at least it wouldn't hurt as much."
"Don't start saying things like that," Link said, a little worried. "It's like you've given up already."
Timbre just kind of shrugged.
"Look," Link said crossly. "We've had trouble before, right?"
"Loads of times," came the dull voice.
"Exactlywe've had all manners of weird stuff done to usspells, tricks, you name it."
"Yeah, so?"
"Well, the one thing we've learned is that for every problem, there is a resolution"
"Huh?"
"Well, if someone cast a spell to make the world forget usthen there must be a way to undo it." Link declared. "There has to be."
Timbre's eyes flickered as he thought over this.
"Look, I'll prove it." Link held the Destiny Stone out. "Destiny Stoneis there a way to break the spell and make Sond remember us?"
The stone turned green, and Link grinned. "See, you got to keep hope. Always try to be a little optimistic. Sond always has, or hador something."
The dullness in Timbre's eyes faded a little. He blinked. "B-but howthat spell's altered her memory, and we'd have to break ithow are we going to manage that?"
"Good question," Link said. "What have you got to say to that, Stone?"
Link choked a little on his chain as the Stone returned to its normal size and started hovering, nearly bringing the Hylian along with it on the pendant chain:
Though friends would seem no longer there,
Do not sink into despair!
Amnesia bounds them firm and well,
But remind them and remove the spell.
No spoken word will prove effective,
Search yourselves; be introspective,
Though spell might chain you all apart,
No boundary can contain the heart.
"Well," Link sighed, as the Stone shrank back into normalcy. "At least that's something. Now, what does it mean?" He glanced wryly at Timbre. "Put that brain of yours into gear."
"Well," Timbre said slowly, still a bit dulled, "'Remind them and remove the spell,' but no spoken word.' Hm. And all that heart' business"
"It's saying that just saying we know them isn't enough" Link said after a moment. "We need to do something elsewe have to-"
"I think I understand," said Timbre, interrupting Link by mistake. "We have to show themsomething's bound to break in them if they are reminded of something we did togethersomething that was really significant."
"Is he right?" Link asked the stone. It turned green.
"Great," Timbre said, his eyes becoming bright and youthful once more. "One question thoughwhat can we show Sond that will remind her of us?"
"No clue," Link yawned. "Maybe we should sleep on it."
"Yeah," Timbre agreed, turning and walking into the treehouse. He had to duck in the doorway, which made him laugh a little inwardly. "But first, you're going to take a shower. I'm not putting up with your stench all the time"
"Stench?!" Link cried indignantly, following. "You're no spring flower yourself, you know!"
*****
"I don't believe this!" A screechy old voice reverberated through the chamber. Above, several Redeads, in the process of repairing a series of cracks in the broken dome, shivered slightly at the sound. The owner of the voice was so horrible when annoyed that even the undead cringed, it seemed.
"Sssomething amiss, Koume?" Kotake had arrived, wrinkling her nose slightly at the sour smell of wet plaster. The Redeads were loading gobs of the stuff into the cracks, then smoothing them over with metal scrapers. They weren't very good at it, as being dead often gummed up fine motor coordination.
"I'll say!" The Fire Witch grumbled, answering her sister. "First, the stupid dome gets cracked and we have to repair it, then this stupid infernal silver sphere starts glitching out. It's not been my day."
As if to pontificate this, at that very moment, one of the Redeads high above slipped, and the scraper it had been holding shakily dropped its dollop of wet plaster. The wet stuff landed squarely on the disgruntled Fire Witch's head, extinguishing her flaming hair with a loud hiss.
"Ick!" Kotake exclaimed. "Well, if you hadn't causssed the dome to crack in the firssst place, we wouldn't have to repair it! Itsss your own fault for loosssing your temper-"
Koume struggled with the mess on top of her head. "It was your fault! If you hadn't been cheating at Poker, maybe I wouldn't have lost my cool!"
At the thought of her hotheaded sister being cool,' Kotake laughed sibilantly. "That'sss not the point. You know better than to releassse big flames in here, the dome hasss a weak ssstructureyou know itsss never been the sssame sssince we blasssted it open all thossse yearsss ago"
"It could've happened to anyone!" Koume complained, scraping the wet plaster off her head. Scowling, she concentrated until her bald head re-ignited with a foof' sound. "There, that's better." Turning her attention back to the silver sphere, she beckoned to her icy half. "Help me with this thing, would you?"
"Very well," Kotake shambled over and squinted at the silver sphere. "Itsss not glitching out," she said after a moment. "It isss merely insssisssting on our presence. See?" As she hissed again, the silver sphere began glowing.
"It only glows like that when something's up," Koume grumbled. "And lucky us, we don't know what's up. Should we alert our son?"
"Not yet," Kotake said wryly. "Not until we know exactly what information the sssphere hass to offer usss."
"Oh dear," Koume sighed. "And this thing can't answer us directly, can it?. Guess we'll have to divinate, annoying as that can get. Hey, you lot!" The Fire Witch screeched above her head at the Redeads. They all froze and groaned. Koume coughed. "Clear out, we need some privacy."
With a good amount of groaning, the Redeads vanished, teleporting away one by one. They knew better than to stay around when one of the Mistresses gave an order to leave.
"I know I should've used Poes instead," Koume grumbled, turning a disdainful eye at the messy repair job. "They're much more reliable."
"It will have to do for now," Kotake said.
"Right. LIGHTS!" Koume screeched, and the entire chamber's torches were instantaneously snuffed out, throwing the Twinrova sisters into complete darkness. "Lucky for us its dark out right now"
"Yess," Kotake agreed, and bowed her head at the sphere. "Sssilver sssphere, reveal yourself!"
In response, the silver sphere glowed. Small points of light appeared on its surface, and projected upwards like miniscule white lasers. Soon the newly repaired dome sparkled with thousands of points of light in a perfect replica of the night sky. Like many divination devices, the silver sphere insisted on being aggravatingly vague, and could only answer in symbolic form. In its case, it preferred to answer questions posed by constellation. As each of the constellations in the sky had different meanings and symbols, it could theoretically answer any question the witches wanted to know, providing of course they knew what the sphere meant by that particular constellation.
"Alright, first question," Koume clapped her hands together busily. "What's up?"
In response, a group of stars on the celestial sphere flared brighter than the others. Twinkling furiously, it seemed to almost make the stars move.
"Hmm, the Ssscorpion." Kotake hissed to herself. "Great danger."
"Danger? What danger?" Koume asked. In response, the first group of stars faded back to normal, and a second constellation illuminated.
"The Phoenix." Koume blinked.
"Risssing and returning." Kotake hissed again. "Danger risssing. Danger that had been thought gone, but hasss returned."
"That doesn't sound very good," the Fire Witch said. "Let's investigate this more closely."
"Who isss in danger?" The Ice Witch called upwards. More stars flared brightly.
"The Crown," Koume blinked. "It couldn't meanLord Ganondorf?"
"Nonssssensssse" Kotake shook her head. "We musssst be interpreting it wrong. What could possssibly be a danger to our dear ssssson?"
The silver sphere mistook this as another question, and responded faithfully.
"That wasssn't a question!" Kotake growled irritably. But Koume had her nose pointed towards the ceiling.
"Two constellations this time," she remarked. "The Warrior. And Wolfosss."
"No, that'sss Canisssthe dog or wolf." Kotake said. "It can mean either, but it sssssymbolizes loyalty. Wolfosss is that one further sssouth there thatsss not lit up right now."
"Oh, my mistake. Canis: loyalty. And the Warrior, that symbolizes courage."
"Courage and loyalty apparently are a danger our Lord Ganondorf." Koume raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?" The sphere, sensing another question, flared up again.
"The Phoenix again," Kotake groaned. "A risssing or return-"
"Return of courage and loyalty?" Koume squinted. "Why is that dangerous to Lord Ganondorf?" She addressed the ceiling.
A single star directly above them, near the dome's apex was the only response.
"The North Star. That meanssearching. It can mean a general type of searching, or like a search for one's home when one has become lost. That's because navigators use the North Star to find their way."
"'Courage and loyalty are a risssing danger to Lord Ganondorf, becaussse they have returned, and are ssssearching.'" Kotake stated slowly, trying to piece the assorted answers together into a tangible sentence. "That'sss what it has ssssaid so far."
"Okay, new thought." Koume scratched her long nose. "We've associated the Crown with a specific person, Ganondorf. Perhaps the sphere is doing the same thing with the Warrior and Canis, using them to represent specific people."
"There'sss a thought." Kotake mused. "But then that meansss there are two people who possse a direct threat to Ganondorf. Who would be a threat to Ganondorf?"
The Warrior and Canis lit up again.
"Dah, we already know that!" Koume snapped irritably. "This stupid thing's so vague, it can't tell us who."
"Well, maybe we can deducssse. We know that they are a returning threat, which mussst mean that they were once dissspelled. Who have we disssssposed of that would have been a danger to our sssson?" The Ice Witch had meant to ask her sister, but again the sphere had jumped the initiative. This time, a huge number of constellations flared up, dousing the two witches in a fountain of light.
"Aiyeee!" Koume shrieked. "Good grief" When their light-strained eyes had recovered, the two witches started counting constellations.
"Eight of them thisss time," The Ice Witch remarked. "The Warrior, the Archer, the Maiden, the Keaton, the Amazon, Canissss, the Alicorn, and the Dragon."
"And there's those two again: Warrior and Canis. Where did they come from?" Koume wondered, pointing.
The constellations faded out, and another took its turn in shining brightly.
"The Arrow." Kotake blinked. "Pointing down a pathcursssesss, I can't remember what itssss deeper meaningssss are" The Ice Witch retrieved a small book from her robes, and peered at it. Small gold lettering on the volume's spine declared the book's title: "Life's Little Constellation Symbolism Book."
"Where did you get that?" Koume demanded.
"None of your busssinessss," the Ice Witch said curtly. "Ahait sssaysss here that the Arrow symbolizes the given path of one's life, their guiding force or destiny."
Both witches stared at each other for a beat. "Destiny!" Koume screeched. "We changed the destiny of the eight Heroes of Time! This means thattwo of them, the two that the Warrior and Canis represented, have returned"
"Nonssssenssse," Kotake said. "How could they essscape the Parting of the Wayssss?"
The sphere flickered, and another constellation lit up.
"The Shield." Koume snatched Life's Little Constellation Symbolism Book from Kotake. "The Shield: Represents protection. Something protected them. What could do that?"
The Shield faded, and the Arrow returned.
"What?!" Twinrova thundered in unison.
"But we changed dessstiny! Destiny wasss out to desssstroy their tiessss, not to protect them! Besssdes, nothing can oppossse the power of a Dessstiny Ssstone once itsss power hasss been releasssed"
"Nothing; except another Destiny Stone." Koume stated quietly. Then, throwing the book on the floor, she started stomping on it as she belittled her icy counterpart. "You said that the one you'd taken was the last one!"
"I sssaidI thought it might be," Kotake stated. "It never crossssed my mind that they might happen to come acrossss another!"
Koume spat angrily. "So, two of those miserable brats are back, and now they're searching-"
"For the other sssix." Kotake growled.
"It's been ten years," Koume murmured. "They'll be stronger than they were. Even with just two together, who knows what kind of mischief they might cause"
"Or the problemsss they would causssse to Lord Ganondorf."
The witches looked at each other nervously.
"We've got to find them, and stop them now before they manage to cause a stir. And if they happen across any of their friends-"
"Who knowsss how well the ssspell ssstill holdsss?" Kotake hissed. "In theory, it sssshould be ssstrong asss the day it wassss cassst, but I wouldn't go mucking about and tesssting its boundariessss. And if they happen to come acrossss anyone familiar, they're bound to start asking questionssss. Questionsss, asss we know all too well, can be dangerousss."
"Right. We'll squash them now while they're still disoriented. Where are they, then?" Koume snarled, looking upward.
This time, there were two responses: the Maiden, and the North Star.
"Guess they're somewhere north of here, then" Koume grumbled. "Either that, or they're lostor the Maiden's lost, or something. Stupid vague answers, it'll take forever to figure this out."
"I'll keep sssscoping around," Kotake offered. "You sssstart looking. If I find anything elsssse of interesssst, I'll notify you. But hopefully we'll be able to take care of thissss problem, without getting Lord Ganondorf involved."
"Well, at least there's only two of them," the Fire Witch grumbled. "Lights back on!" The room brightened again and the silver sphere became inert. Clambering up onto her broom as it materialized from nowhere, Koume glanced at her sister. "You'll stay here and keep me posted, then. I'm going to go organize some search parties. We'll comb the entire countryside if we have to."
As Koume zoomed off through one of the dome's windows, some of the plaster fell out of the cracks of the badly done repair job. Smirking slightly, Kotake stooped and retrieved her now slightly battered copy of Life's Little Constellation Symbolism Book.
"Hah." The Ice Witch said happily as she shuffled off. "Finally Kotake getsss the ssstronghold all to herssself for a changeI wonder if any of that delicious spanikopita is lefthopefully Koume didn't eat it all"
*****
Sond sat, bow ready, on Mido's roof, staring at the real constellations. Unfortunately, it was slightly cloudy out, which meant stars swam in and out of view at odd intervals. Sighing, the young woman lowered her gaze towards the forest fringe. She'd been contemplating things, as she often did to keep her awake on nights where she kept watch. And recent events had given her a lot to think about. The two arrivals had made her slightly wary of what else the forest might decide to spit out on her doorstep.
Taking a delicate sip of coffee, she sighed. She'd lived with the Kokiri all her life, ever since a vaguely-remembered incident when she was five had landed her here. Although Sond had longed to exit the forest and someday see the real world,' of which she'd heard much, it never really came to pass. Besides, there had been that one person-she couldn't even remember their name now, only a vague recollection-that had left the forest, never to return. Maybe they'd gone to their death, as Kokiri were said to not be able to survive the dangers of the real world.
Besides, Sond thought. If she left, then the monsters in the forest would quickly decimate the small Kokiri, who were rather defenseless on the whole. Ever since that huge storm (another vague spot in Sond's memory) that had occurred about a decade or so ago, monsters had been constantly plaguing the forest, and it was all Sond could do to keep them out of Kokiri. And she, being the only one who'd ever grown, she wasn't sure why, had taken up the mantle of protector.
For some reason, Sond had a vague feeling of unease about that storm. She hadn't liked the storm, quite on the contrary, although she chided herself for it. There wasn't any reason to hate a storm, it was an inanimate thing after all. She might just as well hate the rain for falling, or the wind for blowing. But for some odd reason, just thinking about that particular storm gave her bad feelings, vague pangs of unease, as if she'd lost something dear-
Guys! We need to get to safety
Sond blinked in surprise, shaking her head and emptying herself of thoughts. It was almost as if a hollow echoing whispers were muttering in her ear. Those two, she thought suddenly, changing the subject on herself. How did they know my name? How did they know Mido's? They couldn't possibly have found that out anywhere. Unless they could read minds, that is-
whatever you do, don't let go of each other's hands
don't let go
"Something on your mind?"
Sond was startled out of her reverie, and the vague mind-echo she had been ignoring abruptly vanished. She glanced over her right shoulder, and there was a fairy, hovering gently and dousing her in a cerulean glow.
"Hl'o, Cyrus," she said to her fairy partner in a quiet sort of voice.
Cyrus settled himself comfortably on Sond's shoulder. "What's up? You've been a littleoff lately. All the others have noticed it." By the others,' he probably meant the Kokiri and their respective fairies.
"SorryJust a lot to think about, I guess" Sond sighed.
"Like what? Those two that blew into town all of a sudden?"
Sond's head turned towards what was normally her treehouseof course, she didn't need it when she stood her nighttime vigils. Normally it was enough to be on guard every once in a while, but those two had made her wary. "I dunno, what do you think of them, Cyrus?" she said after a moment.
"A little weird," he admitted, nodding. "But they mean well. If they were enemies, I think we'd know by now. Last time I checked, both of em were snorin' away."
Smiling a little, Sond remarked, "Well, I'm not surprised. They both looked exhausted. They'll probably be clamoring for a feed when they wake up, too."
"Whatever do you think happened to them that could leave them in such a battered condition?" Cyrus murmured curiously, bobbing over the brown-haired head. "Do you think all people from outside the forest are like that?"
"I hope not," Sond said quietly, taking another sip of coffee. "I think they've just been through something that we wouldn't understand. Not yet, anyway."
As Sond stared dully forward, a last image swam in front of her mind. The stormshapes all around, and somebody yelling-
we aren't going to leave anyone behind
Sond shook her head, and the echo dissipated like fog encrusted smoke.
Link had found the treehouse more or less the same as it had been when he had last been there, it hadn't grown with him for sure, as a sore bumped head reminded him. Timbre, on the other hand, had fallen asleep almost immediately, apparently more exhausted than he'd let on. How someone could just conk out on the hard floor like that was beyond Link. Another mystery was how one person could snore so loudly, even with their mouth closed. But somehow Timbre managed it, and Link had to fight down the urge to kick him, friend or not.
However, Timbre's choice of the floor for a sleeping spot that had left one advantage: Link was able to claim the single bed without any complaint from his companion. Even as he was reveling in this thought, his eyelids were drooping. He'd been more tired than he thought, so much that he wasn't even aware that he was falling asleep until it had happened.
A small boy, no older than five, sat sullenly in the middle of the woods on an equally runty tree stump, poking at mushrooms with a stick. Chin in hand, the boy stared with lidded yet still brilliant blue eyes, a sad expression crossing his childish features.
Wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, he stared ahead, seeing the greenness of the forest around him, yet not really understanding it. He was alone, fairyless, and the bigger kids teased him about it relentlessly. It wasn't fair, he thought angrily. He couldn't help not having a fairy, any more than he could stop his eyes being blue.
He sighed as he brushed a blonde lock of hair away, and blinked. With a bemused expression, he glanced at the stick. As his imagination suddenly flared, the stick transcended its normal form, and in the boy's eyes, changed into a sword. A beautiful glimmering sword, which reflected a thousand shimmering light motes off its metallic surface.
Smiling, the boy extended the weapon,' and fenced with empty air, dispelling imaginary monsters and slaying fictitious foes. A small grin began to spread across the young child's face as he let himself sink into his imaginary world, one where it didn't matter if he had a fairy or not. Half-hopping through the underbrush, he swung wildly at fallen leaves, blissfully unaware of anything but his game.
Then suddenly, as he was just readying himself for an especially vigorous downward slash, a real figure flew out of the underbrush. The boy yelped in surprise, and the sword, once again nothing but a stick, dropped from his chubby fingers. He was about to flee, but stopped as he recognized who it was.
It wasn't any of the Kokiri, that he knew. This creature had no face to call its own, just a lipid pool of black, transfixed by nothing except its golden glowing eyes. It, or rather, he had never given himself a proper name, so the Kokiri called him by the name of his species: Skull Kid.
The boy twisted his head to one side, curiously. Skull Kid was missing his signature floppy, tattered hat, and his head looked strangely small without it. The child blinked in interest as the Skull Kid raised one gloved hand and beckoned slowly. Without a word, the boy followed.
They wove their way slowly through the endless trees, Skull Kid always skipping ahead, sometimes glancing behind to see if the boy still followed. The child innocently followed along. Even if he were capable of being suspicious, he would've followed the Skull Kid out of sheer curiosity. He wondered what the Skull Kid wanted to show him so badly.
The boy's answer came to him rather quickly as Skull Kid entered a small clearing, stopped, and pointed towards a tuffet of soft moss. A single shaft of sunlight from above shone brightly, warming him and bathing him a golden ethereal glow. As he neared, he saw what the Skull Kid had been so eager to show to him.
A small girl, no older than him lay curled fast asleep in the softest part of the moss. The Skull Kid's hat, a bit large for her small body, flopped over her head, brown locks of hair curling about. Her dress was a bit ragged and torn, and she had the general look of one who was lost. There were tear stains across both her cheeks, and the slight furrow to her small brow betrayed the fact that her sleep was far from peaceful.
The boy squinted. He'd never seen a person who was his size before. The others had always been bigger and taller than him, and none had ever been smaller. Intrigued, he leaned over the sleeping girl, mouth slightly slack in amazement.
Boyish curiosity took over as he innocently extended one chubby finger to poke the sleeping girl, directly in the center of her forehead.
The effect was immediate. The girl's eyes snapped open, bright blue in shock. She stared widely, jerking upright automatically. She found herself suddenly nose to nose with the small boy.
The two stared at each other in complete shocked silence for a full thirty seconds.
Then, simultaneously, as the Skull Kid watched in amusement, they both screamed.
"Ouch."
Link fell out of bed, his hat falling over his eyes as he woke up. Groaning, he disentangled himself from blankets and sheets, noting with bemusement that he hadn't even bothered to take his boots off before falling asleep. Sunlight poured through from the doorway, making the Hylian squint.
He tried to remember the dream – no, the memory – he'd woken up from. Something about when he was younger, a lot younger. Unable to recall it fully, he shrugged it off as another sensation hit him, this time in the stomach area.
He was hungry. Link stumbled upright and poked his head out of the door to the treehouse. A familiar sight greeted his eyes: Kokiri Village during the late morning. The early morning mist had burnt off by now, leaving the glowing orbs to their own devices as they ambled slowly through the air. Here and there Kokiri children ran busily back and forth, occupied with some errand or another, or more often than not, some kind of new game.
Link smiled a little, until he remembered what had transpired in the past day. Leaning against the railing, he noted with a slight hint of disappointment that Sond was nowhere to be seen among the scattered mass of Kokiri. He'd wanted to see her again.
"Nice to see you're finally awake." The Hylian turned to see Timbre leaning against the side of the house with a slight smirk on his face. Apparently Link had been so drowsy still that he'd stumbled past his friend without even noticing he was there. Timbre looked fully awake, his eyes bright and cheerful. He shrugged his shoulders a little and stretched, trenchcoat swirling cape-like as he did so. "You sleep well?"
Link smirked. "Yeah, though it's a miracle I did. Your snoring could outdo a hundred Redead cadaver chorus." He laughed, and added wickedly, "With accompaniment."
Timbre just scowled, but let the insult slide for now. "So, did you think of anything that Sond would remember?"
"Not muchjust random dreamsold memories, I think. Not too sure of what though. How bout you?"
The trenchcoated youth shrugged noncommittally. "Can't think of anything right now. Not on an empty stomach." Looking almost tragic, Timbre stared down at his midriff. "I swear I'm gonna digest myself from the inside out if I don't find some food soonEr, what do Kokiri eat?"
Link read this question as: Were the Kokiri vegetarians? Well, for the most part, they were, although they did eat quite a bit of fish, when it could be caught from the stream. "Well," he offered after a moment, "They do eat fish and stuff, not just fruits and leaves and such." Link figured Timbre's stomach was currently clamoring for something a little more on the protein-rich side. Wolves were generally carnivores, after all, and Link had experienced life with Timbre when fed on nothing but veggies for a while. It made for a very grumpy wolf.
Timbre sighed. "I suppose that's okay"
"Hey, cheer up." Link said as he backed down the small ladder slowly. "We've got a job to do, remember?"
There was a vague thud behind him, and as Link's feet touched the ground, he turned to see Timbre standing there, looking a bit cross-eyed. He'd apparently vaulted right over the railing, impatient to get to breakfast. "Ouch." He winced, and sat down heavily.
Link rolled his eyes. "Just because you're older doesn't mean you can simply shrug off a sudden drop like that, you know." The Hylian blinked. "You still have to roll with the fall and cushion yourself. Being older doesn't make you invulnerable."
"Easy for you to talk," Timbre grumbled getting up again. "I've never been a grown-up before." During the first adventure in Hyrule with his friends, (before they'd even met Ty and Nick) Link, Sond, Chiron, Kat, Kafei and Timbre had all been locked in stasis for seven years by the power of the Triforce. Very similar to our current situation, Link thought in interest. Only we're merely two this time. Everybody had awakened to find themselves seven years olderexcept Timbre, who'd remained exactly as he was for some odd unexplainable reason. For the longest time, Link had been under the suspicion that Timbre was some sort of odd Kokiri, but of course that couldn't be the case. For one thing, Timbre wasn't from Hyrule, as his rounded ears proved. For a secondwell, Timbre wasn't even human to begin with. He couldn't be. Or could he?
And why, if that was the case, would he suddenly start aging again? Link wondered. Then he blinked, looking down. Both he and Timbre were now completely surrounded by little kids, who must've arrived while the Hylian was zoned out. The Kokiri turned curious and slightly nervous faces towards the strangers, their big eyes wide.
"Hey mister! Where'd you come from?"
"Yeah, and how come the Wolfos isn't trying to kill us?"
Link froze. This was too weird, seeing faces that he'd grown up around, faces that had remained exactly the same while his had changed so much. Years ago he'd even considered them the big ones.' Now the mere thought of that was rather laughable.
Timbre looked a little vexed as half a dozen small hands pulled at his trenchcoat. A small girl with short dark green hair grinned. "They're even taller than Sond is."
"Yeah," another Kokiri agreed.
"And I always thought she was just a freak or something," the green-haired girl remarked quietly. Link stared.
Saria never did get along with Sond too well, he reflected. I guess not even a magic spell can change that. "Hey!" He had to pry himself away from a few pairs of hands that were tugging at his sword strapped safely to his back. "That's a dangerous weapon, you know"
"Are you really a Wolfos?" One girl squeaked at Timbre, her fairy orbiting her head at an alarmingly fast pace.
"No, I'm a wolf, not a Wolfos. There's a big difference." Timbre said, blinking.
"Oh." A beat. "What's th' difference?"
"Well," Tim scratched the back of his head, trying to think. "Wolves can change form for oneand we're not as stupid. Or mean." He added as an afterthought. Some of the things a Wolfos pack could yell at each other made him feel fortunate that most humans couldn't understand canine.
"Oh. So you don't eat people?" The girl piped up again hopefully.
"Er, no" Timbre answered her, feeling a bit flushed.
"Alright, clear off you guys," said a familiar voice. Timbre and Link just groaned as the throng of Kokiri parted ways to let boss' Mido through. The freckled boy stomped right up to Link and gave him a glare that was unfortunately all too familiar.
"What are you two still doing here?" He demanded, his freckles scrunching in as he attempted a fierce scowl.
"Waiting for breakfast, apparently," Timbre said. It felt weird to be talking down at someone when he'd been so used to talking up.
Mido whirled and glared. "What, you wanna eat us now, Wolfos? Cause Sond'll kill yeh if you try it." He pompously closed his eyes. "I dunno why she let you stay in the first place."
"Hey!" Timbre said, a bit insulted. "First of all, I'm not a Wolfos, okay? And second of all, I don't eat people, even if I am hungry. Why is everyone into that misconception?"
"Well, in all due respect," Link said in an aside. "Wolfos do eat humans, and wellthere is a bit of a resemblance between your speciesThey wouldn't know."
"Still don't trust you," Mido scowled darkly, his fairy circling his head warily, and Link felt a sudden pang of loss for Tatl. Was Tatl somewhere in the forest right now, completely unaware of her partnership with him? How would he find her again, if he didn't know where she had gone?
"Hey look! Sond's back!" Another squeaky Kokiri voice snapped him out of a train of thought. This seemed to happen quite often. The young woman stepped out of Mido's treehouse, looking curiously over at all of them. Link and Timbre smiled and waved, and she half-heartedly returned the gesture. It was weird, having these two random people around that insisted on knowing who she was.
"Well," she said, brushing off her vague feelings of unease. "I cooked breakfast"
The Kokiri suddenly looked crestfallen, the same dread look spreading to Link and Timbre, who looked at each other and sighed in doomed resignation.
"Aww man" Saria whined. "Sond's cooking is horrible"
"Yeah," Link said. "We know."
*****
Ok, I'm stopping there for now, because my next stop off point would make the chapter waaaay too long. I'm working on a suggestion to shorten the chapters just a littleJust a few notes because I know people will be asking otherwise spanikopita is a very delicious Greek pastryThink spinach and cheese fried in fillo wrapswell, I think it's nummy, anyhowAnd the big research element for this chapter? Those constellations. I changed some of the names of some of them, but all the constellations mentioned are real ones. As far as their symbolism goes, well, I made some of that up, but*shrugs* It was fun. That's all for now. I should have some art up really soon, with the next chapter. Until then, I'd appreciate some reviewsconstructive criticism is always very welcome. Till next time!