The hero, the broken, the saviour

Yep, last chapter happened – not much happened in it though…bah… Dragmire and Shadow were both puzzled and shocked to find Wolfos roaming around in the Forbidden Forest. Rufus is still wary of his travelling companion, though is doing his best not to let it show. Shadow is so busy trying to keep Dragmire out that sticking to Sheikah ways is the furthest thing from her mind at the moment.

Stuff in : single colons and italics : are thoughts, stuff in mere italics are visions or memories. If Dragmire comes into it, he will be in / slashes /.

Also, a warning. This is going to be ridiculously A/Uish. No complaints from those who didn't read the warning. I will just throw big cream pies at you…or something similarly menacing. Grr. Now, read!

Together: Mutually alone

The swaying motion of the net as we crossed the channel to the Forbidden Forest made me feel slightly queasy. :I hope it's not too far now.: I groaned internally. However, I was too afraid to open my eyes to even check. In my mind, all I could see was myself falling from the net into the roiling sea hundreds of feet below, over, and over again… :I hate heights: I decided, when a particularly strong gust of wind made the net wobble even more.

"We're nearly there!" Hollo cried over the breeze, and we began to descend. "Brace yourself – we're going to take you down as low as we can. Get ready to jump, OK?" I gulped and tried to answer but no sound would come out. "Rufus, is that OK?"

"Y-yeah," I managed to stammer, entwining my fingers in the vine latticework that supported me. :Oh Gods, I'm not looking forward to this.: Something sharp and warm nudged against my fingers. I opened my eyes in shock and came face-to-face with the weirdest creature I've ever seen! It was almost spherical in shape, with stubby legs at the bottom edged in sharp claws. A round mouth sat beneath squinting black eyes, sharp black teeth glinting in the sun. And, on top of its head was a propeller that looked a lot like the leaves on the Koroks' heads, only it was yellow and didn't look like any vegetation I'd ever seen. The creature stared back at me, eyes dull with stupidity, my blood drip, drip, dripping from its clawed feet.

Noticing that my knuckles were bleeding where the creature had hit, a dawning sense of horror filled me: there were dozens of the creatures flitting around us. Craning my head to look backwards, I saw that more of them were dive-bombing Shadow. As usual, she was a lot calmer and more collected than I was. She'd drawn out a small dagger and was fending off any that came too near. :What a good idea: I tried to unsheathe my sword, but it was too cumbersome to use inside the net. So, instead, I just grit my teeth and kicked out at any of the flying things that came too near.

"Hold on, we're going down!" My stomach lurched up into my throat as we suddenly fell through the air, only to regain flight a few seconds later. The Koroks began to peel away, letting go of the net ropes and hovering along next to me. They used their fists and the leaves on their heads in order to help defend against the monsters, me beating away any that got past them.

"Stupid – pea-hats!" one Korok grunted, punching the orange sphere that approached it straight in the mouth. A few of the black, triangular teeth fell out and the creature spiralled downwards, dazed. "Never – now when to – give – up!" the Korok continued, executing an impressive spin that knocked another two of the creatures out for the count. "Here we go Rufus. Jump!" the remaining Koroks let go and the net plummeted downwards. I looked down and saw the forest rushing up to greet me, branches outstretched.

And then I was among the foliage, grabbing blindly, hands full of twigs, eyes shut and heart hammering. I banged my shin against a tree trunk, and reached out when I felt a thick branch whizzing past me. Luckily, I caught it, and jerked to a sudden stop. Blindly, I reached up with my other arm, and managed to pull myself up onto the branch, and lie along it, arms and legs wrapped around the reassuringly sturdy wood. Exhaling the breath I'd been holding throughout the fall, I opened my eyes and looked around. :The ground looks…oh Gods. Very far away. Very far away indeed. Oh, help: My silent plea was answered almost immediately, when a streak of indigo plummeted past me, and landed gracefully on the forest floor far below.

"Rufus?" the Sheikah girl called softly, spinning a full circle looking for me. I loosened my deathly-tight grip on my branch, and drew her attention.

"I'm up here." She started, and looked upwards – after a second or so, she caught sight of me. I wasn't sure, considering how far away she was, but I thought I heard a quickly stifled laugh from her. However, I just ignored it, and brushed aside my pride for a second. "Reckon you could – I dunno – help me down, maybe?" A small breeze whistled through the canopy, and I desperately tightened my hold on the branch again.

"Of course. Hang on."

"Right, what else am I going to do?" I muttered, rolling my eyes. This time, I knew for certain that she laughed, and managed a grin myself, despite how far away the ground was. :I suppose this is quite funny, really.: Shadow was studying the trees all around with practiced eyes, and walked over to one a few trees along from my one. There, she bent her knees slightly, and performed another one of her amazing somersaults (:Just like the ones she did back on Dragon Roost when fighting that Rito:) and alighted on a thick branch some twelve feet from the ground. After that, she easily jumped from branch to branch, until she was standing nonchalantly on a bough that stretched out towards mine.

"Hello," she greeted me, seeming to ignore my shocked (and awed) look. "I take it you don't like heights?" I shook my head, unable to talk again. "Well, I promise I won't let you fall, all right?" I nodded. "Right – now, we'll do this slowly…" She edged along her sturdy tree-limb, until she was easily able to reach out and touch me. "Just take your hands from the branch, and grab onto mine, OK?"

"Yeah, OK." The feelings of doubt I had about her were pushed to the back of my mind. :She might be a little strange, but she's helping.: Gradually, I peeled my right hand away from my branch, the pattern of the bark deeply imprinted on my palm. This meant my stronger left arm was still holding on, just in case I should fall and the girl didn't catch me. Just as gradually, I snaked my hand forwards toward the slender one the girl extended to me. Perhaps bored by my slowness, she stretched forwards and grabbed onto my sweaty hands, swiftly closing deceptively strong fingers around my own. Her hand was cool and dry, showing just how unconcerned she was by the huge drop we would suffer if we overbalanced and fell!

"There you are. Well done," she congratulated me warmly. "Now the other hand." I tried, I really did! I even managed to loosen my grip on the branch slightly, but I just couldn't…I couldn't bring myself to let go. She seemed to understand, and relinquished her hold on my hand.

"No, wait! Don't leave me here-"

"Shh," she shook her head, and stepped even closer to me. I could see her branch bending slightly at the end with her weight – it was much thinner than the huge limb I was clutching onto. Shadow noticed this as well, and quickly took a step back, which set the bough to rights again. "Look, I'm going to come onto your branch. But, before I can, do you think you can shuffle backwards for me? You don't have to let go – just use your arms and legs to crawl slowly back. Can you do that for me?" her voice reminded me sorely of the calming tones my mother used to employ whenever I'd wake up from a bad nightmare…

"Yeah, hang on." I felt slightly braver now, and managed to inch backwards as she'd instructed. As soon as she deemed there was enough room, she grabbed onto the blunt end of the branch (it must have been snapped off in a storm or something), and vaulted up to sit next to me. "Hi," I said breathlessly, lying flat on the branch, face resting on the rough wood.

"Hi." She patted me on the shoulder, looking around at the forest – it was eerily silent. "You really don't like heights, do you?" she observed, but there was no malice in her voice. It was just an observation.

"I can cope with them to a certain distance…and then…"

"It's just to much?" she finished for me.

"Yeah."

"I know the feeling…"

"What? You're not scared of heights, no way!" She shook her head.

"No, not heights. But I do have a ridiculous fear of spiders, if that helps?" She'd somehow managed to prise my hands away from the branch without my notice, and had shuffled along so that I could lean on her as I carefully rose into a sitting position, straddling the branch. I blinked, surprised at this information. :I'd never have guessed – she seems too sensible and stuff. Not scared of anything…at least, the way she fights makes it seem that way.: I wondered what had bought on this suddenly open conversation, and knew I didn't really care.

"Heh, it does, sort of," I admitted. "I don't much like spiders either," I confided, and she laughed again – a real, proper laugh; I could feel it rippling through her body, and saw her eyes brighten in merriment. "Once they're beyond a certain size, they're just-"

"Plain scary," she ended for me a second time.

"Yeah." We caught each other's eyes for a moment, but she looked away, a flush appearing on her ear-tips, and the brightness in her eyes deadening. "Shall we make our way down?" I asked, needing to feel earth beneath my feet once again. She nodded, and stood up on the branch next to me.

"Sounds like a plan – now, do you reckon you can follow me all right, or do you want me to carry you?" she looked down, offering her hand to help me stand up. But, I froze again, sitting dead still and staring at the open palm. "Rufus?" I looked her in the eye again, and hesitated. :I really, really want to get to the ground. But I don't want to fall! And she can't carry me, I'm too fat and heavy: But I knew this wasn't true – she'd done it before at Dragon Roost, and she could take my weight on a rope… I just felt…embarrassed. Again, she easily guessed what I was thinking. "No need to worry, I can carry you easily on my back if you'd like?"

"Uh…yeah, that'd be good."

"All right then." She plonked back down into a sitting position, with her back to me. "Just put your arms round my neck, and hold on tight."

"OK," I squeaked, reaching out and grabbing onto her. At a wince from the Sheikah, I loosened my grip, careful not to end up strangling her or something. Then, she rose to her feet again, and reached down to pick up my legs in proper piggyback style. It was weird being given a piggy-back by a girl, considering the only person who'd ever given me one before was my father… Because all the other children on Outset were younger than me, I'd always been the one giving the piggybacks. :Aryll loved them. Always used to bug me to give her one – usually didn't let up until I did when she was smaller:

All moping thoughts about Aryll were kicked out of my head when Shadow started to jump from tree to tree, going so fast that I was sure she was going to miss each time! I dug my fingers into her shoulders, no longer as worried about hurting her as I was about falling off. Finally, after a hellish plunge through the forest, her boots crunched on the dead leaves on the forest-floor. The jar of the landing shocked through me, and Shadow let go of my legs, allowing me to drop down onto the ground. I let go of her shoulders, and she straightened up, rubbing them with a sigh.

Now that I was on the ground, I was able to take a look around. The forest stretched in all directions, an unbroken monotony of thick tree trunks and bright shafts of light spearing the canopy to light up the undergrowth. There was no evidence of life anywhere (something I was pretty glad of when I thought back to the 'Wolfos' we'd spotted earlier). Shadow was doing the same as I, but I had the feeling she was seeing and hearing a lot more than I was. This was confirmed when she suddenly stopped, ears pricked, and stared upwards at the leaves overhead. As quietly as I could, I went over to stand next to her, and followed her line of vision. Seeing this, she raised her finger up to approximately where her lips must be; with her other arm, she pointed upwards.

I could see shadows through the translucent green layer above – a shrill call told me that there were Kargoroks above. Despite her warning, I whispered to the girl, "Gods! Do you think the Koroks are all right?"

"They'll be fine; probably back at the other island by now. We'd just better go quietly for now."

"OK," I nodded. "But where?" I added, half questioning myself. She just shrugged, and began to walk forwards. I moved to follow her, when a very familiar voice broke the silence.

"Rufus! Rufus, can you hear me lad?" I jumped, and fumbled around for the green stone Tetra had given me. "Rufus! Answer me lad!" his voice rose in volume, and I winced as it rang around the silent wood.

"Red, shh! Be quiet!" I hissed. Shadow had stopped again, and I bumped into her. "Huh, wha-?"

"Rufus, what's going on?" Red asked, having lowered his voice – however, the damage had already been done. His shouts had attracted unwanted attention. I dropped the stone as the huge, grey-furred lupine growled at us. It rolled over and over through the dead leaves, as we had come to stop on a slope, the green vibrant against the brown leaf-litter. The stone came to a stop in front of the Wolfos; I didn't dare move forwards to get it. And I didn't need Shadow's signal to tell me I had to stay still. "Rufus, are you all right? What's that…is that a…my Gods, get out of there, the both of you!"

The huge monster bent it's blunt muzzle to the stone and sniffed it cautiously, ears back against its skull. When it found no danger in the gem, it opened its mouth to reveal razor-sharp yellow teeth and a lolling red tongue. It bit down on the green stone, which shattered easily between its powerful jaws, cutting Red off mid-speech. Despite the situation, an inane thought still managed to cross my mind. :Tetra is going to kill me: This action done, the creature raised its snout and scented the air, glowing golden eyes pinning the both of us down. I could see that Shadow's eyes were wide with shock and was amazed when she managed to grab her whip without hesitation. I couldn't even bear to contemplate moving, so sure was I that doing so would spur the creature on to attack.

:Where did it even come from? And how come we didn't hear it coming – those paws are huge. We should have heard it: Involuntarily, I took a minute step back; the Wolfos snarled, lips drawing away from its huge teeth, and took a lithe step forwards. The Sheikah girl in front of me tensed, eyes flicking up to the nearest branch (about teen feet, an easy jump for her) and back to the monster. "Rufus," she muttered, "when I yell, grab onto me round my neck, and hold on tight."

"Right," I whispered back, flinching as the Wolfos growled again, the sound rumbling deep in its furred throat. I waited, every muscle tense, hands slowly inching upwards, ready to grab onto the girl and make our escape. Above, the Kargoroks were calling to one another more fervently than before, and by the shadows cast on the floor, I could tell that the number of them was fast growing. :Not good.: A few leaves drifted down where one of the flying fiends landed on a branch high above, and this distracted the Wolfos for a second.

Apparently, a second was all that Shadow needed. "Now," she ordered at normal volume. Forgetting posterity I did as she'd instructed, and we alighted on the branch a moment later. She didn't stop there though – it was only after five more successive jumps that she stopped, and let me climb off. To my surprise (and amusement), we were right back on the branch we'd started on. She inhaled deeply, and looked upwards to see whether we were about to be assailed from above. Luckily, we'd left both Kargoroks and the Wolfos behind. Not missing a beat, she delved into her pack, and sighed as she drew out a green stone almost identical to the one that Tetra had given me.

"…where did you get that?" I asked, still whispering, just in case.

"Red gave it to me," she answered shortly, turning it over in her hands. "Now, I wonder how it works…"

"Shadow? Are you there, Sheikah? Are you all right; is Rufus all right?" Red's voice erupted from the stone, and he was obviously highly agitated. At least he was keeping his voice down this time! Shadow looked up at me, and then lifted the stone towards her face.

"Yeah, we're all right – the other stone was broken though."

"Oh…blast. I'll have to see if I can do something about that. Can't afford to lose touch with you two after all." The girl just made a sound of agreement in the back of her throat, and reached out without needing to think about it, in order to steady me when I wobbled slightly on the branch. "Now, please tell me I was imagining things, and that I did not just come face to face with a…a…" he was unable to even say the word.

"A Wolfos?" I interjected, leaning forwards a bit to make sure that I'd be heard. Red was silent. "I'm afraid it was."

"Oh…oh dear," Red said. Shadow, on the ball as always, jumped in.

"Never mind that. They can't climb too well, so Rufus and I will stick to the trees until we're sure the ground is safe again. What matters is what we do now; do you have any suggestions on finding the Koroks?" I groaned internally at the idea of traversing the trees for any extended period of time.

"Well…if memory serves…the forest wasn't always a dark place. The Koroks did inhabit the island for a short time after the floods – I'm willing to bet that their old dwellings will still be there. I know its not much, but they'll be deep in the forest; you might be able to find help there." Shadow looked perplexed.

"Help? What sort of help?"

"The fairies," I muttered, and she looked sharply at me. "Uh…I read somewhere that they only live in ancient forest…and well, the Kokiri used to have fairies. So, you know, it's possible."

"Precisely," Red agreed, making the nervous knot in my stomach disappear. :Phew. Was scared I was gonna make a fool of myself there:

"Isn't that a bit of a long shot?" the girl asked.

"Have you any other ideas?" the King of Red Lions demanded, rather defensively, I thought. She mulled it over for a few seconds, and then answered meekly,

"No, I haven't."

"In that case, Red, which way do you think we should head?" I asked, taking the stone when Shadow offered it to me. He hmmed to himself, and I waited expectantly.

"I can't offer you a definite direction I'm afraid – but, I would say that you should follow the older trees inland. The further you go, the older the forest will be. Shadow, you know what to look for, don't you?"

"Aye," she replied, reaching out to take the stone back. Before Red went again, she added a warning, "Next time you want to speak with us, please be quiet?"

"Of course," Red agreed pleasantly, and the green stone ceased glowing altogether. She put it back into her bag, and then looked at me with one eyebrow raised.

"Well," she breathed, "I'm afraid it looks like we might have to be up here for a while."

"Yeah," I nodded, not daring to look down for fear of the vertigo taking over completely. She tilted her head to one side, and then her expression softened.

"Look, I know this is going to be hard, but we need to move quickly." I nodded. "And I can't carry you all the time."

"I know."

"So…we need to find a way for you to get over your fear of heights."

"Sounds…ominous…" I quipped, forcing myself to ignore the huge drop between the ground and us. Employing humour was the easiest way I could find of pushing the image of myself tumbling through the air from my mind. She chuckled slightly, and slouched so that our heads were on a level.

"What if I could make a spell that would make it impossible for you to fall?" she asked. I blinked.

"Well, that would be – that would be wonderful!"

"Good. I've already done it. Now, let's go," she jumped to her feet, and pulled me up as well. The air seemed to close around me as I wobbled, and the breeze that rippled through the trees didn't touch me. I took a tentative step forwards, encouraged by the warm, safe blanket of air wrapped around me. Shadow turned around, and looked around for the best (and easiest) way to go. I let her decide, still a little afraid of how high up we are, but not as afraid as I had been before. :I don't know what she's done…but I'm glad she's done it.:

It was only a few minutes into our flight that we began to attract some unwanted attention. Peahats descended from what seemed like nowhere upon us – I wondered where they'd been hiding, because I hadn't seen nor heard anything of the disgusting little creatures before we'd taken to the air. Without really needing to think about it, I had a dagger in my hands, and was fending the little beasts off. Luckily, what with the swaying motion of the net and the speed at which we were travelling, most of the Peahats found it quite difficult to even get close.

Ahead, I saw one of them managed to get close enough to bump Rufus – he jumped slightly, and I could see a bright red graze on his knuckles. He looked over his shoulder, but I was distracted when one of Peahats hovering around my net came a little too close for comfort. I slashed it away: when I looked back forwards, Rufus had begun to descend, and I saw the Koroks holding his net begin to peel off. Those that had let go of the vines took to protecting the Hylian from the attacking monsters, and I felt my worry for him dissipate.

Then, not two seconds after that, the rest of the Koroks let go, and I saw Rufus' green-clad shape plummet gracelessly downwards. I inhaled and held my breath, knowing that I too would soon be making that plummet to the earth… :I just hope he manages to land all right – we're still rather high up…from a Hylian point of view…: With a slight jolt, I remembered with sickening clarity the Rito back on Dragon Roost island, who had fallen on the journey to the Cavern…

I had stepped directly into a pool of a thick, gloopy liquid. I knew that, had I a mirror with me, I would be able to see that the liquid was almost the same colour as my eyes… Feathers swam in the sticky substance, and I hurriedly stepped back, leaving bloody footprints on the otherwise clean ground. I could just see the balance-board, which seemed to have survived the impact with the ground pretty well, lying atop two very still forms.

I shivered slightly, and I wasn't sure whether it was from the memory, or the cool wind that hurried us through the air. :All that blood…crumpled and broken…Gods… What if Rufus doesn't manage to catch himself in time? What if he-:

I wasn't allowed much more time to ponder this, as I too was dumped into the forest.

Just as I usually did whenever I executed a jump over a large distance, I tucked myself into myself, legs against my chest, arms around my legs, and when I was about ten feet from the ground, I stretched out once more, legs braced for impact. The forest floor was covered in a springy layer of moss and dead-leaves, which took some of the shock out of my landing, meaning that I was able to stand up straight again almost immediately.

Looking around, I felt my worry for Rufus building up again. :Where is he: Forgetting for a moment the presence of all those Wolfos (:and Gods only know what else lurks in this forest:), I called for the Hylian. "Rufus?" I span in a slow circle as well, just in case I might have missed him. A patch of green caught my eye, for a split-second making me believe that the lad had indeed fallen to his death; but it was only a pile of leaves.

"I'm up here," his voice filtered down from above, sounding shaken, but otherwise all right. I looked upwards, and managed to catch sight of him quite quickly. I'll admit, he did look quite comical, lying full-length along a thick, sturdy bough, limbs wrapped around it and fingers digging into the bark as though he dared not let go. He looked like a rabbit caught in the glare of torchlight, and I had to suppress the laughter that threatened to bubble over my lips. For some reason, the absence of Dragmire from my mind had shoved Valoo's advice right into the forefront of my thoughts. "I would just like to say that you should try to continue allowing your feelings more free reign."

:Well…maybe for a little while…: I decided, then remembering the advice of the Great Deku Tree as well.

Above, a slight breeze shook the branches, and I saw Rufus tighten his hold on his branch. "Reckon you could, I dunno, help me down maybe?" he asked in a slightly strangled voice. I found it amazing that after all he'd been through, that he was so afraid of heights…however, it was obvious he wasn't going to move if I didn't help him, so I agreed to help immediately,

"Of course: hang on!" I looked around for a good path up to where he was. His muttered reply made me laugh once more,

"Right, what else am I going to do?" Finally, I settled on a strong-looking branch about twelve or thirteen feet up – a nice easy jump anyway. I didn't particularly feel in the mood to try and push myself on to the twenty or so feet up that the next lowest branch was. Quickly, knowing that it would probably be a good idea to get Rufus back to the ground as quickly as possible, I leapt to this branch. After a pause to check my way up, I hurried up through the trees, until I was on a limb that stretched out to almost meet the one that Rufus was clinging to.

"Hello," I said, guessing, "I take it you don't like heights." He shook his head. "Well I promise I won't let you fall, all right?" He nodded. :Poor boy, he looks terrified.: Carefully, I edged along my own branch so that I could reach out and help him. "Right. Now, we'll do this slowly… Just take your hands from the branch, and grab onto mine OK?" I held my arms out, cautiously shuffling my feet so that I was more stable.

"Yeah OK." Rufus began to peel one of hands away from the wood, shivering a little as he did so – this hand (the right) he reached out to me with, going so slowly that he hardly seemed to be moving at all. :Can't waste time.: I leant forwards a little more and grabbed his shaking hand – it was cool and clammy, telling me even more certainly than his face did that he was terrified.

"There you are, well done. Now try the other hand." I saw him struggle with himself; he even managed to unclench his fingers for a few seconds, and then froze completely. I let go and he quickly snatched the hand I relinquished and wrapped it back around the branch. Desperately, he protested,

"No, wait, don't leave me here!" I was appalled that he thought I would! :Mind you, after all that's happened, are you surprised: I moved forwards a little more, attempting to shush him in a soothing manner. The bough I was on bent worryingly at the end, and I jumped back as I heard tiny cracks beneath me. Still trying to calm and reassure him, I quickly formulated a plan. "Look, I'm going to come onto your branch…but, before I can, do you think you can shuffle backwards for me. You don't have to let go, just use your arms and legs to crawl slowly back," I instructed. "Can you do that for me?"

I saw him un-tense slightly, and he managed to do as I asked. ("Yeah, hang on.") When he'd left me enough room to get onto the branch alongside him, I climbed up and sat down next to him. He greeted me rather meekly, voice muffled as he spoke into the wood. "Hi."

"Hi. You really don't like heights, do you?" I looked around at the forest, which for the first time I realised was completely silent. :And that can't be good.: My mind too was completely silent – it was as though Dragmire had never been there in the first place. Even the horrible feeling of his presence in my mind had al but gone…yet… :It feels…lonely…without him.: I shook myself mentally, feeling stupid for even thinking something like that. :It must be some sort of spell or side-effect he's left behind: Well, no matter. My mind was my own again. And, I had a feeling that as long as I was here, in this forest, it would remain so…

"I can cope with them to a certain distance…and then…" the Hylian trailed off, sounding a little ashamed of himself. I immediately finished the sentence, able to empathise,

"It's just too much?"

"Yeah," he agreed. Before I could stop myself, I said,

"I know the feeling…" He spluttered, (I wondered where on earth this conversation had come from), and said incredulously,

"What? You're not scared of heights – no way!" I shook my head, and searched around for something that sound suitably silly to be scared of. I couldn't exactly say I was terrified of Wolfos or monsters – that would be far too normal…

"No, not heights." I managed to get a hold on his hands whilst he was busy paying attention to what I was saying. As I did so, a sudden idea sparked in my mind, along with the knowledge that what I said might help the Hylian trust me a little more. "But I do have a ridiculous fear of spiders, if that helps?" He looked surprised, and then gave a little half-grin.

"Heh, it does sort of. I don't much like spiders either!" I laughed at this, relieved that he at least trusted me enough to admit that little foible. I was also laughing because I just felt like it. The laughter felt easy, natural. :Who'd ever have thought you could have a normal conversation with a Hylian, of all things: "Once they're beyond a certain size, they're just…"

"Plain scary," I finished his sentence again.

"Yeah." All the laughter had died away now, and I felt slightly awkward, still holding onto Rufus' hands in order to steady him. Flushing, I looked away through the branches and the leaves, dropping his hands as casually as I could. "Shall we make our way down?" the lad prompted. I agreed, nodding my head, and stood up. A brief glance out of the corner of my eye told me that there was no way he'd get to the ground alone. And, despite his slight reserves of puppy-fat, I'd already carried him once before – I could probably cope carrying him to the ground at least…

"Sounds like a plan," I said, back to business. "No, do you reckon you can follow me all right…or do you want me to carry you?" I offered, even though it would probably feel uncomfortable for the both of us. All that really mattered now was time. I held out my hand for him to take. When he didn't move, I called his name. "Rufus?" He looked at me, eyes full of all that doubt again. :Oh Gods, not now. Panic later.: "No need to worry. I can carry you easily on my back if you'd like?" He gulped and whispered his answer.

"Uh, yeah, that's be good." At that, I sat back down again, straddling the branch and with my back facing the lad.

"All right then." I tilted my head so that I could look back over my shoulder at him. "Just put your arms round my neck, and hold on tight." He did as I said, fingers digging deeply into my shoulders – I winced slightly, and he loosened his hold…though not by much. As I stood up again, I could feel his desperate fingers beginning to pull my facemask a little askew, and hoped that he wouldn't end up pulling the thing off altogether! :That would just be too embarrassing for words: I thought, reaching down to pick up Rufus' legs. Thankfully, when I did this, he let-up on his hold around my neck a little more still. Which meant I could breathe properly again – a small mercy!

Once I had a proper hold on my charge, I went back down the way I had come up, going at a brisk pace, though not as fast as I had on the way up. As soon as I made my first jump, Rufus dug his fingers in again, and let out a small squeak of fright. I winced, but bore it – it would only be for a little while after all. :I bet I have bruises from this.: Soon, we were on the ground again, and I deposited Rufus on the ground. Exhaling the breath I had held for most of the way down (I always did that when I jumped. Artemis always used to tell me off for the habit, but I'd never bee able to break it) and rubbed my shoulders, which were throbbing slightly.

The beastly squawk of a Kargorok overhead made me forget my shoulders. I snapped my head upwards, and was able to see a total of eight of the birds flying overhead, shadows rippling across the leaves. Rufus shuffled over to me and tried to see what I was looking at. Trying to make sure that we weren't heard, I stemmed his unasked question by putting one finger in front of my lips, and using my other hand to show him what I was looking at. A particularly loud screech filtered down and the Hylian desperately murmured,

"Gods! Do you think the Koroks are all right?" I wasn't sure, one way or the other, but I reassured him anyway.

"They'll be fine: probably back at the other island by now. We'd just better go quietly for now."

"OK…but where?" That was a very good question, and I shrugged. Picking a direction that looked as though it might be promising I started forwards. Rufus fell in step with me.

"Rufus! Rufus, can you hear me lad?" Red's voice erupted into the still forest, nearly deafening after the oppressive quietness. "Rufus! Answer me lad!" his voice rose in panic – just at the same time, my panic levels suddenly jumped off the scale altogether. Sheikah training went out of the window when a living nightmare appeared out of the shadowy undergrowth. Behind me, the Hylian was trying to quiet Red, and as he wasn't paying attention, he bumped right into me.

"Huh, wha-?" His cut-off question bought me back to my senses. :You're a Sheikah warrior – now get a grip! You have to protect Rufus, and you can't do that if you're quaking like some first year warrior-in-training, can you? No. So get over it and get on with it.: I clenched my fists, fingers as naked as any first-year's. Inane as the thought was, it crossed my mind anyway. :As soon as I get the time, I'm putting those bandages back around my fingers. I think I'm ready for them now.:

"Rufus what's going on?" the King of Red Lions asked, now whispering. It was pointless, but I felt grateful for it anyway. His loud voice had just been far too out of place in this wood. There was a small thud, and I saw the green stone through which the talking boat could summon us, rolling away. It turned over and over, going down the incline to the bottom of the slope where the immense Wolfos stood, red tongue lolling out. Sharp yellow teeth glinted in the dappled light. "Rufus, are you all right? What's that…?" Red caught sight of the monster at the same time it caught sight of the stone. "Is that a…my Gods, get out of there, both of you!" he bellowed, voice cracking. I flinched at the loud noise, but signalled for Rufus to stay as still as he could.

:If I could just have a moment – one moment when it wasn't paying attention. That would be enough…: Red continued to babble on, and the Wolfos nudged the green gem over with its square snout, ears back against its skull as it scented the new, strange object. Then, it bent down and took the stone between its teeth, shattering it easily. Disgusted to find that it wasn't food, the creature shook its head, nudging the remaining shards away. Then, it stood erect once more, ears up and swivelling to catch sound, nose ruffling as it smelled the air. No doubt, it had our scent now, and found it fascinating. :New food: I thought glumly.

Great blazing eyes, the pupils slits that dilated as it caught sight of us. Threatened, my hand moved of its own accord to my whip, and hovered. When both ears had flicked backwards, I grabbed onto my weapon, but the ears were back towards us before I could unclip it. In all the reams of text I had learnt about monsters, I remembered vividly that Wolfos hearing was much, much better than its eyesight, which was about as good as a Hylian's. Behind me, Rufus took a tiny step backwards, leaves rustling and crackling under his feet. Immediately, the Wolfos growled and padded forwards a short way. Thankfully, a sound directly behind the creature caught its attention, and both ears flicked backwards. I took this opportunity to quickly whisper, "Rufus, when I yell, grab onto me round my neck, and hold on tight." The Wolfos returned its attention to us, and snarled again when Rufus answered,

"Right." I stood deadly still, and could barely hear Rufus breathing behind me. :Impressive: I thought, knowing that he must be trying desperately hard to stay that quiet. I felt him moving slowly, slowly, ready to grab onto me. The Wolfos continued to study us, snout quivering as it sniffed the air, and small yips escaping its throat every so often. :Come on: I prayed for a distraction, and was thankfully given one. High above, one of the Kargoroks above must have either landed or bumped into one of the trees, because a whole bunch of leaves tumbled to the ground. They crashed onto the forest floor in a great rustling, and the Wolfos was so sidetracked that it even turned its head away from us. This was all I had asked for.

"Now!" I said, voice back at normal volume. It sounded like a shout though, echoing as it did around the many tree trunks. Rufus literally threw his arms around my neck, hooking his legs over the arms I reached down, and I jumped for the nearest branch. My breath caught in my throat as the Wolfos howled, and I saw it jump up just in the field of my vision. It couldn't get very high – six feet at most. But I didn't feel safe, and carried on, until, by some weird twist of fate, we ended up on the very same branch where this had all started. I deposited the lad and then rummaged through my bag to find my own green stone, glad that Marie had given it back to me.

"Where did you get that?" Rufus asked, mercifully still whispering. I think a loud voice then would have been enough to finish off my frayed nerves completely.

"Red gave it to me," I replied, trying to figure out how I could get into contact with Red. There was no catch or visible button to press on the smooth surface. I turned it over to look at the other side, but the green stone was just as smooth as glass. "Now, I wonder how it works…" I said to myself, as though that might help prompt an idea in my mind. Luckily, Red hailed me before I had a chance to really get frustrated with the thing.

"Shadow? Are you there, Sheikah? Are you all right; is Rufus all right?" his voice was still low, and the edge of panic more acute than ever. I wondered if he'd seen inside the Wolfos' mouth before it had… I cut that thought off before I could finish it. :Just think what it would do if it got hold of you or the Hylian.: I looked up at Rufus and lifted the stone closer to my face so that I could talk quietly.

"Yeah we're all right. The other stone was broken though."

"Oh…" he said. "Blast," he added, almost as an afterthought. "I'll have to see if I can do something about that. Can't afford to lose touch with you two after all." He attempted to sound jovial, but failed miserably. I made a sound of agreement in the back of my throat as I heard movement below. Luckily, it was no more than the wind rustling through the leaves. Rufus wobbled slightly, and I reached out a hand to help him steady himself. "Now, please tell me I was imagining things, and that I did not just come face to face with a…a…"

"A Wolfos?" Rufus finished for him, leaning forwards a little; wrapping the fingers of his hand around the arm I was steadying him with. Thankfully, he did not dig them in as he had done earlier. "I'm afraid it was." Red spluttered, not quite sure what to make of things,

"Oh…oh dear…" However, having glanced up, I could see that the glow of the sun was lessening – it would be only a couple more hours at most before the sun set. We needed to get moving. :I don't fancy being out in the open at night here.: Brusquely, I butted in before either of the other two could say anything else.

"Never mind that. They can't climb too well, so Rufus and I will stick to the trees until we're sure the ground is safe again…what matters is what we do now. Do you have any suggestions on finding the Koroks?" The Hylian's fingers clenched momentarily, and I felt sympathy for him. This wasn't exactly the best situation for us to be in; doubly so due to his fears. Red had managed to collect himself on the other end, and began in a business-like tone.

"Well, if memory serves…the forest wasn't always a dark place." This idea was shocking, but looking around at all the unchecked growth and vibrant colours, I could see that the island could once have been good. "The Koroks did inhabit the island for a short time after the floods – I'm willing to bet their old dwellings will still be there. I know its not much, but they'll be deep in the forest; you might be able to find help there." I frowned, no understanding what the King of Red Lions was getting at.

"Help? What sort of help?" Rufus muttered,

"The fairies." Noticing my questioning look, he continued shyly. "Uh, I read somewhere that they only live in ancient forest…and well…the Kokiri used to have fairies…so, you know…it's possible." I regarded the Hylian with a great surge of new respect.

"Precisely," Red said through the stone. Yet, I wasn't completely convinced.

"Isn't that a bit of a long shot?" I asked, looking pointedly at the Hylian. Red was the one who answered though, and in rather a prickly way, I thought.

"Have you any other ideas?" I thought, wracking my brain for some scrap of information about this place that could be useful. But, there was nothing.

"No, I haven't," I admitted quietly. Rufus had let go of my arm, and held his hand out to accept the stone from me.

"In that case, Red…which way do you think we should head?"

"I can't offer you any definite direction I'm afraid…but I would say that you should follow the older trees inland," the King of Red Lions decided, after much hmming and haaing. "The further you go, the older the forest will be. Shadow, you know what to look for – don't you?" I nodded, taking the stone back from the lad,

"Aye." Then, knowing what trouble we could get into if I didn't make sure Red was quiet, I also said, "Next time you want to speak with us, please be quiet?" He agreed readily, and then went – I put the stone back into my bag, and looked over at Rufus with an eyebrow quirked. He looked a little apprehensive, but quickly covered it. I wondered whether I should ask him more about what else he had read about the fairies…but decided that could wait. "Well, I'm afraid it looks like we might have to be up here for a while," I said, knowing I was stating the obvious. He nodded, careful not to look downwards as he tilted his head.

"Yeah." My admiration for him increased further, and I tried to think of a way to help him. However, I knew there was no way that I could carry him all the way through the forest, :especially if he insists on digging his fingernails so hard into my shoulders:

"Look…I know this is going to be hard, but we need to move quickly. And I can't carry you all the time."

"I know," he nodded. I was still searching for an idea, and made idle chatter to pass the time. I said my thoughts aloud; thinking aloud had always helped me come up with ideas in the past…maybe it would help again.

"So…we need to find a way for you to get over your fear of heights."

"Sounds…ominous…" he joked, and I laughed a little at his attempted bravado. :So brave – courageous even. No wonder he's been chosen…: I slouched slightly so that I could look him in the eye. The idea that had come into my mind was ideal…but not ideal, at the same time. It would take some degree of pretence on my part.

"What if I could make a spell that would make it impossible for you to fall?" I said, internally muttering a spell-mantra. The breezes that brushed past us warmed slightly, wrapping the both of us in a blanket of comforting warm air.

"Well, that would be…that would be wonderful!" he spluttered – guilt threatened to break me, but I dismissed it. This white lie would instil in him a confidence that nothing else would give him. And that would make our journey faster.

"Good, I've already done it. Now…let's go." I got to my feet, and helped him to his. I willed the warm pocket of air to press closer, stilling the rest of the atmosphere all around. It was a simple enough spell – and now that it was made, it would linger for an hour or so. Hopefully, we'd be a good deal further on our journey by then (:and on the ground as well too, Gods willing.:) I allowed Rufus to enjoy the falsified feeling of safety as I looked for the best path through the trees. I had to make it easy enough for him, without making it too obvious that I was holding us back.

…Time passed…the sun fell low to the horizon, and the world beneath the leaves dimmed. Things were beginning to fall into blue/grey shadows, the trees looking menacing as they thrust upwards from the distant ground. The Kargoroks had swooped away to roost for the night, leaving the sky above to the Peahats, who would also soon be settling down to rest for the dark hours. Briefly, a shaft of sunlight fell through the canopy, dazzling the Hylian, causing him to slip. Having trusted the spell and the idle chat of the past two hours, he looked shocked as he tumbled, and was grabbed only at the last second.

Rufus was frozen in place, having finally realised that my 'spell' was merely a placebo. I wasn't nearly good enough with my magic to conjure a spell to stop him falling – even if I was, the concentration needed to maintain such a spell would have made it impossible to go on anyway. I'd supplied him with a simple warming spell to make him feel more comfortable…that was all. The Hylian had perhaps trusted in the spell a little too much, as he had attempted to copy one of my jumps between the trees, rather than waiting for me to collect him. This had resulted in his nearly plummeting over forty feet down…it was only pure luck that I turned around when I did! :Had I not…I dread to think…:

I looked down at the lad, seeing that all the fear had flooded back into him, alongside veiled anger and resentment. Carefully, I settled down next to him, staring blankly at the tree trunk above his head. The guilt had been building up inside me ever since I'd started the lie; he'd been so trusting, ready to follow me and believe all that I said. I was supposed to be guarding him…but I didn't want to deceive him to do it! "Sorry," I managed to whisper.

"You lied," he said back, tone accusative. I almost physically flinched at the coldness in his voice.

"I know…we…we had to get moving," I said, trying to justify my actions to myself as well as him. "Sorry," I repeated, feeling wretched. He inhaled deeply and managed to lift his head to look up at me.

"It's all right," he murmured gently. "I suppose it worked, didn't it?" We both laughed awkwardly, the sound strange in the still forest. When the eerie echoes had died away, he ventured, hopefully, "Maybe we can try travelling on the ground again?"

"Maybe," I agreed, albeit hesitantly. I didn't want it to seem as though I would try and mislead him again. "Look…what if I go down and scout around? If it's safe, I'll come back and we'll go down together. Sound good?"

"Sound great…I just hope it is safe," he said emphatically, dropping his head and closing his eyes again. I nodded, and promised,

"I'll be quick." Then, I bounded from the tree limb, going as fast as I could in the growing gloom. My eyes adjusted quickly to the murk lower down, and the world slid into shades of grey and black. There was no movement other than that of the leaves – but I wasn't going to take any chances. I paused on a low branch, not much over eight feet up, and searched out with my mind for anything nearby – dangerous or friendly… The pictures that my senses gave back to me were both worrying and confusing.

Though I could see nothing moving, hear nothing breathing, hear no thudding hearts, smell no strong scents, or indeed feel the hairs prickling on the back of my neck, as they always did when something came near…even though my finely tuned senses told me nothing…

My magic told me that there were dozens of creatures surrounding me – above, below, all around. :But why can I only find them with magic: Perplexed, I reached out for the only other magic I knew of. :Dragmire! If this is you playing tricks, I'll-: But I knew it couldn't be him. I moved my hand, thinking to get out the stone and hail Red. I stopped, heart in my mouth, as a terrible thought came into my head. :Rufus: These invisible presences… I had to see that he was safe.

Looking up, I couldn't catch sight of the branch that I'd left him on through the thick leaves. Cursing, I sped upwards, feet barely touching the bark of one branch before I'd already leapt for the next. I my haste, I nearly missed a jump completely, and had to fling my right arm outwards to catch myself and swing up. Then, it was more jumping, springing like a crazed grasshopper, back to the place where I had left the boy I was to protect.

And Rufus was not there. His green hat lay over the branch, the pointed end dangling downwards with the pull of gravity. I called for him, but he didn't answer. I went back to the ground, sick to the stomach as I feared he'd fallen to his death without me there to catch him. There was nothing – not a disturbed leaf – no a cracked twig – nothing to tell me where he'd gone. The mysterious presences were far away now, and dwindling fast.

Desperately, feeling like I was clutching at straws, I bounded after them, trying to keep them in my 'sights' as it were. "Oh Gods," I hissed to myself as I hurried along, making a lot more noise than I normally would have done in my panic. But, whatever they were, they were fast – too fast even for a Sheikah! I put on a burst of speed, recalling many races I'd had back on Opacus Isle. I knew I was fast, even by my people's standards. These things were…phenomenal.

A tree root, unseen, was my undoing. I caught my foot in it (the same foot I had injured on Dragon Roost). With a hastily stifled cry, I crashed to the floor, sliding through the leaf-litter and rolling over and over until I came to rest against the base of a particularly ancient-looking tree. Leaves and twigs were in my hair, and dirt was in my mouth – my facemask had unravelled and lay as a white gash on the black ground.

They were gone.

Dun, dun, dun!

OMG, I used the word 'foible'. Is that not just the best word ever? Foible. A shortcoming or fault. A foible. It just sounds so funny when you say it. Foy-bull. Fantastic.

Anyway. Yes. That was a chapter. Whee! Review and feed me!

Soda

PS: This in honour of Lossemare, who finished her exams, and despite panicking, has told me she did pretty well! Well-done m'dear! (Or should that be 'Miss. Scary nasty bug-eyed monster evil thing'?) :Grins: