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CHAPTER 12
The Hunter and the Hunted.
They didn't spend much time resting on the safety of beach, before Ilye decided that they were wasting time. Jace and Iris both found Ilye's sudden urge to get going a bit frustrating, as she'd usually be the one wanting to sit around and rest or explore.
"So, where to, Jace?" Ilye asked.
Jace seemed to ponder on her question. Given he'd never been here, he didn't know for sure. He felt if he were to give her a straight answer, he'd be lying. "I dunno, Ilye." he paused, then continued "Let's find a place to call base. Looks like we'll need to explore the island a bit to get to know it."
"Lovely." Ilye muttered. "Alright, if you say so."
Jace looked to Iris with a raised brow. She just got weirder and weirder today, and they couldn't understand why. Skits could sense that Ilye was tense about something, or antsy. It worried Skits a little more than it did Jace and Iris because the aura she was letting off just seemed odd. Maybe it was the fact that even Jace knew nothing of the island, so it made her nervous?
As time passed, Jace eventually found a little grotto in an earthy wall, which was covered completely in plants. The whole island so far seemed to be littered with grottos, but this one seemed the most secure as far as the ones they've seen goes, what with it being hidden in foliage and all. He moved all the plants away and motioned everyone in, before following behind. Little had they known, Skreemin was following them far behind. He didn't see where they hid, however, and was puzzled as to where they disappeared to when he arrived near the hidden grotto seeing as he didn't reach the point till they were inside.
"Alright... I know I saw them come this way." He looked around, and it was a dead end. The jungle stopped at this point of the wall, and to go anywhere else, you'd have to turn back and take a different path. "They've gotta be hiding somewhere..." He took this chance to sit down and take a drink of some water out of sight. He didn't want to take a chance of running them off by trying to find them… They were sure to come out eventually, where ever they were.
Deep inside the grotto lead into a small earthy cavern with no light at all. The only lighting there was were the eyes of the three deku scrubs in there. It was a large and deep cave. This being the case, Jace warned them that they should probably be quiet so not to disturb anything that might be hiding in there... It was uncharted land on their behalf, so it was sure to have wild animals. Ilye was edgy, and had her hand near the hilt of her sword almost the whole time.
"Ilye,-" Jace whispered "I know I said there may be things living in here, but chill out..."
Ilye whispered back "S-sorry."
Jace sighed and pulled out a map, hoping that the map that covered the West may have some kind of information on this island. However, it wasn't even marked or named, so hope of learning about where they were at is gone.
"Yup, we're just gonna have to explore..." Iris said before Jace could. She seemed nervous about it, and added "I don't think we're prepared well enough for this, hon. We have no food, and we drank most of the water on the way. Plenty of sunlight, sure, but we need water to go with it."
Jace was aware that she had a point. Deku scrubs don't necessarily need to eat. Their leaves can take in the sunlight, acting as their fuel, and water has the same effects. Though, too much sunlight can indeed dry them out and dehydrate them- especially here in this severe West heat, so they'd need moisture to balance it out.
The boy stood up and sighed, realizing that they couldn't just up and explore the island blindly without proper care for themselves. He looked to his fiancé, and began "You girls stay here. I'm gonna go see if I can find a way to refill our supply of water, and maybe find some fruit or something. Maybe while I'm at it, I can see if I can find any clues to where we may need to go next."
Fruit, being moist and juicy, can make good back up if no water is present.
Iris didn't like that, but not nearly as much as Ilye seemed not to.
"Jace, you be careful out there..." Iris said. "You don't know what's on this strange island."
Ilye finally spoke up, sounding surprisingly demanding. "You're not going without us, it's foolish."
Jace raised a brow at Ilye's sudden order, "Would you like to explain your attitude, Ilye...?" Jace asked in a rather frustrated tone.
"I just think you're being reckless. It's dangerous out there." Ilye responded, though feeling sheepish for sounding rude. "You know nothing of this place."
Jace scoffed, "What bug crawled in your leaves...?" he responded, then added with a hint of optimism "Ilye, I'll be fine. I've done this countless times in my life, I think I can handle adventuring more new terrain."
That didn't seem to ease Ilye any, but she agreed to stick back with Iris and Skits. Jace threw his rucksack around himself and fastened his sword, before Iris held him and kissed him.
"Please don't get hurt out there..." Iris added worriedly. She agreed with Ilye that Jace going alone wasn't a good idea, but there really isn't much to do to change Jace's mind once he's decided on something.
"I'll be fine, babe. The minute I find something, I'll come straight back and we can recuperate before we head out." Jace let her hand go, and began the walk through the dark tunnel corridor. Ilye watched the floor, looking as if she was deep in thought... Something was eating at her mind, and it made her worry. She just felt like running out there and dragging Jace back into the cavern's safety.
Skreemin quickly found himself scrambling to put his things away when he saw Jace come walking through the jungle plants. "Where'd he-!?"
It came to his notice that the two girls weren't present. He smirked a smirk only a deku would notice, thinking about going in and taking care of the girls while Jace is gone, now that he knew their hiding spot. But, then again... He could follow Jace and kill him off when his friends are no where near. THEN he could go back and kill off the others, knowing Jace wouldn't come running back to make a daring rescue. He wasn't really sure what to do, but he had to decide quick, because Jace was getting further away as he vanished into the tropical jungle. Skreemin finally just began following Jace as he made sure he had his bow ready.
The jungle so far was lush in plants Jace had never seen before. He wasn't too sure if picking fruit from some of these trees would be a good idea having known nothing about them. All the while as he ventured deeper, some of the plants seemed actively dangerous to some degree. Very few types seemed to be sentient as they would reach for Jace upon walking by. He kept his dagger out, and had to cut some of them to avoid being hurt. Skreemin was having some issues with these plants as well while trying to silently follow Jace. And our deku assassin didn't have a blade, so had to make do with an arrow as a spear. He was too busy trying to silently watch his own back to be able to really get a chance to shoot at Jace.
As Jace walked on, he never did have any luck finding water. He saw some familiar-looking fruit sitting at the feet of the high trees as he reached a small clearing, though. He gave a satisfied exclamation now that he'd found something he was looking for. Jace examined the ones on the ground, which were rotten and eaten away by bugs. And the ones in the tree were too small, they wouldn't have much juice in them. Skreemin finally found a chance to take a shot, and readied an arrow and tried to shoot Jace, but Jace had leaned down to grab a nicer looking fruit off the ground just as the arrow whooshed by. The blond deku stood up fast when he heard the whoosh. His leaves twitched in an alerted manner, ready to fight if need be. "... Hello?" He said. No answer came, and he didn't see anyone nearby. He hadn't seen the arrow, as it landed in a nearby cluster of vines. His eyes carefully scanned the area. He began to think he was hearing things, or a bird flew by… He growled a bit in concern, and dropped the fruit for it having been contaminated by bugs.
"Son of a-" Skreemin had to stop himself in mid complaint to keep from being spotted. He swore he'd try hard to make this that one mission where he didn't get spotted when by himself. Usually, be it a heist or something else, he was always spotted if he was alone. 'I'm kinda surprised he hadn't seen me already.'
More cautious, Jace began walking away to continue searching. Skreemin ran over to retrieve his arrow from the vines, before trying to catch up with Jace. He kept swearing in his mind over missing.
Jace sighed, feeling as if he'd been looking forever. Just as he was about to turn back around, he thought he heard the trickling of water nearby. A leaf twitched curiously and a look of intrigue took to his face. He followed the sound, and found yet another hole that lead into the earth. This one lead down a ways, and he found himself deep below the ground in a dark, glittering cave when he climbed down through the hole. Glittering, of course, from his glowing eyes hitting the shining crystalline walls. The trickling sound was coming from a water way that lead through the tunnel. Jace got on one knee and cupped some water in his hands. He drank some, only to spit it out in disgust. "Ugh! Well, can't drink that, it's salt water. This water runs in from the ocean." His face had a snarl on it, only seen by the wrinkle on the top of his snout. He looked at the water for a bit, interested about the setting of the cavern. All the while, Skreemin was listening in on Jace. He'd follow, but the first thing Skreemin noticed was that at the low level Jace was at, Jace's eyes lit up the area due to how dark the cave was. If Skreemin went down there too, Jace would certainly notice a brighter change in lighting.
"Well, this is crappy luck." Skreemin said to himself. He tried to aim an arrow down there, but Jace wasn't within accurate aiming range. Skreemin was getting quite impatient at this moment. It didn't help this jungle was constantly getting in the way or trying to kill anyone who stepped foot in it, so actually following Jace was a task in itself, otherwise Jace would be dead with an arrow through his chest right now. Though, one upside, is that it seems this cavern is filled with valuable ores. Mostly, crystal. Rupees filled the thief's sight at this moment, and he figured he should return here once the trio of clowns are pushing up daisies. Sure, he'll get his reward for killing them, but spoiling himself with some extra early pay wont hurt, right?
"Man, it's real beautiful down here." Jace spoke, his voice echoing. He found himself scanning the glimmering walls of crystal, and he was fighting the urge to grab some. There were other ores as well that'd prove useful for forging weapons and armor. He could take some of these to the gorons, and either sell them for a lot, or make something. He finally broke, and laid his rucksack down. "I guess a few wont hurt... Not like anyone will miss it anyway."
Jace took out a dagger and shoved it between two loose crystals, and began wedging them out.
'Hey, you better leave those for me, compost-breath…' Skreemin thought to himself.
As Jace finished up, he put the small ores away in his rucksack. He had to re-situate the items in his rucksack, though. It was getting a bit crowded in there. "Those should do. I only have so much room."
He threw his rucksack around himself carefully, then began to head out. Just as Skreemin noticed Jace coming, he made a mad dash from the entrance and hid over behind a bush. Jace came walking out, and started to head back. He might as well get the girls so they can start searching the island for leads to the next light spirit, and the next light vessel. Though, he dreaded returning without water or fruit.
"Where're you going, boy?"
Jace jumped and looked back, seeing a woman come out of the cavern hole. He was shocked, having never seen her in there before… She wore puffy white pants and a top that only covered her chest. She had jewelry around her neck, arms, and ankles. She had red hair that was pulled up in a pony tail, and her skin was dark. She had a sword sheathed at her side, and Jace knew he was instantly in trouble.
"I'm not looking for trouble."
"You came looking for trouble when you stole my ores!" She unsheathed her sword, leaving Jace to have no choice but to drop his belongings and unsheathe his sword as well. Though, it was dwarfed in size compared to this dark-skinned Terminian woman's.
Skreemin was just as shocked as Jace was. Blondie here was quite popular all of a sudden, and everyone was out to kill him. He watched as a fight unfolded before him. Skreemin was observing every move they made- mostly Jace. If he did ever have to go toe-to-toe with Jace, he'd want to know what to expect. As Jace made a violent swipe at the woman's arm, he was successful in harming her by leaving a slit in her arm. The woman quickly retaliated and slashed at Jace- who just barely avoided it by bending backwards onto one hand.
"What is your deal!?" Jace shouted as he was dodging swings.
"You came into rogue pirate territory, boy. You stepped onto our turf and stole from us, and I'm afraid that's a crime I can't ignore."
Jace threw back her swings left and right. She tried ignoring the pain in some of the slashes Jace had made at her, and proved physically stronger than her little deku scrub foe. She took her foot and kicked him in the gut and chest just hard enough to knock the breath out of him, but light enough to not send him flying. As he was dazed, she took her sword and swung against his, knocking it straight out of his hands. Had Jace known she was watching him back there underground, he'd have been more prepared, or hightailed it without the ores. This was all really sudden, and was quickly starting to look bad.
Meanwhile, back at the cave where Ilye and Iris were... Iris sat silently as she held Skits, when suddenly, Ilye's head came up quickly, her eyes wide as if she'd seen a ghost. "...!" she flew to her feet, wasting no time as she gathered her things.
"Ilye, what's wrong!?" Iris jumped to her feet, but Ilye didn't answer. She went running out of the cave as fast as her short legs could, Iris being forced to follow behind. She was worried all of a sudden for Ilye's off actions. "Ilye, answer me!"
The pirate was much taller than Jace, making it a bit difficult for him. He weaved around her to avoid her grasp, when suddenly she kicked him again- this time hard enough to throw him a distance, the deku boy colliding back-first with one of the tropic trees. The pain shot through his back, and he let out a rare deku's squeak... Rather, rare for him. He slid to the ground as he groaned in pain. The sunlight was blotted out by the shadow looming over him, and he looked up... Cornered. He pushed his back against the tree as if hoping he'd somehow get away when he saw her reach down for him.
Skreemin was still hiding in the bushes. He had to wonder if he wouldn't have to do anything at all... Leaving her to do his dirty work saved him arrows.
"You men are all the same, no matter the race." She growled contemptibly "Always thinking about themselves. They're selfish and grabby, everything they see- they see as theirs. And they care not for the possessions of others."
Jace squirmed breathlessly in her grasp. His eyes grew wide when he noticed her bring her sword up. "Stop, I have no quarrel with you! You think I'm after what you're after, but I swear I have no interest in the ores and treasures here!"
His eyes darted around to look for an answer to his issue, but for once, instinctive deku scrub panic was taking hold... He was honestly panicking beyond thought. He didn't feel comfortable since his feet weren't on the ground and he couldn't go anywhere. He'd shoot a deku nut- even if his aim was terrible- but she held him in a way that made him breathless, so he couldn't build up the air to shoot one anyway. He had no weapon, no help, nothing. He only glanced for a moment at his sword on the ground.
"Quit your blabbering... I know what you're after. I'm not stupid, I saw those ores in your bag down there, you are after them!"
Jace regretted picking those up now... He had no clue anyone else had interest in them.
The woman held Jace to her as she placed the blade at his little neck, and she continued. "You take something of mine, I take something of yours... Deal?"
"No, no deal!" Jace growled. He refused to mention he had allies on the island, in fear she'd go after them. "Take the friggin ores, I don't care!"
"Too late, young man..." She soon felt going for the throat for an instant kill wouldn't do it. She needed to let him live, but send him off with a warning, so he wouldn't dare come back to take more. The boy's eyes were locked on the sword, as she moved it from his throat... He was perplexed now. His little heart raced in his chest, so much he felt he could hear it. She placed the blade right above his left shoulder without doing anything. Skreemin winced a little, already seeing what she was planning to do- only wincing at imagining the pain alone, but didn't really care since it wasn't himself in her grasp. Though, he was starting to get that she may not kill him... Just leave him stranded after she's maimed him to punish him for stealing from her. Looked like Skreemin still had a job to do if that was the case.
"I noticed you're left handed by the way you hold a sword... Those ores are valuable to me, so I'll take something valuable of yours..."
It hit him before she even said a thing. He was about to lose his arm! He knew if he squirmed, it'd cause the blade to pierce his skin anyway. He was too scared to even say a word. All he could do was plea to the gods to give him a miracle... To spare him. If he lost his arm, he'd pretty much be a sitting duck through the rest of the journey… Or die bleeding to death out here since the girls didn't know he was in trouble. Either way, it wouldn't end well.
"AHH!" the boy suddenly cried out, his pained scream echoed through the area from the shock and agony that suddenly surged through his shoulder. She sunk the blade enough to pierce him, and tears began rolling down his face. He was done for it seemed...
Skreemin's head shot into the direction of two others as they came running into the scene. He swore under his breath and hid better.
"JACE!" Iris screamed in horror at what she saw, causing the pirate to turn to her.
"You've got friends, eh?" She commented. Ilye gave no verbal response, but pushed Iris aside and came raging towards the pirate with her sword drawn without a single warning. She leapt up and slashed the sword at the woman's side, leaving a horrendous gash. The pirate woman dropped Jace with a scream, and he shouted before laying on the ground holding his bleeding shoulder.
"Holy crap..." Skreemin said lowly... "Huh... I guess I see why these weeds are a problem, they're pretty nutsy... At least that one girl is."
The woman wasn't expecting such speed from Ilye, and the woman hunched over holding her side. Ilye's eyes were burning furiously. Her very spirit roared with the warning, that she will kill, as the flames of her spirit raged rapidly. This enraged behavior was both shocking and terrifying to Jace and Iris, as they'd never seen it in Ilye before... And the pirate seemed intimidated as well. She growled and groaned in agony at the deep cut caused by Ilye, before running off injured without a word. Skits flew out of the trees and onto Iris' head, looking over worriedly at Jace, given Iris was already over to Jace helping him up. Ilye was taking deep breaths to let her anger wear down. She glanced back at Iris, who seemed to look at Ilye as if she herself had felt such anger before. That instinctive urge to attack to protect without question was a common Hylian deku trait… Or mad scrub trait. It was a wild and primitive trait that made a lot of Hylian scrubs dangerous. Iris had felt it often when back in Hyrule when she felt she or something special to her was at risk, and she was sure of it now, that Ilye HAD to be from Hyrule... With such a temper.
Ilye felt the utmost urge to do anything to save Jace from his near-fate. She was given so little time to react, she had to do something risky. She looked around for anymore signs of danger, but all seemed clear.
Skreemin had to turn his face when she looked in his direction, otherwise she'd have seen his glowing eyes in the dark of the jungle. He sighed, feeling a bit frustrated that the pirate didn't get to do what she wanted. He had to admit, it'd have made his job that much easier. Like hunting a deer that'd already been shot, the boy wouldn't have been able to put up much of a fight. Though, even now he probably wouldn't. But his friends can.
"..." He stared for a moment after Ilye turned away again. He was thinking to himself on what to do. He had to make a shot, but that'd alert his presence to the other two, and he was still outnumbered by them... He was tired of following them around though. He silently removed his bow from around him, and reached back for an arrow. He figured if matters took a turn for the worst, he'd just dodge and try his best to shoot them all. He looked around the vicinity for any quick points of escape if things got out of hand. And for back up, he had his slingshot if something happens to his bow. He was most afraid of what Ilye could do after seeing how swift she was. From what he saw, the girl wearing purple was busy helping blond-boy up, and didn't look all that tough... So the girl with the braided leaves- Ilye- seemed the most capable of attacking back if he shot at the couple.
"Alright then... I'll go for you..." Skreemin said just below a whisper.
"Are you okay, Jace?" Ilye asked as she approached them. Iris was scanning over the wound closely. It looked deep in his shoulder. Jace had a tear run down his face, but he looked to Ilye and nodded lightly, trying hard not to pay any mind to his shoulder. She continued "Good... We need to get that cleaned and bandaged pronto... Don't want it getting infected since we're out here in the middle of nowhere."
Skits cawed in agreement to Ilye, and smiled at Jace.
"How-... You were fast Ilye..." Jace commented. "If not for you, I'd probably be laying here bleeding to death and missing an arm." Jace uttered, still looking as if he was terrified. His heart wouldn't stop racing, and he kept laying his hand on his shoulder as if to check if he still had his arm- even after he knew he did. Iris was holding him up on his feet, given he took quite a beating before the whole shoulder thing.
Ilye winced "You still are kinda bleeding to death... Just... Slower."
"Bleeding to death may be over-exaggerating a bit." He force-chuckled lightly. Though, he still looked pretty bloodied up.
"I'll grab your things. Let's head back to the cave, and we'll get you cleaned up." Ilye said. Jace was surprised how mature Ilye was acting. She was usually very childish, even after fights. She seemed like the type who'd take this victory and over celebrate it. But... He began noticing a deep change in her attitude from the moment they stepped foot on the island. She seemed more alert and cautious.
Suddenly, the sound of a whoosh zipped through the air and a terrified warning caw from Skits sounded out at the same time. Within a split second of the sound, Jace and Iris shouted in horror as an arrow flew out from nowhere and into Ilye's side! Ilye gasped in breathless pain as her eyes went wide in shock. She whimpered a bit, before falling straight to the ground. Skits flew high into the trees in terror as Iris placed her hands over her snout.
"Oh my goddesses! ILYE!" Iris screamed. Jace was falling into panic again as he looked for the source of the arrow. He soon realized he didn't have the time! Someone was watching them, and there could be more! Skreemin was trying to ready another arrow after noticing they were just planning to run. Knowing they wont look for the attacker just makes things better, but he needed to be quick! But his hurried actions made him drop the next arrow. He reached for it quickly, and tried setting it in place.
"Iris, get Ilye, now!" Jace ordered. Just as he moved, he heard another whooshack zip by, and the arrow missed him by a hair and hit a tree. With the second he looked in the direction it came from, he saw a familiar-looking light, much like the light that emanated from his own race. He didn't have time to investigate, though. Skreemin looked away to reach for and ready another arrow as he cursed under his breath for missing. This kid was getting on his nerves.
Iris was having trouble picking Ilye up off the ground without causing her pain. Jace needed to give them time, and reached for the arrow that missed him and ripped it from the tree it hit before and threw it in the direction of his attacker, much like he throws his daggers. This made him wince in pain because of his shoulder, but he didn't care. He still couldn't see his attacker well, but hope it did something. This caused Skreemin to move swiftly in panic so the arrow wouldn't hit him. By this point, it saved Iris enough time to escape with Ilye, and Jace was quick to follow. Skreemin went to run out after them, but stopped. They'd already vanished in the thick jungle.
"Crap!" Skreemin exclaimed. "Now I gotta find 'em again!" he stopped to pick up the arrow Jace threw and put it with his other arrows. He sighed, then added "At least I hit one. She's good as dead anyway... There's not much they can do about a wound like that without medical help. Goodluck finding that on an island filled with underground pirates." He laughed a bit, but was still driven to find them again.
Jace was running ahead of Iris as she carried Ilye. Jace glanced back at Ilye as she lay in Iris' arms coiled up in pain. The sounds of her agonized and held back crying killed him. He may not have lost an arm, but if he didn't find help he'd lose something far more important... Iris was scared beyond words, and just followed Jace in hopes of him finding shelter. This run and search went on forever, and they were growing hot and tired. Jace's shoulder was still in really bad shape, and Ilye was hanging by a thread as it was.
Jace stopped when he reached a small stream with a waterfall, panting insanely fast. His eyes darted from one thing to another desperately. He looked back at Iris, who looked as if she'd faint. Jace swallowed, "Hold on, Iris..." He walked into the water, and it went up to his hips. He had to be careful not to get swept away. But he was dead-set determined to find somewhere they could hide until he found help... Which honestly seemed like a long shot, given he assumed the only ones on the island were pirates... He went to walk to the other side of the stream, but there was nothing. No cave, no grottos, nothing. He walked back across towards Iris.
He finally dropped to his knees on land, and he motioned Iris to lay Ilye on the ground gently. She did so, then sat down next to her. Ilye was taking deep breathes, and Jace laid his face in his palms, still panting from running "This can't be happening..."
Iris looked at her fiancé as her leaves pinned back in trepidation. "Jace, we tried."
"No! We're not stopping... Ilye is making it off this island alive with us!" Jace answered in a determined and snappy fashion. His mind was racing through a hundred things a minute, trying to think of what to do next. And who shot at them!? They seemed very keen on killing them. He was feeling too frantic to think clearly, a friend was dying right in front of him.
"G-guys... W-why don't we search a little further on? There's gotta be somewhere we can rest without b-being out in the open..." Ilye spoke, her voice broken in pain. She laid her hand at her side where the arrow was lodged, then winced.
Jace nodded "I swear, we'll figure something out..." He looked to Iris, who just nodded in understanding. She lifted Ilye up, and followed Jace through the stream. Jace would've carried her, but it would be too much on his shoulder at the moment. So for Ilye's safety, Iris would have to carry her. Iris was soon thinking about Skits, worried for his safety. Him having disappeared, she was hoping some wild monster didn't catch him.
Time dragged on, before they finally stumbled onto a small grotto at the foot of a tree. It was covered in plants at it's entrance, thus hiding it well. The deku boy let out a sigh of relief, then walked over. He motioned for Iris to stay where she was in case some wild animal was living in it.
He unsheathed his sword- wincing at his shoulder while doing so- and moved the plants with it. The darkness of the jungle's canopy helped his eyes shine a little brighter, and it lit up the small grotto for a short distance. There was nothing present to be living in here, so Jace urged Iris to come over.
"Is it safe?" Iris asked.
"Yup, nothing in there." Jace responded. With that, Iris went in with Ilye still in her arms, and Jace followed close after, closing off the entrance with the plants again. Jace was thankful but curious about the Island's many hidden hidey-holes. Something had to have made these. Right now, nothing was here, and was their only form of protection from whatever may be lurking about in the jungle.
"Ilye, I'm gonna need your bag for a minute." The boy spoke softly. Ilye nodded, and Iris leaned her up a bit so Jace could reach into the bag strapped to her back. He pulled out her sleeping mat and he laid it on the ground, then unlatched her bag from around her and laid it by her. "Here Iris, lay her down here."
Ilye was placed gently on the soft mat after removing her travel bag, and she breathed in a bit and winced. Jace put his rucksack at his side, and he began digging through it for anything he may need. "I still have that medicine I bought back in Yuriko village from that Keaton Merchant, but I don't know how much I can do with that arrow lodged in her side... We'd need professional medical help on removing that, because it's... Pretty deep." The boy said, determent filling his tone. "She's losing a lot of blood, but even if I knew how to remove the arrow, there's no way I would be able to stop the excess bleeding for after it's pulled. I don't have enough bandages. For now, only thing we can do is slow down the bleeding and pray it didn't puncture anything vital."
Iris sat down next to him, and reached in and searched through Jace's rucksack. Jace saw a cloth in there, and he grabbed it. He looked at it, then at his canteen. It was low on water, but probably had just enough to put on the cloth. He took off the canteen lid and poured water all over the cloth, then sat the canteen down.
"Ilye, this is going to hurt a little... Don't worry, though, I'm not pulling the arrow. But I may poke at it a bit. In advance, I'm sorry."
Ilye just laid with her eyes closed, nodding weakly. She tensed up when he began pressing the cloth at her side around the arrow. He held the cloth at the area where it was bleeding most to stop it, then pressed a little. This made Ilye cry out briefly with every light press, before relaxing just a bit. She was still really tense, though. She was hurting so bad, she felt she was gonna be sick.
"..." Jace remained silent, quietly feeling bad for making her pain worse. But he had to stop the bleeding somehow.
"Thank you, Jace." She uttered.
Jace's leaves twitched at her sudden speaking, and he blinked. He soon answered with a sincere "You're welcome.", paused, then continued "I owe you this much."
"It's a good thing you still have two arms." Ilye smirked a little, looking as if the pain was intensifying. She'd grown weak from loss of blood. Though, what Ilye said made Jace chuckle a bit given she was trying to be a little humorous. Iris smiled weakly. At least she was still herself. Ilye finally just couldn't bear her pain, and she fainted, scaring the couple after seeing her slowly fall limp. Jace panicked and called Iris over to feel for a pulse in her wrist, only to be relieved to see Iris nod.
"She just fainted." Iris murmured as she gently let Ilye's hand rest at her side again. Iris could only sit back, as nothing else could be done. The blond boy couldn't take the fact that he failed her though. If he didn't do something soon, she would die. It was a miracle the arrow hadn't killed her upon the moment it got lodged into her. Jace was still thinking about who shot it, though. And did they follow? They certainly didn't give up after shooting Ilye, as Jace became the next target.
Time passed, and Ilye was getting cold from the loss of blood, but she never stopped breathing thankfully. Jace never left her side, and he neglected his own hideous wound for the sake of Ilye's. Iris explored the grotto a bit, trying to see if she could find something of use, maybe a tunnel. Occasionally, she'd look back to Jace to see how he was doing, only to see him looking at Ilye in guilt. She finally went to go sit down, and she tried sparking conversation with Jace.
As they talked, they were unaware that they also sparked the attention of something nearby. Deep in the grotto, was an unnoticed hole which Iris scanned right over without noticing before. In the darkness of the grotto, a little head popped out of the hole. This creature was furry and had large ears. They were wearing goggles and brown overalls and looked as if they'd been digging, as they were covered in dirt. They had a long mouse-like tail and wing-like fins folded at their sides which connected to it's arms. Hearing the couple talk, it flicked an ear curiously. It stayed in the hole for a bit, holding a pickax. Upon realizing they were taking shelter with one of their own who appeared to be resting, it started to wonder if they weren't any harm? They were new faces, and such a creature like a deku was not said to live on the island.
It slowly crept out of the hole and towards the couple in the dark. Jace flicked a leaf when hearing something, and saw a shadow move in the dark of the grotto's wall, looking about their size. He glared, feeling it might've been whoever shot at them before. "Who's there!? Are you the one who attacked us!?"
The little creature jumped, having not intended to be spotted. It squeaked a scared response "I-I have no intention to a-attack, really!"
Jace hopped to his feat and unsheathed his dagger, given it was lighter than his sword and easier on his shoulder. For some reason, Jace didn't believe it. In his mind, they could simply be trying to trick them. At this point, he wasn't quite sure who to trust on the island. Iris had to hop up and stop Jace, feeling their visitor was honest.
"Jace, stop! I think they're telling the truth! Let's not be rash!"
Jace growled under his breath "You're not usually so trusting. Someone is out there hunting us, Iris. We can't trust everyone we meet."
Before Iris could respond, the little furry character dropped his pickax and raised his hands "P-please, visitor, I really wont hurt you!"
Jace looked the person over from afar. First thing he noticed, was that they carried a pickax, and didn't appear to have a bow. They were shaking, and were truly scared.
He backed off slightly, putting away his dagger. Though, any signs of violent intentions, he'd be quick to jump back to his dagger in a heart beat. Iris sighed a breath of relief knowing he wasn't gonna jump a possibly innocent islander. Then she became surprised that someone else aside from pirates were on the island... She turned to them, and spoke. "I'm sorry... We just had a terrible experience not long ago. We were attacked by a pirate, and then something else."
The little creature had a look of shock on his face "Oh my! W-well, I guess I understand your distrust..."
"Do you live on this island?" Iris asked.
The little creature nodded "Yup, I'm assuming you don't though... I've never seen creatures like you before."
"Wha-...?" Jace was taken aback "You've never seen a deku scrub before?"
"Deku... Scrub...? Nope." he paused, then added "You guys are quite strange looking." he tilted his head, trying to figure out how they spoke without a moving mouth. Thus was a mystery to a lot of people, actually.
"Okay, well, that's all interesting, but we're in dire need of help right now..." Jace had paid no mind to being called weird. His only concern was that there seemed to be an advanced race living here, so they may be able to help. His only worry was that the person who shot them could be a part of their race. This little character didn't have glowing eyes though, so Jace could be wrong. He added "Please, our friend is dying and she needs help badly."
The little creature looked concerned upon their plea for help, and walked over to Ilye. He was shocked to see an arrow lodged in her side. "Ah! W-well what're we waiting for? Come with me."
Jace sighed, and motioned Iris to get Ilye. Once she had her, Jace put their things away and grabbed Ilye's bag. The little creature waited for them to follow, and continued through his tunnel once they were ready.
"By that injury, I'm assuming you guys will be with us for a bit. You guys can call me Tuk. I'm one of the miners of my tribe, to let you know."
"So that explains the tunnel and pickax." Jace added, looking around at the tunnel's earthy walls.
"What're your names? Do deku shrubs- er, scrubs, have names?"
"Of course we do." Iris responded "I'm Iris, and this is Jace-" she'd have pointed to Jace, but she couldn't for obvious reasons. "And our friend here is Ilye." she was about to introduce Skits, but remembered he'd vanished... She suddenly felt a bit sad. But, chances are, he'll find them as usual and that he's fine.
"If you don't mind my asking... What are you, Tuk? I've never seen your kind either." Jace asked curiously.
Tuk flicked an ear "I'm a Tikoon."
"Tikoon, huh?" Jace looked to Iris with a raised brow. He then rubbed his injured shoulder, the cut still hurting and dripping bloody sap. It must've gone pretty deep, and was still feeling some trauma at the thought of losing his arm, and how he would have had Iris and Ilye not shown up. He then had to wonder how they knew he was in danger...? He hadn't called for help, and there was no way that they heard his screams and got there that quickly. He glanced at Ilye, hoping she'd be alright, and was thankful for her quick work on the pirate. Still, he was bewildered.
Elsewhere, Drigos found himself eating some unfortunate thing he hunted when Skreemin found him. He couldn't say he was happy to see him, but the feeling was mutual with Drigos.
"I see you don't have the carcass of any of our wanted targets." the Dragalfos teased as he enjoyed his snack.
Skreemin gave a slight look of disgust, though feeling no pity for the creature that thing once was that Drigos was tearing apart. He spat "Shut up! At least I hit one, and she's good as dead anyway. And if she's not, I'll find 'em and finish the job."
Drigos didn't look impressed, and shrugged.
Skreemin then added "At least I'm actually doing my job. It's pretty hard to hunt people when the jungle is trying to kill you at every turn."
Drigos was hoping maybe the jungle would take care of all of them, Skreemin included. He could only stand his own men, and he couldn't stand Skreemin's attitude.
"I hit one of the girls, but the other two got away with her. Heheh, the guy wasn't so lucky, he almost lost an arm to a pirate. For a minute, I thought I wouldn't have to kill him myself."
"Jace got caught by a pirate?" Drigos laughed out loud "That little weed had it coming! Wish I could've seen that! I'd pay to see him diced and skewered."
Skreemin suddenly stopped and stood in a frozen manner. It suddenly struck him- he'd heard Jace's name called before by his allies, but it just hit him that the name Jace sounded eerily familiar... He couldn't put his finger on why, though. Then again, he was so focused on trying to kill them, he didn't bother to really think too much about their names aside from the fact he'd have to remember them for future use. Say, he asked someone where they were, pretending he was an ally as well. He asked himself if he'd somehow run into Jace before and not remember- maybe early on before Skreemin left for Hyrule…? He shrugged it off, then got back to the mission at hand "I may need you to fly me around the island. If I can get a bird's eye view, I may be able to spot them."
Drigos groaned, then finished off his snack- chewing with nasty crunch sounds. Skreemin had to ignore it. Drigos certainly proved to be terrible company.
"Alright... Get on." Drigos lowered his back to the ground so Skreemin could climb up. He had to admit, Drigos was still useful. His senses were probably worth noting, and his flight was as well.
"Just try not to catch any attention, there are pirates on the island, and they're not friendly either."
What Skreemin didn't know, was that the Dragalfos had a partnership with some pirates, so chances are these girls knew Drigos.
"Don't worry about it, if we get spotted I'll handle it."
Skreemin scoffed. He made no comment, and threw his bow around himself. He finally responded with a changed subject "Just shut it and fly."
To Be Continued...
Skreemin belongs to sgtpieman on DeviantART.
The Tikoon belong to ivy4000 on DeviantART.