Dawn came to the village of semi-tame lizalfos. A ray of it shone down onto the house of Samba and Vardi. Samba, off work that day, gladly lazed in bed until he woke up, completely refreshed, around noon. He lazilly got his clothes on and walked out, enjoying the nice weather. He then went back in the house and grabbed his buckler and practice sword, intending to practice after breakfast/lunch.

After having some delicious cooked fish for brunch, the blue lizalfos walked out again and saw the group around the sign again. They were pretty agitated, it appeared. Ko was there, trying to talk to the others, who were too busy blabbing for him to get a chance. Drejsk and Thyu were there, as were a few of the fishermen.

"...ing on? Why did they dange the chate?" the rotund scaly asked, crossing his wide arms across his chest.

Thyu put his face in his paw. "'Change the date,' fat-for-brains," he corrected. "And I haven't a clue as to why, nor does anyone else here."

"I hear it's because there's something wrong with the weapons stock," said one of the fishermen. "I think they said there's been something strange going on and a lot of the workers are afraid to go to the area."

"And where are they located?" Drejsk asked.

"Finally, a clear sentance," Thyu rolled his eyes. He got a dark look from his enormous companion.

"Somewhere in the Empty Cavern," replied another fisherman.

"Then I suppose it's because of the Leviathan of Stone," Ko quickly put in, at last getting attention. He adjusted his glasses. "My books say it dwells somewhere deep in the long, twisting, confusing corridor that we call the Empty Cavern. If anyone gets close, it starts moving and shaking, causing them to run for fear of a cave-in."

Many of the others scoffed. "Ko, you know that's stuff's mothing but a nyth," Drejsk told him condescendingly.

"'Nothing but a myth,'" corrected the fishermen and Thyu.

"Do you realize how RUDE that is?"

"It's not a MYTH," corrected Ko, holding up a claw, "but a LEGEND. Myths are complete fantasy-legends are things that have a chance of having truth to them."

Thyu shook his head. "No, no, you old bookworm, it's the same thing. At least, nobody really cares about the difference." He shrugged. "The fact of the matter is that your words have not a single one."

Ko opened his jaw to protest, but shut it, realizing he was fighting a lost battle. "Fine, whatever," he huffed, then turned around to leave. He saw Samba standing there right as he did and jumped a little. "RAH!...Oh! Sorry, Samba! You surprised me!" He put a paw to his chest, then smiled softly. "You heard me, right?...Well, I believe something else..." He motioned for him to follow, and Samba followed him. He made his way around the crowd to his home, which was a ways away up a slope. Inside, bookshelves carved from the stone walls were filled to the brim with books and scrolls. Ko walked over to the net hammock he slept in and sat in it. "I've got a feeling I know what's going on," he told Samba.

Samba tilted his head in curiosity. "What were they all looking at?" he asked. His voice was deep, gruff, and naturally inquisitive. "What's this about the date being moved up?...That WAS the poster for the recrution countdown, right?"

Ko nodded. "Yes, it was," he replied glumly. "It appears that the day we're all to leave the village is the day after tomorrow."

Samba blanched, his face's scales turning the color of a pale sky. "Wh-WHAT?" he screeched. "But...I have to keep an eye on Vardi still!" He spread his arms apart to emphasize this.

Ko cringed and then stuck his pinky in his ear. "Ow."

Samba snapped his mouth shut and drooped his head a bit. "Sorry," he softly said. "But..."

Ko chuckled and shook his head. "I know, I know," he said. "But it's just you're worried about your sister." He smiled. "Don't worry, she'll be able to take care of herself, I'm sure. I'm going to TRY and make it so that I'm able to stay behind. Being the most literate person in the village, there actually might be a good chance of me being able to accomplish that," he added, taking off his glasses and wiping the lenses with a cloth. "That way, if I can stay behind, I could not only stay out of an ill-suited field of battle to stay within my much more well-suited field of studies, but I could look after Vardi, too."

Samba gasped and smiled. "Really?" he asked breathlessly, hope filling his chest. "You'd do that for me?"

Ko smiled and put his glasses on again. "I'd do a great deal of things for you, Samba," he answered. He chuckled. "I mean, after all, we're friends, right?"

Samba raised his eyeridges a bit, but then softened his look and smiled. "Yeah...you're right." He then looked serious again. "But what about what you brought me up here for?"

Ko nodded and looked serious again. "Well, I forget if I told you about this the other day, but the Leviathans of Material all possess a powerful artifact that they are not meant to hold, which is what causes their misshapen forms," he began, rummaging in his bag breifly before bringing out the book with the map he had the other day. "Namely, the Leviathan of Stone contains within its rocky mass a piece of the item I was talking about. The Empty Cavern is a treacherous place from which barely an adventurer from our village has returned from alive, and it is the home of this fierce beast. You remember I had a feeling that the cheif wants that item, right?" he asked. Samba nodded. "Well, I think he moved the date up to get it faster..." He looked left and right, then motioned for Samba to lean in closer.

In a low voice, he continued, "A good friend I have in Kochyrae just this morning told me that one of the pieces was obtained by someone who's opposed to us monsters, and had even gotten it themselves without help from anyone else. This means that the score is very imblanced, with the Hylians in possession of two of the three. Therefore, the chief is probably under great pressure to get the third item before the one who got the first one comes here to get it."

Samba raised his eyeridges. "I'll bet," he muttered.

Ko nodded. "Yes, and I have a bad feeling that if anyone tries to get it, even if they're successful, disaster is the only thing that's going to happen," he added. "Too bad that our chief is so foolish..." Ko sighed and shook his head.

A knock on the door startled both lizalfos into jumping. "Excuse me, Ko?" a voice from the other side asked. "Samba was said to be seen with you last. Is he there now?"

"Yes, he is," Ko answered, face falling. "Talk with you later, Samba," he whispered to the blue scalie before shutting his book and rising. "Coming, just a second," he called. He put the book away and walked to the door. He opened it and found the skinny Thyu along with the rotund Drejsk. Thyu looked a little bored, but Drejsk looked pretty happy, for some reason. Ko raised an eyeridge. "Yes, you two?" he asked.

Drejsk grinned toothilly. "Well, we just wanted to Salk to Tamba," he said confidently, before hastilly correcting, "Er! I mean TALK to SAMBA!" He grumbled about how he couldn't ralk tight-TALK RIGHT! See? So Thyu took over.

"We've heard that he's an excellent stone-thrower, able to throw a pebble so that it becomes like an arrow," he said. "Could we come and ask him for a demonstration?"

Ko raised his eyeridges, then turned to Samba. "Well, Samba? Did you hear all that?" he asked.

Samba nodded. "Sure, I'd love to show off my talent," he said, getting up. "After I'm done, I'll come back here so we can talk some more."

Ko smiled and nodded. "Specifically, teaching you as much Hylian as possible so that you're at least aquainted with the essentials before you leave," he said, and Samba groaned. Ko laughed. "Sorry, but I don't want you going off underprepared."

Samba sighed and shook his head. "Alright, Ko," he said, getting out and waving behind him, "see you!"

"Don't kill anyone who doesn't try the same to you!" Ko called after him, and Samba chuckled.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Thyu and Drejsk sighed heavilly and rolled their eyes. "How on Hyrule can you be friends with that loony?" Drejsk asked, thumbing behind him.

Samba bared his teeth. "You want me to aim for your head? Because trust me, it hurts," he threatened.

"Actually," Thyu said from behind Samba, holding a claw up, "that's sort of the idea. We want to see how actually lethal it is. Drejsk's got a front so thick that it can make arrows stick inside. Add to the fact he's a masochist, and we've got ourselves a perfect guage of pain."

Samba blinked, wide-eyed, at him. "You're joking," he said. "I find that hard to believe about Drejsk, personally."

Drejsk laughed and thumped his big front as the trio, now on the main level of the village, turned towards the area they knew Samba practiced at. "It's true! Though I'm not really a chasi-er, masochist! I just don't give a damn about pain. For some reason, I can get over it fast if I know it was coming for me, at least." He grinned and thumped his gut again. "That makes me a wonderful warrior!"

Samba grinned. "Great, that means I can go ahead and ask you to be a punching bag for me to take out my rage on once in a while," he joked. To his surprise, Drejsk said sure.

"Toldja he's a masochist," whispered Thyu, and Samba chuckled.

When they got to Samba's private practice area, Thyu threw Samba a Dodongo hide bag. "Alright, Samba, here's about 30 good pebbles," he said. "Take aim and let them fly at Drejsk's stomach, would you? And you can keep the bag afterwards, if you want," he added.

Samba, after he recieved the bag(do-do-do-dooo), nodded. "Sure thing," he said.

Drejsk got into position. "Let's start right here! Fave hun!"

"'HAVE FUN!'" corrected Thyu, and Drejsk laughed.

"I did that on purpose, sorry!"

Thyu groaned. "Has he been drinking...?"

Samba shrugged, then tied his bag to the side of his belt. Drawing a few, he asked if the tounge-twisted lizalfos was ready, then aimed. He held his left index claw out as a crosshair and his right paw back, holding some stones in his pinky and ring claws and one in his other digits. Then, he fired. With a rapid motion, he threw the pebble he had ready straight forwards, the projectile sailing in a straight path like an arrow and about as fast. It hit Drejsk, who grunted.

"Stop!" Thyu immediately said. "Drejsk, how painful was that? Arrow-painful?"

Drejsk nodded. "Yeah, whereabouts," he said. Then he thought. "Naw, no, sorry, more like just a little bit less. But pretty clamn dose." He shrugged and dug into his front for the pebble, which he withdrew after a second. It, indeed, hadn't gone very far at all. Drejsk examined it, chuckling. "It's kind of crazy to think of a simple stone being at least close to an arrow in strength as a projectile." He flicked it into the lake, then turned to Samba again, making the "bring it" motion. "C'mon! Let's see if that was a fluke or not!"

Samba nodded. He then threw four stones in a row, one after the other, in almost the same spot. He waved his arm left and right, each single wave being a stone being thrown. He was rapid-quick when it came to flicking up another stone to throw from the ones he held. When he was out, he quickly dug and grabbed some more and then launched them again. After another break for Drejsk to dig out the primative bullets(Samba noticed the hide appeared unmarked with blood, though his pebbles each lodged themselves inside of the scalie enough that he had to dig them out.), Drejsk began strafing left and right surprisingly fast. Samba hit him each time he tossed. Every time he was hit, too, Drejsk instantly changed direction.

Then, Drejsk took a break, and Thyu stepped up. Samba raised his eyeridges. "You're a masochist, too?" he asked.

Thyu laughed and shook his head. "No, I'm going to really test your aim," he said, and held up some old plates. "These things are brittle and old, barely able to stay together on me, and are really not suited for eating off of anymore. We'll use these as skeets. Ready?"

Samba nodded, then waited. Thyu soon expertly threw them with a perfect spin one by one, like frisbies, and, just as expertly, Samba shattered them with well-aimed shots. He was assisted a little by the fact they reflected the light just enough that he could keep his eyes on them easilly. But the next round, he had to try harder as these plates were darker. Regardless, he hit 18 out of 20 total, 10 light and 8 dark.

Thyu laughed and helped pick up the shards. "Pretty good, Samba," he said. "I guess those rumors were true."

Samba grinned as he picked up clay, placing the pieces into another, larger bag Thyu had with him. "Thanks. That was pretty fun," he said.

Thyu nodded. "I agree."

"Hey," Drejsk said, "that punching bag bit you talked about back there thot me ginking...GOT me THINKING, something I should do more before I flap my lips...how about a sparring bout with me after we're done here?"

Samba raised his eyeridges, then grinned. "Hey, while a willing live target is here..."

So, after the shards were picked up, Samba faced Drejsk. Drejsk, oddly, had brought his own practice sword with him, a stone one. "Made it myself," he boasted, swinging it. "It's invincible!" He patted his scaly left arm. The scales there seemed a bit...calloused. "And I've practically got a natural sheild, too!"

Samba nodded, drawing his weapon as well. He always had his sheild strapped on his left arm. After nodding to each other, the two began fighting. Samba was a bit shorter than Drejsk, so he had a bit of a disadvantage for strength. When they met in a clash, the blue lizard was bounced back with the power of the fighter. He barely recovered in time to block another attack with his sheild, which also knocked him back. Getting smart, he ducked the third blow and jumped. In the air, he aimed a kick to the weakest place on Drejsk's Goliathesque form.

With a grunt, Drejsk stumbled back with a bloody nose. As soon as he landed, Samba went and swung vertically at the great gut. His sword contacted it with a very satisfying smack. Quickly, the young warrior followed up with a stab, a spinning horizontal(not as impressive as Link's, though, since it didn't have as much effective striking range), and a reverse hook kick that reached the jaw as Drejsk leaned down to guard. After recovering from the combo, both went at it again. The fight went on, with Samba discovering that, indeed, Drejsk's left forearm was tough as a shield.

After the bout, Drejsk and Thyu grinned and stepped up to Samba. They each put a palm on a shoulder. "You know, you used to look wimpy," Thyu said, "but you're pretty good."

"Yeah, you can old your hown pretty well, too!" Drejsk said, laughing. "I don't think a sumo match would be an acceptable request, despite that, though."

Samba laughed, then bowed. "Thank you both," he said. "But now, I've got to go..."

"That's right! You've got a date with that coot-er, Ko, don't you?" Thyu asked.

Samba pretended not to hear and nodded.

"Well, go on. At least -I- promise not to make fun of him while you're around," Drejsk said, giving Samba a gentle push with his pudgy tail.

Samba stepped forward from it, stopped, looked back, and smiled a bit at the two before running back to Ko's, ready to cram.

Thyu sighed and shook his head. "You make friends with anyone who can give you serious pain like that, don't you?" he asked Drejsk, who just laughed heartily.

...

Link walked the road between his hometown and the next one, looking around. He'd decided to take this path for himself because of the fact it was right, and he always felt a need to do what was right. The road was wide, reasonably, and curved a bit. It was a bit rough in the stone walls of the shallow chasm, with myriad holes visable that he could potentially get inside. It was also pretty quiet that afternoon, which wasn't unusual, but after the night previous, Link was still a bit high-strung. He drew Betta's sword and looked at it. The blade was normal-looking and made of good, strong steel. The point was triangular, and the corner made by the starts of the base wedge shapes of the edges split into a Y there. The hilt was wrapped in leather, the pommel being a normal ring of metal-brass, or at least brass plated metal. The handguard was normal, straight barred, brass/plated, with upturned points at the ends. There was a Triforce symbol etched into the origin of the four angles of the sword. Link smiled and swung it a bit. 'Still heavy,' he thought, 'but I think I can handle it.' He sheathed it and continued onwards.

He finally got to the small field that was on either side of the road between Kochyrae and Betta's hometown. And, to his half surprise, there were a few beasts about that he had never seen before there. A few greenish, piglike creatures roamed around with a club, he saw, and big, not-very-friendly-looking birds were lurking around. 'Looks like I'm going to be able to try out my new sword,' Link thought grimly, drawing it. The ringing sound called attention to him, and the closest bird came swooping down. Link first tried slashing it as it came close, but, after being nipped painfully a couple times, said, "Screw it," and quickly put his sword and shield back to draw his bow and arrows. He shot the beast down quickly and then decided to take care of another one he saw flying towards him. After those two were down, he put his item away again to draw his sword and shield again. Two moblins came over and tried attacking. Link blocked, then slashed. The feeling of steel slicing flesh was indescribable to him, but he couldn't mull over it then. After shifting focus between the two enemies, he decided to just take them out with a spin attack.

After doing so, Link examined his sword. It was covered in green blood for a second before it, magically, evaporated with extreme speed. When he put it away, Link found that, like some of the enemies from the Forest of Peril, there were winnin's to be had from the enemies. He picked up the ruppees and put them in his wallet before continuing on. The sun was getting low already. He had to run if he wanted to reach the other side of the feild before nightfall. Ignoring all other attempted attacks, he barrelled down towards the ranch town.

He made it into the town before night fully set. It was twilight when he reached it. Torches had been lit by the time he got there, panting heavilly in his thick clothes and reasonably heavy pack. He shook his head and looked around, though, at what there was to be had here. He'd actually been here before, but not on his own. The first thing he saw was a sign.

''The Peaceful Ranch Hamlet of Ybayba Enapu welcomes you,'' he read. (The Y's aren't silent normally, but most people silence them for ease of speaking anyway.) 'I've always thought that was a funny name for a town, and couldn't help but think that it MEANS something...' Shrugging, Link walked on into Ybayba Enapu. Ybayba Enapu was a bit different than Kochyrae in structure. For one, the houses were all normal-looking by Hyrule standards, with wooden frames and flat, smooth walls between the posts of wood sticking out instead of completely wooden walls like at his home. The ground was dirt all around, even in front of the houses. Instead of a view of a forest, the town had a great ranch, full of horses, cows, and other farm and ranch animals. Link knew that there was an inn around there, and he was feeling hungry from the trek there, and wondered if he should stay here the night.

He walked around the vacating streets, looking for someone to point him in the right direction. He passed by a pair of women who came out of what appeared to be a bar of sorts and saw they were gossiping.

"-believe how many monsters there've been as of late!"

"I KNOW! It's dangerous to even step one toe outside the gates of town! How annoying!"

"You know what they say's been going on with that?"

"What, that silly rumor about a group of beasts getting together to plot overthrowing the kingdom? What ludicrousy!"

"Well, it SEEMS logical, to me," said the first woman, fading away as they went out of Link's earshot.

After a while, Link found another person, a man having a smoke outside his house as he watched the sunset. As Link approached, the man said, "Sunsets are so beautiful, huh?" Link nodded, glancing over his shoulder at it. Before he could speak, the man asked, "Hey, you're not from here, are ya?" Link shook his head. "Lemme guess: Kochyrae, right?...Thought as much," the man chuckled, smiling. He pointed his pipe at Link's outfit. "The green theme gives it away. Looks good on you, blondie!" he laughed. "Now, sorry, but what's it'cha want, now?"

"I've been here before, but I've forgotten where things are," Link began, but he was interrupted again.

"Oh, you say you've been here? Well, how in Hyrule could you've forgotten the town's layout! It's so simple, since this place isn't that much larger than your town," the man scoffed, but he sounded like he was speaking good-humorously. "But, anyway, sorry...here, y'got something to write on and with? I can draw ya a great map real quick!"

Link smiled and took out a piece of parchment he had with him that he'd taken from home. He brought them to attach to the large map he'd found in the Forest of Peril. He also brought a fountain pen with special ink that didn't ever dry in the well of the pen, too. "Well, here's some," he said, and the man grinned and took them.

After a few moments of furiously sketching out a map, the man handed them. "Here ya go, blondie! And I'd air that out before you put it in your...er..." He leaned to the side as Link took the map and pen to look at his back. "Are you just carrying everything in your pockets?" he muttered.

Link didn't hear him, though, and he put the pen away. Holding the map up to look at it and to let the ink dry, he said thank you and left the man, who waved after him. Link then looked at the map. It was, indeed, great. Surprisingly, considering the speed and time the man took, there wasn't a blotch of ink or a monstrously un-straight line where there should be a straight one. Even the titles of certain establishments were clearly written. 'Impressive,' he thought, and held the map out to let it dry while he went towards the inn.

Once in, he put the map away after testing its dryness with his pinky. He'd put it on the master map later on. He found a woman at a counter nearly directly in front as he entered. She had brown hair and a pretty, natural face. He walked over, at first about to ask for directions to some food, then raised an eyebrow as he got closer to the woman. She looked familiar...

The woman was apparantly thinking the same thing, since she had the same thoughtful expression. "Can I...help you?" she asked.

"Yes...If you don't mind me asking, what's your name?" Link asked as politely as he could sound.

"My name? Oh, it's Tabitha," she answered. Then she and Link snapped their fingers simultaneously and pointed at each other.

"Link!"

"Betta's wife!"

The two laughed. "Oh, my, that was interesting," Tabitha said, smiling. She held her hand out. "How's it been, Link? The last time I saw you, it was about a year ago, when you and your father had come by our house to stay the night while you waited to talk to someone about a late shipment of materials."

Link nodded, smiling as well, and shook her hand. "I've been fine, up until a little while ago-yesterday, actually," he said. He was about to say more, but decided it wouldn't be prudent to tell Betta's wife, who loved the swordsman a great deal, that her husband had been hurt after stealing an enormous amount of rupees from his shop till. "I'm out on a self-assigned errand," Link half-lied.

Tabitha nodded. "That's nice. I hope it goes well. But, enough small talk, I'm at work, here..." She bowed. "Hello, and welcome to Enapu Nights, where weary wanderers wrestle worries away in sweet slumber! How may I help you?"

Link chuckled. "Cute," he complimented.

Tabitha beamed. "You like it? I made it up and have been trying to get the other ladies to do it, too, but they say it's stupid," she grumbled, but she smiled again. "At least my friend Elisa likes it!"

Link nodded. "Well, anyway, I'd like to know where I could grab a bite to eat?"

"Why, the tavern next door," Tabitha said, pointing to her right.

Link then smacked his forehead. "That's the one I passed by before!" he muttered. "I'm so clueless sometimes...Thank you, Tabitha," he said, before turning and leaving.

"Come again!" she called back.

Link exited that establishment and entered the next, the Ybayba Bar, "where weary wanderers wash worries away in delicious draughts!" as the woman who stood at the bar said as Link came to order something. She had red hair down do her shoulders and some makeup on.

Link chuckled. "I take it you're Elisa?" he asked.

She giggled. "Why, yes! I suppose you've met Tabitha, then?" she asked. Link nodded, and Elisa grinned. "I liked her catchy phrase so much, I modified it for here in the bar! Y'like it?"

"Yes, it's cute," Link agreed.

"Well," Elisa said, clapping her hands together, "what can I do y'for?"

"Ummmm..." Link's eyes lazed to the menus chalked up on the slates on the wall behind her. "Hold on for a second, this'll take a little...I don't do well when it comes to unimportant choices like this..." 'Funny, I can think on my feet rather well, but when it comes to ordering food...'

In the end, Link chose a pair of roast Cuccoo (that right?) legs and some "famous Ybayba Milk, being served for a limited time in a durable glass bottle that you can keep for yourself!" He ate and considered what he had to do and where he was. 'I've got to stay away from home, to keep them safe, and...well, I dunno WHAT I should do.' He thought for a moment, nibbling his Cuccoo leg.

Meanwhile, some people behind him, who were speaking, starting talking about something in a bit louder voice. "Speaking of the castle, you know what I heard a day an' a half ago?" asked one lazy-voiced man.

"Wha'?" said another man, this one with an old voice.

"Well, awright, y'know how they got this weird ring under heavy guard a couple weeks or so ago?"

"Yeah, I forget what it was called...had a triangular blue gemstone in it, I know."

"Well, turns out that they've gone and knocked the security up a notch around the entire town, as well, since monsters have been reported as roaming around a bit more lately."

"Yes, I think I heard about that...I haven't a clue as to why the beasts would become more restless now..." The man coughed.

"Well, I personally believe the rumor that it's some weird time that comes once every few thousand years, where monsters begin to instinctively roam around more as they wait for their bloodbath of all of Hyrule!"

The old man scoffed at this. "Ha-ha, very funny," he said humorlessly.

"Sorry. But I think that somethin's up, really, I do. Not something as crazy as that, mind you, but still...I bet it has something to do with that weird ring the Royal Family guards so hard. I hear it's got a legendary ability to allow two people to share something...I dunno what could be so special that a magic ring's needed to let people share it, but go figure." The lazy-sounding man yawned.

"Well, sharing a body could be something that needs magic, for example," suggested the old man.

A pause and a grunt from the lazy man, then he said, "Speaking of rings, I've been wanting to ask this one girl to marry me, but I can't find a good place for an engagement ring."

"Don't go to Kessler's House of Diamonds," warned the old man instantly. "I believe any store that advertizes that annoyingly often is bad."

"Too true, too true..."

The conversation went on to ring stores from there, and Link lost interest in eavesdropping on it. 'Well, thanks, guys,' he mused, smiling as he finished off his milk. 'I think I know where to go next, now...'

After he was finished, Link, taking the offer and keeping the bottle, stood and went out to the inn. It was now dark enough that Link couldn't see well without the torches lit all around. He went on into the inn, said hello to Tabitha, and requested a room for the night. He paid, then went to his room. It was a bit Spartan, with a plain bed, sink, and a chamber pot behind a screen, but it was cheap. Link knew to be thrifty, living with his grandfather all his life. He undressed, putting his stuff in a chair, and then went to sleep on his bed.

...

Samba growled a sigh of aggrivation as he messed up again. Night was setting in, and he had been with Ko the entire day, studying. They had gone to Samba's house for lunch and to teach Vardi as well, and had remained there. After encouragement from his sibiling and his teacher, he retried: "'I am Samba, warrior of the lizalfos village of Jgk'hry. I know not who my father was or is, but my mother is Ybir, and my sister is Vardi.'" He went slow at first, but gradually picked up speed as he went. "'With my sword I shall defend my home, and with my shield I shall defy all of my ehtisgy!'...DAMMIT! 'ENEMIES! DEFY ALL MY ENEMIES!' GRAH!" He put his claws on his head, aggravated. "I'm NEVER going to be able to speak normally in Hylian!"

Ko brought his eyeridges together, sympathetic look on his face. "Samba, you're doing wonderful. Ybir would be proud of your progress." He smiled proudly. "You've gotten extremely far with today, so far it would have taken a week normally!" He patted Samba on the shoulder. "But I think, with many straight hours of it, you'd best take a break for the rest of the day from Hylian. You've almost learned everything you need to in order to speak Hylian normally. You've already gotten very far, what with all of our lessons and such."

Samba sighed, nodding, and got up. "I'm going to start dinner, then," he said. "You want to stay and eat with us, Ko?"

"Sure!" Ko said, face brightening and tail wagging a little. He then blushed and grinned sheepishly, lowering his head at his rudeness. "Er, I mean, thank you very much, Samba," he said, and the two siblings laughed.

"That's okay, Ko, I know how hungry you get after teaching so much," Samba said, smiling a little. He turned and entered the kitchen to start preparing a meal. He was actually halfway decent with cooking, which came as a surprise to most people.

"Alright, then," Ko said, and shifted back into Hylian as was standard for lessons. "Vardi, what are eight melee weapons that you know of?"

"Swords, staves, hammers, spears, daggers, whips, uhhmmm...oh, halberds, and gauntlets."

"Very good! Now, colors?"

Vardi opened her jaw, but then closed it, getting a thoughtful look on her face. Then, with a smirk, she said, "Rose, sunflower, mint, violet, Forget-Me-Not, umm...orange." She shrugged at that last one.

Ko chuckled. "Creative, I'll admit."

The review went on until finally Samba was finished with the cooking. As the three sat at the table and ate the Cuccoo(yes, they had them there, too), Samba thought for a moment. "Ko?" he asked.

"Yes?" Ko looked up from his poultry, raising an eyeridge. He spoke in Hylian.

Samba groaned a little at that, but pressed on, going in Hylian as well. "Well, er, how could you have known about something that happened in Kochyrae very recently this morning? I have not heard of anyone coming into town who is not a goron or lizalfos this morning. Do they come in secret?"

Ko smiled and shook his head. "Nope," he said. He dug into his bag and brought out a strange-looking blue stone. It had an eye etched into it. "This is called a Gossip Stone," he said, turning the item in his paws. "These things have been around since the days of the very first Legendary Hero, although they were much bigger and more common back then, as well as having less power than they do now. Now, they can be used to speak with someone from far away by magic. However, these are exceedingly rare stones, so please don't tell anyone about this," he said, pocketing it again. "I use that to keep in touch with my human adventurer friend in Kochyrae. Well, actually, Ybayba Enapu, the ranch town, but he is staying at Kochyrae for the time being since he was injured last night. In the same battle that the person he mentioned got the item he was seeking, no less," he added.

Samba raised an eyebrow. "Who's this person who got the item?" he asked.

Ko shook his head. "Cannot say. He didn't tell me his name."

Samba's face fell. "Awww...he sounded like a great fighter that I could have fun sparring with..." he murmured dissapointedly, and the other two laughed.

Vardi tilted her head, then asked, "Ko? Why do you have a human friend? HOW do you have a human friend?"

Ko smiled. "Well," he began, but a knock at the door interrupted him.

Samba rose and walked over to it. He opened it and saw nobody at first. "Down here, blue boy," said a young girl's voice. Samba looked down and raised his eyeridges. A young female lizalfos was standing there, wearing a small white tanktop and a grey miniskirt. She had a light brown stripe on her muzzle. She appeared a little unhappy.

"Rakeh? What brings you here at this hour?" asked the blue lizard in a surprised tone, using his native tounge.

Rakeh ignored him and shoved aside him into his home. She went straight for Vardi, who hopped down from her seat to face her. "Rakeh-kor? What's wrong?" she asked.

Rakeh frowned sharply, looking distressed. "Vardi, you know my father, right?" she asked.

Vardi nodded slowly. "Yeeaah," she answered. "Why, is something wrong?"

Rakeh nodded a couple times. "He...He...He..." She started hiccuping as tears threatened to pour down her cheeks.

Vardi brought her eyeridges together and placed a teal paw on the other girl's shoulder. "Calm down, Rakeh-kor. Take a deep breath and tell me," she said soothingly. ("-kor" : lizalfos :: "-chan" : Japanese.)

Rakeh's eyes released a few tears and she brought the hem of her shirt up to wipe them. "Some of the chief's henchmen came in and told him he was to go to the Empty Cavern because he started a fight this afternoon at work at the potion mixing vats because he was being careless!" she whined.

Everyone gasped. "Did he really?" asked Ko at the same time Vardi asked, "No joke?" Rakeh nodded as Vardi shot a look at her teacher. Regardless, Rakeh nodded.

"Yes; he came home this evening looking a little worried," she said. "He told us he got mad at someone because they spilled an entire vat of hot potion, and on his leg, too. He was yelled at and was told that he'd receive a punishment. It's just...he didn't expect-none of us did-that THAT would happen!" She whimpered a bit. "He's got to stay there until he brings back a valuable scroll..." She cried fully then.

The boys were quiet as Rakeh was comforted by Vardi. During this, Samba explained to Ko that Rakeh and Vardi were friends. Rakeh also explained that she came there because she had to tell SOMEone.

Vardi looked angry. "This is so unfair!" she cried. "They shouldn't do that to your father! We need as much potion as we can make, since it's our only export! I think a fight's in order for someone as careless as the one who spilled it, in my opinion." She sighed. "C'mon, Rakeh-kor, lemme walk you home. Your mother is probably worried."

Rakeh nodded silently and the two walked out. Vardi called over her shoulder that she'd be back in a few. "And he doesn't get any food, and nobody's allowed to take any to him," Samba and Ko heard Rakeh add before the night of the village swallowed the girls up.

Ko looked anxiously at Samba. "That's practically a death sentence!" he said. "Nobody's been able to escape the Empty Cavern alive! The influence of the creature there is so great, it creates vicious monsters of rock! They say all that can defeat them is a well-aimed attack that's brimming with flames," he muttered. "I dunno what scroll the chief would possibly want, but it's probably a wild goose chase, anyway. And without a proper food supply-the demonic creatures in there explode from the effect of the creature's influence, oddly, I hear-he's doomed!" He frowned and whined as he sat back down and poked at his fish. "Graruuuuu..."

Samba frowned sympathetically, but shrugged. "Well, there's not much anyone can do...so it's best to try not to think too much about it." He sat down as well and ate his own meal. 'But still...'

Nobody ever got around to asking Ko how he had a human friend again.

...

Link yawned and stretched, getting up after a good night's sleep. He clothed and equipped himself, left to find something to eat, and afterwards, went to the stream nearby the town to bathe. The morning was bright and clear of rainclouds to hamper progress. Link sighed after drying off and getting into his outfit again. 'I wonder how far it is to the castle?' he wondered as he went back into town.

He decided to ask the townsfolk around about it. They shrugged, then decided to mention some random thing or some fact about the town or about the castle. It's been guarded heavilly lately, though the guards aren't too bright...You know, this town's been around for plenty years-it was founded by the decendent of the first rancher in Hyrule to have helped the Legendary Hero. By the way, the A button is really important; it could-oh, you knew that already, didn't you?

"Hey, kid, do you have a horse?" asked one man after Link was starting to get tired of asking around. Link shook his head and explained he'd walked there. The man scoffed. "Well, no WONDER it took you a day to get from your place to ours! It'd take a fraction of the time if you had a horse! If you're thinkin' of headin' out to the castle, you'd be wise to grab one. However, I haven't heard of anyone here being willing to give one of their horses up as of late. Sorry, kid, but it looks like, fer now, you're gonna have to hoof it! Oh-hohoh!" The man slapped his knee at his own joke, but Link looked unimpressed.

The green-clad adventurer sighed and began walking around town some more, asking other people. 'I've always wanted to ride a horse,' he thought. 'Too bad nobody's willing to give me one right now.' He soon came to a man who told him, as well, that he had no clue where the castle lay.

"However, Ah CAN give you something good if you do something for mah. It's not a nugget of wisdom, but it's just as valuable, yah!" he offered, winking. He was outside a small ranch whose sty was full of...well, nothing, except a through for feed and a mud puddle. Small hoofprints could be seen around the ground.

Link was reluctant, but since he didn't think that much other people would be able to point him on his way, he decided to accept the offer.

"Okay, then, yah, why don'cha go 'round and round up mah pigs?" he asked. He sighed. "Turns out thay don't like hangin' 'rounds mah place, so thay've gone out and 'round town during tha night. Thar's only five of tham buggers that got out. Couldja please get tham for mah?" He slapped his hands into the begging position. "Ah swear, Ah'll repay yah!"

Link sighed and answered, "Sure." 'It's something to do, at least...'

The man grinned and jumped for joy. "YEEHAW! This means Ah get to get a bittle more shudeye!...Er, A-Ah mean, stay and keep an eye on mah place to make sure nona-dem others escape," he added hastily.

Link shrugged, not really caring if his client was lazy or not, and turned to go off, looking for the pigs. (He didn't hear a pounding sound behind him at the man's farm that made the farmer jump and yelp, "Oh, boy, looks like Big Bessie's up!" before motoring on inside, holding his straw hat.) He soon found one. It wore a red ribbon around its right foreleg and was pretty small and was easy to pick up, but he had to chase it first. He had to resort to tiptoeing over, then diving and grabbing it. He found the five in this manner, essentially, each time bringing them back to the farmer. One wore a blue handkerchief and was slippery, having been in the stream for a dip, and escaped Link's grip twice before finally going back into the pen. Another wore a green ribbon around its middle and had somehow gotten on top of a rooftop that Link bravely jumped across. His fourth had a yellow bow on its tail and was feisty, and he had to-with a murmured apology-hit it with his boomerang and stun it. The final one took him a good ten minutes to find. This was before he saw a small crate, much like one of the many lying around the town loose that Link took the liberty to smash and claim what goodies were inside, that had a handhole in it. This was different, since none of the others had them. Not only that, it was a little bigger, and Link swore it wasn't there before. Curious, he bent down and lifted it up. Instantly, the final pig, wearing a black headband with a symbol on the front that Link couldn't make out at that moment, squealed almost like an alarm and began to run. Link dove and grabbed it instantly, though. As he carried the pig back, he saw the number 8 was the symbol from before. "I thought he said he had only five pigs," he muttered as he walked back.

Finally, tired, he got back to the man with the headbanded pig and tossed it into the pen with its cohorts. The man jumped for joy again. "YEEEEEEHAAW! Thank yah, sir!" he said, hands clasped in front of him as if about to make a deal. "Ah was gettin' worried where mah piggies whar at. Thank yahs!"

Link pointed at the pigs in the pen. "Why do they all have something on them?" he asked.

"Wuh?" The farmer turned and looked, then smiled and nodded. "Oh-hoh, that's tha way ah keep 'em apart from otha farmahs' pigs. Ah tried lotsa stuff 'til Ah found what thay each like tah wear!" he laughed, turning back to Link. "Anywahs, let mah open tha gate so tha otha pigs can get into thar pen," he said, "and then for yah reward!"

He turned and strode over to the doors of his farm. He unlatched them and slowly pulled it open. Eight more pigs came oinking and squealing out, each wearing a differently-colored, differently-styled type of accessory. Some had headbands, some bows, others ribbons. They happilly met with the other pigs and oinked amongst each other. The man, smiling, peered inside the doors. "Hey, wheah's-Oh."

A loud series of deep THUDs sounded as Link saw, to his amazement, an enormous black pig, adorned with a great pink bow on top its head. The presence of utters underneath it meant it was a she. She barreled out into the pen, whose space it took up half of, and snorted around.

The man laughed and walked over to an astounded Link. "That thar's mah pride 'n' joy, Big Bessie," he explained, thumbing to his extravagantly girthy porker. "Sha's tha ma of many mah pigs. Sha's also gotta hide tougher 'n leather! Sha's usually gentle, too, it's just that as of late, sha's been actin' real nasty and wild. Ah'm not sure Ah should have har out, actually..." He frowned slightly. Then, both he and Link took a step back and grimaced uneasilly as they saw Bessie crouch down and wiggle her butt, facing them.

"I think you're right," Link agreed before the two ran out of the way of the flying pig.

Many people around the area stopped to look at this spectacle. One man, who sounded like the lazy-voiced man from the night before, simply said, "Pay up," as he smirked and held his hand out. The guy next to him, grumbling in the voice of the lazy-voiced man's companion, got out a couple red rupees and gave them to the other man. Link and the farmer, meanwhile, stumbled away, turning around to face the enormous swine. "B-BESSIE! WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YAH?" the farmer cried angstly. He gulped as soon as her eyes started to glow red.

Link narrowed his eyes and knew what had to do. He got out his sword and sheild in one fluid motion, locking onto the pig with his eyes. "She's got a hide tougher than leather, right? She should be fine," he told the farmer before he could protest. Then, facing this new threat, he began the fight. (The farmer and everyone else got out of the way.)

First, he saw the pig try and charge him. He dodged, rolling aside, and the people screamed as Bessie skidded towards them, but they couldn't escape from how dense they were packed. Thankfully, Bessie never hit them and turned, quite fast for a pig that size, and, big pink bow streaming its ends behind her, charged again. Link avoided her, then saw her, after she turned around again, crouch down to jump again. He stopped, having a feeling he knew what to do, and then ran for his life as soon as she leaped up. She went higher this time, trying to body slam Link, and landed spread-eagled on the ground, sending a short-range shockwave of dust. Link wasn't good at jumping, so he was hit with it, finding it actually hurt a bit. He was barely in range, though-it ended a few feet from around her body.

Link noticed she couldn't get up immediately. He also noticed something wrong with her...Now that she was still for a second, he and some people suppressed or let out a giggle. Something was faintly pulsing from her rectum. Then, after shuddering at what horrors may lay in store for him, Link noticed that Bessie had gotten up again.

After a couple rounds, Link found that she was only smart enough to charge and body slam him. He hesitated in attacking her butt the next body slam, and so still was nil to one in the hits score. He decided to take a chance the next charge. He dove out of the way, rolled, got up, and charged himself. Bessie, who had skidded and now turned about to face Link again, found a sword coming for her face.

"NNOOOOO! NOT IN THA FACE, YAH!" cried the farmer suddenly, causing Link to lose his focus for a second-and consequentially get charged, feeling a -LOT- of pain. As he grumbled and growled getting up, looking at the farmer, the farmer said, "Please, sha's still mah pig...can't yah find anotha way?"

Link frowned, but then got an idea, thinking about the other pig who tried fighting him. "That's it!" He put his sword and sheild back to pull out his boomerang, then faced Bessie. She was currently charging at him again. Link targeted her face, then let fly. He dove afterwards in case it missed. When he got up again, he reached and grabbed his weapon, finding it made no difference. He grimaced and dodged another charge. However, upon trying again as soon as she got up and was ABOUT to charge, he found it worked, and a deep squeal was heard. Some people squacked, others laughed, others went, "EEEWWWWWW!" as something happened behind Bessie. The pig, promptly, shook her head, then tried another body slam on Link.

Link evaded it, even the shockwave, and ended up on her rear side. He then saw what was pulsating before: A (strangly) clean, clear red gem was sticking out of her poor butt, probably causing enough pain to make anyone go crazy. Link got the feeling it wasn't natural and decided to try and strike it with his sword. He jumped to attack and barely hit it before Bessie was up and starting to turn around. As soon as he'd hit it, it shattered and the glow stopped.

As well, Bessie's eyes stopped glowing and she stopped. After a second's blinking, she looked around, sniffing, then turned back to the pen and trundled off. She leaped back in and that was that as far as she appeared to be concerned. The crowd cheered and jumped for joy at all this. The farmer, in tears, ran over to Link. "Oh, THANK yah, THANK YAH, sir!" he said, clasping Link's hand. (Link had put away his sword and shield after Bessie went off.) "I jus' can't believe yah saved har! Yah know, Ah was wonderin' what that glowing up har backcountry was...Thanks again!" He smiled and pulled something out of his pocket, the item magically expanding as it did. "Heah's yah reward, which yah've more'n earned!" he said.

Link took it. It looked like a Heart Container, but empty save for a smaller red heart inside. "What is it?" he asked.

"What IS-? Yah, that there's a Piece O' Heart!" the farmer said, looking surprised Link didn't know what it was. "It's s'posed to be helpful to adventurin' types! Ah hear yah just use it like a normal heart or somethin', but Ah don't really know what people mean bah that, 'cuz Ah've never set foot outta thas town in mah life. Anyway, thanks again!" he said before turning to leave.

Link nodded, then let the Piece of Heart absorb like other hearts. He felt his strength return, but not more, like when the Heart Container absorbed into him. 'I should probably keep track of how many I've got with me, though,' he thought. He shrugged, then turned and went to the tavern again, wondering if he should try there for some information. He ended up wondering right, and even found a nice person who told him about a mapmaking man who sold maps of different places around the land.

Link found and visited the man. His shop was called simply "Kwilliam's". Link shrugged and entered, then gasped as he saw who was at the counter.

"Well, if it isn't blondie!" said the man, smirking and crossing his arms. He had a pipe in his mouth, but it was only decoration; it was unlit. Link smiled and walked over to him as the man leaned on the counter, arms still crossed. He wore a red apron with many black stains on it and had an ink pen behind his ear. "What's up? Wanna buy a map?" he asked.

Link nodded. "Yes, I would," he said. "I want a map of the route from here to Hyrule Castle, and of the town surrounding it, please."

The man nodded, smiling. "Awright, then, blondie," he said, and turned. "I've got a few maps already done that I'll sell to you at a reduced price, but just 'cuz I like you. And the name's Kwilliam." He turned and got a couple sheets of parchment out and put them on the counter.

"I'm Link," Link introduced. "And this comes to...?"

"Uhmm...let's see, the route map costs 40, the map of Hyrule Castle Town costs 120 since it's so ultra-detailed, and so both together cost 160 rupees," he said, looking up as he counted in his head. Link gawked. He couldn't even carry that much! Kwilliam laughed and shook his head, though. "That's without the discount I'm going to give you! How's about...aw, what the heck, 20 off? That way, it only costs...kay, 160 times 20 equals 3200, divided by 100 equals...32 rupees? Yeah, so it'd cost, together, for you, 128 rupees."

Link's face fell. "I don't even have a hundred...I'll have to go without the map of Castle Town..." He shrugged. 'I'm going to get more lost there than I got here, but OH, WELL...-.-;'

Kwilliam's face fell a little, too, at the prospect of making less money right now, but nonetheless removed the Castle Town map from the counter. "That means you only need pay 36 rupees, if my math's correct."

Link paid up and got the map. He brought out his grand map to stick the minimap on there. When he did, Kwilliam gasped.

"Th-That map!" he cried, pointing a calloused finger at it. "That's...That...it's empty! What a crime!" He then closed his jaw, bring his arms together as he thought. "But, then, you probably could never afford any full map of Hyrule that size that I could make, and I'd probably face an early retirement from breaking my wrist if I even tried making it. So I guess it's wise. Where'd you find it?"

"A room in the Forest of Peril," Link said, and explained in breif where it was and the room he found it in.

Kwilliam raised his eyebrows. "You know, my grand-uncle Skevin went to live in that forest after he went senile. He must have somehow gotten on that place's good side and made a home for himself there. At least he didn't go off convinced he was a fairy like one of my ancestors supposedly did a few times." He shrugged and let Link put it away. "Well, I hope my map serves you well! I've got some other maps availible, but not ones I'd consider good enough to let you have for cheaper than others but still of good quality. Come back when I sketch s'more! Have fun, blondie!" He waved, and Link waved back, then left. Kwilliam sighed. "What a nice kid."

Link stepped out and stretched. "Well," he said, "I'd better get going." Since it was still morning, he wasn't hungry for lunch yet. Regardless, he spent the last of his rupees on some food he'd bring with for when he did, then left out the northwestern gate to Hyrule Field. There he walked along the path, experiencing a few encounters with wild and crazed beasts and monsters, including more rocs and moblins. After finding that many dropped valuable prizes such as hearts or, even better, rupees, he decided to take the time to slay any creature that dared oppose him. He took frequent rests, since he was going all on foot, and found that night had reached him while he was in the center of one of the vastest sections of Hyrule Field. So, after a half hour's search around, Link went and camped out in an empty cave for the night. (An actual cave, not a mini-dungeon.)

...

Samba woke up and looked around him. He was home, and it was dawn. He sighed and got up, getting dressed and getting his fishing rod. 'Must have been a dream,' he thought, and flashed back to where he had thought he was the moment before.

He thought he had just been inside a castle, defeating human guards left and right with his real, edged sword. Nobody stood a chance against him. Then, he'd entered a room where a ring sat on a pedestal. When he got there, though, a shadow stepped forth, drawing a sword. He growled and got into position, ready to fight, when he woke up.

'Oh, well,' he shrugged, jogging along the perimeter of the lake as he went to work. 'I would have liked to have seen how good he was, though.'

On the boat, the foreman nodded in aknowledgement of his state of nontruancy. "Good job getting here on time, Samba," he said. "Now, then, before we shove off, I want to tell you something before you youngn's all have to leave tomorrow, but specifically you, Samba." Samba raised an eyeridge. The foreman crossed his arms, tail twitching a little in the cold water as it trailed from the boat. "You've been a troublesome kid, but I think you'd best take your fishing rod. All of you, take your fishing rods. You really have no idea how valuable it is to be able to get your own food easilly. You'll be happy about it if you make camp nearby a stream on your way to the castle at all." He bent down and reached into a box, then brought out a clawful of tiny wooden fish. He tossed one to each crewmate, with Samba's he just handed over since the blue reptile was right in front of him. "There, a good lure that's known to attract a wide variety of fish outside of the village," the foreman said. "Keep it with you and put it on your rods when you're done working. Keep your old lure on when fishing here, in this mountain lake."

Everyone nodded and stuck the lures somewhere. Samba stuffed his in his side bag. The day's fishing began once the time came to shove off. Samba, upon being asked, offered to fish up another person's quota for the day since they weren't here, and so had to fish up another 3 more fish to the boat in addition to his normal quota. He did, though, without complaint, since he actually liked to fish.

Later on, when he was done with work and had recieved his pay for the last time, Samba went and entered his house to get some lunch. While there, he exchanged lures on his pole. He then decided to dismantle it. It looked like a normal bobber fishing rod, but was actually collapseable for easy storage. It was a thin pole of bamboo that grew by a lake some ways away from the village's cove, separated into three pieced that screwed together. Samba himself had made it, with painstaking effort in regards to the threads of the screw parts. It was sturdy, though, and worked well throughout the two years of his job as fisherman. After putting the pole into his bag, Samba cooked his lunch of, as usual, fish. (Thankfully, he didn't mind fish, which was a very common thing in that village.)

He knew Vardi would be home soon, so he cooked two. Sure enough, Vardi came home just as Samba was done cooking. "How was your friend?" Samba asked after serving her. (She'd slept over that night, only returning home for her blanket and pillow and to inform her brother of when she'd be home.)

Vardi sighed and poked at her food. "She's still really sad," she said. "And worried. I am, too. I really feel bad for her." After a pause, she said, "She said that her and her mom would go out and try bringing food to him tonight."

Samba raised his eyeridges. "Really? But isn't that practically suicide with how I hear that place is?"

Vardi nodded. "Yeah...Her even telling me about it made me feel scared. I'd really love to help, but..."

Samb put his fork down to look admonishingly at his sister. "Mother said to look after you. And that's what I'm going to do. So don't even THINK about leaving to go there tonight, please!" he said.

Vardi looked a little pouty. "Well, DUH, I'm not gonna," she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in Hyrule. "It's way too dangerous."

Samba nodded and resumed eating. "That's good. Thanks."

That afternoon, Ko came over and continued to teach them more Hylian. He was adamant against the idea of anyone going in to even help someone out in the Empty Cavern. "It's a death trap set by nature, that's what it is," he said. "Anyone who even thinks of going in there is insane. There's traps in there, beasts, and who knows what other horrors untold."

The day passed with a sense of quiet, despite the constant talking in Hylian. Samba looked at Ko and Vardi. They seemed to look at him worriedly. 'This is the last they'll probably see of me,' Samba thought, and finally, the implication of what he was going to be forced to do dawned upon him. 'I'm...I'm never going to come back home...ever...' He shook his head, deciding to not think about that. 'Task at hand, task at hand...If I ever stop thinking about the task at hand, I'll do something stupid or go nuts, I swear it...'

But that night, before Ko had to leave, he and Vardi each looked at Samba and gave soft smiles. "Well," Ko said, "I guess this is goodbye, huh, Samba?"

Samba nodded. "...Yeah." He looked away a bit.

Ko brought his eyeridges together as he smiled. "I asked the guys in charge for me to stay here, and said I would only hinder the group, so I'm not coming. I'm going to really miss you, Samba. You're so intelligent-more than you think-and strong, and gifted with many things. But the most important thing is..." He hesitated for the slightest of moments. "...your heart, because without it, you won't be able to know what to do. I know you try to have a single-track mind, but take the time to listen to your heart. And take the time to make sure your heart stays the way you want it to be. However, preferably, I'd like to ask that you try to keep it as bright as you can." He paused, then smiled and said, "Well, uhm...I'm not good at this...Well, goodbye, Samba," turned, and left a little hastilly.

Vardi smiled and nodded to Samba. "Just come back, okay, big brother?" she asked simply.

Samba felt a pang of regret as he looked and smiled down at his sister. "I will," he lied. "I will."

"Promise to look after Mom?"

"Promise."

"'K!"

And the rest of the night was dinner, then bed.