Ah, sorry for the latness. I know I promised an early chapter but life decided to get really complicated really fast. D:
It's still kind of shortish, and it feels like kind of a useless chapter to me, but here you go...
One of the Koroks offered to be their guide through the forest. He was a squat little guy that said his name was Makar. As with most of the other Koroks, he had a sort of wooden jingling sound accompanying him while he walked and that made him easy to find. Looking like a little stump, Link and Zelda had a tendency to lose sight of him since he blended in with the vegetation around them. Vega seemed to have no trouble finding him but he had also remained deathly quiet. He was still bitter and depressed.
"Do you think that we should try talking to him about it?" Zelda asked in a whisper to Link.
"No." The page said simply.
The witch frowned in concern. "But what if he really needs someone to talk to?"
"You would know that best," said the collared page, "If you're so sure about it, you go talk to him."
The young witch's brow furrowed as her gaze went to Vega's back. She hoped her concern wasn't effecting him too mu-
Stupid… concerned… now?
She paused for a second. Those weren't her thoughts… And together they didn't make sense but she could fill in the gaps…
"Zelda?" Link stopped, noting her confused look.
"Oh… I'm fine. Sorry, just dozed off for a moment I guess."
Link forked an eyebrow. "Are you fine to keep going?"
"Yes." She said, perhaps with an unconvincing amount of cheer going with it. "I'm fine, really."
"You two stop chatting and hurry up!" Vega snarled.
Meanwhile, hiding in the shadows of the tress around them, Zant couldn't help but notice Zelda's sudden pause… In fact, as he'd been watching them, he saw that both the witch's and the star's moods and attitudes seemed… consistent. Too consistent. What had happened in the time he was gone after he first confronted them? That was the only time he was gone long enough for anything significant to happen without him knowing… And if he knew what was good for him, he'd better find out what exactly the bond between those two was… If not…
He shuddered at the thought of his lord's anger. That… that wasn't something he'd ever want to deal with…
Perhaps if he'd gotten closer…
He stopped as the star suddenly whipped his gaze in his general direction. He quickly fell into the shadow of a tree. The silvertop's gaze lingered on his direction for a bit longer until the two teenagers spoke to him, possibly inquiring about his sudden stop. The star seemed to dismiss it and they went on following the little creature guiding them.
When they were out of sight, but not out of his senses, Zant came out of the shadows. The star had good senses of his own… and that would make it difficult to get closer to the group. He didn't get that close but the star had detected something. If he had gotten any closer, he would've been identified and… the little witch might come after him. He shuddered. The witch and the star… Those were the ones that truly scared him. The page, though… the page didn't scare him at all. All he had was a little sword to swing around.
A smile played out upon his blue lips…
He'd get closer to them through the page. Compared to the other two, he was harmless. And if he was already in the page's shadow, he was already shielded from the senses of the star (and maybe the witch, he wasn't too sure about her skill level with detecting people).
He blended into the shadows of the forest again, not too difficult since sunlight never seemed to enter the forest, and flew threw them nearer to the group he was trailing. All he had to do was wait for the page to separate from the group and then he could seize his chance…
Makar had stopped, suggesting they stop for the night. Link wasn't quite sure how anyone could tell what time of day it was within the forest but, slow as the Koroks could be, he trusted the squat creature's assessment. He also couldn't say he was opposed to stopping. He was really, really tired. Walking a good chunk of the day, and not to mention running from a giant owl he thought he was going to be eaten by, could do that to a person.
Speaking of being eaten, he was wondering what was around to be eaten by him…
"Hey, Makar," he called to the little thing, "Are there any good hunting spots around here?"
The creature tilted its head, making it look completely lopsided since its head was most of its body, and asked, "Hunt? What's that?"
Link grimaced and but then scowled as he heard a bitter laugh from the star. "And what's so funny?"
"Humans can really be daft- or at least you, bender." Said Vega. Link narrowed his eyes at the silver-white haired man. He was beginning to understand the insults that were being thrown at him – and he wasn't liking the implications. But he said nothing and the star continued on to say, "I'm sure even Ducky can answer this one."
Zelda rolled her eyes, seemingly not liking the fact that she had to explain everything. Still, she went ahead and explained. "Koroks are creatures of the forest. They don't seem to need much in the way of sustenance as long as the forest remains alive. If the forest dwindles, so will they. And if they do eat, they probably don't eat meat. Their little weapons are probably more for self-defense than hunting. At least that's what I think it is…"
Vega nodded, one of the only times he seemed even remotely satisfied with anything. Rather than directing his attention back to Link, though, the star knelt down to be closer to Makar's level. "Little Korok, my friend here meant that he was hungry. He was wondering if there was anything edible that we could eat around here."
The squat creature seemed to understand that. He nodded vigorously, his wooden jingles echoing throughout the area. "Yes, yes! I can go find some for you if you all will wait here for me." He offered.
Zelda smiled and said, "That would be wonderful. Thank you, Makar."
If possible, it almost looked as if the small thing smiled broadly at them before scuttling off.
Link still kept the scowl on his face. One day, he was just going to snap and break every bone in that star's body. But if he did that, he had a feeling that Vega would be even less willing than he already was to help them. The page inwardly shrugged at that. All that meant was that he had to keep all of his pent up rage inside of him until after the king was well again. Then he could break every single bone in the silvertop's body.
After smirking at the thought, another thought – more of a necessity, really – came to mind. He began to wander off when the witch finally said, "Where are you going?"
"Were I in that damned wolf appearance, you'd call it marking my territory." He said, before adding with a teasing smile, "Do you want to watch?"
She blushed, "N-no! Just go and take care of it!" Zelda snapped.
When the page was out of sight was when Vega dared speak. "Stop that."
The witch gave him a puzzled look. "Stop what?"
Vega glared at her, but she could sense his tension, anger, and concern. "I'll speak in your terms just so I can make this bloody clear: While we are tied together, don't you dare ever think of that boy as anything more than a friend."
She felt her face reddening again. "You don't have to say that twice! I'd never think of that chauvinistic pig like that!"
The star gave her a flat look and she could sense the disbelief. "Ducky, you would be so surprised at how many of you humans have said that. Just keep in mind that whatever you feel affects me too. Also keep in mind that there are certain things that stars are incapable of feeling for very good reasons." He said, tone matching expression.
Zelda knew there was a warning in that message, especially the last sentence. She didn't quite understand it, though. Star beings… As she understood it they were beings of almost pure magic yet very similar to Hylians… Was he talking about one of the things that made Hylians and stars so different?
Stupid question…
She repressed a wince. That comment had answered one of her earlier questions.
He was very much well aware that they shared some of their thoughts…
The page then returned, rustling the bushes as he did so, but he looked distracted. That was enough to intrigue both the star and the witch.
"And what seems to have got your goat, bender?" Vega asked, sounding disinterested but Zelda sensing he was to some degree concerned.
Link glanced behind him for a second and then shook his head a little. "Nothing really… It was just weird, is all."
The blond witch forked an eyebrow. "What was weird?"
The collared page seemed to think over whether the question was worth answering and then said, "It's just that while I was taking care of business, I felt like I was being watched. That didn't bother me too much, probably because I was relieving myself in an unfamiliar place. Anyone would be uncomfortable with that… But then all of a sudden, it was like something came up behind me and… I don't really know but I feel kind of violated…"
… Is he insane?
The thought from Vega was purposely shared to Zelda and she stifled a grin.
A wooden jingling noise then came closer to them. All their heads turned to see little maker climbing over a moss covered log with a bag, which all of them could have sworn he never had, filled with what they all assumed to be food. Zelda scrambled up quickly to help Makar over the log. After which she led the squat thing to the center of their little resting spot.
The little Korok seemed very happy as he placed the sack on the ground. "I found lots of things to eat!" He said happily.
The three waited in anticipation as the Korok fumbled with the knot on the sack. When the knot was undone, the sack unfurled so that it was just a square of cloth which held what would be their meal. All three held in their frowns at the sight, not wanting to offend.
"Bluesnap roots are really delicious!" Said the creature.
Vega honestly had no idea what bluesnap roots were… but they looked absolutely terrible. And given Link's expression and Zelda's negative feelings, he had a very good idea that they were in for a very lousy dinner.