Chapter 2: Adventure Calling
"Hey, hello? Are you listening to me?"
Link was, in fact, not really listening to the fairy trying to get his attention yet. Nor was Skull Kid, apparently. At the moment, he was only focusing on her appearance. She was a smaller fairy, of the variety that lived in the fountain near Saria's favorite spot in the forest. Her body let off a pale blue-white glow, reminding Link of the Kokiri's guardian fairies. But she was not yet close enough for him to get a whiff of her scent and figure out which place she belonged to. Still, it was rare to find a single fairy by themselves here, this far from either the forest fountain or Kokiri Forest. Maybe she had become separated from her Kokiri?
The fairy did not seem happy about being ignored. She drew close, flying erratically between his and Skull Kid's faces, until the two were finally forced to acknowledge her. Skull Kid raised a hand up to wave her away from his face.
"Okay, okay fine!" Skull Kid grumbled. "What is it?"
"You two are skull kids," The fairy stated matter-of-factly. "Are either of you a Link. Or do you know a Link?"
Skull Kid paused for a second, then slowly raised up a hand and pointed to his friend. "That's Link."
The fairy turned to look to Skull Kid, then to Link, and blinked a couple times, seeming to calm just slightly. "Oh, thank goodness. I thought it might take me hours to find you." She fluttered over to Link and flew a couple circles around him as he tilted his head to the side. "The Great Deku Tree sent me to find you," she explained. "I'm Navi, a fairy in his service. I've been asked to bring you to him. Right away. So please, follow me. It's urgent."
Navi tugged once on his sleeve and then, without waiting for a response, she zipped off to the edge of the clearing, before pausing there and turning back to look at Link expectantly.
Link looked over to his friend, then back to Navi, who was already a speck against the treeline. Skull Kid shrugged and stretched before standing up, offering a hand out to Link. "I say check it out. It's so rare that a fairy comes to give any of us skull kids attention, you don't pass up that kind of opportunity. Besides, it could be fun. And I'll come too!"
Link finally nodded and accepted his friend's hand, climbing to his feet. He paused for a moment to stash his flute back in his pocket, dust himself off, and to pick up the sword from before, then scurried after Navi and his friend.
The fairy zipped ahead of them through the woods, leading them through clearings and twists and turns at a rapid pace, the boys having to run to keep up. Fortunately, they had already been on the edge of the Lost Woods, only a short jog from the Kokiri Forest.
Upon their arrival, the fairy made a beeline directly for the far end of the fields the Kokiri called home. As Link followed her, he heard some startled cries and gasps from behind him. It wasn't the first time he'd entered the Kokiri Forest, but it was the first time he'd come in broad daylight in a long time. And although there was no true ill will between Kokiri and skull kids, his kind tended to avoid wide open spaces with few places to hide. Claustrophobic walls of stone and dirt protected the Kokiri from many dangers from the forest and outside world, but also provided few places to escape in the event of danger, a fact Link did not like one bit. He always felt on-guard here.
As they reached the end of the clearing, Link had to skid to a stop to avoid stumbling into a Kokiri standing in his way. Navi just fluttered on past the child. Skull Kid, on the other hand, did not stop in time and slammed right into Link. The two tumbled to a ground in a heap, then looked up to the other child with sheepish grins. The Kokiri stood in front of them with his arms crossed and an unamused expression.
As the two climbed to their feet, the Kokiri spoke up with an impatient edge to his voice. "Why are you two here?" The boy asked, tapping his foot.
"Hey, what's the holdup?" Navi asked, circling back to see what the holdup was. She caught sight of the mistrustful Kokiri and, putting two and two together, addressed him. "Mido, the Great Deku tree asked for them to come, so please let them by."
"Oh yeah?" Mido narrowed his eyes, unconvinced by the fairy's words, and swept his gaze between the two skull kids. His fingers were practically digging into the skin of his upper arms. "Why would he ask for either of you instead of me, the great Mido. The leader of the Kokiri? I don't care if you are Saria's friends, I'm not letting you pass!"
Skull Kid gave the Kokiri a blank, silent, unnerving stare for a long moment. Then he leaned over to Link, and with one hand cupped to the side of his mouth whispered just loud enough for Mido to hear. "Hey. Are we supposed to know this guy?"
Mido seemed to falter for a moment. His arms fell to his sides as he did another sweep-over of the duo. Then his gaze locked on to the blade at Link's side. A familiar blade. "Hey! Isn't that my sword?"
Link turned his gaze to his friend, who giggled nervously and rubbed the back of his head, eyes darting back and forth. He "found" it, huh? Before he could question his friend, however, Skull Kid jerked an arm out, pointing to a spot behind Mido. "Hey look, here comes Saria!"
"Huh, where?" Mido twisted to look in that direction. Immediately Link felt a push at his back; Skull Kid gave him a quick shove before taking off past Mido himself. Getting the idea, Link darted off after him, the sound of Mido angrily yelling after them quickly fading as they left him behind. Skull Kid laughed, and even Link found himself fighting back a giggle.
Navi zipped along behind the troublemakers, grumbling something under her breath as she took the lead. Not more than a minute later, the trio reached their destination. They found themselves in a great clearing, grass spreading as far as the eye could see. In the center was the great guardian spirit of the forest, a tree whose branches stretched far into the sky, covering the entire field in a canopy of leaves.
"Great Deku Tree… I'm back!" Navi exclaimed. "And I found the boy you asked for!"
The tree was quiet for a moment, then in a voice that crackled with age, he slowly spoke, his voice reverberating in the trio's heads. "Oh… Navi… Thou hast returned…" There was another pause. "Link… Welcome… And you as well, other child of the forest… Thou must forgive me, for I know not thine name…"
The skull kid blinked once, then laughed and placed his hands behind his head, leaning back ever so slightly. "Aw that's okay, I don't know my name either! Everyone just calls me Skull Kid, or Skully, like Link here usually does." The boy gave Link a quick pat on the back, then turned his attention to the Great Deku Tree as the spirit began to speak again.
"Whatever thy name may be… as a child of the forest, thou art welcome here... All children of the forest are under my own protection." With the pleasantries out of the way, the tree then focused his words on Link.
"Thank you for coming, Link. I am certain thou hast many questions. I will answer what I can, so listen carefully to what I tell thee… Link, thy sleep these past moons must have been restless and full of nightmares."
Link let out a gasp of surprise, his mind wandering back to the nightmare he'd had just this morning. But before he could voice his confusion and surprise, the tree continued.
The Great Deku Tree chuckled. "Oh ho, thou must be wondering how I would know that… There will be a time for that later, I hope... For now, time is short… As servants of evil gain strength, a vile climate pervades the land, and causes nightmares to those sensitive to it. Verily, thou hast felt it."
Skull Kid tilted his head and reached a hand up to place it on Link's shoulder. "...Link? Have you been having nightmares lately? Why didn't you tell me?"
Link considered it for a moment, and nodded in response, following it up with a shrug. "Didn't want you to worry, I guess," he said to the other skull kid. Perhaps it was also because he considered it unimportant? He could give a straight answer, either way. Whatever reasons he may have had, they were unimportant for now. He turned his attention back to the tree.
"Link… the time has come to test thy courage…" When the boy only tilted his head in response, the tree continued. "There is trouble on the horizon for this forest. I have been cursed… I need thee to break the curse with thy wisdom and courage. Dost thou have the courage to undertake this task?"
Link looked away. "That's a lot to take in," he finally mumbled, letting one arm hang at his side and reaching up with the other to grip his elbow. On one hand, this was not his fight. Or at least, it should not be his fight. The Kokiri Forest was not his home.
But on the other hand, he'd always felt some sort of connection to it. And if something happened here that he could have prevented? Well, he'd feel pretty terrible. Besides, like the tree had said, even the skull kids out in the Lost Woods, like him, were offered some level of protection by the spirit. If something were to happen here, it would have an effect on the rest of the woods. So he let his hands rest at his side and nodded.
Again, a silence hung in the air, and then there was a creaking. Slowly, a part of the front of the Great Deku Tree slid down, leaving a great entryway into the tree more than spacious enough for Link to be able to walk through.
"Then enter, brave Link… And thou too, Navi… Navi, you must aid Link… Link, listen well to Navi's words of wisdom."
Link looked to the fairy gave a nod, and Navi bobbed up and down in response as well. As the two stepped forward though, Skull Kid spoke up.
"Hold on!" He exclaimed, prompting Link to turn his head. Skull Kid reached into his pockets and removed his flute. It wasn't much of a weapon, but he knew how to use it like one. "Wait for me, I'm going with you." He trotted to catch up to the two, and gave Link a light nudge "What, you think you could just leave me behind? I can help too!"
Link flashed his friend a toothy smile and gave him an enthusiastic nod. The three stood together at the base of the tree for a moment, then together, the two skull kids and Navi stepped inside.
This chapter was edited 8/24/2019 for a few grammar, flow, and clarity fixes.
