Awake! For morning in the bowl of night has flung the stone that puts the stars to flight
- extract from The Rubayyat of Omar Khayyam
Sunrise.
A sleepy sun cast a golden aura over the mighty forest. Significantly less fairies explored the lost Woods, much to Kibou's relief.
"Ughh... This search might be pointless. Don't hear the wolves anymore..." Birdsong instead echo across the woodland, an avian symphony trying to outdo itself.
Up ahead, a peacock displayed his tail, strutting about. A woodpecker tilted from a tree for a look. The peacock noticed a circular plant, looking like a crown of orange leaves. The peacock nibbled it—a Deku Scrub erupted out the ground with a squeak, causing the peacock to flinch and scurry off.
The wooden creature saw the peacock going away, so ran after it. The Scrub's little legs hidden within its skirt of foliage only did so much, beating against the ground with the rapidity of a hummingbird's wings. The peacock turned his head, hissing; the Scrub skittered to a halt. The graceful bird flew away, escaping the maniac.
The Scrub calmed down and looked back at the woodpecker. The woodpecker cocked his head.
The Deku Scrub's snout retracted and he reared, ready to spit—he fell. The impact made the Scrub to spit the nut vertically into the air. The nut lost inertia and plummeted; bounced off the Scrub's face with a knock.
Kibou shook his head. "And I'm reminded of how much I'm annoyed by this place..."
After a few seconds of bewilderment, the Scrub sat up and shook his head, leafy foliage noisily waggling over his face. The Scrub tried to move his curtain of leaves from his eyes, but his arms were too short. Thumping his foot, the Scrub squeaked then oscillated wildly—and fell headfirst into its burrow, now stuck upside-down, legs flailing.
The fairy flew over. "Ughh, the idiot... Do you need help?"
A squirrel ran to the nut the Scrub spat. The squirrel looked side to side at the fairy and the Scrub, trying to put the Deku Nut in his mouth, but it doesn't fit.
The Scrub finally pulled himself free. He sat, shaking his head.
"Actually, before I go," Kibou said, "Did you see Luna pass this way recently?"
The Deku Scrub gawped.
The squirrel remained unsuccessful with the nut. After messing around with it, the nut exploded—the squirrel and Scrub jump. The squirrel darted off, the Deku Scrub falling backwards into his hole headfirst again.
Kibou sighed. "Why are Deku Scrubs so inept at everything they do?" He grabbed its foot, helping it back up. "Hmm..." Kibou tackled across the Scrub's head, Deku Nuts inside rolling about.
The being waggled his head, regaining some sense.
"Excuse me, Deku Scrub, have you seen Luna go this way recently?" Kibou asked.
The Scrub sneezed, eyes rolling about. "Hm? The girl who wanders around all the time?"
Kibou rang excitedly. "Yes! Long white hair, can't miss her."
"I don't remember exactly when, but..." The Scrub gestured over yonder. "Yes, that way."
"Thank you, friend! See you later!"
The Scrub nodded. "Bye!"
Kibou flew on, woodpecker's knocking echoing.
The Deku Scrub fell headfirst into his burrow, again.
Kibou flew on and on and on...
A few cougar cubs played by a creek, their mother cleaning herself nearby. The cubs notice Kibou and jump after him, pawing the air as he swerved.
"Alright, alright! I'll play for a while! But I gotta get going soon, OK?"
A mossy Gossip Stone stood amidst tree trunks. It had a strange carving, a simple image of a goat-demon. The image sat cross-legged, both arms bent at the elbows, right hand pointing up, left down.
"Hmm… Never seen anything like that before. Must have been carved not too long ago."
Giggles echoed.
The black fairy investigated, soon finding a group of five Skull Kids, three boys and two girls, playing the song of the Lost Woods with their primitive but pretty woodwind instruments. They casually dance and spin.
The Skull Kids wear ragged, loose-fitting clothing the color and appearance of autumn, making them resemble something in-between scarecrows and jesters. Their attire consists of short-sleeved shirts, trousers torn towards the edges, gloves, shoes with upturned toes, and wide-brimmed hats terminating into many split ends. Their skin had the texture of straw, their eyes glow, and the cartilage of the nose and ears disintegrated long ago, leaving behind slits in their skulls.
Two boys and a girl wore masks carved from the front half of skulls, lower jaws gone, upper teeth left on. The two others wore a beak of a big bird over the nose and mouth. These two had a few large feathers pierced through the brim of their hats.
The girl wearing a beak had long, straight, pale blonde hair passing her shoulders, and that alone makes her appear somewhat human at least at a distance. One of the masked boys, a redhead, had a ponytail, and the other Skull Kids seemed not to have any visible hair. The Skull Kids appeared rather spooky in the fog, though their playful nature shone.
The Skull Kids stopped playing, their heads turning at the same time.
"A black fairy?" a Skull Kid asked.
"You don't see black fairies that often," a skull masked girl remarked.
"Maybe it's an evil fairy? I better not be jinxed..."
"What's it going to do? Eat you?" a boy teased.
"Well, I heard that if you touch a fairy, it swirls around you. Does magical things. What if a fairy did an evil thing?"
"Pfft, you're afraid of everything. There's nothing to worry about over a freakin' fairy."
"Say it was a big bear, a killer cougar, or a mad moose. Then yeah, you can be worried," the other girl said.
"I wouldn't be afraid of any of those," the redhead assured, crossing his arms and almost dropping his flute. The others chuckle.
"What would you do if a bear attacked you? Hit him with your flute?" the Skull Kid blondie mocked, tilting her head acutely while shrugging, movement causing her bones to pop.
"Yeah, Gödel is gonna hit a bear with his flute!"
"Well, whatever."
Kibou flew in. "Hello, kitties. Have any of you seen Luna go this way recently?"
The Skull Kids silently stare.
"You're Luna's fairy?" a boy asked.
Kibou nodded.
The blondie scratched her head. "Luna, that pale girl with long, white hair..."
"Yes, that's her!"
"Saw her a few days ago, actually," blondie said.
Kibou flew to her. "Really? I need to find her."
"Well, yeah!" the blondie teased. She looked at her friends. "Hey! Today is my turn where we get to play!" She crossed her arms. "OK, Mr. Fairy, I'll only tell you where Luna went if you play with us."
Kibou's wings tilt back. "Seriously?"
"Hey, everyone! Let's go to that old cemetery far to the west. Race ya'll there!" She darted off. The other Skull Kids run after her, Gödel last, holding his hat down as wind blows.
"Ughh! Well, whatever..." Kibou joined their race...
The kids ran through the wind and swirling fog, bushes and shrubs rustling around them. They held their hats down, rushing through branches.
The blondie's hair flared up, blowing freely behind her, but no matter how hard she tried, the other girl is always faster. For the blondie, this race is much more than a game.
"Can't catch me!" the other girl teased.
"Just you wait!"
"Like I have to try..." Kibou caught up to the lead child, though the race remained active.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Gödel tripped and fell, dropping his flute, swallowed by a carpet of ferns. "Aw, crap!" He soon found the flute and continued the chase.
The blondie clutched her flute tightly, bending forward to run faster. She hopped over a log, a rock, a giant mushrooms…but the other girl is too fast.
Kibou flew backwards. "Looks like the rest of you gotta run faster!"
The girl leading the race hopped over a Deku Baba, awakening it.
"Oh! Watch out!" Kibou warned, stopping.
The flower's bulb opened, revealing a jagged mouth, both halves clicking together and foaming. The Deku Baba outstretched itself, trying to bite the girl's head off. Instead, its stalk fully extended, whiplashing its head into the ground.
Closing in from behind, the blondie jumped upon the Deku Baba, landing on its head, her weight bringing it down before she leapt off. The next two Skull Kid boys jump onto and then off the flower's head, evading its snapping jaws.
Gödel finally appeared. Eager to mimic the style as his friends, he ran towards the Deku Baba. It twisted around.
"I think you should go around!" Kibou cautioned.
The Deku Baba flailed itself at Gödel, who leapt, legs bicycling in the air. One foot went inside the plant's mouth, the other atop its head. Irritated by having heavy things on its head, the Deku Baba reared, hurling Gödel afar.
"Well, that's one way to do it," Kibou commented.
Gödel landed on his knuckles then flipped over, bones popping. Kibou caught up to him, the purplexed Deku Baba useless as usual. The Skull Kids soon disappear into the morning mist.
"Ohoof!" The lead girl got clotheslined by a branch. The others ran over.
"Uh-oh, you OK?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Think I need a little break, though..." She fixed her hat.
"Guess that means the race ended early?" Kibou asked.
"Yes but only for now," the blondie remarked.
"Well, it still counts as me playing! Now you gotta tell me where Luna went."
"Hmm..." She looked around. "Did we even run the right way? Oh, I see... That way, Mr. Fairy." She pointed off. "Go where the forest is moist. That's where the Wolfoses like to gather, where there's water."
"Thanks a lot, friend! See ya!"
"Mr. Fairy?" Gödel asked, plodding over. "Do you have a name?"
"Yes, Kibou."
"Kibou? Hm. I think she mentioned you once."
"Oh?"
Gödel nodded. "She says you're kinda annoying."
The Skull Kids chuckle.
"Ha ha. Well, she's gonna deal with me forever no matter what!"
"You'll find her," the blondie said, "then we can play again."
"Certainly! Alright, off I go, bye!"
The Skull Kids waved.
Kibou went his way, but sighed. "I hope she doesn't end up like them…"
