A/N: TW: Accidental misgendering, implied transphobia.

The sun rose steadily, warming LInk's skin as he walked slowly through Faron Woods. He wasn't completely sure why he had decided to stop here, but it was the first place he had explored when he'd arrived at the Surface what seemed like a lifetime ago, so he supposed that it was as good a place as any.

He was grateful that the sun was coming up. The early morning air had sent chills down his spine, especially since he had decided to forgo his usual outfit in favor for a simpler pale green shirt, and darker green pants. Looking at his uniform and armor, it all just reminded him of all the horrible things that had happened. And even though he knew he was probably making a stupid mistake, he ironically felt safer this way. He still had his pouch since it had been a gift from Fledge, but it wouldn't allow him to store everything he needed, so he had to bring a rather large bag with him as well. It was heavy and bulky on his shoulder, and restricted his movement quite a bit, but in a strange way, it felt a little cathartic to do something so impractical for once. Even though it very well may end up being his undoing.

As he walked, Link let himself take in his surroundings. As he did, it soon became apparent that this was not quite the Faron Woods he remembered.

The best way to concisely describe it was that the woods looked sad. Many trees had completely lost their leaves, some of which even appeared to be dead or dying. Other plants were much the same in terms of their state of decay, and there was a strong scent of rotting vegetation in the air.

How had Link not noticed this sooner? He had been walking through here for several minutes now; was he really that out of it? He shakes his head back and forth, trying to clear it.

It was probably the lack of sleep. Link hadn't been able to get a good night's rest before… goddess, he wasn't even sure. Every night he'd been plagued by anxiety, or nightmares, or both. Sometimes, the latter were even worse than the actual events. The imagination has a nasty habit of embellishing things, after all…

Something soon distracts Link from ruminating on that Grimm subject even further, much to his relief. A barely audible rustling sound that he had to strain his ears to hear. The hylian looked around for its source, but the only thing of note he saw was a bundle of colorful little flowers.

Link felt a pang in his heart. If Fi were still with him, he could just ask her where the noises were coming from, and they could dows for them. And then… wait a minute. Did the flowers just move? Link approaches them cautiously—

"Kwee!" The 'flowers' suddenly burst upward in an explosion of panicked movement, before the tiny kikwi that they were attached to seems to realize there was no actual danger.

"Oh! You're Link, that hero guy. Hi," the kikwi says. He was the smallest kikwi that Link had ever seen so far, about the same size as a remlit kitten. He could probably fit him in his cupped hands. He must be a baby, or a very young child.

"Nice to meet you," the kikwi continued speaking. His voice was just as high-pitched and squeaky as his size implied. He bounced enthusiastically as he spoke. Link couldn't help but find him completely adorable. "I'm Camolla! I'm a girl, ki ku!"

Wait, what? Link can feel himself becoming slightly embarrassed. Before now, all the kikwi he met were male, and since they were plant folk, he supposed he just sort of assumed that they all were? But now he was feeling really dumb for such an assumption, and Camolla clearly picked up on it.

"What's that look for? You never met a girl kikwi before, have ya? Well, that's because I am the first, kweeheehee! See, I saw your friend come into the woods a while ago. Never saw a hylian or a girl before that day, didn't even know what either of them was, kwee. But I saw her, and that is when I knew that I wanted to be a girl, too! So I am one! Some of the grownups are acting weird about it, though…" Camolla looks down at the mostly brown grass for a moment, her flowers drooping along with the movement. But like many children her age, she perks up again quickly, eyes full of hope. "But you don't think it's weird, do you, Link? You've been around lots of girls, I know it. You won't have a problem with me being a girl, right, ki?"

In truth, Link did find it a bit unusual. He'd never heard of someone deciding to be a girl before; he'd certainly never been presented with such an idea back on Skyloft. But just because it was unusual didn't mean it was bad.

Camolla looked so happy and proud when she told Link who she was, and it clearly saddened her greatly that some of her fellow kikwi didn't seem to accept her, or at the very least understand how she felt. So even though it wasn't something he'd ever heard of before, Link just couldn't think of a reason why it was wrong. So, with a small soft smile at the little girl, he shook his head. No, it wasn't weird that she was a girl. Not at all.

Camolla beams, and begins bouncing up and down in pure, unadulterated delight. "Yes! Yes, oh yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm gonna tell everybody that you said I can be a girl! They can't possibly have a problem after that, kweeheeheeheehee!"

Link's smile grows at the sight of her joy. It doesn't falter, even when a burst of pollen poofs out from her flowers and makes him sneeze. "Achoo! Choo!"

"Sorry, ki! That happens when I wiggle around sometimes."

He's not sure if it will be that simple for Camolla, things in life rarely are. But he isn't about to take this moment of happiness away from the child.

She's about to scurry off into the woods, but then, she turns back. Her expression becomes surprisingly sober for one her age. "Wait. Before I go, I think I gotta tell you something else, ku ki."

Link takes a slow step closer so as not to startle her, giving her his full attention. He had the inexplicable sense that whatever it is she was going to say now, it was very important.

"There's… this guy. He's shiny, and he wears a cool cape, and he tells the monsters what to do, ki? Do you know who he is?"

Link froze. Of course, he knew exactly who the little kikwi was talking about; it had to be none other than Ghirahim. But Link had been almost certain the demon had died not too long after his master; what else could his sword form disappearing so soon meant? He had so many complicated feelings about it all, but he forced himself to give a solemn nod and keep his focus on whatever Camolla would say next. He had to know why she was bringing Ghirahim up so suddenly.

"Oh, good, I thought you would. Anyway, last night we heard this awful noise that woke us up. It was this loud, loud screaming… ki ki ku… It sounded a lot like the shiny guy, we think. It was really scary when it happened, and lots of kikwi think that he is coming to get us. But…" She hesitates for a moment, rubbing her tiny paws together self-consciously. "It sounded more like he was hurt or upset, to me, ku kwee."

Link takes a moment to think about this. The kikwi heard Ghirahim screaming? That meant that somehow, impossibly, he was still alive. How did he survive?

As for Camolla believing the demon was hurt, that… tracked. Ghirahim had been injured very severely, by Link himself, and then, to the hylian's horror, Demise. Link knew the Demon King was evil, but that?

Camolla must have taken LInk's lack of response for disbelief or disapproval, for she quickly rallies to defend herself. "I-I mean, he's never hurt us kikwi before, why would he start now? He even tried to keep the monsters away from us before your friend showed up. When he even came near the woods at all, cause he hardly did most of the time, kwee."

Link blinked. Now that was intriguing information. Ghirahim not harming the kikwi was something he already assumed since none of them ever mentioned something like that happening, but him actively keeping the monsters at bay, too? Before, at the beginning of his journey, he would have never believed it. But now, after everything…

"Either way, I-I really think you should check up on him, ki. I know he's been a bad guy… but I still don't want him to be hurt with nobody who's gonna help him feel better. No one deserves that, I think, kwee. And who knows? Maybe all the shiny guy needs is someone to be nice to him, and try to be his friend. Maybe then, he won't be such a meanie anymore?"

Link felt genuinely moved by Camilla's innocent, hopeful words. Sure, she was most definitely naive. Too young to fully grasp the horrors and complexities that this world had to offer. But at the same time, the hylian couldn't help but feel she had a point.

When he thought about it, Link couldn't think of a single person who had anything remotely nice to say about Ghirahim. Everyone feared and/or hated him, and reasonably so. But to see that not even the master he worked so tirelessly to bring back didn't have a kind word for him either, or any word for that matter…

What must it be like to be in Ghirahim's position, with no one truly on his side? No one to spend time with, have a laugh with, or come to for reassurance? Was it any wonder the demon became as unhinged as he was? It might even explain his egotistical attitude as well. He complimented himself and gave himself the praise and encouragement that no one else would.

Link made up his mind. Even though part of him really didn't want to see anything that had to do with his journey, he knew he had to check this out for himself. For the sake of both Ghirahim and everyone else on the Surface.

Link nods reassuringly at the kikwi girl and she seems to slump in relief. "Thank you, ku kwee. I really am worried about him, and the others are making me feel crazy for it. Come back and let me know how he's doing sometime, okay?"

Link agreed to this easily enough.

"Thank you, Link. Now I really gotta go, the others will freak out if I'm not back soon." And with that, she's gone.

It's when Link is climbing onto his loftwing again that he realizes he didn't ask about the state of the woods. Oh well, that's something for another time, he supposes. He has all the time in the world, now.

A/N: I hope you like Camolla. I write my fics as we I go and I had the idea to include her, so I did. I'm not sure how much she will appear, but I really like her a lot and hope to include her more.

For more info on her in case you're interested, Camolla's name is a portmanteau of camomile and Camilla. She's the most compassionate of the kikwi in Faron Woods, and also the bravest. Though she does tend to run and hide like the others, she's also more willing to try and become friends with those that scare her and try to figure out why they do what they do. she's the most willing to try new ideas and explore.

But she also has a bit of a feisty and stubborn side, being very insistent on what she believes is right, but still nervous about her convictions due to being so young and not getting much support. Yeah, I put in a lot of thought for a side character.