A Thorny Meeting

[godofph]

Nhort was enjoying a brisk stroll through the lost woods, wobbling along the ground, jingling as he wobbled. Today, he wasn't even relying on propellers to fly over the forest. He had seen the forest from above, and it was much more interesting to look at from the ground.

[Seer235]

While Nhort blissfully went about through the forest, he brought a companion along with him, whether he was aware of it or not.

After entering the light world, one of the first places Kahntre had come across was a deep forest, sure to yield a few interesting creatures. And after a day's journey, he had come across this little creature. Not much, but it was at least worth watching for a while, to see some predator eat it if nothing else. Plus, Kahn was a bit lost. Forests weren't exactly his forte. This thing seemed to know what it was doing though.

So Kahntre watched the Korok from above, crouching on a tree limb, growing slightly impatient of the fact that it didn't seem to be doing....anything.

[godofph]

Nhort paused his stroll to look at a blue flower he had passed, such a nice blue flower it was. He'd have to ask the Deku Tree for seeds to a flower like this, flowers this nice should be everywhere.

Why, I'll just get the seeds myself!

Nhort unsheathed his Thorn Whip and waved it around above his head. The Whip lit up as he channeled his Floromancy spell through it. The Blue Flower suddenly expelled several tiny seeds, and Nhort scooped them up and put them in his bag.

He then continued strolling.

[Seer235]

A hulking form came out of the nearby greenery, sniffing at the air. The Wolfos has smelled something odd, something out of place. It began to stalk through the grass, approaching Nhort.

Kahntre leaned forward on the tree limb, noticing the approaching beast. In all likelyhood, the little guy was about to be torn to bits.

[godofph]

Yet Nhort noticed nothing. He was rejoicing in his harvest of the Blue Flower's seeds and was making plans on where to spread them first. Perhaps Death Mountain, the Sheikah and Gorons may welcome such a nice flower. Or maybe perhaps around Castle Town.

At this point, Nhort heard a crackling of leaves ahead of him. He looked up to see a Wolfos approaching him. The great beast was looking at something, but he couldn't tell what. Nhort reached to grip his whip, but the Wolfos walked right past him.

Nhort whispered a relieved, "Phew..."

He turned and looked at the Wolfos again, and saw it leap at something in a tree.

[Seer235]

Kahntre hadn't expected that. Either there was something about that little guy he didn't know, animals here acted in a very strange way, or he just attracted unwanted attention somehow. He would have to make note of that for future reference.

All of the above sped through Kahn's head as he reached for his dagger and put out a gloved hand to keep the Wolfos from tearing out his throat. However, because he was caught off guard, he hadn't quite reached his dagger when the Wolfos impacted him and knocked him off of the tree limb.

So there he was, on the ground with a Wolfos over him, doing all he could to keep the jaws off his face and the claws from tearing his skin off. If he just had a second to concentrate or grab his dagger. Didn't look like the Wolfos would give him that second, though.

[godofph]

That poor fellow, he could use a hand.

Nhort drew his whip once again and ran towards the Wolfos. The beast payed no attention to the jingling root-ball running towards him. Nhort lept into the air and with a crack of his whip, he struck the Wolfos in the back of its neck.

[Seer235]

The Wolfos turned and tried the bite the whip that had just struck him, allowing Kahn the opening he needed. He pushed the Wolfos' neck upwards, pushing the beast off balance and off of Kahntre. At the same moment, he pulled out his dagger and brought the pointed end into the back of the Wolfos' neck where Nhort's whip has just struck, aiming to sever the spine. Kahn hoped that would take it out, but wouldn't be caught off guard again, already pulling out his sword.

[godofph]

The Wolfos whimpered and slowly fell to the ground. Following suit of this stranger, Nhort too held on to his weapon. The fallen canine twitched several times on the ground in its own puddle of blood before going limp. As if to mourn this fallen beast, Nhort reached into his bag and threw several seeds onto the body. His whip glowed briefly as the seeds sprouted into several tiny flowers.

Nhort wobbled over to this armed stranger and asked, "Are you all right?"

[Seer235]

Kahntre pulled himself up to his full height, towering over the Korok. "It can talk?" he mumbled to himself as he looked curiosly at the strange thing.

Might as well ask what he was thinking. "So...why didn't that thing eat you?"

[godofph]

An awkward question. Perhaps the most awkward he had ever been asked. Not too different from cocking his head like a human would, his Face-Leaf tilted to the side in confusion.

He adjusted the leaf and answered, "Erm...we Koroks are rarely attacked by monsters. They just don't have any beef with us."

Another awkward silence followed.

"Lets start over, my name is Nhort!"

[Seer235]

"Kahntre." Was all the Twili said before crouching down to get a closer look. "....made of wood? What are you, some kind of wittling"

[godofph]

"Oh no, I am a Korok! We are children of the Great Deku Tree residing in the Tetra isles and-"

Nhort began to notice that this Kahntre fellow didn't share his enthusiasm at making a new acquaintance.

"So...what are you? I've never seen something like you around before!"

[Seer235]

"I'm a Twili. I suppose we're not very common around these parts." Kahntre rose back up and looked around. "Speaking of these parts, you wouldn't happen to know much about this place, would you?" He didn't quite care about idle chit-chat at the current time, and might as well find out if this little Korok could be useful.

[godofph]

"Oh I don't know the Lost Woods very well. You usually don't need to know these forests too well when you can fly..."

If the poor fellow was lost, Nhort knew of an immediate solution: ask the locals. And by locals, he meant plantlife. To anyone that wasn't a Korok or Kokiri, that solution would sound absurd. Nhort was unaware of that, however.

"I could ask the plants for the way if you're lost!"

[Seer235]

Kahntre stared blankly at Nhort for a moment, before realizing that he was actually serious. He took another few seconds to come up with an appropriate response, putting away his sword as he did.

"The plants...of course! We'll ask the plants for directions! And if those wily plants refuse us answers, we'll just kidnap their seeds and hold them for ransom until they oblige."

The blatant sarcasm in Kahntre's voice should be enough to reveal his thoughts on the matter.

[godofph]

"Oh no, normally the plants are quite friendly and happy to lend a helping hand to folks and-"

Nhort paused when he saw that Kahntre was still giving him that Blank Stare.

"Where were you planning on going?"

[Seer235]

Kahntre held a hand to his face and shoot his head. This thing just didn't get it.

"Well, what do I have to lose?" he whispered to himself, before speaking up. "Anywhere. As long as I know exactly where I am."

Talking to plants. Well, I suppose it's no stranger than a talking piece of wood.

[godofph]

Nhort turned to a small fern behind him. He began whispering to it, and despite no audible sounds of him being whispered back to, it sounded as if he was having a normal conversation with the plant.

He turned to face Kahntre again and said, "This fern says that to the west, theres the Kokiri Village and the Deku Tree. He also said something about some sort of old abandoned building or cave thing around here."

[Seer235]

Kahn shrugged. It was better than wandering around aimlessly. "Far be it from me to question the fern's navigation skills. Ok, lead the way."

He finally put away his dagger, but made sure to keep his hand near it, just in case.

[godofph]

Nhort suddenly turned to the fern again. More whispers from Nhort to the fern followed. He bowed to the plant and whispered a barely audible "Thank You."

He pointed towards the east and said, "The fern says its this way."

[Seer235]

"Alright then." Without another word, Kahntre started heading off in the direction Nhort had pointed to.

[godofph]

As Kahn walked and Nhort wobbled through the forest to their destination, Nhort was brimming with curiousity. This mysterious place the fern directed them to sounded like quite an adventure, but he was also curious about Kahntre and his people. His newfound partner was the first one he'd ever seen, and he wanted to learn more.

"So, what are you Twili like? I've been to Termina, Hyrule, and the Tetra Isles; and I've never seen any of them before."

[Seer235]

"We Twili come from a very different place, which is why you haven't seen any of my kind before. And I suppose they are generally somewhat like myself."

Kahntre did not feel much like informing Nhort of the history of the Twili, so he quickly changed the subject. "And what of you Koroks? Or for that matter, any of the creatures in this world?" Hopefully, answering this would keep him occupied.

At the same time, Kahntre began to take larger strides, forcing the Korok to hobble faster to keep up.

[godofph]

Kahntre's attempted spiting of the Korok failed. Moments after the speed of his steps increased, he saw his small companion hovering beside him, hanging onto a sprout that was spinning like a Helicopter.

As he hovered"We Koroks are children of the Great Deku Tree of the Tetra Isles! We travel the world and spread seeds, making the world a prettier place. Once a year we return to visit the Deku Tree in a marvelous ceremony where he gives us more seeds to spread, its such a great experience."

[Seer235]

Kahntre grimaced when he heard Nhort mention the seed spreading. Prettier, like this godforsaken place? He still wasn't very happy about being lost and led around by a little wooden (and a bit talkative) creature. And on top of all that, it could fly. Wonderful.

He did not speak on his thoughts though, as that might make Nhort launch into an explanation on why the seeds made everything prettier. Instead, he just nodded his head and replied, "I see."

Suddenly, Kahntre found himself in a small opening in the forest, seeming to come out of nowhere. At the other edge of the opening was a large entrance to an ancient vine-covered building. "This must be what your friend was talking about."

[godofph]

"Ooh! This looks nice!"

Nhort hovered over to the building and looked it over. If it was as viney on the inside as it was on the exterior, his Floromancy could come in handy.

He hovered back to his companion and asked, "Shall we go in?"

[Seer235]

Kahntre shrugged again. "Sure. Let's go." He entered the building, pulling out his sword and dagger in case any unwanted creatures were lurking in the shadows.

[hibbe]

The 'building' was in fact a massive temple structure that had been mostly reclaimed by the Lost Forest. Swaths of vines and plant life had obliterated much of the masonry but what little did remain was truly stunning in it's complexity. The atmosphere was the same crisp dryness that had followed the duo through out their journey thus far though there was the slight smell of water seeping into the air. Perhaps the bottom levels of the Temple had flooded in times long past...

As the two stepped in a distinct 'click' shattered the silence of the place. Twin statues guarding a central staircase swiveled accompanied by the sound of stone grinding against stone. Twin eyes glared down at the adventurers and their centers began to glow a hellish red.

[Seer235]

"You may want to back up." Kahntre said, already following his own advice. At the same time, he quickly put away his sword and dagger, drawing out his bow and putting an arrow in place.

The soft twang of the bow was heard as an arrow launched out at the eye of the left statue.