A New Dawn

Luckily for Guy, Dante wasn't awake to witness his acrobatic display in the hammock, which ended with its depositing of him on the ground. Guy had found what seemed to Dante to be one of the softest, most luxurious beds in Hyrule. Normally a man that snored while he slept, a Deku's snores sounding much like a hollow whistle, Dante found so much comfort in the bed that he was completely and utterly incapacitated by its velvety sheets. Trapped in a prison of silk, Dante appeared as if he had fought some invisible enemy, sprawled all over the entirety of the bed. He did not wake until the first rays of light played against his face, burning through his eyelids. They fluttered open sleepily as Dante began to rub his eyes with balled fists, then sat up. He had slept well, having had not slept since he rode out from the Kokiri Forest, and was finding it difficult to get up. Still wrapped in blankets, he slowly began to untie himself.

As he did so, he noticed that Guy was awake, seemed to be thinking about something. Dante decided to let him be for the moment, and prepare himself for the day as Guy had done just an hour earlier. Slipping off from the side of the bed, he began to clothe himself with his tunic and other articles that he'd deposited at the side of his bed. He fingered at the clothing, wondered why they did it. His clothing didn't even offer any protection from harm. Perhaps it was because Guy and himself spent so much time within Hylian society, where clothes are not only the social norm, but also a necessity. He could only chuckle to himself, how shocked the Hylians might be if he decided to go streaking through the city. There was nothing to see, but still, it would amuse him greatly. Shaking his head, he walked to the table where he had placed his other belongings.

Now what? He'd found Guy, after relatively little time. Dante had expected to find his companion after a great deal of searching; after all, Guy was certainly an illusive man. Truth be told, Dante had thought that he'd have more time think about what he was to do, for his revenge against Ganondorf. Yet... In his journey here, since he had found Guy, had been surprisingly happy. His heart still ached for Scytale's death, yet revenge seemed less important than before. Living in a cave in relative solitude had caused his anger and hatred to fester within him; a hate which still shook his body whenever his thoughts lingered on his adopted son. Dante looked at his hands, realized they no longer trembled. This hatred of mine... I must be rid of it. He thought quietly to himself, pausing before picking up one of his gauntlets. He smiled slightly, sadly, his wooden mouth compressing slightly. He had forgotten what it meant to be a true adventurer. To allow hate to interfere would be to dance with death; it would dull his senses, overcome him, and ultimately lead to his destruction.

He closed his eyes, thinking for a moment. Perhaps revenge is not what I need... But justice instead. Justice. Unlike vengeance, justice was not stupid, petty, or immature. Rather than focus upon Ganon himself, a task that would surely lead to Dante's death, and possibly his comrades both new and old, justice would dictate that all darkness had to be punished. During his time in the bar, he'd heard of a new town under construction; Impa it was called. Perhaps this was where he was meant to be, in order to help the Northern Hylians push against Ganon's forces. A noble aim indeed. Dante would remember to propose this to Guy, when they began to formulate their plans. Of course, there would probably be relatively decent pay... And they would need a good deal of rupees, both for the Brigade and its ship. Finished with the straps of his gauntlets, Dante turned to Guy.

"Ready."

Dante reached up to scratch at his head, his head leaf bobbing up and down slightly. That was quite a lot to dump on a man, after he had just woken up. Guy must have been thinking for awhile, the small scrub thought to himself. Despite being mildly sleepy still, he felt refreshed and had caught most of what his counterpart had said. As usual, Guy didn't disappoint; his plans already seemed to be fairly concrete, and had a good deal of reason backing them. Dante could refute nothing. So, he decided to begin where Guy had started, with the topic of training the Hylians. While he organized his thoughts, Dante began his own morning stretches; he usually stretched with his possessions on, finding that their added weight helped to adjust his body to the weight he would be experiencing during battle. Bending town to touch his toes, he heard the creak of his wooden body. One could tell the difference between the Deku with their morning exercises. Dante was almost the opposite of Guy; whereas Guy combined superior dexterity with sizable strength, Dante used his quick wit and just as formidable skill. This resulted in their highly different builds; Guy was a compact killing machine, whose small appearance hid his perfectly sculpted Deku body capable of quick speeds and powerful strikes. On the other hand, Dante trained his body to be flexible and have elastic muscle, that would react at the exact moment his mind commanded it. Lunging out with one leg, Dante continued his stretches and began to speak.

Dante nodded to Guy for a second, as he bobbed down. "Training the Hylians here will not only bring us much needed funding, but will make it much more simple when it comes to establishing a base of operations here. As you said, Nabooru is a valuable resource, not only in defending against Ganon's forces, but for its natural resources as well. The timber that grows near here seems to, from what I saw, be suitable for creating a ship." Dante paused for a moment, grunting as he stood up. He quickly began to move his feet in circular patterns, alternating between right and left, almost as if he were dancing. Shifting his weight fluidly, he continued again. "But starting a militia may not be as easy as we think... Gaining the support of the local government is our top priority; with their help, gaining volunteers should be relatively simple after that. We could even have them instate a draft, if needed, to at least get all men-of-age battle ready..." Dante thought for a moment. He stopped his movements, thought, began again with a different pattern. "It would be best if you tried to negotiate with them. You seem fairly well known around here... At least, better than myself. We may even be able to enlist that other fellow... Victus? Being a cleric, he might hold some sway over the government here..." Dante mused.

Walking to a wall, Dante kicked his right leg up, rested the ball of his foot against the wall and leaned forward, doing a vertical splits so to speak. "As for training itself, making bows and spears should be relatively simple. I will be able to teach them the process of creating both, as well as how to handle them. We will need straw dummies for the first few days of training, which will just be bales of hay tied to wooden posts..." Dante began to run the logistics in his head, remembering the time when he had once managed a much larger force. He began to name off a few things on his list, muttering, not really talking to anyone but himself. "Chain of command... Formations... Supplies..." He thought out loud. "Lastly, if we want a fighting force that will stand even a chance against Ganon's army, they will need real combat experience. My proposition is as such; after basic training, we each take a half of the volunteers and train them separately. At the end of the week, we pit them against each other with dummy weapons." Dante stopped stretching, looked at Guy, chuckled. "If competition isn't enough to motivate you, then we could always have a bet, hmm? Whoever loses owes the other a favor, no questions asked?" He laughed slightly, eyes glinting, wondering if Guy would accept.

"Anyways, lastly is the brigade. We should make a list of what we are searching for; for example, a helmsman. I can't pilot a ship well, and I'm sure you'd rather not have your hands tied to the wheel." Dante cocked his head to the side. "As for the ship itself, I'm sure we can find a barn around here, or perhaps in the fields just north, to keep the ship." Dante finished his reply, and it seemed his stretches as well.

Dante nodded, agreeing with what Guy had to say, knowing full well that Guy would probably become the mastermind behind all of their plans. He smiled slightly. This was the way that he preferred it anyways; Dante had always been more of a follower. Though, follower wasn't exactly the word for it either. Nonetheless, Dante was extremely happy that Guy seemed to be taking charge, both with their military endeavors and with the brigade as well. That left Dante both more time to work on their Great Deku Flying Machine, and more time to remember his time as an artisan. His hands remembered, each finger recalling every turn of the knife, every placement of a screw. But his mind did not have the ingenious spark it used to, and his eyes could no longer see the infinite possibilities in a simple plank of wood. Dante laughed at himself slightly. Guy was right; they needed another mechanic and wood worker. He was getting old.

Dante smiled wryly. Enough of this sentimental bull crap. "Yeah, we're going to need another mechanic to help. As things are, I can probably build most of the ship by myself, but it would go faster with another helping hand... What I worry about is the maintenance of it once it's built. I never was the kind of Deku to stay in one place, so I can't be fixing the ship up all the time." Dante agreed, nodding his head. "I don't have much else to ask for, though... A demolitions expert might be nice, since cannons were originally part of the blueprint. And of course a captain. But I think we've already got that covered." Dante chuckled, hand covering his mouth lightly as he did so. Walking past Guy and out the door, Dante looked down the stairs and was instantly assailed by a wall of noises and smells. "Though I don't usually indulge in doing so, it smells good. We should get some breakfast." with that, he started down the stairs.

As he descended the stairs, Dante was immediately assailed by a slurry of scents, many of which we pleasant and gave him a craving for Hylian food. Though he usually didn't indulge himself by eating anything other than the natural energy given to him by the sun, or the occasional fruit and vegetable, he figured he could make an exception. He suspected that the savory smell in the air came from sizzling bacon, frying eggs, and roasted potatoes. Of everything he had ever eaten, be it of the Hylians or of some other race, those three in concert created a trifecta nearly as holy as the Triforce itself. Pushing his way through fleshy obstacles, he managed to snag himself and Guy seats at the bar. Pulling his diminutive stature onto a wooden stool, he looked around him, his mouth watering with sap. His body, sensing the impending feast, was palpating. Slamming his fist on the bar, Dante yelled out a definitive "I'll have what he's having!" and began his impatient wait for his food.

As they waited for their orders, Dante and Guy laid out their plans. It seemed that Guy was still waiting for his allies to arrive in Nabooru; rather than simply wait with him, Dante decided that it was in the Brigade's best interest for them to separate at the moment. During the night, Dante had heard of the new town being erected: Impa it was called. He believed that a fortune could be made there, enough to maybe make a dent in the considerable sum that would be required to make the Great Deku Flying Machine. But for the long journey, Dante would need a travelling partner, someone he could trust. Seeing as Guy was going to be indisposed for an undefined amount of time, Dante was left one choice: Victus. Luckily, the two had business with the scrub still. First, they needed his help to convince the local government to allow a Brigade base to be established there. Secondly, though Dante was loathe to admit it, Victus was a strong candidate for membership into the Brigade. Dante would be tasked with extending a formal invitation.

Plans formed, Dante began to devour his food, shoving as much of the "breakfast" foods down his throat. There was no distinction between meal times for the Deku; there was either Day or Night, food coming in the Day with the sun's rising. But "breakfast"... Breakfast was something of the goddesses, Dante was sure. Only they could have created such a blessing upon all of Hyrule. As he chewed through the perfectly cooked eggs, Dante thought about how he would approach Victus. Dante had been in a fowl mood when they had first met; he'd been wounded only a bit before, in a fight with Ganon's forces. Before that, he had lived within a cave as a hermit, and had apparently forgotten how to socialize. Sighing, he nibbled on a piece of bacon. He supposed that this would be the "perfect" opportunity to reacquaint himself with society. Spearing the last of the potatoes through with a fork, he placed it slowly in his mouth, savoring the buttery, salty, and spiced goodness that was the the breakfast potato. Hiccuping slightly, Dante turned to Guy with a straight and serious face. "Alright, so, we'll meet in Impa, oka-- hic!" Dante tried to conceal the hiccup through a cough, but failed miserably. "Okay?" He coughed again, and after an awkward moment, he hopped off his stool and began to head towards the Church of Nayru. Hopefully Victus would be there.