Curing the ill; Nabooru

Nabooru was a peaceful town. A majority of it's population were Hylian and Goron, but it wasn't really uncommon to spot other races too. Why, even a Kokiri could be in there. Speaking of Kokiri, there was! Rika had arrived in Nabooru the previous night, which was good for him, as it was a long trip from Hyrule Castle Town to Nabooru on foot. He didn't have much to do that day, so he decided to wander around Nabooru, and perhaps he would discover something to do. Earlier in the morning, nothing had really happened.

He mostly saw Hylian and Goron children playing, and Hylian and Goron adults working. A majority of the time, the games or things the children were playing were the same or similar, but the jobs of the adults generally varied, only occasionally becoming similar. It was really nice, you didn't have to worry about someone attacking you or something of that sort. At least, not as much. Rika had simply wandered around uneventfully, until eventually hitting the town's border. Rika wasn't quite ready to leave, so he decided to turn back around, heading back into town. He didn't walk very much until he heard someone scream nearby. It didn't sound very loud, either.

Rika swiftly rushed towards the direction, to see what was happening. There was a boy on the ground, grasping at his chest for air. "Hey, what's wrong?" Rika asked the boy. "I-I accidentally ate some poisonous mushrooms. . . Please help . . ." The boy was in pain, and getting him to a doctor as soon as possible would be a good idea. However, Rika didn't really know the town well, how would they find a doctor? It's not like they could just wander around town until they found one. . .

Re: Helping the Ill; Nabooru

It was a day just like any other, though it was exceptionally sunny. Boris Delgado relished in the sunlight, took it in for a moment, and returned to his hut. It was shady and cool, and kept his patients out of the sun, where they might easily burn. Silly Hylians, burning from simply being in the sun too long. He shook his head. He could never understand these strange creatures, although he did enjoy their company. They had a refreshing look on life, far better than the stuffy noblemen of the Deku Palace. Perhaps it was in their nature, or maybe the circumstances of their lives that had made them so, but they were not consumed by want of material wealth; they had simple lives, only trying to make it from one day to the next. Boris' eyes shined happily. After all, a Deku can't smile all too well.

It was quiet in his clinic, only one patient laying on a table. It was an old Hylian woman, who was merely there for her weekly medicinal treatments. Rheumatism was her infirmity, but luckily Boris had a recipe for an herbal tea that helped to treat its symptoms. He sent her away with a weeks supply in a tiny bag every visit, but she always insisted on staying for a little bit. Usually they drank tea together, simply willing away the hours of the day in peaceful silence. He was, after all, just as old as she, though by Hylians standards he was only within his forties. But he enjoyed her company, and as such, let her stay around. Since there were no other patients, he had dismissed his assistants, giving them the day off. Helping him was a young Hylian woman, probably in her twenties, and an elderly Goron, who no longer needed to work. They were good to him, Boris thought, treated him right. He shook his head, remembering the girl, Leah. She would probably be leaving him soon. She was getting to the age where she could no longer afford to not be married. Plus, she was quite the head turner, as he recalled.

Boris was jolted from his reverie. Someone bolted through the dark curtains of his clinic's entrance. It was a small Hylian boy, no older than twelve. He was seemingly out of breath, but Boris could tell from his eyes that it was urgent. Without a wasted moment, Boris stood up from his chair, ran over to a table with a few items. He grabbed a bottle of clean water, a cot and its rods, and his bag of supplies. Finally, he put his metal-bound book over his shoulders. Strapping the bag, which was attached to a sash, around what was his waist, having a joint head and body as Business Scrubs often do, Boris ran out the door with the Hylian boy. Whatever it was, it was urgent.

----

Boris arrived at the scene quickly, sprinting through the town streets as quickly as his legs would take him. Several times he outpaced the Hylian boy, had to fall back to let the boy guide him to wherever they needed to go. There was a crowd gathering already; never a good thing. "Out of the way! Doctor coming through!" Boris yelled as loudly as possible, though it sounded more like a squeak. Still, he was heard. Despite his incredibly short stature, he commanded a certain respect from the citizens of Nabooru. They dispersed, anticipating what Boris would say next.

"You're crowding him. Get back to your business!" He said gruffly, seeing the fallen boy on the ground. It seemed there was a Kokiri, not a terribly strange sight, kneeling down next to him. As the people left, Boris heard mutters of poisonous mushrooms. Taking a quick guess as to what happen, Boris wasn't disappointed to see the boy clutching his stomach. "You, and you! Help and carry this boy to my clinic." Some younger Hylian men had stuck around; apparently they had nothing to do. They walked over, took the cot from Boris, and placed the boy onto the cot. As they lifted the boy up, Boris remembered; he had excused his assistants. Goddesses be damned! He cursed silently to himself. Thinking on his feet, he grabbed the Kokiri by his hand. "Sirrah, I would be much obliged if you came with me, and helped me save this boy's life." He said quickly. He did not have to direct the Hylian men to his clinic. They already knew where it was, and were heading towards it.

Re: Helping the ill; Nabooru

Damn it, what was he going to do. Rika couldn't carry this boy by himself, definitely not all the way to a clinic. A small crowd seemed to be forming, which was just angering him. "Damn it, are you all just gonna stand there and watch?! Rika shouted at them. It made some of them reconsider standing there, and shocked a few. Of course, there were a few that weren't shocked by it at all. Rika was thinking of what to do. What could he do.

Then, Rika heard a loud, somewhat high pitched squeak from behind the crowd. Following this, the crowd opened up, as a Deku ran towards the boy. The crowd broke up mostly as he said something else. He shouted towards two Hylian men to help carry the boy to his clinic. They seemed to know who the doctor was, and quickly listened to him. Although they stood by motionless before, who would actually refuse to help a sick little boy when directly asked? The boy was quickly put into a cot as the Hylian men ran in the direction the Deku had entered the crowd in.

Then, Rika felt something grab his hand. It was the Deku. "Sirrah, I would be much obliged if you came with me, and helped me save this boy's life." He said rather quickly to Rika. The Kokiri quickly nodded. "Of course, but I don't know where your clinic is, so lead you lead the way!" Rika said quickly, as Boris ran off, Rika quickly following. The two quickly made it to the clinic, having caught up with the Hylian due to their superior speed. That and the fact that the Hylian had the cot.

They entered the clinic as the Hylian men quickly set the boy on the table. Rika ran in behind Boris. "Alright, so what can I do to help, uh. . . " Rika didn't know his name. "W-Whatever, that doesn't matter right now! What do you need me to do?"

Re: Helping the ill; Nabooru

Boris did things on the fly as they entered his clinic. "My name is Boris!" He shouted out, though there probably wasn't any need to be shouting. Perhaps it was the Kokiri's frantic disposition. Whatever it was, though, Boris didn't much care. He had more important things to worry about. Tossing the bottle of water he'd had in his hands to the Kokiri, Boris pointed to a fire pit, which had a pot already sitting over it. There were logs under it, but they were not burning, and there was no water yet in the pot. Rummaging through the mess that was his table of herbs, Boris found what he needed, scooped them up and walked over to the pot. He dumped them into the pot. "I need you to boil this for me. There is flint and steel right down there. It needs to constantly be stirred." Boris pointed to the set that sat right next to the logs.

Turning back to his table, Boris grabbed a bucket, and what looked like a rather large root. "Hold him down, please." The small boy was beginning to convulse now, most likely due to the pain. The Hylian men complied, if with a bit of apprehension. They grabbed the boy's arms and legs, forced them down. taking a small scalpel from his bag, Boris shaved off a tiny sliver of the root. Stabbing the small knife into a table next to him, he grabbed a bottle of water, returned to the boy's side. He patted the boy's arm, trying to comfort him. The boy looked at him through teary eyes.

"What I'm going to give you is Swallow's Root. It will taste horrible, and it's going to make you vomit. That's exactly what it's supposed to do. We need to flush your system of the poison, and this is the quickest way of doing it." The boy nodded his head vigorously. Boris placed it onto the boys tongue, who was now shutting his eyes and tightly as possible. He swallowed it, and for a moment, he stopped moving. Suddenly, he started looking ill, his eyes opening frantically. grabbing the bucket from Boris, which is exactly why he had it in the first place, the boy upended his stomach into the pail. Boris then handed him the bottle of water, which he used to wash out his mouth. The boy laid back down on the table, no longer flailing. "You can go." Boris told the Hylians. They walked out of his clinic.

"Alright Boris, I'm Rika!" Rika said, barely catching the bottle of water. Boris dumped various herbs in the pot, asking Rika to boil it. Rika wasn't really experienced in using them, and would probably have trouble doing so. However, it didn't matter, as Rika had something in his command that would drastically speed things up; The Fire spell. Rika poured the bottle of water in the pan. It wasn't a lot of water, but it would boil quickly. What did he need it for? Rika held his palm out, pointing his hand towards the logs. Flames swiftly swarmed at his palm, almost instantly forming a ball.

They unleashed quickly, moving at very fast speeds. The ball of fire collided with the logs, fairly quickly setting them ablaze. It managed to break one of the logs, but for the most part they were okay due to the angle and position Rika was at when the ball was fired. The flames grew, overtaking the logs. The flames wrapped into the air, taking the oxygen to fuel them. The pan was quickly heating up, and with it, the water. Rika needed to constantly stir it; But with what? He grabbed a long almighty wooden spoon, and quickly began stirring the herbs and water in the pan.

The boy had started throwing up in a bucket. Rika was shocked for a second, but then realized that Boris had intended for that to happen; He had been so focused on setting up the pan that he hadn't even noticed what they were doing. Boris had dismissed the Hylians, so the boy would probably be perfectly fine, Rika guessed. That's when the boy that had alerted Boris walked in, and behind him, a lady. She appeared to be young, around 24, but surely she was older then that, at least 30. Her looks remained the same throughout age, surely.

"Oh, my son!" She said to the boy. She must have been his mother. "Your friend came and told me something bad had happened! Doctor Boris, thank you so much for helping my son, you're always there for us. He'll be fine, right?" She asked, if with a somewhat worried look in her eyes. Then again, she was a mother, it was natural to be worried about her child. Rika noticed this, so quickly said something to help her.

"I'm not the doctor, but I think your son will be just fine. Just a bad case of food poisoning. . . Or something like that, anyway." Rika said the last part somewhat quietly. He didn't want to tell her her son randomly ate poisonous mushrooms. Technically he was right, if you could consider poisonous mushrooms food. How does that happen anyway. "But either way, it's nothing too serious, he's just fine, I promise!" Rika said, laughing a little. Then he realized he had momentarily stopped stirring, and quickly went back to it.

"So Doc- Uh, Boris, when is this ready?" Rika asked him.

Boris was impressed; this Kokiri had used his magic well, and had gotten the water boiling, while his other assistants would probably have been still fumbling with the flint and steel. He loved them to death, but they weren't exactly the best at helping him out. He had half a mind to hire this strange Kokiri, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, but for the better of the townspeople it seemed. He walked over the pot, looked at its bubbling contents. He smelled the fumes that roiled off from the top, recoiled slightly. "I'd forgotten how awful that smells." He chuckled a little. "Anyways, it should be just about ready."

Running over to another table, one that seemed rather dusty, he pulled off a ceramic mug and a ladle. While he did so, he looked up at the mother, began to chat with her. "Your son is already going to be fine. Whatever he ate," he said, winking to Rika, going along with the ruse, "didn't agree with him. However, his body didn't have too much time to digest it, before I forced it out. This tea will help remove the last remaining traces of whatever it was that was in his body, flushing it out from his system. You'll have to make sure he drinks it all, though. It tastes bad, but I guarantee that he'll feel a thousand times better." He finished, spooning some of the boiling tea into the mug and handing it to the boy, who took it gingerly, if weakly. He took a sip, made a funny face. However, he continued drinking after a stern look from his mother. Color seemed to be returning to his face, even as they spoke.

"Thank you so much, Doctor! How can I ever repay you!" said the kindly mother. Though she was much taller than both Rika and Boris, her personality was boisterous, and made her seem unintimidating. She riffled through her handbag, trying to scrounge up a few rupees. "No, that's not necess--" Boris squeaked out, waving his hands at her, trying to get her to stop. But she would not be refused. She placed the rupees on a table that was out of Boris' reach without the help of a chair or a stool, took her boy's hand, and waved to Rika and Boris. Before she left, she gave Rika a hug and a kiss on the cheek; it seemed that she mistook him for a boy, rather than someone who was probably far older than she. Boris chuckled as she left his clinic.

Boris let out a sigh."Thank you for your help, Rika." Boris' eyes blinked emphatically, forming crescent shapes, conveying his happiness through his eyes. He pulled a stool up to the table, grabbed some of the rupees, and handed about half to Rika. "A good days work, huh?" He said happily.

Rika cringed as the smell got worse the more it boiled. It was hard to believe this would help someone, but in fact it could and would! As Boris spooned it into a mug, Rika was glad he didn't have to take it. The boy didn't seem very pleased with it either, but nonetheless, slowly drank the tea. While it was awful tasting, it was quickly and very noticeably making him better by the second. That was certainly good. The woman then got out some rupees to pay them. Close to the same time as Boris, Rika disagreed. "O-Oh, no ma'am! It's alright." Rika said, but she insisted. Rika couldn't refuse.

She set the money out of Boris' reach; However, it was in Rika's reach. She left, but not before giving Rika a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Rika's face flushed, turning a light shade of red. He was rather embarrassed. He was like this for a few seconds until Boris said something. ""Thank you for your help, Rika." Rika's face slowly turned back to normal as he let out a sigh. "Yeah, no problem. I was just around to help, I suppose." He said, stretching his arm a little.

Boris gave Rika about half of the rupees. He didn't want to take rupees from the lady, but from Boris? Why not. It was about 30 rupees, as he stored it away for now. "A good days work, huh?" Boris continued, asking Rika. "Yeah, I suppose." He said. Rika noticed that the fire was still going, and it didn't really need to be. Holding his palm out, chunks of ice quickly clumped together in a ball, unleashing towards the fire. It broke the wood, it having been weakened from the fire. The fire was mostly put out, and the rest was extinguished as it melted the ice. Funny how it destroyed itself.

Then, Rika looked back at Boris. Rika didn't have much else to do today, what else could he do? "So Boris, I don't have anything planned today. Anything I can help with?" Rika asked him. Then he remembered something; Wollo was still in the room Rika rented from the in. Wollo generally didn't travel around towns with Rika, as some people might attack him in mistake. After all, who wouldn't attack an Octorock running around their towns? "Although, before we do anything, could we stop by the inn? I wanna go get a friend of mine. Oh, and do you have any vegetables or anything like that? He's probably hungry too." Rika said to Boris. Wollo would probably rather go with them then sit in the inn all day, anyway.

Boris' mouth contorted into a strange sort of smile, the wood moving in a strange way in order to curl up. "Vegetables, huh? Yeah, I can definitely find some for you. Let's go out back, behind my clinic. I have a small garden going back there." Boris motioned with his hand, beckoning Rika out of the clinic, and into the sunlight. The day seemed only to be getting brighter, though it seemed that it was just past noon now. Circling around his hut, Boris arrived at his garden, which was fenced off by short, wooden beams. The soil in the garden was dark and loamy, and appeared to be well kept. Boris had watered the plants earlier in the morning, and as such, they looked perky with the copious amounts of light they were receiving. He fondled the leaf of one of the lamb's ear plants, feeling the fuzziness.

Rooting through his garden, he found a few carrots, a potato, and a radish. He grew vegetables when he wasn't busy, not only for himself, but for those who could not yet support themselves within Nabooru. It wasn't much, only enough to feed a small family, but the rest of the community was good to refugees too, each family giving what they could, so another could eat. Standing up with his loot, he offered Rika another grin. "Ready when you are!"

Rika followed Boris towards the backyard, seeing various vegetables. He picked out a couple, mostly a head of lettuce and a couple carrots. "Ready when you are!" Boris exclaimed, signaling Rika. Rika held onto the vegetables, nodding. "Alright, let's go!" Rika and Boris headed off towards the inn. It was rather uneventful, as they eventually reached the inn. "Oh, Rika! And Doctor Boris! I didn't know you two knew each other!" The lady at the inn's desk said. She was rather young, she looked about 22. She was pretty cute, really. She wore a green dress, with a darker brown pattern on it. Over the dress was a brown apron, that had the inn's name on the back.

She had somewhat long brown hair, put neatly into a braid. She had somewhat light brown eyes, matching her hair. "Well, we just met. It's kind of a long story. Anyway, Wollo's still up in the room, right?" Rika asked her. "Yeah. He's probably bored up there." She said to him. "Alright then, I'll be right back. You can come with me if you want, Boris." Rika walked up the stairs and into his room. Opening the door, on the bed was a round pink ball.

There was a splorting sound, as the ball stood up, with four small legs holding it up. Turning around, he looked a little similar to a Deku. He had a round pink snout like a deku. He had two black tear shaped eyes, with the small ends flipping upward on the inside, and the round orbs, being his eyes, remaining outside. Atop his snout was a seaweed green leaf mustache. It stretched across his body on both sides, but considering he wasn't very wide, the mustache wasn't very long.

Wollo bounced off the bed, running up to Rika. "Rika! Wollo get hungry while wait for Rika to get back." Wollo said, bouncing a little. "Sorry for making you wait, Wollo. Oh, I brought you some food!" Rika set the carrots and lettuce down, as Wollo started eating it. "Oh, Wollo, this is Boris, a friend I made. Boris, this is Wollo." Rika introduced the two, as Wollo looked up. "Omf. Hfi. Mfe Wfolo. Fwu Wfolo's Fwend?" Wollo said with his mouth full. Of course, Boris wouldn't understand him anyway. "He asked if you were his friend." Rika said to Boris.

Wollo ate somewhat quickly, he was probably fairly hungry. After he finished eating, Wollo jumped off, ready to go. "So Boris, what do we need to do?" Rika asked him.

Boris laughed boisterously, joyous squeaks resounding throughout the room. Never, in his life, had he imagined that he would see a Kokiri and an Octorok together, as friends! He grasped at his stomach as his entire body shook up and down. Once he found his composure again, Boris nodded to the Octorok and to Rika, wiping at his eye. "I like you Wollo, so sure, we can be friends." His mouth grinned, though it was an odd looking grin, Deku having no teeth. Still, he managed. He even gave the Octorok a pat on his, he assumed it was a he anyways, head.

"Anyways," Boris looked at Rika, "I do need to replenish some of my herbal stock. I hadn't expected any action today, but this isn't the first time I've been wrong. I would be much obliged, if you could help me in gathering these herbs. The reason that I ask is that this herb can be found only at night, and the only nearby area that has this particular herb is just south of here, in the small forest at the base of the mountain range. So, what do you say?"

"I do need to replenish some of my herbal stock. I hadn't expected any action today, but this isn't the first time I've been wrong. I would be much obliged, if you could help me in gathering these herbs. The reason that I ask is that this herb can be found only at night, and the only nearby area that has this particular herb is just south of here, in the small forest at the base of the mountain range. So, what do you say?" Rika listened to Boris talk, and as soon as he finished responded. "Sounds fun. I told you earlier, I'd help with whatever you needed." Rika said, laughing a little.

A few hours passed, and it was getting dark. The sun was starting to set, however, not completely. Rika had spent his time mostly wandering around town a little, but nothing relevant happened. He had read a little of a couple books that were at the inn. One was a magic book. Most of it was rather outdated and simple, and could hardly qualify for magic. Flare. . . Splash. . .Straight Shooting. . . Those weren't really any good. If anything, they probably didn't even exist. Straight Shooting was adequate, he supposed. It wasn't a very complicated spell to learn, however, and could have it's uses.

Nonetheless, it wasn't exactly the time for that. It was time for Rika, Wollo, and Boris to head off towards the forest. Rika and Wollo headed off toward's Boris' house to meet up with him.

Boris had returned to his hut, deciding to meet Rika there within a few hours. Nothing of event happened within that time, so Boris decided to water his garden again. Walking over to the well, he lowered the bucket with the rope, heard the splash of the bucket, then began to pull it back up. Tipping the water into the watering can, Boris walked happily back to his home, began to give his plants their evening dosage of water. The land around Nabooru was good farming land, having the nutrients of the plains, but the protection from the wind that the nearby forest and mountains provided. Getting up off of his knees, brushing off his hands, he walked into his hut. The old lady had left hours before, had left Boris a thank you note. He chuckled slightly. It seemed that she planned on bringing her grandchildren with her, on her next visit.

Looking out one of the windows of his hut, which had no glass, letting the wind flow freely through the room, Boris realized that it was almost time for him to leave. He hopped into his flower, fell into the small room below, which was his own residence. Walking over to his desk, which was littered with paper, Boris grabbed his goggles, placed them over his head. The golden color of his eyes was instantly magnified, almost enough to light up the entire room itself. Slipping his steel-bound tome, Protectorate, back over his shoulders, Boris grabbed his trusty mace, Deliverance, and climbed back up to his flower and popped back out. He still had his sash and pouch strapped to his waist, but he checked it to make sure it had everything it needed, such as writing utensils and the like. "Check."

With that, he walked out of the curtains of his clinic, and waited for Rika to appear.

Rika and Wollo strolled up to the clinic. However, there were no top hats or twirling of canes, as they decided to forgo this method of arrival. . . Or perhaps they just didn't think of it. Yeah, they'd definitely do it if they had thought of it beforehand. Nonetheless, the two had arrived at their planned destination safe and sound. Rika was mostly the same as before, he had his two daggers in sheathes on his sides. Attached to his back was his black scythe; Always a fan favorite.

Boris was waiting outside for Rika, as he walked up. "Oh, hey Boris." Rika said to him as they approached, giving a wave. "So, where are we going? I know where the forest is, but I don't know the location of the herbs. Well, whatever, just lead the way." He said, laughing a little. Oh, and Rika thought Boris had boss eyes.

"It's not too far from here. We just have to stroll south, for the most part. The herbs grow at random intervals within the forest, though I do know of a few good patches. They're near impossible to see during the day, though, which is why you have to go during the night when they are in full bloom. Their flowers are a light purple, and give off a soft light, so if you see one, don't hesitate to pick it." Boris explained, beginning their stroll through Nabooru. The nights of the city were fairly quiet; being so close to danger, Nabooru citizens preferred to stay in doors during the night. Not only did they have Ganon's forces just south of them, but they also had the various creatures that lived in the Southern Fields, and the forest as well. Because of this, the only people that Boris and Rika would see, would be the night watchmen. Boris waved to one of the guards as they passed, offered them a hello. They were used to Boris' night outings by now, not even bothering to question where they were going.

"We'll have to be on our guard, in the forest. There are things there, that like to come out during the night... Sometimes, they can be unexpected, too. I accidentally stumbled on a Bomskit's burrow, once. Nearly lost my right arm to its bombs." Boris shook his head, remembering the incident. Like any good Deku, he disliked fire. Luckily, he had suffered only a small burn, which had healed rather quickly with the proper nursing. Crossing the edge of the city, Boris ceased his talking, not wanting to attract any attention from the creatures of the night. Passing through the fields, the forest was easily in distance, Boris able to make out individual leaves within twenty or so minutes of walking. The walk itself was a simple one; there was a well trodden path that led to the forest, as many hunters from Nabooru made ventures into the forest during the day.

Finally, they reached the edge of the rest. Blinking, the lights of his eyes, shining large beams in front of them, Boris looked around. "Yeah, this is about right..." He whispered quietly to himself. He then looked to Rika. "We should be here no more than an hour, if everything goes as planned." He whispered, then stepped into the forest. Jumping over a log, he entered the veil of trees.

"An hour. . . I'd say good luck with that for us. . ." He whispered to Boris. Usually these things took longer then that, but then again, not always. Rika and Wollo followed Boris into the forest. Wollo had trouble climbing over the log, and Rika had to help him. Rika felt right at home in the forest. As a Kokiri, being in a forest was natural to him, so it was great. Rika, Wollo, and Boris proceeded deeper into the forest, trees surrounding them as they proceeded. It was rather dark in the forest, so Rika picked up a stick and lit it using his Fire spell, providing some light for them. Of course, they would be able to spot the flowers even without the flame, as the flowers glowed a bright light.

They had been searching for about fifteen minutes, to no avail. When suddenly, Rika spotted a few! They were glowing in the ground, and there were only about three. But nonetheless, they were there. Then, they were gone. A Fruit Keese had just eaten them. It noticed the flame on the stick, and there were people. It, along with two other Fruit Keese, swooped over towards Rika, Wollo, and Boris.

"Agh! Damn it Keese, so close!" Was all Rika could say as he swung at one with the stick. He hit it, both breaking the stick and setting the keese on fire. That wasn't good, now it was a Fire Fruit Keese. "Agh, I think that made the situation worse." He said, trying to make sure it didn't touch him. Holding his hand out, a ball of Wind quickly formed and unleashed, hitting the Flaming Fruit Keese in midair. It both knocked the Fruit Keese away, and put the fire out, essentially returning to step one, albeit with one Fruit Keese away in the distance. Of course, the Fruit Keese wasn't really injured, so it wasn't a problem.

Wollo tried to hit a Fruit Keese by spitting a rock, but he missed with the few rocks he spit, only serving to make it angry. Who knew Fruit Keese could be so difficult, especially in the dark.

Boris turned, saw that Rika had stumbled upon a few of the flowers he had described before. "Great!" he exclaimed. That is, before the Fruit Keese dive bombed the flowers, gobbling up his precious goal. He let out a heavy sigh, combined with something that was some sort of moan, which resulted in a rather odd noise, something similar to wind passing through a hole in a fence. Great. Just great. Boris did not ask for much in this world, but what were the odds that some stupid flying rodent was going to eat his flowers? Not on his watch. Sliding Protectorate, his large, metal bound tome from his back, he held the straps over his left forearm, tightened them. He brought his makeshift shield up just in time, a Keese bouncing off of its hard, steel cover. Tossing his mace up slightly, letting go of its quartz head, Boris caught it again, grasping its handle.

Ducking low, he angled his shield up, to protect him from more Keese. Then, he saw that the former Fire Keese was now flying towards him. Its yellow gaze burned in his eyes-that Keese was going down. It shot through the air,smoke trailing an arc behind it. It collided with Boris' shield. He felt the residual head lick at his face, as it wrapped slightly around his shield. His feet dug into the loamy soil as he was pushed back by the impact. He let out a quiet grunt. Pushing back with his shield, the Keese was sent backwards slightly, fluttering as it tried to stabilize itself. However, it was too late, as Boris' mace descended onto it. Quartz stone hit the Fruit Keese, and the Keese was sent to the floor in a puff of ash and smoke. It was dead before it hit the ground. Letting out a squeaky roar, Boris shook his shield and mace at the other Keese, in an attempt to scare them off, or at least give them pause.

Having knocked one away, Rika quickly went back to fighting. He pulled out his scythe, spinning it a couple times. Granted, hitting a Fruit Keese with a scythe wouldn't be the easiest job, but it'd probably be better then randomly firing balls of fire, considering if he hit the Keese wrong it could just set it on fire, and if he missed he could set a tree on fire. Anyway, spinning the scythe around to it's bottom, he jabbed at the scythe in the air. This went on a couple jabs, until he spun the scythe back around, choosing to swing.

He swung a couple times, the Keese moving. The Keese slowly moved more out of range each time, as Rika extended the length of the scythe. This was accompanied by Rika's struggled grunts. "Argh- Damn it- Get down here- I hate these things-" This wouldn't last, however, as eventually the Fruit Keese got out of range. Rika was a little angry, and swung again, the Keese still out of range. However, a ball of ice unleashed from the swing, hitting the Keese unexpectedly. However, instead of making it an Ice Keese, it was frozen, falling to the ground.

Spinning the scythe in a complete circle, Rika stabbed the end into the ice, the Fruit Keese disappearing in a poof of smoke as the point impaled it.

Meanwhile, Wollo was dealing with his own Fruit Keese. The Fruit Keese wasn't really doing any damage to him, but it was pesky. It was flying around him, and he couldn't really do anything about it. "Why you no go away? Why you hurt Wollo and fwends?" He said, trying to run away from being attacked. The Fruit Keese just flew around him annoyingly. Eventually it flew into range, as Wollo spit a rock at it.

The Keese was hit, disappearing in a puff of smoke. "Wollo beat the Kwese?" He said, looking up. Wollo did it! He was a true american hero. Except not really."Finally, we beat the damn things. Too bad they ate the flower though. . . But anyway, which way next, Boris?" Rika asked. Boris could pick the next way they go.

"Since there was a patch there, there should be more close by. Since the flowers were able to grow here, that means that this area has the right conditions for it to grow." Milling around, Boris looked at the remains of the flower wistfully, his foot kicking through the destroyed flowers. Bending his knees, he sat on his haunches, began to poke through the flowers. As he had thought, there was nothing of use left to him, the petals of the flower being the herb that he required. Standing up, and slipping his book back over his shoulders, he placed the tip of his mace back into the ground, and continued to use it as a walking stick.

"Well, deeper into the forest we go." he told Rika. He looked up in the sky, saw that the moon had moved since they had first entered the forest. It was definitely going to be a long night. Walking through the forest, Boris took in the sights and scents as they passed the time. He felt the moss under his feet, how it squished between his toes. His hand brushed through the streams of moonlight that filtered in from the trees, playing through them like cascading water. He really did enjoy the forest, especially at night. It always seemed more elegant to him, more intricate and beautiful, than the city. Even the Deku Palace had seemed unnatural to him, despite being made of wood.

Boris' musings were interrupted by childish laughter, that rang throughout the forest. It circled them menacingly, teasing at their ears. "Skull Kid!" Boris recognized the sound immediately. He ducked low, looking around suspiciously. Skull Kids were notorious for playing pranks on almost anything that moved in the forest. Then, he smelled the rotting breath of the Skull Kid on the back of his head. "Hee hee hee." Boris jumped up at the eerie chuckle that came from behind him. "Hello brave Deku, eternal Kokiri." He made a mock bow, his hand making a wide sweep. He stood up again. The boy's hands played through the air whimsically, brushing near Boris' face. "What you seek is not hidden to me." He continued in childish rhyme. "I can find your flower in this forest, but first, you must pass one little test." His hands grasped at a tiny pouch at his side, brought out a deck of cards. The tiny cards began to float around the Skull Kid, trailing through the air. "In this little game, you must best me, and if you win, I will let you be." He looked to Boris, to Rika, then to Wollo.

It was really calming for Rika to be in the forest. While they could theoretically be attacked by anything at any moment with it using the cover of the trees, Rika's original habitat was the forest. He felt calm and at home, and normal. Not that he was normal. . . Nonetheless, however, it was rather nice. Wollo ran along, making sure to keep up. It was a little chilly, and he was probably a little tired. Rika was rather used to staying up late, but Wollo wasn't as used to it. Wollo would generally pass out in whatever inn they were in earlier then that. Wollo was treading along, however, and managed to keep the same pace.

Eventually they came across a Skull Kid. He spoke in rhymes and riddles. While they weren't all clever or confusing, most were somewhat annoying. "I've lived with Skull Kid, they're not that tricky." Rika said. Wollo looked at the Skull Kid curiously. He had never actually seen one before, so it was a sight for him. "Alright, let's play your game. Got any 4's?" Rika asked him, taking the cards. Wollo kind of set his on the ground and held his body over them so no one looked at his. Wollo couldn't read, however, so hopefully they had funny pictures on them. After he responded, Wollo said something. "Uhhh. . . Got uh. . . That one?" Wollo pointed to the 8 card. "He asked if you had any 8's." Rika said. Wollo didn't really know how to play, he just copied what Rika did.

"Curses!" The Skull Kid yelled out, tearing at his shirt and yelling at the sky. A card with an large "8" floated over to Wollo, landed on his head. Boris watched in amazement. This Octorok was the best Go Zora player he had ever seen! "My god...!" Boris whispered in awe, watching as the Octorok transformed in front of him. Boris had a vision, sent to him by the goddesses; the Ocotorok seemed to grow spiky yellow and purple hair, that seemed to defy gravity. He was the incarnation of the king of games, never once to be defeated through all Hyrule. Tears formed below Boris' eyes; not once had he seen a more beautiful sight in all his life. He fell to his knees, began to praise the Octorok's every move, for he truly was a god amongst mortals.

"What!" The Skull Kid yelled out, watching as hair grew on the Octorok's head. "You will not defeat me, pharaoh!" Now the group of four seemed to be sitting at a table, Wollo and the Skull Kid sitting across from each other. Wollo had a green cap on his head, and glasses to boot. Shuffling the cards, Boris dealt Wollo a hand, then the Skull Kid a hand. They looked at each other shiftily, sizing each other up. Wollo clearly had no idea what was going on, and looked to Rika and Boris for help. However, they were too awed by his immeasurable presence to catch his furtive glances. The Skull Kid took this sign of weakness, pushed all of his chips in. "All in!" Wollo copied him, pushing the wooden chips in with his snout.

"Four of a kind!" The Skull Kid cackled out, slamming his cards down onto the felt table. He began to rake chips in. But wait! Wollo timidly laid his cards on the table. "A straight flush!" Boris breathed out sharply. "Wollo takes the hand!" Boris began to cheer, chanting Wollo's name. The Ocotork humbly began to scrape the chips towards him, when all of a sudden, the Skull Kid let out an ear piercing scream, as if he were possessed by some dark spirit. "I summon you, Yellow Eyed Purple Dragon!" He threw down a card with a king on it... In a bright flash of light, a large dragon, purple with large, plated scales, and bright yellow eyes appeared.