Forest Havoc - Autumn, Guardian of the Lost Woods (2/2/5 Hylian) [Blonde Panther] Reward: Straight Shooting, Gale Seed, Armor Seed, +33 Rupees. - Kytie, Mad Scrub Merchant (1/2/4 Deku) [Marvelous TK] Reward: Boomerang, +10 Rupees. Discussion The Lost Woods could be described by many words. Mysterious, dangerous, confusing, maybe frustrating. However, today was one of those days that the woods were mostly peaceful. Autumn had woken up that morning, slung herself out of the tree she had slept in, and started her normal target practice. She couldn’t randomly shoot Guays or Wolfoses, of course, so she’d settled for the Deku Seeds that she had hung in a couple of trees the night before. After shooting all of them down and watching small woodland life gobble up their contents, she considered practicing a new technique she’d been trying to learn. However, when she licked her finger and held it up, she learned that there was no wind whatsoever. Shrugging, the blonde put her bow away and counted the arrows in her quiver. When she came to the conclusion she had enough for a little while, but would have to remember to steal from some travellers at the first opportunity, she was approached by a small Wolfos with a limp. “Oh, so that’s where you went,” she said, walking up to it and kneeling in front of it to pet it and rough up the fur in its neck and chest. “Let’s go see if there’s travellers,” she said to the beast, “I need to stock up on arrows.” The Wolfos made a sound resembling a dog’s bark, following after its mistress when she got up and walked off. A few minutes later, Autumn snuck through the part of the woods where trees were woven extremely tightly together along what seemed to be a normal road. She had chosen this road several times before because it was a relatively safe path through the woods, and thus an obvious choice to maximize her odds of encountering travellers. Today, too, she was in luck. Not just an unwary traveller, but an entire merchant’s convoy! Probably on their way to the Tourist Center near Moruge Swamp, not that it was any problem of Autumn’s. Arrows were common goods, but also goods that people always needed, so if there was one thing Autumn was sure they would have with them, it was a bundle of arrows. She wouldn’t take much… just a bundle or two so she could hunt and fight properly. She recycled her arrows when she felt she could, so if she took a few now she would last for another few months, even if Stjarnstill decided to act up again. The convoy stood still, for whatever reason, and Autumn walked past it so she could approach from the back. She snuck out of her cover, tiptoeing towards the back of the cart and climbing in. The first thing she noticed once she entered the cart was that it couldn’t be a merchant’s cart after all. While she did find some arrows, nabbing two bundles without counting how many arrows they contained, she found barely anything else in the cart- a few swords, and maybe one or two flasks of a bubbling green or red liquid. Hardly enough to run a store on, Autumn would imagine. Most merchants carried heaps upon heaps of varied or specialized wares. Shrugging, she put the bundles over one arm and started to climb out of the cart, figuring she didn’t care where her arrows came from.
Apparently, people were afraid of the woods. Personally, Kytie couldn't understand why. Well, she had heard stories of thieves, of course, and those were definitely scary - especially for a merchant - but the woods themselves? She liked the woods, they reminded her of home. Obviously they weren't perfect - a lot more dry, obviously, and the smell wasn't nearly so pleasant as the swamp's, but she couldn't begin to worry about the stories of curses in a place like this. Maybe since Hylians liked to surround themselves with rocks, all the trees made them nervous? But for Kytie, if she could get to any place using the woods, she would have loved it. Again, except for the thieves. That kept her glancing side to side at the trees lining the path. The more she thought about thieves - big, burly bandits ten times her size, probably! - the more nervous she got. After all, what was more tempting to them than a merchant? She'd even managed to get her hands on things she noticed Hylians loved - like those sharp metal sticks they always had, 'soars'. They were so popular with Hylains, she was sure any thief would want to attack her for those! So she pulled her goods along slowly, trying to make as little noise as she could, keeping all her senses alert for any sign of trouble. And she heard something - echoing off the trees in the near distance. She wasn't sure what it was - something... thwack-y. She came to a stop, straining to hear it better, hoping to figure out what it was, but it shortly stopped. She stood still for a moment, listening intently, until she heard another sound from the same direction - it took a moment from that distance, but she recognized the sound from the 'dog' animal Hylians liked. Did bandits have dogs? Probably! Kytie gave a few panicked glances at the trees, wondering if she was already surrounded, before diving headlong into nearby shrubbery, peering out intently. A few minutes passed, and Kytie was beginning to relax. The bandits hadn't found her - by now, they were probably gone, right? But before she could bring herself out of hiding, someone appeared. From her angle, she couldn't get a good look, but was certain they were climbing into her cart. A bandit! What did she do? She was going to lose all her soars! Frozen, she only stared until she saw the person climbing back out. They were definitely carrying something... but just those sticks, those arrows. Not even all of them! And she caught her first good look at the person, too - a Hylian, not big and burly like she was sure bandits were, but more... graceful, she thought. She had heard enough about bandits to know they were not graceful. ... The Hylian was definitely big, though. Almost three Kyties tall, she guessed. But almost everyone was big out here. And if it wasn't a bandit, that made the person.... A customer! she thought, growing a bit excited. Psyching herself up as best she could for a sale, she gathered all her will to act. "E-excuse me!" she squeaked out, pulling out of the plants with her own leaves shuffling nervously. Wow, the Hylian was even bigger up close. With a small gulp, she tried to look as friendly as she could. "A-a-are you wanting to buy those? They're... um..." she paused, trying to place a good price on them. "... Um, seventy rupees each, I think?"
She hadn't been careful enough sneaking into the cart and snatching the arrows, or maybe she had taken too long. When she clambered out, someone called out to her. Autumn wasn't used to being caught during a theft, so she had to stop for a second to consider her options- fight, run, or let Wolfos dash in to scare them off? She couldn't run, obviously. The Spirits' Glade was too close to here and the Forest Spirits wouldn't take kindly to her luring an intruder right into their home. Wolfos' limp was still not any better, either, so she'd either lose the creature or it wouldn't suffice as a distraction. Fighting seemed to be her only option, and the hand that was not holding the arrows slowly slid to her sword as she prepared to size up her enemy. What approached her, however, confused her immensely. She had expected Hylians, the most common traveller in the Lost Woods, but instead of a five foot something tall, rosy-skinned human of flesh and blood, what approached her was a small person, looking like an Octoroc crafted out of wood. It came complete with the foliage on its head. Dekus were considered natives to the Lost Woods, so Autumn withdrew her hand, leaving her sword where it was. She would not be allowed to kill it even if she wanted to. However, this did pose the problem of having to somehow get out of this situation. Her eyes flitted towards the bushes on the side of the road for a second, and she saw Wolfos curiously poking its nose out of them. "Ah, eh..." Rupees? "I'm afraid I don't possess any... er... rupees, was that what you called them?" She wasn't familiar with the concept of monetary value, but she immediately realized the idea behind what the Deku proposed. She just had to offer something in exchange for the arrows, right? "Instead, perhaps I can offer you myself." She tried to assume a more relaxed position, sitting on the edge of the cart. "I know my way around these woods well. Perhaps I could guide you to their nearest exit. In return, I would keep these arrows. Is that an acceptable proposal?" She hoped it was. She wasn't used to demanding anything in return and she was certain her masters would be appalled to learn it, but this was the best way to get out of it without having to kill a native. She looked at Wolfos' position a second time, seeing that it had retracted its nose. On one hand that meant the Deku would not spot it as easily, but at the same time it meant Autumn had no idea where it had gone or what it was doing...
Kytie carefully watched the Hylian - her customer - as she waited for an answer. It was quieter longer than she expected. Was it usually this quiet? Something was wrong. Was this a bandit after all? Did she make a mistake? Kytie began to shake, leaves rustling, as the Hylian glanced at her and towards the bushes... and then finally, to Kytie's relief, spoke. But it wasn't anything Kytie had expected. "No... rupees?" she repeated in surprise. "You don't know rupees?" If there was one thing she had learned watching her mentor, it was that Hylians loved rupees, more than anything. They built everything in their life around them! A Hylian who didn't have rupees didn't make sense. ... But, then, she did have a lot to learn about Hylians. Maybe this was more common with them than she thought! She decided that must be the case. Which led to the Hylian's other offer. She had heard of this, of course. It was called 'bartering'. Instead of rupees, you trade - which made a lot more sense to the Scrub. But she wasn't really sure how the pricing worked on trades. Were the arrows worth a guide? She glanced at the Hylian, and out at the woods... the bandit-filled woods that were maybe cursed.... "D-deal!" she said quickly. "A guide for the arrows, that's, that's fair, right? Come on then!" She scurried to the front of the cart, hooking herself in and tugging it forward as quickly as her little legs would let her, before pausing and peering back at the Hylian. "I, I mean, if you're ready... no hurry, I'm... I'm sure no bandits are going to attack right now I'm fine I'm a merchant after all and for a merchant a little thing like big scary bandits is nothing so no rush whenever you're ready...." She gave her best brave expression, and tried to pretend like she wasn't shaking harder than before. If only her traitor leaves would stop making so much noise up there.
Autumn sighed in relief when the Deku accepted her offer. The wooden creature appeared to be afraid, which worked in the Guardian's favor. Most people feared the Lost Woods, both due to their own nature and that of most of its inhabitants. It wasn't the first time Autumn was tasked with guiding a merchant, although it WAS the first time that merchant had been a Deku Scrub. "You seem different from the Dekus that I normally encounter," Autumn remarked. "Are you a native?" She had started to suspect that the golden-leaved Deku wasn't a native at all. Not only did she look different, she acted different. Most Dekus that lived here knew that Autumn meant no harm to them, and traveled very lightly and in groups. This one's behaviour made no sense for a native. Still, Autumn would not kill her. There was no reason to whatsoever. The Deku hadn't threatened her, and her task was to protect, not to kill. The Deku's leaves rustled, betraying that she was shivering. Autumn slid the stolen bundles into her quiver and pre-emptively notched an old arrow, hoping her display of diligence would put the Deku at ease. "I expect a Wolfos to come out of the bushes on our left any moment now," she said. "You don't have to be afraid of it. It's harmless." She had barely finished speaking when the foliage rustled loudly, giving way to the canine. It nuzzled Autumn's leg before stopping to sniff the Deku. Finally deciding it wasn't tasty or dangerous, it barked and started to walk out front of the two. The first five minutes were uneventful, but as they reached a fork in the main road, Autumn felt the presence of a monster. The sensation was hard to describe, but if Autumn had to try, she would say it felt as if the hostile presence leaned on her own, pushing on her mind and denting it like an unpadded leather cap. "Wait," she said to the Deku, as Wolfos, sensing the same sensation, took a wide stance and growled deeply towards the left road in the fork. Autumn pulled her bowstring back, directing the tip of the arrow to that part of the road, but not knowing what to take aim at. Her wonder soon made way to terror as a Skulltula appeared in her vision; not so much because she was afraid of the creatures (since she wasn't), but because it was much, much bigger than it was supposed to be. Its abdomen, raised up to facilitate walking, reached a peak height just above Autumn's head, and she could see the sunlight glinting off of its massive, sharp legs. Wolfos now saw it too, and yelped, running behind the Deku's cart. Autumn, frightened but used to the mysterious woods doing strange things, instead shot at the eyes of the overgrown arachnid. It pulled up its two front legs to cover its eyes, the arrow harmlessly bouncing off of them with the loud 'CHINK' of metal on metal. Autumn cussed under her breath, trying to think of a way to keep the Skulltula away from her charge even as he stepped back, not taking her eyes off of the advancing monster even for a second.
Kytie tilted her head slightly at her new guide's question. "Native? To the forest, you mean...?" she asked, and shook her head. "Oh, no, I was born in the swamp... just south of here, you know?" Did she really stand out that much? She wasn't that familiar with non-swamp Deku... really. just the Business Scrub she used to be with, and she had thought he was the exception. Was it the swamp's Mad Scrubs that were the different ones, then? Did all the other Deku look like Business Scrubs? It was while she was considering all this, that the Hylian made a comment about a Wolfos. "... Wait, a wha-?" Before she could properly finish, the animal in question appeared, causing Kytie to stiffen. Despite being told it was harmless, she froze nervously as the Wolfos came closer to sniff at her, desperately hoping for it to turn away. Its bark made her jump, but after it turned away, she sighed in relief... though she didn't stop glancing towards it, just in case. She also shot a curious look towards her companion. Hylians didn't normally like Wolfos, did they? It had never seemed that way to her. Why did this one keep seeming to go against everything Kytie had learned about Hylians? Kytie had been given a lot to think about already, and faded into silence as they continued, churning over this new information in her head, though she was having trouble making sense of it. It didn't help, of course, that she was also split towards eyeing the Wolfos and peering into the trees for any sign of bandits. Distracted by those three tasks, she almost missed the Hylian telling her to wait, jerking the cart to a very sudden stop. "Is something wr-wrong?" she whispered nervously, eyes darting wildly. She got an answer all too soon, as the large Skulltula came into view, towering above the little Scrub. Every bit of her wooden body screamed at her to run, as she hurriedly detached herself from the cart. She only managed a few bounds back, though, before she heard the twang of a bow, and the sound of the arrow hitting something hard. Looking back in confusion, she saw the Hylian actually trying to fight it! Something that big, shouldn't they all be running now? So why? Was it because of their bartering deal? She didn't understand it at all. Kytie's glance rapidly shifted down the road away, back to the Hylian, and over again to the huge Skulltula. She wasn't sure what to do. She truly wanted to find a hole and burrow down, but she didn't want to just abandon the Hylian to fight that... thing! Panicked and confused, she fell back on a Deku's classic defense - and launched a Deku Nut straight into the beast's face.
Autumn would have recognized the characteristic sound of a Deku Nut being launched out of a Deku's snout anywere, at any time, in any given situation. So obviously when her charge defended herself, she recognized the sound and she covered her eyes with her arm, turning to a side and semi-crouching just in time to avoid being blinded by the flash. Knowing that the Skulltula would be blinded and stunned, Autumn took this opportunity to get her companions to safety. "Wolfos, hide!" she shouted, to which Wolfos limped back into the low foliage to hide. Autumn herself threw her bow over her back, grabbed her charge and ran towards the nearest tree. Putting her foot on the bark to propel herself up, she grabbed a relatively low branch, pulling them both up onto it. By the time she set the Deku down on the branch, the Skulltula had recovered from the shock of the Deku Nut and scuttled around, probably looking around for its escaped prey. Autumn knew better than to hope it would leave the area and not show itself again- Skulltulas were too persistent for that. Fortunately, so was Autumn, and she was not stupid. If a single, normal arrow didn't work because the Skulltula saw it coming and blocked it, she'd have to try something else. This time, she pulled three arrows out of her quiver, placing all three in her bow. She took a deep breath, pulling back the bowstring and aiming at the giant arachnid. As she focused her attention on her middle arrow, slowly but surely a small air draft started forming around it, slowly swelling to a sizable funnel of wind around the wooden shaft and metal tip. Taking aim at the Skulltula's abdomen, Autumn fired. The result was significantly better than the first shot. Spectacularly better, even. While the two normal, arrows bounced off of the abdomen much like they would have off the claws, the Wind Enchanted one connected, unleashing the force of the enchantment on the tip of the arachnid's body, violently topping it and exposing its tender underbelly. Autumn took this chance, burying a shot in said underbelly. The spider squirmed violently when it connected, but as she shot a second arrow, that squirming became a lot less violent. After the third, which apparently connected in a vital place, the spider stopped moving altogether. Instead of climbing down immediately, however, Autumn intently stared at the spider, which had now pulled its legs closely in over its body. In the Lost Woods, it was not that far-fetched to believe that a monster presumed dead could leap up and attack again at any given second.
Kytie was relieved to see the Deku Nut hit its target. Some of her panic began to fade - after all, they could escape now, right? While it was stunned they could run off and-! Her thoughts were cut short when she suddenly felt herself lifted off the ground. For a moment she flailed in surprise, but stopped moving when she noticed it was the Hylian. She very nearly started again when the Hylian jumped into a tree, though! The moment she was set on the branch, she moved herself backwards to lean desperately against the trunk. She was so far off the ground! She had never been off the ground like this before! But, it was definitely less scary than being down there right now, she reminded herself, looking at the Skulltula. The monster didn't seem to have any idea where the two had gone, scuttling around down beneath them. The Hylian had definitely picked a good hiding spot! This definitely beat Kytie's 'hope they could outrun it' plan. Now all they had to do was wait, right? That small hope was quickly lost, as the Hylian drew arrows again. Wouldn't that give them away, though?! Kytie held her breath as three arrows were readied (she didn't know that could be done), and watched with fearful eyes as they hurtled towards the creature. To her surprise, this time it left the creature exposed! She watched with a frightened fascination as the Hylian continued firing arrows, watching the monster's struggles weaken and stop. Feeling a bit bolder now that it wasn't moving, Kytie scooted slowly away from the trunk. "Is... is that it? Is it... dead?" she whispered tensely. She leaned out from the branch to try to get a better view... but unused to being on a branch, leaned too far, losing her balance and toppling out of the tree. It was a short fall, and light, wooden Kytie bounced off the ground mostly unharmed, but the breath was knocked from her lungs, and between the fall, and very suddenly being this close to the thing that had just been wanting to eat her, she found trouble getting it back. Staring up at the beast with wide eyes, all she could find herself doing was lying motionless, repeating in her head, Please be dead. Please be dead. Please be dead.
When the Deku fell down, Autumn abandoned her own caution and decided to follow her, feeling it would be easier to protect her if she was close to her. The guardian slung her bow over her back to free up her hands, grabbing on to the branch. She then jumped back, allowing gravity to pull her down and used her arms as leverage to swing herself into a short, but wide arc from the branch before letting go and landing on her feet next to the Deku, in front of the giant Skulltula. Wolfos had already come out of its hiding, sniffing the thing and wagging its tail. With the Deku in front of it and the Wolfos sniffing its face, it still didn't get up to attack them, so Autumn assumed it was safe. "It's dead," she said, turning it over with her foot to confirm. "But its size... I've never seen a Skulltula grow this big. This isn't a simple case of a monster getting more to eat than it's used to." She sensed something radiating off of the spider, and she touched it as if she was expecting to feel a draft. Of course, she felt nothing, other than her Sense alerting her to a hostile influence. "We have to hurry," she said. "The exit shouldn't be far from here. I will take you there as quickly as I can, and then I will look into this." Wolfos barked loudly, pointing further towards the left road. "No, Wolfos. I don't want to endanger a traveler. We're going right and taking her to safety before anything worse happens." Wolfos barked one last time, but then submitted and limped over to the right road. Autumn turned to the Deku. "I apologize. It seems the Spirits have chosen a bad moment to test me." She sighed, shaking her head. It was the only explanation she could come up with. The Forest Spirits, or maybe their foes, had decided to play a prank on her. "If on the way out of here you see anything like that," she gestured towards the dead monster, "please call me immediately. I listen to the name Autumn." She took her bow to hand again, notching a fresh arrow. The results of the Wind Enchantment had been satisfying. With a little more practice, she should be able to achieve even greater results. "I'm ready to continue when you are."
Kytie remained frozen for a moment, staring at the spider creature. It wasn't until the Hylian announced it was dead that she found her breath, and relieved, pushed herself off the ground. Even so, her eyes didn't leave the corpse. This close up, it seemed even bigger than she had thought, and even dead on its back it was enough to make her shudder. A bit sore from the fall, but otherwise unharmed, she stretched and took a few slightly unsteady steps back to her cart. Everything she had was in there; it was lucky they didn't have to abandon it. Her wares could always be replaced, but.... Only half-listening, she dug into the back of it, pulling out her treasured possession, the small mechanical beetle from her mentor. Feeling its cool touch on her bark calmed her down immensely, and she focused more on what her guide had been saying. "... Wait - look into - worse -?" she repeated, running through everything she had just been told. She glanced down the left fork the Wolfos was so interested in. "Are - are there more of those things? And you're going to be fighting them - alone?" She didn't understand the talk about spirits and tests, but she had heard enough to know that this person was going to be heading straight into more danger. And Kytie knew that if she had been here alone... well, she didn't want to think about it. Something about this didn't sit right with her, but she wasn't sure what to do. She blinked at a strange comment, quickly working to decipher it. "You listen to the - oh, you mean, you're Autumn?" she translated. "Oh, well... hello, Autumn, I'm... I'm Kytie. It's very nice to meet you." Even though they hadn't just met. Either way, she had come to a decision. Maybe just learning her name had tipped the scales. With a name, Autumn wasn't just 'the Hylian' in Kytie's mind, but was now someone Kytie actually knew. And someone who had saved her. Why? For a few arrows? She may not know much about being a merchant yet, but she was sure her life was worth more than that. If anything, she owed Autumn now. So her answer was clear. "Um... if something's going on, I... it's better to look into it quickly, right?" she offered. "I mean, with - with big, scary monsters like that... that's dangerous, so it shouldn't be ignored, not for me. I...." She paused, inhaled, and straightened up as tall as she could (though still not even half of Autumn's height). "You can guide me out after it's stopped! Um... whatever... it is." Once again she tried to stop from shaking, and to her credit, managed to keep it to a light tremble this time. "That was - that was our deal, right? You guiding me out? So we can... put it on hold for just a bit! Until - until the forest is safe!"
Much to Autumn's surprise, the Deku offered to go with her. "Absolutely not," she said. "It is my duty to guide travelers safely out of the Lost Woods. I'm not allowed to expose you to danger." I'm sure it won't be that bad. She shut her mouth, looking around the area, when she heard the voice in the back of her head. She really seems to want to do this. Why not bring her? The more, the merrier, right? Was it one of the Forest Spirits? No, the voice sounded too... playful for that. Not serious enough. In the worst case scenario she can serve as a fine wood shi- SHUT UP! Autumn jumped when a second voice, which she recognized as her own, chimed in, silencing the first one. Looking at Wolfos and Kytie, she concluded that she had been the only one to hear the voices. Swallowing painfully, she tried to recompose herself. "...that said you raise a very valid point. Knowing the nature of the spirits dwelling in here, the longer we leave this unattended, the worse it could get." She didn't want to give Kytie an example of just how bad it could get- she imagined the Deku wouldn't take kindly to the mental image of an exodus of oversized Skulltulas into Hyrule Field. "Very well. It may be better to investigate immediately, but Kytie, there are some rules I want you to follow. First, You must know that the Lost Woods are not normal. The paths twist, turn, and change. I know my way around these woods extremely well, even with their magical nature taken into consideration, so I want you to stay close to me so you don't get lost. Secondly, we'll have to move quickly, so we have to leave your cart and your wares here. Rest assured, I promise you it will not be touched or moved when we return. Lastly, and this is maybe even more important than the first two points..." she was dead serious on this. "If you see a Hylian child about twice your height, with a black, web-like mask covering his face, point me towards him immediately. He is more of a threat to you than any Skulltula would be." The LAST thing she wanted was for the Deku to run into the fire-happy mage. "Do you understand all that?"
The flat refusal caught Kytie somewhat off-guard. She'd sort of expected Autumn to hesitate, but 'absolutely not' was more than she had counted on. Confused, she glanced back and forth between the two paths - one towards the exit, and one towards... something. After seeing that monster, she didn't want to let Autumn head down the second path alone - but then, it was looking less and less like she had a choice. If Autumn was that determined she didn't come... was there any way an outsider like Kytie could follow her guide secretly? Not likely. Then what could she possibly...? The suddenly silent Autumn jumped, startling Kytie into her own jump. Expecting an attack, she looked around the road wildly for the next enemy - until Autumn began speaking calmly again. And not what Kytie had expected to hear at all. "Y-you mean, I can come?" Without Kytie even being able to try and argue her case, Autumn had gone from 'absolutely not' to 'all right'? Her mentor had always said Hylians were fickle creatures, but that was after talking them into something, not letting them do a complete turnabout on their own! What could have changed so quickly? Still, not going to complain about having her request granted, and certainly not going to do anything to let Autumn's mind change again, she listened intently to the rules she was given. "Stay close, move quick," she repeated with an eager nod. "And... watch out for masked Hylian children?" That was a... very strange one - how was a Hylian child more dangerous than monsters like that? But it seemed important to Autumn, so she nodded again. "I understand. I won't disappoint you!" she said with as brave a voice as she could. She glanced down the path they'd be taking again, unable to repress a shudder. She squeezed her Beetle close to her, before slipping it into a usable position, taking some comfort from its weight. As always, it was too big on her, and she wasn't sure how much use it'd be in a fight anyways... but gripping it made her feel a bit more courageous. She glanced back up at Autumn, and gave one more nod. "I, I'm ready when you are!"
Autumn took note of the contraption that Kytie had attached to her, but left it alone. She knew well what it felt like to draw comfort from simply holding on to something. After all, gripping her bow often helped relax her, even when there was nothing visible to shoot or it would be useless against a certain enemy. "Very well, then," she said to the Deku as she directed her attention to the left road. "Wolfos, you lead the way." Wolfos lead. It followed the road for the most part, however after a while it changed course and sniffed the trees along the road. It then looked at Autumn, as if asking for permission. Autumn walked forward, putting her hand on the tree and trying to feel it. She didn't sense anything coming off of it, but while comforting, that didn't mean she could afford to drop her guard. "We're leaving the road," she said to Kytie, "Now, more than before, it's imperative that you are careful. Stay behind me... and don't look back." She couldn't be certain for the full one hundred percent that this was the section of the woods she was thinking of, but it would be altogether less messy if the Deku could just focus on the road ahead. Now that they were off the beaten path, the Guardian became increasingly unnerved. Fortunately, she knew her way around the woods extremely well and she recognized the most part of this section. In and of itself it wasn't very dangerous, being one of the more forgivingly enchanted parts of the forest, but it was home to several families of Wolfoses and she knew it to be rich with small Skulltulas. Not TOO terribly dangerous, but even she had to keep her attention on the way they were going so she didn't take a wrong turn and end up completely lost. Suddenly, Wolfos stopped and looked around, seemingly confused. "Don't tell me you lost the trail," Autumn said to it. If it had lost the trail, they would have to find a way back to the safe road. And a way that didn't involve turning around and going back the way they had come, for doing that would just result in horrible things. The beast barked, but that didn't tell Autumn anything. While she stood still, she faintly sensed something hostile creeping up on them. She didn't hear anything yet though, so she figured she still had time to prepare and try to pinpoint where it was coming from.
