Lazy Hunter

"They'll eat anything," Freeja laughed, causing both of them to give her a look. "But anyways, we appreciate you feeding us, since our hunting didn't seem to go to well." She tied the pouch back to her staff before setting the metal rod against the wall before sitting down and relaxing. The stew sounded so nice, distracting her from answering right away.

"Brings me to Mido? I've lived here my whole life. Well, not my whole-whole life, since I live outside of Mido in a sense, but still near enough to be considered a resident. But anyways, what about you? Your a Zora, should you live in water?"

Rift walked over to the only other chair in the room, which was directly across the small table from where Freenja was sitting, and sat down. Her comment about the wolves eating anything unnerved him slightly, but he did well not to show it. His comfort was rising a little around these animals. This Hylian girl trusted them, and they were acting fairly civil in his home, despite being wolves. He looked at them and laughed a little.

"Since I am sure I interrupted your hunting, I have no problem feeding you." The smell of the stew was beginning to fill the air, and it was making him hungry. "I have only lived in Mido for a few years, and have pretty successfully kept to myself, so I don't know many of the people here. I was born in Hyrule Bay, but the work is better suited to my tastes here. Hunting is much more interesting in the mountains. What do you do? For work... or whatever..." Rift was not used to entertaining guests or holding extended conversations for the sake of conversation. Small talk was not a skill of his, but this girl gave the impression of being content. Maybe I'm not to bad at this guest thing...

"Hyrule Bay sounds interesting, all that water, living under the ocean must look neat," Freeja commented, petting Ivory as he came over and put his head on her lap. Ebony had finished snooping through the Zora's things and was now quite content with laying down near the Zora to keep an eye on him.

"We don't really work. Like, we do, but it is just for ourselves. Ok, that's a little confusing, I mean, we gather our own food and water, and usually keep to ourselves, but my reputation in the area has led to people asking me to guide them around the area, and they always pay in Rupees. You can't eat Rupees you know, trust me, I tried to stew them once, but no luck. I have used them to buy these clothes, and then my staff, and food when the hunting is slim, but generally I don't care for expensive things. Oh my gosh sorry I'm rambling now, I'm not use to talking with people, I spend most of my time with Ebony and Ivory, and they are much for conversation topics, except when they find food or want something. Oh my gosh I haven't stopped yet, I'm so, so, so sorry, I'll shut up now."

Rift laughed and smiled. Finally, someone worse at this than me! He stood up and walked over to the stew, removed the lid and looked inside. It was bubbling away happily, and smelled better than he would have expected. Should be almost ready... He turned back to Freeja and her wolves.

"No need to shut up, it saves me from having to talk." Rift laughed again and walked to the storage chest. While rummaging around, he spoke again. "Well, the water was nice. Much quieter than up here. But the hunting was less exciting. When you can swim as fast as everything you hunt it is just too easy. Maybe when we take that strange man to Lon Lon, we could make an extra trip to Hyrule Castle-Town... maybe spend some of those rupees of yours." He straightened up, two carved wooden bowls in one hand, and two small roughly carved spoons in the other. He had made the spoons himself. While not the best tools, at least they were splinter free.

"Ready for your stew? I think it's ready, but I'm no cook..."

"I've never been to Castle-Town, should be interesting to say the least. I'm not doing anything else anyways," Freeja agreed, taking Rift's relaxed attitude as an invitation to continue talking. "I'm ready for food, it smells great." Freeja turned to properly sit at the table, Ivory still with her head on her lap, now to beg for food. "Oh, umm, Rift, could you toss their food now? It should keep them happy and quiet, you seem on edge."

Rift set the bowls side by side on the table, then carried the heavy pot over. He carefully poured a portion of the stew into each bowl, barely avoiding making a mess, and then returned the pot to where it had been. By now the fire had burnt out, but the coals were still incredibly hot. He returned to the table once again, and pushed a bowl towards the girl.

"Dig in. I hope it tastes okay." He sat down on the other side of the table and pulled his bowl over. First taste... blow on the spoonful to cool it... put in mouth... Yum! Rift suddenly remember he had forgotten something. He jumped up and placed the extra rabbits on the floor, next to the girl. Best not forget those with large teeth.. He sheepishly sat back down, and continued with his food. After a few minutes, he sat back in the chair and sighed.

"Castle-Town is nice... I have only been there once or twice though. Loads to do there, compared to Mido... How is the food? I haven't cooked for someone else before... I usually just eat whatever I cook, despite the taste..." He grimaced, remembering the last time he had attempted to experiment with fish. It had taken him a full hour to choke down the blackened mess.

Freeja laughed as Rift jumped up to put the rabbits down for her friends. Ivory started to happily bite into the rabbit infront of him, but Ebony was harder to please. He walked over beside Freeja, rubbing up against the side of her leg for a quick pet, then picked up the rabbit and walked back over beside Rift before laying down to eat. Freeja rolled her eyes at the overprotective furball, but it was thanks to them that people never tried anything on her.

Grabbing the spoon, Freeja started to snoop around the stew, scooping up the peices of meat and devouring them. Once she was sure most of the meat was gone, she went after the other large foodstuff in the stew before lifting the bowl to her mouth and drinking the stock. Setting the bowl down on the table, Freeja took a moment to catch her breath. "Sorry about that, generally my food isn't as fancy as this, we don't make stew that often at home." Freeja laughed, sort of embarassed that she had eaten so rudely. Generally she tried to watch her manners, but years of living with two wolves can take its toll on common courtesy.

The rest of the night had been uneventful. After cleaning up from the meal Rift felt tired and had regretfully went to his room to sleep. He was out as soon as his head hit the bed, dreams of hunting in an endless forest cycling through his mind.
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He awoke before the sun. He rose from bed and, out of habit, began to dress. Once clothed he stuck his head into the other room. He couldn't see much, due to the lack of light, and was glad of that fact. He was nervous enough about the girl and her wolves sleeping over, and didn't want to startle anyone. He took a breath, and loudly whispered into the room.

"Hey... we should get ready. The sun will be up soon and we have to meet that man." He retired to his room and quietly lit a small lamp. Its pale light danced on the bare walls as he readied his equipment for the journey. Food would not be an issue. He was a hunter, after all. Rift returned to the door and stuck his head through, to see if the girl was awake.

Ebony's ears perked up, opening his eyes and glancing over at the door as the Zora spoke. Standing up and stretching, he turned to the other two. Freeja was still fast asleep, curled up beside Ivory using the wolf as a pillow. Ebony started to nudge her softly, then started to lick her face until she woke up giggling. "Ok ok, Ebony, please, I'm awake now, come on, that tickles." Pushing the licking wolf off her face, Freeja sat up a stretched, allowing Ivory to get up and stretch as well.

Once she had finished stretching, Freeja stood up and straightened out her dress, made sure her hair wasn't too much of a mess, and grabbed her staff from beside the wall. Looking through the pouch strapped to her staff, she did a quick count of the rupees before closing it again.

"Hey Rift, on our way to meet him, can we stop by the bakery please? I wouldn't mind buying some fresh bread, it's been forever since I've had any. Also, we should stop by the fish market, get something for Ebony and Ivory."

Rift, seeing that the girl was awake, moved into the main room and began to pack a few small supplies that were not in his bed room. When finished, he turned to Freeja.

"Okay, lets go. We can go to both shops, we have time. Just don't spend too much time shopping." He smiled and moved to the door. Before leaving he blew out the lantern and set it on the table. It was a short walk through a still mostly empty Mido to the Bakery. The few people on the streets were shop keeps and early risers hoping to get errands done before the crowds got out. When they got to the Bakery, Rift was happy to see that it had just opened. The shop keep could be seen through the open door bustling behind the counter, presumably preparing for the day. He stood just inside the door and savoured the aroma of fresh bread, waiting.

It was a nice day in Mido, and it wasn't very busy yet, so it was a nice walk to the bakery, which was already busy preparing for the day. Telling her companions to stay outside to avoid scaring anyone, Freeja skipped into the bakery, looking around the shop until she managed to get the attention of one of the bakers. "Excuse me, could I trouble you for four loaves of bread," she asked politely, holding up four of her fingers to further show what she requested. Back into the kitchen for a moment, the man came out with four freshly baked loaves of bread, and placed them on the counter. "That'll be 6 rupees," he told her kindly, and she retrieved a blue and a green rupee from the pouch on her staff and handed it to the baker.

With the loaves in her arms, she happily hopped out of the shop, one of the loaves already hanging from her mouth. Holding out one of the loaves to Rift, she said what could possibly of been 'a gift' but it was hard to tell with bread in her mouth. With that, her next destination in the marketplace was to find a place selling Fish, so she could buy a treat for her two friends. Once she managed to wrestle the bread from her mouth after taking a large chunk from the loaf, she smiled at Rift.

"Anywhere you need to go while we're at it?"

((Minus 6 Rupees for the bread.))

Rift laughed at the Hylian girl and accepted the gift. He broke it in half and put it in the larger of his pouches.

"Thanks Freeja! Lets get those fish. I have everything I need, plus a new loaf of bread." He smiled at the girl and walked off in the direction of the fish monger, gesturing for her to follow him. It was a short walk to the fish monger's shop, and even though the sun was still below the horizon the town was beginning to wake up. A few people waved cheerily to the Zora, but most just ignored him. The town knew who he was, but also knew he was a loner.

Freeja smiled as she walked beside Rift towards the fish market, her two other companions following behind. Ebony was still wary of the Zora, never trusting anything that carried weapons around Freeja, but Ivory didn't mind since Freeja was calm and not worried. Neither wolf liked to be inside the city limits of Mido, but they liked to be close to Freeja.

Once they got to the shop which had nice, fresh fish to sell, Freeja purchased two Greengills and paid the man four rupees. While they were common fish to most people, Freeja and the two wolves are horrible fisherman so they never usually have fish at all. Tossing one to each wolf, who scarfed them down swiftly and happily, Freeja turned back to Rift.

"Now that they're happy and everyone has been fed treats, let's go meet that man for his little joby thing."

((Minus 4 Rupees for 2 Greengill Fishes.))

Shopping finished Rift started walking towards the meeting point. It was a short walk through the still sleepy village. Once he arrived he looked around. A short distance away he saw the man approaching. The man was coming from the west, towards the village.

"Weird..." Rift shook his head and waved. The man waved back and broke into a jog. When he reached the small group he smiled and laughed.

"Hello! Are we ready to leave? I would very much like to get this travel under way. Do you know how long it will take?" The man was practically bouncing in excitement. Rift looked at him quizzically then nodded.

"Let's go. I want to be at the lake by night fall." He began walking. He was moving at a much slower pace than normal, due to the accompanying charge, but he knew they could make the first leg of the journey before the sun set. It was an easy walk north west from Mido to the lake; mostly flat ground and grassland. Plenty of open spaces and little danger. Easy.

Freeja waved to the man happily as she finished scarfing down one of the loaves of bread she had. Since Rift seemed to know what he was doing directional-wise, Freeja was content with acting as the hired muscle. Keeping stride with Rift, she smiled to the Zora and turned to her two furry companions. "Hey you two, why don't you go on ahead and keep the area clear? Try not to attack anyone though, just come back here and let us know, kay?"

Ebony glared at the Zora curiously, still trying to decide if he really should leave, but Ivory had already run ahead, and he didn't want to leave his brother either. Sighing, Ebony barked to Ivory then ran forward as well, shooting one more sideways glance at Rift before bounding off ahead.

"Man, that looks fun, wouldn't it be fun to be a wolf?" Freeja laughed.

Rift laughed along with his new companion. Being anything but Zora had never appealed to him. He walked boldly and quickly. Traveling slow got no one anywhere fast, and that was not his style. Rift was forced to pause more than once to wait for the slow walking charge, but they were making good time. After an hour or so, Rift turned and sat on his heels, waiting for the Hylian man. The man had a strange look about him, and kept looking over his shoulder. When he reached Rift, the man shot him a quizzical look. Rift looked the man in the eyes until the Hylian dropped his gaze.

"What is wrong? You keep checking behind you. Are we being followed?" The man looked Rift in the eyes again for a moment, then laughed.

"No, no! Of course not! I am merely not comfortable traveling. It's nothing for you to worry about." He shot Rift and the girl a smile then laughed. "Shouldn't we be going?" It look a fair amount of self control for Rift to not grimace at this slow walking mans suggestion, but he nodded and continued on the path.

The day went by uneventfully and as the sun began its descent into darkness the Lake came into view. Rift stopped and looked around. He pointed to a small grove of trees and set off walking again.

"That is where we will camp for the night." The trees were only a few minutes away, and their was still some day left.

Freeja walked briskly beside Rift, keeping pace on the long march. Every so often her two companions would come back to check in on her. Along with that, the walk was pretty boring, though it was a nice change of pace from her usual day, and she had already finished the remaining food she had bought in town by the time the sun was going down.

As the wolves ran over to the spot Rift pointed out, Freeja was too hypnotised by the sparkling lake in the distance. She continued to watch it, it seems so much like the ocean near Mido, and so large, but the lake had a different charm to it. She continued to stare at it until she reached the small grove where they would camp.

"Camping under the stars, should be fun. If you bring me firewood, I'll watch the fire tonight," Freeja grinned to the Zora happily, sitting down to relax as her two friends pounced over to snuggle with her and get attention they had been so sorely missing during the walk.

Rift looked around the small grove and pointed to a dip in the ground.

"I'll bring you wood. Make the fire there. Also, sir..." His voice trailed off. The Hylian man was nowhere in sight. Rift swore under his breath. How can it be so difficult to walk in a straight line... "Where did he go?" He began walking around the grove, attempting to see then man. Rift rounded a tree and saw the man approaching from the North. The man waved and jogged over.

"No need to worry! I was merely relieving myself." He smiled that same smile, and Rift felt a wave of uncertainty and mistrust wash over him. Something is not right. The man walked past Rift, and settled down next to a the thick trunk of a tree. "Shall we eat?"

"Freeja, would your wolves be able to round up some meat? I'd rather not wander too far hunting tonight." Rift set about gathering dry wood and twigs for the fire, carrying each armful back to the fire pit. When enough wood for a full nights burn had been collected he sat down and looked around. The Hylian man was busy digging through his pack, his back to Rift. The Zora quietly strung his bow and set it within arms reach.

"Sure," Freeja nodded as she turned to her two friends. "Hey you two, it's a new place, go explore a bit and track down some yummy game, ok? I'll be fine." Ebony seemed unsure, especially with the two strange men with her, but Ivory once again was already off without a second though, so with a huff Ebony was off with his brother to sniff around and look for game.

Standing up herself, Freeja stretched before walking over to where Rift was taking the firewood, kneeling down with her staff in hand. She stuck the end into the middle of the wood, and after a few moments a blazing fire lit up the wood and warmth cascaded over Freeja. She smiled, before standing up again and turned to Rift. "Hopefully they will be back in a bit, sometimes it takes longer for them to weed out where the critters live in new places. Until then, I guess we can just relax and wait."

Rift nodded and moved close to the fire. He didn't trust the charge, and wanted to keep that man in his eye sight from now on. It was only a short walk to the Lake, but a full days boat trip to the other side. The boat trip did not worry him, but Rift none the less had a bad feeling about something. Maye a storm is brewing. Storm or no storm, they needed to sleep.

"Freeja, take first watch. Wake me when you get tired. I will eat in the morning." He looked to the Hylian man. "Sir, get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day." The man looked over at him and smiled his smile. So ominous it looked in the firelight, but maybe Rift was just imagining things. Maybe this feeling was nothing. It had, after all, been awhile since he had made such a journey, and being far from home made him uneasy at times. Rift met the mans eyes as he spoke.

"Yes, I expect it will."