Unfamiliar Territory

Spaghet grimaced when the paste made contact with the man's skin. He felt awful for not offering his assistance to the Zora while he was bandaging his wounds... but Hanno seemed capable enough. Wiki of course did not care, in fact, she had to stifle a giggle. At the man's question, Spaghet got down on all fours and began to sniff the ground once more. Wiki openly laughed this time and Spaghet did his best to ignore her. In fact, he did his best to ignore everything around him except for that scent. After a few moments, he sneezed, and then got back up.

"I-It should be," Spaghet said with a nod. He glanced over to Wiki who looked angrier than usual and raised an eyebrow. He was wondering when she was going to object to --

"-- I'm so glad you're going to waste an entire day tracking a fish in the forest for some guy you just met. Don't you have, y'know, a case to prep, for someone you actually, y'know, know?" Wiki said and tapped her foot. She glared at the pile of documents she had finished filling out the night before.

"Sadly, I know you too well Wiki," Spaghet growled and Wiki replied in the same manner. "Besides, that cut you gave this man is more than enough justification for me helping him." Did Wiki really need to bring up the fact that she was a criminal waiting for trial in front of someone they had just barely met? It was pretty apparent she didn't want to go, so why was she sticking around? Spaghet sighed. He knew the reason. He glanced at Hanno and offered him a small smile. "... I-I was planning on spending a few days in the woods regardless."

"... ... you disgusting little pig," Wiki spat when she realized the implication of Spaghet's sentence. A sly, knowing smile spread across the moblin's face at her comment. He was going to go visit her parents after this and she knew it.

"... T-This way," Spaghet said, wandering off through the bushes he had pointed to before. Wiki glared at Hanno before scooping up the strewn about documents into her bag and following along.

Hanno would do his best to ignore Wiki's laughing and snickering as Spaghet started sniffing around the ground for the scent. It was quickly becoming clear to him that he was going to need to mostly ignore Wiki during the extent of this outing. As such he would keep his back to her as he focused on the Moblin and what he was doing. While Wiki and Spaghet had their little lover's quarrel Hanno would stay quiet. As Spaghet headed off through some bushes Hanno would follow behind him hoping that they wouldn't encounter any hostile locals. The wound on his hand was severe enough that it would hamper his grip strength and thus his ability to wield his spear effectively.

As the group traveled, it was very clear that neither Spaghet or Hanno were willing to start a conversation. Going between oodles of trees and bushes for who knows how long wasn't Wiki's idea of a good time. And Wiki hated being ignored. Especially by her compatriot, who was surprised she had stayed quiet for so long. But she knew that if she bothered him now it would distract him from the scent and she didn't want to deal with this Zora any longer than she had to. She scoffed, it was apparent she was uncomfortable with the entire situation. Uncomfortable and annoyed. The worst combination. However she tolerated it, knowing full well the consequences of bothering Spaghet when he was interested in a task.

"... Hanno, was it?" Wiki began.

Spaghet stiffened. Even hearing her voice made him trip up momentarily, but he kept his cool and continued to sniff as Wiki spoke. He wondered what was going through her head. He had smelt a faint sense of anger from Wiki but... that had dissipated. Now he was worried. But he kept his mouth shut.

"Hanno, I'm ... well, you know Scrubs. And, well, we all have our issues," Wiki said sweetly to the Zora. She wasn't sure if she could get him back onto her side.

Spaghet didn't want to say anything. He didn't care what Wiki did to this Zora, and frankly he was operating now more on guilt more than a favor. And he hated that feeling. Why did Wiki have to ruin every good deed he tried to accomplish? He stopped and looked towards Hanno and Wiki behind him. Wiki of course stopped as well. Spaghet looked at Hanno. The Zora was injured. He deserved the truth. Spaghet pursed his lips.

"... ... Don't trust her," Spaghet said. Wiki was silent. He smelt the anger again, but she continued to remain quiet. Terrifying. He gulped. He would probably pay for this later, but he continued. "... Hanno, I'm sorry. She won't say it. I will, and I will mean it." Did he? He wasn't sure anymore. "But thank you for ... trusting me... us so much." Spaghet quickly began to sniff the ground once more. He hoped that Hanno wouldn't find him rude for trying to obtain the scent while he responded, but the moblin wanted to conserve as much daylight as possible. Plus, he was able to hide his embarrassed blush on his face better in this position. What a corny thing to say.

After he obtained the scent, his back stiffened. Something was very wrong. Wiki looked towards the Zora, and then back to Spaghet. A worried expression crossed her face too.

Just how long had they walked in silence? At this point Hanno wasn't even sure himself, but it appeared as if the quiet wasn't going to last as Wiki spoke. Just what was she scheming now? Hadn't she already done enough damage to Hanno earlier. Wasn't she satisfied? Before Hanno had a chance to reply to Wiki, Spaghet would chime in and tell him not to trust her, and then turn around and thank him for trusting them.

"You know Spaghet, the fact that you felt the need to thank me for trusting you doesn't sit well with me. What kind of world do we live in where we must be suspicious of everyone? Why can't we just assume the best of those around us..." At this point Hanno would look over at Wiki. "....until they give us a reason not to trust them." Turning back to Spaghet the Zora would continue on. "While I don't trust the words that come out of her mouth, she could have killed me while I slept. Sure she may have cut me a little more deeply than needed, but I believe it was just in an attempt to run me off." Just how naive was Hanno? Did he truly believe that there was good deep down in Wiki? There must be, after all she had been kinder to him than some of the Zora's he grew up around.

Turning back to Wiki so that he could finally respond to what she had said Hanno would notice the clearly worried look on her face causing him to look back to Spaghet. The tension in his back was clear, just what had he picked up that caused the two of them to react in such as way?

Wiki crossed her arms as Hanno spoke. She was mildly amused by his presumption of why she had cut him so deep. Sure, she was trying to scare him off, but it also just made her pleased to see a lesser species squirm a bit. It was fun.

Spaghet listened intently to Hanno as he sniffed. He knew exactly how he would respond: Mr. Arabo, I feel the need to thank you because of how awful she is and how awful my entire species is. Please understand that you should have killed me on sight. I'm certain most people would have tried. I am filled with self guilt and a hatred of everything that I am and everything that I continue to be and represent. ... Alright, so maybe he wouldn't have said that much, but still.

However, Spaghet never got a chance to respond. That was a familiar scent. Too familiar. Moblins, definitely of the common variety. He began to shake. He hated dealing with such forest dwellers, usually uneducated and extremely violent. Spaghet pursed his lips. This was exactly what he was talking about. In his head.

"P-Please hide!" He said, pushing Wiki towards a bush. He looked desperately at Hanno... before gently grabbing his hand and leading him towards the same bush as well. Screw other species conventions about not being touched and not touching. This was no time for that. Wiki was pissed, of course, but allowed her companion to lead her towards some brush to hide in.

Spaghet ran off to the clearing again and waited for what he had smelt to approach. They did, of course, two moblin men with large spears and plate mail. They greeted Spaghet in moblin tongue and Spaghet responded in turn. Wiki looked at the Zora. She didn't speak moblin and couldn't understand what they were saying. Unless Hanno spoke moblin he wouldn't understand either.

One of them punched Spaghet in the stomach and the pair began to laugh. Spaghet attempted to choke out a laugh in response, of course, but the punch had knocked enough wind out of him that his laugh came out as a small, pathetic whimper. He held up his finger as he clutched at his stomach. He wished he could explain to Wiki and Hanno what was going on, just a joke, of course, but he knew that if he suddenly switched to a common tongue these men would get suspicious. They weren't that dumb.

Wiki trembled in the bush. It was obvious that she wasn't going to move on Spaghet's instructions. She looked at Hanno, an angry look plastered on her face. If she had lips, they would have been pursed. It was clear she was waiting for the Zora to make the first move.

Although Hanno wasn't sure what was going on, if Wiki wasn't fighting against this Hanno figured it was best if he went along with it as well. Ducking into the bush next to Wiki the Zora would remain quiet and only watch as the two common moblins approached. As the three moblins began speaking in their native tongue Hanno would glance towards Wiki to see if she understood what was being said. It was clear that she didn't understand them either.

As Spaghet got punched and collapsed onto the ground Hanno couldn't help but instinctively clench his hand causing the wound on his hand to start bleeding once more. Biting his lip as he fought the urge to jump out and protect his new friend. His rational mind screaming at him about how stacked against them the odds were. He wasn't a hero, hell he wasn't even much of a fighter on dry land. Not to mention that he can't even use his own spear against theirs. There was no way in hell he was going to fight against two huge moblins with nothing but a dagger.

If that was the case why was he already halfway out of the bush and getting closer to the beasts? His right hand was already resting on the hilt of his dagger. In one quick swipe he would make a shallow cut in the right armpit of one of the moblins as he passed by it. It was about the best he could do against such heavily armored opponents with a dagger that didn't account to much more than a butter knife in this situation. Just what had he done?

Wiki was pleased to see the Zora jump up. She could blame everything on him then. Or at least she would try, of course. She couldn't blame the moblin that was now up in flames next to Spaghet on the Zora, however. That was definitely her doing. She retracted her finger. She really hoped that the Zora wasn't too close to her flames. Spaghet would never forgive her if she torched ... ... Whatever his name was.

The moblin clutched at his wig. Not only was one of these men injured, one was killed. Absolutely fried. It was all Wiki's fault, had she told the Zora to jump up so she would have a chance to strike?! Of course that's what Spaghet thought, considering he knew Wiki long enough to guess most of her actions. Most. He turned towards Hanno, a look of horror on his face. He was most concerned for his own safety, of course, but the Zora seemed nice enough. The moblin wanted to make sure that he would be alright.

The hostile moblin, however, the one that was injured by Hanno, had swung at the Zora. Spaghet backed away slowly. He pulled his cane from his belt, unsure of what to do. There was a whistle, and suddenly an arrow found its way into the moblin that had swung at Hanno. Wiki? At least she was attempting to help, even though she apparantly refused to leave the bush. Hopefully an arrow stuck into someone's arm was enough to throw the beast enough off balance for the Zora to dodge its attack.

Hanno would wince as the second moblin went up in flames, narrowing his eyes and taking a few steps away. He just how dry his skin got around fire, he was definitely going to have to pour some water on himself once this fight was finished. Speaking of the fight the moblin he had injured was now attacking him with a downward swing of its club. Dodging the attack was going to be simple enough, but managing a counter attack was going to be a bit more difficult. As the club came down Hanno would step to his right away from the attack. He wasn't sure what he should do, until he noticed the arrow lodged in it's elbow. Wasting no time Hanno would rush towards the moblin, ducking underneath his outstretched hand. In one swift motion Hanno would thrust his dagger up into the throat of the moblin before using all his strength to rip it out the side of it's throat. The result was Hanno being covered by the resulting blood spray before the moblin fell over backwards dead.

Hanno was a sight to behold covered in blood his eyes fixed on Spaghet now. It took only a few seconds before his expression would soften as he let out a sigh of relief. "Are you alright Spaghet?" As he spoke his grip on the dagger loosened letting it slip from his grip and stab into the ground. Hopefully there weren't anymore moblins heading this way.

Spaghet's eyes widened at the display of gore in front of him. A small spray of blood managed to get onto his shirt and he shivered. He was usually fine with blood, liked it, really, but moblin blood always had a strange smell to it that he didn't appreciate. Maybe it was an instinctual fear. He watched the bodies thump to the ground. His face contorted. Spaghet looked down at the corpses in front of him. Had someone spoken? He looked up, realizing he was definitely being addressed. He hesitated, of course. Two men were just murdered in cold blood. ... Luke warm blood.

".. I'm fine," Spaghet said weakly. Spaghet did not know the Zora's intentions, but he had to assume they were good. Wiki however knew better. Or did she? She had to know how moblins were just more... rough than other species. Right? He slowly rose to his feet, brushed off his clothes, and grabbed the dagger that had stabbed into the ground. He nonchalantly handed it to Hanno. "Y-You .. Y-You're an impressive fighter." Spaghet winced. He didn't know what else to say.

"Bullshit!" Wiki yelled from the bush as she jumped up. Spaghet rolled his eyes. "90% of that was me and you know it. Please give credit where credit is due." The scrub emerged from the bush before continuing her rambling. "Let's hurry up and get moving. I want to finish this up before I get hungry again."

Reaching out Hanno would take the dagger back from Spaghet. He would wipe the blood off of the blade and onto the back of his shorts before returning the weapon to its sheathe. He would give Spaghet a weak smile as he started fishing around in his pouch for his bottomless bottle. He couldn't help but feel as if he had taken some unneeded actions due to the look on Spaghets face. "Wiki's right. I wouldn't have been able to do as well as I had if it hadn't been for her help." She wanted the credit, he was more than willing to give it to her. He wasn't so sure that Spaghet had actually been in danger any more from the way he was reacting.

Finally finding his bottomless bottle he would pull it out of his pouch and open it. Holding it above his head he would start pouring the cool water on his head. The fresh blood that covered his body was being washed away, save for the new blood stains on his shorts. Once satisfied Hanno would close the bottle and return it to his pouch. "I agree we should get moving. I'm sure the overwhelming smell of blood won't remain unnoticed for long." Though he was speaking to Spaghet, he could bring himself to look at him. While Hanno had only acted to protect Spaghet from danger, real or imagined, he now felt like he had done something wrong.

As the man in front of her uncorked his bottle Wiki couldn't help but marvel at it. What a cool invention. She absolutely wanted it. Part of her was angry she hadn't pocketed it while he was sleeping, but she knew that Spaghet would have just made her give it back. However, Wiki seemed genuinely pleased at Hanno's acknowledgment of her success. At least the Zora knew its place. She chuckled and then crossed her arms.

"I-I c-certainly noticed it. T-The nose and all. I..." He began, but found himself unable to continue. He sighed and then smiled weakly at the Zora. He could tell he was making Hanno uncomfortable with his reaction, so he attempted to shrug off whatever he was feeling. Empathy would probably be the closest word to it, but shame felt its way into the equation as well. "... I... I was just worried that if... you killed them .. I would lose the scent." Spaghet darted his eyes to the ground. It was a lot more than that.

Wiki glanced from the Zora to the Bokoblin and back again. She could tell something was up, but didn't really know if she wanted to try to smooth things out between the two. She could guess what Spaghet was feeling, but it was obvious that touching on the subject would probably make this kid feel worse.

"It's whatever, Spaghet, worse comes to worse we just beat up a scrub and ask where they've seen a fishman like this loser. We're close enough, I bet," Wiki shrugged. She shot a glare at the Zora. "Stop feeling bad. If Spaghet had thought they were friendly he would have smelt it on them. Besides, it's not like moblins are worth much to society anyways. Killing one is like killing a hobo, it's not a big deal."

Spaghet's mouth fell agape and then closed again. The worst part was he couldn't argue with her. Tears began to well in his eyes before he turned around, walking in the direction he believed the scent was leading them. The moblin hoped it wasn't long now. He really didn't know how much he could take of Wiki, and he was certain the other man was probably tiring of her as well.

It wasn't until Wiki spoke up that Hanno realized just why he was becoming so bothered by what he had just done. Had the roles been reversed and it had been a few of his fellow Zora picking on him, would that been cause for them to die. Certainly not, and this should have been no different. Was the fact that they had been Moblins clouded his judgement with the type of sentiment that Wiki had just spewed? As much as he didn't want to admit that was the case, he couldn't help but feel that was the case. "Spaghet I'm....I'm sorry. I realize now that I may have over reacted to what was happening." Hanno couldn't bring himself to look at Spaghet as he followed behind him. His shame was getting the best of him after all. "I will understand if you don't want to help me any more." Hanno had a feeling that he was going to get a earful from Wiki for saying that, but he couldn't help the way he was feeling. Why hadn't they just been speaking a common tongue this misunderstanding wouldn't have happened then. Wait, what was he thinking? How had it become their fault? Aside from hitting Spaghet they hadn't done anything wrong. They hadn't done anything worth being killed over. Just because they were Moblins didn't mean that they didn't deserve to live.

"M-Mr Arabo," Spaghet said, shaking a bit. He wiped at his face under his glasses before looking back at the Zora. "I... I pushed you into the bush for a reason, Sir... I... b-b-but... I... " Spaghet's voice began to shake. He felt like he was about to cry, but now for an entirely different reason. ".. thank you." The man wasn't used to hearing apologies. Spaghet gulped and shook his head. "... B-But of course I still want to help you, w-we're almost there."

Wiki crossed her arms as she watched the scene. However, she kept her mouth shut. What an entirely unnecessary exchange. The Zora didn't need to apologize for killing, and Spaghet put too much stock in life. In her mind, they both needed to apologize to her for making her endure such a useless exchange of feelings and shit. Gross. As the group continued walking, Spaghet continued to sniff the air. Beyond this patch of trees, Spaghet was certain that was the epicenter of the scent.

"T-There," Spaghet said. "I-It's... it absolutely has to be just beyond this thick patch."

As Spaghet thanked him a weight felt as if it were being lifted off of his chest. His guilt over what he had done wasn't gone, but it had lessened. "No, thank you Spaghet. I wouldn't have been able to make it this far without your help." When he heard that the Zora that they were looking for was just beyond the patch of trees in front of them he couldn't help but get nervous. He didn't know what to expect once they found the Zora and it scared him. Looking around nervously he would catch a glimpse of Wiki. She was clearly annoyed by all of this. "Cheer up Wiki. You'll be rid of me soon from the sound of it after all."

"Good," Wiki spat, before remembering the bottle. Man that thing was cool. She wanted it. Maybe if she ever saw this guy without Spaghet she could figure out how to beat coax it out of him. She cleared her throat. "... You haven't been the worst companion. And if your hand scars, it'll remind you of the good times we've had." Her voice got as sweet as it could, still harsh, but still a tinge of sugar seeped into it. A tinge. "... I hope we meet again sometime, if only because I want to see how pretty it looks." Wiki sighed and then cupped her hands together. It was a cheap attempt to intimidate. "A shame you're nearly as useless as Spaghet. You're not the worst looking Zora."

Spaghet grumbled something as he moved through the brush again, then paused right before a small clearing. He was definitely afraid to go any further - a Zora who lived in the forest was probably wary of moblins. Maybe not a Bokoblin, however. Or a Bokoblin wearing a wig. And a nice suit. Spaghet gulped, unsure.

"... I suppose...that it'd be best to leave you here, then, wouldn't it?" Spaghet said. His voice resonated with a melancholy tone. He knew as soon as he left Hanno he was stuck with Wiki. That was until he went to go visit her parents, and then she would split, the little cretin. Spaghet wanted to say that he was going to miss the Zora, but something was holding him back. Maybe it was the fear that Hanno wouldn't miss him as well? Spaghet held his tongue. He absolutely didn't want to go, but he knew his place and he figured it wasn't here.

"... A-And I-I think you would have made it," Spaghet said, adding a praise before departure.

"Lies," Wiki tiffed. "Lies fucking lies."

"Shut up Wiki," Spaghet shot back. "... If you want me to go with you, I will, of course. I-I know how... terrifying it can be meeting someone alone."

Wiki rolled her eyes. Pathetic. She tapped her foot, urging the moblin to leave with her.

Hanno would only stare at Wiki as she commented on the way he looked. That was supposed to be a compliment, right? Probably as close to a complement as he would get from Wiki no doubt. "Wiki I think your the only one that would consider a scar pretty, but I can't deny that it would remind me of this experience looking at it." Most of Wiki's antics, and attitude, aside it hadn't been a horrible experience. He had truly enjoyed his time with Spaghet. It had been refreshing to find someone that didn't judge him, or treat him badly just because of his heritage.

Peering over the brush into the clearing the Zora would gulp. His fears about this mysterious Zora were running wild in his mind. If they were living in woods that were infested with bandits, Moblins, Dekus, and god knows what else just what were they capable of that those scum didn't bother it. "You came all this way. Wouldn't you like to meet the Zora you helped me find." A nervous laugh would make it's way past his lips as he took an unsure step towards the brush. "Though I know you have other things that I have kept you from so I will understand if you would rather get started on them." As he spoke he would motion towards Wiki. He had been speaking about the papers she had filled out the night before. "Either way, I can't think you enough Spaghet. I do hope we meet again. After all I do still owe you that favor, and I did enjoy the company." As much as he wanted the company when he met this Zora, he wasn't sure if bringing Wiki along was a good idea. That was the only reason he had asked for Spaghet to come along, but told him he would understand if he couldn't.

"False, I think there's a lot of sickos out there who find scars pretty, isn't that r-" Wiki began, but was quickly cut off by Spaghet.

"-- I think it's best if we get going," the moblin said. He could tell Wiki was getting restless. "... or at least she gets going." Spaghet gave a nervous look towards Wiki. He... desperately wanted to stay, but he had a feeling his companion wouldn't let him.

"Spaghet, if you stay, I'm going to begin to divulge to contents of your wardrobe, your drawers, and your diary."

"... I-It's ... I... H.. hm... I.. ...." Spaghet nervously began to tap the ground with his clawed foot as he spoke. A large blush began to settle behind his already red fur. He looked up at the Zora, realizing that the man had paid him a rather large compliment. "T-Thank you, Mr. Arabo. It's... been a pleasure."

"And yes! Why, you're right," Wiki said, crossing her arms. "He has been kept away from doing things." She began to tap on the ground as well. She looked up at the Zora. "... ... I hope the guy you meet isn't as dumb as you." A quick eye roll and she was on another rant about how Hanno shouldn't have gotten lost in the forest.

Spaghet shook his head. There was no stopping the woman, until he grabbed the back of her leaves, stopping her mid sentence and eliciting a quick squeal from her. Spaghet continued "... I'll wait here with this little creature, you can go ahead. Thanks, truly."

With a smile and a nod Hanno would start heading towards the brush that laid between them and the clearing. Stopping just before the brush he would turn to face Spaghet and Wiki one last time. "I don't know how long this will take, so if you're not here when I finish I will understand. If that does turn out to be the case I have faith that we will run into one another again in the future. Take care of your selves Spaghet...Wiki." With that Hanno would push through the brush and find himself in the clearing. While he wasn't sure what to expect from this mystery Zora, he only hoped that things didn't devolve into a fight.