Thealter smiled as one still full of whimsy at the fairy and his kind words. Then he looked over to the fairy's companion, still smilling. "He's probably right, I may just run into them. We'll see. And yes, he does seem to like me," Theatler added with a laugh. He seemed fine now, back to his old, more chipper mode. "The weather's relatively nice for this time of year, don't you think?" he asked, as they were basked by sunlight on their journey.

OOC: Short post is unfortunately short, but the most I could think of to say.

Reti looked up at the sun and took in the warmth it gave. It's a lot nicer than it was last night, she thought. "Yea, it is quite nice. Its better than it was last night," she said. Her green eyes shown bright in the sun she was happy to have nice traveling weather. Although winter was on its way she was wanted the weather to stay like this. But she could feel the frost in the air.

"I'm not really happy that winter is on its way. You can feel it in the air, waiting to make a move on the land," she said. She looked around at the area around her. The trees were beginning to slumber. Although they had not begun to change color, it was coming.

Ooc: Its cool that its short. Mines pretty short too. No big deal

Thealter walked along, looking at Reti for once as she spoke. "You know, you're rather perceptive. If I didn't know the flow of the season, I'd be hard pressed to agree with you. I mean, I guess you'd know that winter is coming too, but that you can feel it. That's impressive," he smiled at her, careful to make sure she realized how much of a compliment it was. If her caught her comment about last night, he didn't show it.

"I think we're going to have to stop in the Mutoh Village in route, because I think I'd prefer to make sure you get rest in a bed. We'll have to go a bit out of our way, but I assure you they have good lodgings there. I've stayed there before."

Reti felt her chest well with pride at the compliment. She then stopped for a moment and realized that she may have said too much. Not everyone was like her. She was supposed to be a 10 year old not someone who had been around for almost 100 years. she smiled for a moment and then said, "Well when you lived around the forest your whole life, you tend to catch on the these things." She wasn't lying. She had lived near the forest her whole life, so she didn't feel bad saying this.

She need to make sure that she didn't slip up like that again. She had to make sure that her phi sod as a 10 year old was kept up. She had to make sure that no matter what questions weren't asked. She wouldn't have any answers and everything would be out in the open. She had to make sure that didn't happen again.

She looked up at Thealter and said, "It would be nice to have a warm place to stay for the night. My blanket is quite thin and it does not provide much comfort." She smiled a little while pulling out her small blanket to show Thealter. She then continued, "Mom said not to bring a thick blanket because most nights we would be in an inn and on the nights we aren't we shall have a warm fire. She was supposed to show me how to build a proper one." As she said this last thing, she felt embarrassed not knowing how to build a proper fire. She could feel the change of season, but for the life of her, she did not know how to get a fire going.

OOC: Sorry this took so long.

IC: Thealter looked down towards her again, giving a very cheery smile. "Well, it's impressive still that someone of your age is already so inclined to nature just from spending time around it. You've got a knack for it. I'd bet that there's plenty of great survival skills you know. Sorry fire starting is once of them."

He kept walking. "If you want, I could try to teach you how to build a fire later on, at some point. I mean, I'm sure you'd rather have your mom teach you though, and I'm sure you're going to find her. He sounds like a remarkable woman. And, on the note of fires, I'm sure there will probably be a roaring on in the inside of the inn as well in their fireplace, it'll do a great job of heating such a building and keeping us warm. And, I've got blankets to spare too, so I think we're set," he winked at her jokingly.

she nodded and said, "It would be nice to learn to build a small one. When i find my mom, i can show her the skills I have learned on my own." She did want to learn, but she knew that she still needed to seem like she was searching for her mom. But with each lie she spoke to the kind man, the more she felt aweful about it. It left a hole in the pit of her stomach and made her feel sick.

She laughed at Thealter's last comment. Having a companion like him made her feel happy and accepted. She hadn't felt this way since her talk with the Deku Tree. She felt sad for a moment at the thought of that. Her entire life she had not been wanted or accepted in the Kokiri and here a man that she had just met that day made her feel more accepted than she had ever felt in the forest.

"I think a nice warm fire would be nice for a change of pace. Do you think they will have any soup," she asked Thealter. She loved soup. It was one of her favorite dishes that she made in the forest, of course she always had to have someone else make the fire, which then made her feel sad again. She shook her head quickly trying to clear out the upsetting thoughts, hoping that her sadness did not cross her face, but she was sure it did in an ever so slight amount.

OOC: Totally cool. I've been busy playing TWW

"Well, I should think we could make that fire somewhere outside of Mutoh before we stop for the night," Thealter said with a smile. As he smiled down at her, he looked hopeful, like they might just be able to find her mother after all. "And, don't worry, there will be plenty of soup; whatever you can't pay for, I can," he said, revealing a very full large wallet from inside his cloak. He held it out to her, showing her that he had so much money even staying in the finest inn and eating the largest banquet wouldn't dent his finances.

"So, trust me, ask for whatever you want."

Reti smiled at the thought of learning how to make a fire. She looked at Taver and said, "Taver i'm going to learn how to make a fire! Isn't that exciting!" Taver looked at her and smiled. He was happy that she was learning and when she gets back to the forest, she won't have to rely on other people any more. Maybe she was right to trust him. But he still wasn't entirely sure yet. He liked Thealter, but he still didnt know if he could trust him. That was probably why Reti didn't tell him their true mission.

Reti looked at Thealter's wallet with wide eyes. She had never seen so many rupees in her life. she asked, "How did you get so many Rupees? I"ve never seen so many in one wallet!" She was shocked to see that someone with that much was so kind and caring. She didn't think those two would ever go hand in hand

Thealter smiled as the young-looking female talked excitedly to Taver. He grinned at Taver too, continuing to be ever friendly. He thought about the question he had to answer on his part - how best to explain it - as he slid his rupees back under his cloak. He didn't want her to suspect anything.

"Well, my work has brought me to the attention of the Crown. Typically, I have to help them, or I probably wouldn't be permitted to work in my chosen field anymore. And if I screwed it up, they'd probably make me wish I never had a job in the first place. But, I haven't screwed up yet. And when things go right, they pay big," Thealter said, making sure to not put emphasis on how he wasn't saying exactly what he did for a living.

"To be honest, I don't know if the King even knows about. The bureaucracy of the Court is large, and I'm sure he doesn't know everybody his people employ personally. I haven't even met the guy. I'm sure he's a great guy, but, some of the people who are under him are ruthless. I suppose you have to be when you want to show the King some results though, right?"

Reti looked at him as he answered her question. She was surprised that she met someone who worked for the King. She wasn't expecting to meet someone that high up. Well, she really wasn't expecting to meet anyone to be truthful. None the less she was happy that she met him. In the long run she was happy to have him as a traveling companion.

Reti continued to walk along the path next to Thealter. As the walked down the path, she realized that they just passed where her and Taver came out of the forest. As they walked passed she thought about how far her journey would take her. As far as she had ever gone was to Rauru town and that wasn't that far of a journey. To North Castle was a two day journey. Her biggest fear was how far she would have to go to get the stone.

She wanted to ask if he knew anything about the stone, but she was worried that asking would reveal too much. Her curiosity continued to eat at her, so she decided to ask in a different way. "Hey, Thealter, what do you know about the Kokiri and the Spiritual Stone of the Forest," she asked. She made it sound like she knew a little and wanted to see what he knew as well. She wanted to see if he could give her any information on where it would be if it was still in North Castle. And if it had been moved where it would have gone.

Thealter walked along blissfully in the silence. Clearly the young woman traveling next with him needed time to process what he mentioned. Yet, when she gave her response, he was genuinely surprised. His face grew scrunched in thought. He gazed at his staff in concentration. Her inquiry stopped him in his tracks as he was sensationally shocked.

The thief continued to think for a moment before beginning to talk, slowly at first. "Well, after the Hero of Time first used the Spiritual Stones to open the path to the Sacred Realm, they remained in the Temple of Time for years afterwards. Even after Ganondorf took over Hyrule, he had the Triforce of Power, and therefore had no interest in what were to him mere trinkets."

As Thealter continued, his thoughts grew more congruent. His speech grew more fluent. "After Link's defeat, Ganondorf still didn't move the Stones; it wasn't until Ganondorf was defeated that the reconstruction movement presumably moved the Stones, as they disappeared from history. As time passed, the Master Sword was moved to a new location. Artifacts surfaced, known as the Pendants of Virtue. Some scholars claim that these three Pendants may have been crafted from the Stones."

"As Hyrule expanded, presumably these artifacts were moved into the Northward expanses. They were housed at North Castle for a time, no doubt. If they are there now, they aren't on public display that I know about. It could be I just haven't seen them; they could be in the Royal Vault. I'm sure my friend Simon's teacher, Orpheous, would be able to give you a better answer," Thealter finished his musing, as he continued to walk.

Reti felt her heart sink as she listened to Thealter tell her what happened to the Spiritual Stones. She was upset that they had been turned into the Pendents of Virtue. She began to lose hope in finding what she needed. She dropped her face to the ground and she felt truly upset. Her journey seemed like it was going to go on forever with no end.

Reti looked up at Thealter and asked, "So the only way i would be able to see them is if i was able to get in well with the Royal Family and even then, there is a chance that i still wouldn't be able to see the Spiritual Stone of the Forest." She could feel the hopelessness in her voice and she felt that maybe it would lead to more questions as to why she would want to see the Stone.

She looked at Taver and she saw his face showed how she felt. She didn't know what she would do now. But she knew she had to keep going. She had to find this Stone. She knew she had to keep fighting to save her home. She decided that instead of loosing hope now she would keep going until she knew that there was nothing left for her to try.

She then asked Thealter, "So who is this Orpheous knows about the Spiritual Stone of the Forest? Do you think he could answer some of my questions?"

Thealter frowned, realizing that his news only seemed to make her downtrodden. He continued walking along slowly now, trying to find some words of encouragement, but it was difficult. Then again, he seemed - outwardly at least - like he had no idea why such information would weaken her so. Thealter took his time before replying.

"Well, the Royal Family are exceptionally busy. I'm sure that even if they don't have it in North Castle, the Stones - existing in whatever state - are more than likely in their possession. I hear that such Pendants carry just as much magic as the Stones. If the Pendants are made from the Stones, they shouldn't have lost their abilities. I just doubt that the Royal Family would relinquish any such artifacts," Thealter started to explain.

"The King has no interest in any amount of money you or I could ever gather. I'd assume that the only thing they are interested in is favors. I've heard it said that in times long past, the King might bestow such artifacts to one who would pay the King a great service - such as slaying some terrible kingdom-threatening fiend or quelling a rebellion. If the King simply will not hand over such Stones, likely this would be the only way one would be bestowed."

"Then again," Thealter mused with a sly grin, "one could always try to steal away a Sacred Stone from the Royal Family. There is nothing that can't be stolen with enough resources and planning. Or, perhaps the King never had the Stones to begin with - or had them once but they have since fallen out of his hands."

Thealter looked over at the Kokiri by his side, purposely giving her a glint of his own insight. But, then it was gone, and he was trying to view her as a youth again. "As for Orpheous, he is wise. Furthermore, he has a strange and uncanny knowledge of the workings in Hyrule, far more than even any court scribe. I heard him rattle of names and dates with the sort of accuracy that cannot be achieved by normal means. People long forgotten to time Orpheous can recall in full detail, as if he'd spoken with them only an hour prior. I just can't explain it, Reti. You'd have to see for yourself. But I assure you, he'd be able to give you a far better answer on the subject of the Stones than I."

As Thealter told her of the Stones in their current state and then the only way she may get the Stone she needed was to defeat an army, she thought that everything was lost. She had nothing to prove that she came from the forest and that her land was dying. She had no way of showing that she could help the king in any way. Everything that she was supposed to accomplish seemed to be out of her grasp. Maybe everyone at home was right. Maybe she was a failure.

Thealter continued and was now saying something about stealing the Pendant from the king. But the problem was she was no theif. She had never stolen a thing in her life. Let alone try or even think about it. This was not going to be an easy task and she knew that for a fact, but even if the king has them or didn't and may know a little something about their whereabouts, she knew that what originally was only seen as a weeks worth of task, now became much longer. In her current state, she was not prepared. She had to find someone to help her train. She looked down at her waist and saw the sword hanging there. She carried it, and knew no way of using it.

As she listened to Thealter talk about the information that Orpheous had, she knew she had to find a way to meet him and see if he could tell her anything that might help her. She looked up at the sky. The blue of the sky was vibrant and shined with happiness, but she did not feel any. Her heart sank at the thought of having to go farther from her home, and with each lie that she told Thealter, she thought that it would push him away.

He was the only chance she had at finding what she needed and she continued to lie to him. She knew that her questions about the Stone were probably rather strange, and she began to think of a reason why she was inquiring about them, but none came. She knew that lying was no longer something that she could do. It was not in her nature and it physically hurt her. If he asked, she would have no choice, but to tell the truth. She was scared. Her entire home was at stake her mission needed to be kept at the utmost discretion, but she knew she had no choice. Thealter was a powerful ally and she had to do whatever she could to keep him as one.

She took a deep breathe and looked at Taver. He looked back at her and she knew that he knew what she was about to do. She didn't want to wait for the question to be asked. She wanted to get it all out now. She stopped where she was and without looking at Thealter she asked,"What do you know about the Kokiri?" After she asked she looked straight up at him, her eyes burned with a confidence she had never felt before. She was not afraid.

OOC: Sorry this took so long. Busy with school and all that.

IC: Thealter looked down at the apparent young miss who had stopped walking alongside of him. He looked from her to her fairy, thinking for a moment. He lead on his staff as he rested the top of it in body of his hands. She had seemed so thoughtful as he spoke earlier. It seemed the conversation may be taking a turn down a different path.

Thealter thought for a good while before he spoke. "Kokiri are the race of forest spirits watched over by the Great Deku Tree. I've heard it said that they live deep in the forest out of the reaches of the rest of society. They are raised a world apart. Such a lifestyle can't be easy. They can manifest in many different appearances. One such appearance is that of a young child, about your age," Thealter said with a smile, not putting nay special emphasis on anything.

"I even heard the Hero of Time was raised by the Kokiri and grew up believing he was one. Isn't that fascinating?" mused the mage aloud.