Yukie's eyes widen slightly at the other Deku's words, and immediately draws the needle closer to his face - not so much that the blade is touching him, but almost. He looks over it a few times, then sniffs at it before nodding his agreement. "You're absolutely right - this here dagger's been poisoned!" He throws the dart into a rough leather pouch on his belt, then looks back to his companion. "We'd better getcha back to some town as soon as we poss'bly kin, so a doc can take a look at this thing."

It is then that the elderly Deku hears the ominous sound coming from one of the four remaining assassins. With a gulp, he slowly backs away in the opposite direction from the source of the noise. "Let's get movin - NOW!" He turns immediately and begins charging again for the exit of the woods. Whatever that other Sheikah is doing, now the Natural disruption is reaching a climax - and that is definitely not a good thing.

~The release of magical energies started as the deku ran from the forest. It flowed over the land, draining some of the energy from the plants and animals nearby to power it. The poe was forced into the dead body, and the flesh burned away in purple flame. Slowly, a skeletal figure rose from the body. It held a large broad sword in one hand, and a spiked small shield in the other. A stange purple flame was at its center. The mage sent a command to it. Kill the deku! It slowly faded away, but its footsteps could be heard, stalking towards the two fleeing deku. The hunt had begun.~

~From the trees, the sheikah looked at each other. It seemed that the mage had once again oversteped his boundaries. Only the strongest, and darkest could control the undead. This was not going to be a pleasant day in the forest. Not for the deku, or them.~

Yukie now runs far faster than any creature of any race as old as himself has any right to. Speed has always been one of the Deku species' strong points, and Yukie is unfortunately being forced to push his ability at agility to its limits. His Nature-sense remains intact dispite he desperate flight, however - though a good percentage of his mind wishes it was not. Behind them, he can feel the dark aura of the demonic creation of that last Sheikah beginning to chase them.

Such dark power . . . Yukie earnestly prays to the goddess that had birthed all life - Farore - that she will protect their lives. And also that, whatever that thing is, it won't catch up to them anytime soon. A temptation arises for him to utilize that . . . but that would be far to risky. For now, running will have to do.

~Flit was close behind him, sprinting as fast as he could. He could tell by the sudden rush of the older deku, and the sudden ominous chill that spread through the forest. It seemed as if life was ebbing away from everything. What have I gotten myself into? Any other race, besides mabye a sheikah would have already fallen behind to whatever was hunting them, and it was times like this that he was glad he was a deku.~

~The mage urged his creation on. It was fighting against his will, but not too much. It obviously like hunting the creatures of the forest. Unfortunately, the mage didn't what he was going to do after the deku were killed. How to control the creature then? But that didn't matter. All that matters is the present. The mission.~

Yukie just continues to run. Fear is pushing him to move faster than he has in a long time. Knowledge and tactics tell him it would be better to face whatever is chasing them out in the open. And it also tells him not to head towards the nearest clearing - Rauru Town - because of the possibility of civilian casualties. No, they need to go straight to Hyrule Field.

The Deku never looks behind the duo as they run, instead relying on his Nature sense to measure the distance between them and the creature. And he prays to the goddess Farore that they will clear the woods before it catches up to them . . . a goal that seems more and more unlikely as the seconds go by . . .

~A shadow appeared in front of the sun for a moment, and Flit's heart jumped for a moment. But, no it was just a hawk flying overhead, not an ominous omen. Flit was on edge. He could here the.... thing chasing after them, but didn't dare look back, running forward letting his young legs carrying him towards the tree line. It was visible now, they were almost there! Unfortunately, the younger deku was prone to tripping.~

~And trip he did, as a tree root snagged his foot, he tumbled to the ground, and lay there for a moment groaning. The footsteps seem to gain pace, and the deku shifted into purely instinctive mode, his fear had reach its highest point. Put as instinct kicked in, fear didn't matter anymore.~

~Footsteps... coming... attack coming... jump.... daggers... parry counter attack... His thoughs were coming in a stream, he wasn't really thinking at all. It was time to fight, on the edge of the forest.~

Yukie, twenty feet away by the time he realizes that the young one has tripped, twirls around as the implications of said trippage hits him. Instantly by his side yet again, Yukie knows that now they won't be able to escape. 'And we were so close . . .' he thinks as his twin Deku Swords emerge from their sheathes, ready to fight off and destroy whatever the oncoming thing might be.

~The stalfos rose its shield at the last moment, as Flit leapt into the air lashing out with both his daggers. They hit the solid wood, and Flit fell backwards, fliping around in the air to land on his feet. He was already in a crouch, sweeping low, but he was a little too late. The stalfos had moved off towards the other deku, the bigger threat. He raised his sword and slashed downwards at him.~

~Flit watched as the stalfos turned away, and kept in his crouch, moving slowly and steathily behind him ready to attack when his attention was completely on Yukie. It seemed he got smart when he let instinct take over. He knew that it would be best to flee, but he couldn't just leave the other deku. He would fight with him, and try to defeat the skeleton.~

Yukie eyes the other's reckless charge, happily surprised when he finds that the young one is still alright when it is all said and done. But the time for celebration is not long; quickly enough the skeletal beast is right in his face. His Deku Swords are raised to a defensive stance in a flash as the sword drops from above, but Yukie has no intention of being caught beneath it. A quick sidestep lands him right beside where the blade will crash into the earth, but for extra safety he also performs a backflip to take him out of the creature's range yet again.

Then, with a loud intake of air, Yukie utilizes one of the Deku species' specialties. Mouth filled to the brim with air, he slowly generates it within his body before blowing it out with powerful force: a Deku Nut.

~The stalfos's momentum was great. If it had been more accurate, or its opponent a little less agile this would have been in its favor, but in this situation it simply left him open to the force of the deku's attack. The deku nut struck it in the side, dislodging a few bones, and it turned in anger. The blue flame flared inside the skeleton, and formed a sort of blue aura around it. At about this time, Flit made his attack.~

~Regularly a deku would not attack a stalfos head on in hand-to-hand combat, for the size difference is too great, and the deku are not known for their incredible strength, but in his beserk mode, Flit did just that. He leapt up behind the stalfos slices with his daggers at the monster's back, causing some damage to the conjured undead. It seemed to shriek in rage, and the flames pulsed, flinging Flit off the skeleton, and slammed him into a tree. The deku fell to the ground, stunned, his breath knocked out of him. This left him open for the enraged Stalfos's next attack.~

As the other Deku charges forward, Yukie cries out for him to stop - too late. The attack had indeed had some affect, but not enough to slay the creature, and now he might pay for it with his life. The Stalfos' next strike can't be far off, so Yukie knows he has to act now in order to save his ally against the beast.

Leaping forward, he mimics the attack that his companion has just made, with both of his Deku Swords flying through the air with the skill and precision that Yukie has gained throughout his entire life. He aims straight for the source of that strange blue aura that the Stalfos gives off, but keeps in mind that he can't afford to have the same thing happen to him as happened to the other Deku. His old body might have experience, but it's more fragile as well. A hit that hard could kill him - probably not, but there's a chance.

So as he flies through the air, he prepares to push off the skull with his feet the instant his swords strike. If things go as planned, by the time the Stalfos feels the impact of the blades Yukie will already be flying away from it.

~Yukie's blades scythed through the blue light and the stalfos opened its mouth to shriek again, but no sound came out. The vibrations still be felt in the air though. It was a eerie sensation, and Flit cringed away from it. The blue fire rippled hesitantly. It seemed that the attack had actually harmed the stalfos, and the bones started to quivered. Suddenly the blue fire flared, and a tongue of it lashed out at Yukie. The skeleton still stood in its place quivering, but the battle wasn't over yet.~

~Flit watched the blue fire in fear. Who know what it could do to living things? He took to steps back, taking into acount what the other deku had just done, and threw his daggers at the blue fire. Mabye he could do some damage as well, and watched the blades fly through the air towards their target. He was prone to missing these dagger throws, but it didn't look like their foe was about to move out of the way.~

Yukie's feet hit the ground again, but he immediately leaps backwards again to avoid the blue flames that suddenly erupt from the skull. It seems that his hits had been square on, but there isn't much to suggest that it is getting weaker. It's attack certainly aren't. As the tongue of fire lashes out after him and he hops above it, his thoughts parallel those of his companion: what could that stuff do to living creatures. It's fire, which already means trouble for the two Deku, but their agility might be enough to allow them to avoid the blasts of heat.

Then he sees the twin daggers flying out at the Stalfos, and a prayer goes up to Farore that they will hit their target and finish its destruction. Yukie seriously doubts that two more hits will fell their opponent, but if the goddess chooses to intervene there's a chance . . .

~The flying daggers did strike their target, but even they could not push the stalfos over the final edge, and into destruction. The buried themselves in the flames, and the blue fire pulsed to even higher strength. The skeleton was obviously in pain, but it seemed its attacks were just getting stronger. It let out another inaudible shriek, and a collumn of blue fire erupted from the ground under Yukie. He would have to use all of his agility to move out of the way of the lethal flames.~

~Flit watched helplessly as the pillar rose from the ground, and jumped at the stalfos, his small body barreling through the air. He going to try to knock the seemingly immobile stalfos to the ground and see if that did any good. He would do all he could to help the other deku.~

'What the -' He almost freezes, which would have been fatal indeed. His Nature sense picks up on something . . . somewhere . . .

'BENEATH!' His mind cries out. Even as the realization dawns upon him, Yukie is already scrambling away from his location, diving to the side just as the fire shoots up from the ground. He doesn't wait to see if he's been hit before he takes one of his two swords and also slings it at the Stalfos' head, copying the other Deku's earlier attack. Hopefully this will put an end to that thing . . .