Sakiko sat up quickly, her eyes wide in surprise. The mage leaned her head forward, her eyes squinted. She thought to herself, I swore I heard something...something I've read about, I'm sure, but it sounds...familiar... Her pale face reflected suspicion and concern as she watched Maurice suddenly appear. She stared silently as Maurice wrapped up his bleeding wounds. The mage muttered,

"That was the opposite of a bedtime story! That woke me up entirely!"

Sakiko frowned at Maurice's nonchalance, and pursed her lips in disapproval.

"I think we missed more events than you had missed. What happened? Why are you bleeding? And what was that noise?"

A realization struck her. She narrowed her eyes and asked sharply,

"Are there any monsters out there?"

Maurice looked around after hearing Sakiko's sharp question, seeing her point in only a moment. "There was only a small group of Stalchildren out there, and you did say I should have a bandage as well." he answered, stretching out his legs for a moment. "The noise was a thing I can do, that I use against monsters cause I don't have any weapons. I'm bleeding cause those guys have claws, and when you rip through them, you are most likely going to get hit by one." he added, before pulling his legs close, and checking his shoes.

A flush of anger rose through Sakiko's cheeks. Her sleepiness and carefree emotions had numbed her against her surroundings. The mage cried,

"Maurice, what are your fellow companions for? You should've called us for help! And what, you don't have any weapons?? What if their claws did more serious damage than that?"

Sakiko pointed at Maurice's grave injuries, his bandages still tinted with blood. Gradually, the red blushes of concern and anger drained from her face. She sighed deeply and muttered,

"Sorry, overreacting. Again. But you know, you should've asked for help. At least. Please don't do that again..."

Aureliano could not help but to stare at the hedghog's wounds. He felt a bit guilty, but he knew it wasn't his fault. "Dammit Maurice, you do that again and I'll finish you off when you get back here to the camp." He was particularly mad with the hedgehog, since he is in the Hylian Knights and he has to protect Hyrule and its citizens. "Where are the Stalchildren? I'll kill them before they get to our camp."

Maurice didn't look angry, nor irritated, not even annoyed at how they acted. All he did was grin, lay back on the blanket, and look at the stars. "The Stalkids are gone, Aureliano. I spotted them in the desert before I met Sakiko, and they were about a mile away when I went over to them. But, really, I can do this on my own." he said, trying to stop them from worrying about him. He really could do things like that on his own. He had been like that for years now, ever since both passages were closed.

Sakiko sighed and followed Maurice's example. She plopped on her back, staring at the endless heavens. She muttered jokingly,

"And I thought I was conceited."

Sakiko closed her eyes, breathing in the cool air. Because of her ability to read dreams, the mage hoped that she would be the first to fall asleep. However, there was still that chance of the dreams merging together, which could prove to be quiet frightening. However, Sakiko was extremely tired, and she had to sleep. She murmured to both of the travelers,

"Goodnight. I'll see you guys in the morning. Hopefully."

The darkness settled around her, luring her into the realm of sleep. Sakiko breathed in slowly, letting her subconscious mind numb her against reality.

Two dark figures were standing, one in the form of a man and the other a woman. The woman was holding a babe in her arms, but her expression was cold, feeling no love or affection to the small child. They were walking quickly, briskly, as if wasting no time.

"Opegaria!"

An echoing call rippled across the vacuum, in which only the two figures were present. The man suddenly stooped over, and took the babe from the woman's arms. No tears were shed, no sound from any lips heard. The cloth, so bundled up and tightly swaddled against the child, came loose.

The scene shifted, and the two figures were gone. A kitchen could be seen, where a tall woman with long hair was working fervently. A girl appeared, and Sakiko could feel herself as the young girl. She moved towards the woman, and asked in a voice so unlike her own,

"Aunt, may I go outside and play?"

Suddenly, the two figures appeared, replacing the aunt standing before her. Their shadows engulfed Sakiko as they stepped closer, the kitchen slipping away from view....

"UGH!"

Sakiko sat up quickly, sweat glistening from her forehead. Her eyes darted back and forth, staring at the still, dark surroundings. She stared wildly at Aureliano and Maurice, both appearing tranquil. She laid back down, and breathed heavily. She choked,

"Bad dream."

[/i]

Maurice waited until Sakiko laid down again, before sitting up, and then standing up, which then lead to the hedgehog stretching. Once he was finished, his green eyes looked around, before he grinned, seeing another group of Stalchildren out in the field. Sure, they were at least a half an hour's distance from the small camp, but he wasn't going to take any chances.

But, before he went, he looked over at Aureliano, and Sakiko. "Sorry guys. I'm gonna' do it again. I'll be ready for you two to kill me once I get back, so don't disappoint me." he said, smiling at his joke, before taking the cloak-like garment off again, and then rolling off into the group for the second time that night.

----------------------

He returned a few seconds later, with nothing but a scratch above his eye. He sat back down, not placing a bandage or anything on the scratch, as he fit the garment once more over his chest. "So, I'm waiting..." he said, the last two words stretched out, as he grinned and laid back on the blanket.

"Are you ok, Sakiko?" Aureliano asked concerned. He knew the fire had something to do with it, and he felt a bit guilty.

"Wait, don't go..." Aureliano told Maurice before he left to fight the Stalfos. "Dammit, he did it again" Aureliano drew out his sword and stood poised, waiting until the hedgehog returned. "Why do you refuse our help?" he asked, bitter from the scratch on Maurice's face. Secretly he wanted to fight, take away the life of his enemy, protect his friends, but he did not want to admit that.

Sakiko jumped up, really mad this time. She had yelled as Maurice disappeared,

"Maurice! You're so going to die by me if you sneak off again and come back hurt!"

The mage turned to Aureliano and grinned slightly,

"Yes, I'm alright. Just a dream."

She glared at the hedgehog as he returned with a scratch on his brow. She growled,

"Ok, that's it, you asked for it."

She picked up the cloth that they were sitting on, and wadded it up to a ball - with a little help from magic. Soon, it looked like a very frizzy cotton snowball. She chucked it at Maurice, a smile breaking through her lips.

OOC: Since you said snowball, I'm going with the entire snow aspect of it.

IC: Maurice was about to answer Aureliano, when the snowball hit him, pushing him back on the blanket. He shook his head, to get the snow off, "Nice arm you've got there, Sakiko." he said, using a finger to clean out some snow in one of his ears. "Anyways, Aurel, It's a problem of mine. I don't...well, I don't think I need the help of others." he explained, "My friends at home know this all too well. I, heh, hog the show."

Ooc: but cotton snowball like objects are more fun!! ah, well, it is winter.

IC: Sakiko laughed,

"That was a nice shot, wasn't it?"

She smiled, wondering if they had a snowball fight, he'd still stick to his belief about working alone. Two against one was quite unfair, she believed. The mage wiped her wet hands on her robe, still grinning.