~A deku scrambles through the forest as fast as it can. He is an average deku, though you can tell he is an adventurer, as he has a dagger tucked into his belt, and a small buckler on his back. Who knows what he is running away from, but at the speed he's travelling it's probably not good. It is almost night in the forest, and long shadows are cast by the sinking sun. Red and oranges hues of the sunset fill the night sky, and everything seems almost perfectly peaceful, except for the running deku.~

'A beautiful day,' the Deku thinks as he meanders through the forest that he has always called home, taking time to stare happily at each flower that grows beside the well-worn path he travels, and admiring the trees, hundreds of years of life within every single one. Nature truly is amazing, full of life and, if one knows where to gather it from, immense power.

It has been just a week or two since the Hakiems had been chasing him, seeking information on the location of Ukedra, the Golden Deku. Shada and a few of her friends had helped him out there, and he was truly in their debt. However, dispite their consistent requests that he remain in North Castle Town, he had chosen every day since to escape the hectic city to go wander through the woods. He knew where Alpha and friends were coming from - he was well over a hundred years old, and it would be very difficult for him to fight the Hakiems Tribe if they chose to come after him again - but he couldn't help himself. He was Yukie, a Deku, a creature of Nature, and he had developed a need to be among Nature as his life had accumulated years.

But Yukie's midday stroll was interrupted today upon the sounds of another being running - with great speed, by the sound of it. Yukie immediately drops his hands to the twin Deku Swords and rushes into the untraveled brush of the forest, hoping to find the source of the commotion. Finally, he stumbles upon another Deku, fleeing for what appears to be his dear life. Taking off after him, he shouts out, "Excuse me, young un! What in the world are ya runnin' from?!"

~The other deku suddenly appears Flit's path, and the running deku trips and falls to the ground. He grumbles unhappily, dazed, and shakes his head. The young deku's eyes then grow wide, and he hasitly gets to his feet. Fear sent trembles coursing through his body, and his anxiety was evident. It was a kind of paralyzing fear. The kind that you can't escape, and clings to your mind. He looks up at the other deku, and says, his voice shaking, so the words are mumbled, and slightly difficult to understand, "T-t-their hunting me. I can't escape. can't escape, can't escape, can't esc..." His voice trails off, and starts to run forward again, but trips, and falls to the ground.~

~A ways off, through the trees a group of sheikan thevies hide in the shadows of the trees. The five rogues all wear grey tunics, with black cloaks, and move like they were shadows themselves. They watch the deku clumisly fall, say something and fall again, but they are concentrating on the other newcomer. He didn't seem very dangerous, and the Sheikah didn't care who they had to kill to get their way. They were assasins, and Flit their prey.~

'Well now, he seems pretty nervous, now don't he?' Yukie thinks to himself. He abruptly closes his eyes and allows his senses to stretch out into the woods . . . into Nature. As a creature of Nature, and with the life of experienced fighting having trained him to do so, he can feel through the woods, seeking out that which does not belong in the world. In his younger days, the Deku had indeed been a force to be reckoned with, and some things do not go away even with old age.

Some things, including an acute sensing ability, remain for the rest of one's life - though it is often more of a bother for Yukie, when every night he snaps awake upon someone attempting to sneak past his sleeping form. But he digresses; at times like this, it more than makes up for its shortcomings.

His feet touch the ground . . . the ground touches the trees . . . the shadows of the trees fall upon the forms of the hunters, seeking their prey with ruthless efficiency. Five, the Deku counts after a few moments. "Indeed, young un, I feel em nearby. I'd have ta suggest that we leave these woods as soon as we kin; they're usin the shadows ta conceal themselves." As he speaks, he turns his body in the direction that he senses the predatory assassins and slowly walks backwards, reaching out with a hand to help his fellow Deku back to his feet again. "And I'm afraid you're just gonna have ta calm down - otherwise, there ain't no chance in the world that they'll fail.

"Clear that there head a yours, 'n' then we might stand a chance a gettin ya ta safety."

~Flit looked up a Yukie for a long moment, before shaking his head and accepting the deku's assistant. Once again upright, he planted his feet, drew out two daggers, spinning them around his small, but nimble hands. He flipped one, and watched as it went up through the air, and he reached up and caught it. calm He closed his eyes and concentrated, but a picture of a shadowy figure still sliped into his thoughts, but he shook it off. calm

After a few moments, the deku opened his eyes, and a glint of determination could be seen shining from them. His legs were still shaky, but he took and few steps forward. "Hello fellow deku, I'm sorry that we had to meet in such poor conditions, that ruin this fine day, but I'm glad that you stopped me. Yes, lets leave the forest as fast we can, though that probably won't stop them from following us.", his voice quivered for a moment, "W-what do we do when they catch up?"~

Yukie finally turns back to face the other Deku, giving him their species' version of a grin. 'Good ta see that he kin still control those fears a his . . . there's hope fer him yet, ta be sure!' Instead of voicing his approval, though, he instead chooses to respond to the man's statements. "Yes, it sure's a pity that something like this had ta happen on such a nice day. Name's Yukie, by th' way." He pauses at the next part . . . it's true that they probably can't escape the hunters even if they leave the forest. "That might be true," he finally says. "We might not be able ta git away from em, but at least they'll have no shadows left ta hide beneath."

"W-what do we do when they catch up?"

Yukie turns away from his companion at this remark. "We cross that there bridge when we come ta it," he says softly. "Fer now, we gotta concentrate on gettin outta the woods. Let's move." With that, he turns and slowly begins walking back in the direction of North Castle, always staying alert and aware of the hunters' positioning.

He takes in what the deku said, and started to think. Yes it would probably be best to fight them in the open, where we can take away their advantage. We should probably move to a populated place, but what if someone gets hurt... he probably knows whats best though, and we can talk about it later, for now we need to leave the forest. He follows behind Yukie, some confidence in his step. He was glad to have such a capable companion, and he get out of this mess yet.

Still, he hadn't told his story. When were out of danger... He was still wondering the wisdom of sharing his story, and withdrew into his thoughts. What if this deku didn't want to get involved in anything? What if the information I can give him endangers him? That wouldn't be good way to thank the one that probably saved me. He continued to walk forward through the forest, watching the light and shadows filtered by the overhanging canopy of the trees. He could here a faint rustling behind him, and went into a crouch. Were the assailants finally going to attack?

Back, hidden in the shadows, the sheikah watched. Their target seemed to have regained his wits, resisting the spell of fear their mage had cast. It was obvious that both deku had strong minds. The leader signaled to the others. It was time to get in position, and finish their job. Three of them jumped up into a tree, and drew out multiple poisoned needles. It was a slow working, but lethal poison that killed a person in about three days. The mage settled back to watch from the shadows, and intervene should things not go the way he planned them. The leader of the assasins drew out a long, curved, serrated blade. He lept from the shadows, and ran siliently towards the deku. He would be the first to strike.

Yukie moves forward, keeping his senses tuned to his environment. It seems obvious that this Deku is holding back some sort of information - other than his name, of course. But the elderly Deku doesn't mind much; he's used to keeping secrets and having secrets kept from him. Instead he just focuses on what matters - the group that is watching the two Deku as they make their way towards the edge of the woods.

And a good thing he does, too. Without any warning whatsoever, his two blades fly upward as his short, stout, and old body whirls around as fast as is Hyrulian-ly possible. 'Three in the trees, one staying still, and one charging forward - this oughta be interestin'!' Leaping in front of his companion, Yukie prepares to intercept the oncoming attacker, swords drawn and ready for whatever might be coming his way.

~Flit turned swiftly around, watching as Yukie started to run towards a figure in the shadows. The figure seemed to be holding a long curved blade, and he ran to meet the deku's charge, lifting his sword in front of him. As the distance between the two fighters closed, the sheikah went into a crouch, shifting his weight down and to left. From this position, he sprung his coiled body into action spinning completely around, his blade lashing out at his challenger. His turning caused a huge amount of kientic energy to be generated, and attack is a strong one. It shows that the sheikah isnt incredibly strong, but fast and smart.~

~Flit heard the rush of the blade through the air. He took no time to see what the attack did, but sliped his hand into a pocket at his waist and pulled out a throwing dagger. He jumped into the air, and pumped his arm, sending the dagger flying through the air, and towards the sheikah. He didn't want to lose the deku who had saved his life, and would fight to protect him........ and himself of course.~

In a moment of perfect clarity, Yukie's senses flash back to what they once were. Time slows in the Deku's sight, granting him the ability to see the Sheikah as he crouches on the ground. An odd stance to take, but one that proves very effective with the attack that he has chosen to execute. He sees the blade lancing outward to strike him, and recognizes with a nod that this attack could easily prove fatal to one who cannot counter it efficiently.

But Yukie is one of the most powerful Deku of his time. Even in old age, that fact remains true.

In an instant, the Deku Sword he wields in his right hand flips around so that it extends behind him rather than in front. Leaping upward, he meets the attack head on, parrying the Sheikah's strike with his own blade. But Yukie allows the grip on his blade to be somewhat loose. Instead of smashing directly into each other, the Sheikah's blade hits but then slides across it, passing by harmlessly. The kinetic energy is forced into Yukie's own blade, propelling the Deku into a spin of his own. His spin gives him an excellent opportunity to lift up his second blade with his left hand, and he waits for the familiar sound of it slicing into his opponent.

~The assasin watched in astonishment as the deku parried his attack, and whirled around striking out with his blade. The surprise was evident on his face as the second blade slid into his chest, impaling his lung. He slid off the end of the blade, crumpling to the ground without making any sound, or cry of pain.~

~Back in the shadows, the mage looked on in astonishment. A heavy frown creased his face. It was obvious that this deku was more powerful than he thought. He slid his hand into his black robe, and drew out a pinch of dark purple power, sifting it out of his hands, unto the ground. He closed his eyes and sent a mind message to the other assasins. Strike now, and let me prepare my spell. We must not fail. He knew that he didn't have to tell the others of the weight of this mission. They were trained well, but it made the mage feel safer that he had actually told them. He then started to chant silently, beginning his spell.~

~Flit looked at Yukie in amazement. What just happened... As the assasin fell of the end of the blade to lay in a heap on the ground, Flit had just arrived at the other deku's side. He gave Yukie a questioning glace, but did not persue it any further. At that time, a rain of needles sped silently through the air at their two targets.~

The sound comes, one which Yukie is well acquainted with, and he lands on the ground just before the assassin's dead body does. His proud grin returns as his companion walks up to stand beside him. 'Looks like I still got it!' A chuckle escapes his woody lips as he glances at the younger member of his species.

But his victory is short-lived, to say the very least. The wind suddenly changes, and the subtle vibrations in the air send Yukie back into the realm of warfare. Something is flying straight towards the two of them, and doubtless it's not good. Diving straight towards his fellow Deku, Yukie cries out for him to, "Get down!"

~Flits eyes grow wide. If something caused Yukie to fear, it couldn't be good. He dived to the ground, but luck was not on his side, and needle lodged itself in his shoulder. He yelped in pain, as other needles hit the ground around him. None of them hit Yukie.~

~In the trees, the sheikah looked down, unsettled. It was very, very difficult to detect the deadly needle, and to dodge them was an even greater feat. They watched as the dekus escaped practically unscathed, but then saw one in their prey's shoulder. Grins were shared, their target had been poisoned. Mabye, it was time for this mission to finally end.~

~The mage's attention never leaves his spell. It is about halfway complete, and his voice starts to grow and expand, rising in volume as the spell's power increases. The spell he was trying to cast was a powerful one. He was trying to infuse the soul a poe into the dead sheikah's body to create a stalfos/poe hybrid. These creatures are very powerful, and even more difficult to control. They are pure creatures of darkness, and like poes can shift into the darkness. They have the skeletal appearance, and weaponry of stalfos as well. The particular poe he was working with was a stronger than average ghost. It was a prince of kind, and had a large headress, and used a sword as well as a lantern. It is rumored to be able to control a powerful blue flame, and incoperate it into its attacks.~

Yukie gets back to his feet, relieved that he had managed to avoid any and all of the needles that the three in the trees had flung at them. Glancing at his companion, however, he realizes that he has been stuck with one of them. "Hold still," he says calmly as he reaches up to grab the dart and pull it out.

All the while, his mental eyes remain firmly fixed on the three in the trees, and a small sliver of sight keeps glancing at the fourth one, who seems to be doing something odd . . . Yukie can't quite get what it is, but it is doing something that is disrupting the Nature surrounding him. And that can't be good . . .

~The spell is nearing completion, and the chanting has reached the high of its creshendo, the sound filling the forest with its ominous sound. Only a few more seconds till it is finished.~

~The needle is pulled out of Flit shoulder and he winces in pain, his hand raising to cover it. He can tell something isn't right. Something unnatural entered his body, and he didn't like it.

"There's something wrong. Something wrong with that needle."

The deku shivered, and looked back up at the trees where the assasins lay in wait, for the mages instructions. The sheikah looked at the mage, frowning. Their comerad had never threw away stealth to cast a spell, so they knew that whatever he was casting was powerful indeed. They looked at each other. Previously, the mage had tried powerful magics, and not been able to control, often spoiling the mission... and kiling countless assasins. Would this be another such instance?~