A year ago, the stump had been one of many proud trees that made up North Forest. But then a thunderstorm had come, a lightning bolt striking down the oak, showing no mercy. If trees could think, it might have thought, Why me? But as it is, trees are unable to think. Or as some would say, are unable to think as people do. For the most part, the tree was now a dining room set somewhere in North Castle, the leftovers having been used as firewood during the winter. Adventurers all around Hyrule thought that the stump could make an excellent meeting place, so some hired a Deku to turn the stump into a seat, placing a protective spell on it that would repel insects who favored dead wood to live in.

It was to this stump that she came to and sat down on. Her hair was purple and went down to the small of her back. Two strands of her hair were separated from the rest and hung in front of her ears. Said ears were pointed; that, her hair, and her purple eyes suggested that she was of the Sheikah race. Perhaps her height was a good indicator as well, for she stood at five feet eight inches from the ground. Her face was smooth and rounded, but a look of disinterest was plastered on it.

Some would say that her garb was meant to seduce. It was a long, dark purple dress, covering her entire body except for the shoulders. Long slits from the waist sometimes exposed her slender legs, but boots of the same shade as her clothing went halfway up her shins, covering some of it, but still suggesting that beauty lay hidden in them. A dark red belt wrapped around her waist, helping accentuate her womanly figure. But this Sheikah woman was no temptress, as many people learned from the other belt wrapped around her torso. For attached to this belt was a bastard sword, smithed to her specifications by the Gorons of Ruto Town before she left for South Hyrule to work as a mercenary.

If her disinterested looks and fiery glares did not drive people away, then Neor'cer Gahc often did. All who knew her knew how deadly that sword was, and a great deal of them were glad that they were on her relative good side. Others were unfortunate to get to know the blade personally. Fewer still were lucky to have been shown mercy by the cold-hearted woman. But even though her heart was often stone, she only took jobs where she knew she was dealing out justice. As such, most of her pay came from town guards who were unable to find a murderer or bring him to justice themselves.

"So, how long has it been since we last saw each other?" a familiar voice from behind her said; it sounded cheerful. The woman stood up and turned around, seeing a woman who looked similar to her, but much shorter, and wearing a green tunic with a brown vest over it. Her boots were more of a dull purple that clashed with the tan pants. One of her gloves were brown and the other black. Her purple hair was pulled completely back into a ponytail, and her eyes were red. Poking out from behind this woman were the hilts of two daggers; one blue and the other pink. Her dress suggested she was an eccentric woman, one the taller woman usually wished to avoid.

"A year, I believe," she replied, her voice emotionless.

"And I believe I have something to take care of with you." She dashed forward, sweeping out her daggers and bearing them down on the other woman. But she had been quick as well, drawing Neor'cer Gahc and catching both blades. The shorter woman smiled. "Still as quick as ever, Marisa."

"Of course, Hyneria. Otherwise I might not be here." Her lips formed a small smile, a rare sight. Both woman sheathed their weapons and hugged each other. Marisa sat back down on the stump, patting the space next to her; Hyneria sat down next to her. "What have you been up to this past year?"

"Oh, same as usual," she answered with a smile on her face. "Stealing from mom and dad and all of their snobby friends. Evading capture thanks to a contact I have in the Hylian Knights." And then the smile left her face, replaced by a frown, a sight just as rare as Marisa smiling. "And missing Kantoro. Mom won't let me come anywhere near him."

"That's why you wanted me to come back, isn't it?" Marisa asked, her voice full of concern, another rare thing with her. Rare could also describe her draping her arm around the other woman's shoulders.

The short Sheikah nodded her hand. "I want you to take him back with you to South Hyrule and take care of him for me until I can get down there."

"Of course. You know I would do anything for you, my little sister."

OOC: And enter Xokorn!

This is to get MagmarFire back into the swing of HA2. So if you're not MagmarFire, please don't post here.

To MagmarFire, sorry this didn't get up as soon as I said I would post it. I was up until 3 am typing it up, but I got tired and decided to go to bed. I copied what I had, but I forgot to paste it into MS Word until after I had shut down my computer.

Oh well. I like this version much better, and it says the same thing I was originally writing anyway.

OOC: It's quite all right, Hi no Seijin; I went to bed at about 2:00, so I wouldn't be able to get to it anyway...unless, of course, I had the ability to use the computer in my sleep.

Anyway, here we go.

IC: The forests were always cold this time of day, as Xokorn duely noted. Even with is somewhat-heavy cloak, it failed to prevent the small chill from going through his spine like a small surge of electicity. Although, to him, a simple Fire spell to keep him warm would be a little bit too much. Needless to say, the cold air around him was unfixable. He continued walking, however, and he did not wish to have a little bit of cool weather stop him from going his course.

The path was just as bleak as ever. The cold might've had something to do with it, but it was generally unchanged. The canopies prevented much of the morning sun from reaching the ground. That made it a haven for monsters and the like to hide. As always, though, he kept his guard up unwaveringly.

As he walked, he came across a small bit of forest in which the canopy did not prevent all sunlight from touching the ground. It obviously made it much easier for Xokorn to spot. I suppose this is where my instincts are telling me to go? It was not long before he noticed two women standing there. Their clothing looked very exotic from what he had seen for the past few years, but he recognized them without a doubt. Sheikah!? No, that can't be possible! The king of the past killed them all, I thought. He became both emotionally agitated to see his kind and angry at the same time. Both weren't that big of a deal, especially the anger; they were just relapsing symptoms of what he had discovered when he was a boy. He'd surely shrug it off within the next couple minutes or so.

He approached the stump sitting in the small grove and the women standing by it. It wouldn't hurt to speak with them. "Exhmira," Xokorn greeted them in his native tongue. "How is it that both of you are in this deep part of the forest?"

One could assume that it wouldn't hurt to talk to Marisa. But then one would be unpleasantly mistaken, especially if Marisa was not expecting someone to speak to her. Which is about ninety-nine percent of the time. Her first reaction to the Sheikah mage is to draw her sword; one might think that it would be to stand up and turn around to discover the source, but again one would be mistaken. Instead, that is Hyneria's first reaction, her second being a spoken command to her sister. "Easy, Bessie," she said, half-serious, half-jokingly. "Just a fellow Sheikah."

Marisa's murderous glare was replaced by her usual look of disinterest. "Never you mind why we're here," she replied to Xokorn's question, her tone showing just as much disinterest in her fellow Sheikah as her face did. Her tone of voice also indicated that the mage should leave if he knew what was good for him. She considered leaving Neor'cer Gahc out, but she sheathed it instead.

However, Hyneria interfered before her older sister could drive Xokorn away. "Don't go anywhere," she said. She then turned to Marisa and said in Infernal, "Don't drive him away. We could have him help us."

"We don't know him," Marisa replied in the same tongue many would considered damned; although, apparently these two sisters had a use for it. "How can you place your trust in him?"

"Because unlike you, I'm a mother, and I'm willing to do anything to get my son back."

Marisa looked down at the ground, and when she lifted her head again, she was ready with her reply. "I guess it is your call. Just hope this doesn't backfire on us."

The short Sheikah turned to the mage, speaking in Sheikah once again. "We'll tell you why we're here if you're willing to help us."

Throughout his life, Xokorn always had a thing for being in the right place at the right time. Of course, that would be the reason why he was still alive at that point. He was usually a loner when it came to travel: he'd do his own thing at his own pace. Perhaps it was time to try something new.

He ignored all of Marisa's cold reactions to his presence, but he replied to Hyneria's request with crossed arms. "It all depends on what kind of help is needed."

"We'll see how you can help when that time comes," Hyneria replied. "As to why we're here...." The Sheikah took a deep breath. "Five years ago, my father....He...." Tears began to fall from her eyes, and Marisa placed her arms around her sister again. "He raped me." Hyneria gulped, that feeling of sordidness coming back again. She fought the feeling and the tears back and continued. "I gave birth to son, but my parents took him away from me. They pretended that he was their son, and expected me to treat him like a brother. I didn't even get to name him, but they're damn lucky I liked the name they chose for him." She let out a weak chuckle. "They wouldn't let me take care of him, or play with him, or do just about anything with him." Again, she let out a weak smile. "But he had inherited my spirit, it seemed. He gave them hell. I guess he knew something was wrong.

"Three years ago, I came of age, and I left that damned mansion. Although not without stealing a large amount of their gold. I used some of it to get to North Castle and settle down there, and the rest I donated to poor families and the Temple of Nayru. For the past three years, I've been stealing from aristocrats that abused their power and relocating their funds. But now, I'm ready to get my son back.

"We sent our father an anonymous letter telling him that we can get him a large amount of gold. All he has to do is meet us here and to bring Kantoro, my son. Marisa here was going to distract him, and I was going to grab my son, bringing him to a friend's house in North Castle for a while. Although, now that you're here, you could act as the sender of our letter. All you have to do is distract him. What do you say?" She patiently waited for a response.

Gee, what despicable parents! Xokorn thought bitterly. He couldn't help but pity Hyneria a little. After all, he himself knew what it was like to lose a family member, which was proverbially the case here. All in all, however, the task seemed quite easy for his abilities to handle.

Xokorn sighed, his breath in perfect harmony of the cold breeze going through the branches of the trees. Well...why don't I? he decided after thinking for about a minute. "Okay. You got my assistance. What must I do?"

OOC: >_<

I had started a reply, but I somehow got it deleted when I somehow went back to the last page without pressing the back button. Expect a real post to come soon.

Actual Post:
IC:
Marisa remained her silence, so it fell to Hyneria to respond. "Stall. Act like you're looking for the money. If he gets impatient, try to convince him to meet you at another time. Hopefully by then, we'll be well on our way to North Castle."

"Knowing Father, he's not going to bring Kantoro," Marisa said, her voice heavy. "We'll be lucky if he only brings a couple of grunts."

"I know, but I have to look at and hope for the best." She looked at Xokorn. "Do you think you can do this...? Damn, I never did ask you for your name. My name is Hyneria Ikana, and this is my older sister, Marisa Ikana. And you are?"

OOC: It's all right. Stuff like that happens to a lot of us. Just take your time.

Actual Post:
IC: "Xokorn," he simply replied. "And yes, your task does seem easy enough... But then again, if it were easy, then you wouldn't be asking for help. Nevertheless, I'll help you two out." He mentally prepared himself for the superficial task and began to follow them (OOC: They do start walking after this post, correct?), being sure to keep his distance from Marisa. He wasn't intimidated by her; he figured that everything would be easier if confrontation were prevented.

OOC: Okay, Hi no Seijin, where do we go?

OOC: We stay put, actually. Jeesh, don't you read? I said that this was the meeting place. Silly MagmarFire.

IC:
Marisa looked back as Hyneria began her Shadowmeld, hiding behind a tree just in case. "Stay," she ordered, but her voice showed no emotion as was usual for the Sheikah. She gestured to the stump. "May as well get comfortable, Xokorn. Father won't be here for a while." She paused. Something about the name Xokorn seemed almost familiar to her. Something about bad fortune. She shrugged it off mentally and continued. "His name is Xokomar. You'd do well to memorize that." And in a blink of an eye, she had melded into the shadows as well, hiding behind the tree next to Hyneria.

The wait was a bit long. Two hours after the two women hid themselves, a rustle could be heard. Four figures entered the clearing. The tallest was a Sheikah. Another was a Hylian. The other two were a Zora and a Deku. The latter three made it clear that they had weapons and were ready to use them. Two of the said weapons were swords, and the Deku held a staff. Where's Kantoro, Hyneria thought, panic starting to rise up in her.

Calm yourself, Marisa ordered. No one could see it, but she was holding a small grey stone attached to a thin necklace made out of leather. Hyneria had a similar necklace, but the pattern on her stone was slightly different. They were fragments of the Gossip Stones of old, and they allowed the sisters to communicate telepathically. Let him speak.

Hyneria gulped. Okay, she replied.

And speak Xokomar did, for the Sheikah was indeed the hiding women's father. "You are the one who sent me the letter?" he asked, his voice gruff. "Where is the money, and what do you want with my son?" The Sheikah man crossed his arms and started to tap with his feet. Apparently, he was not a patient man when it came to matters of money.

Quite gruff and impatient for a Sheikah, Xokorn thought skeptically. I would expect as such from someone who raped his own daughter. He cleared his throat before speaking. "You must be Xokomar. I have been waiting for you. Yes, I am the one who sent you the letter. I'm glad to see that you have taken the time to come here. You even invited a few of your friends, I see." He chuckled about the last bit of what he said before moving on.

"As for your son... Let's say it need not concern you about what we do with him as long as you profit from what I have in mind." He reached into his cloak and realized that he "accidentally" emptied his wallet the other day. "Ooh... Uh-oh..." His adrenaline started to make him a little bit jittery, but he did exactly as he was told by the two hidden Sheikiah women hiding near the four people in the grove. That was enough to ease him a little.

Xokomar grunted. The man before him was right. He did not care about Kantoro. He had kept the boy away from Hyneria make her life hell. However, it did cause even more suspicion to rise up in his mind, and he was glad he had hired this mercenary band. His frown became more pronounced when the Sheikah before him and muttered, "Uh-oh." "What's the matter? Did you forget the money? What do you really want?" he demanded.

Xokorn could tell that this guy was all about money. If he had any, it would have definitely been useful to retrieve Kantoro. He stopped searching his cloak; the ruse wouldn't be that much help from then on out. Regarding his last question, Xokorn replied, "You think I would bring you here without being serious in the first place? I'm not like any of the children today who send prank mail to random people. It's not like I would put my life on the line"--he referred to the three people backing Xokomar up--"for a laugh. However, it does seem that I forgot the money. I'm afraid that we'll have to do this another time."

He waited for a response, hoping that Xokomar wouldn't grow too angry from his lack of timely profit. The last thing he wanted to happen was have the three mercenaries triple-team him. If that ever happened, though, then perhaps he would've gotten back-up by the two women in the shadows.

OOC: Gah, sorry for the late reply, but there's hole in the charger for my laptop, and my sister is hardly ever home for me to ask her if I can use hers. Hopefully I'll have a new one soon. Actual post coming soon.

Actual Post:
IC:
"You propose another time?" Xokomar asked. "Well, another time will not do. Either you have the money or you don't. I don't appreciate my time being wasted. And people who waste my time will likely waste it again. So I'll be taking care of that problem now."

Behind a tree, Hyneria couldn't take it anymore. She ran out, coming into the visible spectrum. "You bastard! I want my son!" she screamed, whipping out her daggers. But the Zora mercenary stepped in between father and daughter, knocking her to the ground.

Xokomar smiled. "Ah, just as I suspected. It's my daughter, thinking she's clever again. And your son? Don't you mean your brother?"

Behind another tree, Marisa sighed and thought, Fool girl. Going to get herself killed on of these days. And then it'll be my fault because I wasn't there to protect her. She appeared from the shadows as well, saying, "You know damn well she means son, Father. I suggest you give Kantoro to Hyneria and turn yourself in for your crime."

"What crime? What I do in my own home is my business."

"That's complete bull. I was sent after rapists by the Hylian Knights down in Saria."

"That is Saria. And this is Ruto. And no one will know of it but me and these three here." He gestured to the mercenary band next to him. And not even them will survive to know of it, he thought. "Kill them." He began to walk off, but turned around. "Oh, and here's your payment," he added, dropping a bag of rupees on the ground. "A hundred rupees each."

"The agreement was three hundred rupees each, old man," the Hylian said.

"You're getting paid, aren't you?" And with that, Xokomar left.

The mercs wasted no time. The Zora immediately went after Hyneria, bearing his sword down upon the prone Sheikah. But the thief was too quick and rolled out of the way, standing up in the process.

Meanwhile, the Hylian dashed towards Marisa. "Pity I have to kill you," he said, a smirk on his face. He thrust his sword forward, but in one quick blur, the second Sheikah dodged. Her retaliatory strike also missed. Damn, she thought. These guys actually work for their money.

The Deku decided to target Xokorn. He made a complicated gesture with his staff, which was quickly made apparent to be an Elemental Burst. Unfortunately for the Sheikah scholar, the random element is that of Light. Fortunately for the Sheikah scholar, he is able to resist part of the spell and only takes half the damage he would've taken.

Hyneria: 61 HP
Marisa: 72 HP, 16 SPL
Xokorn: 16 HP, 9 SPL

Hylian Merc: 51 HP
Zora Merc: 52 HP
Deku Cleric: 26 HP, 20 SPL

"Damn that Deku," Xokorn said under his breath. If there were one thing that irritated him, it was suddenly taking the first punch in a fight. Of course, it was just his luck that the Elemental Burst would've been Light-based. Fortunately, the damage wasn't too bad, and he could still summon forth the magical power inside him. Even more fortunately, coupled with his anger of being hit, he had a Fire spell at his disposal. Using his knowledge of the basic anatomy of races, his spell would be much more effective on the Deku. Besides, even if Fire weren't strong against it, he would've attacked the Deku anyway for revenge. Two birds, one stone.

He pointed his staff at the unfortunate Deku, felt the heat of his rage and spirit enter it, and yelled, "PYM!" Orange, plasmaic fire shot out of his staff like an arrow from a bow. Within only a second, the distance between the fire and the Deku was nearly closed.

Xokorn's luck still seemed to be set against him. His flames still licked the Deku and caused him pain, but he is still able to resist the spell. And the fact that the small wooden being could still function easily after what should be a really damaging spell should tell the Sheikah scholar that he is somewhat lacking in power. And as mad as Xokorn is at the Deku, the Deku is as equally mad; however, he saved his magical powers and rushed towards the mage. His staff easily makes contact with Xokorn's stomach.

Marisa saw this in the corner of her eye as the Hylian mercenary swung his sword around and brought it down towards her, barely missing. The Sheikah woman bit her lip. The Sheikah male was in trouble, but she had her own troubles to deal with. But it didn't look like Xokorn could take another hit. Hyneria, get the Deku first! she ordered telepathically. Putting some distance between herself and the Hylian, she flung her left arm towards the smallest creature. The ball of darkness quickly makes it apparent that the mercenary just set off an Elemental Burst of her own elemental strength. While the scrub had no weakness to it, the surprise magical attack left him unable to resist it.

Hyneria swiftly dodged the Zora's attack, quickly closing in on the Deku. Her nearly identical blades tore through the wooden torso and the extremely small neck just as he turned around to see what had attacked him. The body dropped to the ground, sap seeping out of the wounds; one can only assume it is the Deku's blood leaving the lifeless body.

Xokorn is now presented with two options. One, attack one of the two remaining mercenaries and attempt to put a dent in their health. Or two, attempt to dodge any attack that may come from them.

Hyneria: 61 HP
Marisa: 72 HP, 10 SPL
Xokorn: 5 HP, 4 SPL

Hylian Merc: 51 HP
Zora Merc: 52 HP
Deku Cleric: Killed