A Study of the Fauna of Termina [For kasumu_sekai]

[feathered_mages]

The next time the younger Rydia sees the little Black Mages, they may seem a bit more prepared for a trip. At least judging from the new little grade-school-type backpacks they're sporting. Blaze had picked those up for them at the Nexus Mall, being of the opinion that visiting other worlds was a great opportunity to pick up Shiny Things and that it might help to have something to carry them in. He couldn't use a backpack himself, what with the wings, but he has no doubts about their usefulness.

Comments

[feathered_mages]

"Mikoto's second least favorite creature in the known multiverse," Mistral says with a chuckle. "It's a ChuChu. She kept stabbing one the last time we were here, but you can't really kill them in any way I know of. They just pop and then reform. In fact it seemed to like it, since it started following her around to get stabbed over and over. I've also heard they use the slime from them in potion-making."

"It likes to be stabbed?" says a baffled Teo.

"And popped?" adds Tavi.

Kaze looks for a stick.

[feathered_mages]

Kaze finds a stick, but then can't quite bring himself to use it to try to pop the creature. Magelets really are just too non-violent for their own good. He joins the others in petting it instead. The ChuChu just jiggles. It's surrounded and can't do much else, even without being affected by a bell.

Mistral looks around, careful not to look up. "There are four different places around the town. We only saw parts of them last time. There's a swamp that way," he'll point out the directions as he goes, "a canyon over there, a mountain with lots of snow up there, and a beach that way."

[feathered_mages]

"I think the swamp is closest," says Mistral, who starts to head that way. The Magelets follow after a moment - and the ChuChu jumps after them. It will stop its pursuit after a while, though, unless some effort is made to keep it following.

[feathered_mages]

Mistral looks. The Magelets also look - and meep - but they hold their ground this time.

"It did that the last time, too," says Mistral, finding something faintly odd about that. "It was some kind of shiny stone. I think Blaze kept it. Maybe that's another one."

"Did it fall down over there?" asks Luca. The Magelets are curious now.

[mage_hatchlings]

The Magelets are already waddling curiously in that direction, but Mistral still finds the small impact crater first. Right where the last one was. He looks around, suspicious, and can't find an impact crater from the last time.

The Magelets semicircle to look in the hole.

[feathered_mages]

It's a very pretty blue stone shaped like a curved teardrop. It almost seems to glow, and the Magelets look entranced by it.

Mistral nods. "It's just like the one Blaze found. And that one landed here too... but I don't see another crater. Could they be falling in exactly the same place every time that happens?"

[feathered_mages]

Mistral shrugs. "I don't think we could have talked Blaze out of leaving the one he found, and that doesn't seem to have done anything. And I doubt it belongs to anyone... unless they live on the moon and dropped it."

[feathered_mages]

Mistral nods, looking around the landscape thoughtfully. "They couldn't fall all the time, or there would be a lot more holes. But they can't be too rare, because Blaze found one too."

The Magelets look around. There's a funny blue house over there with something sticking out of it - they've never seen a telescope. There are trees, and a big hollow log, and a place over there where the grass fades away and they guess leads to the Canyon from Mistral's earlier pointing. And they try not to look towards the town with its Moon right overhead.

Mistral looks around. "Hmm. We've gotten turned around. The way to the swamp is back there, I think. Or we could go to the canyon first."

The Magelets look in the direction of the canyon and all that bare ground. Death Mountain hadn't had grass either, and they want to see somewhere different this time. Off they waddle towards the swamp.

[feathered_mages]

Most of the creatures they pass along the path to the swamp are simply more ChuChus. Some of the ChuChus try to jump on them or follow after them, but they're easy to avoid. And, judging from the Magelets' behavior they're also fun to poke and cause to jiggle.

But straying too close to a couple trees will stir up bats nesting in them.

[feathered_mages]

Most don't attack unless someone tries to climb their trees, making it easy to look and at coo over. The Magelets are fascinated - they've never seen bats before.

"Is it a bird?" asks Juro.

"It doesn't have feathers," says a confused Lono.

And if they should set one off, they'll find it a great chance to get a closer look and give the sleeping bat a few careful pats before floating it onto a nearby tree branch.

"So a ChuChu doesn't jump on him," explains Kaze.

Soon, around a couple bends, they'll find themselves in the first part of the swamp. It's a roughly circular, shallow pond-like area with giant lilypads. There are more shrubs for the Magelets to check for rupees, a Deku Baba in a corner off to the right, and a building up on tree trunk posts in the center. A boat is parked under the building, and a ladder leads up to the porch.

Mistral gives one glance to the Swamp Tourist Center and then looks around at the rest. "It smells a lot better here than last time. Something must have cleaned up the water."

[feathered_mages]

"I don't know," says Mistral, and notes the Magelets are checking shrubbery again. He chuckles. "Be careful of the one over there in the corner. It bites."

Which just prompts them to all go have a look at the Deku Baba, staying just out of range of it. It can't reach them if they stay far enough back, and just snaps in frustration at the end of its vine.

"We could travel part of the way by boat, or hop on the lilypads all the way there," says Mistral, and he looks up at Rydia, "I think you'll have to cast float to use the lilypads, though. They sink if there's anything but a very little bit of weight on them. Even when we were here last, two Waltzes on one at the same time would make it sink."

"We've never been on a boat," says Luca, obviously all for the new experience.

[mage_hatchlings]

As it will turn out after they've gone up the ladder to see about the boat - Mistral thought to bring rupees from earlier trips this time - Old Koume has issues with letting them all pile onto the small boat.

"No, no, there are far too many of you! You'll sink it!" the witch squawks.

"We wouldn't," protests Luca, thinking she means on purpose. The Magelets find her a bit scary.

"They don't weigh that much," says Mistral, but sounds like he thinks it's not worth the trouble. It's not like hopping there on the lilypads is that hard. Worst case, he could PINPoint off to the Nexus Mall for a second and get an inflatable raft.