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]

"So the Indigo-gos can practice," says one.

"Though it's getting hard to say if they'll be performing at the festival or not," adds another.

[feathered_mages]

"I don't know," says the Zora. "I wouldn't want to go to Clock Town with the moon the way it is. But if it comes down... will any of us be safe?"

"It's a scary moon," agrees Juro.

[mage_hatchlings]

The Magelets crowd together in a spooked little group. Someone said the 'd' word. Gaian Black Mages tend to avoid those words.

Mistral just briefly facepalms at the Magelets' reaction, and says, "If's falling very slowly, so I think most of them would have the sense to evacuate in time." Then again, it's a moon. How big would it actually be once on the ground?

[feathered_mages]

On the upside, give them ten minutes or distraction with something shiny and they'll forget all about it.

"We don't know," says one Zora. "It's very strange."

"There's an astronomer near Clock Town that might know more," says the other.

Mistral's mind is on things other than the moon. "Do you know of any way to move a LikeLike?"

The Zoras just blink at him for a moment. What an unusual question!

[feathered_mages]

"If you found one small enough, maybe it could be moved," says a Zora, "but I don't know where you'd find one."

Mistral just nods and looks up to Rydia. It seems a lot of the decent water monsters here were annoyingly out of reach anyway. "The white ones like Snowball are up on the mountain. It's really pretty up there." He has a bias in favor of snow.

"Do you mean Snowhead?" asks the second Zora. "I've heard rumors it's thawing."

"WHAT!" Mistral squawks.

[feathered_mages]

The Zoras are just confused by the reaction.

"It shouldn't have been frozen at this time of year," says one, "but it just kept getting colder there. Like the ocean was getting too warm."

"I don't know if it had anything to do with the moon or not," says the other. "It's all been very strange."

"But... what will happen to the Boes, and all the other snow monsters?" Worried Mistral is worried.

"I don't know," says the first Zora.

[feathered_mages]

There is much frantic nodding from Mistral, who is quite the upset featherball now. Maybe they could move the monsters to the Ice Cavern... but it was melting too!

Noting that Mistral's heading for the exit, the Magelets wave bye to the Zoras.

[feathered_mages]

She won't have any trouble catching up. Black Mages are just not designed to run around like that, and Black Waltzes aren't that different. If he were flying it might be another matter, but Mistral's the worst flyer of the trio and he also doesn't want to lose the others.

Running tires them out fast, and they have to sit down for a rest somewhere a bit past the LikeLike.

"Why.. why is it all melting," says Mistral. As soon as he's caught his breath he intends to get up and start moving again, but he's learned that in the long term running will slow him down more than walking will.

[feathered_mages]

It's a very rare thing when Magelets don't want hugs. Mistral snuggles as well, but is torn between seeking comfort and getting to the mountain as quickly as possible. So, after a moment, he'll reluctantly pull away from the hugging and start off in that direction.

It's not all that far. Past the short wall separating the beach from the grassy area, and from there to a spot where the grass gives way to an odd area of bare rock dotted with giant mushroom-shaped stone formations. There are still patches of snow, mostly in the shade beneath the strange stone shapes. And from the nearest of those patches, something will throw a snowball at them.

[feathered_mages]

The answer is another snowball, a little smaller than a tennisball. The real answer can be seen scooting around in the remaining snow under the nearest mushroom-like stone formation. It's an Eeno, barely a foot tall. There's another smaller one nearby, and a few shifting bits of snow that might be others.

Mistral just stares for a moment and shakes his head as if he can't believe what he's seeing. "They've shrunk. They're melting along with the snow."

[feathered_mages]

Mistral's already using blizzard spells, focusing on making hollow ice-cube 'boxes'. "Maybe I can move them to the Ice Cavern," he explains. "It's melting too, but not this fast."

He'll then start chasing Eenos, trying to scoop one up and put it in a box with some snow. It only takes half a second for the Magelets to join in, and occasionally throw some snowballs back at the Eenos.

This isn't going so well, though, as far as getting them 'crated' to be moved. At least not until Mistral remembers there's a much easier way... turning the hollow cubes on their sides and some use of his Bell later and the surviving Eenos just slide into the boxes.

The Magelets are a little disappointed the snowball fight is over for now.

[feathered_mages]

Mistral nods. It would probably make more sense to take this lot to the Ice Cavern and then come back, but he's not thinking of that. Instead, he'll try making a sled out of ice to put the crates on, but it doesn't pull well on bare ground. The Magelets are helping by casting the occasional ice-based spell on the Eenos to keep them cool.

"Maybe we could float the sled," suggests Kaze.

"Are there more ice monsters all up the mountain?" asks Luca, looking at the mountain trail ahead of them.