Tiny birds scattered about when my statue-still form finally moved. I had been sitting in a relaxed pose, considering possibilities for at least ten minutes. In that time, dozens of small birds found their way to me. Some perched on my head, some on my crossed legs, and many found rest on my broad shoulders. I no longer feared them, as they had been all over me since I first reached this strange land and not one of them gave me any reason to believe that they would do me harm. I did wish on some level that they would just leave me alone, but I grew tired of shooing them away with large movements every few seconds, only for them to quickly return, wholly undeterred.

Grannie had mumbled to herself and returned to her temple, leaving me to calm down from her inciting words and really make a decision. I could return home. I could tell her that I don't belong here, and that I have every reason to fear the great beyond that awaits me outside of this place. I could explain that I've only been here for a couple of hours tops, and I had already seen monsters and creatures more terrifying than anything my nightmares had ever dared to bring me. I could tell her that I wanted to return to the sky as soon as possible, while I was still whole.

But I didn't want to.

A powerful, loud part of my mind certainly did want to. The one represented by fears and taking the easy way out. But a more important part stayed resolute. I had resolved long ago that, when it came to Zelda, there was no easy way out, so I might as well take the best way out. Going back to the sky and lazing about the academy while I wait for Link to bring Zelda home didn't sound good at all. It sounded boring and obnoxious. And wimpy. And I'm no wimp.

So what was the best way out? Helping, of course. I could read between the lines enough to know that neither Grannie nor Link wanted me to accompany him on his adventures outside of this place to save Zelda, and that I would be of much greater use here. There were monsters to quell and I had been the man for that job, decidedly. I felt as though it might be a bit much to hope that I could do what I just witnessed Link do, which was vanquish the beast with only a sword and a fierce determination I hadn't ever seen from him before. And Grannie knew that was too much to ask, too. No, she said that I could help. And she seemed pretty convinced that they would need it.

He would come back stronger, she said. Much stronger and no matter how determined that little guy might be, he won't be able to hold that thing back forever with an oversized knife. He needs the thing to slow down, or to be distracted long enough for Link to do his thing without getting swatted aside like a bothersome housefly. I thought about what I would do if I needed someone to be distracted. I'd pulled a number of tricks in my day of bypassing authority, many of which involved throwing things. And I now had the knowledge of a plant with firepower. Throwing something like that just might help.

I had my resolve. I would learn the capabilities of this plant from the Kiwi species that Grannie mentioned. I wasn't too enthused by the idea of meeting talking fruit, but I would have to get used to new things if it meant staying down here and making a place for myself.

With, as usual, half of a plan, I finally stood up. A whole crowded flock of colorful birds flitted about in a tornado of pastels as I made my way back inside the old, mossy temple to get a bit more information from Grannie before going on my way. I would normally be more apprehensive exploring the entirely unknown, but I had a feeling that Grannie wouldn't send me somewhere assuming that I would be killed off as soon as I made my way out of this place.

The large, stone door resisted as I pushed it forward. Grannie was sitting with her eyes closed in front of another, larger pair of stone doors in the back of the building. I sauntered over to her and she opened her eyes with a knowing smile. Her braid continued to sway in perfect tune with the silence.

"I'll go talk to the Kiwis about the mean flower. I'll keep you guys safe, Grannie. I just need directions, I guess." I had intended to present her with more bravado and confidence, but something about the tiny old lady made me feel naturally inferior. She felt worthy of respect that I needed to offer her.

She seemed unsurprised by my ultimate decision. "That sounds wonderful, boy. If you return to the place where you initially landed in this world, you should be able to follow a natural path that will lead you to a populated section of the forest. From there, you should be able to locate at least one of the Kikwis. Just ask them where the Elder is and they will help you."

"Out this door, path, Ki...kwis. Got it," I summarized, adding a 'K' that I hadn't caught before.

"Good. You may find yourself face to face with some enemies on your way. Just remain calm and use your head and you will be just fine. The monsters around here are weak and mindless. Oh, and one more thing. The Kikwis are a… fearful bunch. Do your best to earn their trust, because they will assume that your intentions are bad. Understood?"

"Buncha 'fraidy-cats. Got it," I repeated. My mind was a bit focused on the mention of monsters. I wasn't too keen on the adventure anymore, but I kept my wits about me. If they were anything like the jelly fiends that haunt the nights of Skyloft, I wasn't worried at all. Link may have a sharp sword, but my muscles aren't just for show. I always excelled at hand-to-hand combat.

As I walked to the direction she indicated, Grannie sent me off with a "Good luck, boy."

I pushed my way back outside of the temple, through a door on the east side. I recognized my surroundings, having pushed my way through here a few hours ago when I was ready to tell Grannie that I was here to find Zelda. Ignoring the rapidly growing feeling of running in circles, I made my way down the path, climbing down the wall of vines, back into an open area with the rock creature that had frightened me before. I had seen Link conversing casually with it earlier, so I showed no fear and walked by it. He seemed too intrigued with heavily scrutinizing what appeared to be an ordinary wall to notice me anyway. There was a stone archway across the way that was a clear indicator of where I was supposed to go. As I walked, I grew more relaxed. A walk in the woods was a nice change of pace from the small, circular skylands up above. The air was so fresh and soothing with each breath, and the light that filtered down from above illuminated the area beautifully.

When I looked up, I saw a clear blue sky, which intrigued me. It appeared that the cloud barrier that I always looked down on was merely an illusion, but to what end? Were the people of the ground being protected from the knowledge of people up above, or vice versa? For what reasons were these lands so intricately separated?

My strength was tested as I was made to climb up a small ledge from a toppled log. I pushed myself up, crawling forward and lifting myself to my feet. A thin but strong dangling rope allowed me to swing across a small chasm to continue on the path, and I begin to feel like a true adventurer. Tufts of grass brushed my ankles and my path was lined by tall grassy walls on either side. This natural path thinned and led me past a row of short tree stumps before I finally reached an open clearing. This area began to show signs of man made architecture and civilization, so I felt confident that I was going the right way.

In the center of this clearing, dozing in the pathway, were two ugly humanoid creatures. They wore scraggly clothing and weapons on their hips. Their skin was a burnt red.

"Hey! You must be just the Kikwis I'm looking for!" I shouted eagerly. They both immediately woke up, leaping from the ground and turning to face me.

Remembering what Grannie said about these guys, I said, "I come in peace, by the way. In fact, I'm here to save you." I accented this with a dazzling smile.

The two creatures looked at each other for a short moment before turning back towards me and holding up their large, jagged weapons. They began to snarl and run at me.

A loud, horrified yell escaped my lips as I turned and ran in the opposite direction. I ran down the path as fast as I could, the monsters hot on my tail.

So those things are probably NOT Kikwis, I decided. I suppose I should have asked for a description so that this kind of mix up didn't happen. I chanced a glance behind myself to find that the monsters were only feet behind me. I had only just whipped my head back in front of me when the ground disappeared from beneath my feet.. My hands took the brunt of my rough landing in the small chasm, which had a rope dangling far above it. I heard the high-pitched screeches of the monsters falling in after me. A quick roll forward ensured that the deranged creatures didn't land directly on top of me.

Panicking for a way out I found, much to my relief, that one side of this small but deep crevice had a rough path hewn into the wall which would allow me to scramble out. I quickly hoisted myself on top of the ledges on the wall, one after another. I could hear the monsters swiping fiercely below me and I prayed that I had made enough distance between us that their weapons couldn't reach me. I only dared to check when I reached the top, only to find that the monsters were giving their failing attempts at pulling themselves up the same way I had. They didn't appear to be strong enough to hoist their small bodies up as well as my incredible muscles had.

"Haha! Sucks to get outsmarted, don't it?" I sneered. They both looked up at me and one growled fiercely, chucking his weapon quickly in my direction.

I let out a startled "eek", jumping to one side. The weapon caught my left arm as I turned, just barely breaking skin before it clattered to the ground behind me. I quickly reached behind me and lifted the weapon in the air, waving it tauntingly down at the two. The one that still held it's weapon smacked the other one lightly and the two began squabbling amongst themselves. I dashed forward and swung across the gap, breaking into a run when I reached the other side. I only bothered to look behind me once I reached the open clearing. I was alone.

"Ya-HOO!" I pumped my fist into the air in celebration. The enemies of these woods were no match for me. I paid no mind to the stinging but small open wound on my arm as I moved forward. It barely hurt. Bursting with adrenaline from the epic battle, I marched forward, continuing on the path. There was uniform and steep dirt hill with a magnificent stone arch at the bottom that marked the only way forward so I sped up it, panting once I finally reached the top.

I continued onward for a surprisingly short time before coming across many more signs of civilization. There were dilapidated, but clearly hand-made brick walls lining the path as I walked. The path grew more particular, as it was no longer defined by large cliff-walls on either side, but now by a well-trodden dirt trail through the lush grass. Everywhere I looked there was something new and interesting.

Large, multicolored mushrooms that gave off strange scents dotted the grass on either side of the path. Trees grew with bark that twisted up into leafy branches that barely let the brilliant shafts of sunlight peek through onto the trodden path. I was amazed.

Now this is what I'm talking about! Why should I be forced into enjoying the monotony of the sky when there are places like this just waiting to be explored! I began to grow angry at whatever being decided that confinement to the small section of land that I grew up on was necessary for any reason. I began to wonder if my ancestors did something to deserve some sort of punishment, if the land up above was a prison designed for those who deserved the worst out of life. I knew I was exaggerating to a certain point, but I was so enthralled with the sights before me that my thoughts were going wild.

And that was before I saw it. The tree. I had seen so many trees since I got here that I didn't expect any one to knock me off my feet, but there it was! A tree ten, a hundred, maybe a thousand times larger than the average one that I saw down here was towering over this section of the forest like a protective guardian. The canopy was thick and the trunk was so tall it made me wonder if it would be possible to get home just by climbing it. I saw no signs of intelligent life in my immediate area, so I immediately set off in the direction of the large tree. It was a good thing that the path seemed to lead there, because I would find no trouble in breaking from the path if it meant checking out such an awesome looking monument.

For the first time since I got here, I was only exhilarated and fear didn't bog me down. I had a weapon to counter any more monsters and I had a goal, with a clear path to get there. This was where I belonged. I was ready to face the forest and its inhabitants. These Kikwis were about to meet a hero like nothing they had ever seen before.