Recco groaned at the man's comment. He'd managed to scrape up a few Rupees from the abandoned houses, which he assumed were accidentally left behind, but it hadn't been that much and he didn't know how much he'd have left if he ate now. After a bit of consideration, he just shrugged, knowing his parents wouldn't let him starve or anything. "Alrighty just wait up! I don't want to get trampled before we reach the senseless!" he shouted, following behind.

"Cen[i]sus[/i]," he called back. "And you're not going to be trampled. There [b]are[/b] [i]rules[/i] about using the roads."

"Is there anything you guys [b]aren't[/b] uptight about?" he asks, wondering exactly where they were going. "And will it take long to find my parents if they [b]are[/b] in the city?"

"Can't really say. And being serious is generally part of the job, kid. Anyways, is there something in particular you want to eat, or just anything?"

"I'll eat anything! Well...almost anything..." he said, looking around for anything that might catch his eyes.

"Almost?"

"Yeah almost. Everyone has a food they don't like. I for one don't really like carrots all that much. Don't tell me I'm not allowed to dislike certain foods too." he says, though is mostly joking.

"Telling you what to eat is not my job," he shrugged. "Alright. Let's get something here, then," the man said while stepping up to a lively kitchen street vendor with several colorful dishes of cooked vegetables and meat pies on display beneath the bright ribbons and banners dangling from the fabric roof. He stopped at the edge of the stall, several small gems chinking as he set and slid them across the stall table."One of your herb-pork pies, please." 

"Uh I'll take one too! How much is it?" he asked, seeing as he didn't know what else was for sale. Not to mention that the pork pie sounded absolutely delicious after Din knows how long he spent in the Lost Woods.

The black haired, mustachiod man quicked his head to the side at Recco, his heavy brows lifting in surprise. "A Skull Child? Not too many of you 'round here," he chuckled with an accent much thicker than his thin, pale frame would seem to indicate. "Ten rupees for a small, fifteen for a large. A small is likely a full meal for someone your size."

"Got change for a Red Rupee?" he asked, pulling out a red gem from the dusty ragged bag, though as he held it up a pensive look appeared on his face, his head tilting his head as if thinking hard about something.

"That I do~" the man said with a wide, smile, eyes hidden in among the crinkles in his face. A moment later, a yellow gem an inch long lay on the table before him-next to a steaming pie wafting with the scent of soft, cooked pulled pig meat with undertones of sage and rosemary. "There you go, child."

Recco gratefully takes the Yellow Rupee and pie. "Uh thanks...hey can I ask you two something?" he says, looking up a them with a questioning expression.

"Go ahead~" the merchant coos, propping his chin upon his arm, elbow to the table while the guard glanced at him in wait, silent besides the sounds of his mouth rolling side to side as he chewed.

"Well...all my life I was told that if you went into the Lost Woods and you were a kid, you became a Skull Kid. And when I...became one, I was told that if I left, I'd die. How is it that I'm the [b]not[/b] first Skull Kid to escape?" he asks, simply not getting it at all.

"Well, the fairies and Great Deku Tree apparently used to tell the Kokiri Children the same thing," the merchant said with a long stroke of his curled facial hair. "Gave 'em the impression it was a curse and that they'd die as soon as they took a step out. 'pparently, it was actually just that monsters in the plains tended to gobble 'em up-or they'd starve in town wi'out the forest supporting 'em. After the Hero of Time left the forest and some of the Kokiri did during the celebration upon his defeat of the Evil King... well, some found out otherwise. And not too many Skull Kids [i]do[/i] leave. It's bound to happen every once in a while, though, what with how rebellious 'ou lot tend to be."

"Yeah well...I bet none of them are as tough as me! I killed a ghost thingy that tried to stop me!" he said, puffing his scrawny chest out, filled with childish pride at the act and, to be fair, it was sort of a personal accomplishment considering how young he thought he was and acted and how terrified of the thing he'd been.

"A... poe? Ooh, that may not be too much in your favor... those things can hold nasty grudges. Not that the usual ones are very strong-as monsters go, at least. Still," the merchant chuckled as he stood back up and raises his arms, stretching out his back and shoulders. "I suppose it is a feat for a child."

"Enough of one," the guard agreed as he finished his pie with a lick of his fingers. "Alright, kid. Ready to go?"

Recco would be finishing off his own pie as the guard did. "Uh huh. Off to the senseless?" he asked, this time in a teasing tone, knowing full well how to pronounce it at this point.

The man merely sighed and started the walk back towards the main road.

Recco excitedly followed behind, wanting to get there as soon as possible so he could go home and get on with his life.

With a wave from the merchant, the two continued on through the last few blocks to the central plaza of the town-and with every building, the vibrancy of the atmosphere grew. Large stone pillars decorated the edges of walkways and buildings that towered enormously high while carriages and people walked at their heels, so small against the decorated backdrop. The road opened up to an even more massive clear circle, the floor a mosiac of colored tiles in an intricate pattern some several hundred feet wide. In the center lay an intricately carved and detailed fountain with a short wall surrounding it, clear water rippling gently through it as it burbled forth from the fountain rising up from the center. A great bird with upturned wings, holding up and receiving the Triforce, the greatest gift of the three Golden Goddesses, the crest of the Royal Family and symbol of Hyrule's divine destiny and all their blessings.

Hundreds of people and vehicles thronged about the place, moving from one place to the next. Children splashed and played at the fountain's edge while pilgrim's stood in quiet reverence as they offered prayers while the royal castle watched from the north, the one direction clear of the networked buildings that pierced they sky. The entire scene was as richly decorated as the world's greatest empire might be imagined to be, with different sections of the city visible along the major roads that all coallesced here; the common residential districts to the south, moving into the merchant district north of it and the arts to the east and west; the guards and guilds to the northwest, and then the nobles' estates to either side of the royal castle halfway across the city due north, balanced aesthetically by the city's lone, tall and narrow clocktower due south that cut the south, southeast and southwest roads in three with its six-legged base and second only to the royal palace in height in the whole of the city, right at the edge of the circle. It was, true to its reputation, undisputedly the center of the world.

The guard sighed with a look upwards and around, then back down to Recco, this time obviously expecting a reaction, even with nary a hint of judgement for this time. "Welcome to the capital of the world, kid."

Recco would not be behind the guard, instead running straight towards the fountain, the only thoughts going through his head being, "[i]I'm gonna explore every single inch of this city! I mean I heard this place was big, but this is freaking ridiculous! I bet if I climbed that clock tower I could see for MILES![/i],"

He made his way quickly past the people, wanting to see, well, everything, and forgetting about his guard escort in his excitement.

"Well-hey! Wait, get back here!" he exclaimed, hefting his polearm over his shoulder and taking off in a dash after Recco. "Kid! You can explore [i]after[/i] I get you to the records hall! This is on [i]my[/i] time right now!"

Recco seemed to pay him no mind and kept going, leaping onto the fountain edge as soon as he reached it and, with learned and somewhat supernatural agility, he leaped and jumped around the fountain, unable to contain his energy and seeming to zone out everything else, even reaching into his bag and pulling out his flute.

A minute later, the guard stumbled up, panting heavily before near collapsing onto the fountainside, hands at the edge as he gasped for breath. "Kid," he wheezed, "I'm in [i]armor[/i]. I can't... run like that. And I still have... a job to do." He exhaled and turned around, sitting down on the pure white marble of the fountain.

Recco looked to his armored friend with a mischievous laugh. "Alright, alright! Just relax for a sec and catch your breath. I promise I won't run off again, deal?" he ask before testing a couple of notes on his flute.

"Deal..." he said with another great exhale, closing his eyes for a moment to catch himself.

Recco would let out an affirmative nod before taking a seat a few feet away and playing a simple song he taught himself in the Lost Woods, the notes being energetic and upbeat with a frantic tune of sorts, kicking his feet playfully as he does so with a happy expression, rocking back and forth sideways.

The guard chuckled. "You're pretty good with that."

Recco turns, pausing his little impromptu performance. "I had a ton of practice time in the woods. I made up a few songs myself too and my friends taught me even more! I could play all day and never get bored!" he says and proceeds to resume where he left off, continuing to play energetically, putting his heart into it.

"Right. Except I have other work to do and I've caught my breath now. Come on, we're almost there; the census is kept in the tax center at the northwestern edge of the plaza." The guard stood, took a deep breath, and exhaled loudly. "Ready?"

Recco would give him a nod, though continues to play his flute, utterly enjoying this little adventure as he leaps to his feet, not pausing his song at all, being used to being mobile while performing.

The guard released a sighing chuckle, although made no comment as he headed off to the northwest, towards the tall, blockish building at the edge. The two weaved through the passing and intersecting throngs of people, large sections of clear space between one, two or twenty people at a time where the highest of nobles and common citizens of the city passed each other by towards the stone-railed, more reserved entrance-aside from the owl statues to either side of the large entryway.

After several minutes, they reached the entrance, the guards nodding to the two while Recco's escort returned it. Upon stepping inside was wide room with multiple desks minded by well-dressed clerks, shuffling papers and records and conversing with others walking about the room amid a sea of spectacles, desks, books and scrolls. After a moment glancing about, Recco's escort takes a right to a desk towards the back.

Recco would look around, but finds the sight of it all to be overall boring compared the huge city. "Are you sure it's not called a senseless? As in senselessly boring?" he asked.

The guard sighed as he stopped in front of the clerk's desk. "Excuse me. This child here is looking for his parents-back from when he was human, at least. We are wondering if you might have tax records of them?"

The slightly young, nearing on middle-aged man with short-cropped hair glanced back from his searching through the shelves of books behind him. "If they payed their legal dues, then likely. What are their names and where are they from?"

"Oh that's [i]easy[/i] their names are Reeve and Alote and we're from Padstow." he answered confidently. 

"Padstow... what province is that in?"

"A provi-what? Can you say that in Hyrulean maybe?" he asked, scratching the back of his head in confusion.

The man smiled lightly down to Recco, nodding. "Which section of the country are they from? Ordonia, Kakaria, Eldin?"

"Ordonia. It was really close to Lost Woods! Obviously..." he says, seeming a bit embarassed, the fact that he was a Skull Kid kind of painted him as an idiot in his own mind.

"Alright. Now let me look through these records..." the man said as he pulled out a large, leather-bound tome and set it down on the desk. He scanned slowly over the table of contents, tracing his finger underneath lines of text. "Padstow..." he mumbled. "... hm. It's not in here. Are you certain that that was the name of it? Or that there might be some other name it is known by?"

"I am absolutely positive! It was only known as Padstow or home by the people who lived there. I mean, I know I was gone a few months, but I'm not [b]that[/b] forgetful," he said, seeming a tad bit offended by the suggestion that he'd forget, but biting back his anger, knowing the man was trying to help him. Didn't make him any less mad, but he didn't have to show it. Yet...

"That is not what I was implying," he responded with a good-natured chuckle. "Well, there's no record of anywhere named Padstow in here. Here, let me check this book," he said before turning to retreive another text from one of the shelves leading into a hallway behind him. "... hm..."

A moment later, he set the text down; [u]Towns and Villages of Hyrulia Proper[/u]. "This contains a list of virtually every known settlement in Hyrule's history since we began documenting such things-and all of those we could track and record from before then as well. Now let me check the contents..." the man licked his fingertip, then took to leafing through the beginning pages, muttering names as he counted his way through the alphebetized categories until he game to the proper section of the Ordon Province. "Padstow..." he muttered as he placed a finger to the page number, then began to leaf through the book to its section.

After several moments, the man's smile faltered-then took on a twinge of... pity. With a slight, sad smile, he looked to Recco. "Child... what year is it? What year were you born in?"

"That's another easy question. It's 5797. I was born 5785. Why...?" he asked, a look of confusion on his face. "I mean you're supposed to keep track of all this stuff right? Why're you asking me what year it is?"

The man sighed softly and slowly, a look of piteous compassion in his face. "Child... it is 5999. Padstow collapsed and has been uinhabited for over a hundred years. If your parents were Hyrulian, well... we don't live that long."


The Skull Kid seemed to wait for the man to say more before casually placing his hands behind his head, an annoyed look on his face. "That's not how you tell a joke, mister. They're supposed to be funny. Your's just sounds crazy." he said, tapping his foot. "Now seriously I don't have anything against you, but I'd like the real answer now."

The man's face remained unchanged. "It's not a joke, child. Today is in the spring of 5999, HDS." The man lifted the book aloft, holding his finger underneath a line.

[i]Padstow was finally abandoned in 5834 after a bad run of monster raids and harsh weather damaged the crops and left most of the village dead. Most of the residents turned into refugees, fleeing to the village of Ordon or Hyrule Castle City.[/i]

Instead of reading, Recco slams a fist on the desk angrily, a visible dark wisp coming off his hand as he does so. "Listen it's not funny anymore. It [i]can't[/i] be 5999 cause I'd be [i]dead[/i] if it was! So tell me the truth right now before you really tick me off..." he says, a scowl on his face.

The man sighed and set down the volume, closing it. "Child... Skull Children no longer suffer the years. They do not age nor die from the passing of ages. Skull Children have been known to live for centuries on end. I'm sorry, but... this is simply the truth. You've been in the forest far longer than you realized."

"No...that's not true! I-I would've known if it was that long! How do you explain that, huh!? Something would have happened in the forest! I mean I could understand losing a few months, but centuries!? C'mon who do you think you're fooling here?!" he asked, though he seemed more in denial than anything else, not wanting to believe that he'd let centuries slip by him. He felt completely unchanged from when he first became a Skull Kid. He should've felt [b]something[/b]...right?

The man sighed and closed his eyes; even the guard, now, bit his lower lip with a furrowed brow and worry in his eyes. "Those are questions I cannot answer. We know precious little of the ways and nature of the Lost Woods and their denizens. All I can tell you is that your family has long since been laid to rest."

"No...that's...no..." was all Recco could muster from himself, the mere thought of it all causing him to sway from all the emotions and thought swirling in his head. He managed a staggered step backwards before falling to his knees and holding his head. 

The clerk sighed-yet it was the guard who stepped forward, knelt and put a reassuing hand to Recco's shoulder. No words passed from him-just empathic eyes and a grim line from his lips, the face of one familiar with the harsh, unyielding painful reality of loss.

((Once again a collaboration from Nevis. This one was a HECK of a lot longer though it seems. Thanks for the help, Nev!))