Studio with all currently available chapters ➡ https://scratch.mit.edu/studios/51334412/ Read part three here! ➡ https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1276664675 [CONT. 2/3] Something in Ariphea's mind clicked when she heard her name uttered from his "Wait just a second," she burst out suddenly. "I don't know who you are!" Ariphea burst out accusingly and took a few steps back, as though she was knocked back by her own realization. The man chuckled, "Rokih." Huh. That was fast. She was expecting him to do that weird puffy-smoke-cloud thing and expose his ulterior motives. It turned out, Rokih had just forgotten to tell her his name when they were doing introductions. In all fairness, a man surviving amongst a bunch of banana-loving hooligans meant his manners weren't in great shape. Ariphea's expression eased slightly. "Now let's get some rest, shall we?" Rokih extended his hand out to her. Ariphea didn't take it, of course. She thought the gesture weird, given the outcome was just walking inside the shelter for rest at this point. She didn't comment verbally, just mentally deemed it odd. The two walked inside, and Rokih paid for the both of them to stay the night. Ariphea mouthed a 'thank you' as they stood by the thin bar-like back desk. Rokih nodded assuringly back at her. When they stepped away, Rokih reminded her of their plans. "We have to cross all the way around Hyrule Field–essentially all of Central Hyrule–to Gerudo Canyon pass," he forewarned, giving her a light pat on the shoulder. "So lie down and get good sleep." Ariphea muttered a quiet, "You too." Nothing but quiet chirps of crickets springing from outdoors or the distant crackles of fire from logs just beyond the structure bothered them as both Ariphea and Rokih shed a few layers of their clothing, and tucked themselves into separate beds, their bodies now lined with colorful knit fabrics that looked like items you could find in a grandmother's home. But the following morning was far from as simple as their first day had been. Rokih nudged Ariphea awake. She was far from a heavy sleeper, so it wasn't difficult to rouse from her slumber. Her eyes flickered open, and the next thing she knew, Rokih's hand was wrapped around her wrist practically dragging her from her bed. "Rokih..." she groaned tiredly in protest, head lolling back as she lifted a hand to rub her eyes open. Ariphea became a deadweight so suddenly the bed was screaming creaks of agony. "... The sun isn't even up yet!" she whined. Last time he requested she be up early, she complied. Now she was being forced from comfort, and she could barely consider it morning. Rokih pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand, "You know what we're doing. I told you last night specifically to rest. Come on, we have a long day ahead of us!" He gave her arm another firm tug, and she flopped forward, nearly folding over on herself. Rokih walked away only to scoop up the layers of clothing she had discarded, and piled them on her lap. "We need to hurry. Trust me," he urged. Ariphea narrowed her eyes. She didn't fully believe him, but she hoisted herself up and slipped on her extra clothing regardless. She did suppose they were better moving than at an unnecessary standstill, even if she had been sleeping. They bid farewell to the kind man running the stable and shelter before departing for their lengthy and far more treacherous trek. When they first left, naturally both had plenty of energy. However, when their surroundings of flat grassy plains with miscellaneous bodies of water began to blend with dirt and sand in an unattractive mix of brown barren terrain. Light breathable air turned suffocating with the increasingly hotter atmosphere. In Ariphea's intensely exhausted state, she couldn't help but notice Rokih was still his usual upbeat self. Her jaw hung open in a combination of shock and despair. This inevitably meant he'd keep pushing them forward, no matter how badly her body needed a moment of rest. "How do you walk for so long at a time...?!" Ariphea groaned, staring at his quick pace with heavy eyes. "Well, normally," he started, but was suddenly engulfed in a circle of red, followed by a puff of smoke, and the dispersing of cards—all of which had the inverted eye of the Sheikah painted on them, a detail Ariphea took note of. That couldn't have been friendly. Though he preoccupied her mind before she could do a double take and rethink. "I teleport." Ariphea, although stunned at first, quickly gave him a 'no, really?' type of look after his blatant demonstration. "Master trained us to endure practically anything," he answered seriously this time. "Serious guy, huh?" she implored. "Ah, not really. He's enthusiastic, knows how to get the Yiga's spirits up," praised Rokih, even when not in the presence of his master. "But cross him, and you're done for," he added threateningly.
Ariphea felt a rock form in her throat. Dually noted. Don't cross this "master" dude. Even with her incoherent mumbles of disapproval as they walked, they made it to the threshold where Gerudo Canyon Pass turned into the Gerudo Desert. Rokih made a point to stop at the stable and purchase both himself and Ariphea food and water while the two rested for the night. At least he was courteous, Ariphea had noticed. "We should stay the night here," Rokih cut off her thoughts of growing respect for him. Yet when she processed his words, said respect grew tenfold. Ariphea nodded with an undeniable eagerness, "Yes, I agree." Rokih smiled fondly at her, paid for their beds again, and laid down. These beds looked far more bland, like the blankets were just sheets filled with sand. Neither of them cared, though. Turns out both were exhausted, and fell asleep only moments after entering their respective beds—in all of their thick clothing apart from their bags Sunlight streamed in from the open doors of the stable's setup. Ariphea stirred when the beams penetrated her closed lids, until eventually Rokih walked over and prodded her awake. She leisurely pointed her body upright and was greeted by that irritably happy face after she nearly collapsed from exhaustion just hours before now. Though without verbal complaining, she begrudgingly got out of bed and retrieved her pack of goods. Rokih stopped her before she could get too far. He felt a little invasive springing this on her all of a sudden, but if she wanted to have a chance at becoming a Yiga Clan member, let alone survive her initial encounter with them, she'd need to change her appearance a slight bit. "Before we leave, I need you to do a few things," Rokih warned rather abruptly. "Below your eyes, and on the bridge of your nose. I need you to cover all of that up. Also, at the very least, that white streak in your hair will need to be dyed black. The clan has some dye back at the hideout, so don't worry about that bit right now." Ariphea stood there, processing these new details she wished had been mentioned sooner. "Cover this up, how...?" she uttered, reaching a hand up to attempt to wipe off the red marks that had once been tediously painted on her face. Not a smudge. Rokih shrugged, "Wash it off? It isn't permanent, right?" "No, I suppose it isn't. Just, really hard to get off," she tittered awkwardly. Ariphea stepped outside with Rokih as he set a little wooden bowl down in front of her and poured water in it. Ariphea kneeled onto the ground, and cupped water in her palms to splash it onto her face and rub the red ink lining the undersides of her eyes, and the symbol on her nose nearly to her brow line. This made sense, she deduced. All that was left was a slight blur in the spots she washed. Rokih gave her a little thumbs up for assurance. "Should be good. If I hadn't seen you before, I wouldn't know you ever had anything on there," he heartened. Ariphea found her feet, and continued journeying alongside him in the unforgiving heat of the desert that had struck them instantaneously upon entering. Rokih made sure to venture mostly in the shade, knowing she'd follow without a question. After all, he didn't want her to drop dead this far into their travels. Most of their day was spent seemingly lost among the grains of sand, the only things keeping them cool were water and the aforementioned shade. They still struggled, of course.
