Link stared out of the alleyway at the bustling marketplace ahead. At his side stood a black and blue, bipedal, jackal-like being with red eyes that cautiously surveyed the area beyond the alley. The citizens of the town mindlessly walked past the pair, going about their daily lives and completely unaware of the duo's presences.

   "This looks way too easy," Link commented. "But I'll take it. So what're you in the mood for, Luce?" he then asked his companion. She looked about for a moment before pointing to a nearby fruit stand, yipping quietly. It was close to the alley, but not too close that the vendor could see them enter it. Link's eyes then widened when he saw what the stand had stocked. "I like your tastes," he said, grinning.

   Link made sure his cloak's hood was pulled up before he left the shade of the alleyway, Luce following close behind. They made their way towards the fruit stand, and Link announced his presence to the vendor. The sweet-looking old vendor looked up from his book and smiled at the teen.

   "Good day, young man. How may I help you?" he asked.

   "Well... I was wonderin' if I could ask ya a few things," Link responded. As he spoke, a countdown ticked down in his head. Three... two... one..!

   Luce lifted a paw and let out a little growl, drawing the vendor's attention. He gave her a confused look. Luce then began to make small motions with both her paws, continuing to growl while throwing in the occasional yip. It was like she was trying to have a conversation with the man. The vendor seemed to grow entranced by Luce's display, unable to take his eyes off her.

   The corner of Link's mouth quirked up when he saw Luce performing her little act. Even though they'd done this many times, both in practice and actual use, he also had to resist the urge to be drawn in too. Unfortunately for the vendor, he couldn't look away from Luce.

   Link began helping himself to the displayed fruits, taking a few from each of the colorful, organized mounds they were stacked in and stashing them away in the leather pouch clipped to his belt. Once he'd taken around a dozen, he gave Luce a quick pat on the shoulder and briskly walked away from the stand, back towards the alleyway. When he was again shrouded in its shade, he waited a moment until Luce joined him, and together they ran. Behind them, commotion reigned.

   "How could this have happened?"

   "I swear I only looked away for one second!"

   "So much for the guards. You can't trust any of 'em to actually do their jobs!"

   Link didn't know whether to laugh or feel sorry for the townsfolk. The former won out within seconds, though he had to stifle it to appear less suspicious. The Illusion strikes again, he thought to himself.

   Floria Town may have had a scenic location with a large populous, but it was horrendous in terms of crime prevention or general security. Everybody around here was so nice and trusting, a veritable gold mine for prospecting thieves, for those like Link. And if he could pin his crime on someone else, that would be even better.

   Away from the marketplace, Link casually strolled down the paved footpath with Luce at his side. Not many people were around, so it was less suspicious being out in the open than sticking to the shadows. Even if they were somehow spotted before Link or Luce could sense the watcher, an initial glance could convince people that Link was just a Trainer.

   In Hyrule at least, Trainers were mainly seen as people traveling with Pokémon on journeys of self-discovery or enlightenment. In the past couple decades it had become more popular for families to send their children out into the world with little more than a Pokémon at their sides, a rather useful practice for those who hadn't found their path in life yet. But neither Link, nor anybody else, knew where the term had come from. Trainer was a word that had been used so much it was just accepted in society.

   The duo approached Floria Town's main entrance, or exit in their case, passing by a wall that served as a makeshift bulletin board. Among the dozens of papers tacked up on the wall, one in particular caught Link's eye. He stopped, backpedaling a bit so he could see it. Unlike the other papers, this one had a picture sketched on it. The way the clusters of indecipherable words were organized combined with the picture made it evident that it was a wanted poster of some sort.

   The person on the poster was a young man in his late teens. His features consisted of a thin, angular face with sharp cheekbones and a slightly pointed nose. He also had tanned skin, choppy blonde hair that was parted to the side, and light blue eyes. Another sketch accompanied it, this one at the bottom of the poster. It was an image of somebody's right hand, except the tip of the hand's ring finger and the entirety of the pinky finger was missing, stubs in their places.

   Link glanced about for a moment before tearing the paper from the wall and stowing it away. He wasn't going to let a place this perfect for thievery know who he was. But for all he knew, everybody had already seen the poster, so this place was already a bust. Well, at least for a few months it was. He heaved a small sigh of disappointment. If he wasn't already leaving town, he certainly was now.

   Link and Luce made their way to where they had set up camp the previous night: a small copse of densely-clustered trees uphill from Floria Town and its namesake, the beautiful Lake Floria.

   Hidden amongst the trees, the pair split their earlier "purchases." The amount of fruit that spilled from the leather pouch it had been kept in shouldn't have been possible, considering the bag's size, but Link wasn't one to question enchantments. Someone had said it was a "Fairy Pouch" from the Lanayru Province that could hold almost anything, and that was all Link needed to know before he stole it from the seller.

   "Here's to ya, Luce," Link said, holding up an apple as if he were going to make a toast. "May your Follow Me never lose its magic!" he proclaimed. Luce chuckled a little, and Link frowned. "That's how that saying goes, right? 'May your whatever keep doin' whatever'? Somethin' about 'prospering'... whatever that means." He took a bite of his apple and couldn't help but let out a small sigh of delight. Apples, the fruit of the goddesses. Or at least they were in his eyes.

   "Maybe we should wait an hour or two until we get outta here. Let the town quiet down a bit," Link said around a mouthful of fruit. "But we need to pick up the slack when we do go. We've got five days until we halfta meet 'im, and we still gotta go through Central Hyrule." Luce nodded in agreement while Link took out the poster he'd snagged in town, looking over it closely.

   Looking at the poster was almost like looking in a mirror. Link was both impressed and irritated at this; impressed that the artist actually got most of his features right, and irritated that they knew so much about his appearance. It frustrated him even more that they had noted that he was missing his fingers. He'd managed to hide that for nearly five years now, but now it was out in the open. At least the drawing didn't feature his startlingly large eyes (for a Hylian male). Without them, his inked countenance actually looked intimidating.

"I'm surprised it took 'em so long to piece this together," Link said, handing the poster off to Luce who began to look over it herself. "But 'least they didn't seem t'make any note about ya." He was sure they would have included a sketch of Luce if they had. She nodded thoughtfully as she continued to examine the drawings.

   Luce's head suddenly jerked up. Her eyes were shining with a faint azure hue, the way they did whenever she was seeing an aura. At the same time, Link sensed another presence. Before he could look in its direction, a voice piped up.

   "Admiring yourself, eh, Rinku?"

   Link's shoulders tensed, instant irritation searing in his gut. He knew who it was instantly. If not for his aura or his thick Ritoian accent, then the nickname the speaker knew Link hated.

   How did he find me? Link turned around and was faced with a russet-feathered Rito. Behind his yellow beak a grin could be seen, and his emerald eyes held a mischievous spark. Link hid a little smile, masking it with a loud sigh. "Hey, Iigo," he muttered a greeting.

   Iigo fake-pouted, dramatically putting a feathered hand to his chest. "What? You aren't pleased to see me?" he asked sadly, though in a sarcastic tone.

   "What do you think?" Link asked, raising an eyebrow.

   Iigo scoffed loudly, looking offended. "Okay, fine, don't get your feathers in a ruffle! It's not like we haven't seen each other in over two months!" he exclaimed. "I just—!" Link's hand shot out and he held Iigo's beak shut.

   "Ya wanna let everyone around here know we're here?" Link hissed. Iigo glared at Link before rolling his eyes and shaking his head. Still holding Iigo's beak, Link pulled himself to his feet, using Iigo to steady himself. He then finally let go.

   "You're always so rough, Rinku! You could have hurt me," Iigo whined, rubbing his beak.

   "I wouldn't have minded that," Link retorted with a smirk.

   "So harsh, as well..." the Rito added.

   "Whaddya want, Iigo?" Link asked, sighing. "And what the hell are ya doin' here? I thought you'd gone back to Rito Town."

   "I could ask you the same question, Rinku," Iigo said. "And yes, while I had returned home for a spell, it was to visit my mother. She had fallen ill, and I wanted to make sure she was doing well, which she is, thank Hylia. Of course, I couldn't linger for more than a day or two, lest the Rito guard get their talons on me... Not that I really needed to worry much. I know I would have been capable escaping them no matter what they threw at me!" Iigo beamed proudly.

   True to his name's pronunciation, that bird's ego was as big as his beak, and he often used words Link didn't understand. He claimed he was a descendant of the legendary Rito warrior Revali, and Link was inclined to believe that considering Revali had been said to be quite vain, though Iigo didn't quite reach that level.

    Link shook his head. Yeah, ya keep tellin' yourself that, he thought.

   Iigo was like Link—a wandering thief. They had met several years ago after a botched mugging in the eastern, and wealthy, Seres City and ended up hiding in the same storehouse together whilst the townsfolk searched for them. Several run-ins later, and the Rito had become the closest thing to a friend Link had that wasn't a Pokémon. He supposed it would be considered a friendly rivalry if one were to inquire... and then the inquirer would immediately call for Link's arrest after asking.

   Unlike Link, Iigo traveled with no Pokémon. He once said that his prized bow was all he needed to keep him company. Link was fine with that. He hated the idea of Iigo traveling with him, or anyone other than Luce for that matter.

   "Ya still haven't answered my question," Link said. "What're ya doin' here? Ya never come to the Faron Province!"

   Iigo shrugged dismissively. "True, the humidity wrinkles my feathers, but have you seen this place? Nobody bats an eye at anything suspicious!" He arched an eyebrow. "But I suppose somebody figured that out before I did. I heard commotion near the marketplace earlier. Apparently some fruit-selling gentleman had been robbed. It seems that the Illusion has struck again, no?" he said, putting emphasis on the moniker Hyrule's guards had given Link.

   "How can ya be so sure I did it?" Link asked indignantly.

   Iigo smirked. "That stand was the only one that had apples in stock." He chuckled upon seeing Link's defeated look. "And you haven't answered my question. What are you doing here?"

   "If ya really wanna know, I'm just passin' through on my way to Central Hyrule. A couple days ago somebody came to me and offered me a job in Castle City. He seemed to recognize me, and I'll give 'im props for that. We're supposed to meet up in a week. Ya know how long it takes to get to Castle City from here."

   "Doesn't that seem a tad suspicious?" Iigo frowned. "Some random bloke comes off the street and offers you a job, to steal something for him, I presume?"

   "Well, he didn't instantly try to have me arrested, and Luce seemed fine around the guy." Even without her aura-sensing abilities, Link would trust her with his life in a heartbeat. "Also," he reached into his pocket, "he gave me some of the payment up front." Between his thumb and index finger he held a gem that had a dazzling silver shimmer.

   Iigo's beak dropped open in shock. "Dear Hylia! He gave you a silver rupee?" he squawked.

   "Yep!" Link responded, grinning. "I don't think anybody would just hand these out if they weren't serious." Silver rupees were worth one-hundred of the standard green gems, not the largest amount a rupee could represent but certainly not nothing for one to sniff at.

   "Then you'll have to tell me how it turns out. Perhaps share a rupee or two with your best friend?" Iigo playfully nudged Link with his elbow.

   Link smirked. "Not a chance."

   Iigo pretended to be disappointed. "Oh well, it was worth a try," he sighed, shrugging. "I had better shake a wing and take my leave."

   "Shame," Link said.

   "If only that weren't such a blatant lie," Iigo replied. He then spread his wings wide and crouched down. "Farewell, Rinku! Good luck, and be careful!" He tensed and jumped up, pushing himself with a flap of his wings, and he was airborne. Within seconds he was above the trees, and after a few more he was out of sight, having flown away.

   When he was sure Iigo had gone, Link's shoulders slouched, and he let out a sigh. He always felt exhausted after talking with that Rito. Compared to Luce's usual calmness, Iigo's attitude was a bright burst of energy.

"I guess we should 'take our leave,' too," he said to Luce, jokingly trying to imitate Iigo's voice. She snickered and followed Link as he left the copse, leaving Floria Town behind.