Ori felt strong arms catch his physical body as he was launched away from the Ancestral Tree. As his consciousness fully returned, he heard Blitz speaking. "Are you all right? That hasn't happened before. What happened?"

     Ori shook away the fuzziness in his mind. "Reem... attacked me!" Ori said, still finding it a little hard to believe. He looked at the Ancestral Tree, and saw the orb of light at the top still present.

     "That happens when a spirit rejects you," Sein explained. "Reem was a stubborn thing. If you want his power, you'll have to earn his respect."

     "Well, I suppose he's not the only spirit that's stubborn!" Ori proclaimed, stomping back up to the Ancestral Tree with an angry look. He brushed his paw against the bark, and the Ancestral Tree absorbed his consciousness again.

~~~~~~~~~~

     Ori quickly sprung to his feet, finding himself back in Reem's cave.

     "Come to try again?" asked Reem's hoarse voice mockingly. Ori turned to see Reem, with a couple of rocks in his hands.

     Ori's confidence waned a little, but he kept on a brave face. "Yeah!"

     Reem shrugged, and started attacking again. It was incredible how he would fling the rocks at lethal speeds. Ori narrowly dodged the first barrage. "Please, Reem, calm down!" Ori pleaded with Reem. Reem glared at him and laughed a little. "Come on, child! Prove yourself worthy of bashing!" Reem flung another barrage of rocks. One nicked Ori's shoulder, and Ori yelped in pain. He looked at his shoulder, but saw no blood. Instead, it was as if Ori's flesh was merely a void of light, which shone through the broken skin. It didn't hurt any less, though.

     "Don't get distracted, you fool!" Reem shouted, flinging another barrage of rocks. This time, Ori had no time to react and one of the rocks pierced straight through his head. Everything went black, and Ori's consciousness was once again expelled from the Ancestral Tree.

~~~~~~~~~~

     Ori stood up once more, back inside Reem's cave. He was starting to get frustrated. He dodged the predicted barrage of rocks. "How long can you keep this up, child?" Reem asked mockingly, letting out a hoarse laugh.

     "As long as it takes to reason with you!" Ori yelled. All he got in response was another laugh.

     "Talking ain't gonna get you anywhere, child," Reem sneered. "If you want to bash, you'll have to earn it."

     Again and again and again Ori tried to reason with Reem, and each attempt was met with failure. Now growing increasingly frustrated, Ori decided that reasoning was not an option.

     Now on his fifth attempt, Ori stood up and dodged the rocks that quickly followed. "Fine. If you want to fight, I'll fight," Ori declared with a determined look.

     "Finally," Reem said, before flinging more rocks.

     Ori dodged the rocks and moved forward to attack. He hadn't really fought anything before. With the spiders, he defeated them with one burst, which didn't really count as a fight, and he had completely exhausted himself in the process and nearly died. And he only killed the beetleram by accident. Now, he was fighting an old, experienced spirit completely on his own.

     Reem was far too agile for his size and body, easily dodging Ori's clumsy attacks. It didn't help that Ori had absolutely no idea how to fight, and was practically flinging his limbs around in a vain attempt to land a hit. Reem continuously mocked Ori, calling him pathetic and unworthy as Ori angrily flailed about. But Ori's determination was still running high. He kept trying to land a hit, to no avail. Eventually, Reem hit him dead in the head with a rock.

~~~~~~~~~~

     Ori dodged another barrage of rocks, trying to figure out how to win against Reem. He didn't have many options, so he decided to try and use Ano's blast. But for that, he would have to get close.

     Ori used Leru's double jump to quickly close the distance, but Reem dodged out of the way. He tried again, only to be met with failure once more. Reem kept bashing out of the way at the last possible moments, and it was quite infuriating. But Ori didn't give up. And eventually, he managed to catch Reem as he was falling from a bash. He charged up his energy and prepared to blast.

     Reem suddenly wrapped around Ori in a blur of movement, and Ori suddenly felt a powerful force in his chest, sending him careening across the cave. His back hit the wall, and he let out a yelp of pain. He slowly got back up to his feet, groaning from the great pain in his back. As his daze cleared, Ori heard irritated grunting, and the sound of vines being pulled. He looked up, and saw Reem, trapped in a cluster of vines and struggling to get free. When he bashed Ori, he had accidentally flung himself into the vines and gotten himself trapped.

     After a little while of struggling, Reem eventually went limp, glaring down at Ori. "Well, I seem to have gotten careless again," he groaned. "All my experience... all my wisdom and I can't seem to grasp the concept of trajectory. Well, I guess you win."

     Ori's eyes lit up at these words. He had won! But... he didn't really. Reem had defeated himself. But in any case, Ori was eager to learn how to bash. He saw Reem bashing across the several vine lanterns, similar to the ones in the Ginso Tree. Now he would be able to climb higher and reach the Element of Waters!

     Ori eagerly climbed up the wall and clutched to the cluster of vines Reem was trapped in. He easily gnawed through the vines with his teeth, and they both dropped to the floor. Reem dusted himself off and sighed. He placed a hand on Ori's forehead.

     "Before I give you this power, listen closely," Reem said, and Ori's ears pricked up to listen. "My ability allows you to fling a target, but it also flings you in the opposite direction. Use this to traverse heights that you normally could not reach. But be careful not to harm yourself in the process." With these words, Reem closed his eyes and Ori felt his consciousness merge with his own. Light and warmth surged through his body as his vision went white and he lost all feeling.

~~~~~~~~~~

     "Come on, you cowards!" Reem shouts at the horde of monsters closing in on him. He has been backed into a corner, but isn't going to go down so easily. If he dies in the Ginso Tree, so be it.

     The first monster attacks. Reem dodges and bashes it away into a cluster of spiky briars. The spikes pierce the creature's body and it screeches. Another one. Reem bashes it into the floor, crushing its body with the force of the impact. This goes on for a little while, and Reem has defeated a great deal of creatures. But they just keep coming, and Reem is slowly becoming exhausted.

     As he continues to fight, he spots one of the big worms pop out of the bark above the chamber. It pulsates a little, before belching a glob of a putrid substance directly towards Reem. Reem is quick to act, and redirects the projectile to impact one of the creatures. The creature screeches as the substance quickly melts it. The worm shoots another glob, which Reem redirects to hit another creature. These fools never learn.

     As the worm keeps belching the substance, Reem finally loses his patience. He bashes the next projectile, but this time redirects it to hit the worm. The projectile hits its target. But as Reem flies backwards, he feels a sudden, intense pain across several parts of his body, followed by a warm liquid spilling out. He looks down, and finds himself impaled on the briars.

     Reem struggles to get himself off, despite knowing that his fate is already sealed. The pain is unbearable, and Reem screams out in agony. The remaining creatures stare at him with curious looks, and he retaliates with a glare. "Come on! Finish me!" Reem shouts in a weak, hoarse voice. But the creatures don't do anything. Instead, they all simply leave. Reem feels confused and a little scared. These things didn't hunt to eat. They simply wanted to kill.

      Reem feels his life quickly slipping away. His mind suddenly flashes with memories of his past. As he slowly perishes, he can only hope that someone will save his beloved forest. Perhaps Ano, or Fil, but most likely Ilo. He hopes that they stay safe, and they do what he could not. Perhaps they could find Sein. Save the forest. But he hopes that someone finds him, and absorbs his light so that he can be of more use to his dear forest.

     To think that he had come all this way  just to die to his own carelessness was a cruel twist of irony. Reem has always been such a damn fool...