I'll post these because it seems relevant to the organic origin and physical nature of the Kokiri/Koroks
GIRL STANDING NEXT TO WATER (OoT)
Oh, you have a fairy now?! That's great, Link!
What?
You've been called by the Great Deku Tree? What an honor!
He may give you a special gift! Tee hee!
That's because the Great Deku Tree is our father, the forest guardian, and he gave life to all us Kokiri!
(talk again)
I wonder if the Great Deku Tree gave life to everything in the forest, I mean in addition to us Kokiri?
Great Deku Tree (TWW)
Koroks! Little children of the woods!
This traveler is not your enemy. Let your
hearts be at ease, and show yourselves!
(Koroks appear)
What do you call yourself?
Link?
Well, then, Link...
These are the Koroks--the spirits of
the forest.
Once upon a time, long ago, the Koroks
took on human forms, but when they came
to live on the sea, they took these shapes.
Now they fear people...but to me, they will
ever be my cherished little children.
As it happens, you have come just in time
for a ceremony that the Koroks hold but
once every year. It is about to begin.
I shall grant the pearl to you once their
ceremony is complete.
I must apologize for the brief delay, but if
the ceremony is not completed soon, an ill
fate could befall us.
So, let it begin! Are you ready, my children?
Maybe we should conclude a distinction between mortal beings that change by the rules of nature and those that are spirits.