I have come to the conclusion there is not enough love for the Wind Waker sages, Laruto and Fado. And seeing how one of them is my favorite character... yeah I needed to write this. It's pretty random really but let's say these last two weeks have left me insane, a song in tumblr has been playin in my head for a week and I'm already in the rainy season!
PS: Sorry for the typos and headcanon ahoy.
~Strings and Rain
She was magical. There was no other explanation.
Dark clouds covered the sky with the promise of a storm, of heavy drops striking against the ground and deafening claps coursing the air. He curled on himself tightly, eyeing the horizon blankly from the doorway of one of the balconies of the strange structure they were staying at (castle, was it?).
But who was to blame him, when it would be the first time he goes through one since he left the woods? His friends wouldn't be there to sing under the downpour and play a song with him before rushing back for cover, all huddled on one of the huts.
He was not scared, really. He was... unsure of what to expect, that's all. It wasn't like he couldn't perform the song and play under the rain, that wasn't forbade, though it could be considered childish if he thought about it... but the reason was that he didn't want to do it alone, and his fairy wouldn't join him, she disliked rain that much.
Humming quietly, he circled his knees with his arms and continued looking at the horizon. He could almost feel the other Kokiris looking up at the clouds as well, waiting for it to happen.
"Good evening." His ears perked up and he turned to look at the tall Zora that had entered the room, looking at him from the doorway.
He smiled at her, uncurled and rose to his feet, dusting himself once he was up. "Evening, miss Laruto." He greeted back cheerfully, though his tone was slightly lower than normal.
Only she could tell past his white lies, ever since they first met.
Laruto noticed. "Is something bothering you, Fado?" She asked, stepping into the room when he turned to look at the sky again.
"...It's not important." Fado replied quietly, entranced with the landscape, his ear twitching just slightly as the rumble of a thunder's roar reached them. He didn't notice his expression had dropped slightly until he heard Laruto's voice again.
"It seems it is though." She followed his gaze to see a flash of lightning in the distance, the soft thudding of water splashing against the soft soil and hard stone following soon after as the rain finally reached the castle. Neither of them moved as a few drops hit the small balcony they were at. "If I must guess, I would say it has something to do with the rain?"
Fado didn't reply immediately, instead he neared the edge, cupped his hands and waited to catch some of the droplets, lips twitching into a smile. "Kind of, I guess... I'm not used to rainy evening being quiet." He stepped back into the room as the rain gained force, knowing that if he stayed out for longer it would be harder for him to go back inside. And being drenched wasn't the best presentation; he needed to be at least a bit neat now, didn't he?
"Please forgive me if I sound rude but that makes me wonder what you consider as 'quiet', I believe thunders and falling drops make enough noise." Laruto mused, closing the balcony's doors after she stepped inside behind the Kokiri.
Fado chuckled slightly, playing with his wet cuffs as they clang to his wrists. "That's not exactly what I meant, nature performs a song that's hard to ignore whenever it rains. However..." He sighed, looking back at the fiddle sitting on his bed safely, his guardian fairy fast asleep on the pillows. "What I miss right now are the ones performed by other beings..." He pouted slightly as his voice took a childish, bitter tone. Why couldn't he just stop whining? He needs to behave like a sage!
She knew when to scold him, soothe him or cheer him up.
"Perhaps you could play it by yourself?" She offered, following him with her eyes as he paced toward the bed and plopped down on it, bouncing slightly and extracting a small smile from her as he crossed his arms, looking away stubbornly.
"It's not the same. It's like..." The Kokiri made a gesture. "Like trying to play a complicate song with only one instrument, it'll be different, not as special." He looked down at his lap, sighing quietly. "And it'll feel weird playing it without them..."
He didn't look up when Laruto sat next to him, and her small smile went unnoticed. "You do know you won't be able to stay with them all the time, sometimes duty calls and traditions may need to be celebrated far from home."
"I know. I just don't want to right now."
Silence stretched between them and Fado chewed his lip uneasily. Did he slip up and acted too childishly? What was she going to think of him now? Would she think he wasn't up to be a sage or-
"Ad idem
Ad infinitum..."
His head rose to find the source of the song, seeing Laruto plucking the strings of her lyre slowly, eyes closed as she muttered the words quietly.
"In memoriam
Cor Unum
Vi et Armis
Vale..."
And he closed his gapping mouth, shifting to lean closer to her as she continued playing, worries leaving him as he listened to the soothing everything. He could see it now, she understood how he felt about this... maybe he could get to know her better, having a friend out of the forest would be nice...
Now, long after that afternoon, he sighed contently, cuddling closer to the Zora as she continued singing in a soft, angelic tone. Her voice mixed with the pitter-patter of rain outside and he relaxed, falling into that trance-like state between awake and asleep. Getting to be friends with her was one of the best things he had done in a long time.