Hilo there! Welcome to my first Zelda fanfic since those awful seventh-grade stories about young Link going into the past and meeting young, male, separate person Shiek who gets attacked by Ganondorf, stripped of the Triforce of Power, and shot in the eye. Then there were those ones about Impa and Nabooru being friends and poking fun at each other all the time. And don't forget the one where Link, Zelda, and Shiek go to Termina where they meet Kafei and his father who actually turn out to be Shiekah. My mind was messed up. Oh, wait, my mind is still messed up.
So now I'm obsessed with Vaati. Took me a long time to get obsessed with him, though. I should've gotten myself obsessed a long time ago. I immediately liked him the first time I saw him (that was in the Minish Cap instruction manual). I've never been able to play the Four Swords games because I have no one to play them with. I had rented Minish Cap when it first came out and thought it was cute, but was too obsessed with other things at the time to care. Now, I finally bought it, and became completely obsessed with it. I haven't gotten this far into a GB Zelda game and not given up since Oracle of Ages.
Okay, now…about the story. I was especially interested in Vaati's background, and thought there should be more to it. I don't accept Ezlo's simple explanation that he was "enchanted by the evil in the hearts of men". He had to have had a better reason for turning evil. The relationship between Ezlo and Vaati also intrigued me. I took the dialogue to mean that Ezlo had found Vaati abandoned as a child in the wilderness somewhere and took him in. Ezlo was like a father to him… I felt like Ezlo should have been more concerned for him in the game. He knew he'd eventually have to kill his "son." These are some of the ideas behind this story.
Probably the most unusual thing about this story is the fact that Vaati isn't actually a Minish. In that respect, this story may be a bit AU. Actually, the truth is, I didn't get a close enough look at the Minish Vaati sprite during the flashback scene and thought he just looked like a little boy… It's also something that could be used as a device in this story (you'll see what I mean in later chapters), and at that time, I just didn't think Minish were cute, and didn't want Vaati to be one. I've since changed my mind, though.
Also, I've made up my own Minish language. It's not the "pico picori" gibberish from the game or the backwards Japanese from the manga (I wish I knew Japanese, so I could write it backwards) Note that everything Ezlo, Vaati, and anything else the minish say is in Minish, but translated into English. Only a few important dialogue exchanges are written in Minish, with translations following them.
I made up some weird explanation of how Vaati was named, based on my made-up minish language. I really don't know if "Vaati" means anything. I know the "Fuu" in Gufuu means "seal".
Originally, I had Ezlo living in a cardboard box, which is just a funny tidbit of information.
Italics stand for stressed words, thoughts, disembodied voices, onomatopoeia, and words in another language.
Review and give me inspiration! These author's notes were way too long…congrats on getting this far!
Oh, yeah, Vaati, Ezlo, and whatnot belong to Nintendo and Capcom. Almost forgot the darned disclaimer...
(-)
Prologue
Why? He always asked himself. Even now, approaching the final years of his life, he couldn't seem to find the answer. Why? Why did everything have to end up this way? If you try to help, you'll just end up hurting it more…I know…I don't know if I did the right thing. This…this is all my fault. From the outside, he may have looked like a bright and witty old man still reveling in the few years he had left on this planet…but only one other person had ever had a glimpse of the true anxiety within. No, scratch that, two other people.
(-)
As the revered sage loped along towards his now sorry-looking workshop, his spirit fell even more. Voices entered into his mind. A very familiar young shrieking in his own native tongue: Ek riiat a! Ek riiat a! You're a liar. Reeu aeu! You lied to me. His tired old brown eyes fell upon an unused workbench. Abandoned shelves of books lay in waiting in their own dust. The building was deathly empty. The building was dying…just like him.
He gave a short cough and gripped tightly to his walking stick as he stepped over the threshold. Oh, well…it couldn't be that bad. The only problem was, when he died, everything that he had worked so hard for would be lost. There was nothing else now…right? He'd put too much stock in his past hopes…he'd always been the more trusting type. Why? How? What? The frail old thing couldn't take it anymore and seated himself on one of the dusty benches. Silently, a single tear slipped down his long, rounded nose.
In a corner of the room, a silken box began to sparkle. The disembodied voice floated deep from within it. There was no body anymore…as slowly, it had destroyed itself. Please…stop this.
The old creature lifted his head again, but the odd voice he heard seemed to be coming from both around him and inside of him at the same time.
Do not blame yourself. I know you are, and I know you always have. Nothing is your fault. You have, as always, only wanted to help. I did as well.
He blinked, in confusion as well as fascination. And at that precise moment, a knock echoed from the front entrance where he had just been a moment before.
Go… prove your point.
When he at last turned his head, an even bigger shock met him and it almost sent him into a spasm. A very familiar female stood there in the doorway, tugging nervously at her long, yellow ponytail.
It is all up to you now. I shall leave this magical legacy in your hands. Good luck and farewell…
(-)
Chapter 1: The Abandoned One
Ahhh…the air tasted just a little bit crisper, the world just a little bit more relaxing and oddly intriguing. It was essential at certain points to break away from civilized life, to get a taste of the true essence of the earth and its potential. In his profession, it was almost a tool that he had to utilize every time he embarked on a new project. Today, he had no particular goal in mind, but it was still enjoyable to wander aimlessly through the tall blades of grass that licked the sky and obscured some of his vision.
The wise old magician and craftsman, Ezlo slipped among this intriguing and mysterious world, his long olive-green cape and green rope brushing the dirt. It was a bit nippy this afternoon. His white hair and beard rippled with the light, refreshing breeze, along with the oddly curled tuft of hair sitting on the top of his head.
A gnarled walking stick shaped with the head of a bird at the end tapped its way forward in his hand. It wasn't necessarily to help him keep his balance. Hopefully, he wouldn't be getting that old yet… Mostly, he used it to perform minor magical remedies, such as to find a lost item, stop a crime, or even heal small injuries. He carried it with him everywhere.
Ezlo was the premier authority in the minish world on magic and its uses. He had created several fantastical items in his town-border workshop to improve minish life, such as the coldbox, which could keep food items cold and fresh, and the leaf-stitch, which made clothes. He was praised by the entire minish race, and many even thought he might be a descendant of the original minish who created the light force to guide and protect the people of Hyrule from the evils of the world. There was no one more in tune with the very earth than Ezlo—he freely traversed the thick barrier between minish and human realities, and he often modeled his creations after their electrical human equivalents.
Humans, as it seemed, had long since lost their ability to channel and control the essences of the earth. It was a shame, really. Then, they probably wouldn't have needed the minish aid. There were some in each minish community who believed that the humans were undeserving of the lavish mystical aid bestowed upon them, but the vast majority was much more sympathetic.
On this fine day, none of this was on old Ezlo's mind. He emptied his mind and allowed the enchantment and mystique of the world to fill him up.
"Aaaaaaaugh…"
Light streamed gently down, filtered through the wavering grass blades. The beams fell upon Ezlo's face, and he closed his eyes to feel the extent of their warmth.
"Aaaaaaaugh…"
He could feel the mystic essences of the world tingling over his skin, and his curved hand trembled around the staff it clutched. One more deep breath and he moved away, continuing on his pleasant stroll to nowhere. Maybe he'd be able to make some progress on his special water transporter once he returned to the workshop…
"Aaaaaaaugh…"
…What was that awful noise?
Ezlo stopped for a moment and craned his neck up to listen more closely to the oddly reverberating echo. It was a voice…a high-pitched, very soft voice. Someone was calling, quietly.
At first, the old magic craftsman began to turn his long-eared head. It was probably just a few young minish playing an interesting game of feather tag. But the more he listened, the more he began to convince himself that it wasn't just ordinary children. It was a child, sure enough now, but that child wasn't calling out or laughing in delight—it was crying.
Immediately, the old sage broke into a decided walk. This soft child could be only throwing a tantrum or be already taken care of, but he just couldn't allow himself to leave the area without knowing for sure.
His long, heightened minish ears allowed him to pinpoint the location of the soft sobbing noise. It grew bit by bit, louder and clearer as he drew closer, but was still remarkably quiet, especially for a young child such as he suspected it was. Perhaps it was unsure of itself…maybe it had gotten lost in the woods. Ezlo was so intent on finding this poor lost child that he didn't even notice when the ground below him changed into a soft and silken blue.
It should be right…here… he thought, pushing aside a few stray blades of grass. Even his old, experienced system couldn't suppress the sharp gasp that escaped his lungs.
Lying between the blades on an unusual cushion of the same cloth he walked on, was a small child, no older than three. The shocking facts struck him one by one. The child had no clothes, and even stranger was the fact that his skin was entirely death-white. At first glance, he looked dead…but he soon began crying again, and pressing a tiny hand to his face. A stream of blood trickled out from beneath it.
"Oh, my Goddesses!" Ezlo burst out in worry. "You're wounded! Please, let me help you!"
As the old sage rushed forward to the little boy's side, the boy glanced up for a minute at him with a wide, innocent red eye. Wait, red eye? Maybe it was just a misconception; there was a lot of blood on his face…
With a quick rapping of his Great Deku Bird Staff, or the previously detailed walking stick, Ezlo conjured a light blue blanket, which he wrapped around the boy's body, quick as a wink. The poor little thing seemed bruised and slashed in several places all over his pale body. He wondered what could have happened to him. He reached towards the boy's face, but he immediately shrank from his touch, unsure of what this old man would do to him. He gave a high cry of alarm.
"Shh, shh…" Ezlo comfortingly whispered. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. Now, just let me see that cheek…"
Slowly, the little boy began to relax, and Ezlo was finally able to lift his hand off the wounded spot on his face. The boy closed his left eye and winced a little as Ezlo cupped the cheek in his withered hand.
"…This is quite a deep cut. I won't be able to completely heal it, but I can at least help…"
He closed his eyes to concentrate and passed a hand over the slash. The little boy gave a short gasp of pain, but after, he smiled. The bleeding had stopped, and apparently, the pain it has caused him had ceased. His other eye opened, and he stared at his savior with wide, red eyes. Yes, those eyes were definitely and naturally red in color. How strange…yet, there wasn't any more time to ponder over it. That boy's wounds needed tending right now!
Gently, Ezlo swept the little boy up into his arms, holding him like a baby. He wasn't too heavy, so he could carry him all the way back to his workshop. Surprisingly, the little boy didn't squirm or protest at all. In fact, he snuggled closer into Ezlo's green robe, as if completely trusting him now.
It wasn't long before the two of them reached the old workshop, nestled comfortably within a gigantic stump. Ezlo quickly climbed the staircase to the second floor and deposited the boy's limp little body on the guest bed. He then proceeded to dress him and wrap bandages around the remaining cuts dotting his arms and legs. All the while, the boy only stared at him in mild interest and slight confusion. Gently, he lifted him back up and deposited him in the bed, wrapping the fluffy covers around his tiny body.
"You're going to have to keep watch on that cheek slash. Eventually, it will heal, but it might leave a scar…it's so painfully deep."
The little boy turned his innocent red eyes up towards him. He wondered, not for the first time, if he could understand anything he said. Probably not. Oh, well, best to start with the basics. He might have to teach the little boy to speak. "Ezlo," he recited, pressing a hand to his chest. "Eku tam Ezlo." My name is Ezlo. "Eka tam?" What's your name?
The boy only blinked. At last, his lips began to form around what looked to be some sort of word. "Pa…pa?"
Now, Ezlo was the one blinking in confusion. He had just spoken the human word "Papa"…meaning "father"…"pridarg". Ezlo shook his head of long, white hair. "Kaan. Kri eka eu pridarg." No. I'm not your father. He hoped that the little boy at least understood the head shake.
At last, he began to nod his small, round white head to indicate his comprehension. Come to think of it, he had quite an unusual hair color…light purple-blue. He couldn't wait to see what his parents looked like.
"Ezlo," the elder minish repeated, pressing his hand to his chest again. "Ezlo."
"E…eh…Ezlo…" the boy fingered his way around the pronunciation. For some strange reason, it seemed like the first time he'd ever spoken Cricriim Minish…or any Minish for that matter.
The more the wise old Ezlo stared at his mysterious little boarder, the more the fact began to dawn on him. He was the correct size…but not the correct shape. His nose was rather small and stuck out separately from his face structure. Just from handling him earlier, he hadn't seen any stubs of a tail…not even a small sash extension, like the Gragraam Minish. His legs were not short and stubby, and his feet, if he remembered correctly, were small and delicate. The first thing he'd said had been a word in Human—the "Hylian" language. Was this…a human child? But how did it get to be minish-sized? A cross-breed? Was that even possible? He didn't want to think about it.
Ezlo decided that whatever he was, he had to protect him until his family came for him. Briefly, he wondered what had happened to the poor boy to leave him naked and so badly wounded in the middle of the town byways. It didn't matter anyway. He had to take care of him now.
"Eku tam Ezlo," Ezlo repeated again. "Eku tam Ezlo. Eka tam?"
"Eh…Ek…" Once again, the little boy struggled to wrap his mouth around the Cricriim syllables. "Ek…Eku…tam…" He pointed to himself. "E-Eku tam…? Eku tam…?" He…he didn't know his own name? Was he asking him what his name was? Even more unusual…
Sadly, Ezlo shook his wizened head. "Ek pricii u." I'm sorry. "Kri fli kama u." I don't know. "Eka vaati ue tam." Your name is unknown to me.
The boy blinked, confusedly. "V…Va…Vaati? Eku tam…vaati?"
Ezlo berated himself for using such complicated words that the boy would not understand, but he seemed to be catching on very quickly. Resignedly, Ezlo nodded. "Eka tam vaati." Your name is unknown.
With that, the boy nodded and a tiny sliver of a smile spread over his pale face. Ezlo was once again sent into a confused stare. How was finding out that you didn't have a name a good thing? He expected the boy to continue questioning him, as young minds are always the most inquisitive, but strangely enough, the boy seemed completely satisfied.
"Ek faafu ti pla takriin," Ezlo decided. That's enough for tonight. "Dihia saanna a." You need your rest.
When the old sage picked up the covers surrounding him, the boy realized that he was being tucked in and lied back down in compliance. Ezlo smiled and gently fitted the sheets around his body. He turned to snatch a bird-shaped pillow from one of the room's shelves, and held it out to him. Though it barely qualified as a stuffed animal, since its design was so simplistic, the boy seemed delighted nonetheless. He squeezed the blue bird and brought it close to his chest. The appalling paleness of his arms really stood out against the dark blue fabric on the bird. Ezlo seriously hoped that this was just a natural part of his genetic makeup—albinism or a similar condition and not some horrible disease. He would hate to see such a sweet boy suffer.
"Aama kriin," Ezlo told him, stopping to give him a pat on the head before turning to exit this guest room once again. Good night.
He stopped mid-step when a soft, chirping voice flitted to his ears. "Ah…ah…A-Aama kri-kriin, Ezlo."
The old minish magician hadn't smiled so much since he'd finished his first invention.
(-)
Bright sunlight filtered hopefully through the miniscule windows carved out of the side of the stump and fitted with glass shards and curtains. They fell over the gnarled, wooden furniture, long tables, bookshelves, and glass jars. A lonely down quill sat in its inkwell atop one of the furthest workbenches. It was hardly used anymore, since its owner preferred outside research nowadays. Joyful voices chattered to each other in the squeaking accents of Cricriim Minish, interrupted by the occasional booming chirrup of a morning bird.
Ezlo sat peacefully at his small, personal work desk, doing something rather unusual and foreign to him—sewing. It was amazing that he even remembered how to hand sew; he'd been using his own patented "leaf-stitch" device for years. This task, however, he thought best to perform manually, since it would have that special, personal touch. He smiled gently through his whiskers and held the piece of clothing out to get a good look at it. It was a robe, much similar to his own, but in a dark blue color. Small triangles and swirling symbols dotted each side of it—a few decorative touches that he had tacked on. It was also very, very small.
Ezlo chuckled to himself as he brought the little robe back onto his lap to continue sewing the hem. Strange…all his life, he'd never wanted to get married or have any kids. They'd only hold him back from his potential, he'd reasoned. They'd be an extra liability. Yet the arrival of this mysterious child had brought out a parental instinct in him that he hadn't known was there. Maybe children weren't such disasters after all.
With that thought, he turned his long, round nose out towards the staircase that led up to the second floor bedrooms. How come the little boy hadn't woken up yet? With all the racket those birds were making, he thought for sure he would've been jarred out of slumber by now. Gently folding the incomplete garment and setting it aside on one of the long workbenches, Ezlo got back to his feet. Goodness, he was becoming an overprotective father already. A horrible thought had struck him. What if the boy had already died in his sleep? He had sustained quite a lot of serious injuries…maybe it was just too much for his young and delicate body to handle.
The old minish sprang into action, clawing his way across the floor and clambering up the wooden steps. Well, at least this way, he would've died peacefully in his sleep. Still, the thought rattled him and an icy dread was freezing his veins. He just had to find out…! With a frantic bang, Ezlo flung the wooden door open, panting with the exertion of the speed stair-climbing. "Huh…uh…ah…"
Two large red eyes stared back at him from the bed in the middle of the room. They blinked and tilted sideways with the small, pallid visage accenting it. He couldn't speak much yet, but his face did most of the speaking for him. "What the heck is wrong with you?" it asked.
"Huh…huh…" Ezlo panted, desperately trying to form syllables with his gathering breath.
The boy's bandaged face broke into a cheerful little smile. "Ezlo!" he cried, recognizing his new surrogate father.
Ezlo smiled back, through the pain in his chest, and struggled into an upright position. "A-Aama chisin…pik gamas," he finally succeeded in greeting. Good morning, little boy.
"Ah…Aama ch…chee…cheese…chisin?" The boy hesitantly repeated the sentence. "A-Aama chisin, Ezlo!" He brought a small, stubby white finger up to his mouth and stared in confusion. "…P-Pik ga…gamas?"
Ezlo nodded, seating himself on the end of the boy's bed. He wondered for a moment why, if he had been awake all this time, he hadn't gotten out of bed or made his way downstairs. Maybe he wasn't able to walk…or maybe he was still too tired and weak. He smiled and nodded, helping the boy learn more of the Cricriim Minish language. He had a mind like a sponge. "Ii. Ek ae pik gamas." Yes. You are a little boy. He rested a hand on his tiny shoulder, over which his loose toga-like wrappings fell. "Pik gamas," he clarified.
The boy's eyebrows furrowed. He raised a skeptical eyebrow to his caretaker. "Eku tam vaati," he repeated, from the day before. My name is unknown. Maybe he thought "pik gamas" was supposed to be his name.
"Ii," Ezlo agreed, "Ca ek tehn ae pik gamas." Yes, but you're still a little boy.
The boy shook his head rather violently in disagreement. "Vaati," he insisted, jabbing his little hand at his chest. "Eku tam vaati!" Ezlo…Ezlo…" It looked as if he wanted to add something to that, but he didn't know how to say it. The words weren't in his vocabulary. He knew what he meant, but not how to express it. Frustratingly, he sighed and let his small arms drop back to his sides. The bird-shaped pillow came into contact with them, and he scooped it up into his short arms again.
Ezlo stared into the boy's eyes for a moment, trying to arrive at some sort of understanding. Why was he so insistent upon not having a name? He had to call him something. He couldn't keep calling him "pik gamas" forever. He wouldn't be a pik gamas forever.
The more he pondered over his words, the more it began to dawn on him. He chuckled a little behind his long whiskers. The boy glared back ay him from behind his blue birdie. It was as if he thought he was being incredibly rude. The young boy couldn't possibly understand the real meaning of the word "vaati"… He thought "Vaati" was his name!
Ezlo shook his head and attempted to explain it to him. "Kri eka tam "Vaati," he tried to tell him. Your name's not "Vaati". "Eka tam vaati, ca kri eka tam "Vaati."
Now, the poor little boy looked even more completely confounded than he had before. His brows buried further into his forehead, and tiny droplets of tears began to form under his eyes from all his internal frustration. Who the heck was he already?!
Ezlo sighed in defeat, much like the boy had done just a minute earlier. It was hopeless to try to explain it to him at such a young and oblivious age. He wished he'd never accidentally used such a complicated word on him. That was it, he'd have to call him "Vaati" until he learned more of the language and could understand him better. At least he'd respond to it.
"Aama chisin, Vaati," he relinquished.
The little boy's face lit up once again, and the tentative tears disappeared. He set the bluebird pillow aside, revealing his whole face again, which contained a thankful smile. "Aama chisin, Ezlo!"
(-)
Ezlo arrived triumphantly back into the guest bedroom upstairs. His store cellar had contained exactly what he had been looking for, and he was more than a little pleased with himself. "Well, here you go!" he called cheerfully in bright, chirpy Cricriim. "Breakfast is here!" He bounded over to little Vaati's side and plopped a ripe blueberry into his lap in satisfaction. The thing was huge next to him, and he struggled to grip it in his tiny, weak hands. His red eyes flickered over its round sides with an inquisitive sparkle to them.
"It's a blueberry," Ezlo informed him. "Froosia. Ek y froosia."
"F…frroo…froosia," Vaati obediently repeated, fingering the edges of the fruit in wonderment.
Ezlo wondered whether the boy even realized that it was food. He probably though it was a new toy—a giant blue ball of sorts. "You eat it," Ezlo explained, in words. "Like this!" He seized the blueberry from the boy's hands, much to his surprise and confusion, and bit into it. A little spurt of its blue juices flung out, sticking to his beard. Little Vaati burst into giggles at the sight. Ezlo smiled as he chewed and handed the blueberry back to its owner. "Here. Now you try."
The boy didn't understand a word of what he said, but he understood what he was supposed to do now. With a delighted smile, he took a big bite out of the other side and chuckled through a mouthful of blueberry when it squirted him.
"Have fun," Ezlo offered as he moved to exit the door. He could always clean up the mess with a quick application of his own patented stain-dissolver solution. Vaati, of course, didn't understand, but continued to amuse himself with the blueberry just the same.
Ezlo stepped lightly back downstairs, smiling with unusual inner happiness. Now…back to work on that robe hem! He worked with renewed energy and finished the hem, with enough time to add a pair of shorts and stitch a standard floppy hat out of the leftover material. After all, no young minish was complete without a curling hat to match his outfit.
Ezlo sat the ensemble out on one of his experimental dummies and nearly burst into laughter. Look at what he had become—a tailor! It was certainly a profession he'd never aspired to succeed in. All because of a small abandoned child. Ezlo nodded to himself in understanding. This small, abandoned child would probably have more to teach him than his entire library of world knowledge.
By the time he tiptoed back upstairs to the boy's new room, he had finished with the blueberry. Appropriately, the blueberry was only half-eaten, but all of it seemed to have been used. Ezlo folded the robe in his arms and set it aside, lest it become stained before the boy could even try it on.
Two gigantic red eyes lifted up towards him from behind the explosion of dark bluish goop. The dark streaks stood out in deep contrast against his pale skin, and they somehow reflected off of it. His skin's bluish tint had deepened somewhat, and if Ezlo didn't know better he would've guessed that he was choking.
Almost immediately, little Vaati backed off, and his long ears flattened against the sides of his head in shame. He expected a scolding, Ezlo deduced, meaning he must have been scolded sometime before in his life. There's the proof that he has parents. Maybe his parents abandoned him. What kind of cold-hearted monsters would do that to such a sweet little child?
Slowly, Vaati began to calm down as Ezlo spread his solution over the room, and didn't even squirm and protest when he rubbed it over his own body and face. In a matter of a few minutes, all of the blueberry stains vanished into thin air. Ezlo took the half-eaten fruit to the trash can and glanced behind him at the little boy marveling at his spotless white skin. Finally, when he returned, it was time to try his new creation out!
Ezlo felt a bit like he was performing one of his experiments as he dressed the child. He had never actually dressed a child before, or made clothes for one, so he was eager to test his craftsmanship with the fabric. As it turned out, the clothes were a little big on the boy, and the hat flopped down into his eyes. Oh, well, at least it gave him room to grow. Ezlo didn't really feel like sewing the boy an entirely new wardrobe every year. He picked the hat off and set it aside, assuring him, in words he surely couldn't understand, that he'd give it back to him once he grew and it fit correctly. He urged him to walk around for a bit and get used to the new clothes.
Thought Vaati picked awkwardly at them as he padded across the wooden floor, Ezlo couldn't help but feel proud of himself. The boy seemed fairly comfortable with the new clothes, and the dark blue color nicely complimented the unusual purple shade of his hair. He was just about to take the boy outside, when he noticed something.
As little Vaati walked back towards him, his eyes wandered down towards his feet. They fell with a gentle plop-plop-plop across the hollow floor, instead of the usual loud tromping a young minish would make crossing his rickety upstairs.
Concerned, Ezlo instructed him to sit back down on the bed, where he then kneeled to get a closer look at these pitiful stubs of feet. Vaati looked down at him with large, confused eyes as he took one of his feet in his hand and lifted it up to examine it. The toes were just round, stubby little things with no grip to them at all. They were protected by hard nails, but that seemed appropriate, since everything on this foot seemed like it needed protection. The skin on the top was very thin and easily penetrable. Finally, Ezlo lifted the boy's foot a little more to run a finger over the bottom surface. Even this skin seemed unusually squishy and vulnerable. It was just as he'd feared. The boy would need shoes before he could step outside, and Ezlo had absolutely no experience with making shoes.
There was no need for shoes among the minish—their large prehensile feet were perfect for walking on rocky ground and gripping tightly to objects to keep them in place. Only a few Cricriim minish who worked for the humans knew anything about shoes.
Ezlo sighed and poked at the bottoms of Vaati's feet again, in exasperation. "You…your underdeveloped little body is going to cause me a lot of trouble."
The boy's body trembled slightly, and his hand went up in front of his mouth to cover a giggle.
Ezlo's face broke into a smile again. "You like that?" he joked. "Here's what you get for having vulnerable feet!" He tickled the bottoms of Vaati's feet again, and the boy squeaked with laughter, rolling backwards on his back. This torture was so much fun that Ezlo jumped up onto the bed to tickle the rest of him, and Vaati's laughter burst out of him again.
Both were quite tired when the game was over, and Ezlo eventually found himself lying on the bed, the little boy gripping one of his sleeves. He sighed with contentment and exhaustion. This was a good exhaustion—the kind you got after a hard day of play, and Ezlo thought, graciously, that this was only the beginning. He'd never be bored or completely relaxed again. He didn't want to move. If only time could freeze, he would've stayed right there for the rest of eternity. He'd have to start working on that.
At last, Ezlo pulled himself up with a great effort, and reluctantly slipped out of Vaati's grasp. The boy had apparently been just as exhausted and had fallen back to sleep. Ezlo produced a measuring tape, seemingly out of thin air. In truth, he'd only transported it into his hand from downstairs, but the effect was much more dramatic. He unrolled it a little bit and made measurements of the boy's feet. He'd need those if he wanted a pair of shoes ordered. For a moment, he wondered if the Cricriim shoemakers had ever received an order for minish-sized shoes. Oh, well, it could give them a good challenge.
Before leaving, Ezlo made sure to tuck a blanket around Vaati's curled-up little body and slipped his little bird friend next to him, just in case he woke up and was frightened to find him gone. Ezlo was surprised at how attentive and considerate he was getting.
Well…time to go place that order! Odd…for the past week or so, he'd been working diligently on a new device which could transport massive amounts of water and collect raindrops. It had become a slight obsession for him—all he'd thought about were ways to put it together and improve upon the ideas he came up with. But today, he hadn't spent one second even thinking about it. The project would have to be put on hold, and he didn't mind one bit. He has a "new project" to attend to.
Ezlo swiftly swept his sewing tools back into their proper drawers and picked up the Tree Communicator—one of his own creations—to contact the shoe shop. Just as he was about to enter the organic code, a sudden banging pulled his head upwards towards the entrance to his workshop.
A middle-aged minish had burst through the front door in a flurry of activity, and for a moment, Ezlo was too stunned to even reprimand him. "Er…uh…I would've preferred that you knock first," he managed to get out at last.
"Sorry…Master Ezlo," the man panted as he leaned against the door-casing. He turned his head up towards him and smiled nonetheless. "I just thought you might like to know…so you can get some before it's all gone…"
"Know what?" Ezlo asked in indignation. He set the communicator forcefully back into its base. "I have important things to do, you know, so you better have a good reason for barging in on my house like this…"
The man's smile didn't even wane. "Cloth!" he cried. "We've just discovered a ton of it, and it's not too far from here! It's like someone lost an entire outfit!"
Ezlo froze. This was good news. Occasionally, in the town, people would lose handkerchiefs, hats, or even actual scraps of fabric, and the Cricriim minish would cut it up, divide it among themselves, and use it to make clothes, towels, and other such supplies. This happened even more infrequently in this suburb area, and for someone to lose an entire article of clothing was like a miracle. "Are you sure?" he immediately asked. "You've looked for the owner?"
The man nodded. "We've had scouts out searching all day. No one's come back to claim it, or even to look for it. In fact, no one's been this way at all! It's a mystery; we have no idea where all this cloth came from!"
Slowly, Ezlo's eyes widened, imagining the possibilities. He needed cloth for several of his projects, and with this much, he could stockpile it. He could make more clothes for little Vaati, and still have plenty left over to make him bigger sizes when he got older. Something about this prospect greatly excited him, and he wondered if he might've enjoyed a different life as a tailor. He was so engrossed in his own plans and daydreams that he didn't even hear the light plop…plop…plop echoing from behind him.
"…This is great!" Ezlo finally exclaimed, snatching a sack off the desk. "Imagine the possibilities! Lead on, my good man!"
The minish man stood up straight as his smile widened. "That's what I thought you'd say. Hey…I didn't know you had a kid."
Ezlo froze again, a befuddled expression crossing his face. "Kid?"
"Ezlo!"
Ezlo whipped back around to see, to his utter shock, little Vaati standing next to him, stretching his stubby arms up towards him.
"Aaaaaugh!" Ezlo burst out. "Vaati! What are you doing down here?! You were just sleeping! Don't come down the stairs all by yourself like that! You could've tripped! You could've fallen down and cracked your head open! You almost gave me a heart attack! Don't scare me like that again!"
Vaati just laughed at his frantic expressions and gripped the bottom of his robe again.
"He's cute," the minish man commented. "No offence, but he doesn't look a thing like you."
"He's not mine," Ezlo explained. "I just found him injured in the woods and took him in. I've got to find his parents, actually." Now that the thought occurred to him, Ezlo actually felt a little disappointed. Vaati was like a lost dog found without an identification tag. He was beginning to grow attached to him, but he knew he wasn't his. He couldn't keep him. Well, he hopefully thought, maybe his parents would let him keep in touch and watch the boy grow up from afar. That was probably the best thing, anyway. He knew next to nothing about raising children.
"That's just like you," the minish man replied. "Such a big heart."
Ezlo turned back towards him and adjusted the sack over his shoulder. "Well, I'm ready."
The other minish nodded. "Okay, here we go!"
Together, they began to march out the workshop's doorway, until the same minish man turned around and frowned. "Uh…you've got a shadow," he informed his elder.
Ezlo frowned in confusion and turned back around. Little Vaati was running after him, bare feet plodding across the cold wooden floor. Ezlo sighed. Once the child had caught up, he bent down to place his large hands over his tiny shoulders and look sincerely into his face. "No, Vaati…you can't come with me. You haven't got your shoes yet; you'll scratch your feet all up. Just go back upstairs and go back to sleep for now, okay? I'll be back in a jiffy."
Vaati just blinked. Ezlo had no way of knowing if he understood, so he just settled for staring into his face for a steady minute before rising again to join his companion. Again, they made for the door.
"We got quite some lovely colors too…" the minish man began to jabber away. "Whites and blues and maroons…I know I haven't seen some of those colors since I took a trip up to the city. Got about a handful of harvesters already up there with carts…supply stores and tailors' apprentices. We even got a few brown things that look like boots. Really, it's like someone just stepped out of his clothes and is running around naked somewhere."
"Well, that wouldn't be too good," Ezlo admonished. "Though I'm sure that's not what happened…probably just clothes that didn't fit anymore, and they didn't know where to discard 'em. I love when that happens…"
Plop-plop-plop-plop-plop…
"Vaati!"
The little boy was so startled by Ezlo's sudden snap that he nearly toppled backwards onto his butt.
"What did I tell you? You can't follow me!"
A confused frown appeared on the boy's face, and his eyes widened slightly. Ezlo bent back down to his level and took a deep breath. He'd have to try to explain this in simpler terms.
"Kaan," he repeated, shaking his head. No. Gently, he tapped Vaati on the chest and then pointed back up the stairs. "Fliig hutoo a." You go upstairs. "Kaan." Again, he pointed towards the stairs and back to the boy. "Fliig hutoo...a."
Slowly, it looked as if the boy was beginning to understand. His face gradually fell, and small specks of tears were forming under his eyes. "…K-Kah…Kaan!" he suddenly burst out. "Ezlo!" In a tearful outburst, Vaati ran forward, seizing Ezlo's robe collar and pushing his face into it.
For a moment, Ezlo didn't know what to do and just knelt there, stunned. He hadn't known the boy would get this attached to him so soon. Goodness, what would happen when he had to go back to his parents?
"Aww…" the minish man cooed. "He really doesn't want to leave you, huh?"
Ezlo took a deep breath and placed a hand over Vaati's shuddering little head. "I'm sorry, but could I ask you to wait outside the house? This might take awhile…"
(-)
"Phew…" Ezlo stood back and gazed downwards to get a view of his work. Well, it wasn't too bad for a half-fast, ill-researched job. Vaati shook his little foot, uncomfortably, but nothing came loose, thank the Goddesses. Ezlo hadn't factored in the issue of having a young boy who had probably never even worn shoes before. In that case, sandals were a good place to start.
He'd used his earlier measurements of Vaati's feet to cut up a sheet of foam to the appropriate size, and attached long pieces of thread and a ribbon band over it to hold them on. Both the foam and thread were shades of red, which clashed with his new blue robe, but strangely brought out his eyes.
"Okay, we're ready now!" he called out to his partner, who'd fallen asleep against the side of the stump. "Sorry it took so long!"
"Eh, what?" the man mumbled. "What took so long?"
"Nothing," Ezlo assuaged him. "Now lead on to this cloth-mine."
He held his hand back and felt incredibly like a father as another tiny hand grabbed one of his fingers. He swept it into his palm and held it tight. Then, slowly, he led his new child out into the daylight.
(-)
It was exactly how the man has described. A rippling sheet of fabric blanketed the ground for as far as the minish eye could see. It was sewn here and there, and some experienced tailors were ripping them out with rock-spears. Other minish were folding up pieces that had already been cut off and placing them in nearby wheelbarrows. Further along, the blue sheet ended and a speckled brown one began. Large lumps of fabric in the distance signified the shoes and additional articles of clothing that the guy had told him about. Their guide had gone off already to rejoin his group, receiving various complaints about the length of his absence.
Ezlo clutched Vaati's little hand tighter at the sight of the stone cutting instruments. The boy was clearly fascinated by all the activity and was pulling backwards, trying to separate himself from his caretaker. "Don't wander off," Ezlo said, forgetting for a moment that he couldn't understand him. "There are a lot of sharp instruments around here; you could hurt yourself." The red slash across Vaati's cheek reminded him all too well. The last thing he wanted was for something like that to happen again.
He stepped up, dragging the little boy behind him, and as soon as he made himself visible in the clearing, every minish in the area paused and turned towards him.
"…Master Ezlo!" one of the tailors exclaimed at last. "How wonderful it is to have you with us! Would you like some cloth?"
"Did you figure out an explanation for this phenomenon?" one of the other workers asked.
"Uh…no, sorry, but I'll get on the case." Actually, this one had Ezlo stumped. It just had to be some person accidentally leaving all their clothes behind. "I'd like a few packets of cloth to take back with me. Potential materials, you know…"
The minish nodded, and a few of them turned back around to the wheelbarrows to stack up the extra cloth, but mostly, they all stayed facing forwards. Ezlo knew they were staring, but it really wasn't their fault…they couldn't help but stare. They were staring at Vaati. He stared straight back at them, oblivious, and offered them a smile.
The other workers came back with a separate wheelbarrow full of both blue and brown scraps and wheeled it straight up to Ezlo's side. "You didn't have to bring that much," he told them, in an astonished voice. "I don't want to take money away from the cloth business."
"Oh, no," one of the higher-ups assured him. "We've got more than enough as it is. We hardly ever get to dismantle whole articles of clothing."
"If you don't mind, I'd like to stick around for a little longer, watch the process," Ezlo informed him. "I'll just sit over there by the mushroom."
"Sure," the worker gratefully said. "We'd be honored."
Vaati's large red eyes remained fixated on them, even as Ezlo dragged him off towards the tall fungi. He wondered why they hadn't asked about him yet—they sure seemed curious. Were they afraid? Vaati was only a child, but they'd probably never seen anything like him before. After Ezlo had settled underneath his cushiony umbrella, he thought he saw a few of them whispering among themselves.
He let go of Vaati's hand, but fixed him with a stern look, warning him not to go far. He looked a little disappointed as he sat down next to him, and crossed his arms in a pout. He'd probably wanted to pester the other minish and try to play with them.
As consolation, Ezlo decided to sacrifice one of his cloth scraps and gave it to the insistently bored child. Vaati clutched it for a few moments like a blanket and turned it over in his hands. Then, he slowly began to move it up and down like a parachute. This seemed like fun, so he got to his feet and did it again. Soon enough, he was running back and forth, flapping the cloth out behind him like a cape. Sometimes, it would land on his head, and he amused himself for a while draping it over himself and pretending to be a ghost.
Ezlo smiled and chuckled at the boy's antics and generally seemed to be paying more attention to him than to the so-called "process." The minish workers were staring even more now while they continued clipping up the cloth and ripping out seams, but neither of them cared. Vaati was having too much fun with the cloth, and Ezlo was having too much fun watching him with the cloth.
Eventually, Ezlo became aware of an unusual presence hovering around his shoulder. Glancing over, he looked into the smiling face of one of the old tailors, one he was more familiar with. "Well, hello there, Milio," he greeted, politely. "Didn't notice you sitting over there."
Milio took a seat next to the master magician and smiled over at Vaati, who was currently tying the cloth around his head like a kerchief. "Cute little thing ya got there. Where'd he come from?"
With a deep breath, Ezlo began his story again of how he'd found him and taken him in to heal him up. "I've got to go looking for his parents, but I haven't a clue where to start looking. It's like he just appeared out of nowhere," Ezlo told his friend.
Milio frowned. "I know. I sure haven't seen any folks around lookin' like him. White skin…stubby nose and feet…scrawny legs… He probably has some sort of genetic mutation…he's still cute, though."
Ezlo looked back out at the little boy, who was still prancing around with his "cape", blissfully unaware. "I'm a bit concerned about it though," he admitted. "He's going to draw stares all his life, and it'll be just for his unusual looks. I hope he never grows up."
Milio looked grimly over at the boy as well, and the two just sat there in silence.
It was true, Ezlo sadly realized. Vaati had a lot of struggle and suffering ahead of him. If this was the way full-grown minish reacted to him, how would other children? Well, he decided, he'll just have to have as much fun as he can now to make up for it.
(-)
They didn't exist. Ezlo had put up posters around the town and the forest. He wired out messages through the Tree Communicators to reach remote areas like the swamp and the mountains. He'd called just about every city hall and hospital, looking for some record of the boy's birth. He'd had to sit through hundreds of baby descriptions, but none of them fit. He sat around by the communicator all week, just waiting for the call.
Vaati's parents had to be out there somewhere…they'd be delighted when they found one of his advertisements detailing the discovery of their lost child and immediately call him to come pick him up. But nothing came. Ezlo jumped every time it chimed, but it always turned out to be a friend of his or a customer needing magical aid. The little boy's parents had to be dead…or they were purposely not claiming him because they'd wanted to abandon him in the first place. Again, his looks were working against him—they might've thought of his as a mutant, an impurity.
Towards the end of that week, Ezlo resigned himself to the fact that they were never coming. Though he couldn't admit it to himself, he was deeply relieved.
"Hoi, Vaati," he greeted the little boy one day, who was sitting on the floor, playing with a wooden boat set he'd made him. "Ploo traei fliigi utoa ti kraa?" Hello, Vaati. Do you want to go on a walk with me?
Vaati turned towards him with wide, curious eyes. "Fliig…kraa?" Go walk? Those were the only two words out of the sentence that he'd understood. Ezlo had been sitting with him every day (not too far away from a communicator) to show him some books and pick out simple words for him to learn. He couldn't speak in full sentences yet, but it was amazing how much he had learned in a matter of a week.
Ezlo bent down and swept him up, holding him in front of his face by the torso. "Ii. Fliig au ti kraa. Ika eu pridarg praamaas." Yes. We're going on a walk. I'm going to be your father now.
Vaati's face lit up and he stretched his stubby arms out to grab Ezlo around the neck. "Pridarg…Ezlo…Picio uea." Father, Ezlo…I love you.
He'd picked this phrase up from Ezlo's current nighttime send-off, and his heart nearly burst hearing it come back to him. He'd always been afraid to be a father, figuring kids were a distraction and he'd be a bad father anyway…but if this was what fatherhood was like, why hadn't he done it sooner?
He turned his head downward and pressed a kiss on the top of Vaati's little purple head. "…Picio uea taa." I love you too.
(-)
Ezlo finally stopped by the side of the dirt path that wound through the grass blades. They were getting to the transition portion now, between the town and the forest. A few blades of light peeked out over them, bathing the area in a mystic glow. This was around where he'd first found Vaati and where the cloth-mine used to be, but thankfully, it didn't seem to have any effect on him.
He padded after his new father, kicking up dust with his sandals. It was his first time wearing the new blue robe and brown pants Ezlo had made for him from the cloth pile, but he wasn't concerned at all if it got dirty.
Ezlo hadn't been on another essence walk since the boy had interrupted the last one, and although he figured it would be detrimental to his concentration to bring him along, he'd thought, why not? Maybe if he told Vaati something really special and magical was about to happen, he'd sit still. It wouldn't really be a lie.
When he paused to close his eyes and take in a deep, cleansing breath, Vaati looked up at him, probably wondering what the heck he was doing. "…Eh…Ezlo…?"
"I'm feeling the essence of the universe," Ezlo whispered back to him
Vaati frowned and continued to stare. At any moment, you would expect a gigantic question mark to appear floating above his head.
"The wind is talking to me," Ezlo tried to use simpler terms. "I'm listening to the grass and the ground…"
Slowly, Vaati nodded. He couldn't really understand, but he got the main idea.
Ezlo gently opened his eyes. He'd suddenly gotten a very weird impulse. It was madness, his mind argued. It wouldn't possibly work. But the voice nipping at the idea in his soul just wouldn't leave him alone. It had probably been the wok of the atmosphere. It had noticed what was on his mind and combined itself with his thoughts. But he had to try it. The universe commanded it, and he felt compelled to oblige.
He bent down and swept Vaati up again, placing him on the soft cushion of a nearby mushroom. The boy bounced a little on its surface, trying to get comfortable and stretched his arms out behind him for balance.
"Now you try," Ezlo suddenly found himself saying.
Why? How? A boy his age couldn't possibly understand. Very few minish in the world possessed the ability for magic. He'd only get disappointed when he couldn't do anything and probably think he was letting his new father down.
"Just close your eyes…breathe slowly…"
Vaati closed his eyes and started taking in a deep breath, obviously copying Ezlo's example from earlier.
"That's it…now, just listen…"
A tense, yet serene silence fell over the path. Ezlo fixed his eyes on the little boy as the time went on. This wasn't right, he knew it…but still, any young boy would've gotten bored and wandered off by now...
Vaati's body was very still. His little chest gently fluctuated and his eyes remained shut. Had he fallen asleep sitting up?
"…Vaati?" Ezlo finally whispered. "Do you feel anything?"
Slowly, his rounded head began to move…it was nodding.
Ezlo froze. That…that couldn't be the truth. He was just humoring him…but the next thing that happened nearly sent the old sage into a stupor.
Vaati was beginning to float. The ends of his cloak began to turn up, along with pieces of his hair. He hadn't moved an inch, but it looked like he was sitting on a static ball. Slowly, his sleeves began to pull upwards as well, and his arms began to lift.
Just as the arms started to move, his concentration suddenly broke. His robe fell back into his lap, and his hair fell back over his ears. His eyes popped back open and he blinked, getting used to the world again.
Ezlo couldn't breathe. He'd been able to levitate completely several times in his life, but only once he had become an adult. To see someone this young perform a partial levitation…
Vaati giggled at Ezlo's flabbergasted expression, completely unaware of the amazing feat he'd just performed. "Klii!" he cried. Fun.
"Ah…Uh…Er…Whuh…Huh…" Ezlo was incapable of coherent speech. He stuttered and gibbered and tried to form words, but it wasn't working.
Vaati laughed even harder at his noises and ended up laughing himself right off the mushroom.
Ezlo finally snapped into reality and rushed forward to catch him. "V…Vah…Vaati!!!" he finally burst out. "You did it!!! I…I don't believe it!!! You're amazing!!!"
"Whee!" Vaati cried, not understanding a word of it and just throwing his arms up in celebration.
"Wow…" As Ezlo excitedly jabbered away at the little boy and began to carry him back to the workshop, a deep fascination settled over him. What a coincidence…that the random boy he had found abandoned in the forest would turn out to have such an inherent talent for magic. He had had to start looking for an apprentice soon… It was a miracle that they'd found each other.
And as Ezlo walked off, tickling Vaati to keep him laughing, he couldn't help but see the potential. If this was what he could do with his magic now, just what would he be able to do once he learned how to use it? It was all so very exciting…