Today was a beautiful day. Clouds loomed over us but posed no sign of rain, and the sun shone brilliantly. The sun's rays made the water in the river sparkle, and the sun's rays made it hard to look at, but it was still very beautiful nonetheless. A gentle breezes passes through my bare torso, and my clothes, hanging on the drying rack, blows in the direction the wind is going. I couldn't help but smile and marvel and the wondrous day we were blessed with. It could only mean good things were ahead of us on this journey.
"What's so funny?" a feminine voice from behind me asks. I turn to see Coja, a red haired girl I've known since I was a toddler, lying down on the side of the hill with her legs pointing upwards, and her head pointing down the hill. She looks at me with a quizzical face.
"It's nothing." I replied "We just don't get much time look around, ya know?"
"Look around?" she asked "That's all we can do, Strado! We walk from one place to the next, going from this-a-way, to that-a-way. Not much to do but look around."
"That's not what I...forget it." I gave up trying to explain what I meant. It was clear to me she wasn't much in the mood to admire the scenery. Coja was always the kind of girl who couldn't really bear the thought of sticking to one place for very long. She would never be able to understand just what made this so special to me. We had been walking for so long, at times under harsh conditions such as heavy thunderstorms and scorching hot temperatures. There'd even be situations where we wouldn't have enough supplies to feed everyone, so some of us would have to fast for the better of the group. Heck, this is the first time I'd actually be granted the opportunity to wash my clothes, a luxury we just never seem to get.
"What are you doing here anyway, Coja?" I ask. "Are you going to wash your clothes or not?"
"Nah, I'm content with the way my clothes are right now."
I grimace "So you like the fact that your clothes are dirty and smelly?"
"I just really like the dirt I've gathered from all this walking. It not only shows that we've gone through a long, grueling journey, but it also brings out the color in my eyes. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Right. Well, having a clean pair of underwear doesn't really the reduce the credibility you had during this journey, ya know." After saying that I walk towards the drying rack and pick my shirt off. I run my fingers through the shirt to check any wet spots, and I can feel that the shirt is completely dry. At least, dry enough to wear, and so I put it on. Next, I take down my cloak, run my fingers through it like I did with my shirt, found it to be dry enough, and I equip it.
"Where's the mask?" Coja asks. I reach down my waist where I'd normally clip the mask to my belt whenever I'm not wearing it, but I couldn't feel it. I look down at my belt and see that the clip has been torn off, then I scan my eyes through the floor, and still nothing. Coja snickers. I turn my head her way and I see her holding my bull mask.
"You dropped it on the way over here." she said through her smug grin. My face was red with embarrassment. Not wanting her to notice, I approached her, quickly snatched the mask off her hand, and turned around facing the river. I realized she probably saw just how flustered I was with her by the fact that she was giggling even more than before. I didn't want to thank her, even though I probably should have considering she saved me a an hour's worth of lecturing. I just can't see myself giving in to what she wanted, and what she wanted was the simple satisfaction that, for once, she was the one who caught me doing something foolish, like forgetting my mask in the middle of the woods. Trying to get her mind off the topic, and to stop her snickering, I asked her something I've been meaning to ask since she first got here.
"Coja," I said "why do you always lie down on hills like that?"
"Like what?" immediately her giggling stopped, and she sounded generally curious.
"You know...upside down."
"Is this really upside down?"
"Does everything look upside down?" I asked in annoyance.
"Slightly."
"Then you're upside down." She looked at me for a second and smiled. Coja stretched her arms towards the sky and stood up.
"I don't think the way I lie down is strange. Do you?" Before I could open my mouth to give her a response, we both hear rustling sounds coming from the bushes at top of the hill. We both look at each other, for a brief moment we could see the fear and surprise in each other's eyes, then we look back up at the hill as we slowly back away, prepared to run if needed. The rustling seems to be getting closer, approaching our location. Accompanying the sounds of rustling leaves are the loud heavy footsteps this person, or creature, was taking. Coja grabs a rock that's the size of her hand from the ground and raises her arm, but the exact moment she was prepared to throw the rock was the very moment I realized just who it was approaching us. A wooden beak poked through the bushes.
"No wait!" I said, keeping my voice as low as possible. Coja looked at me with her eyebrows furrowed, she was clearly confused and must have not noticed who it was. The figure made itself more recognizable as it's body emerged from the bushes. We both gazed at the top of the hill; Coja immediately drops the rock she had picked up, and replaced what was in her hand with the rabbit mask she had by her belt.
The figure on top of the hill was a woman we called Winoe, who was easy to identify by the large bird-like mask she'd always wear, and the large dark blue cloak. Actually, she is more than just a woman with a big blue coat to us, she is our caretaker. Winoe is the caretaker to many kids, and just as her tall, stiff body would suggest, she is a very strict woman who is known for being rather cruel to us if we didn't listen to her. Needless to say, Coja and I were nervous and scared to hear whatever Winoe was about to say next.
"What are you two doing here?" she asked with a bit of annoyance in her tone. Winoe walked down the hill with her hands behind her back, staring at us."You were supposed to come back to the caravan when you finished washing your clothes." She examens us both carefully. Even through her mask I could see and feel her eyes scan me down. Then her head turns to Coja, and without a second passing by she responds. "Coja!"
"Y-Yes ma'am?" Coja fumbles with her own words, her mind is scattered and she's visibly shaking with nervosity.
"Your clothes are dirtier than when you first left the camp." Winoe sounded enraged. She continued "Don't tell me you've been fooling around this whole time!"
"No ma'am! It's just...well, Strado here dropped his mask in the middle of the woods, and so he asked me to find it for him!"
"What!? That's not-" Immediately after I said that, Coja proceeded to stomp on my foot.
"You see," she continued as I hopped around whilst holding my foot, trying to hold in my yells of pain "Strado can be a bit clumsy at times, and so, as his senior, I have to make sure he doesn't get himself in any trouble."
"You littleā¦" I murmured under my breath
"I am not looking for excuses young lady." Winoe said sternly. "When you two asked if you could go by the river to wash your clothes, I expect you to be here with that one task in mind. You're wasting everyone's valuable time the longer you stay here, lollygagging like a bunch of children!" Winoe was going on a ranting tangent, something Coja and I are far too familiar with. "Now then, you've wasted too much time here. It seems you'll have to just wait for the next stop to wash your clothes, Coja."
"Aww, what a bummer." Coja replied sarcastically as she glared my way and smiled.
"Strado!" Winoe's yell made me physically jump.
"Y-Yes ma'am?"
"You're done, aren't you?"
"Washing my clothes? Yes ma'am, I'm finished!"
"Good, at least one of you listens." Winoe leers at Coja, to which Coja bashfully looks away, trying to avoid eye contact with her. "Grab your bags and follow me. We must return back to camp immediately." Coja and I look at each other as Winoe begins to walk away.
"What's the rush, Mistress?" Coja asks. Winoe halts and looks back, staring directly at us.
"We've found another piece of Majora."
