This story takes place generations before Majora's Mask, during the days of Ikana's rule. Rated T for suggestive humor.
On this clear moonlit night, it was deafeningly silent... Not a cricket chirped nor wind howled; the air was still. One could hear a pin drop on this old Southwestern road, which one outlaw currently walked. The short-statured sinner himself walked with a dark cloak over himself, only the light of his eyes visible. He was careful, knowing well that war waged between clans on these roads every now and then. Blood from a murder just a few days ago still stained the roadside where a Sheikah had been killed by a Garo ninja. In these times, it was dangerous to walk these roads, and one must be watchful.
The bright-eyed outlaw looked above carefully at the hillsides of the road to see if he was being watched. Ne'er a person could be seen, yet he still knew to be on his toes. This being his first solo mission in a while- on such a dangerous task no less, it had him walking on pins and needles.
The road was covered in wagon and hoof tracks where people had come and gone, but traffic of the common folk never came this way, especially lately with all the recent killings. At the back of this road was the property of a small private village, long becoming tarnished by history. Once the outlaw came to the end of this road, he faced far in the distance just beyond a fence line a small village which was clearly hanging by a thread. What remained of standing houses were beaten either by weather or attacks. As he slowly passed through the fence, he passed a sign saying "Okari Village". Okari was the home of the Sheikah clan- at least, what remained of them in the region of Termina. The Sheikah are well-known protectors of Ikana Castle, whom is at war with another country currently. Said country has sent their Garo ninjas to watch and even assassinate those of the apposing side. Sadly, the Sheikah have been a prime target. Taking them out means taking out Ikana Kingdom's secret defense...
The cloaked figure hid behind a rock still at the entrance of the village, sliding down to sit behind it. He pulled out an old worn notebook and started drawing in it with some charcoal. He pulled his hood down to reveal his face. He was a gruff-looking deku with faded green leaves and sharp, determined eyes. His snout had a small bend underneath it, so his snout wasn't round. It was not common for a deku to leave the swamp, nor for one to step foot on such dangerous grounds. These creatures are weak and frail; the lowest of the low. So why was it this deku was here exactly? Well, this was Midas Leavance. Not many deku in this day and age existed of his body type, nor were they brave enough to stand up to races outside the swamp. For his courage and vicious battle style, he was one of the rare few who were worth fearing, and one of histories first big-time deku thieves- and he was not shy of spilling blood if push came to shove. And he was very well capable of spilling blood. Normally, Midas wasn't alone, but tonight was a mission all for himself.
"I can finally pull down that hood, it was getting hot." He murmured. Now sitting, one could see his body a bit better up to his waist where his cloak folded out of the way. He wore nothing underneath, just the belt for holding his supplies and weapons. His weapons were twin serrated daggers. And of course, he owned them with pride.
Covering his legs were layers of thin leaves. If the tops of his legs were covered, it'd look like he was wearing pants made of leaves, but it was only his legs below his knees.
As he sat, he surveyed the area well one more time and started drawing out a rough map of the place. He and his gang have been studying up for this heist for weeks, getting as much info on the place as possible. Now he was going to do one final rundown. His target was a large building at the back of the few-house village. This was the village chief's house. Midas' goal was to snatch up information on Ikana and it's layout, as well as snatch up any loot he could... Midas' master plan is a heist at Ikana, but his first steps are training for the big night and learning as much as possible about the kingdom itself... What better place to get that info from than the royal assassins themselves?
"Rumor has it, that the Garo have taken out the Sheikah guards... Even so, if they were here..." he paused and looked out at the village. "... I'd have already been caught. I need to tread lightly, regardless."
Midas finished up his small map of the village and drew out his travel routes. He could see there really weren't any guards... That were in sight anyway. He took a deep breath, before putting his notebook away, cloaked himself again, and left his hiding spot. Little did he know, he was being watched this whole time.
Midas, using whatever methods he could, made his way around the village quietly. As he did, he watched all around him. There were hardly any people inhabiting the village anymore, if any at all. What remained were probably in Ikana aside from possible few here. Though the whole time he weaved around buildings and structures, he kept his hands rested over his daggers. He was hoping he wouldn't get in a fight with a Sheikah however, for they are fast and leave no trace of their victims once they have them taken care of... He knew, even with few people in the village, that he was walking dangerous territory.
Midas was currently close to his target building, when suddenly a loud crash broke the silence. His heart jumped when he heard the noise and he flew to hide behind a tree. After waiting a moment for his heart to quit racing, he peaked out- hoping he wasn't about to get a throwing-star through the eye... He looked out and spotted a skinny stray cat eating out of some trash near a house. The noise he heard was a few broken milk bottles, which the cat broke.
The deku muttered a gruff few swears under his breath before sighing, "It's a cat..."
He double checked the area to be safe before running out again. He dashed over toward the chief's house and peaked in through a window... His sharp eyes scanned the interior, making mental notes of things to snatch. There were plenty of valuables just sitting out and about just at Midas' level alone. A few baubles and antiques. At the far back of the room was a table with what appeared to be files of importance laying about. He couldn't really be sure though unless he could see them up close. He figured the door was locked, so began picking at the window. Using one of his daggers, he tried hard to pick at a lock, but it was secured tightly. He couldn't afford to make too much noise, so decided to move to the front door's lock. Here he felt unsafe however, because someone could see him even from the front entrance of the village.
He jabbed his dagger into the door and began tinkering with it as silently as he could. If he could, he'd be biting his tongue right now from how tense he felt. At this moment, he wished he could've brought along his gang, but tonight was a mission for him and for him alone. It would be too risky to bring them along- especially with Pyne's big mouth...
He finally heard a forced click and he perked up. He opened the door with ease after. Just at that moment though, his leaves bristled and he felt like he was being watched. He stood straight and looked around. Slowly, he turned and examined the village behind... Not a soul could be seen. He stood staring for a while, for he knew that these people were masters of espionage. The feeling faded and he shivered, but finally deemed it time to actually continue his mission. He removed his gear so to rid himself of the clanking and clacking noises of his belt and daggers, and hid them under some wood planks at the side of the house. He didn't plan on staying in there long, and he hoped he wouldn't. He walked into the house and stared around the room with his back to the door for a while, then turned and shut the door. While leaving the door open would be wise for escape, it'd also raise suspicion if someone from outside saw it. Midas, for once, was legitimately spooked. Every move felt like a bad one, but perhaps he was just paranoid... At this rate, he wasn't even sure if anyone was in the village currently, but he wasn't about to test it.
He started picking up small things that wouldn't be missed, so long as it was worth a price tag. Though tonight, it was all small game. His big game prize were files on Ikana, and he had to keep that in mind. Besides, he didn't want to leave too much of a dent in here…
At the moment, he felt like a mouse gambling his life for cheese; it was dark and not a candle one was lit in this home. He could see the cheese, but not any possible traps. All house corridors were dark and silent. If not for Midas' eyes, he wouldn't be able to see where he was going. Even so, it wasn't much light to reach fully down a hall, so he wouldn't know if someone was coming after him till it was too late. He started to quickly realize that his plans to remove his gear was a flawed one made out of fear. If he needed his daggers, he was screwed.
He put a few more small antiques in the bag before deciding to move on to the table with the documents and papers laid out. Heaven knows at this point, the little things didn't matter. Just as he came to face the table, he looked up on the wall to see a giant map of Ikana. It had pins on certain areas, most likely areas where the clan warriors needed to be sent. Though some pins were different colors, which Midas assumed stood for different objectives. He groaned to himself, seeing this map as a valuable piece to take. But it was so high up, he couldn't possibly reach it. And with all the pins in it, there was no taking it down with out making a bunch of racket anyway. He pulled his notes out of a pocket on his cloak and decided to try and do a rough sketch of the map's layout. He constantly looked up and around to make sure he was still alone. He wasn't pleased with his sketch, but he did what he could in short time. He wrote quick notes of main areas before finishing up. He put his notes away and sighed soon after… This would have to work until he gets his hands on an actual map.
He looked to the table and began going through the files. So far, he was only seeing little things of no importance. Though there was one paper that caught his interest. It was a recent letter… He double checked his surroundings again, before he began reading it to himself.
''~To Chief Impaz. Our guards are dwindling to insufficiently low numbers, as we are losing soldiers swiftly. The apposing kingdom wrought spies and assassins upon our ranks, and they hath struck once more. We are growing outnumbered. To our dismay, it has been forced upon us to call forth the youth to serve us. Please send aid posthaste; we fear this war is soon to end in the enemy's favor. At final demands, our single hope is to turn to our guardian. Without more of your people, he is our only choice. If we are to turn the tides of war, you are to follow this command and bring forth what you must. P.S. ~General Keeta.
We encourage your clan to flee from Southwestern village. Hide well, for the Garo are searching for ye. Nay will they cease in pursuit of eradicating your clan, your families. I fear they are to find you before long.
Midas gave a low, "Hmm…" at the letter. Reading the date the letter was sent, it must have arrived here recently. "That explains why this village is so empty right now… This Impaz fellow must have sent his guards to Ikana. I wonder if anyone is still here, though… Surely, the Sheikah aren't so dumb that they'd leave documents like these behind."
His mind weighed on the information he could get just from this letter. One in particular that was mentioned that made him wonder was the mention of a guardian. Midas pulled out his notebook and began writing out notes again. As soon as he finished, he decided to see if he could find anything regarding this guardian. If they had a giant monster up there guarding the place, that'd definitely be something he'd like to learn more about before waltzing onto Ikana territory…
While he couldn't find anything regarding the monster, he did find other papers and such of interest. Though due to time, he didn't sit and read all of them. A few that he deemed important were shoved in his bag. These few were stowed away between some books on a nearby bookcase. There was one book that was written completely in another language, much to his irritation. It looked important, but he had no idea what the language was. Midas was growing deterred at this point, it seemed any dire information aside from that one letter were either gone or hidden away somewhere. The papers on the table were recent, and were all vague in information. You'd more than likely have to be a part of the clan to understand a lot of what was mentioned. Regardless, he wrote down as much info as possible.
The turning of the front door's knob made him jump, and Midas ran to hide in a nearby corner just behind the bookcase. His heart was racing and he was suddenly very uncomfortable again. He cracked an eye open enough to see vague light casted throughout the main room from the open front door and a tall shadow standing in the light. Midas cracked his eyes to dim his own light and covered his face to keep himself from being seen easily. He often cursed his luck for being a deku…
"Chief Impaz?" the stranger's voice called. They sounded like a young adult, perhaps still a Sheikah in training. "Chief?"
Midas remained flatline-silent. He took a deep breath and released his breath slowly. The Sheikah walked in and looked over the table of papers. Had he moved forward just a few more inches, he could probably see Midas if he looked hard enough.
"… Impaz, are you here?"
The young man looked to the table and saw the letter and looked it over. It was safe to assume that this fellow was not often in here, or else he'd have probably noticed that documents were moved. After reading it, he assumed Impaz was out elsewhere for a short time. Short time being because he left the door unlocked. "Impaz doesn't normally leave the house unsecured, especially with these Garo running about… How careless." the young man muttered. He placed the letter down and began walking out. He stopped in the doorway muttering things to himself then shut the door. Midas came out after being assured that no one was coming back in… He soon went back to the table and began looking over it again. He wasn't even going to try and speak his relief… He was in here for a good long time after that with no disturbances, and for that he was thankful. He spent the next twenty minutes searching through books. After completely going through this section of the house, he decided to move to another room. Before he could though, his leaves stood stiff when he saw movement in the dark out of the corner of his eye. The shadow dashed through the very room he was in... Very close to him, actually. He refused to take his eyes off the room now, for he feared if he even gave a second to look away, his sap-blood would be on the floor within the second. His eyes focused on one side of the room, but he jolted quietly when the figure dashed at the opposite side of the room.
Midas was swearing in mind, but absolutely no sounds escaped him. He finally subconsciously reached for his sides to grab his daggers, but was quickly reminded that he was weaponless. The shadow then vanished out the front door, which he quickly turned to face. It was settled, he was done in here. He was caught, and whatever and whoever that was is probably on their way to warn the village. He sadly had to label this heist as a partially failed one… Though he at least got some info. This would be a new record on his part. If a heist fails, they usually get more time in. In the house of the Sheikah chief though, he could not afford to take risks.
He took what he had and fled the vicinity as quickly as possible. As he frantically left the building, he reached for the wood planks and moved them to retrieve his gear.
"What-!" Midas exclaimed in a whisper. His things were gone! He looked high and low for any trace of them, but they were nowhere in sight. He was soon to hear vague chuckling, and the voice was female. His leaves bristled and his eyes sharpened to a glare. He was being watched, and he knew by who. He just wished they'd have chose a better night to ruin a heist. Suddenly, he realized that he hadn't been caught by a Sheikah at all. He followed the laugh and turned left and right. His attention quickly fell on a short figure standing next to a building right across from the chief's house. And in an instant, Midas' anger flared. Leaning against the building was a female deku with an elongated head. Her head was cone shaped and pointed slightly upward. She had a sleek build but thick limbs. She had sharp somewhat slanted eyes and a tiny petit snout. At the end of her pointed head was what looked like dandelion fuzz. She waved his belt at him, and he snorted. Her type was very rare and actually not native to Termina. For this reason, he knew who it was right off the bat. Though he'd be more concerned if it was someone else, given most deku wouldn't even dream of leaving the swamp. Deku shouldn't even be here, it's too dangerous. Personally, even he didn't want to be here right now.
"Danda-Lyn, I don't have time for your crap-!" he whispered.
She said not a word and ran off toward the livestock area far from the village. It was pretty empty over there, as what Sheikah remained in the village were… Well, in the village, and Lyn knew that. She wasn't dumb enough to set up a chase in the village, after all. Midas was furious and took chase. Of course, that's what Lyn wanted. She loved toying with him, she loved seeing him get frustrated. She looked back at him and cracked a deku's grin before facing forward again. She put the belt over one of her shoulders and let it hang like a sash, and she agilely climbed and hopped up onto a fence pole behind one of the barns. She hopped from pole to pole, but stopped when she heard Midas also get atop them. Though due to his big clunky feet, it required a bit more balance for him to stand on the poles. For this reason, he left his bag of stolen goods at the side of the fence. Lyn chuckled at this and eyed him from her pole.
"Finally, I have you face-to-face..." Midas growled.
Lyn clapped slowly, Midas seeing she only had three fingers on each hand. "Congratulations, you're not blind."
"You shouldn't be here, Lyn. If I don't kill you, a Sheikah will. This is the last night you're going to get in the way of my plans. And tonight it's just you and me, no one else."
Danda-Lyn's eyes widened, before she softened her expression again. "Hmm... Sounds like a date then."
"The first and the last." he added.
Lyn took off running along the fence, and Midas was right behind her. The chase lasted up until Lyn took a surprise leap toward a cow and landed on it's rump. The beast gave an exclaiming moo in shock and jumped, and she held on till it calmed down. She pet it's side and talked nicely to it, then laughed after she got back to the chase. Midas was soon to make a leap for the cow as well, but Lyn dodged his tackle and grabbed a hanging bell at the side of the barn and swung herself back to the fence, leaving Midas on the startled cow. He was forced to jump down and ran back to the fence. He was very jumpy currently, and was praying all the noise from the cow and bell wouldn't attract attention...
"Lyn, I'm going to kill you...!"
She ran along the fence toward a low part of the barn. "You gotta catch me first to do that!"
He trailed behind her and was soon to follow her to the roof of the barn. The sturdy structure only clattered as their feet dashed across it, only putting Midas on edge again. Lyn slid down one side and flew to the roof of the poultry coop.
"You must not be all that if you can't even catch a little pick-pocket like me!" Danda-Lyn teased. Midas huffed and puffed as he chased her. But each time he got close, she would jump from his grasp and end up on another building or structure. He finally resulted to shooting a deku nut at her, which smacked her in the arm and exploded. She squeaked and only looked at her arm for a moment, before retaliating. She spat back at him, but her deku nuts were much smaller and came in several small shots. This shocked Midas and he was forced to dodge the repetitive shots.
"Don't even start a spitting contest with me, honey." she growled. "That's playing unfair."
"I don't care if I'm being fair, this isn't a frickin game!" he barked in response.
She laughed, "I would be the one making this unfair! You misunderstand me."
He spat another to blind her long enough for him to leap close. The moment the flash faded, she noticed him scarily close, and she quickly spat a wad of gunk at the roof in front of her and ran. Midas came to a drifting halt and nearly fell trying. The area where she spat left a sizzling hole, large enough for him to fall through. It was then he realized that maybe a challenge of spitting wasn't a challenge he wanted to start... He looked forward and she was way ahead on top of another barn near the cucco yard. "Blasted female..."
"I've heard women say how handsome you are. While that is true, the stories of you being amazingly cunning and ruthless doesn't seem to match up. Something tells me you're going easy on me for a reason... Is there something holding you back, Leavance?" Lyn remarked from her rooftop spot. Midas leapt up onto the roof and faced her from his end.
"Quit trying to change the subject and give me back my stuff. If you do, I'll let you go with a warning... If not, you're not leaving this village property alive. Don't you think it's a bit risky to pull this crap here, of all places?"
She ran again without answering, and Midas gave a muffled groan in response. He was getting frustrated, and he was about ready to strangle someone. Midas grew furious by Lyn's cockiness. The quick and nimble female enjoyed this teasing, but she knew she was playing a dangerous game.
She stopped atop an old barn which was not being used for animal keeping any longer- rather for holding hay-bales and feed... It was then Danda-Lyn ran out of roofs to hop across... She gazed down onto the ground below and quickly surveyed the area out toward the village to silently make sure no one was coming, before hearing the thuds of Midas' feet land on the far end of the barn roof. She turned to him, though looking impressed rather than scared.
"Hand over my stuff woman, or you'll plummet..." Midas ordered gruffly.
Lyn pulled his belt off from around herself and hung onto it, looking over it in thought... She then finally answered, "I kinda like the knives, though. I want to hang onto it, so I can be reminded of this little chase... The night I gave the handsome Midas Leavance a run for his rupees... It'll be quite the story." she walked toward him, her tiny feet compared to Midas' large forked feet, delicately walking along the beam of the roof. "Y'know, I've always looked up to you, you show the strength our kind is usually too afraid to show. Nowadays, to stand up to the humans is a brave, albeit, stupid act; yet you do it all the time. It's no wonder other deku fear you and still respect you. Maybe you'll inspire a change in our community... But not sure how the other races feel about that. Though I'm kind of disappointed that you haven't treated me very nicely tonight, Casanova... Normally you're quite the ladykiller. I'd have liked to have quality time with you."
"You're gonna think ladykiller when I'm through with you... You may have actually been on my good side had you not tried to ruin all my heists..." Midas snorted. Midas wasn't going to admit it, but she was bold, and he found that attractive.
"That's a shame..." she stopped a good five feet from in front of Midas. "But, given that you can't even catch me, you must not even be worth it… Not even worth a one-night stand."
He was getting fed up with her games. His eyes flared in anger before he ran at her. This shocked her, and he tried to forcefully pull the belt from her grasp. She gave a low-sweeping kick at his legs, but he jumped over the attempted attack. In their fight, he stepped off the beam of the roof onto the dry-rotted straw-wood. It was soon to fall in, creating a hole where he stepped. He lost his footing and fell sideways with her following, and they fell into the barn onto a hill of hay. Midas coughed from the dust and hay particles flying about, before he realized the weight on top of him. Lyn had fallen over him, but she quickly moved and was headed for the doorway of the barn. Midas grabbed her leg and pulled her back however, before quickly jumping to his feet and pushing her against the barn wall. This forced her to turn her head partially sideways due to her head shape. Now in the safe cover of a building, Midas could take of care of Lyn without the fear of being seen.
She said nothing as he grabbed his belt from her grasp and unsheathed a dagger. He angrily tossed his belongings onto the ground and held the serrated end to her neck. "I have you where I want you..." his tone dragged like rocks. However, Lyn didn't look scared at all. She was able to look him dead in the eyes, her expression questioning whether he'd do it or not. She held no expression. Above Midas' snout was wrinkled angrily. She felt the cold of the stainless steel tap her neck, but not enough to do anything- it didn't even hurt. It almost felt like he was trying to scare her, but she gave no reaction, not even a fight.
"... What's holding you back?" she finally said.
He stared, his face still bent into a glare, and he took a deep breath. She soon added, "If you're going to kill me, then do it now."
His expression softened, though that angered look never faded. She felt the dagger move away from her throat, though it was still close. He couldn't end her life. He remembered his way, and his way was that he'd never harm another of his own kind unless he needed to. And something else was stopping him as well... He admired this courage she was showing. If anything, it was stupid, but still attractive to him. Most people, even other deku, would never dare to get in his way, but she did it all the time. He could see a sense of flirtatiousness in her actions, which interested him vaguely. What interested him above all though was how bold she was in general, or the fact that she handled herself so well out in the world among people who regularly kill deku. The world simply hated their kind, and it was for that reason that their kind and tribe hid in the depths of the swamp- yet Lyn lived out in the world. If anything, it was safe to assume that she wanders rather than living in one place. She was skilled and street-smart. Midas admired seeing that in another deku. So currently, he had mixed feelings for her. But… Something in him felt guilty for killing someone who's fought to live as long as they have, when living was a challenge all it's own.
She read his expression and stood completely still. "Well...?"
He finally moved and shoved her away. "Get out of here..."
She stared for only a moment, before grinning. "You're letting me go?"
His sharp eyes hid his softened reasoning behind his actions, though his response was unpredicted. "You're not worth my time. I'm letting you go with a warning. And to murder an unarmed woman would be ungodly of me."
"... That's your reason?" Lyn replied, small legit shock in her tone. She could hear a bit of loose reasoning in his tone.
He turned away from her and walked back to his belt and lifted it. "Take this chance before I change my mind."
She looked as if she'd succeeded in her goals. She looked down and away with a sly smirk. He stood to look over his belt, but noticed her walk toward him. She looked like she had something to say, but was taken aback when she forcefully pulled him to herself and pressed her snout to his. After given a moment to realize what had happened, Lyn shoved him away. "Thanks for the chase, Romeo.", and with that, she went about leaving.
Midas' eyes were a little wide, before his neutral expression returned. He gave a soft chuckle that she didn't hear- so she was playing this kinda game? Tonight, his thoughts began to change a bit toward her. Her goals were to tease and irritate him, which were… Interestingly annoying. But she was attracted to him, part of the reason she did it. There was no ill-intent, it was all fun to her. And if he looked at it in the right light, it gave a new challenge for him as well. He could see there was a way they could see eye-to-eye with one another, and maybe more of Midas' lone heists were good opportunities… Part of him knew that fraternizing with his crew's enemy may not be the best idea. But perhaps she wasn't as much an enemy as they thought… But rather, something more. He shot her a cocky grin through the eyes as he eyed her whilst she left, examining her form through the dark.
"Lyn."
His gruff voice calling her name surprised her and she turned to look at him. He continued, "Next time I have a solo mission, I'll probably be seeing you, wont I?"
She stared to register his question, before a soft, flirtatious tone was put into place. "Only if you want to see me..."
He gave a gruff, "Hm...", making her smile, which he clearly saw through her glowing eyes.
"Also... You have a dagger missing..." she pointed out without concern. He looked down at his belt, and the other dagger was gone.
"Eh-? Alright, what'd you do with it...?" he asked with a growl.
She shrugged. "I hate to say it, but this one wasn't me. And if it was, it wasn't on purpose. Oops..." she laughed.
"Ughhh..." he dropped his belt to the ground and groaned. He didn't say anything though, and began looking around the barn for the dagger.
"It could be anywhere on the barn yard." Lyn commented.
"I know that..." Midas grumbled. "No thanks to you."
Lyn crossed her arms and leaned in the doorway. "It's just one dagger, you can get a new one. What's so important about it?"
Midas grunted as he tossed hay out of the way. "Why it's so important is none of your concern."
She simply shrugged then walked out. Midas returned to look at her, but she was gone.
"Lyn?" he said. He got no response however. After finishing up looking through the hay, he stepped outside. Looking at the moon, it was a little passed three according to its position. Since he'll be spending the rest of his time looking for that dagger, he didn't have time to finish his mission, he'd have to come back again another night- much to his dismay. He scanned the field, and there was nothing and no one out there. Danda-Lyn had vanished. After some brief thoughts of frustration, he cocked a smirk. "Next time, you wont catch me off-guard..."