A/N: Updates will be made every Monday night from now on.
Chapter 3
As she steered along the overhanging cliffs, Lirali tried to forget the incident with the Zora as a worried lump formed in her throat. Guilt had been eating away at her because of the accident, but he had been so amicable after she had helped him. She could not help wondering why she had run away so quickly. Despite being a different species, he had disarmed her completely with his charming voice and flirtations. It made her wonder why he would bother, but then she recalled a particular game some young women often played during the Carnival of Time; the object being pursue a man of a different species before the night was over. It was not uncommon that such a thing happened, but people were careful to keep such proclivities a secret. Now that she thought of it Lirali admitted that if she had such proclivities, which she was certain she did not, she had found the male Zora to be somewhat attractive. Despite the obvious differences, he did not possess some of the common Zora attributes; almost no speckled skin patterns and he lacked the elongated tail that was part of the males' heads. The fins he did possess gave the illusion of hair framing his face aside from one long fin on both elbows and calves. He did have the fathomless black eyes and a mess of tattoos etched in his skin. She recalled that he had actually been wearing clothes too, or at least the semblance of them. When she had seen Zoras in Clock Town the women always wore a full body sarong or skirt and the men a short wrap around their waists. Lirali had not figured they would bother with them in their natural habitat since it would hinder swimming, but she did not know much about them. She recalled his legs being long and leanly muscled along with the rest of his body and a mess of tattoos down his arms with a few scattered here and there on his body.
Why are you thinking about this? It doesn't matter what he looked like, you're not seeing him again. She chided herself.
It did not matter how friendly he had seemed or how his smile had made parts of her warm inside. She warned herself that men had always been like that to trick her in the past, but no matter how many times she reminded herself of that fact he just seemed a bit different. Lirali let out an angry sigh and knew she was being foolish. She needed to focus on her work. Soon she would be in the cove fishing and she would forget all about the Zora. She steered the boat around the cliffs until the fortress appeared, the cold metal walls looming overhead. As her boat sped into the cove there was a whistle and she stalled long enough for the guards stationed on the battlements to recognize her. When they did after nearly five minutes, the large iron door slowly rose out of the water with barnacles and seaweed exposed coating the bottom. She rowed under the dripping gateway and into the port of the fortress. The harbor inside the fortress was a large waterway with four boats patrolling at all times, the women aboard masked and carrying either a crossbow or glaive. Lirali weaved through the patrollers while being careful not to disrupt their pattern, their hawk like stares following her as she made her way to the main dock. Several guards were waiting at the as she pulled alongside, tossing the rope to one of them. Once her boat was secure, she lifted crate after crate up into the waiting arms of the pirates. When she finished the inventory manager appeared as Lirali pulled herself up onto the dock to gather her money. The woman lazily walked around and looked through each crate as it was pried open by the other women and made notes in the book in her hands. She paused when she saw the cracked crate of red potions.
"What happened here?" She ordered.
"It was an accident. The corner bashed into a rock as I was entering the bay." Lirali lied. The woman twitched her nose with annoyance.
"A bottle is missing. That'll be deducted from your fee as well as damages." She hissed.
"That's not fair. It was an accident. You can deduct the bottle since it's not a full shipment, but reducing for 'damages'? That's ridiculous." Lirali protested. The woman sniffed and refused to look at Lirali.
"I'm the inventory manager and I see that a crate was damaged. You were asked to do a simple job and a bottle was lost because of it. I feel we should be compensated for your sloppiness." She answered curtly. Lirali's fists tightened.
"I already said you could deduct the bottle. The rest of your goods are in perfect condition. I'm not haggling over this." She warned.
"Are you really talking back to me half breed? Because of me, you have a job." The woman hissed. Lirali felt her blood boil and it took everything in her not to drive her tightened fist into the woman's face.
"No. I have this job because of your leader Talia and I don't have any problems talking to her face to face about it." She threatened. The woman looked stunned.
"How dare you…" she started but a voice interrupted her.
"That's enough." The manager and the guards were stunned as their leader seemed to appear from thin air. "What's the issue we're having?" The older woman grumbled as her arms crossed. Lirali glimpsed the nervous sweat that had started to gather at the roots of the manager's hair as she quickly started to explain the situation.
"The… delivery girl," She sneered, "is refusing to accept her reduced payment due to damages incurred while she was bringing in the shipment you ordered." She shot Lirali a venomous look. "I feel we are owed since she is incapable of doing a simple task."
As the manager continued to spew her opinionated indignities over Lirali's defiance, a noticeable twitch had started at the corner of one of the fierce Talia's narrowed eyes. Lirali had never known Talia well, but when she had started working for the she-wolf leader of the pirates she had learned to quickly gauge her moods based on either an eye twitch or her lips curling into a thin line. The twitch meant she was already in a foul mood but now her lip was curling inward and Lirali feared the situation would very quickly lead to violence.
"Shut your stupid whore mouth Ilya and get back to work. Your job is to count boxes, not manage money since you're too stupid to know the difference in amount between colored ruppees." Talia snarled, cutting off the woman's incessant gibbering. Ilya cowered instantly and ducked away as Talia motioned to the guards.
"All of you get this mess put away. I'll deal with this." She growled. The manager gave Lirali a hateful glare before following the guards, tail firmly between her legs. Instead of feeling smug pride, Lirali kept her attention on Talia knowing that the terrifying woman was far from done ripping apart anyone in front of her. Her eyes speared into Lirali and she felt her insides slowly going cold.
"Why are you causing a problem? I pay you to deliver supplies and keep your mouth shut. I made that clear a very long time ago Lirali." She snapped. Swallowing to keep her fear in check, Lirali nodded.
"I was not trying to cause a problem Talia. I was doing my job but my boat has been damaged and if I'm forced to pay some ridiculous fee or if my wages are garnished, I can't do the work you need." She explained. Talia continued to stare menacingly and uncrossed her arms to rest them on her hips. After a long pause she spoke.
"You do a good job for me Lirali. You don't ask questions and you go wherever I tell you to. If you looked like the rest of us, I'd have made you a pirate a long time ago." Talia explained icily. Lirali was not sure if she should feel grateful for the compliment.
"But you're not and despite the fact that I could easily replace you, I gave my word I'd make use of you." She finished and tossed a bag of money at Lirali's feet. "Take your money and go. I don't have time for foolishness." Talia growled as she turned and started back to the fortress. Lirali picked up the money and called out to the woman before she realized what she was doing.
"But my boat! I need it fixed!" She yelled. Talia stopped mid step and Lirali knew she had said something stupid. In a flash, the woman was in front of her with her hand fisted in the collar of her shirt. Being several feet taller than most women, and men to boot, Talia lifted Lirali off her feet and gave her a vicious glare.
"I'm going to make this clear; I am not your friend and I never will be. So don't think you can ask for my help. Take your money and go find someone else to help you." She hissed, dropping her. Lirali did not need to be told twice and scrambled for her boat.
As she left the fortress Lirali's spirits fell. There would be no time for fishing since her boat was damaged and fixing it was going to be a main priority. She had hoped Talia would loan her a boat or at least a new rotor but she realized too late to never depend on the pirate leader. Talia had always been fiercely opposed to helping outsiders since she believed it was a sign of weakness. It made Lirali wonder why the fearless leader bothered to trust her. Once the fortress was out of sight, Lirali tried to think of places she could take her boat for the cheapest repairs possible. She wanted to fix the rotor blades instead of replace them since she would not be able to afford the hefty price. The main shoreline appeared as the sun was setting and she dragged her boat ashore. She did not want to leave her boat unattended for fear of thieves until she remembered there was a fisherman that lived close by. Remembering he had a motorized boat among his row boats she decided to see if maybe she could make a trade. Lirali made her way across the twilit beach until the rustic fishing hut appeared tucked into the small bluffs that lined the coast. The windows were lit up so she did not hesitate to knock on the door. There was grunt of a reply from inside and the door opened a moment later. Lirali had seen the fisherman a few times, a beefy towering man with a frightening face but a kindness in his drooping eyes which widened just a bit when they focused on her.
"My word it's a pirate! Are ya here to steal from me? I don't mind if ya do, just let me have a picture of ya before ya go…" He started. Lirali laughed nervously and shook her head.
"No no, I'm not a pirate. I just happened to look like one. A little." She explained. The man looked disappointed.
"Oh… Well, what do ya want?" He asked in a pout.
"I noticed you have a motorized boat. Would you be willing to trade for mine? I damaged the rotor blades this morning and I can't think of another place I can get a boat quickly." She explained. The man crossed his arms and studied her a moment, his overhanging forehead drooping in deep thought.
"Why would I want a damaged boat when I have a perfectly good one?" He asked. Lirali held up the bag Talia had tossed at her.
"I just want a trade and I'll even compensate for the damaged blades." She urged, adding a lovely smile. The fisherman swallowed audibly and Lirali knew she had him. He looked unsure and scratched at his bald head.
"I can't do that lil' miss. I need mah boat for deep sea fishing." He said. Lirali felt her heart sink. She supposed she should not have relied on charms to get what she needed. The man then gave her a crooked but pleasant smile.
"Ya say it's just the rotor that's damaged? That's easy to fix, wouldn't take me more than a day. If yer willin' to leave your boat here and pay for the repairs I can take care of it for ya."
"How much are you asking?" She asked fearing his price. He chewed on his bottom lip for a minute as he debated the cost.
"Hmmm. Ya got two hundred ruppees ya can part with lil' miss?"
Lirali nodded vigorously, ecstatic over the reasonable price. He gave a short laugh.
"Alright then. Bring yer boat by and I'll start workin' on it tomorrow. Should be done by evenin'." He explained as he extended a hand. Lirali smiled wide and took his hand, giving it a vigorous shake.
"Deal. My boat is close by. I'll be back tomorrow to check on it." Lirali bid the fisherman good night and went back to her boat. As she dragged it across the sand to line it up with the other boats outside the fisherman's house, her spirits started to rise again. As she pulled her knapsack across her back, she made her way out of Great Bay with lit lantern in hand and made the long trek back to Clock Town.
