Chyello my Cool Cats! I have another update for you! Seeeee! SEEEEEE. I do care. I've been pretty inspired lately.
UM, there may be mistakes. I'm sorry.
This was it. The play would be starting in a few minutes. Zelda's stomach felt like it was twisted into all sorts of knots; she couldn't remember being so nervous since the first time she played the lyre for her father so many years ago. Yet at the same time, she was also excited and terrified all at once. It was an odd mixture of all sorts of feelings she'd never felt altogether. Medli had coached her on how to handle the anxiety earlier, and she was already putting those deep breathing exercises into practice. She focused on what she needed to do, trying to avoid any imaginative thoughts of mistakes or stage fright.
The first scene was all Link, where she would join him shortly for her only part in the play. Then she would use the smoke bomb that effects had provided her with to vanish off of the stage. Her plan from there was to drop off the large cloak that would serve as her costume backstage, and then join the crowd to watch the rest of the play.
She heard the thrum of Mikau's guitar; the dull roar from the audience quieted down.
It was really starting now…
From stage right she watched as the spotlight honed in on the figure in the middle of stage: it was Medli, performing as the narrator to this show.
"Welcome one and all as you come to view a legend come to life," the Rito girl began with a bow to the audience. "Before your eyes you shall see a piece of the Legend of the Hero of Time and how he came to the aid of our shared ancestors centuries ago; of the trials he faced and how he came to save our people from the hands evil…" She continued as she edged off to the side, exiting stage right.
Zelda moved aside for the Rito girl, who came off the stage with a sigh of relief and a vervous smile to the princess. "Break a leg," she whispered excitedly to the blond girl before scurrying off to help ready other pieces of the play. Zelda nodded gratefullt at Medli before she had left, really glad that Medli hadn't truly meant it. It came to Zelda as the biggest surprise that it was bad luck to say good luck at a play, and while she didn't understand why "break a leg" meant good luck, she still appreciated the sentiment.
She shuffled nervously in the cloak that was her costume for Sheik, her very own ancestor. How strange it was to be filling these shoes, she had thought, but fitting. The princess really hoped she could accurately portray the disguised Zelda of old well – at the very least she certainly hoped she wouldn't make a fool of herself. I can't imagine what Itaav might say, she thought with a grimace. He may have been nicer lately, but he was terribly fond of poking fun at her and Link, she knew. And then she wondered if the boy was even out there like he promised. Well, of course he is; she reassured herself, He'll no doubt want to poke fun at Link for his costume.
And that was true enough; it was probably the only reason Itaav was in the crowd at the moment. While he may have achieved flight (sort of) that day and was a sort of fascination with both Rito and Zora now, it had been exhausting. Yeah, Komali may have treated him to a free lunch after his "flight" but what he really could have gone for was a seven hour nap. But he wanted to see Link in that ridiculous outfit, and he supposed that he did kind of, sort of, not really promise Zelda that he would be there. Granted, there were only like ten rows of seats, and by the time Itaav had gotten there it was standing room only.
Itaav saw the bird girl up on stage, doing the introduction to the play. Even though it wasn't a particularly long introduction, he was mentally rushing her to get on with it. He wanted to get his cheap laughs out already. But when Medli left the stage, the imitation of a Wolfos's howl came about, and Link came out with the prop sword and began to play-slash at the actor in the Wolfos costume, Itaav did not laugh.
In fact, the Engineer at first thought there was something severely wrong with his vision when he saw four of Link, each in a different color of the ridiculously warm outfit that the blond boy had complained about earlier. Itaav rubbed his eyes vigorously, looking up on stage this time to see only one Link. The exhaustion had to be creeping up on him again… because now he was significantly crankier after that instance of seeing quadruple.
He tried to cheer himself up by remembering Link was wearing something stupid. The tunic he was wearing practically made him look like he was wearing a skirt; and white tights. Yeah, sure they tried to pass them off as pants, but they were way tighter than they should ever be on a guy. And that hat had to be the stupidest-
"My curses are not to be mocked. The one I cast on you is most powerful. No matter what power you wield, you will never break it." It was his voice, laced with malicious amusement, as he spoke to Link… no… Link was there but he wasn't talking to him… he was talking to… to the hat. Yes, the tip of the hat looked like a bird of some sort.
But the bird-hat scoffed at him. "You haven't changed in the slightest. I never should have created that cap." The hat spat; but despite the harshness, there was regret in that voice. And disappointment. "It only fueld your insane desires…"
Rage. He felt rage. How dare that old man speak to him in such a manner-
A voice then broke through whatever it was he had been seeing, "If you came here to see the Zoras, you wasted your time," it was Zelda, doing her little part in the play and failing to make her voice sound masculine. He focused his gaze on her; how she was hidden beneath a flowing cape, her face hooded and her hair styled so it covered her eyes ever so slightly. "With one exception, the Zoras are now sealed under this thick ice sheet... I managed to rescue the water princess from under the ice, but... she left to head for the Water Temple... This ice is created by an evil curse... The monster in the Water Temple is the source of the curse. Unless you shut off the source, this ice will never melt... If you have courage enough to confront the danger and save the Zoras, I will teach you the melody that leads to the temple."
She pulled a lyre from under her cloak and began to play it, and Link followed along with the very ocarina Zelda had won the other day at the festival. But he did not focus on Link or his atrocious playing; he focused on Zelda. She was the only thing that was keeping him from wondering what the hell it was he had just seen. If he focused on her, he didn't think about that weird talking hat and how it sounded like that old man he'd briefly seen when he'd overheard Anjean and Byrne; he didn't think about how Link was bearing a sword up against him; or how he, himself, had been speaking in such eloquent words. It was keeping him from thinking about he'd hallucinated that there were three more Links and had just seen things in his head that he was fairly certain he never experienced even in dreams.
Right now, at this very moment, Zelda was the only thing keeping him from absolutely panicking. Because something was wrong with him – so very, very wrong.
Zelda had finished playing her song, bid Link farewell, and vanished in a plume of smoke. For a moment, Itaav felt his panic rise; he could already feel those questions resurfacing, taking a prime focus in his mind. And then he heard a soft voice pushing itself through the crowd, "Excuse me; sorry – excuse me…"
He looked to where people were moving about uncomfortably, seeing Zelda sans costume pushing her way through and giving him a cheerful smile when she caught sight of him. But she frowned quickly after a moment and then rushed through the remaining people between them, immediately a hand upon the purple haired boy's forehead. "Oh Itaav, you don't look well now… How are you feeling?"
Strangely aroused, he confessed within his mind. Despite the fact that Zelda had been the one to reel him back into reality, now that she was here next to him… Well, there were no more thoughts of that weird hallucination, but now various ideas were popping up in his mind all concerning her. So trusting, this naïve little princess, the Thoughts in the Back of His Head purred. And he tried not to think how it sounded so close to the speech he'd had when he had his hallucination.
"Itaav?" Zelda asked, noting that the boy seemed to look an unhealthy shade of pale ather than his normal self.
Get it together, Itaav. He scolded himself inwardly. He was just tired. This was exactly what it was like at Anjean and Byrne's place – he was tired, he was seeing and hearing crazy things. He brushed her hand off of his head and said carelessly, "I'm fine, I'm fine; just tired, though now's not the time to get into that. Link's trying to play the ocarina again."
The play, as far as Link could tell, was a success. There was applause and cheers, Laruto seemed ecstatic and thanked him profusely for a good job, and Medli was jabbering on enthusiastically told him to give "Marin" a big thank you for her work too. Unfortunately for Link, Lulu insisted he keep wearing the costume for the rest of the still darkening night. And "insist" really meant demand. Rather than argue about it, he just went with it. It was just one night after all and he would never have to see that horrible outfit ever again.
When he was finally granted freedom, he found Zelda with Itaav. The two had drifted away from the "playhouse" since it being prepared for the Founding Play, and were now outside by one of the balconies still crowded with plenty of Rito and Zora. He gave some nervous thanks to those that congratulated him on a job well done as he approached his friends, and was more than relieved when he managed to make it to them without much issue. He took note that the Engineer looked a bit… off, though he couldn't place what. He didn't really have a chance to think about it either as Zelda went and jumped him with a great big hug. "Oh Link, you were great! It was like you were the Hero of Time, himself!" She slipped off him and gave him another big grin, "Are they letting you keep the costume? I really do think it suits you!"
"No, no, no," Link said shaking his head emphatically, "Noooo, Lulu just wants me to keep it on for the rest of the night. There is no way I'm keeping this."
Zelda pouted, but conceded, "I suppose it is a bit warm."
"And you were right, it does look stupid," Itaav put in carelessly, but Link couldn't help but notice that something in the pale boy seemed strained. However, he brightened up when he remembered something, "Oh yeah, and guess who managed to obain lift off today?"
"You flew today?!" Zelda gasped.
Itaav smiled proudly. "Yeah, sort of."
"Wait, wait… You really did it?" Link asked, "You really flew?"
"Yup. Sort of. Two inches off of the ground, but that's certainly more than I ever thought I could before! It'll be even easier from here on out now that I know it wasn't a fluke!" He began excitedly.
"Oh, Itaav, crongratulations! You'll have to show us later!" Zelda said, this time jumping on Itaav to give him a great big hug.
The pale boy hadn't really expected the hug, though he was beginning to suspect the girl was very huggy. Whatever the case, he gave Link a very satisfied look, to which the other boy returned with a scowl and a red face.
"Oh, there you all are!" Cried Medli as she fought her way through a couple of Zoras who had been standing nearby them.
"Oh, Medli; don't you have to get ready for the Founding Play?" Zelda asked.
"Yes, but I just wanted to thank all three of you together! Link, for that amazing job as the Hero of Time, Marin as a wonderful Sheik… And Marin, you get double thanks along with Itaav for Komali. He told me all about how you two inspired him to take resposbility, and… I can't thank you enough for that. I never thought I'd see the day!" Medli said with a grateful bow. But Link couldn't help but look at the girl and boy beside him and wonder when the heck they'd spoken with Komali. "And in order to thank the three of you for everything, I wanted to give you guys prime seats for the Founding Play! They're right in the third row; the usher will lead you there no problems."
Zelda's eyes were wide as saucers, "Really?!"
Still smiling widely, Medli nodded, "Yep! You guys can take your seats in around half an hour – I gotta go now, so I'll see you all later!"
"Wow," Link commented, "I guess she really likes all of us…"
"What's not to like?" Itaav said, adding, "By the way, she's in the next one?"
Zelda, her smile so wide her cheeks were beginning to hurt, nodded, "Yes! She's going to play the first female Rito that evolved from one of Valoo's scales! And Komali is going to be the first male Rito; she was so worried he'd do badly, but she seems so happy! We really did help out, didn't we, Itaav?"
Itaav shrugged, though Link couldn't help but look back and forth from his friend to Zelda. He really felt like he was missing some important piece of context here. Really, when did Zelda and Itaav get this friendly?
They ended up grabbing a quick bite to eat before returning to the playhouse and being ushered to their seats. For all the fears Zelda had of being late, their seatmates hadn't arrived. But then Zelda started worrying over who would be sitting next to whom, which was something that Itaav honestly didn't care for. Link, however, silently hoped he would get to sit next to Zelda.
"Oh, hello everyone," the sound of the voice made Link blush furiously, and he quickly turned around to see Laruto would be someone's seatmate.
"Hello, Laruto," Zelda began cheerfully, "You made a wonderful Ruto! I hope you get the part again next year!"
A slight purple flush came on the Zora's face, "Thank you, Marin; you made a great Sheik as well." Then she looked over to Link, who seemed to be doing everything within his willpower to avoid eye contact with her, and said warmly, "And Link, you were the best Hero Dragonroost has seen in years." Link could only blubber out some semblance of a "thank you," which the Zora girl ignored but his friends did not. In fact, Zelda seemed to be putting something together in her mind and her expression became unreadable. Itaav, however, was trying to contain an amused grin.
"If you and Link ever decide to come back to Dragonroost during the festival, we wouldn't mind you two reprising your roles," Laurto added kindly before looking to Itaav and saying, "Perhaps even you can take part if you come back, too. I didn't really get to meet you properly at all, Mr. Itaav – just what I've heard from Marin and Link, really."
Itaav just gave the Zora a friendly grin and shrugged, "Not much to know except I'm the only Hylian you'll ever know that can fly," and then he took both Zelda and Link's shoulders on each one of his arms said, "But hey, what are we doing standing around? We've got seats; let's sit on down. Here, Link, why don't you sit next to Laruto? And Marin, you can sit next to Link, and I'll sit next you too. You're right in the middle, Marin; everyone's happy."
But someone was most certainly not happy and could not appropriately verbalize it. Link, red faced and embarrassed, just robotically sat down. Laruto gave Link a curious look before taking her own seat.
Still keeping his chortles inside, Itaav became distracted when Zelda leaned towards him and whispered, "Itaav! Link's acting so strangely around Laruto! Do you think… Do you think he'd wish to court her?" Her tone didn't suggest any shock or outrage, but simple curiosity.
He had to bite the inside of his cheek or else risk a very audible outburst of laughter. When he managed to control himself enough to speak without giving away his very obvious amusement, he replied to the princess, "You should probably ask him later."
She gave him an ever so slight nod and then glanced at Link, who was as still as stone and focused on the stage before them. Laruto simply gave Link a worried glance, but upon catching Zelda's glance, smiled kindly at the girl. Zelda then sat back in her own seat in thought. She supposed Link had been acting a bit odd lately, right after she had suggested for him to talk to the Zora girl. Had something happened as a result of that talk?
For a moment, Zelda remembered one of the noble girls she was acquainted with on the Pride, Mina. Mina had always been talking about who was with such and such and Zelda, finding it a bore since she never gave a thought to courting and was pretty unfamiliar with the people she had spoken of. But now that Zelda actually knew the parties involved, she was immensely curious to know what exactly had happened between the Zora girl and Link. Why exactly, she couldn't say, but she just did.
But there wasn't really much time to think on it, as the stage lights began to intensify on the stage.
The play was exactly the story that Laruto and Medli had told them right before volunteering Link and Zelda for the play regarding the Hero of Time, but it was something to see it performed. Half of the cast was Zora, while the other half were Rito dressed as Zora. It wasn't really a true drama of a play; it was very traditionally in the way it was performed – eloquent speech, flashy movements – it was almost like a dance the way the cast moved about the stage. And when the play reached the point where Valoo would give his first scale to the first Zora to turn Rito, the great dragon atop of Dragonroost let out an earthshaking roar. The audience, not expecting this, burst out into a miniature applause. Link, Zelda, and Itaav certainly hadn't expected it, and while Zelda cheered and clapped with the rest of the audience, Link and Itaav looked at each other in confusion. Because the cast sure didn't seem to expect the roar either. Medli and Komali, still in the Zora coverings, had huddled with their Zora castmates and were quickly and quietly speaking of something.
When the dragon lifted itself from its sitting position at the mountain peak and let out another great roar, that's when it became apparent to everyone that something was not right. People rose up from their seats in alarm, trying to follow the gaze of Valoo as the dragon tracked something in the sky.
"Link, Itaav… what's happening…?" Zelda asked worriedly over the growls of the great beast.
"Vacation's over, I think…" Itaav said tersely.
"Princess…"
The sound of the voice made Zelda freeze before shuddering in disgust. She'd honestly hoped she would never ever have to hear Cole's voice ever again. Knowing that the foul little demon was intent on murdering her in order to resurrect an even fouler demon only made the menace in his address of her all the more frightening. But she caught sight of both Itaav and Link edging closer to her, looking around furtively on her behalf. How could she be so scared when they were being so strong? It was enough to make her stand up straighter and taller.
"Princess, you wretched little brat; I know you're on this island – so make it easier for yourself and come out before I raze the entire thing!" Cole's voice reverberated throughout the whole island, sending shudders up the spines of all of Dragonroost's denizens.
"He's bluffing," Itaav quickly whispered to Link and Zelda. "There's no way he can do that if he's been tracking us since we left the Pride; there's way too much water and he hasn't been hitching rides." The last was only a guess; he really didn't want to think of their chances if Cole hadn't been expending all of his energy trying to find them.
"I'll give you till the count of – AAAAAAUGH!"
Apparently, Valoo had found the demon. The moment the dragon pounced from his perch and snapped his jaws, Cole's scream was audible to all on the island. The demon's scream of pain was so blood curdling that everyone around the trio seemed to be sent in a flurry of panic. Screams erupted from every corner of the island; for every Rito that took flight in fear or every Zora that dove into the waters to escape, even more were running for their lives.
The trio of Hylians managed to stay together, even though they were being pushed and near trampled by the panicking masses. Zelda managed to clamp her hands to Itaav's and Link's hands, ensuring they wouldn't be easily separated. But even together, none of them had any idea what to do or nor any time or space to discuss it.
Then Link yanked them away. Confused, both Itaav and Zelda looked to Link to try and figure out where the Scaler was leading them. They couldn't make out much except that they were going against the traffic of panicking people. However, it seemed like Link was being pulled along himself; but by whom the princess and the Engineer couldn't tell. Briefly, Zelda looked up as she was pulled along. She could Valoo spewing flames at a small shape that was flitting around, throwing balls of magic in a shade of sickening green at Dragonroost's namesake.
Zelda looked forward again, noting that less people were bumping into them and the crowds were dying. She could now see that it was Laruto leading Link along. Where the Zora was leading them, though, she couldn't say. All she could really make out was that they were going up… which didn't really seem like a good idea to her given that going up meant getting closer to the battle between Valoo and Cole.
"Ah shit," she heard Itaav behind her.
She glanced over her shoulder, seeing that as they continued to climb stairs, a view of the ocean was available to them. With night still falling and darkening the horizon, she wouldn't have noticed at first. But there were small lights on the water and she made out the silhouette of a massive, lithe ship. The sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach only grew as a canon blast came from the ship, lightening it for the briefest of seconds to confirm the presence of the Sea Naga approaching Dragonroost.
They had reached a balcony where Laruto had come to an abrupt stop, causing Zelda to bump into Link and Itaav nearly to crash against Zelda. The Zora girl let go of Link's hand and then immediately went to the rail of the balcony, her black eyes focused on the view of the Naga that the balcony gave them. They neared the Zora girl, half focused on the water and half focused on her stern expression. But then the Zora girl's lips twitched upwards, and looking at the ocean showed them why. Slamming against the Naga and causing the massive ship to veer off its course to the island was a massive fish.
"What the hell is that?!" Itaav asked in what sounded like disgust at the sight.
"That's the Great Jabun," Laruto responded with relief in her voice; but she turned and looked at the trio, "We have to get you off the island and to the mainland. Medli is already arranging for help but-"
"Wait, wait, wait – what?" Link interrupted, trying to figure out what was going on exactly.
"Link, please, there's no time to explain – you and the princess need to leave Dragonroost as soon possible!" The Zora said quickly before looking back over the railing. But before anyone could respond to the fish girl's surprising revelation of knowing Marin's identity, she said, "When you're all safe Medli and I will find you, but in the meantime, you three need to jump!"
"What?!" Came from all three of the teenagers in varying levels of horror.
"You mean, jump over the rail there?" Link asked in horror.
Laruto rolled her eyes, "Yes! Don't worry, you'll be fine, just do it! Valoo and Jabun can only hold off this attack for so long!"
If they were about to object, the canon fire from the Naga gave them all pause. Zelda was the first one to nod, run up to the rail, and throw herself over it. A flabbergasted Link quickly followed her, jabbering madly for the girl to stop. Itaav, still incredibly hesitant at the wisdom of throwing oneself off of a ledge into watery depths that no one knew how to swim, made a face but finally relented. He glanced at Laruto, mumbling a, "We owe you one…" before grabbing the rail and jumping off of the balcony.
It was strange to think, but there was something almost exhilarating about free falling, Itaav thought. Much like walking was controlled falling, flight was basically just controlled falling in the air. It was just a stone's throw away from being different. Exhilarating as it was, though, it was utterly terrifying too because Itaav knew he couldn't pull off flight again at that very moment. He was sure that within a few seconds, he'd be belly flopping to his death. Then there was a yanking sensation on his shoulders, and he looked up to see Komali grinning down at him.
Despite the discomfort of bird talons digging into his shoulders, he really couldn't have been more relieved. He looked ahead to see the Rito he'd met on Linebeck's ship carrying Link and Zelda being carried by Medli. The only question now was where they were going. Flying by themselves was one thing, but carrying Hylian cargo was another thing.
His worries were unfounded however; the Rito had carried them for less than an hour before they closed in on what seemed to be an artificial island. It was an outcropping made of what seemed to be leftover ship parts… and all of a sudden, Linebeck's business of seling old parts seemed to make sense. Whatever this place was, the Rito and the Zora had built it themselves and hadn't advertised its whereabouts – none of the three Hylians had heard of the existence of this strange place despite having spent a week on Dragonroost. To top it off, there seemed to be a boat there as well.
The Rito gently let them go upon the platform before landing off to the side and catching their breaths. Quill, being the first to recover, wordlessly set off to the boat and began knocking on the door to the captain's cabin. The Hylians didn't see more, as Medli and Komali took charge of the situation.
"Sorry for the scare," Komali said bashfully, "And sorry that I got you all wrong too, Marin… I mean, Princess…"
"Oh, it's… it's nothing, don't worry." Zelda said, "But how did you know?"
"I always knew," Medli said matter-of-factly, "I'm the Great Valoo's attendant, after all."
And all of a sudden, Zelda remembered that night she'd found Itaav and how the dragon had seemed to be staring into her very soul.
"All right, that's great," Link said, clearly very jumpy, "But what now? Cole's back there and the Gerudo aren't far behind – we can't stay here!"
"Quill's taking care of that," Komali assured, "He's talking to the Zora in charge of that ship; he'll be able to take you to the Continent as soon as the boat's ready. And don't worry about Dragonroost – Valoo's veering the demon away and Jabun should keep the Gerudo away."
Zelda let out a breath of relief, but her brow furrowed, "But where will we go from there?"
Surprisingly, Itaav was the one with an answer for that, "I… I think I've got an idea. I know a guy in the Fire Realm; we can probably lay low with him until we figure out what we're going to do, exactly."
Link grimaced at that, though, "Oh goddesses, you're not talking about-"
"Yes, Link, I am talking about him but at the moment, it's him or wander aimlessly until a demon catches us." Itaav snapped.
Zelda looked between the two boys confusedly, hearing Link mumble under his breath something about not knowing which was worse. However, it didn't seem like she would be getting any sort of indication as to the nature of the person they were speaking of and she didn't want to push it. If they were going there, she was going to meet the fellow anyways…
"Oy, the boat's ready!" Quill called from the boat, where he stood next to what they could only presume was the captain of the ship.
Komali took turns grasping the hands of each of the Hylians, giving them a firm, "Good luck; may the wind stay strong beneath your wings."
The three Hylians made their way to the boat, but before boarding the catwalk, Medli said, "Before you make your way to the Fire Realm, I'd like for you three to wait by the Spirit Pillars – it's not far off from where the boatman will leave you, you should be able to see them."
Itaav forked an eyebrow, and with a note of suspicion in his voice, he asked, "Why?"
Medli had a look on her face that said she wanted to tell of it, but a glance towards Komali had silenced her. Whatever she may have wanted to say, she didn't want to say it in front of the prince. "Just please trust me… I don't know how long you'll have to wait, but please…. It's important." The three Hylians looked at each other, Zelda with worry, while the boys had some look of doubt on their faces. The last thing they wanted to do was stay put in a place right after a demon had reappeared in their lives. "I'm just asking you, please. You don't have to… but I really think you should. Now go, there's not much time…"
They were shooed onto the boat, made quick introductions with the laidback Zora boatman, Japas, and they set off towards the mainland. Japas, focused on navigation, wasn't much of a conversationalist. It was all as well for the three teens, who had decided to converse over whether to head straight to the Fire Realm or wait by the Spirit Pillars.
"I don't want to wait around anywhere – Cole's caught our scent again and they said it themselves, the dragon can only hold him off for so long. And then there's the Gerudo…" Itaav growled.
"How do they keep tracking us…?" Link asked, frustrated.
"It doesn't really matter, but they're finding us."
"I think… I think we should go to the Spirit Pillars." Zelda let out. The boys looked at her, their expressions showing their disagreement.
"If Cole finds us-" Itaav had begun, but the princess cut him off, "Medli hasn't done anything to show she's untrustworthy – no one on Dragonroost has."
"It's not a matter of trust, Zelda," Link said, trying to sound as gentle as he could but failing as his frustration over the whole situation was still present. He knew that it was a bad idea to stay on Dragonroost, despite the fact that they didn't have much choice in whether to stay or go. It was all catching up to him, and he was getting upset about it. "It's a matter of safety. Our first priority is keeping you safe – we don't know how long we'll have to wait at the Spirit Pillars if we do go there… If Cole found us, it'll only be a matter of time before he finds us again… And the same goes for the Gerudo too – it's been a week since we last encountered them, and they tracked us to Dragonroost!"
"I'm pretty fond of the idea of keeping my hide intact too," Itaav said, "Trustworthy or no, I'd rather keep moving; keep our trail hard to find. We might lose the Gerudo since they're seafaring, but Cole… Cole doesn't have a boat. And when he's off of the sea and had a chance to gather his strength, he'll be even more annoying than he is now."
Zelda pursed her lips, finding herself feeling rather cross towards these two boys – perhaps since the first time she'd met them. They're acting like… like Zev! It was a thought that both saddened and angered her. She missed her brother terribly… but she wasn't about to be told what to do again. "Well you two can whatever you'd like then! I'm going to wait by the Spirit Pillars and… and I don't know, but Medli asked us to wait there and that's what I'm going to do, at least!" She snapped.
Link flinched at her words, conflicted on how to react. On the one hand, he understood where she was coming from… but he doubted how safe it was. He had to protect her, but he didn't want to stifle her either. He didn't know what to do!
Itaav, on the other hand, seemed to be less affected by Zelda's outburst. In fact, he looked at her with some sort of degree of interest. She was taking charge for once, which puzzled him a bit. Until then, she seemed so content to follow along, but right now she was set on doing what she had wanted to do. Whether it was because of a gut feeling she had or she was just being obstinate, he didn't know. But he was curious. My my… aren't you a feisty little maiden? The Thoughts in the Back of His Head echoed wistfully in his mind. And he'd forgotten that he wouldn't let the Thoughts interfere with his first thoughts, at that time. It was all too interesting and he wanted to see what would come of it. Was it bad idea or a good idea? He supposed in the grand scheme of things, he could escape if it was a bad idea, maybe even save the sorry butts of those two and rub it in their faces. "All right then, Zelda, I'll go with you on this one." He conceded.
The Scaler put on a pained face, really wishing he hadn't been outvoted… And a part of him was also incredibly upset that Itaav never listened to him… And another part was actually jealous of the way Zelda brightly smiled at the Engineer.
Everyone was just waiting for this chapter, hunh? ... I don't really have much to say about it. We have some Itaav memories going on... yeah. That's it. Oh yeah. Cole and the Gerudo caught up to. Fun times, fun times... I'm honestly surprised there weren't more explosions with the track record these three have right now.
That One Anon, I appreciate reviews of all sizes because I'm a bit of an attention whore like that. Just hearing that you enjoy reading the story makes my day! :3 As for Itaav's fate... I'm afraid anything I say would probably be a spoiler, and I don't want to give anyone ideas! I'm unfortunately a real stickler for keeping people guessing at all times and being unpredictable. Sorry!
Crackers on Crack, forgive me for not doing correct capitilaztion on your username. I'm feeling kind of lazy at the moment. D: Nonetheless... THANK YOU SO MUCH. This story is one I've put so much time and effort into, and I'm glad to hear that I'm doing a good job at it. I mean, I always say I am, but am I really? It's good to get the reassurance that I'm not being as stuck up as I think I am. Funnily enough, though, my main inspiration was actually Castle in the Sky. watched the first 3 or 4 episodes of Last Exile such a long time ago but I honestly don't remember much of it... I should finish watching it someday. D:
Swamp Dragon Princess, jeebus crisscross, even your own opinions were correct. You literally got EVERYTHING. The only thing I will say is a bit iffy is the Thoughts in the Back of His Head thing... Well, that isn't quite correct, but we'll get into that as the story progresses. YOU'LL SEE WHAT I MEAN. In the meantime, take all of the internet cookies since you were the only one who went through the time to find all traces of Vaats in the last chapter XD