Chapter 55 – Meera
At the sound of the gruff voice, Link and company whirled around to try and identify its owner. Only Nyara seemed unfazed by it.
"Wait!" she called. "Me Nyara! These are friends! Nyara come back to Meera!" There was a poignant silence from the jungle.
"Nyara?" the voice queried curiously. There was a rustling from the jungle and an incredibly large man appeared as if from nowhere. He was similar in appearance to Nyara, with the same light covering of fur over his heavily-muscled body. Unlike Nyara, however; the man wore light clothing that consisted of leather garters, manacle-like bracelets and a yellow-trimmed black leather vest-come loincloth held in place by two leather straps that crossed on his chest and went over his shoulders. The Meera walked up to the group, standing well over Impa, and looked down at them all before his eyes finally came to rest on Nyara.
"Little Nyara," he rumbled. "Who these little people you bring with you?" Impa looked slightly shocked at being called "little". Nyara went slightly red with embarrassment. The other members of her tribe really did see her as the little runt.
"These Nyara's friends!" Nyara said as fiercely as she could. "Nyara found what she looking for and came back." Ark looked at the animal girl as she stared up at the Meera before her. Nyara had never actually told them why she had so suddenly turned up in the small patch of forest all those months ago. Perhaps now that they were back where she came from, some answers would be provided. The big Meera's gaze roamed around the group once more, his expression set and rather grim.
"Well…" he growled menacingly. Nyara's ears drooped and she shuffled backwards as he advanced. "And friend of Nyara is friend of Meera Tribe!" The man's expression suddenly changed to a big, toothy smile. Nyara's ears flicked up while the others exchanged looks of relief. "Little people follow me. Come and meet Meera."
The Meera village seemed to follow no kind of design, but it still remained an amazing place. Well-crafted little thatched-roof huts built into the bases of trees made up the dwellings of the Meera Tribe. It appeared upon closer inspection that a family's home consisted of both the hut and the entire tree it was built into; meaning that other rooms could be constructed in other parts of the tree and were made accessible by climbing. The canopy of foliage high above let shafts of light fall here and there, illuminating the odd stone brick and flower that lay scattered in and above the ground. In fact; it appeared the Meera village had been founded on the site of a civilization that had long since passed. Ancient, moss-covered statues and crumbling architecture scattered the area. Combined with the loosely-strung bloom-covered vines overhead and tiny fireflies that also inhabited Kokiri Forest, the Meera village had a kind of ethereal beauty and tranquility to it. There was a good deal of curiosity amongst the Meera at the sight of the strange- and short- guests that had just entered their village. It was also noted that it appeared that only the adult Meera wore clothes. The most that any of the children wore were woven leather necklaces, bracelets and anklets. The younger children skittered about the trees and ancient remnants, eyeing the travelers curiously whilst the older ones peered at them from the ground. Many of the children were the same size, if not shorter than Nyara, but the animal girl informed her friends with a whisper that they were the ones that were still younger than she was. Nyara was still the smallest for her age that there had been in her village for a number of generations.
"Nyara need go home," the Meera that had met them outside the village told her. "Nyara mother and father worry about her." Nyara nodded. The man turned to the rest of the group. "Nyara friends stay in guest tree. Meera no get many visitors this time of year, but we keep a place ready for them just in case. Follow me."
"Nyara go home to see family now," Nyara told them. "Nyara back soon. Look after Ark good."
"Will do, Nyara," Talen assured her. The animal girl gave one last fleeting glimpse at Ark before scurrying off home down one of the moss-covered, paved pathways that ran erratically through the village. As they followed the big Meera- whose name was incidentally Ooroo- Ark summoned up the courage to ask the imposing man a question.
"Erm…excuse me…" he said quietly. Ooroo blinked and looked about before his eyes zipped down to Ark. To Ooroo, Ark must have been the equivalent of a toddler. "Is…is Miss Nyara not liked here?" Ooroo burst out laughing.
"Little pointy-hair boy say funny things!" he chortled. "Nyara may be runt, but that not mean Nyara is treated bad. Nyara was very tiny and very weak when born and almost not survive. Nyara strong on inside, but not on outside…so her parents stop her from doing many things that could be dangerous to Nyara."
"Oh, I see," Ark frowned. "But…Miss Nyara is strong! She was a Bloodcat, we all saw her!" Ooroo blinked at the boy before he burst out laughing.
"Haha! Nyara no can be Bloodcat! Only Meera deemed worthy by ghosts of Meera warriors past can become Bloodcat! It nice thought, but Nyara simply too small and weak." He shook his head, still grinning in amusement before he stopped at the base of a large tree. "Here is tree where you stay. You welcome to explore Meera village when settled in." And with that, Ooroo headed back to the outskirts of the village to keep watch.
"Well now," Impa said, turning her attention to their lodgings. "We seem to have plenty of space…I hope you're good at climbing."
While there was sufficient space for at least three people in the cozy little hut built into the base of the large tree, the rest of the group were forced to occupy the various little rooms built into the branches like treehouses. Saria and especially Link appeared quite pleased with their lodgings; the prospect of sleeping in a tree reminding them of home.
"All right," Impa said. "Zelda and I will take the bottom and there's room for one more if anybody wants to stay there too." Saria put her hand up for that.
"I dibs the top one!" Link called ahead of Talen. The smith clicked his fingers.
"Damn…wait! First one there gets it!" he said quickly, taking off up the tree. Link shook his head as Talen scrambled up the tree.
"Tut, tut, Talen," Link sighed. "You know better than to challenge me to a tree-climbing race." The Key straps coiled like springs and Link launched himself up into the tree whereupon he began bounding from branch to branch, hoisting himself ever upwards and overtaking Talen without any difficulty. He arrived at the entrance to the small room nestled high in the tree and threw his pack inside.
"You lose, Talen," he grinned.
"Cheater," Talen grumbled. The smith was resigned to occupying the next room down, at which point Fura immediately began an attempt at wheedling it away from him. Talen would not be swayed.
"Is there room for two up there?" the Gerudo called up at Link. The blonde boy stuck his head out of his room and looked down at her.
"Nope!" he called back.
"You don't have to sound so pleased about it," Fura grumbled indignantly. "Oh well, at least I'm not stuck down the bottom like Zelda." The Hylian Princess made an indelicate little sound at the Gerudo before gazing up at the canopy high above their tree.
"This place is certainly breathtaking," she said. "Just look at all the old bits of stone everywhere. This must have once been some kind of city."
"It reminds me of home," Saria smiled contentedly, watching as a small cluster of fireflies zigzagged overhead. Chat jingled in agreement.
"If you discount all the old statues lying around," Link said, dropping out of the tree and landing next to her. "But I'll have to agree with both you and Zelda; this place is fantastic. Lots of trees to climb and things to explore." The young Hylian boy looked up the tree a short way to find Ark standing in the entrance to his room after putting his pack inside. "Hey Ark! Want to go and explore?"
"I'd like to, but I should probably wait here for Miss Nyara. She may get concerned if she comes back and I'm not here," Ark frowned, climbing out of the tree.
"Fair enough," Link shrugged. He turned his attention to his smith friend. "Talen?"
"Coming," he replied, climbing down from his room. "I'd like to take a look at all the old statues and buildings and things. They look very interesting." Florella rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"You boys would prefer to poke around some crumbly old bits of rock rather than spend some time with us while we get acquainted with this place?" the fairy asked incredulously.
"You took the words right out of my mouth, Florella," Link nodded. "We'll be back later." And with that the two boys darted off through the village towards a cluster of crumbling buildings in the distance.
"Toads," Florella grumbled as her antennae twitched irritably. "Oh well, let's just hope the pair of them don't get completely filthy."
It was dark when Link and Talen returned to the others and in the time that they had been gone, the Meera village had truly become an amazing sight. Stars shone through the gaps of the forest canopy whilst the fireflies fitted about high above like small lanterns. A large fire-pit on the center of the village had also been lit, casting its flickering light in all directions and creating a myriad of shadows dancing through the trees.
"Well finally!" Zelda sighed as the two boys returned. "We were beginning to think you weren't coming back at all. It's dark and dinner's ready."
"Sorry," Link said, scratching the back of his head.
"Just go eat," the Princess tutted, ushering them both inside. The interior of the little hut was very cozy, with a table and chairs in the center of the room, an area for cooking and three beds against the back wall. The rest of the party was sitting around the table when Talen, Link and Zelda came in. Nyara was also there, having returned from seeing her parents.
"Oh, hello Nyara," Talen greeted the Meera. "How is your family?"
"They happy to see Nyara again," she chirped, seemingly in higher spirits than before. "But little bit grumpy because Nyara make them worry lots." She shrugged and turned her attention back to her dinner, which she ate wholeheartedly. Talen was about to ask her why she wasn't eating with her family, but he then noticed Ark sitting next to her staring at his heaped plate rather pathetically. Despite being back home, Ark was still at the top of Nyara's priorities list. The animal girl suddenly seemed to remember something and, rather sheepishly, brought her head up from her meal and looked at Talen.
"Ah…Talen might get a visit from Nyara's big brother tomorrow," she told him apologetically.
"Your brother? What would he want to see me for?" the smith asked curiously.
"Well…" Nyara winced, rubbing the back of her neck. "Brother say that Nyara shouldn't have left because she so small. Nyara tell brother that she still strong even though she small…then Nyara tell brother that Talen small too, but also stronger than brother." The Meera girl sighed. "Brother boast lots about strength; say he strongest in village for his age. He now want to show everybody he stronger than Talen." Talen blinked as the others looked at him for a reaction.
"Oh," he said. "Err…how exactly?"
"Fight," Nyara said in a small voice. Talen began coughing and Florella gave a start, spitting out her current mouthful of food.
"What!?" the fairy demanded. "A fight!?"
"Not big fight!" Nyara said quickly. "Just little one to prove strength."
"But…I don't know if I feel right about fighting your brother, Nyara," Talen frowned. Nyara slapped her palms down on the table.
"Talen has to do it! Big brother need to be put in his place!" she exclaimed. "Talen show him that size not matter!"
The forest was quiet as the Meera village slept soundly under the dull glow of the fireflies. The odd chirp of a cricket and cry of a bird the only sounds piercing the night. Ark lay sprawled on his stomach in his room suspended above the floor of the forest. The bed he lay in was something akin to a nest; round and made of flexible woven cane with a circular mattress filled with seed husks. It was perhaps the most comfortable thing Ark had ever slept on, that is; with the exception of one thing- Nyara's belly. Or, more accurately; Nyaragon's belly. However; whether it was Nyara or Nyaragon, Ark had grown so accustomed to having her nearby when he slept that it felt quite wrong to not have her around. With a frustrated sigh, Ark rolled onto his back and gazed out a small, round window that looked up at the canopy above. He didn't seem to have much trouble sleeping when he was trapped in Zeel's manor, so why here in the Meera village? Perhaps it was the knowledge that Nyara was nearby, but not with him that was causing his restlessness.
"But she needs to be home with her family," Ark reasoned with himself. "She hasn't seen them for so long." The Meera girl had been worried about leaving him in his room alone- especially since he no longer had his staff to channel the vast amounts of electricity he could generate. Without it, he could barely control his power and wouldn't be much good in defending himself should Zeel or somebody else appear to do him harm. He glanced over at the door, which was essentially a material curtain much like the doors to the houses in Kokiri Forest where he had first met Link and Saria. With another sigh, Ark reached over to a small table next to his bed and picked up the Compass as it sat glowing softly next to the luminescent sphere that Zeel had given him. It was strange, he thought, that he still had it. He peered at it only to find it still pointing in the same direction it had been pointing in five minutes ago, and the five minutes before that.
"Ugh, I have to get to sleep," Ark groaned. He inhaled deeply and tried to relax by counting sheep and focusing on how comfortable the mattress was. Unfortunately, all he could think about was how it didn't rise and fall slowly and methodically, how it didn't grumble every now and then and how it didn't drum with a soft heartbeat. "Oh, this is hopeless. Why can't I sleep without Miss Nya-" His quiet murmurings were cut short by a rustling noise outside his door. He sat up with a start and looked at the piece of cloth warily, his hand creeping towards a dagger Impa had given him should the need arise to protect himself before the others arrived to fend of a possible attacker. The door suddenly flapped inwards and Nyara bounded in
"M-Miss Nyara!" Ark squeaked. He exhaled heavily in relief. "You startled me."
"Sorry," she said, flicking her tail. "Ark no can sleep?" Ark paused for a few moments.
"Well…no, I can't," he admitted. "But what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be sleeping yourself?"
"Nyara no sleep either," she frowned. "Nyara restless when Ark not around." Ark blinked and stared at her. "If Ark no sleep and Nyara no sleep, then Nyara have idea!" She seemed quite excited.
"Wh-what is it?" he asked.
"Nyara have secret spot that only Nyara know about. Ark come with Nyara to see it!" she urged him. Ark looked dubious.
"I don't know," he winced. "It's late and-" He saw Nyara's expression" she obviously didn't care how late it was. "Well all right. Just let me get some more clothing on."
"Not far now, Ark!" Nyara told the boy as she dragged him along by his wrist. They had been running through the forest for a short while, clearing the village and making their way through the long-forgotten ruins of the ancient city. Together they scrambled over vast roots, made their way through thick patches of ferns and squeezed through narrow gaps between strangler-vines. Ark was almost out of breath when Nyara suddenly ground to a halt, almost causing him to run into her back.
"Through here," she told him, crouching down and crawling through a hollow log half-concealed by the roots of a bigger tree that had entangled it. Ark dubiously crawled through after her, making sure to keep his eyes firmly directed at the wood beneath him and not at Nyara's wiggling posterior. However; because of his determination to keep his attention beneath him, he didn't notice Nyara stop at the exit of the log tunnel, and he headbutted her rump. Nyara gave a squeak and leaped out of the log while Ark jerked back and immediately began babbling apologies. Nyara laughed at him and gestured for the boy to come out.
"Silly Ark not look where he going," she giggled. "Ark hair all tickly like feathers."
"Sorry," he murmured, blushing furiously and patting his hair down. It sprung straight back up again.
"We almost there, Ark. Look," Nyara told him, pointing ahead. The pair of them stood on a grassy path that traveled along the wall of a narrow ravine. Small overhangs crowded with leafy plants, creepers and flowers jutted out randomly from the ravine walls above and below them. The sound of water lapping gently below told Ark that they were probably near the river Nyara had told him about. The Meera girl took hold of Ark's wrist again and led him carefully along the downward-sloping path, keeping close to the wall because of Ark's fear of water. Then, suddenly, they reached their destination.
"Here, Ark! This Nyara's secret place," she told him proudly. "Ark first person Nyara show this to." The anima; girl looked slightly bashful. "Because Ark is Nyara's favorite person in the whole world." Ark looked about in wonder. Nyara had brought him to a secluded, grassy spot on the bank of a small lake. Two moss and vine-covered pillars framed the entrance to the area while tall, elegant trees with slender, wispy branches ringed the lake and intertwined overhead to create a leafy ceiling broken only in a few places, allowing the moon's glow to ghost through in shafts of near-tangible light. But perhaps the most breathtaking sight to behold was the multitude of firefly-like balls of light wafting around the surface of the crystal-clear water. They were fairies; dozens and dozens of fairies that drifted about in colours ranging from yellowish-white like Navi, to soft blue and green. Adding to that, each fairy produced a quiet tinkling noise like that of a plucked harp string, creating something of an eerily beautiful song.
"Miss Nyara…" Ark gaped. "This place…it's unlike anything I've ever seen!" Nyara beamed and hopped up onto a low-hanging branch covered in thick, carpet-like moss.
"Nyara find it long time ago," she told him. "Nyara ran away when brother was being mean about Nyara's size. Nyara hear fairies' music and follow to this place. Nyara like to listen to fairy music." The Meera girl walked to the end of the branch and dove off into the lake, breaking the surface with nary a splash. Ark crouched down at the edge of the lake peered into the depths at Nyara, who slid gracefully through the water coated in tiny silver bubbles. He stared at her in wonder, not even noticing that she was heading towards him until the last second. She popped her head out of the water with a big breath of air, startling Ark so that he fell back onto his backside. Nyara blinked at him with her big, yellow eyes that reflected the moonlight in the dark.
"Ark come in too," she told him. Ark looked surprised.
"Me? I-in there?" he asked dubiously. "Erm…maybe another time, Miss Nyara. I'd rather just watch you." The Meera girl looked disappointed, but resigned herself to the conclusion that Ark was still very much afraid of the water, even though she would be there to help him.
"All right," she smiled. She then lifted a hand out of the water and jabbed a finger at him. "But Ark no back out when it time for Nyara to teach him to swim. Ark made promise." Ark smiled weakly.
"I know," he told her, once again going to the edge of the lake to marvel at her silver form cutting through the crystal-clear water. "I shall keep it."
"Link! Link, wake up!" The cry succeeded in rousing Link from his slumber and he leaped up with a start.
"Huh? What? Where?" he grunted, spinning about confusedly. The fog of sleep quickly lifted from his brain and he found himself looked at a very excited Fura and Zelda as they stood in the entrance to his room. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," Zelda told him.
"There's just something utterly fantastic that you need to see!" Fura continued. "It's this amazing bath the Meera have! We have to go there!" Link's jaw hung open slightly and he sat down heavily on his mattress.
"You climbed all the way up here and woke me up for that?" he asked incredulously. "Ugh, go have your bath. I wanna sleep." He flopped determinedly onto his side and rolled away from them. Fura and Zelda's expressions grew slightly miffed.
"Link! The last time you had a proper bath was at Aurora!" Zelda told him crisply. "Since then you've only dunked yourself in seawater and had a short scrub with the soap. You need a bath- a long one at that." Link made a rather indelicate grunt.
"Lemme sleep some more," he mumbled. "You go have your bath first."
"No, the whole lot of us are going together," Fura told him archly. "It's a great big hot spring."
"What? I'm not having a bath with you," Link scoffed. "I like privacy."
"Listen, you're going, and you're going now," Fura told him sternly. The two girls grabbed the metal rings of the Key and tugged on them. Link's eyes opened irritably.
Several seconds later, Florella emerged from her room to find Fura and Zelda hanging upside-down with the Key straps wound around them like bandages, covering their mouths to stifle their cries of indignity. Florella blinked and craned her neck to see the straps coming out of Link's room.
"Oh dear," she sighed as Fura and Zelda's muffled cries became louder upon seeing the fairy. Florella fluttered her wings and zipped up to Talen's room before knocking politely on the wall. He stuck his head out, having obviously just finished readying himself for the day.
"Oh, good morning Florella," he greeted her. "What can I do for you?"
"Talen, dear," she said in her most appealing tone. "Link seems to be having a little bit of trouble co-operating today…can you be a darling and help out?"
"Backstabber," Link murmured to Talen as the group walked through the village towards the springs with Nyara leading the way. The smith looked at Link apologetically.
"Stop talking, prisoner!" Fura barked, rapping him across the back of the head with her thick golden bracelet. Link turned and gave her a flat look. The Gerudo giggled. "Sorry, got carried away."
"Bath have two parts," Nyara was telling Saria after the Kokiri girl asked her about the springs. "First part is best of all!" The Kokiri girl was about to ask why when the suddenly arrived at the entrance to the springs. They stood near the edge of the village where the ground dropped sharply away on the other side of a massive, gnarled root that was in the shape of an arch. Carved into where the keystone on a regular stone arch would be were the words "Mud-Bath and Springs". They stared at the sign for a while.
"Mud-bath?" Saria coughed. "We're going to wallow in mud like Link- I mean pigs." Link pretended to laugh as hard as he could until the Kokiri girl turned her head towards him.
"It special mud!" Nyara insisted. "Good for skin! Follow Nyara!" The animal girl ran off down some stone steps to the changing area, which was something of a flat paved semicircle cut into the side of the hill.
"Erm…" Ark frowned, looking about. "This doesn't appear to differentiate too well between men and women." Modesty, it seemed, wasn't too much of a big thing with the Meera; the adults only wearing clothing as a sign of age rather than to cover themselves up. Luckily, Link and company were the only ones using the baths.
"I'll take care of that," Link said. "Talen, Ark…stand on this side and the rest of you stand there." The Key straps began to weave together, creating a wall of sorts between the boys and the girls. Talen, Ark and Link stripped down to their underclothes and bound their waists with towels in the wink of an eye, the girls, however; took considerably longer.
"Aren't you done yet?" Link asked.
"Hold your horses!" Zelda told him from the other side of the wall. "We have more to cover up than you do." Link tapped his foot impatiently whilst Talen and Ark folded their clothes.
"This actually takes a fair bit of effort, you know," Link sighed. "The longer I make the straps, the more energy I have to put into it."
"Ugh, all right! Jeez!" Fura exclaimed, sticking her hand between the wall bindings to make a hole she could look through. "We're done, mister complainy-pants."
"Finally," Link mumbled. They straps reeled in rapidly, stopping at their default length. The girls had their towels tied under their arms, but wore Gerudo-like tube-tops underneath should anything come undone. As usual, Nyara wore nothing.
"This way! This way!" she bubbled excitedly. "This best part!" The Meera skipped up to the edge of the changing platform and threw herself off with a gleeful yowl. The others dashed up after her and saw Nyara sliding down a muddy slope, off an overhang and into a bubbling pool of thick, grey mud below. She disappeared below the surface with a loud "splop" noise, emerging a few seconds later covered heat to toe in grey ooze.
"Ooh! I don't think I'd mind going in that one," Link said, peering down the mudslide.
"What!? You're kidding!" Saria exclaimed. "Sorry, but I'm heading straight into the spring."
"I'm with Saria," Florella shuddered, watching as Nyara wallowed in the mud and waved madly for them to head down. Nobody, bar Talen, Impa and Ark, noticed Link move into position behind the girls as they looked down at the bubbling pool of mud. With a small amount of flair, he coiled his second towel into a whip which he held stretched between his hands. Then, without any hint of mercy, he flicked Saria, Florella, Fura and Zelda on their backsides one by one. They each gave a cry of surprise and jumped reflexively away from him. Unfortunately, it sent them sliding off down the mudslide with shrill squeals of terror before they were silenced by the thick mud at the bottom. Their four heads popped up one by one before they looked at their mud-covered selves, and then up at Link as he broke out in helpless laughter. Talen and Ark fought hard to conceal their amusement as well.
"What's it like in there?" Link called down at them.
"Augh! Damn you!" Florella shrieked back up the mudslide as thick gobs of mud fell from her plastered hair.
"Link! You'll pay for this!" Fura growled.
"Oh come on! Can't you take a joke?" he laughed.
"No!" came their unanimous reply. Link flinched.
"Jeez. Well I'm not going in there now," he frowned. "Let's head over to the spri-iiiahh!" As Link stood at the edge of the mudslide, Impa calmly walked up behind him and placed her finger between his shoulder blades and jabbed it forwards, throwing him off balance.
"Oh dear," Ark winced.
"Augh! Impa! How could you!?" Link wailed, toppling over and landing face-first on the muddy slope. He rushed down head-on to muddy pool below, flying off the overhang and disappearing into the grey muck. The not-so-blonde boy popped up from the mud and shook his head.
"Ick," he muttered, wrinkling his nose up. "Oh well, it's actually quite nice in here." The mud was nice and warm and felt surprisingly good to loll around in.
"Is it?" came a frosty voice over his shoulder. Link flinched and turned around to see Fura and Zelda flanked by Saria and Florella. They seemed rather pleased with his sudden appearance.
"Oh raspberries," Link sighed before he was dragged under the mud.
Talen was next to arrive in the mud-bath, creating a wave of the grey muck as he landed that swept Florella under. Ark came down next, but a last minute panic made him dig his hands and feet into the slide, grinding him to a halt just before he sailed off the overhang and into the mud. He looked dubiously down into the pool while Nyara and the others tried to coax him in. It was Impa, however; that ended up getting Ark into the mud. She came sliding down behind him, grabbed the boy by the waist and sent them both rushing into the mud-bath. Ark popped up with a loud gasp and Impa patted him on the head with a muddy hand.
"There now, it's not so bad," she told him with an amused expression before sinking up to her neck. "Well now, this does feel good." Link was still trying to get the mud out of his mouth from his earlier punishment while the four previously enraged girls sat by with calm expressions.
"Doesn't taste too good," Link muttered. Fura draped an arm around his neck and grinned at him.
"Want me to help wash your mouth out?" she asked.
"No," Link said flatly.
"Aww, come on," she pouted. "I know a sure-fire way of getting rid of it."
"We're covered in mud, Fura," Link sighed. "I'd just get even more of it in my mouth with your "sure-fire" way." Fura shrugged.
"Oh well, there's always the spring afterwards," she told him, clapping her hand on his back with a sticky slap.
