AN: Oh, was it Saturday yesterday? Ahahahaha! *uncomfortable laughter*
Kreinreign: I think you left me a review and it got deleted or something, but anyway I got an email that contained part of it. It was so long and detailed, thank you ;.; I didn't you you could tell the four Link's personalities from the game?! Regardless, I love the game and I own the manga. And I think you're right about the chapter's need for a main point. That's something I can definitely work on! I tried to make it easier to tell who's speaking in this chapter, too. There're still spots where it could use a lot more work, but for a more active chapter written in one week, I think it's an improvement xD
Guestie: AAAH! Yes, thank you for the feedback! I was thinking there weren't enough female characters, it's good to know my readers are catching up on that, too. Who's your favorite female Zelda character?
grlfn: OMG I UPDATE ALMOST EVERY SATURDAY THERE IS NO NEED FOR THREATS OMG xD
Thank you for the reviews, and reading/faving/following etc. :3
"No! No, don't! He's my friend!"
"Enough of this! It's an ANIMAL! Not a HUMAN BEING! Learn the difference!"
"Daddy, daddy NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Shadow woke in a sweat. He sat up quickly, heart racing—it hurt so badly it was hard to breathe! Not recognizing where he was, his heart raced even faster and he leapt off whatever he was laying on, taking blankets and sheets with him.
It was only when he untangled himself that he remembered he was at Sheik's. He calmed down and sat with his back against the couch. He brought his hands up to his face. The gloves were well worn and frayed at the ends, but he couldn't bring himself to take them off. His hands, his heart . . . Why is it always me? He covered his face. What a nightmare. It was all because Mrs. Harkinian brought up the subject. He hadn't had a nightmare about it in months!
There came hurried footsteps, and a disheveled Mrs. Harkinian appeared at the doorway. "Shadow?! I heard you screaming, are you alright?"
Shadow looked up. Was I screaming in my sleep? He couldn't muster a smile, so he just shrugged. "Just a nightmare."
Mrs. Harkinian looked concerned. "Oh. I'm sorry. Do you want to talk about it?"
Shadow let his silence answer. Talking took effort.
"Well, it's almost two o'clock in the afternoon, well past brunch. Would you like hot chocolate?"
A little luster returned to his face. "Yes, please?"
Mrs. Harkinian smiled. "I'll be right back!"
SSS
"Maaaaaaaaaaaan!" Shadow exclaimed, stretching his arms over his head as he and his friends strolled down the snow-covered lane. "We all played hooky today."
Sheik was busy burying his face in his hands. "I'm completely mortified! I've already missed a ton of school." His head bounced up. "What about my grades? What about Hylia Academy?! What about the Kaepora Gaebora scholarship?" He sobbed. "I'm doooomed . . ."
Link was snacking on a home baked roll and using even fewer words than normal. "Grmph." On his next bite, he accidentally caught a bit of his fingerless mitten, which he promptly spat out with all the treasured bread. "Rrrrrgh."
Splat! Shadow fell backwards, face stinging from the ice cold snowball that had just collided with his face.
Link laughed so hard he choked on the rest of his roll. Sheik slapped him hard on the back to dislodge it. Link watched the sad bread crumb fall to the ground despondently.
"WHO THREW THAT?" Shadow threw a fist in the air.
A silver-haired boy in tight red jeans and a purple poncho coat walked out from behind a bush. One red eye was clouded, the other clear. "Hey, Shay-shay!"
Shadow's jaw dropped, and he hurried to his feet and sprinted at the boy. "VAATI!"
The two collided and fell into a snowdrift.
"WHERE'VE YOU BEEN?!" Shadow yelled, unable to keep the franticness out of his voice. He felt Vaati laugh into his shoulder as they embraced.
"Gerroff!" Vaati snorted even more in laughter and pushed Shadow away. "Gosh, if I knew you'd miss me this much, I never would have left!"
Shadow punched his arm. "Don't say that! Of course I missed you!"
"Aaww!"
"SHUT UP! You didn't call, you didn't reply to my emails or texts or messages or ANYTHING. You dropped off the face of the earth! I was seriously worried about you, V!" Shadow stood up and offered Vaati a hand.
Vaati took it and got up himself. "Well, I'm here now. How's your heart?"
"Terrible, thanks to you!" Shadow grabbed Vaati's arms. "Are you back? Are you back for good, Vaati? You keep appearing and disappearing . . ."
"Hey, Vaati!" Sheik exclaimed. "How's it going?"
Link followed behind. "Hrmph."
Vaati grinned. "No time for that now! Come on! There's a battle going on!" Vaati pulled away from Shadow's grip and ran off.
"A battle?" Shadow and Sheik repeated.
"Eeeeh?" Link wondered.
They ran after him across a street and into a large park. Several snow forts had been built in one area, and colorful winter clothes hid behind each of them. The people wearing the clothes were yelling insults at the others behind the other forts.
Sheik grinned. "Oh my gosh, it IS a battle!"
Groose appeared from behind the far fort, making some kind of meaningless battle cry that sounded like an irritated walrus. A small catapult behind him flashed and unleashed twenty snowballs, which fell intermittently around the entire area.
Link, having the best instincts of the three, dashed behind the nearest fort.
"Hi, Link!"
Link glanced at who else was behind the fort. "Skull Kid?!"
Skull kid, who was holding an umbrella to block Groose's attack, cackled. Behind him, the triplets from the skate park readied a pile of their own snowballs.
"Where's Saria?" Link asked. The other four glowered and glanced over to the fort with the Twili flag.
Link spotted a green head just barely peeking over the top of the fort. "SARIA!" He yelled, feeling utterly betrayed.
Saria shrugged. "What can I say? She offered me make up lessons!"
Nabooru popped up right then, waggling her fingers on either side of her head and blowing an impressive raspberry.
Link gasped. "How DARE you corrupt our perfect little Saria! CHILD ABDUCTOR!"
"As if a man would know what to do with a child!"
An orange head appeared then. "Ooooh, BURRRRRRN!" It was Midna. She waved a tiny green hand. "Hey! Sheik! Come join us!"
Sheik pointed at himself. "Me? But . . ."
"Honorary member of the female race! NOW MOVE YOUR BUTT! We gotta kick these boys' trash!"
Link fell over the top of his fort from his exuberance. "SHEIK! DON'T FALL FOR IT! THEY'RE FEMININE LIIIIIIES!"
Nabooru cupped a hand around her mouth and shouted, "YOU CAN BE THE GERUDO KIIIIIIIIING!"
All signs of indecision left Sheik immediately, and a devilish grin crossed his face.
"Sheik, noooooo!"
Sheik shrugged at Link. "What can I say? Sisters before misters!" and he ran across the park to join the other girls. The first thing he did when he got there was hug Nabooru. "I miss you!"
Nabooru looked a bit grumpy, but she replied, "I miss you, too. Friends for now?"
Sheik waggled his eyebrows. "Only if you call me Your Majesty."
Nabooru snortled and pushed Sheik's face into the snow. A green-haired girl giggled and brushed Sheik off when he sat up again. "What's your name?" Sheik asked.
"I'm Saria! I'm a Kokiri."
"No kidding?! That's so neat!"
Midna called from the top of the fort, "Gear up for phase two, minorities!"
"But what about me?" A tiny, adorable voice asked. "I'm not a minority!"
Sheik questioningly bent backward to see beyond Nabooru. A young man in a red tunic and big, innocent blue eyes was barely visible amid the arsenal of snowballs. "Why is HE here?" Sheik whispered to Nabooru, who blushed and replied, "Cuz he's adorable."
"Red," Midna replied, "you gotta represent all the orphans out there! Which means me, and also," she winked in a flirty way, "you're shorter than me. That makes you special."
Red absolutely beamed. "You're right!" Faster than Sheik thought was humanly possible, Red began making more snowballs.
Red? Didn't Vio say he knew a Red?
On the other side of the field, Shadow was busy looking for where Vaati went. He walked through the warzone, avoiding every snowball expertly like someone who had played this game their entire life (he had). As he got to the final fort, he heard Vaati's voice and hurried as fast as his poor heart would let him.
Vaati was whining. "Come ooooon, come play with us!"
"No," someone answered.
"PLEEEEEEEASE?"
"NO."
"Vio, come on, PLEEEEEEEEASE with a book on top?!" Vaati was tugging on the coat arm of the boy who had been studying with Sheik just yesterday.
Vaati knows Vio? Wait, Vio knows Vaati? And he knows Sheik? . . . What is going on?
Vio was extremely displeased. "I can't believe you pulled me away from my BOOK for this! There is no way I am going to participate in such a childish, useless, waste-of-time—" His gaze fell on Shadow. He gasped. Before Shadow could move, Vio had bounded over to him and grabbed his arm. "I'm on Shadow's team!" Vio exclaimed.
Shadow looked at him strangely. "Who are you?"
Vio's cheeks were red from the cold. He grinned. "My name's Vio!"
Vaati grabbed them both and pulled them behind the final fort. "Hurry up, guys, we're losing!"
"Wait," Shadow said. "Who's with Groose?"
"Blue and Green—my friends," Vio explained.
"Oh. But don't you want to be on their team?"
"No, why would I?"
"Because they're your . . . never mind. Vio, be straight with me—"
Vaati collapsed onto the ground laughing, and Vio smirked.
"—are you any good at throwing snowballs?"
"He's a god," Vaati interjected, throwing an arm around Vio's shoulders. "That's why I wanted him on OUR team!"
Their conversation was cut short by a sudden flurry of snowballs from the Minority Regime. They huddled beneath their protective wall. Vio's face was deep in thought as he cuffed a snowball into his hands, and as soon as the flurry ended, he popped above the wall and threw a fast ball.
Shadow peeked over the edge in time to see the snowball hit Midna square in the face, knocking her off her fort. "OH MY GODDESSES THAT WAS AMAZING!" He dragged Vio back behind the wall before he was grazed by Link's shot. "I'll give you all my lunch money if you can smack Sheik right in the kisser!"
Vio's ears turned red, and he pulled his scarf over the bottom half of his face. "Done."
Suddenly there was another rain of snowballs, and they huddled again. Vaati grimaced in distaste. "We need to something about that catapult!"
"Yeah, how did he even build that thing?"
"He is ALWAYS prepared!" Vaati pulled away from the wall and dumped snow onto himself. The snow clung to his flannel coat and hat like popcorn to your tongue. He grinned. "I'll be back!" He crouched low to the ground and scurried into the white snow, camouflaged.
Shadow saluted Vaati as he left. When he turned back, he found Vio staring at him, a little too closely for comfort. Shadow leaned away. "Dude, what are you doing?"
"What do we do now, Shadow?"
"How do you know my name, anyway?"
"I know all about you . . ."
"Dude, that it SERIOUSLY creepy!"
A giant snowball exploded on their wall, taking part of it to the ground. Shadow and Vio looked over to find a laughing Link retreating back to his Skater's fort, laughing. "Oh no you DON'T!" Shadow yelled. "Get his butt, Vio!"
"Yes, master." Vio delivered. The snowball smacked Link so hard his legs were launched out from under him and he back planted.
Shadow crowed in victory.
Link got himself up, holding something in his hand. He gave Vio a most disgusted look. "HEY! DID YOU PUT THIS ROCK IN THERE?"
Shadow's jaw dropped, and he looked disbelievingly at Vio.
Vio's mouth curved slightly up. "Oops."
A chorus of disapproving noises rained upon Vio, who looked like he couldn't care less.
Shadow was trying really hard to look disapproving as well. I mean, Link was his friend, and rocks in snowballs weren't nice . . . but Vio was so self satisfied, like a puppy that had unrolled all of the toilet paper all over the house. Shadow threw his head back, laughter spilling out of him thunderously.
Vio pulled his scarf over his nose and mouth again.
"O-okay!" Shadow gasped through his laughter. He put a hand on Vio's shoulder. "N-no more rocks, but . . . we've got work to do!"
They each grabbed snowballs and popped up, throwing in synchronized fashion. Shadow threw one, Vio threw one, Shadow threw one, Vio threw one, reload!
With this rapid fire approach, they soon had toppled half of the Minorities fort. The Skater's fort was mostly toppled and the members were forced to abandon it due to the fact that not all of them would fit behind it anymore.
Only Link remained, stalwart and brave. "I'll get you, Shadow! I promise you! When you're sleeping!"
"Haha! I'd love to see you try, ya deep snoozer!"
"AAAAAUGH!" The cry made everyone pause. "INTRUDER!"
Melodious laughter filled the evening air as Vaati jumped from behind Groose's fort, toppling the wall and exposing his catapult. The other forts took this opportunity to take their revenge on the Groosenator, who could only watch helplessly as he and his catapult were soon buried in a mound of thrown snow.
"ABANDON SHIP! ABANDON SHIP!" A tall, buffer guy with blond hair ran away from Groose's fort. Another blond head showed up and shook a fist at him, saying, "COWARD! COME BACK HERE BLUE AND DIE LIKE A MAN!"
Vio grinned and threw a snowball at the yeller. "Catch, Green!"
Green turned just in time to get a snowball to the face. Vio threw his fists in the air, and Shadow cheered. Vaati climbed on top of what was left of Groose's fort and planted a stick with his purple scarf on the end of it into the mound. "I HEREBY CLAIM THIS PROPERTY FOR THE LORD OF WINDS!"
"WOO, LORD VAATI!" Shadow yelled.
"Hooray, Lord Vaati!" Vio yelled.
"Not so fast, ya skinny eggplant!" Sheik and his team appeared over their dilapidated fort and threw a powerful volley of snowballs at Vaati. The Lord of Winds barely had enough time to duck before the snowballs arced over his head.
"Quick, Vio! Rescue mission!" Shadow and Vio got into a furious snowball fight with the Minorities fort, trying to keep them distracted so Vaati could race back home.
He arrived with theatrical tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry, guys, I had to abandon the palace!"
Vio threw another snowball. "Who needs a palace?!"
Suddenly a pile of snow fell onto their heads from above. They dug themselves out and looked up to find Saria in the tree above them, having shaken the large branch she sat on so it would drop buckets of snow onto the guys down below. She giggled. Vaati, Vio, and Shadow readied their weapons, but Saria put her nose in the air.
"Nnnnnope! Can't throw when I'm in a tree. I might fall down and hurt myself."
Vaati and Shadow both froze, their snowballs falling to the ground.
Vio harumphed. "Then the snow will break your fall!" He pulled his arm back, ready to throw.
Shadow grabbed him before he could. "Hold on, dude, she's just a kid!"
Lowering his arm, Vio looked at Shadow with confusion.
Shadow grinned reassuringly. "Let's hit the core of the operation." He pointed at Midna. "The queen!"
Midna, Sheik, Nabooru, and Red glared happily at them from behind their fort.
"Red!" Vio yelled. "Betray your friends and come over here!"
Red gasped tearfully. "But that's so MEEEEEEEAN!" A snowball hit him right in the face, courtesy of Vaati. Vio gave him a high five.
The three huddled behind their fort again. "Okay," Shadow began, "Here's the plan . . ."
Sheik was having the time of his life. He couldn't remember having this much fun. He also had Nabooru back as a friend, maybe. He waited for Shadow's team's next flurry, then counted. Vio was very logical, and whether they knew it or not, the boys paused for the same amount of time between flurries to reload. Right before Sheik knew they'd be throwing, he rose up and threw first.
Shadow popped up in time for Sheik's snowball to hit him in the chest, causing him to lose grip on all of his snowballs.
"NOW!" Nabooru cried, and their entire team popped up and threw their remaining snowballs at Shadow and Vio, whose fort began to crumble to nothing. They screamed and tried to cover themselves from the onslaught of snowballs.
Midna drew her arm back, but right before throwing, spun on her heel and threw it behind her. It made contact with Vaati, who had been sneaking up to take care of the "queen."
"HA! Trying THAT with the Princess of Twilight!" Midna exclaimed.
"HE'S REALLY REALLY TICKLISH!" Red revealed. Vaati shrieked, but before he could run away, Midna, Sheik, Nabs, and Red descended upon him.
"NO! STOP! I SURRENDER! AHAHAHAH!"
Nabooru stood up and threw her fists in the air. "WE WIN! VICTORY FOR WOMEN! VICTORY FOR WOMEN!"
"AND SHORT PEOPLE!" Red shouted, standing up as well.
"I AGREE WITH THAT!" Midna followed suit.
"WE SURRENDER!" Shadow cried. "JUST GIVE US BACK LORD VAATI!"
Vaati sat up. "Lord Vaati admits defeat . . . can somebody help me up?"
Sheik offered him a hand. He'd never seen Vaati up this close. All he knew about the guy is that he'd been friends with Shadow forever. Vaati had delicate, angular features, and striking eyes.
The warriors in the field all broke into happy laughter as they regrouped and joked together about the battle and how close it was.
The sun began to set, and slowly people began going home.
Sheik smiled, feeling fulfilled.
"Hey, Zelda—" Nabooru walked up to him. She flushed scarlet. "I mean . . . Sheik, right? Midna and me are gonna get sushi. You wanna come?"
Sheik felt like crying. He opened his mouth to answer yes.
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
The joy was replaced by ice. Sheik tried to stay calm.
"Tick tock, Princess . . ."
"N-no," Sheik answered. "I mean, I would, I really really would, but I have . . . so much catching up to do, missing school and all."
Nabooru and Midna sagged with disappointment. "Oh," said Nabooru. She recovered quickly and winked at Sheik. "Well, you know where to find us if you need help."
"That would be a first," Midna noted. Normally they went to Sheik for help with homework.
"Or," Nabooru continued, "you know . . . a break."
Sheik smiled. "Thanks, Nabs. I . . . I'm glad we're friends again."
"Yeah, well I don't get this whole . . ." Nabs stopped herself. She smiled shyly. "Yeah. Me, too. Hang in there, girlfriend. I mean . . ." She punched his shoulder. "You know what I mean."
Sheik chuckled. He waved at the two as they walked off, and they waved back. The cold of nighttime was beginning to set in, but Sheik felt it was more than the cold he felt. He looked around. Shadow was busy with Vaati and Vio, and Link and Skull Kid were on their way to join the conversation. Maybe . . . maybe if I get away quietly, they won't follow. Sheik slowly backed away, then turned and walked in a direction nobody saw.
Well, almost nobody.
Vio bit his lip, unable to decide which he wanted more, to stay with Shadow, or follow Sheik. It was obvious Sheik didn't want his friends around the research he was doing, but that research was so interesting, and he couldn't have both . . . after careful consideration, Vio left Shadow's side and disappeared as well.
It was just Shadow and Vaati now, standing across from one another. Link had gone in search of Sheik, but Shadow thought he remembered Nabs and Midna saying they were gonna ask him to get sushi, so he figured that's where he was. "I'm really glad I bumped into you today, V," said Shadow.
Vaati smiled, but it was a sad smile. Then the smile waned and he lowered his head.
"What's wrong?" Shadow asked.
"It's that . . ." Vaati looked up again. "I came to say goodbye."
"Goodbye?!" Shadow's eyes widened in alarm. "What do you mean?"
Pain crossed Vaati's face. "I mean . . . I wanna go home."
"You mean to your school? Good, they said you stopped going weeks ago."
"I did stop. I don't mean there home. I mean . . ."
Shadow's stomach dropped. "You mean the land of the Minish?"
Vaati looked like he was swallowing a lump in his throat. "Y-yeah."
"But V, why?!" Shadow's heart, which had been so happy just moments ago, began to hurt anew. "This doesn't sound like just a visit."
"That's cuz it's not." Vaati's usual fiery self had somehow been completely extinguished, and he suddenly looked so very small, so very cold, and covered in snow he looked almost like he wasn't there at all. "I don't know if I'm coming back."
"Vaati . . . what happened? Please tell me . . ." Shadow held onto Vaati's shoulders gently.
"N-nobody . . . gets me," Vaati began to shiver violently, and he hugged himself. "Nobody hugs, they're all so . . . so in it for themselves. And it's so blasted cold. Every year. I can't deal with it anymore!" A tear fell down his cheek. "I'm so unhappy here."
Shadow pulled him into a hug. "I hate that. I hate that you're unhappy. You're my best friend, Vaati. I'll miss you like freaking Christmas! I . . ." He hugged tighter. "Please don't go. Please hang out with me again. I'll ask Link and Granny if you can come live with us. There's not much room, but we'll work something out!"
Vaati didn't hug him back, but buried his face in Shadow's shoulder, sobbing.
"What happened to you?" Shadow asked again.
"I . . . want to go home."
It wasn't the answer Shadow wanted. "I'll let you go if you promise me one thing."
A sob-choked chuckle answered him. "Promises . . ." Vaati's voice was sorrowful, mocking. "Promises just hurt people. I don't want to be hurt. I don't want to hurt you."
A sick feeling filled Shadow's stomach. "Do it for me, V?"
". . . Okay."
"Promise you'll keep in touch? Don't shut me out again. I'm literally begging you. I swear I will hop on a plane and come FIND you if you don't. Got it?"
At first, Vaati didn't reply. Then he raised his head from Shadow's shoulder, and lightly returned the hug. He whispered in Shadow's ear, "I . . . promise." He pulled away. The look on his face made Shadow never want to let him go. He had the most horrific feeling, that this was goodbye, not just for a night, or for a little while.
It felt like a last goodbye.
A car pulled up to the curb and honked its horn. Upon closer inspection, Shadow saw it was a cab. He clutched Vaati's arms. "Vaati . . . where are you going?"
"That's my ride . . . I've already got a plane ticket. I have to go."
"You're leaving now?!"
"I know, I'm a crappy friend—"
"Don't you dare say that! Don't you DARE say that, Vaati! You're my best friend in the whole world!"
Vaati broke off. Swallowed. Continued, "I love you, Shadow." The cab honked insistently. Vaati backed away. "I have to go. I can't afford another ticket if I miss this flight."
"CALL ME," Shadow reiterated fiercely. It took every bone in his body to not jump in the cab with Vaati. Then a thought crossed his mind. "I'll call my Dad! I'll go with you!"
"You don't have a passport or the correct vaccinations." Vaati was getting further away.
"I'll pay for it! I'll pay for the next ticket. I'll make Dad do it! Just come home with me!"
"Shadow!" Vaati's voice broke. He grabbed at his hair and doubled over. "I can't do it anymore!"
That look, the utter anguish and despair. It frightened Shadow. He knew that whatever had happened to Vaati, it was really bad, and he couldn't make Vaati talk about it. Home was probably the only thing that could heal Vaati right now, though Shadow hated that thought with every passion of his being. "Call me when you get there so I know you got there safe? Doesn't matter what time it is."
Vaati stared at the snow blankly, before nodding numbly and turning away, finishing the walk to the cab. Shadow hurried after him. Vaati climbed into the cab. No luggage? Shadow wondered. On second thought, Vaati's clothes looked a bit . . . ratty, and old. That was not Vaati's style. He hated old, worn out clothing.
Is Vaati broke? Was he . . . was he homeless?! He held the door. "Have you eaten anything?"
"No," Vaati answered. "Maybe on the plane . . ."
Shadow dug through his pockets and pulled out twenty rupees. "Here. Buy some tater tots on me or something. Those are my favorite plane food!"
Whatever composure Vaati had left fell away, and tears flowed down his face, which was filled with shame. Horrifying, guilty, unadultered shame. He took the money and suddenly slammed the car door shut.
Shadow didn't have time to react before the cab drove off with his friend inside. Vaati's tear-stained face was burned into his memory. He frantically fumbled for his phone and dialed. Vaati's phone was still disconnected. Shadow felt hot tears begin to fall down his own face, blurring his vision. He couldn't help himself. He began texting, knowing the text would never be received.
"I love you, too, Vaati."
"Helloooooo, Granny?"
"Shadow!" Granny came into the entryway just as Shadow shut the front door. Her expression fell the instant she saw him. "What's the matter? Your eyes are all puffy."
Shadow rubbed them. "Just tired. And cold."
"Well, come to the kitchen, I've got some hot soup for you!"
"Mmmm!" Nothing like soup to make you feel better! . . . As better as one could be, anyway.
While he was eating, Aryll walked up to him. "Link sad," she said.
Shadow nodded. "I'm okay, Aryll. How are you?"
Aryll puffed out her chest proudly. "Good! Good job, Aryll!" She climbed onto the seat next to Shadow. "Seagull?"
"You want me to make the seagull sound?"
Aryll nodded excitedly.
"Hyak! Hyak!"
She giggled. "Seagull!"
Despite himself, Shadow grinned. "Hyak! Hyak!"
Aryll giggled so hard she almost fell off her seat. "SEAGUUUULL!"
Thirty minutes of this later, Shadow and Aryll were laying on her bed, and Shadow was reading her a bedtime story. About seagulls.
"Why do you like seagulls, Aryll?" Shadow asked.
Aryll stared into his eyes, considering the question, trying to understand it. She poked the picture in the book. "Seagull."
"Yeah. Why does Aryll like seagulls?"
"Aryll like seagulls."
Shadow chuckled. "Yes. Aryll likes seagulls."
Aryll could tell she wasn't getting it. She thought harder. Then she said, "Seagulls fly!"
"Flying? Is that why you like seagulls? Seagulls fly?"
Aryll's gazed somewhere far away. "Yes," she replied.
Shadow smiled and hugged her, putting his head on hers. "I like that seagulls can fly, too. Right now, I wish I WAS a seagull." Then he wouldn't need a passport to fly across the ocean to be with Vaati.
Aryll waved her hands in the air, saying wistfully, "Seeeeeaguuuull . . ."
