"An Act to Follow"
Disclaimer: I don't ow- aw. You know.
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Author's Note: This is it. Not quite the preverbal it,' but pretty close. This is the end of this particular story or episode, or whatever you wanna call it. I mean, a bit short to be called a novel, a little too long to call a short story.' Ah heck, whatever it was, it was dang fun to write. So, yeah. Umthere's more stuff coming, hopefully soon. I'm thinking the next story we're doing is gonna be called the All Purpose Backstory,' basically where all of these characters originally came from and how they ended up meeting. But then there's the Ocarina and Majora stories tooah heck, something's coming soon, and hopefully it'll be as fun as this one was! Until next time!
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An Act to Follow – Epilogue: All's well that ends well (sorta)
The next morning was typical for spring - a little bit on the chilly side, and rather damp. The greening grass of Termina field was quite burdened with dew, and the excess water vapor scattered little spot clouds of mist everywhere on the wide plain. Contrasted with a gray, overcast day, this meant only one thing.
"My feet are getting wet!" Link complained. "Like, it's so damp right now, it's soaking right through my boots!" He shook one foot while balancing on the other, and then inverted his posture to repeat with the other foot.
"Why are you complaining so much?" Ty said. "It's no worse then the mornings we were here last summerall those rainy daysor more appropriately, the same rainy day over and over again"
"Yeah," Tatl giggled. "And it's no worse than the swamp"
"Well, it was the summer then, at least it was warm" Link replied.
Kat and Sond rolled their eyes, following the rest of the group. After the events of the previous night, everyone had practically passed out. Unfortunately, tension also caused them to rise early again, even though it wasn't really that necessary.
"So why do we have to go out now again?" Chiron asked.
"Well," Sond started, "Aren't you the least bit curious about certain peopledon't you wanna make sure they're okay?"
"Well, yeah," Kafei took over, "But I mean, what if Kas took them really far awaythey could be all the way across Termina for all we know."
"Nah, doubt it," Ty yawned, stretching. His tail curved slightly so that it wouldn't brush the tips of the grass and get accidentally wet. "The whole dissappearing into the clouds' thing was kind of just for show."
Nick grinned. "I thin' anythin' would've impress'd em, actu'ally" The redhead mused. "Well, thin' o' places tha' a dragon cou' lan' easy wi'out problems"
"What about Romani Ranch?" Tael suggested. "That's pretty huge"
"Maybe," Kat said. "But I doubt it. If Kas landed there he might scare the cows and horsesand can you just see Romani and Cremia's reactions?"
Kafei laughed and put on a falsetto voice. "'The aliens are back! I'd better shoot it with my bow!'"
"No, Kas wouldn't like that," Ty thought. "Where else?"
"Well, Snowhead's outtoo mountain-y" Chiron said. "And Great Bay's out, the beach is too small and well, you can't land ON the ocean"
"Same thing for the Southern Swamp" Link said from the front. "And I dunno about Ikanatoo rocky again"
"Pamela's dad would've enjoyed that though" Kat mused. "This big giant dragon just WHOOMP!'" She made a sound effect for emphasis. "Suddenly landing practically at his doorstep."
"Hey guys" Kafei startled them out of conversation. "What's that thing up ahead?"
They all squinted and peered through the mists. A small but brightly colored cart was parked deliberately next to the entrance to Milk Road. Directly next to that was the old overturned and hollowed out log that the children had seen many times before. It was a rather old object, having been so smoothed and weather-beaten that it was practically like a cave.
"I think that we forgot one rather obvious place for them to land," Kafei finished. "How about right in Termina field?" He pointed.
The mist cleared a little, and they were able to make out the caped form of Kasumi, who was leaning against the inner concave of the log. As they approached, they were unsurprised to find that he was already awake, although there was a yawn apparent in his eyes.
"Good morning," he said quietly, as if last night's events had been perfectly normal.
"Morning!" Kat and Sond squeaked.
"Mornin'," Nick mumbled.
"Morning," Link said, still grumpy about his wet boots.
"Uh buonas díaz?" Kafei said hesitantly. After getting a few strange looks, he shrugged. "Riiight," Ty said after a beat, looking back to his older brother. "Uh"
"They're fine," Kasumi said, answering the unasked question. He nodded to one side.
Further back in the log, probably to keep out of the chilly damp, was Timbre and Tejina. Were leaning back to back in human form, both of them fast asleep. Sond and Kat were unexpectedly attacked by a fit of the giggles.
"Aww," Link said after a moment, a bit mockingly. "Course, I think I'd be zonked out like that too after last nightand the past few days"
"Mwassi?" Timbre, who was the one closest to them, stirred in mid-snore, opening one green eye blearily. After a moment, he yawned. "Oh, you again" he said, not quite together.
"Right" Kat said. "Uh, we brought back your trenchcoat. You kinda left it at the Laundry Pool." Kat unslung the said garment from over her shoulder.
"Oh. Thanks," Timbre said, stretching and trying to stand up. Unfortunately, he forgot about Tejina. Her frame, suddenly having nothing supporting it except open air, promptly fell backwards with a grunt, tripping him up.
Tee wasn't amused. Her eyes snapped open irritably. "Ow." She groaned and pulled herself into a kneeling position, rubbing the back of her head, which had hit the ground rather hard. "You're supposed to warn me before you let me fall over like that!" she grumbled, giving Tim a swat to the back of the head for his trouble.
This blow probably woke the boy up some, as he seemed more coherent as he took the trenchcoat back from Kat. "Thanks." In the background, Link was poking at the cart. It was a roofed cart, looking all like a miniature house, complete with little windows and a single door. It was painted a pretty sky blue, with white and violet trimmings. The hitch of the cart leaned on a small jutted boulder so that the structure wouldn't tip, but stand upright, as it would have if being pulled.
"Who do you think this belongs to?" Link said, while Tatl flew circles around it, inspecting the cart from all sides.
Tee blinked blearily, rubbing her head. "Read the side," she mumbled.
"What did she say?" Link raised an eyebrow.
"She said Read the side,'" Tatl clarified, bopping him lightly on the head. Link did so, squinting at the neatly painted text.
"'Meimu?'"
"That's Kei, Ana's, and Tee's last name," Tatl clarified. "The cart belongs to them."
Link smirked. "Oh. Neat. Wonder what's in-"
"Don't even think about it. It's locked. B'sides, its just old props n' costumes." Tee grumpily leaned against the inside of the log, shivered, and closed her eyes, muttering. Moments later she was asleep again.
Link scowled. "How can someone fall asleep like that?"
"I think," Kat blinked, "That I'd fall asleep pretty quickly if I was really tired, too."
Timbre yawned. "Speakin' ofI think I'm gonna go back to sleep. I'm kind of tired stillThanks for getting my coat back. It was a bit chilly out here"
Tatl hovered over him. "You and my brother both, insisting on sleeping late"
"Meh," Timbre grumbled, lying down again, this time with the coat pulled over his head.
"And we'll not see him for days," Sond giggled. "Come on, let's let then have a little shut-eye. Anybody else up for breakfast? I'm starving, myself."
Quite a few hours later, the group re-arrived at the hollowed out log, this time fed and a little less grumpy. Since most of the mist had burned off and the dew evaporated, even Link couldn't find anything to complain about. Then again, after last night, they were rather relieved that they didn't have any major problems.
Ty idly kicked dirt at a Chuchu that was coming a little too close to the group. It wobbled nervously and sped off, leaving a slimy green trail behind it.
"Well, you can't say the past few days were uneventful," Ty murmured, leaning back with his hands clasped behind his neck. "We stopped a psycho hunter, we competed in that competition and pretty much won, and I got revenge on Link. All and all, not a bad week, eh?"
Link glowered. "It wasn't THAT great of a revengeIt was just gelatin. My jokes were much better!" He stuck his nose up in the air. Tatl was noticeably absent from her normal orbit around the boy's hat. She and Tael had decided to take off on other business,' as they had called it.
"Yeah, but you had to endure all those people pointing and laughing," Ty said. "Yours just bugged me for a little while, while your pants'll be stained like that for a while."
Link had fortunately owned a spare pair of his trademark forest green clothing to wear that morning. "Yeah, well, I'll send you the laundry bill, Monkey Boy." he finished.
"Don't call me that," Ty scowled.
"Er, if I could interrupt your conversation," Kafei said quickly, "I think we've got a problem."
"What?" Chiron looked up.
Kafei pointed towards the log. "Look over there."
There was quite a bit more going on at the log then there had been earlier. For one thing, both Timbre and Tee were actually fully awake now. They were standing nervously next to each other, watching as further off, next to the cart, Kasumi, Ana, and Kei talked to a shiny metallic armored man. Captain Viscen.
"Uh-oh" Everybody looked at each other before sprinting the rest of the way. As they drew near, Tee and Tim both looked over and waved.
"Hey!" Tee seemed more chipper, and a lot less cranky now that she'd slept some more.
"Uh," Sond began, eyes roving over towards the talking adults. "What're they talking about?"
Timbre, who was looking a bit downcast, shrugged.
"We don't know," Tee said, looking a little worried. "They've been at it a half-hour, and they won't let us in on it."
"I think I know why he's here," Timbre said quietly. "It's cause of me"
As if on cue, Viscen looked over. His eyes lit up as he recognized everyone. "Ah! Here they are, finally!" The adults ambled over, and Kat heard Timbre audibly swallow.
"Er, ey," Nick murmured, squinting as Viscen's helmet glinted in the mid-morning sun. "'Ow're you?"
Viscen blinked. "Good, thank you. I've been wanting to speak to you all for some time."
Timbre shuffled uneasily as Viscen knelt down on the soft grass, as to be at eye level with his audience. Clearing his throat importantly, he began.
"I wanted to see you all here before I made a decision regarding your friend. Now, first off, I want to say I'm very glad that the events of last night didn't end in any tragedies, and I want to apologize to you all about Veneer."
"Speaking of Veneer," Chiron said uneasily. "Uh, what happened to him?"
Viscen smiled grimly. "He came by me very early this morning, and was dismissed from my duty. He left Clock Town immediately thereafter, I think northwards. And good riddance. If I'd known what he-" He shook his head. "That's not important. This is what I have to say that is, however. By now you're all probably aware of what Timbre was charged with-"
"You're still gonna get him in trouble?!" Ty suddenly said. "After all that we've been through?!" The boy's tail lashed angrily.
"Calm down." Kasumi's voice wafted from the trio of adults, who had so far stood in silence. "Let him speak."
Viscen nodded. "Thank you. As I was saying, you are probably all aware of the charges."
"But it was just a crate!" Ty protested.
"That's not the point," Viscen sighed.
"He's not a bad person!" Kat objected.
"Yeah!" Kafei added.
"could've been anyone!" Sond finished.
Kasumi sighed. "Please, let Viscen speak."
"Again, thank you." Viscen started again, looking Timbre in the eye. "Now then. Timbre, do you accept full responsibility for your actions and the consequences thereof?" The Captain's eyes were serious.
The young boy in question gulped. But he nodded. "I do."
Viscen's eyes narrowed. "And your friends, did they do anything to influence your actions?"
"None, sir. My friends had nothing to do with this. They only got involved for my and Tee's sake, that's all."
"Very well then," Viscen intoned, standing up straight again. "I have made my decision."
All the non-adults gulped audibly, and Timbre looked a bit crestfallen, staring at the ground. After everything that had happened, it would've been wishful thinking to hope he'd get off scot-free. He might've escaped from the frying pan, but it looked like he was about to land in the fire. He closed his eyes.
"I've decided to let you off with a warning."
"What?!" Nine pairs of eyes snapped open wide as Viscen spoke.
"I try to be a judge of character," Viscen intoned. "And even though you are technicallyah-"
"Un-ordinary?" Nick suggested innocently.
"Un-ordinary," Viscen agreed, "Despite being, erun-ordinary, you've displayed great moral fiber to a degree that most people lack. Even when given the opportunity to blame others, you resisted and accepted your own shortcomings, taking the fault that was yours. That takes character. So I will let you off on a warning this time. Don't let me catch you making the same mistake again, however."
"Yes sir!" Timbre half-squeaked, relief making his knees slightly weak.
"Just thank goodness you have such loyal friends," Viscen said. "Most people aren't so lucky."
"Aw," Link smirked.
"Wa' nuthin'," Nick said, grinning.
"See, he would do th' same for us," Sond added,
"Heck, we all would do the same for any of us!" Kat piped.
"We're pretty tight knit," Chiron finished.
"And as for the extraordinary events that resulted in your timely escapes last night" Viscen added, making everybody suddenly hold his or her breath, "I don't want to hear about it. As far as I'm officially concerned, that was merely an illusion, dreamt up by Madam Ana and Mister Keisou." He half-grinned, and everybody let out their breath, relieved.
Behind them, Kei blinked. "And Tee?"
"Miss Tejina," Viscen looked down at the little girl, "I don't know how I can apologize for what Veneer put you through-"
Tee looked slightly abashed. "Don't. I know it wasn't your fault. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, that's all"
Viscen nodded. "Well, unfortunately, duty calls. I believe I have work to do back in Clock Town, I still have to deal with that scoundrel Sakon. He's really outdone himself this time"
"Wha'd he do?" Kafei asked curiously. "Not stealing masks again, I hope"
"No," Viscen sighed wearily, "He was pick pocketing. Unfortunately for him, his bag got too heavy and he tripped, right before those fireworks. Ruddy burglar." He looked up. "Well, I have to go deal with him. I suppose you three will be moving on later today?" The Captain looked at Kei, Ana, and Tee.
"That's the plan, anyways, sir," Ana smiled.
"Well, good luck in Labrynna, if it's anything like the show you put on for Clock Town, you'll dazzle them. I must be off. Good day to you all!" The Captain strolled off importantly in the direction of his city, clanking loudly at every step. After a while, Ana turned to the group.
"I suppose you should consider yourselves fortunate," Ana said. "Viscen just happens to be a very understanding individual. Someone else might've still pressed charges."
"Well," Sond squeaked, "What could he have done? I mean, arrest us because a crate fell over?"
"Then again, after he figured out Timbre and Tejina's natures," Ana said delicately as both named children flinched, "He might have believed Veneer. He's been very accepting, and that's very fortunate. Other Guards might have reacted differently."
"He's not gonna tell anybody, you don't think?" Kafei said, hesitantly. "I mean, Mom might tweak out or something, Tim was staying at our house after all"
"I doubt it," Kei said after a moment. "He's a trustworthy man, and as far as he's concerned, all personal business should remain so. So I think we're safe for now."
"Someday though," Timbre suddenly mused. Everyone looked at him strangely. "Er, but for now, I think I'll just stay quiet," he stammered after a moment.
"Now! Miss Tee!" Kei whooped and swept his little sister up into his arms, "You got a lot of splainin' to do"
Tee squeaked, squirming in her brother's arms. "No I don't!" She gasped between giggles. "Most've it was jus' runnin' away from Veneer!"
Ana scowled. "And I suppose jumping on stage in front of the entire town is your idea of lying low," she said sternly. "What in Nayru's name gave you that brilliant idea?"
"Actually," Timbre said bashfully. "That was kind of my idea."
"But he wouldn't have been able to do it if I hadn't taken that key," Tee finished, her voice growing serious as she slipped back onto the ground. "So it's kinda both our faults. Guess we got a little carried away."
Ana sighed. "You're just lucky you weren't caught." As an afterthought, she added, "Well, injured. Technically you were caught. If Viscen hadn't come-"
She stopped as she looked at the crestfallen faces of the two children. The corner of her mouth twitched slightly, almost as if she were trying to hide a smile. "Anyhow, I suppose your scheming had one good point – it stopped you from quarrelling and made you get along instead."
"How did you know we were-"
"I'm not that stupid, you know." Ana said.
"Yeah, and neither are us!" Link added.
"We," Sond corrected Link. "Neither are we. We saw the way you two were glaring at each other during our practice."
"Yeah, you two looked about ready to murder each other." Chiron said. "Guess it's better to work together, eh?"
Tim and Tee looked at each other.
"Maybe," Tee said uncertainly.
"Sort of," Tim agreed grudgingly, looking at Tee. "You're not so badfor a girl."
Tee chewed her lip. "And you aren't so badfor a boy."
Kei just laughed. The awkward looks on both of their faces was rather comical, and he ran a hand through his hair, smiling. "I'm glad you two won't be parting ways as complete enemies"
Tim kind of made a face. Then he changed the subject. "So, how did that trick with the box work, anyway?" He said suddenly, whirling on Tejina.
Tee blinked. "Haven't I told you a bunch of times? It's a secret. It's a trade secret. You don't go about telling people how you pull off tricks, cause then they aren't amazing any more. If you wanna know so bad, maybe you should put that brain of yours to work and try figuring it out on your own." Then as an afterthought, she added, "And no spying. That's cheating."
Timbre scowled. "Spoilsport," he grumbled.
"Stubborn," Tee retorted.
"Nosy!"
"Klutz!"
"Diva!"
Tejina finally responded by tweaking Timbre's left ear, which made him yelp.
"Ow!" He narrowed his eyes at her, rubbing the side of his head. His ear was still rather irritated from last night's abuse, and it stung as he whined irritably. "Grr, girls always insist on having the last word, don't they?"
Kat, Sond, Tee and Ana all had a good long laugh over this comment. "I think he's finally getting the idea!"
The rest of that morning (and half the afternoon as well) was spent in relative relaxation out in Termina Field. As the mist completely burned off, the sun too began to show its face through the clouds. As a result, it was quite less chilly out than it had been earlier.
The children had argued, compromised, and finally agreed to a game of Pillar-ball (The Hylian sport similar to soccer,' but not quite the same). There was just one problem with this – there were nine possible players, an odd number. Finally Kafei offered to referee, making it possible to have a four-on four match. This worked out quite well, and for a while Termina field was filled with the shrieks and yells usually apparent at such games.
Kasumi leaned impassively against the log and watched. The kids had offered to let him play, which he'd politely declined. He'd never finished that conversation with the frog the other day, and the poor creature had hopped over all the way from his home in the Laundry Pool to finish it, after all. Kei and Ana were busy themselves, re-loading all the costumes and props they'd used.
Ana's flock of multicolored Cuccos, irritable at having been cooped up for the past few days, were allowed to range free on the field for a few hours. This caused some interesting plays in the Ball-ball game, as players were suddenly tripped up, being forced to dodge the feathered creatures as they wandered stupidly out onto the playing field.
"Spring is so weird," Link said, as they took a break for lunch. "One day it's freaking warm out, the next day it's mild, and the next it's cold out again. I really wish nature would just make up its mind already!"
"Well," Ty said around a mouthful of sandwich (peanut butter and jelly), "At least this climate varies. Back home, we've got two types of weather: hot and raining, or just plain hot. Gets kind of old after a while, right Raii?"
Nick grinned. "Tha' i' does, Kaii."
"Think you could take us to Volcania some time, Ty?" Sond asked, leaning back and staring at a cloud.
"Er, uh, maybe" Ty said vaguely, as if he didn't really want to think about that.
"It's nice to travel, sometimes," Tee said. "But it can get lonely sometimes, you know, making friends, but then having to leave so soon, not really having a home." She rolled from her side onto her back. "Does that make any sense?"
"Kind of," Link oofed as a blue Cucco jumped on top of his head.
Sond snickered, and the Hylian gently reached up and removed the bird, setting it down next to him. He'd learned the hard way not to be too violent when dealing with Cuccos. They were ornery birds, quick to anger and rather irksome with their sharp claws and pointed beaks. The blue avian ruffled its feathers, and hopped over to Timbre, who was currently dozing as a wolf nearby, his trenchcoat folded up under his chin. The bird clucked, pecking at his tail.
"Gerroff," Timbre grumble-growled, lifting his chin irritably, and letting his tail thump the ground a couple of times. The bird squawked and decided to scratch at the ground for bugs for a while instead. Timbre groaned and rolled over.
Chiron finished his second sandwich. "Wish that pie vendor had stayed round today. I think we gave him good business, what with nine of us."
"Twelve, if you count Kas and Kei n' Ana," Kafei pointed out. "An even dozen."
"That was good pie," Tee half-smiled, staring upwards. "Kind of wish I were actually staying here long enough to have it againwho knows, maybe we'll meet that vendor on the road somewhere."
"So, you gonna miss Clock Town?" Chiron smirked.
"Uh, some parts of it, no" Tee said. "I'll be glad to get away from the whole running for my life' thing, but I did meet all of you, and that was worth it. I'll miss that." She looked pointedly over at Timbre, who was snoozing again. "And it was good to find out I'm not the onlywell, you know"
Timbre blinked and looked up. "What're you talking about?" Well, that was what he said, although most of the group only heard, "Grrrfrrrm?"
Kat sighed. "Either say it in a language all of us can understand or don't eavesdrop."
The wolf was abruptly replaced by the human boy, who looked confused as he sat up. "I said, what are you talking about?'"
"Stuff," Sond answered vaguely. "Want a sammich?"
"No thanks, I ate a bunch already," Tim remarked.
"So that's why you fell asleep," Kat teased.
"Bah." Timbre twisted to one side, stretching. "What kind of stuff' were you talking about?"
"Well," Kat smiled wickedly. "Since you askedAre you glad you met Tee?"
Timbre seemed taken aback. "Well, yeahI guessI meanwell, yeah." He chewed his lip. "Though I didn't enjoy having to dodge Veneer and all that stuffBut it was kind of good to know I wasn't the only-" He stared at the ground and shrugged. "So that's what Tee meant, huh?"
"Yeah," Tee said, sitting up.
There was a moment of complete silence as nobody could think of something to say. It was so quiet, in fact, they could actually hear the low and muted croaking sound of the frog as it conversed with Kasumi, despite the fact both of them were more than 20 yards away.
Tejina tentatively broke the silence, toying with a strand of blue hair. "Have you by any chance, met any other wolves around? Like in the rest of Termina or Hyrule or anything?"
"Me? Uh, nonot in Hyrule. I guess we're kind of a rare commodity. But I mean, there has to be some others, somewhere, right?" Timbre looked around at his friends.
"Yeah," Chiron said encouragingly. "We'll find out where they're hiding sometime."
"Maybe they're in Volcania," Sond joked.
Ty shrugged. "Ya never know, do you?"
"Hey kids?" Ana suddenly yelled from across the field, her arms burdened with another crate full of costumes. One leg rested on the stoop to the cart's front door, helping her to maintain balance.
"Yeah?" Ty yelled back, becoming unofficial spokesman. "Need help?"
"Could you kids possibly round up the Cuccos? I'd rather not have them wander too far off, because they'll be hard to find. Put em in the holding pen, I have to load that next."
Tee groaned aloud, and the others soon found out why. Unfortunately, once the birds were released, they quickly took a slight favor to running loose. This meant the field was soon swarming with a spectrum of fleeing avians, chased by children. Quite soon, everybody was winded, and a little more than slightly irritated.
"Boy, they act lazy, but the moment they decide they wanna move, boy do they move!" Link oofed, as the red Cucco he'd been chasing evaded his dive, flapping like mad. Face down on the ground, he grumbled. "Stupid birds."
Tee smirked, passing by. "You have to trick them," she said simply, walking slowly towards a green and yellow. They eyed her nervously and started backing away towards the haven of a nearby bush.
"That isn't working," Link pointed out, rubbing his nose as he sat upright. "They're running away faster than you're coming towards them"
As soon as those words had left the boy's mouth, Timbre suddenly hurtled out of the bush and flung his open trenchcoat on top of the startled birds. Quickly, he bundled up the makeshift net and held it at arm's length. The bunched up coat's captives wriggled and muffled angry squawks could be heard within.
"Two down, only about a dozen to go," he said. "And I swear I'll be mad if these things peck holes in my coat."
"Better get them in that holding pen then, and quickly," Link said, standing up and brushing himself off. Timbre took this advice, and hopskipped quickly off in the direction of the cart. His bundle still struggled and squalled violently as he ran.
About 45 minutes later, the roundup was over. Nick had finally managed to nab a bunch of Cuccos by chasing them down a pothole and rounding them up in the one-way tunnel. Kat nabbed one by sheer luck by jumping at it, and Sond nabbed a second in the same way. There were still a half a dozen loose when Link got the brilliant idea of playing the Bremen March on his ocarina while wearing the corresponding mask. This caused the entire flock to blindly follow him to the holding pen, and they docilely relented being locked up.
Ty snickered.
"What?" Link's head turned towards the laughter, the faux bird's head on his mask wobbling comically as he did so. "What's so funny? I didn't see you running to put this thing on either" He reached up and pulled the Bremen Mask from his face, revealing a scowl. "You're just jealous that you didn't think of it first, that's all."
"Why you-"
"Now now now," Kei interjected before a fight could start. "Thank you for getting those birds for us. They behave for the act, but the moment they're offstage, they really can be nightmares to catch."
"Yeah, and usually I have to do it by myself," Tee muttered. "Though not usually in a place as big as this"
"Well take a break. Tejina, we're moving out in about an hour, so be ready to go, alright? We've got to get to Labrynna by next week for our next show."
"Alright," Tejina said, although her tone was slightly dejected.
"Whew!" Everybody let out a sigh of relief and flopped down. Poultry chasing was tough business.
The next hour seemed to pass in a flash. After their break, Tejina then showed all of them some simple slight-of hand maneuvers, making it look as if she could conjure Rupees out of thin air. In actuality, they were Kafei's Rupees, which, unbeknownst to him, she kept filching from his pocket. It took them all a while to figure out the money's origin, and afterwards Kafei became a bit flustered, muttering something about getting buttoned pockets.
"Won't work," Tee explained to him. "I could get the button undone before you even noticed I was there. Maybe you should just keep your money in a different pocket."
Kafei grumbled.
And then suddenly, just like that, the cart was completely packed, and it was time for the trio of illusionists to leave. Kei and Ana's goodbyes were thankful and sincere.
"Thank you all, and Kafei, thank your parents especially for inviting us."
"No problem," Kafei answered for all of them, "And you can expect that we'll be wanting you back for our next festival!" He grinned. "They wanna see a repeat of last night, you see"
Kei and Ana exchanged a look. "Guess we'll have to figure out a way to do that one, eh?" Ana grinned sheepishly as she stepped into the front of the cart."
"Guess so," Kei grinned, lifting the hitch easily in one hand.
"You're gonna pull that whole cart all the way to Labrynna?" Sond said, blue eyes wide in amazement.
"Yeah," Kei said. "Keeps me in shape, and besides, I'm not a strong man for nothin'. Come on, Tee"
"One second!" Tejina had visibly hung back. Turning towards the other eight children, she grinned. "I stink at goodbyes, but I know I'll definitely be back here soon. I just wanted to say thank you for showing me such a good time. Usually I don't get to meet this many people, and wellit was fun." She hung back still, scuffing her boot on the ground.
"Hey Tee, come on, please!" Ana's voice called out.
"Right! Coming!" Tee turned away.
"Wait a sec, Tee," Timbre said suddenly, stepping forward.
"Huh?" The girl looked back at him.
Timbre closed his eyes and held out his hand. "Well, we did argue a lot, and get into fights, but we did make it out of Clock Town in one pieceI just wanted to make sure, before we parted ways, thatwe parted ways as friends." His head was hung at an angle that hid his eyes behind his black hair.
Tee blinked. Walking over to him, she grabbed his hand. "Friends," she repeated, leaning in close.
Since Tim's eyes were closed, he didn't notice what Tee was doing until he felt the peck on his cheek. His brilliantly emerald green eyes snapped open in utter shock and surprise.
THUD.
"Uh" Tee blinked owlishly down at Tim's prone form, laid flat on the ground, eyes still wide open.
Sond and Kat were attacked by another sudden fit of the giggles, and even the boys had an uproarious chuckle at the sight.
"Guess we should've warned you," Ty said, smirking. "About Tim's greatest fear."
"What's that?" Tee blinked, edging away.
"Well, actually, his greatest fear's a tie," Link said after a moment. "Between horses and being kissed by girls. I think you kind of traumatized him or something."
Tejina laughed a little as she sprang up onto the cart alongside Ana. "Well, I'll apologize when I come back!" She yelled to them, waving.
"Off to Labrynna! Ho!" Kei threw his powerful weight forward, and the cart's wheels were soon turning smoothly. As the cart trundled off, all the kids (the conscious ones, anyway) and Kasumi waved and shouted goodbyes.
"Up y go, lobo!" Nick grunted, as he and Ty each grabbed one of Timbre's arms and hauled him into a standing position. "Can' stay ere all fternoon!"
Timbre, still shell-shocked, managed to blink a few times. "Eep."
"Come on," Ty grunted. "Snap out of it, shortie!"
The insult managed to hit home somewhere, and Tim's eyes abruptly lost their glazed look. "Don't call me tha-huh?" The boy blinked a few times. "What? What happened?"
"Don't you remember?" Sond's smirk was apparently smug.
"Well, I was saying goodbye to Tee, and then- ick! Gross!" Timbre immediately began rubbing at his befouled' cheek with a scowl.
Sond and Kat started tittering again, and Link laughed.
"S'not funny!" Timbre said irritably.
"Why, dear master Timbe," Link said in a faux-royal accent. "I do believe you are blushing."
"Am not!"
Kasumi, who had said nothing during this exchange (though he had smiled), looked up suddenly. "Ah, the fairies are back."
Eight heads looked up. "What, Tatl and Tael?" Ty said, squinted.
"Not just them, all of them." Not two, but eight points of light were quickly orienting on the group. "Guess they're back from wherever they were."
"Guys! Sond said as they came into earshot. "Where have you been?"
"Out of town, and fortunately so," A blue point of light said. The tiny male figure shuffled nervously as he settled on Sond's shoulder. "At least from what Tatl and Tael have told us,"
"Yeah," a yellow-aqua female fairy agreed, settling on top of Kat's hair.
"Mayday! Still haven't found the Major!" A cyan-violet light randomly screeched, colliding at full-tilt with the side of Kasumi's head. "Oops, sorry there, civilian!" Kasumi just rolled his eyes.
"We really need to find this guy's Major,' before he goes crazy."
"Tell me about it." A red-violet light harrumphed as he settled next to Kafei, and Tatl and Tael quickly ducked under Link's hat before anybody could ask them any more questions.
"Good luck in that." Yet another fairy laughed huskily as he took his place next to Chiron's ear. A final small winged green light hovered above Timbre's head, which was still a tad flushed.
"Oh, hey Obol," Tim said, as if his blush were perfectly normal. "Have a good time?"
Obol, who never made a sound to anyone, shot into one of Timbre's trenchcoat pockets with an irritable flick of his wings. Timbre sighed.
"Well, all's well that ends well, or something like that," he said quietly.
Ty clapped him on the back. "You say that as if it was a bad thing. Cheer up! You're not hunter-fodder, we all escaped relatively unharmed, and we've got the rest of spring before us!"
"Yes, we should definitely be happy nobody got hurt," Sond grinned.
"Yeah," Timbre agreed, staring down the field where the small cart had long vanished. "I guess we should." It was hard to tell if he was smiling or not as he followed his friends back towards the gates of Clock Town, the rest of the spring still ahead of them.
THE END
*****
DAAH! Do those two words up there actually mean what I think?! I think they do! The end. *blinks for a moment, sniffles, then wails* It's over?! Heh, no worries, we'll be seeing more from this little posse in the future. And if the part with the fairies confused you at the end, I'm sorry. Just be glad they didn't show up in the middle of the fic, which had originally been planned. But I figured that would've been kind of confusing. And besides, without the random chaos of the fairies, the ending of the epilogue would've been kind too sugaryish. And as Timbre would say, "that's gross." Heh. That's it, I don't think there's much more to say, except a huge THANK YOU to all those who reviewed, encouraged and poked me to finish this. My email: snowsilverkat@hotmail.com - send me a mail sometime, it's fun to hear from people! Until next time! ~ Snowsilver