The Rito Tribe
As Link finished walking along the short hallway, he saw the postman (whose name, by the way, was Quill.) standing on a balcony-like area overlooking the sea. He sensed Link's presence, and turned around.
"Link? Link...is that really you?" He asked.
"Well, yeah, who'd ya think it was?" Link said.
"You have traveled far for one without wings."
"I guess I did, didn't I?" Link said, grinning and standing a bit straighter.
"And your sister?"
Link looked at the ground next to Quill, suddenly filled with sorrow. "Shut up dammit..." he said quietly.
"Hmm, I see... Listen, I have told the Rito Chieftain of your tale, and we will do all in our power to aid you in your quest, so please, come inside." And with those words, the postman flew inside a building.
Link followed close behind.
Standing in the entrance of the tribe's lair, Link witnessed a group of Ritos gathered in the center of the room. One was hovering in mid-air, wings flapping frantically. There was also Quill, two other Ritos, and the chieftain.
"I am afraid he is out of control. It is unsafe to send the fledglings to him, but we are trying our hardest to calm him," said one of the Ritos.
"I see..." said the Chieftain.
Quill turned and spotted Link eavesdropping in the doorway.
"Here he is Sir."
The other Ritos turned to stare at Link as he walked up to them.
"Ah, yes, Link, Quill has told us about you. We are honored to have such a courageous soul in our presence. We will help you as soon as possible, but at the moment, we have our own troubles to deal with. You see, when a Rito fledgling becomes of age, he or she must venture up the mountain to see the sky spirit, Valoo, and receive one of his scales, so that fledgling can grow their wings. But lately, Valoo has become hostile and unpredictable, and we are unable to send our fledglings up to him, and if they do not get their wings, our very way of life as we know it is threatened," said the chieftain.
Link yawned and examined his fingernails, "Why should I care?" he said boredly.
The small group of Ritos looked at each other.
"What about your son?" Quill whispered to the Chieftain.
"Oh yes, that's right! My son, Komali, is of age to earn his wings. But in the light of the current situation, he is close to losing all hope of ever getting them," The chieftain said, handing Link a letter, "Please give him this letter, and tell him to be strong."
Link took the letter, "How much are you paying me?"
"How's 10 rupees sound?" The Chieftain offered.
"15 rupees is my final offer."
"It's a deal."
Then Quill handed him a mail bag thingy.
"You can keep letters and such in this. Use it well," he said, handing it to Link, "Oh yes, and a Rito girl named Medli requested to talk to you. You should find her in one of the upper rooms."
Quill said, walking away.
"This sucks," Link muttered, stuffing the letter in the mail bag so it became crumpled.
Link found his way to Komali's bedroom, where the young prince sat on his bed, holding a large pearl in his lap. He stared down at it, looking depressed.
"Hey, kid!" Link barked, and pulled the beaten up letter from the mail bag, "This is for you! CATCH!"
Link balled up the paper and threw it to Komali. Except he didn't catch it, and it bounced off his head and fell on the floor.
"Oops, missed!" Link said.
"HEY! WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR YOU RETARD?" Komali hissed.
"Woah, calm down, my aim was just a bit off!"
"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?"
Link thought for a moment, "Komoomoo, right?"
"NO! MY NAME IS KOMALI!"
"I suppose my guess was off too, right?" Link said, shrugging, "Well, that's not the point. I'm here to tell you to chill out, and not to give up hope, stuff like that."
"You and my father have no idea what I'm going through. I've heard about you. And nothing I've heard has been good, for instance. I've heard that you're a prostitute, an arsonist, and you make out with squirrels..."
"So what if those things are-WAIT A MINUTE, I NEVER MADE OUT WITH A SQUIRREL! Well, maybe once, but only because I had been...uh...kind of...and sort of felt...well, then I went a bit out of control...and... Oh, nevermind, it's one of those things you do but don't talk about! And I-I'm not a prostitute, or an arsonist!" Link lied, and then stared at the pearl, "What's that thing?"
"This is Din's Pearl. My grandmother gave it to me before she died, and it gives me courage when I hold it."
Din's Pearl! Link thought. Hadn't the boat said something about it?
Komali watched Link stare, "You can't have it you know."
"And why not, may I ask?" Link replied, starting to lose his patience, not that he had much to begin with.
"Because, you're a (beeping) retard."
Link gripped the base of the sword, "Oh, you're asking for it tweety, you're asking for it..." He was about to pull out his sword when a hand grabbed him and pulled him out of the room.
"ACK!" Link yelped.
A Rito girl dragged him up to the second floor of the building and into a room.
"What was that for? I was just about to fix the problem!" Link said.
"You weren't about to fix any problems, you were about to kill Prince Komali!" The girl replied, "I'm Medli, and I was waiting to hear from you, but you never showed up!"
"I was too busy dealing with that pain in the ass!"
"You need to calm down. Look, I was wondering if you could help me with something."
Link sighed, "What?"
"You heard about our troubles with the Great Valoo, right?" Medli asked.
"Uh, yeah, I think so..."
"Well, I'm going to do some secret investigating... You know, see if I can fix the problem. And I need you to help me get there. But you cannot tell ANYBODY. Got it? Will you help me?"
"Depends... How much are you paying me?" Link said with a smile.
"PAY YOU? This is something you do out of the goodness of your heart!"
The boy gave Medli a look.
"Oh right... You certainly don't have a heart of gold, do you? Well, then how does 10 rupees sound?"
"Hmm... Not as good as 30 rupees."
"Fine, fine, for 30 rupees! Will you help me NOW?" Medli asked shrilly.
"I guess so..." Link replied reluctantly.
"Great! Meet me at Dragon Roost Spring in a few minutes. Ok?"
"Got it." Link said with a nod.