Chapter Three: Opening Day
Zelda was out of bed before her alarm went off. She stepped out onto the balcony of her little counselor's room on the top floor of the cabin, stretched her arms over her head, and gazed out over the camp.
"It's going to be a beautiful day, isn't it, Terrako?" she asked.
The little Guardian beeped in agreement.
The surface of Lake Hylia glittered and sparkled with bits of gold, pink, indigo, and cream from the sunrise. The air was cool without being uncomfortably chilly, and the sounds of early-morning bird song filled the air.
All was quiet over the camp, and Zelda knew this would be one of the last moments of absolute peace and quiet before camp opened. The treehouse-like cabins, built in the style of Rito Village, stood in a semicircle along the shores of the lake. Beyond the cabins were the directors' offices, Mipha's clinic, the recreation pavilion and the dining hall.
Zelda would love to have stayed and admired the view for a bit longer, but Rhoam and Impa wanted to call a meeting before the campers arrived. She craned her neck in the direction of Link's room, which was just across a swinging rope bridge from hers.
"Link! Are you up?" she called. "Or do I need to come over there with a bucket of cold water?"
"I'm up, I'm up," Link yawned. "I'm…" There was a thud as Link walked into a piece of furniture, likely a dresser. "Ow."
Zelda quickly got dressed, brushed her teeth and hair, and scampered down the maze of rope ladders and swinging bridges to get to the ground. Terrako was a few steps behind her.
"Morning, tiny princess!" Daruk rolled by in a cloud of dust. "C'mon, Yunobo, just one more lap, you out of breath already?"
Yunobo rolled after Daruk, already huffing and puffing.
Zelda made her way into the dining pavilion. The delicious smells of just-cooked food made her stomach rumble loudly.
One of the dining tables was already set with a lavish spread for breakfast. Sidon, Mipha, and Rhoam were already at the table. And so, to Zelda's enormous surprise, was Master Kohga, tucking into a big plate of fried bananas.
Sidon was making short work of a massive platter of grilled fish while Mipha ate a bowl of oatmeal. Rhoam drank his coffee and gazed longingly at the fishing gear resting in one corner of the pavilion.
"Morning, princess," Rhoam greeted Zelda, raising his coffee cup.
"Morning, Dad." Zelda fixed herself a plate of eggs, fruit, grilled fish and toast and poured herself a cup of coffee.
Link and the two Gorons arrived at the pavilion at the same time. Link helped himself to some eggs, fruit, and sausage, while Daruk and Yunobo dove into some fresh rock roasts.
"Morning, kiddos," Urbosa strolled into the pavilion, poured herself a massive cup of coffee and sat down at the table.
Revali and Kass came in shortly thereafter, the former wearing his usual expression of wounded pride and the latter cheerfully humming some ballad or other.
Once everyone was seated, Rhoam tapped his coffee mug on the table and stood up. "All right, everyone, let's get this meeting started. And let's not take too long, because we've still got some work to do." He smiled wryly. "And there's a school of Armored Porgy calling my name."
The meeting ran through all the usual first day of camp stuff: a status report on the cabins, a quick rundown of finances, the setup of the check-in tent, the first night gathering around a big campfire, and so on.
"What's going on with arts and crafts?" Rhoam asked. "Pikango's not going to be able to make it in for a the first week."
"I've got Purah and Robbie on that," Impa said. "That should keep them out of trouble for two seconds."
"But…" Yunobo piped up. "I know how to do pottery and stuff. Can't I pitch in?"
"I don't know, Yunobo, the arts and crafts are at the same time the rock climbing classes go off," Impa said. "But let's see how things go for the first week."
"Okay," Yunobo sighed.
"Sidon, how's the prep going for the swim classes?" Rhoam asked.
"Just, well, swimmingly!" Sidon grinned. "We've got enough suits of Zora armor for everyone!"
"Urbosa, sports and mock fighting?"
"Ready and raring to go," Urbosa said. "Hopefully we'll keep dodgeball injuries to a minimum. But some of these kids throw awfully hard."
"Revali, flight lessons?"
"Yes, regarding that." Revali fixed Rhoam and Impa with a baleful look. "You really expect me to use paragliders for the flying lessons? Those flimsy little wood and canvas things?"
"Uh, yeah, not all of your students will be Rito, you know," Impa said in a "well, duh" sort of voice.
"Hmmph." Revali leaned back in his chair and folded his wings.
"Rhoam, what's next?" Impa asked quickly.
"Uh, let's see…Zelda and Link, you two are in charge of archery, horseback riding, nature hikes. Everything good there? Good. Uh, Kass and Amali, music, Master Kohga…" Rhoam's voice trailed off.
"Oh, you guys are going to like the escape rooms we've got set up!" Kohga boasted. "They'll be to die for!"
"Not literally, I hope."
"C'mon, my grandpappy Tohga always said a few bloody deaths always livened things up."
The meeting continued in this vein for another twenty minutes, and then everyone went their separate ways to finish the last prep work.
And then, just after ten o'clock, the first honks of car and bus horns could be heard.
"Places, everyone!" Impa's voice shouted over the camp loudspeaker.
Camp of the Wild was officially open.
xLoZx
Reviews welcome!