Festival Day 1: Maybe Fire, Maybe Gas

…

Link rolled onto a mattress the likes of which had never felt so good. Even though he was not even feeling fatigued, his eyelids quickly started to close as if he had not slept in days.

"Oh, wow…" Line spoke up. Link glanced up as if to look at him through the top of his berth. "It's like I'm sleeping on a cloud!"

"You boys never slept in a bed before?" Pokka asked as he slid into the bottom berth just underneath Link.

Link rolled and pulled himself to the mouth of the berth. "Of course we have," Link replied. "We have beds back at the Port."

"But it's like sleeping on a plank," Line said. "And it's not like we get to use them unless we're on shore duty or the Sails is in for maintenance."

Link saw one of his arms stretch out into the narrow room that was the "bread box" they shared with the Sokkarokka Band. Like most islands, land was at a premium due to how little was available. Castle Island was no exception, especially since some of the more spacious homes and businesses were among the first built in the sky. With airship crews easily topping one hundred per ship, companies did not have the funds to build barracks on each and every island. Someone had come up with the idea of "bread box hotels", rooms which could be rented like a regular hotel but with the capacity to house six, sometimes even ten people per room. The prudent airman stayed in his berth on his own ship; to really enjoy shore leave, even a big spender was better off splitting a room with crewmates.

Half of the room they used was taken up by two stacks of four berths, complete with mattresses, built into the walls opposite each other. To provide adequate headroom, the ceilings of many of these hotels had to be higher than usual. A pair of wooden ladders provided access to each berth. Other than the narrow walkway between the berths, there was a small closet for a toilet between the berths and the door into the outer corridor. A window provided a view of the alley outside, however the glass was barred to prevent the occasional drunk sailor from diving headfirst into the ground (even if it was only the first floor).

"How often you boys get shore duty?" Pokka asked.

"Three weeks a year," Line groaned.

"Whaaaa?" Kookka droned as he climbed up the beds to the top of Link and Line's shelf. "Three weeks out of a year?"

"Even we get more bedtime than that," Lukka declared from the top of the other stack of beds. Link could barely see him poke his head over the side of the bed. "And we're a band!"

"At least they can sack out on a ship," Pea pointed out from somewhere beneath Link. "We sleep in the streets."

"Yeah, but I feel we can all agree that they shouldn't gotta go for so long without a bed," Lukka said.

"Why not?" Line asked. "We can be big, tough airmen, too."

"Airmen with jobs," Link reminded him. "It's not like we're in serious trouble if something happens."

"Hey, Link?" Line asked. "You don't suppose the captain meant to fire us and just didn't bother to say anything about it, do you?"

"Can't do that," Kookka spoke up.

"It's a law, boys," Pokka added. "You can't fire someone and not tell 'em. That's just the same as askin' you'a work and then tell ya you don't get paid because you never technically worked."

"Because we'd be able to sue the company, right?" Link asked.

"That's right," Kookka said. "So, don't worry about it."

"I don't know…" Line said almost under his breath. "Sometimes I think Alfonzo can do anything he wants…"

The discussion seemed to end there, so Link tried to settle against a pillow that felt as if it had been over-stuffed. He did not have a blanket, nor was there a rail to keep him from falling off in the middle of the night. So, he decided to roll against the wall and get comfortable lying on his back.

Pft.

Then Link gave a sigh and groaned just as someone on the bottom turned out the room's light. "Line…"

"That wasn't me," Line replied, too tired to raise his voice beyond a simple whine. Link turned onto one side and let his back settle against the wall.

Pft.

"Line," Link snapped in a quiet voice.

"It's not me!" Line cried back.

Chuckling sounded from above Line. "Sorry, boys," Kookka spoke up. "Little gassy tonight."

"A little gassy?" Line replied. "If someone strikes a match, we're all gonna get blown out the door." Pft. "C'mon!"

"Maybe it was those noodles I ate earlier," Kookka wondered aloud.

"You had noodles?" Gorkka, across the room from Link, asked.

"Maybe?" Kookka said. "They looked like noodles."

"When did you get noodles?" Lukka asked.

"While we were at Jekka's place," Kookka said.

"Man, don't tell me," Lukka said quickly.

"Thaaaat's right," Kookka said with a cheerful tone. "Alley-style noodles! Assumin' they weren't worms. It was kinda hardda tell…"

Link cringed. However, it was Line who voiced the opinion, "That's just disgusting."

"Band like ours," Gorkka said, "sometimes, you never know when you're gonna eat next."

Pft.

"And we gotta smell that all night!?" Line hollered.

"I got somethin' else ya can smell," Gorkka said.

"What's that?" Line asked.

Pfft. The sound was followed by Gorkka heaving a relieved sigh.

"Aw, man!" Line hollered while Kookka and Lukka started chuckling. "C'mon!"

"Well, now, you don't gotta smell Kookka," Gorkka told him.

"Oh, yeah!?" Line declared. This was followed by a short pause. Then…

Pf~.

Link had heard it clearly from the bed above, so he said, "Line…"

"If I gotta smell farts all night, I'd rather it be my own!" Line shouted.

"That was pathetic, though," Gorkka said. "Like listeninna someone step on a bottle of ketchup."

"How's this for ya boys?" Lukka asked.

Pfffft!

"Heh heh," Gorkka chuckled. "Floaty, Lukka."

"I think my eyes are starting to water…" Line groaned.

"This oughtta dry them off," Kookka said.

PffFFfft!

"Ugh," Line groaned with a groggy sound. "Is anyone else having trouble breathing?"

"Just remember that you started this, Line," Link told him, one hand covering his nose and mouth.

"No I didn't," Line argued. "It was Kookka and his alleyway noodles!"

Pfffffffft!

"Aaaah," Kookka sighed. "I don't care if they were noodles or not. This is totally worth it."

"Hey, guys," Lukka spoke up. "You better keep it down. If Kanowanotakka hears you playin' musical butts, he might—"

BFFFBBFBFFBT~! All conversation immediately ceased at the sound of a rather loud episode of flatulence. Then the subsequent stench hit Link from out of nowhere. He forced himself to take in a deep breath and hold it so he did not have to breathe.

The rancid odor quickly consumed the room. "Okay, guys!" Lukka said while struggling to breathe as little as possible. "The old fart wins!" He had to pause to take in more putrid air. "Bail!"

Pea was the first out the door, leaving it open so that light from the hallway guided the room's fleeing occupants. Link was on the opposite side of the bed within a second, but he had to wait because Line had decided to jump off without warning. Link then dared to poke his head out just to see Kookka dropping down on top of him as well and pulled his head back in, barely avoiding Kookka's falling body. Then he jumped out while Spakky, having gone without a word during the whole ordeal, was sliding down the footposts that the beds had been stacked on. He and Spakky touched down on the floor at the same time, but Spakky, being closer, beat Link out the door. Gorkka followed, and Lukka slammed the door shut as the last man out.

For a moment, the group looked around at each other. Then Lukka indicated the hallway with his arms. "Boys," he said. "Tonight, we sleep here."

Meanwhile, having barely been disturbed by the ruckus raised, Kanowanotakka grunted and rolled over. Then he said to himself, "Dumb amateurs…"