a/n: Apologies for the long overdue update. This story has proved a bit more challenging than I initially expected. It's hard to write so many characters at once while trying to give them all decent screen time (page time?), keep their personalities from melding together, and still manage to maintain the flow of the story. I probably haven't always succeeded, but this is mostly meant to be a goofy, just-for-fun type of story, so I hope you'll let it slide. Well, enough of my rambling. On with the story!
-Chapter 4: Of Funky Soup, Weird Girls, and Creepy Tunnels-
With their game of hide-and-seek finished, the group made their way back to East Clock Town. "It should be here. Let's find it!" Link said.
"Wait a minute," Leslie said, stopping the boy, "before we go furhter, I think we should stop at the inn and see if we can get a room."
"A room?" Tatl repeated. "Don't you think that's a little irresponsible? We have less than 72 hours to find the Skull Kid. We don't have time to be lounging around at an inn."
"That's true," Ashby said, "but we will still need to sleep and eat during that time. None of us will be of much use if we're too tired and hungry to function."
"Hmm, I guess so," Tatl said.
"You agree, right, Link?" Leslie looked at the boy.
Calynn clutched her stomach as it chose that exact moment to emit a loud grumble. "My stomach agrees. I don't think I've eaten in hours!"
"I don't mind sleeping outside," Link said.
"Link!" Calynn grabbed the boy's shoulders. "I need food now! Before I die!"
"Yeah, and why sleep outside when there's a nice warm bed just waiting for us?" Leslie asked. She grabbed Link's arm, steering him toward the inn.
"Wha-wait, I can walk!" Link protested. Leslie ignored him, pulling him all the way inside while the other girls giggled. Tatl rolled her eyes and flew after.
Leslie finally released the young hero when they reached the counter, where a young woman with a burgundy-colored semi-bob stood, speaking to a man wearing a red hat and matching backpack who was holding out a letter to her. The two were in the midst of conversation, the redhead woman wringing her hands and looking flustered, while the man remained unfazed by her apparent distress. Before Link and the girls approached the counter, the woman seemed to give up her questioning and the man hurried away, not sparing them a glance as he darted past on his way to the door.
The woman turned to the group, smoothing her hair down with a sigh, and dipped into a bow. "Welcome to the Stock Pot Inn," she said. She looked down at her desk, fingering some papers, then looked back at the group, her eyebrows cinching together in a perplexed expression. "Umm...Did you...have a reservation?" she asked, looking uncertain.
"Tell her yes," Leslie whispered to Link.
Link gave her a questioning look, then shrugged and turned back to the woman. "Yes," he said without batting an eye.
The woman breathed a sigh of relief. "You do have a reservation? That's good…" She looked at the papers again, grabbing a quill pen from a nearby bottle of ink. "May I ask your name?"
"Link."
"Mr. Link, is it? One moment please." She traced a finger down the top sheet of paper, finally stopping, and her blue eyes brightened. "Here we are! Mr. Link, I have you down for an afternoon arrival."
"You do?" Link asked, his own eyes widening. He cast a glance at Leslie, who shrugged. "Um, great!"
The woman proceeded to explain that their room, called the 'Knife Chamber' was on the second floor, and handed Link a large silver key. "Umm…" she said, looking at their rather sizeable group. "Will you all be staying together?"
"Uhh...yeah," Link said, his face still beaming from the surprise of learning that he apparently had a reservation.
"I'm afraid the room only has two beds," the woman said apologetically. "If you'd like, I can provide you with some futons."
"Ok," Link said, turning a questioning look on his companions, who nodded. They were all in agreement that sleeping on a futon in a crowded room was much better than sleeping outside.
"Then I'll bring them up shortly," she said. "There's lunch in the kitchen around the back if you're hungry. Please relax and enjoy your stay." She bowed again.
"Lunch?" Calynn repeated. She grabbed Dylan's shoulders, shaking the girl voraciously. "Food, Dylan! I need food!"
"Ok, ok, we'll get you some food," Dylan choked out as her head jostled back and forth.
To Dylan's relief, Calynn ceased her shaking, but now she stared down at the other girl, her eyes wide and flashing. "Do you swear?" she growled.
Dylan threw a look of desperation toward the others. "We can get food, right?"
"We probably should eat while we're here," Ashby said. Link and Leslie agreed while Tatl folded her arms and harrumphed, mumbling something about humans always needing to eat.
After a little wandering about the downstairs hallway, they finally managed to find the kitchen. Inside, a large pot, filled with an orange-colored soup, simmered over a wood stove. They could see what looked like vegetables and some meat floating inside, and on the large table in the room's center was laid out a basket of rolls and some dishes to serve themselves with. While Calynn gave a shriek of delight and dashed to the table to grab an empty bowl, Dylan approached the pot, eyeing the contents. A slightly pungent odor wafted from the contents and she wrinkled her nose.
"Are we sure this is safe to eat?" she asked.
"Of course it is, it's food!" Calynn exclaimed, bumping Dylan out of the way with her hip so she could ladle a large portion into her bowl. Spoon halfway to her mouth, she paused for only a second, her own nose wrinkling as the smell reached her nostrils. Then she shrugged and shoved the contents into her mouth. Everyone watched as she chewed, waiting for the final verdict. Well, everyone except Link, who had already grabbed a bowl himself and was in the process of filling it up.
Calynn tilted her head to the side, pursing her lips in a pensive manner. After a long pause, she gave another shrug and declared, "It's fine!" before promptly stuffing her face again.
Dylan, who warily trusted her cousin, put a small amount in a bowl and took a bite. She immediately grimaced. "Ugh, it tastes funky." She eyed Calynn and Link. The boy had joined Calynn in sitting on the floor nearby, and both had nearly emptied their bowls. "How can you guys eat this stuff?"
"I think it tastes fine," Link said, sounding genuinely perplexed.
"It's food, Dyl," Calynn said. "Food."
With a shake of her head, Dylan took a seat on Calynn's other side and forced herself to take another bite. Since she'd already served herself and didn't want to waste food, she would eat it. But she made sure to chew quickly and keep the food off her tongue as much as possible.
"Yeah, I think I'll just have a roll," Leslie said, grabbing one. They looked safe enough and, upon taking a bite, were at least edible if not the most delicious bread she'd ever tasted.
"I will as well," Ashby agreed. "I don't imagine a stomachache will be ideal at a time like this." Since her tiny arms and body couldn't reach high enough, Leslie handed her a roll. "Oh dear," Ashby said, pausing to stare at the roll with a wilting expression. "I don't know how to eat this."
"That's because you're a Deku Scrub," Tatl said, as if it was common knowledge. "You're basically a plant. You get nourishment from the ground when you enter the Deku flora."
Taking a deep breath, Ashby handed Leslie her roll and turned to the fairy, hands on her hips...well, 'hips.' "And how was I supposed to know that?" she demanded. As much as she tried to be patient, she was becoming weary of this fairy's incessant attitude problem. "I've only been a Deku Scrub for a few hours and know absolutely nothing about them."
Tatl lifted her hands in a careless shrug, completely unrepentant. "You're a plant. It's only common sense."
Sensing a feud about to start, Dylan decided she'd better intervene. Speaking a little timidly, afraid of earning backlash from either the irritated scrub or the obnoxious pixie, she said, "So, how do you know so much about...well, everything?" She held her breath, hoping no one would kill her for interrupting. Thankfully, Tatl only turned to look at her, her expression as uppity as ever.
"I'm a guide fairy. They make us learn all sorts of useless facts in school," she said.
"Wait, fairies go to school?" Leslie asked.
"Of course we do. Doesn't everyone go to school?"
"School is the worst," Calynn moaned before anyone could reply. "Hey, do you think we won't have to go to school anymore now that we're stuck in this game?" Leslie shot Calynn a look that could have killed her on the spot. Realizing her mistake too late, Calynn gave a nervous laugh. "I mean, uh…"
"Game?" Tatl repeated, one eyebrow raised. Link was looking towards her, equally puzzled.
"Um, what she meant to say is, uh," Leslie spoke up quickly, struggling for a believable explanation, "now that we're caught up in this mission. Right?"
Calynn nodded briskly. "Yep. That's exactly what I meant."
Tatl cast glances between the two of them, then flew down until she hovered just a few inches away from Leslie's face. "You're acting weird."
"What? Me?" Leslie backed away, trying to smooth her contorted countenance into something resembling normal. "I'm not weird. She's the weird one!" She pointed a hasty finger at Calynn and gave her a piercing glare which made a very loud, silent declaration of 'I blame you for this.' "Not everything is a game, Calynn," she said out loud.
Tatl hummed, still peering at Leslie. "Well, whatever."
Leslie relaxed visibly as the fairy flew away, although she quickly hid any sign of discomposure, straightening out the hem of her skirt. "Anyway, if we've all finished eating, we should probably get going. We don't have much time," she said.
"At least we can agree on that," Tatl huffed under her breath from the perch she had taken amidst the folds of Link's hat.
The others nodded and Calynn hastily scarfed down the last bite of her second bowl of soup. It had tasted a little strange at first, but once she got used to it, it wasn't so bad. At least her stomach wasn't rumbling anymore. She and Dylan eached grabbed a roll from the basket, Calynn because her stomach was never completely satisfied, and Dylan because she'd only eaten a small helping of the soup and was sure to get hungry later.
Link, also scraping the last bits from his bowl, stood and followed after them. The more he was around girls, the weirder they seemed to him. Calynn's comment was kind of odd, but he didn't understand why Tatl and Leslie had made such a big deal out of it. Oh, well. He had more important things to worry about.
They were just leaving the kitchen when the woman from the front desk appeared. She looked a bit startled to see them at first, and then her face relaxed into a smile. "Oh, you found the kitchen. I'm so glad! I hope the food was to your liking. I cooked it myself."
Dylan and Leslie shifted nervously, unsure how to answer without either hurting the woman's feelings or outright lying, and Tatl snickered. Fortunately, Calynn was as quick to pipe up as always. "It was awesome! I had two bowls!" she declared.
The woman clapped her hands near her face, looking pleased. "I'm so happy you enjoyed it. Please be sure to help yourselves if you get hungry again. I'm a little new at cooking since my father used to do all the cooking, but I do my best."
"Thanks, we'll be sure to take you up on that!" Leslie said. "We're really busy so we have to go now," she added, afraid the woman was about to start telling her life story, and continued down the hallway.
Ashby paused briefly before following after, wanting to smooth over Leslie's brusque manner. "Thank you so much for your generosity," she said to the woman.
"Oh no, it's no problem. It is my job after all," the woman said. She gave them a respectful bow. "Please enjoy your day."
"So next we're going to those kids' hideout, right?" Dylan asked as they stepped outside, blinking in the bright sunlight after being indoors for so long.
"Right," said Leslie. She glanced at Link, suddenly remembering that, as the hero, he was technically supposed to be in charge. Even if she did know more than he did, at least for now. "Uh, right, Link?"
Link gave a vigorous nod. "That's our best lead for now, so let's go find it!"
"The only question is, where is this hideout?" Ashby pointed out.
Link folded his arms, scanning the area. "Jim said it was in East Clocktown, so it should be around here somewhere."
"It's just up those stairs," Leslie said. Link turned to her, eyebrows raised. "Uh, I mean, I think it is," she corrected herself hastily. "I saw a kid wearing one of those bandannas standing outside a passageway earlier."
"May as well follow what she says. She's been right about everything else," Tatl said.
Link looked at Leslie a little more closely. He hadn't noticed it before, but Tatl had a point. Leslie did seem to know a lot...well, maybe it was just a coincidence. "Ok, let's go," he said. The most important thing was that he find the Skull Kid as soon as possible so he could save Epona. This thought in mind, he took off at a sprint, forcing the others to run to keep up with his fast pace.
Sure enough, a boy wearing a yellow bandanna stood a ways beyond the stairs, blocking an entrance in the wall which led to a shadowy tunnel. He was considerably smaller than the other members of his gang, at least two or three years younger, and was currently jumping up and down, a bored look on his face. When Link approached, the boy looked up and his eyes briefly scanned the group. Letting out a long sigh, his gaze dropped to his shoes, which were the same color as his bandanna.
"If you want to pass through here, you have to say the secret code!" he told them, looking up long enough to give them a not-so-intimidating glare, as if he was half-daring them to pass by, and half-terrified they would actually try.
"It's a good thing we have the code, then," Leslie said.
The boy glanced at her, looking a little surprised, then shrugged and gave another sigh. "Ok, what's the code?"
"Wait, do we actually remember the code?" Calynn said in a loud whisper.
"I wrote it down in my notebook," Link told her, pulling out said notebook.
Calynn's eyes widened. "That's so smart! I didn't know you were a genius, Link!"
"He's not a genius. I wrote it in mine too," Leslie said with a roll of her eyes.
"Ah...well…you don't count!" Calynn stammered out.
Dylan gave her cousin's shoulder a comforting pat. "Uh, I wrote it down too," she said. Calynn's jaw dropped.
"And I would have written it down if I had a notebook," Ashby agreed, looking apologetic.
Calynn waved her hands at them. "Fine! You're all geniuses! Go on with your genius business!" Her lips settled into a pout. The other girls giggled and Dylan gave Calynn's arm another pat.
"Um, so, the code?" the boy asked again, reminding them of the task at hand. Link opened his notebook and read out the numbers. "Umm...that's right. I guess you're all members, then?" he glanced at the group questioningly, biting his lip. They all nodded. "Ok, here you go!" With another sigh, he moved aside, allowing them passage. "I hope they really are all members…" he mumbled softly to himself.
"Woo! Let's go!" Calynn shouted, her annoyance replaced with a renewed excitement. Grabbing Dylan's hand, she charged into the passage, pulling a stumbling Dylan behind her and nearly knocking Link over in her haste. Seeing the dark tunnel awaiting them, she stopped just as suddenly, causing Leslie to crash right into her.
"Now what are you doing?" Leslie demanded, rubbing her throbbing forehead.
"It looks creepy. I don't want to go!" Calynn exclaimed. Turning heel, she would have run right back out of the tunnel if Leslie hadn't placed her hands firmly on the scared girl's shoulders and forced her to stop.
"No, we have to go in. If you don't go, I'll hide a spider under your blanket tonight," Leslie threatened.
Calynn's eyes widened, and then she paused, giving Leslie a sidelong look. "Wait, you're scared of spiders too."
"I'll get over it for your sake."
Pouting, Calynn reluctantly turned around. She wouldn't put anything past Leslie.
Deciding he was better off going last, Link waited until all the girls were inside before following them into the passageway. The tunnel, paved on all sides with gray stone that was rather damp and slippery, sloped steeply down. They stepped warily, careful not to lose balance. Calynn and Dylan, who were both terrified, clung to one another, nearly causing each other to fall while Leslie rolled her eyes until she slipped herself, sending all three tumbling to the bottom where a flickering torch lit the dim room. Ashby, who found her new form surprisingly nimble, and Link, who was long-accustomed to keeping his footing in precarious places, proceeded with much more grace at their tail.
"Oww," Calynn moaned, struggling to untangle herself from the mess of limbs. She glared at Leslie. "That was definitely not my fault."
"Everything is your fault somehow, Calynn," Leslie retorted, rising to her feet and attempting to brush off her clothes, which were now damp and covered with a thin slimy substance. She made a face and ceased the effort, brushing her hands together in an effort to remove the gunk.
"No it's not! Meanie!" Calynn cried.
"Leslie, maybe you should ease up a bit," Ashby suggested softly as she and Link joined them. Teasing Calynn was one of Leslie's favorite pastimes, and she had a tendency to keep it up a bit more than was necessary. Ashby eyed their surroundings. "Is this a...sewer?" Every ounce of her recoiled at the thought that they would have to walk through a sewer of all places.
"Looks like it," Dylan said.
"And smells like it," Tatl added, pinching her nose. "I'll just be hiding in here until we're out of this disgusting place." She grabbed the edge of Link's hat, proceeding to wiggle her way inside.
"Come on, we'd better get it over with," Link said. He stepped forward, surveying the low-ceilinged waterway which stretched out before them. A series of small platforms were scattered amidst the water, but they were too far spaced to reach by jumping. They would have to go through the water. Unwilling to waste another second, he plunged in.
"I certainly did not imagine myself doing this today," Ashby muttered. Stepping up to the water's edge, she peered down at it. "It doesn't seem particularly dirty. Maybe it's more of a drain than waste?"
"The smell isn't that bad either," Dylan agreed. "Just dank and a bit mildewy. I think it should be safe."
"I sure hope you're right," Leslie grumbled.
