Did she have to do this? No.
Did she want to do this? Yes.
Did she expect Tooty to understand that? No.
Did Tooty respect her wishes nonetheless? Yes, and Kazooie was grateful for that.
Sure, Tooty was as kind-hearted as her brother, but despite not actually needing to go to the top of Spiral Mountain that connected their world to the late witch's lair, something inside the breegull told her that her life depended on it anyway.
What was painfully ironic about all this was that despite having some vitality* left, she didn't fly up there like she used to.
She didn't feel like it - plus, it felt strange to do it now that Banjo wasn't here with her. Sure, his extra weight had been annoying from time to time, but his company had made it all the worthwhile. She could also still fly if she put her back into it, but in this particular case, she had no desire. It was in large thanks to Banjo that she had come to take her time by walking. Something about "enjoying the moment", he used to say.
The path wasn't anything new to her. In fact, she had been on this road more times than she can count, much less remember. Even before she got to the top of Spiral Mountain, memories of her life were already flashing before her eyes...
The first time she and Banjo came to Spiral Mountain after he found her at Breegull Beach...
The first time they had to climb this mountain for the sake of saving Banjo's little sister...
and the countless times after that just to see the sunset, whether it was because they felt like it or they were making up after one those rare arguments that got so heated that they needed space...
...yes, the life she had was a good one.
Not always what she expected, but it was good... and it was all thanks to Banjo.
The sunset had not changed at all, yet all she could see was the two loving blue eyes looking back at her as he told her that he loved her for the first time.
The last of the sun's warmth was nothing compared to the heat that came from it during the afternoon... or the heat that had been on her cheeks when she realized that he had meant not the love of friendship, but undying true love exclusive to partners.
The happiness that she had always felt with Banjo was made all the more alive that day when they had kissed, expressing the only way they knew how of how much it meant to them that their feelings were mutual.
It was on that thought that she smiled, and it compelled the aged bird to turn her head to face the bridge that connected the top of Spiral Mountain with the late witch's lair... or at least what was left of it.
Sure, one could still go through the cave and explore the worlds, but the head of the infamous Gruntilda had long since been replaced with a golden Jiggy. This had been decided upon because everyone obviously hated the witch, but Banjo had been against his face being the replacement. It was something about not wanting to see his own face every day, as a car that looked like him was sufficient.
Although the Jiggy-shaped entrance was less than half the size of the original entrance, the extra space left behind was curved nicely into a field of flowers...
that field of flowers that Kazooie helped carve out with the moles...
that field of flowers that was in her field of vision when Banjo proposed to her...
and that same field of flowers that had the tombstone marking Banjo's grave.
It was that tombstone that Kazooie's whole world was focused on right now. Her smile was true, but so were the tears threatening to come forth. Passing over this fact like a ghost phasing through a wall, she took off the blue backpack and carefully placed it on the ground.
Inside were two instruments: a banjo, and a kazooie.
Her eyes gazed lovingly at them, like she was seeing their child hatch all over again. She brought both instruments out with great tenderness and excitement, as if thrilled to see an old friend while trying not to crush them because of it.
Bringing the stringed instrument to herself, she sighed peacefully before beginning to play.
It was tough in her early years, but thanks to her feathers capable of packing a punch and practice under many moons, she had obtained a knack on something most thought impossible.
Was that anything new? Of course not.
As a team, they saved Tooty not once, but twice... and Spiral Mountain more times than that, even from the permanent damage of changes to the past.
However, she long since admitted to herself that her playing would never be as good as Banjo's. Despite all the time she had invested in this before and after his death, there was something about him playing that made it special: the "golden touch" she called it.
Nonetheless, both the know-how and the songs that she played was all him, and it was Banjo that was on her mind as she took up her kazooie to join in the familiar tunes.
To the notes on the banjo, she was reminded all the more how much she loved him. The songs were an effective reminder of how much she missed him. However, in its own way, the banjo in her wings served as a comfort, and testified that everything she had with Banjo (the bear she loved) was real.
It was a beautiful mess to be in love. It was just like notes for a song: only when together in the right way did it make any sense.
She had enough of a knack by this point to be able to play the banjo with her eyes shut. This gave her the advantage of both the warmth of the sunset against her face as well as envisioning the memories of long ago behind her eyelids.
It was that mixture of joy and sadness that brought about the tears in Kazooie's eyes as she opened them, the sun's rays that much closer to the horizon to bring the end of another day.
With the lack of light brought about an abundance of cold, but not a cold that Kazooie was unaccustomed to.
It had also been her custom to not only see the sun set after playing on Banjo's instrument, but also lay down to look at the countless stars for a little bit until she was emotionally ready to face Tooty and the rest of her family again.
She knew that even when her eyes were closed, she had been looking into the very heavens that Banjo was at now, and that she would join him.
She didn't know when... but her time would come, that much she knew...
She just didn't know it was today.
• vitality: [noun] the state of being strong and active; energy OR the power giving continuance of life, present in all living things.
Artist's Comments:
Thanks again for reading another one-shot of mine.
I had intended to submit this either on Thanksgiving or Black Friday, but that didn't happen.
I'm not really sure if this one is really any good... as I feel like I'm telling you what's going on rather than just letting the action play out.
Then again, I wasn't sure how to show rather than tell. Even the critical part about Banjo being dead was told in some way or the other.
At the end of the day, I just wanted to write a short story about one of my favorite, but underrated, pairings. I hope you call will consider at least respecting that aspect of this fiction.
Since it was Thanksgiving, I figured that this would serve as a reminder for me that even though things come and go, we can still be thankful for them in some way or the other.
May God's love, grace, and mercy be with us all.