Fado was tending to his goats in the field. He had just freed Liam the goat's horns from being stuck in-between the fence poles. That goat was always too curious for his own good, and when he spotted a bit of a yellow something just under the fence, he had to try and nab it. Of course, it had been just out of his reach, so he had to stretch to grab it. This resulted in his striped antlers getting pushed through the gap in the fence and he had gotten stuck. As expected, realizing his head was caught, he panicked. It had taken Fado a good fifteen minutes to untangle the alarmed Liam's horns from the wooden posts.
Once he had, he noticed that in his panic, Liam had left two nice new dents in the fence poles. Who needed strange occurrences when the goats destroyed things well enough on their own? Bending down, Fado picked up and dusted off the yellow thing that had caused all of the trouble. Examining it, he saw it was a yellow mask shaped like a fox's head. Then he recognized it. He had seen Talo wear the mask several times before, when he was bored and used sticks to cut grass. He must have lost it. What had Talo called it? Mutton mask? Creature mask? No, Kee-something, wasn't it?
Fado gave up trying to remember what it was called. He wondered vaguely how Talo could see out of the thin slits that were the masks eyeholes. Entering the barn, he put the mask on his head so he could grab a new plank for the fence with both hands. Surprisingly, his vision was only slightly hampered from the eye slits. Peering about the barn, his eye caught sight of something that made him gasp and drop the plank painfully on his foot.
"Ow!" he yelped as he stared at the animal in the barn. It was another golden wolf- no, a fox. A yellow-golden fox with three long tails that faded into black on the tips. Its pointed face closely resembled the mask on his own head. Fado realized that his must be an actual Kee-thing. Slowly taking the mask off, he stood stock still as the creature acknowledged him daintily, flicking its tails up and down. Fado didn't know if the Kee-things were dangerous or not.
"Hee-hee-ho!" It laughed, making Fado jump, "hello, sir, if you are attempting to fool me, it is impossible, we Keatons recognize each other by the sheen of our tails, of which you do not have,"
"What? So you're called Keatons," Fado muttered, half to himself. Speaking louder, he addressed the Keaton properly, "So, uh, are you dangerous?"
"Oh hee-hee!" the fox laughed, flicking it's tails faster for a second and nodding it's head, "That depends! We Keatons love sneaking and playing and tricking! Oh yes! We are tricky! Answer my questions and you just might win a prize!"
"Wait, what questions?" Fado asked, not quite sure what to do. His barn was being invaded by a three-tailed, yellow, giggly talking fox that wouldn't give him any straight answers. He had to admit, this was even stranger than that deranged cuckoo Ooccoo that had been in his barn a while ago.
"Answer me this… Pick one of the three choices, hee-hee!" the Keaton continued, ignoring Fado's confusion, "What is the name of the princess in Castle Town who collects bugs?" The fox asked, "Agitha, Mitha, or Sarina?" It sat, poker straight, unmoving except for its constantly flicking tails, as it waited patiently for Fado's answer.
"Uh, do I have to do this?" Fado asked. The Keaton stared at him studiously, unmoving.
"Oh, alright, I'll answer your questions," Fado told it, mainly because it's stares were unsettling, but also in part because he wanted to find out this 'prize' he could win. He hoped it wasn't another goat. When he realized it wasn't going to move, he asked, "Could you repeat the question?"
"What is the name of the princess in Castle Town who collects bugs? Agitha, Mitha, or Sarina?" It obliged.
"Okay… umm, Agitha?" Fado guessed, remembering briefly meeting the strange, giggly girl who loved bugs.
"Correct!" the Keaton praised, nodding its head and waving its tails excitedly, "Now answer me this… How many goats belong to the goat herder, Fado? Ten, twenty, or thirty?"
"What? I own the goats you know, what kind of a question is that?" The Keaton just stared expectantly at him.
"Twenty," Fado answered when he realized the Keaton wasn't going to do anything.
"Correct!" the Keaton exclaimed, "Now, answer me this… What is the price you pay to play the game 'Flight by Fowl?' Ten, twenty, or thirty rupees?"
"Uh, thirty? No- twenty. Twenty rupees," Fado answered, trying to recall the weird visit made by the clown disaster, Falibi. He sighed in relief as the Keaton purred,
"Correct! Now answer me this… What kind of creature does the wielder of the Master Sword turn into when touched by Twilight? A sheep, rabbit ,or wolf?" It asked. Fado wondered how many questions he would have to answer.
Wielder of the Master Sword… Didn't Link have that now? That meant that Link turned into some sort of creature when touched by Twilight… but what? Then he remembered the wolf, how it had Link's eyes, and how Link got all nervous when he had teased him about it. Was it possible that the wolf was really Link?
"A wolf," Fado decided, not knowing if he was excited or worried that his answer was probably right.
"Correct!" the Keaton nodded its tails and head again. So Link was the wolf… Suddenly, a lot more things made sense; the grunting noises in the barn when the wolf had fallen through the roof when attacking the lantern, it's willingness to protect him, and Link acting strange when he was telling him about the wolf. The Keaton was still talking.
"Now answer me this… Where is the Mirror of Twilight located? The Arbiter's Grounds, Temple of Time, or Hidden Village?"
"Uh…" Fado began, still pondering his recent revelation. Why hadn't Link told him? Coming out of his thoughts, he pondered the new question. He had never heard of the Mirror of Twilight before. Where could it be?
"The Temple of Time?" he asked, going off of the only place he recognized. It was the place the Master Sword was kept, why not the Mirror of Twilight?
"Wrong!" the Keaton shook it's head and flicked its tails in perfect synchronization, "You failed, try again next time! Hee-hee-ho!" It laughed.
"Wait, aren't you going to give me the answer?" Fado blinked and it disappeared, leaving no evidence behind that it had ever been there. Fado examined the mask that he still held in his hand, thinking about what he had discovered. Link could turn into a wolf. He didn't know what to think about that. He decided to ask Link about that the next time he ran into him. I wonder if I'll see that Keaton again, he speculated. I hope I don't, I hardly got a straight answer out of the whole conversation.
A/N Well, here is the next installment in the story! It's almost double the length of the last chapter, so hopefully it makes up for its shortness. Hope you enjoyed it! Took a break in studying to write this, so yeah, I don't think I'm going to be uploading anything else until after Wednesday. Yes, Keatons are another out-of-game character, but they also happen to be immortal. So, it worked! :D
As always, constructive criticism and reasonable and/or in-game ideas are always welcome and greatly appreciated!
By the way- I put up a section on my profile of some of my tips and tricks on how to write well, if anyone wants to look at it.
Now for the guest reviewers! If you reviewed while logged in, you don't have to read anything beyond this point!
Ashlee S- Haha, hmm, that's a good idea, I'll try to use it at some point! :D thanks for the good luck wishes! (I hope I do well)
Sundance- Thanks! I'm glad you enjoy it! I've always had a soft spot for Fado, and seeing how not so many people write about him, I figured I would! This story was originally a one-shot (The first chapter mildly changed) until someone suggested I should expand on it, so I did and here we are.
TheBestGuest- Alrighty, thanks. Well, here's the next chapter for ya! :D