An Act to Follow — Part 2: "Killing time is hard, avoiding sunburns is harder"

"Well, it appears the little guy wasn't trampled flat after all…" Link remarked airily. It was hard to tell from his tone whether he was disappointed or not.

"Hey!" Timbre was clambering off the ledge feet first, and he dropped temporarily out of sight, down the maintenance ledge's access ramp. A minute later, he reappeared, scrambling quickly over to the stage from the left. The boy eyed it warily, finally hauling himself up despite the fact there were stairs nearby. "For your information, I almost got sat on by a Goron. I'm lucky to be alive! Didn't you notice I wasn't with you?"

Link shrugged innocently.

Ty scowled and elbowed the green-hatted Hylian sharply in the ribs, earning himself a glare in the process. "Honestly Tim, we thought you were right behind us. You were in that crowd, and it was chaos. Even Kat and Kafei got lost in it!"

Timbre seemed to accept this, and exhaled resignedly.

Kei chuckled.

Flinching, Timbre looked up. Significantly. Kei was easily over seven feet tall, meaning that he made Timbre feel even smaller then usual. Just barely short of four feet among a group of taller kids the same age as he was was bad enough, but this was just…unnerving. "Uh," he mumbled. "Hi."

Kat smirked. "Keisou, meet Timbre. Timbre, Keisou."

"Tis a pleasure, Timbre. Call me Kei for short." Kei's hand could have easily engulfed both of Timbre's hands in his hearty handshake. His manner was surprisingly gentle, though Timbre still felt the soreness in his arm afterwards. No wonder this man had no problem hefting heavy crates!

"And this is Ana," Kat added.

Ana, the woman Kei had been talking to, had a very calculating gaze. Her brown eyes sparkled intelligently as she bent down, smiling, to shake Timbre's hand. "Pleased to meet you, Timbre. You have very nice eyes. What a luminous shade of green."

Timbre stammered a bit, finding such a compliment to be unusual. "Uh…thanks?"

"But, gloves, isn't it a bit warm out to be wearing that sort of thing?"

Timbre glanced down at his hands. The gloves he wore were black and fingerless. He grinned nervously. "I uh, never take my gloves off," he said finally.

"Ah." Ana said, her gaze becoming even more calculating. Timbre shrugged uncomfortably, and Ana suddenly changed the subject. "So, will you be coming to our show tonight?"

Sond's mouth described a small 'o.' "Are you in a play?"

"A play?! Hardly!" Ana laughed. "We're illusionist performers. Slight of hand. Magic tricks. Amazing feats. Part of the fun is trying to figure out how we pull it off. And," she added, looking at Kei, winking, "we don't cheat."

Link stared. "So no real magic, then?" He folded his arms imperiously.

"It depends," Ana said mysteriously, "what you consider real magic."

"Well technically, slight of hand is manual skill, and actual magic-" Chiron started, but his ostentation was suddenly interrupted by another voice.

Raised an octave from the background buzz of the crowd, it broke all further conversation. "Kafei? There you are!"

Kafei groaned loudly as his mother, Madame Aroma, stepped up to the stage. The crowds gave her no trouble at all as she went through them like a person might wade through ocean shallows. Although Kafei's mother was often politely referred to as being 'large in frame' or 'big boned,' it was more her sheer presence that parted the crowd. She was the Mayor's wife, after all.

"Hi Mom…" Kafei chewed his lip, looking a bit pink in the face. His mother was very doting, and oblivious to the embarrassment it caused her son. Link and Ty snickered.

Madame Aroma sniffed, readjusting her reddish-brown hair in its elaborate updo. "Your brother and I have been looking for you for at least an hour! We have something we'd like you to help us with-"

Kafei's face fell. Sometimes being the son of the Mayor meant his mother sent him on chores. It appeared this was the case now.

"-besides, it is much too warm to be playing outside for so long, dear. I don't want you to get sunburned again, remember last time?"

This caused another round of snickering. Kafei turned a slightly darker shade of pink. Kat interjected on his behalf.

"But ma'am, but Kafei promised he'd take us to the merchant's tents this afternoon." Kat smiled innocently. Kafei's eyes widened in panic. The one thing he hated more than chores was shopping. Chiron and Nick were doubled up, failing to totally hide their mirth. Madame Aroma didn't seem to notice.

Before they were seen, Ana interjected. "Hello Madam Aroma. We've just brought in our equipment. We're the illusionists, the Meimou Troupe."

"Ah!" The Mayor wife's mouth widened in a warm smile as she grasped Ana and Kei's hands. "Welcome, welcome to Clock Town! You must be Ana and Keisou Meimou, then! I'm so glad you could make it! Toto has spoken very highly of your work. Is it just the two of you here?"

"Actually, there's also Kei's sister, so three of us altogether."

"Excellent, excellent! I still need to discuss some last-minute arrangements with Toto at the office, but now that I've found Kafei-" Here she patted her son on the head – "I shall be headed back there immediately, feel free to join me there when you are all finished with your setup. I believe we still need to sign your contract."

"Works for us," Kei grinned. "We'll be there shortly."

"Mom," Kafei asked weakly, "Um. What exactly did you want-"

"Oh, never mind that, dear," Kafei's mother said distractedly, "We'll have time later. Go and have fun with your little friends!" Kafei groaned as she planted a wet kiss on his forehead. "And don't spend all your allowance at once, dear!" She shouted over her shoulder as she stepped down the stage steps, merging seamlessly with the crowd again.

As soon as she left, everybody looked at Kafei, who was now soundly crimson.

Everybody burst out laughing, even the adults. Kei clapped a hefty hand on Kafei's shoulder, who grunted from the impact. "Got you wrapped around her little finger, doesn't she?"

"Ugh…I just wish she didn't do that all the time," Kafei whined faintly. "She treats me like I don't know how to do anything." He rounded on Kat. "And why'd you have to tell her I'd take you shopping?"

Kat looked a bit hurt. "It was the first excuse I could think of…sorry."

"Probably because you actually wanted to," Sond teased gently.

Chiron spoke up, sensibly. "Well, how 'bout we all go? There's a big merchant's tent set up in the Eastern District. Bet it's shady in there."

This idea placated Kafei a bit.

Goodbyes were made all around as the kids promised Kei and Ana that they would come see their show that evening. "Be here early, or you might not find room to sit," Kei warned.

Standing in a line on the edge of the stage, all eight kids looked out first at the dreaded crowd, then at one another.

"We ready for this?" Chiron murmured, nervously fingering a strand of hair.

"I'm not," Kafei said.

"After you," Ty said vaguely, pushing Link forward.

"No way, Monkey Boy!" Link dodged, backing into Nick.

"'Ey!" Nick grunted. "Watch it!"

"And don't call me that, Fairy Boy!"

"I'll call you what I like, skunk-stripe!"

"Take that back, you skirt wearin-"

"Hey," Sond said suddenly. "I think Madame Aroma's coming back!"

"Argh! Race you all there!" Kafei sprinted headlong into the crowd, and the other boys, not wanting to be upstaged, ran after him.

Kat blinked. "Wow. They usually never go that fast-"

Sond smirked. "Unless there's food to be had, then it's Tim in the lead. I hope they don't get trampled trying to race each other. I hope we don't get trampled just walking through…"

"You'll be fine," Ana said, laughing. She waved as the two girls disappeared into the crowd.

"Heh, eight of 'em together. Kind of makes Tee look like a breeze to watch after." Kei said.

Ana raised a skeptical eyebrow at Keisou's remark. "Mm-hm?"

"Well, almost." Kei smirked.

-;O;-

Bustling through the crowd hadn't become any easier. In fact, Chiron thought to himself, he was surprised that nobody had yet been seriously injured. The crowd didn't just consist of humans and Hylians, either. There was also an even smattering of all the common races of Termina: large rock-eating Gorons, aquatic Zora, and plantlike Deku Scrubs. Chiron had even noted a few of the reclusive, yellow-eyed, hawk-nosed Gerudo. Everyone, it seemed, was here.

Unfortunately, the group had become separated yet again. Eight kids, even tightly packed together, were in great danger of losing each other at every step. Even now, he, Ty, Nick and Timbre were desperately trying to stay together. Kafei and Link had disappeared a moment earlier, after Kafei claimed he knew a shortcut.

"You know, now I kind of wish I had taken a shortcut…" Timbre muttered. He was really starting to dislike crowds. The heavy smell of sweat and dust was everywhere, and one was in constant threat of being trodden on.

"Mi' agree wi' you there, lobo." Nick said, flexing his shoulders as he slipped between two hagglers. He had the habit of sprinkling his sentences with words from his native language, Volcanian. Ty, despite being in from the same place, did not often share in this habit, nor was his speech as heavily accented.

"The thing is," Ty said, "Is that Kafei's 'shortcuts' usually end up getting us lost or in trouble. Remember last time near the Observatory-yeoouch!"

Chiron stopped walking. "Huh?"

Ty had one eye squeezed shut as he gritted darkly through his teeth. "Somebody just stepped on my tail." The offended appendage lashed about until the boy managed to catch it.

"Ouch." Chiron, Nick, and Timbre chimed in unison, Timbre wincing visibly.

"Nevermind, I'll survive. Besides, there's the merchant's tent now. Ha, we made it there before everyone else, and without taking Kafei's little side route."

From underneath the tent, looking relaxed in the shade, two shapes waved.

"Looks like 'ee made it b'fore us…" Nick murmured.

But the two shapes weren't Kafei and Link after all. They waved harder, one with the mug in her fist.

"Hi!" Came the yell in perfect unison from the two girls.

All four boys stared in astonishment. "H-How did you get here so quickly?" Ty spluttered.

Kat and Sond just looked sly. "That," Kat said finally, "is a secret. Come on in, it's shady and not as crowded! Only shoppers allowed. Besides, there's some really neat stuff being sold here."

"And they're selling milkshakes!" Sond added.

"I'm there! Goodbye, cruel sun!" Chiron walked in, followed by Ty, who was still holding onto his injured tail. Timbre was just following them in when he stopped suddenly, causing Nick to collide with him.

"Hey Tim! Come on!" Ty turned back and raised an eyebrow as he got no response. "Tim?"

"Oy, lobo…heat 'ent getting' to ya, is it?" Nick blinked, waving his hand in front of Timbre's eyes. "Tha' ain' goo' fer yeh, y'know. Tol' you that coat's a bad idea."

Timbre shuddered. "Sorry…just got prickles up my spine for a second. I dunno, it felt like we were being…watched."

Nick abruptly rapped his knuckles on Timbre's forehead, making the dark-haired boy flinch and scowl.

"Ouch! What was that for?!"

"I dunno Ty…" Nick said, chuckling, looking over at his friend. "'Is brains seem to still be in there. Mayhap the sun jus' fried 'em."

"Hey, I'm serious here!" Timbre snarled, rubbing his head. Then he calmed down. "Sorry…it was just kind of weird. Maybe I just need to get in the shade or something."

Nick snorted. "Mebbe," he said wickedly, "S'cause you ain' panting enough, eh lobo? Yanno, stick yer tongue out, like this!"

Timbre rolled his eyes at Nick's attempt to bait him. He let the comment slide, and sighed instead. "Weird feeling though. It's like there's eyes on us or something."

Ty blinked. "Don't let it bother you. Heat plays funny tricks on people - I mean, not us Volcanians of course, we love it - but, well, you know what I mean. It's probably nothing."

"Lissen' to Ty 'ere, 'es smart." Nick laughed.

Timbre smirked. "Yeah, guess you're right…" But he couldn't help but glance suspiciously behind him before retreating into the shady merchant's tent.

-;O;-

The day was much more bearable inside the tent. The merchants, picking up on this, only allowed those who were actually shopping to stay inside, otherwise the tents would be too crowded with people uninterested in shopping, hurting their business.

Kafei and Link eventually arrived, twenty minutes later. Link was fuming.

"A 'shortcut,' he says to me!" he kept going on, "Not only did we end up in North Clock Town, we ran into that creepy Tingle guy! Well, then he wants us to stay and chat for awhile, and Kafei has to stammer something about being on an errand before he'd let us go. Some shortcut!"

Kafei was starting to turn red again. "Look, it was an honest mistake, okay? Sheesh…"

Eventually Link cooled down, though the round of milkshakes the group bought from the Milk Bar's kiosk might have helped. Sond and Kat browsed the merchants' wares for a good hour, but most of the items on sale were slightly too expensive for a child's budget. It was fun though, Kat thought, to imagine herself in some of the handwoven skirts on display, especially the ones that were iridescent. The stone carvings that a local Goron was selling were quite handsome (also quite tasty, he claimed). And some of the Zora jewelry, made from seashells and other marine treasures absolutely took her breath away.

Having almost the entire afternoon left, the kids racked their brains for ideas. Ty rested his chin in one hand. "What else to do until dusk? When did Kei say their show was on?"

"Eight-thirty," Timbre said, yawning and fumbling in a coat pocket.

"An' what time is it now?" Ty asked.

Kafei checked the pocket-sized watch he normally kept carefully tucked under his shirt. "Uh, a little bit after two."

The group sighed a collective sigh. "Well, we gotta find something to do to kill some time…" Ty muttered.

Link paused, inches from pouring the rest of his milkshake down the back of Ty's shirt. "Kill time? Heh, well, y'know, I still have the ocarina-"

"No way!" Came the unanimous shout.

Link shrugged helplessly. "Okay, relax! I was just kidding." He then proceeded with his prank.

Kat groaned, trying hard to think despite the commotion caused by Ty, who was now furiously chasing Link in circles around the tent. Rubbing her temples, she looked at the remaining five. "Any ideas? Someplace fun."

"Somewhere we can eat, too, maybe." Timbre added. He'd found a strip of jerky in his pocket and was now idly gnawing at it. "Milkshakes are good and all, but..."

Nick blinked, watching Ty and Link complete their second lap. "Two…ah…"

"What about the Observatory?" Chiron suggested.

"It's closed, the professor doesn't want a crowd in there. Besides, the Bombers wouldn't let us down there right now anyway," Sond said, pulling out a deck of cards and shuffling it. "Jim's still not too happy about the last time he caught us down there."

"T'ree…" Nick muttered, now counting the laps.

Everybody sighed.

"Well," Chiron said, "We could always try the stores in the Western District…"

"Four…"

"Closed off for the festival." Sond said, not looking up from her cards.

"Well, anywhere else?" Timbre muttered, picking bits of jerky from between his teeth.

"Five…Well…wot 'bout that place wi' th' shootin' targets?" Nick said.

"The one with the Octoroks? Good grief, getting a high score at that place is hard."

"No…th' other place. Wassit called…six…oh yeah, 'Oney n' Darlin's…they open?"

Kat shrugged. "Worth a try, I'd say." As she said this, Link and Ty were just completing their seventh circuit. "Someone's got to stop those two…"

"You come back 'ere, Fairy Boy! I've got a poundin' with your name on it!" Ty was yelling.

"Gotta catch me first!"

Sond nudged Kat. "Psst. Do your fairy impression."

Kat smirked and drew a deep breath. "Watch out!"

This shout had the desired effect. Link, alarmed by the familiar cry, skidded to a halt in midstride. Ty promptly crashed into him, knocking them both over. Dust, fists, and a few oaths flew as the two boys fell to wrestling. Most of the merchants were scowling, although a few seemed to be taking bets.

"Oh dear," Kat said, turning slightly pink.

Kafei stood up. "Alright, time to go. Hey you two?"

"Yeah, people are staring." Chiron said between coughs. "We're going to Honey and Darling's."

Ty reluctantly released Link from a headlock as a draw was called. Both boys scowled at each other fiercely as they picked themselves off the ground. The Volcanian squirmed awkwardly, a long wet streak running down the back of his shirt.

"I'm gonna get you back for that, Fairy Boy…" Ty warned. "I promise you. Before this festival's over, you hear me?!"

"Hah, only two and a half days then, Monkey Boy. I think I'll survive." Link smirked at the challenge.

"We'll see…" Ty said calmly. "We'll see…"