An Act to Follow — Part 3: "It doesn't pay to snoop"
It had become mercifully cooler since the sun had dipped below the horizon. The sky glowed a multitude of stark fiery hues, and as the swirling colors began to slowly sink into midnight blue, the pinpricks of brighter stars began to appear. A nightly chorus of insects was tentatively starting to commence.
That is, if one could have heard them above the noise of the assembly gathered in South Clock Town.
It was difficult to find a seat in the twilight, let alone one's way, but the streetlamps had been lit, providing at least some light for the audience. On either side of the stage in front of the big clock burned a larger lamp, which thanks to an arrangement of mirrors within, cast focused light onto the stage. A curtain now hung at the back of the stage, behind from which performers could enter and exit.
"Why do y'suppose they're doing their act after dark? Is it so we can't see how their tricks work?" Kafei murmured to Kat.
"Maybe, but I think this kind of thing just looks better in the dark. Makes it seem more spooky, you see?" Kat waggled her fingers for emphasis.
The group had spent most of the afternoon at Honey and Darling's parlor for some target shooting. Unlike the other shooting gallery in town, Honey and Darling's utilized a carousel-like platform that spun, making it a more unique challenge for sharpshooters. In the end Sond's superior archery skills had won her some extra Rupees, while everybody else came up either short or merely even. Around five o'clock (at Timbre's urging) they had headed off for a quick dinner from some of the street kiosks, followed by another round of milkshakes.
Ty had sat the entire time with his back to the wall. Ever since the previous milkshake incident, he and Link had thrown each other dirty looks at every opportunity.
The two of them were rarely if ever on good terms, due to a rivalry that had started the moment the two had met. Something about Ty's bravado, Link's stoneheadedness, and their equally competitive personalities could drive them to blows over even the smallest of disagreements. And, much to the consternation of the rest of the group, once they got going they were difficult to stop. Only in the direst of situations would they forget their quarrels and work together.
So it was that the Volcanian and Hylian were glowering at each other even while waiting for the show to begin. The group, heeding the warning of finding seats early, had taken the initiative. Pushing a pair of empty crates together, the group had reserved their spot in South Clock Town, off to the left of the stage. This had a few advantages: for one thing, they had a wall to lean against, and second: fewer people were there, although it had taken a bit to convince the Deku Scrub salesman nearby that they weren't going to disturb his golden Deku Flower, which he used instead of a kiosk.
"Like we'd want to," Chiron had muttered.
Kat, Kafei and Nick sat on top of the crate (they'd drawn straws for it), while below everybody else sat on the ground around it. Timbre, who was sore he hadn't won a seat up on top of the crate, grumbled aloud. "You know, we could've sat on one of the roofs…"
Sond was playing solitaire again. "We wouldn't be able to see a thing."
"Not if we went around the Clock Tower-"
"We'd be behind the stage then, and the clock and that curtain might be in the way," Sond said finally. "Or are you just hoping to snoop behind the scenes?"
Timbre looked away, fumbling in a pocket. "Nevermind." Finding one last strip of jerky, he crammed it in his mouth moodily. He'd expressed quite a bit of curiosity about Ana and Kei's show, even before they'd found their seats. Slight of hand…he'd never seen an act like that before.
Chiron tapped a foot impatiently. "When is it gonna start?"
As if on cue, the huge clock turned, marking the half-hour.
"Guess that answers my question…" Chiron remarked.
"Shh…" everyone hissed.
The crowd hushed expectantly as all heads turned towards the stage. They were not kept waiting for long.
Ana stepped out onto the stage to applause, her long blue hair tied back in a braid. She wore a dress that was black on top, but faded down into a beautiful midnight blue at the bottom. Woven into the fabric were hundreds of little abalone shell sequins. It sparkled when she moved, a duplicate of the night sky.
"Pretty! I'd love a dress like that!" Kat breathed.
Keisou followed her. His hair was exactly the same as it had been before, though haloed in the stage's illumination made it eerily resemble the flame it strove to emulate. He was wearing a sleeveless muscle-shirt of the same midnight blue as Ana's dress, with baggy white pants. His boots were huge, and made large clumping noises as he walked.
Sond was about to agree with Kat about Ana's dress when her head turned towards the stage. Someone else had arrived.
The third member was a little girl, who looked incredibly minute standing up there next to Kei. She had long hair of a lighter blueish-gray than her companions, braided back like Ana's. She was clad in a billowing short-sleeved blue dress that came down slightly past her knees. Oddly, she was wearing a black glove on her right hand, but not on her left.
"Oy, she's tiny. She might even be shorter than you, Tim!"
"Shh!"
Timbre grumbled while Kafei's father, the mayor of Clock Town, stood up next to the stage and climbed the steps. Mayor Dotour was quite unlike Madam Aroma, his frame thin and lanky and his manner constantly nervous, as if he were a mouse caught out in the open. Raising his voice seemed to put a strain on the man.
"I would like to welcome you all to the Clock Town Midsummer Festival!" The Mayor squeaked in his wobbly voice. There was polite cheers and applause. "I would like to extend our most warmest of welcomes to you all-"
Chiron sniggered, "and your Rupees…" This garnered several more sniggers and a slight glare from Kafei.
"Tonight we are very honored to invite you to a splendid performance that will boggle the mind and dazzle the eye, mesmerizing and mysterious…"
"…blah blah blah, get on with it, Dad…" Kafei mumbled under his breath, before Kat elbowed him in the ribs.
"…I am pleased to introduce…" Mayor Dotour cleared his throat. "Our fantastic cerulean illusionists, the Meimou Troupe, Mr. Keisou and Madam Ana!" The two performers bowed as the crowd applauded wildly.
"Ahem," Mayor Dotour patiently waited for the crowd to quiet. "I am also pleased to introduce their assistant Miss Tejina, Mr. Keisou's young sister." Here the little girl stepped forward shyly and curtsied.
"I am not that short," Timbre started, then he crossed his arms sulkily as everybody glared at him to be quiet.
"And now, on with the show!" The Mayor's voice cracked, and he quickly exited backstage. There was another burst of applause from the crowd, although it wasn't clear whether they were applauding because the show was starting or because the Mayor had finished talking.
"Thank you, Mr. Mayor," said Ana, her mouth curving into a grin. "I suppose all of you are familiar with a handkerchief? Well, you might be amazed at what can be done with such a simple thing."
The trio started their act simply enough. Rolling up her sleeves, Ana retrieved a yellow handkerchief, seemingly out of nowhere. She handed it to Keisou, while the girl Tejina stood off impassively to one side. Crumpling the handkerchief into one fist, Kei passed his other hand over it. Suddenly, he flicked his hand open, and the handkerchief had become a yellow flower with crinkly petals. The applause was polite.
"So what's the verdict?" Sond whispered quietly to Kat, as both she and Chiron both had some training in the magical arts.
Kat hummed interestedly. "Well, I don't think he magically conjured it. Didn't look like it."
"Yeah," Chiron murmured. "He must've hid it somewhere on him."
"But where could you-"
"Shhh! Look!"
Kei made a motion as if he were going to throw the flower into the air, but it instead vanished. The man stared at his hands as if confused. Tejina suddenly trotted over to him. Standing on her tiptoes, the little girl tugged on his sleeve with a smile. Kei turned around, and kneeled down in front of her. Tejina made several mysterious passes, cupping her hands into a ball. When she opened them, the yellow flower sat there, nestled in her palms. Placing the flower behind Kei's left ear, Tejina repeated the passes, producing another flower, this time bright blue. This one she balanced on his left shoulder.
"Okay, so where is she getting them from? Up that skirt?" Chiron murmured.
"Shh!"
Tejina kept producing flowers of various colors, until Kei had nearly a score of them woven into his hair, tucked in his belt, and even one clenched between his teeth. By this time, the audience was chuckling.
Ana arrived to his rescue. 'Shooing' the girl, she covered Kei with a black silk sheet. She held on to two corners of the sheet, biding Tejina to do the same on the other end.
"Now!" Ana shouted, and they pulled the sheet off of Kei. The man stood perplexed, covered in the rainbow of handkerchiefs that had replaced the flowers. The crowd roared its approval, and even Link admitted he was impressed.
The rest of the show was just as remarkable. During one part, Keisou deftly spun an iron ball on one finger. Seconds later he tossed it down onto the stage, causing the whole structure to shake. The ball was handed off to some Gorons in the audience, who verified it was truly as heavy as was said. There were then a few invitations for Kei to join them in some friendly competitive arm-wrestling later, much to the audience's amusement.
In another trick, Tejina stood still as a stone with an apple balanced on her head. Ana skillfully spun a throwing knife at the girl. The knife thudded to the floor with the apple impaled on it, leaving Tejina unharmed.
And none of their tricks used magic, much to their amazement. Nick just chuckled. "Slig' o' hand, clever tricks, it might not be magic, bu' 'tis magical th' same, yes?"
Link sighed. "Suppose so."
Ty guffawed and slapped the boy heavily on the back, causing Link to flinch. Ever since Ty had vowed revenge, Link had become paranoid of anything that seemed to cause the boy amusement, as if it were going to viciously turn on him.
Nearly three quarters of an hour had passed since the show began, and finally Keisou held up his hands. "And now," he boomed, "For our finale, we shall make my young sibling here completely vanish!" Keisou retrieved a plain wooden box from backstage. He juggled it in one hand, twirling it so the audience saw it from all sides as he spoke. "Note this box has no holes in it, and no hinges save this one on the top." Setting the box down, he opened the top.
Tejina stepped forward. She hadn't spoken a word or made a sound throughout the entire performance. She blinked innocently as Kei lifted her into the box, setting her inside as gently as a doll into its toy crib. Ana closed the box's lid with a resounding boom. She then proceeded to bolt the lid shut.
"No way she's getting out of there…" Kafei murmured.
Kei picked up the box once more and held it over his head. "Now…a little girl goes into the box, but no little girl exits, behold!" Spinning the box in his hands, he tossed it into the air. As it spun in a graceful arc, it seemed like Kei was going to let it fall. The audience gasped appropriately. At the last moment, he caught it, setting it down upright on the stage.
"She's gonna be dizzy…" Timbre murmured.
Kei unbolted the box, and flung the lid open for all to see. The audience collectively craned their necks. Kei flipped the box down so that its open side lay visible to the entire audience.
The box was empty.
Timbre stared with wide eyes as the crowd gave a standing ovation. "So then where do you go after you disappear?" Everybody else was too busy applauding the performers to take much notice of him, however. Now the crowd was cheering for an encore. It took a full 2 minutes of cheering before Kei and Ana finally conceded to a few more tricks. Tejina, however, had not reappeared for the curtain call.
Timbre was suddenly feeling rather antsy. He'd always been the inquisitive type, but it seemed like he was alone in his curiosity, as his friends seemed more content to sit and watch.
No matter then. Maybe if he slipped off by himself, and if he could somehow slip backstage, he could find out their secret. Everyone else was still focused on the show. Now was the perfect time… Timbre looked towards the gate leading to West Clock Town, behind him to his left. There was a route through there that looped around to an area behind both the clock and the stage. Maybe…
Timbre was already mentally planning the route in his mind and shuffling slowly backwards when somebody poked him in the shoulder, giving him a start. It was Kafei.
"Wow, you're really fascinated by this stuff, aren't you?"
Timbre froze, but then nodded. "Yeah. Er, um, I'm going to just go for a walk. I'm…er…feeling a bit antsy." He quietly stood and began sidling off towards the gate that lead to West Clock Town. Kafei followed him, somewhat to Timbre's annoyance.
"You're going to snoop, aren't you?"
Timbre didn't reply.
"You know nothing good comes of snooping." There was still no response. "C'mon, doesn't part of you not want to know? You know, to keep yourself wondering?" The purple-haired boy asked.
Timbre looked back at Kafei. "Um…no. Sorry. Look, just go back to the others, I'll be right back, honest." Timbre blinked. "Oh yeah, and would you watch my coat for me? It doesn't change with me." Timbre slipped out of the overcoat, leaving him only in his black shirt and canvas pants.
Kafei held on to the coat, staring at it as everything sunk in. "Uh…you're not gonna actually-" He stopped wide-eyed when Timbre nodded. "Bad idea! There's too many people around! What if somebody sees you like that?"
"Relax," Timbre said with a slight hint of a grin. "Everybody's here watching the show."
"But...but…" Kafei stared down at the coat, unable to think of a retort. He finally sighed. "You're crazy, you know that?" Kafei looked up again.
Timbre was no longer there, although Kafei did catch sight of a white tailtip as something vanished around the corner into the alley.
-;O;-
The black and white wolf padded purposefully down the dark and deserted strip of West Clock Town, past the closed Curiosity Shop. In fact, all of the regular stores were locked due to the Festival, even the Bomb Shop and Trading Post. The bank's little niche lay empty of both banker and Rupees.
It looked like Sond had been correct: they'd specially closed the area off to use it for storage, judging by the large numbers of wooden crates stacked up against any free walls. The food merchants would definitely need extra space to store their produce and ingredients safely out of the way. Despite this, Timbre knew better then to take chances, and kept himself to the ample shadows. Guards would likely be regularly patrolling the area to head off any enterprising thieves, especially during an event such as this.
His general plan was to quickly loop through West Clock Town. Up further, at the end of the strip of stores was a small square. In that square, a right turn would connect back to South Clock Town, which would lead him past a statue of an owl with outspread wings directly behind the Clock Tower, and the stage. From there, he could watch the goings-on backstage without them noticing him, and then...
What was that?
Hearing a faint clanking noise, both of Timbre's pointed ears perked forward in alarm and he froze in place, one forepaw still in the air. Nothing. He sniffed the air, and at first only the scents of oil-fried festival food intermingling with those of soil, flowerboxes, and new paint came to him. Then the wind's direction changed. Metal! Sweat and metal!
Without a second thought, Timbre slipped silently against the wall on his right and wedged himself behind a particularly large crate. Even as he did so, he heard faint clanking as one of the Clock Town's guard slowly marched by.
Just a one Guard, he thought. Though that spear he's carrying isn't a joke. Like all of Clock Town's Guard, he (or she, it was hard to tell) was dressed head to toe in steel armor, even a helmet. Although evidently well-protected, the Guards were often cited as one of the noisier things to walk the streets. As the armored figure clanked and clattered southward and its scent dulled, Timbre slowly squeezed out from his hiding place, and continued on, wary to any further activity or smells.
Timbre had never met any others of his kind in either Hyrule or Termina, and he was pretty sure he knew why; the shapeshifting race was likely an extinct creature in both lands. Like most shapeshifters, wolves like himself led a double life: some of the time they looked exactly like humans, and the rest of the time they spent very shrewdly out of sight of humans.
The reading Timbre had managed on the subject gave him good reason to be wary. There was very little Hylian record of his kind, other than the sorts of stories one might casually assume were fairy stories. Instead, the writings in the lands of Hyrule and Termina focused another creature called a Wolfos: a large, wild, savage, destructive, cunning, and purportedly man-eating monster. Even if true Wolves and Wolfos had little in common other than an outwardly similar appearance, the danger of resembling such a feared and hated creature was all too real; no human was likely to stay their weapon long enough to distinguish the two before striking.
And though scarce, the stories had added another layer to the dilemma: they concluded with little doubt that anything that could change its shape at will was suspiciously deceptive at best and outwardly malicious at worst. Add to that its unwanted connection to a predatory Boogey Man, and one could conclude a wolf's general mindset about humans: be wary of them, and never let them find out your true nature.
This last was significant to explaining to Timbre a survival instinct that had likely been pounded in over hundreds of years of unfortunate interactions. A careless wolf was a dead wolf - shot full of arrows, burned alive, drowned, chained up and torn apart by hounds – no matter what form he wore. The humans' mindset was grim and deeply set; their writings were proof as much. Nobody was about to convince them that they were wrong in their presumptions.
At least most of them, Timbre thought, prudently. My friends did eventually get used to the idea. Maybe we wolves are just as prejudiced about humans in our own way. Even so, Timbre reasoned, he wasn't about to reveal himself as such to the world. If he wanted to survive, he'd much rather be the little short boy in the overcoat and gloves than that four-legged shadow that nobody ever fully saw. The fewer that ever knew of his true nature, the better. Those being his friends, and —
"Hi there, Fuzzy!"
Timbre yelped, diving behind a large stack of crates in his alarm. Seconds later, a glowing yellow light with gossamer wings flashed suddenly in his face. "A bit nervous, aren't we?"
The wolf growled under his breath. It was just that fairy, Tatl. Hovering nearby was a smaller purple (though currently to the wolf's eyes it looked dark blue) fairy, her brother Tael. The two were part-time troublemakers, though they split their time between pranks hanging out with many of the town children, unfortunately including his friends. Tatl herself seemed to like to give Timbre lots of attention, possibly because she'd found his dual nature interesting. Then again, maybe she just liked to torment him.
The yellow fairy hovered in front of his muzzle, where his crossed eyes could just barely distinguish a petite female figure in the center of the glow. Tatl snickered, landing daintily on the tip of Timbre's nose. She smelled of daisy pollen and sunbeams. She also tickled and made him really want to sneeze. "Now then. What's a cute little pup like you doing in a place like this?"
"None of your business," Timbre replied, which came out as a soft snort.
"And 'woof' to you, too." The incorrigible fairy snickered. Of course he couldn't speak a human language in this form, and she, like many others, didn't understand lupine language, though she usually got the general idea. She knew that he could understand her teasing perfectly in either form.
Agitated, Timbre's ears went back and he swatted at Tatl with a forepaw. She easily dodged, landing triumphantly back on his nose. The pup shook his head vainly, trying hard not to sneeze.
As if to add insult to injury, Tael floated over and landed on top of Timbre's head, right between the ears. "Sis, leave him alone! Timbre's probably busy."
"Say my name a little louder, won't you?" The wolf growled at them sarcastically.
The yellow fairy wouldn't give up though. "Not until he changes back and he tells me what he's up to!" She uttered, stamping one tiny foot down. The tickling this caused was worse than ever. Timbre shook his head, dislodging Tael. Tatl simply fluttered her wings, keeping her perch with a devilish smirk.
In imminent danger of sneezing, Timbre closed his eyes and tried hard to focus on something other than his itching nose. He breathed in deeply, but even as a hundred different scents from soap to honey to sunbaked clay washed over him, he failed.
"I'm waaaiting, Fuzzy…" Tatl said, tapping her foot impatiently.
Tap, tap, tap…
It was just too much tickling for one nose to bear.
"TCHOOO!"
The sneeze echoed rather loudly through the deserted strip. Tatl, not expecting such a powerful sneeze, was sent somersaulting a fair distance before her wings stabilized her tumble in midair. The fairy was unharmed, but infuriated.
"You little fleabag!" she squeaked. "You did that on purpose!"
This statement was entirely untrue. Timbre did not have fleas (at least he hadn't recently), nor had he sneezed with intent on launching the fairy. Still, he thought with satisfaction, that was pretty funny. A second later he ducked quickly as the angered glowing creature attempted to dive-bomb him. Still cursing, she zinged up and away above the roofs until she was gone from sight.
"Heh." Tael seemed impressed. "She always hates it when someone gets the better of her. You'll have to teach me that one."
A muffled eruption of cheers and voices from the South District's direction caused Timbre to groan. The fairy's interruption had cost him his chance at spying on the magic act. He held in a few curses as he sunk into a sit. At least the sneeze and commotion hadn't attracted anyone else. Tael began talking again, much to the wolf's exasperation.
"So…I can't help but be curious…what are you up to?"
Timbre quickly shushed the fairy with an upward glance and a grunt. Something was giving him sudden chills up his spine, which in this form made his hackles rise. Taking his instinct as better judgment, he stared up at the stack of crates he had dived behind. There were two stacks of four crates, with a ninth lone crate on top. If he got on top, behind that ninth crate, he would be able to see the alleyway better, as well as stay hidden.
Shaking himself to dislodge the fairy, he took a deep breath. Several types of fruit scents, mixed with fresh cut wood and pine resin hovered in his mind. With a few calculated jumps, he managed to get a perch on the top of the eighth crate, his forepaws propped against the ninth. Peering over the top, he was barely visible as he scanned the strip of deserted stores for movement.
He wasn't kept waiting for long.
Quiet as silk, a shadowy something was making its way down the strip, coming in from the same square that Timbre had originally been headed for. The wolf leaned forward eagerly as the shape tentatively approached. The shadow abruptly stopped, upwind from him. If only he could get its scent, or even a better look-
Although Timbre had decent night-vision, it didn't help unless there was at least some light source nearby. And there wasn't. The same concealment he had wanted for his own safety was now working against him. Blast, he thought. If only there were some light-
As if on cue, a tentative light zigzagged out from behind the crate stack, headed directly towards the intruder. Timbre's green eyes widened a fraction, but he managed to keep quiet.
Tael! Timbre silently screamed. Tael, no, don't do that, you idiot!
As Tael's light illuminated the shadow, he saw a sudden flash of bright eyes and then the four-legged shape bolted back the way it came, as swift and silent as oil rolling off a wet leaf.
Timbre leaned forward in alarm, inadvertently putting all his weight on the crate.
This was an unfortunate thing to do. The ninth crate, which Timbre had been leaning against, had been slowly inching its way towards the edge of the stack from his subtle pressure. Timbre's last little push was all it needed to send it teetering, crazily half-balanced at the edge. Then, as a pit in the wolf's stomach grew, it fell.
CRASH!
The wooden structure splintered, its top bursting open. If that wasn't enough of a disaster, the contents of the crate happened to be glass bottles, adding to the cacophony. Every single high-pitched tinkle of glass seemed to cut the air like a knife. Dozens of bottles, many of them now cracked, rolled every which way on the cobblestone street. Hay and old paper that had been packed between the bottles for protection spilled about with a dry moldy smell. Timbre wobbled unsteadily on his hind legs to keep himself from following the fate of the crate and bottles, and managed to keep his balance.
Tael, confused, hovered over the broken crate and cracked bottles.
"Tael, get out of here!" Although Tael couldn't directly understand Timbre's frantic barking, he got the message. An instant later, the fairy had zoomed up over the rooftops, probably to find his sister. Safe.
Timbre, on the other hand, was not. He began to feel a rising panic. There was no way the guard who passed earlier hadn't heard the noise. Leaping down from his perch and cursing himself for being a fool, he did the first thing his instinct told his terrified mind.
Run.
The wolf covered the rest of the strip in a heartbeat, dodging cracked bottles that still rolled about. A sudden heavy sweet scent hit his nose, and he nearly slipped as his forepaws landed in something gooey.
Honey jars, he thought, distractedly. Some merchant's going to be furious…
Headed towards the square that housed the Post Office and the Sword Training Center, he pondered his next move. He had no intention of running to the stage anymore, but he remembered that there was also the Western Gate and an exit to Termina Field to the left. If there was a guard posted, he'd need to be speedy to slip past-
He was just turning the sharp corner with the scent of fresh rosemary all around him when he collided headfirst with a tall silhouette. He wasn't a full grown wolf by far, and so the impact sent him bouncing back onto his tail with a yelp. Dazed, he stared helplessly up at the figure suddenly looming over him.