An Act to Follow HD

by Snowsilver

During Clock Town's Midsummer Festival, Link and his friends are taking a well-deserved break from their adventures. But everything may not be as simple as it seems, for they say a wolf walks the city streets...

9. Chapter 9

An Act to Follow – Part 9 – Disappearing Act

So, there were two of them.

Veneer's eyes narrowed at the thought. Two means twice the danger, he thought. A loner might have been easy enough to corner, but having two was going to be twice the burden. Twice the trouble.

Then again, that little voice in his head persisted, two means twice the reward. How much had he asked for? Six hundred? Well, if he'd known what he was dealing with, he would have charged a thousand or more. And with two around…well, there wasn't anything saying doubling his fee might be in order…

Veneer didn't consider himself a greedy person. He, just like any other, had his own life to take care of and felt that his services deserved their proper due. Then again, a little extra wealth on the side never hurt anyone, right?

The hunter managed to shake himself out of his greed-oriented stupor as he neared the Inn. He'd approached the place with a slowness that was nearly agonizing. Move too slowly, and he was in danger of losing his quarry. Move too fast, and they'd be alerted to his presence, and run away, or possibly attack.

Veneer hoped for the second in such a case. He'd rather fight now than draw it out, no matter how dangerous that might be. Then again, from those tracks, and the prints-at least he wasn't dealing with fully grown adults. He'd had enough of those to know it was a treacherous business.

But enough of that. He was at his goal; flattened into the shadows on the southern end of the Inn, the place that guard had pointed him to. Now all he had to do was keep his eyes and other senses open.

So far, there wasn't a sound. It was if they had known he was coming. Blast!

Patience, a small voice sounded in his head. Be patient.

The minutes ticked by, and the area remained as silent and motionless as ever. It was so still, Veneer swore he could hear his own heartbeat as if it were somebody pounding on a drum. If the wolves had been here, they weren't now.

The still was cut by a single loud curse.

-;O;-

If Veneer had arrived even one minute earlier, things would have played out much differently. Both wolves had taken off the moment Jim started yelling, fortunately for them they both chose the same direction: towards the Inn, where they had originally been headed.

Tejina was the first to voice an opinion. "That was probably a bad thing."

Timbre glared. "Thank you so much for that assessment…" Both of them had paused for breath, peering around from a small empty alcove in East Clock Town. Tejina backed up, sniffing at a strange pink flower that protruded from the ground in the alcove. It was huge, nearly three feet in diameter.

"What is this thing?"

"It's a Deku flower." Timbre turned his head back towards the Inn. "Never mind that, we need to find a way into the Inn. The upper balcony door's usually unlocked. Think we could climb onto the roof?"

There was no answer.

"Hello?"

Still nothing.

"Hey, when I'm asking a question, I'm not just…doing it for…my own…good…um…" Turning his head, his dialogue slowly petered out. Tejina had vanished without a sound or trace.

Timbre shivered a little, staring down at the huge flower. She'd been getting on his nerves all day, and he'd been looking forward to the time when he wouldn't have to deal with her anymore. But now that she was gone…well, what was he supposed to do now? He suddenly felt very alone. Turning away from the flower, he stared pensively at the deserted town. Any minute, Timbre reflected, that hunter was probably going to find him, and then-

"Yawp!"

Something grabbed his tail – so much sympathy for Ty! – and dragged him forcefully backwards. He was so startled was he that he didn't even think to struggle. Moments later he found himself somewhere. Whereas the deserted square had been merely low of light, Timbre's eyes now met with near darkness. All he could smell was the overpowering perfume of nectar and pollen. He shivered, wondering if the hunter had caught up with him. He swallowed nervously.

Something nudged him in the back. He yelped and whirled around in a panic, only for his muzzle to painfully smash into something.

It smelled of fresh rosemary.

"You startle so easily," Tejina's growls pointed out matter-of-factly.

He decided not to rise to the bait. "Uh. Were are we?"

"We are in the Deku flower," she answered in that know-it-all tone.

"Oh, of course." Timbre glared, even though that didn't do much good. "Two questions. Why, and how?"

"Well," Tejina started, "The first seems kind of obvious, doesn't it? As for the second one, I suppose you'd better ask her."

Timbre turned his head directly to his left, where a pair of glowing coal-like eyes had suddenly come to life. They were sharing their somewhat cramped quarters with one of the plantlike Deku race. Timbre sniffed at her. She still smelled of coffee and beeswax, even in this form.

Of all their friends, Sond was the only one who regularly donned the strange masks they'd acquired during their adventure last spring. They'd all had to use them in the past, but she seemed to genuinely like their effects, even if in some cases it meant suddenly becoming a different race. Sometimes, Timbre wondered if Sond had simply been born the wrong sort of creature.

Although she couldn't understand them, Sond did her best to give an affirmative. Seconds later she put a wooden finger to her snout in a signal to keep it down, pointing directly upwards. Timbre nodded.

A short time later, a rather potent curse cut the air above them. The obscenity was followed by faint footsteps.

Timbre realized he'd been holding his breath. He was then faced with his third startled moment in five minutes as a light suddenly entered the confines, giving everything a weird bluish aura.

Tael waved. "Its alright, he's gone. At least for now."

Tejina shivered again. Her growl was suddenly raspy. "Guess maybe that disappearing act didn't start off so well, eh Tim?"

Timbre suddenly felt very awkward, probably due to the fact he was squashed in with three others in a rather confined space. "First thing's first, let's get to the Inn."

One short climb later, two humans, a fairy, and a Deku Scrub stood on the veranda alongside the upstairs door of the Stock Pot Inn. Timbre, in an afterthought, scrambled hastily over the thatch to grab his all-important overcoat. As he leaned on the door, he looked down.

"Hey Sond, you should probably take that mask off now…"

Sond blinked several times and huffed squeakily at Timbre. "Fine." The Deku put her hands up to her face, and there was a flash of blue light. The brown haired girl yawned, stowing the magical mask in a pouch attached to her belt. Tejina stared in amazement.

"So that whole story about you all saving the town really was true, wasn't it? Is that one of the masks you said turn you into different races? You guys really have some strange powers."

"Yeah, because turning into a four legged furry creature isn't strange at all," Sond replied, grinning. "So you're a wolf like Timbre, huh? That must be interesting."

"It's great fun, at least it was until that crazy hunter showed up."

"You were terrified," Timbre accused her. "And you really shouldn't make light of the situation. You smelled those furs he's wearing-"

The gray-haired girl shuddered reflexively. "Ugh, I know. Don't remind me."

"What?" Sond looked confused.

"Never mind," Timbre reassured her, not wanting her to worry too much.

Tejina shrugged. "But don't you find it kind of thrilling after you escape danger?"

"Or when someone helps you," Sond added pointedly.

Tael just smirked. "You two really should thank her. The moment she heard that Bomber brat screeching she was off like the hero to save your butts. Anyway, let's get inside. I've been swatted at, thrown out of a window, and nearly murdered by a psycho in a fur-lined tunic. I think it's time to call it a night."

The door creaked more loudly than usual, but maybe it was just their imaginations. It was dark inside, the innkeepers and tenants alike long gone to rest. Tejina led them two doors down, then stopped. "Here's our room. Hope someone's still awake." She knocked twice.

The door cracked open almost immediately, and Ana greeted them all with a stern look. From the sunken appearance of her eyes, it was apparent that she hadn't been asleep.

"Well, I wasn't expecting you to bring friends back," she said crossly. "Especially this late."

Tejina made a small noise. "Um…sorry?"

"We can explain," Timbre began.

Ana sighed. "I suppose you can, come on in…you certainly aren't going anywhere else tonight. Might be a bit cozy with extra people, but we'll manage." All four followed her resolutely into the small room. There were two cots, Keisou was currently sprawled asleep on one with his mouth wide open. As they entered, he mumbled something incoherent. Ana gestured at the corner, where a couple of pillows and blankets were neatly stacked.

"Only thing I can offer you others is the floor, unfortunately…" Before Ana's sentence had even finished, however, Sond had already bunked down. Tael too, quickly settled on a cushion with a tiny yawn. "Well, at least there are no complaints…"

Timbre and Tejina looked at each other and shrugged.

"As for you two!" They both jerked to attention at Ana's voice, soft enough not to wake the sleepers, but still sharp. She waggled a finger at them. "I know you wolves are nocturnal, but you're still kids. You need your sleep."

Timbre's jaw had gone slack. "How did you-"

Ana's observant eyes twinkled. "Boy, who do you think help raise Tee, someone with Chu jelly between her ears? I knew what you were the moment you looked me in the eye. Go to bed. Now."

From the tone of her voice, she sounded as if she meant it, so there were no arguments. To Tejina's bemusement, she watched as Timbre slumped down in the corner, as far as he could possibly get from her considering the smallness of the room. Without a second glance, he flopped onto a cushion, pulled his coat over his head and stopped moving.

Hmm, guess he was tired, she thought. And Tejina didn't even realize how tired she really was either until she fell asleep the moment her head touched her pillow.

-;O;-

The morning sun glared brilliantly through the window in Kafei's room. Moments later, the purple-haired youth flung the window wide open, gasping.

"Mom must be trying to asphyxiate us or something, it must be a hundred degrees in here!" Kafei took a refreshing breath of air. Behind him, somebody groaned and fell out of bed. Luckily for her, the top bunk wasn't very high, so she wasn't injured. But it was certainly enough of a jolt to wake her up.

Kat squinted sleepily at Kafei as she disentangled herself. "Mornin'. Is Sond up there on the roof still?"

"Nope, I looked already." Kafei gave a start as Nick snorted in his sleep. Across the room, Link was still curled up, thumb halfway out of his slack jaw. A slight glowing bulge in his nearby hat meant that Tatl was also still asleep.

Kafei rolled his eyes. "Wherever she went, she's not here right now. Hopefully she found someplace to sleep."

Kat stretched. "Oy, what time is it?"

"Eight in the morning, about."

"Last day of the Festival. Hopefully your parents will be less insane once it's over, huh? What's the big story today? Not more dancing, right?"

"Actually, there's a talent show. Mom and Dad left early to organize it." Kafei smirked.

Nick opened one eye. He yawned. "Sommun' say talon?"

"'Talent,' not 'talon,'" Kafei corrected him. "But yeah, either groups or individually. I think the prize is a few hundred Rupees or something." Kafei stretched in boredom. "I'm hungry."

Kat looked thoughtful, ignoring Kafei's hunger. "I say we all go for it as a group."

"But I can't sing," Kafei protested.

"We 'cn bot' play m'drums. Like backup, y'see," Nick offered. He then looked over at the lumpy sleeping bag that contained Ty. "Oy! Kaii! Wake up tim'!"

"Wossat?" Ty blinked sleepily.

"We're going to enter the talent show," Kat informed him.

"Really now." Ty attempted to flatten his hair, but it was still sticking out at all angles. A prevalent pinkish stain still showed on the white streak. "Dumb Fairy Boy," he grumbled, casting a glare over at the Hylian. His glare soon turned to amusement. "Heheh, he's sucking his thumb again."

Chiron stirred. "What's so funny?"

"Him." Kafei thumbed backwards at the blonde boy.

"If we only had a pictograph box right now…" Chiron mused.

"Nah, not embarrassing enough…" Ty mumbled.

"You still on about that revenge thing?" Kat looked fretful.

"'Course. He doesn't get off that easily. Just wait until he sees what I have in store for him." Ty managed a rather toothy grin.

Kat frowned and decided to change the subject. "Anyways, it's not like we all can't sing or something. I mean, Sond's a good singer, so's Ty an' Chiron. Link's okay, I'm not horrible, and Tim-"

"Speakin' of," Nick said. "Where is 'ee? An' where's Sond?"

"Not here," Kafei shrugged. "Probably somewhere else, and with the heat in this room, I don't blame 'em too much." Kafei clapped his hands together. "Say, let's all of us who're awake get breakfast before there's too much of a crowd, alright?"

"Right."

"Yes'm."

"Alright."

"I'm starvin'."

As the five conscious people left Kafei's room, Ty couldn't help pulling a last wisecrack as he passed the sleeping Link.

"Sweet dreams, you big baby."

-;O;-

Ty later stared at the portly merchant with barely held interest.

"An' what do you call this stuff again?"

"Gelatin!" The man guffawed, and his stomach wobbled in the same manner as his products. The merchant's tent layout had changed; apparently the sellers were leased space in there by the day, as this man hadn't been in the tent yesterday. The early morning crowd's sounds mingled into a dull roar. "My boy, you ever boiled bones?"

"Uh, can't say that I have…" Ty said, his tail tapping the ground impatiently. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his friends, also idly browsing. Chiron and Nick were admiring a set of katanas that the mountain blacksmith Zubora and his hulking partner Gabora had put on display inside a glass case. Kat was ogling jewelry and dresses again, and Kafei was looking decidedly bored next to her.

"Well!" The portly gelatin man chortled, startling Ty. "I'd never tried it before either, until a couple of months ago. Tried makin' soup, instead, I got this stuff. When it's hot, it's like liquid, but when it cools off, it turns solid. Add fruits, and it takes on the flavor. Here, try the strawberry."

Ty did so. It wasn't the most pleasant texture, but it certainly tasted like strawberries.

"I got other flavors, too, y'know," the man rattled off, counting on his fingers. "Blueberry, grape, watermelon, raspberry…"

"Hey, what's this one?" Ty squinted at a yellowish wobbling mold.

"Oh, that's lemon. Nobody seems to like it too much. Must be the yellow color or the sour flavor, I suppose. It also stains when it melts." The man shrugged. "I've tried to get it to look more appetizing and less colorfast, but what can you do, you know?"

Ty leaned forward on the counter, looking confidential. "How much you got?"

Five minutes later, Kat squinted at Ty. "What'd you buy?"

"Nothing!" The boy smiled disarmingly, trying not to look suspicious. He changed the subject. "Anything else good?"

"All the dresses are so expensive," Kat sulked. "And not many of them are in my size. I can't wait until I'm taller. Oh well. Has anybody seen Sond or Tim?"

"Nope," Kafei shrugged. "Who knows how long they were out last night. Who knows if they're even awake at this point."

"They'll turn up eventually," Chiron said. Though his eyes looked less nonchalant than he sounded. "…right?"

"Maybe they left Clock Town for some reason," Kafei offered.

"We could always walk around and look for them," Kat said.

This idea was met with some assent, as the crowd at the merchant's tent was beginning to pick up in earnest.

It was nice to see Clock Town so lively, Kat mused, though she still was no fan of the bustling crowds. Compared starkly to the near ghost town it had been during last spring's carnival, she figured Clock Town needed the bustle every once in a while. She just wished it wasn't so difficult to get around.

They passed a kiosk where two redhead sisters in cream colored dresses and matching neckerchiefs where selling jars of fresh milk.

"Hello Cremia! Hello Romani!" Kat waved to them.

"Hello!" Cremia - the elder sister - waved back cheerily. "It's been a while!"

The group ambled over to get a break from the crowd. "How have things been, Cremia?" Kafei asked her. "I hope my parents haven't been too much of a bother for the merchants."

"Nah, it's been so busy, we've made a lot of business. That's worth any hassle."

"That's good. Who's watching the cows today?"

"Ah, Mutoh the head carpenter. He said he'd had enough of festivals for one year."

Romani - the younger sister - suddenly squinted at them. "Where is Grasshopper? I think his horse Epona's missed seeing him."

Ty sniggered. During their adventure that spring, they'd met the two sisters, and the younger Romani had insisted on calling Link 'Grasshopper,' much to the boy's chagrin. He sobered as Romani looked at him quizzically. "Er, he slept in. He'll be around later."

"Oh."

"Actually," Kafei suddenly said, "You haven't seen a few of our other friends wandering around? Sond and Tim, do you remember them?"

"Romani remembers," the little girl nodded. She had an odd habit of speaking in the third person. "The girl in green clothes with brown hair like autumn leaves, and the little boy in a big coat with hair like a raven's feathers."

"That's them, have you seen them?"

"No," Cremia said, frowning. "At least I don't remember seeing them. This crowd is pretty thick, though."

"Maybe they really did leave town," Kafei said to the others.

"I doubt it," Cremia said. "Have you seen the line at the Southern Gate? All the other three entrances are the same, I heard."

All of them stared towards the Southern Gate.

"Loo' like a border p'trol, dunit?" Nick said, surprised, and everyone nodded in agreement.

Normally, there was only a single guard at the gate, who would wave people by in a relaxed manner. Every once in a while he'd stop someone, but normally he was just there to make sure no straying children or unprepared fools ventured outside by themselves. Today, there were three Clock Town Guards stationed in front of the arched gate that led through the outer wall out of town. They looked like they meant business. There was a line to exit, and each person was being carefully scrutinized.

"What the-" The sentiment was echoed though all five children at the same time.

Cremia seemed just as baffled as they were. "They're searching people today. Apparently a kid got mugged last night or something, and they're looking for the culprit. All four gates are like this, awfully strange."

"Romani heard there's a monster loose in town!"

Cremia hushed her younger sister sternly. "That's just a silly rumor!"

Romani hopped around the kiosk to join the other children. She lowered her voice. "Not too loud now. Romani has been watching that gate very closely this morning. They are being quite thorough. See?"

She pointed at a Hylian man at the head of the line, who was being patted down by two guards. All of them watched as one guard suddenly grabbed and held the man's head still while the other shone a bright lantern in his eyes. The startled man was then released and waved through, rubbing his face and grumbling incomprehensible dark words as he was let though the gate.

"It is very odd. They have been asking specifically for people who wear gloves. Maybe they think the monster is in disguise. Romani heard that last night."

"Romani!" Cremia's voice cut sharply. "Get back over here, I need your help with the customers!"

"Wait, you heard what?" Ty asked her.

Looking apologetically over at her sister, Romani lowered her voice even further. "Romani stayed up last night and heard the guards talking while they closed the gate. They are only saying it was a burglar so the Festival doesn't get cancelled."

"Romani!"

"Coming! You be careful, okay? And tell Grasshopper I said hello!"

They said their goodbyes to the sisters, and headed off. The stopped near the entrance to the Laundry Pool, all five kids going into a huddle.

"Well, I doubt that Sond or Tim left town, otherwise they'd be caught in that little rabble." Kat said as everyone nodded.

"An' even if Tim had gone through," Ty added, "They'd have stopped him. Gloves, right? An' he isn't about to take his off…"

"Okay, so they're still in town. But can we really believe what Romani says? She's a bit of a paranoia freak," Chiron said. "Remember 'Them?'"

Nick sat down, picking at the bottoms of his boots with his finger. "She'm were righ' 'bout that," he reminded them.

"Yeah, but we know how rumors have got a way of going crazy around here." Chiron reminded him. "You don' think they actually know what's going on-"

"I know what's really going on!" a voice squeaked behind them.

Jim, the leader of the Bombers Gang, leaned against the wall, licking a sucker with a smug expression. The sucker was enormous and must have been at least 10 inches in diameter. He gave it a final lick, and spoke again.

"Ain't a burglar like everyone says," Jim boasted. "It's Wolfos. Tried ta eat me last night, but I wasn't scared!" Jim puffed out his chest. "An' then Captain Viscen gave me this for bein' so brave and tol' me not to tell anyone what I saw."

"You just told us," Kafei pointed out.

Jim went rigid. "Er, forget what I said, then!" The young boy marched off with his chest out, nearly tripping twice before disappearing back into the crowd.

All five stared after him, wearing confused expressions.

"Uh." Kafei blinked.

"What's up?" Ty raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing, just trying to break the silence, that's all," Kafei scratched his ear. "Anybody else find that kid's story kind of far fetched?"

"Well, he does kind of exaggerate," Kat added uneasily.

"Still…" Ty looked thoughtful. "If he says was attacked by Wolfos, why are they searching for people-"

"-wearing gloves," Chiron added on quietly.

All five stared at the ground, unable to meet each other's eyes. Apparently the quintet had all come to the same general conclusion at the same time. Nick stood up busily and brushed himself off.

"Guess th' lobo's out o' th' bag." He chewed his lip nervously. "Or summthin'."

-;O;-

Even as Nick was speaking, Sond, Timbre and Tejina were still asleep. Tejina groaned and rolled over as a loud knocking came at the door. It knocked a second time, and she forced her heavy eyelids open.

"Uhg…" she sat up, still not fully awake. Rubbing her eyes, she yelled crankily, "Go away!"

The knocking only became more persistent. "This is the Clock Town Guard, on official business. Open the door immediately, please!"

"Fine…" The girl struggled up onto her feet. Her hand was halfway to the doorknob when her senses finally caught up with her body. Wait a second, she thought. Did they say, Clock Town Guard?

"Oh crud…" Tejina chewed her lip. Looking over to the cot, she was surprised to see that Kei and Ana had already left. The only other living things in the room besides her were the three on the floor, three counting the fairy.

"Open up, I say!" The knocking almost became pounding.

Sond was woken up by the noise. "…purple…" she grumbled, sitting up groggily. "Tell 'em to go away," she said to Tejina. Tael woke up as well, though he gave no comment.

"I would," Tejina hissed back in a whisper, "But they'd break the door down first."

"Ugh," Sond fell back onto her pillow. "Guess you should let 'em in. Who is it?"

"That's the problem," Tejina whispered as Tael joined her at the door. "It's the Guard."

"Uh-oh…" Tael whispered, hovering over to the peephole. "Did they track us here?"

"How could they?" Sond sat up again as the pounding continued. "And what do we do?"

"We need to hide, get out of here, something. Timbre, wake up!" Tejina hissed. Timbre, however, showed no signs of moving.

"I wasn't the one being chased last night," Sond offered. "I could always stall, while you two hid or something."

"Maybe," Tejina said softly, as the door was pounded again. "Timbre, wake up!" She hissed again, sounding urgent. Tael flew over to the sleeping boy and pried one of his eyes open.

"Ack!" Tael yelped as an ornery gloved hand flattened him to the floor. Timbre continued to be unresponsive.

Stress was beginning to make Tejina hands shake. "Timbre wake up!" She snarled, chucking her pillow at him.

"Ow!" Timbre sat up angrily. "Hey, what was that fo-"

"Shuuush!" Tael struggled and managed to hold the boy's mouth shut. "Listen, and just nod when you agree. The Clock Town Guard is outside this door, an' they're gonna break the door down if someone doesn't answer it right now. So Sond's gonna do that, and you and Tee have to pull a disappearing act, okay?"

Timbre nodded, slipping into his coat. His eyes flickered towards the window.

Tejina caught the idea. "Go out the window? But it's rather a long drop…"

"Well, I dropped from this Inn's roof yesterday, and I'm still alive," Timbre retorted, pulling Tael off his face. "And besides, I'd take the drop over the Guard right about now."

"Okay, fine…" Tejina opened the window fully. A fine breeze flowed into the room from the outside, and Timbre climbed up onto the windowsill. Tejina followed his example as the door was pounded again. The window's view opened into a narrow alleyway. Directly below them, a canvas awning flapped gently.

"We'll drop onto that."

"Will it hold us?"

Timbre shrugged. "Better than just hitting the ground. It'll have to do. Okay Sond, open the door."

The next moment, they both jumped.