Chapter 131: I Order You to Relax
…
~~Day 102 (Command, Day 65)
~~We're back in Library Town after our trip to the Snow and Fire Realms. Irleen's improvised compass showed us that the Sorians might be somewhere north of the Fire Realm. I plan on being back down in Hovela in the next couple of days so that we can take the Island Symphony in that direction. I hope the ship has enough Loft Steam to get us in that area; there are a lot of tall cliffs and mountains between here and there. Leynne probably has something figured out. He always does.
~~I'm not sure what to do in the next couple of days. Cale decided that he's gonna catch a train to Hovela in the morning, and Irleen wants to go with him to make sure Leynne gets the right directions. Luggard let me stay at his family's house again, but it's probably gonna be the last time. He's returning to his regular route tomorrow, and I don't wanna impose on his mom while he isn't around. I have no idea what Valley plans to do tomorrow. Probably go back to the Library. I guess that leaves me alone. I'm not sure what to do. I suppose I could go to the Library. Or I could travel around, I guess. I've got the money.
~~You know, it's occurred to me that I'm not really alone. Layna's still following me. Of all the Gelto, she's the only one who didn't go back to the Sand Realm.
~~I think I feel a trip to the Gelto camp coming on.
…
Link immediately felt the heat of the desert once the door to the passenger car had opened in spite of the fact that he had opened the window next to his seat earlier. Even with the Yook Charm on his arm, he could still tell that there was a considerable difference in temperature. The train had pulled up to a wooden train platform that Link had to drop down to. The only other two people stepping off the train with him were a well-dressed, young man carrying flowers in one arm and a red-clad postman carrying a full bag. Neither one of them waited to watch a bunch of Gelto load up rolled rugs and textiles into the cargo car behind the passenger car. At the same time, the men riding the cargo car were passing down small bundles of lumber to the Gelto. It reminded Link of Whittleton, and he made a mental note to try stopping there before returning to Hovela.
He surveyed the camp, a first for him since he had only ever seen the Gelto camp at night. Many of the tents were huddled together on the east side, conical structures made of wood and some kind of red hide which looked barely large enough for a handful of people each. These tents received quite a bit of decoration, from simple pictures of people and animals (some of which Link wondered about since the desert only ever seemed to have Malgyorgs) to some really stunning landscapes which favored sunset on the desert horizon. Some of the larger tents had been dispersed across the rest of the area with plenty of space in between. Link cringed at the sight of a large, black crater blown in the sand further to the west. Someone had recently repaired the tent near it, and someone else had the foresight to keep bombs out of the open. Link recognized the largest tents on the west side as the tents that Dholit and her… coworkers resided. He wondered if he would meet any more of his Gelto crew here.
He froze in place just moments from stepping off the platform when his thoughts were answered. Twali and Lwamm, appearing almost out of nowhere, ran up to him and stopped, kicking up sand onto Link's boots. They both saluted and said, "May Kyabtin, 'inan toysokwak wabin 'atoyn."
Link, caught in a rather undignified defensive stance, glanced around at the attention this had caught. His first response was a nervous laugh, and then he gave a sigh as he relaxed. He put on a friendly smile and gave them a dismissive handwave. "What are you two doing?" he asked with a casual air he forced himself to take. "You're on shore leave. Save your salutes for the deck."
This caused them to give each other worried looks. "Xwali," Lwamm then told Twali with an annoyed tone. "'Inan ya'lu nadmatikak Xili'anay 'anik."
Twali gave her a nervous grin. "Nway kwotasak," she said to Lwamm. "'Inan nayx midhujak sazacbiyl max?"
Link repeated his nervous laugh. "I… don't suppose Dubbl or Dholit are around, are they?" he asked.
Twali and Lwamm exchanged looks again. "Zhi sasafitak 'inon Dubbl kwilis Dholit max?" Twali asked.
"Wabun nadyayxwotak, 'imayn amudhun." Both Gelto suddenly stood straight with frightened looks in their eyes. Dholit stepped from behind Lwamm and Twali with Layna in tow. "Ah, My Captain," she said, her usual grin appearing on her face. "Come to submit youhself to the whims of youh hundreds of admirahs?"
"Nwoyrotan, Dholit," Layna told her in a low voice.
Dholit cocked an eyebrow as she looked over her shoulder at Layna's scowling face. "'Inu midhujak zadhujb wabnik za'a'aykwafi," she replied, her mood unchanged. Layna stared at her for a moment, and then her scowl broke into a wide-eyed stare as her cheeks reddened. "Aaah, waba xaylotak max?"
"Oy, Dholit," Twali said with an irritated tone, tapping Dholit's shoulder with the back of her hand. "Waba gicunwidh Layna. Zhidi addu boytokwak wabnik 'al waba fizhub."
"Excuse me," Link spoke up. This caused Twali and Lwamm to snap back to attention, but Dholit merely turned to acknowledge him. "I don't wanna interrupt, but I'd like to at least clear something up."
"Oh?" Dholit asked.
He indicated Twali and Lwamm. "Tell these two they can relax. They can save the attention for the deck."
She looked Twali and Lwamm up and down. "Why?" she asked him. "They would make an impressive entourage. You might even increase theih ranks."
"Dholit, they're on shore leave," Link replied. "And I'm not here to recruit."
Dholit gave an exaggerated sigh. "I think that the maturity around heah is stifling my powahs of innuendo," she seemed to say to herself. Then she told Twali and Lwamm, "'Iduki waba lwayzhoyjathak. May Kyabtin nadyayxwotak wubunik."
"Zhi nadlayxomak?" Lwamm asked with a confounded expression.
"'Inu nayx saylotak zhal," Dholit said. Twali and Lwamm exchanged yet another look. Then they both silently agreed to just walk away, although Twali turned to wave a hand at them. "My Captain, can I ask you something?"
Link gave a sigh. "What is it, Dholit?"
"I noticed that my words haven't been answered by ouh resident fairy," she said, waving a hand over Link's head to emphasize the fact that he no longer wore a hat. "Has something happened?"
"No," Link replied as he started walking at a slow pace towards the middle of the camp. Dholit turned and fell into step beside him while Layna followed. "She wanted to make sure that what we found got back to Leynne just fine. She went back to Hovela with Cale this morning."
"You make it sound as if the process was not as successful as that," Dholit commented.
Link shoved his hands into his pockets. "Something like that," he said. "We knew it was a long shot anyway. I mean, we've got a bearing on where the Sorians might be, but… I've gotta admit, for all the work we put into it, I wonder if we might've gotten a better heading from spitting into the wind."
"Complications?"
"Kinda. The technoworks we used died. We were just in the middle of directing them, and then they just gave out. I'm just not so sure about the direction it pointed out; the needle was still wobbling when it happened."
"Oh, deah," Dholit said with a genuine air of concern. "Have you no means of repeating the process?"
"Next week, I'm planning on taking the Island Symphony back to the Snow Realm. If we can use the technoworks from the Horizon's Eye to do it again, I'm hoping to get a better result."
"And yet, what you have troubles you now."
Link scratched his head. "Sorta… you know, 'thoughts of monsters' sorta thing. I know there's nothing to worry about, but I just can't help it."
"My Captain, I don't think you could possibly be you without wohrying."
Link shot her smiling face an exhausted look. "Doesn't help."
"Then pehhaps you would like me to take it off youh mind foh you?"
Link grunted and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Dholit…"
"Well, without any soht of undahstanding, how can I expect youh visit to my home to mean anything else?" she replied with a playful tone.
"I mostly came here because I wanted to give Layna a chance to rest," he said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder. "She's still following me around. I thought she'd like to get off my back for a bit."
"Would you prefah heh on youh front?" Dholit asked.
"Dholit!" Link suddenly snapped, stopping to turn to her.
"Would you prefah me?"
"Stop it!"
Dholit gave another exaggerated sigh. "Oh, well. I must try anothah time."
"Look, will you just tell Layna that she can go relax or something? I-I know she likes to follow me around, but she deserves to rest like everyone else."
Dholit glanced back towards where Layna was last known to be to address her. Then she blinked in mild astonishment. "I've the impression that she is well ahead of us," she told Link.
Link turned to find that Layna had completely changed in the few moments he had been talking to Dholit. Link was not even sure she was Layna. Her customary ponytail had been exchanged for a long braid that she had draped over one shoulder while her fingers worked to finish weaving the end. She wore a tight, green, sleeveless crop top that looked to be made of a thick material and loose-fitting, brown slacks with additional pockets down the outer legs and a waist held tight to her hips by a leather cord. Over the top, she had put on a pair of sleeves made of transparent, lime-green material. She had also tied a skirt-like piece of cloth around her waist, composed of the same material as the sleeves and seemingly only there to attempt to cover her left leg further. Dholit, once she was over her surprise, took the time to mentally compare Layna's outfit with Link's usual attire.
"Whoa…" Link uttered.
"'Waba 'isilak' to My Captain coynagthya'ak," Dholit told Layna, casting Link a smug side-glance. Layna shrunk a bit and glanced aside.
"Where'd she get the clothes?" Link asked Dholit, pointing.
"You know…" Dholit trailed off as her lips open and shut in an imitation of speaking. "I honestly cannot say. I can imagine that she could hide the top undah heh nohmal attiah, but… I cannot explain the slacks. It's possible that she went home in the moments that we've been talking."
"Huh. Uh, we-well, good!" Link raised his arms to indicate Layna. "She knows it's time to relax. So tell her she can go relax!"
"''Inu joydhosak zazhayjth Layna' to My Captain coynagthya'ak," Dholit said.
"Ay'a, May Kyabtin," Layna replied with a nod.
However, the only thing to happen in the next few minutes was Layna finishing and tying the end of her braid. Link's eyes shifted between Dholit and Layna, expecting some kind of exchange. Then he finally shouted at Dholit, "She's not going away!"
"Yes, this seemed apparent to me as well," Dholit told him, her smile still fresh.
"Why!?"
"Layna, waba salaximak dhol?" Dholit asked.
Layna looked down at the sand. Then she stepped over to Link's right side, opposite of Dholit, and turned to face where she had been standing. Link leaned away from her, a little bashful about realizing that their difference in height meant that eye-level for him left him looking at her chest. He was also confused, as it seemed like she was content to just stand in that spot for the rest of the day.
Dholit giggled. "It would appeah that this is heh idea of relaxing," she told Link.
"She's just… standing there," he whispered over his shoulder.
"My Captain, what weh youh plans once you ahrived?"
"Uuh… I-I don't know. I was just trying to get Layna to enjoy some shore leave."
"Well…" Dholit paused to look around at the camp (while trying to subtly wave off the Gelto pausing to watch them). "While you ah heah, would you like a pehsonal escoht around the camp? Aftah all, it cannot be easy to get around without knowing ouh language."
"I don't know ab—" Link suddenly stopped when he felt something slide under his right arm. He glanced down to find that Layna had hooked her hand around his bicep. But when he looked up, Layna appeared almost uninterested in the gesture as she looked around at the camp.
"You know," Dholit said as she took hold of Link's other arm, "theah ah times when I wondah if she really doesn't undahstand Hylian." Link turned to give her an annoyed look. She only grinned wider as she asked, "Shall we go?"
Link sighed. "Fine. But you better not make me regret it."
"Of coahse," Dholit replied as they started walking toward the larger tents on the west side of the camp. "By the way…
"Which of us would you like to sleep with tonight?"
"DHOLIT!"
"Oh, I was hoping you'd say that!"
Link hung his head. "Ugh…"