Chapter 84 is here and ready! With the new information Aviel has learned about the mysterious Roc, she's prepared herself to take on the duty of the Sky Guardian Priestess, but could something new come about from this? Read and find out!
"La LA la, la-LAaa la la Laaaa..!"
"Give a little more push on that last note Priestess, piou!"
"Uh, okay... La LA la, la-LAaa la la LAAAA!"
"Yes, quite good, quite good!" chuckled Mayor Nymnalo, "We'll go into the second verse training tomorrow. For now let's move onto the ceremonial dance."
"Ugh, you didn't mention before I'd have to dance too." Aviel groaned.
It was the next morning after Link, Aviel and the others had arrived in the mountain village of Dhaijialoft. The young Gerudo girl was working with Nymnalo in the training yard of the mayor's estate, learning the proper way of singing the Melody of Sky to awaken the Great Fairy of Balance. Working along with her was some white feathered Rito women in red robes who were in folded leg positions playing instruments to go along with Aviel's singing.
Link, Nemisa, Saria, Korume and V were all there as well watching the training. Nymnalo instructed Aviel in moving her arms and hips with each note as the musicians played. Link stared intently at Aviel as she moved around, while she stumble a few times as she tended to do, he was impressed at how well she was taking to the dance.
"Aviel's really giving this her all, it reminds me of when I started to train with my Deku Staff." Saria said, now wearing a jade green sleeveless robe to fit in with the atmosphere of the town, "I thought she was going to be distracted after what she was told yesterday about the Roc."
"She said this morning she wants to focus on repaying her debt to Roc and the Rito for her wings." Link nodded, "Glad to see she's handling it well, she's always been like that."
"I'm getting a good feeling from this music myself..." Nemisa said dancing around, shaking her hips and arms to the music. Her skills as the exotic dancer Madame Scarlet proved to be habitual for her, and she was prone to moving to the beat of good music. She was wearing a crimson red robe to appropriately match her fiery passion.
"It would seem the Rito here put much faith into the way of music as well as dance, and I can see why." Korume spoke, she herself had traded in her usual robe for a deep blue Rito robe to fit in as well, "It's a method of shamanism, where a deity possesses and communicates through a priest or ritual dancer, it's a way of connecting the higher powers to the mortal world."
"Huh..." Link contemplated what Korume said as he stared out at Aviel, who was spinning around by Nymnalo's command.
As Aviel tried to stand on one leg as part of the dance, she started to stagger a bit and fall over on her face.
"I hope she doesn't accidentally send any weird messages to the gods doing this." Link said sweatdropping.
"Ack... singing was one thing, but dancing's real hard..." Aviel said groaning.
"Have patience young priestess." chuckled Nymnalo, "You just need to maintain a proper balance, as the Sky Guardian Roc said the chosen one possesses."
"O-Okay," Aviel got herself up, "Let me at it again!"
Aviel resumed her dancing again, swaying her arms as she slowly danced around. The music picked up, and Aviel started moving a little faster, until she tripped over again.
"Darn it!" Aviel exclaimed in frustration.
"Poor her..." Saria said sweatdropping.
As Aviel laid on the ground, she looked up to see someone was reaching out their hand; it was Nemisa, offering her hand to help her up.
"Come on Aviel, I know you can do this." Nemisa said. She looked over to Nymnalo, "Would it be okay if I assisted her? I think I have the dance moves down."
"If you believe so, then be my guest Ms. Nemsia, piou." Nymnalo nodded.
"Now Aviel, follow my lead." Nemisa said, striking a pose and snapping her fingers above her head.
Aviel nodded, "Okay Nemisa!"
Nemisa started performing the dance as Nymnalo instructed Aviel earlier, and the younger girl did her best to follow in her movements. Aviel stumbled at one point, but Nemisa gracefully reached out and took her hand, causing the younger girl to blush lightly. Nemisa smirked and spun her in a circle to lead her in the dance. Soon enough Aviel was getting it, and moving along with her partner, smiling brightly as she did.
"Wow, look at them go!" Saria said.
"They look so happy, like back at the snowball fight..." V said, "Is this that 'fun' thing again?"
"That's right V, there's lots of ways to enjoy yourself." Saria said nodding, "It can be games, performances, sometimes even just the affection you feel for someone important to you can be fun." she said putting her hand over Link's and squeezing it, to which he squeezed back.
"Huh... I see." V muttered as he continued to watch them both.
Meanwhile Link was in awe of his two friends as he watched them dance. While Aviel was still a bit clumsy with her movements, Nemisa's graceful stepping helped her maintain good posture and poise. It reminded him of back at the night club in Gerudo Town when he was hiding out from The Slicer, and the way Nemisa helped him follow her movements. It seemed Nemisa and Aviel had truly grown close together through all the time they worked together as his bodyguards.
"Very impressive Ms. Nemsia!" Nymnalo said in astonishment, "To master the ceremonial dance in such little time, piou!"
"Hee hee, that's cause she's Madame Scarlet, the red goddess of the dance, where we come from!" Aviel grinned.
"If it pleases you Mayor Nymnalo, I'll aide Aviel in her dancing, and I'll see to it she's ready for the ceremony by tomorrow night." Nemisa said, tapping her foot down.
Nymnalo nodded in agreement as Aviel's eyes lit up. She was so happy to have Nemisa for a partner.
"Wooow, check this place out!" Aviel said with wide eyes.
That night, Aviel, Link, Nemisa, Saria, Korume, V, Tonsahi and Pecoli all stood at a park area of Dhaijialoft where the Sky Guardian Festival was already underway. There were numerous stands selling food and merchandise, as well as many games. There was also more of that harmonious music playing in the air. The Rito were all dressed in yukata-style robes and were enjoying the festivities themselves.
"This looks like so much fun!" Saria said brightly.
"Is it always like this?" Link asked Tonashi.
"Not as extravagant as this in the past." Tonashi said, "I suppose the mayor stepped up on the festivities due to the chosen priestess being here."
"So this is a once-in-a-lifetime event..." Aviel said, "Alright then, let's get out there and enjoy it!"
"Yaay! Come on Big Bro, please join us!" Pecoli begged him.
"Ah ha ha, sorry Pecoli, but I just came to drop you off, I have to go see to Master Barrank's needs tonight. You be a good girl, okay?"
"Aww..." Pecoli pouted, but stepped up beside Aviel, "Just try to come if you can later, okay Big Bro?"
"You don't have to worry about your sister Mr. Tonashi, we'll keep an eye on her." Link said.
"Thank you so much for this, enjoy your night everyone." Tonashi said bowing, before flying off.
"Come on Pecoli, let's go!" Aviel said taking Pecoli's hand.
Aviel, Pecoli Saria and V all went off ahead to see the stands while Link, Nemisa and Korume followed after them.
"This is great, Aviel worked hard all day training, so she deserves this chance to unwind." Link grinned.
"She's faring better then I thought she would, though her steps are still not precise enough." Nemisa commented, "I'll have to drill her harder tomorrow morning."
"Always a perfectionist aren't we, dear Nemisa?" Korume asked with a smirk.
"Quiet you." Nemisa rolled her eyes.
Aviel held up her weapon and aiming carefully, before she fired off five rounds in quick succession. The five shots whizzed through the air and hit her five targets precisely in the center.
"W-We have a winner!" shouted an astonished Rito man wearing a red mask as he slapped a paper fan down on his stand's counter.
The group had decided to start their time at the festival by trying out the various carnival games. The first one they came to was a sharpshooting game where they had to hit three out of five targets for a prize. Rather then bows like Link used back at the shooting galleries back home, they instead used blowdart pipes like the ones the guards used. Despite it being new to Aviel she was able to use her keen eye to successfully get a perfect score in the game.
"Yaaay! Way to go Priestess!" squealed out Pecoli.
"There we go, manged to get three of them." Link said, lowering his own blowpipe.
"Here you go Pecoli!" Aviel said handing the little Rito a large plush of a cute round pink creature with stubby arms and red shoes. Pecoli smiled brightly at it and suddenly hugged Aviel out of affection.
"Thanks Aviel! You're the bes-" that's when Pecoli caught herself in mid-sentence and backed up a bit, doing a polite bow, "Oops, I mean... t-thank you kind Priestess for your generosity!"
"Hee hee, don't worry about it! Honestly I'd prefer if you just called me Aviel." the young Gerudo said grinning.
Meanwhile, Link handed Nemisa a small plushie of a cute orange cat with two tails. When they had arrived at the shooting gallery stand, Link couldn't help but notice Nemisa had been discreetly staring at the plushie prizes, much to her denial, and he knew he had to win something to add to her collection.
He sported a goofy grin and said, "There you go, sorry I couldn't win you anything bigger Nemisa."
Nemisa didn't say a word at first, she looked over at the others who were enjoying themselves, feeling a bit self-conscious about accepting it in front of everyone. But after a moment of looking into Link's gentle eyes Nemisa smiled warmly and hugged the cat plushie close to her.
"Never mind that, it's absolutely precious. Thank you my love." Nemisa said giving him a gentle kiss on the lips.
"Huh... they look so happy having fun." V muttered, watching them all carefully.
"So, uh... if that's everything... thank you for your patronage." the shooting gallery owner said nervously with a bow, hoping they wouldn't win another game.
"Not so fast, it's my turn now." Korume said, putting down the fee, then rather then accepting the blowpipe, instead conjured ice spears in her hands.
"Wha- WAIT MISS! You're just supposed to use the blowpipes!" exclaimed the Rito in desperation as Korume started to aim at the targets.
"Kukuku... this one's so cute..." Korume said, walking down the road with the group as she was holding a small plushie of a creepy looking ghost with one eye and a long tongue.
"You didn't even win that, he just gave it to you out of fear that you'd destroy his stand." Nemisa pointed out, a little disturbed at the look of the plushie Korume had.
"I consider that a win." Korume giggled darkly.
Link and Aviel stopped at a game stand where there was some tank boxes before them full of water, and quickly swimming around in the water were numerous goldfish.
"So how does this game go?" Link asked.
"Simple, you just snatch the goldfish in nets as they jump out from the water!" said a bald Rito wearing a turtle-like mask. On every other day of the year he was a fish salesmen, but he was known as Kappa-Mask to the patrons of the festival. He showed Link, Aviel and the others small paper discs that were the nets he mentioned, "Any you catch you get to keep!"
"Oooh, how nice!" Saria said, taking a net and carefully trying to scoop up a fish in the water with it, only for the paper to turn soggy and rip, "Huh?"
"Oh, and if you lose your net you have to buy a new one!" grinned Kappa-Mask.
"Not a problem, I'll win a fish for you Link!" Nemisa said with a smirk, taking one of the nets and watched the goldfish carefully. As one jumped out she swiped at it, only to miss completely and the fish went back in the water, "This could be trickier then I thought..."
Korume meanwhile just sat there, holding her own net and carefully watching the fish.
"I'll give it a try, I've done some fishing before." Link said taking a net and swinging it, only to miss as well, "Not like this though..."
"I got one." V said. Everyone looked to see he was leaning over the tank and had a goldfish sticking halfway out of his mouth before he gulped it down, "It's way easier to just catch them with your teeth."
"That's not how you play!" Kappa-Mask shouted in frustration.
Nemisa swiped at another goldfish, only to miss again. She sighed out and looked over to Link, who was carefully trying to catch them as well. She looked down at the orange cat plush he won her before, and it just made her want to win something for him even more, as she swiped at yet another fish.
"Would you like to try it yourself Priestess?" Kappa-Mask asked Aviel.
"Hey Pecoli, did you want me to try and win you one?" Aviel asked the small Rito.
"Well I've always wanted a fishie, but you already won me this..." Pecoli said holding up her plushie.
"Don't worry about it, this will be fun! Just watch me!" Aviel said as she paid the rupees.
Aviel took the paper net from Kappa-Mask and watched carefully, as the fish went through the little pool. A few leaped out of the water and dived right back in. As one leaped up Aviel's eyes gleamed, and she swung out with a lightning quick swipe that caught the fish.
"Woooaaah!" Pecoli said with sparkling eyes, "That was so cool!"
Kappa-Mask's jaw dropped at the sight of Aviel winning first try. As the others congratulated the Gerudo, he turned around to a stack of fish tanks in the back of his stand muttering to himself, "I see now how the sharpshooting game owner lost to her... But priestess or not, I won't lose myself!"
Kappa-Mask took a batch of goldfish from one tank. They were swimming around quickly and aggressively, taking moments to attack each other. Some even have battle scars on them. He turned back and dunked them all into the tank,
"Now Priestess, how would you like another round, double or nothing?"
"Okay!" Aviel said with a big grin.
Link carefully observed the new fish swimming around and jumping out, he quickly swiped at one, but it did a flip to avoid it and even smacked him in the face in mid jump before cutting through his net and splashing back into the water, "What the heck?"
"Let me give it another try..." Saria said trying to snatch one of the fish, only for it to fly out and bonk her on the forehead, making her net fall into the water, "Ow!"
"I'll handle it!" Nemisa said, she swung at a fish but it dodged and bashed her in the chest before coming down and ripping through her net, "What the hell kind of fish are these?"
"Oh just normal mild-mannered goldfish!" Kappa-Mask said, before chuckling wickedly under his breath, thinking to himself, 'Goldfish imported from the Takinobori region that is... they train by swimming up waterfalls and are the fiercest in all the land! It's cheating, but I won't be bested by the priestess!'
Aviel watched the goldfish carefully as they aggressively swam around in the water, one jumped up and she swiped at it, only for it to stop in midair and bite at her paper net. She quickly jerked her net back before it could and the fish fell right into the water. Another jumped up and she was about to swipe her net at it, but the fish suddenly spun like a drill aiming down at her net, forcing her to evade instead.
"This is ridiculous! How can anyone win against these things?" Nemisa exclaimed.
"Hmm..." Aviel pondered to herself as she looked at the fish, trying to figure out what to do to catch one.
It was in that moment that Aviel felt a faint memory, of someone with a soothing voice speaking to her...
"A steady... ...proper... ...pierce... ...the sky..."
"Aviel look out!" Saria shouted out.
"Huh?" Aviel snapped out of her trance to see a goldfish coming right at her net. She pulled it away just inches before the fish could tear through it.
"You okay Priestess Aviel?" Pecoli asked with concern
"Uh, I'm fine." Aviel spoke, as she went back to trying to catch one of the odd goldfish. She swung her net again, only to miss. Five of the ones in the water jumped through the air and flipped, almost as if they were showing off to taunt her.
Aviel took a breath and focused, staring at the goldfish who were jumping through the air.
As five of them leaped up again Aviel got her chance, and with one powerful swipe, she managed to hit all five out of the air at once, sending the fish flying up in shock. They thought they could retreat back into the tank, but they instead all fell down right into little plastic baggies that Link, Nemisa, Saria, V and Pecoli had open and waiting to catch them in.
"Hee hee, we win!" Aviel grinned widely, her friends holding up all the baggies, as the Rito patrons who were watching around them cheered out wildly.
"Well, that's Aviel the Hawkeye for you." Nemisa said shrugging, holding up one of the baggies and smirking at the angry fish thrashing around inside of it.
"Wha- WHAAATTT?" shouted Kappa-Mask, his jaw dropped and a huge amount of steam blasted up from his bald head, before frantically speaking, "Wait, don't take those! I'll trade you for a-"
"Here kids, you can all have them!" Aviel said, handing out the goldfish to a group of Rito children.
"Thank you priestess!" the kids said bowing their heads to her.
"NOOO!" shouted Kappa-Mask with tears of waterfalls streaming down his cheeks.
As the kids all ran off, Link put his hand on Aviel's shoulder, "Nice work Aviel, you're really getting to be popular around here."
"Hee hee, yeah. It's going to be a shame when we have to leave back for Gerudo Town, but I'm going to work to put as many smiles on people's faces here that I can!" Aviel grinned as they continued down the road.
"I can't believe this, those fish cost me a fortune..." muttered Kappa-Mask, "Well I'll just have to take back the ones that haven't been won ye-"
"I win." Korume said, having used her magic to freeze all the remaining goldfish in ice and was carrying them off in ice cubes she was levitating in the air with her powers.
"Give those back!" Kappa-Mask shouted in anger, but the ice mystic just ignored him and walked off.
After the group had their fill with games, they all decided to go to the restaurant stands and get their fill of food instead. There was quite a variety of different foods being prepared at different stands, and the air was full of tantalizing smells coming from the grills.
"Hey Link, want me to treat you to something? I got a pretty good rupee prize from that trivia game!" Saria said smiling pleasantly as she was carrying a large plush toy of a cute blue frog she won in another game.
"Sounds good, haven't eaten anything in a while." Link grinned.
"You just ate a sandwich Saria brought along for you ten minutes ago." Korume pointed out with amusement, while playing with a yo-yo she had obtained at another stand.
"Hey Link, what's that cute mask you're wearing on your head anyway? I saw you buy it from a stand." Aviel asked.
Link looked up to the mask he was wearing on the side of his head, it was a yellow mask with squinty eyes and pointy ears with black tips.
"It's a Keaton Mask, it's based on fox creatures that are said to appear before people if you wear one, and they bring good fortune. I even owned one as a kid." he explained, scratching his cheek a little, "I was actually thinking of giving it to the first of the kids when they've grown up enough..."
"How sweet, it sounds like it's rather important to you..." Korume spoke.
Link paused on that note and thought to himself deeply, a memory of himself as a child in a faraway place. He recalled the kind smile of a young woman who took the mask Link had and put it on his head, as she told him how cute he was wearing it... Then to that woman making that same sweet smile as she closed a door on him, as he was frantically trying to open it to follow her...
"Link?" Saria spoke up, "Are... you crying?"
Link realized there were faint tears in his eyes, and he quickly wiped them away, "Ah ha ha, sorry... Must have gotten some dust in my eye!"
As the group continued on to the food stands, Nemisa looked to the various prizes Aviel, Link, Saria and even V had won, then down to what she had managed to 'win' at one of the last games they played.
It was a bronze clothing buckle with a small circular stone in the center that she had gotten in a random grab bag raffle, it was featureless aside from the stone having an unusual horizontal strip in the middle that had wavy bumps up and down it.
"I'm sorry Link..." Nemisa sighed, handing the buckle to Link as she looked to her two-tailed cat doll, "You won me this adorable little thing, and I wanted to win something nice for you in return. But all I was able to get was this tacky clothing accessory..."
"It's alright." Link grinned, he took the buckle and put it in his robe for safe keeping, before giving Nemisa a gentle kiss on the lips, "Just your effort alone is enough for me."
Nemisa smiled deeply at his words, Link put his arms around her and Saria's shoulders as they went off together. Nemisa and Saria both leaned against Link in bliss as they went along.
"Gee, they're all really good friends, aren't they?" Pecoli asked Aviel following behind them, the little bird hugging the pink plush doll Aviel had won for her.
"Yeah... they're... um, really close together." Aviel spoke nervously, deciding not to tell her about them being Link's brides for obvious reasons.
"Are you like that with him too?" Pecoli asked.
"Well..." Aviel trailed off, looking to Link as he kept his two fiances close to him, before whispering to herself, "I... don't know...?"
The group arrived at the area of the festival where there were numerous food stands. There was one Rito grilling fish and squirting lemon on it while another was preparing takoyaki. Another Rito was flipping beef patties into the air with spatulas and catching them on bread slices before pouring a rich sauce on top of them.
"Ooooh... everything looks so good..." Aviel said staring at the food on display at one stand as drool started to pour out of her mouth like a waterfall.
"Yeah, but what do we get? There's so much to choose from..." Saria asked looking left and right and getting pretty hungry herself.
"No need to be stingy, this is a special night, and little birdbrain deserves it for all the hard work she's put in." Korume spoke, "I say we go all out tonight."
"Alright, then let's chow down!" Aviel cheered out, as they started placing orders around the stands for just about anything that sounded good.
Link and Nemisa past by one stand where they saw a Rito cutting up some particular meat and starting to grill it up. The two stared at it with a strange sense of uncertainty,
"Uh, what you got there?" Link asked.
"Oh, this is cucco meat, want some pieces? Only fifteen rupees for a single serving!" the chef said.
"C-Cucco meat? But aren't you all... uh..." Nemisa stammered, seeing the bird person stick a fork in the meat and put it on a tray with some seasoning sauce and a side of rice.
"What?" the chef asked, tilting his head as he handed the order to a Rito who happily took it and sat down at a table where more Rito were eating more trays of cucco meat.
"I'll take a triple order, sir!" spoke up a voice, as the two looked to see Crissile coming up to the stand.
"Right away!" the chef said.
"Hi Ms. Crissile, how's the man hunting going?" Link asked.
"We'll have to see won't we?" Crissile grinned as she rubbed the love charm Aviel had blessed for her.
"There you are Ms. Crissile!" the chef said handing out the boxes of cucco meat.
"My, you're such a kind and dedicated worker, not to mention cute too!" Crissile spoke to the chef, then asked suggestively, "Can I also pay you to feed me iiit...?" she opened her beak up inviting him.
"Ehh... forgive me, but I'll pass on that Ms. Crissile." the Rito chef said sweatdropping as he went back to cooking.
"Well, not so good unfortunately." Crissile answered to Link with a deep sigh.
"Fear not Ms. Crissile, I can understand the trials with finding a husband." Nemisa said, "I had almost given up on men once, but I'm sure you'll find your ideal one, just as I did."
"Oh thank you so much, dear!" Crissile smiled happily, "I'll keep at it, I just know this charm the priestess blessed will help me get my man someday!"
Crissile then took to eating the meal, as Link and Nemisa both looked oddly at the large bird woman with white feathers and the red comb eating the cucco meat.
"Something the matter, land-dwellers?" the chef asked.
"...nothing, we'll both take an order." Link sighed.
Saria meanwhile went to one stand where she purchased two bowls of beef and rice for her and V, handing the one with the most beef in it to him.
"There you go V, eat it up!" Saria said.
"Oh, thank you Ms. Saria." V said, taking a bite of the meat, "Wow, this is delicious!"
Saria nodded, "Right? I used to live in the forest for hundreds of years, and my diet consisted entirely of plants, fruits and nuts. It wasn't until I moved to Gerudo Town with Link that I got to try out so many new things that I thought I never could!"
"I can relate to you, I used to live in Death Mountain my whole life." V said, "I was too scared to leave, especially after Mother abandoned me, but after what happened with Mr. Link and your friends I decided to take off and see what the world was like."
Saria smiled lightly at V's words, as she recalled back when Aviel took her to Death Mountain's peak to see all of Hyrule, and when they made their vow to free the Gerudo from the valley so they could enjoy the world themselves.
She took a bite of beef from her bowl, but pulled it immediately back out, "This piece is a little raw." she said sticking her tongue out in disgust, "Maybe I should just take it back to be recooked."
"No problem, I'll fix it." V said, breathing out some small flames from his mouth at the piece of meat on Saria's fork, leaving it overly blackened and charred.
"Uh, thanks." Saria said sweatdropping.
"Kwaahahaaha, what a wonderful night!"
The Rito wizard and nobleman Mr. Barrank was strolling down the road of the festival, taking a sip of a beverage. Some Rito women went by in tight fitting robes, and his long neck turned to stare down their figures. Barrank chuckled to himself as he went along, but due to his distraction he collided into someone that caused him to drop his beverage.
"Oops. Sorry!" Pecoli said, only to look up in shock to see just who she bumped into.
"Hey, watch where you're going you little- oh it's you..." Barrank realized, looking down at his butler's little sister, "How dare you, I'll be taking that drink out of your brother's salary!"
"Eep! Master Barrank! I'm so sorry!" Pecoli said bowing her head, "Please don't punish Big Bro for this!"
"Hmph, you're lucky I gave the two of you a home!" Barrank said, ruffling his feathers in annoyance, "If your brother wasn't so skilled at his work I would-"
"Hey Pecoli, wait up!" Aviel shouted out rushing up to the two of them.
"Wait, the Sky Guardian Priestess?" Barrank exclaimed, "What are you two doing together?"
"We're friends!" Aviel said, "Not that that's any of your business Mr. Balsac!"
"I said my name is Barrank!" squawked the nobleman angerly, "And she needs to make up for what she did!"
"You leave Pecoli alone!" Aviel said, spreading out her Roc's Wings and waving them angerly.
Barrank's eyes widened as he looked at Aviel's wings in astonishment, before quickly scowling angerly and turning away.
"...hmph, never mind. That drink was foul anyway, I have other matters to deal with." Barrank strutted off on his way, confusing both Aviel and Pecoli.
"Just what is his problem anyway?" Aviel asked with puffed out cheeks.
After leaving Aviel and Pecoli, Mr. Barrank strolled up to Mayor Nymnalo, who was instructing some workers to set up a wooden stage for a speech he planned to do later that night. The long-necked Rito cleared his throat and called out,
"Good evening to you Mayor! I trust things are going well?"
"Ah yes they are, thank you Mr. Barrank." Nymnalo said, "Are you enjoying the festivities?"
"Sure am, the food is hearty and the women are lively, kwaahahaha!" laughed Barrank.
Barrank then eyed some Rito ladies walking by, "Speaking of which," he smirked and strolled up to them, tipping his hat as a welcoming gesture, "Evening ladies, you're looking rather lovely tonight."
"Oh uh, thank you Mr. Barrank..." muttered one of the girls, Barrank took her hand and looked it over.
"I think these lovely hands of yours would be quite skilled at my estate!" Barrank said, "How'd you two like to work for me?"
"Think we'll pass, Mr. Barrank." said the other Rito woman, grabbing and pulling away Barrank's arm. The two of them both went off on their way.
"Hmph, how ungrateful. After all I've done to protect them from the land-dwellers." grumbled Barrank.
"Yes... about that Mr Barrank..." Mayor Nymnalo spoke up, "After the festival is over, I need to speak with you about our protection situation soon, just to give you fair warning..."
"Ooh," Barrank muttered, confirming his worries about the town no longer needing his services if the Priestess were to awaken the Great Fairy, "V-Very well..."
"Well until then, please enjoy the festival Mr. Barrank, piou!" Nymnalo said cheerfully as he had two Rito put lanterns up on the podium's rafters.
"Thank you Mr. Mayor..." muttered Barrank, going off on his way grumbling, "Damn that priestess, I need to deal with her before it's too late..."
Aviel and Pecoli continued along through the festival, greeting the Rito who bowed and praised the chosen priestess, and she was quick to offer them her blessing. Upon noticing Pecoli with her, some people were whispering out to each other.
"Isn't that the little one who's living with Mr. Barrank?"
"And she's with the priestess?"
"I've heard bad rumors about her, but the priestess seems to trust her..."
"Maybe we were wrong about her...?"
Aviel having overheard what the people were saying, felt a sense of pride as she took Pecoli's hand, the two going on along their way as the Rito spoke among each other. She was using her influence to help change people's disposition to Pecoli more.
"I love having you here Priestess Aviel, are you sure you can't stay with us for good?" Pecoli asked.
"Sorry Pecoli, but my home's important to me too. Plus I promised to get back before the end of the week." Aviel said.
"Aww..." pouted Pecoli, "But I like having you with us, you're like a big sister to me!"
Aviel smiled softly, small tears were forming in her eyes as she heard that, and she started wiping them clean, "T-Thanks Pecoli..." she said hugging her tightly, "Hey I'm getting hungry again, how about we go find something else to eat?"
"Okay!" Pecoli nodded, "Have you ever tried sushi before?"
"Shoe-si? Do they make that from shoes?" Aviel asked in confusion, imaging a Rito taking a leather shoe, putting ketchup on it, and cutting it up into slices.
"No, no! Come on, I'll show you!" Pecoli giggled, taking Aviel off.
Pecoli escorted Aviel to one stand where Korume just so happened to be. She had just received her food, so Aviel and Pecoli and placed an order at the stand for a sushi platter.
"You two enjoying yourselves?" Korume asked, eating a piece of sushi.
"Yep, hope you're enjoying things too Korume!" Aviel said.
"Kukuku... I think you'll be enjoying yourself even more soon enough..." Korume said cryptically, recalling what Link vowed to tell Aviel. She took another bite of sushi and frowned a bit, "Hm, this needs a little more kick to it..."
Aviel was confused by Korume's words but didn't say anything. After they received the sushi from the chef, Aviel noted a bowl of green jelly-like sauce that stood out to her. She watched as Korume took a whole cup of it and went off on her way.
"Hey, what's this?" Aviel asked the chef curiously about the green jelly.
"It's called wasabi, it's a topping for food." the Rito chef said cutting up some vegetables.
"Oooh, sounds yummy!" Aviel said, taking a large portion of the wasabi and putting it on one of her sushi pieces.
"Uh, Aviel wait!" Pecoli exclaimed in panic.
"W-Wait a minute, that stuff can be pretty-!" the chef started, but the two Rito was silenced at the sight of Aviel putting the whole piece in her mouth.
Aviel stood there for a few seconds, before sweat started to run down her head, and she screamed out, "H-HOOOOOOOOTTTT!"
Aviel shot down the road with flames blasting out from her mouth, leaving behind a dust cloud.
"Priestess Aviel?!" Pecoli exclaimed as she watched Aviel run off in a hurry.
"Water, water!" Aviel shouted, coming to a halt at a picnic bench area. She grabbed a bucket of water from a nearby table and started to pour it down her throat to try and soothe the spicy taste on her tongue.
Korume just so happened to be sitting and eating nearby; she was pretty much eating the wasabi straight from the cup, being the type of person who loved incredibly spicy food. She glanced over to Aviel drinking down the water and grinned a little, quickly catching onto what was the problem.
"You ate the wasabi didn't you, little birdbrain?" Korume asked.
"Uh huh..." Aviel gasped out, before resuming drinking the water.
"I hate to break it to you... but water just spreads the oil and makes it worse." Korume pointed out.
Hearing those words Aviel stood there blankly, before she screamed out again.
"KYYYYYYAAAAA! MORE HOT MORE HOT!" Aviel went running off again.
Meanwhile, down the road Saria held up a piece of cucco meat to V, who breathed out a tiny flame on it to make it just crispy enough to be well done, and she took a bite of it.
"Mmm.. I know you said you don't like poultry, but you have to at least try it this way!" Saria said happily, "You could probably be a top chef with that power of yours, or at least an assistant griller!"
"You really think so?" V asked in confusion, "Can that be something fun too?"
"Sure can!" Saria nodded, "We have friends like Sovan and Big Momma Octo who love cooking for all of us!"
"Huh..." V muttered in thought.
They then saw Aviel running past the two, breathing fire out of her mouth from the intense spiciness of the wasabi. The two sat there staring as she bolted down the road.
"Aviel?" Saria spoke out.
"Wow, maybe she outta be a chef too." V commented.
"You okay now Aviel?" Link grinned, patting his friend on the back as she was stuffing her mouth with bread.
Link had been contacted by Saria via ocarina about what happened, and managed to catch up to Aviel to calm her down, getting her some bread rolls to do away with the spicy sensation in her mouth. Her lips were puffed up red from how spicy the wasabi was for her.
"Yeah..." sniffled Aviel, "Now I know how you felt back at the cucco hot wing eating contest you had with Mr. Zopem..." she leaned against him and sighed out, "Thanks for looking out for me... again."
"No problem Aviel." Link nodded, putting an arm around her.
Aviel sighed contently as Link held her like that. She always enjoyed being held by him like this, but in that moment, it felt better then ever before, but she wasn't sure exactly why...
"Hey part-timer!" shouted out a chef as he was cutting up some celery and scooping it into a frying pan, then pointing his spatula to a group of Rito all gathered at tables, "Get those ingredients over here, we got hungry customers!"
"In a minute sir!" exclaimed a young Rito woman, carrying a huge basket of assorted vegetables, but she was in such a hurry that she stumbled over herself and let go of the basket, sending the vegetables flying into the air, "Ack, oh no!"
"I got em!" Aviel said, forgetting about her wasabi incident and snapping into action. She spread her Roc's Wings out and took off into the air, quickly using her talons to snatch the basket in midair as the chef and apprentice caught whatever had fallen out of it.
"Nice work little lady!" the chef said as Aviel landed down.
"Hee hee, no problem! Here you go!" Aviel said grinning, holding up the basket.
"Wait, didn't I order one more...?" muttered the chef looking over what they had recovered, the two looked up to see a green vegetable fall straight down at Aviel.
"Hold on, I got i-!" Aviel was about to say, but then she saw that the vegetable falling at her was a cucumber.
In that moment her whole body froze up, and her eyes were widened as she stared up at it, before the cucumber beaned her right in the forehead, causing her to fall backwards and spill out the vegetables she had been carrying.
"Aviel?" Link exclaimed, running up and looking down at her, "You alright there? You look like you blanked out."
"I... I..." Aviel paused and stared up at Link. Her face flushed bright red as she stood up, quickly gathered up the vegetables, "Five second rule!" stuffing them into the chef's basket, bowing to everyone, "Sorry, but I have something to do right now!" and with that she ran off.
"What's up with her?" the chef asked rubbing his head.
"I... don't know?" Link spoke with confusion and concern.
Aviel continued to run down the festival street, ignoring the questions asked by the Rito. At one point she stumbled over, only to push herself back up and keep going forward.
"Ugh, what's wrong with me...?" she muttered.
In order to escape the crowd, Aviel went over to a darker and more isolated area of the town where the trees were more numerous. She stood behind a tree, gasping out from running so fast. She placed a hand to her chest, as she thought back to a recent memory...
Flashback - The morning of two days ago in Gerudo Town
Aviel had just woken up after sleeping in bed with Link and Saria, having been scared by a storm going on outside last night and desperate for comfort with her friends. She realized that at some point during the night she and Link had embraced in their sleep and were holding each other.
"Um... Link?" Aviel asked with a slight blush on her face, hoping to get him awake.
"Mmm..." Link muttered in his sleep, instead holding Aviel closer. She struggled a little to get out from his grip, but he just held her protectively in his arms.
Aviel had been heavily embarrassed from the feeling of Link holding her so closely in that moment. As she tried to figure out a way to escape, she felt a strange sensation of something pressing against her leg.
"What is that, a cucumber?"
Aviel lifted up the sheets to see just what was poking at her. Upon seeing what it was she laid there staring at it for a short while, she didn't even so much as blink.
The girl slowly lowered the sheet to cover Link, and gulped a bit.
End Flashback
The Gerudo girl had completely forgotten about that due to bonking herself on the head shortly afterwards in an attempt to get out of the room as soon as possible, but seeing the cucumber from the vegetable basket seemed to have jogged her memory.
Aviel could be ditsy, but she wasn't completely naive about things like that. She had learned all about the anatomy of human males in reproduction lessons at school with Ms. Fareafu, and she understood what it actually was.
She had seen Link nude in the past a couple times, one noteworthy moment was at the hot spring, but she had never seen that part of him look the way it had been in that moment. Link had initially mistaken her for Saria, but was it actually her own body that made him react that way...?
Aviel took that moment to look down to her physique; while her body was slim and scrawny, lacking the feminine curves of some of Link's other fiances, she did have a rather nice pair of breasts. Just last month her top got too tight for her and she had to get a bigger size.
Before she used to be annoyed at how big they were since she was sure their weight was part of the reason she could be such a klutz... But the way Link ran his strong hands along her body, especially her chest, gave her sensations she had never felt before. If it hadn't been for him waking up in that moment two days ago, she wondered what he might have done to her in his sleep...
The young Gerudo gulped again, her legs fidgeted as she stretched open the collar area of her tight robe a little to release some heat she was exerting. She looked down at her chest as it rose and fell with each breath. She wondered what it would feel like for Link to-
"Aviel? What are you doing here?" a voice spoke suddenly.
"Kyyyaaaa!" Aviel squealed out in shock, shooting up about twenty feet into the air before slowly drifting back down to the ground. Aviel turned to see it was Nemisa, standing there with two paper cones with some sort of pink fluffy candy in her hands, "D-Don't do that Nemisa!"
"Sorry about that, I saw you running off so I came to see what's wrong. Here, have this." Nemisa said, handing her one of the cones, then gesturing to her to sit down on a stone bench nearby.
"Thanks Nemisa..." Aviel said with a small pout, taking a bite of the pink fluffy stuff on the cone, "Ahhh, it's sweet!"
"Right? They call it cotton candy." Nemisa said, taking a bite of her own, "You know, I'm rather enjoying my time here; after my enslavement by the Wyvern Keepers and being betrayed by the slaver Jayde I just wanted to remain secluded in Gerudo Town forever, but you and Link helped me get out and see things I never would had experienced before."
"Never experienced before..." Aviel said staring down at her cotton candy, "Nemisa, could I ask you a question?"
"You mean besides the one you just asked me? Sure." Nemisa chuckled a little, making Aviel giggle a bit herself.
"Um so..." Aviel glanced to Nemisa, "What's it like... being... you know, with Link?"
"You mean as his fiance?" Nemisa asked.
"No, I mean... you know... being with him... in bed... doing... you know, things..." Aviel muttered meekly.
"Doing thi-... oh... OH!" Nemisa said with wide eyes. She was shocked to hear this sort of thing from Aviel out of the blue, wondering what it was that brought it on, "Well that... I don't know if that's something we should be talking about in public Aviel."
"Please Nemisa? No one's listening!" Aviel said almost too anxiously, surprising Nemisa again.
"Okay..." Nemisa said, "Well, how to start? When me and Link first laid together it was my first time, so it was rather scary for me, and when he took the initiative it hurt horribly for me..." she spoke.
"Does it hurt every time...?" Aviel asked, curious why the girls wanted to do it so much when it apparently hurt like that.
"No, it was only just that one time." Nemisa clarified, "And Link was good to help comfort me through that pain... like he's done so much for me in the past." she smiled, "After that, it became pure heated pleasure between us. I love the way he touches me, the feeling of him inside of me... and it makes me anxious for the day we're ready to have children..." she spoke, rubbing her firm stomach as she did.
Aviel in that moment thought about what Link said to her before the other day about having kids of her own. Could he had been suggesting...?
Nemisa continued, "When he makes love to me, it feels like the bond we have is closer then ever. Our bodies join together and become one in a sense."
"So... doing that sort of thing is like fusing together, like what Korume and Kesuta do when they become Dualsera?" Aviel asked, kicking her legs out as she sat at the bench.
"Hm, well that's a pretty good comparison." Nemisa nodded, "Korume told me it was the inseparable bond they formed and shared together that helped them awaken to the fusion technique. They feel something similar with Link when they make love to him. In a way, it feels like being connected with all three of them."
"Wow..." Aviel said with widened eyes.
"Not just them, but everyone else too." Nemisa said, "Saria, Ruto, Togau, Sarami... we're all connected together as an inseparable family."
"A family..." Aviel whispered.
"So tell me Aviel, you want to be part of this family too, right?" Nemisa said with a knowing smile.
"Well... I've always felt a connection to all of you... and I really love being around Link... he's been like a big brother to me all this time. After moving to Gerudo Town with everyone I thought I would be alone in that lookout tower forever, but then Link came into my life and helped me do more then I ever thought I could, and become friends with all of you. He brought all of you together by making you his fiances and..."
Aviel looked up into the night sky and smiled softly, her cheeks turning red.
"And I think... I want him to be more then just a big brother to me, I want to feel that same connection you all have with him." Aviel whispered.
Nemisa then put her arms around Aviel and held her closely, making the younger Gerudo blush more.
"That's love you feel Aviel, your love for Link." Nemisa said softly, "And I'm certain he loves you as well."
"Y-You sure...?" Aviel asked.
"Of course. When the time is right, I think you should tell him your feelings. I can assure you that you're not going to regret it." Nemisa nodded.
"Okay..." Aviel said softly, but Nemisa noticed she seemed to be uncertain of something.
"Something else the matter?" Nemisa asked.
"N-No... it's nothing. Thanks Nemisa, you're right. When the time's right I think I'm going to tell him exactly how I feel!" Aviel nodded.
"We'll be looking forward to that then, kukuku..." spoke a mysterious voice suddenly.
"Kyaaa!" screamed out Aviel in shock, shooting up into the air.
"What th-?!" Nemisa exclaimed, turning and looking surprised at Korume who had been peeking from behind a tree as Aviel crashed down to the ground, "How long have you been eavesdropping Korume?!"
"Around the time you started telling Aviel about how good it feels like to have Link inside of you." Korume said with a small mischievous grin, "And how much you can't wait to get all fat and round with his children..."
"I-I didn't even say that last part! Get out of here!" Nemisa shouted in annoyance.
"Fine, fine." Korume said turning and starting to leave, before stopping and looking over her shoulder at Aviel, "By the way, Saria says she's supporting you as well little birdbrain, she can't wait until you join all of us as Link's wives."
"Oh, t-thanks Korume." Aviel said.
"See? We're all in support of you Aviel." Nemisa nodded.
"Hey, looks like the mayor is about to make a speech!" they overheard a Rito shout, as others followed along with him.
"How about we catch up with Link and Pecoli and hear this for ourselves?" Nemisa said, "The mayor probably would want you there."
"Yeah!" Aviel nodded.
"Hello everyone, we're pleased to have you all here for the Sky Guardian Festival, piou!" Mayor Nymnalo spoke out to the Rito from atop a wooden stage with a curtain behind him, "Especially now that we have our chosen priestess here with us!"
He gestured to Aviel who stepped up onto the stage and bowed, "Hello everyone, I hope you're enjoying the festival! I've been training hard to prepare for tomorrow night, and I won't let you down!"
The crowd cheered out at these words, Pecoli herself was sitting on Link's shoulders to get a good view, and she waved happily at Aviel.
"She's really growing." Link spoke to Nemisa.
"In more ways then you may realize, my love." chuckled Nemisa, anticipating the moment she would confess to him.
Nymnalo continued, "Now as we start to wind down from day one of the festival, we have a special show for you all. A performance of... of..."
The crowd paused in confusion as Nymnalo just stood there, not saying anything.
Then a snot bubble rose up from the mayor's beak, as the people could hear a soft snoring sound, making them all fault over in annoyance.
"WAKE UP MAYOR!" everyone shouted to wake him up.
The mayor's snot bubble and popped and he continued without even realizing he feel asleep, "As I was saying, we have a special show tonight, a preview performance of The Guardian's Melody of Sky, piou!"
With that, the curtains opened, and there was five white feathered crane Rito women with long black feathers running down their heads. They were all wearing red robes, and holding instruments. Aviel recognized them as being the musicians who played for her during her training. One plucked the strings of their samisen as they all started to play the first verse of the Melody of Sky that Aviel had been training with.
The music flowed through the area, even the Rito frying up food at the stands were hearing and enjoying the melody. Link closed his eyes as waved his finger in tune to the music, and he opened an eye to sure enough see Nemisa slowly dancing around to the music. Nemisa spotted Korume and took her by her hands, starting to lead her into a dance, much to Korume's annoyed objections.
Aviel closed her own eyes and smiled, feeling the music flow around her. She opened her lips and started singing the melody herself,
"La LA la, la-LAaa la la Laaaa... La LA la, la-LAaa la la Laaaa..."
The crowd was in awe of Aviel's singing, she started to move to the beat of the music, recalling the training Nemisa gave her that morning. She opened one eye to see the people all watching her. Pecoli was sitting on Link's shouders with a bright look on her face, and beneath her was Link, of whom was watching Aviel with a wide-eyed stare. She smiled brightly, closed her eye and started dancing more, spinning in step, without even stumbling anymore, and continuing to sing all the while,
"La LA la, la-LAaa la la Laaaa... La LA la, la-LAaa la la LAAAA!"
The crowd cheered out wildly and enthusiastically for Aviel's performance. Nemisa was smiling proudly at Aviel's hard work. Saria was thrilled for Aviel's singing talent, wondering if they could do a music duet with her ocarina. V was also there clapping, realizing just how fun it was to see Aviel singing and dancing.
"She truly must be the Sky Guardian's priestess!" said a Rito.
"Then the Great Fairy will awaken tomorrow!" said another.
"Praise be to the Great Fairy, the Sky Guardian, and their priestess!"
Mayor Nymnalo stepped up and cleared his throat, "And now we move on to the second verse of the song, which will finally awaken the Great Fairy tomorrow, so that she may perform her task to bring us and this world to prosperity, piou!"
The crane musicians started playing the second verse that Aviel had not heard yet. Nymnalo had told her to listen carefully to it that night so that she would be able to absorb and prepare for it in her training tomorrow morning. She closed her eyes and took in the melody's second verse, humming it as they went along. It was soothing and passionate, like a mighty bird flapping it's powerful wings to break through the wind and across the sky. As they played, her humming started to get louder, until...
"Laaa-la-la... la-la-la, La-la..."
Everyone was in surprise as Aviel was singing out the second verse of the song, she didn't dance to it, but just focused on the singing.
"Laaa-la-la... la-la-la, La-la la-lala-la LAAAAAAAA!"
It was then Aviel came to a complete halt, and her eyes widened. In that moment, she felt a powerful sensation. Within a split second so many thoughts and images came together within her mind...
'Like it kiddo? It's called snow!'
'Hahaha, you're just the cutest little thing Aviel!'
'I'm sure you'll make all sorts of great friends there!'
'What is that?'
'I'll be taking it from you, by force if I must!'
'Hang on everyone!'
'I've said the truth, now accept it.'
'It's so cold...'
'I'll always watch over you... Aviel...'
Aviel stood there on the wooden stage with a look of complete shock, the crowd had cheered out at her singing, but were now confused as to why she was standing motionless.
"Did she fall asleep with her eyes open?" V asked in confusion.
Link watched as Aviel started to waver and lose her balance. He quickly put a confused Pecoli to the ground and ran towards Aviel.
"Aviel, what's wrong?" Link shouted, rushing up onto the stage and catching her in his arms just before she fell backwards.
"Priestess, are you okay?" Mayor Nymnalo asked frantically.
"Y-Yeah..." Aviel said after snapping out of it, though she seemed to look very unnerved in that moment, "I think I just overdid it tonight..."
"I better take her to rest." Link said, lifting her up in his arms.
There was a collective amount of "awws" coming from the crowd from seeing Link carrying their priestess off, but he disregarded them, as he was more concerned with her well-being. Nemisa, Saria, Korume and V all nodded to themselves and followed after them. Nymnalo meanwhile did his best to calm down the anxious crowd as he went to having the musicians play something else for the remainder of the festival.
Meanwhile, a certain man was watching Link and his friends run off and he smirked lightly, following silently after them.
"There you go Aviel." Link said, handing his friend a cup of tea.
"Thanks..." Aviel said before taking a sip.
Link, Aviel, Nemisa, Saria, Korume and V were all alone in Mayor Nymnalo's residence. They were sitting up on cushions in the dining area while having some refreshments they had bought from the festival.
"Sorry we had to leave the festival early cause of me." Aviel sighed out.
"It's no big deal, we still have tomorrow and the next day!" Saria pointed out.
"Tomorrow... um, you see about that..." muttered Aviel, "I'm... uh, thinking maybe we should leave... like tonight or something..."
"Huh? But what about your training and the ceremony?" Link asked.
"Yes, I still haven't aided you in your next dance lesson!" Nemisa said.
"Well, the problem is..." Aviel muttered, she squeezed her cup of water, and Link noticed her hands were shaking. He also saw small tears starting to form in her eyes.
"Aviel, did something happen back at the stage?" Link asked.
"Y-Yeah..." Aviel spoke, "When the musicians started playing the second verse of the song, I started singing it..."
"I heard that, you sang beautifully!" Saria said brightly.
"Yeah, I was really enjoying it too!" V said.
"Well, you see... after hearing it, something happened..." Aviel muttered.
She put the room in dead silence for a brief while, until Korume spoke up,
"Aviel... it's said if you have subconsciously repressed memories or thoughts, certain things related to it can potentially help you recall them. Could it be that the second verse of the song triggered something in your mind, and you got your memories back?"
Everyone looked to Korume with surprise, then to Aviel to see if she would confirm it. Sure enough, tears were starting to fall down lightly from her eyes. Just as the cucumber helped her remember that one morning with Link, the song had helped her regain a very different memory from her past...
"I... I did... and... and..." Aviel trembled.
"What is it Aviel?" Link asked.
"Everyone, I'm sorry but..." Aviel gulped before she spoke her next words.
"I'm not the Sky Guardian Roc's chosen one..."
And that ends the chapter. Next time, we finally learn about Aviel's mysterious past and how she came to learn about the Sky Guardian Roc!
Many thanks to all of you for your continued support! Leave a like, follow or comment if you choose to!