It's...IT'S...!
Not an update. Ha! I fooled ya didn't I? >:3 Nah, this here's a long overdue fic for Sky. Enjoy your present buddy, I hope you like it!
Outset
It’s a fairly small island, but a good home to the tiny village that inhabits it. Most of the flatland is taken up by houses (and pigpens, much to my chagrin. I love the meat, but that smell, that awful awful smell!) The back of the island is more of a cliff whose top is home to a forest and lots of monsters.
Who, me? Oh, I’m just one of the villagers. A girl in her early 20’s, incidentally, who is poked and prodded at by the woman who rescued her because that woman thinks that her foundling will never get a husband. I won’t gripe about how there are no marriageable men on this island…I won’t.
Rescued, yes. I drifted ashore probably…5 years ago. Mammy (that’s not her name, it’s just what I call her) had about the same amount of wrinkles as she does now, but her grandchildren were barely out of toddlerhood. Link and Aryll, two of the sweetest children you could find. It’s the elder’s birthday tomorrow, I hear there’s going to be an even bigger hullabaloo than usual cause it’s “the age where the ancient hero started out on his journey.” I guess that’s special, but the outfit he has to wear…
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The newest resident to this hospitable island stood outside her shack of a house, smiling at the clear blue expanse before her. At some point, it became impossible to tell where the sea ended at the sky began. That, she supposed, was one of the nicest things about living on an island. It offered a superb view.
“Lana!” a voice interrupted, its owner tugging on the girl’s red skirt. “Lanaaaaa…!” The redhead snapped out of her musings, turning to face the pigtailed girl intent on gaining her attention.
“Sorry!” she laughed, patting the girl’s head with one hand and sweeping her ponytail back with another. “What is it Aryll?”
“You promised to come pick strawberries with me” the blonde said, her lower lip jutting out. Lana’s face fell. The sweet fruits grew on the ledges between the village grounds and the forest. And they were extremely hard to get to.
“O-oh Aryll…can’t we get those some other day? Come on; let’s go explore the other side of the island or something.” But the girl remained adamant.
“NO, they’re for brother’s birthday cake. Now let’s goooo…!” The redhead gave up, hanging her head with a defeated sigh. As if to mock her, the ponytail she’d swept back slipped over her shoulder again, the purple bow fastener tickling her cheek. Lana gave it up as a bad job and instead went to make sure the sash around her dress (sleeveless and dark red with an off-white shirt underneath) was secure. She knelt to tighten the straps on her sandals (Aryll’s eyes boring into the top of her head the entire time) and followed the young girl to the cliff face.
“UP!” the redhead roared. She grappled with the child’s foot digging into her shoulder. The little blonde stood up straighter (her sandal making an even deeper dent in the skin between shoulder and neck) and strained to reach the red fruit dangling from a nearby outcropping.
“Jump Lana!” she squealed. “I can reach it then!” Lana sucked in a breath and leapt, throwing Aryll from her perch in the process. The little girl went flying up, landing on the jutting rock in a heap. She squeaked in delight and began tossing strawberries of every shape and size over the edge. Her older companion grabbed for the basket they’d bought, shoving it beneath the ledge in time for the first fruit to bounce off the tip and land with a plink in the wicker interior.
“Score!” the girls yelled in unison, more red fruits piling over the edge. Aryll flicked the last one off and scrambled to the next rock. Lana followed, hurrying to push their basket to the next destination. They cleared that cliff of tasty cake-toppers before the blonde hollered that she wanted down. The elder girl pushed the basket off to one side and held both arms open.
“Jump Aryll, I’ll catch you!” The pigtailed girl slid over, landing in the redhead’s arms with a thump.
“Ready to go home?” Lana asked, lowering the girl down. Aryll nodded, brushing her blue dress off and taking a side of the basket’s handle.
“Yeah, we gotta bake brother’s cake!” Smiling indulgently at the girl’s excitement, Lana led the way back to the village.
“Grandma’s got some cream from Windfall” Aryll chattered as they passed the first house. “She’s gonna make pretty designs on the cake.” Lana licked her lips. Mammy’s cakes were delicious, and the cream (because Windfall was so far away) was considered a delicacy. In a futile effort to steer her mind away from sweets, the redhead asked the little girl what she was giving her brother for his birthday. The blonde let go of the basket and pulled Lana’s head down to whisper conspiratorially in her ear.
”I’m lending him my telescope!” A corner of the older girl’s mouth lifted itself in a smile. The telescope was Aryll’s prized possession; she hardly let it out of her sight.
“Just for the day though” the blonde chirped. Her friend laughed, ruffling the girl’s hair affectionately.
“Of course.”
“What are you gonna give him?” Aryll asked curiously. Lana dug around in her sash before producing a small blue hoop.
“It’s to keep up with the hero’s legend” she said, pressing a hand to her mouth to stifle the giggles. The pigtailed girl gave the ring a perplexed look.
“You’re going to give big brother an earring?”
”Yes!”
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“Not even a hint?” Link asked pleadingly some time later. Lana clasped her hands behind her back, looking deceptively innocent.
“Noooope! Your present has to be a surprise.”
“Why can’t I see my cake then?” the boy almost whined, waving a hand to where the sounds of cooking were coming from behind a curtain. “I’ve always been able to see what it looks like.” The redhead held a finger to her lips, smiling.
“Because tomorrow is different from all your other birthdays, this cake is gonna be a real whopper.”
“Is that what you and Aryll were doing this morning?” the blond asked, giving his arguing opening a critical look. “Getting ingredients for it?” The girl’s grin widened, reducing her brown eyes to slits.
“Dear me, what makes you think that? C’mon Link, let’s go explore the other side of the island. I’m sure there’s a cave or something we haven’t seen yet.” It worked; the curiosity of his upcoming birthday presents was driven straight out of the 9 yr. old’s head.
“Yeah!” he cheered, bolting out the door. “I’ll race you to the bridge! Last one there has to swim!”
“That’s not fair Link!” Lana bawled. “I can’t swim in a dress! Come back here you little squirt, COME BAAAAAAAAACK!!!” High-pitched laughter answered her pleas, the source running full-tilt towards the bridge connecting Outset and it’s other half. (the channel wasn’t deep enough to be considered part of the sea, so the region was still called a single island.)
The blond, despite his shorter legs, made it to the bridge first and had the gall to do a victory dance. Lana blew a stray bang out of her face with a huff, kicked her sandals off (hooking her thumb through the heel straps), and waded across the gap.
“Just for that” she began haughtily, blowing the obstinate bang away again. “You’re not getting a present from me.” The bareheaded boy’s face fell.
“What?! No fair Lana, no fair!”
“Too bad!” she cackled, running towards a cave and kicking waves of sand up in the process. Link followed and slipped, leading to a spectacular face-plant in the sand. He got up to continue, shouting half-formed curses at the laughing redhead ahead of him.
“You don’t look very intimidating with your face covered in sand” she giggled, hauling the boy up by his elbow and using the hem of her dress to wipe his face clean. He sulked, but stood still and allowed the older girl to mother him.
“We’ll go the forest” she continued, dress swaying in the breeze. “Grab a stick Mr. Hero, I’ll need someone to help protect me.” Link puffed his chest out and ran to the path leading to the cliff's top.
“Right! C’mon Lana, I won’t let the monsters get you!”
“Too cute” she sighed, watching the blond use the cliff wall to balance himself. “He’s just too cute.”
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Lana, perhaps because she had no family of her own, liked to visit the *Naito household every night to help tuck the children in. She pulled Aryll’s pigtails out, brushing the short hair until it shined.
“How about wearing your new dress tomorrow?” she asked, separating the hair and braiding each section firmly. Aryll bounced up and down, almost toppling off the bunk in her excitement.
“My new blue dress!” she chirped. The redhead smiled, smoothing the top of the girl’s hair fondly.
“That’s right.” She stood up then to tuck in the trailing ends of the top bunk’s blankets. Its occupant burrowed deeper beneath his homemade coverlet.
“Sweet dreams” she told him, ruffling the blond’s mess of hair. He stretched two blue-clad arms out for a hug.
“G’night Lana, ‘love you.” His much older friend gave in, giving the boy a slightly awkward hug.
“I love you too Link, ‘night kiddo.” Link smiled at her and rolled over, falling asleep in minutes. Aryll was already out like a light.
“Goodnight Mammy” Lana said last to the children’s grandmother, bending down to give the short woman a hug. “I’ll be over early tomorrow to help set up the party.”
The old lady patted her foundling’s hand fondly.
“I appreciate that” she said kindly. “Sleep well Lana.” The young woman stood up and smiled, turning to walk out with a sweep of her dress. Tomorrow was going to be a very exciting day, she could feel it.
*Naito is from a fic I read called "A Tale of Two Links". It apparently means "knight" in Japanese and the author thought it'd be good for Link's last name since the game doesn't give him one. I just borrowed it. >:]
