Kokiri Brats Versus Kidnapping Prats [Eevachu + Electronic Ink]

Dee had failed to keep up with them. Expected.

"Firstly," he interjected. "Do not call me that again. My name is Rika." He demanded, before pausing for but a moment at the surprise of offering his name to her so freely. Was it really annoying him so much? "Secondly," he continued, "if that is all you gathered, you are more of a fool than I thought." She probably responded angrily, but Rika cared little, continuing his explanation. "I assume even you have noticed the weather, yes? Not exactly the best for rooftop smuggling. Yet, despite that, those crossbowmen were ready in position to attack us as soon as we engaged their comrade. That was not coincidence at play- this was a planned operation. They have organized this thoroughly as well, too, it seems. If I had to guess, the ground-men trail and isolate targets, while the roof-men scout and provide backup should any wanton hero or guardsman interfere." Rika turned the corner- they had now returned to the alley where the confrontation had begun. "Are you able to infer what this means?" He condescendingly asked, before explaining anyway. "This is an operation bigger than a simple kidnapping or smuggling ring. I would not be surprised if these pirates hold considerable status on the seas."

". . . Though, typical pirates would be far too dull for my tastes." The words had but a moment to escape Rika's mouth before he realized he had shared essentially the same thought as Dee mere moments before. They had a similar mindset in that, it seemed- but the fact that girl thought anything like him was revoltingly vile. He quickly tried to change the subject, hoping she missed his words over the rain.

". . . As for what I am doing here, you should already be aware, unless your memory is really that bad. I am here on a job to guard the children during their travel. If one of the kids is kidnapped, it would be a poor reflection of my capabilities as a bodyguard. Plus, chasing pirates across rooftops is far more interesting an activity than watching Earli eat snot for the tenth time in an hour."

His explanation finished, he glanced back at Dee. "I will regroup with Larina and once I confirm her safety, will seek out the other two children if necessary. I assume you will follow even when I tell you to leave." He called out, before adding, ". . . Then, why are you so interested in these pirates? Do you act so rude to everyone you meet?"

"If you were listening," Rika added, "I already stated why I am pursuing these pirates." This girl seemed to enjoy running her mouth, but Rika surprisingly gave little care to it. After all, why would he care what such a foolish girl thought? "At least one word from your foolish, imprudent rambling is true, if only that. I loathe watching these kids. Do not think I pursue these pirates out of the kindness of my heart- I am not so naive a person as to do so. It is BECAUSE I loathe these children that pursuing pirates seems far more interesting an activity. I would not have taken this job had I known I would be watching these brats. The fact these two tasks align makes it all the more feasible to do." Still, though, she was essentially working as a sell-sword. Good, then, that she wasn't some goody-two-shoes trying to 'help the orphans' or whatever it is the flavor of the week adventurer typically says to justify their boring lives. Wait, did Rika. . .agree with her again? He groaned- the similarities he held with this girl stung at his mind. Just considering the possibility they were alike gave him an ulcer.

Rika rolled his eyes. "And you -are- rude. You made a feeble attempt at insulting me no less than nine times. You realize insulting someone is considered rude, yes? That's essentially the definition of the word." He pompously lectured, small, mocking huffs escaping as he spoke. It was fine for Rika, though. She had said that she would not waste her time with those stupider than her, and was willingly choosing to follow him even with his dismissal of her aid. It was obvious because she needed his assistance, but that essentially was her saying he was smarter than her. He almost pitied her, in a way- she may have even showed signs of intelligence, with some of her thoughts aligning with that of Rika's- not that he would ever acknowledge that, anyway, - and was taking steps to counteract the foolishness Kokiri had. Still, though, there was a lot of progress required on her part to not be an idiot.

Regardless, their conversation had come to a halt as they had managed to locate Larina, who was being supervised by a soldier. "Rika!" She called out as the duo approached, though Dee was the more forward of the two. Rather bold for someone who hated those brats. . .

The soldier seemed to want to interject, but Rika shut him down before he could speak. "I am her guard and will be taking her. Should you want to find issue with that, perhaps you should focus that energy on doing your damn job. There are pirates lurking your city, on YOUR watch and abducting these children. We have disabled a handful of them, but others looked to escape- if you gather a team to pursue them, perhaps you can actually accomplish something for once. But do not worry- I will do your job for you and apprehend them, because I know nothing will be done by your lot's hand." Rika spat out, leaving the guard at a loss for words. Who was this kid and how did he have the audacity to talk to him like that? By the time he thought to respond, the trio had already begun making their way off, back toward the direction of the house.

"Useless, the lot of them." Rika grumbled in the direction of the soldier, before turning his attention to Larina.

"Larina, time is of the essence. After you left from us, did you encounter Earl or Pipi?" He questioned, but she shook her head dismissively. "N-No, I met the soldier then waited with him. . ." Her voice, in a hushed and worried tone, trailed off as she spoke.

"I see. . ." Rika thought. He could not assume they just headed back, and if Rika went back to the house, it would be too late to return and save them from any pirate kidnapping. He hated to, but he would have to rely on the fool. Turning to face the other Kokiri, Rika struggled to spit out, "Fool plant girl." He directed. "I have to find the other two. I need. . . you to take Larina back to the house. As you were there earlier, I am going to assume you are not so dumb as you forgot how to get there." He requested? asked? (ordered) her. Truthfully, trusting her was a gamble- he had no reason to believe she was acting as some sort of pirate mole, but if they were attacked while walking back, it would be difficult for her to fend off the pirates alone AND defend Larina from being kidnapped. It was likely defending the girl would prove difficult even for Rika, so it was not even a question of her competence- it was simply impossible.

Before Dee could give a reply, though, a voice called out from the pouring rain. "Larina? Larina!!" The male voice called, and two figures could be seen running towards the group. The girl instantly perked up, "Earl?! Rika, that's Earl!" Sure enough, the two young boys were approaching the trio quickly.

Oh. Well, at least Rika's worry about whether Dee could take Larina back alone had been answered, even if two people defending three was far more of an issue. Now it was simply embarrassing- he had asked Dee for help, essentially validating her as useful, and he did not need it anymore. This was honestly a worse result than if the boys had ended up kidnapped.

Rika visibly rolled his eyes at Dee’s display of falsified kindness. Awfully convenient how she now seemed to care greatly for the children’s wellbeing when doing so benefited her. It was only a sparse moment ago she was directly insulting them and their worth. Not that Rika disagreed with her, of course- but more that unlike her, he painted no illusion as to cover up his disdain for them. Regardless, like a feverous tumor, if not worse in many aspect, Dee was here to stay, and he would have more than enough time to prove his value over her when they weren’t being drenched in a torrential downpour and surrounded by brats. Though loath to touch them, Rika begrudgingly took hold of Pipi- not of his hand, but by gripping his arm, his hand clenching the boy’s forearm. Likely not the most comfortable for him, but Rika cared little- if he truly had issue to bring with it, he could see how he fared with the pirates and direct his criticisms towards them.

The duo made their way back with the trio of kids in short time, the glowing light emanating from the windows of the house through the pouring rain like a beacon of hope. The kids rushed to get under the shelter of the balcony and away from the rain, absolutely drenched from their extended exposure to the elements. Dee took the initiative with opening the door. Her falsities aside, Rika actually did not mind- he cared little for interaction with whatever child may come to the door or the madame, and it would present further opportunity for Dee to prove herself the buffoon.

The door swung open to reveal Madame Caroline. The Earl and Larina pushed forward, the madame embracing them in a deep hug and paying no mind to their soaked wardrobe. Releasing him- thank the goddesses for that, - Pipi also moved forward and joined. “Blessings to the great goddesses, you’re all safe. . .” the Madame cried out, her eyes welling up at their sight. After a couple moments of embracing them, she looked up to see Dee.

“You are. . . the girl from earlier. . .” She said, though Rika stepped into her view as she spoke. “And Rika. . .You found them, thank you so much. . .” She choked out to the two of them, stroking the back of her children’s heads. “Oh, yes, quickly, come in and dry yourselves!” She exclaimed, reality snapping back to her and acknowledging their soaked states.

“Gary, be a dear and fetch towels for the five of them, would you?” She called out to a nearby kid as she shut the door behind Rika, who presumably entered last. “I am relieved all are safe and well.” She smiled at the group, though Rika hastily interjected.

“We cannot rest at ease quite yet, Madame,” Rika continued his explanation as a small wisp formed in his hand, its heat warming the surrounding area around Rika, “the rumors of pirates have been proven true, and the guard is more than useless in apprehending them. Do not allow the children to venture out of the house any longer.” He made his way over to the roaring fire that had been set up sometime prior, the heat it emitted having made the room a comfortably warm temperature. “At least, not until I am able to rid Windfall of their presence.”

“Dimwit Dee,” He addressed the other Kokiri condescendingly, his attention turned to face her, “you said you have been investigating these disappearances for some time now, yes? Tell me all you know of these pirates and their activities.” Though he demanded her information, Rika was somewhat skeptical that she could provide him with anything he hadn’t already learned from their encounter.

Rika nodded in agreement throughout Dee’s explanation. “You are correct. The fact that the pirates have acted unaccosted for such an extended length of time, that the children kidnapped are not ones that could have their daily patterns tracked, and that the kidnappings occur primarily during the daytime point to one central key fact; the pirates must not be working alone.” Rika explained, his arms reaching out to grab the towel Gary had passed to him. Removing his hat, he began drying the ears off its head.

“. . .What are you saying, then, Rika?” Madame Caroline asked, a grimness in her tone as if the true meaning was lingering just beyond her understanding.

Rika rolled his eyes. At the very least, it had seemed as though Dee had caught on to his intent. “What I mean, Madame,” he spoke, his tone heavy and his words somewhat demeaning, “is that the pirates have an inside man. Consider it like this- if pirates were roaming the streets of Windfall, more people would have taken notice- hell, the guards, incompetent buffoons though they are, would have taken notice. But according to Dee’s findings, the townsfolk speak of them almost like they are some kind of urban myth, the only proof of their existence being the sudden absence of children. This means they act quickly and efficiently. They know their targets and move in and out without drawing attention. The way for them to do this while still remaining almost entirely unnoticed is by having an otherwise unassuming mole lurking in the shadows, feeding them information about whatever they might need. Someone more foolish may be deceived into believing they were choosing to act using the rain as their umbrella, but we know that to have been a mere helpful coincidence.”

Taking a breather to rustle his soaked hair in the already drenched towel, Rika turned his attention back towards Dee. “As for taking the children back home, that is a foolish endeavor. Leaving with all of these children immediately would be difficult to coordinate, and more so, if these children are the pirate’s aim, putting them in open waters, on the pirate’s territory, is unwise. As I said, the pirates have someone watching the kids, so they would almost certainly be attacked by ship were they to leave now.” He shook his head. “No, there is but one, simple path; we must apprehend the pirates and bring them down. Tomorrow, once the downpour has quelled itself, we will apply our efforts to locating this mystery assailant. With this new direction and my eyes on the case, we will have little trouble uncovering them.”

--

Why was the angry girl from earlier back? Rika kept saying how mean she was, but she was holding the children’s arms. That meant she must have been kind, right? She was a Kokiri, too, so she could understand him, right? “Uhh. . .” He muttered, standing sheepishly to the side of the two Kokiri and The Madame.

It seemed Rika had given Dee too much credit. Her idea previously must have been little more than a fluke, for her rebuttal at his rebuttal- something Rika is all too familiar with, debating with simpletons- was as flawed as could be. He shook his head in disapproval.

"Fine, let us humor your idea. We take a small subset of the children and flee, and the pirates, as you predict, do not fire upon them. The ship is even able to evade their larger, slower galleons, and their escape is successful. That just leaves the children left on the island, defenseless and, with the word of our churlish infiltrator of their situation and whereabouts, prime to be snatched. No, as it stands, the children are trapped so long as those pirates run amok and their informant lie undetected. Surely that is obvious?"

Before Dee could bite back at his condescending tone, he added, "...But yes, the correct course of action is for us to find this mole. And I have, unfortunately for myself, already accepted that you will not be leaving me alone in this investigation." He just sighed. Dee was along for the ride whether he wanted her to be or not- he didn't, if he had to say. If he argued enough, perhaps he could get her to go away, but it was not worth the energy at this point, not when the investigation at hand was such a time-sensitive one.

. . .

Madame Caroline looked to Dee once the two's bickering ceased, a hesitance as she replied, her voice tinged with worry. But still, she answered. ". . . For the house, yes, we are renting it. But there is a much bigger conspiracy at work if that's the problem. Our organization sets up the housing through the official governments of the places we visit, and rent houses owned by them, to ensure the location is safe. This house was rented in the same manner. For our aid staff. . ." She paused- not out of contemplation of the answer, but as if she did not want to accuse anyone.

But within this hesitance, Rika interrupted her, not letting the question go unanswered. "Yes, there are. Most of the direct operations are handled by the Madame, but there are others involved- people within the orphanage itself back in Castle Town that help to organize the trip that would know the details and receive up-to-date details as they moved; four aides that have accompanied us in this travel to Windfall; myself as the lone bodyguard; and two local volunteers to help with adjusting to the location and with anything needed here."

Rika turned to the hesitating Madame. "Do not hide any of their details from us to protect them. One of them may be complicit in the kidnapping of the children, Madame."

The Madame replied with a slow nod, an understanding on her face. ". . .Right, I'm sorry. I just don't want to accuse an innocent person. I will write their information for the two of you to look into."