A Rito's beginning

"What language is this address even in?" Leoni sighed as he landed in the middle of castle town, his wings reverting back into their usual sleeve-like form. It was his first time in castle town and he had no idea what each buildings address was. He flipped the letter over several times, trying to make out the crude excuse for words on the brown paper envelope as he walked around the town square and scratched his head.

Eventually, he started taking pictographs of things and asking people about the letter, usually resulting in him being ignored or getting no helpful information at all. He sat down on a bench near the fountain and looked through his journal, deciding to wait for someone to find him instead of the other way round. "Let's hope this letter is important."

He hoped this letter could be sorted out soon, so that he could get to doing exciting things like fighting monsters and finding treasure.

Upon reaching Castle Town, Ni'Ran and Vayrin had parted ways. However, not a week after that, someone had apparently decided to set a bunch of untrained and poorly socialised Octoroks loose in a particular district. Along with a few other volunteers, Ni'Ran had managed to catch them and return them to their home... except for one, that had mutated to have wings. Like... wings. Actual honest-to-Valoo -wings- that let it outrun even Ni'Ran, until the Rito had used his own to divebomb onto it. -Whose- idea had it been to breed these things for wings?!

"I know, Alice," he said, the Kargorok cawing at him as he walked through the streets with the rotund beast clutched against his chest with one arm, "I know. As soon as we get it back to its breeder, we'll go and get food." He turned to look at her in irritation when she sat down on his shoulder, making soft grunting noises he recognised as displeasure. As he turned his head, however, he saw a fellow Rito looking lost- a young boy, with a postman's delivery bag over his shoulder and a letter in his hands. "It's not often I see a fellow Rooster around here," he said in greeting, walking up to him. The Octorok in his hands struggled, but he held. "First job in Castle Town?" he continued, nodding at the letter. "If you're confused I might be able to help."

Leoni smiled as he looked at a photo of Yareim, the one from the day they had both recieved their scale from Valoo. After Leoni had started his adventure, Yareim had become a carpenter and was travelling around the eastern sea to sell her wares. She'd recently written to him, saying she was going to sent him a gift. Leoni looked at back at the letter, as his smile faded. As he heard a voice cut through the 'silence' of his focus, he jumped in shock, falling of the bench in a flurry of feathers.

He stood up, rubbing his head and laughing in an attempt to make the situation less awkward, but failing dramatically. He soon stopped, just responding with a 'Yeah...' as he closed his journal and stuffed it in his bag. "I only really deliver letters when the Rito postmen are too busy to handle all of their letters. This is my first letter this far from Dragon Roost Island, though." he said, his intrest and excitement rising again due to the strange appearance of the Rito in front of him. He quickly glanced at the letter and somehow could just about make out the name. "Huh. It says Amos... Sorry to ask, but do you know anyone by that name, sir? I haven't asked your name, but if I mess this up then the postman who gave me this job is gonna get in serious trouble. He said that the person who gave him the letter said it was important.' Leoni then toon a photo of the Rito and his pet kargorok. "The name is Leoni, by the way. My goal is to take a pictograph of every interesting thing I find in the world. I also one day wish to learn carpentry and make statues or figurines of the most interesting things I find." He attempted to make a cool pose, but ended up slipping and falling onto the ground.

"Ha, I bet an armoured Rito with an Octorok and a Kargorok in tow isn't something you see every day." It was fortunate that he was accustomed to joking, because if he hadn't been, he would have fallen through right away. Even among Rito, 'Amos' was not a common name. Still, he had to know. "Wait, is that as in Amos Amiron?" He tilted his head, hoping his shock wouldn't be legible on his face when he recognised not only the full name but also the handwriting on the envelope.

So... it'd come to this. He should have figured, really. Sooner or later she was going to try and figure out where he went. ...he just hadn't thought she would employ the post office for it. She still used his old name, and one of the addresses they used to spend the night years ago. He wondered how many letters she'd sent out... the ink on the envelope was smudged, leaving it barely legible. He didn't really want to picture why that was- seeing her cry had always been heart-wrenching.

"Er, yeah," he said, scratching behind his head. "I used to know Amos. But how do I put this... he's sort of been dead for a few-" as he divided his attention between finding words and not blowing his own cover, all the while keeping Alice from picking a fight with the Octorok, his grip slipped and it escaped his grasp. "HEY!" he called, spinning around as it scuttled away. "I'm sorry," he said, "I can help with your letter later- I've got to catch that Octorok, first!"

As Ni'Ran ran after the escaping winged octorok, Leoni muttered to himself "Let's hope the letter isn't about anything particularly sad, if the recipient is dead. That never goes well.' before running after Ni'Ran. When he reached the armoured Rito, he passed the letter to him and drew a crewd map of what he had seen in Castle Town so far. They seemed to be following the route he had used to enter the town.

He decided that they needed a plan to make this chase easier, and so he attempted to come up with one. A look of realisation crossed his face as he came up with a great plan. Get the person who knows what they're doing to come up with one. The young Rito glanced over at Ni'Ran before asking "You seem like you've been here before, so, do you have any ideas of how to catch this thing?" Hopefully this would work.

"I've caught the bugger before," Ni'Ran said, stowing the letter. "But it wasn't easy- that thing being able to fly throws a wrench into most normal plans. Alice-" he made a gesture with one arm, "Go after it and keep an eye on it, alright?" She cawed, angry that she still hadn't gotten anything to eat, but took off and flew after the Octorok. Ni'Ran slowed down, turning to Leoni. "I'm Ni'Ran, by the way. Sorry, my manners must've been crushed by that thing." He looked around, noticing people looking up at the flying Octorok. "I doubt it'll go very far outside of town. It's not exactly very well-trained, but it was bred and raised in captivity. Freedom probably freaks it out."

With Alice keeping an eye on it, he felt he could slow down to gauge his options. "Do you want to help me? Having two people who can fly to deal with that thing's wings would help. If we can clip its wings, we should be able to catch it like any other animal." He patted his thigh. "I've got throwing knives but range isn't my strong point. You got anything for that?"

"Well, whilst I trust my aim," Leoni laughed,"I also have this mechanical beetle." As he finished his sentence, he pulled a green and gold-trimmed bracer out of his delivery bag, with the aforementioned robotic insect perched on it. "If I know how to use this thing, I can quickly remove the pincers, leaving this blade just where the pincers attach to the head. Then, if my skill at controlling this thing are anywhere as good as I believe, I can fly alongside it and make a 90º turn before speeding up the beetle and, if it goes to plan, clip it's wings. It isn't a 100% chance of success, but it is something. So that I can catch up to the octorok, I'll fire the beetle now and you can tell me your view on the plan."

After explaining his plan, Leoni placed the bracer on his arm, shouted "Fire!" and caused the beetle to begin its flight. It was gradually catching up to the octorok, giving Ni'Ran plenty of time to reply or to tell hm to stop his plan. "Cool name by the way, Ni'Ran." Leoni said, with a smile on his face. Hopefully this would work.

Ni'Ran watched the Beetle fly after the Octorok, making a face. The idea was solid in and of itself, that was true, but... "It's a bit slow, don't you think?" The Octorok may not have been a particularly fast flier, but the mechanical insect was no Rito, either. "How long can you keep it afloat? Alice isn't smart enough for it, but I could catch up to it and keep it occupied so the Beetle can catch up to it. From there, we'll go with your plan. It sounds a lot more doable than me grabbing a knife in mid-flight." He didn't have to tell Leoni that was a physical impossibility on account of his hands not being available when his wings were in use.

He whistled for Alice so he was sure that his Scale of Valoo was within range, and then Shuttle Looped upwards before giving chase to the Octorok. The plan was technically sound, now they just had to make it work.

Within the city's comotion about a flying Octorok Mercus figured it might be a good idea for him to help so he walked there as fast as his arms would allow. The bit hustle he was doing was more than he was used to but by the time he got to scene he saw a Rito shoot inti the sky. He looked in awe then remebered why he was there. "Hello there I see you're in the middle of situation and I came to offer my assistance." He spoke mostly to the mailman because he didn't know if the Rito in the air could hear him.

He looked at the Octorok and put his goggles on and zoomed in on it. It was an odd mutation but his goggles allowed him to keep an eye on it.

After Ni'Ran's comment, Leoni tilted his head as his face changed to a confused look and he checked the bracer on his arm. He sighed as he muttered, in a disappointed tone, "I... don't think it's supposed to be that slow. I think I might have broken the beetle when I was getting used to how it worked." Leoni thought about Ni'Ran's adaption to his plan and decided that this was probably the best way to catch up to the octoroc.

When he heard Mercus behind him, Leoni jumped in the air a bit before he span around to face him, but he used the polished side of the knife to keep his focus on the beetle and let it continue its flight. "Umm, if this current plan goes the wrong way, then we might need your help if you're willing to lend a han, thanks either way." was his response to Mercus before he turned back around to strengthen his focus.

Unaware of the goings-on on the ground, Ni'Ran flapped his wings to speed up as he approached the Octorok, passing by the whirring Beetle. His thoughts went to the letter Leoni had given him. Did he want to open it when this was over with? He had abandoned his life on Dragon Roost when he had abandoned the island itself and set out on his mission, all those years ago. That she would write to him was enough of a shock- he didn't want to read her letter and cause himself more heartache. There was a reason he had tried not to consciously think about her during this time. Even now, he missed her tremendously, and wished she was at his side- although not in the last place because a well-placed arrow could have shot that damnable beast out of the sky by now.

He shot forward once more, reaching the frantically flapping Octorok. Yes, if they managed to clip even one of its wings, it would lose its ability to fly. Sadly, it turned to face Ni'Ran, caught sight of the beetle, and inhaled sharply. "Oh no you don't-" Oh yes it did. Before Ni'Ran could even come up with a plan to stop it, the Octorok spat a large rock at the Beetle, the projectile propelled forwards much like a thrown rock, and impacted the mechanical insect hard enough to send a shock through it. "Damn it," Ni'Ran muttered. They needed a plan B.

Mercus kept eyes on what happened to the beetle and got a bit of scowl on his face. He looked over at Leoni and said. "Well looks like it's time to think of a plan B." The Mogma turned to look back the scene plans weren't really his thing but he would help out if needed which he kinda hoped he was deep down inside. "So we've got two Rito and a Mogma against an Octorok that can fly." This day seemed very odd to him but if anything he knew he had to keep rolling with the punches for everything to work out well.

He lifted the goggles off his head momentarily and looked to Leoni again as he began to wait for the other Rito to come back. "Names Mercus by the way." His introduction was brief and to the point.

Due to Leoni focusing solely on the beetle's flight, he did not see the rock until impact. It smashed into the beetle with enough force to send it hurtling to the ground. Due to his focus, the shock that the rock sent through the beetle also passed through him, causing him to clutch his head in a manner not unlike a child with brain-freeze. After he recovered and acknowledged Mercus's reply, he turned a bit and tilted his head back before replying with 'Cool name. I'm Leoni, and that guy was too busy to give me his name'. After he gave this response, he turned back to his original position and tried to figure out a plan.

He came up with his plan B rather quickly, as he closed his eyes, a combat knife appeared in his hand. Due to the crowds on the street and the distance between him & the octoroc, he began to run down the street, and he quickly began closing the gap between the octoroc & Leoni, until there was no one in-between them. He stopped running and threw the knife with as much power as he could muster, cutting through some of the feathers on the octoroc's wing before getting stuck in a crate that was just ahead of it. He watched the octoroc, and it hadn't seemed to have jumped after the feathers had been cut, but he wasn't sure if he was successful or if domestic octorocs are more intelligent than wild ones and it was just taunting him by showing him what he wanted to see before jumping again after a while.

All he could do was hope that it was the former and then wait for Ni'Ran to pick it up. If it was the latter, then the octoroc's owner might not be getting the monster back alive.

Leoni must have thrown a knife, for suddenly one of the Octorok's wings was struck and it lost altitude, spiralling to the ground. "Finally," the Rito muttered, diving after it and landing on the ground not far from it. He snatched it up, grateful that this had not taken another half-day, and began to walk back to Leoni.

"Got it!" he said, "Now I just need to get it back to its owner. I don't think there's a reward involved, but if there is, I think it's only fair that you should--" he interrupted himself as he saw a peculiar creature sitting next to Leoni. Huh. He didn't see Mogmas every day. They were the polar opposite of his own kind, burrowing under the ground rather than flying among the clouds. "Good day sir," he said, hoping he'd gotten the gender right. "Can I help you with anything?"

"I was just seeing if you two needed any assistance but your friend just acted so I guess I wasn't needed." Mercus told the Rito with the Octorok. He looked at the creatures wings with his goggles. He then looked at the Rito and introduced himself. "Names Mercus, if you need an outfit made I can help you in that regard." He extended a claw out to shake with the two Rito.

"You also may want to clip that things wings before it flys off again." The Mogma adviced.

Leoni retreived his knife from the wall before running back to the Mogma and the Rito. He then closed his eyes for a short while, reopening them when the knife had dissapeared. He turned to Ni'Ran before saying 'This Mogma here is named Mercus and, if I didn't say so before, my name is Leoni. If you wouldn't mind, could you tell us what your name is?' He knew this could be too soon of a question, given the short while the trio had been in each others company, but his quest would require a group of adventurers and if the young Rito needed to give people a little shove in getting to know eachother and eventually grouping up, he was perfectly fine to do so. (The reason he introduced Mercus to Ni'Ran despite Mercus already doing so was because of him retrieving his knife at the time... as well as me not noticing. Sorry.)

He glanced around the street for a bit before spotting a small tavern next to an alley and a market stall surrounded with random people of many shapes and sizes. Leoni couldn't help but take a pictograph of them before he pointed the tavern out to the older Rito and the Mogma and then practically dragged them both inside and finding a closed off section of the tavern to sit down in. It was a small, old place with a few people inside, mostly drunken old men or gruff adventurers trying to strike conversation up with the bartenders about their adventures and heroic deeds.

Leoni took a pictograph of the inside of the building before turning back to Ni'Ran and muttering 'So, about my question. Only answer it if you want to.' After noticing the octoroc, he tied it to the leg of the table and turned to face Ni'Ran and Mercus again, waiting either for a reply or a change of subject from either adventurer.

Ni'Ran sat down with the others, keeping a close eye on the Octorok and hoping it wouldn't run off unexpectedly. Alice landed on his shoulder, tucking her head under her wing as he tried to relax in his seat. "...my name?" he said, "It's Ni'Ran. Ni'Ran Amiron." He turned to Mercus. "It's not every day that I see a Mogma, even around these parts." Castle Town was home to a great amount of people, and an even greater amount visited it either sporadically or regularly, but even so, some races were rarer to stumble across than others were. "What brings you to Castle Town?"

Anything he could bring up that would divert attention from his name and the letter Leoni had given him would be great.

Mercus got a few odd looks from the local folk of the tavern, even in a place full of strange visitors it seemed he was odd. Not that it bothered the mogma he liked people seeing him around and thinking he's odd because that just makes him harder to forget. He followed Ni'Ran's introduction and inquisition with a reply. "I'm here to sell my wares, become a better outfitter, and get rare materials." The mogma grinned and was happy about this he can help them and they can help him. It's a win-win and they've seen two things he's made his armor and his goggles. He also hoped to get some businesses out of them but he wasn't worried about that he wanted to help people and explore.

After Mercus finished speaking, Leoni's face lit up before he stood up and said "Speaking of rare materials, do you guys want to go exploring some dungeons or helping people to earn money and stuff? You guys look like you'd be great that stuff." He glanced over at Ni'Ran and said "Especially you. If all that armour isn't just for show, monsters are gonna be running for the hills." He knew it was a strange, and potentionally terrible, way of bringing adventuring into the conversation, but he had finally found people that seemed to almost have an aura of power, courage, trustworthy-ness and the like.

He never realised how lonliness could dampen even the most joyous of spirits until he was a mounth into his journey, and this was because of near endless attempts to join adventuring parties. These attempts usually ended with a firm refusal or something he found wrong, like banits.

After his excited outburst, he sat back down and waited for a reply.

That was... not a question the Rito swordsman had anticipated. Of course, many people had requested his help in the past; that was how he made his living while bettering himself. But the requests had always been for specific and concrete missions, issues, or services. Leoni's was awfully vague, as well as sounding like a long-term commitment. Normally, Ni'Ran wouldn't have a problem with a long-term commitment when it came to telling Ganon's minions where to stick it... but the last person he'd actively travelled with, he had known to be an accomplished adventurer and reliable companion. He barely knew Leoni, and if he wasn't as battle-hardened as he thought he was... He sighed, shaking his head more to himself than t the other two. He would not suffer the loss of another kid.

"Sorry," he said. "I have experience in the field, that's true. But I know nothing about you or your goals in life. I've chosen my path and I will stick to it- and bringing someone as young as you into it, with the powerful enemies I've made over the years, is the last thing I want. There is something I must do... and due to its nature I have to be well-trained and well-prepared. That means I can't join everyone who asks." That was why he was picky with the jobs he took, after all. "If it helps, though, I might be able to introduce you to representatives of local mercenary bands. Some of them are looking for new recruits."