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skyward-floored · 10 months ago

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*shuffles in* the people wanted to see it, so I’m posting it. Here’s a scene from an oc Link story, the Hero of Sages. He’s got six sisters, in case you didn’t know.

This is before he’s a hero, but not too long before, maybe a few weeks? I’m also trying to figure out how old he is, maybe eleven or so... I’m still working things out. But have this scene in the meantime.

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“C’mon Berry, the cuccos need tending!”

Link frowned as his sister pushed a basket into his hands and began shoving him in the direction of the coop, bracing his feet and pinwheeling his arms as she pushed.

“But it’s your job to do the eggs,” he said, struggling against her hold, “and the cuccos hate me!”

“I’ve got to study,” Iris huffed, pointing towards the coop. “Grandpa says I need to focus more on history, and that means I don’t have time for chores right now. So cuccos. Go.”

“But I did them for you yesterday! And I already have to hang the laundry ‘cause Lily is busy!” Link protested, but Iris wasn’t swayed, turning away to head back to the house.

“Sorry Link, you’ll just have to do both. I’ll make it up to you later!” she called behind her as she jogged away, and Link drooped.

Their grandfather had always worked on studies with his sisters, but in the past week, he’d been practically obsessive about it, constantly pulling them away to have them listen to him lecture or read or whatever it was they always did. It seemed like they did practically nothing but study lately.

Leaving Link alone to do all the chores.

Link sighed and dragged his feet as he walked to the cucco coop, looking at the birds with a nervous frown. The cuccos had never liked him, and he usually avoided their coop like the plague.

Which is why this is usually Iris’s job, not mine!

Link swallowed, and edged his way inside the coop, stepping around the birds as he tossed food on the ground. He quickly collected their eggs while the birds were distracted, only having to suffer a few pecks from the stubborn remaining few.

He’d almost finished gathering them all when he accidentally stepped backwards, right onto a cucco’s foot. The bird shrieked in anger and leapt at his face, and Link spent the next several minutes yelling as he tried not to get clawed to bits by the entire flock of swarming birds.

He finally managed to escape the coop, slamming the door behind him and panting as he clutched the basket of eggs to his chest.

“Whew...” he gasped, then jumped as a cucco made a hissing sound behind him.

Link stuck his tongue out at it, then winced as the motion made his face ache. He wiped at his cheek, frowning at the blood on his hand, then sighed as he remembered one of the bigger birds had slashed him with one of its claws. Not to mention all the smaller scratches the birds had left on his hands.

Great.

Link dropped his now-bloody hand, and walked up to the house to drop off the eggs, steps heavy. He could faintly hear his Grandfather talking in the other room when he set the eggs down, but didn’t linger, turning around and walking back out of the house.

He certainly wasn’t going to get any help here.

Link pushed their gate open and headed down the hill and into the village proper, cheek stinging with every step. He would have been grumpy enough without the scratch, but every throb was a reminder of the repeated busyness of his sisters. It seemed like he’d barely seen any of them the past week, and the multiplying chores were only adding to his grief.

“This is all that dumb monster’s fault,” Link grumbled to himself, hiding his cheek as he nodded hello to some of his neighbors.

He headed straight for the general store near the village entrance, brushing off stray feathers from his clothes as he went. Nobody much was really around at the moment, which Link was immensely grateful for, since he didn’t want anyone to come out and start fussing over him, and doubtlessly laugh at his unfortunate cucco injury.

The way this week is going, that would be about right, he thought with a sigh.

Link finally reached the store, and paused to look up at the sign like he always did, eyes trailing over the colors one of his sisters had helped paint. Then he walked inside, the door jingling, and saw his oldest sister sitting at the counter, marking something in a book.

“Del?” Link asked, and she looked up, immediately zeroing in on the blood on his cheek.

“Oh Berry, did the cuccos get you again?” she asked in a slightly exasperated voice, and Link nodded as she hurriedly stood up and came around the counter. Del tilted his cheek up, studying the scratch with a worried frown, then went back behind the counter, gesturing Link to a stool. “Those birds just have it out for you, don’t they?”

“They never peck Iris,” Link grumbled, still a bit annoyed at his other sister.

Del sighed, and pulled her own stool up beside his, pouring something on a cloth and reaching out to clean his face and hands. It especially stung on his cheek, but Link held still while his sister cleaned the cuts, her motions quick and practiced. Del then put a bandage on his cheek, and smoothed it out, making sure it would stay.

“There you go. All done,” Del smiled at him as she leaned back, and gave his unhurt cheek a pat. “They should heal pretty quick, even the one on your cheek isn’t too deep. Just don’t mess with it.”

“Thanks Del,” Link said quietly. She sighed again, looking him over.

“Been a hard week, hasn’t it?” she said, brushing some stray dust off of her apron.

“Ever since Pip came through yelling about that monster he saw, Grandpa keeps making you guys do nothing but study,” Link moped, his annoyance suddenly sharpening. “And Iris keeps dumping her chores on me and Poppy keeps being all snappy and Coriander didn’t even want to hear about the kittens I found yesterday!”

Link slumped in his seat, flicking dirt off his boots.

“All this for one dumb monster,” he mumbled.

Del’s face creased for a moment, but it didn’t last long, and she gave Link’s hair a ruffle.

“Monsters are dangerous,” she chided, pulling a stray feather from his hair. “And there’s rarely just one. Pip got lucky.”

“I know, I know,” Link grumbled.

Del gave him a little smile. “Hey. I know you’re getting frustrated Link, but Grandfather will ease off on our studies soon. He’s just... worried. He wants us to be prepared.”

“How will you guys studying help with that?” Link asked with a frown.

Del hummed, and Link saw something weird in her eyes again. “It’s always good to be prepared, Link.”

Link sighed, and Del ran a hand over his head again, her face thoughtful.

“I think what you need is a pick-me-up,” she decided, and turned back towards the counter, blue skirt swishing. “Be right back.”

She walked off into the back room, and Link rested his unhurt cheek on his hand, idly kicking his feet as he looked around the store. He’d been spending a lot of time in here lately when he wasn’t doing chores, since Del was the only one of his sisters who wasn’t studying like crazy. That was only because she worked here and earned money they needed though, and she still had to study. Just not as much as his other sisters.

Link suddenly wondered if he could convince them to get jobs too.

The bell on the door jingled, and Link looked up to see a sandy-haired man walk in, face hopeful as he looked around.

“Hi Russ,” Link said, and the young man looked over at him, eyes catching on the bandage on his cheek.

“Cuccos get you again, Link?” he said with a sympathetic look, and Link nodded glumly. “Sorry to hear that. You’ll get the better of those birds someday, I bet. So uh, is Mr. M in, or is Del working today?” he asked casually, and Link held himself back from grinning.

“She’s in the back room,” he reported, and Russ nodded, surreptitiously smoothing his hair down.

Link muffled his laugh. One bright side of spending lots of time in the store meant that he got to see Russ pretend he had a real reason for coming in every day. Aside from seeing Del, that is.

“You know Russ, you could just ask her to marry you,” Link said mildly, and Russ choked, dropping the apple he’d picked up to inspect. He hurriedly retrieves it and set it back on the stand, throat bobbing as he cleared it.

“W-well, I uh—”

“Russ?”

Russ quickly turned back to the counter at the voice, smiling as Del came back out of the storage room. “Hey, Del! How’s the store been?”

“About the same as yesterday when you asked me the same question,” Del said with a knowing smile. “What is it you need today, Russ? More sugar? New belt? Don’t tell me your boots wore out again.”

“No, they’re great. I just need some flour,” Russ said, casually putting his hands in his pockets.

“Again, huh?” Del asked with a raised eyebrow, and a twinkle in her eye. “That’s the second time this week, Russ. You and your pa must be eating an awful lot of pancakes.”

Russ laughed a little loudly. “Yeah, we uh... yep.”

Link couldn’t hide his snort that time, and Russ gave him a look. Del looked over at him as well, her eyes still twinkling, and she abandoned Russ for a moment to walk over to Link.

“Here,” Del said, and handed him a small container. “Consider yourself picked up.”

Link took it curiously, and pulled the lid off, gasping as he saw the dark, shiny contents.

“Blackberries?!” he gaped, and Del smiled, nodding. “But they’re not even growing yet! How’d you get them?!”

“A trader came through with some the other day, he said they grow faster where he’s from. I think he used magic,” Del said in a lower voice, “...but that’s just me. You can take the whole container.”

“Thanks Del!” Link grinned, and his older sister ruffled his hair again.

“Anything for you, Berry. Now go finish those chores, I’ll be back home later,” she said with a shooing motion, and Link nodded.

He hopped off his stool, and after saying goodbye to her and Russ, wandered out of the store, popping a berry into his mouth. The equally tart and sweet flavor burst in his mouth, and he couldn’t stop from skipping a little as he began to walk back home. With the flavor of his favorite berry in his mouth, he was suddenly feeling much more optimistic.

Del was right. Grandpa would calm down and ease off his sisters with their studies soon, and things would go back to normal.

Link smiled as he popped another berry in his mouth, having no clue just how wrong he was.