Dragon Roost Salsa

Disclaimer: Me no owney. Big thanks to sonic who alerted me that I sent in the 
unfinished version instead of the finished version. ^^;

The King of Red Lions settled it's self into a small strip of sand on 
Dragonroost Island. Link placed the Windwaker into his Spoil's Bag and climbed 
out onto the shore, Tetra doing the same behind him. Link could feel the 
sunshine, pleasantly warm on his face. Link could hear the faint sound of a harp 
in the distance, "Must be Medli," he mused to himself.

"Should we head up to the village now?" Tetra asked, snapping Link out of the 
trance the harp music had put him in.

"Yeah, I don't think Quil was expecting us this early, but I'm sure everyone 
will be happy to see us." Link struggled to catch the harp again, but it had 
stopped. Link turned around to see Tetra fixing her hair, which had become loose 
during the journey to Dragonroost. Link smiled, Tetra never bothered to dress up 
for anyone, and she didn't care if she was dirty and sweaty, but she always made 
sure that her hair was presentable.

Tetra finished, and found Link looking at her with a grin. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Link said quickly, "You don't need to fix your hair, it's beautiful 
anyways," Link mumbled under his breath, apparently louder then he thought.

Tetra blushed, "What was that?" she asked.

Link jumped and blushed as well, "Umm...uhh...we should head up to the village, 
umm..." Link had turned a deep crimson.

Luckily, Tetra had decided to change the subject, to Link's relief, "Was that 
Medli playing earlier? It sounds like she's gotten better since the last time I 
was here."

"What? Oh yeah, it does." so the two of them conversed about Medli's harp 
playing as they made their way towards the entrance of the village, the previous 
incident, while not forgotten, was put out of mind. Dragonroost was basically an 
island with a tall mountain as the central point. The mountone was a cone 
volcano and the remainder of death mountain, which was now below the sea. The 
Rito Village was in a cave along the mountain side, in which a wooden walkway 
was built leading to the village and also some were built to allow a place for 
flight take off and landings.

Tetra and Link entered the cave to find the Rito's home decorated in a very 
festive spirit. Quil had a checkboard and wa sin deep conversation with the 
cheif when he turned and spotted Link and Tetra. "Ahh good, I knew you guys 
would arrive quickly with that song of yours." Quil's harsh gaze held a hint of 
joy as well. "Medli is up on the second level landings practicing the song of 
courtship, a special song that must always be played at the festival. She agreed 
to help you two when you came along. You know the way, right Link?"

"Yeah, I remember quite well." Link smiled and nodded at the Cheif and Quil as 
he made his way up the ramp, Tetra nodded and followed suit. Tetra allowed 
herself to become absorbed in her thoughts as Link had began to greet every 
single Rito there. Tetra had just been to Dragonroost not to long before 
reuniting with Link so she didn't feel the need to greet everyone once again.

She had heard about the festival the last time she was here, but she never 
thought she would be able to come, she knew she was of the age for which the 
festival required and she was considered one of the Ritos, but you needed a 
partner to attend the festival, of which she had none. Ever since she had given 
up all her dreams for a life at sea, Tetra never considered that she would ever 
have a partner.

Her dreams, Tetra sighed, there were none left. A pirate's life isn't as fun as 
it appears. Hated by many, feared by many, and unwanted, but it was the life 
that suited Tetra most. When she was little, Tetra had been quite the activist 
in the pirate ship that had been her floating prison, before the life of a 
pirate had consumed her and her innocence. Tetra was very agile and was quite a 
dancer as well as a cultured linguist. Tetra was able to fluently speak the 
ancient language of Hyrule, a language that when properly spoken sounded almost 
as beautiful as celtic. Tetra could also play a harp. This had been long ago, 
though, and Tetra was no longer sure of her talents for it had been so long. 
Tetra had given everything up when after her mother had died the duty of captain 
had fallen on her and she was forced to give up her child hood. For some time 
after, she used to dance to songs she wrote on her harp in the ancient toungue 
of Hyrule in secret, but the demands of a pirate had forced her to give up all 
that she had ever love, and years later the fate was the same. All that she 
loved would remain out of her reach, or so she thought.

"Hey, there's Medli!" Link shouted as he pulled Tetra's hand towards his old 
friend.

"What?!?" Tetra exclaimed, speaking Hyrulian without even realising it. Tetra 
then silently cursed herself. She shouldn't have allowed herself to dwell on the 
past. Tetra quickly acted like nothing happened, despite the look on Link's 
face. "Well, lets go say hi." It was Tetra's turn to drag Link up the hill to 
one of the largest landings, the only one not made of wood, but was a natural 
outcropping from the tip of death mountain that had become Dragonroost Isle.

Medli turned and saw them, she put her harp on her back, attaching it to the 
straps that would hold it in place and walked over to them, shaking both of 
their hands. "It's so good to see you guys again." Medli had grown since the 
last time Tetra or Link had seen her. She was quite the beautiful Rito, her hair 
had grown long and she had an elegant aura about her. The small, shy servant of 
Valoo was no more. Medli was now, truely, the Earth Sage.

"Medli, I was just at Dragonroost like a week ago and I didn't see you, where 
were you?" Tetra questioned.

"Hehe," Medli blushed slightly and put a hand behind her head, "I've been 
perfecting the courtship song. I know it's a valid part of the festival, but..." 
Medli blushed.

"For girl ears only?" Tetra asked, understanding Medli's embaresment. "Hey Link, 
can you go away?" Tetra said quite bluntly.

"But Tetra, I want to be with you." Link whined.

Tetra blushed and was unable to find her words, this time Medli came to her 
rescue, "Link, Komali's been wanting to talk to you, he's in his room right 
now." Link sighed, seeing that he was defeated, and quickly made his way back 
into the Rito village.

"Okay, now what were you saying?" Tetra inquired, the blush slowly leaving her 
face.

Medli grinned, "So how long have you had a thing for Link?"

Tetra's blush returned with a vengence, "I have no idea what you are talking 
about." Tetra's tone didn't even convence herself. "Okay, so maybe I do, but 
that doesn't mean I have any feelings for Link. We're just really good friends."

"Sure that's what I say about Komali," Medli blushed slightly, "Speaking of 
which, I'm trying to perfect the courtship song because I want to play it 
perfectly for Komali..." Medli's voice trailed off, "I mean after all, the 
Coming-to-age festival is mainly about finding a partner, each participant in 
the festival has a chance to do something to win the heart of their chosen 
partner. Whether it works or not depends on how well the dance of rights is 
done."

Tetra stared at Medli with her jaw slightly open in an unnattractive manner, "I 
have to impress Link?" Medli smirked and Tetra knew that she had just let the 
cat out of the bag. "Okay, so I do have feelings for him."

"And he shall return those feelings for you at the festival." Medli smiled, 
knowingly.

"How are you so sure about this?" Tetra asked, but Medli shook her head.

"I have to go practice some more now, but it was nice chatting with you. See you 
at the festival." With that, Medli flew away leaving Tetra below, full of 
questions.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Link found Komali in his room which was the lowest room, and also the most out 
of the way room in the Rito village. Komali's room still looked vaguely 
familiar, but the changes had shown his maturity. The cucco-chick plushie 
collection that used to sit on one of his shelves now held a collection of odds 
and ends, such as an arrow head, some daggers, a few rubies and sapphires, and 
other such things. His bed sheets were a deep maroon now and he had gotten rid 
of the hangings of his four poster bed. Link could see them in an open drawer, 
just in case they were needed. Also, the marking's of Din's pearl were seen all 
over the room. The three small swirls that were Din's tradmark were on the rug, 
the curtain, the comforter, and were also painted on one of the walls. Link also 
noticed that there was now a sword hanging on the same wall that the door was 
on. The sword was a bit odd to Link, it's hilt bore the resemblance of wings and 
the blade shone an ethereal shade of white even from within the sheath.

Komali was sitting in a chair at his desk and looked deep in concentration. Link 
cleared his voice to announce his presence to the Rito. Komali turned his head 
in annoyance, but when he saw who it was, a large grin spread across his face. 
"Link! It's been so long." Komali got up from his desk and the two shook hands. 
Komali was quite handsome, his tan face and red eyes were soft, but strong. His 
wings, which males were not able to fold in like females, so they hung loosely 
on their arms, were shiney, and the feathers looked well preened. He had on the 
robes of royalty, being the son of the cheif, and about him was an aura of 
strength, however that strength was tinted with a soft feeling so that one felt 
safe in his presence.

"Komali, I can't remember the last time we were able to speak." Link grinned, 
happy to see his old friend.

"Ahh, I've been so busy with the ritual that I haven't had much time to explore. 
You do know that each participant has to have a performance, but I can't perfect 
mine." Komali sighed.

"We do?" Link looked confused. Great, now he was going to have to cook up some 
performance in a short amount of time? "What are you having problems with?"

"Well, I want this to be special because I'm doing it for Medli," though no 
blush crossed his face, one could tell by looking at him that this comment 
slightly embaressed him. "You see, one of the main points of the performance is 
to gain the love of your partner. The coming of age festival is all about the 
coming of age, in a Rito's life, to gain the ability to have a mate, to marry. 
While we won't marry yet, we gain the ability to be able to start looking for 
one. Rito's have a stricter life then humans because of the great gift the sky 
spirit gives us, which is the ability to fly. We honor the sky spirit by 
remaining pure for as long as six cycles in our lives after receiving our wings. 
Although we do develope feelings for others, we can not express them until the 
festival so that is why we must work to impress the one we wish to eventually 
marry." Komali explained.

"Wow, I never knew that," Link placed a hand thoughtfully to his chin. "This may 
sound silly, but that sort of sounds like me. The one who I have feelings for, 
well I just haven't been able to express them yet. I just haven't really been 
able to, plus I've been a bit afraid to do so. However, I don't know if Medli 
told you, but I had heard of this festival before Quil delivered those 
invitations. I didn't know that I was invited, but I had been planning a little 
something special for that night, just to do by myself. I know I'm usually not 
that bold, but I can't wait around and do nothing. However, I suppose it's going 
to have to be something more fancy then just a simple confession for the 
festival." Link grinned, it was always so easy to confide in Ritos as they were 
so trust-worthy.

"Yeah, she told me. She didn't tell me who, but it's obvious who you mean." 
Komali grinned at Link, giving him a wink. "Best of luck to you my friend." 
Komali pulled down the sword from where it was hanging on his wall. "I'm 
actually hoping to do a sword's dance for Medli. Swords play isn't only about 
the art of battling, but proper swords play can be as elegant as a dance. That's 
what I hope to do, then I'll end by cutting one of my flight-feathers off and 
presenting it to Medli, for this is one of the greatest symbols of affection 
known to Rito. To take the very thing that gives us our life and willing 
sacrifice it to someone shows great love and trust." Komali blushed slightly.

"Oh wow, I wish humans had something like that to do. I don't know what I'll do 
for the festival, maybe I can..." Link stopped, he had a large grin on his face, 
"I have the perfect idea. I can use my windwaker, but with the help of a friend 
I can do something spectacular." Link and Komali grinned at each other, sharing 
a deep understanding.

"Just do something that suits YOU. This is the main idea of the festival, to win 
the heart of someone by performing an act that fits yourself." Komali began to 
take the sword out of it's sheath and showed it to Link. The blade glowed so 
brightly that it hurt Link's eyes to look at. "It's the oldest and strongest of 
the Rito blades, the light is made to scare away enemies, or blind them for a 
surprise attack if they are brave. I can, however, make the blade glow dimmer by 
concentrating, which is what I'll have to do for the festival."

Link nodded, approving the blade. Link watched a few of Komali's moves before 
excusing himself to go talk to a certain wind deity. Link climbed down the 
mountain and ran to the backside of it. There was a small peice of land not far 
off of the coast where the monument of the wind gods stood. One, however was 
broken by humans and he still had trouble forgiving them. Cyclos was his name, 
and he had taken a liking to Link, but he was also the one Link needed, as much 
as he regretted summoning him. Link brought his Windwaker, thinking to himself, 
"Do it for Tetra, do it for Tetra," and then played the Ballad of Gales.

"Ahahahahahaha," Link heard a familiar laugh and cringed. The deity arrived with 
an unusual amount of glory (being several swirled clouds and a huge gust of 
purple wind). "LINK! It's been such a looooong time," the cyclone god who looked 
rather much like a large, red-purple toad slapped Link on the back. "I've 
missssssed you, we should party sometime."

"Yeah, we should, anyways I need your help," Link tried to think of how to put 
this, "and I have to perform to win her heart."

"WIN HER HEART?!?!" the god shouted, throwing his arms in the sky, "Link, say it 
ain't so," the god actually had tears in his eyes.

Link sighed, he knew this would happen, with careful thought he responded, "It 
is so, but I don't want her to accept my courtship ritual, so you will have to 
make my ritual the best ever." Link took a deep breath and explained his idea to 
Cyclos, "You see, the more brilliant it is, the more she'll hate it, she hates 
flashy, showy things." Link closed his eyes, hoping against hope that his lie 
had worked.

"Ahh, brilliant! I always knew that you and I were meant to be ol' buddy! I can 
make this specticle the worst ever!" Cyclos covered his mouth and giggled, "By 
making it the best ever." Cyclos waved his farewell and then disappeared. Link 
sighed, glad to be rid of the obsessive god.

------------------------------------------------------

Night had fallen and the festival participants were extremally tired from the 
day of practicing. Komali had already fallen asleep at his desk, his sword 
laying haphazardly on his lap. Medli, Link, and Tetra, however, were sitting on 
the small ledge that seperated island from ocean, letting their feet graze the 
water in a carefree manner. Medli had her eyes closed thoughtfull, Tetra had her 
head in her hands, tired from the days activities, and Link was just plain 
exhausted, laying back on the soft grass.

"It's been a busy day, and I think I'm going to call it a night." Medli got up 
and dried off her feet with a towel she had brought down that bore the mark of 
Din. Medli bid them a good night and then flew off to her room near the top of 
Death Mountain so that she could tend to Valoo if necesary.

Tetra stretched and looked at Link, "Busy day, huh? Who knew we would have to 
perform an act of some kind." Tetra took her feet out of the water and placed 
her sandels back on them.

"Yeah," Link's head was buzzing with his idea and how he was going to be able to 
pull it off in one more day's practice because the festival would take the whole 
of the day after tomarrow. Link sighed and stared up at the stars then turned to 
Tetra and asked, "Which star is your favorite?"

"Huh?" Tetra was surprised by the question. She had ofton glanced up at the sky 
during her younger years wondering if one day she would ever be able to go to 
one of them and live a life where she could be happy and free. Tetra thought 
about those days and realized how much the pirate life had made her grow. She 
never did have much of a child hood and she hadn't realized that until she had 
met Link. They were basically the same age, but at twelve, Tetra was already a 
very capable captain and Link was an immature child. Sometimes Tetra longed for 
those years again, but she knew there was no use crying over spilt milk. "That 
one, the one that has a reddish-blue hue to it." Tetra pointed.

Link looked up and saw the star that Tetra was pointing to. Link had remembered 
as a child that stories were told about the constilations in the sky. That 
particular one that Tetra was pointing at was the very tip of a Wolfos's tail. 
This particular wolfos was one of lore and not an enemy. He walked on all fours 
except when the moon was high in the sky, then he took on the shape of a human. 
This wolfos, who was called Escarlet by many, would try day and night to search 
for the Triforce of Wisdom which would finally help him to remain human for he 
had fallen in love with a human and only on the days where he was human could he 
admit this love. Link couldn't remember how the legend ended, but it was a 
beautiful story, of that he was sure. Link made a mental note of the star in the 
back of his mind.

"Okay, I always liked that tiny one right by yours." Link pointed to it. Link 
always had imagined that star as the Triforce that the Wolfos was hunting for 
and he supposed that was the reason that the star was his favorite.

For awhile, they sat on the shore, gazing at the stars and enjoying each other's 
company, but then they both began to get extremally sleepy, soon they gave in to 
the inevitable and parted ways for a much deserved night's sleep.

-------------------------------------------------------


Tetra woke up, stretching and placing her sandles on her feet, putting her blue 
vest on, and then fixed her hair in front of the wood mirror in her room. "It's 
been awhile, since I last looked at myself," Tetra admited to no one 
inparticular. She studied her face, tan from years of facing the sun, hardened 
from so many years out at sea, tired from many sleepless nights, and then there 
was something else. A twinkle of happiness from being reunited with someone she 
thought to be long gone, a chance that she had thought to be long past. Tetra 
set her brush carefully down and smiled to herself. The festivel was tomarrow 
and nothing in the world would distract her from trying her hardest to remember 
things long since past, ways she had thought forgotten, but she could recall 
them all for him...

---

Komali spun around, matching blow for blow the rhythums in the Rito's swords 
dance. Komali grabbed his faithful sword in his left talon, the weaker one, and 
flew up in the air, then came down in a downward spiral and ended with the blade 
pointing at his heart. Komali sighed, dropping the blade and walking over to the 
window. He leaned against and watched outside as some new fledgelings tried out 
their wings. Komali had been so absorbed in his preparations that he almost 
forgot that it was the day that young Rito's recieved their wings.

"Poor Medli," he thought, "she not only has to prepare the Rito's traditional 
courtship song, but also an act of her own, plus playing a song for the 
fledgelings." Komali had never noticed how hard Medli's job was before this 
moment. "Then I'll work twice as hard." he said, puffing out his chest, picking 
up his sword, and continuing his dance for her...

---

Link wasn't worried, everything was set and he had years of windwaker practice. 
However, he hadn't had a decent conversation with Tetra in two days (AN: OMG 
that long o.o XD) and wasn't so sure that she would return his dance. Link 
sighed at the prospect of a broken heart. He had heard that they hurt worse then 
facing three ganondorfs, a Stalfos, a Wizzrobe, a Gohma, and 23 darknuts 
combined. "Oh well, the least she can do is say no." Link sighed and flopped in 
bed, taking a nap to clear his head.

------------------------------------------------------------

Link woke early the next day at noon. Link jumped up in disbelief, how on earth 
could he have overslept? He had meant to get up at night, the only time he could 
practice, but must have been having such a good dream that he didn't wake up. 
Link had been having a good dream, and he smiled to himself when he thought of 
it, but the smile quickly turned to a frown. All Link had now was luck. If the 
cyclone god didn't show, or if his wind-waking abilities failed, or if the night 
was not very clear, then he was doomed. Link fell to his bed and groaned, 
thinking that his parents probably didn't have this misfortune when they first 
decided "Hey, I love you" about the other.

Oh well, no use crying over spilt lon-lon milk, Link would just have to pray to 
the goddesses that he didn't mess up on this very special day.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Evening fell quite fast, to the pleasure of the rito and the displeasure of the 
four young participants. No more practicing, now it was time for the real thing! 
All the Rito gathered in the main meeting hall of the tribe, which happened to 
be in the grand room, also known as the entrance hall. The four older teens sat 
akwardly in the four chairs located off to the side of the entrance hall. The 
adult Rito watched from above whilst the young ones were in bed, dreaming of the 
day it would be their turn to take part in the festival, or of cotton candy, 
whichever you perfer.

Excited chatter could be heard, but as soon as the Cheifton stood up, the room 
fell dead silent. Clearing his throat, the Cheifton made his way to the middle 
of the room and spread his arms wide before speaking in a voice that filled 
every corner of the hall. "Welcome all to the greatest festival of our people. 
While the fledgeling festival that celebrates the age of flight is a great one, 
it can not compare to the one taking place at this moment, for without love our 
race would fall, as well as the other races of this world: Korok, Hyrulian, 
Human, Zora, Goron, and Gurudo."

Here, he stopped and picked up a cup. "A cup is useless with out the drink to 
fill it. Just as our bodies would be empty if we were unable to have love." He 
filled the cup and took a drink, then contiued. "Love is a mysterious wonder 
that we are able to hold, unlike the Octorock and the Kagoroc who can not grap 
this concept." a roar was heard from Valoo, who was giving his blessings to the 
festival. The cheif bowed, and everyone followed suit, well except Link. Link 
couldn't figure out why everyone was bowing. Tetra gave him a good wack on the 
back of the head, and Link bowed in pain, not in reverance. The rest of the 
speech was a blur in Link's mind as his head throbbed in pain.

And with that, may the commencement song now begin!" the Cheif shouted. Link 
shook his head and felt extremally nervous, that meant that their performances 
would be next. Medli stood up, cleared her throat and began to sing as she began 
a nice, slow tune on her harp. (AN: I have actually sung this song to myself, it 
goes to the tune of some christian jesus hymn, "Turn your eyes Upon Jesus" I 
believe ^^; )

"Never Had I seen such a sight
As the great Valoo flying through the sky
To deliver scales of flight to fledglings
And I knew one of those was mine

I grew over the next six years
letting my wings grow strong in the morning's light
however my love had grown stronger still
but I kept this love to myself

Saving myself to be pure I kept
the feelings a secret and I was content
for I knew that my other would discover them
at the festival in a short amount of time

The purest love is that which is returned
And what better way then by Valoo's grace
having stayed pure from love for six years
Valoo now gives that right to me"

Medli stood up and curtsied her new traditional robes that she had worn for the 
festival. They looked more like a nice, blue gown then robes, but she looked 
beautiful in them. "Breathe Komali," Tetra whispered, elbowing Komali in the 
ribs, Komali took a deep breath, but then went back to staring and not 
breathing. Tetra shook her head and began to go over her performance in her 
head.

"As you know, tonight is the night where our young love-struck companions are 
able to finally confess their love to one another. Now each of our four 
contenders will perform an act for their loved one. If their loved one accepts, 
they will give them a white feather and then perform an act of their own. If the 
love is mutual, then the feather will turn a deep crimson. Our tradtion is to 
start with the oldest female, which would be Medli. Then her other will follow 
after her. Medli, if you will." the cheif announced. Medli looked extremally 
nervous, but she got up and headed towards the center of the room. Medli pulled 
out her harp and began another tune, this one was all her own as she swayed to 
the music and began to sing in a beautiful, crystal-clear voice. (AN: pick a 
tune, any tune)

"Oh my dear sweet winged boy, there is so much you don't know
You spend your time practicing and stumbling all day in hopes that you will grow
You show off and you try to impress
but the only thing I want from you won't cost you a cent

You never needed to show off for me because deep down inside
my heart was already longing for you as I spread my wings wide
I took off to a new land to discover something true
but the whole time I could only think of you.

I returned a sage with great insight
and you had grown considerably over those many nights
to have you and hold you is what I truely wanted but I had to wait
Untill tonight when I could present you with this flower of fate."

And with that, Medli walked over to Komali and presented him with the flower. 
Komali's heart had stopped and he had forgotten how to breathe, blink, and 
speak. "Komali, you feather brain, get up there." Tetri half-pushed, half threw 
Komali onto the stage. Once on stage Komali seemed to find himself. He drew his 
sword, winked at Medli and took a deep breathe.

Komali pulled out a dead flower, the one he had picked for Medli all those years 
ago. He held it close and then set it gently on the ground. Komali then leaped 
into the air, turning around in mid-flight and as he landed, the blade was 
pressed to his throat. After a series of slashes and back flips, Komali held the 
sword close and placed it to his wing. He gently cut off one of his flight 
feathers, an ultimate form of love and sacrifice. Komali took the feather and 
tossed it right on top of the flower. To cut off your flight feather for the 
sake of someone else is the most sincere form of love and affection for Ritos. 
Flight is their life, and the fact that they would give that up for someone is 
pretty deep.

Komali then took to the air once again and flew around with the sword clutched 
in his left talon. Komali then began the great swords dance of the skies, 
fighting in a combination of flight, feathers, and swords play. Then he began a 
freefall downward spiral, landing with the blade pointed at his heart. Komali 
then drew another flower of the same type he picked long ago. With the blade 
still pointed at his heart, he tossed the flower, which landed delicately on top 
of the other flower and his feather. Komali then placed the sword back in it's 
sheath and gave the feather back to Medli. Almost instantly the feather turned a 
deep crimson and Komali took Medli in his arms, finally being able to hold her 
for the first time in his life. Cheers erupted all around them, including a 
wolf-whistle from Tetra.

Whilst Komali and Medli were engrossed in eachother, Tetra got up for her turn. 
Tetra held the locket in her hands for a small moment, "Mother, please help me, 
give me strength." Tetra smiled and knew her mother would be proud if she could 
see her today. Tetra sighed and put the locket under her shirt and took a deep 
breath.

Tetra hummed as she spun in a little circle, then did a back flip and began to 
sing in Hyrulean, a language that, unbeknowest to her, Link had studied and 
learned to understand two years ago. His skills were kind of rusty, but he could 
understand everyword she sang. However, little did he know, Tetra was performing 
the marraige dance and song, though Tetra had greatly modified it to be a I-
love-you-and-I-want-to-be-with-you dance and song. (AN: It's so hard to describe 
these dances, and I have them all so perfect in my mind) 

"Brave warrior from afar
your name rings a bell
I call out and the gulls do hear
thy love is yours thou holds dear
never in a nary year would I have guessed
we would have come to rest
together, though in time forever
thy love is yours thou holds dear
not many seek not many find
but you have thine heart and yours is mine
love is fleeting but oh so soft
take me hold me my dear sweet gull
love is thine weakness and you are thine strength
narily we shalt be together in soon due time
thy love is yours thou holds dear."

The ancient Hyrulien was a tiring toungue to speak, but many years of hard, 
pirate work had built up Tetra's stamina. Tetra then began to perform the dance 
that went with the song, humming it as she flipped and pranced. Finally shje 
ended with a graceful leap over to Link. She handed him the feather and he 
gratefully accepted it, grinning from ear to ear. "Okay Link, showtime," he 
thought mentily, then he had a horrible thought, "what if Tetra is only giving 
me this flower because there's no one left to give it too, what if she really 
doesn't like me?" Link calmed down and regained hi composure. "Well, the worst 
she can do is say no to the dance afterwards, that's the true test to see if she 
really does love me." Link walked confidently to the cheif and nodded. Whispers 
were herd all around and many grumbles of confusement.

The cheif stood up and held up his arms for silence. "Fellow Ritos, for Link's 
presentation, we must be outside under the night sky. Now let's all head in an 
orderly fashion to the Rito overlook." everyone began whispering again as they 
quickly made their way outside, the young participants and the cheif had a front 
row view, not that that mattered for Link's idea.

"What is he doing?" Tetra thought to herself, shaking her head.

Link stood on the edge of the cliff and looked around. Cyclos appeared almost 
instantly, but stayed hidden so that others wouldn't see him. Link took out his 
bow and shot thirteen light arrows into the sky. Cyclos picked up the wind and 
Link held up his windwaker, waking the "winds" so to speak. twirling the wind 
carrying the light arrows, Link conducted a brilliant display, similar to a 
fireworks show, but better, Link recreated the story of Tetra's star, the one 
about the Wolfos using rapidly moving light arrows. He ended with a brilliant, 
colorful explosion, his star serving as the center. Applause erupted all around 
him as well as shouts of pleasure. Link smiled, glad that he was actually able 
to pull this off, well actually Cyclos pulled it off, but it HAD been his idea. 
Link saw Cyclos fly off, making a "call me" gesture with his hands. Link sighed 
and turned, only to be glomped by a very happy Tetra knocking him over.

Tetra then gave him a kiss and nuzzled his cheek softly as he handed her the 
feather. This one, just as the other, turned a brilliant shade of crimson. Tetra 
then blushed when she realized that she and Link were both on the ground. She 
got up and pulled Link up, brushing off her pants. The Rito cheif smiled and 
turned to the Ritos and ushered them all back into the great hall. "And now," he 
shouted, "may the ceremonial dance begin, remember, the participants open with 
the first dance." Link grabbed Tetra's hands in his and directed her to the 
dance floor, Komali doing the same to Medli.

The dance they were to open with was a very simple one that was known throughout 
the Great Sea. Tetra took Link's right hand in her left andthey rose their hands 
into the air. While looking at each other, they began to do the simple jig (AN: 
BTW, the dance they are doing is to the ending song of the Windwaker game. I've 
done this dance in my spare time and over the summer, shows how long I've been 
planning this chapter...) that went with the dance. Though Tetra and Link both 
knew they were dancing, they could only feel each other's hand in theirs. That's 
when it clicked in both of their heads while dancing in the warm, sparsely lit 
hall. Tetra and Link were in love, truely and purely in love. Upon realizing 
this, a warmth seemed to flow into both of their bodies time seemed to move 
slowly as they danced while turning in a little circle. They didn't realize when 
the rest of the Ritos joined them or when Komali and Medli flew off to a more 
private spot.

All they knew at that moment was eachother. Quill looked over at the two and 
smiled, "It's about time." Quill said to himself. He thought of all the times 
Link had bored him with long tales of Tetra. In fact, that seemed to be all the 
boy ever talked about with him. Quill sighed and began looking for someone more 
interesting to dance with. At that moment, a certain other post Rito caught his 
eye and they began to dance together (AN: the one that has trouble delivering a 
love letter to Maggie at Windfall) to a slow song that had just began to play.

Tetra and Link began to regain their senses as they stopped jigging and held 
each other, swaying in time to the music, just enjoying eachother's company. "I 
love you," Link said, rather randomly in the middle of the song, Tetra in his 
arms.

"I love you too." she said, resting her head on his shoulder. Link ran a hand 
through her golden hair, which she had let down for the night. He had never 
realized how wavy it was before this moment. The music stopped and the festival 
was over. Link and Tetra walked out, hand in hand. Meanwhile Quill was having 
the time of his life with his other, having tired of slow dancing they flew off 
to the cafe on Windfall.

While there, the pair of them ran into a familiar group of pirates, looking at 
Quill, Niko asked forelornly, "Have you seen Tetra?"

Gonzo looked like he was ready to hit something, so Quill took the safe way out, 
"No, never heard of her," and quickly turned back to his coffee. Gonzo eyed him 
and turned him back around.

"You have seen her and I want to know where she is. She's MY woman and I have a 
need to know where she is!" Gonzo roared, knocking Quill's chair over. Quill and 
his other flew up into the air.

"For your information, she is Link's woman, not yours. They made a commitment to 
each othe rotnight." and with that, Quill and the other flew off.

...............................................

Link walked Tetra back to her room, the two held hands the whole way there. 
Tetra sighed, just taking in the presence of Link. She could not remember a time 
she had ever been so happy in her life before her mother died. Being able to 
dance again, and for Link...it was almost to much, Tetra didn't know how her 
heart could hold so much emotion inside.

Link turned the corner and they arrived at Tetra's room, reluctant to part, the 
two shared another kiss, but they were interupted by Quill. "You guys might want 
to leave Dragonroost as soon as you can. I ran into a few friends of yours, and 
one of them charged me like a rampant Mobgoblin." Quill said, glancing at the 
two, who were still kissing. "Will you two stop and listen."

Tetra sighed, "I knew Gonzo would be like this, he has had this...thing for me 
ever since I can remember. I told him numerous times I didn't feel the same way, 
but apparently he didn't believe me." Link gave Tetra's hand a squeeze. "We have 
to leave here, I'm not ready to go back to the pirate life yet." Tetra sighed, 
her shoulders slumping forward slightly.

Link then had an idea. "Why don't we go to my Cabana? It's near Forest Haven, 
which is where we were going to go next anyways, I could just warp us there and 
we could spend the night there, maybe rest up a day or two, then head to Forest 
Haven and talk to the Great Deku tree." Link looked at Tetra, who grinned.

"I'm game." she said, and began sprinting back down the mountain to the King of 
Red Lions. Link shrugged and took off after her. Quill's other came in and gave 
him a feather, "what do you say about the two of us?"

Quill looked at the feather and grinned, "If only I was twenty years younger."