Fishy Friends [Nex]

An autumn afternoon in Castle Town meant the streets were full with labourers heading to lunch. With the season change hours were shorter, so grabbing a bite to eat while the sun was up became priority. Shops would be expecting fewer deliveries, coming to depend on preserves, pickled vegetables and other tubers stocked up, bought from the local farms. The farms were a distance out, so it wasn't uncommon that this time of year the streets were congested with the noise of clamoring hooves and cracking reigns as drivers tried to weave between the flood of bodies that filled the markets at these hours. Bells, which hung over the doors, chimed frequently as people passed in and out. The postman made frequent stops to drop off missives, occasionally treated to coffee by shop owners. Mail was rare, the time it took to travel from town to town and province to province made any news, good news. The narrow streets were filled with horse drawn carriages and crowded with cargo and people. Heavier food deliveries were left off to the side of shops making weaving through the body traffic a chore. It did not help that no one could decide whether to come or to go.


Nex had finished his sales for the day. His goal was to get rid of as much of his summer stock before the winter deliveries. He was expecting them in about a week. The Zora stood out in the crowds. Though he wore heavy merchant’s cloaks, dark and sturdy, fins and drip trails led a curious eye to the aquatic. While her preferred the term amphibious -- it did not much matter and both words were correct. Sitting at a table outside a cafe the fish in question treated himself to some hot tea and a soggy serving of jellied eel. The boiled meal was easy for him to chew and, while it did not look appetizing to more posh palettes it was a common food for riverside residents and quite difficult to find a place in Castle Town that didn’t sell it on a menu. The cold treat as picked at by his slender claws, webbed digits having no problem tossing the bits of fish into his fang-filled mouth. The Zora was seen as a bit of a side show as eyes turned as they passed, whispers carrying along the crowds. His backpack sat beside him on the ground, dangling a rusted tin dripping with water. Popping the slimy meal into his mouth he reached his right hand over to the water glass.


He seemed to be taking his time, something which was rare for Nex to have. He poured the water into the old tin, inside a small Biri hatchlings swam around. It was perhaps the only hobby the grumpy fish had: raising his little schools, breeding them for little more than company. After filling the tin to a line that has since rusted on, the Zora leaned back in his seat. He was without his armor, so the simple cloak with his boots and travel pants was enough to keep him decent. While, normally, Zora went about in a typical attire of jewelry and a loincloth (for one reason or another) Nex needed to attract Hylians and a dressed Zora was a bit less intimidating than a naked one. He chest tattoos were as clear as day. His head raised up to allow him a view of the roads. Across the way he took notice of movement. Movement was everywhere, but this one walked with a pace and head of hair quite familiar. That stupid style: not quite long and not quite cut, always irritated him about Josh.


His claws tapped against the surface of the table as he considered just letting the farm boy walk on. “Hey, farm boy!” the fish caked before reaching to his plate for another slice of jellied eel he would pop it in his mouth. He motioned to the waiter for another fill of his water, who would do so as soon as Josh approached, had he.

The Zora was lounged lazily in his seat. Of Josh neither heard nor spotted him, he wouldn't make a second effort. While he was at lunch, making extra effort was a waste of time on his part. When the Hylian spotted him the aquatic merchant raised his hand to brush the webbed digits across his head. His fins lay flat over his skull, a glistening film of moisture a trickling from beneath the hood of flesh, down to his neck. He swallowed, an effort required thanks to the difficult had from shifting between his gills and lungs. Said gills were displayed on his side as his cloak was open, the fabric pushed to the side. Hanging from the cartilage were various bits of jewelry carved from pink and blue corals, stuck through by coils of silver.

His tattooed covered face and chest made him a bit intimidating, but if his shark sharp fangs weren't enough to deter a visit, little else would. The designs were, at the least, lovely. The red stood out against his slighter, blue skin, but it was remarkable how the ink curved like water flowing over the tightly packed scales, which were as smooth as velvet to the touch. The only bit of flesh that seemed damaged was the raised skin around his left eye, the tattoo actually a brand carved into his skin. Beneath the slip of his sleeves one could see the bands of ink over his wrists, but they were rarely seen over the cover of the cloth, and in water they were practically invisible.

"Excuse you?" The fish growled at the comment, curling his lips up to display the monstrous fangs. "If you must know I was hatched in these rivers, right outside the castle walls." He used his flipper to push out the seat across from him to wordlessly offer the former warrior a seat. "So it's of little surprise I am here. That does beg the question… what brings you so far?"

Being hatched in the nearby pools it was of little surprise the traveling merchant migrated back home. What choice did he have? He had to watch them bury his mother, the person he loved most, who abandoned him with such ease. What could he say to that? He would never be able to ask why. Never know what made her so afraid of him, and not his uncle. Squid -- Nosco, had gotten him a proper position in the family, removing his uncle's claim to the house seat. Documents easily showed there was no reason Nex couldn't rub the family's finances. He was an excellent merchant who managed to keep generally high profits in a single region. He had a skill for his craft, one that could not be denied on paper, even if his state of mind was a bit questionable.

Nex, initially, wanted to roll his eyes at Josh's comment. Ever the selfish 'hero', thinking only of himself. He does not know what circumstances could possibly imply that he was likely not who he said he was, but just a fitful result of the Hylian's rampant imagination. The fact that he was surprised only felt insincere due to the fact it had been a mere two years, shy of a third. They could face facts and admit that their feeling of responsibility for the other did not exist in the first place, this death was quite a common assumption, but Nex was naturally quite morbid when it came to his presumptions about others. He never felt they were personally responsible for their own person to survive anymore than they currently have. Seemed a might obnoxious to have to, really.

He waved his hand, taking a piece of the eel before dropping it into the tin for the baby Biri. "No need to excuse your ignorance." He quipped, grinning cheekily. "Though I am curious," he offered. "What circumstances could they be to lead you to think that this place wouldn't be one you'd suspect to find me?" Curiouser.

They moved out here? But for what? This place was so out of the way from their old locale. He traveled frequently, but this was the first time, in a long time, that he had come home. Nothing is worth leaving his stable place, but he had a great deal to lose if he had choose to miss his mother's funeral. He had so much to say to her, to ask, but now... The biri gave his finger a shock, the male wincing before slowly retracting it. He pulled the digit towards his fang filled mouth to nurse it, eyes turning to the warrior. That brought up a question though, what was a warrior living in a sleepy town like Ordon, which hardly suffered from even Wolfos attacks.

"That's an array of questions, none of which are easy to answer." He verily dismissed. "I am a traveling merchant. If you are not on the move as you once were, out crossing paths would not be as frequent." Nex wasn't stupid.

He could understand at least that much. By simply overview Josh he could see the man wasn't in armor, his hair having grown a bit longer. He spoke of living in Ordom, a town full of farmers, field tenders and livestock handlers. Nothing about Ordon suited a man of the military, but instead, was perfect for a farm boy. Nex had not forgotten the one tale of his youth Josh had shared. Of his loss, his home. So he returned to such a dreary and dull existence? If Maude was involved he could be assured the artisan was out to maintain a simple, quiet life as she seemed easily troubled in large groups.

At Josh's follow-up question the Zora was quiet for several seconds. His face leaned to rest against his nest of webbed fingers whilst his elbow leaned on the table, cerulean eyes focused on the warrior-gone-farmer. There were many things he could tell Josh, many more he need not. His role as a king seemed irrelevant as Josh was a Hylian; he need not know the political strife of members outside his race. He could have told Josh he was walking along the trail of bodies he left behind, but that was something none need know. He pondered before his brows finally raised, eyes turning away as he leaned back in his seat. His mind finally focused on a response.

"My mother's funeral." He was sure, at her age, she had not died of natural causes, but the families had been interlocked in strife since his uncle was born and given a position of power.

The greed and waste produced by that Zora was more than Nex could process. It was to no advantage of the group, but instead a solitary regard for the aquatic's need for instant gratification. Perhaps there was something he could do. Rewrite history?He had to think of something permanent to change the hand fate had dealt him. What was the saying? History is written by the victors? He had won his position, even if by underhanded means. He had not stolen the throne, nor demanded it. By sheer confidence and speech that outwitted the slow, uneducated laborers he was able to seduce them into making the decision themselves.

He was an unaligned third party, for merchants were civil servants without nobles or laborers, they had no business.

Nex leaned over his plate, messily shoveling the remaining, plated eel slop into his mouth. The Zora made a face and motioned his free hand. "Please, I'm eating." Nex expressed when Josh declared he wasn't one of the sorts that was hated by the warrior. "I would have had complacency were I. Bow I have to being gifts for the holiday." He complained.

Black humor aside the dry Zora could joke. He had no hard feelings towards Josh. The Hylian couldn't help his violent tendencies. He has come to see the people were quite aggressive, more so than the River Zora who were notoriously territorial. The waiter brought out a second dish for the Zora, keeping sure he placed the plate onto the table and hurries away. This time it was a plate of pochee, which was yet another sloppy dish of poached eggs in milk custard. There was never anything crunchy in his food. It always seemed to be drunk food, but he was sober. Taking up his fork the Zora sat forward, looking over to Josh.

"Frankly, it is better this way." He prodded the eggs until the yolk broke. "My uncle had too much influence over my mother. She lost sight to reason and risked the family with selfish grievances… besides she wasn't well in the head for a long time…." After all who abandons their child? "I thank you for your sympathy, but such is better spent congratulating my new position. Signed by my father I am the official heir to my house." He took his spoon to scoop a bit of the custard covered eggs into his mouth.

He didn't seem to chew in the bit. He merely tucked his head back and swallowed. His free hand reached for the mug of brew. No longer sis he drink, but ale was a common drink more considered a tonic than a liquor. Blue eyes watched Josh, the fish calculating his next move. Josh was an annoying one. He always seemed to lie to the process of his own nature. Little sis he seem to understand that Nex's own nature was the result of abuse and consistent rebuffing. Social customs demand he behave politely, but amongst those he had frequent meetings with the Zora felt such pretenses could be withheld. Wasn't it well enough he talked and expressed a contempt come natural to one who suffers within a service industry? Constantly being judged and seen as cold. While he was in some ways similar to Maude in their adjacently, lackluster responses... Hers was of a determined shyness while his a distraught distrusting directed to the more derelict habits of others.

"What about you? Farm boy huh?" No matter how one looked at it Ordon was the quintessential backwoods, podunk village full of farmers and lazy hippies who couldn't find real jobs. "Fits you." There was the scathing Nex they all knew and love.

He was hardly evil, or vindictive. Just a bit cold, callous. He didn't seem the sort that could ever love another lest risk the sanctity of their business model which revolved around making rupees and making them effectively. Nex was complicated though. The only person who knew what he was like… and they were at the bottom of the sea.

Nex had never felt he could forgive his mother. She had been the only shield he had against the madman. When she no longer held confidence in his words his heart had nearly shattered. Perhaps it was a natural stubbornness, or three solace provided by the small aquatic jelly, but Nex was able to survive. There are a few patches of his memory missing, a few instances where someone helped him, but his memories as a child were shielded by his desire to escape the hurt. Nothing was more tragic for a boy that loved his mother to lose her. Procedurally he continued to find the faith he put into the feminine counterparts of this world were met with unsuitable agreements that resulted in unwarranted abandonment. He had always been a quiet boy…

Nex's claws tapped against his meal, helping to carve out the egg whites his spoon would than scoop up. His eyes never left Josh, the barbarous Hylian just a step in the path. He wasn't the first Nex had met, so his opinion of the Hylian condition has already been set by unsettling encounters in both his adolescence and adulthood. Nex waved his hand, brushing the joke away visually. "Please, I see reason well, I just do not see reason in abiding by repeated behavior to expect a different result that is never there." He regarded the definition of insanity.

Nex couldn't find he agreed. "There are many instances where I can agree change is a viable form of learning or being. The weather changes. The Wolfos changes his coat depending on his habitat, but men cannot change once they have accepted their adulthood, or they would demean the meaning of their youth, denying themselves." No Nex did not think that change was possible for adults.

He leaned back as Josh seemed to prove this very concept by asserting that once a farmer, always a farmer. It really wasn't surprising. He leaned back, clasping his webbed hands over his tattoo covered stomach. The marks over his body told a story that spanned all his years. From the scar over his eye to the brands around his wrist. Through it all not much remained of the Zora. There had been a moment in time where he had dreams, where he was something more than he had become. That time was frozen at the bottom of Kakariko River, in a rusty bucket with no bottom.

"It is unfortunate." He spoke up, words seeming distant. "How even our choices can keep us from our fate." Or maybe one's fate was directly the result of the choices made, making the cycle even more inescapable.

Nex sighed and reached into his bag, taking out a handful of rupee to place it on the table. His meal was large, but the cheap faire of Castle Town cafes helped fill him at a cheap price. He closed up his pack, making sure the biri's tin was closed. He needed a proper glass bottle for the little guy, but he's yet to check the shops. Maybe soon. Standing he moved to pull the pack over his shoulder. He seemed ready to go, though that depended on Josh.

"I'm still waiting on my company, check the shops for some useful things. Maybe a book I haven't read." He chuckled.