The twilight curse

ch 3; Wetland stable

Dark stands upright and takes the arm down from the counter.
" C-can... Can I help you with something around here in exchange for food and maybe a bed for the night?" He asks a bit nervously.

The stable owner brights up, where he is around a half meter away from the other end of the counter.
" Of course!... You can..." he starts saying until he gets a better look at Dark, where the shock halts his words.

Dark raises an eyebrow and tilts the head a little.
" Well?... Did you have anything I could help you with?" He asks and startles the other man, who looks worried around.

" I ehm..." The stable owner clears the throat.
He furrows the eyebrows and looks at the confused young hylian.
"... Sorry..." he mumbles and makes Dark to grunt.
"... The rooms are already booked... And, I don't need your help... So, please... Leave..." he begs and looks down.

Dark blinks.
That was weird... The man sounded at first as Dark's help was welcome... But, now he asks him to leave.
The light skinned hylian with ashy undertone looks askingly at the man.
The moment when Dark sees how the man's body is trembling from fear, he exhales slowly in a low gasp.

Dark starts feeling bad for the man and starts stepping slowly away from the counter.
"... I'm sorry..." He apologizes even though the situation hurts a lot inside of his chest. The heart cramps from the hurtful encounter.
So... Even for hylians, he is a monster...

The young hylian walks out from the stable and is about to follow the pebble road when a white feathered rito with a long beak gets his attention.
" Hello, young man... How about buying the latest newspaper?!"

Dark jolts and looks askingly up at the weird looking rito with a weird pilot hat and glasses.
"... Newspaper?"

The rito nods.
" Yeah..." he says and holds a folded newspaper out toward him.

Dark looks curiously down at the newspaper.

The white feathered rito smiles a bit proudly.
"... I wrote about the latest news about rito Village... How the village and the area are covered in snow despite it's not winter... And, it seems as if other places have been weirdly affected. So, I will gather information about that and write more in the next newspaper... So, how about you buy the latest newspaper?!"

Dark looks apologizing up.
" Sorry... I don't have any money to pay with... Thanks, anyway..." he smiles warily.
"... I don't even have money for food at the moment...  I kind of was in a hurry to leave my home... So, yeah... I'm sorry..." he blushes.

The rito lowers the hand.
"... I see..." he says and looks curiously at the hylian, where his odd appearance doesn't surprise him at all.
The rito thinks about Dark's honest answer for a short while before he gasps jolting and stares interested at him.
" Wait... Don't tell me you needed to leave your home due to the harsh weather change... And if you did... Please, tell me where you are from and why you left..." he asks curiously.

Dark lets out a low chuckle and shrugs.
" Nah... I was leaving the domain because I never felt at home there... And, I was in a hurry to get away before my father forced me to get married against my will..." he explains.

The rito hums thoughtfully.
" Oh... Then it wasn't because of the weather... And the domain you said... Then, I assume you are talking about Zora's domain..." he says thoughtfully and gets a nod from Dark.
The rito looks curiously at him.
" ... And, the only hylians living in the domain are Link, or Linkly as everyone else seems calling him... And, his son, Dark..." he adds and smiles proudly at the hylian, who stares shocked at him.
"... So, I assume you are Prince Dark... Or, am I wrong?"

Dark's lips are parted in pure surprise. How can someone he has never met before know that much about him?!
"... H-how?..." he clears the throat.

The rito grins.
" I'm a journalist whose life is about to find out the truth and tell everyone else about it... I'm Penn, by the way..." he says and changes handgrip to the newspaper before he holds the right hand out to Dark.

Dark gives him an awkward handshake before he lets go of his feathered hand.

Penn takes up a small notebook and a pen.
"... So... Your father wanted you to get married against your own will... Can you please tell me more about that?" He asks while writing down a few words.

Dark wides the eyes and inhales sharply.
The thought of his family issues getting spread around the country makes him worried.
Yeah, his stepfather might be stubborn and want him to marry Zion.. But, that's his way to protect him and express his love for him.
So, he wouldn't dream of hurting him by telling everyone about their issues.

Penn waits patiently for the rest of the news with the tip of the pen against the notebook.

Dark shakes the head.
" I'm sorry... But... That's nothing I can share with a stranger... "

Penn looks slowly up and lowers the hands.
" I see... " he exhales.
The rito shrugs and gives him a tense smile.
" Oh well... If you change your mind, you can always visit Lucky Clover Gazette and tell me about your situation in the Zoras domain... Remember, though, news gets old pretty fast... So, don't wait too long..."

Dark looks askingly at him.
" Lucky Cl- ..." he raises an eyebrow and can't remember the full name.
He clears the throat.
" What is that? And where can I find it?"

Penn smiles.
" That's the place where the newspapers get printed... It was the rito stable ages ago... Similar like this one..." he answers and makes a hand gesture toward the Wetland stable.

Dark gives the stable a short look before he looks back at Penn.

The rito lowers the hand.
" ... And now it's my workplace... You will find Lucky Clover Gazette near Rito Village... Oh..." Penn takes the folded newspaper from under the arm and hands it out to Dark.
" You can have the newspaper, by the way... Perhaps reading the paper will get you to share your story. Or something... And, don't worry, you don't need to pay this time... And talking about payment... If you need money, you can talk with my boss. She needs a second journalist to gather information about the weird weather ... So, if you are curious about the job, come to Lucky Clover Gazette. You will find us if you are heading in that direction..." He tells Dark, who confused grabbed the newspaper.
Penn points toward the direction where Rito Village is.

"... Oh-kay..." Dark answers a bit nervously.

Penn gives Dark a last look.
" Oh, well... I'm now done here... See you around, and good luck... Bye..." The rito says before he starts flying away.

The gust of wind from the rito's wings feels a bit cold at Dark's damp clothes and skin.
The hylian shudders and starts trembling a little.
Perhaps he should try to get them fully dry before he gets a cold. And, he really should find food. The stomach starts rumbling a bit louder in protest.

When the Rito is out of sight, Dark looks curiously down at the newspaper where he unfolds it.
He starts reading about the weird snow in Rito Village. How it randomly appeared out of nowhere.
"... Hmm... Rito Village..." he mumbles. It would actually be fun to see the village himself. Especially when his cousin has been there, and told him about it.
And... Perhaps Ritos don't see him as a monster?... Okay, he couldn't see Penn's eyes because of the weird looking pilot glasses. But... He didn't get the feeling that Penn was seeing him as a monster.
So maybe... Maybe the ritos don't mind his weird looks. Perhaps he might feel welcome at their village?!

Dark lowers the newspaper with a small smile.
Yeah... He should try the rito Village and see if he is truly welcome there, unlike the place he grew up in.

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