Unskilled (L)Ink

Chapter 2: Kakariko Village; Follow the Sheikah Slate

The task that Paya wanted me to help with was a little girl named Koko. When I left the room I was staying in, Paya was standing there with her arms crossed over her chest, an annoyed look on her face, and tapping her foot. I muttered an apology to her and that seemed to ease her a bit and she had told me who wanted my help that day. I thought about the first time I had met Paya and how much she's changed since I first came to the village. When we had first met, she was a nervous wreck and wouldn't even look me in the face. After a few weeks of my staying with her and Impa, I saw that she was starting to feel more comfortable around me because she would meet my gaze for a moment before quickly looking away.

I exited Impa's house and went over to the general store, where Paya told me the young girl was waiting for my help. I wasn't going to turn down a child's request for help, so I quickly made my way over, not wanting to give her any doubt of my help. When I approached the cooking pot outside the store, I saw a small child there, who I presumed was Koko. She had the same white hair that all the other members of the village shared and made me briefly wonder if they were somehow all related or if it was just a genetic trait to their race.

Koko saw me approach and started jumping up and down, exclaiming she needed help making food for someone named Cottla. Koko explained to me that she was making a veggie cream soup because someone had told her it was nourishing and fortifying. As she explained to me what ingredients she would be using for the soup, she exclaimed out that she didn't have a swift carrot. In order to make the soup, she would need at least one, but didn't know where she could get any within the village. I vaguely remembered seeing some in the store when I had first come to town, so I told her that I would go in and see if they still had them in stock. If so, I would buy her one so she could make her meal. This seemed to please her greatly and I felt warmth building inside from seeing her smiling face.

Thankfully the shop had a few and they weren't too expensive, so I went ahead and bought their whole supply on the off chance I wanted to make the soup for myself. I know I didn't have the rest of the materials, but it would probably be easier for me to acquire them than a child. When I exited the store, I walked back over to Koko, overhearing her say she was a bad big sister to Cottla for not making the soup sooner. I approached her and reassured her that just by thinking of her sister and wanting to make her something for dinner, she was a great big sister. Koko sniffled and wiped her nose, asking me how I could be so certain of that. As I handed her the carrot, I told her that just by wanting to do a nice thing for someone made you a nice person, even if you're unable to complete the task yourself. This seemed to appease her and she quickly set to work creating the dish for her and her sister.

I will admit that the soup smelled wonderful and my stomach started growling at me, telling me that I had skipped breakfast that morning in favor of writing in my journal. Koko must've heard my stomach because when she said the soup was done, she handed me a container with some of it. I started to refuse the food, knowing this was for two small children, but Koko insisted it would be okay because she had made too much anyways. She then went on to state that she wanted to try making some more dishes and be a great chef, like her mother. I told her that I could stay and help her prepare some more dishes if she wanted and she bounced up and down, very eager to have someone help her.

I don't know why I decided to help her other than the fact she was a child, but it did make me happy to know I was able to help her out somewhat. I learned that her mother had passed away previously and that was one of the reasons why she wanted to start cooking her sister and her father's favorite meals, so after hearing that, I was all the more eager to help out where I was able to. Even after I had helped her with all the previous meals, I would make sure that I would give her some ingredients when I came back in from hunting or scouting the area. Koko wanted to "pay" me with meals that she made, but I told her that she already paid me by showing me how to make her family's recipes. Even her father wanted to pay me in Rupees because he knew that a lot of the stuff I brought his daughter wasn't cheap, but I felt bad taking their Rupees. After all, he was a single father trying to raise two daughters, he needed all the help he could get.