Silent Song

by SonicFan117DASH

The First Day (Part 2)

After getting over his humiliatingly harsh reality check Ecco thought it best to just let it go and follow through with the principle’s suggestion. With no solid course of action he decided to simply wander around and find whatever place on his map sounded worth investigating. Along the way he found a multitude of classrooms meant for whatever subject was needed. He found a place known as a “computer lab” and found it full of what looked like advanced human technology that Zoras were woefully behind on and left without further inquiry.

Ecco eventually found himself on the building’s second floor and looking out one of the windows. He had to admit, it wasn’t too high off the ground but it had a good view of the surrounding neighborhood. He saw more of those “car” things whizzing down the streets and frowned.

Those metal monsters are loud and ugly. I prefer swimming or walking to wherever I need to go rather than being crammed into a metal coffin any day.

It was at that moment that the bell rang and Ecco knew he had to quickly backtrack downstairs for his next class. He had to power walk through and around the bunches of students to ensure he didn’t arrive late. As he was about to enter the staircase Ecco suddenly felt his foot get caught on something and he stumbled forward.

Thankfully, Zora reflexes were quick and swift as Ecco immediately bent his other leg and then rocketed himself off the first step before he could fall. He then flipped over in mid air and angled himself so he could plant his feet on the staircase wall to spend off his momentum. Finally he let gravity take over and he landed upright without falling on anyone.

Flawless. Now, WHO DID THAT?!

Ecco spun around fast enough that his tail fin almost smacked a student in the face but he didn’t care about that. He was glaring at the top of the stairs to see if whoever tripped him was still around. Unsurprisingly, no one looked no less than shocked at the display he just put on, nor did anyone step up and claim responsibility for tripping him.

A warning bell forced Ecco to abandon his search for the would-be attacker and race away to make it to class on time. Try as he might to ignore it, the stares he received from those who just witnessed his stunt made him feel uneasy.

So much for subtlety.

***

The next class Ecco attended featured something that he would quickly come to realize was his most despised subject ever.

Math.

Zoras were no strangers to the concept of numbers but their education system, while unique, was relatively primitive and therefore didn’t reach as high a level as the humans’. As a result, poor Ecco would find himself struggling to grasp even the most basic of advanced mathematical equations and formulas. It made his head hurt just trying to put the right signs in place.

The only silver lining Ecco found in this class was in the form of the teacher, Miss Cheerilee. Like her namesake suggested Miss Cheerilee had a, well, cheerful personality and was delighted at the opportunity to teach Ecco alongside the other students. She was an understanding woman who promised Ecco to help him through any problem she could. She had a way of making math a more interesting subject to study and it motivated Ecco to try hard no matter what.

Long story short, Ecco wouldn’t be the best at human math but, Nayru willing, he wasn’t going down without a fight.

***

Two more subjects came and went and Ecco was making his way to the school cafeteria. As he did he passed other students who either backed out of his way, avoided looking at him, whispered lies and rumors with each other, threw hostile glares at him, or just plain ignored him. Honestly he wasn’t too surprised; he expected this to happen. Who could blame them?

Ecco was not only a foreigner but also an entirely different species, a sentient species at that, that humans have never seen up close before. They may know of their existence but that didn’t necessarily mean they knew each other. The few interactions between humans and Zoras prior to Ecco moving to Canterlot were anything but diplomatic and he was pretty sure neither side was going to forget them. After all, he was pretty sure that his people would treat any human the same way if they were in his situation.

It was for that reason Ecco was seriously debating whether going to the cafeteria was a good idea or not. It was a time when most of the student body would be in one place at the same time and he would most likely stand out and draw attention instantly. If he was perfectly honest with himself he’d rather eat outside or even in the library if they allowed him. He hated crowds.

And yet, he felt that doing so would only raise suspicions. Call it being paranoid, but Ecco learned that if one suspected of a wrongdoing was absent at the time or place of the act, people would be under the assumption they were the one who did it. After all, the very thing had happened to him back at Zora’s Domain...

Ecco shook his head and made his way to the cafeteria with a large lunchbox in his hand. He was overthinking things again. He had only been here for half a day; what could he possibly do to earn the ire of teenage humans in such a short timespan? Besides, seven students out of hundreds, plus at least three of the school staff, were more than willing to look past the species barrier and treat him like one of their own kind. Two of those students even praised him for his music. That calls for something, right?

Steeling himself, upon opening the double doors Ecco was greeted to the sight of dozens upon dozens of students sitting at tables with plates of various foods he had never seen before. Good thing he brought his own lunch. He didn’t know if Zoras could stomach human food and rather didn’t want to find out just yet. His nostrils filled up with many unknown smells and aromas he assumed were from the various food, or from the humans. Hard to tell.

At first no one seemed to notice the Zora in the room, but as he began searching for an empty table the noise toned down significantly. Ecco did his absolute best to ignore the stares everyone was giving him but having so many pairs of eyes centered on him all at once made him feel terribly self conscious. Despite that, he persevered and continued his search for an isolated seat.

“Yo! Ecco! Over here!”

Ecco quickly turned to where the voice came from and felt as if a great burden was lifted off his shoulders. There, waving to him, was Cherry Crash sitting with Octavia and five other students, who were currently looking to the green-haired girl with shocked expressions. Ecco assumed they were caught off-guard by one of their new classmates calling over a foreign creature out of the blue. Whatever; he’ll deal with it for now.

Ecco quickly, if a bit awkwardly, strode over to where Cherry Crash and Octavia were. The latter pulled out the empty chair next to her and Ecco gave her a nod in gratitude. He sat down and placed his lunchbox down in front of him, paying no mind to the absolute hateful glare directed toward him by a boy with blue hair and a leather jacket.

“Why is this thing here,” the boy growled?

Charmed.

“What do you mean, Flash,” asked Cherry? “We’re just welcoming the new kid is all.”

“This thing isn’t a kid it’s an animal. Last I checked, animals weren’t allowed on the campus.”

Ecco resisted the urge to clench his fist as he undid the fastens holding his lunchbox closed. The moment he was bracing himself for had finally arrived but he wasn’t in the mood for it. He was hungry and the beautiful aroma of the lunch his mother made for him was overwhelming his nostrils.

Well aren’t you subtle. Oh well, lunchtime!

“Come now, Flash,” Octavia added. “He only just arrived and he has proven to be a kind soul to us at the Freshman Fair. Is it too much to ask for you to give him a chance?”

“A chance to attack us from behind,” Flash asked bitterly?

Okay, it’s official: I hate you too.

“No,” Cherry Crash answered, abhorred. “To prove himself. As Octavia just said, he already proved himself to us. He’s a cool guy. And you should have been there when he started playing that harp he’s carrying. It brought Octy to tears!”

Ecco, oblivious to Octavia’s indignant spluttering at Cherry’s choice of words, blushed at that, once again flattered that these girls would stand up to him so selflessly. He then opened the lid of his lunchbox and pulled out the food. It consisted of some rice balls, grilled fish fillets, noodles, and a small plate of kanafeh for dessert. He sorted his food out in front of him and licked his lips while thinking of what to eat first.

“Wow. That’s quite an exotic selection of delicacies you have, Sir Orcinus.” Octavia commented. “I don’t believe I’ve seen such finely crafted rice balls before.”

“Yeah, you from Neighpon or something?”

Ecco turned his attention to the one who spoke. It was one of the other students, a third girl who, until now, kept quiet. She had two-toned purple hair and was wearing a pink scarf with purple polka dots around her neck. She still looked on edge being around a newcomer such as him but has seemed to pluck up enough courage to talk.

Ecco’s only response to her question was him tilting his head and raising an eye ridge.

Where...?

“Uh... the island nation of Neighpon? Off the coast of Haysia?”

Ecco only shrugged his shoulders while shaking his head. He had never heard of those places before, let alone been to them. Yet, for some strange reason, he felt a very faint sense of familiarity surrounding those names. He mentally shrugged it off. He’d answer the girl’s question with one of his flash cards but he didn’t want to waste time fishing through his bag. Besides, he was hungry.

“Never mind.” The third girl said with a mildly annoyed tone in her voice.

Ecco maintained his stare for a moment before shrugging his shoulders again and turned his attention back to his food. He finally decided to start with the fish fillets while they were still warm. He dug in with a passion and reveled in joy at the flavor. His mother’s cooking never ceases to please him. His passionate eating gradually increased as he got lost in a euphoria of overwhelming deliciousness.

Ecco didn’t know how long it took but when he finally got out of his food craze he realized he had eaten all that he had. He looked at his empty lunchbox in amazement but felt slightly disappointed that there was nothing left to eat. His mother’s cooking was to die for. He really needed to learn to slow down sometimes so that he could enjoy it longer.

“Woah. Someone must’ve been real hungry. That was cool!” Cherry Crash’s voice broke through his trance.

Ecco then suddenly remembered that he wasn’t alone and looked up to see a multitude of faces staring at him from all around. He felt his face blush when he realized that he must have made himself look like a fool from eating so fast. He knew he didn’t have the best table manners but he couldn’t help himself sometimes.

I must have looked like an animal stuffing his face. I wouldn’t be surprised if I didn’t even chew some of it.

“Hey don’t sweat it, dude. I know how it is. Spending the first half of the day waiting through boring classes for the chance to eat lunch, we all feel the same way.” Cherry Crash continued with a laidback attitude. Ecco felt a little relieved at her reassurance.

“Looks like an animal, eats like an animal. Typical.”

Ecco clenched his fist and shot an annoyed glare at Flash Sentry. He knew he should have expected this type of behavior from some of the students and mentally prepared himself for it, but there was just something about this guy in particular that really put him off. He glared back in full, his arms folded across his chest in what Ecco assumed was some form of display of dominance.

An awkward and intense silence followed until Octavia said, “Flash Sentry, I am surprised at you. You never treated new students like this before. What has he ever done to you to earn such animosity?”

Flash Sentry didn’t answer. He just rolled his eyes and left the table.

“Whatever.”

Good riddance.

“Sheesh.” said the third girl. “What’s gotten him all worked up for?”

“Ida’know, Mystery Mint.” Cherry Crash replied. Then she turned to Ecco. “Sorry about that, man. I swear he’s normally a great guy. Guess he just doesn’t trust you yet so don’t let what he says get to you.”

“Indeed.” agreed Octavia. “I’m sure he will warm up to you in time. Just wait and see.”

Ecco wanted to believe what they were saying but he wasn’t going to let his guard down. This Flash Sentry person didn’t sit well with him in the slightest and he feared that he might try and do something. Whatever it would be, he would be ready for it.

Dropping the issue for the time being Ecco decided to clean up the remains of his lunch and wait for the lunch period to be over. In the meantime, the students at his table began to talk amongst themselves.

Ecco, having nothing to add to whatever conversation the students were having, got lost in his thoughts once more. So far during his stay in this city things have been relatively easy. Almost too easy but he didn’t feel like complaining. Of course, he knew not to get too comfortable for there was always the possibility that something might happen sooner or later to ruin his day. If that Flash Sentry person and his disdain towards him were any indication, plus the incident at the staircase, Ecco again came to the conclusion that he should prepare for the worst.

Placing his hand over his eye, Ecco realized he went down a mental spiral again. It was always same thing; don’t be foolish, expect the worst; be on guard, brace yourself for a trap; they are known for playing with your emotions, keep to your own kind. All these thoughts and more spiraled in his head like a whirlpool as he tried to get his thoughts in order. This was one of the few reasons he didn’t like to think too much: exaggeration. If he got too mixed up in his mangled thought process without slowing down he would start to conclude ridiculous scenarios that didn’t make enough sense or were too inconclusive.

Ecco shook his head to bring himself back to reality. He needed to find something to distract him from his own thoughts and pass the time. He found himself looking around him at the many other students and observing their behavior. One table featured students who, from a distance, looked like one with nature. One of the girls’ clothing was decorated with flowers while another’s hairdo reminded him of a shrub or a patch of grass. There was even a bright green leaf on the front of her shirt. Her clothing in general, while slightly tattered, just seemed to fit her perfectly. Same could be said for the third girl with the twin purple pigtails and ankle-length red skirt.

Another table of students almost made Ecco think a small section of that computer lab place had suddenly appeared. These students looked like they were machines, typing away feverishly at their tiny electronic devices while simultaneously eating their lunch. Two of them were also wearing what Ecco knew were called “spectacles” by Smooth Progress. Ecco quickly lost interest and looked to another table.

“Fashionable” didn’t even come close to how Ecco could describe the next batch of students. Mostly consisting of females and a small number of males, these students looked and radiated majestic beauty. Granted, Ecco lacked enough knowledge of human fashion, or a fashion sense in general, to properly judge their appearance but even he could see that, as far as maintaining public images go, they were some of the best. Especially that one girl with the dark red hair, or even the one with the bright blue hair that flowed off her head like a waterfall... Ecco quickly tore his eyes away before he could be caught staring and looked to the next table.

At first, Ecco thought he’d caught sight of a giant lump of orange curly fluff sitting at another table but a second glance made him realize it was just a girl’s hairdo. To him, it looked like it hasn’t been cut for a long period of time. Two more girls and two boys were sitting there as well. One girl had short, bright green hair and wearing a weird looking hat while the third girl had her short brown hair tied into a bun. All of them looked... preoccupied, like they were lost in their own imaginations. Fantasizing and daydreaming about whatever came to mind. Ecco thought they honestly didn’t seem too bad a group to him for some reason. Maybe he could get along with them if he tried.

Then Ecco suddenly realized that he recognized the girl with the hat; she greeted him at the fair and welcomed him into both the art and book clubs. Truth be told, Ecco didn’t sign up for those clubs willingly like Cirratum had thought earlier in the morning. Rather, that girl insisted he join for some reason. He was honestly surprised that he didn’t remember her until now. All he could solidly remember about their first meeting was him being yanked backwards from her grabbing his free hand and introducing herself in an odd dialogue. She then proceeded to drag him over to her booth and sign him up after he met her offer of joining the club with dumbfounded silence. She must not have registered Ecco’s confusion and was practically beaming with excitement at the prospect of having him join the club. Ecco, too weirded out to do anything else, just nodded in thanks and race-walked away from her before anything else could happen.

Ecco then figured out why he quickly forgot about that girl and the club she was in: she frightened him for some reason and he looked away from her table before she noticed him.

The last group of students quickly became obvious to Ecco as the athletes of the school. They were lean, muscular, and looked quite endurable. Two boys were tossing some kind of brown-colored ball back and forth while two girls were listening to a third boy bragging about only Nayru knew what. Before he could look away something caught Ecco’s eye that caused a chill to run down his spine.

Two girls, one with pure white hair and the other two shades of yellow, more athletes by the looks of it, joined the other students at the table. Their eyesight was currently locked on Ecco in a frightening manner. The piercing glares those two girls gave him promised nothing less than contempt and distrust. If looks could kill Ecco was pretty sure he’d be reduced to a skeleton by now. The sheer ferocity and intense fury in the girls’ eyes akin to those he received before leaving Zora’s Domain.

Ecco made a mental note not to get on their bad side. Better yet, avoid them entirely if possible. He tore his eyes away from those girls and shook his head. For the first time since walking in the school he felt truly afraid. There was something about those girls that warned him to stay away. But then he thought he was overreacting again and his mind was playing tricks on him. He threw a quick glance back at the athlete’s table to see the two girls were looking away from him. Looking like they haven’t even seen him. Ecco released a silent sigh of relief and rested his head on his hand.

A thought brought itself to the front of Ecco’s mind that made him do one final quick scan of the whole cafeteria. All of the students looked... divided to him. Almost as if each and every student contributing specific qualities or characteristics were isolating themselves from others who weren’t like them. This distinct lack of unity and division amongst their own peers made Ecco feel... displeased.

Why were these adolescent humans grouping up into their own factions like this? Zoras were sociable creatures and Ecco thought that humans wouldn’t be any different, seeing as they both share the gift of sentience. Although, that wasn’t to say that division among civilians was an alien ideology to the Zora race, but that was another story.

Maybe it was some form of human social structuring that he was seeing, but what ever it was it felt wrong to Ecco.

”Oh... Em... GEE!!!”

That shrill squeal was so sudden, so loud that it sent Ecco tumbling out of his chair in shock.

“It’s a Zora! A real, living, breathing Zora! Eee~ I’ve always wanted to meet one of you!”

Ecco placed a hand over his rapidly beating heart and took deep breaths to calm himself, hardly listening to whoever was talking to him. Glancing up, he was greeted to a girl he hadn’t noticed before. She had light green skin with yellow eyes, messy white and teal hair, and the second biggest grin Ecco had ever seen.

“You look even more exotic up close! Your eyes look so intimidating! Are your teeth sharp? Can you eat human food? Does your kind lay eggs or give live birth? Is that a harp?! Is it true your kind doesn’t normally wear clothes? If so, how do you guys cover up your-“

”LYRA!”

A pale yellow hand grabbed the girl’s arm and yanked her backward, revealing its owner: yet another girl, this one with soft blue eyes, and curly pink and dark blue hair.

“I’m really sorry about her, mister. She’s always wanted to meet a Zora but I didn’t think she’d act this way. I hope she didn’t scare you too bad. Here.” She extended her hand to help Orcinus up.

Ecco’s ears were slightly ringing from the first girls’ squeal and subsequent questioning but he was still able to hear what the newcomer had to say. He accepted the offer with a slightly shaking hand and stood back up, giving the girl a grateful nod once she let go of his hand.

“Anyway, I’m Bon-Bon. You’ve already met my friend, Lyra. And, again, I’m really sorry about her behavior. Ever since she first read about Zoras she always wondered what it would be like to encounter one. Her antics can be off-putting but she means well.”

Ecco patiently listened to Bon-Bon while cautiously glancing at Lyra, who was slightly bouncing with excitement and ignoring the fact that nearly every soul in the cafeteria was looking their way, no doubt attracted by the commotion. He decided to let it go and waved his hand as a means of saying, “Don’t worry about it.”

Bon-Bon seemed to understand the gesture and let out a small sigh of relief. She looked like she wanted to say something more but was cut off by Lyra.

“Yeah, sorry about that. But seriously, tell me, how did you evolve in order to adapt to life on both land and sea? How do you transact between breathing air and water? Are your scales rough or smooth? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Lyra!”

“What? I’m just asking him a question.”

“Your asking him more than one! I think your overwhelming him!”

“Come to think of it, is it really a ‘him’?”

“Focus, Lyra!”

“Hey, Zora, can you show us if you’re male or female? Like, maybe take your shirt off or maybe your-”

“LYRA!”

Ecco took two nervous steps backward as he tried to comprehend what he was witnessing. His tail fin bumped into something behind him and he looked back to see it was the back of Octavia’s chair. Ecco took this opportunity and jerked a thumb in the direction of the bickering girls. Octavia’s only response was an apologetic smile and shrugging her shoulders. She then stood up from her seat and said, “I’ve known those two since middle school; this is a common sight to me and anyone else who knows them.”

Ecco faced forward as Octavia walked toward Lyra, hoping to calm the energetic girl but was cut off before she could even open her mouth. “Hey! I just realized I don’t even know your name! What can I call you?! Oh, and why are you so quiet?”

A loud but polite cough from Octavia finally diverted Lyra’s attention. “I can answer that for you, Lyra. You see, Mr. Ecco here does not speak.”

“Huh? His name is Ecco? Nice name. Wait a minute, he doesn’t talk?”

“I’m afraid not. It would appear that our new friend prefers to keep quiet. I don’t know if that is because he won’t, or simply cannot, but I think it would be best if you didn’t pry him for information.”

“Yeah,” agreed Bon-Bon. “Especially since it’s his first day here. Give him time to get used to his new surroundings, and if he chooses to speak, he will. Until then, don’t put any pressure on him.”

Lyra looked back at Ecco and, after seeing him nod in confirmation, seemed to finally take the hint. Her stature became more relaxed and now looked inquisitively at Ecco.

“A Zora who doesn’t talk, huh? Oh well, time for a selfie!”

Before anyone could stop her, Lyra pulled out a small rectangular device, placed an arm around Ecco’s shoulders, and pressed her face to his before the device emitted a bright flash of light which blinded the Zora. Poor Ecco jerked backward out of Lyra’s grip before tripping over the legs of Octavia’s chair and fell to the floor, his eyes stinging all the way.

”LYRA!!!”

Author's Note:

Any pointing out of any misspellings, grammatical errors or misplacement of commas is appreciated.

Comments

[The Correspondent]

2 things, the first, considering how old this story is overall, i'd say this would classify as a hidden... well, not quite gem, but perhaps semi-precious stone? it's good, could be improved probably, but the minimal attention is surprising.

the second, just the fishies or are the birds a thing too?

[SonicFan117DASH]

I appreciate the feedback and the constructive criticism. I’ll take your advice into consideration.

Also, if you are asking if the Rito, or any other Zelda race, will make an appearance, that remains to be seen.