Silent Song

by SonicFan117DASH

The First Day (Part 3)

Rubbing his eyes as he walked down the hall Ecco maintained an annoyed frown on his face. That stupid device not only blinded him, again, but his overall encounter with Lyra resulted in a bad headache. He didn’t bode well with headaches; they weren’t exactly painful, more like a great annoyance to him. Nevertheless, they always distracted him and left him in a bad mood.

Ecco had hoped that his next class would provide him an opportunity to calm down and soothe his head, but was disappointed to discover that the subject following his lunch break happened to be physical education.

Ecco did not consider himself a prideful Zora but he, along with pretty much every other Zora, excelled when it came to fitness. Spending all that time in the water routinely, doing anything and everything on a daily basis does wonders to your body. He wondered if that was the reason some humans liked to go swimming: so that they could learn to swim to the best of their abilities just because they could. Or maybe it was some form of routine exercise to those who liked it so much. Zoras did it all the time. Maybe there was more to it than he thought but Ecco was still willing to bet that, without even trying, he could beat a human in a swimming match.

Ecco stifled a small chuckle at that thought. Him? Trying to prove himself? What a joke. He had no use for personal triumph. At least, not anymore...

Ecco stopped in his tracks and took a deep breath. Now was not the time for brooding over times past. He needed to focus and prepare for whatever his first class of PE would bring. With that thought, he pulled out his map and continued on his trek to find the gymnasium.

At the very least, physical activity would take his mind off of his headache.

---

Standing as still as possible, Ecco tried his best not to portray his steadily growing anxiety as the fiery-haired girl in front of him shouted in his face.

“I said, ‘Give me your name,’ you minnow!”

All the other students, including the rainbow-haired girl Ecco met, couldn’t help but watch as the aquatic creature stayed silent, the only sign of acknowledgement he gave their teacher was a nervous gulp while beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

“Strong and silent type, are you? Ha! We’ll see about that. I’ll make you squeal in no time. Same goes for the rest of you! You want to make it through this class? Then prepare yourselves for the PE class of a lifetime! Everyone drop and give me twenty! Except for you, fish fry, you give me thirty!”

Why is she treating this as a military drill session?

“Hop to it you mangy mackerel or I’ll have you do fifty!”

Ecco quickly halted his thoughts and dropped to the ground to begin what he supposed was the warmup before the actual lesson. Push-ups were nothing new to him but they do tend to wear him out rather quickly than other exercises. He finished his thirty push-ups not long after the other students were done and returned to the stature of standing at attention. The teacher, whom Ecco realized couldn’t be that much older than the students, regarded him with a raised eyebrow.

“You finished faster than I thought you would. I figured that massive fin attached to your head along with that harp would have weighed you down. No big deal. Don’t think this means anything, guppie, we’ve barely begun.”

You don’t say.

“Now then, here’s the deal: every time you stay silent, you will give me ten laps around the gym. You’re still silent after that, and the entire class will join you for an addition ten. Got it?”

All Ecco could do was nod his head, internally dreading what was to come next.

“All right, get to it! Come on, hustle! I wanna see some sweat dripping down your face in streams!”

At the risk of sounding boastful, prepare to be disappointed.

Ecco wasted no time in sprinting to the wall nearest to him and running the perimeter of the gymnasium. Gradually, his running slowed to a steady and maintained jog. As he jogged, Ecco heard the coach, once she’d stopped shouting at him, turn and address the rest of the class. Her words were drowned out by his breathing and footfalls but he could care less about what she had to say even if he could hear her. All he cared to think about were the repercussions he knew were result from this.

I’d bet the “massive fin attached to my head” the other students won’t take kindly to being punished for my actions.

Sure enough, once he finished his laps, his failing to respond verbally to the coach resulted in him doing ten more laps. Along with a few hateful glares directed at him by the other students.

I probably told myself this already, but this is going to be a long day.

Ecco quickly found himself outran by a majority of the other students. Most of whom shot mean looks or voiced their opinions about his silence in a rude manner. Once or twice a student tried to vent their frustration on him by attempting to trip him if they got close enough. Not only did they not succeed, but it also alerted Ecco to the fact that two of the students were the athlete girls he’d seen in the cafeteria. The ones who he saw glaring at him with dangerous malice.

So I wasn’t imagining them. Great.

Ecco decided to err on the side of caution and would throw quick glances over his shoulder to see if the two girls would pull anything. Thankfully they only seemed content on watching him like a hawk. A fact that Ecco found especially fitting for the one with the white hair. Her eyes reminded him of an eagle or any other predatory bird he had heard of.

The student’s laps done, the coach approached Ecco and stared straight into his eyes with a look of disbelief on her face.

“What the heck?! You may have not finished first but you still ran those laps without breaking a sweat! Whatever. You ready to talk now, flounder?”

...

The coach was now looking thoroughly frustrated with him and for a moment, Ecco feared she might force him to run laps again. Before anything else could happen a voice spoke out.

“Hey, uh, probably shoulda mentioned this earlier, but... he doesn’t talk.”

Ecco and the coach turned to see the one who had spoken was Rainbow Dash, who had finished her laps first before all the other students did. She had a half sheepish, half amused look as she rubbed her neck. The coach looked back at Ecco before saying, “Doesn’t talk, eh? Well that’s to be expected since animals cannot talk!”

Rainbow Dash’s eyebrows arched in alarm.

“No no no no no! I mean he won’t talk at all. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t think like us! Trust me, I’ve met him back at the Freshman Fair and we even share the same home room. He hasn’t spoken a word at either time but he has displayed emotions like we do. I also saw someone trying to get him to talk during lunch, but failed.”

The coach looked Ecco in the eyes once more as if asking him to confirm what Rainbow Dash has been saying. As usual, all Ecco could do was nod. The coach let out a sigh of mild frustration and pinched the bridge of her nose. She then straightened up and said, “If that’s true, then I’d say you have a long ways to go if you want to get ahead in life without a voice. Until then, get ready for a real workout.”

She then ran the whole class through a lecture of things to expect in the months ahead; the requirements to get into whatever sports team was available, upcoming events and games with rival schools, etc. Ecco didn’t really find any of this too interesting as he had no clue as to why this was all necessary. Nevertheless, he would power through it just like any other class in order to make it through one more day.

The remainder of the class was spent getting familiarized with the various equipment and game balls that were going to be used throughout the school year. Ecco found himself secretly amused by the number of different balls for their respective games. So many different kinds and in many shapes and sizes. He didn’t know much about human sports but he had to admire the passion in which the humans treated it.

Something colorful in his peripheral vision prompted Ecco to turn and see that it was Rainbow Dash speaking to the two girls hostile towards him. Surprisingly, they seemed to be having a lighthearted conversation, no trace of the distrust or dark intentions on either of their faces. Was Rainbow Dash friends or acquaintances with them? If so, Ecco thought that, with luck, she could dissuade them from doing anything. As selfish as it sounded, Ecco wanted every advantage against potential bullies as possible.

“Hey.”

Ecco was brought out of his thoughts by the now familiar raspy voice he associated with Rainbow Dash. He looked to see her standing in front of him, the two other girls thankfully absent.

“Look, don’t take this personally but you shouldn’t let people walk over you like that. You’re only gonna make yourself a bigger target for people who’re against you and your kind.”

Ecco arched an eye ridge.

’My kind?’

“That’s not to say that I have anything against Zoras, not at all. It’s just I thought I’d let you know just to keep an eye out in the long run. Y’know, be vigilant.”

Ecco couldn’t help but agree. Although he had already went through this thought process he found it oddly comforting that this girl would show concern for him and go out of her way to give some advice. As a way to express his gratitude, Ecco forced a small smile and nodded his head at Rainbow Dash.

“Don’t sweat it, dude. Just lookin’ out for a fellow student.”

Ecco could hardly believe he just heard her say that. Was this girl really helping him for no reason? Was she showing mercy just because she wanted to? He didn’t know such chivalry like this existed in humans, much less an adolescent. Maybe there was more to it than he was currently thinking but whatever the case, it felt nice knowing that at least one more human showed him some level of civility.

Such loyalty...

“So... you really can’t talk?”

Ecco looked her in the eyes with slight disbelief mixed with bemusement. Had his muteness not been established enough? Had she still not accepted this as fact? Or was it because she just didn’t believe him?

Rainbow Dash continued with, “I mean, I’ve met people before who actually can talk but don’t. I’m just curious if your a similar case. Do you choose not to talk or are you for real, legitimately mute? Or, are you a bit of both?”

Ecco couldn’t blame her for her curiosity, nor could he deny her logic. It was true that he is still physically able to talk, yet he would not. And there was a reason for it. A reason that, for the longest time, has haunted Ecco for the last three years...

“Well... I guess that answers my question,” Rainbow Dash’s voice breaking Ecco out of his inner turmoil once more. “Don’t know what else to say other than what coach Spitfire says is true. You’re gonna have a hard time not being able to speak. I’m not saying you won’t; you look pretty tough but you still need to find a way to communicate. I’m sure you’ll find out how soon enough. In the meantime, good luck to you.”

If Ecco could rank how much his confidence rose from Rainbow Dash’s words, he’d be unable to find the properly phrase for, “beyond measure.” He didn’t know why but somehow her words felt very reassuring. He made it this far without a voice, and it was only half the school day. Sure, he still had a much longer way to go, but that didn’t mean he’d have to do it alone. With that in mind, Ecco felt a small but genuine smile grace his lips as he gave a grateful nod to Rainbow Dash, who just smiled back.

It was at that moment that a cough was heard, causing Ecco and Rainbow Dash to turn their heads to see that it was Spitfire standing a few feet away. She had a neutral expression on her face, bordering on a slight frown as she regarded them.

“As much as I enjoy a good motivational speech,” she began. “You two should get ready to leave. The bell’s gonna ring in a bit and you don’t wanna be late for your next class now, do ya?”

After glancing at a nearby clock, Ecco and Rainbow Dash quickly gathered their school supplies and joined the rest of the students at the gym’s entrance/exit, though Ecco stood a few steps back from the crowd.

---

“What are you playing at?”

Those five words would echo in the back of his head for weeks to come. Ecco was halfway to his next class when he found himself cornered by none other than the two hostile girls. Up close, they were even more terrifying than from a distance.

“We’re not buying this muteness crap,” the taller girl with the white hair stated rudely. “Cut the act already and answer a question with your voice and not your head. You’re not really mute, are ya?”

Ecco found himself beginning to sweat. No sooner had his confidence been raised barely two minutes ago, it was now plummeting with this sudden confrontation from two students who clearly didn’t like him. Had he been able to respond he wouldn’t anyway; he was too shocked.

“Are you deaf,” the other girl, the one with two-toned yellow hair, added with growing agitation?! “Stop portraying yourself as a standard self-loathing anime protagonist and speak to us! You think you can get away with you making us do extra laps because of some tongue tied BS? Think again!”

By this point a small crowd of students had begun to amass around the petrified Zora and two girls. The majority of them seemed to agree with his interrogators while the rest were either indifferent or indecisive on what to do. Either way, Ecco was now in a situation where he would have to make a choice: fight or flee. He didn’t fancy the idea of trading blows with others, let alone two adolescent human females, but he wouldn’t hesitate to defend himself if he was attacked. On the other hand, he could play it safe and run for it. That would result in him escaping unscathed, being chased for only Nayru knew how long before he ran out of stamina or places to hide, escape for the time being and most likely be attacked again later, or maybe a mixture of all three.

“Talk, dammit!” The white haired girl practically shouted in Ecco’s face. “We won’t let you go until you finally squeak! After that, we’ll see to it that you know exactly where you stand in this school. You get the picture now, you filthy bottom feeder? Huh?! Do ya?!”

”What is the meaning of this?!”

That sudden shout was followed by the two assaulters adopting horrified looks on their faces, and the gathered students scrambling to make way for a livid Vice Principal Luna, whom Ecco quickly realized must have been the one who shouted. She did not look happy.

“Grizelda Razorclaw and Lighting Dust, just what do you think you are doing to Mr. Orcinus,” Vice Principal Luna demanded, her arms crossed over her chest?

“W-we uh… we were just-.” The first girl tried to defend herself but was too stunned to form a solid response.

“It-It-It’s not w-what it looks like…”. The second girl had just as much luck as the first, stumbling over her words as the older woman’s eyes bore holes into her.

“Enough!” Vice Principal Luna’s tone commanding immediate compliance. “I expected a lot better than two freshmen to go out of their way to bully a new student. A student who, I may add, has a communication disability!”

“A uh… a what,” the first girl, Grizelda, if Ecco recalled, asked with a raised eyebrow?

“He cannot speak,” Vice Principal Luna elaborated. “Therefore, you are currently assaulting someone who could very well specify as a special needs student.”

At that thought Ecco couldn’t help but feel a little insulted. Sure, he had a temper and some compulsive tendencies but he wasn’t stupid! He knew how to keep himself in check… most of the time.

“H-how could’ve we possibly known that,” the one called Lightning Dust asked?

“Yeah, it’s not like he could’a told us,” Grizelda added!

“Mr. Orcinus, please make your way to your next class,” Vice Principal Luna ordered without looking away from the girls. “I shall take care of this.”

Ecco didn’t waste another second and speed walked away, taking care to weave around the few students who still lingered after the vice principal’s arrival. As he made his way through the hall he couldn’t help but think to himself.

Well… that happened. Wait, what’s an ‘anime’?

---

The class Ecco found himself in after narrowly evading an escalation was something that both genuinely interested him, and presented the perfect opportunity to get his mind off of what happened: history.

Zoras were known for being proud of their heritage and beginnings since the dawn of time. As a result, the higher ups in the Zora’s Domain equivalent to a modern day school district took special liberties when teaching the next generation of Zoras the various historical highlights of the Zora race. How they came to be, how their evolution let them excel where others failed, how they combated their enemies, who and what their religious figureheads stand for, their natural talent for music, to name a few.

That being said, Ecco found himself curious as to if he could compare his people’s history to that of the humans’. Maybe he could find something of note and use it as a means to better his opinion on them. If not, at least it would be something to reflect upon when he needed to escape his own thoughts; something new and alien to take his mind away from present troubles.

“The Great and Powerful Trrrixie demands to know why such a lowly flounder is allowed on campus!”

Unfortunately, Ecco’s hopes of this class being a good respite from prior events was quickly disintegrated by someone who would quickly become his least favorite human he’d ever met before or after. Clad in a light purple dress with a thick cyan hem, blue hoodie and knee-length boots, this self-centered nitwit quickly earned herself the same status that Ecco gave to Flash Sentry. The moment she laid eyes on him she made no effort to hold back her animosity towards him. Worse still, the way she spoke in the third person, for some reason, annoyed Ecco even further.

Hello, headache, my old friend…

“Ms Lulamoon, please retake your seat and lower your voice. Class is about to begin.”

“Trixie was under the impression that animals were not allowed on campus. Yet, here one is, attempting to pass off as one of us while trying to establish its nonexistent dominance over us! I won’t stand for it!”

“Ms Lulamoon! That is no way to talk about a fellow student. In case you haven’t noticed, Mr. Orcinus here has been the very definition of obedience and good manners and hasn’t raised any concern for alarm, so I fail to see how you would classify that as him *ahem* ‘establishing dominance’. Now please sit down or I’m going to have to exercise disciplinary action upon you.”

“But Trixie-“

“Now!”

Ecco had his back to her but the sound of Trixie grumbling as she slouched back into her seat eased his headache a little. He could still feel her eyes on him though, no doubt glaring daggers into his tail fin. Despite his effort to make up for lost time he was unable to find a desk at the back of the room and had no option but to take the last one available, right in front of the one named Trixie. He was beginning to wonder if this would be the last uproar caused by his presence.