Shift of Perspective Part 2: Day 2 --- A loud rip of snoring woke Link from his sleep. The scent of hay hung in his sensitive nose, and when he pulled himself up he nearly fell on the floor. The sight of Bokoblins sleeping on bundles of hay just a few feet away had Link grasping for a weapon which normally slept by his side. His fingers touched nothing but dry dirt, and all at once the events of last night came rushing back to him. Even if he still felt full from last night, Link doubted that he could enjoy breakfast. The fact that he had partaken of a Bokoblin celebratory feast for their impending mating season was perhaps the most repulsive thing he'd ever done. All the more reason he should make his escape now. The sun was already completely above the horizon, and yesterday's rain clouds had packed up and left. All he could see above him was a bright and cheerful summer sky. A quick glance right and left of the crude tepee allowed Link to relax. There were no guards, no wandering Bokoblins who would notice him sneaking off. He took a step outside, already looking toward the hilltop tree and bush that marked the direction he had to flee. He had barely let the flap of the tepee fall when a shrill, off-tune horn blew. Link froze, then began looking around. That was clearly an alarm, but how had they known he was trying to escape if there was no one here? A glance up at the scaffolding tower revealed a Bokoblin atop it, a beaten and rusty horn in its hands. Panic set in, Link had been spotted and he needed to go now. That's when the flap of the tepee opened again. Urzog stuck his head out, a three fingered hand over his mouth as he yawned. "Why can't muster be in the afternoon?" The red Bokoblin grumbled as he rubbed the scruff atop his head. Link slowly turned, expecting the Bokoblin to go from friendly to violent any time now. "I'm surprised you can get up after so much meat you ate last night" Urgoz smiled as he looked back into the conical tent, though he still looked tired. Their slumbering roommate poked his head out, a male Bokoblin with hide the color of a red brick and a messy bird's nest of sandy colored hair. Unlike Urzog, Beld was unmistakably paunchy in the gut, yet wasn't what Hylians would consider fat. His belly stuck out, yet he didn't seem to be flabby anywhere else. "Maybe we should tell Trobar to just have you make noise instead of playing that dumb horn every morning." The new Bokoblin growled. "Ha ha." Urzog snorted, "Think of that one last night Beld?" Beld rolled his eyes, but a smile grew on his face as his attention drifted over to Link, who was still just standing there more confused that ever. "Lunk's probably wondering what's going on." Urzog said, "He's new." Both Bokoblins exited their home, and all around them the encampment was coming to life. Bokoblins were emerging from their tents and tepees to stretch, yawn, and greet the day. It was just a reveille? Link's shoulders sagged as he felt his anxiety melt away. Okay, he could still sneak away safely. He just needed a decent excuse. Beld gave Link a friendly smile and gestured for him to follow, "Come on, Nezdreg wants to hand out jobs for today." Link remembered the name, it was the name of the leader of this tribe of monsters. It turned out, it wasn't so much an organized gathering but rather a loose cluster of Bokoblins around the brown Nezdreg and his gaudy collection of dangling trinkets. When it seemed like everyone had gathered, Nezdreg spoke. "I have good news before I hand out new duties." The older Bokoblin croaked, sounding a lot like an old crow, "First, we have a new member of the tribe. I expect you all to welcome him and show him that our tribe is friendly to outsiders." The crowd followed Nezdreg's attention to Link, who suddenly felt far too conspicuous. Every pig-like snout was partnered with a either friendly or disinterested looks. Thankfully this unwanted attention was short lived as Nezdreg continued, "The second good news is that a scout last night found an abandoned Hylian camp and we have new supplies!" There were cheers and snorts of joy as two Bokoblins walked up, chests out in pride as they carried Link's tent, folded up to carry all of his other belongings. The tent was set before the crowd, and Nezdreg stepped toward the bundle, "Now you all know the rules. I get first pick and we all take turns, and try to chose something you need." To Link's horror the aging Bokoblin reached into the tent and pulled out his Sheikah Slate. His breath caught in his throat as he watched the Bokoblin leader take a string from around his neck and tie it to the slate. The loss of his gear was bad, but without that slate it didn't matter if he made it out of the camp or not. Now their leader had his only means of returning to his normal body. Link was so distressed he didn't even notice the line that had formed to take his things one by one, and when he did he was too far back to get anything. Each item that had been hard won from dungeons? Taken. Camping gear? Going to be someone else's camping gear now. His rupees? Well, that wasn't a total loss. Link's wallet had been nearly full the night before but now that was split evenly amongst the camp so he received a mere twenty-three rupees of his own money. He had been staring so intently at the slate hanging from Nezdreg's neck that he hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings. Suddenly, he felt a hand smack right into his rear, causing him to jolt upward and drop his pitiful bag of rupees. The hand possessively gripped his stinging cheek, and Link swore he heard sound like someone humming at the smell of scrumptious food. "Hello Lunk." Keki grinned as she now stood side-by-side with Link, her hand still pressed into his rear, "Enjoy your first night here?" Link grit his teeth as his cheeks began to burn, this female... she truly had no boundaries. Despite the many four letter words he wanted to use, Link just nodded and kept looking straight ahead for the sake of not causing a scene... and to pretend Keki's tits still weren't hanging out for everyone to see. That earned him another smack on his rear (the other cheek this time) to which Keki continued to beam like a demon with an innocent face. "Good! I hope I get to see you around some more today but I'll probably be washing clothes down by the river again." She rolled her eyes at her impending tedium, but swiftly noticed where Link's attention was focused. "Something the matter?" "I um... just looking at that thing around the, uh, boss's neck." Link said, trying to ignore what just happened for the sake of his sanity. "Hm?" Keki looked toward Nezdreg as the old Bokoblin was giving out orders to a few other villagers, "Oh that IS pretty. Why not offer to trade for it?" Link blinked. The Bokoblins knew what trading was? "Trade?" He asked out loud, turning to look at her and consequently getting a good look at her blue breasts. "Yeah trade, what were you thinking of doing? Stealing it?" Keki frowned, confused why he suddenly got so red in the cheeks. Was there something gross on her chest? She shrugged her befuddlement off and drew her attention back to the slate, "Hm, it's gonna be hard to get Nezdreg to let that go. Do you have anything to offer in return?" Link held up the bag of rupees, his ears dipping as he already knew the answer. "Nah, you'd need something just as nice as that thing." Keki thankfully took her hand away from Link's butt to run her finger along her chin, "Maybe you can offer him a favor?" "A favor?" Link repeated dumbly, having to stop his eyes from drifting downward again. Keki nodded, "Yeah, I'm sure there's jobs that no one else wants to do or could be a little dangerous." A little danger would be a small price to pay to have that Sheikah Slate back in his hands. "That sounds like it might work. Thanks Keki." Link wasn't sure why he thanked the handsy Bokoblin. It was probably just force of habit. Whatever, so long as he put some distance between him and her grabby hands. Little by little the crowd around Nezdreg was dispersing, and Link reluctantly took his place at the back of the audience to wait his turn to address the boss Bokoblin. Link could worry about recollecting his weapons and items from the other Bokoblins later. The absolute last thing he could possibly stand is being dragged into that repulsive mating season, but he couldn't leave without the slate! After an intolerable length of time Link was finally able to approach the Bokoblin leader. The slate was still dangling from around the old Bokoblin's neck by some old twine along with the rest of his treasures. Link had stared at the slate the whole wait. The old monster had no idea of the value of the artifact. "So you're the new young boar that wandered into camp last night." Nezdreg said, eyeing Link from head to foot, "Not often we get a wild one to join us, you looking to stay after the season ends?" Boar? Link looked down at himself, he guessed the term applied since how pig-like Bokoblins were. Link shook his head at the question, "N-no, I'll try to be going as soon as I can." "A shame, the tribe's always looking to grow." Nezdreg sighed, "We won't stop you if you choose to go. However if you stay you'll have to work for your meals." "Actually, I was hoping to ask you for a trade." Said Link. Nezdreg raised an eyebrow, "Trade for what, exactly?" Link pointed to his Shiekah Slate, "That... erm, thing you have around your neck. The glowing one." Nezdreg looked down at the object around his neck, "What do you have to trade?" It was the obvious question, and Link chose to be honest. "I don't have anything to trade, but I could do something for it." Link said, "Maybe something no one wants to do?" Nezdreg snorted, "You don't expect me to just hand it over and expect some tribeless boar to keep his word about doing the work, do you?" Link gulped, "Of course sir, maybe I can... show you I'm trustworthy?" Nezdreg flashed the hero-turned-Bokoblin a cruel smile, "Then we're of one mind then." Moving to the scaffolding tower, the dirt-brown Bokoblin fetched a crude stone spear and a burlap sack. The stink of fish wafted up from the bag, and Link hurried to cover his sensitive snout before it even came near him. "Go bring back a bag full of fish from the river by sundown and we'll talk about it." Nezdreg said. Link's shoulders sagged by his side, he guessed he had no choice. --- The river was lapping over the bank, swollen with rainwater from last night. The good news is that the current wasn't too bad. A sandbar had been raised up as the river twisted in its bend, allowing Link to sit and wait with his spear for fish to pass. It was a good place to fish, had he still been a Hylian he'd gladly sit back and let a proper fishing rod do all the work for him. Link had been sitting ready to strike for about ten minutes before a fish moved into his field of vision, and he threw. The spear wiggled in the water as the fish struggled in vain, only to be hoisted up and into the sack at Link's side. It wasn't complicated work, just mind numbingly dull. A glance down stream showed a two Bokoblin females washing what looked like a pile of rags. Keki and another female with hide the color of moss and stone-grey hair. Both were totally naked and completely unconcerned that a male was watching them. Keki even waved to him. It boggled Link's mind. If a Hylian woman, if ZELDA had been totally nude like they were she would have shrieked and dove to cover herself. Yet these savages had no sense of modesty. Link focused on the water. The sooner he got his slate the sooner he'd be able to leave and never see pig-breasts again. "Hey Lunk!" Link wanted to cry, Keki was coming closer. "I forgot to get your laundry, we can do it now and have the whole tribe's done!" Keki called out as she kept walking. Laundry? Link didn't have any changes of clothes left. They'd taken everything. All he had was the clothes on his back. Then it clicked. "I-I'm good!" Link called back, "Just washed them yesterday!" Keki was standing on the shore behind him, a frown on her face. She leaned forward and snuffled the air, only to grimace. "You don't smell like you've bathed." Said Keki, "You hand those over and we'll be able to wash them in a few minutes. Or do wild ones like being smelly?" Bokoblins complaining about things being smelly... Link rolled his eyes. "I'll be okay, I just-" Link didn't have time to finish as he heard her feet on the sandbar approaching him. He expected her to grab his ass again, but instead those thick fingers pulled on the belt that held his loincloth in place, taking both from around his waist before he could protest and cover himself. His scarf was next, leaving Link almost as nude as she was. His sleeve-arm warmers didn't count. "I don't know where you got Hylian cloth, but it must be uncomfortable." Keki said, "Are you okay? You're holding your goods pretty tight there." Link nodded furiously, hoping she would go away and leave him with his indecency. "... How long were you without a tribe?" Keki asked, "You're acting very strange." Link didn't have the current mental capacity to form any elaborate lie. He just wanted her to go away. "I never had one." Link said tersely. "Never!?" Keki gasped, "That explains a few things." Link blinked, "What things?" "The way you act. You get so weird around me and others. We've all noticed it." Keki explained, "I guess it's not your fault if you never spent time in a tribe." Link wasn't liking the experience so far. "Am... was I the first female you ever saw?" Keki asked, "You keep looking at my teats like you've never seen them before." So she did notice him looking at her breasts. She was so blasé about having them out he wasn't sure if she had. Link took one hand away from his shame and rubbed his temple. "Oh Goddesses please just take me now..." Link whimpered under his breath. "Hey if that's true then it's okay. You don't have to be embarrassed. You'll love being part of our tribe, and no one's going to hold it against you for being alone." Said Keki, then an idea struck her, "Wait, have you... never mated before?" "Not with a... monster." Link said softly. Keki strained to hear what he said, "Hm? Not with a... oh. Oh. Did I step out of line?" Link blinked, had she finally realized how uncomfortable she was making him? "Do you prefer mating with other males?" She asked. Link's mouth fell open. How in the Triforce's golden light gotten THAT impression from him? He couldn't take this anymore. Link left the sack and spear on the sandbar and resolved to come back when Keki had his loincloth ready. The slate could wait another hour or so. Nothing was worth this level of embarrassment. Link tried to sidestep the female, decidedly not looking at her but also not watching his footing. The soft mix of fine gravel and sand gave way and Link tumbled into the river. Too late Link learned that Bokoblins were as heavy as stones in water, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't tread water as he sank beneath the surface, touching the bottom as the current carried him downstream. Panic set in as Link scrambled to grip anything to pull himself up toward the bank, but the cold water was gathering speed, spinning him until he had no sense of up or down, or left or right. The air burned in his lungs, and his strength quickly drained from him. Soon Link was too tired to struggle, and the world went black. --- The next thing Link felt was the sudden, overwhelming urge to cough. His lungs demanded he expel the water in his lungs, and he obeyed. Link's drowsy eyes opened and there was Keki hovering over him, soaking wet, naked, and smelling like fish. However now Link couldn't bring himself to care about pig tits mere feet from his face. "Oh thank Gan'n you're awake." Keki gave a sigh of relief, "You rest there, get your strength back." Link didn't have any choice. His lungs ached as he coughed again, warm water rising up the back of throat as he swore he must have swallowed a minnow or two while he was underwater. "I need to go give this laundry back to everyone. If you still can't get up by the time I get back I'll help you get back to your tent." She said with an apologetic tone, like she didn't want to leave him. Link gave a weak nod of understanding, and just like that Keki was gone. He slumped back against the grass, looking up at the sky. A Hylian would have had no trouble swimming to safety but this worthless monster body couldn't even manage to stay buoyant. What else couldn't it do? He looked at his six fingers, wishing this nightmare would be over. That's when he noticed the smell of fish hadn't diminished. Turning his head, he understood why Keki smelled like fish in the first place. Beside him was his sack, filled to the brim with fish. She'd done the fishing for him while he was unconscious. Laying in the grass were his clothes, clean and folded for him. Link propped himself up on his elbows. He could see Keki leaving, her blue rear virtually hanging out as she walked with a bundle of raggedy loin clothes in her arms. How long had he been out? The sun was much lower than it had been. Had Keki stayed with him the whole time? Why would a Bokoblin act so... selflessly? She had nothing to gain by doing that work for him. It sure didn't feel like she did it to spite him. He'd... have to remember to thank her later. End Day 2.