Work Text:
THE CUCCO FARM
The delivery was quick that morning. The majority of the crates were offloaded at the castle which meant there were less stops to make overall. Link was back at the farm around midmorning and he was just turning the horses loose into the paddock when Malon crossed his path holding an empty scraps bowl.
“Oh good, you’re back,” she said as she gave him one of her brilliant smiles. There was flour up to her elbows and her apron had smudges of cinnamon on the front.
“Dad needs help with the cuccos,” she said lightly, turning as she walked past him on her way to the house without stopping and he nodded. He didn’t mind the cuccos so much but they weren’t his favorite animals to work with on the farm. Mostly they were just dumb birds but they could get nasty if you weren’t careful. As he headed for the coop Malon called out from the front steps of the house. “Oh, actually, he’s out behind the barn this mornin’.”
Link’s steps faltered.
His heart sank.
He didn’t want to help with the cuccos anymore.
He almost asked if he could help in the kitchen instead but didn’t. Talon did not pay him to do housework.
Reluctantly, he switched direction and headed around the outside of the barn with a pinched expression. He rounded the corner just in time to witness a cleaver come swinging down in a precise sharp strike onto a bird’s neck and Link almost lost his breakfast. The animal’s head flopped down into the grass and he shut his eyes tightly so he didn’t have to see its legs twitch.
When he peaked again, grimacing, Talon had already moved the carcass to the draining rack along a row of other birds. The man looked up with a raised eyebrow but didn’t comment at the clear disgust displayed on Link’s face.
“How’d the delivery go?” he asked instead. He kept his hands busy as he spoke, scraping off the chopping block and wiping his knife on a bloody rag.
Link made a strangled sound in his throat and had to look away before he could answer. “Fine, it was fine,” he stuttered.
Off to the right, an eviscerating station was set up where Garth and Bee were busy gutting and cleaning the birds. Link didn’t look at them either. He looked down at his boots and wished he could be mucking out the stables right now instead of here.
Talon moved to a steaming cauldron in his usual lazy amble and gave the pot a careful stir with a large wooden paddle. Out came half a dozen cucco carcasses to be laid out on a matt of clean straw.
“Got a big order from the castle. Looks like they’re havin’ a banquet or somethin’,” he said as he inspected the birds. He nodded in approval when a pinched feather came away cleanly from the breast. He then looked up at the boy with a thoughtful expression and said “You can do the pluckin’” before he went back to the chopping block next to the pen of live cuccos.
To Link’s dismay, the plucking station had been set up directly beside the gutting station. He looked anywhere except at the gore on the table as he purposefully sat on a crate with his back to the working young men.
His boots slipped in the monster gore as he tried to find good enough footing to parry the next blow.
Bee said something to Garth and they both snickered but Link ignored them.
He picked up his first bird gingerly and it flopped lifelessly in his hands, the wing brushing against his knee. The feeling of a dead thing in his palms just…brought back too many unpleasant memories.
He felt the body sag against him as its life slipped away and had to give it a firm shove to get it off. It fell heavily to the ground before exploding into a wisp of vile smoke.
He tried. He really did but Link felt his breathing get faster and his heart thump a bit louder against his ribs. The world around him narrowed a little and he flinched with every thunk of Talon’s big knife. He just sat and held the dead bird and tried to block out the squelching and scraping sounds behind him.
After a while Talon mistook his hesitation for uncertainty and came over. He patiently explained how to properly pluck the cucco until he caught sight of Link’s pale face and he frowned in concern.
He hesitated a moment before taking the bird from Link’s hands.
“Er, why don’t you take a few minutes, lad,” he said uncertainly.
Link walked away without looking back. He walked far enough away to be sure the others wouldn’t hear him as he threw up into the tall grass. His hands were shaking and he was sweating as he sat down and tried to calm the storm inside.
His hands were drenched in monster blood. It spattered in his face, getting into eyes, nose and mouth. He spat it out but didn’t have time to do much more than that as he raised his shield against the next assault.
His hands were clean and the only foul taste in his mouth came from what he’d just thrown up. Link didn’t understand what was happening.
Why was this such a big deal? They were just cuccos. He’d eaten meat before, though admittedly he didn’t eat it as much as most Hylians.
It was just a cucco.
It was a dead cucco that would be trussed and roasted and eaten at some fancy banquet.
Why was his heartbeat so loud in his ears? Why did his hands shake?
Why won’t the memories just go away.
A hand on his shoulder made him jump and he looked up to see Talon’s concerned frown.
“It’s alright lad,” the man said and he sat down in the grass beside Link, thankfully away from the sick.
Tears of embarrassment stung his eyes and he took a long shuddering breath.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, “I just need a minute.”
Talon stayed but gave him as long as he needed.
“Didn’t peg you as squeamish lad, what with all the adventurin’ you’ve been doin’,” Talon said gently after a while.
Link wiped at his face but he was glad to see that his hands had stopped shaking. “Not squeamish,” he said stubbornly. There were a lot of things he wanted to say.
I don’t know what came over me.
It reminds me too much of all the monsters I’ve killed.
I don’t want to kill animals.
“I don’t like killing animals,” is what he settled on. It seemed the simplest answer.
Talon raised an eyebrow at that. “Monsters are different?”
Link frowned. He was feeling better and looking back, he wasn’t sure why he’d acted the way he had.
“It’s… killing monsters is not the same thing.” He said a bit roughly then sighed. “I mean, it’s still not pleasant, but it’s something that’s got to be done, you know? Or someone might get hurt.”
Talon considered him for a moment. “Slaughtering animals for meat is something that’s got to be done too, or people will go hungry. Although,” he added wryly, “two hundred birds seems a bit excessive for a single meal if you ask me but then I am runnin’ a business here.”
Links huffed through his nose. “I know all that,” he said mulishly, “doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
Talon gave the boy a fond smile. “No I suppose not,” he conceded. “You’re a good lad, and you’ve got a gentle heart,” he said as he patted Link on the shoulder. “Just so long as you’re respectin’ the life you’re takin’ in exchange for a full stomach, it all comes around in the end.”
Link was not entirely sure what he meant and didn’t ask about it. He hadn’t been entirely truthful with the man about what had come over him so he didn’t blame Talon for not understanding.
He wasn’t really sure he understood it himself.
After a few more minutes, Link walked back to the work station with the same steely determination that had got him through Termina in (mostly) one piece. He glared at Garth and Bee when they snickered at the sight of his blotchy and tear stained face, daring them to say something.
Link worked steadily and stubbornly and was genuinely proud of himself when the last bird was packed with straw and ice to be delivered to Hyrule Castle. It was easier now that they were cleaned and looked like food rather than dead animals. He volunteered to go with Talon to deliver them too if only to get away from the jeering of his peers.
Still he didn’t think he’d been eating any meat at all for the next few weeks.
At the castle, the royal kitchens were a chaotic whirlwind of activity as the staff prepared for the banquet. Link wondered what Zelda was up to as he unloaded crates from the wagon. He considered sneaking into the gardens the way he always did to try catching her before she got too busy but he couldn’t just bail on Talon.
Back at the ranch he busied himself with the horses for the rest of the day. Link loved being around the horses and the sounds and scent of them helped calm his nerves and helped to keep the awful memories from creeping up.
That evening, when he sat down for supper he passed on the roasted cucco choosing instead to pile his plate high with salad and vegetables. Talon gave him a knowing smile and pushed the nut loaf closer to Link’s side of the table.
Later, once all the chores were done and the animals were sheltered for the night he made his way along the path to the little cottage by the north field. The night was filled with sounds. He heard crickets, bats overhead, frogs chirping and an owl in the distance.
And the tinkling of a few high notes.
Link stopped and scanned the field. He spotted Epona just as the young mare spotted him and started trotting over. He climbed over the fence without hesitation and dropped down in time for Epona to nuzzle his cheek. He breathed in her scent and let her lead him to the center of the paddock where the music was louder.
The notes were simple and he was pretty sure it was from a music box.
Malon was on her back staring up at the stars. A grin split her face as he leaned over her and she giggled.
“Hey,” she said and patted the grass beside her. Link sat down and picked up the little box that was playing the music. It was Epona’s song.
They just sat in comfortable silence and watched the sky.
“Dad told me you had a hard time cleaning the cuccos this mornin’. I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “If I’d have known it would affect you that badly, I’d have made Dad give you a different chore.”
Link plucked a blade of grass and started tearing strips off. “It’s fine, it had to be done.”
Malon sat up and frowned at him. “It’s not fine if it bothers you,” she said.
Link shrugged. “It just… brings back memories you know? Not good ones. But that’s something that I have to deal with. That’s my problem, not yours.” He offered a strained smile he hoped was reassuring.
“Even so, it’s okay to ask for help,” she said stubbornly and then said nothing more.
They lay out in the field for a long time but eventually Malon said goodnight and left with Epona.
Link never did talk about why the cuccos had bothered him so much but he was never asked to help with the butchering again.
And though he did start putting meat on his plate at dinner again, Malon always made sure that there were at least three different meatless options on the table at every meal too.
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The artwork on Tumblr: The Cucco Farm