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Chapter Text

“If we split into teams we’ll be able to cover more ground.” Princess Zelda spoke surely as she laid a map across the face of a boulder. She marked several areas in the snow region not far from the Rito’s village, “We possibly have a day, at most, to search before the snowstorm arrives, it would be preferable to make haste before night as well. Remember the shrine could be apart of the mountain, or be underground.”

She glanced up staring at the Champions and her personal Knight before confirming her plans in her eyes. She took out a piece of paper and began copying the maps regions the best she could for each party, “Mipha, I would like you to search the rivers below. If it gets too cold, I want you to stop and retreat. Urbosa and Daruk, you two will take the Northern border, and Link with myself will scour the west.” She handed a small map towards you as she spoke, “And [Name] and Revali will cover the East region.”

Her words left a sour note on the back of your tongue as you side glance at the tall, self entitled Rito. Revali gave you a once over before turning his beak away and scowling. You were no champion, but being a long life friend of Link’s and a knight gave you special liberties, especially when on a search mission there was no one else better suited. However, you assumed the feather brain soon-to-be companion of yours would say otherwise. Ever since the two of you met there have been a great air of strain and competition between you two. Neither of you were willing to admit truce especially the few occasions where you two got into serious verbal disputes. He started most of them in your opinion… Hence why you were concern being paired with the person you have the most issues with.

As if Zelda could hear your thoughts, she stood up and patted herself free of dirt, making her way towards you. She leaned in close as the two of you distance yourselves from the group. “I know what you’re thinking-”

“Then why are you pairing me up with him? You know exactly how we get, so wouldn’t I be better suited with Mipha? Besides, he can fly. Wouldn’t it be better if he could be the lone one in the mission?” You tried your best to keep calm, but the wavering annoyance was not lost on the Princess’ ears. She released a sigh pinching the bridge of her nose.

“I can see your reasoning and it is a fair point, but I am having Mipha alone because she is able to navigate through the waters more proficiently.” The blonde glanced down towards the ravine, “Her body isn’t suited for the harsh terrace of snow. Regardless, I doubt you’ll be helpful down there, you know, as there is no path ways, or flat land to look over.” She tapped the map in your hand before bringing her pointer finger up in the air, a glimmer of mirth in her eyes, “I am having him remain on the ground assuming the shrine in snow is not going to be easily visible from aerial view. Of course, I could ask him to, if you’re so opposed, but that would mean you would be alone on your journey. And what is it you always tell me- what was it- OH, of course ‘Who would drag your dead body back if-”

“Alright, alright. I get it.” Begrudgingly you resign your argument for the moment and huffed a strand of hair from your eyes. Zelda, feigning innocence, blinks while you kicked pebbles at your feet. You opted to glanced between the Princess and the Rito. It just didn’t feel right, either being paired with him or just this mission in general. Beforehand, when she had specifically requested your assistance, there was no issues that you were adverse to…but this time, a cold heavy feeling nestled its way into your chest. Perhaps it was your reservation in having to be stuck with Revali for Goddess knows how long and with a click of your tongue, you found new vigor in your argument, “Just….why with him? Please, Princess, at least give me an explanation.” Or perhaps more of plea, either way it caused an aggravated sigh from the heiress.

The Princess may have been soft and beautiful, but when she wanted she could stare down a Lynel to tears. Her eyes stern and voice solid her words carried heavy, but with truth, “With Calamity Ganon on the rise I cannot have two of my best warriors having an standoff. You two may dislike each other to all your heart’s content, however…just…just save it after. With everyone’s lives at stake, if you two cannot learn to work together I fear that each of you will be your own downfall.” She placed a hand on your shoulder and gave a small squeeze in reassurance, “I want you two to work together so you may learn to overcome this quarrel. Could you do this, just for me, [Name]?”

Despite everything, she made a valid point and although your pride would often not allow it, this time you swallowed it. If you two couldn’t look for a shrine together there was no way you nor the crowned Rito Champion could face off against Calamity Ganon. You nodded your head in reluctance and the two of you moseyed your way back to the group.

“Well, well, the little discussion took quite of bit of time. We are burning daylight, as you should know. If you have any personal gripes than perhaps you should abstain from this mission.”

Ohh, his pompous feathered ass voice could do a number on your eardrums. Casting a quick glare in his direction, you mustered the most strained smile, “Oh no, not at all. We were just discussing how worrisome it would be if your feathers froze.” Well so much for swallowing your pride even at that pathetic attempt to insult him. His feathers ruffled from your rebuttal and stood proudly.

“What a garish smile. Honestly, if anyone would have trouble out of everyone here, it would be you.” Revali took a step closer in your direction leering down to challenge him. “If I recall…The Champions consists of Daruk, Mipha, Urbosa and, last, but certainly never least, myself.” He tapped his feathered finger against the side of his beak, “But wait… What does that make you?” Your glare only intensified as the rest of the group’s groans became more audible. “Ah, that’s right. You’re just a little knight shadowing your equal counterpart. Where’s your merit, hm? At least your fellow comadre wields a darkness sealing sword-

“Say one more word, bird breath, and I will pluck you for dinn-”

“ENOUGH!” Urbosa’s booming voice bellowed as made her way to separate you two. She shoved you two apart from her tall being and glowered, “Quit yipping like children. I’ve had enough of it. I think we’ve all have.” She cocked a hip to the side and rested her hand atop it. “If it makes you feel better, you both are very pretty, but we need to head out now, so stop being a nuisance, and shut your mouth,” Her eyes snapped toward your gaping mouth, “We have a frozen wasteland to comb.”

Princess Zelda coughed bringing all attention to her, “Well said, now remember, try your best to map your paths. Hopefully we can beat the blizzard that’s on the front. I speculate it will arrive by tonight, or it could be sooner. We will all regroup in the evening, so please everyone of you, do your best and be safe.”

Everyone split off from their appointed groups leaving the Rito Champion and yourself alone…together. Cracking your knuckles to get your blood flowing Revali made of a sound of disgust from the action. He flapped himself up in the air, shaking his head down towards you while you adjusted your warm clothes and spat, “Do hurry it up.”

You snapped a glare in his direction and without breaking eye contact in spite started marching toward a high boulder. The thick gloves adorned on your hands made it slightly difficult to grasp the boulder’s face, but you were on top of it in no time at all and flapped your glider wide open. Revali rolled his eyes using his Gale to sprint off causing you to hold on the glider and your ground for dear life. You huffed a couple of curse words before leaping over the ravine and gliding toward the snowy cliff side.

Landing would have been a breeze if the breeze wasn’t carrying you toward a ledge that wasn’t suitable for it! A scream began to bubble at your throat while you tried with your whole strength to lean toward the safe area, but you had chosen the wrong wind to use and were already sorely regretting your choice. As if the Goddess had seen your pathetic attempts you felt the glider move away from the jagged cliff elevating to safety. You almost left out a breath of relief until you decided to look over your shoulder.

And wouldn’t you know it, Revali was using the winds from his wings to guide you to the other side.

You almost wish you kissed the jagged cliff.

“We have not even begun our search and you are already flying straight to your death, hm?” He piped, his voice rose to be heard over the strong winds. You snarled at him and curtly turned away, but it didn’t cease his ridicule. “What would you have done if I did not assist you? Surely you do not favor being a muddled mess against the cliff side?” As the cliff pulled near your feet sped across the earth nearly slipping on the sleek surface while you tried to slow yourself down. The glider fell heavily to the side brushing against the ground crudely while you tried to situated yourself. Looking over your shoulder as the Rito elegantly fluttered to the ground and you sneered. Gauging your expression Revali fixed the cloak tied around his neck and hummed in the back of his throat.

“Usually the polite response to someone helping you escape your timely demise is met with gratitude.” He tilted his head to the side to fully look you over, but your pride was burning and his attitude was only making your wounded ego soar. “I know you were not blessed with privileges as some, but I would hope your parents have taught you manners.” You were about to swivel on your heel to scream his feathers off his pretty little head, but Princess Zelda’s voice pleading for you two to get along echoed in your mind and you weren’t about to give him the satisfaction of being right. So, with a shaking fist you clamped it to your side and bit your bottom lip before a heavy sigh eased your frazzled nerves. Gathering the glider up, and once it was tucked away, you turned towards the male huffing through your nose.

“Thank you.” Was all you could vomit out, but nevertheless your gratitude caught him off guard, if his widens eyes were anything to go by. Pulling on his cloak around his neck, he stammered, in turn surprising you.

“W-well, you should be after all. It would have been completely arduous reporting back to the Princess your remains littered the rocks below. Besides, as a Champion, I did not earned my reputation on my good-looks alone, so it’s only expected of me to save the ones in distress. ” Whatever fleeting moment you two were about to have completely dissolved in his long winded sentence, but you didn’t let it deter you, and instead started tracking your way into the frozen land. Signaling your hand to follow, but whether he decided to or not you weren’t sure, you were exhausted from gazing upon his face and chose not to look back.

After a while you realized that neither of you have spoken and even that, you could only hear your footsteps. In an instant panic flooded your veins twisting around faster than you have ever mustered, pulling your sword from its hilt only to come to a cold stop. The idea of something had come after Revali shattered away seeing the birdman in question was simply flying. He was completely taken aback at your abrupt turn and the flash of panic in your eyes, so he too grabbed his bow from his back quickly aiming it behind him. His shoulder faltered taking in the winter wilderness, not seeing any sort of ambush, and whirled back to you completely bewildered. “Praytell, what was that about!? I could have molted from your craze face alone!” He lowered his weapons, one winged hand coming to rest upon his chest.

Shame and embarrassment had an incredibly ability to freeze you more than the blistering air, but it would never affect how aflamed your face was. You were at a loss of words trying to process why you went awl all of a sudden, but Revali wasn’t going to wait for you to break out of your state. He made his way into your vision, snapping you out of it for an emerald eyeball staring you down like a beacon. “I-I-” but still you couldn’t say a thing, how could you? You just panicked because you forgot he could fly and thought a bokoblin-. And he was getting in your face because you were concern, who did he think he was! With shaking fists, and the urge to deck him, you shoved by him continuing to move forward. You would get along for the Princess! Even if you bled internally from rage!

“Excuse you-! Wait just a moment!” Came his annoyingly smooth voice before he glided in, effectively blocking your path. He stood just a foot away his head titled to stare into your eyes, “I am not partial to this arrangement just as you are, but I would prefer if I did not meet the end of your blade. As it stands, the Princess has us working together and despite my- ” He stopped himself, squinting his eyes through you and curled his winged fingers “…..I will not fail this quests sought out for us.” The pain in your eyes could never match the deep feeling the resonating in your being. Your frustration met its peak..

“Sought out?! She just gave us a hastily draw scribble of the map!” You waved the tiny paper in his face, “And-and we shouldn’t have done a search on the rise of fucking snowstorm! She had us all come in here on a wild goose chase, especially when Link is the only one who can even enter the stupid shrines!” The valley echoed boorishly, silencing Revali even as you continued, “I know that she is to be Queen one day and she’s learning the best she can, a-and I know that the threat of Ganon is high,… but it was one thing coming in before a blizzard, a day at that, but it’s another when she forces me to tag along with you! All because you’re a boastful asshole with your ‘Champion’ titled so far up your ass that when I want to be nice, you make it impossible-”

A deafen horn thundered its way into your ears, the sense of dread hitting the bottom of your stomach like a bag of bricks.

Fighting instincts taking over both of you quickly drew your weapons, backs to each other, surveying the area between the light snowfall. The silence was starting to bare its weight when a sudden low growl cut through the aging day, but the area you currently were in formed into a cove so it was hard to distinguish just where the growl could have come from. The two of you kept turning in a circle making sure there was no weak points and just as Revali was about to speak a loud snarl came charging. Revali side swept the bokoblin in white wolves’ furs while you slashed and kicked away another one from the opposing side.

As the two of you began scuffling about was when the realization of being surrounded settled in, and two large bokoblin riding on boars geared up to sandwiched you. Realizing this you called out to Revali, dodging to the far side of the open cove, but Revali in the midst of fending others enemies off heard your warning too late and was crushed between the horrid beasts. He collapse to the ground groaning out in pain and struggled to make his way back up, but the smaller bokoblins were not going to waste this sleazy chance of killing him. In a split moment you swept in stepping over his form to protect him and wield off the offending spears. As your blade sliced through the stomach of one, you were thrown to the side, your shoulder smashing into a boulder. The remaining gang crept their way to hover over your form, and you whined trying to stand up. You picked up your sword wildly slashes the vermin away, or at least just keep them at length while you tried to reach for a potion.

Finally reaching the potion you quickly chugged it while you sunk your sword into the smallest one’s skull and push his head off your sword. A bokoblin lunged his spear into some of your pouches and the fall broke the rest of your healing potions and some food rations. You swung behind sliding the sword through its throat. The rhythm of your heart pounded around in your chest and while trying to calm your breathing you heard a snap from behind you. Quickly whirling around you caught site at the last second an arrow protruding from the back of the bokoblin’s mouth, falling face first to reveal a struggling Revali with his trusted bow still in feathers. He gave you a long look, almost looking relieved before colliding into the wall face behind him. You rushed over, skidding to his side.

“Revali, are you okay? Where does it hurt?” You were trying not to be frantic, but there was no hiding it. Revali silently studied you before looking off to the side, the feathers on his neck ruffling. The air became more chill as the snowfall began to increase and you knew that you both would need to find shelter, the snowstorm was on the rise. There were too many concerns that needed attending and that would be getting Revali to a better state of health. “Do you have any potions on you?”The question rushed out, feeling the adrenaline still coursing through your body like gazelles in a stampede. Revali took a moment before shaking his head, “I am afraid not. They have been busted just like yours.” A spark split through your chest hearing the bad news and took a deep breath to gather yourself. With a new vigor you stood up and looked over the frozen land, the snowfall becoming so dense it that searching for shelter from afar would not do. You turned to look over Revali, he was in pain, clutching his ribs and trying to remain emotionless.

“I will be right back.” You said as you gathered up the small bits of food rations that were still edible. Revali sprung his head up and tried to stand up.

“For someone who regularly performs scout missions, you suggest the most ridiculous notions.” He used his bow as a crutch and made his way to stand. He ignored your attempts to push him back down and swatted your hands gently away. “As if I would allow you to go alone when the weather is getting worse.” You went to open your mouth but his sudden stare stopped you in your tracks. He took in your concern gaze and adorned a lopsided smirk, “I cannot hold my reputation as a ‘boastful asshole’ if I let you do all the hard work..”

You choked back a sob that threaten to spill from your throat, and let out a breathy laugh. He wasn’t in terribly pain if he can throw your words back in your face. Still, you had to ignore the building guilt making you emotional. Catching him by surprise by bringing on of his wings over your shoulders to use you as a crutch, he was more than taken aback and his feathers ruffled, but you gave him a side glance for reassurance. Revali still a little perturbed accepted your help and the two of you started hobbling to find shelter until the rising storm blew over.

After a period of time Revali caught sight of a small cave opening, but upon closer inspection it was large rocks forming a perfect shelter. Luckily with some air breathing through neither of you would be choked from the fire’s smoke you’ll be setting up. Stepping inside, you helped Revali get settled in the far corner of the makeshift cave, you placed the poncho you were wearing over him before heading back out to find a bit of kindle. Revali watched your back fade into the snowfall outside and looked over the poncho still freshly warm from your body. He situated it around his shoulders and rubbed his feathered fingers down his face, a quiet groan escaping him.

You weren’t gone but a moment and were able to find some dry twigs and semi frosted branches. Right away you started setting the fire up in the middle of the tight space, but the draft from the outside was blowing what little flame you had going out. Something fell over your head, blocking your vision and as you pulled it off you realize it was the poncho you set on Revali to keep warm. In confusion you turned to him and held it up to him. He merely shrugged looking away, “Stick it over the entrance, I can survive without it.” And so you did and it helped keep the incoming chill at bay and you were able to get a small spark going with your flint rocks. Gently blowing on it to give it more life, the flame was starting to become strong enough not to be tended frequently. You stared into the flames becoming memorized and relished in the small bit of warmth.

“Revali… I’m sorry.”

He choked on air before righting himself, “Goodness. What brought that on? Have you fallen ill?” He jest, feeling rather exposed, “I say I think I much prefer your bird insults.” Another pang of guilt pierced through your chest and raised your gaze to pitifully stare at him. Now, Revali was becoming concern and definitely thought you’ve fallen ill. After months of you two at each other’s throats he would have thought nothing would become of your acquaintances, but he could see in your eyes your apology was genuine and tired… And he knew that he was just as guilty of enabling the harsh relationship.

“W-well… I suppose I can forgive you…” His pompous tone was sneaking its way back and for a split moment you thought things would go back to normal, but then he dropped the bomb on you, “As… as long as you can find in yourself to forgive me. I haven’t been the gentleman that I should have been and…and it’s unbecoming for a Champion to continue such bouts.” A small smile tugged at your lips and decided to scoot over next to him, but your hand knocked against his pouch causing a jar of potion to roll near the fire pit.

An audible gulp resounded from Revali while your mind was slowly processing that he had. Potions. All. Along. Reaching out to pick up the potion, your lips taunt, and looked over your shoulder toward the guilty party. “What the hell is this, Revali??” He shrunk into his neck tugging at his prized cloak. You got in his face holding the bottle near, “You lied to me? I-I-” you let out an exacerbated scoff, completely rattled. You waved your hands trying to find words to expressed how upset you were, “I was so worried! I felt so guilty! Revali, I carried you- why..?”

Each passing word became nothing more than a whisper. The silence weighed heavy and Revali wanted nothing more for you to scream, bat at him, anything! Because he was not used to your dejected self. He was surprised to find himself not relishing in your usual disdain, but you looked at him, eyes dull from exhaustion and the cold, and he couldn’t bring himself to retaliate his usual proud way. “I am tired, Revali. I am tired of us fighting. I am tired of trying to defend myself from you. And from the Princess…” His eyes did not waver from yours, “Just when I think you have a nice side-”

“Please…stop… I clearly took advantage of your kindness…” He took the potion from your hands and leered at the bottle. “I wanted to be taken care of…for once… I found myself liking the way you fussed over me and….” He set the bottle to the side, his wings taking rest on his legs, “You caught me by surprised rushing to my aid…” It took almost every strength in his body to build courage to look in your eyes. He let out a breathy laugh, his shoulder sinking, the weight of the day’s escapades finally catching up to him. “Forgive me that…I wanted it to last just a bit longer…”

Oh, how the hell were you supposed to stay upset at that? Biting your lip and sighing, you reached up your hand and fixed his cloak around his shoulders and handed him the bottle. You took the spot next to him and leaned your head against his shoulder. He stiffened, not expecting in the least, but nonetheless relaxed. “So…what do we do now?” Came your voice, soft and lulling into a haze from the cackling of the fire.

He chugged the potion and his wounds began to heal immediately, “Well, I suggest we get some sleep-”

“No, I meant about us.”

Well, that certainly isn’t what he expected. “What do you mean?”

Removing your head from his shoulder and turned to stare in his eye. “I mean…are we going to continue to be jerks to each other?” A humming bubbly feeling bouncing in your chest wouldn’t cease, “C-could we start over? I would like to put everything behind us and start fresh.” Revali gazed into your averted eyes and the feathers on his neck fluffed out. You placed your head back onto his shoulder, this time wrapping his wing around you for warmth. “I want to get to know you. The real you.” The pounding in his chest confused him, but it did not go unwanted, “Besides, you didn’t become the Grand Champion of the Ritos for being an ass, right?” You tried to joke, and luckily he took it lightly if his low chuckles were anything to go by.

His wing tightened around your form pulling you in and rested his head on yours. A long yawn escaped him, his voice low and calm, “I think I can manage that. It would be nice…to get to know you better too.” A chuckle rumbled in the back of his throat, “Besides if we’re going to be paired more often I believe it would be in my best interest to have you fight for me. You can save me more with your wild facades.”

You scoffed playfully, shoving into his side, “Then let me have your title.”

He chuckled, “Not a chance.”

The fire burned low after you two fallen asleep in each other’s arms. Tomorrow when the two of you were rested, the rest of the group would share a knowing looks as you two approached with attitudes anew and adjusted.

Chapter Text

Ever since the failed pursuit of the shrine in the snowy lands, things between you and Revali seemed different to put it mildly. Surprisingly, your difference of fighting techniques melded perfectly together, but that should be expected as train fighters the instinct was engraved. He was still proud just as much as you were, but since the talk on the cold night, he had been trying his best not to be such a jerk and vice versa. Everyone of the group started to mention how refreshing it was the verbal arguments have stopped. Princess Zelda poured her gratitude and concerns when you both came back after the incident. At the time you would have readily agreed with her and say it really seemed as the two of you had bury the hatch.

Unfortunately, the relationship with Revali was still in the works. Some days hadn’t changed at all, in fact, thinking back to muttering obscenities at him because he pushed your buttons a little too far. Then the one time you just weren’t feeling social, but Revali wouldn’t have it. He used the end of his bow repetitively tapping your shoulder annoying you to the point of chucking his bow off the cliff. To be fair, you were the one to retrieve it, but afterwards, he didn’t speak to you for a few days. It was fine, you told yourself, the cold shoulder was earned so no room for complaints…You didn’t miss him one bit. Nope.

For Revali, if you mention being skilled in something, he had the nerve to interject stating his incredible feats. His vocabulary was, of course, more advanced than yours, and he’d picked on some of your annunciations. Revali had gotten defensive, you recalled, squawking a bountiful of excuses, all incoherent, because you retaliated asking where he received his education both in academics and athletics. That was a hard day, indeed, you just ended up walking away.

However, you were still curious to the extent of his discipline, and in your hopes asking for his guidance would commence a truce to end all the squabbles, and hopes heightened when he agreed. Despite the cute notion, he turned out to be strict, a harsh critic and overall being completely unreasonable. Sure, archery had never been your strong point, your were better with melee weapons instead of range, but you still felt he needed to ease up a little. By your standards, you were improving quite well, but his choice of euphemism said otherwise.

It seemed the only times Revali and yourself could be around each other peacefully was out of sparring and training. When away from all the action he could be charming and, astonishingly, a thrill to be around. His infallible knowledge of literature was mind blowing, and on those rare occasions he would enthusiastically read stories to you, voices and all. He could be really endearing… maybe he pulled a couple of chuckles from you too..

“Good Hylia, there is nothing in this world that cannot convince me you have the attention span of a moblin on look out. ”

Sigh, then again….

Stretching your lips thin and glancing over to Revali sitting on the railings of the flight deck, he peered down from his beak raising a brow, and flapped his wing gesturing ‘hop to it’. That Rito sure could make your eyes roll in exasperation. So, facing your back to the drop off, you mockingly saluted Revali before letting gravity to take hold. Adrenaline coursed through your veins as you fell backward into the wind swept ravine and quickly pulled your glider from its clasp.

The sudden air draft flung you into the air and you waited for the right moment before letting the glider collapse in itself, a safety line attached to your shoulder strap, and aimed for two bullseyes. You were able to shoot another barrage of arrows before panicking and opening up your glider again. This time around, you allowed yourself to fly a littler higher and attempted another shot, but then felt the sensation of plummeting flooding your senses again, and quickly got the glider out.

The draft allowed you to float back over to the deck and were met with a cackling Rito. Why that feather-brain-- No, no. You told yourself and inhaled while gripping your fists, and then glowered at Revali while he hunched over trying to regain his breath. “Is that what you call poise? My goodness, ah haha, your-your eyes were so wide.” He spread his wing feathers by his eyes mimicking unrealistic proportions. Squinting and curling your top lip, the usual action would be chucking his bow, and boy did you want to, but to show him up you had to be the better person. That meant ignoring his ridiculous taunts.

“Oh,ha ha, mocking-jay,” You allowed yourself that one shot, relishing in it as poor as it was. You then went to tell him to finish teaching when a strong blast of air swept under your glider, casting it to open, and promptly lifted you in the air!

You didn’t have the time to process what the hell happened as the deck, and the stunned Revali, began to shrink from view. By the time that you snapped out of it there was nothing you could do, the safety line to prevent losing the glider was twisting around all the way down wringing along the collar of your shirt. It slowly constricted around your neck, squeezing under your jaw making it difficult to call for help.

Suddenly the draft came to a halt, and the pressure under your jaw lessened while the glider fell after you. With a rush of desperation you clambered for the line and trapped shirt, but were having no pinick in the field reeling the glider in with it whipping about. Thousands of thoughts swarmed your head, panic setting in and wishing a powerful updraft would save you. The whipping line snaked around your wrist cutting off circulation and in that moment all pride to the wind, you began screaming for Revali while falling to the depths of the ravine. Tears of fear began trickling into the air with the only thing on your mind was wishing you had been a better person. “I am so sorry! I’m sorry! Revali! Everyone! I am so sorry!!”

However, just when you were about to accept your fate, you were pulled from your descent, but the fear had already set in making the appeal of opening your eyes out of the question. It wasn’t until you felt the tips of your boots touch solid ground did you peek an eye open. At first, all there was to see was feathers and a chest plate, and wiggled your gloved hands against the feathers while you slowly came back to reality. A smooth chuckle resonated above you and were pulled from your savior. Revali cocked his head to the side to give you a taunting look and teasingly baby talked, “My, my…Grieving like that when you are in no danger, but it was so precious calling my nam- AH!”

You didn’t give him time to complete his sentence as you shoved him away. The pounding of your heart still hadn’t ceased while tears continued to weld up and bottom lip quivered. He raised a brow at you looking unbearably offended and snapped, “That is uncalled for, [Name]!”

Tiny beads trickled down your face, and with poor attempts tried wiping them away with the hem of your collar. You were truly miffed, and couldn’t believe how uncaring he seemed to be! So self absorbed! Through hyperventilating and frogs caught in your throat, you croaked out the best you could, “It wasn’t, you asshole! I don’t have the ability to fly like you do! I don’t have that sense of security of-of wings! I like to see you in my place!” Your voice cracked as you continued to let your frustrations out, “I am scared, okay?!”

Silence had fallen between you, the only sounds of the chimes hanging off the rafters and your unsettled breathing. Pitifully, you gazed at his eyes, and shrugged muttering, “I didn’t think you’d save me.”

Genuine surprise shown on Revali’s face while he took a step toward you and attempted to place a wing on your shoulder, but you gently pushed it away. “Why would you think that- no… you would think that.” His usual condescending tone grew sincere, and sighed heavily when he ran feathers over his face, “See here… I know you think I am incorrigible, but I will have you know I am not the person you believe me to be.” He took a step closer not once his eyes wavered from yours, and gently collected your trembling hand, “We do have our fits of competitive streaks, and..yes… be quite childish to each other, but you are my comrade of arms!” He slowly stroke the top of your gloved hand and coughed, “A-and it is only right that I save you. As you saved me.”

For some reason, his words did not sooth you and only created a hollow place in your chest. All you could do was unconsciously click your tongue looking off to the side. The adrenaline finally simmered although nerves felt frayed. Slowly the onslaught of pure embarrassment started kicking in. You rubbed your hands roughly over your face, smacking your cheeks a few times before staring ahead devoid of emotions. “Perhaps we should call it a day, Revali. I think I had my fill.” Revali went to speak but you promptly started walking off. Each step you took the more the void within your chest grew, and all you wanted was to crawl in your yurt and not think about your entire existence.

Large wings wrapped around your form, pulling you back into a chest. Your bottom lip quivered just slightly when Revali spoke in your ear, “I am sorry. I know that was not what you wished to hear…” His wings snugged around tighter and you let your head fall back onto his shoulder. “I would have saved you comrade, friend, or even…” He sighed while your heart skipped, and brought your gloved hand to rest upon the wing cupping your side. “I…still cannot bring myself at times to say the things I truly wish to say. I know it hurts you, but I promise one day I will get there.”

“No.” Your tone low, and felt his body jolt in surprise, “One day, we’ll both get there.” He let his body sag on to you and assumed he was pleased at the thought.

Chapter Text

The weather was just absolutely perfect, you hummed. It was a tad warm, but underneath the shade of this beautiful tree the temperature even out. You sighed feeling relax while a gentle breeze kissed the exposed areas of skin, and the chirps of birds provided a rhythmical call of the wild. It was one of those days where contentment radiated everywhere, and gave a dream like appeal to the afternoon. You closed your eyes and leaned the back of your head against the trunk of the tree, feeling the corner of your mouth ease into a smile. The only thing that could make it better was if the trunk was a bit softer so you could take a brisk nap.

Peeking an eye open, you glanced next to you and saw Revali beak deep in a book. He looked like he was content as well with this beautiful day. He was perched against the tree, and a claw foot resting atop the other one while flipping through the novel. You could hear him read under his breath, his whispers floating to your ear drums and wisping out on the other side to mingle with the breeze. You inhale the peaceful air and hummed your exhale. You heard a little chortle from Revali and without looking away from his novel spoke, “Seems like you are in a sound mood.”

You only beamed and tilted your head toward him, “Mmm, I haven’t felt a day like this in a long time. It’s so nice, don’t you think?”

A smile tugged on his beak, his eyes still emerged in the book, “Indeed, we are not blessed with days like this often.” It was strange to hear Revali’s voice without any condescending tone, but for the first time you could appreciate how unique it sounded. It wasn’t deep, but it was clean and crisp. He held confidence in his enunciations that it was appealing to listen to despite what you opposingly claim. He could even be theatrical, especially when he would read the stories to you aloud. Revali flipped a page and clicked his tongue before he spoke again, “I say it has been about five moon cycles since I had a day fill me to such repletion.”

You hummed, letting your body sag, “I am too comfortable to process what you said.” Your response actually pulled a chuckle from Revali and saw from your peripherals shake his head. Silence had fallen between you two, but it was welcomed. The sound of nature was more pleasing than a small conversation. You could have fallen asleep, but as comfortable you felt on the inside, the crick in your neck said otherwise. Bleary, your head lulled to the side, and murmured, “Could I sleep in your lap?”

Revali choked audibly almost dropping the book before he finally looked at you. “Y-you want to what??” He held the book to his chest as feathers of his neck puffed out, “How-how scandalous! Here? In the open??” He surveyed the grass field while he whispered harshly, and you gave him an incredulous look.

“The fuck are you talkin’ about?”

He stiffen slightly and flipped his book open in a swift movement, “T-training. I was inquiring if you meant t-training so close to the castle.” If he could sweat, he would be pouring gallons because he never had to correct himself so hard before. What was he thinking, he mentally wailed. He puffed up so much he looked like the aftermath of zapped by lighting.

“What’s wrong with you??” You couldn’t help yourself, but you were concerned with his appearance.

“Nothing!” He squawked off pitch, and coughed to correct himself. He peered down back to his book with a little too much refinery you could tell he was exaggerating on purpose. His feathers fluttered back to their original place aside the ones at the nape of his neck. While he attempted to avert the situation he did get absorbed into his novel again. He found himself at peace momentarily before slowly peering to his lap. His feathers burst forth with a mighty speed as he went stiff as a scarecrow.

“.....What….are you doing?” He clicked his tongue, trying to process why your head in now using his lap as a luxury pillow. He wasn’t sure how he felt in this moment, slightly elated, but also a little anxious.

“I want to take a nap, and it’s more comfortable like this.” You simply stated the fact and sighed peacefully from your spot. His lap was a lot better compared to the tree, you mused.

“Is that what you asked before??”

“Yeahh, before you went all weird on me. I figure you’re easier to deal with if I went ahead and did it.”

He cleared his throat and tried to ignore how aware he was of your head in his lap. He didn’t have the heart to shove you off like the alarms in his head shrieked for him to do, but he also realize there shouldn’t be anything wrong with this. This is exactly what he and you have been working towards. You two were getting along, he tried to convince himself, this is what friends do, right? They enjoy each others’ company, which he certainly was, but he had a difficult time ignoring how your touch zapped him. He inwardly sighed and tried to collect himself before getting back to reading.

The steady breaths from your lips reminded him that you were still there, and although the feeling of your head was overstimulating before he did not feel the urge to shove you off anymore. He had been staring at the same page for the last few minutes and he caught himself thinking of the two of you. He couldn’t help but think how far this relationship grew in just a short matter of time. It wasn’t that long ago he could recall angry words and heated faces. Each day the two of you were learning how to be around one another, and learning what made the other one tick.

He sighed reminiscing the feeling of loathing he felt for you. He never did have true reason to be acrimonious toward you, but he just felt offended the King and Princess went out of their way knighting them to Champions only to call upon your help. You were just a knight who specialized in scouting. He, at the time, wasn’t aware of your worth.

His beak quirked into a lopsided smile at the image of the first time he met you. You had the most disinterest look when you weren’t talking to Link or Zelda, and often sitting off on high perches while chewing on a wheat stem, adorned with a worn poncho and geta sandals. He believed that was the first moment that feud began as he thought back to the word ‘Hick’ slipping from his beak. He cringed at the memory, even he knew he was in the wrong. He hadn’t known at the time you were just pulled from the middle of another mission, it still didn’t excuse him though.

The back of your hand fell next to your head and he peered under his book. The same sensation of electrifying zaps soared back and he gripped his book. He shook his head, feeling ashamed of himself for treating you so poorly. He did not have much to enjoy and he was glad he had at least this going for him. As a breeze ruffled his feather it help lull his thoughts into a still, and enjoyed the moment while it last.

Sometime later, you had awoken still under the tree with Revali. You stretched and yawned looking toward him. He was asleep, his head back while the book laid open against his chest and one wing splayed across your shoulders. While rubbing the sleep from your eyes you leaned up and yawned. The sky was donning a pink hue and the warm air had turn a bit chilly. You were still pretty tired while you stared at Revali.

Looking him over you notice how his intricate chest piece was marred and worn. Humming to your thoughts, you quirked your lips while tapping your ankle. Your relationship was surely changing, you mused thinking how he wouldn’t hesitate to deny you earlier.

However, you sighed rubbing the back of your neck as you thought how it was still very fragile. He wasn’t completely relaxed around you and being assertive in showing him to be nonchalant wasn’t working as you had hoped. You thought perhaps there was a step you needed to take to break his barrier and in that moment realizing buying him a present would be the ticket.

A new chest piece would be perfect and you could excused it as he’ll be fighting against the greatest forces of evil soon. With a new vigor, you smile and tapped Revali’s beak a few times until he woke up. “Hey, wake up or I will leave you to the Stellos.”

He perked a feather brow up, as one eye leered at you and grabbed the wrist of the hand tapping his beak. His tone was dry as he made his way to stand, “Have I ever told you I never once wondered how you were a knight? Hm? Honestly never crossed my mind.”

You rolled your eyes, and smirked, “Careful, that’s a heavy serving of sarcasm.”

He adjusted his chest piece and swept away any leaves that had fallen on him. He side glance you as his tone low, “I only serve the finest quality, but I also aim to please.”

A surprising pleasurable shudder crawled up your back and under your breath you muttered, “I bet you do.” You clench your throat to prevent the feeling that threaten to course through you and began internally screaming. You kept a blank face as Revali turned around leaning a suppose ear to you.

“You were muttering again, what did you say?”

“I.. uh..said ‘I’m beat, how bout you?’” You started marching away as he stared at you quizzically.

The next day, you still had the thought of giving a gift to Revali on your mind, but were unable to get a new chest piece as you didn’t have enough Rupees. Your income was maxed to cover your travel expenses, and what little Rupees you did have aside, still could not afford a custom made chest piece for a Rito. Something about different anatomies the craftsman said. You thought it was a bunch of hogwash, but to suit Revali’s taste it was a price to pay.

Then again you thought getting along with him shouldn’t break the bank, but might be worthwhile with the new mission. Zelda informed you that there may be ancient artifacts of the Sheikah tribe in an abandoned diamond mine. You figured if you completed this mission, perhaps collected a few raw diamonds left over in the mines, you would be set for that chest piece and then some. It seemed like a win win situation.

So the group of champions, and the princess gathered at the boarded up entrance of the abandoned diamond mine. Princess Zelda held the Sheikah slate looking at the digitalized blueprint of the mines. “My goodness, what a mess. They hurried this operation.” She pointed to over laying underways, “These is poorly insulated and the structure is quite fragile in the lower mines.” She created a drawn copy of the mines as she continued to speak, “Also the shafts are small….Mmm..I believe I will cut out this part of the mines, it is too risky to venture there.”

You leaned over watching her draw it out, and whistled. “Hoo boy, that is a lot of tunnels.” Perhaps there would be a really great chance of finding diamonds.

Daruk looked at the map and saw the measurements, “I will not go. I will cause it to cave in with my mighty girth.” He bellowed with a laugh, “Just grab some rocks for me, the harder the better.”

Urbosa rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, “We all cannot go. Our collective weight alone will cave the mines. Princess, are you sure there are ancient items here?” Her concerns weighed heavily and Zelda bit her bottom lip side glancing Urbosa.

“Well, no...I cannot say for sure if there are any at all. I can only assume by a detailed blueprint they stored in the slate.” Zelda held the slate for Urbosa to look over. Urbosa pursed her lips examining the routes and felt torn from telling the Princess to abort. She could see how diligently Zelda mapping safe routes and how unsteady she was, but it was just too risky.

“Princess, please do not go. I don’t think this is wise.” Urbosa placed her hand on Zelda’s shoulder.

“I’ll go!” You piped up, seeing how Urbosa was trying to disband the mission. You nervously gnawed your bottom lip, “If there’s anything I’m skilled at is crawling in small places. I think it’s best if I go in alone. I have tons of experience of situations like this, so I know which routes to avoid.” You did the best you could to sell yourself. The stubbornness implored you wanting to get the diamonds and you were anxious that you would lose this chance.

Standing off to the side Revali stood with his wings crossed and rose a brow. You snatched the map up and looked it over to further dragged your sales pitch, “And Zelda has marked the off limit shafts. I’ll be safe.”

Everyone looked between each other unsure before Revali side step next to you, and peered down at you, “Pardon me if I am being a tad, how shall I say, suspicious.” He got in your face and his words challenging your resolve, “It’s not often you volunteer for a solo mission.”

You blew a huffed of air in annoyance, thinking to yourself you should have known he’d pipe his two rupees. He doesn’t like to make anything easy for you, does he? “Normally, no, I wouldn’t go alone. I decide to have a partner if there is a possible way for the second party to aid. If these mines collapse why lose two warriors? Some sacrifices have to be made.” The look on Revali’s face was hard to discern, but you could only assume he looked deeply offended.

Taking a step back, not ready to deal with another emotional outbreak, you turned around, and ran toward the entrance, “Leave if I am not back in six hours!” You hurriedly shuffled under the gap of the boarded entrance, not giving anyone the chance to bring you back. You thought of all the nice things you could buy for them all afterwards...well...you thought, that is if you came back.

So far these dark, mucky old mines weren’t so bad, you though. Although you had to tied a bandanna around your face from spores, this part of the mine seemed in better shape than previously thought. The tunnels were lined with dusty old lanterns, and rolled up rope lining the walls. When you had notice you had grabbed a yellow roll and tied it to a stake in the ground at the entrance. You were lucky that is was still in decent shape and extremely long that you could use it and the several other ropes to help you find the entrance again. It was dark and seeing the map in your lanterns light wasn’t as easy as you first thought.

However, there were deep holes in the ceiling and the ground as you went down the mine. It looked dugged through, and light cascaded the path. As you ventured a bit further the walls of the tunnel began to decrease in size and soon found yourself ducking forward. There were vines and long grass growing from the patches in the ceiling, and it was inevitable avoiding them. You finally came to a fork in the path, and by the map the left direction should be a densely populated room with diamond and tools. However, as you continued you couldn’t ignore the weird flapping sound around you. You saw nothing through the patches of the earth and it didn’t seem to be behind or in front of you.

Cautiously, you made your way into the mines. The tunnel began to expand again and you thankfully didn’t have to hunch over anymore. There were rusted minecarts and tools, and the holes in the earth were larger in this room. Light shone brightly and casting on one of the carts. It was filled to the brim with raw chunks of diamond and you gasped aloud, but just as you were about to run toward it, someone scream out your name. You only had enough time to turn around before being flung across the room right on the carts filled with diamonds!

You left out a groan of pain quickly unsheathing your sword and froze at the creature in front of you. It was large and worm like, with burnt like flesh marred with iridescent symbols. Its head was like a flat intricate mask with a gem in the middle, and it adorn the same symbols on its burnt body. It let out a horrendous screech, its mouth spreading open like deku baba before lurching at you. You quickly flipped off the cart just in time as it charged right into the diamonds. You continue to provide as much distance as you could while you observed for weaknesses

You didn’t have time before it formed into itself, its mask sinking into its body and emerging the opposite end. It reared its ugly mouth and lurched for you again. This time you held your ground and attempted to slice into its mouth, but the burnt like skin turned out to be extremely tough. You groaned as you struggled in the stand still, and the creature hissed angrily. With a will so strong, you flung the monster backwards and went to charge forward in its moment of vulnerability when a flash flew in front of you, effectively separating you and the creature.

Revali stood at attention with his bow aiming directly at the masked creature. He shot the arrow with a strong impact right through the creature’s mask, and shattering the oval shape gem. Before you knew it the worm monster curled into itself and disintegrated in a black heap. All you could do was stand there staring at the pile of dust that once was the monster. You then looked at Revali in exasperation, exclaiming loudly, “Excuse me! But that was my kill!”

Revali stared at you aghast before shaking out of it, and marching right to you. His face was not pleased in the slightest and he looked downright furious. You unconsciously stepped backwards at the sight until you were trapped between him and a rusty old cart.

"’I decide to have a partner if there is a possible way for the second party to aid.’” His tone flat mocking your rebuttal. His feathered brows furrowed in irritation, “You want to know a few things you do that ails me with headaches? You are impulsive, let yourself get carried away, and end up in a predicament in which you have to fight for your life. That isn’t even the worst thing, but at least now, I have been made aware of your vice..” He held up a cluster of raw diamond, his eyes burning with silent rage, “You put your greed before your self worth.”

You went to speak, but he cut you off and dropped the cluster at your feet, “For a renowned picket, you are quite the hypocrite.”

You snatched his beak in a tight grip in a heat, your own eyes burning with rage and true hurt... “I would watch that tongue of yours, Revali.”

He shoved you away, straightening out his appearance before coldly leering at you. “Tch. I feel the more time I spend with you the more my intelligence diminished, because I cannot fathom a sane enough reason why I put up with you.”

A sharp jolt shot through your chest, and stared at him in disbelief. Where was all this coming from? Had he conjured some warped perception of you? Your chest heaved with uncertainty and stress, and found it difficult to say the words you wanted to say. He just glared as you fumbled to explain yourself and he affirmed a confirmation within himself that wasn’t true.

He looked at you with pain, and struggled with himself with what he really wanted to say. Hadn’t you two promise to do better, he questioned. The urge to speak his mind bubbled, instead, he turned around and prepared to take off, “If you are fine throwing yourself away then I shall be off.” His gale propelled himself into the air and he was gone from your sight in mere moments.

You were left there unsure how to feel. The void in your chest left you wondering how fast this relationship could turned in just a day. However, this time you weren’t sure if there was a way out of this predicament. You pinched the bridge of your nose before noticing the diamond cluster glistening at your feet. Disdain bubbled in your stomach, a begrudging sigh releasing before you picked it up. While wiping your dripping nose with your sleeve, you slipped the diamond in your bag, and muttered, “Guess I am…”

You continued to search the mines for the Princess’ artifacts hours after, and felt reluctant when you finally came out with nothing to show for other than the large diamond in your sack. Revali was nowhere to be seen and none of the others seemed aware of the altercation between you and Revali.

And you swore you’d keep it that way.

Chapter Text

Weeks had passed since the incident in the mines, and it had become apparently clear to the other Champions that you and Revali were on bad terms again. Training and expeditions were back to their usual strain, but no verbal fights, or even challenges occurred this round. The air around you two was incredible stale while not on speaking terms, and blatantly ignored each other’s existence. The group wanted to know what happened, but at the same time did not want to interfere. However, Mipha was the only advocate wanting to speak to both of you separately, and see if she could defuse the tension, but Urbosa and Zelda advised against it.

“They need to work it out for themselves, we cannot keep being the mediators in their squabbles.” Ubrosa sighed, aggravated with all the troubles you two put them through. Sitting next to Urbosa, Zelda nodded in agreement.

“They are adults and will need to mend their relationships like ones.” Zelda chimed in as she jotted down in her journal. The conversation dropped between the women who were over the conflict, but Mipha was not.

Mipha turned her head to looked over to your spot on the hillside. She couldn’t tell from her angle, but she guessed you were mending your sword, or throwing dirt. Mipha released a small sigh before looking to the other end of the campsite and saw Revali was perched on top of a high boulder with his back facing everyone. Mipha sat there in silence feeling concerned, and not at all pleased no one was doing anything about it. A part of her was heartbroken, because she felt you and Revali would be not only good partners in battle, but a great couple. If only you two would swallow your pride…

She turned to Daruk who was lounging on the ground and occasionally stoking the fire it with his own finger. “What do you think, Daruk? Should we get involved?”

For a split second he wasn’t sure if he had heard her given how soft she spoke, but he turned to look at her before falling into his thoughts. “Ehh, these things are kinda complicated.” His gruff voiced wavered uncertain, “If you think about it, if it was just teammates it might be a different story, but they got somethin’ going on between them.” He rubbed the back of his head and sighed, “It feels awkward getting into a lover’s spat.”

“That term alone leaves an ill flavor on my tongue. I would greatly suggest you all refrain from using it.” Revali piped in from behind Link who sat next to Zelda. He stalked closer, and side glancing everyone as they looked away clearly caught red handed. “Whatever goes on between me is strictly my business.” He warned, his eyes squinting in agitation. “And this meeting behind my back is utmost unpleasant if not tactless.”

Daruk, from his spot on the ground, cringed his face before rolling his eyes. “Well, it’s not like you’re denying it.”

Revali’s glare only intensified, “Do you have gravel in your ears? I clearly stated it was unsavory.”

“What Daruk meant, Revali, is that you and [Name] have perhaps a close relationship than you, yourself, would like to believe. This defensive nature of yours only serve his words true.” Urbosa spoke surely and looked directly into Revali’s eyes to dare challenge her.

He only scowled and turned his face away, “None of you know what transpired and I would all like this topic to end...Why do you not all speak of, I do not know, murdering a hinox or something.” He flung his wings into the air feeling completely exacerbated. Majority of the group surrounding him sighed and rolled their eyes.

Mipha stood up and cautiously made her way over to Revali. She went to place a hand on his shoulder, but he glared and stepped away from her. His rude actions did not deter her as she went to speak, “If I may be of assistance-”

“No, thank you-”

“I was not finished.” Mipha firmly stated, and effectively halting Revali’s refusal. She gave him a stern glare and the Rito was beginning to feel even more unease. “I do not know what happened between you two, but if it is something you are not able to express well, then I may be of help.” She took a step closing letting her eyes burn into his. Revali stood there silently and took a moment to look over the rest of the group, all whom were staring because of Mipha’s assertiveness, before looking off to where you were.

Mipha could tell from the look in his eyes he was just deeply hurt by something that transpired between you two, and her heart ached in sympathy. Revali found it hard to retaliate as he knew deep down, somewhere under all his salt, Mipha was right. However, he couldn’t bring himself to say he wanted help and the more he thought about it the more his agitation spurred on. He wanted to be done with this and move on with his life. He wanted to forget how lightheaded he felt when you looked at him, ignore the way his heart soared when you sparred together, and, when you two actually hanged out, it was perhaps the best days of his life.

He sighed, opting to close his eyes and turn from Mipha. He rubbed his temples while he muttered incoherently, and paced about. He was so conflicted, he was absolutely livid, but every time he thought of you; he couldn’t get the image out of his head of your body being flung in the air like a rag-doll from that hideous creature. He was so upset how you went off on your own, not at all once thinking how your teammates, how he, might have felt. The more he thought of about it the more his blood boiled, but before he delved deeper into his maddening thoughts Mipha’s hand brought him out of it.

Her eyes bore into his and the more he stared the more he felt himself coming undone. Mipha’s eyes held such a strong authority even Revali had to respect, but her kind and soft voice gently egged him on, “Please, Revali, speak to me.”

He felt dizzy and, though he did not show it, felt utterly terrified. “I-I… I cannot.” He quickly spoke before turning away from Mipha and flew off.

There was a period of silence that fell over the group as they watched the Rito fly off. Daruk and Urbosa shared a collective sigh, Link rubbed the back of his neck, Zelda bit her lip before staring at her journal, and Mipha only stood there feeling completely helpless.

“I don’t know why you guys even bother.” Your voice called from your spot on the hill. The light breeze and your short distance from the campsite allowed you to eavesdrop on their conversation. You didn’t agree with their lover trope comments, feeling that you and Revali were far from being anything respectable as a couple, but had to reluctantly agree that pretending things are fine was not working.

“Do not act like you are innocent in this, [Name].” Zelda rose her voice so you could hear her clearly. Without moving from your spot, you cringed into your neck letting the sting of her words simmer.

“Indeed. You are as much fault for this redundancy as Revali is.” Urbosa cut in, her voice laced with irritation even though she appeared indifferent. “If you acted like the adult you are supposed to be, we would not had to get involved. The plight of you two does not only affect your little bubbles.”

You gnawed your lip while you ripped up grass. The urge to backtalk was immense, but you knew far better than to give Urbosa any lip, especially when she was speaking the truth. You tossed the handful of grass to the side in irritation then flopped on your back pulling the straw hat over your face. It wasn’t there for long before it rose above your head and Mipha’s face filled your vision. You grind your teeth in an effort not to snap at her then grabbed your hat and placed it off the side. “What.” Was all you could utter out.

Mipha knelt beside you and placed her delicate hands upon her knees. She had a world of things to say, but instead let you seethe silently in order to burn your issues to the surface. However, you were not ready to deal with this psychological battle of stubbornness and chose to end the staring contest by rolling on your side. If you thought you were stubborn, you were not aware how relentless Mipha could be.

Moments had passed and despite how hard you were trying ignore Mipha, her presence was a firm reminder of all the crap you wanted to leave behind. “I just want to forget it and move on.” You finally muttered, voice dripping with venom, “I mean, it’s been how long? Fff, this is nothing new. I don’t even know why you all even care.” You were just spouting nonsense now, trying to smother the issue in an pessimistic attitude.

Mipha did not appear at all phased by your comments, “[Name], why do you think Revali is so crossed?”

For a moment you didn’t answer, but rolled over to face her. She waited patiently and as the minutes waned on you were realizing you didn’t have an answer. But you still could not bring yourself to admit it, for then it would mean that your pessimistic attitude and actions were unjustified and you’d had to swallow the ‘I-Told-You-So’s. Absentmindedly, you began ripping grass up again while you spoke, “‘Cause he’s got his tail-feathers in a bunch and likes to give me shit.”

The groans and sighs from near the campfire rung out, and Mipha had to take a split second to regain her composure. Although, to everyone else, she had not even bat an eye at you. “I believe you are more aware of why he is upset than you care to admit.” She moved her legs out from under her and sat closer to you. “You do not have to go into details, but [Name], you have to understand that this affects us all.”

You sighed, massaging the tension forming in your neck, “I don’t see why it does.”

“We are like a dam.” Mipha simply stated, and you looked at her questionably. “Together our strengths create a grand barrier that others rely on. If one part of the structure is unstable, the dam’s effects are meaningless.” She clasped her hands together before her pinky finger pulled away and she let her hands fall from each other. “One weak point can cause a flood and those relying on our strength will perish.”

Silently, you mulled her words over and sighed slowly accepting her metaphor. “Maybe...I should leave the group.” Mipha’s eyes widen and you could hear a collective of gasps behind you.

“Eesh…” Daruk mumbled, scratching the his stomach.

“What?” You called out, clearly hearing him.

He glanced at you and sat up before resting an arm on his knee, “Running away from your problems doesn’t fix a thing.”

You couldn’t help but give him a glare, “What do you mean ‘running away’? I’m just thinking of this in a logical manner.”

Daruk only shook his head, “That’s what you always do when you can’t take the heat. When a problem is out of control, instead of powering through it, you rather leave it broken and sweep it under the rug.” He crossed his arms and gave you a soft look, “I know it ain’t easy being called out on your bullshit, but [Name] one of these day you’re gonna have to knock it off. I don’t wanna get involved more than I have already, but you should realize you got something with Revali. Something special and, I dunno, it’s seems such a waste throwing it away.”

A knot began to form in your throat and you swallowed it. Is that true, you wondered? Did you really run from all your problems? But every time you recalled there was only a few times where you had actually stuck it through and talked it out with Revali. Leaving the group would be the same thing as not fixing it, but how could you go to him when he wouldn’t give you the time of day? You sighed irritated and buried your face in your hands.

“[Name].” Ubrosa’s smooth voice called out to you, and you looked up to see a sincere look on her face. She smiled softly before tilting her head, “Go to him.”

The knot in your throat was coming back and you looked over to Zelda and Link. Link’s eyes were particularly stern but sincere, and you knew your best friend was insisting you go. With a sigh you stood up and patted yourself from dirt and grass. As you made you way up the hill, you turned to the group and giving the best apologetic smile you could muster, “Thanks, guys….” And with that, you turned on your heel and headed off in the direction Revali flew.

As you were walking around the rocky ravine, boulders protruded from the ground here and there creating a winding path. You had not seen hide nor tail of the Rito. The moon was slowly rising and each passing minute the moonlight outshone the stars beside it. It only reminded you how lonely you felt, the more you tried to rise; the more people around you seemed to disappear. Though, you supposed you only had yourself to blame.

The calls of the night left you to wallow in your thoughts. With each step overturning dirt and gravel, you were giving yourself a mantra of explanations. Although, each explanation or apology you conjured in your head, anxiety would break it down and stomp on it like it was vermin. Where would you even begin when you came across Revali? Knowing him he’ll give a snide comment and if he chose to fly off there was nothing more you could do. You sure as hell weren’t going to run after someone who clearly did not want to be near you, but it left you feeling dread.

What if Revali never wanted to be near you again?

You paused in walking as the weight of that reality hit. Part of you wondered why you would even care, but the other half of you was devastated if this was the last time you and Revali were ever going to be...well, whatever the hell you were.

“Some knight you claim to be. Zoning out in the middle of the open and unprotected too? I dare say you want to be ambushed.” Revali’s voice cut through your thoughts and you craned your neck to look above you. He was perched on a tree branch that had grown over huge boulder, its roots weaved and pierced the ground. The moonlight bounced off his feathers and he looked charmingly mysterious, but it was no time for wandering thoughts.

“Revali, I-”

“Did the others send you after me? In hopes to ‘quell’ our dispute? Well, I shall make it easy for you now. Go away.” He curtly said before glaring and turning his head.

You glared and went to start climbing the roots. “No, I won’t. We need to talk.” You grunted out, trying not to slip.

You could only heard a bitter laugh, “That is certainly rich. Why is that? So you can manhandle my beak again?”

His jab caused you to paused climbing and had a hard time focusing when the heaviness in your chest returned. “W-well, that’s why I wanna talk. It’s j-just-”

He let out a sound of exasperation before glaring at your fumbling form, “It is what, [Name]? That we promise each other to be more understanding, that we'll shall do better than the next? Frankly, I am becoming worn from this.” He leered down from his perch, his wings crossed.

Once on top of the boulder, you placed your hands against the trunk of the tree to support yourself. “It’s...I--...Fuck, Revali! Can you come down and speak to me like a normal person!?”

In your burst of rage, you closed your eyes still leaning against the tree, and not aware of him jumping down. When you looked up and turned around you were surprised to see him so close. He loomed over you, stepping closer until your back hit the tree.

“What is there to say!?” He shouted, the feathers on his neck fluffed. “Because I certainly love to hear what excused and smooth apology you have come up with!”

“I’m sorry!” You shouted, air building up in your torso before unleashing a tangent. “Damn it, you know, it’s not so easy for me to do this? I want to talk this out, I really do! But I just find myself clamming up and wondering if you hate me! Which I’m sure you do! I can’t blame you with how I treat you, but you know you’re the only one around here that I feel gets me! So if you’re just going to blow me off, then allow me this one chance to say I’m sorry!”

The only sound was your heavy breathing and you watched Revali stare you down. Your hand tenderly reached for his wing, and a part of you felt immense relief when he didn’t pull away. “You deserve be-”

You didn’t get to finish your sentence as Revali pulled you into a tight embrace. The hand that had been holding his wing was hovering in the air, and you were unsure what to do. Your fingers flinched and slowly you wrapped your arms around his waist loosely. There was silence save for the crickets and rustling of leaves, but for the moment you finally felt at ease. You spent weeks fretting about what happened in the mines, but you were so afraid to anger him further that you chose to ignore it altogether.

But what was this hug? You had to wonder.

“I do not want you to say you deserve better because it is not I, but you, whom deserves someone better suited.” Your forehead pressed against his chest plate, his champion cloth softening the contact. “I cannot allow you to apologize and make amends for both of us.” His beak rested upon your head. “I was just so blinded by my anger...I was distraught because you did not seem to value your life.” He sighed, his embrace tightening. “I cannot lie that I am still rather crossed, especially seemingly you were not bothered how I felt.”

So, that was it. It was all starting to make sense and you were prepared to receive ‘I-Told-You-So’s as soon as you got back to camp. You really needed to work on talking things over more...

You mumbled into his chest, “I...I’m sorry, I should have known…” He only shook his head, but he still didn’t remove himself.

“I should have been more direct.”

“Revali...That day, I went in because I wanted to get you a gift.” You could feel his body stiffen, but still chose to continue. “I notice that your chest protector was old, and I wanted to get you a new one, but I didn’t have the money. So-”

“So you volunteered to venture alone in a dangerous mine, to which none of us were certain what we were looking for was there….all to get me a present?”
If the crickets could crick louder they would have.

“Yyeeeaahhh..….when you put it that way, huh..” Well crap….now you knew why he was so difficult to bare with. He body began to tremble and, at first, you were incredibly confused before he busted out laughing. His arms encased you once more, this time burying his face into your neck. You could feel heat rise on your nape as he hugged you. You awkwardly patted him on the back and slowly spoke, “So...I...Um...Have we made up?”

He pulled away and another wave of relief washed over you seeing his face serene. It didn’t last long before he smirked, “What about my kiss?”

Your eyes nearly flew out of your head, “W-What?!!”

“Well, it is not common amongst a ‘lover’s spat’ to kiss and makeup?” He jested, but it was enough to make your skin turn red and you tried pushing him away. “Surely you do not want to disappoint our comrades-”

“K-KISS YOURSELF, BIRD BRAIN!”

Ah, yes...things haven’t change.

Chapter Text

“So? How do you like it?”

Revali looked himself over, analyzing the fit of his new warrior’s outfit. You stood off to the side of the clothing shop, inwardly feeling pretty proud and slightly giddy seeing how well it fit him. The pauldrons fanned out giving him a rather dramatic silhouette and the crimson top popped against his dark navy blue feathers. He looked handsome, but you felt like keeping that to yourself. Least you inflate his ego even more.

He hummed thoughtfully as he gazed at himself in the mirror. “The pteruges is a tad short if you ask me..” He began to mumbled, his eyes peering off to the side to stare at you. He saw the tilt of your head and the crease in your forehead causing his throat clamp slightly. He cleared his throat, “But perhaps this will allow me to have more mobility. Afterall, I cannot be restricted.”

You had to force yourself not to roll your eyes at his obvious recovery, but you humored him nonetheless. The designer of the outfit was at Revali’s knees, checking that every seams and welding was at its perfected state before looking at Revali with a gleam, “I have to say this is my finest work yet!”

The Rito Champion gave a side glance towards the designer while he fixed his champion’s cloak around his neck. Absentmindedly, Revali mutters, “Looking nice and actually holding up are two differents things, but yes, it is a grand gesture you did your best.”

You could only smack your forehead at his rude reply and you slid over to jab your elbow in his side. He glared before rubbing his sore spot and you only gave him a stern look in return. You turned to the designer and held out your hand for him to shake. “You did a marvelous job, and I am sure that the durability matches its strong design.”

The designer absolutely glowed and held opened his doorway for you. “It was a pleasure! Especially with such a generous amount you pro-”

You shushed him as quickly as you could, still feeling self conscious that the diamonds you took from the mines were a sensitive subject between you and Revali. You didn’t dare look back at Revali’s face, and honestly, you did feel silly. Revali is wearing the armor you had custom made for him, so he is not ignorant enough to think you could just randomly afford it. The incident in the mines, however, had caused you to walk on eggshells, afraid that you two will have another spiral in your...relationship? You supposed you could call it that, but it didn’t feel like a legitimate relationship.

Well, warriors and possibly friend relationship, yes, but anything more than that? You really had to wonder.

Revali and you made your way out of the shop and gave one last thank you before heading out to the fields. The only way to know if the armor could hold up was testing it out and so you were more than willing to spar with him, but the only problem was getting him to agree where to spar.

“Vah Medoh is a fine place for training!” Revali countered the heated argument that had conspired between you two while walking.

“Have you ever thought that it’s because you can fly if you fall off? And getting there is no easy task for me.”

He could only roll his eyes, his voice on the verge of irritation, “What are you blabbering on about? Having me take you is the safest transport you can get in all of land of Hyrule.”

“My heart bursting through my chest and winds knocking me around is not what I consider ‘safe’.”

“There are sacrifices you have to make for such travels.”

“Yeah, well, there are other ways to travels. It’s called feet.”

“‘Walking’ would have been more effective rebuttal.”

“Breaking my foot off in your ass is also an effective rebuttal.”

Revali scoffed, shaking his head as you two walked over a narrow wooden bridge. He leered at you in a smug fashion, and tilted his head to the side as he leaned closer to you. “You are wonderful at making empty threats, but can you prov- OMPH! [Name]! That was uncalled for!”

You gave him a cheeky grin as you brought your foot back from his tail feathers. “You callin’ me out, I have to bring the thunder.”

Revali spoke in a dry tone with an equally dead face, “Hilarious.” He leaned in closer and you became all too aware of the smell of his new leather, “ And this coming from the person who is terrified of thunder.”

You cringed, feeling your cheeks warm as you took a step back, “I am not!” Your voice squeaked, ruining any threatening air you had, “ Them fighting words, Revali.”

He took a step closer to you and peered deep within your eyes. His voice was low and rumbled in your eardrums, “Yes, they are. Care to take on the challenge?”

Normally, you would have shivered, but he was provoking you. So, you gave a smirk and pulled your sword from its scabbard, and held the point to his chest. Revali looked you over with a calm expression as he sized up your sword and how quickly your drew it.

“You wish to fight here?” He asked smoothly, feeling his adrenaline gear up as you shifted your weight and changed your defensive stance.

“No more words, chatty!” Exhilaration was flowing through your veins. It had been quite a while since you had a good fight and you were more than willing to give Revali a run for his rupees. You leapt towards him and you could see an air of confidence radiating from him.

“Attacking from the front is an amateur mo-” You cut him off by leaping over his head and right behind him. As he turned around you rolled to the side, kicking his feet out from under him. Revali lost his balance but quickly used his gale to shoot himself in to the sky. When he gained level air, he fell backwards until he nose dived for you. Excitement tingled throughout your arms and turned your stomach in ways you often relished in. You were prepared for him and ready to jump out of his aerial attack when he turned at the last moment and your sword swipe completely missed him.

The gust of wind that trailed behind him blew against you harshly causing you to cover your eyes from the flying dirt. You could hear him chuckle a distance away and honed in on the sound of his flapping to figure out where he was coming from while you regained your sight.

However, it seemed that Revali was quite aware of what you were waiting for and the sound of flapping came to a halt. You forced an eye open, struggling to see through the blurry world and the pain. You blinked a couple of times and when your vision finally cleared somewhat Revali was lunging right for you with his bow drawn. A surprised yelp fell from your throat and you dodge to the side roughly, narrowing missing an arrow.

You rolled until you were able to safely get up without his barrage of arrows, and you flung your sword towards him. He went to fly upwards, but the hilt of the sword jabbed right at his knee causing his nerve to fray and fell to the ground for split moment, losing his bow in the process. You took the opportunity and leapt for him once more but Revali darted to the side as your heel swung down. Pain shot through your leg as you fell to the side clutching your nerved wrecked foot.

“Good grief, aiming to take my head?”

A soft chortle escaped you as your pain ridden leg lessened. Taking a moment to compose yourselves, you got to your feet, turning around and wiped the sweat off your forehead. “Oh, I’m sorry, next time I won’t miss.” You teased causing a smirk to adorn his face.

He stood up and patted himself free of dirt, “Riveting, surely. You compose yourself well, especially after you were groveling on the ground just a moment ago.”

You clicked your tongue and shook your head. “Tsk, flattering me isn’t going to help you win!”

You took an offensive stance, kicking your sword up into your hand. With sword raised above your head and pointing towards him, Revali took a defensive stance trying to keep his eyes on you, but also where his bow went. Given that he was defenseless you sped off to the side and used the momentum to jump off a boulder to strike him from the air. But he had plenty of time to take in your attack plan and stepped to the side in a nonchalant manner. Your sword penetrated the ground and you struggled lifting it from its prison. You felt his presence come up behind you and your flipped around to jab him in the face with your elbow.

He caught it with ease just mere inches from his beak. Revali peered down at you with a smug mirth and blocked your on coming sucker punch with ease. It caused your arms to twist to which he took the advantage of, and spun your body around until your back hit his front. He locked your arms in front of you, holding onto your wrists. You struggled, flinging your body left to right all the while ignoring his chuckles.

“I dare say, [Name], you’ve been ensnared.” His voice vibrated in your ear and you could not shake the wave of tickling pleasure coursing through your body. However, your pride was burning being caught so easily and his own ego was frustrating you. With a sudden burst of adrenaline you flung upper half forward causing Revali’s body to fly over you.

It did not go smoothly as you hope as your head clunked against the ground. Revali skidded just a few inches before he pulled himself up from the ground and looked over his shoulder. You were clutching the top of your head while seething in agony and disoriented. You attempted to sit up, but immediately regretted the action as your world spun and felt yourself fall back.
Expecting to hit the ground, you felt something catch you in the midst of your descent, and although you wanted to look the throbbing pain prevented you.

You felt feather like touches wisping across your temple and finally peeking an eye open, your vision melded the split image of Revali together. He looked terribly concerned and brushed dirt off your face. He clicked his tongue once he realized that you were able to focus on him and for some reason the action caused you to chuckle. Revali had to prevent a chuckle escaping him as well, but before either of you knew it, the two of you were laughing hysterically. You felt so foolish, but it was the most fun you had, and Revali had a hard time believing your sparring session came to end like that. The laughter waned after a few moments, but the reminisce of your soft chuckles remained.

Revali felt himself relaxed, “Have to have the last action in anything and look where it got you.” He sighed dramatically, “Well, I hope that welt on your head taught you that was a poor move.”

You could only give him pout and a tiny glare, “Well, it worked, didn’t it? Next time I’ll execute it better.”

He couldn’t stop the short laugh that burst from his beak, “If that is your final move, I fear for us all.” Revali patted the last remains of dirt on your shoulders before he used his legs to lift himself up. You were about to make your way on your own feet when his wing came into your view. You paused, taking a moment to stare him in the eyes before taking his wing in your hand. He pulled you up with ease, but your vertigo had been thrown off making you fall forward. A tad embarrassed, you pulled yourself from Revali’s chest, and looked back at him. The look in his eye was filled with intense emotions you couldn’t decipher and felt locked in his gaze for what felt like heavenly eternity.

It was only when you heard birds chirping, did either of your pulled from the hypnotic stare off. The two of you moved an arm's distance away and took the time to dust yourselves off. You coughed, feeling your cheeks a bit warm and peered over to Revali. The feathers on his neck and collarbone fluffed up a little. It made you feel slightly better knowing he was just as flustered as you.

You turned towards him and gave him a once over before you hummed in thought. “What a shame, I don’t think I landed a single scratch on you.”

The sudden praised caused Revali to straighten his back and raise his beak to the air. “Let that comfort you at night, my dear [Name]. Rest at ease, I will be sure to vanquish Ganon.”

“Oh, I’ll be sure to think of it like counting sheep.” You replied dully and crossed your arms. The top of your head slightly throbbed and as you looked around, you realized you two sparred just at the entrance of the Rito village. You rubbed your upper arm and began to make your way back. “Uhh, well, if we’re done here maybe we should go freshen up..”

Revali looked himself over and sighed reluctantly, “That would be for the best. We look like a couple of wrung out rats.”

You laughed lightly in response and went to make your way back to the Inn when Revali called out for you. Curious, you turned around and saw him looking anywhere but you.

“P-perhaps, if it’s not too much of a inconvenience...You would want to have dinner with me tonight?” He made eye contact and although his voice had an underlying tone of nervousness, he held confidence in his stance.

It felt ridiculous how long it took your brain to process that Revali was inviting you out for dinner. However, once you realized you felt a jolt of anxiety burst through you body. Wait, what does this mean, you questioned to yourself and felt yourself fidgeting. Revali began to feel uneasy as he waited for your response and began to feel that perhaps he made his move too soon. He was about to open his beak to tell you ‘nevermind’, when your voice, uncharacteristically meek, spoke,

“W-where’d you like to go?”

Revali had never felt a wave of relief and serenity like he did in this moment. He took a few steps to be at your side and gave a soft smile. “Anywhere that sounds good to you. My treat.”

Chapter Text

When you had thought of joining Revali for dinner, you did not think it would turn out like this.

The both of you couldn’t look each other in the face and sitting in next to the open fire only reminded you it was the only sound within this half hour of silence. You fiddled with your fingers to keep yourself busy, and honestly, the silence was weighing heavily. All you wanted was to start a simple conversation, but your heart was hammering in your chest so hard it was preventing you from speaking.

A blush bloom on your neck as you looked at Revali from your peripherals. He was in a white and golden tunic, his jewels swapped out for turquoise. Dare you admit, when he met up with you, the last thing you thought would happen would be dumbstruck from his change of attire?

No, you did not think of all the things to quell your rambling mouth was how it hugged his form, and the clash against his feather was rather nice. Crap, you thought, your mind was filled with how attractive he looked tonight. When did you begin to think he was attractive anyway? When did he get attractive, really?! You didn’t want to admit it at all, and you were so terribly embarrassed.

Revali did not know what to think as he sat by your side. He was not used to this and found himself at a loss for words. Honestly, when he asked for your accompany for dinner tonight, he might have forgotten that it would entail a conversation. He had to resist the urge to scoff, knowing that these things obviously engage such things. When he had already spent the majority of the day with you, he did not have much to say. Not that it was a bad thing, he thought, but it was strange he could not think of a single word to say to you...

He glanced toward you from his peripheral and silently swallowed a large lump in his throat. When he saw you by the fire freshened up and in, for once he noted, a rather decent quality tunic and without your trusted blade, his mind went blank. He was flabbergasted at how silent his mind was, but it was bringing his attention back to you and he wasn’t sure what to make of it. Every passing second he swore his feathers were falling off from the anxious atmosphere.

Revali grew frustrated at himself, how could he not have a thing to say!? He was basically an encyclopedia of knowledge, but a lot of good that was doing him at this moment! No, he concluded, this is not how tonight will turn out! He will just bring up a random conversation and everything will be fine. He turned towards you with a determined nature, and opened his beak-

Only clamp it shut and return to his original position. If he could kick himself, he would have kicked himself all the way into Death Mountain and fall in a bed of magma for his pathetic display. Ugh, he was so disgusted with himself.

It was now or never, you thought. The weird, awkward moment couldn’t be fixed or forgotten, so anything said now would not make a difference. You turned toward Revali, “Um…” His attention now on you and immediately, you felt bullets of sweat trickle down your face. What were you nervous for? You two could talk about anything, so why was this any different? Just ask what he’s planning for dinner. It’s simple. “Who did your tunic?”

That’s it, bury yourself now. You did not want to exist anymore. How did that change from a dinner subject, you screamed inwardly at yourself.

“Excuse me?” Revali looked incredulous, a feather brow arching high. He was feeling rather amused and had to suppress a smirk from growing as you continued to stare at him like deer in headlights.

Your mind continued to scream how could you recover from this, and you were beginning to feel like a pervert even though you weren’t doing anything lewd. “I-It looks pretty new.” Your stomach felt queasy, “J-Just wondering who did it up?”

He shook his head slightly, “If the was supposed to be a proper sentence, you have lost me.”

You shrunk into your shoulders and felt the blush on your neck creep its way full force on your cheeks. “S-Shut the hell up, Bird-brain! I’m trying to make conversation here!”

His smirk slithered onto his beak, “When one has a conversation the recipient should be able to understand what is being relayed.”

Your mouth gaped open and close like a fish out of water, feeling embarrassed and flustered. A bubble of irritation was building its way up and you knew it was only because he was teasing you. He had to be, you thought, and the assumption made you feel cautious, but you knew your pride would set you straight in his trap. The thought furthered embarrassed you and you looked upon with him with a heated scowl.

He looked at you intensely amused and you wanted to wipe that smug smile off his beak. Your fingers pointed at him accusingly, but whatever rebuttal on your lips failed.

“Truly riveting, [Name], truly.” He teased, his eyes slightly lidded as he took in your flustered state.

Grabbing his upper arm, you shook it in retaliation. “Asswipe, you know what I was trying to say! Quit teasing me!”

He hummed, lolling his head to the side in feigned innocence, “Do I?”

Your blush burned as you tried to repress a whine and shoved your face into his shoulder. You mumbled incoherently into his arm and he shuddered as it tickled his feathers.

“That is even worse, [Name].”

“You look nice tonight, damn it!” You wailed, turning your head from his arm to be heard. You glared at him from your spot, and he appeared highly pleased. You crossed your arms and dug your head into his shoulder, mumbling under your breath all the while. “You’re such a jerk.”

“If I may say, you are a vision tonight as well.”

Pausing in digging your head in his shoulder, you were trying to make sense of his words and took that moment to sit up. The attempt to stare him straight in the face was harder than you predicted, and you tried to remain a calm composer. “You can’t just say things like that!” You blurted out, turning your attention elsewhere and trying to ignore the warm bubbling feeling waving through your body. So much for keeping your cool, you thought. “You’re making me look bad.” You finally mumbled, failing to hide the pouting tone, and closed your eyes in mortification.

He chuckled for a good long while. He felt relieved and at ease that you were nervous just as he was. Revali knew that he should let up, but it felt quite nice to see you cling onto him in your flustered state. Revali’s chest swelled while his heart beat deeply at his own swarming thoughts, but cleared his throat to regain his own composure.

“Well, I hope you like vegetable risotto and salted-grilled-...what is that face for.” His voice went from chipper to dead flat in an instant as he took in your displeased face.

“Where’s my meat?” You squinted your eyes and frowned further.

He gave you a long look before he decided to answer you. “As I was saying, we are having salted-grilled greens with a side of curry rice. Now, I went ahead and- Oh for Hylia’s Sake, [Name], why are you pouting!?” Revali had to control the glare that threatened to seep out.

Your face was completely scrunched up and your eyes nothing but beady little things as you judge the Rito harshly. “Where’s the protein? My body cannot run on greens alone!”

He did nothing to subdue the rolling of his eyes, “Fantastic, surely this is. You are aware that there are the same amount of nutrients from the meal I have prepped, yes? You will get gout eating nothing but meat like you do.”

You blew air between your shut lips and leaned back while you crossed your arms defensively. “Meat makes me big and strong. Greens do nothing for me.”

Again the Rito could do nothing but stare at you while he tried to process your logic. Revali wasn’t sure if you were messing with him, and pinched the bridge of his beak. “Why must you argue against everything I do?”

You stuck a pinky in your ear twisting it around before you gave him a cheeky smile. “I like to see you frustrated.”

If his eyes could penetrate your being, the very well could have. Revali sighed exasperated as he shook his head to ward off your impossible nature. “I am going to die from constricted veins to my brain because of your nonsense.”

“Maybe you should eat more greens.” You chuckled under your breath seeing him bristle from your blatant hypocrisy.

“What happened to your bashful facade a moment ago? I preferred that to your insufferable teasing.” He crossed his arms while standing up to look down at you. He made his way over to the basket he brought with him and began to rummage through it.

You hummed, watching the way his shoulder blades protruded against the silken fabric. The blush you had before never did die, and his words only caused it to flare up much more intensely. You couldn’t respond to him knowing that turning it around on him was the only way that you’d be able to get over your flustered state, but as you watched the muscle on his arms flex as he moved about, you found your brain turning to mush. You could only hoped he wouldn’t notice.

The silence that befell over you caused Revali to look over his shoulder in question. He caught your eyes glazed over and the blush on your face had worsen. He raised a feather brow and couldn’t stop the smirk slithering on his beak. “My goodness, [Name], are you checking me out? Well, I suppose it is only fitting since I am quite handsome.”

His words shot sparks throughout your body as your eyes widen at his accusations. “D-Don’t think so highly of yourself, Bird-brain!” You spouted out automatically, and clamped your lips shut afterward.

The smirk never faulted as he sauntered up toward you. The fabric of his tunic stretched over his well defined chest as he stood tall. Craning your neck to look up at Revali, you glared as he stared you down with a knowing look. He had carrots in his hands as he spread his arms out wide, the fabric pulling across his pecs and you just wanted to shove him in the fire for purposely torturing you. He leaned forward once he felt you had your fill of his toned physique, his voice low, “Oh, but I do think highly of myself. How can I not when I see you are completely enamoured over me?”

“I-It’s just your tunic! It would make anyone look attractive!”

His presence was becoming overwhelming and as he leaned closer, his beak slid next to your ear. “Do you really think so? Perhaps you would like to try this on and we shall see if it looks attractive on you as it does on me…”

His words caused you to faltered and lost your balance on the log you were sitting on. You fell back, the wind slightly knocked out of you as you stared at the evening sky. You glared at Revali as his head made its way into your vision. “You are so cruel.”

“And you are easily flustered, [Name]. Simply too easy to tease.” He hummed, his arms resting behind his back while continued to lean over you.

You remained on the dirt for a moment longer as he chuckled his way back over to the ingredients for dinner. The breeze brush against your face lightly and you sighed quietly. The beating of your heart hammered away and you were thankful for the brisk air cooling your heated cheeks. You lost the nerves to retaliate with more teasing, and all your mind was filled with was images of you wearing his tunic.

You felt like a total pervert, not at all used to these intrusive thoughts. Revali began to hum as he diligently worked on dinner. A lightning bug landed on the tip of your nose and you huffed air to shoo it away. “Do…” You cleared your parched throat, “Do you want any help?”

From his spot, Revali only glanced at you momentarily before he went back to work. “You seem quite comfortable on the dirt, I would hate to disturb you.”

You sat up faster than you thought you could, and flare your nostrils. “Lemme me help, you down-pillow.” His shrugged his shoulders as you made your way to him. He did nothing as you sat by his side and took the bag of rice to cook it. A small smile adorned both your faces as the two of you worked together to make dinner.

As night fell, you and Revali happily ate the delicious meal, even if you complained there was no prime meat. All the awkwardness that you felt beforehand was long forgotten while you two continued to ruffle each other’s feathers. Admittingly, you enjoyed spending time with Revali and although you still questioned what this meant of your relationship, it was rare to have such down time. You wouldn’t tell him, but you were glad that you could spend what time he could spare with you.

The subject of Revali having to further progress his training and the impending days of Calamity Ganon were approaching. You listened to him diligently as he told you the plans Princess Zelda and the rest of the Champions were coming up with. He seemed rather sure of himself as he told you how he wasn’t afraid and was prepared for whatever came his way, but you couldn’t shake away the sense of dread as he spoke.

It didn’t seem that long ago when Princess Zelda asked for your help, but given you had no special powers and not even a Champion; you were no longer needed for the future expeditions. The Princess, although filled with remorse, let you know that it was too dangerous for a standard knight to further progress in their dangerous fate. You smiled solemnly as Revali flamboyantly boast about his tactics, and only wishing you could be able to fight along his side. You supposed that supporting them was the only thing you could do at this point, even though everything seemed cut far too short amongst the passed year.

Revali continued to speak of the trials that laid ahead and how the research of the shrines were progressing without you, but you had stopped listening half way through. Suddenly caught too deep within your thoughts at Revali being hurt, you wanted nothing more to protect him and everyone else to, but you had to come to terms that you were not needed… You could only hope when the danger came, you could protect what you can wherever you would be at that time.

As the two of you made your way back from the fire pit and toward back the entrance of the Rito Village, Revali’s talking never did cease. When you two arrived at the fork of your respective places, your hand rose up and stroke his feathered cheek absentmindedly. His excessive yammering quelled instantly as he watched you carefully run your fingers through his feathers. His feathered hand fell over the hand stroking his cheek and you two shared a quiet moment.

His feather tips gently brushed against your knuckles, his eyes filled with questions at your odd behavior. “Do you need me to walk you back?” He offered as he was not yet ready to go home. Not yet ready to leave your side. His chest weighed heavily to his surprised as you shook your head declining his offer.

“Look at you being all gentlemanly, but no. It’s alright, but thank you, Revali. I’ll be fine.” Your voice was but a whisper and you pulled your hand from his. You needed a moment to think as confusing emotions fluttered around your skull. A sense of dread, but a warmth sense of clarity wavered throughout your body while a feeling of loss lingered in your fingertips. “Goodnight, Revali.”

His own soothing voice tingled in your ears, “...Goodnight, [Name].” He stood there a moment before giving you a second look and headed back up the flight of stairs to his home. You stayed behind as you watched him disappear from view and promptly turned on your heel, walking away from the village. You needed time to think and you were afraid that it would be too hard to sleep with how elated you felt, despite the underlaying of misery trying to push its way through.

It was strange how the thriving land next to the Rito village changed at night. It felt desolate while the frigid air pierced through your tunic. Shivers and goosebumps rippled across your arms up to your neck as you took in the night sky. The confliction that coursed through your body only confused you while thoughts of Revali swarmed in your head. The very thought of him made your heart skip a beat and it was becoming increasingly difficult to deny your attraction toward him. However, you were feeling scared and part of you wanted to stop getting any closer to him in fear that this strange affair would one day come to an end.

A lone tear slid down your cheek as the crushing thoughts of him in danger finally consumed you. You rubbed your chilled hands together and tried to calm your anxiety. What could you possibly do for him that he couldn’t do for himself? The answer of ‘nothing’ only burned against your pride. Revali was much more capable of fighting then you were, it was abundantly clear from your sparring match earlier in the day, but still… you were beginning to realize that you would do anything for him if he ever asked.

A sad smile made its way on your face as a shooting star shot across the sky. You closed your eyes, lone tears from your worries cascading down your face as you made a wish.

“Just give me a sign...all I wish is to know what I mean to him….That would be enough..” Your soft spoken wish wisped into the crisp air. Your heart continued to pound deeply as you tried to make sense of your thoughts until a shriek of pure terror cut through the silent night.

Instantly you were on edge and ran toward the scream without a moment’s thought. Making your way over as the blood curdling screams increased, you overlooked the slope of the mountain to witness travelers attempting to run away. Trying to regain your breath, blood began to boil within you seeing men in familiar red suits chased after the helpless travelers. It look like the father of the family had been slain, his blood staining the ground underneath him. The mother and daughter screamed as tears poured down their faces and ran as fast as they could, but it was in vain as three of the five members surrounded them.

The little girl’s shrieks of terror shook you to the core.

The other Yiga clan member taunted them cruelly while the mother pleaded and screamed to be left alone. The mother screamed as her hair was roughly pulled toward the larger men and one of the assailants barked orders to grab them and shut them up. “Boss wants as many alive as you can get! Pick out the ones that seem like a decent fit to become a member, and just kill the rest.”

The largest Yiga member towered over the shivering women as the others chased down two young boys into a corner. Your teeth were on the verge of chipping from clenching your jaw so tightly and rage boiled throughout your body. You didn’t waste another moment and slid down the slope of the hill.

The moment your feet were on the level ground you rushed toward one of the members causing them turned around hearing your rushed footsteps. You let out a battle cry and went to grab your sword only for your blood to run cold as you grabbed nothing but air. You could feel a gasp escape your chilled lips as you glance down in horror at your barren hip.

Your sword! Your sword was not with you! You left your fucking sword back at the inn!!

As if the sudden realization slowed time, you turned your gaze back at the member and caught the last glimpse of the hilt of their sickle bash again your temple. You world flickered as you fell to the ground inwardly cursing your blunder. The last thing you saw was the larger member kneeling down, and his hand reaching toward your face.

Chapter Text

How long were you aware you have been conscious?

Possibly just as long as you had been aware you were lying on the ground. The air smelled of musk and offending smells you didn’t want to think about.

Your hazy mind tried to register how rough the ground was.

Sounds fluctuated...one moment hearing nothing and then searing ringing before clear sounds of scuffling entered your eardrums.

For a moment there was nothing but a tingling sensation in what felt like your fingers before shooting pain swarmed your senses. It paralyzed you in confusion, mostly concentrating on your temple and when something cold, something not part of you, touched your forehead you shot up in fear.

Your vision swirled from the rushed movement, your heart pounding rapidly against your chest. Flushed against the wall in a defensive stance, your vision melded overlooking a startled and frightened girl with a little boy cowering behind her.

Oh.

Slowly things were coming back to you, these were the kids you attempted to save. They backed away from you with a slight whimper as you took in the surroundings. From what you could make out in the dim torch light, the three of you were in a cell of some sort. It was carved out from what looked like a mountainside judging by the slope ceiling and seeps of weeds growing between the cracks and wooden support beams.

Clunks of dirt littered the ground from weak spots on the walls and poorly mason bricks protruded from the dirt wall following along the other side of the room before reinforced with iron slates. A heavy brass door with a small rectangular peephole welded smack dab in the middle of the iron slates. The cell had no beds, chairs or desks, the only thing being in the room besides you three was a dug out hole in the farthest corner. The smell alone made you gag.

The girl before you must have been around ten years old or so. The boy behind her clutched to her torn shirt and glared at you from his spot. He must have been a bit younger than her from how he barely met her shoulders. Each of them wore a makeshift mask from the girl’s dress.

You shifted to sit flat on your butt and winced as you moved. Touching your temple, you pulled away with crusty blood adorning your fingertips and an ache you knew you wouldn’t be able to ignore.

“Hey there…” You spoke softly, voice slightly cracking and making it all too aware how parched you were. The kids took a step back further, the older girl attempted a brave face, but you could see her lip quivering. “Shhh, it’s okay. I am not going to hurt you.” You attempted to sit forward and the girl held her hand in front her.

“S-stay where you are! I-I know y-you’re not one of them, but y-you’re s-still a stranger!” She held a stern look, but the tears welling up and her lip quiver uncontrollably took away the fierce attitude she tried to portray.

You held your own hands up defensively and took to leaning back against the wall, “Okay, okay. I understand, I will stay right here.”

That seemed to put her at ease as she swung an arm around the boy’s neck before tossing a damp rag on your lap. She hugged him fully, but kept her eyes on you. You allowed the silence to fall over you three while you attempted to clean up the gash on your temple.

The girl shifted back with her brother in tow, she knelt down and slid a bowl your way. The water sloshed about, soaking into the ground. You gave her a sincere smile and picked up the bowl before taking a few sips just to wet your whistle. There was no telling how often your capturers would be courteous enough to bring more water.

For the time being, you decided to see if the children had knowledge you did not possess. “So…” You began calmly, “How long was I asleep?”

The sister was about to speak when the boy cut her off, “Y-You weren’t asleep!! They knocked you out, they hurt Momma and wanted to hurt us-” His words flooded out in a rush, tears welled up and spilled aggressively before his sister shushed him. She knelt to his height and whispering comforting words that did not seem to ease his anxiety.

The girl, through her own blubbering, attempted to recount what happened. She didn’t want to explain much in detail, you couldn’t blame the poor thing, but after they dragged your body, they kidnapped and traveled miles before they left you all in the cell for an unknown amount of time. You gather from the clues that their parents were killed in the struggle and the children were far too young to comprehend it. You knew in this pressing time to make them aware of the fact would be too much to bear and it’d be best to keep them in the dark for the time being.

They sobbed while you sat there. You were just a stranger and doubted that hugs would bring them any comfort, but their cries were echoing heavily.

BAM BAM BAM

Loud banging rapped on the brass door followed by a deep, gruff voice, “SHUT YER FUCKIN’ MOUTHS, YA LITTLE SHITS! ” Another round of loud banging before the voice came again, “Ya think just ‘cause yer kids we won’t slit those little throats of yours, you’d be dead wrong.”

They children whimpered and backed up near you. You hoped your glare could piece through the door and cut through the lug. It was too much to hope for and not in the slightest bit realistic, but the sensation of your stare piercing him brought you a minor comfort to the situation. You sighed and made your way to stand, the children staying in the spot you once were. You made your way to the door and peeped through the small hole.

It looked like a dug out hallway with signs of recent construction, but draped on the walls were crudely painted tapestries of their trademark emblem. You scoffed at how self absorbed it was, and tried to peer around the peephole for the guard that was talking shit. “You know that threat was almost cute. Now, how about stop playing the bad guy for a moment and consider letting me and this kiddies out? If you’re good and quick about it, I’ll give you a banana.”

Nothing stirred for a second before the familiar mask of the Yiga Clan entered your vision. “Sup.” Was all you said, looking at him rather impassively. You attempted to take in his size but it was kind of difficult with him nearly pressing his stupid face against the hole.

“You got a lot of nerve talkin’ like that.” He muttered slowly, his head moving as if he was attempting to size you up like you had done to him. “Gathering the position yer in, it won’t be too long before you see the righteous ways of Ganon.”

You wanted to mouth off to him so badly, but you knew that there was more to be gained from him. “How’d you figure that?”

He chuckled darkly, “We’ll cleanse this land and we shall inherit it all.”

The corner of your mouth curved in disgust. “Funny, how can you cleanse the land if you spill blood?”

“Sacrifices have to be made in order to liberate this land of your people! You will soon see, be it under the mask of the Yiga, or yer own blood polluting the dirt.”

“Didn’t know you took auditions to be a member.” You mumbled dryly before your teeth began to grind. “If I had known I would have brought my best outfit.” All jokes aside, you wished you had your trusted blade. The weighing regret of being a fool for forgetting your sword repeated continuously in your mind. Even if you did have your sword at the time, there might have been a chance you would have been overpowered either way, but you knew for certain the scuffle would have been heard by the guards surveying the entrance of the village.

It would have alerted them, in turn alerting him….?

For a passing moment you wondered if Revali knew of your disappearance. Surely, he must know? But how would he find you? Where were you even at?

You shook your head to push away the feeling of dependency, feeling like a fool and too vulnerable.

When did you begin to rely on that Rito so much?

The guard did not say a word as he reached between the small peephole and flicked you on the nose. He let out a garish laugh, “You won’t be so cocky once ya know what we got in store for ya…” His laughter grew more demented as he slithered out from view.

There was a moment of blind rage that threatened to overtake you, but you had no way of exerting it and instead chose to rake your fingers along the door. As much as you wanted to deck his lights out you were not alone as you were reminded of the siblings. You had to collect yourself in order not to alarmed them, but at the same time there was no way they could not have heard the altercation between you and the shithead.

But still you were going to show them how to be strong.

Or at least die trying….

You made your way over to the kids and knelt in front of them. They looked at you, fear evident on their face. Appearing at ease as much as you could be, you held your hand out for theirs. “Well, if we’re going to be sharing, let’s at least become friends.” You lean closer before whispering, “I am a Knight of King Rhoam Bosphoramus of Hyrule. You can call me [Name]. We’re going to get out of here, but you have to listen to me very closely.”

They were quiet for a moment before the boy peeped, “I’m Thabo.”

The sister shyly spoke before falling into a tangent, “I-I am Mitra...We have a little brother named Pich that they lost on the way here! I-If we get out, w-we gotta find him! And our Mom! I don’t know where she is, they took her--” You had to hush her as in she began to raise her voice.

Goodness, this is turning into a grand old mess, wasn’t it? You rubbed near your temple, unable to think clearly from the throbbing pain.“Well...We definitely will once we find a way out.” It was difficult to keep the anxiety from affecting your words.

Mitra and Thabo must have sense your uncertainty as they shared a look of skepticism. “Are you really going to help us?” Mitra whispered, her little brother peeked from behind her.

“Yeah, are you?” He tried to sound brave as he echoed his sister.

“I…” You didn’t want to make promises you couldn’t keep, but what kind of Knight would you be if you did not save them? However, as you looked over these sibling, their hair ragged, clothing torn and dirty….they didn’t deserve this. You could only hope that the mother was alive, but there was no counting on that. You had a duty to protect these children at all cost. Leaving them behind would be despicable. “I will see to it you two escape and we’ll find your little brother.”

In one small moment they felt a sense of relief, but then their faces scrunched up and the weight of their situation hit home.They smothered their tear stained faces in your chest as they sobbed quietly. Placing your hand on their backs you allowed them to cry it out. Maybe they were more aware of what transpired than you gave them credit for...

When they were in a more calm state of mind, you began to explain your plan, and your plan was-

Well, to come up with one.

The confusion on their faces was almost comical, but you told them in times like this it’s best to observe your surroundings and make use of it. Thabo was thinking you were full of hot air, and had no shame telling you so, but his sister put him in his place. You chose to ignore his outburst and walked over to the only torch in the room.

Using its light you comb the space of the cell, taking in anything that could be used or out of the ordinary. You pulled your shirt over your nose as you gagged near the hole in the room, but you wandered away quickly not seeing anything useful.

The brick wall looked haphazardly made as if this very room was recently gutted and then realized it’d collapse. So, perhaps this hideout was currently in the works, you thought. You rose the torch above your head and used the light to look over the support beams.

There were pairs of beams supporting the others, creating a gap on either side of the door like a small knook. You touched the bricks to see how firm they were in the place and figured that they’d be fine for a short climb. You put the torch back on its place on the wall as you made your way back over to the door.

You peeped through the hole trying to see how many guards there were, but the angle just wouldn’t permit it. So instead, you decide to walk over to the dirt wall and where the jagged rock were. You picked up a pebble before returning to the peep hole.

As far as you knew is the guard moved to the right of the door, and with a precise precision you tossed the pebble to the left of the hall. It bounced against the wall causing a small ‘clunk’ sound that resonated. It worked and the guard walked down the left of the hall. You did not see a second guard move and watched the lard check the empty halls.

He did not speak or look at anyone else, so you assumed he was alone on guard duty. What you needed to find out if there was a time schedule they went by, but the longer that you were coming up with a plan, the less likely escaping would be easier. The best thing about this was you finally got to size him up, he was fairly tall and large man. Possibly more flab than muscle, but you knew they were good at disguises.

An idea finally hit you full force and you knew you had to move quickly and execute it precisely. You rushed over to the kids and picked them up, and put them in the right hand side of the knook. They were confused but you zipped your lips to let them know to keep quiet and made your way picking up a large chunk of rock. It was a oval shaped and heavy, and the more you ran your fingers against it, the more aware you became of your adrenaline rushing through your veins.

You weren’t sure how long you had waited up in your make shift crows nest. When would the guard come and check on the three of you? The more the silence waned the more anxious you became, and felt your palms become sweaty. Thabo and Mitra would glance over to you through the darkness now and again, and each time you would make sure to remind them to be silent.

After what felt like an eternity, the echoing sound of tapping came from the halls. It became louder and a slight clinking of metal could be heard as well with each tap.

“How’s it going?” A voice much different from the guard before spoke.

“It’s a drull. They’re kinda boring as prisoners. They don’t say nothin’, but sob sometimes.” He sounded completely uninterested. If anything you speculated he really was just a lazy shithead. “The older one tried to be a smartass, but the threat of Lord Ganon shut them up, hah!”

You had to fight the urge to roll your eyes.

“Hah! Sucks to be them, well, if they get too unruly just take them to the chambers. A few hours in there should straightened them out.”

The guard laughed cruelly, “Harsh, even the youngins, huh?”

“Better to start them young, I always say.” The other man laughed along and hearty, “Well, I’m heading to grab some grub, want me to snag you a bowl?”

“Sounds good to me. Bring me four helpings and maybe something to do.”

“What are you?- eating for two?” The other member chortled, “Be back. Oh, ahaha, ya want something ta do? They’re pretty quiet? Maybe they escaped.”

The guard snorted, “Unlikely. There’s nothing that can get passed me!”

Your eye squinted thinking the exact opposite. Just you wait, you thought.

The sound of footsteps dissipated down the hall, but you could hear bouts of scuffling near the door. Perhaps what the other member said got to the guard? Hopefully it did because all this waiting was becoming annoying.

As if your wish was answered the sound of unlatching was heard. Your body stiffen, readying yourself for the attack. The light from the hallway slowly lit the end of the cell and when the guard came inside his shadow loomed ominously on the wall. He slowly surveyed the room while taking small, calculated steps.

He raised a sword at his side and you readied the rock in your hand. Just a few more feet before he would be in a position to knock him out. You prayed it would work…

Craning your arm with all your might, you chucked the rock straight for the nape of his neck. It colliding just where you wanted it and he fell to the ground with a curt cry.

His large form thudded against the ground and just laid there. Jumping down, you crouched your way to steal his weapon and his clothing. You crept slowly to his sword, you were cautious and on edge. He didn’t seem to be conscious and you began to reached down for his sword.

Just when you were about to grab it, you paused midway. You peered up slowly, your heart hammering in your chest.. You could feel your body spark with anxiety noticing the guards head slowly turning. In an instant, you stood up and swung your heel to his face, and at the same time he sped around to grab you.

Your heel collided first and smacked his face into the dirt. Never letting up the pressure, you kept your foot on his head. You kicked the sword from his hand, having to stomp on it a few times, but his larger form threw you off as he lurched up. You recovered and sped back before jumping on his back and grabbed him in a choke hold.

He swung you side to side, gagging for air and clawing at your forearms. The guard turned around and ran backward before repeatedly smashing you against the wall. Despite the pain wracking your body you never once let go, but the more he crushed you the realization to come up with another plan would be a smart idea about now.

He tried to smash you against the wall again but you swung your legs back and used it to cushion the blow. Building up momentum, you sprung from the wall causing the Yiga member to lose balance and fall flat on his face again. Your arms were trapped underneath his chin, and he kept you locked.

Instead of escaping you focused on applying pressure in hopes to make him lightheaded enough to pass out. But he was making his way up again when a rock smashed down on his head. He finally fell to the floor with a hard smack, and when you looked up you saw a terrified Mitra standing above you holding a large rock.

Chapter Text

Mitra looked absolutely horrified from what she had just done and dropped the rock as if it scorched her. You instantly picked her up before taking her near the door. You had her face the open door before grabbing onto Thabo, placing him next to her and told them to keep watch for a moment.

Mitra began to sob though, hiccuping harshly as large tears streaming down her chubby cheeks. “I-I didn’t mean to! He was- h-he was--!”

She was shaking uncontrollably, the imagine alone pulled your heartstrings as you cupped her face in your hands, “What you did was very brave, but it’s okay he’s just knocked out.” A little white lie wouldn’t hurt her...you hoped..

Her trembling barely ceased, but with a hard swallow, nodded her head at the reassurance. She rubbed the tears that slip from her eyes and held her brother close. You stood up and went back to work removing the guard’s weapons and clothing as quickly as you could. Before you removed all of his outfit, you took a moment to checked his pulse and felt a rock hit the pit of your stomach.

He was dead.

You looked over to Mitra, she was still hugging her brother. You bit your lip and continued with your plan in fear the other guard would be on his way back.

You motioned for the siblings to come over and when they turned around, they were confused. They were terrified the guard knocked you out, but the could see the way the clothes sagged that it was merely you. You opened the suit, “I need you two to hide under here. You cannot make a single sound, no matter what your hear.”

The small children climbed inside the sweat smelling suit and both of them, as comfortably as they could, grabbed ahold of your waist and locked their legs around your thighs. You closed the suit and began to waddle out the room, the sword banging against your hip and Mitra’s arm.

Looking down the hallway, the left side went down a slope and disappeared in the darkness while the right went up. You honestly head no idea which direction would be the best, but you knew the guard went to grab food from the left. Usually it would be wise to go the opposite way, but wouldn’t fresh food need an entrance to be brought in?

You had to take a chance and went down the left hall.

The slope was steeper than you anticipated and had to use the wall for support, The kids were weighing you down and strained your thighs as you walked. The throbbing pain in your head did not disappear and had actually increased, but with so much adrenaline coursing throughout your body you were only half aware.

So far, the corridor had unfinished cells like the one you were held in, the only difference were these ones did not have the brass door yours had. They had the torches spaced out along the walls and from what you could make out, it was for a good reason. Although these tunnels were newly carved out, it looked like they have not accounted for the roots of weeds creating weak spots. Some areas were unstable with signs hanging around cautioning, “LEAVE ALONE” OR “YOU TOUCH, YOU DIE”.

What a bunch of idiots, you thought…

“[Name]...h-how much longer-” Thabo began before you shushed him.

“I said not a peep.”

The tunnel went on for sometime before it came to a fork. You quickly slid to the left wall and sidled forth to lean around the corner to check for any guards. Hiding back, there were two Yigas wearing their masks but only had a towel around their waists. They laughed and headed behind a curtain seeping out steam.

You decided to waddle to the right and check the area, seeing a long hall fully lit and a lot more well constructed. There were no guards and with the hall stretching quite a ways, it was difficult to tell what was down there and how many doors there would be.

You sighed heavily and began to waddle down the hall all the while ready to use the sword. Mitra and Thabo began to groan about their arms and legs. You could only quicken the pace in hopes that there would be signs or something to guide you, but you wouldn’t count on it.

“[N-Name]...” Mitra’s strained voice whispered, “M-my arms are hurting…”

“Mine too…” Thabo sniffed loudly.

You grabbed the back of their shirts through the suit and attempted to hold them in place. It was difficult not having the balance of your arms as you waddled. There was a large double door on the right-hand side of the wall and down the hall stood an extremely large gate occupying the corner. Your heart stammered in your chest seeing it, but you had to figure out how to open it first.

As you walked near the double doors Thabo was slipping despite the hold you had on him. He was struggling regaining his strength and grabbed on to his sister for leverage. Which in turn caused Mitra to lose her grip and they both began sliding down. You were struggling to even stand, but Mitra was able to grab ahold of your waist again but Thabo’s little arms were just not having it.

Suddenly the double doors swung open, scaring you enough you let go and Thabo lost his grip, falling down into the suit.

A Yiga and yourself stared at each other while a large mass sat in the crotch of the suit. There a was heavy period of silence before you silently picked up the ‘lump’ and laughed nervously. “That’s what I get eating too much bananas…. the potassium just goes right through me... E-excuse me!” And you bolted down the hall, turning right and hiding behind a pile of crates.

You collapsed for a much needed rest, the kids sagging off to the side in the suit. You opened the chest area and fanned the overheated siblings. Footsteps were suddenly heard and you pressed against the crate, holding the kids close. That Yiga from earlier walked by completely unaware of your presence, but that didn’t stop you from holding your breath. You let a moment go by before you felt you could relax.

“[Name]?” Mitra inquired quietly.

You whispered, “Just bear with me a moment longer. I found a gate, but need to figure out how to open it.” You looked behind the crate and saw the hallway entrance expanded to a large space. They seem to be using the extra space as a warehouse with stacks of crates in various spots. You saw tables at the far end and stacks of dirty plates further off. This must be the food court, you thought.

You noticed there were platforms running along the walls and leading up to the gate. There was a pulling system overhead that would open the it, but the trouble was finding how to get up there with no ladder in sight. At the end of the other wall, there was a pile of food crates stacked up near the platform. If you could make your way over there and climb up, freedom wasn’t that far away.

The mask prevented any of the air to escape and instead trapped your hot breath. You could feel sweat soak your head and down your back. The kids’ fingers were digging into your tunic making you wince from pain, but you crept over to the crates all the while keeping aware of your surroundings.

As you started climbing, a sound like a horn blared and not a moment after, tons of members swarm the halls. Climbing up the crates was hard and difficult, and sometimes ending up elbowing Thabo or Mitra in the head. You could hear shouting from below, and you wasted no time and began fast pacing along the small platform.

The wooden planks shifted and groaned under your weight. There was sense of fear bubbling that these platforms would collapse as the horde ran amuck. The vibrations rattled the platform further and you were cursing under your breath to stay upright.

Clan members were yelling and the noise level rose to ear splitting levels.

“Ghako’s been killed!! The prisoners have escaped!!” Another round of horns blared.

“Look for anyone that sticks out!”

Clan members ran from the end of the hall, coming out of the other doors and all you could do was press yourself against the wall and tried to stay out of sight.

They ran towards the cells and the other half split toward the gate. After a few moments, the gate began to rise and the few that gathered below swarmed out. Shuffling quickly, you tried to see what was beyond the gates. It looked like a ravine, tightly closed in, but you could see a pathway out. A sound of horses grew louder as they stampede by the door and out the path. You began to rush toward the open gate before your body couldn’t carry the kids anymore.

You sidled around a rock heading toward the open gate, but two clan members running down the same platform stood in your path. Blood feeling icy hot and prickly while stuck in a stand still, you tried to remain nonchalant, but you still couldn’t help your fingers twitching over the weapon on your hip.

“What are you doing? You’re heading the wrong way!” One of them screamed, but the other grabbed them by the shoulder and pointed toward you.

“Look at their outfit…”

By those words both you and the guard looked down and realized you never closed the suit, and two little pairs of arms were fully exposed.

You wasted no time, shoving the larger one off the platform and slashed at the lithe one with all your might. They had jumped back pulling out their own sword and swipe near your thighs. You had to thrust your bum back, locking your knees and standing on the tips of your toes in order for the blade to miss the kids. The lithe Yiga continued to slash and advance forward leaving you on the defensive.

They were swift and well skilled at blocking all their openings, but you were beginning to see they would take a moment to swing upward. Timing it just right you swung for their side, but their blade clashed against yours, throwing you off balance. With Mitra and Thabo clutching onto you for dear life it was harder to regain your center of gravity.

But with an exerted twist of a foot, you sure would regret performing later, you spun around with your blade in the path of their exposed side. Sparks flew off the tip of the blade as it scraped across the rock face before slicing a nice sized gash in the Yiga’s abdomen. They cried out, clutching their side as they fell off the walkway. You fell against the wall to gain your breath, sweat dripping from your chin.

“[Name]?” Mitra and Thabo’s voice called out.

You hunched over, trying not to wheeze, but your lungs felt like they were on fire. A rumble of footsteps approached and you quickly held the suit closed. You thought about running, but your legs gave out at the very thought.

“What happened here?” One of the taller ones barked while they looked over the fallen comrades.

You could hear the children whimpering, and with a shaky breath, pointed towards the "kitchen”. “It was the prisoners! They o-overpowered us and ran off back toward the food-hall.” You wheezed, expecting them to leave, but the tall one just stood there while the other three waited for his response.

The tall one cocked his head to the side, “...We just came from the food-hall.”

“Fuck.” Was all you said and grabbed the kids in your arms, tearing the outfit in the process and booked it toward the half raised gate. Spears barely grazed your back and you slid down on a pillar perched against the door’s mechanism. The foot soldiers cursed and chased after you, one of them knocking the pillar down. The door was rapidly closing and you lurched forward as you tossed the kids out in front of you.

They screamed as they skidded outside and forced themselves up. Mitra and Thabo gasped aloud and called out your name as one of the Yiga’s grabbed your ankle. But with a swift kick to their jaw, the grip on you released and you rolled outside just in time. Their gate hit the ground with a loud clang, nearly deafening you and the kids.

Thabo and Mitra rushed over to your grabbing the shoulders of the Yiga suit and pulled with all their mights. You slowly got up, your body feeling the fatigue hitting you harder than you wished. The siblings began pleading for you to stand and you finally rose albeit some stumbling occurred.

You ushered them toward the path way and they were attempting to keep up with your staggering pace. “Don’t run so close to me.” You rushed out, nearly tripping on your own feet from how close they were.

Thabo’s face scrunched and turned red, “We won’t leave you!”

Mitra also expressed her concerns, “You don’t look well, [Name]!”

You wheezed, legs burning and sore running up the uphill path. “I am…” Another round of wheezing, “F-fine. If I slow down you must keep running. I don’t c-care where, just run.” The siblings shared a worried look, their own legs feeling exhaustion.

Arrows shot down by your feet, the kids gasped out of fear.

“[Name]!!” They screamed, greatly concerned.

“Just keep running!!!” You screamed, a burst of adrenaline coursed down your legs.

Another barrage of arrows shot your footprints and you silently curse them to the high heavens.

You knew there was no chance of giving up. You couldn’t, they would just drag this poor kids back. Anger boiled in your stomach at the very thought of them turning these innocent kids into one of them.

With a hidden burst of energy, you burst forward grabbing the kids under their armpits and towed them away. Leaping off a bolder, you bound toward across the dried grass plain, running around boulders and tall dead grass in order to lose any that may be following. The kids jostled about in your arms, but you didn’t care as long as they were safe. Despite the intense burning in your muscles you wouldn’t slow down.

The terrain turned from mild dry landscape to grass fields. In the distant. you could see familiar landmarks that would lead to the castle of Hyrule and estimated it would take three days to make it there by foot. Your pace slowed from a frantic run to a even jog. The kids continued to hold on as comfortably as they could, your forearms digging under their armpits and rib-cage.

It was dusk, the sky a brilliant gradient of orange and pink hues. The air was cool with a mild breeze and you soaked up everything. The smell of the open air and the few plant life graced your senses. Tears of relief almost threaten to spill, and a bubble of laughter wanted to chime through. You bit your bottom lip, but the smile was too strong and you beamed under the mask.

You must have run for at least over a mile and you just couldn’t go any further. Your legs felt like they would tear from their joints and soon collapsed to the ground with Mitra and Thabo in hand. They sat up as you continued to lay there and just focus on getting air into your lungs.

Thabo chimed, “A-are we safe?”

You busted out laughing in relief, “Yes...Yes, I think we are.”

Mitra’s eyes glimmered with overwhelming joy, her little arms threw up in the air as she cheered. Her brother soon joined her, opting to hop from one foot to the other as he circled you two. Thoroughly exhausted, you smiled with little strength you had and watched the siblings dance together.

You sat up, groaning aloud and tiredly thrust one fist in the air in triumph. “And that kids…” You breathed heavily, “-is how it’s done.” They laughed before dog piling you.

Although it would have been nice to just rest here upon the cool grass, it would be smart to adventuring back or at least find a secure place to camp for the night. They kids groan, not at all wanting to move anymore, but you picked them up by the scruff of their shirts making them stand.

“Let’s go.” You ordered, too tired to care that you might sounded more harsh than you intended, but it was for their own good. You patted their shoulders and went to walk when a sudden pain exploded under your left clavicle.

The force where the pain resonated knocked you off your feet, skidding down the small slope you were on. You cried out, going to clutch your collarbone when you realized an arrow pierced through your tunic. Mitra and Thabo screamed your name and began to rush near you. With your good arm, you pulled out the arrow with a pained cry and then grabbed your sword.

You only had a moment to register another row of arrows coming down on top of you. You swung the sword as fast as you could, hitting away two before having to roll out of the path of the remaining shots. You went to stand up when a form appeared in front of you, giving you a swift kick under your jaw. You flew back with a gurgle of pain, unable to move as your world scrambled.

You heard Mitra and Thabo cry out in rage, “Leave them alone!!!”

“Get out of here, you stupid bird!!”

Bird? Your mind registered and went to quickly roll out of the way. You staggered, trying to regain your footing as you took in the stranger before you.

“Revali?” You cried out in disbelief before jumping back as he shot another arrow.

“Do not ever speak my name with that disgusting tongue of yours!” He muttered out, trying to fend the kids off of him. He shoved them away with a look of confusion before he jumped toward you, attempting to swipe you with the end of his heavy bow.

You were beginning to panic, having to go on the defensive and running backwards. “Wait, wait!!! Stop!!”

Revali’s eyes narrowed as he drew his bow, “Your last request has been denied.” His voice dripping with venom as he went to release.

You ripped off the mask with great speed, ripping hair in the process, and the cold air shocking your heated face. You dropped the sword, your hands flying in front you defensively. Desperation showed in your voice “STOP, REVALI, IT’S ME, [NAME]!!”

Revali stepped back, his eyes widening. “[N-Name]???”

You collapsed to your knees feeling completely exhausted. Sweat dripped from the tip of your nose and chin while your heart hammered away in your chest. He stood there like he couldn’t believe it, given he was still in his offensive stance, but when Mitra and Thabo ran in front of you, blocking you with their arms wide open, he could only give a look of confusion.

“Leave [Name] alone, you jerk!” Mitra glared.

“Ya jerk!” Thabo echoed, trying to look threatening.

He looked over the children before bringing his gaze back to you. You gave a tired, sheepish grin. “H-hey…”

Revali quickly made his way over, shoving the kids aside and held his wing out for you. You gave another slow smile and placed your hand in his, but you didn’t expect his wing to enclose around it so quickly and yanked you up.

Your face was smothered in his shoulder, his feathers filling your nostrils and trying to breach through your lips. Revali embraced you tightly, basically smothering you to his chest, while your arms suspended in the air at his side. His wing cupped the back of your skull while he pressed the side of his face against yours.

“A-ah, Revali, it’s hurts…” You muttered in his shoulder, lips flickering over his warm feathers.

He cleared his throat and pulled back. “Y-You must forgive me, [Name]...I…” He looked remorseful as he looked at the wound under your clavicle, blood beginning to stain your tunic and the Yiga suit.

He was here. He really was here, your mind tried to process.

You rested your forehead against his chest, noticing he was wearing the outfit you bought for him. A smile forced its way on your face and tears of relief pricked your eyes. You didn’t realize you’d be so happy to see him.

Revali’s feathers fluffed as Mitra and Thabo stared at you two rather intensely. He shook your shoulder to gain your attention and you grew flustered at their unblinking gaze.

“Are you two.. You know.” Mitra asked, her fingers weaving together.

Revali and you choked.