Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Time to wake up, birdbrain. You’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Revali’s eyes slowly creaked open, half expecting to find Urbosa looking down on him with her characteristic blend of sternness and amusement. Instead, he was greeted with the sloped wooden canopy of one of Rito Village’s many roosts. Blinking against the morning light, Revali realized three things immediately: first, that he was lying not in a hammock, but on a bed, second, that this was not his roost, and third, that everything hurt. 

Revali tried (and failed) to suppress a groan as he tried (and failed) to sit up. Why was he in pain? Whose roost was this? Where was Urbosa? He could have sworn he’d heard her voice telling him to wake up.

Suddenly, a gruff voice called out “Tulin, leave Master Revali alone.”

Tulin? He was here? Revali looked to the side, and realized that a small Rito fledgling was standing next to the bed, watching him excitedly like he was an elusive blupee. He was strangely familiar to Revali, despite the fact that the Rito Champion was certain he’d never seen this chick before in his life. Indeed, Revali almost would have confused the boy for Tulin, if it weren’t for the fact that the Tulin he knew had stripped grey feathers, not pure white like this chick.

Revali opened his beak and croaked out. “You’re not Tulin.”

Not-Tulin blinked wide eyed at Revali for a moment, almost as if he couldn’t believe the Rito Champion had spoken, before Revali’s words finally managed to register and he indignantly squawked “Yes I am!”

Revali’s eyes narrowed but he didn’t press the matter as a fully grown white-feathered Rito stepped up behind Not-Tulin and laid a wing on the boy’s head. “Master Revali is tired Tulin, let him rest.”

Not-Tulin looked up at the white Rito (his father, Revali suspected) and pouted before silently obeying, wandering off out of the roost. Revali looked up at the older white Rito and noticed that his piercing yellow eyes were staring at Revali like he wasn’t sure the Rito Champion was real. Normally, Revali wouldn’t mind being goggled at, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that the white Rito’s gaze was less one of reverence and more one of incredulity. 

Feeling his feathers starting to ruffle in indignation, Revali sniped “I understand meeting a living legend such as myself is a great honor, but it is still rude to stare you know.”

The white Rito at least had the decency to look ashamed. “Ah… my apologies, Master Revali.”

Revali sniffed, not really satisfied with the apology (it needed a bit more grovelling in his opinion) but willing to let the matter go. Revali once more tried to sit up, only for the pain to flare up immediately. Suddenly, the white rito’s wings were on Revali’s shoulders, gently easing him back down onto the bed.

“You shouldn’t move around too much, Master Revali,” the white Rito said “I’m afraid it’s not just your wing that’s hurt.”

His wing? What in Hylia’s name was this blasted Rito talking about? His wing was fi— 

Oh.

In his state of constant pain, Revali hadn’t even realized that his right wing was in a sling and splint. Revali realized with a sinking feeling in his gut that he wouldn’t be able to fly or even draw a bow for a while with a broken wing. When did this happen? Why didn’t he remember? 

Revali reluctantly drew his gaze away from his broken wing and finally took in his surroundings. He wasn’t in a normal roost, but a large pavilion ringed with beds, an inn for visitors to the village he suspected. Judging by the towering rock wall he could see on the other side of the wooden bridge connecting the inn to a walkway, Revali guessed he was in Central Rito Village on Totori Spire. More specifically on one of the lower levels, considering the towering evergreens that surrounded the inn. Which only confused Revali even more because as far as he remembered, there was no inn on any level of Totori Spire. Rito Village’s inn was supposed to be in the part of the village that lay across the bridges on the shore of the lake, not up on the spire itself. 

And the inn was only the start of Revali’s many, many questions. Like, if he was in the village, why was he laid up in the inn instead of inside his own roost? And who were this white Rito and his son who happened to share a name with Revali’s self-proclaimed number one fan? Why was he even hurt in the first place?!

Revali snapped his gaze back towards the white Rito standing next to the bed who was now pointedly not looking in Revali’s direction, instead keeping his eyes trained on the walkway outside. Revali’s eye twitched. Sure, he’d asked not to be stared at, but he hadn’t meant for the other Rito to outright ignore him either! If there was one thing Revali hated above all else (besides a certain wannabe Hylian “hero” who shall remain unnamed) it was being ignored!

“Ahem!” Revali coughed loudly, getting the other Rito’s attention. “Perhaps, instead of gawking into the wind, you might be so kind as to introduce yourself?”

The white Rito hummed, still pointedly looking anywhere but Revali’s face “Yes, um… I suppose… I suppose that would be… the… polite thing to do.”

“Quite.” Revali drawled.

Clearing his throat the white Rito stood up straight, forcing himself to meet Revali’s gaze. “I am Teba, First Warrior of Rito Village.” He bowed his head respectfully. “It is an honor to finally meet you, Master Revali.”

What? First Warrior? This guy?! That— that was Revali’s title! Rage rustling his feathers, Revali glared at this “Teba” for a long minute before finally deigning to open his beak. “…I do not appreciate being lied to, ‘First Warrior.’”  

This time, Teba’s yellow eyes did not hesitate to meet Revali’s green ones. “I did not lie, Master Revali. I am the First Warrior.”

“Impossible!” Revali snapped. Did… did they give his title away while he was unconscious?! That’s absurd! He may not have held the position long, but he’d earned that honor dammit! (Granted, it’d been sort of given to him by the previous First Warrior when he was selected to be Champion instead of earned through “traditional” means… but it still counted!) Was this because he had a broken wing? Had they given away his title of Champion too?!

The look Teba was giving him wasn’t helping. Was that pity? Was Teba pitying him?! He, the Great Revali, was being PITIED?! THIS WOULD NOT STAND! Revali started to sit up and opened his beak to give Teba a piece of his damn mind… when suddenly his movement caused the pain to flare up once more and he fell back to the bed with a groan.

“I told you to rest.” Teba chided, making Revali’s blood boil.

“I’m not your chick you old gull.” Revali spat, glaring at the ceiling. “You expect me to believe that Elder Cidoli would replace me just because I got hurt?! That’s absolutely— WOULD YOU STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT?!”

Teba did not in fact stop looking at Revali “like that.” Instead, the older Rito simply said “You don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?” Revali snapped. “Stop being cryptic and give me some straight answers you—”

“Ah! I see the Champion’s awake!” An elderly voice chimed in, drawing Revali’s gaze towards the entrance to the inn where an elderly owl of a Rito was hobbling in, followed by a pink feathered Rito woman. 

The Rito woman rushed over to Teba, and started pushing him towards one of the beds. “Teba! You know you shouldn’t be standing on that leg right now!” She clucked angrily.

“Saki, it’s just a burn. I can walk fine.” Teba protested despite offering no resistance to the Rito woman forcing him to lie down on the other bed.

Revali finally noticed that Teba had bandages wrapped around his left thigh and couldn’t resist smirking to himself in smug satisfaction. This hypocrite had the audacity to lecture Revali about getting rest? How quaint!

Meanwhile, the elderly Rito had dragged a stool over to Revali’s bedside and sat down on it. Revali wasn’t sure if the creaking that ensued came from the wood or the old owl’s bones. “It’s an honor to meet you, Master Revali.” The old Rito smiled like he was amused with a private joke. “A… surprising honor, to be sure. But an honor nevertheless.” He bowed his head respectfully “I am Kaneli, I believe you’ve already met Teba, and that fierce lady giving him a tongue lashing is his wife, Saki.”

The pink Rito briefly paused her hushed lecturing of Teba to give Revali a quick bow “A pleasure, Master Revali.”

Revali eyed Kaneli suspiciously. He’d never gotten along particularly well with any of the elderly Rito, not even Elder Cidoli herself. Still, maybe this old owl would be more willing to answer his questions than Teba had been. “What happened?” Reval asked, gesturing to his broken wing with his unbroken one.

Kaneli hummed thoughtfully “Truthfully, we were hoping you could answer that. You were in bad shape when you were brought to the Village.”

Great. So much for getting answers. “Where’s Elder Cidoli?”

Kaneli looked confused for a moment “Hm… Cidoli? Oh! Yes, of course. I suppose she would have been the Elder in your time.”

“My ‘time?’” Revali asked incredulously. “What in Hylia’s name are you muttering about?”

“Master Revali.” Saki, having finished lecturing Teba, cautiously approached Revali’s bed. “Perhaps it would be best to start with what you remember. It may… clarify some things.”

Revali glared at the Rito woman “I don’t remember what happened! Why would I be asking if I did?!”

Unlike her husband, Saki didn’t seem at all perturbed by Revali’s harsh tone. “Perhaps if you think back to the last thing you remember and work from there.”

Kaneli nodded sagely. “That sounds like a good idea. I’ve certainly used such a technique to jog my old memory a time or two!” 

Revali huffed and looked at the ceiling once more, casting his mind back to the last thing he could remember. “I… I was in Lanayru.” His brow furrowed “Wait. How did I get to Rito Village?”

“One thing at a time, Master Revali.” Kaneli said. “What were you doing in Lanayru?”

“The Champions were told to wait at Lanayru road for Princess Zelda to finish praying at the Spring of Wisdom.” Revali said slowly, brows furrowed. “I… I remember she returned,” (along with her useless knight, Revali refrained from adding.) “And then…” 

“And then what?” Saki asked slowly.

Revali closed his eyes, trying to focus on the memory. The princess had been disappointed, she hadn’t been able to unlock her powers. The other Champions were trying to be supportive (rather pathetically in his opinion, but he supposed it was the thought that counted) and Mipha had been saying something about her own powers when… 

Revali’s eyes snapped open “The Calamity!” He instantly sat up despite the immense pain of his body telling him no. “The —AHK!— The Calamity is here! I have to get to Vah Medoh!”

Saki gently tried to push Revali back down onto the mattress as she said “The Calamity happened… a while ago. You… you already went to Medoh. That’s where you were found.” 

Revali blinked at Saki, staring at her in disbelief. He’d already gone to Medoh? But surely… 

Suddenly a shadow passed over the inn, followed by a metallic shriek that pierced into Revali’s skull, making him double over in pain. He remembered an inky black and purple substance oozing out of Medoh’s control panel, forming into a towering monstrosity. He didn’t have his Great Eagle Bow with him. He’d fought desperately but… a shot had clipped his wing and sent him careening into one of the pillars on Medoh’s back. He remembered feeling the bones of his right wing snap from the impact and then… and then there was only darkness. Not the darkness of sleep, no. This was… oppressive, like he’d fallen into a pitch black mire and couldn’t get out. The darkness smothering him pulsed from black to a sickening purple and back like a heartbeat, forcing its way into his beak, his nostrils, it was even seeping beneath his eyelids! Oh Hylia he couldn’t breathe! It was filling his lungs!  He was drowning! He was drowning! HE WAS— 

“Master Revali!”

Revali’s eyes snapped open and realized he’d covered his face with his uninjured wing. He felt someone’s arms carefully wrapped around him, gently stroking his quivering feathers. For half a second, he almost thought that Urbosa had miraculously appeared to comfort him. She’d always seemed to know when Revali needed a shoulder to lean on, even when his pride would never let him admit it. Then Revali realized that it wasn’t arms wrapped around him, but wings, and his terror was instantly replaced with sheer mortification. 

Revali squirmed uncomfortably in the embrace, and whoever was holding him thankfully took the hint and released him. Despite the pain still burning through his body, Revali did not lay back down. Instead, he slowly uncovered his face and was met with Saki’s concerned expression. Ah, she must have been the one who’d held him then.

Slowly steadying his breathing, Revali looked past Saki to see that Kaneli was giving him the same look as Saki. Even Teba had gotten to his feet again and rushed over to Revali’s bedside. Wonderful. Now they all undoubtedly thought he was weak or some such nonsense. He’d better get a hold of this situation quickly or his reputation would be ruined.

Clearing his throat, Revali shot each of the occupants of the inn a firm glare as he growled out. “That never happened.”

Teba’s brows furrowed “Master Revali don’t be—”

“That. Never. HAPPENED.” Revali snapped. “Understood?”

“Of course Master Revali.” Saki said calmly. “We won’t tell anyone.”

Revali sniffed, not entirely satisfied but he desperately wanted to move past this whole mess. “Good.” Revali saw Teba roll his eyes and sneered “Aren’t you supposed to be resting, Mr. First Warrior?”

Teba’s eyes went wide at the same moment Saki turned around and realized her husband was once more standing on his injured leg. “Teba! ” Saki scolded, pointing at the bed the white Rito had vacated. “Lie back down this instant!”

Teba gaped at his wife. “Wha— But—”

“Teba, I swear to Hylia if you can’t behave I will carry you back to our roost and make you rest there like I should have from the start!” Saki growled. “Lie. Down!”

Teba wisely decided not to test his wife’s threat and hobbled back over to his bed. Revali couldn’t quite hide his smug satisfaction at seeing the white Rito so thoroughly whipped. It was a nice distraction from his own niggling anxiety and kept the focus off of him while he regained his composure. Sadly, it seemed not everyone had fallen for Revali’s bait. Kaneli was still looking at Revali, kind old eyes analyzing him in that way that all old Rito seemed to be able to do. Hylia, he hated when they looked at him like that.

“I take it you remembered something about what happened on Vah Medoh?” Kaneli said carefully.

Revali looked away, a lump in his throat. “I… believe so.”

Kaneli nodded “I won’t ask for the details. I’m sure what happened was… unpleasant.”

Revali looked back at Kaneli “The… thing that…” Revali’s voice caught in his throat. He couldn’t bring himself to finish that sentence the way he’d intended. Admitting that the monstrosity had actually beaten him out loud… that was too much to bear. Instead, he said “The thing that attacked Vah Medoh… I assume it left, and that’s how I was retrieved?”

Kaneli shook his head slowly, filling Revali’s gut with enough shame that it sank like a rock in his chest. “The beast was apparently still there. Your… retriever… was forced to slay it.” Kaneli hummed thoughtfully “I apologize. I’m sure you wished to take your revenge against the monster yourself.”

Revali didn’t say anything. So someone had defeated the same monster that had beaten him. Revali couldn’t help the shame boiling in his veins. Who was this warrior that could have bested a foe not even the Great Revali could have vanquished? His gaze flicked to where Teba was lying on his bed, not even pretending that he wasn’t listening in. The white Rito was injured, could it be…?

“It wasn’t Teba.” Saki said, shooting an unhappy look over at her husband “Though not for lack of trying, mind you. He got injured by Vah Medoh’s defense systems.”

Teba winced “A Hylian who’d helped me take out the turrets was the one to board Vah Medoh.” he admitted.

Revali blinked. “A Hylian?” What Hylian could possibly have reached Vah Medoh?

Teba nodded “He had an old paraglider. I flew him up and he shot the turrets down while I kept them distracted.” Teba shrugged, “His aim was… sloppy, but it was good enough to get the job done.”

Kaneli nodded “Yes, the young man who arrived at the Village a few days ago. He had a strange slate in his possession. Apparently it can teleport him to the shrines. It was how he got you down from Vah Medoh, Master Revali.” Kaneli chuckled, “Such a handy little thing. I certainly wouldn’t mind one of my own. Hylia knows my poor old legs would thank me!”

Revali had stopped listening the moment he heard about the slate. His blood had instantly run cold. Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! Not him! Anyone but him! Hylia please have mercy and say it wasn’t him! 

“What…” Revali croaked, not sure he wanted the answer. “What’s this Hylian’s name?” 

Saki was the one who answered, and she shattered Revali’s fragile mental state with only five simple words: “It was ‘Link’ I believe.” 

FUCK!

While Revali was busy screaming internally, Saki had continued to speak “He was rather worried about you too. He’s been helping around the village these last few days while he waited for you to wake up.” Saki perked up and suddenly stood “Oh! In fact I should probably tell him you’re awake. He’ll undoubtedly want to see you!”

NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!NO!

Revali opened his mouth to object but Saki had already gotten to the entrance of the inn, promising to return with Link. Revali gaped after her for a moment before forcibly regaining his composure. This was fine. This was fine! It’s not like Link was the type to gloat which only made it worse and if Link was here, then Zelda was probably here too! She’d always been decent company, even if her shadow had the emotional capacity of a rock. That was probably why the Elder wasn’t here either! She was too busy with the Princess! Except… if that were true then why had Saki, Teba, and Kaneli spoken about Link like he was some random traveler and not the Princess’ personal knight? For that matter, who were these people?! Revali would be the first to admit that didn’t remember everyone in Rito Village (or even a quarter of them for that matter) but surely he would have at least heard about Teba if he was skilled enough to get promoted to First Warrior in Revali’s absence. There was so much that didn’t add up. How long had he been trapped on Vah Medoh?

Revali looked to Kaneli “Where is Elder Cidoli?” he asked once more. “I thought she would have checked up on me personally instead of sending someone in her stead.”

Kaneli sighed and closed his eyes. “I’m afraid Elder Cidoli passed away quite some time ago.”

“What?” Revali felt like he’d been suckerpunched. Sure Cidoli wasn’t exactly young since, you know, Elder, but she was healthy enough that she’d probably had at least another decade before she croaked. Had she been killed in the chaos of the Calamity?

Kaneli opened his eyes and gave Revali a sad look. “I suppose there’s no avoiding it. Master Revali, it has been over ninety years since—”

“A hundred, Elder.” Teba corrected from his bed.

Kaneli blinked at Teba. “A hundred?!” The old Rito shook his head. “I could've sworn we were remembering the ninetieth anniversary only last week! My, where do the decades go?” Upon seeing the incredulous look Revali was giving him, Kaneli cleared his throat and resumed his somber demeanor. “Yes, well… it has been over a hundred years since the Calamity arose and you were believed to have been slain in battle.”

Revali didn’t say anything for a long time, just staring down at his broken wing. He wanted nothing more than to call Kaneli’s bluff. It was absurd, how could he still be alive if it had been over a hundred years? Rito weren’t a long-lived race like the Zora or Sheikah after all. Everyone he’d ever known was almost certainly decades dead and buried, just like he should be, yet as far as he could tell, he hadn’t aged a day. 

Oh Hylia, everyone was dead. He hadn’t had many (any) friends among his fellow Rito, but Revali wasn’t so arrogant as to say that he didn’t at least care about some of them. Little Tulin, the fledgling who’d sneak into the flight range to watch Revali train day in and day out, who’d believed in him even when other Rito would call the creation of his Gale impossible. First Warrior Loretti, his stern and distant mentor, who’d first taught Revali how to draw a bow and, despite his strict standards, was willing to give Revali an opportunity to prove himself. Elder Cidoli, who… well okay, she was kind of a bitch, but he’d earned her respect eventually. And now, if what Kaneli said was true, Revali had outlived them all. It just… it couldn’t be real.

Though, on the bright side, if it really has been a hundred years, there was no way that the Link Teba had mentioned was the same Link that he’d known a hundred years ago! The chances of both of them surviving into the future were just astronomical. He couldn’t be that unlucky could he?

“Here he is.” Saki’s voice got Revali’s attention and he lifted his gaze to the inn’s entrance. 

The pink Rito was accompanied by a young Hylian man wearing one of those Snowquill outfits Revali vaguely remembered were sold to tourists to protect them from the cold of Hebra. For a moment, Revali thought for sure that he’d been right and this Link was clearly not the same one he’d known before the Calamity. There was no way that the stuck-up, proper knight he’d known would have allowed himself to look so… unclean. “Link’s” blonde hair was an absolute mess aside from the braids of his Snowquill headdress. Instead of the stoic expression the Link he’d known had kept plastered on his face at all times, this Link was looking nervously at his boots, displaying a clear emotional capability that the other Link had lacked. This was clearly some descendant or other relative of Link’s. Link the fourth perhaps?

And yet… When Link finally forced himself to meet Revali’s gaze, the Rito Champion saw something, some subconscious flash of recognition in those shining blue eyes that could only have come from someone who’d met Revali before. 

Apparently Revali was that unlucky… 

“We will give you some privacy.” Kaneli said, standing up with more creaking and slowly hobbling towards the entrance. Saki picked up a crutch that had been lying abandoned next to Teba’s bed and handed it to her husband. Teba reluctantly took the crutch and leaned his weight on it as he stood and followed Saki and Kaneli out of the inn, shooting Revali and Link one last glance on his way.

When it was just the two of them, Link awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and did something Revali swore he would never see in a million years.

Link spoke .

“Um… hi?”

Revali’s jaw landed in his lap, unable to comprehend that Link, the perpetually mute brick of a Hylian, had actually spoken an actual word. Revali must be dead. There was no other possible explanation for this crazy turn his life had suddenly taken. Revali felt he’d been pretty open-minded about his situation so far but this… this was just a step too far! Clearly he was dead and this was his eternal punishment from the Goddess. There was no other possible explanation. 

“Um… are you okay?” Link said, (holy shit he spoke again) warily eyeing Revali like he was the one acting weird.

Closing his beak with an audible clack, Revali forced himself to regain his composure. He was the Rito Champion, he was supposed to be able to handle any and all situations, no matter how challenging or… bizarre they might be. “So.” Revali said curtly, carefully choosing his words. “You’re not a mute after all.”

Link had the audacity to look confused. “Um… no? W-Why would I be?” 

Revali’s eye twitched. “Are you truly so daft?! You have literally never said a single word to me! Or anyone for that matter!”

Link frowned “I… find that hard to believe.”

“What do you mean you find it hard to ‘believe’ you wingless rat?!” Revali snapped “You’re the one who decided to take an inexplicable vow of silence! You shouldn’t need to believe anything, you should already know —” 

“I don’t.” 

Revali gaped at Link. He had… interrupted him? This pathetic terrestrial gnat had the audacity to interrupt him, the Great Revali, master of the skies, the greatest archer in all of Hyrule if not the whole world, and sexiest man alive?! Revali wanted nothing more than to leap out of the bed and squeeze this insolent Hylian’s head until it popped like a grape. Unfortunately for his homicidal fantasies, Revali was still in so much pain that he could barely stay sitting up. 

So instead, Revali simply cleared his throat and slowly said. “Explain.”

Link approached the bed and sat down on the stool Kaneli had vacated. “I… don’t actually remember much of anything about who I am. I was… asleep? Dead? I dunno, something like that, for the last hundred years, and when I woke up I had no memories. All I did have were some old clothes in a rusty chest and the Sheikah Slate.”

Revali cocked an eyebrow. Strangely enough, he couldn’t help but believe Link. Maybe he was still reeling from the whole Link is talking what the fuck thing but, watching Link as he spoke, Revali had sensed no deception. In fact, Link’s expressions and body language were infinitely more open than they had ever been. Before, the only part of Link’s stoney expression that ever moved was his eyes, frustrating Revali to no end. Now, it was like he couldn’t stop moving. When he spoke, Link’s hands would gesticulate wildly about and his expression would change with every syllable he uttered. There was a light in his blue eyes that Revali realized hadn’t been there before. It felt like Link was an actual person. 

“Amnesia suits you.” Revali said. “You’re far more tolerable than you were before.” 

Link blinked “Um… thank you?” Shaking his head, Link’s expression fell, “Are… are we supposed to hate each other?” 

Revali blinked, he honestly hadn’t been expecting that question. Averting his eyes, Revali frowned “How should I know your opinion of me? It’s not like you ever cared to share.”

“Oh.” Link figited on his seat “But… Do you hate me?”

“Absolutely.” Revali said without a moment’s hesitation, turning his green eyes back on Link once more. “Without question.” 

“Oh…” Link’s shoulders slumped. “That’s… okay.”

Revali very much did not feel anything remotely resembling guilt at Link’s disappointed expression, thank you very much! “I thought you said you didn’t remember anything.” Revali said warily. “Where did you learn about my… disdain for your very existence?” If Link had read his diary (assuming it had even survived) Revali was going to kill him, crippling pain be damned.

Link shrugged “I managed to recover a memory of you when I first arrived at the village.” His brows furrowed “It’s pretty much the only memory I have to be honest.”

“Ah.” Revali sniffed “Well, I suppose it is only fitting that you remembered my magnificent self first.” Unless… “What… what exactly was the memory?” Please let it not be the time Link saw him get shot out of the air by an Octorok, please let it not be the time Link saw him get shot out of the air by an Octorok!

Link frowned and stared off into the distance as he said “You were… challenging me to a duel because you didn’t like me or something? The finer details are still a bit hazy.”

Revali hummed. He remembered that moment quite well. Good to know that Link’s only memory of him wasn’t anything embarrassing.

Link wasn’t done talking however “It’s funny, but I think you were actually trying to impress m—”

“ABSOLUTELY NOT!” Revali cut in, (even if that was exactly what he’d been doing at the time, albeit more to get a reaction from the stoic knight than any attempt to make Link like him.)

Link blinked, bewildered by Revali’s outburst “O-Okay?” 

Revali sighed, chiding himself for his lack of control. “Moving on… if you have no memory, how do you know what happened a hundred years ago?”

Link perked up. “Oh, the King told me!”

Revali’s eyes widened “The King is alive too?!” Did nobody actually die from the Calamity? He’d thought for certain that the King was dead the moment he saw Ganon swirling about Hyrule Castle.

Link’s wince told Revali that they weren’t that lucky unfortunately. “No I… I think I talked to his… his spirit or something.” Link’s expression fell “He was… really sad. He told me about how we failed to stop Ganon the first time and that the Champions were all defeated. He… he asked me to help his daughter, Princess Zelda. He said she’d been holding back the Calamity for a hundred years.”

“The Princess is still alive then?” Revali asked, not quite daring himself to hope. 

Link nodded “Seems like it, her voice was actually what woke me up.”

Revali hummed thoughtfully. So the Princess was alive and, from the sound of it, now in possession of her divine powers. Figures that it would only happen after the Calamity had appeared and kicked everyone’s asses. If the Princess was the one who woke Link up, then perhaps she had done the same for Revali? But he’d been so sure it was Urbosa he’d heard. Had his mind been playing tricks on him? Revali shook his head. It didn’t matter, he was awake now, and despite losing a hundred years ago, he was more than ready for some payback on Calamity Ganon. 

Revali took some comfort in the fact that he wasn’t the only Champion to fall to the Calamity. Even Link had apparently been bested. Hopefully the others were still alive like he was. Revali still wasn’t sure how he’d remained unconscious and unaged for over a hundred years, but the best chance he had at figuring it out was, for better or worse, sitting right in front of him.

“What happened when you boarded Vah Medoh?” Revali asked, watching Link carefully.

Link winced “I… kind of didn’t know how to turn it off so… I sort of pressed a bunch of buttons and used the Sheikah Slate on anything I could think of.”

Revali cringed at the thought of Link getting his grubby Hylian hands all over his beautiful Divine Beast, but he supposed it couldn’t be helped now. “And so you just… fiddled around until something happened?” He asked incredulously.

Link shook his head “I… I think I had to restore power to that big console on Medoh’s back. When I went to turn it on this… thing appeared.”

Revali had a pretty good idea what “thing” Link was talking about. “And you… defeated it? Alone?” He despised speaking those words but he had to be sure.

Revali’s heart soared when Link shook his head “Oh no! Well I mean… I was the one who actually killed it.” Revali’s heart instantly plummeted like a rock. Link continued “But I did have help! My fairy friends made sure to heal me up whenever I got hurt!”

Revali’s eye was twitching again. “Your… fairy friends?”

Link nodded, smiling “Yeah! Eeny, Meenie, Miney, and Moe! Though…” Link frowned “they all flew off once the monster was dead. I don’t know where they went. They haven’t come back…”

Revali wanted to scream. Soliciting the aid of even just one fairy was generally considered almost impossible. The little things were incredibly fickle and just as likely to prank you as help you. Getting four to help you simultaneously?! That was just… asinine. Still, Link hadn’t answered the one question Revali really needed clarity on. “And where did you find… me?” Revali asked, though he had a nagging feeling he already knew the answer.

Link must have sensed Revali’s apprehension because he hesitated before answering. “When… when the monster died, it sort of… dissolved and… well… there you were.”

“There I was?” Revali said incredulously.

Link nodded “There you were.”

Revali quickly added “terrible storyteller” to his mental list of Link’s (considerable) flaws. “So what? I just… appeared in front of you?”

Link rubbed the back of his head “Well… no. After it dissolved, you were the only thing left.”

Revali blinked, suddenly feeling queasy. “Are… are you telling me that I was… eaten by that thing?!”

Link frowned “I don’t think it even had a mouth. Can you eat something without a mouth?”

“Semantics!” Revali snapped. “Was I or was I not inside of it?”

Link nodded “Um… yeah. That’s what it looked like.”

Revali was going to puke. The darkness. The darkness that had enveloped him when he’d hit the deck of Vah Medoh. The monster must have taken advantage of Revali’s downed state to… consume him. Was that how he’d survived for a hundred years? Had the beast been keeping him preserved for some reason? Revali furiously shook his head, trying to banish the dark thoughts from his mind. Speculation wouldn’t do him any good right now.

Revali laid back down on the bed, suppressing his sigh of relief when the pain wracking his body faded into a dull throb. If he’d been trapped by that monster then it stood to reason that the other Champions were in the same predicament. He was loath to simply leave the matter up to Link, it was honestly astounding that the Hylian had even managed to defeat Revali’s captor. Clearly he had simply gotten lucky, and Revali was never the type to leave anything up to luck (or Link) if he could help it.

“It sounds to me like you could barely defeat the monster.” He said sharply, smug satisfaction burning in his chest at Link’s wince. “Well then, I suppose you’ll be delighted to learn that you won’t be fighting the next one all by your lonesome!”

Link blinked at Revali, confusion evident on his face (it was going to take a long time before Revali was used to Link being expressive) as he asked “Wait… the ‘next one?’”

Revali scoffed at Link’s dimwittedness. “You are planning to free the other Champions from their Divine Beasts and fight Ganon, are you not?”

Link’s brows furrowed and he looked to the side. “I… I guess?”

“You guess?” Revali snapped incredulously. 

Link shrugged “Well… I don’t really have a choice do I?”

What?! “Oh good!” Revali drawled “So nice to know that the chosen hero is gracious enough to help save all of Hyrule just because he doesn’t have anything better to do!”

“That’s not what I— Wait…” Link’s brows suddenly shot up “You’re coming with me?”

Revali rolled his eyes. “Yes, you dimwitted brat. I have graciously decided to lend you my aid.” Revali waved his uninjured wing. “No thanks are necessary,” he smirked, “but they are appreciated.” 

To Revali’s utter confoundment, Link did not profusely thank the great Rito Champion’s generosity. Instead, the insolent Hylian merely cocked an eyebrow and said “Can you even walk?”

Revali’s feathers ruffled in indignation and he opened his beak to snap back that of course he could walk when he was hit with a surprising realization: he didn’t actually know. He could move his talons to be sure, but it remained to be seen if his legs would actually support him. He couldn’t even sit up without finding himself in considerable pain, after all.

Revali snorted. Well, there was one simple way to find out. Pushing through the pain, Revali sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Ignoring Link’s surprise, Revali confidently put his weight on his talons and stood up. Flashing Link a smug grin, Revali said “I do believe that answers your question.”

Infuriatingly, Link just said “That’s standing, not walking.”

Revali’s eye twitched at the Hylian’s insolence, even if he had to concede that Link was right. Still, he had already gotten past the hard part. Walking shouldn’t be much of a challenge! Revali proudly took a step forward… only for his leg muscles to suddenly spasm. With a (perfectly dignified, thank you very much) squawk, Revali lost his balance and pitched forward towards the inn floor. He had enough sense to try and catch himself with his wings so that he wouldn’t smash his beak into the hardwood… but with one wing stuck in a sling, he managed to catch only half his weight and found his broken wing slamming into the inn’s floor, sending agonizing pain jolting up his shoulder. 

Hissing angrily, Revali glared up at Link and growled “You could have caught me, you know.”

Link didn’t look the least bit sorry that he hadn’t. “I figured you’d get mad at me if I intervened,” he said with a shrug. 

Dammit, Link was right, Revali would have been mad if the Hylian had intervened. That still wasn’t a good reason for not helping him though! Revali had opened his beak to say as much when Link got up from the stool and offered him his hand. Revali eyed the proffered appendage warily before reluctantly taking it. Link helped Revali up to his talons and back into the bed without a word.

As he watched Revali lie back down with a groan Link sheepishly rubbed the back of his head “I should go get—”

“No.” Revali snapped. “We are not finished here.” Pointing at the stool, Revali growled “Sit.” Link blinked and obediently sat back down. After taking a moment to smother his temper, Revali said slowly, “That… incident stays between us.” 

Link frowned and looked at Revali’s sling. “You landed on—”

“I am aware!” Revali snapped. “It’s fine.” Taking another deep breath, Revali said evenly. “Despite that little… mishap, I still intend to accompany you.”

Link cocked an eyebrow. “You can’t walk.”

“I just need a couple days to get my strength back.” Revali growled out, psyching himself up for a protracted argument. No doubt Link would object because he thought Revali was weak, but Revali would show him. He was the Great Revali, Rito Legend! He was not weak and he would never be weak, and he would make Link understand that if it was the last thing he—

“Okay.” 

“What?” Revali blinked. That… that had been easier than expected. Link wasn’t going to protest?

“I’m fine waiting a few days for you to get back on your feet.” Link smiled warmly “It’ll be nice to have some company on the road.”

“W-Well…” Revali stammered, flabbergasted. “That… Good!” Quickly scrambling to regain his usual haughty attitude, Revali turned his beak up at Link and smirked condescendingly. “It seems you have some brains on you after all! After all, a master archer such as myself will be far more useful in fighting the Calamity than that pathetic little darkness sealing sword of yours!”

To his surprise, Link just looked confused. “What sword?”

Chapter Text

“SKREEEEHH!”

Medoh screeched as Revali masterfully input the commands for it to roost atop Totori Spire and take aim at Hyrule Castle. The Rito Champion was feeling much, much better after a few more days of rest. The pain that had once imbibed his whole body had faded to a dull throb, and his strength had almost completely returned. If it weren’t for his still broken wing, Revali would’ve been able to reach Vah Medoh all on his own once more. Unfortunately…

“We’re good to go.” Revali stated. “Medoh’s autopilot will handle the rest.” He turned around to face his companion. “Let’s get this over with.”

Teba silently nodded and knelt down for Revali to climb onto his back. To be frank, this whole situation was utterly humiliating. Revali was a master of the skies, yet because of one lousy broken wing he’d been reduced to piggybacking on Teba to get to Medoh like he was a blasted fledgling! 

…Even though he technically still was …

Killing that lovely thought with a million bomb arrows, Revali clambered onto Teba’s back and hung on tightly with his unbroken wing as the older Rito dived off Vah Medoh and began the long descent back to Rito Village. Reflexively closing his transparent third eyelids against the turbulent winds, Revali cast his gaze back up to Medoh to observe the Divine Beast slowly start its own spiraling descent. 

Revali really would have preferred using Link’s slate’s strange teleportation to get up to the Divine Beast and back, but the Hylian brat had been nowhere to be found that morning, and Revali certainly wasn’t going to wait around for him. So he’d reluctantly asked for Teba’s assistance instead. To be perfectly honest, Revali still wasn’t quite sure what to make of the white Rito. To have attained the rank of First Warrior Teba must have had some skill, but Revali had yet to see him so much as fire a bow. In fact, it was almost as if Teba had been avoiding him ever since that first day. Revali could understand if Teba felt a little intimidated by him, but this felt far more like the white Rito was embarrassed to be around him. Revali scowled at the thought. Why would anyone be embarrassed to be around him? He was a delight! Teba should… should be worshiping the ground he walked on! Not avoiding him like he was some unwanted— Revali stopped that train of thought right before he found himself spiraling down an all too familiar path. Teba probably just felt unworthy to be in the presence of a living legend like Revali. Yes! Yes, that must be it!

To distract himself, Revali turned his gaze towards the approaching structure of Rito Village. It still disturbed him to see the once massive village that had sprawled all across Lake Totori now reduced solely to wrapping around the central spire. In Revali’s time the Rito were far more spread out, clustering in small settlements all across Tabantha and Hebra. The distance had never been a problem for those who could fly. Had the Calamity truly been so dangerous that his people had been forced to cluster together for safety? 

As the spire grew closer, Revali could see signs of damage from his Divine Beast. The walkway was burned and riddled with holes in some places, some of the roosts higher up had clearly suffered fire damage, and the rock of the spire itself was scarred with scorch marks and craters, remnants of Vah Medoh’s assault. Revali swallowed down the guilt rising in his throat. Even if he knew that nobody had been seriously hurt and most of the damage was superficial, Revali couldn’t help but feel responsible for the destruction his Divine Beast had wrought under the command of that monster. If he hadn’t been so weak —er, caught off guard, then the beast would never have gotten control of Medoh. Revali shook his head as they neared the Village. It wouldn’t do, to dwell on things he couldn’t fix. He was still the Rito Champion after all, he was expected to be better than some moody fledgling.

Before too long, Teba gracefully landed upon the large landing that had been renamed in Revali’s honor. The Rito Champion couldn’t resist standing a little taller once he’d climbed off the white Rito. He’ll admit that he’d been a little flattered when he’d learned they’d renamed the Warrior’s Landing after him. It wasn’t a statue or anything, but Revali supposed that after the Calamity, nobody in Hyrule really had time to do frivolous things like carving statues. It still would have been nice… but at least they’d managed to find a way to honor him somehow.

With his head held high, Revali nobly strutted down the walkway towards the communal kitchen. He’d skipped breakfast after all, and he knew from experience that if he wanted to keep his strength up he’d need a healthy meal. If he was lucky, perhaps Saki or the woman with the five noisy chicks —Amali if he remembered correctly— would still be there. Revali barely paid attention to Teba silently following him. He noticed the smell first, the roasted aroma of freshly baked nutcake. Revali couldn’t quite stop the grin on his beak. Admittedly it wasn’t the healthiest of breakfasts, but he might as well treat himself on his last day in Rito Village. Hylia knows when he’ll get the chance for decent food on the road. 

Revali stepped into the kitchen, fully prepared to turn the charm to the max in order to get a slice of that delicious nutcake from Saki or Amali when he stopped dead in his tracks. Carefully pulling the nutcake out of the oven and onto a nearby plate was neither of the two Rito mothers, but Link. The Hylian’s eyes went wide when he looked over his shoulder and saw Revali standing in the entrance. Things had been… awkward between the two of them after their last conversation. Revali got the distinct impression Link wasn’t entirely sure where they stood with one another. On one hand, Revali had made it clear he was going to accompany Link on his quest to free the other Champions, but on the other, Revali had also made it perfectly clear that he despised the Hylian’s very existence. Revali would have felt bad about the mixed signals he was giving him, if it weren’t for the fact that watching Link’s face contort into all sorts of strange new expressions as he tried to decipher the Rito Champion’s intentions was pretty much his only source of amusement.

For his part, Revali was still trying to process that Link didn’t have the Sword that Seals the Darkness. (And that he managed to beat the monster that had bested Revali without it.) That sword was the only reason Link had ever been made a Champion in the first place! Link and that overrated hunk of metal had been practically inseparable before the Calamity. The thought that, even amnesiac, Link wouldn’t have the sword was simply ludicrous. What had happened to Link after the Calamity? Why hadn’t it been laid to rest beside him? Revali wanted— nay needed answers. His own memories of the Calamity were slowly coming back to him, but he was quickly realizing he had only a fraction of the whole picture, and it was becoming increasingly clear that Link had even fewer pieces of the puzzle than he did. 

But that was a matter for a later time. Right now, Revali had only one objective: persuading Link to give him a slice of nutcake. It would be simple, Revali just had to be charming like he’d planned. It didn’t matter that it was Link he’d be persuading and not one of the mothers. Revali could be charming to anyone if he wanted to be! 

Confidently, Revali stepped into the kitchen and said “I’m surprised a barbaric ape like yourself is even capable of cooking. What horrific monstrosity have you concocted, I wonder?”

Nailed it.

Before Link could respond, Teba’s voice suddenly spoke up from behind Revali. “I believe what Master Revali was trying to say was that he’d welcome a slice of nutcake, if you’re willing to share.” 

Revali shot a quick glare over his shoulder at Teba before clearing his throat and saying “Well, better that you inflict your culinary monstrosity on me instead of some poor, unsuspecting fledgling.”

Link looked back and forth between the two Rito for a moment before a smirk slowly spread across his face. “Well , I suppose you could have some of my… ‘culinary monstrosity,’” Link’s eyes twinkled, “if you say please .”

Revali narrowed his eyes at the Hylian. Alright, he’d play along. How hard could it be? Revali opened his beak to speak…

Only to promptly do an about-face and march right out of the kitchen. Nope. He couldn’t do it, not with Link’s smug little face grinning at him. He was a Champion! He would not beg! That was beneath him now. Unfortunately, before Revali could get very far, his stomach decided that his hunger was far more important than his pride and protested.

Loudly.

Judging by Link’s laughter, Revali hadn’t been the only one to hear it. Feathers poofing up in indignation, Revali turned back around and returned to the kitchen, doing his best to ignore Teba’s gaze. Link had already cut the cake in half and split them between two plates and was now giving Revali an expectant look.

Revali scowled. The brat was really going to make him say it wasn’t he? “May I please …” Revali spat, the words tasting like acid on his tongue. “…be allowed to spare some other poor soul from being poisoned by your disastrous attempt at making food.”

Link cast an amused glance at Teba before offering the plate to Revali. “Close enough.”

Revali took the plate of nutcake and sat down on a nearby cushion. Carefully holding the plate with his injured wing, Revali grabbed the offered fork with his uninjured one and used it to stab a decent sized chunk of the moist, steaming cake and plop it into his mouth. 

…

…

…Oh fuck! It was actually good!

Link silently sat down next to Revali and started wolfing down his own half of the cake. Teba gave Revali a look the Champion didn’t want to decipher before continuing on down the walkway, leaving the two Champions to eat alone. With Teba gone, Link’s earlier confidence seemed to fade and the two of them ate in silence. Revali savored every bite of the rich, nutty flavor, and yet before he realized it he was already done.

“How was it?” Link asked, having already finished his own piece.

“It was horrible.” Revali lied, setting his plate aside. “I’ve never tasted anything more vile. I could barely finish.” 

Link’s eyes noticeably flicked down to the Rito’s plate, where not even the crumbs had been left behind, but wisely didn’t comment. Suddenly, the distant whirring of Vah Medoh’s engines grew louder than ever and the whole spire shook as the Divine Beast perched atop it. A red beam of light shot out into the east towards Hyrule Castle and Medoh let out one final screech before falling silent.

After a moment, Link asked “So… is it ready?”

Revali closed his eyes, following his connection to Medoh and received confirmation that there were no problems and the Divine Beast was ready to assault Calamity Ganon as soon as Revali gave the order. The connection between the Champions and their Beasts was a difficult thing to describe. The giant machines couldn’t really talk per se, but they could still communicate with their pilots remotely, updating them on the condition of the Beast and alerting them to any problems. The Divine Beasts could even be given simple commands to follow, though anything more complicated like weapon operation required the pilot to input the orders manually.

“Yes.” Revali said, opening his eyes and getting to his feet. “Vah Medoh is prepared to strike the Calamity when I say so.”

Link nodded, a faraway look in his eyes. “That’s good… that’s… that’s good.” 

Link got up and collected the empty plates, putting them in the designated area for dirty dishes to be cleaned by whoever had the chore that evening. Revali didn’t say anything about Link’s behavior. They had agreed (or rather, Revali had suggested and Link hadn’t opposed) that they’d wait to strike Calamity Ganon with Medoh until Link was facing it. They didn’t want the beast to recover while they went around freeing the other Champions. Link had gotten this distant look in his eyes when Revali had mentioned the Hylian’s inevitable confrontation with the Calamity. Revali wasn’t worried. If Link was too cowardly to face his so-called “destiny” like a man, then Revali would just have to swoop in and save the day himself! There was no room for laziness when the fate of Hyrule was at stake.

Speaking off… “Where were you this morning?” Revali demanded. “Medoh would have been prepared to fire much sooner if you’d taken me up there with that slate of yours.”

Link looked up and winced sheepishly. “I… I got distracted doing a shrine.”

Revali blinked slowly, not sure if he’d heard correctly. “Doing a… shrine?”

Link nodded “Yeah, you know those mound thingies scattered around everywhere—”

“I know what they are!” Revali snapped irritably. “What exactly does… ‘doing’ a shrine even mean?!”

Link shrugged “They’ve all got these little trials inside, and when I beat them I get these little orbs that I can use to help me get my old strength back.” He smiled “They’re actually pretty fun!”

Revali didn’t much care for how “fun” the shrines were, he was more concerned with the fact that, not only did Link not have his memories, or the Master Sword, he apparently wasn’t even as strong as he was before the Calamity now too?! And yet he still managed to beat the monster that had held Revali captive for a century?! That was… that was…

“Um… Revali?” Link’s voice broke Revali out of his little mental breakdown. “Your eyelid is twitching again. Everything okay?”

Shaking his head, Revali walked past Link without a word, leaving the Hylian to follow. They descended the walkway down to the inn where Revali had been recovering only to find what seemed like the whole village waiting for them.

“Are you leaving now Link?” Saki said, holding a basket in her arms.

Revali looked at the assembled crowd warily. “What is all this?”

“We wanted to see Mr. Link off!” one of Amali’s little fledglings chirped up. Revali still couldn’t remember their names. What was the pink one called again?

“Link told us about how he was planning on leaving the village as soon as Vah Medoh had landed.” Kaneli explained, getting up from the stool he’d been sitting in. “We thought it would be nice to throw together a little farewell present as thanks for quelling Vah Medoh.” The Rito Elder nodded to Saki who stepped forward and handed the basket over to Link.

“We all chipped in.” Cecili, the owner of the inn, added. “Misa made a couple different elixirs, Nekk and his husband” (“My name is Huck, woman! How many times do I have to tell you this?!”) “made you a bedroll, the guards got you a Kite Shield, and Harth included some bomb arrows.”

Revali stepped back as the crowd closed in on Link, everyone chiming in about what they contributed to the care package and wishing Link well. A strange feeling squirmed in Revali’s gut as he watched all of the attention be focused on the Hylian. It was fine. He didn’t even know half of these people’s names while Link had supposedly passed the time waiting for Revali to recover helping out everyone and anyone who’d asked. It was natural they’d be more invested in Link’s departure than his own! It wasn’t like he was the Rito Champion or anything! 

He was not jealous. He was not jealous. He was not jealous. He was not jealous! 

“You’ll come back and visit us, won’t you Link?” The boy who had the same name as Tulin asked hopefully. “I’m sure Mr. Revali will be happy to see you too!”

Excuse me?!

Revali loudly cleared his throat. “Doubtful, considering I will be traveling with him!”

Silence fell upon the crowd like a heavy snowfall in Hebra. Everyone turned to stare at the Rito Champion, shocked, and— Oh, Revali sheepishly realized something:

They hadn’t known.

He hadn’t told anyone.

Whoops.

Suddenly, the crowd erupted like Death Mountain and Revali found himself swarmed, a dozen voices all speaking up at once. 

“But Master Revali your wing—”

“You only just got here!”

“If I’d known I would have packed more—”

“Such a brave young man!”

“—can’t go gallivanting across Hyrule in your—”

“Are you insane?!”

Revali couldn’t make out a single word through all the racket as his view was filled with a sea of unfamiliar faces. They were pressing in on him. It was overwhelming, he was starting to feel dizzy. Revali needed out, he needed out right now! This was too much! 

Well, he’d wanted to be the center of attention, hadn’t he?

“SILENCE!”

Like a command from the Goddess Herself, the crowd fell silent and turned as one towards the speaker. Teba, who had been standing silently off to the side of the little gathering, was tiredly rubbing his beak with his wing. “Perhaps we should allow Master Revali room to breathe before we barrage him with a million questions?”

Sheepishly, the crowd stepped back, muttering apologies. Revali let out a breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding. That was… odd. He’d always been fine with people crowding around him before. What changed? 

Eh, it was probably nothing.

Revali cleared his throat. “Thank you… Teba.” he looked around at the crowd “Now, I’m sure all of you desperately want me to continue gracing you with my magnificence, but I am a Champion.” Revali paused for dramatic effect. “That means that I have a responsibility to all of Hyrule. I cannot just sit back and let Link do all the work!”

“Are you sure you don’t want to at least wait until your wing is healed?” Saki asked.

Revali smirked confidently. “I didn’t become Champion by just lazing about whenever I got a little hurt!”

“You can’t fly!” A black Rito —Harth, if he remembered correctly— said loudly.

Revali rolled his eyes. “Then I’ll walk.”

 “That’s not what I meant!” Harth said. “I get wanting to go out there and help, but you’ll just be in the way until your wing is better! Teba, you agree with me, right?” 

Revali scowled at that, but before he could bite the insolent black Rito’s head off for daring to suggest that he, Revali, would ever be a burden, Teba said “If Master Revali is even half the warrior the stories say he is, he’ll know how to make sure he’s not a burden for Link.”

Revali felt a pleasant tug in his chest at Teba’s words. “Thank you ! I see someone still—”

“However.” Teba said, piercing yellow eyes boring into Revali. “I’m sure Master Revali isn’t foolish enough to depart without a weapon he can use with only one wing.” Revali tried not to wince. He actually hadn’t thought about that. Teba’s gaze flicked down to son. “Tulin, would you fetch my old boomerang? I’m sure Master Revali would find it of use to him on his journey.” 

The boy jumped at the chance to be helpful, and with surprising speed the young Rito was racing up the walkway in the blink of an eye. Kaneli hobbled forward. “An excellent idea Teba. In fact, I believe we have something that belongs to Master Revali that he’ll want to take with him.” At Revali’s raised eyebrows, Kaneli only smiled and nodded at Harth “Would you fetch it for me, Harth? I’m sure you remember where we keep it.”

The black Rito hesitated for a moment and then bowed “…At once, Elder.”

As Harth departed, Saki clapped her wings together and said “Oh! We should prepare a farewell present for Master Revali too! He’ll need his own supplies if he’ll be traveling with Link!”

All the assembled Rito except for Teba, Kaneli, and Cecili left the inn in a huge rush, clamoring to scrounge together a parting gift for their Champion. Over the next hour, Revali received a dozen different items for his travels. Some spare clothes from Fyson and Misa, a worn bedroll from Nekk and his husband, (“My name is Huck!”) a spare set of armor along with some maintenance gear from Gesane and Mazli, and more. Revali had a sneaking suspicion he was getting a lot of unwanted hand-me-downs, but he supposed on short notice it couldn’t be helped.

Teba’s son, Tulin-but-not-his-Tulin, returned with a yellow stained wooden boomerang with metal decorations and a gleaming red ruby set at the bend. The boy handed the boomerang to his father who cradled the old weapon with clear reverence. Teba gingerly held the boomerang out to Revali. “This belonged to my grandfather. It’s called the Sea Seeker.” 

Realizing this was no mere hand-me-down, Revali carefully took the boomerang from Teba’s wings and, after feeling its weight, slung it through a sling on his back. “I’ll endeavor to return it to you in perfect condition then. Far be it from me to damage a priceless family heirloom.”

Teba smiled and gave Revali a small nod before stepping aside to allow Kaneli and Harth to approach. Harth set down an old chest and carefully unlatched it. “I had been intending to reunite this with you in a more formal manner once your wing had healed,” Kaneli said as he opened the chest, “but I suppose it can’t be helped.”

At the Elder’s direction, Revali peered into the chest and promptly felt his heart stop. “Is that…?”

Kaneli nodded. “We’ve taken great care of her over the generations. I think you will find her to be in peak condition.”

Gingerly, Revali reached his wing into the chest and pulled out his most beloved friend…

His Great Eagle Bow. 

Just as Kaneli had said, the bow was in perfect shape, the blue fabric from his Champion’s scarf he’d tied to it was a little more aged than he remembered, but all of the functional parts had been given fresh refurbishments over the decades. Revali felt tears start to prickle the corners of his eyes and he quickly blinked them away. He’d thought he would never see her again, that surely she’d surely been lost to the ages. To be reunited with her was…

Clutching his beloved bow tight to his chest, Revali turned to Kaneli and, for perhaps the first time in his life, gave the Elder of Rito Village a deep, sincere bow. “Thank you.” Revali said, trying not to cry. “T-Thank you, I… I don’t know what to say…”

Kaneli smiled warmly and said “No thanks are necessary, Champion. A beautiful masterwork such as this deserves to be just as honored as her master.”

Revali smiled, a true, genuine smile, and carefully slung his Great Eagle Bow over his back. He may not be able to draw it just yet, but having the bow anywhere else after so long felt wrong.

After a moment, Harth stepped forward. “Here, take my Feathered Edge,” he said, handing Revali a light, triangular blade “Consider it an… apology, for not trusting your judgement.”

Revali blinked and after a moment of consideration, took the weapon. He disliked close-range combat, but a Feathered Edge was always useful to have just in case. “I suppose I can accept your apology.” Revali smirked, “I’ll use it well.”

A moment of silence passed between them before Link piped up, reminding everyone that he was still there. “Um… a-are we going?”

Revali rolled his eyes, resolving to smack Link upside the head later.

The whole village had seen them off at the first bridge. Link and Revali had crossed the remaining bridges in silence. When they reached Rito Stable, Link looked around in confusion for a moment before walking up to the stable master. 

“Where’d Mr. Satori go?” Link asked.

The stable master didn’t look up from the book he was reading “Ya mean the weird spirit-horse thingy ya rode in on? Ran off and vanished not too long ago.”

Link’s shoulders slumped. “Oh… I was hoping… okay.”

Revali was very confused by this exchange, but he was still riding high from being reunited with his beloved bow, so he refused to let Link’s eccentricities ruffle his feathers. Link returned to Revali’s side over by the fire circle, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. “So… my horse ran off.”

Revali felt a brief flare of irritation before suppressing it. He was fine. He was in a good mood. “Aren’t the stables supposed to prevent that from happening?” He asked, careful to keep his voice neutral.

Link’s lips pursed “I tried to stable him but they refused. I don’t know why. Something about a curse or something?”

Revali blinked slowly. “A curse?”

Link nodded. 

Revali closed his eyes and exhaled. Link probably rode in on a Stalhorse like the idiot he was, that was all. He was not going to let this affect his good mood. Instead, he changed the topic and asked. “What’s our destination?”

Link shrugged “I dunno.”

And like that, Revali’s good mood was gone. 

“What?!” Revali hissed, glaring angrily down at the Hylian.

Link blinked, his eyes wide “I-I thought you would decide! Y-You remember Hyrule better than I do right?”

Revali promptly smacked Link upside the head. He had promised to do so after all. “My memories of Hyrule are a hundred years out of date! I have no idea how much it’s changed in that time! You’re the one who’s actually traveled across it recently!”

Link winced, rubbing the back of his head where Revali had struck him. “O-Okay… I guess… yeah I guess that makes sense…”

“Well then get out your map and pick our destination!” Revali snapped. “We’ve wasted enough daylight already!”

Link nodded and hastily grabbed the Sheikah slate from his belt, his hands trembling as he turned it on. The slate’s screen lit up and Link froze. “Um… slight problem.”

Lovely. “What?” Revali growled.

Link turned the slate around to show the screen to Revali and the Rito Champion’s beak dropped. Link’s map was blank. Or, mostly blank at any rate. The area around Tabantha and the Great Plateau were filled in, but everything else was missing. Snatching the slate from Link’s hands, Revali irritably scrutinized the device, trying to see if there was some sort of mistake.  There was not. “What in Hylia’s name is this shit?” Revali growled.

Link winced “The map only reveals itself after I’ve synched the slate up with the towers I told you about.”

Revali remembered them; he'd even caught a glimpse of the one in Tabantha while Teba had flown him up to Vah Medoh that morning. “Why?” Revali asked, voice clipped.

Link shook his head “I dunno, that’s just how it works!”

“That’s… that’s…” Revali didn’t have the words. What good was a map if you had to actually explore the place you wanted to go to first to use it?! Were those ancient Sheikah morons?! Judging by how the only shrines on Link’s “map” were in the two filled in regions, it was probably a safe guess that the shrines wouldn’t show themselves until Link had synched with a tower too. With a frustrated growl, Revali unceremoniously tossed the slate back to Link, who fumbled to catch it, before marching up to the stable master. 

The stable master only looked up from his book when Revali loudly cleared his throat. “Did ya need somethin’? I thought you Rito didn’t use horses.” 

One: that was absurd, even Rito needed to use horses to pull carts and wagons, they could only carry so much on their persons before they were unable to get off the ground after all. Two: this man’s customer service was atrocious and Revali would have had half a mind to complain to the man’s manager if it weren’t for the fact that his title seemed to indicate that he was the manager. And finally, three: “I would like to see a map of Hyrule.” Revali stated “I assume your establishment keeps some on hand for travelers, correct?”

The master nodded “Sure. It’ll cost ya fifty rupees.”

“What?!” Revali gaped “That’s extortion!”

The master shrugged. “The only working press the Stables Association has is all the way in Hateno. Shipping them out here is both expensive and dangerous.” 

Grumbling under his breath, Revali returned to Link and held out his wing. “Fifty rupees.”

Link blinked “Wha-”

“Now!” Revali snapped. He was not in the mood for this. Link better have the money or Revali was going to toss him into Lake Totori. 

Thankfully, Link nodded and summoned a purple rupee from the Sheikah slate and handed it to Revali. Taking the rupee, Revali returned to the stable master and roughly slammed the purple gem onto the counter. The stable master wisely decided not to give the irritated Rito any more trouble and silently handed him a folded map. Returning to Link once more, Revali found a nearby stump and unfolded the map on it.

“We are here.” Revali said as Link joined him, pointing to the location labeled “Rito Village.” The map wasn’t anywhere near as detailed as the one in Link’s slate (the areas that were filled in at any rate), focusing more on the locations of roads, stables, and various settlements rather than terrain, but it would suffice for now. “The other Divine Beasts are likely somewhere near the main settlements of the other races.” Revali pointed to each location. “As it stands, I’d suggest we visit— are you even listening to me?!”

Link was staring listlessly down at the map, a frown etched on his face. “I… I think I was actually supposed to go to Kakariko before I came here.” 

Revali’s eyes narrowed. “You think?” Honestly, this moron…

Link winced “The-the king mentioned something about it.”

“Then why didn’t you?!” Revali snapped.

Link looked away. “I… got lost?”

Lost? HOW?! Kakariko was in pretty much the exact opposite direction of Rito Village from the Great Plateau! Sure, Link didn’t have a map (Revali still couldn’t get over that) but the king must have at least pointed him in the right direction? From the Great Plateau, the road to Kakariko led through the Dueling Peaks after all. The twin mountains weren’t exactly easy to miss! Was Revali the only competent person in all of Hyrule?!

Taking a deep breath, Revali looked back down at the map. He was too tired for this shit. “Then we’ll go to Kakariko first,” he growled. “That will take us quite a while, especially on foot.” Judging by the lack of roads going through central Hyrule on the map, Revali had to assume that something was making people steer clear of Hyrule Field. He’d rather not try their luck, not when he had a broken wing and Link was… Link.

“We… could teleport to the Plateau tower and start from there?” Link suggested pensively.

Revali snorted. “Link, you are aware what a plateau is, correct?”

Link cocked an eyebrow. “Um… I think so?”

“So tell me,” Revali drawled, “exactly how are we supposed to get down from the plateau?”

“I have a paraglider…” Link said uneasily.

“Built for one.” Revali added. “And seeing as I, regrettably, cannot fly at the moment, how am I supposed to get down?”

Link, the blasted brat, had the audacity to look confused . “I’ll just warp you down.”

Revali groaned “To where? The only shrines you are able to teleport to are either here in Tabantha or up on the Plateau. Anywhere you could teleport me to wouldn’t solve that problem.” 

Link blinked “You… you do know I can just find a new shrine at the base of the plateau to connect the slate to, right?”

Revali scoffed. “Don’t you need a nearby tower activated in order to connect the slate to them?”

“No.”

Oh. Revali was very careful to keep his expression neutral as he internally screamed at his own stupidity. “Well then I… I suppose that works.”

Link smiled uneasily “Great… then uh… should we go?”

Revali sniffed, folding up the map and handing it to Link to be stored in the slate. “Yes… yes we should.” The moment Link was out of sight Revali was going to hit his head against a rock wall. Repeatedly.

Link selected the Plateau Tower on the slate and before he confirmed the teleport, he said “You’ll… you’ll need to be touching the slate when we teleport if you don’t want to be left behind.”

Revali had gripped the other end of the slate with his wing when a thought occurred. “Are… are you sure this thing was designed to transport multiple people? Could there be some… complications?” The last thing he wanted was to come out the other end and find himself fused with Link, or something equally horrible.

Link shrugged “I… dunno, I didn’t have any problems last time… but I could’ve just been lucky. I guess we’ll find out!” 

Wait, what?!

Before Revali could object, Link had confirmed their destination and Revali felt the strangest tingling sensation. He watched with mixed horror and amazement as both he and Link started to glow blue and dissolve into strings of light. As his vision faded to white, Revali realized that it was far too late to back out now. Not just from teleporting, but from accompanying this insane Hylian on a mad quest to rescue the Champions and save Hyrule. Already, Revali could feel the headache building behind his eyes.

He was going to regret this, wasn’t he?

Chapter Text

When Revali’s vision came back to him, the first thing he noticed was the wind. This high up, the winds swept through the air around him like a running river. If Revali closed his eyes, he could almost imagine he was flying. It brought a wistful ache to heart, and reminded him all too well of the sling keeping his broken wing restrained. The second thing he noticed was that he was, thankfully, not fused to Link in any capacity. It seemed they had lucked out a second time without any complications from the teleport. Still…

Revali quickly pulled his hand away from the slate and glared at Link. “After we get down from here, we are not doing that again!”

Link frowned “Teleporting doesn’t feel that unpleasant does it? I thought it just tickled a little.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Revali closed his eyes and pinched his cere, taking a breath to calm himself. “Considering we do not know what drawbacks there could be for using this technology, I would rather not risk taking our chances. You may be fine risking a potential mishap but I am not.”

Link looked down at the slate. “Oh… yeah, I guess that makes sense. I suppose there isn’t a whole lot we know about this thing.”

“That’s probably another reason you were told to go to Kakariko first.” Revali mused. Upon seeing Link’s confused expression, Revali rolled his eyes. “Surely you aren’t that dimwitted.”

Link frowned. “Amnesia.”

Oh. Right. Yeah, in his indignation, Revali had almost forgotten about that. Link’s memories of Hyrule’s people were just as empty as his personal ones. Revali sighed. He was going to be playing the walking, talking encyclopedia for Link for a while wasn’t he? “The Sheikah live in Kakariko.” He said slowly.

Thankfully, Link’s eyes lit up in recognition. “The ones who made the slate?”

Revali sniffed “Well, their descendants at least. If we’re lucky, one of their old scientists managed to survive the past century, or at least passed on what they’d learned. They’ll be able to tell us more about how the slate functions.” Revali hummed thoughtfully, “Though, if you claim the princess has been in touch with you, I’m surprised she hasn’t explained it herself.”

Link frowned “Why would Zelda know about the slate?”

Revali blinked at the Hylian slowly. “You really don’t remember anything do you?” Before Link could respond, Revali said “Zelda was particularly fond of studying old Sheikah tech. She probably knew as much about it as their brightest minds.” Revali cast Link a curious glance “She really hasn’t taken the time to tell you?”

After a moment, Link shook his head. “I… I don’t think she can. When she contacted me it sounded strained, like she was having trouble doing it. I haven’t really heard much from her since I first woke up either.”

Revali didn’t respond for a moment, considering this new information. So the princess couldn’t just contact them whenever she wanted? This did not bode well. “Well, enough yapping.” Revali gestured in the general direction of the sun, which was already starting it’s descent towards the horizon. “We’re burning valuable daylight here. Go sync the slate up with a shrine so we can begin our journey properly.”

Link nodded and turned his gaze to the horizon, lifting up the slate and looking through its scope. After a moment he said “I think I see a shrine down by the river, or… the top of one at any rate. There’s a hill in the way. It should take me a couple hours to get there.” Link walked over the edge of the tower and pulled out his paraglider. “I don’t think I’ll be able to glide all the way there.”

An idea suddenly popped into Revali’s head. Smirking to himself, the Rito Champion said “I think I might have a solution to that.” At Link’s questioning look, Revali said “Don’t trouble yourself. Just take off already.”

With one more confused look at Revali, Link jumped off the tower and opened his paraglider. The moment Link was in the air, Revali called to the winds. Every Rito had some degree of control over air magic, it was how they could fly with such small wingspans. However, the wind was a wild, uncontrollable thing, even for the Rito. Even the most skilled of fliers couldn’t perfectly contain every gust or breeze they created. Revali however, was not most Rito.

Link cried out as an updraft suddenly appeared below him and caught on to the paraglider, blowing him forward at high speeds. Link looked wide-eyed over his shoulder at Revali, and the Rito Champion merely smirked and waved. By his estimates, that updraft would give Link enough momentum to glide almost all the way to the river. It was hardly as strong as his Gale, but Revali was proud of it nonetheless.

Turning his gaze from Link’s swiftly retreating figure, Revali finally took a moment to inspect his surroundings. The tower was made from the same beige-and-black stone that Vah Medoh was carved from, and the console at the center was almost identical to Guidance Stones on his Divine Beast. Revali turned his gaze towards the horizon. He had the perfect view of Hyrule Field from up here. He could even see the looming shadow of Hyrule Castle in the distance. Revali’s stomach twisted into a knot as he gazed out at the ruined capital. The castle was engulfed in a swirling ring of gaseous Malice, just like it had been a hundred years ago. Even at this distance, Revali could tell that the once magnificent crown jewel of Hyrule was now a dilapidated ruin. Time and Calamity both had wrought their wrath upon the castle. The haze obscured his view of Castle Town, but Revali doubted it looked any better. Could they really stand up to this thing? Looking out at what the Calamity had done, Revali couldn’t help but wonder if it was all a futile endeavor…

Revali forced himself to look away from the castle, turning around to gaze upon the distant ridge of the Gerudo Highlands. He wished Urbosa was here. The Gerudo Champion had always been a sturdy rock to roost upon whenever Revali’s thoughts turned against him. Ironic, considering how Revali had initially wanted nothing to do with her…

“Revali.” Urbosa’s firm voice stopped the Rito Champion in his tracks.

Suppressing an irritated groan, Revali glared over his shoulder at his fellow Champion. “Yes? I do hope this is something important. I am quite busy.”

Urbosa folded her arms over her chest and gave him a disapproving frown. They were currently alone in that particular corridor of Hyrule Castle, having both just met with Princess Zelda to update her on their progress with their Divine Beasts. He’d been doing his best to avoid the Gerudo Champion, she reminded him far too much of Elder Cidoli with her stern gaze and her commanding aura and Revali did not need another judgmental adult in his life, thank you very much!

“You missed the last strategy meeting with the other Champions.” Urbosa said.

Revali rolled his eyes, looking forward once more. “You mean those little ‘tea parties?’ There was precious little actual strategizing during the last one. I’m quite fine without all that pointless socializing, thank you. I have far better things to do with my precious time.”

Revali had started walking again only to be suddenly stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder. Startled, Revali roughly pulled free of Urbosa’s grasp and whirled around to glare at the Gerudo Chieftain. When had she gotten so close to him?

“What?” Revali snapped, forcing himself to meet his fellow Champion’s fierce emerald eyes. The look Urbosa was giving him made Revali feel distinctly like he was once more a naughty fledgling about to get scolded by the Elder.

“Building rapport is important, Revali.” Urbosa said firmly, “The Champions have to know each other to work together effectively.”

Revali snorted. “I already know everything I need to know about all of you. And the only thing you need to know about me is that the skies are my domain.” Revali narrowed his eyes. “I’m not here to make friends. Just don’t get in my way.”

Urbosa closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. With a sigh, she said “Must you be so frustrating? Flying solo isn’t going to work against the Calamity.”

Revali raised his eyebrows. “Was that a bird pun?”

“That’s what you’re choosing to focus on?” Urbosa shook her head, the corners of her mouth twitching in a suppressed smirk.

Revali hummed. “I’m just surprised, I would have assumed a Chief would know better.”

“Uh huh,” Urbosa cocked an eyebrow. “And while you’re busy pretending to be offended, are you going to admonish me for eating poultry next?”

“Flock off,” Revali said.

Urbosa’s laughter was a hearty, vibrant thing that rumbled through Revali’s eardrums. “So you do have a sense of humor! Looks like I owe Daruk fifty rupees.”

“You were betting on my capacity to joke?” Revali said skeptically.

Urbosa looked at him thoughtfully for a second before her eyes twinkled. “That’s what happens when you refuse to interact with people, they start deciding for themselves what you’re like. People just love to gossip after all.”

The other Champions were gossiping about him?! No. No, this would not stand! Revali’s reputation was a delicate thing he’d spent years meticulously crafting from the ground up, and he refused to allow anyone to ruin it. Completely oblivious to how he’d fallen right into Urbosa’s trap, Revali said “Then it seems I will have to set the record straight. When is the next… ‘strategy meeting?’”

Urbosa smiled coyly “And why do you want to know? I thought you didn’t have ‘time’ for… What was it? ‘Pointless socializing?’”

Revali huffed. “Do want me to attend your stupid get-together or not?”

“Fair enough.” Urbosa said “It’s tomorrow evening. We’re meeting in the same garden as last time.”

“Fine, I will attend. BUT,” Revali held up a wingtip “I expect there to be actual strategizing and not just frivolous gossip.”

Urbosa smiled “Fair enough. See you then, birdbrain.”

Birdbrain.

What an asinine word. While not a racist term (Goddess knows the Rito —himself included— had always had a weirdly self-depreciative fondness for bird-based wordplay —“birdplay,” if you will) Revali still wouldn’t normally tolerate someone calling him that. But from Urbosa it had always felt… fond. Revali sighed, he had more important matters than simply reminiscing right now.

Namely, what in Hylia’s name was taking Link so long?!

Revali started pacing back and forth irritably, his mind racing through possible scenarios. Had something happened to Link? No, absurd. Revali may not have much faith in the Hylian Champion’s prowess, but he was no fool. That Link was able to even survive against the monster that had bested Revali meant that no meager Bokoblin or two was going to best the so-called “hero.” No, obviously the idiot had gotten lost, and was now bumbling about the wilderness. Maybe he’d stumble all the way to Death Mountain and free Daruk while Revali just sat up on this bloody tower and starved to death waiting for him to never come back!

Revali groaned and rubbed his aching forehead. He had to distract himself. His thoughts were swirling around and around and around in his head like they always did. Revali walked around, inspecting every inch of the tower that he could, looking for something— anything to distract himself. There was nothing. How could a ten-millennia-old tower built by lost technology be so boring?! Exasperated, Revali pulled out his Great Eagle Bow and sat down to inspect it. He’d already checked it over before they’d left Rito Village, but he supposed another inspection or two wouldn’t hurt…

The sun had just reached the horizon by the time the swirling lines of light appeared on the tower and coalesced into the smiling form of Link. Revali looked up from where he’d just finished inspecting his Great Eagle Bow for approximately the seven hundredth time to glare at the insolent Hylian, making Link’s smile instantly falter.

Oh, so he knew he was in trouble then? Good.

“I understand that even with the little boost I gave you it was still a bit of a long trip,” Revali drawled as he stood up, “but I think making me wait all afternoon was a bit indulgent, don’t you?!”

Link had the decency to wince. “Uh… sorry,” he said, rubbing the back of his head and averting his eyes, “I was busy doing the shrine’s puzzle.”

Revali blinked. Once. Twice. Finally he said, “Why was I not informed that you had to finish the shrine’s puzzle before you could connect the Sheikah slate with it?”

“Oh, that’s because I don’t.”

Revali was sorely tempted to fling himself off the tower, broken wing be damned. “And you didn’t think to come and get me… before you did the trial?!”

Link winced, “Sorry, force of habit.”

Revali didn’t have the energy to be mad about this anymore. It had been a long, exhausting day, despite the fact that he’d spent half of it doing nothing, and Revali just wanted to get it over with. “Let’s just… let’s just go…”

Warping with the Sheikah slate was just as weird the second time. Thankfully, it looked like he and Link’s good luck with the strange technology hadn’t worn off yet. Revali found himself standing beside Link on a raised dais in front of the large mound of the shrine, thankfully intact and not fused to Link. The shrine was built between the Hylia River and a large hill that obscured their view of the plateau. If it weren’t for the large column atop the shrine peeking out over the hill, Revali doubted Link would have spotted it. Regardless, it was a fairly sheltered position that would make a decent camping spot for the night.

“Since somebody,” Reval very pointedly glared at Link, “decided to take his time, I would suggest we camp out here for the night and cross the bridge in the morning.”

Link frowned “Are you sure you don’t want to travel through the night? I thought you wanted to get to Kakariko as quickly as possible.”

Revali scoffed, “I would prefer not tripping over a stray rock, thank you very much.”

“It’s not gonna be that dark.” Link said, looking up at the clear sky “The moon’s usually pretty bright.”

“For you, perhaps.” Revali huffed “Alas, a Rito’s night vision is somewhat… lacking.” Also he was tired and had a headache, but no way was he going to tell Link that!

“Oh,” Link winced. “Alright, that makes sense. I’ll… I’ll get started on a fire I guess.”

While Link set up camp, Revali surveyed their perimeter. There was a Bokoblin camp further upriver, but it was far enough away that Revali doubted the little things would be bothering them. Satisfied, Revali laid out his bedroll, sat down on it, and watched as Link used a flint to get a fire going as darkness fell.

Their dinner that night consisted of apples. Lots of apples. Revali had gotten a look at Link’s slate and noticed that the Hylian somehow had over five hundred of the things. The fact that Link’s tiny little slate could store so much by turning the objects into light still boggled his mind. Revali thought he was finally starting to understand why Princess Zelda had been so fascinated with it. The technology was frankly astounding. It made all the more idiotic design choices like the need to unlock the map (yes, he was still hung up on that) all the more baffling. It was almost enough to make him curious. Almost.

As Revali grabbed a fresh apple, he finally brought up something that’d been bothering him. “Why did you go to Rito Village first?”

Link blinked wide-eyed at him across the fire, clearly surprised by Revali’s question. “I told you, I got lo—”

“No.” Revali cut in. “I refuse to believe that the King didn’t tell you where to go. The Dueling Peaks are a very obvious landmark on the road to Kakariko. Not even you could mess that up. At worst, you’d end up in Hateno, not the other side of the kingdom!”

A strange look passed over Link’s face at the mention of Hateno, but it was gone before Revali could analyze it. Link looked down at the fire, grimacing as he said “Alright… fine. I’ll admit it. I didn’t even try to go to Kakariko.”

Revali hummed, taking a bite out of his apple and swallowing the sweet fruit before asking “Why? Surely, it would have been the sensible decision?”

Link turned his head to gaze in the direction of Hyrule Castle, now invisible in the dark of night. “Yeah, but… to be honest… I didn’t even want to leave the plateau.”

“WHA—HAHK!” Revali’s shout caused him to choke on the fresh piece of apple he’d just put into his mouth. He hawked it up into the fire where it burned, causing a faintly sweet aroma to mingle with the scent of burning firewood. Once his airway was clear, Revali snapped “What do you mean you didn’t want to leave the plateau?!”

Link couldn’t meet Revali’s eyes, instead gazing into the flames like they held some hidden deeper meaning only he could divine. After a long, long minute of silence, Link whispered “I… I was scared.”

Revali… hadn’t been expecting that. “Scared?”

The firelight flickered in Link’s cool blue eyes as he said “I… I didn’t remember anything about myself, and I was suddenly being asked to take on this… Calamity and save everyone.” Link’s shoulders slumped “How… How could I possibly do that? I just…”

Link fell silent, and Revali waited for the Hylian to continue. When it became clear that Link wouldn’t unprompted, Revali cleared his throat and said “Well, it seems you found your courage eventually.”

“I didn’t.” Link said, curling in on himself. “I only left the plateau because… because I saw something that I wanted to check out.”

When Link fell silent once more, Revali rolled his eyes and impatiently said “And that was…?”

Link blinked and looked up at Revali “Oh, um… one night, I saw this mountain glowing.”

Revali blinked “A… mountain?”

Link nodded “I… I wanted to know what was causing it so I just… used my paraglider and glided off the plateau.” Link sighed “It took me a whole day to get there. I was worried that it wouldn’t show up again the next night, but it did and after I climbed it…”

Revali was starting to get really tired of Link’s spontaneous bouts of silence. “Do you intend to actually finish this story any time soon, or are you just going to leave me in suspense all night?”

Link frowned, and for the first time, Revali saw anger flash in Link’s eyes. “I was trying to figure out how to describe it.”

Strange, Revali had thought that the first time his words managed to get an angry reaction out of Link he would feel… satisfaction? Something at least. But instead, all he felt was hollow. There was no victory in this when Link had already been far more free with his emotions than he ever had before. Pushing his disappointment aside, Revali said “Wing it. I doubt anything you come up with in that empty skull of yours will be any good anyways.”

Narrowing his eyes, Link said “It was a horse.”

Revali waited for elaboration, but when Link was silent, he sighed. “Is… is that all?”

Link shrugged, “There were some glowing blue bunnies with owl faces and fairies too. They were all gathered around this spring near the top. That’s how I met the four who helped me on Vah Medoh.”

Fairies and Blupees?! That, was far more interesting than some stupid horse. “A gathering of magical creatures?” Revali mused “How fascinating. So they were the cause of the glow?”

Link shook his head. “Nope, I think the horse was.”

Revali’s eyelid twitched. That was… That was just… “Absurd.” he spat. “How could a stupid horse cause a mountain to glow?!”

“The horse was glowing too.” Link said.

What? And he didn’t mention this earlier?! “You truly are a terrible storyteller.” Revali groaned. “I suppose you neglected to mention something else about this horse as well. Perhaps it had wings and a horn?”

Link shook his head. “Nope.”

Revali snorted “Well then… as interesting as this story was, it still doesn’t explain why—”

“It did have two faces though.” Link interrupted.

Revali felt his jaw land in his lap. “Wha—”

“And these frilly antennae.” Link added, raising his hands to his head and wiggling his index fingers to demonstrate.

Revali’s eyes were as wide as saucers. “It—”

“And it’s faces weren’t horse faces, they were owl faces.” Link said.

“Are you just making shit up?!” Revali growled. “Were you dissatisfied with my reaction to your silly tale and are inventing wilder and wilder addendums in some asinine attempt to get my attention?!”

Link blinked “…No? Why would I do that?”

Revali closed his eyes, his headache was getting worse. “You know what… fine, I’ll humor this little flight of fancy.” Revali opened his eyes to glare at Link. “Just tell me one thing: how does any of this relate to you going to Rito Village instead of Kakariko?”

Link shrugged “Well after I got on the horse—”

“It let you ride it?!” Revali snapped.

“It was friendly.” Link said, pouting. “And I thought you wanted to hear how I got to Rito Village?”

Revali sighed “Fine. Continue…”

Link nodded “Well, after I got on it, the horse took off in a gallop and ran all the way down the mountain and through this place with a bunch of giant mushrooms—”

“Hyrule Ridge.” Revali added, recognizing the place even by Link’s (admittedly vague) description. “And they’re trees, not mushrooms”

“Really? Huh.” Link shook his head “Anyway, it ran over this long bridge and continued down the road and didn’t stop until we were at the stable in Rito Village. A man there later told me that it sounded like I’d gone to Satori Mountain, so I named the horse Mr. Satori.” Link leaned back, finished with his tale.

Revali blinked, trying to process what he’d heard. “Are you telling me that… that it was this ‘horse’ who took you to Rito Village.”

Link nodded, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head “Yeah I… I couldn’t really control it. We were there before sunrise too.”

Link had made it through Hyrule Ridge all the way to Rito Village in a single night? The speed he must have been traveling at was absurd. “This… ‘Mr. Satori’ is the same one who the stable manager refused to board?” If Link’s description was accurate, Revali honestly couldn’t blame him for that.

Link nodded, “Yeah… it wasn’t really a problem since Mr. Satori just stayed near the stable when I was in the village.” Link frowned “Well… until we were going to leave at any rate… I wonder where he ran off to…”

Not really sure what else to say, Revali chose to remain silent. Link seemed to draw inward once more, no doubt reflecting on the unknown fate of his “Mr. Satori.” From Revali’s perspective, that “horse” sounded more like some sort of wild spirit than anything else. Though why it would help Link of all people was beyond him. Time passed as the two of them simply sat there finishing their apples. After Revali was full, he felt the tantalizing lull of sleep calling to him. “One of us will need to stand watch in case any monsters try to ambush us,” he said. “You take the first watch.”

Link blinked at him, saying uneasily “Um… sure? Okay, I guess I can do that.”

Good, no arguing. Revali wasn’t in the mood for it. Lying down on his back on the bedroll, Revali closed his eyes and said “Wake me up for my watch in a few hours.”

Revali started to let slumber take him when Link’s voice rudely cut through the darkness. “Wait,” Link said “If you can’t see in the dark…”

“I said my night vision was lacking, not nonexistent.” Reval snapped, not opening his eyes. “Besides, my hearing is more than capable of making up the difference. Now shut up and let me rest!”

Thankfully, Link compiled, and the silence of night wrapped itself around Revali like a warm blanket. As he went to sleep, Revali reflected on Link’s story. Absurdity aside, the thing about Link’s tale that had bothered him the most had been the news that Link had actually been reluctant to leave the Great Plateau. Revali had never known the Hylian Champion to hesitate when someone needed help, memories or no memories. It was undoubtedly this compulsive need to be the hero that had influenced him to subdue Vah Medoh when Rito Village was in trouble. So why had he been so reluctant to do what the King’s ghost had asked him to?

What had made him so scared?

The next morning Revali and Link set out bright and early. Unfortunately, their progress was stopped almost immediately after they crossed the bridge. A camp of Bokoblins had spotted them and the ugly pig-faced monsters started scrambling for their weapons.

“Lovely.” Revali sighed as he pulled out the Sea Seeker and held it at the ready, prepared to throw the boomerang at the head of the first Bokoblin stupid enough to come charging at him. He wasn’t the best when it came to boomerangs, but he knew enough to take on these pathetic creatures.

Beside him, Link pulled out a shoddily made bow, really more a branch with a bit of string attached. It looked like something one of those Bokoblins might toss together. In fact, Revali was fairly certain he saw one of the ones they were facing now holding something that looked almost identical! Revali was almost offended, he knew Link had a Swallow bow stored in the slate, and yet he was electing to use that thing?! He was about to make his displeasure known when Link pulled an arrow from his quiver.

A bomb arrow.

Revali’s eyes went wide. “Wait don’t—!”

He was too late. Link had already nocked the arrow and let it fly.

It must have been one of the ones he’d gotten from Rito Village because despite being launched from a shoddy excuse for a bow, the arrow flew true, landing right in the middle of the Bokoblins. The explosion was big enough that it enveloped the entire camp and the Bokoblins were all blown to bits. Of course, Revali hadn’t been worried about the effectiveness of Link’s little “plan.” It was what happened after that he was concerned with.

Thunk!

“Ow!”

Link went sprawling on his back as a piece of wood from one of the crates the Bokoblins had around their camp smacked him in the forehead, sent flying by the explosion.

Revali opened his beak to laugh at the idiot…

Thonk!

“Squawk!”

…only for an even larger piece of wood sent flying by the explosion to slam into the sling his broken wing was in. With an (entirely dignified) alarmed squawk, Revali found himself lying on his back beside Link, clutching his broken wing.

“Link…” Revali hissed through the pain as he sat up to glare at the Hylian.

“Yeah?” Link asked, blinking up at the sky like he still wasn’t sure what just happened.

“You’re banned from using bomb arrows.”

Link blinked and turned his head to look at Revali, “What about regular bombs?”

Revali cocked an eyebrow “I wasn’t even aware you had regular bombs.”

Link frowned “You mean I haven’t shown you the Runes on the slate?”

Oh good, another thing Link had somehow managed to neglect mentioning! “No.” Revali said flatly, getting up to his feet and quickly surveying the camp to make sure not a single Bokoblin had survived the blast. When he turned back to Link, he was startled to find that the Hylian had already gotten up, and was looking at him with perhaps the most terrifying grin Revali had ever seen.

“Oh, you’re going to love this.”

Revali doubted that, but he suspected Link would not be dissuaded, so he’d assented to Link teaching him all about the “Runes” on the Sheikah slate. He started to regret that not long after. The next hour of their journey was filled with Link blathering on and on about the four different Runes on the Sheikah slate and what they could do. That in itself wasn’t really a problem, but Link soon decided that a mere explanation wouldn’t be enough and started demonstrating.

That was how Revali found himself chasing after the Feathered Edge Harth had given him as Link used the Magnesis Rune to steal it and keep it floating just out of reach. The stupid game of keep-away only ended after Revali got fed up and punched Link in the face with his unbroken wing. Next up was the Cryonis Rune, which Link thankfully did not use Revali as a test subject for. Instead, he merely created a few large blocks of ice in Squabble River before showing Revali how to remotely destroy them using the same rune. (A feature Revali reluctantly admitted was pretty damn cool— pun absolutely intended.) Then, Link demonstrated the Stasis Rune and it’s many, many properties on a rock in the middle of the road. Lastly was the Bomb Rune, which Link used to turn some nearby innocent trees into splinters (and accidentally terrify a fellow traveler who’d been sitting at a cooking pot a few feet away.)

Thankfully, they didn’t have any other run-ins with monsters before they reached the Dueling Peaks. Revali made note of the tower that had sprung up in the mountains’ shadow, but before he could suggest to Link that he sync the slate up to it, the mad Hylian had already dived into the river, swimming against the current and taking rest breaks at the rocks popping out of the water littered around. Revali sighed and sat down on a nearby fallen log, watching Link’s swim across Squabble River with only the most mild of interest.

Link reached the tower’s base in almost no time, and slowly climbed his way up the mesh that lined its sides. Revali watched this with increasing boredom. There had to be a more efficient way to get up there. Perhaps if he created an updraft below Link? No, the only updraft he could create that would be strong enough was his Gale, and Revali wasn’t really sure if he could center his Gale around another person. Though… it would make for an interesting challenge. Revali filed the idea into the back of his mind for later.

Not long after Revali saw Link finally reach the top, the tower lit up blue, and yet for some reason, the irritating Hylian failed to show himself. Revali sat there for a minute, waiting for Link to reappear over the tower’s edge, but the Hylian still failed to show himself. Frustrated, Revali got up and started pacing again. Was this going to become a thing? Was he going to be stuck waiting for Link to get back a lot during this little adventure? Revali wasn’t sure his nonexistent patience could handle that.

After a very, very long hour, Link finally appeared over the lip of the tower and waved to Revali before jumping off and paragliding back down to the shore. The moment Link’s feet touched the sand, Revali unleashed his pent up frustration in its usual form: through thick, thick sarcasm. “Was there a trial for this one too?” he said snidely.

Link, oblivious to the Rito’s verbal venom, just shook his head. “Nope! It just takes a while to download the map information onto the slate.”

Revali felt his eyelid start twitching again. “It just… takes a while?”

Link nodded “That’s what I said!” he shrugged “I’m not sure why, it must be a lot of information I guess.”

Revali, to his frustration, wasn’t entirely sure if Link was messing with him or not.

They managed to make it through the Dueling Peaks without any further incident, if you didn’t count the lizalfos in the river who’d cheekily decided that Revali was looking a little too dry, and oh so helpfully spat water at him until his feathers were soaked. After Revali spent a good half-hour cursing the cold-blooded vermin, he puffed up his feathers to air them out while they walked. Revali’s eyelid started to twitch when he noticed Link trying (and failing) to hide a snicker. He was probably enjoying the Rito Champion’s misfortune, the prick.

(A long time later in their journey across Hyrule, Revali would remember this moment and realize that what Link was actually amused about was how obscenely fluffy Revali looked with his feathers puffed up. He would then promptly smack Link upside the head.)

The Dueling Peaks Stable was… odd. Revali wasn’t too proud to admit that sometimes he thought Hylians looked a little too similar to each other for his liking, but this was just asinine. It looked like every Hylian there had an exact doppelganger! Did Purah finally succeed with her infamous cloning experiments sometime after the Calamity? Is that what this was?! Apparently not, as according to a Hylian woman named Sagessa, these people were all just something called “twins.”

While it wasn’t too late in the afternoon, they still had half a day’s journey to Kakariko village ahead of them, and Revali wasn’t too keen on arriving at Kakariko in the middle of the night, so he took the liberty of reserving beds at the stables while waiting for Link to get back. The Hylian had gone to investigate the nearby Shrine. Revali would have accompanied him, but the blasted thing was surrounded by a bunch of thorns and in his current flightless state Revali was incapable of getting past them. Judging by how long it took Link to complete the Shrine last time, Revali was anticipating having to wait hours, so when Link came out of the Shrine only thirty minutes later, Revali was, needless to say, quite surprised. Though the fact that Link had decided to sneak up on him while he was taking a nap, probably played a role in that.

That evening, over dinner around the cooking pot, that Sagessa woman and Link became engrossed in a conversation about elixirs of all things. Having absolutely no interest in the topic, Revali focused on eating his meal. This became… difficult, when Sagessa decided to show Link how to make elixirs. Revali had never known what actually went into making one, and after seeing Sagessa encourage Link to toss in Bokoblin guts and insects of all things into the cooking pot, Revali was fairly sure he was never going to drink another elixir ever again if he could help it.

Nauseating experiences aside, that night Revali went to sleep sure of a good night’s rest. That was not the case.

He was drowning! The darkness, the Malice was filling his lungs! Somebody, anybody, help him! He didn’t want to die! He—

Revali’s eyes snapped open and he shot up in his bed, gasping for air. It had just been a nightmare. He was fine. He wasn’t drowning in that sickening darkness. There was no Malice—

No.

Something was wrong. There was Malice. A familiar creeping burn was lingering in the air. What was happening? Worried, Revali looked over to the bed next to his where Link was resting— no, should have been resting. The bed was empty. Fear gripped Revali’s chest. Were they under attack? Had that monster returned to capture Revali once more? Why hadn’t Link woken him?!

Revali took a deep breath and cast a quick glance around the stable. Nobody else seemed to be really bothered. Most of the people were asleep in their own beds, and the ones that weren’t were doing mundane tasks like reading or playing cards. No, they weren’t under attack, but then where was Link? And why was there Malice burning in Revali’s lungs?

Grabbing his boomerang and Feathered Edge just to be safe, Revali cautiously exited the stable to find Link. Thankfully, he didn’t have to look far. Link was standing out in the middle of the road, gazing up at the sky, his posture tense. Cautiously, Revali walked over to Link’s side and looked up. The moon was a blood red tonight. A lunar eclipse? No… the moon was far too bright for that. What was going on?

“It’s called a Blood Moon.” Link said suddenly, startling Revali. “Zelda says that it appears when Ganon’s power is at its highest.”

Revali’s brow furrowed as he glanced at Link “You’ve encountered this before?”

Link nodded “One happened while I was on the Great Plateau.”

Revali looked back up to the moon hanging high in the sky, “This isn't all, is it?”

Link shook his head “It gets worse.”

As if on cue, a fell wind suddenly gusted through the air, bringing with it the stench of death and decay. The few clouds in the sky that night started to swirl about faster and faster. Malice choked the air, dark embers starting to rise into the sky around them. Revali’s heart caught in his throat, there was a looming presence in the air that was all too familiar. He’d felt it back on Vah Medoh one hundred years ago, right before that thing had oozed out of his beloved Divine Beast and attacked him. The Malice reached its peak, crushing the air from Revali’s lungs as the sky suddenly turned the same shade of red as the moon. In the distance, Revali heard a deep, echoing roar the likes of which he was certain no natural beast could ever produce. It was the roar of Calamity.

“Ganon is bringing all the monsters that have been killed back to life.” Link said solemnly.

A horrifying thought suddenly occurred to Revali. “Does… does that include the monster that took control of Vah Medoh?” If that thing was back, then Rito Village…

“No.” Link said after a moment. “Zelda says we’re fine on that front.”

Revali breathed a sigh of relief. The distant roar faded away, and not long after, the Malice released its burning grip on Revali’s breast, the sky returning to its normal dark blue. Revali watched as the moon faded from red back to it’s normal soft white, a nauseous dread coiling in his stomach. He understood Link’s reluctance to leave the Great Plateau much better now. If Calamity Ganon was capable of changing the very heavens, what else could it do? What would happen if the Princess’ fragile control over its power finally slipped before they were ready to face it? Would they be able to stop it?

Revali had the sickening realization that he didn’t know the answer.

Chapter Text

They crossed Kakariko Bridge the next morning without incident. Neither of them talked about what they’d witnessed last night. Revali hadn’t gotten much rest after the Blood Moon, and he suspected Link had been in a similar situation. They slowly made their way up the steep incline on the other side of the bridge. Revali’s broken wing was itching in its sling, his talons were aching from all the walking they’d been doing, and he couldn’t even enjoy the sun because it was hidden behind an overcast sky. Yep, Revali was officially miserable.

“Of course I can see you.”

Revali looked to his side at the sound of Link’s voice, only to find the Hylian missing. Whirling around, Revali saw that the Hylian had stopped a few feet back and seemed to be conversing with the open air.

Revali growled, he was not dealing with this right now. “What are you doing this time?!”

Link turned to give Revali a confused look. “Can’t you see him?” he said, pointing to the empty air beside him.

“Link,” Revali drawled, his patience hanging on by a thread. “We still have quite a trip to Kakariko. You can talk to your imaginary friends lat— WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!”

One moment, Revali had been glaring at Link, and the next he’d blinked and suddenly a gigantic wooden… thing was suddenly standing right next to Link! It had large, wooden knobs shaped almost like bushy eyebrows and a large leaf impaled upon a wooden “nose” almost like a beard.

“Hiyah!” The freak of nature said, waving a stubby wooden arm. “I’m Hestu!”

Revali blinked, then blinked again. No, the large tree creature did not disappear as suddenly as it had appeared. Revali’s beak opened and closed as the confused Rito struggled to find his voice. “You’re… what?”

“Hestu!” The thing repeated cheerfully. “I’m a Korok, silly!”

“A very large Korok.” Link muttered.

“Oh! Have you met some of my friends?!” The thing— Hestu, tilted his… head? Tilted his head to the side curiously. “Shalaka! That’s great!”

Revali was still confused as hell. “How did… when did… what?”

Completely oblivious to the Rito Champion’s bewilderment, Hestu said “Hey! Since you can see me, would you be willing to help me out?”

Link nodded “Sure.”

That managed to snap Revali out of his confused daze. “No.” he said sharply. “We do not have the time to waste helping out this… this…”

“I’m Hestu!” The abomination repeated, “It won’t take long, I promise! Shala-kala! I just need some help getting my precious maracas back from some mean monsties! They’re just up ahead!”

“That sounds like a you problem.” Revali snapped. “Come on Link, we have far more important matters to attend to than babysitting a talking bonsai tree.” 

“Sholoko! I’m not a bonsai!” Hestu cried, waving his stubby not-so-little arms about “Bonsai aren’t a kind of tree silly bird-boy! I’m a baobab!”

Revali didn’t know what a “baobab” was and to be honest, he didn’t care. He was not spending another minute in this crime against nature’s presence. “Let’s go, Link.”

Unfortunately, it seemed the Hylian wasn’t going to listen to reason. “You heard him, the monsters are just up ahead.” Link said. “We’ll probably have to take them out anyways, it won’t be too much of a hassle to return Hestu’s maracas.”

Revali narrowed his eyes dangerously. “No, Link. I refuse to waste time on this stupid endeavor. We. Are. Leaving.”

…Three dead Bokoblins later, Revali was still grumbling to himself as Link returned the maracas to Hestu. Apparently, Link had a stubborn streak that rivaled Revali’s own. The Hylian hadn’t taken “no” for an answer, and Revali was too damn tired to stand his ground forever.

“Shaaaaa-Laaaaa-Kaaaaa!” The Korok exclaimed, taking the maracas and waving them about excitedly. How was he even holding those maracas without any actual hands?! “Thank you so much, friends!” Hestu said happily. “Shala-Kala! To thank you I’ll— wait… something’s wrong…” The Korok shook his maracas again, and Revali realized what was off: the instruments weren’t making any sound. “Shoko… the Korok seeds inside are all gone.”

“Oh dear, how tragic.” Revali drawled, “Welp, that’s not our problem! Let’s go, Link!”

“Wait…” Link said, stopping Revali before he could walk away. “I think I might be able to help.”

Revali glared at the insolent Hylian. “We’ve wasted enough time on this stupid distraction! Let’s go!”

To his unending frustration, Link simply ignored Revali and summoned a handful of golden pebbles from the Sheikah slate, offering them to Hestu “Is this what you’re looking for?”

“Shalaka! You have Korok seeds?! Thank you, friend!” Hestu happily took the seeds from Link and put them into his maracas, giving them an experimental shake. “Shaa-kaa! Where did you find them?”

Link shrugged, “Some of your friends gave them to me.”

Hestu gasped (though how he did that when he didn’t appear to have a mouth, Revali would never know.) “They did?! That means the children of the forest must have been the ones to take them in the first place! Shokoloko! I never thought I’d be the target of one of their pranks!”

Revali rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes, very nice, may we go now?!”

“Wait!” Hestu said “I haven’t thanked you yet!” The Korok gave his maracas a shake, and then the strangest thing Revali had ever seen happened.

Hestu… started to dance.

When the Korok was done, (finishing with a spray of confetti of all things) Hestu wiggled happily and said “Dah-na-na-na-naaaaaaaa!”

Reval gaped, “What… what just happened?”

Link looked just as confused as Revali did. “Um… that was a very nice performance, Hestu.”

The Korok bowed, the bushy leaves atop his head jiggling with the motion. “Thank you! But it’s not just a performance! Check out your magic rectangle thingy!”

Wordlessly, Link pulled out the slate, his eyes going wide. “Revali look!”

Link shoved the slate in Revali’s face, and the Rito Champion glared at his fellow Champion before inspecting the slate’s screen. Link had opened the slate up to the inventory section, where he stored his weapons and armor. Strangely, there were several new blank spots Revali was fairly sure hadn’t been there before. Had… had Hestu done this?!

Revali felt his beak hit the dirt. “What— how?”

“Shalaka!” Hestu said proudly “My magic can expand inventory space!”

Link blinked “That is… oddly specific.”

It was asinine, was what it was! Still, Revali wisely decided to bite his tongue, wanting this whole thing to be over with as soon as possible.

“Oh! I should get going!” Hestu said suddenly, and cheerfully started bounding down the road towards Kakariko Bridge on his stubby legs, calling back behind him “If you find any more Korok seeds, come find me in Hyrule Forest! Shalaka!”

After watching the Korok run off, Revali sighed and wordlessly resumed walking down the path to Kakariko, Link silently following him. Hopefully that little encounter would be the strangest thing they ran into on their journey. There couldn’t possibly be anything out there odder than a walking, talking, dancing, tree that played the maracas!

Right?

Revali had firmly repressed all memories of that bizarre encounter by the time they finally walked into Kakariko Village a few hours later. Revali had only visited Kakariko once or twice during his duties as Champion, but it was hard to forget the village’s distinctive architecture. Hidden between the various peaks and plateaus of northern Necluda, Kakariko somehow managed to feel both closed in and wide open. Nowhere else in Hyrule was quite like it. As he and Link passed through the final wooden archway leading into the village, they found a young Sheikah woman helping an older one to her feet by a burnt out campfire.

“Honestly, Granny! You need to go home!” The younger woman was saying. “Lasli’s worrying herself sick that you’ll catch a cold or something! If she knew you’d fallen she’d have a heart attack!”

“Hush Claree, I just tripped.” The older woman said, steadying herself. “I’m fine, really. Not even bruised. Go back to the shop.”

The younger woman— Claree, stamped her foot. “Why are you even out here anyways?! We never needed a village greeter before!”

The older woman shook her head “I told you, I’m waiting for— Oh! Hello there!” She did a little bow. “Sorry about that, welcome to Kakariko village, travelers.” Her eyes fell on Revali. “I must say, we haven’t had a Rito in the village since that Kass boy last…” The older woman’s voice trailed off as her eyes focused on Revali’s Champion-blue scarf and the slate hooked to Link’s hip, recognition lighting up her face. “Is that…?”

Revali smirked and made a show of taking a deep bow, waving his unbroken wing wide. “Champion Revali of the Rito.” After a moment he added “And this unkempt buffoon beside me is indeed Champion Link.”

“Hi.” Link said awkwardly, raising his hand in a little wave.

“We’ve come to discuss the situation in Hyrule with your village leaders,” Revali continued “Would you be so kind as to direct us to their abode?”

Before the older woman could respond, her granddaughter excitedly shouted. “CHAMPION?! AN ACTUAL CHAMPION?! YOU’RE HERE?!” Claree cupped her cheeks and squealed so loudly, Revali was fairly certain all of Necluda heard her. “Ohmigosh!Ohmigosh!Ohmigosh! I gotta tell Lasli!” Before Revali could so much as blink, Claree had raced off down the path into the village, squealing in delight.

Her grandmother winced “...We were hoping to be a bit more discreet, but I suppose it can’t be helped now.”

Revali’s ears were still ringing from Claree’s shrieks. “Yes… I suppose so.”

The old Sheikah woman looked both of them up and down with a far more scrutinizing gaze. “We were expecting you, Master Link, but…” Her eyes bored into Revali, and the Rito Champion had to resist the urge to squirm. Damn it all if he didn’t hate elders and how they could see through you. “Champion Revali fell one hundred years ago. Who are you really?”

Revali bristled. How dare she?! “I am exactly who I say I am!” Revali snapped “Reports of my demise were greatly exaggerated!”

“Hm,” the Sheikah elder gave Revali one last suspicious look before turning around. “We shall see soon enough. Come, I will take you to the village square, no doubt Claree’s shrieking has alerted the whole village to your arrival.”

Still seething over having his identity questioned, Revali followed the Sheikah woman down the path to the center of the village. Link was only a step behind, when Revali briefly glanced back at him the Hylian was nervously looking around at everything. He almost reminded Revali of a spooked deer ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. Just as the Sheikah woman had predicted, the whole village had heard the commotion and were converging in the center of town to investigate. Revali looked through the assembled faces, trying to see if there was anyone he recognized. It was a long shot, to be sure. Even if they had survived this long, any Sheikah who’d known Revali before the Calamity no doubt would have become unrecognizable with age.

Suddenly, a wizened voice spoke from behind him. “Revali… you’re alive…?”

Revali turned around to see another elderly Sheikah woman wearing a massive wide-brimmed hat with an antenna of all things at its peak carefully climbing down the steps leading to a raised house at the back of the village assisted by a strangely familiar handmaid. Revali smirked. “Good to know at least someone here recognizes my greatness!” Revali took another bow as the elderly Sheikah woman hobbled her way in front of him. “It is an honor for you, I’m sure!”

For a moment, there was silence, then the old woman’s eyes narrowed “I see the last hundred years hasn’t done anything to improve your attitude much, flyboy.”

Flyboy?! The only person who’d ever called him that was… “Impa?!”

The former aide to the princess smirked. “Hello, asshole.”

Revali blinked, wide-eyed at the old woman. Out of everyone who could have survived the Calamity, Impa had been the last person he’d expected. He’d been certain that she would’ve gotten herself killed trying to protect the princess or something. He’d never expected to see her again, and especially not looking so… “What in Hylia’s name happened to you?!” he blurted out before he could stop himself.

Impa chuckled “I got old.”

“You got ancient!” Revali said, throwing any sense of decorum to the wind “I thought the Sheikah were supposed to age gracefully! You look like the world’s largest shriveled prune!” The assembled Sheikah all murmured at the Rito Champion’s disrespect, but Revali couldn’t find it in himself to care.

Impa pursed her lips, shooting back “Big talk coming from a boy who still hasn’t lost his fledgling spots after a hundred years!”

Revali resisted the reflex to touch the bright red ovals on his cheeks, instead narrowing his eyes dangerously as he leaned down to glare straight into Impa’s own withering gaze. “Hag.” He snapped, eliciting gasps from more than a few of the gathered Sheikah.

“Brat.” Impa countered, somehow drawing even more gasps from the assembled crowd.

“Shrew.” He countered.

“Prick.”

“Harpy.”

“Peacock.”

“Bitch.”

That last one seemed to particularly disturb the crowd. Out of the corner of his eye, Revali saw a large Sheikah man take a menacing step forward, like he was considering throttling the Rito Champion. Revali couldn’t be bothered, so preoccupied was he with glowering down at Impa. For a moment, they just glared daggers at each other, then suddenly, Impa threw her head back in a hearty laugh. “Oh Revali, I’ve missed our little chats!”

Revali blinked. That was… new. Still, most of the tension seemed to bleed out of the gathered crowd, and Revali realized with some disappointment that their verbal joust was already over. A pity. Straightening back up, Revali cleared his throat “Yes… well… it’s good… to see you again… I guess.” Ugh, he was terrible at this sentimental stuff.

Impa flashed him a knowing smile and turned her attention to the other Champion present.  “And do not think I didn’t notice you, old friend.” Poor Link had been awkwardly standing there throughout their whole exchange, trying to make himself look as small as possible. Impa continued “I must say we were expecting you quite a while ago, but seeing how you arrived with some unexpected company, I suppose we can forgive your tardiness.” Impa’s eyes twinkled. “It’s good to see you, Link.”

Said Hylian winced, rubbing the back of his head. “Um… hi.”

Impa cocked an eyebrow at Link’s voice, but didn’t comment on it. “We should retire to my home, I’m sure we have a great many things to discuss.” She lifted her head to address the assembled crowd “You hear that? That mean’s show’s over, you lot! You can gawk later!”

With disappointed mumbling, the various villagers all returned to their usual activities. Impa stopped to whisper something to the large Sheikah man who had looked like he’d wanted to strangle Revali. The man nodded and departed, no doubt told to complete some task or whatever for the Sheikah Elder. Impa’s handmaid, who Revali now realized was the spitting image of Impa herself a hundred years ago, helped the Sheikah Elder up the steps to the house at the back of the village while Link and Revali followed. The entire first floor of the house consisted solely of a large meeting hall decorated with various Sheikah heirlooms. Impa slowly made her way to the back of the hall and sat on a tall pile of cushions placed upon a raised platform. Revali and Link both sat down on cushions placed on the floor in front of her.

“Paya dear, would you kindly make us some tea?” Impa said to her handmaid.

The girl nodded, and Revali noticed that there was a very prominent blush on her cheeks when she silently walked past Link. Revali’s eyes widened. He was no expert when it came to Hylian and Sheikah social cues, but he was fairly certain that Paya girl fancied Link! Revali snorted. Why anyone would take a liking to Link of all people when a beautiful specimen like Revali was sitting right there he would never know, but he wouldn’t begrudge Link the unwanted attention. Revali had always held a secret disdain for the obnoxious affections of smitten teenage girls. It was never just admiration, it always felt like they wanted something from him, though what Revali had never figured out.

“I apologize for all that commotion outside.” Impa said “I had wanted to keep your arrival a quieter affair.”

“So we’ve heard.” Revali said “But the question is why? Surely my glorious return would be an occasion to celebrate, no?”

Impa’s smile did not reach her eyes. “Humble as always, Revali. Sadly, I’m afraid things are much too dire for that. You can never be sure who is watching these days.”

Revali’s brows furrowed “And what exactly do you mean by that?”

“The Yiga Clan have been more active of late.” Impa said darkly.

The Yiga Clan. Revali suppressed a shudder at that name. A sprinter faction of Sheikah who’d sworn loyalty to Ganon thousands of years ago after the Royal Family of Hyrule had briefly exiled the whole tribe out of fear of their technology. Revali had had a few run-ins with them during his time as Champion a hundred years ago. He’d even once had the displeasure of going toe-to-toe with the infamous “Right Hand of the Inverted Eye.” He’d been almost completely outmatched, in large part due to facing the warrior within the cramped confines of Akkala Citadel. Had Urbosa not been there…

“Who… who are the Yiga Clan?” Link asked uneasily.

Revali winced as Impa gave Link a surprised look. “Surely you haven’t forgotten Link? You faced them many times during your time protecting the princess.”

Link cringed and stared down at his hands, not saying anything. Rolling his eyes at the Hylian’s reticence, Revali spoke up. “It seems our dear hero here has forgotten almost everything over the last hundred years.”

Impa hummed thoughtfully “Is that right?” Her eyes, still just as sharp as they’d been one hundred years ago, seemed to study Link for a moment. “That may in fact prove to be a blessing in disguise.”

“It hasn’t been so far.” Revali muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” Impa asked with feigned sweetness.

“Nothing…” Revali said innocently.

“Hmph.” Impa gave Revali a quick glare before returning her attention to Link. “Still, I’m surprised you managed to make your way to Rito Village with no memory. It’s not exactly a short trek.”

Link looked away “I… more stumbled upon it than anything else.”

“Stumbled” was a funny way of putting “got dragged there by some strange spirit-horse-thingy,” but Revali elected to keep his beak shut for once. Impa seemed to accept this explanation. “Well, I’m sure you have many questions about the state of Hyrule and what happened a hundred years ago. I’d be happy to fill in the pieces if you’d like.”

At Link’s nod, Impa started to tell them about the history of the Calamity, how it had attacked Hyrule throughout history time and time again, about the last attack ten thousand years ago, and how the Sheikah had created the Guardians and the Divine Beasts to aid the Princess with the blood of the Goddess, and the Hero who wielded the Sword that Seals the Darkness. Revali already knew most of this information but he paid attention regardless, waiting for when Impa would tell them about what had happened after the Calamity reemerged one hundred years ago. Impa’s tone turned grim as she regaled them with the Calamity’s near-victory a century ago. Revali had been right to suspect that the other pilots of the Divine Beasts had fallen before they could attack the Calamity like he had. Embarrassingly, it turned out that Revali had actually been the second Champion to fall. Only Mipha had lost before him, not surprising considering she had almost certainly been the one to reach her Divine Beast first. Revali had expected Urbosa to last the longest, but to be outlasted by Daruk?! That was going to rub him the wrong way for quite a while.

Impa explained that Purah and Robbie had theorized that Ganon had created a monster tailor-made for each Champion to take them down. They called these hypothetical nemeses the Blight Ganons. At this moment, Impa had given Revali a look, and the Champion took the signal to pipe up and confirm the theory. That Ganon had needed to create a monster designed specifically to take him down did make Revali feel at least a little better about losing to it, and went a fair way in explaining why Link could defeat it when Revali could not. Obviously Windblight had been so specialized that, when faced with an opponent who fought differently from Revali, it hadn’t been able to adapt, no matter how inferior its foe had been to Revali himself.

As for the princess and her so-called “hero,” Link had apparently fallen in battle as well, though not to a Blight like the other Champions. Instead, Ganon had taken control of the Guardians and sent the very machines that had originally been meant to protect the hero to slay him instead.  Clearly Ganon hadn’t considered Link enough of a threat to create a specific monster to counter him. Revali smirked smugly at this, only for Impa to shoot him a withering glare. Apparently in the middle of all this, Zelda’s latent powers had finally awakened (excellent timing there, Goddess! You couldn’t have done that before the entire Kingdom fell?!) Link had been carted off to the Shrine of Resurrection, and Zelda had gone to Hyrule Castle alone to use her newfound powers to keep Ganon trapped in an eternal struggle for the past hundred years. Revali would be lying if he said he wasn’t impressed. Zelda had always had diligence, Revali could recognize a fellow hard-worker when he saw one, but Revali had secretly suspected that when the moment came she would come up short. Clearly, the princess had decided to smash his expectations with a hammer. Just this once, Revali didn’t mind being wrong.

After Impa had finished her tale, she’d prompted Link and Revali to fill her in on their adventures so far. Revali decided to let Link do most of the talking in this instance, partly because he wasn’t actually there for the first bit of Link’s journey, and partly because he enjoyed watching the Hylian fumble his way through his tale. During this, Paya returned with the tea, giving Revali a cup with a straw (Revali couldn’t help but approve of the girl’s foresight. Drinking tea with a beak could be rather… messy.) When she gave Link his cup, the Hylian muttered a quick “thank you” that nevertheless seemed to make Paya turn beet red. Her hands were shaking as she poured the last cup of tea for Impa, and after a quick bow, she hurried out of the hall.

Link watched Paya leave, a concerned look on his face. “Is… is she okay?”

Revali hummed, a smirk on his beak “She must not be feeling well. A certain fever perhaps?” He took a sip of his tea through the straw and then hissed as the still scalding hot liquid burned his tongue.

Impa chuckled “Indeed.”

Link looked confused between the two of them. “Um… d-does she need medicine or…?” He suddenly looked down at his tea “Wait? It is contagious?!”

Revali groaned Link’s obliviousness while Impa chuckled “Relax, Link. Paya is not sick, she is simply… shy.”

“‘Shy.’” Link said skeptically.

Impa nodded “Yes. Now, enough gossiping, tell me more about your journey, Link.”

Link didn’t have much more to add after that. He’d already filled Impa in on how he’d freed Revali and Vah Medoh, and their journey to Kakariko, as irritating as it’d been, was hardly eventful enough to make note of.

When Link had finished, Impa nodded sagely and said “You have already accomplished much, despite your memory loss.”

Revali snorted, only to instinctively whither beneath Impa’s ensuing glare. Did all Elders have some sort of special power that could make him feel like a naughty fledgling beneath their stares?

Turning back to Link, Impa said “It was the princess’ wish that you free the Divine Beasts, and I am glad to see that you have already begun that task.” Impa’s expression darkened “However, this is not a mission to be taken lightly. It will be dangerous, and the chance of failure is high. Hyrule has become a dangerous place these last hundred years. Are you prepared to risk your life if necessary?”

Revali was… surprised. He hadn’t been expecting Impa to warn Link of the perils of their quest, much less ask him if he was ready for them. The same sickening doubt that had plagued Revali last night reared its head once more. If Impa felt that she needed to caution them about the dangers ahead, then was Revali underestimating just how difficult things would be? He couldn’t be… right?

Link seemed to be bothered by Impa’s words too if his expression was any indication. Nevertheless, after a moment, Link said “Alright.”

Impa frowned “Are you certain?”

Link shrugged “I don’t have a choice do I?”

Impa’s expression changed then, softening into an almost maternal gaze. “Link,” she said kindly, “You always have a choice.”

What choice? Revali knew Impa meant well, but none of them had a choice if they wanted to see Hyrule and her people survive. No doubt Link knew this as well, even without his memories. Revali watched the Hylian carefully, and felt something almost akin to pity when Link squared his shoulders and met Impa’s gaze. “I’ll do it.”

Despite the surety of his figure, Revali couldn’t help but notice a slight waver in Link’s voice.

Impa had suggested that Revali and Link spend the night in Kakariko. Their next destination was to be Hateno, since apparently Purah had set up shop there and could fix up some of the slate’s missing functions. At Impa’s prompting, Link had left to go look around Kakariko while Revali had elected to remain by the Sheikah Elder’s side. After all, the two of them had some catching up to do.

“So, who’s the younger doppelganger?” Revali asked casually, taking a sip of his no longer scalding tea through the straw. “Did Purah finally figure out how to clone herself and decide to share the benefits with you?”

Impa chuckled and shook her head. “No, my sister gave up on that endeavor long ago. That ‘doppelganger’ would be my dear granddaughter, Paya.”

Revali choked on his tea and gaped at Impa. “You got laid?!”

Impa’s eyes twinkled mischievously as she said “I got married.”

“To who?! Wait, don’t tell me.” Revali held up a wing, thinking for a moment. “It was Shin wasn’t it?” He asked, remembering the sickly Sheikah lad who’d always looked at Impa with such love-struck puppy eyes.

Impa hid a fond smirk behind her teacup. “Perhaps.”

“HAH!” Revali crowed triumphantly “I knew it!”

“And what are you so happy about, hmm?” Impa asked.

“The Princess owes me 300 rupees.” Revali said smugly.

Impa cocked an eyebrow “You and the Princess had a bet on my love life?”

Revali smirked “She was so certain that you and that heartthrob Mako would get together. I, however, knew differently.”

Impa hummed thoughtfully, setting her tea down “Sadly, Mako lost his life protecting the Princess and Link’s retreat during the Calamity.”

Instantly, Revali's triumphant mood was dashed on the rocks. “Oh… I-I didn’t…”

Impa raised a hand “It’s alright, it was a long time ago.”

Revali stared down at his tea, wondering who else he’d known had been killed during the Calamity. A dark thought had been lingering in the corner of his mind ever since he’d woken up, but he was almost too scared to voice it. Steeling himself, Revali looked up and asked “Do you… do you think the other Champions are alive?”

Impa sighed “I’m afraid I’ve no idea. To be honest, we had thought you and the other Champions were dead for sure, slain by the Blights.” She gave Revali a curious look. “Do you think you’d be able to share what actually happened that night on Vah Medoh?”

Revali sighed and set his own tea down too. Rubbing his broken wing, Revali said “There isn’t much to tell to be honest. I got clipped by a shot from… what did you call it? Windblight?” At Impa’s nod Revali continued “Right, I got clipped and it sent me spiraling into one of the pillars on Medoh’s back. That’s how I got this,” Revali gestured to the sling holding his broken wing. “After that, I’m not too sure. I think I might have hit my head because the next thing I knew there was… darkness.” Revali felt a chill crawl up his spine at the memory.

“You don’t have to share any more if you do not wish to.” Impa said gently. “I’m sure it was not a pleasant experience.”

Revali shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I don’t really remember anything else. The next thing I knew I was waking up in Rito Village a hundred years into the future.” His brows furrowed “From what Link said, it sounded like Windblight had been keeping me… inside of it. Like it was preserving me for some reason.”

“Perhaps it needed you to manipulate your Divine Beast?” Impa suggested. “If that’s the case, then I suspect that the chances are good you’ll find the other Champions in a similar predicament.”

Revali wasn’t sure if that was relieving or not. Deciding to change the topic, Revali took another sip of his tea before asking “What’s with the giant antenna on your hat?”

Impa smirked “I’m surprised you even know what it’s called.”

Revali rolled his eyes “I did pay attention during all those lectures Purah, Robbie, and Zelda gave me about my Divine Beast you know. Now are you going to give me an answer or not?”

Impa took a sip of her tea and hummed thoughtfully. “Hmm… I think… not.”

Revali frowned “And why not?”

Impa’s eyes twinkled “The world would be a boring place if you were just handed all the answers you wanted, wouldn’t it?”

Revali narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “You just want to make me suffer, don’t you?”

Impa chuckled and shook her head “Oh no, while seeing you in agony is certainly a pleasure, I hardly need to resort to such petty tactics as turning your own curiosity against you, not when you’ve willingly invited suffering into your life all on your own!” Impa’s wrinkled old lips curled into a sadistic smile “Tell me, how have you been enjoying your travels with Link so far, hmm?”

Revali was careful to keep his expression neutral, even as he mentally swore up a storm. “Fine.” He said in a clipped voice.

Impa cocked an eyebrow, clearly not buying Revali’s lie for a moment. “Is that right?”

“Yes.” Revali growled. He was not letting the old bat win this one.

“Excellent.” Impa said sweetly “Perhaps I was worried for nothing then.”

Revali resolved to spitefully finish his tea in silence. Unfortunately, it seemed Impa didn’t mind the quiet, content to finish her own tea in peace. Eventually Paya had come to collect their empty teacups, and of course Link had chosen that moment to finally return. Revali looked over his shoulder and opened his beak to sarcastically welcome Link back, only to freeze. After taking a moment to get over his shock, Revali instead blurted out “What in Hylia’s name are you wearing?!”

The Hylian winced and looked down at his new clothes. “Do… Do you not like it?” Link said self-consciously. “The lady at the store said it’s enchanted to make me sneakier.”

Revali’s eyelid started twitching again (it was doing that a lot lately wasn’t it?) Link was wearing a set of Sheikah-style armor, complete with a face mask and the most obscenely tight pair of leggings Revali had ever seen. The fabric clung to Link’s legs tighter than a hatchling to its parent’s back during its first flight. Revali was fairly certain he could even see the outline of Link’s underwear through them (and thank Hylia Link wasn’t going commando!) Poor Paya’s face was so red it looked like she was going to melt on the spot.

“Ah, I see you found the armor shop.” Impa said, sounding like she was enjoying this far too much. “I must say, you look quite dashing in that stealth suit, Link. I’m sure it will serve you well in your travels. Isn’t that right, Paya?”

Paya let out a little squeak that could have been an agreement or a cry for help and quickly dashed out of the room with the tea tray. Link turned to watch her leave as she raced past him, and Revali noticed how the tights actually made Link’s thighs look kind of…

NOPE!

NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE!NOPE! He was taking that thought and shooting it with a million bomb arrows, then burying it under every glacier in Hebra!

After a quick mental purge, Revali said “I sincerely hope you didn’t blow all of your money on those garish new garments. We have quite the trip ahead of us tomorrow, after all.”

Link nodded, coming up to sit down on one of the pillows in front of Impa and pulling down his face mask as he said. “Yeah, of course. I grabbed more arrows and some food for the trip.” Fidgeting in his seat, Link looked at Impa “Um… how far away is Hateno village anyways?”

“Several days on foot.” Impa said “But you’ll be able to cut that down to less than one with a decent horse.”

“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to lend us one?” Revali asked, already suspecting the answer.

“I would if I had one.” Impa said.

“Figures.” Revali grumbled.

“No need to be sour, Revali.” Impa chided “There are plenty of wild horses out in Blatchery Plain.” she nodded at Link “The good folks at Dueling Peaks Stable would be more than happy to teach you how to catch one if you ask. Warp to the nearby shrine tomorrow morning. If you find yourself a horse quickly you should be able to arrive in Hateno before sundown.”

Revali cringed at the mention of the slate’s warping ability. Looks like they’d have to risk using it one more time if they wanted to get to Hateno in a reasonable amount of time. Hopefully Purah would be able to clear up whether or not using that ability had any side-effects…

After having a rather subdued dinner at Impa’s, Revali and Link checked themselves into Kakariko’s inn for the night. Revali had shut his eyes and been trying to quell the constant storm of his thoughts for quite a while when he felt someone start to poke his uninjured wing. Having a strong suspicion who it was, Revali spitefully refused to open his eyes. Perhaps if pretended to be asleep long enough he’d be left alone. Sadly, that tactic turned into an abject failure, because once it was clear that Revali wasn’t going to respond to mere poking and prodding, his assailant decided to try gently shaking the Rito instead. Clenching his beak as the jostling caused pain to flare up in his broken wing, Revali snapped open his eyes to give the insolent brat who’d dared to interrupt his rest his most withering glare.

“What the fuck do you want?” Revali whispered irratibly. The only other inhabitant of the inn this late at night was some artist dozing in a chair in the corner of the room, but Revali forced himself to keep his voice down regardless.

Link, who’d climbed out of his own bed to harass poor, innocent Revali like the cruel monster he was, merely winced and whispered “Sorry, I just… I couldn’t sleep and—”

“And you decided to make me suffer from your insomnia as well?!” Revali growled, struggling to keep his voice low.

Link shook his head “It’s just… something’s been bothering me.”

“That sounds like a you problem.” Revali hissed reflexively. On seeing Link’s pained look, Revali sighed and sat up as he said “Well, clearly you won’t allow me to rest until this matter is dealt with, so out with it. What’s ‘bothering’ you?”

The mattress dipped as Link sat down on it, looking at his hands as he asked “What… What do you know about Hateno?”

Revali blinked, not expecting that question. After a moment he shrugged “It’s a little farming village in the ass-end of Hyrule. Nothing remarkable about it. Why?”

Fidgeting, Link said “When I first heard its name I felt like… I felt like I should have remembered something, but there was nothing there.” Link anxiously picked at a broken fingernail. “It’s like my mind associates the name ‘Hateno’ with something, but there’s just this… this nothingness in my mind where what I’m supposed to associate it with is supposed to be and it…” Link’s voice cracked “it hurts, but I don’t know why.”

Revali didn’t answer for a long moment, desperately floundering for a response. Why was Link coming to him with this? Revali was the last person Link should want to confide in, amnesia or no amnesia! After a long, awkward silence, Revali cleared his throat and said “And what do you expect me to do about it?”

Link cringed at Revali’s words “I don’t… I don’t know. Maybe tell me what I’m forgetting?”

Revali scoffed “In case you’ve forgotten, you and I didn’t exactly talk a lot a hundred years ago. I’m just as clueless as you are about why Hateno is important to you.” For some reason, when Link’s shoulders slumped, Revali found himself adding “You said you managed to remember me just by looking at the landing the village named after me, yes?” At Link’s nod, Revali continued “Well then, if Hateno happens to have any special meaning for you, perhaps looking upon the village will trigger those memories to come back.” Revali didn’t know why he was trying to reassure Link. He didn’t care about the Hylian or his damn memory problems in the first place!

Regardless, it seemed to do the trick, as the tension seemed to bleed a little out of Link’s shoulders. “Revali?” Link said quietly “Do you think Impa’s right? That not having my memories is a ‘blessing in disguise’?”

Revali opened his beak to give a firm ‘no’ when he hesitated. As inconvenient as Link’s amnesia had been so far, would it really be better if Link still had his memories? Revali remembered the shock he’d felt once he’d learned a hundred years had passed and everyone he’d ever known in Rito Village was long dead. He remembered how out of place he’d felt, how different everything had been. Finally, he remembered how different Link was without his memories, how he felt like an actual person instead of a brick wall. As much as Revali still despised Link with every fiber of his being, he had to admit that he preferred this one to the Link he’d known a hundred years ago. With a sigh, Revali said “Yes, yes I think it is.”

Link gave Revali a surprised look, yet didn’t say anything. Satisfied that he’d put the Hylian’s worries to rest, Revali impatiently gestured for Link to get off the Rito’s mattress and return to his own bed. Link had made it halfway to his own bed when he stopped and turned around. “Revali?”

Revali groaned, what was it now? “Yes?” he growled out.

“What’s Princess Zelda like?”

Revali blinked. Link was asking about Zelda? That… actually, that was fair. He’d been her constant shadow a hundred years ago, and after everything he’s heard about her, it’s natural Link would be curious. Sure, he could have chosen a better time to ask, but there was no fixing that now.

Revali considered for a moment before answering “She’s smart.” He said “Determined too. I didn’t know her very well, but Urbosa—” Revali stopped himself, realizing with a pang in his chest that Link probably didn’t remember who that was. “Th-That is to say, the Gerudo Champion,” he clarified, “once told me that she and the King shared a sense of humor.” Revali smirked wryly “By that, I assume she meant, ‘none at all.’”

“That’s not right.” Link cut in.

Revali blinked “Pardon?” Did he actually remember something?

Link shook his head “The King definitely had a sense of humor.” A small smile cracked Link’s face “A sadistic one, but one nevertheless.”

Revali cocked an eyebrow “And how do you know that?”

Link shrugged “I met the King on the plateau remember? I actually spent a good deal of time with him too before he revealed who he was.” Link’s smile turned wry. “He seemed to enjoy messing with me.”

“Huh,” Revali… didn’t really know what to do with this information. “Well, if you want more details on the princess, I’d suggest asking Impa. She knew her far better than I ever did.” Link nodded, but still didn’t return to his bed, instead awkwardly standing there until Revali grew irritated “What?” Revali said sharply.

“I… have one more question about Zelda.” Link said, not meeting the Rito’s eyes.

Revali sighed. He’d come this far, one more question wouldn’t hurt he supposed. “Fine, one more question, and then you let me sleep.”

Link nodded, and even in the dim lighting Revali could make out the blush on Link’s cheeks as he mumbled out. “Is… is she pretty?”

Revali gaped at Link for a long moment, unable to comprehend the sheer audacity of the Hylian in front of him. Memories or no memories, surely Link should realize how disrespectful such a question is! This was the princess, not some common village girl! Revali was about to throw his pillow at Link for his rudeness when he stopped and actually considered the question. Was Princess Zelda pretty? To be perfectly honest, Revali wasn’t attracted to Hylians, much less Hylian women, so he’d never really thought about it. But one didn’t need to be attracted to something to appreciate its beauty did he? Like how he’d marvel at a finely crafted bow, or an expertly placed bullseye. When Revali thought of it that way…

“She’s… yes. I suppose she is pretty.” After a moment Revali added “For a Hylian at any rate.”

Link didn’t really look fully satisfied by that answer, but that wasn’t Revali’s problem now was it? Lying back on the bed, Revali shut his eyes and had almost managed to fall into a light doze when Link’s voice shattered his drowsiness with a hammer. “So uh… how pretty is she?”

Revali promptly threw his pillow at Link’s face.

Chapter Text

It was official: Revali hated horses.

Granted, he’d never exactly been fond of the creatures, but before it had at most, been a mild disdain. Now? Now it was pure, unadulterated, hatred. What had caused this drastic souring of opinion? Well, if Revali had to guess, it probably had something to do with how he and Link had spent the last half hour trying and failing to tame one of those damnable vermin! The man at the stables had made it sound easy, just sneak up on one of the unsuspecting animals and hop on! It couldn’t be simpler! HAH! Of course, the unwashed horseshit-shoveling lug had failed to mention that the accursed hellbeasts were liable to bolt at the slightest sound! That is, if they don’t decide to kick you first!

That was how Revali found himself lying in the grass, painfully clutching his broken wing —because of course the vile nag had aimed for there— and cursing whatever depraved god had decided to create these abominable ungulates with a thousand eternal torments. Revali’s blasphemous tirade was interrupted by Link crouching down next to him, a concerned look on his face.

“Are you okay?!” He asked.

Revali glared up at the imbecile Hylian “Do I look okay, you obtuse ignoramus?!”

Link cringed and muttered under his breath “Well, you can still insult me so…”

“What was that?!”

“Nothing!” Link quickly pulled out the slate “Hold on, Impa gave me some health tonics.”

Revali groaned while Link summoned a small vial filled with red liquid and uncorked it. The Hylian was wearing a red tunic with leather armor and a black hood he’d apparently bought back in Kakariko at the same time he’d gotten that hideous Sheikah garb. Forcing himself to sit up, Revali took the vial and tilted his head back to chug its contents down in one gulp. Ugh, the potion tasted far too fruity for Revali’s liking, but at least it wasn’t one of those disgusting elixirs. Already, Revali could feel the pain starting to numb as the tonic worked its magic. Unceremoniously tossing the empty vial over his shoulder, (not caring that Link went to retrieve it with no small amount of grumbling) Revali struggled to his feet.

“Now…” he growled “Where did that blasted ass run off to?”  As he pulled out his boomerang, Revali gazed around angrily for the beast who’d dared to lay a hoof upon his magnificent self! “I have a score to settle!”

From behind him, Link let out a panicked “What— Revali, no!”

“REVALI YES!”

The Rito Champion’s eyes narrowed as he spotted his quarry, innocently grazing a couple dozen meters away like it hadn’t just dealt a grievous injury to Revali’s personage. Eyeing the trajectory and distance, Revali pulled his wing back to throw the Sea Seeker, intending to hit the reprehensible animal right in its thick skull, when suddenly he felt the boomerang ripped from his grasp. Whirling around, Revali snarled as he saw Link holding the boomerang tightly against his chest with one hand, the other wrapped around the Sheikah slate’s handle.

“Link.” Revali growled. “Give. It. Back.”

Link shook his head “No way! I’m not letting you hurt an innocent animal just because you’re mad!”

Innocent?! Did this Hylian imbecile have the memory of a goldfish?! “Link…” Revali repeated, taking a menacing step forward. “You have five seconds to give me my boomerang back or I’ll—”

Before Revali could finish his sentence, Link pointed the Sheikah slate at him. Revali blinked, and suddenly Link was much further away from him than he’d been a second ago. Revali’s feathers poofed up in indignation as he realized what just happened.

“Did you just… Stasis me?!” Revali shrieked, charging at the insolent Hylian in a rage.

Link blanched and, in the first smart decision he’d made since Revali had met him, started running. Revali pursued, and the two ran in circles around the ruined Guardians for far longer than Revali would ever care to admit. Eventually, Revali had to stop and lean against a stray piece of rubble, cursing his current flightlessness in between gasps of air. The soggy turf of Blatchery Plain was ill-suited to a Rito’s talons, it was all Revali could do to even keep up with Link.

Out of the corner of his eye, Revali saw Link cautiously approach him. Irritably waving a wing, Revali gasped out “Fine… you win… this time…”

Link warily handed Revali back the Sea Seeker Boomerang, giving Revali a pensive look as the Rito returned to weapon to its sling. “Perhaps you should let me handle the horse thing.” Link said “You’re a little too… loud to approach them.”

Revali didn’t have the energy to retort, so he let his glaring do the talking for him. Unfortunately, Link seemed to take Revali's silence as a concession, and the Hylian promptly turned around and looked for a horse. Upon finding one with a black-and-white spotted coat and white mane grazing nearby, apparently undisturbed by the commotion the two Champions had been causing moments before, Link slowly approached. Revali watched warily as Link got close to the horse, eagerly anticipating the moment the flighty steed would bolt. The fool wasn’t even bothering to try and sneak up on it, for Hylia’s sake! Oh! It had spotted him! Revali couldn’t hide his grin as he awaited Link’s impending failure. Any moment now the stupid beast would bolt… Aaaaaany moment now… Aaaaaaaaaaaaany—

What was Link doing?

Revali’s eyes narrowed as Link summoned something from the slate and held it out to the horse. Link had his back to him, but from what Revali could see of the orange object, he could guess it was probably a Swift Carrot from Kakariko. Revali snorted, did Link honestly expect feeding it to work? Ridicu—

Wait…

No…

The horse was actually approaching Link, sniffing curiously at the carrot. Stretching out its neck, the horse slowly opened its mouth, eyes darting wildly between Link and the carrot. When the Hylian remained perfectly still, the dumb beast lunged forward and took a large chunk out of the vegetable in Link’s hand.

Revali gaped as the horse happily chewed on its treat while Link carefully reached out his free hand to scratch the base of the beast’s neck. Unbelievably, the horse cocked its head to the side, granting Link easier access. The Hylian rewarded this behavior with the rest of the carrot, and then carefully moved over to the beast’s side. Before Revali could blink, Link had pulled himself up and onto the horse’s back. The horse stomped its hooves a little, but a few quick strokes from Link to its neck calmed it down.

Revali picked his jaw off the ground and glowered as Link directed the horse to trot over to him. “Beginner’s luck.” Revali grumbled.

Link smiled a little as the horse came to a stop in front of Revali. The Rito Champion glared angrily at the beast as the horse leaned its head forward, sniffing the Rito curiously. Link chuckled, “I think she likes y—”

“SQUAWK!”

Without warning, the horse had lunged forward and tried to chomp down on Revali’s bright yellow-orange beak. It was only Revali’s quick reflexes that saved him.

Backpedaling away from the accursed equine, Revali shrieked “MY BEAK IS NOT A CARROT YOU OVERGROWN MULE!” Puffing his feather’s up, Revali shot Link his most ferocious glare “Keep that vile ungulate in check!”

Link looked wide eyed between his new steed and the irate Rito Champion. “I um… yeah. Sorry.”

Revali huffed, turning his beak up at the Hylian’s pathetic apology and spun on his heel talon, marching towards the distant stables without another word. Link and the horse followed along at a trot and Revali kept a wary eye on the sinister mare the whole time, preparing himself in case the voracious beast made another lunge for his beak. Fortunately, Link seemed to be able to keep control of the animal until they arrived at their destination. Revali stepped back while Link approached the stable master to register and equip their new mount. It took a surprisingly long time for Link to procure them a two-person saddle. Apparently there were concerns about how much the horse could carry and how much Revali and Link both weighed. It was fortunate that Link was so short and Revali was a Rito, otherwise the horse probably wouldn’t have been able to carry them both.

“So do you wanna name her?” the stable master asked Link as they were finalizing the paperwork.

“Hmm…” Link looked over his shoulder at Revali “Do you have any ideas?”

“Vermin.” Revali growled.

Link winced “Yeah, I don’t know why I asked you…” turning back to the stable master, Link said “How about… ‘Cookie?’”

“Of course you would name it after a food.” Revali drawled.

Ignoring Revali’s helpful input, Link finished up the paperwork and “Cookie” was saddled up and ready to depart. It took far longer than Revali would care to admit for him to finally get onto the accursed steed, however. The stirrups were clearly not made with a Rito in mind. Regardless, after much finagling and fidgeting, Revali found himself seated in the saddle behind Link. The Hylian took a moment to make sure Revali was secure, and then with a tap to Cookie’s sides with his heels, the horse took off down the road that circled around the north of Blatchery Plain at a light canter.

Revali instantly knew that horseback riding was not for him. While he had no problem maintaining his balance, the up and down jostling of the beast’s gait was already chafing the feathers of his inner thighs. And that wasn’t even talking about how the area between his thighs was feeling! With a groan, Revali resigned himself to the rough ride towards Hateno and his inevitably sore rump when they reached their destination. As they passed through the ruins of Fort Hateno on the far side of Blatchery Plain, Revali spotted the rotted remains of a circle of fence posts, signifying what must have once been a training ring, and let his mind wander…

“Too slow, birdbrain.” Urbosa’s voice was like the crack of thunder as she stood over the downed Rito Champion, training sword resting lazily on her shoulder.

Revali growled and struggled to his feet, limbs still trembling from the shock he’d received from the Gerudo Champion’s lightning. “Are you trying to kill me you imbecile?!”

Urbosa shrugged, “Don’t be dramatic, it was just a little shock.”

Revali’s feathers puffed up indignantly. “A ‘little shock?!’” Revali snarled “You blasted me out of the sky, you reckless brute!”

Urbosa smirked, “Yeah, I’m surprised too. I would’ve thought that the Rito’s best warrior wouldn’t have been knocked out of the air by that,” she laughed. “I've seen barely enchanted shock arrows that packed more of a wallop than what I hit you with!”

Revali’s eyes narrowed. Now that he thought about it, the lightning bolt that struck him hadn’t even really hurt. It had been no more than a light shock, yet it had been enough to knock him off balance and send him plummeting to the ground. That meant…

Revali gripped his training bow tightly in his wings, rage boiling in his blood. “Are you saying you were holding back on me?!” Did she think he was fragile?!

Urbosa cocked an eyebrow “Weren’t you just mad at me for not holding back?”

“I don’t need to be coddled by the likes of you!” Revali snapped back.

Urbosa didn’t even blink. “So you’re saying you want to be turned into a roasted turkey. You are a very strange bird, Revali.” Urbosa shook her head. “I’m afraid I’ll have to decline, birdbrain. I doubt the princess would be pleased to hear I’d fried one of our Champions to a crisp.”

Logically, Revali knew Urbosa’s words made sense. The problem was, Revali didn’t particularly feel like being logical at that moment. “We’re going again.” Revali said, kneeling down to summon his Gale.

Urbosa shrugged. “That eager for another beating? Alright.”

To Revali’s vexation, their next match ended the exact same way, Revali struck down by an expertly aimed bolt of lightning. So too did the next. And the next… And the next…

“Again.” Revali growled, getting back to his feet once more.

Urbosa’s brows furrowed. “I think you should call it a day, Revali. You’re obviously too pent up to—”

“We’re. Going. Again!” Revali snapped, and instantly shot into the air, planning to rain arrows down upon Urbosa.

The Gerudo Champion didn’t give him the chance. With a snap of her fingers, Revali was struck by another bolt of lightning mid-draw, and landed in the sand of the training field with a hard thud. Before Revali could get up, Urbosa pointed her training sword at his neck.

“You’re done, Revali.” Urbosa said firmly.

Revali glared up at the Gerudo Chieftain. “I’ll be done after I manage to beat your ass into the dirt.”

Despite Revali’s taunting, there was nothing smug about Urbosa’s next words. “You’re not beating anyone like this. Just admit you lost today, Revali. It happens to all of us.”

Revali didn’t say anything, not even when Urbosa helped him up and led him off the field. He was sat down at one of the benches and looked over for any injuries by one of the medics on standby. To Revali’s irritation, Urbosa did not leave his side the entire time. Once the medic had cleared him, Revali made to stand, only for Urbosa to lay a firm hand on his shoulder. Folding his wings over his chest, Revali petulantly looked away as Urbosa sat down on the bench next to him. For a moment neither of them spoke, and Revali braced himself for the inevitable scolding he was going to get. He’d gotten plenty of tongue-lashings from Master Loretti after all, he was used to them.

Instead, Urbosa merely said. “You were on the right track the third time around.”

Revali blinked and looked over at Urbosa, surprised to see her smirking at him. “Pardon?”

“You kept trying different tactics to avoid my lightning.” Urbosa stated, a knowing twinkle in her eyes. “In the third match you tried to anticipate when I was going to use it instead of trying to dodge the bolt itself. Your timing was just off, that’s all.”

Revali looked down, digesting Urbosa’s words. If he’d stuck with that tactic instead of switching to something else, he might have gotten the timing right eventually. “I see,” he said finally.

Urbosa chuckled, “We can try it again tomorrow if you want, I don’t need to head back to Gerudo for another few days.”

Revali blinked, looking up to give Urbosa a confused look. “Why are you so willing to help me? Aren’t you worried I’ll manage to beat you?”

Urbosa burst out laughing. “We’re not enemies, Revali! We’re a team! The better you are, then the better our chances will be against Ganon. And hey, if you do manage to beat me,” Urbosa’s eyes twinkled, “that just means there’s something I can improve upon too.”

Revali frowned as his ruminations were interrupted by Link suddenly stopping the horse. Before Revali could demand to know what had made him stop, Link had hopped off of Cookie and rushed forward. Revali blinked and looked further up the trail to see that a Hylian man was passed out face down in the middle of the road. A traveler from the looks of it. A quick survey of their surroundings told him that they were just below the Cliffs of Quince, with Squabble River on one side and a sheer rock wall on the other. Awkwardly, Revali tried to get off the horse, only for his talons to get caught in the stirrups. While he managed to land on his other foot just fine, Revali was irritatingly stuck disentangling himself for a solid minute. Cursing his broken wing for what felt like the billionth time, by the time Revali had extracted his talons from the accursed stirrups, Link had already summoned a health tonic from the slate and turned the traveler over onto his back.

Revali approached as Link helped the man sit up. “You’d be better off giving him water.” he said, gesturing to the tonic in Link’s hand. “I don’t see any wounds or signs of a struggle. He probably just passed out from exhaustion.”

Link blinked and looked up at Revali in surprise. “Um… right.” Without another word, Link returned the tonic to the slate and pulled out a waterskin in its place. “I… never mind.”

Revali rolled his eyes. “What?”

“It’s just…” Link winced “Aren’t you going to tell me to leave him? That we don’t have ‘time’ for this or something?”

Revali snorted “How nice to know you think so highly of me.”

Link pursed his lips as he uncorked the waterskin and brought it up to the passed out traveler’s lips. “That’s not… it’s just… last time…”

“We were dealing with an overgrown magical shrub that could talk.” Revali sniped “And it wasn’t a matter of life and death!” he scoffed “Do you honestly think I’m so heartless as to leave a man unconscious in the middle of the road when nobody else is around to help!”

Before Link could respond, the man choked on the water Link was gently pouring down his throat and opened his eyes. Link pulled the waterskin back to allow the man a moment to catch his breath. As his eyes flicked between Link and Revali, the traveler broke out into the largest grin Revali had ever seen and in a flash, the man was on his feet “My goodness! I’m terribly sorry! I must have fainted! Thank you, good sirs for your assistance!”

Well he certainly recovered quickly. Revali cocked his head to the side. Something was off about this traveler, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Eh, it was probably nothing. Hylians as a whole were a weird bunch. “Try to avoid fainting in the middle of the road in the future.” Revali said dryly as Link stood up and returned the waterskin to the slate.

The man nodded. “Of course! Of course! “By the way…” the traveler turned to Link as his smile widened to an unnatural degree, “do you have a moment to talk about our Lord and Savior Master Kohga?”

Revali’s brows furrowed. Master Kohga? Why did that name sound so familiar…?

Link blinked and shook his head “Um… sorry, no."

“Are you sure? We have pamphlets!” The man was now standing awfully close to Link, leaning into the other Hylian’s personal space.

Link nodded, taking a step back “I’m sure… thank you but—”

It happened so fast that Revali almost didn’t see it. Before Link or Revali realized it, there was a dagger in the traveler’s hand. In an instant, the man plunged the blade into Link’s gut, in a spot the leather armor didn’t cover, piercing the red shirt beneath and burying itself to the hilt. Link doubled over, eyes wide with shock. The traveler’s grin grew so big it split his face. “Then die.”

“LINK!”

Revali was there before Link’s body hit the ground, drawing the Sea Seeker in a flash and swinging it at the “traveler” with all his might. Before the boomerang could connect with the man’s head, however, he vanished in a burst of smoke and red talismans. A moment later, another burst appeared on the riverbank, and out stepped a tall, lanky figure wearing a distinctive red bodysuit and one-eyed mask. Reval snarled, he recognized that tacky getup: a Yiga Clan assassin!

Placing himself between the fallen Link and the assassin, Revali readied the Sea Seeker. The assassin twirled a wicked-looking sickle in his hand and began to slowly approach Revali. The Rito Champion knew he’d be at a disadvantage in close quarters, he had to act fast. Without hesitation, Revali threw his boomerang at the Yiga assassin. The Sea Seeker spun through the air… and missed the assassin’s head by a meter.

“You missed.” The assassin said smugly.

Revali smirked “Oh did I?” He kept one eye on the boomerang as it spun end over end through the air, starting to turn around above Squabble River and arc back towards them. If he’d calculated the trajectory correctly…

Thud! Sploosh!

Oh. He hadn’t calculated the trajectory correctly. Revali swore. This was why he preferred the bow.

The Yiga assassin cocked his head at the sound of the Sea Seeker colliding with the rock wall of the ravine and falling into the river and let out a chuckle. “Yes, you did.” Flourishing his sickle, the assassin stepped forward.

Revali drew his Feathered Edge. He’d always hated melee combat, but that didn’t mean he’d neglected his training. Good thing he was left-winged, otherwise he’d really be in trouble. The Yiga assassin crouched low and rushed forward, sickle at the ready. The moment he was in range, the assassin slashed, but Revali was ready for him, deflecting the curved blade with his own. The assassin was undeterred, following through with a vertical slice. Revali deftly sidestepped, stabbing back at the assassin and forcing him to dodge backwards. The assassin didn’t give Revali any time to breathe, however, lunging forward once more the instant his feet touched the ground, blade swinging downwards at Revali’s head like lightning. Revali’s eyes went wide and instinctively moved to block the strike…

…only the blow never came. Instead, a familiar ring echoed through the ravine, and the Yiga assassin was frozen in midair, enveloped in a yellow Stasis field. Revali didn’t waste time thinking about how or why, instead, he capitalized on the precious few seconds he had been given, and unleashed a flurry of blows with his sword, turning the field around the Yiga assassin into a deep orange. The moment the Stasis wore off, the assassin was sent flying to the side, landing in a crumpled heap further down the road.

“You know, I’d just bought this shirt! Did you really have to rip a hole in it?!”

Revali risked a quick glance behind him to see that Link was struggling to his feet, the Sheikah slate held in one hand.

“What?!” The assassin roared, scrambling to his feet. “That dagger was poisoned! How are you still standing?!”

Link shrugged. “It didn’t break the skin.”

“How?!”

“Chainmail.” Link stated as he lifted up the hem of his tunic, showing off the shirt of tightly riveted metal rings he was wearing underneath.

“Damn it!”

Revali smirked, stepping out of Link’s way. “Not a very good assassin, are you?” He drawled, all calling upon his wind magic and concentrating it around his Feathered Edge.

The Yiga clansman didn’t respond, and a moment later vanished in a cloud of red smoke. Link’s brow furrowed. “Is he…?”

“Duck.” Revali said quickly.

“Wha—”

Despite his confusion, Link nevertheless obeyed, and Revali spun around and pointed his Feathered Edge up above their heads the moment a second burst of smoke appeared in the air there. The Yiga assassin dropped, aiming to strike Revali and Link from above, but before he could, Revali unleashed the magic he’d been collecting in his blade. There was a little-known feature of the Feathered Edge, the hollow fuller wasn’t just designed to reduce the blade’s weight, it also acted as an excellent channel for Rito wind magic. A small cyclone lashed out from Revali’s blade, catching the Yiga assassin in its vortex and sending him flying backwards with a startled shout.

“Predictable.” Revali tsked as he released the cyclone and dropped the assassin flat on his ass. “I thought you buffoons would have come up with some new tactics over the last hundred years. Link? Care to punish our friend for his negligence?”

Link didn’t respond, instead summoning a giant club made of darkened wood with bone spikes attached to it from the slate. Before the unlucky Yiga clansman could get to his feet, Link rushed forward and swung right into the would-be-assassin’s head.

CRACK!

Revali’s eyes went wide. Link had swung the club with enough force that the wood had splintered on impact. The assassin was sent flying backwards, slamming hard into the ravine wall and collapsing. Revali looked between Link and the assassin in shock. Since when was Link that strong?! Sure, he knew Link was strong enough to take on Windblight and win, but that right there had just been absurd! And this was when he was only at a fraction of his original strength?! Revali scowled, putting his questions aside. It looked like the Yiga assassin was still conscious. Before the assassin could get up, Revali was there, pressing his Feathered Edge against the man’s neck.

“I’d suggest you start talking.” Revali growled “How’d you learn of our whereabouts?”

The Yiga assassin looked up at Revali, his mask was cracked, and the Rito could just barely make out a crimson eye glaring at him from beneath it. “Heh, you’re not exactly subtle, Champion. Your arrogance reeks, I just had to follow the smell.”

Revali snarled and opened his beak to retort when he noticed too late that the assassin had made a Sheikah hand sign. In a puff of red smoke and paper talismans, the Yiga assassin disappeared, leaving only a glowing inverted Sheikah eye fading in the air, and… a bunch of Mighty Bananas on the ground?! What?!

Warily, Revali poked the suspicious fruit with his Feathered Edge, ready for any trickery. Obviously, the bananas did nothing. What had he expected? Confetti? With a frustrated sigh, Revali turned around in time to see Link fall to one knee, holding the spot where he’d been stabbed. Revali returned to Link’s side and grabbed the slate from the Hylian’s belt. Holding the slate steady with the wing in the sling, Revali used the other to browse and locate one of Impa’s health tonics. Easier said than done. Revali made a mental note to organize the items in the slate later. Why did they have so many damn insects in here?! Revali glanced over at Link to see the Hylian lift up his shirt and the chainmail beneath to reveal a large bruise blossoming over his gut.

“That looks painful.” Revali noted dryly as he finally found the health tonic.

Link winced “It knocked the wind right out of me.” Lowering his tunic, Link took the offered tonic and downed it in one gulp. As Link got back to his feet, he started to say “Thanks for—”

“Don’t.” Revali said sharply, shoving the slate back into Link’s hands. “As much as the thought of you being in my debt even more than you already are fills me with joy. I’d prefer—”

“Wait, shouldn’t you be in my debt considering how I saved you from Windbl—”

“That doesn’t count!” Revali snapped. Taking a moment to regain his composure, Revali continued. “Now, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I’d prefer to have it be over something impressive.” Revali jerked his head in the direction of the bunch of Mighty Bananas the assassin had dropped. “That cretin is hardly worthy of the honor.”

Link looked more confused than anything else. “So… you don’t want me to thank you?”

Revali sniffed “Well it’s not like you didn’t help… at least a little.” Revali kicked the broken handle of the club Link had been using “Though perhaps avoid using such excessive force in the future.” Revali cringed at the thought of Link treating something valuable like the Great Eagle Bow so recklessly. Maybe that’s why Link didn’t have the Master Sword, the damn fool had gone and broken it a hundred years ago. “Crude as that… log… was, I don’t think you can afford to waste weapons when you already have so few in the slate.”

Link shrugged “Eh, it was going to break soon anyways.”

“THAT’S NOT BETTER!” Revali shrieked in horror. After taking a moment to smooth down his ruffled feathers, Revali continued “Did they not teach you anything about weapon maintenance in your worthless knight’s training?”

“I—”

“That was rhetorical you amnesiac dolt!” Revali interrupted.

For a moment, Link looked like he was contemplating punching Revali, but then his eyes flicked over Revali’s shoulder and his expression changed into something oddly smug. “Where’s the boomerang Teba gave you?”

Revali’s brows furrowed “What are you talking about? It’s right—” the Rito tensed as he remembered how he’d thrown the Sea Seeker at the assassin and it had landed in the river. Eyes going wide, Revali spun around to frantically scan the part of the river where it had fallen in, only to come up empty. Oh no… oh no! The Sea Seeker had belonged to Teba’s grandfather! He’d promised that he’d take care of it! NONONONONO! Where was it? It couldn’t have simply vanished!

Link got Revali’s attention with a tap on the shoulder, and pointed downriver, where sure enough, Revali could just make out a flash of yellow-stained wood being swiftly carried away by the current. Of course, when confronted with this dire situation, Revali did what any responsible almost-adult would do…

He panicked.

Thanks to the metal detailing on it, Link was able to use the Magnesis Rune to retrieve the Sea Seeker from the river before it floated too far away. Revali had spent a good half hour checking the boomerang over for water damage. Fortunately, it looked like whoever had crafted it had the foresight to make sure the wood was water-resistant. An admittedly odd feature, considering most of the water in Hebra was frozen in the form of snow and ice, but Revali wasn’t about to complain.

Cookie (the useless ass) had run from the commotion of their fight with the Yiga assassin, and Link had been forced to coax the skittish horse back while Revali carefully dried his borrowed boomerang. That unpleasant encounter behind them, Link and Revali got back on their horse (though again, not without great difficulty on Revali’s part) and resumed their journey.

Beyond the bend of the ravine, they spotted another Sheikah Tower looming over the hills of East Necluda. Despite how low the sun was getting, Revali had to agree with Link that they should probably take a small detour to connect the Sheikah slate up with the tower. Unfortunately, the only path there required that they cross a tiny rock arch of all things. If anyone asked, Revali would adamantly deny that he clung to Link like a fledgling as the Hylian carefully directed Cookie over the crumbling bridge. Normally, Revali wouldn’t have been so… concerned, but with his right wing still out of commission, he was more vulnerable to the numerous dangers of Lady Gravity than ever before, and Revali wouldn’t put it past her to hold a grudge for his prior transgressions.

Beyond that, the path was littered with Bokoblins, but Revali and Link managed to make quick work of them. Despite their speed however, the sun was already setting by the time they arrived at the base of the tower. The tower itself, however, was absolutely covered in thorns.

Link frowned as he looked up at the tower. “I… I don’t think I can climb this.”

“What, is Hyrule’s big hero afraid of getting his hands pricked?” Revali mocked as he finally managed to get off of Cookie. “Just use the thorns as your handholds instead.”

Link looked over his shoulder at Revali and frowned. Wordlessly, he bent down to grab the closest thorn and yanked. With a loud crack, the thorn, and a good chunk of the vine it was attached to, broke off. Link held up the splintered piece of wood with a cocked eyebrow.

Revali hummed “Ah, I see.” No way these brambles could hold Link’s weight, and breaking a path through them would take hours. Revali craned his neck back to look at the tower’s top. The tower had several platforms jutting out of it that Link could probably stand on, and from one of them he could just about see a path to the top that was clear of thorns.

Revali smirked, “I have an idea.”

Link sighed “Sure, what is it?”

“I shall aid you with the use of my Gale.” Revali stated proudly.

Link shot Revali a surprised look “Wait… you mean like what you did back on the Plateau Tower?”

Revali scoffed “Don’t insult me! That little breeze was nothing compared to the full might of Revali’s Gale!” The Rito Champion pointed to a platform jutting out of the tower about halfway up. “Alas, you are not as aerodynamic as I, I won't be able to get you all the way, but I should easily be able to get you up to that platform, after which you’ll have a clear path to the top!”

Link looked up at the tower, then back to Revali. “Are you sure this will work?”

Revali puffed out his chest “I would not be proposing it if I didn’t!” he lied.

Truthfully, he’d never actually tried to center his Gale around someone else before. Revali gave it a fifty-fifty chance of working, but he wasn’t going to tell Link that! No, he would simply have to get it right the first time!

Hylia help him…

Ignoring that doubtful little voice in the back of his head with an ease that only came from endless practice, Revali smirked. “Well, shall we get started?”

Link looked up at the tower once more before turning to Revali “This isn’t you just trying to embarrass me, right? You’re not going to fling me into the side of the tower just for laughs?”

“Tempting…” Revali admitted “but no. It’s late enough as it is. I’d rather not spend the night out here if I can help it. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we’ll get to Hateno.”

After a moment, Link shrugged “Alright, it’s worth a shot.”

Revali directed Link to take out his paraglider and stand facing the tower. Once Link had done so, Revali turned his attention inwards, drawing out the magic burning deep within his breast. Calculations raced through his mind. Link’s weight, the height he’d need to gain to reach the platform, the force of the winds, all were accounted for in mere seconds. Magic was as much about math as it was about technique. At least, that’s how it had always been for Revali. He’d tried explaining it to Daruk once when he’d asked, but the Goron had just looked confused. It didn’t matter if nobody else understood it, Revali liked math. Math was easy, it was simple. And damn it all if Revali wasn’t good at it. Though… he wasn’t perfect. Revali resisted the urge to cringe on remembering how badly he’d misjudged the arc of the Sea Seeker’s turn earlier that day. Revali steeled himself as he focused his magic at Link’s feet, just like he had focused it within his Feathered Edge during the fight with the Yiga assassin. He would not screw up this time.

“Revali…”

Link’s nervous voice distantly registered, but Revali paid it no mind. Only a couple seconds had passed since Revali had begun building his magic. At precisely the right moment, he released.

“REVALI!”

It worked! Even as he kept careful control over the winds of his Gale, Revali allowed himself a satisfied smirk as Link’s paraglider caught the updraft and lifted the Hylian into the air. It wasn’t perfect, Link was getting knocked around by far too many errant gusts for Revali’s liking, but it was well within the margin of error. As Link reached the updraft’s apex and started to glide forward towards the tower, Revali allowed the wind to disperse. As he predicted, Link managed to land on the designated platform with no issue.

Once he had his feet on solid ground again, Revali saw Link appear at the edge of the platform. “REVALI!” Link called down to him. “THAT—”

“Sing my praises later, Link!” Revali interrupted, gesturing to the top of the tower “I would very much like to be done with this before it gets dark!”

Revali’s keen eyes saw Link let out an exasperated sigh before disappearing from sight. Odd… Even stranger, it took Link quite a bit longer than expected for Revali to see him start climbing. Eh, it probably wasn’t important.

Revali noticed Cookie staring at him. “What are you looking at?” Revali snapped. The horse didn’t say anything, because of course it wouldn’t. Revali groaned. Hylia, he was really starting to lose it wasn’t he? Talking to dumb animals? What next? Singing?

Judging by how the sun had just sunk below the horizon, leaving only a pale blue glow in the western sky, about an hour had passed before he saw Link hop off the tower and float down with his paraglider, the same amount of time as the last tower had taken.

Revali still wasn’t sure if Link was messing with him or not.

As Link landed softly, Revali smirked “Now, you may sing my praises—”

“Revali…” Link said softly.

“Yes, yes, I know. I am pretty amaz—”

“Stop!”

Revali’s eyes went wide. Something was wrong… the tone of Link’s voice… and his expression…

Link was angry.

“Never make me do that again.” Link said, his voice hard as steel.

Revali recoiled, taken aback. “Beg pardon?”

Link winced, visibly reigning in his emotions. “Just… It wasn't like last time. It… it was terrifying! The winds were so strong I almost lost my grip on the paraglider. Several times!”

Revali blinked “Well, perhaps I overdid it a little bit, but I don’t see why you’re so—”

Revali’s beak snapped shut as he suddenly recalled something. The very first time Revali had managed to successfully summon the winds of his Gale, he’d canceled the magic almost immediately. Revali hadn’t been able to control them at all and it… it had terrified him more than he would ever care to admit. He’d almost given up then and there… No, not almost. He had given up, convinced himself it was impossible. If it weren’t for Tulin…

“...I apologize.”

Link’s eyes widened, his mouth gaping like a fish. “W-What?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself!” Revali snapped reflexively before reigning in his temper “No, I… I should have warned you what the Gale would be like. It… it was scary for me the first time too…”

Link blinked, almost like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You were… seriously?”

Revali gave Link a little smirk “If even I was scared the first time, of course you would be terrified.”

Link gave Revali a confused look “Um… is this… still an apology?”

“Of course!” Revali said, affronted. “Why? Do you expect me to grovel?”

Link shook his head “No! No, I just…” he winced “You’re… not very good at this.”

Revali’s feathers poofed. The nerve! “Well I’m sorry my apology doesn't meet your standards!” he huffed, turning his beak up at Link “Contrary to popular belief, however, I am not perfect! So excuse me if I’m not very good at something!”

Link’s jaw hit the dirt “I… I never thought I’d hear you say that.”

Revali glared down his beak at Link. “If you tell anyone, they will never find your body.”

Link burst out laughing, though his laughter petered off as he realized Revali wasn’t smiling. “You’re… you’re joking… right?”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

Link’s eyes went as wide as saucers, and Revali could contain his mirth no longer. Like a flood roaring from the breaking of a dam, Revali’s laughter spilled forth. The Rito covered his beak with his unbroken wing in a vain attempt to stifle them, but his giggles would not be silenced.

Out of the corner of his eye, Revali saw Link’s brow furrow as he opened his mouth, but before he could speak, the Hylian’s eyes flicked over the Rito Champion’s shoulder and widened. A moment later, Revali felt something lightly tugging on his braids and his laughter instantly ceased. Revali clenched his eyes shut as irritation brewed in his breast. It was rather miraculous how quickly his good mood could sour, wasn’t it?

“Your horse is chewing on my braids, isn’t it?” Revali hissed out.

Link winced. “Y-yeah…”

All the way in Hateno, Thadd Thaddeus Thaddington III was fighting back his drowsiness. He had a long, long night shift ahead of him, and it wouldn’t do to be dozing off. He was Hateno village’s first, last, and only line of defense! No dirty monster was getting past him! No sirree!

Suddenly, a terrible shriek split the air, knocking all thought of sleep from poor Thadd’s mind. It was a horrible, vicious sound. One that sent shivers straight to his bones. Was it the Calamity? Had it come for their sleepy little village at last? Thadd wanted nothing more in that moment to turn tail and run for his life. But no… he would not abandon his post. This was his home, and he would never allow any harm to come to it!

If Thadd had been the curious sort, he might have listened harder, and realized that the horrible shrieking was actually made up of words. Many words. Many… colorful words. Words that likely would have had him scratching his head in confusion. Words that, had any children been awake to hear them, might have sent them all agiggle before their scandalized mothers quickly covered their innocent ears. Words that reached all the way up to the windmill atop the hill overlooking the village and breached inside, causing a “young” girl to pull herself away from her work and look out the window in the direction of the Sheikah tower, confusion written all over her face. 

Words that were all directed at a poor, hungry horse named Cookie.

Chapter Text

It was late at night when their horse finally neared Hateno. Revali could just make out the village’s distinctive towering chimney stacks against the starry night sky, still present even after a hundred years. The last time he’d been here had been on a mission with the other Champions to deal with a pack of Lynels that had been rampaging in the fields nearby. He hadn’t really spent all that long in the village, he’d gotten a chance to see the ocean for the first time after the Lynels were dealt with, but other than that the trip had been mostly forgettable. Hateno had been a thoroughly unremarkable place, and Revali doubted that had changed in a hundred years.

As they neared the wooden archway that served as the village’s entrance, a squeaky voice cried out. “Halt! Who goes there?!”

Revali squinted his eyes in the darkness. He could see a figure standing in the lantern light of the village entrance. A guard? No, scratch that. Revali’s eyes fell on the pitchfork the man was pointing at them. Not a guard, a hillbilly. UGH!

Link waved at the hillbilly, “Hey, do you know if the inn is still open?”

The “guard” jabbed his pitchfork at them “I’m asking the questions here, Buster! Who are you?! I demand answers! If you're up this late, you're probably up to no good!”

Revali rolled his eyes. Oh goody, one of those paranoid types. He’d let Link handle this one, Revali did not have the energy to deal with some jumpy backwoods hick.

“We’re just travelers.” Link said, confusion evident in his voice.

“Oh yeah?!” The hillbilly guard challenged. “Well… Well I heard some loud monster shrieking in the night earlier! Was that you? Huh? Was it?!”

“What— No!” Link shook his head “Do I look like a monster to you?”

For a moment the hick didn’t answer, and Revali was starting to wonder if the buffoon was going to say yes. Thankfully, the wannabe guard eventually lowered his pitchfork and sheepishly said. “Well uh… no. I guess not. I… suppose, since yer a Hylian like us… I can let ya’ through…”

Revali snorted, if that was all that was needed to gain access to Hateno, he was surprised the village hadn’t been ransacked by bandits yet. “What a fine guard you are.”

The hick seemed to finally realize Revali was there. He reacted… poorly. “EEEEYYYYAAAUUUGGGHHH!” The hillbilly guard pointed his pitchfork at Revali. “M-MONSTER!”

Wha— Monster?! Revali bristled “I am no monster, you uneducated dolt!”

“T-Then what are you, huh?” The hillbilly challenged “You sure don’t look like a Hylian!”

“Because I am not! I,” Revali straightened up, glaring down at the hick, “am a member of the noble Rito.”

“Ree-toe?” The hillbilly’s eyes squinted as he sounded out the word. “I ain’t never heard of no ‘Ree-toe’ before!”

“Is there anything you have heard of?” Revali sniped. Ugh, this was why he hated dealing with Hylian hillbillies. They were all as dumb as rocks.

Before the guard could respond, Link raised a hand, bringing the guard’s attention back to him. “He’s with me. He’s not… dangerous, he’s just…” Revali had the distinct impression Link was biting his tongue “...mean.”

“I’m honest.” Revali corrected. “Hylia knows somebody has to be!”

The hick’s eyes flicked back and forth between Link and Revali for a long moment before he finally lowered his pitchfork and stepped aside. “Fine. You can pass.” As Link directed Cookie through the gate, the hillbilly guard pointed at Revali and hissed. “I’m watching you, Ree-toe! No funny business!”

Revali, naturally, did the mature thing, and flipped him the bird.

Luckily, nobody else gave them any grief as they passed through the village. Not many people were out, but an older Hylian man standing outside of one of the shops was nice enough to point them in the direction of the inn. Revali managed to dismount Cookie with only some minor tangling this time, and, after collecting some rupees from the slate, he went up into the inn to get them some beds while Link took care of stabling their horse for the night.

The woman running the place looked at Revali like he was the most interesting thing she’d seen all week (which, to be fair, he probably was.) She gave them two beds without complaint and Revali ducked outside to let Link know. The Hylian was currently preoccupied brushing Cookie (where he’d even gotten a brush Revali had no idea) and only gave the Rito a quick thumbs up in acknowledgement. Returning inside, Revali marched upstairs and flopped down on his rented bed, out like a light the moment his head hit the pillow.

It had been a long day.

Revali’s eyes creaked open to the sound of crowing cuccos. With a groan, he sat up and noticed that Link’s bed was empty. Odd. The past few mornings it had always been Revali who’d risen first. A quick glance out the window confirmed Revali’s suspicions: it was well past sunrise, almost mid-morning by the look of it. Great. Yesterday must have tired him out more than he’d thought. Why hadn’t Link woken him up? Revali resolved to give Link an earful later for good measure. The last thing he wanted was for Link to think he was lazy!

Revali swung his legs over the side of the bed and winced. Yep, he’d definitely been worn out by all that riding. His thighs burned like they hadn’t since the time Master Loretti had made him run laps around Lake Totori when he was seven as punishment for sneaking into the warriors’ training grounds to join their drills. Just like he’d done then, Revali powered through the pain and stood up. After getting dressed (something rather difficult when he still had one wing in a sling), Revali slung the Great Eagle Bow and Sea Seeker over his back and attached Harth’s Feathered Edge to his belt. Returning the innkeeper’s wave as he passed by, Revali stepped out the door and looked around for his wayward Hylian companion.

While he didn’t find Link, he did see someone in the stable with Cookie. A short Hylian man wearing armor (including the stupidest helmet Revali had ever seen) was currently brushing the horse while she absently nibbled on some hay. Revali’s brow furrowed, had Link hired someone to take care of their horse? He really needed to have a chat with Link about fiscal responsibility one day soon or they were going to find themselves broke.

With a sigh, Revali marched towards the stranger, intending to demand to know where Link was. It was only when he got closer that Revali noticed the mop of messy blond hair beneath the helmet and realized that the “stranger” actually was Link.

“What are you wearing?” Revali said wearily. It was far too early for this.

“Good morning to you, too.” Link looked up and glowered at Revali. “Are you going to say that every time I buy new clothes?”

“Only if your fashion sense continues to remain hideous.” Revali snapped, gesturing to Link’s helmet. “Take that ridiculous thing off your head! You’re giving me embarrassment via proxy!”

Link glared at Revali but complied, storing the garish helm inside the slate. “Better?”

Revali sniffed “Marginally.” Shaking his head, Revali said “Dare I ask why you saw fit to buy a full set plate mail? Surely you have enough clothes as it is.”

Link shrugged and returned to brushing Cookie while the horse munched on a pile of hay. “I saw there was a tailor in town when we came in last night, so this morning I took my tunic in to get the hole from that Yuga—”

“Yiga.” Revali corrected.

Link rolled his eyes. “I took my tunic in to get the hole from that Yiga assassin’s blade patched up and the lady there said it would take her a few hours to get it done. I saw that she had a nice full set of armor on sale so I thought I’d buy it instead of walking around shirtless.”

Revali gaped “Y-You… you already had other shirts! You didn’t need to buy a new one!”

Link winced “Well yeah but… it was on sale!”

Unbelievable… Revali closed his eyes, suppressing a groan. “How much?”

Link cocked an eyebrow. “I’m sorry?”

“How much did that armor cost?” Revali hissed.

Link hesitated before saying “…Six hundred rupees.”

Revali sighed. That was… significantly cheaper than he thought it would be. If memory serves, a good set of Hylian plate armor usually cost well over a thousand rupees before the Calamity. He remembered Zelda mentioning something about it once or twice. Though come to think of it… that was only for a freshly made suit of armor… and Revali hadn’t noticed a blacksmith when they were entering the village…

Narrowing his eyes, Revali leaned forward and inspected Link’s pauldrons. “Is that… rust I see?” Sure enough, there were a few flecks of brown in the detailing of metal. Whoever had removed the rust clearly hadn’t been as thorough as they should have.

Link cringed. “Uh…”

“So that’s why it was on sale!” Revali’s jade eyes gleamed wickedly “A second-hand suit of armor! I wonder if the last wearer died in it? Did you check for blood stains?”

Link paled “Revali please…”

“You know,” Revali smirked, “the Rito consider wearing a dead warrior’s armor to be bad luck! It’s said that any who do are cursed to die in the same way!”

“Revali!” Link shoved the cackling Rito away from him, glaring intensely. “That’s not funny!”

Revali begged to differ. “Well, perhaps next time you’ll stop to think why something is ‘on sale’ before you waste our valuable rupees on it!”

Link huffed, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like “I didn’t ‘waste‘ anything…” before giving Cookie a parting stroke to her muzzle as he stepped out of the stall. “There’s a shrine on the other end of the village, I’m going to head over and do its trial. My shirt should be finished by then and we can visit Purah.” Link gave Revali a vague gesture “You can… just do whatever. Maybe harass someone else for a change.”

Revali puffed up, offended “I do not harass you! I provide constructive criticism!”

Link gave Revali a skeptical look. “Uh huh.”

Without another word Link turned around and started walking down the main street. After a moment’s consideration, Revali followed him. When Link shot him a confused look, Revali haughtily said “What? Am I not allowed to accompany you?”

Link came to a stop “No, it’s just…” his brows furrowed “I don’t know if the shrine will even let you come down. I kind of got the impression that only I was allowed inside them.”

Revali’s feathers bristled “Really?! What in Hylia’s name led you to such a conclusion?! I didn’t notice any signs in front of the other shrines we’ve passed saying ‘only Link may enter here! All others, flock off!’”

Link winced “That’s not what I—”

“Or do you think I am not worthy of the honor! Did you forget that I am a Champion?! I was under the impression your amnesia was retrograde, not anterograde!” Revali huffed, turning his beak up at Link. “How unbelievably arrogant!”

Link muttered under his breath. “Pot, kettle…”

“WHAT?!”

“Nothing!”

Revali glared down at Link for a moment before he suddenly became aware of the fact that several villagers had paused in their morning routine to look curiously at the two of them. Feeling very self-conscious about how this must look to outsiders (even though he was completely in the right) Revali adjusted his scarf with his unbroken wing and wordlessly started back down the road. After a moment he heard Link’s footsteps behind him as the Hylian followed.

Up a hill at the end of the road, a shrine was placed amid a series of blocky houses that horrifically clashed with the rest of the village’s architecture. Link stepped up on the dais and touched the Sheikah slate to the terminal in front of the shrine’s closed door. There was a soft melodic chime, and the previously orange lights on the shrine changed to blue while the shrine’s doors slid open.

Stepping up to Link’s side, Revali peered into the small grotto within. There was nothing inside except a circle of lighter stone surrounded by a glowing blue ring. Curious, Revali stepped into the circle with Link. The ring pulsed and then, to Revali’s surprise, the circle started to lower into the ground. An elevator? Without any pulleys? How curious.

“I guess the shrines aren’t exclusive to me after all.” Link said sheepishly.

Normally, Revali would relish in the opportunity to lord being right over Link, but as the platform sank deeper into the ground and they were swallowed up on all sides by jet-black walls, Revali found his voice suddenly scarce. His broken wing was starting to ache and his heartbeat was skyrocketing. All of a sudden the walls were closing in on him, the soft blue light of the platform had shifted to a sickly magenta, and an all too familiar warped growl was hissing in his ears. 

“Revali?”

Revali blinked and the illusion was gone. Looking over at Link, Revali saw the Hylian giving him a concerned look. Scoffing, Revali looked away from Link and asked “How long does this thing take? I feel like I’m liable to drop dead from boredom any moment now.”

“Not long.” Link replied “We should arrive in the main chamber soon.”

Sure enough, not even a minute later, the elevator shaft opened up and the platform came to a stop. Revali could see a vast rectangular chamber spread out in front of them. The entire room was lit with an eerie blue glow. A large catwalk lined with what looked to be carved stone lamp posts stretched out in front of them, leading to a large box with a slat iron gate blocking the only entrance. To their right, thin steps led up to a platform made of intricately wrought iron that jutted out over the edge of the catwalk. Another, sloped, catwalk branched out from the main one, stretching further into the room. Somehow floating in the air in the middle of the room was a large platform with a maze built on top of it, a pipe coming down from the ceiling to abruptly end above it.

Revali opened his beak to give his usual unhelpful commentary when suddenly a deep, ethereal voice echoed throughout the chamber.

To you who sets foot in this shrine… I am Myahm Agana. In the name of the Goddess Hylia, I offer this trial.

Startled, Revali looked around wildly for the speaker. The voice had sounded like it had been coming from everywhere at once. “Who… was that?” Revali asked warily.

“The shrine’s Sheikah monk.” Link said, pointing to the locked gate at the end of the catwalk. “He’s holed up in there. The ‘trial’ is basically finding a way to reach him.”

“Someone lives down here?” Revali said skeptically.

Link hesitated “I… I don’t know if ‘lives’ is the right word.”

Revali opened his beak to demand to know what that meant only to shut it once more. He’d find out soon enough anyways. Instead, he said “So what’s the trial?”

Link shrugged and walked up the steps to their right. “It probably has something to do with this thing up here.”

The “thing” in question was some kind of terminal with a spinning gyroscope on top of it at the end of the wrought iron platform at the top of the steps. Following Link, Revali hesitated when he got to the platform. For some asinine reason, the iron had been carved with holes in it. Revali had to step carefully to avoid getting his talons caught. Whoever had built this place clearly hadn’t designed it with Rito in mind. By the time he reached the edge of the platform, Link had already touched the slate to the terminal, activating it.

Revali looked over the edge into the gloom below. “Link…”

“Yes?”

“Why is there a bottomless pit?”

Link frowned “I… I don’t know. That is odd now that I think about it.”

“It’s a safety hazard, is what it is.” Revali stated flatly.

Link didn’t respond, instead touching his hand to the terminal. To Revali’s surprise, the floating maze in the middle of the room started to rotate. Revali noticed that there was a large orb with glowing orange lines at the far end of the maze, and saw how the sloped catwalk led down to a pit with similar orange lines and a hole that was just the right size for the orb.

Putting two and two together, Revali burst out laughing. At Link’s questioning look, Revali said “It’s a plucking children’s game! This trial is just a giant tilt-and-roll!” Giving Link an amused look, he asked “Are all the ‘trials’ so banal?”

Link’s brows furrowed “Well… no. They’re usually more like giant puzzles. Sometimes it’s just fighting a souped up Guardian Scout.”

“Oooh! A Guardian Scout you say?” Revali rolled his eyes. “Pathetic. Of course the Sheikah would make their so-called ‘trials’ so easy a child could do them.” Giving Link a rough slap on the back with his unbroken wing, Revali said “Well? Go on then, hero! Surely even you can’t screw this one up!”

…Three hours later, Revali was seething in indignation. Of course it wouldn’t be that simple! Silly him! Hylia forbid anything in his miserable life be easy for once! At first, he’d concluded that Link was just not very good at this. Revali lost track of how many times the ball rolled off the edge. His smug satisfaction at Link’s incompetence soon gave way to frustration however, and not long after the thirty minute mark, Revali had roughly pulled the Hylian away from the terminal to take care of it himself. It had seemed simple enough, the controls appeared to function similarly to those for the Divine Beasts, albeit without the psychic connection. Surely a Champion such as himself would be able to handle this petty little children’s game!

That’s… not what happened.

“Revali—”

“Silence, you insolent buffoon, and let me concentr— MOTHERPLUCKER!” Revali angrily slammed his wing against the controls as the ball rolled off the platform again.

Link spoke up “Revali I think—”

“Hold your impotent tongue!” The Rito snapped as another ball rolled down from the tube and landed in the maze. “I will defeat this infernal contraption if it is the last thing I— YOU CONTEMPTIBLE SON OF A WHORE!” Revali shrieked at the apparatus as the ball rolled off the first plucking ledge. “MAY YOU BE PLUCKED CLEAN AND ROASTED OVER A SPIT! MAY YOUR ENTIRE LINEAGE BE EVISCERATED AND HAVE THEIR INTESTINES USED TO CREATE A THOUSAND BLOODY SAUSAGES!”

Link blanched “Wait, that’s where sausages come from?!”

“Yes.” Revali said flatly before resuming his tirade “AND FURTHERMORE, WHEN I VANQUISH YOU I SHALL PERSONALLY DEFECATE UPON THE GRAVES OF EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY! MAY YOU BE CURSED WITH TEN THOUSAND YEARS OF TORMENT FOR YOUR ASININE ARDUOUSNESS!” Out of breath, Revali fell silent, glaring at the floating maze like it had personally insulted his honor as a Champion. (Which, as far as Revali was concerned, it had.)

“Are you done?” Link asked tentatively.

“For the moment.” Revali said, breathing heavily. “I will certainly have more grievances to air later if this damnable machine continues to refuse to cooperate!”

“Right…” Link said hesitantly “Can I try again?”

Revali snorted and stepped back from the apparatus. “Fine! If you wish to bash your hollow skull against this despicable machine some more, be my guest!”

During his tantrum perfectly justified and in no way childish outburst, Revali had sent the maze spinning end-over-end. As Link stepped up to the terminal, the platform was currently floating vertically on its side, the pipe above cyclically dropping orbs that missed the maze and fell into the foggy darkness of the abyss below. To Revali’s surprise, Link didn’t return the platform right side up. Instead, he flipped it all the way upside down, exposing the smooth surface of the underside of the maze. Revali’s eyes went wide when the tube dropped another orb onto the upside down maze. He wasn’t…

He was…

Like it was the easiest thing in the world, Link tilted the platform until the ball had rolled over to the edge closest to the sloped catwalk. Taking advantage of the orb’s momentum, Link quickly tilted the platform back at the last moment, sending the orb flying through the air onto the slope with a heavy thud.

Revali’s jaw dropped into the abyss below them as the orb rolled down the slope and seamlessly dropped into the hole. Both the hole and the orb changed from orange to blue, and the gate barring the way to the monk slid up with a metallic hiss. Stepping back from the terminal, Link gave Revali a satisfied smile.

“Not bad, eh?”

That… that was… “That’s cheating!” Revali squawked. “That’s… that’s completely in violation of the spirit of the game!”

Link winced “Well… yeah but…” he frowned “Wait… are… are you just mad you didn’t think of it first?”

Yes. “NO!”

The expression on Link’s face plainly said he didn’t believe Revali one bit, but the Hylian wisely kept his trap shut. Still seething, Revali followed Link back down the steps and through the open gate into the little chamber where the monk resided. Sitting in meditation atop a pedestal within a small raised pagoda surrounded by walls of blue light, the monk was an emancipated, desiccated corpse. Revali gave an involuntary shiver, this… this was not what he’d been expecting. Had the monk starved himself to death? Revali frowned, irritation flaring up once more. The monk could’ve at least spent that time waiting to die coming up with a trial that wasn’t stupid!

While Revali watched, Link stepped up to the pagoda. The wall of light surrounding the monk evaporated at Link’s touch, and the monk’s voice rang out once more.

Your resourcefulness in overcoming this trial speaks to the promise of a hero…

“HOW?!” Revali snapped. “That— that was… that was a children’s game… AND HE CHEATED!” Sadly, the monk ignored him.

In the name of the Goddess Hylia, I bestow upon you this Spirit Orb.

A dark violet ball of energy emblazoned with the Hylian Crest floated out of the monk’s chest and into Link’s. Revali scoffed “Great, you gave Link your stupid orb, now explain to me how in Hylia’s name you thought that— Hey! Don’t you dissolve on me, you expired piece of jerky! I’m talking to you!”

The monk once again ignored Revali, turning into specks of light that dissipated into the air. With the subject of his ire gone, Revali grumpily followed Link back to the exit. When they made it back outside, Revali was still simmering in his bitterness.

“Now that that unpleasant matter is finished,” Revali grumbled, starting down the hill, “let us stop by the tailor to grab your blasted tunic and finally do what we came here for!” Under his breath, Revali added “I want to be done with this worthless backwater as soon as possible.” It took a moment, but Revali soon realized that Link wasn’t following him. Whirling around, Revali’s keen eyes instantly spotted Link… running off in the exact opposite direction. Throwing up his unbroken wing in exasperation, Revali raced after the wayward Hyilian.

In the direction Link had run off, there was a short bridge leading to a lone, derelict house that three Hylian men were currently swinging large, unwieldy hammers into. By the time Revali had made it to the bridge, Link had already made it across and had been noticed by one of the men, a larger gentleman with an absurdly tall hairdo.

“Boss, we’ve got company.” The large man said before returning to his hammering.

Another one of the workers,  a skinny, balding man wearing one of the most garish outfits Revali had ever seen, set his hammer down and broke off from the others, approaching Link and Revali just as the Rito caught up to Link.

“Well, well…” the skinny man said with a wink “The name’s Bolson. To what do I owe a visit from such a handsome couple of young men such as yourselves?”

Revali, who’d been about to grab Link by the scruff of his neck and drag him away, froze. He was feeling… strangely offended by the mere presence of this “Bolson.” How… odd.

Link nervously said “Hi… um… sorry to bother you but… what are you doing?”

Bolson cocked an eyebrow. “In case it's not obvious, I'm demolishing a vacant house.” He gestured to the dilapidated structure “Times are rough. Not a lot of buyers, y'know? So the villagers decided it was best to just tear it down."

Revali snapped himself out of his momentary stupor, and disdainfully said “And they paid… you to do it?”

Bolson put a hand on hip “Is there a problem with that?”

Revali eyed the walls of the house, completely undamaged even though Bolson and his men had been swinging their hammers into them for who knows how long. “…I think they should ask for their money back.”

Bolson rolled his eyes. “Cute.”

“So does… does no one live here?” Link interjected.

“That is what vacant means.” Revali quipped.

 “Precisely,” Bolson said with a (completely gratuitous) snap of his fingers. “The old owner up and vanished a hundred years ago or so, and when the village put it up for sale, nobody would buy it!”

“I could buy it!” Link said quickly.

“WHAT?!” Revali snapped, glaring at Link.

“Whoa, get a load of young moneybags... Just wants to ‘buy’ it, huh?” Bolson muttered under his breath before he clapped his hands and leaned forward “Okey-doo! Let me lay it out for you. See this house? Been vacant for years. So the villagers had a meeting, argued, voted, and decided to tear it down. The demolition costs, with associated fees, and other such details… come in at fifty thousand rupees. So when you say you want to ‘buy’ it, you're talking about fifty thousand rupees... You got that much on you?"

Link’s shoulders slumped. “Oh…um, no.”

Link’s dejected expression seemed to get to the other Hylian, because Bolson instantly sighed and said “...Alright, alright, look. Here's the deal! Just for you, I'll cut you a special price of three thousand rupees, BUT IN RETURN!” Bolson raised a finger “I'm going to need you to bring me thirty wood bundles.” he shrugged “Building materials... You know how it is."

Link instantly brightened up. “I can do that!” He instantly pulled out the Sheikah slate and started to swipe through it.

“Thirty bundles of wood is not equivalent to forty-seven thousand rupees.” Revali said dryly.

Bolson gave Revali a skeptical look “Whose side are you on, bird-boy?”

Revali smirked, “Mine.”

Before Bolson could retort, Link said “Here! Thirty bundles of wood!”

“Wait, alread— WHOA MAMA!”

Bolson jumped back in shock when Link summoned a large pile of chopped wood in front of him from the slate, tall enough to reach Bolson’s neck. Revali wasn’t even surprised that there already happened to be enough wood stored in the slate. Honestly, he was starting to think Link had a hoarding problem.

After getting over his shock, Bolson seemed utterly delighted. “KARSON! HUDSON! Get over here and help me with all this hard woo—”

“Do I need to remind you what my contract said about lazy innuendos, sir?” the largest of the other two Hylian workers said as he came over and somehow picked half the pile up with nary a grunt.

“But Hudson I— fine!” Bolson whirled back to Link “And you! Did you have these stored inside that little gizmo there?” the garish foreman’s eyes gleamed “Would you perchance be willing to—”

“No.” Revali interrupted.

Bolson pouted. “Your friend is a real killjoy, you know that?”

“I’m not his friend.” Revali said sharply, pointedly ignoring how Link winced at his words.

Bolson looked between the two Champions for a moment before shaking his head “…Well alright then…” Winking at Link, Bolson said “When you get the money to pay me the three thousand rupees you can find me at—”

“I have the money now,” Link interrupted, summoning ten gold rupees from the slate into his hands before Revali could object.

Bolson’s eyes just about popped out of his head. “Oh my!” Bolson gleefully swiped the rupees and dropped them into the pouch at his hip, exchanging them for a rolled up piece of paper that he placed in Link’s hands. “Here’s the deed to the property! My word, spending so much money on anything at your age! It’s just so…” Bolson leaned forward and gave Link a wink “…studly.”

Revali retched.

Link just looked confused. “Um… thank… you?”

“He flirts with everyone,” The third Hylian worker —Karson, by process of elimination— said as he picked up some of the remaining pile of wood, “he doesn’t mean anything by it.”

Bolson shushed “Don’t give away my secrets! Anyway,” Bolson picked up the remaining wood with one arm and marched past Revali and Link over the bridge. “I’m off to inform the mayor of the good news! Right after I put away all this nice, hard—”

“BOSS!”

“—y! I was going to say hardy! That wasn’t an innuendo, Hudson!” Bolson turned around and waved at Link. “Enjoy your new bachelor pad, cutie!”

Revali watched Bolson and his men depart with a glare. The moment they were out of earshot, Revali whirled on Link and whapped the Hylian upside the head with his unbroken wing. “Where did you get that much money?!” he hissed. “You’ve already spent so much on frivolous garbage that I was certain we were close to broke!”

“Blupees like it when you scratch their chins.” Link said while rubbing the back of his head like that in any way answered Revali’s question.

“That— I can’t even—” Revali shook his head. “You know what? Never mind. Why would you even want to buy a house in the first place?!” he asked incredulously. “Need I remind you that you won’t be having much time to actually use it when we’re galavanting across Hyrule?”

Link hesitated “I don’t… I don’t know.”

“You… don’t know?” Revali closed his eyes. Oh boy, here we go… “Right, Link. There’s this little thing called fiscal responsibility that I really think you should—”

“No, I mean…” Link interrupted with a sigh “It’s… it’s hard to explain.”

“That seems to be quite the common occurrence with you.” Revali quipped. He was starting to wonder if Link’s voluntary muteness a hundred years ago was just due to the Hylian lacking any sort of rhetorical ability.

Link let out a frustrated groan. “No it—” Link angrily waved a hand at the derelict cottage that was his new property “This place is familiar okay! It’s the only part of this blasted village that actually feels like I’m supposed to know it!”

Remembering the conversation they’d had back at the inn in Kakariko, Revali asked “Did you remember something?” and then, just to make sure Link didn’t get the wrong idea, he added “Not that I particularly care, mind you. I’d just like some warning if you do something stupid like get all weepy on me.”

Giving Revali an exasperated look, Link shook his head “No… no I just… I feel something when I look at this place and… ugh.” Link glumly looked down at his feet. “It’s not a memory, but it’s close. Does that make sense?”

“No.” Revali said flatly. After a moment he added “But I suppose if you have the money to spare, then there are worse investments you could make.” Revali noticed how Link winced and narrowed his eyes. “Link,” he said dangerously, “you do have the rupees to spare, right?”

Link cringed. “Um… sort of?”

Oh no. “How much?” Revali’s voice dipped into a growl. “How much of our precious funds are left?”

After a long moment, Link sheepishly said “...a little over eight hundred rupees.”

Revali closed his eyes and let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Okay, okay that wasn’t too bad. They still had more than enough for food and board for a while. Still… “No more frivolous purchases.” Revali said slowly.

Link grimaced “Does that include new outfits?”

“Yes.” Revali said sharply. Sweet Hylia, this man had an obsession! Without missing a beat, he added “And while we’re on this topic, as I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me, there’s this little thing called fiscal responsibility…”

One overdue lecture about not wasting precious rupees later, Revali and Link made a quick stop at the local tailor to retrieve the Hylian’s repaired tunic and then finally started towards the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab. Impa had told them that Purah had set up shop in a windmill on the ridge overlooking Hateno and the Necluda Sea. The path up there was long and winding, and during the trek up, Revali more than once found himself lamenting his current flightlessness. How long did it take for a broken wing to heal anyways?! Was he going to be stuck walking like a plebian forever?! Revali shuddered at the thought.

“What’s Purah like?” Link asked, pulling Revali’s thoughts out of their usual death spiral.

Revali scoffed “Eccentric.”

After it was clear that Revali wasn’t going to say anything else, Link uneasily asked “Are you… going to elaborate?”

“No.”

They walked the rest of the way in an uncomfortable silence. When they finally reached the windmill on the hill, Link hesitantly knocked on the door. Instantly, a shrill voice called out “It’s open!” but before Link could push open the door the voice added “Unless you’re one of those STUPID KIDS then you can FUCK OFF!”

Revali and Link exchanged bemused looks before Link pushed the door open. Revali instantly knew from how messy the lab was that they had the right place. Books, papers, weird instruments, and more were scattered about with no rhyme nor reason. The only clean areas of the room were the back corner and a raised dais where a Guidance Stone had been carefully placed. Yep, Purah definitely lived here. Not that they could see the Sheikah scientist anywhere. The only occupants of the room were a Sheikah man organizing a bookcase in the clean corner of the room, and an oddly familiar young Sheikah girl standing on top of a stool at the table in the center of the room. Wait… could it be?

The little girl turned and waved at them “Heya! Are you looking for the director? Ask the man in the—”

“Purah.” Revali interrupted flatly, “You turned yourself into a child. Why am I not surprised?”

After a moment of shock, the little girl pouted, “Way to spoil my fun, Revy!” She whined, putting her hands on her hips. “You could have at least pretended I was my own granddaughter or something!”

Revali rolled his eyes “Please, you’d have to have children first in order to have grandchildren, and I distinctly remember you telling Robbie that you’d never subject yourself to the horrors of parenting.”

The girl’s eyes narrowed, “You heard that?That was private!”

“Well maybe the two of you should have waited to have your little lover’s spat until after you finished running the tests on Medoh!” Revali countered.

The little girl snorted and rolled her eyes “Still as much of a jerkface as always, huh Revy?”

“‘Jerkface?’” Revali snorted “Well, at least now you actually look as mature as you act!”

The girl smiled viscously, tapping her cheek right where the bright red fledgling marks would be if she were a Rito with a finger. “And so do you!”

Revali bristled, but before he could retort, Link said incredulously “Wait… you’re Purah?!”

“But of course!” Purah said with a wink, grumpy mood vanishing like it’d never existed “It’s good to see you again Linky! I promise I won't take it too personally that you didn’t recognize me!” Link opened his mouth to respond, but Purah continued on “Anywaaay. Let’s get down to business! Linky! Do you remember any dreams from your time in the Slumber of Restoration?” Hopping off her stool, Purah walked up to Link, looking him up and down. “You don't look like you've changed a bit in the last 100 years, but SOMETHING must have happened in all that time!"

Link blinked “Um I… I don’t…”

“No matter!” Purah said cheerfully “I’m glad to see you in one piece! You, not so much.” Purah added, giving Revali a look that was completely nullified by her childish appearance.

Revali smirked, looking down on Purah smugly “I’m sorry, what was that? I couldn’t hear you from all the way down th— AAHCK!” Revali hopped backwards on one foot after Purah kicked him in the shin. Hard.

“What’s the matter, Revy?” Purah teased “Can’t take a hit from a little girl?” Purah returned her attention to Link and finally noticed that the Hylian was giving her a confused look. "...Linky? What's with that look? You do still remember me, right?"

“He doesn’t.” Revali said flatly as he shook out his still-aching foot and stepped back up to Link’s side. “This knucklehead went and lost all his memories over the last hundred years.”

Purah cocked her head to the side “Huh, hold on.” Pulling out a notepad, Purah muttered to herself as she wrote down a few notes.

Revali couldn’t resist rolling his eyes. “And you call me rude…”

“Hush you!” Purah said, “It’s a charming quirk, not rude!” Nevertheless, Purah put the notepad away and said “So, no memories, huh? I guess that explains why you’re no longer mute!” Purah started walking back towards the table, gesturing for them to follow. “Come! I’ve still got tons of questions for you! SYMIN! Stop cataloging your stupid books and get over here!”

The Sheikah man at the back of the room jumped at the sound of his name and quickly shoved the book he was holding back onto the shelf and rushed over to Purah’s side as the de-aged scientist hopped back onto her stool. Symin pulled up and cleared off two chairs for Link and Revali. Once that was done and Link and Revali had both sat down, Symin returned to Purah’s side and pulled out a notepad of his own.

“So!” Purah said eagerly, “Gimme the deets!”

After a quick clarification on what the heck “deets” meant, Link quickly summarized their adventure so far. Unlike with Impa, Link did far less fumbling, perhaps having already told the story once had helped. Surprisingly, Purah didn’t interrupt once, merely humming at appropriate moments, and jotting down a few notes here and there.

When Link was done, Purah snapped her fingers and said “Sounds like you’ve been busy Linky! I’ll admit, I wished you’d come here before freeing Medoh so I could update the slate’s diagnostic sensors. Think of all that juicy data we could have had! Oh well… YOU!” Purah pointed at Revali “Your turn! Deets! Now!”

Revali blinked, momentarily taken off-guard. “Well um…” he cleared his throat. “There’s not much else to say. Link already covered what happened to me.”

Purah rolled her eyes “Yeah, yeah, we got the boring bits, but what about in between that?” Her eyes gleamed “What was it like? To spend a hundred years trapped in Malice! Oooh! I’m getting shivers just thinking about it! Was it scary? Were you conscious the whole time? You gotta tell me!”

Revali tried his best not to cringe. “It was… Fine.”

Purah blinked “…Fine?”

Revali shrugged “I don’t… remember anything.”

Purah “hmmed” and wrote down a couple notes on her pad. “Well that’s disappointing. Oh well! Onto the next subject! Gimme the slate!” Purah said, tossing the notepad aside (much to Symin’s distress) and making grabbing motions with her hands. After a moment’s hesitation, Link slid the slate over the table and Purah snatched it up, turning the slate on and inspecting it thoroughly. “Hmm, no pictures, no compendium, no sensor… no auto sort? Oh, no. That works. You just haven’t been using it. Let’s see… Symin, write this all down will you?”

This went on for several minutes while Revali and Link just sat there awkwardly, having been almost completely forgotten by the two Sheikah scientists. Irritably, Revali fiddled with the straps of his sling for a moment before growing impatient and finally asking “While you’re so enraptured with that thing, would you mind clearing something up for us?”

Purah blinked and looked up from the slate and said “Sure! What do you need!”

Revali hesitated a moment. This was probably a very stupid question, but he’d been worrying over this for days now and he needed to know. “Are there any possible… side-effects to using that slate’s warping feature with multiple people? Such as… say… potential fusing?”

“I dunno!”

Revali gaped “What?”

Purah chuckled “I didn’t even know you could warp multiple people with the slate already!” She looked to Link “How’d you manage that anyways?”

Link rubbed the back of his head “I just… make sure Revali’s holding onto it too when I select a destination.”

“Huh, ingenious.” Purah smiled and gave them a wink “Well, you’re probably safe. You’re not technically even really being deconstructed in the first place, so much as you’re being converted—” Purah stopped and narrowed her eyes. “You don’t care about the details at all, do you?”

Revali smirked “My goodness, you are capable of learning after all!”

“I guess that’s just another way I’m better than you!” Purah winked.

Revali’s feathers puffed up in indignation, but before he could retort, Link asked “Is there a way you could make it so that Revali doesn’t have to be touching the slate to warp with me?” Link looked down at his hands “I’m worried that we might need to make a quick getaway at some point, and not having to make sure that Revali is touching the slate before we warp would be really helpful.”

Revali looked at Link in surprise. That… had honestly not even occurred to Revali. How in Hylia’s name had Link of all people thought of it?

Purah hummed thoughtfully “Yeah, that would be useful… Still… how would I…”

“Director,” Symin interjected softly, “what about those little pins you and Dr. Robbie made a while back to send packages to one another?”

Purah’s eyes lit up “Symin you ingenious bastard! Of course! That should work!” Purah hopped off her stool and rushed over to a particularly cluttered corner to rummage through the rubbish.

Revali blinked. Robbie was alive? When Impa had only mentioned Purah, he’d assumed that the other of the Sheikah’s two head scientists had passed away in the last one hundred years. Before the Calamity Purah and Robbie had been inseparable, he’d honestly never even considered the possibility that they might not still be working together. Revali shook his head, he didn’t have time to ponder the status of those two idiots’ relationship.

“Care to explain for the non-scientists in the room?” Revali asked nonchalantly.

Symin smiled “A few years ago, the Director and Dr. Robbie attempted to utilize the Sheikah Network to share information and projects between their labs. Utilizing the warp system to send messages and prototypes would be much safer and faster than relying on couriers. They invented a sort of ‘pin’ that they would attach to their packages to tell the network what to warp.” Symin’s smile faded slightly. “Alas, they never quite managed to reliably connect to the network without a slate, but the preliminary test showed that the pin did work.”

“Found it!” Purah exclaimed, rushing back over to the table and hopping onto her stool to slam the pin onto the table top. “Ta-dah!”

Revali inspected the pin carefully. It resembled one of those lapel pins Revali had seen some Hylian nobles wearing in court before the Calamity. It was small, no bigger than the eye of a hearty salmon. The adornment of the pin was a disk of brass with a Sheikah eye engraved upon it, the iris glowing a faint blue.

Picking up the pin between two wingtips, Revali warily asked “And you’re sure it’s safe?”

Purah exclaimed “Yep!” at the same moment Symin said “Theoretically.” After giving her assistant a quick pout, Purah said “Fine, it’s theoretically safe. We never actually got around to testing it transporting anything over a dozen meters. But if it works over that distance, it should work over any distance! The warping network doesn’t care about how far apart things are! So long as you have something to receive you on the other end, it’ll be fine! Sheikah tech is nothing if not consistent. Trust me.”

Not exactly reassured, Revali put the pin down and said “Do you even know if it will work with the slate?”

Purah opened her mouth only to freeze and close it again. Putting a finger to her chin, Purah said thoughtfully “Huh, you know, it probably wouldn’t. At least, not without a program that tells the slate to recognize it. Oh well! That’s easy to fix!” Purah snapped her fingers “We were gonna update the slate anyways! I’ll just add the program’s data to the download! But first!” Purah pointed to a torch leaning against the wall near the doorway. “Take that torch and head down to the furnace at the bottom of the hill. Bring the flame back up here and light the brazier outside. That should get our Guidance Stone up and running.”

Link looked confused “The stone isn’t even active?” he shot a puzzled look at the Guidance Stone “How’s a bit of fire supposed to fix that?”

“It’s a special bit of fire!” Purah’s eyes sparkled. “We would have already gotten it up and running, but it rained recently and we didn’t need the Guidance Stone for anything over the past few days. It’s such a long trek after all!”

“Why didn’t you just build the furnace closer to the lab?” Revali asked flatly.

Purah winked “We couldn’t, silly! The furnace relies on a specific pocket of natural gas to fuel the flame! We had to build it there!”

Revali’s eyes narrowed “Then why didn’t you build the lab closer to the furnace?”

“But then we wouldn’t have this wonderful view!” Purah said cheerfully. After a moment she added “Also the windmill wouldn’t be able to catch the sea breeze!” Batting her eyelashes at Link, Purah said “I’d have Symin do it, but you wouldn’t want to subject his poor, tired, old feet to that long walk would you?”

“It’s really not a problem, Director.” Symin piped up “I enjoy the exercise!”

“Shh!” Purah hissed “Let Linky handle it.” Turning back to Link she said sweetly “You will, won’t you?”

Link nodded and got up to grab the torch. With a quick “I’ll be back,” the Hylian was out the door, leaving Revali alone with the two Sheikah scientists. After a moment's consideration, Revali got up and left as well. No way was he sitting around inside waiting for Link to get back. His sanity can only handle so much Purah in one day.

Instead of following Link down the hill, Revali turned and walked around to the other side of the windmill. Behind the lab, the ridge dropped off and rapidly sloped downwards until it reached a sandy beach and the Necluda Sea. Revali could see a dirt path wind its way down the cliff face, ending at the small sandy peninsula that separated the Hateno and Kitano bays. From up here, his keen eyes could just make out the motion of the waves lapping at the shore.

Revali took a deep breath of the cool sea breeze, the last time he had seen this view had been a hundred years ago, after assisting his fellow Champions in eliminating the Lynels that had been threatening Hateno. He’d never actually seen the ocean before, and he’d allowed himself a moment of curiosity to take a small detour to the ridge before he flew back to Rito Village. Truthfully, Revali had been a little… underwhelmed when he first saw it. That’s not to say the view wasn’t pretty, it’s just that Revali had been expecting something… more. Revali would have thought he’d wasted his time completely, if it wasn’t for what happened after he’d returned to Rito Village…

“Wow! You went all the way to Hateno?”

Revali huffed as he set his Great Eagle Bow down on the table in the Flight Range. “That is what I said, yes.”

“WOW!”

Revali snorted and smirked over his shoulder at the small fledgling with grey striped feathers looking at him with stars in his eyes. “I believe you’ve already said that, Tulin.”

The fledgling shook his head. “Because that’s so… Wow! Did you fly all the way there without any breaks?”

Revali puffed up his chest and turned around, smiling proudly as he posed heroically “But of course! Such a journey is easy for a master of the firmament like myself!” (He deliberately neglected to mention that his wings were aching like a motherplucker because of this. Tulin didn’t need to know that.)

“AWESOME!” Tulin cheered.

Revali smiled and reached down to ruffle Tulin’s head feathers affectionately. Tulin’s praise never failed to fill Revali’s breast with warmth. He’d always held a particular fondness for the young fledgling who’d declared himself the Rito Champion’s biggest fan, perhaps because, like Revali, Tulin was nestless.

“What was Hateno like?” Tulin asked.

Revali grabbed a flint and tinder from the table, stepped past Tulin, and knelt down to light the fire beneath the Flight Range’s cooking pot. “I’m afraid the destination wasn’t as remarkable as the journey,” Revali said, “Hateno is rather bland compared to Rito Village.”

“But Hateno’s near the coast right?” Tulin asked eagerly. “Did you get to see the sea?”

Stopping his work on the fire, Revali couldn’t resist smirking as he made a show of tapping a wingtip to the underside of his beak thoughtfully “Hm… I suppose I did… sea it.”

Tulin blinked up at Revali for a moment while his brain caught up with the older Rito’s wordplay. When it finally registered, Tulin groaned “‘Vaaalllliiiiii! I was bein’ serious!”

Chuckling, Revali winked and said “So was I.”

Once the fire was burning, Revali sat down with a relieved sigh on one of the mats ringing the fire circle and let the warmth from the flame wash over him, soothing his aching wings. Tulin instantly plopped down next to the Rito Champion and said “I wish I could travel all the way to the coast.”

Revali chuckled, “Who says you can’t?”

Tulin’s shoulders slumped “I can even get off the ground yet.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Revali said “you’re still growing. Not everyone learns to fly at the same rate. You’ll get there eventually.”

“Nevli says my wings don’t work right.”

Revali froze. Shit. He made a note to tell Master Loretti that his daughter needed to learn some tact. The girl likely hadn’t meant anything malicious by it, but Revali knew all too well that an accidental insult stung just the same as an intentional one. 

With a sigh, Revali turned so he was sitting facing Tulin. “Show me your wings.” he said softly.

After a moment of hesitation, Tulin complied, stretching out his wings in front of him. Though mostly hidden by his coverts, the fledgling’s secondary flight feathers were frayed and stripped in places. Secondaries were incredibly important for a Rito, far more so than for the average bird. They were what caught most of the lift from a Rito’s wind magic after all. Tulin’s deformed secondaries were a sign of either malnutrition, disease, or —Hylia forbid— a birth defect. Revali knew that Tulin wasn’t sick, and he refused to consider the possibility that the boy was at all defective.

“See that?” Revali said, taking a wingtip and tracing the overall shape of Tulin’s feathers “Your wings aren’t crooked, nor deformed or underdeveloped. They look perfectly functional to me.”

Tulin’s brows furrowed “‘Vali, my feathers—”

“Will molt.” Revali insisted. “And then you’ll have a set of new, perfectly good flight feathers. You’ll be fine.”

Tulin looked down and folded his wings over his chest, hiding his ragged secondaries beneath his coverts “How do you know? What if they’re stuck like this forever?”

This wasn’t working. New plan. “I had to deal with ragged secondaries when I was about your age too.” Revali said calmly.

Tulin looked up, his eyes wide “Really?”

“Yep.” Liar. While he’d definitely been malnutritioned at the time, Revali had been lucky enough to never have to deal with any part of his plumage not fully coming in. He stifled the guilt by telling himself that it didn’t matter if he was telling a little lie, the most important part was reassuring Tulin that he would be okay. “See?” Revali continued, “If I can overcome it, so can you!”

“It’s different!” Tulin insisted “You’re Revali! Master of the firmama— firmameme— firmamon—”

“Firmament.” Revali supplied.

“Yeah, that!” Tulin shook his head “I’m never going to be as amazing or incredible as you ‘Vali!”

Revali snorted “Not if that’s your attitude.” After a moment he added “What happened to the boy who told me to never give up? That I could do anything?”

Tulin shrank into himself “I was just sayin’ the obvious. But I’m… I'm not special like you are, ‘Vali.”

Revali bristled “And who told you that?”

Tulin’s eyes went wide as he hastily said “N-Nobody! I just figured it out myself! It’s okay! Honest! I don’t mind.” Tulin was obviously forcing his smile, “I’m happy just being your fan. I’m sorry I brought it up. I didn’t mean to bother you with this.”

Revali sighed. “Tulin…” He was terrible at this.

“It’s fine!” Tulin chirped, “You don’t need to worry about me! You’ve got a lot to worry about with your Champion stuff already! I’ll be okay! I was just…” Tulin’s smile fell and he turned back towards the flames. After a moment he said “Could you tell me more about the sea? I bet… I bet it looked really cool!”

Revali had opened his beak when suddenly, an idea popped into his head. He knew exactly how to cheer Tulin up. “Tell you what,” Revali said warmly “I’ll do you one better: once we defeat the Calamity, I’ll take you to see the sea myself.” he smirked “How does that sound?”

Tulin started to groan at Revali’s wordplay when what the older Rito was offering fully registered and he whipped back around to look at Revali wide-eyed. “Wait, really?”

Revali winked, “I doubt my words would do it justice anyways. It’s simply something you have to sea for yourself.”

Tulin completely ignored the pun this time as his eyes lit up like the sun. “You mean it?” At Revali's nod, Tulin flung himself forward and wrapped his tiny arms around Revali’s waist in a hug. “Wow! Thanks ‘Vali! You’re the best!”

Revali chuckled, giving Tulin an affectionate pat on the back as he said “I know.”

Obviously, things hadn’t gone to plan.

If Revali could go back in time he’d —well he’d do a lot of things, because, y’know time travel— but after all of the mandatory Calamity-thwarting stuff, the first thing he’d do would be to fulfill his promise to Tulin. After all of his support and encouragement, it was the least Revali could do for his number one fan…

Revali’s heart ached in his chest. Wishes were futile things. He could never go back and fix his failure. It still didn’t feel real, that everyone he’d ever known in Rito Village was long dead and buried. And Tulin… He was almost certain Tulin had died in the Calamity. No one would have bothered to help a nestless fledgling get to safety when they had their own lives to worry about, after all. Revali loved Rito Village and her people with all his heart, but he wasn’t blind to its faults. The other Rito wouldn’t have valued Tulin’s life like Revali had.

What had Tulin felt when it happened? Had he resented Revali for failing? Had he been overwhelmed with grief that his hero had fallen? Or had he naïvely believed that the Rito Champion would come to save him until his final moments? Revali would likely never know the answer, and he wasn’t sure if he even wanted to.

Revali stood there, ruminating on his failures for far too long. It was only the eventual sound of Link’s heavy footfalls coming back up the hillside that drew him from his brooding. Turning his back to the sea, Revali walked around to the front of the lab in time to see Link lighting the brazier with his torch. As the blue flame caught on the oil in the brazier, a circle of engraved stone placed just outside the lab’s entrance lit up the same blue as the flame.

“You took a while.” Revali said.

Link cringed as he pulled the torch from the brazier. “ Sorry I um… well… uh… I might have started a small fire at the base of the hill when I… tripped. I put it out!” Link quickly added “I put it out. It just… it took a little while.”

Revali facepalmed. He couldn’t leave this idiot alone for a second could he? Without another word, Revali walked past Link towards the laboratory door. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Hylian extinguish the torch and store it in the Sheikah slate. Hopefully that wasn’t Purah’s only torch Link just stole.

Purah and Symin were waiting by the Guidance Stone “Great job, Linky!” Purah said cheerfully with a snap of her fingers “The Guidance Stone is all loaded up with the necessary information! Just insert the slate and let the Sheikah tech do its thing!”

With a nod, Link stepped up to the pedestal and inserted the slate into it. As Link stepped back, the Guidance Stone started to glow. Blue runes appeared on its surface and drifted down to the bottom of the stone, slowly condensing into a droplet of glowing blue liquid like water on a stalactite. The droplet grew until it couldn’t hold on any longer, and gravity asserted its will. The droplet fell, splashing onto the screen of the Sheikah slate in a flash of blue, a soft chime echoing through the lab. All in all, the process took less than a minute.

Revali’s eyes narrowed and he shot Link a suspicious glare as he whispered “I thought you said it took a while for the information on the Guidance Stones to download onto the slate.”

“It does!” Link whispered back “It’s normally not that fast!”

“Hmph.” Revali snorted, eyeing Link skeptically. The Hylian was almost certainly messing with him. He probably enjoyed making Revali wait for over an hour at the bottom of the Sheikah towers. Brat.

Symin retrieved the slate from the pedestal and passed it to Purah. “Let me just check that everything’s in order…” Purah said, turning on the slate and swiping through it. “Hmm… Yep! All good!” Purah winked as she handed the slate back to Link “You’ve got your camera, album, and the compendium, all ready to go! Oh right… I should probably explain what those are real quick!”

“Real quick” turned out to mean that over an hour was dedicated to Purah explaining in excruciating detail the slate’s new functions to Link. Revali started out paying attention, but it soon became clear that Purah wasn’t going to give them the short version. By the five minute mark, he was completely lost. Sitting down at the table, Revali rested his head in his unbroken wing. He’d forgotten how tedious getting lectured on Sheikah tech by Purah could be. He was starting to daydream about flying away from these idiots and never looking back when Purah’s voice suddenly cut through his thoughts like a midget hammer.

“OI! REVY! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?!”

“No.” Revali said flatly, flicking his gaze down at the de-aged scientist. “Should I?”

Purah rolled her eyes “Typical… Linky here had a question for you, ya numb-skull!”

Revali blinked and lifted his head to look at Link. The Hylian was nervously holding up the pin Purah had shown them earlier. “Do… Do you want any help putting this on?” Link asked. “You know… since…” the Hylian gestured at the sling Revali’s broken wing was in.

Revali bristled “I’m not an invalid.” He snapped, standing up and swiping the pin from Link’s hand. It took much more wrangling and finessing than Revali would have liked, but eventually the Rito Champion managed to secure the pin to his scarf with only one wing. Straightening up like he hadn’t just wasted five minutes proving he didn’t need any help, Revali said sharply, “I take it we’re done here?”

Link nodded “Yeah…” turning to Purah and Symin, the Hylian bowed “Thank you so much for your help.”

Symin smiled, and Purah giggled “Well I see some things remain the same even if you don’t have your memories.” The tiny Sheikah scientist shot Revali a glare “You could learn a thing or two from him you know!”

Revali snorted “Please. There’s nothing Link can do that I can’t do better!”

Purah smirked, “Oh really?”

“Really.” Revali hissed.

“How about defeating Windblight?” Purah said “Can you really say that you’re better than him at that?”

Oh… OH, SHE DID NOT JUST GO THERE! Blood boiling, Revali’s feathers flared up in rage as he snarled “You listen here you snide, insufferable little—”

“Okay! I think we’re done here!” Link cut in. “Thanks again Purah! Bye!”

Before Revali could (verbally) throttle Purah, Link had pulled out the Sheikah slate and tapped it. Instantly, Revali and Link both started to dissolve into strings of light. The last thing Revali saw before his vision faded into white was Purah’s smug face. As the now-familiar sensation of warping faded and Revali’s vision returned, he saw that they were at the shrine overlooking Kakariko Village. Realizing what just happened, and now with only one outlet for his considerable rage, Revali curled the wingtips of his unbroken wing into a fist and swung at Link’s gut…

THUD!

“MOTHERPLUCKER!” Revali swore as he shook out his aching wingtips. Unfortunately, he’d forgotten that Link was still wearing the plate mail he’d bought that morning. “YOU SON OF A FLIGHTLESS PIGEON!”

“Is… is that an insult?” Link asked uneasily.

“What do you think, you obtuse ignoramus!” Revali snapped, shooting a glare at Link. “Why, in Hylia’s name, did you warp us away from there?!”

Link awkwardly rubbed the back of his head “Things were escalating pretty quickly… I… thought it’d be best to separate you and Purah before someone got hurt…”

“What, did you think I was going to assault her?!” Revali hissed.

“Were you?” Link asked pointedly.

“NO!” Revali snapped “I would never attack a child!” Revali deliberately omitted that Purah technically wasn’t a child, she just had the body of one. He still hadn’t been planning on actually hurting her after all. …Well, not physically at any rate. Verbal evisceration had definitely been in the cards, but Link didn’t need to know that.

“Oh…” Link said sheepishly. After a moment he added “Well… um… at least we know the pin works!”

“Indeed.” Revali hissed, holding his aching wing close to his chest.

Link eyed Revali with concern. “You didn’t just break your other wing, did you?”

“No.” Revali said sharply, flexing his wingtips experimentally. They still ached, but the thin tabard draped over Link’s breastplate had softened the blow.

Turning on his heel talon, Revali started marching down the hill towards the village, but soon noticed that Link wasn’t following him. Glancing over his shoulder, Revali saw the Hylian staring off into the distance, his brows furrowed. Revail let out an exasperated sigh. “What now?” He was still seething over Purah’s remarks and just wanted this day to be over and done with.

“I feel like I’m forgetting something…” Link said.

“Nothing new there.” Revali snapped. “If you forgot it, then it can’t have been that important, now let’s go!”

SLAM!

“WE’RE BACK, OLD HAG!”

Paya, who had been in the middle of dusting off one of the ceramic frogs perched on the small shelves at the back of the meeting hall, shrieked at the sound of Revali unceremoniously kicking open the doors to Impa’s house. In her fright, Paya accidentally knocked the frog from its perch. It was only thanks to quick reflexes honed by years of Sheikah training that allowed her to save the ceramic frog from shattering on the floor.

“Revali!” Link exclaimed as he rushed inside past the Rito Champion, going to Paya’s aid. “You can’t… you can’t just kick people’s doors open!”

Utterly unfazed by Revali’s rude entrance, Impa said “Judging by your mood, I’m guessing you’ve met with Purah?”

“Unfortunately…” Revali growled out as he crossed the hall to stand in front of the Sheikah elder. “Nice to know she’s still as insufferable as ever!” After a moment, he added “Did you know she’s—”

“—turned herself into a child?” Impa hummed. “Yes, I’d heard as much. Can’t say I’m surprised. It’s not the first time one of her experiments backfired.”

 Link helped Paya put the frog back on its perch before joining Revali in front of Impa. “We got the slate fixed up like you asked.” He said, unhooking the slate from his belt and showing it to Impa.

“Excellent,” Impa said, “Tell me, are the Princess’ old pictures still on it?” At Link’s nod she smiled. “Good, I was afraid they might have become lost to time.”

Revali snorted “Why is that important?”

To Revali’s surprise, Impa and Link both looked at him with confusion. “Did… did you really not pay attention to Purah?” Link said hesitantly.

Shit. Revali straightened up and haughtily looked away. “Hmph! Of course I did!”

Link called his bluff. “I… don’t think you did.”

Bristling, Revali spat “Fine! So what if I didn’t? Don’t tell me you could decipher her incoherent rambling!”

Link blinked at Revali “Um… yes? I thought she was pretty clear.”

“Hah!” Revali rolled his eyes “Nothing about Purah is ‘clear!’”

“That’s true.” Impa said. At Revali’s surprised look, Impa chuckled “She’s my sister, Revali. If anyone knows how insufferable she gets when she starts explaining shit, it’s me.” Impa nodded to Link “Perhaps a simplified explanation is in order. Link, would you mind showing the slate to Revali?”

“Um… okay.” Link hesitantly flipped over the Sheikah slate so that Revali could see its screen. On it were a collection of twelve rather tastefully shot landscape pictures.

“Zelda took these?” Revali said “I’m surprised there aren’t more.” He distinctly remembered how the princess had seemed to look at everything through the slate’s camera.

“There’s only so much space on the slate for pictures.” Impa said “She frequently asked my sister or Robbie to extract the old ones and store them on a Guidance Stone.”

“Purah thinks that if I visit the locations in these pictures I’ll be able to regain some of my memories.” Link said, something almost like hope in his voice.

Ah, Revali understood now. Link had been Zelda’s constant shadow a hundred years ago, wherever she went, so too did he. He likely had been present when Zelda took all those pictures, and if the Landing in Rito Village could restore a memory, then perhaps these other places could too.

…It was also a colossal waste of time.

“No.” Revali said sharply, pushing the slate away. “No, we’re not going on another frivolous errand when we have far more important matters to attend to!” Revali shot a glare at both Impa and Link “Or do I need to remind you that my fellow Champions are currently trapped inside their Divine Beasts?!”

Link cringed, but Impa was unfazed. “No one has forgotten the situation, Revali,” she said firmly. “However, the more Link remembers, the stronger he will be when he inevitably faces Calamity Ganon.” Link cringed even worse at that.

Revali snorted “Oh give me a break! Link just needs to know which end to stick the beast with his stupid darkness-sealing sword! Myself and the other Champions will handle the rest!”

“Um… if I could say something?” At the sound of Paya’s soft voice, Revali, Link, and Impa all turned to the handmaid. Paya’s face was beet red from nerves, and she was tightly clutching the cloth she’d been using to dust in her shaking hands. “Um… Master Revali…” she said, “Don’t… don’t you think Master Link deserves to regain his memories? O-Our memories make us who we are, right? I-I can’t imagine how h-horrible it must be to… to not remember anything…”

Revali looked away, a tight feeling that was absolutely not guilt worming in his chest. “Look… I’m not saying Link can never try and recover his memories. I’m just saying that freeing the Champions and vanquishing the Calamity takes priority.”

“We are not arguing that, Revali.” Impa said. “But the quest will be a long one, and take you to all the corners of Hyrule. You will surely pass by some of these locations during your travels. It will not hurt to take a moment to stop by.” After a moment, Impa added “Also, I have something to return to Link once you’ve visited one of these locations.”

Revali froze. Oh no… she wouldn’t.

Link’s gaze snapped back to Impa, eyes lighting up. “Really?! What is it?”

Impa winked. “Your old Champion’s tunic, of course.”

Revali groaned. Of course she would. Sly old hag, appealing to Link’s newfound obsessive outfit collecting to get her way. (How did she even know about that?!) “Why can’t you just give it to us now?!” Revali asked incredulously.

Impa smirked “Because I said so.”

Revali let out a frustrated groan. There would be no arguing with Link now. The Hylian had already promised not to waste anymore of their scant funds on purchasing frivolous outfits. No way he was going to pass up a free new piece of clothing. Better to just surrender and get this over with as quickly as possible.

“Slate.” Revali said firmly, holding out his unbroken wing impatiently.

After a moment of hesitation, Link handed the slate to Revali, and the Rito Champion examined the images. He recognized quite a few of these places, by reputation if not memory. Hopefully one was… ah! There! The eastern gate of Lanayru Road! That was close to Kakariko. It shouldn’t take them more than half a day to get there either. They could be there and back… before… sundown…

…Oh.

Revali had a feeling he knew what the memory would be.

“Here, Lanayru Road.” Revali said, returning the slate to Link. “It’s close enough that we can walk there.”

Link’s brow furrowed, as he mouthed the word “walk” but Revali paid it no mind.

“I must warn you, Lanayru Promenade is infested with monsters.” Impa said grimly. “Our last reports said there were Bokoblins, Lizalfos, and even a Moblin.”

“Lovely.” Revali grumbled “Once we’re back you better—”

“WAIT!”

“What?!” Revali did not jump at Link’s sudden outburst. He did not!

Link’s eyes were wide as saucers as he grabbed Revali’s shoulders. “WE HAVE TO GO BACK TO HATENO!”

Revali gaped “Wha— Why?!”

“WE FORGOT ABOUT COOKIE!”

Chapter Text

Link sighed as he trudged through the shallow water surrounding Ha Dahamar Shrine. He and Revali had spent several minutes arguing over going back to Hateno to get Cookie or not. Thankfully, Impa mentioned that the Stables Association had a horse retrieval service that they could use. Revali had stubbornly refused to make the trip with Link to Dueling Peaks Stable, grumpily stating that Link didn’t need a “babysitter” for such a simple task.

Link was ashamed to admit that he was a little glad to have some time away from Revali. When the Rito Champion had first insisted on accompanying Link in their adventure, the Hylian had been a little excited. To have someone else to rely on with the impossibly monumental task entrusted to him had felt like a wish come true…

Link had a nagging suspicion that there was an expression out there for making wishes without thinking about the possible negative consequences. “Be careful what you wish for?” Yeah, that sounded about right.

Link kicked a pebble as he stepped out of the pool and onto the muddy road. It wasn’t like Revali had been completely useless. His knowledge of Hyrule and his combat ability, even with one wing broken, had been a great boon during their quest so far. But still, did he have to be so mean about everything? Sure, some of his criticisms were justified, but Link was fairly certain they hadn’t had a single conversation without Revali criticizing him at least once. And it wasn’t like Link had been just as mean back! Sure, he’d get a little snarky at times, but Link had genuinely been trying to become friends with Revali. There were moments, like when Revali gave a (terrible) apology for inadvertently scaring Link with his Gale at Hateno Tower, or the times he’d briefly expressed concern for Link’s well-being after he took a bad hit from an enemy, that told Link that Revali didn’t hate him as much as he pretended, but that only made the constant vitriol all the more baffling.

And don’t even get Link started on the punch! Deep down, a part of Link had felt vindictive glee when Revali had hurt his wing trying to punch his stomach. Of course, he immediately felt ashamed for taking any joy in the pain of his so-called “ally,” but he couldn’t shake the feeling that Revali deserved it. The Rito Champion was petty, immature, and too high-strung for anyone’s good. Honestly, it felt like Revali was the one who needed a babysitter, not Link!

(Though, if he was being completely honest, Revali could be rather amusing when he directed his ire at someone else…)

Link shoved those thoughts away as he neared the stable. It didn’t feel right thinking badly of Revali behind his back. He’d offered to accompany Link on his quest after all. He didn’t have to do that! He could have just stayed in Rito Village after all. He only had a responsibility to fire Medoh when Link finally faced… yeah. Yeah, thinking about it, this whole mess was Link’s fault in the first place. Revali had a right to be angry…

So why did he still feel so bitter?

The stable master looked up when Link approached, his brow cocked questioningly. “Y'all didn’t lose that horse already, did ya?”

Link rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “Um… not exactly? I know where she is, it’s just…”

“Ya need someone to retrieve her for ya?” The stable master sighed “You’re one of those types, aren’t ya?”

Link blinked “‘Those types?’”

“Assholes who abandon their horses out in the middle of the wilderness the moment they come across something their steed can’t cross, and then expect us to retrieve it for ya!”

Link cringed “I didn’t… she’s not in the middle of the wilderness. I left her at a stable in Hateno.”

The stable master brows shot up. “Oh. Well that ain’t so bad I guess. Wait…” his brows furrowed “how’d ya get all the way there and back from Hateno so quickly? It takes at least a couple days or so to travel back from Hateno on foot.”

Link hesitated before answering “I… teleported?”

For a moment, the stable master looked at Link, then he just shrugged and said “Fair enough.” The stable master opened up his ledger “I can send a message to our associates in Hateno to bring her to this stable, but it’ll take until tomorrow evening for her to arrive.”

Link nodded, “That’s fine.” He and Revali were spending tomorrow heading out to Lanayru Road anyway.

The stable master nodded, making a note in his ledger “Right, that’ll be twenty rupees.”

Link blanched “Um… what?”

The stable master rolled his eyes “Ya didn’t think it was going to be a free service, did ya?”

Link winced. And Revali had just been lecturing him about not wasting their funds. Still, it was only twenty rupees. Not that bad, all things considered. But before he could reach down to retrieve the rupees from his slate, a thought occurred to him. “Is this… is this a one time fee or am I going to need to pay twenty rupees each time I ask for you to retrieve my horse?”

“Each time, obviously.” The stable master eyed Link suspiciously. “Why? Ya think you’re going to be uh… ‘teleporting’ a lot?”

Link winced “Um… yeah, probably.”

The stable master rolled his eyes “Typical. Well, we do have a retrieval plan you can purchase that you can use to cover all future retrievals, but it’s mighty expensive.”

“How much?” Link asked hesitantly

“Two hundred and fifty rupees.” The stable master said.

“Oh.” Link thought for a moment. On one hand, it would probably save them more in the long run, but on the other, Revali was going to be pissed that Link had “wasted” so much of their money.

Link’s brows furrowed. No, not “their” money, his money. Revali hadn’t done anything to earn most of their rupees! And yet he had the audacity to try and tell Link how he should spend his money? Well, this time he’d just have to deal with it! Served him right for refusing to come along with Link to the stables anyways.

“Alright.” Link said as he summoned two silver and one purple rupee from the slate. Convenient how the slate converted the rupees into the smallest number of gems needed for a given amount.

Link handed the rupees to the stable master, who made a quick note in his ledger before quickly ducking down behind the counter and reemerging with a plain metal wand with a glowing orange orb attached to the end. “Right then,” he said, setting the wand down on the counter “This is yours.”

Confused, Link picked up the wand. “What’s this?”

“A flare rod.” The stable master said “The retrieval plan covers emergencies too. If you or your horse are injured enough that you can’t move, shoot up a flare and the nearest stable will send someone to assist ya.”

Link’s brows shot up. That… that sounded like it would be a real lifesaver! “How do I use it?”

“Have ya ever used a fire rod before?” The stable master asked. Link nodded, he’d picked one up from the Hebra Trailhead Lodge, but it broke during his fight with Windblight. “Then just like that, but make sure you point it up at the sky when you do, otherwise we won’t be able to see the flare. Oh, and don’t go wasting the charges on any monsters. You run out and you’ll have to buy yourself a new one.” The stable master wrote something else in his ledger “Not like it would do much to ‘em anyways. The flares weren’t designed for combat. It’s more likely to anger a ‘Blin than hurt ‘im.”

Once he’d confirmed that Cookie would be back at Dueling Peaks Stable tomorrow, Link thanked the stable master and went to find a spot out of sight where he could warp back to Kakariko. As he walked away from the stable, Link was already starting to regret his sudden burst of rebelliousness. Sure, the retrieval plan and emergency flare would be useful, but he’d just spent a significant chunk of their funds on something that he probably hadn’t needed to. And after he’d promised to be more fiscally responsible too!

Revali was going to be so mad…

Revali was not, in fact, mad.

Sure, he was a bit annoyed that Link had needed to spend two hundred and fifty rupees, but the retrieval service and especially the emergency flare sounded like they would be well worth the price in the long run. Of course, he hadn’t told Link that. On the contrary, he’d taken great joy in watching Link squirm while the Hylian anxiously waited for Revali to launch into another well-deserved lecture.

Unfortunately, that was about the only bit of entertainment Revali got that evening. With the plan being to set out for Lanayru Road at first light, that still left Revali and Link with several hours to kill. Link, the compulsive helper that he was, spent that time assisting the people of Kakariko with the most asinine tasks. (Revali was fairly certain he saw Link trying to corral a bunch of rambunctious cuccos at one point.)

Revali was not so fortuitous. He became preoccupied with mentally going over his battle with Windblight repeatedly. Purah’s taunt had been stuck in his mind ever since they’d left Hateno. Who did she think she was? Insinuating that Revali was somehow weak, because he lost once! The nerve! Well, he’d prove her wrong! Revali might not be able to take revenge upon Windblight directly, but if he could learn from it, figure out what he’d done wrong, and prepare himself so that he’d never make those mistakes again, then it would be just as good! Finding a quiet, out of the way spot near a curious cluster of carefully placed stones and a tree on an overlook past the north gate of the village, Revali started replaying that fateful battle over and over again.

That turned out to be… more difficult than expected.

Every time Revali tried to recall the battle with Windblight, his heart rate would skyrocket and his stomach would try to crawl up his throat. Before, whenever he’d recalled the fight with Windblight, it had been no more than brief flashes and vague recollections. Now that he was trying to more thoroughly remember what happened, he could only focus on it for a few moments before dizziness overtook him and he started to hyperventilate. He’d had to lean against the tree to keep his balance more than a few times. Pathetic.

During one of these episodes he saw Paya spying on him from behind one of the wooden poles of the gate. Upon realizing she’d been made, the nosy Sheikah girl had squeaked in fright and run off. Revali’s feathers ruffled in embarrassment. If that girl was smart she’d keep her mouth shut about this. The last thing Revali needed was people gossiping about him.

Revali sighed. Why was he having so much trouble with this? It was a bad fight, sure, but he was still here wasn’t he? It could have been worse! He could have died! He shouldn’t have so much trouble just remembering something! Link was the one with memory problems, not him! So why…?

Eventually, even Revali had to admit that this wasn’t working, and so he turned his gaze northward. From the overlook the silhouette of Hyrule Castle was visible, as were the swirling clouds of Malice surrounding it. The sight, along with the light of the setting sun, caused Revali to recall the first time he’d seen the castle consumed by Malice. The day the Calamity began…

The Champions had known that the Spring of Wisdom was a failure the moment they saw—

NOPE! Revali stopped that flashback before it could truly begin. He’d leave remembering the specifics of that horrific evening to Link tomorrow. Revali’d had enough navel gazing for one day, thank you! (Not that he had a navel… or at least, not a visible one.)

With a frustrated sigh, Revali turned his back on the castle and glumly returned to Kakariko. His mood remained irritable for the rest of the evening, barely talking at all during the dinner he and Link shared with Impa and Paya. If the others noticed Revali’s uncharacteristically taciturn behavior, they did not comment on it.

Thankfully, Revali’s mood had improved the next morning. Sure, his dreams had been plagued by sickly black and purple ooze and a sinister glowing blue eye, but that was hardly anything new! He’d had plenty of those nightmares since he woke up a hundred years in the future! He was fine!

After a quick breakfast, Revali and Link set out. They took the path leading to the shrine on the hill overlooking Kakariko. Beyond that was a path overgrown with grass leading through a small grove and further into the hills. It looked like no one had tended to it since the Calamity, and in the intervening years the foliage had completely taken over. Thankfully, Revali’s keen eyes could see through the greenery to the other side of the grove, where it looked like there was the opening of a ravine. If he was remembering correctly, that was where they would find Lanayru Road.

What Revali had not remembered was a Goddess-damned Great Fairy Fountain lying off to the side of the grove. The Fountain was a giant, sanguine flower. At the center of the flower, ringed by golden sculptures, was a glimmering pool of water. Small, lesser fairies flitted about it as if in the middle of a mid-air waltz.

“Link!” Revali whispered, grabbing the Hylian’s arm with his unbroken wing and dragging them both behind a nearby bush. “Do you see that?”

“What, the Fountain?” Link said, confused. “Yeah, what about it? Why are we hiding? Cotera’s nice.”

“We’re not hiding from the Great Fairy, it’s the—” Revali froze as he fully registered what Link had said. “Wait, you knew about this place already?!”

Link blinked “I… stopped by here yesterday afternoon.”

“And you didn’t think to mention that?!” Revali whisper-shouted.

“I… didn’t think it was a big deal?” Link said sheepishly. “I-Is it?”

Revali clenched his beak to stop himself from screaming out a very loud “YES!” Instead, he wondered aloud “Why didn’t Impa mention this place?”

“Maybe she forgot about it?” Link suggested “Cotera mentioned that no one had been to visit her in a really long time.”

Odd, why would that be? If Revali had to guess, he’d say the scarcity of resources after the Calamity had forced the Sheikah to prioritize their own wellbeing over making offerings to a Great Fairy. He couldn’t really blame them if that was the case. He knew from experience that offerings to a Great Fairy could be expensive…

…Speaking of. “How much was it?”

“What?”

“The offering.” Revali clarified. “I assume she asked for one. How much was it?

Link winced, “Please don’t be mad.”

That had the opposite of its intended effect. “Link.” Revali hissed. “Answer. The question.”

“Five hundred rupees.” Link squeaked.

If Revali’s math was right (and it usually was) that was almost all of their remaining funds! He suppressed a wince. They could probably get a small loan from Impa, and after that… well after that they’d figure something out. There had to be some way to earn some extra rupees in this post-Calamity Hyrule. (Though if Revali had to go back to performing trick shots for pocket change, he was going to strangle somebody.)

Still, it was a worthy investment. The aid of a Great Fairy was invaluable. The enchantments a Great Fairy could imbue weapons and armor with were considered priceless. Revali himself had personally tracked one down to get the most powerful multi-shot enchantment possible imbued on his Great Eagle Bow. It had taken every single rupee he had, along with gathering some frankly absurd resources, but the results were worth it. For his effort, the Great Fairy had even been kind enough to give him some tips on how to utilize the enchantment to its greatest extent. Getting the aid of one of the Great Fairies would be an immense boon to their quest.

“You’re not saying anything.” Link whispered nervously. “You’re mad aren’t you?”

“About the Great Fairy? No.” Revali said “In your place, I would have done the same. It’s a worthy investment.” Revali’s voice lowered to a growl and his grip on Link’s arm tightened. “What I am mad about is that you didn’t tell me that we’re broke!”

“We’re not!” Link hastily added. “I earned us some more rupees from helping around the village last night! I even sold some extra monster parts I had! We’ve got enough for a while!”

Revali’s eye twitched “And you didn’t think to tell me that either?! You— Know what? Nevermind. It’s not important.” He peaked out from behind the bush. “Do you see those fairies?”

Link looked up “Huh, they weren’t there last night.”

“We need to sneak up on them and catch some.” Revali whispered. “Having them will be a big help if we run into trouble. Do you have any empty bottles we can stuff them in?”

“What?” Link said, giving Revali a horrified look. “Why would we do that?! That’s so cruel!”

Revali rolled his eyes “Didn’t you use some fairies to help beat Windblight?”

“I asked for their help!” Link shot back “I didn’t capture them!”

Revali snorted “So you say.” He gestured towards the fairies flitting about obliviously in the distance. “Well then, fairy-boy, want to try and ask nicely? I promise not to laugh too hard when you fail.”

Expression hardening, Link stood up and firmly said “And I promise not to laugh too hard when you’re wrong!”

Without another word, Link marched towards the Fairy Fountain. After a moment’s consideration, Revali got up and followed him. Wouldn’t want to miss a moment of Link’s humiliation after all! As Link approached the fountain, he waved. The fairies flitting about froze at the sight of the approaching Hylian, hovering in the air as if uncertain whether they should flee. Finally, one fairy with a notch in one of its wings suddenly zipped forward, flying right up to Link’s face.

“Oh!” Link stepped back, caught off guard. “Um… Hey! I was wondering if—”

“Fuck off!” The fairy snapped.

Revali blinked. True, he’d never heard a normal fairy talk before, but he hadn’t expected such tiny creatures were capable of sounding so… gruff. Or vulgar for that matter!

Link blanched “Uh… what?”

“What’re ya, deaf?!” the fairy with the gruff voice growled. “Fuck. OFF!”

Revali smirked. Oh he liked this one!

Link gaped like a fish, clearly reeling from the fairy’s hostility. “U-Uh… I-I’m Link!” He stammered, no doubt trying to regain some control of the situation. “W-What’s your name?”

“Fuck you! That’s what!” The gruff fairy spat.

Revali snickered, unable to hide his mirth any more. Oh this was gold! He’d have to tell Urbosa about this when they rescued her, she’d laugh her head off!

“Something funny to you, peacock?!” The gruff fairy snapped, flitting up to glare at Revali over Link’s shoulder.

Revali’s smirk instantly vanished. He took it back, he did not like this one.

Before he could lay into the arrogant sprite, Link waved his hands, quickly getting the fairy’s attention once more. “Hey, listen! We were wondering if you’d be willing to help us out on our quest! We’re trying to defeat Calamity Ganon and we’d love to get your help!”

Revali had heard worse sales pitches, but it clearly didn’t work on the gruff fairy. “What’s in it for us?” the fairy snapped, buzzing about Link’s head like an angry bee.

“Yeah!” piped up one of the other fairies still lurking back near the fountain in a squeaky voice. “Yeah, what’s in it for us?”

Link looked taken aback “Wh-What?”

“You didn’t think we’d help youse for free did ya?” The gruff voiced fairy taunted.

Link winced “Well… kind of…?”

“I bet you were going to stuff us in bottles too!” Another fairy hovering near the fountain chimed in. “We’re not stinking fireflies you know!”

Revali coughed awkwardly.

“You fuckers don’t even put air holes!” The gruff voiced fairy snapped.

“Just because we don’t technically need to breathe doesn’t mean we like being suffocated!” The fairy with the squeaky voice added.

“Yeah!”

“YEAH!”

Oh dear, it appeared things were getting out of hand. The fairies suddenly started swarming around Link, a cacophony of angry buzzing and vitriol filling the air.

“YOU STUPID HYLIANS ARE THE WORST!”

“FUCK YOU AND FUCK YOUR MOTHER TOO!”

“HOW’D YOU LIKE IT IF WE STUFFED YOU INTO A BOTTLE, HUH?”

“WE’RE GOING ON STRIKE!”

“FAIRY RIGHTS! FAIRY RIGHTS!”

“DOWN WITH THE SYSTEM!”

“POKE HIS EYES OUT!”

“I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WE’RE ANGRY ABOUT! I’M JUST HAPPY TO BE HERE!”

As amusing as watching Link get verbally assaulted by a bunch of tiny sprites was, all this shouting was starting to give Revali a headache. Leaning forward, Revali shouted over the raging fairies “Perhaps now would be a good time to check the slate and see if we have anything that we can exchange for their services, eh hero!”

The angry buzzing suddenly stopped as the fairies all froze in the air, muttering among themselves as they expectantly waited to see what Link would offer them. After shooting Revali a look over his shoulder, Link pulled out the Sheikah slate and started swiping through it. “Um… I have rupees—”

“We don’t want no stinking rupees!” the gruff fairy shouted, angrily flapping his wings. “Do we look like Great Fairies to youse?!”

Link flinched and returned to the slate. “Um… I have monster parts?”

“Ew!” another fairy shrieked. “Keep your barbaric trophies to yourself, you butcher!”

Link blanched and Revali sighed “Honestly, Link… surely you have something in there that’s valuable!” muttering to himself, Revali added “Hylia knows you hoard enough as it is.”

Link shrugged and showed Revali the slate’s screen. “I’m not sure, the only stuff I have left are the remaining health tonics from Impa, some elixirs, some ingredients, and four pieces of honey candy I made back in—”

“HOLY FUCK! DID YOU SAY HONEY CANDY?!”

Link and Revali both jumped at the gruff fairy’s sudden shout. “Um… yeah?” Link said cautiously. “I’ve… I’ve got four pieces in the slate.”

“I’M IN!” The fairy with the squeaky voice squealed, zipping forward to land on the slate.

Two other fairies quickly followed, while the fairy with the gruff voice fluttered in front of Link’s face. “Well I suppose I could be generous enough to— Oi!” the gruff zipped off to intercept another fairy that had tried to land on Link’s slate. “Piss off! Piss off! I called dibs! That last honey candy’s mine!” Once the remaining fairies had fluttered off, grumbling to themselves, the gruff fairy cleared his throat. “As I was saying, I suppose I could be generous enough to assist youse on your little quest thingy in exchange for some of that sweet, delectable honey candy!”

Revali and Link shared a look before Link shrugged and summoned the honey candy from the slate into his open hand. In an instant, the four fairies descended upon Link’s palm like a wake of vultures upon a carcass. Each fairy snatched a piece of candy and immediately started gobbling it down (an impressive feat considering the honey candy was half as big as the winged balls of light were.) Revali and Link watched in amazement as, within seconds, each candy orb was devoured by the fairies.

“Ah, that was good!” The gruff fairy cheerfully said with a loud burp. “Welp! A deal’s a deal!” Flitting up to Link’s face, the gruff fairy fluttered his wings in a way that Revali suspected was supposed to be impressive. “The name’s Curly.” he said “And don’t you forget it, blondie!”

“Um… My name's Link, actua—”

“Bitch, did I stutter?” Curly growled suddenly, making Link flinch. Then, without missing a beat, the fairy chuckled “Me an’ the boys’ll be waiting for youse whenever ya need us! So give us a holler ‘kay? ‘Kay! Curly, out!” With that, Curly and the other fairies dived down to the slate and, tapping the screen, turned into lines of light that went into the slate.

Revali’s eyes went wide. “D-Did they just… fly into the slate?” Revali said, aghast “Y-You can store living things in there?!”

Link shrugged, “Yeah. it surprised me when I found out too.” Revali did not like the look the Hylian was giving him. “Now that I think about it… I wonder if—”

“Try it and not even Hylia herself will be able to fix what I do to you.” Revali growled.

Link blanched. “Um… you’re right, it was a stupid idea. You’re probably too big or something like that.”

“Hmph.” Revali straightened up and resumed walking through the grove. “Now that that’s out of the way, let’s go. I want to be back in Kakariko before nightfall.”

As Impa had said, the Lanayru Promenade was infested with monsters. Fortunately, they only had to deal with some Bokoblins and one Moblin, the Lizalfos kept to the water and didn’t bother them. It was quick work taking care of them, Revali expertly using the Sea Seeker to bash in ‘Blin skulls from a distance while Link handled whatever got close with his soldier’s sword and shield. They managed to reach the East Gate just after midday, Revali more than satisfied with their progress.

“So…” Revali drawled, eyeing the gate warily. The stone arc had already been in poor condition a hundred years ago, and Revali sincerely doubted that it had received any maintenance in the time since. “How does this work? Do you just… stare at it until you remember something?”

Link frowned as he looked up at the stone arch. “I’m… not sure. With the Landing it happened pretty much instantly.” pulling out the slate, Link said “Are you sure we’re in the right place?”

Revali rolled his eyes and glared up at the perpetually foggy peak of Mount Lanayru. “Don’t insult my intelligence! Of course I’m sure we’re in the right place!” With a shake of his head, Revali turned on his heel talon and started to walk back the way they came. “Whatever, I knew this was a pointless endeavor. Come Link, let us return to Kakariko and—” Revali froze mid step as he noticed the distinct absence of the sound of Link’s footfalls behind him. Turning around, Revali saw the Hylian was still standing exactly where he’d left him. With an exasperated sigh, Revali said “Link, stop dawdling and let’s go!”

Link didn’t respond.

Brows furrowing, Revali marched right back up to the Hylian and grabbed Link’s shoulder with his unbroken wing. “Will you stop staring at that thing? I doubt if you remembered anything already that continuing to look at it will get you anywhere.”

He tried to pull Link back, but the Hylian shrugged off his grip with surprising strength. Revali bristled, was Link ignoring him? Him? The Great Revali?! Rito Legend, Master of the Skies and Lord of all things Awesome?! All for a crumbling archway?!

“Fine!” Revali snapped “You have fun with your newfound appreciation for ruined arches, I am going back to Kakariko to prepare for our journey! Like a responsible Champion!”

When Link still didn’t respond, Revali’s irritation started to mix with concern —er, confusion. Walking around to Link’s side, Revali noticed that the Hylian was staring up at the stone archway with a half-lidded gaze, Sheikah slate still clutched tightly in his hands.

“Um… Link?” Revali asked uneasily. “Are… are you okay?”

When Link still didn’t respond, Revali waved his unbroken wing in front of Link’s face, but the Hylian didn’t even blink. Frowning, Revali leaned in close, studying Link’s vacant expression. It was as if he’d fallen into some kind of trance. Was… was he remembering something? A spark of curiosity lit within Revali’s breast. How deep in it was he? Would he notice if Revali poked his cheek? Revali grinned. Well, there was one way to find out! Like a mischievous child, Revali started prodding Link’s cheek with a wingtip. It was… surprisingly squishy! He’d never realized Hylians had such flabby cheeks! This was actually kind of fun! Chuckling a little, Revali amused himself by repeatedly poking and prodding Link’s cheek

It was, of course, during this that Link decided to snap out of it.

“What are you doing?” Link asked uneasily, eye flicking between Revali and the wingtip currently poking his cheek.

Heat rushing to his face at having been caught, Revali quickly pulled his wing back and adjusted his scarf, clearing his throat before saying “Checking to see if you hadn’t reverted to a statue when I wasn’t looking.” At Link’s skeptical look, Revali hastened to change the subject. “So, I’m guessing that little trance was you reliving a memory?”

Link’s expression darkened “Y-Yeah… I-I remembered when—”

“I know.” Revali said sharply, not wanting to further relive the moment the Calamity arrived. “I was there if you’ll recall.”

Link winced “Oh, right.”

He almost hadn’t been. It was only at Urbosa’s request that he’d made the trip to Lanayru that fateful day. His reluctance hadn’t been out of any disdain for Zelda, of course (though the same could not be said for her ever-present shadow) he’d simply wanted to focus on getting more practice time with Medoh. He couldn’t help but wonder if things would have been different if he’d been at his Divine Beast when Ganon emerged. Would he have been able to get the drop on Windblight? Would he have been able to avert this whole tragedy? Would he—

Revali stopped that train of thought. He was starting to spiral again. It would do no good to have a breakdown in front of Link of all people. The insufferable Hylian would likely never let him live it down.

Link sighed, hooking the slate back onto his belt once more. “You saw the castle when Ganon appeared right? What did… What did it look like?”

Revali scowled. Clueless idiot. Couldn’t he tell that Revali didn’t want to talk about this? Revali started nervously fiddling with the straps of his sling as he said “I’m sure you got a far closer look at it than I did yourself later. You can wait until you recover that memory to find out.”

Link winced, “Oh yeah, right…” A heavy silence fell between them for a moment before Link spoke up once more. “You were right.”

Revali blinked “Pardon?”

Link smiled, “The Princess is pretty.”

Revali promptly smacked Link upside the head.

“What was that for?!” Link protested, rubbing the back of his head.

“Objectifying royalty.” Revali stated.

Link shot Revali an annoyed glare before stepping forward and looking through the gate. Putting his hands on his hips, Link said “Do you think we’ll have time to visit the mountain? We don’t have to be back in Kakariko until dinnertime.”

Huffing, Revali stepped up to Link’s side and said “Unless someone has been maintaining the path up the last hundred years, I don’t think so.” The Spring of Wisdom had been a common pilgrimage site for Hylia’s faithful a hundred years ago so the path up the mountain had been well taken care of. Now though… Looking up at the shrouded peak, Revali scoffed, “I’m not exactly confident in my ability to climb a mountain with only one wing.” When Link didn’t respond for several seconds, Revali frowned and glared at the Hylian out of the corner of his eye. “…Link? Link, are you even listening to me?!

Link wasn’t. His brows were furrowed, his eyes narrowing at something beyond the gate as he said “What’s…?” To Revali’s eternal exasperation, Link took off in a sprint, racing through the gate and leaving Revali in the dust.

“Link?!” Revali cried, throwing his unbroken wing up in exasperation. “Where are you—?” Revali froze, his eyes going as wide as saucers as he saw what had caught Link’s attention: out in the distance, in the field at the base of Mount Lanayru was the distinct silhouette of a Lynel.

Oh no.

No, no, no, no!

“LINK!” Revali shrieked at the top of his lungs as he raced after the foolish Hylian. “LINK, GET BACK HERE!”

Thankfully, it seemed the Hylian heard him. Link skidded to a stop, turning to look back at Revali in confusion. Alas, it seemed Link wasn’t the only one who’d heard him. Revali’s pupils shrunk into tiny pinpricks as he saw the distant Lynel turn to look in their direction. His keen eyes could make out the beast huffing in anger as it pulled a large, powerful-looking bow from its back and took aim…

In hindsight, yelling had probably been a mistake.

“DUCK!” Revali shrieked as the Lynel fired, the foggy trail glistening in the sunlight in the arrow’s wake a telltale sign of a Frost enchantment.

Link did not duck… but he did pull his soldier’s shield from his back as he turned back around to see the danger, swiftly raising it to intercept the incoming arrow with reflexes born from muscle memory that no amnesia could erase. Link managed to get his shield up just in time for the Frost Arrow to slam into it.

CRACK!

Link cried out as the Frost Arrow exploded in a freezing burst on impact. Link was knocked back by the force of the blow, tumbling into the dirt, the frozen splintered wood of his shield flying through the air.

 Before Link had rolled to a stop Revali was already at his side, grabbing the Hylian’s arm with his unbroken wing and dragging him to his feet and pulling him back towards the East Gate with a cry. “RUN!”

Revali took off in a mad dash towards the Promenade with Link on his heels. An angry bellow from behind them and the sound of clopping hooves told him that the Lynel was giving chase. Had he currently had the use of both his wings, Revali would have had no problem turning back around and facing the beast head-on. He’d slain his fair share of Lynels in his time, and this one was only a Red-Maned one. But with one wing broken and Link being… well, Link, Revali wasn’t taking any chances.

Speaking off…

“ARE YOU NATURALLY THIS STUPID OR DO YOU HAVE TO PUT EFFORT INTO IT?!” Revali shrieked at the idiotic Hylian as they ran, a Frost Arrow whizzing past their heads.

“IT LOOKED LIKE A HORSE I THOUGHT IT WOULD LET ME RIDE IT!” Link cried

Revali’s gaped. Seriously?! “YOU CAN’T RIDE A LYNEL YOU— GET DOWN!”

Revali tackled Link to the side just as the Lynel galloped up behind them and swung at their heads with a wicked sword he’d pulled from his back. The two Champions went tumbling into the dirt and Revali bit back a scream as he landed on his broken wing. He was starting to get used to pain coming from there… he wasn’t entirely sure if that was a bad thing or not. Quickly getting to his feet, Revali saw the Lynel circling around for another strike. Considering how swiftly the beast had closed the distance between them, Revali didn’t like their chances of outrunning it.

Wait a second? Why were they running? They could teleport!

“LINK!” Revali shrieked, rolling out of the way as the Lynel charged once more. “THE SLATE! THE SLATE! USE THE FUCKING SLATE!”

Link didn’t reply, wordlessly pulling out the Sheikah slate and pointing it at the Lynel as it turned around for another pass. There was a familiar ding, and the Lynel froze, encased in a flashing yellow Stasis field.

“THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT!” Revali howled, as the Stasis broke barely a second later and the Lynel resumed charging for them. “TELEPORT US YOU NUMBSKULL!”

Link winced but quickly tapped on the slate just as the Lynel drew close and brought his sword down. Revali barely managed to dodge the blow as he felt the now-familiar tingle of the slate’s warp function take effect. His vision whited out, and when his sight returned, he found himself standing on the dias of the shrine overlooking Kakariko Village once more.

After taking a moment to catch his breath and calm his racing heart, Revali whirled on Link and grabbed him by his collar, furiously hissing. “What. Were. You. Thinking?!”

“You told me to use the slate!” Link protested.

“Not that you gigantic ignoramus!” Revali snapped, releasing Link with a shove. “Why the fuck would you approach a fucking Lynel?!”

“I didn’t even know what it was!” Link shot back, glaring defiantly “Just in case you’ve forgotten, I have amnesia! How was I supposed to know it would attack us unprovoked?!”

Revali laughed mirthlessly “So you just assume everything you meet in the wild is nice and friendly?! What, did you try to make friends with a Bokoblin the first time you saw one too?!” Link didn’t respond and simply looked away, pink tinting his cheeks. Revali gaped “You didn’t…”

Link flinched “It was just minding its own business and the only other person I’d met had been friendly enough! I thought I could ask for directions or something!”

Revali facepalmed. A part of him desperately wanted to launch into another tirade about Link’s idiocy, but the adrenaline from the Lynel encounter was starting to fade now that they were no longer in any danger and all Revali wanted to do was flop down face first on a bed and scream into a pillow until he fell unconscious.

“Forget it…” Revali grumbled, turning on his heel to start marching down the slope to Kakariko once more. “Let’s just get back to Impa and tell her you recovered the damn memory.”

Link and Revali quietly trekked through Kakariko village back to Impa’s house. Link climbed the steps ahead of Revali, no doubt wanting to reach the doors before him so that Revali didn’t kick them open again. Well, jokes on him! Revali was too tired to kick the doors open this time!

“Impa, we’re back!” Link called out as he opened the doors and stepped inside, Revali following behind him.

Inside, Paya was polishing a gigantic orb sat on a cushion behind and to the left of the dais where Impa was seated. Impa herself smiled as Link and Revali crossed the room to stand before her. “You’re back sooner than expected. I take it the journey went well?”

Link opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Revali cut in, “You didn’t tell us there would be a Lynel!” he growled, glaring at Impa.

Impa’s brows furrowed “My scouts had assured me that the Lynel was keeping to the field beyond the gate. I had not thought you would encounter it.”

“We might not have,” Revali conceded “Except, this idiot didn’t even know what a Lynel was!” he spat, gesturing sharply at Link. “He thought he could ride it like a horse! We barely escaped with our lives!”

Link wilted as Impa turned her gaze to him with a cocked brow. “Did he now…” Impa mused. “Is this true, Link?”

The Hylian Champion looked at his feet “Y-Yeah…”

Revali smugly waited for Link to get his well-deserved lecture, however, instead of scolding him, the Sheikah elder merely bowed her head and said “I apologize, I should have informed you of the danger.”

Eyes widening, Link frantically waved his hands. “N-No! D-Don’t apologize! It was my mistake!”

Revali rolled his eyes. Oh Hylia, these two were going to get caught in a loop of apologizing to each other if he didn’t step in. “Let’s just say you were both idiots and leave it at that.”

Impa shot Revali an unamused look but thankfully dropped the topic. “Were you successful in retrieving a memory?” she asked.

Link nodded “Yeah it was…” he winced “…It was the day Ganon returned.”

Impa pursed her lips “Ah, a dark memory indeed. I am sorry you had to relive it.” Impa sighed “I hope that you will be able to remember the good times as well, it was not all despair and gloom before the Calamity. Now, I believe I promised to return your old Champion’s tunic.”

Turning her head, Impa nodded to Paya, who stopped polishing the orb and hurried upstairs, coming back down a moment later with a wooden case. Paya stopped in front of Link and opened up the case, revealing an elegant tunic the same shade of blue as Revali’s scarf. Revali was impressed at how well maintained the Sheikah had kept it over the last hundred years; it looked near pristine.

For a long moment, Link just stared at the blue tunic, eyes wide, saying nothing. The silence went on for so long that Revali wondered if the familiar shirt had triggered another memory. This was instantly proven false when Link finally blurted out. “It’s hideous!”

Revali burst out laughing.

Impa’s brows furrowed “Princess Zelda made it personally.” she said firmly while Paya cringed.

Link’s eyes practically popped out of his head “Oh! Um… I mean… it looks… great?”

Revali doubled over, clutching his side with his unbroken wing as another wave of mirth overtook him. “Nice save!” he cackled. Oh he was definitely telling Urbosa about this once they freed her! Link shot a glare at Revali, the tips of his ears pink with embarrassment. This only revitalized Revali’s chortles.

Clearing her throat, Impa shot Revali a glare, prompting the Rito Champion to stifle his giggles. When Revali had quieted down, Impa said "Why don’t you try it on?”

Link nodded, and then without any warning, he pulled the red tunic he was wearing over his head and onto the floor, doing the same with the chainmail hauberk beneath a moment later, leaving him momentarily shirtless. Poor Paya went beet red as Link pulled out the blue tunic from the case and slipped it over his head.

Impa chuckled “Well, I didn’t mean right in front of me.”

The tips of Link's ears went red as he poked his head through the collar of the tunic and he hastily pulled the rest of it down to cover his bare torso. Revali blinked, momentarily confused by the interaction before it hit him. Oh, right. He’d forgotten that Hylians and Sheikah didn’t wear clothes just for protection or fashion but also for modesty. Ugh, weirdos.

“It feels a little big.” Link said, holding out his arms to his sides, letting the blue tunic hang loosely from his lithe frame.

Impa hummed “It may need refitting, you’re more lean than you were a hundred years ago. A visit to Claree’s may be in order.” Impa cocked an eyebrow “Have you been eating well in your travels?”

Link flinched “Um… kind of?”

“Apples, mostly.” Revali said flatly. “So, so many apples.”

“It’s not like I can carry around big full meals in the Sheikah slate!” Link protested.

“You can, actually.” Impa stated “I remember Princess Zelda was quite happy to discover that she could store a full meal made by the royal chefs.” she smirked “The princess never did acquire a taste for field rations.”

Link’s eyes went wide as saucers, “You mean I can… I need to go!”

Revali watched in astonishment as Link swiftly turned around and raced back out of Impa’s house, practically leaping down the steps and out of sight. Revali heard the sound of something crashing, as well as Link apologizing, and concluded that the idiot Hylian must have run into someone in his haste to find the nearest cooking pot.

“Oh dear.” Impa chuckled “I fear I may have unleashed a monster.”

A few hours later, Revali was leaning against the railing on the southern side of the veranda of Impa’s house, watching how the light of the setting sun glittered off the spray from the waterfalls flowing down from Lantern Lake. Across the way, Link was using the cooking pot on the porch next to the general store, and had been ever since he’d rudely rushed out of Impa’s house, cooking Hylia only knows how many meals with the assorted mishmash of foodstuffs he’d stored in the slate. At some point a young Sheikah girl (Koko, if he’d heard correctly) had decided to join Link and was cheerfully helping him with his cooking. Some of the fairies they’d… “enlisted” that morning were flitting about the pot. Revali had been a little worried that they would use their vulgar language in front of poor little Koko, but from what he could hear from the veranda, it sounded like the fairies had been restraining themselves. 

Revali occasionally glanced over in Link’s direction (mostly to make sure he hadn’t somehow blown himself up) but for the most part he was content to just let his mind think about their next steps. The encounter with the Lynel had made one thing clear: Revali was severely hindered without the use of both his wings. He could have handled that situation easily if it wasn’t for his broken wing! They didn’t have time to wait around for him to heal either, which meant the fastest way to get him back in top fighting shape was to rescue Mipha so she could use her healing magic on him. It was fortunate that Zora’s Domain was so close to Kakariko, they could probably make it there in a little over two days if they traveled by horse, and that was assuming they couldn’t cut across the Lanayru Wetlands to save time. Revali’s broken wing itched in its sling.

“A rupee for your thoughts?”

Impa’s voice pulled Revali out of his ruminations. Looking over his shoulder, Revali saw the Sheikah elder slowly approach him, that ridiculous hat absent from her head. Revali huffed “I’m just thinking about which Champion to free first,” he said with a shrug, turning his gaze back towards the waterfalls. “Mipha seems like the logical choice.”

Impa hummed in agreement as she stepped to Revali’s side “Yes, the Zora are closest, and I’m sure they will be happy to aid Link in saving Mipha.”

It did not escape Revali’s notice that Impa specifically only mentioned Link. “If you have something to say, just say it.” Revali spat.

Impa sighed. “I think you should stay in Kakariko.”

Revali bristled and he snapped his head to the side to glare down at Impa. “No.”

“Revali,” Impa said softly “your wounds need time to heal.”

Revali scoffed “I’m fine! The only lasting injury I have from Windblight is my broken wing! And Mipha will be able to fix that with a snap of her fingers!” Revali snapped his wingtips to emphasize the point. “It makes more sense for me to go with Link to Zora’s Domain than laze around here!”

Impa shook her head. “I’m not talking about just physical wounds, Revali.”

Paya. Ravali sneered. The Sheikah girl must have told Impa what she’d witnessed Revali doing last evening, probably misconstruing things and making it out to be far worse than it actually was. Perhaps she had even projected some of her own neurotic anxieties onto Revali and made him out to be some weak, pathetic fledgling. Yeah… yeah that must have been what happened.

“I’m fine.” Revali said sharply, whirling around to fully face Impa. “And tell your granddaughter not to stick her nose where it doesn’t belong.”

Impa’s brows furrowed “What does Paya have to do with this?”

Revali chuckled darkly “Don’t play dumb, Impa. I know you sent her to spy on me yesterday.”

Impa’s face hardened “Revali… I did no such thing. If I wanted to spy on you, I would have sent someone who wouldn’t be detected.”

Shit. That actually made sense. The Sheikah were famous for their stealth. Impa wouldn’t have sent a bumbling teenager to spy on him. Shit, shit, shit he shouldn’t have said anything!

“As for Paya,” Impa continued “She is not the sort to share others secrets. If she saw something private, she wouldn’t have told me unless it was a matter of life and death.” After a moment of silence, Impa asked “Revali. Did Paya see something?”

“No.” Revali snapped.

Impa frowned “Revali, if you need to talk—”

“I don’t!” Revali hissed. “I don’t need you coddling me! I’m not some… some broken thing for you to fix!”

Impa shook her head “I wasn’t saying that Revali.”

“It sure sounded like that’s what you were saying!” Revali accused.

Impa sighed “Is it so hard for you to believe that I’m merely concerned for you?”

“I don’t need your pity.” Revali growled.

Impa shook her head “It’s not ‘pity,’ Revali. It’s called being your friend.”

Reflexively, Revali spat “We’re not ‘friends.’”

For a long moment, Revali’s words hung in the air between them. Impa’s face was unreadable as she said “...I see.”

Something suspiciously similar to guilt churned in Revali’s throat, itching to get out, but Revali stubbornly kept his beak clamped shut. Suddenly, Link's voice pierced the silence as the Hylian called out to them, “Hey Revali! Come see this!”

Revali was quick to take the escape offered, even if it was coming from Link of all people. “Oh would you look at that,” Revali said quickly, “Link wants to show me his latest abomination! Welp, I don’t want to disappoint him! Let’s continue this conversation never.”

Impa let him go without a word, but Revali could feel her hard gaze on his back as he walked around the veranda and then down the steps before he turned and strolled over to the porch beside the general store.

“Revali! Look what the fairies helped me make!” Link said cheerfully as Revali approached, holding up a flask of sparkling pink liquid.

The fairy with the notched wing —Curly, if Revali remembered correctly— was flitting about Link’s shoulder like an angry bee. “‘Helped’ my a—”  Curly stopped mid sentence, and Revali got the distinct impression he was looking nervously at Koko who was giggling as another fairy danced around her head. “Um… tush! Yeah, ‘helped’ my tush! We did all the hard work blondie! You just stood there stirring the pot!”

Link handed the flask to Revali who carefully shook it, watching as the pink liquid within sloshed about. “What… is it?” Revali asked warily.

“A Fairy Tonic!” Link supplied “It’s like a health tonic but really strong!”

“What’s in it?” Revali asked warily. He still hadn’t forgotten learning about the disgusting ingredients that typically went into elixirs.

“Fairy dust.”

“And?” Revali pressed.

Link cocked an eyebrow. “…Water?”

Revali blinked. “That’s it?”

Link shrugged “Yeah. What else would I add?”

“Don’t play innocent, blondie!” Curly snapped, tugging on Link’s ear. “You tried to sneak in some Bokoblin guts when I wasn’t lookin’!”

“It was an experiment!” Link protested. “I thought they would make it stronger!”

Suddenly feeling ill, Revali made a quick note to thank Curly later as he shoved the flask back into Link's hands. “You better not have experimented with our meals!” he warned, “If I get sick from something you’ve made I will be sure to vomit on you!”

“Mr. Link’s a good cook!” Koko piped up, no longer playing with the other fairy. “He helped Koko make this! Look!” She turned around and pulled a pumpkin stuffed with assorted meats off the table behind her, showing it proudly to Revali. “He got Koko the meat and everything!”

Despite himself, Revali couldn’t help but smile at Koko’s enthusiasm. “Did he now?” He said, giving Koko a wink, “Well, I suppose if you were supervising him, then he can’t have messed up too badly.”

Koko giggled and put the pumpkin back on the table before perking up. “Oh! Koko should get Father and Cottla! It’s almost dinner time!” Koko had almost raced off the porch when she skidded to a halt and turned back to Revali, Link, and the fairies “You should all stay for dinner! I’m sure Father would love that!”

Revali blinked in surprise, but before he could respond, Link said “That sounds like fun, Koko! We’ll wait here for everyone!”

Beaming ear-to-ear, Koko raced off to find her family. Turning to look at Link, Revali saw the Hylian give him a sheepish smile. “Um… you don’t mind, do you?”

Revali took some small pleasure in making Link wait for his answer, the Hylian’s smile growing more and more strained with each passing second before Revali finally decided to take pity on him and say with a smirk “Of course not.”

Dinner with Koko’s family was unsurprisingly a chaotic affair. Koko’s little sister Cottla was a rambunctious child who couldn’t sit still for even a second. Her father, Dorian, was one of Impa’s guards, and clearly too tired from his duties to properly reign in his youngest. Revali charitably decided to help the poor man by telling Cottla stories about his time as a Champion. It was hardly the first time he’d had to corral a rowdy child, and he was quite familiar with what worked and what didn’t.

Additionally, Curly and the other fairies would frequently swoop in to snag a piece of meat from Revali or Link’s plates, much to the children’s amusement, and Paya stopped by at one point to tell Dorian something. Link offered her some of his food, but Paya’s face had gone completely red and she’d stammered out a polite decline before hurrying back to Impa’s.

After dinner, while herding his daughters back home, Dorian had quietly thanked both Champions. Something like guilt seemed to flash behind Dorian's eyes, and Revali felt a twang of sympathy for the poor man. It had not escaped his notice that Dorian had no partner to help with raising his children. Revali could easily fill in the blanks from there.

Link and Revali retired to the inn for the night and Revali quickly laid down on his rented bed, eager to fall asleep so that the morning would come. Tomorrow they’d finally set out on their journey to Zora’s Domain to rescue Mipha. Truthfully, Revali couldn’t wait. When Mipha was saved she’d be able to heal his broken wing and Revali would finally be able to fly again! Er… not that he wasn’t interested in saving Mipha for her own sake. He wasn’t that selfish! But he’d been earthbound for far too long, and the thought of flying free once more was enough to make him giddy. He didn’t care if he had to fight through a hoard of Lynels to get to Mipha. Nothing would stop him from regaining his rightful place in the sky!

Nothing.