"Good morning, Aiki," Rell said, smiling at the old, blue-feathered Rito behind the counter.

"Ah, good morning, Rell," she replied. "How are you today?

"The same as ever, I guess. How are you?" he asked.

"Tired, but that's not anything new for someone of my age." Aiki motioned for him to follow her into the back, where she then pointed to lumps of unkneaded dough. "Help me with this. Afterwards, I'd like you to take care of a delivery."

Rell nodded, and the two got to work. "How's your family? I heard your father got a nasty cut yesterday," Aiki said.

"He's doing better. It wasn't that deep, really. His pride is probably hurt more than anything," he laughed.

"Hm. You're like two ends of a spectrum, you and your father. He throws all caution to the wind as though he has no idea what the word 'careful' means. Why a man like that decided to get into a hobby involving knives is beyond me. You, on the other hand, seem to gather up all the caution your father throws out and keep it for yourself."

"I know. Sorry..." Rell muttered.

She waved her hand dismissively, scattering a bit of flour. "Bah. You don't need to apologize, boy; you just need to be more daring. Leave the village for a bit, ask for more fighting lessons, ask a boy out on a date, do something. Just don't sit in your home wasting your youth because you're too afraid something will happen."

"But something could happen."

She stopped kneading and looked at him. "Of course it could, Rell, and it most definitely will, but why does that mean life isn't worth living?"

"That's not really encouraging," he said.

"If life was encouraging, it would be easy. That's why we have to encourage ourselves. Even when bad things happen, all we can do is pick ourselves up and keep living." She returned her attention to the dough. "And speaking of doing it ourselves, we should stop chattering away like songbirds and finish this. Otherwise, we're going to get a lot of people who are angry they haven't gotten their bread."

They remained silent as they finished their task. After washing their hands, Aiki handed him a box. "Deliver this to Fuga's family," she instructed. "And do try to be quicker than last time; I got a complaint that the bread didn't arrive soon enough. I know you aren't the fastest Rito out there, but I see no reason you can't pick up the pace just a little."

"S-sorry. I'll do my best," he stuttered, heading out the door.

The chilly wind of the Rito village brushed lightly against his feathers. With a slight shiver, he hugged the box close to his chest and set off. The mountain village was on the large side, but having lived there his whole life, Rell was able to navigate it quite easily. It wasn't particularly hard in the first place, though, as there were several landmarks and signs to help. The village was sizable, but not complex. Cold, but welcoming. High up, but reachable. Mystical, but sensible. Imperfect, yet perfect. It was a place of paradoxes, now that he thought about it, but he and the rest of its inhabitants found that to be just fine. Rell often wondered if the other places in Hyrule were like that. Even if they were, though, it's not like he could visit them.

Aiki's words suddenly rang in his mind. Do something. Don't just sit at home because you're afraid.

Well, easier said than done.

He knocked on the door to a two story house overlooking the side of a cliff. A wooden deck extended out over the side, fenced around the edges save for a space directly in the middle. Rell stared at it wistfully for a few seconds before the door opened, revealing a Rito woman with green feathers.

"Oh, Rell! Hello there!" she said cheerily. "Come in and have a cup of tea!"

"I wish I could, Essila, but I'm working today, so I can't stay long," he stated, stepping inside and setting the box down on a nearby table. "Here's the bread you ordered."

"Thank you, Rell. But you can stay as long as you'd like, you know. If Aiki gets mad, just tell her you're chatting up the customer. It's good for business," she smiled.

"I can't. I doubt she'll go for that," he replied quickly.

"Ah...sorry, I was only joking."

"Oh. Right. Um...how's Fuga?" he asked, trying to break the awkwardness.

Essila sat down at the table and opened the box. "You tell me. You're probably around him more than I am these days." Her tone was polite, but Rell thought she sounded just a little bitter.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" he began. Essila quickly looked up at him.

"Oh, goddesses no! That's not what I meant!" she exclaimed. "I'm not upset with you at all! I'm sorry, Rell, I only meant that he's been so busy with his guard duty the past few weeks that I feel like I don't see him much anymore. By the time he returns home it's very late, and when I wake up, he's already gone."

"They have put him on more than usual, yeah," he agreed. "But I mean, it's an important job, right? And if it makes you feel better, I don't get to see him much either. I tried visiting him once, and the other guard yelled at me..."

She smiled and took some bread out of the box, carrying it into the kitchen. She then came back, closed it up again, and handed it to Rell. "Well then, here. Take the rest of this to Fuga. Surely they won't be upset at you for bringing one of our faithful guards some fresh bread for all his hard work."

"I...I don't know..." he mumbled. "What if they do get upset? And what about you? Don't you want to see him?"

"Then you tell them to take it up with me and Aiki," she replied softly. "I do want to, yes, but I'm sure the other guard will think bread doesn't need two people to deliver it, and I know how important you are to each other. He didn't give you that band for nothing, after all." She nodded at the strap of leather Rell wore around the upper part of his arm near his shoulder, of which a single green feather was intertwined. "Now go on, and tell Fuga I said hello!"

Against his better judgment, Rell started to make his way to the village entrance, where Fuga was often stationed that time of day. On the way, he stopped at the bakery to tell Aiki what he was doing.

"Fuga? I see. In that case, you can have the next hour off. I know you haven't seen him much lately," she said, not glancing up from the dough she was making. "Give him my regards. Just make sure to come back here when you're finished. There's still work to be done!"

As he stepped back outside, he felt conflicted; on one hand, he had secretly hoped she would say he was needed at the bakery so that he wouldn't have to go. On the other, he was looking forward to being with his best friend again, as it had been weeks since they saw each other outside of a quick greeting whenever Fuga happened to pass him on his patrols. In the end, the desire to see him won, so he once again went off towards the village gate.

The gate itself, somewhat to the amusement of the Rito, was nothing more than a relatively tall wooden door that was kept open during the day with a spiked wooden fence extending from either side. Even when closed, it did absolutely nothing to keep out those who were able to simply fly over it, but the purpose wasn't to keep the Rito out anyway, so nobody saw a reason to change it. Two guards dressed in armor stood a little past the gate, one on each side and both carrying spears. The left guard was a stern-looking, light blue feathered woman who stared straight ahead until catching a glimpse of Rell out of the corner of her eye, scowling when she saw him. The one on the right was a young man roughly the same age as Rell and the same height, but with green feathers instead of red like his own. The feathers on his head also stuck up more in the front as opposed to Rell's, which were angled backwards. The young man was also more built than him due to his guard training, a look Rell was still getting used to.

"We're busy," the other guard grunted once he approached them.

"I'm here to deliver something to Fuga," he said, trying to keep his voice steady. The guard glared at him but didn't say anything else, so he quickly turned to the green Rito and held out the box. "Here. I delivered bread to your mom this morning, and she figured you'd like some of it since you've been working so hard. Also, she says hello."

"Oh. Tell her I said thank you and that I'm sorry I haven't seen her much these days," he replied, taking the box. "It's been a while, Rell. How have you been?"

"You know, the same as ever," Rell laughed nervously. "Mostly just trying to find a way to spend my time now that you're always so busy. My job at the bakery only does so much."

Fuga glanced at the other guard, who immediately shook her head. "No. I'm not going to cover for you," she growled. "We're paid to protect the village, not waste time with any friend that comes through here."

"You get paid?" Fuga asked. The other guard looked at him as though he had gone insane.

"...yes? And so do you...?"

"He was, um...making a joke," said Rell quietly. She looked at him the same way she had just looked at Fuga. He resisted the urge to hide behind his friend.

"Fuga? Make a joke? I didn't know that was possible." True, Fuga was not known for being particularly sociable, nor for his humor. If anything, he was more well known for his stoic attitude and no-nonsense approach to things, but this was mostly due to people simply not understanding how he talked. He certainly kept his emotions in check more than some, and his voice was deep and quiet, rarely having much inflection, so it was easy to assume he never attempted humor, but Rell knew this wasn't the case.

Fuga gestured to the box Rell had given him. "Anyway, I believe I was just handed a suspicious box. If I remember correctly, it's required that I investigate its contents, preferably away from the village so as to minimize potential harm to citizens or buildings. Am I wrong, Osso?"

"You know as well as I do that there's bread in there!" she snapped.

"Can you prove that without opening it?"

"Yeah, it was given to you by Rell, the local coward. You really think he's brave enough to-"

Osso was interrupted by a spear coming dangerously close to her face, the tip mere centimeters away. "If you want to stay intact, I suggest you be quiet. Now," said Fuga calmly.

"Woah! T-threatening a guard? You're g-going to get in a lot of t-trouble, Fuga!" she stammered.

He tightened his grip on the spear. "I threaten you because you are actively attempting to prevent me from investigating the contents of this box, which, for all either of us know, could be incredibly dangerous. I will not take the safety of this village lightly. Now, is there anything else you'd like to say?" When she remained silent, he withdrew the spear and glanced at Rell. "Of course, I can't give you permission to come with me. I have to look into this alone. Do you understand, Rell?"

"Yeah, completely," he grinned.

"Great. I'll see both of you right here when I've made sure it's safe," he said, walking away from the village. Rell waited a moment, doing his best to ignore Osso's scathing glare. He then followed Fuga's path which took him to a cliff where a single tree was growing with long branches that extended out over the side. Fuga was sitting on the edge, dangling his feet over the side, his spear lying on the ground nearby.

"Want to share the bread?" he asked as Rell sat down on his left.

"If it's really bread in there, sure," he replied with a wink.

Fuga gave a small smile as he opened it and broke the bread in half, giving it to Rell. "You don't have to worry about me getting in trouble, by the way. I'm technically not breaking any rules; I investigated the box and found it contained nothing but delicious bread, and I did say you weren't supposed to come along. The fact that you chose to on your own isn't my responsibility. As for pointing my spear at Osso, the most I'll get is reprimanded for overreacting, but it was in the interest of the village's safety, so there's really nothing they can do in the end."

"Good," he replied. "Is it really okay for you to take time away from your post, though?"

"Truthfully? No, which is why I don't plan on staying too long. Still, it's been a while since we've talked properly, and it's not like Osso is incompetent, so I decided ten minutes or so couldn't hurt. I have to admit, sometimes I wish we could go back to when we were young and all of this wasn't an issue."

Rell laughed. "Young? We're barely in our twenties! Most of the village elders would kill you for saying something like that."

"Yes, I suppose you're right." He looked up at the tree. "Remember when we used to hop off that tree and fly down to the base of the mountain? The branches were just big enough for us. Now, they'd probably break if we tried."

"That's why we started jumping off your parent's deck," Rell nodded. His eyes wandered to his left wing for a split second before changing to focus on Fuga. "But even besides that, we still had a lot of fun together just roaming around or getting ourselves into trouble in the village. You know, I never understood why people think you're so serious." He gently nudged his friend.

Fuga shrugged. "They likely equate silence and composure with being dull. In reality, I was often just coming up with ways to cause more trouble."

"Yeah, that's why they'd always blame me," Rell huffed.

"They stopped eventually, though I suppose the reason didn't justify the payoff. Speaking of which, I've been meaning to ask. How's-"

"It's fine. Hasn't changed, but...still doesn't bother me," he muttered.

Fuga placed his hand on Rell's back. "You don't have to lie, you know," he said gently.

"I'm not lying. Really."

"Rell."

"Seriously, it's okay. Look, can we please talk about something else?"

Fuga sighed and laid on his back, his arms behind his head and his legs crossed. "I wish I was able to see you more. It's been lonely without you."

"O-oh. I mean, it's been kinda boring without you, as well," he stuttered, feeling himself blush.

"That's not what I meant. It has been more boring, true, but I meant with all these extra shifts, I feel like we're growing more distant from each other, and I don't want that."

"Why don't you ask for less shifts, then?"

"I tried. I love my job, I really do, but it's not all that matters to me. I have limits and needs just like everyone else. When I brought this up, they said it was necessary and told me to take the shifts or quit. As tired as I felt, I decided it was best to just get over myself and do it."

"What do they mean by 'necessary'?"

He sat up, looking more serious than ever. "I found that strange as well. If you want my opinion, I'll give it, but you're not going to like what I say."

"Tell me."

Fuga paused. "...if you insist. Well, it doesn't make sense that they would just put us on extra shifts and leave it there. Something must be coming, an attack or a threat. That said, surely it'd make more sense for us to know about it so we can prepare ourselves, right? But we haven't been told anything. I've been losing what little sleep I get thinking about this, and the only thing that makes sense is that we're meant to minimize the damage once it happens, not stop whatever is coming. If we were meant to stop it, I feel we'd have been told more."

"But...what are they preparing for, though?"

"I have no idea. It's not like we've done anything to warrant an attack, at least not that I'm aware of."

"Who would even do it? Who would attack us?"

"Again, I don't know."

"But it's not like the Rito village has anything of value or has done anything bad! What's the point?"

"I don't know, Rell."

"How do we even know they're right, that we are going to get hit by something?

"Rell. I. Don't. Know."

"You have to know something!"

He whipped around to face Rell. "I said I don't know!" he snapped.

The two sat there for a minute, unsure of what to say next. A few tears formed in Rell's eyes. Fuga's expression instantly softened.

"Goddesses, I'm...I'm so sorry, Rell. I didn't mean to yell at you," he muttered, hugging the other Rito tightly. "I've been running on so little sleep and been under so much stress lately, and I guess it all surfaced at once, but that doesn't make it right."

Rell leaned into the hug and returned it. "No...it's okay, I understand. And I'm sorry for crying, but it's scary seeing you like that. You never get angry, so to see you that upset just...hurts. Are you scared?"

Fuga broke the hug. "No, I'm just...tired. I know I can't stop it from happening, but that doesn't mean I won't try, and the village won't get any safer if I'm scared. It's my job to protect everyone. To protect you."

He blushed again. "M-me?"

"Yes. You're my closest friend, and I care about you more than anyone or anything. It's why I gave you that band, remember?"

"Yeah, but that was years and years ago, and...I don't know, recently I figured maybe you didn't feel that way anymore," he mumbled. "Like you, I thought we were drifting apart, and I got scared."

"Then why continue to wear it?"

"Because I hoped to Din I was wrong."

Fuga smiled. "You are. That's why I've kept this." He pulled out a necklace from underneath his shirt, a string with a broken piece of a wood carving as a pendant. "I still feel bad that I dropped the carving you made for me, but, in my defense, I wasn't aware wood might break if accidentally dropped from several hundred feet. Plus, it gave me a necklace to remember you by when I got lonely."

"I'm glad you got something out of it. Still, it wasn't exactly thick wood, Fuga. It was kind of hollow."

"Sounds like shoddy craftsmanship to me."

"Watch it, or you'll be the one falling from the air at several hundred feet. Then I'll have to gather up your pieces like I did with the carving."

"Are you implying I'm hollow and poorly made?"

"Well, I wouldn't say you're poorly made, but hollow is up for debate."

"I feel like most people would agree with you, especially Osso now that I've nearly impaled her. I'll have to sleep with one eye open now."

"Think she'll impale you for irony's sake or go for a more subtle approach?"

Fuga laughed. "Knowing her, she'd go with the spear, though less for the sake of irony and more out of pure malice. Anyway, the point I was trying to make before we began discussing my untimely death via Osso was that there's much I would do to protect the village, but I would do anything to protect you. You mean the world and more to me. If I lost my home, I'd hurt for the rest of my life. If I lost you..." He looked away. "...Rell? This is a bit sudden, but...can I tell you something?"

"Yeah, of course!" he replied. "Anything!"

For a few seconds he went silent, trying to find the right words. "...Rell, I've been thinking about it a lot recently, and I don't know if it it's even okay for me to say this..."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it's fine," he said gently. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, though."

"I want to!" he exclaimed. "I mean...you know what, I'll just say it. Rell, I-"

Before he could continue, a loud horn blasted from the direction of the village. Fuga sprang to his feet and grabbed his spear. "Din, that's the alarm! Something is happening back at the village!"

"Do you think it's what everyone was so worried about...?" asked Rell, his voice trembling.

"Maybe, but even if not, I'm still needed! Damn it, I'm sorry to leave you like this, but please, stay here until I return! You'll be safer where you are!" With that, Fuga fastened the spear to his back and took off into the air, flying towards their home. Rell made sure he was out of sight before sprinting back up the path.

Sorry, Fuga, but I can't just stay here while you put yourself in danger. You wouldn't let me do it, and I won't let you.