He was a Rito warrior. He had slain countless monsters and was a master with the bow. He swore to surpass the Great Revali. He was a skilled fighter, and was fearless. He could do anything he set his mind to. He could conquer any beast. He, however, could not conquer the hardships he was currently facing. A shrill screech ripped though Rito Village, so loud, Teba was sure Vah Medoh would awaken. Filling with panic, he looked to his wife, Saki, who was desperately trying to console their wailing son. Tulin, his name was, had been frantically swinging his legs around and plucking his feathers in protest. He had been like this a lot, lately. This time, he was crying because his father had told him to go to bed. Teba had let him stay up, to Saki's dismay.
Teba couldn't understand it. Tulin would always listen to his mother, but never his father. Perhaps it was because of Teba's voice, or his stern voice. Whatever it was, Teba didn't have the time to think. Not that he could hear his own thoughts. It was the middle of the night, and he was sure his son was waking up the whole village.
"Tulin, please!" Teba was holding his head, he felt a massive headache coming on. Saki turned to him.
"Why don't you take him out for a flight? That always calmed him down when he was a hatchling." Teba sighed. It was late, and after he spent the whole day training, all he wanted was to get a few hours of sleep. He nodded, and began to look for his baby carrier. "Just don't take him to the Flight Range, alright? He's still a child and can't fly yet. I don't want you to bring him back broken."
Teba, with his back to her, rolled his eyes. She was way too overprotective. Tulin had to break his wing sometime. The sooner, the better. When he found the carrier, he put it on, with the pouch on his back and let his wife place Tulin in it as gently as she could with with his kicking and sobbing. With his son securely strapped onto his back, he took flight. He made sure to fly in the opposite direction of the Range. Or, at least he did, until he was far enough out of view to circle around and fly around the perimeter of the village before landing gracefully on the wooden flooring of the training ground he grew so fond of. He unclipped the carrier and set it on the ground, taking Tulin out. At some point, the child had stopped crying, and was now trying to get some air in his small lungs. His breathing was rather spastic and shallow. Teba held him and swayed slowly, hushing and whispering into the boy's ear. He pet under his crest until Tulin's breathing finally became normal, somewhat. Then he put him down.
"Tulin," Teba started, "You can't keep doing this. You are disturbing the whole village."
Tulin scowled. "But, I want to stay up like a big kid. I want to be able to shoot a bow like you, and save everyone like a hero! Heroes don't need sleep!"
"Kid, even heroes need to sleep every once in a while. Besides, you aren't a big kid. You can't even fly yet!" When Teba saw his son about to tear up once again, he felt like his heart was being tugged at. He hated seeing his family upset, and he hated being the cause of their distress even more. The Rito thought for a moment and sighed. He knelt down to look Tulin in the eyes. "Hey, why don't we make a deal? How about I take you to the Flight Range and teach you how to use a bow? If I do this, will you promise me to be on your best behavior?"
Tulin's eyes brightened. "Yes!" He jumped up and wrapped his arms around his father, embracing him in a loving hug. Teba let out a small laugh and hugged him back.
"Okay, okay. By the way, we can't tell Mom about this, alright? It will be our little secret."
"I won't tell her! I promise!"
With Tulin on Teba's back, the two set off in the direction of Rito Village, where saki was waiting with her wings crossed and an annoyed expression on her face. "You went to the Flight Range, didn't you."
Teba's eyes widened, as he just remembered agreeing not to go there. He knew he was in for it now. So, he sent Tulin to bed, and the little boy went without hesitation. His wife narrowed her eyes at him, waiting for an explanation. "...Hey, at least I-"
"Just go to bed."
Teba knew better than to argue with his wife. He laid down on his cot and waited for Saki to join him. She couldn't be that mad, right? When she finally came to bed, Teba tried to put a wing around her, only to be shot down. "Turn around before I break your wing." Teba did as he was told. He decided to wait to see how she felt in the morning.
…
Teba woke up rather late for his liking, Saki seemed to calm down and was eating breakfast with Tulin. Teba sat down next to her and reached for the ladle to pour himself a bowl of fish stew.
"Guess what, Mom!" Tulin sayed with a grin on his face, "Dad said he's going to teach me how to shoot!"
Teba choked, but held back his cough, face heating up from the irritation in his throat quickly building. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at his mate, waiting something to happen.
"Actually, I don't think i was supposed to tell you that… Sorry dad."
Teba silently payed to Hylia to have mercy on him.
