Link rolled over in bed for at least the fourth time in the past hour. He lay there staring up at the ceiling for a minute, sat up, squinted at the shutters of his window, and flopped back down on the bed. Only to softly curse as his bruises flared into pain again from the impact. After an indeterminate amount of quiet that felt like hours but was probably three minutes, he lifted his legs up and kicked them against his mattress a few times.

How was he supposed to sleep when Zelda had just disappeared? Her father had believed him when he told him about the tornado, but then insisted that Link go back to resting and recover from his injuries. Yes, it was nighttime, but there were some knights who had specially trained to fly at night! They didn't even know where she was, if she was alright, sure she it wouldn't matter much to wait until morning if she had found some island to land on, but if not she would be out there flying lost for hours, and loftwings had no sense of direction at night, and they couldn't keep flying that long and-

He twisted to the side, curling his legs up to his torso, and squashed his pillow over his face. This isn't helping! It's not like you could do anything about it right now anyway. She'll be alright. She has to be alright.

Sleep came, slowly and not easy, but in time Link dozed off. Shortly afterward, though, he heard a voice in his ear, like if bells could whisper. And there was a presence hovering above him. He sat up in bed, but there was nothing out of place in the room. Padding over to the door, he cracked it open just enough to peek his head out into the hall, ready to retract if this turned out to be a set-up for a prank.

Instead, at the base of the stairs a shining blue and purple figure in the shape of a girl floated. When he looked its way, the figure inclined its head to him, and then flew up the stairs with a liquid shimmering noise and a trail of diamond sparkles.

"Ooookay." He rubbed his eyes, counted to ten. Pinched the skin of his wrist. Nope, definitely awake. Another short pause, then a huge shrug that was more of a roll of the shoulders. He gave a long exhale and then shut his door, creeping up the stairs to follow the apparition.

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Link emerged from the dormitory at the earliest part of sunrise that could still technically be called that. He drew the Goddess Sword, examining it as he held it flat in both hands. It might have been just him, but he thought it was a little heavier now that the spirit that possessed it had returned. As he stared into its reflection, impressively bright given how only the barest streaks of light touched the horizon, he tried to steady himself, remember all that had just been told to him.

Magical swords with sentient beings inhabiting them, a vast land below the clouds, destinies supposedly laid out by the Goddess herself…. Heavy, but all that was secondary to the first thing Fi had told him. Zelda was still alive out there, and he was going to get her back, no matter what. The last vision he had seen of her played in his mind, falling through the tornado, a chance encounter as they had-

He froze, the jolt of his limbs scratching the sword over his palm ever so slightly. "Shit," he whispered under his breath. "Vayu."

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"So let me see if I have this right," Vayu said as he peeled the bandage from yesterday off Link's shoulder. "You two get caught up in a freak windstorm. Zelda disappears and when you wake up, a spirit appears and leads you to the sword it inhabits. She tells you that Zelda is some kind of 'spirit maiden' and that she's on the Surface. And that you're the Goddess's chosen hero and you have to go there and fight some mysterious dark forces to get her back."

"…Yeah, pretty much."

He was quiet as he finished laying on the fresh bandage. Then, he groaned and leaned forward, head resting against Link's back. "And you're sure there's no way this wasn't just a really weird dream, right?"

Link shifted on the couch. "Can you not- it feels weird having hair touch my back; I don't know how you guys stand it."

"Baby."

"And no." He stretched over to reach the sword propped against the wall. "Or else where would I have gotten this? Besides, Zelda's dad was there too."

"…" Vayu crossed his arms, frowning. "But you have no idea what this really involves, what's down there or what you have to actually do or anything, right?"

"No. But it's not like that's going to stop me, considering." Link sighed, relaxing the grip on the scabbard until it rested in his lap. Then he noticed the way Vayu was looking off into the distance. Following what he figured Vayu's trail of thought would be, he inhaled sharply as an anxious feeling began to settle in his stomach. "Look, Vayu, I know you're worried, but, uh…."

"I can't come with you. I know." He continued to stare off, voice kept coolly neutral.

Link flinched. He leaned forward, waving his hands as he talked. "Well it's not exactly- I mean… It's not like I wouldn't want you! But…"

Vayu gave him the looking-over-your-glasses-at-someone-judgingly look, but without actually having glasses. "I'm not upset." Then he leaned back so he was stretched out over most of the couch, legs tucked between the cushions and Link and his head balanced on the arm. "Alright, I am a little. But that's me being dumb about it." He waved a hand. "Hush."

"I wasn't-"

"You were," he said, head still inclined so he was watching the ceiling. "It's true and you know it. This is a mission appointed to you by the Goddess herself, supposedly. Your prophecy didn't exactly mention a third party, and I doubt the Goddess would look favorably on her champion taking someone removed from her grace on a mission of this kind of importance. Besides," he added, poking Link in the side as best he could with his leg, "it's not like I could even practically go anyway. Where, exactly, did you say the opening to the Surface was? At least an hour's flight, right?" He finally sat up, gently smiling. "It just doesn't make sense."

He had a point, but Link pouted at him anyway. It was the principle of the thing. "Fine. Although now that I'm thinking about it, I really would feel better if I had someone else around, and you are first choice."

"Yes, well, it can't be helped."

Link relaxed a little, leaning his side into the back of the couch. Burrowing his head in between the top part of the back of the couch and the wall, he said, "This does scare me, though. A lot." A deep breath, struggling a little to get it out. "I-it's just…so much."

The sound of weight shifting on the couch, the cushion he was on lowering, and then a warm pressure wrapping itself around Link. "I know, I know. It's okay." Vayu curled his fingers through Link's hair. "Maybe I can't go with you, but I am going to do everything I can to support you." He pulled back, holding Link at arm's length. "Got it?"

"Yeah."

"Link. Link, I know you can do this." Vayu softened. He gently peeled Link away from the edge of the couch so they were facing each other again. "You've made it this far in training to be a knight for good reason, and, you know, this is pretty much the same thing. Similar. Whatever."

Link couldn't help but laugh a little at that. "I guess."

"And you care. I know you're not normally aggressive, but this is about Zelda. I mean," he took Link's hand in his own, squeezing it gently. "you remember when I told you about my incident with the Order? And how you got so upset you accidentally broke the arm of Zelda's one chair and said you would fight them?"

He ducked his head down, but Vayu managed to catch the beginnings of a blush on his face. "Yeah," he said in a small voice.

"Exactly. Just to what you did to the chair to the face of the person who took her!"

"Vayu no." Link sat up and took his other hand, firmly swinging them both. "Not like that. Rescue, yes. Senseless beating, no."

"Fine," he mock-sighed, shaking his head.

They stayed like that for a while, a moment of calm before things had to break off. Sliding his hands out of the other's grip, Link said, "Can I put my shirt back on now?"

"Is the stuff I put on for your bruises dry?"

"Yes," he said, already getting off the couch and picking up the first layer of the uniform.

Vayu stretched from where he was still sitting as he watched. "It's certainly an improvement."

A muffled "what?" came from inside the shirt Link was struggling to get over his head.

"An improvement. The color of the uniform for this year."

Finally tugging the material free of his head, he reached over to pick up the mail. "I guess. Yellow isn't that bad."

"Not with Zelda's hair color." He got up and started wandering to the kitchen/medicine ingredient storage area. "Practically blends in, but just off enough that it doesn't quite."

"True. But if she keeps up like she does it'll eventually have enough mud stains that won't be an issue anyway."

A comfortable silence settled as Link finished dressing to the various clinks and shuffling noises of things moving in the pantry. It could almost have been like a normal morning. Almost.

Vayu came over and sat down on the chair next to where Link was currently fiddling with the straps on his boots. Without a word, he slid a plate across the table.

"What about you?"

"I'm not the one going anywhere. Besides, I need to go find something that will help you," he said, standing up and walking off around the corner to his sleeping area.

Link shrugged and started eating. He wasn't about to complain about having breakfast, especially since it wasn't school food.

When he returned, it was carrying a small drawstring bag that clinked when he set it down on the table.

"Mmmf," Link said through a slice of bread, waving his fork in Vayu's direction.

"Don't talk with food in your mouth." He pulled the other bag onto his lap as he sat back down. "And I'm not giving you more than I can afford, although Goddess knows I would if you needed it for this. Look, you should be able to get a shield from the academy, but if you can't then you're going to have to hope there's a travelling merchant who happens to have one, and even if they do it won't be cheap. Otherwise, I want to make sure you have the best possible supplies and- Oh, right. When you stop at the potion shop, tell Luv you're calling in the favor she owes me and that you want one of those really nice glass bottles that you can actually use more than once instead of a skin. And make sure she gives you at least two servings of a basic potion."

Having finished eating, Link rolled his eyes as he slid the plate back across the table.

"What?"

"Nothing." He hesitated, then dragged the pouch towards himself. "You're cute when you get concerned. Anything else?"

"I wish I had more I could give you, but no." Standing up, he gestured toward the door. As they crossed the threshold, Vayu tugged Link into a hug. "Bring her back safe. But…take care of yourself too, alright?" Pushing him back so he could look at him, he said, "If you can come back in between whatever you end up doing, just…let me know how things are going?"

He nodded wordlessly.

"Be safe. Well, as safe as you can be, I suppose. I love you."

A second into turning to go, Link whirled back and hugged Vayu once more. He kissed him, once, and said "We'll be back before you know it. I promise."

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"Okay, so falling out of the sky and landing in a beam of light? Being some "spirit maiden" chosen by the Goddess? Mission to save the world? I can get all that. What I can't understand is why Hylia would send me on a giant dangerous mission involving this much travel in an outfit that doesn't involve pants." Zelda walked back into the temple proper, arms held out to accentuate the draping sleeves of her new pure-white dress. "I mean, really. It's like she left the costuming detail to a guy."

The old woman sighed. "Your garb symbolizes the form which the Goddess herself took, as you are now to be her emissary."

"Yeah, but the Goddess probably had some dirt-repelling magic going on." Kicking at the ground with the edge of her new sandal, she pulled at the sides of the skirt. "Ask anyone who knows me; this is going to get gross about five seconds after I step outside."

It was actually already happening. As the girl moved her foot, she was loosening the dust of the temple floor. The dress's hemline was a little too high to catch it, but the woman could tell there would be scuff marks on the shoes if this kept up. "….Very well. Keep those garments safe while you travel for use while you meditate and purify yourself so that you may connect with the Goddess."

Zelda flapped her hands. "Yesss," she whispered as she collected her other outfit. "Knew putting on pants under the costume was a brilliant idea."

When she returned, yet again, the woman looked her up and down before nodding. "One last thing before you depart. Since it seems fate has decided to separate you from the chosen champion, I'm afraid your way going will be much more difficult."

"Oh, that." She waved a hand dismissively. "Link does alright in combat classes, but I have a whole year over him. Besides, I also pack a mean punch. Or so I assume, from how bullies tend to react."

"Yes, well." The old woman coughed. "This is not a question of ability, I am afraid. The nature of your appearance indicates that a strong force of evil is already active. Should you be spotted by monsters and allow even one to escape, the likelihood of them alerting their leader is high, and I am afraid this is one whose ability far outclasses either of yours combined at the moment. Escape would be nigh impossible, and I do not think I need to explain what that would mean for all of us."

"Oh." Deflating visibly, she clutched her bag of belongings closer to her chest. "Good thing I'm great at hiding too?"

"Indeed. Let us hope that will not be necessary though. Hylia's blessings be upon you on your journey, child."

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Long enough later that she'd lost track of the time, Zelda was crouched in the dirt of the space between the roots of a tree, breath heavily regulated as she struggled to both calm herself and keep from doing anything that would attract the attention of the monsters right below the ledge she was currently on. Things had been going so well up until the point where she had noticed the strangely bulbous yellow fruits hanging from a tree and climbed up to investigate. The stem connecting it had been far more fragile than what would be expected, given the fruit's size, and it had tumbled to the ground between her fingers, the noise attracting a few of those red creatures she'd glimpsed once before in her trek. Fortunately, they hadn't seen her, as she had dived down to the far side of the tree to where she was huddled now, waiting.

The screeching noises and odd shuffling only continued, however, and as the minutes creeped on and her insides twisted in on themselves more and more, she resolved that the best way out of this mess was, in fact, out. As in leaving. Swinging her legs over the non-monster-occupied side of the ledge, she slid down feetfirst, tucking and rolling as she landed. Freeze. No change in the sound coming over. Without a glance backwards, she jogged up the next incline she could find, coming up to another flat area that quickly dropped off again. But if she could spring off that boulder near the cliff, she should be able to get enough height to-

"Kwee!"

"Agh!" Zelda fell backward as the very squashy Definitely Not A Rock rose from the forest floor to reveal a massive brown-and white teardrop shaped figure.

"…you do not appear to be a monster," the creature said.

"No." She scooted back a little further, just to be safe. "Are you?"

"Kwee heh heh. Of course not. I am the elder of the forest kikwi, Bucha." He waved his incredibly tiny arms. "But if you are not a monster, then you are very brave to be out in the forest, especially without camouflage such as ours."

Pushing herself up with her hands, she walked toward the kiwki. "I don't exactly have a choice. I need to get to the temple in the deepwoods." She glanced around. Unless he was going to give her directions, she knew she needed to go before she got sidetracked talking to someone else. She'd already spent what was probably too much precious time listening to that rock-man spout outrageous fantasies about her world, even as amusing as they were.

A screeching in the distance sent the elder into a fit of tremors, quickly throwing himself to the side and back into camouflage mode. When Zelda didn't move beyond scanning the area for visible monsters, he whispered, "The deep woods are even more dangerous than here right now, koo wee." His beady eyes shifted in a direction about the opposite of where she had come from, presumably towards her destination. "We would be more than willing to let you stay with us, where it's safe and-"

Zelda, who had backed up as he spoke, suddenly bounded towards him, landing with both feet on his exposed belly to vault off and over to the other side of the gap. She took a second to catch her breath while crouched in the grass, dusted her hands off on her dress, and took off again.

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Vayu paced around his house, wringing his hands. Three days. It had been three days and in that time he'd prepped the empty garden spaces for planting, dusted every imaginable surface, and re-rearranged his work desk twice, on top of the usual odd jobs he ran for Skyloftians and regular merchants to the bazaar. He picked up a book off from the stand next to the couch. Some reading might help get his mind off-

One glance at the writing on the inside cover had him dropping it back down with a light thud. No. Nope, that was one of Zelda's books (in hindsight not surprising, she had more books here than he did, however that had ended up happening). Bad thoughts, bad thoughts.

A few minutes of him just pulling at the ends of his hair ensued, accompanied by ragged, deep breaths. Then he gave a full-body shudder, shook his head, and burst out the door. The direct light and lungfulls of crisp air gradually settled his head. They've both been gone far longer than this, at less notice sometimes, and it's always turned out fine. Sure, this is on a completely different scale, but… Ah, Goddess! This is completely worthy of being terrified about. But, Vayu what good is worrying going to do, huh? Things are dangerous for the both of them, and you worrying instead of using your position as safest and one with the most free time certainly won't get them out of it any faster.

Nodding to himself, he walked back inside, reemerging with a sense of purpose in his step as he strode off towards the waterfall. Normally, he would have taken a longer route that avoided going into the path of the trading district, but this time in the afternoon meant that everyone would be too busy to really pay him any mind. He only finally paused when he reached a spot rather close to the one where he and Link had found the cave a few days prior. But this time, his destination was in a far more vertical location.

Creeping towards the edge of the island, Vayu examined the skies in every direction of him before sliding a grappling hook out of the bag over his shoulder and hefting it up in the direction of the small floating rock above. Giving the rope a sharp tug to ensure its stability, he started up its knotted surface. Once up, it was a few minute's pause before he repeated the maneuver on the remaining couple of rocks, until he was upon the highest point of Skyloft, the bowl-shaped island from which the source of the island's water flowed down to the lake below.

He gave a small sigh as he removed his climbing gear. Here, with no obstructions, the wind tugged even more persistently at him, dancing across the palm of his hands, more sensitive from having just removed gloves, and blowing hair and the now-loose ends of his sleeves in every direction. Now he could sit and actually get some planning done.

Zelda's end was a bit easier to deal with. Without being able to contact her, he didn't know what she was going through, making it nearly impossible to assess her needs. However, seeing as her mission was tied to the Goddess, any information about the legends could potentially hold something useful. Well, sneaking into the academy library wouldn't be too hard; he still knew most of the staff and they would be more than willing to let him in. Zelda's room, likewise. The only trouble spot was the local temple of Hylia. Yes, they would have the most information, and it had been years and a completely different place and he'd changed his name, but… Well, still best not to push one's chances. There were plenty of people who owed him various favors – as much as tying himself to that many people was a little unsettling in ways he couldn't quite put into words, he'd quickly realized that being useful was enough of a shorthand for likeability that it meant people would hesitate to turn against him. You know, should that possibility become an issue again.

Link, on the other hand… Vayu had to presume he would be facing monsters, given that he had been gifted that sword, but again, the details he'd been relayed by the sword spirit had been incredibly vague. That and it involved a world much more expansive than any of the islands in the sky. So… more potions, basic medical supplies, if he could find any weapons that Link might use, supplies to repair or improve what he already had, be ready with sewing supplies so he could repair his gear when he came back…

Plenty to start with. Besides, it wasn't as if he even knew whether he would see Link again before things were over.

He shook his head violently. That's it, no more thinking right now. Pulling his legs out from the water, he gathered everything back into his bag. A few steps took him to the edge overlooking the waterfall. One foot half over, curled into the edge of the cliff. Another step, then another. Vayu only opened his eyes once he was completely out over open air. Wind currents buffeted his hair up and across his face – he really should have braided it back like usual but this just felt more right – as they held him in place. It wasn't a perfect stillness; he was drifting up and down rather than held in stasis, but that was to be expected.

He heard a loftwing's squawk in the distance behind him, losing focus just long enough to drop a few feet before he could coax another current of air to catch him. Doing this out in this visible a spot wasn't exactly the best of ideas. Having a boyfriend who was friends with most of the knights current and in training, and a girlfriend who was more than willing to intimidate those who weren't meant that Vayu wasn't about to be harassed by some knight on patrol freaking out about him "putting himself into danger" or "going where you're not really supposed to, for safety, you understand," but still. While magic wasn't uncommon among the sky's residents, he was pretty sure he was the only one trying to harness it for flight-related purposes (ignoring the fact that he couldn't fly fly yet), and that kind of sticking out always made him nervous.

With a sigh, he straightened out his arms, palms up, and lifted them, urging the wind as he did so. He was improving there too, it seemed. Only the first twinges of a headache confronted him as he touched ground again. Another quick rest, then, and onto the academy before it closed to visitors for the evening.

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"Master Link, I have detected Zelda's aura emanating from within this structure." Fi emerged from Link's sword as he stumbled down the final hill on his path towards the gigantic building. She continued as he stopped to lean on a nearby tree, "However, I have also detected the presence of numerous monsters. Are you sure you want to proceed?" Her face and voice were impassive as always, so it was probably him projecting an air of concern.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to act as though it was there. Link dropped to the ground, wiping his forehead with the back of one gloved hand, only to grimace when it left a streak of mud that was even more annoyingly itchy. After struggling to clear that off, he realized that the sword spirit was still hovering before him. Shrugging apologetically, he said, "Give me a few minutes, and I'll be good to go." Then he reached into his side pouch for the waterskin, wincing as the muscles in his side ached in response.

Overall, he would have to say things were actually going better than expected. Despite the number of monster encounters he'd had, he'd come off relatively injury-free. The fact that most of them, the bokoblins, had been wielding swords made it easier, since that was what he'd been trained on, and the best of them held their weapons like a student in their first week of combat training. Apart from the one octorok missile that had slammed him in the back, most of his discomfort came from the fact that he'd had to spend the night sleeping in the grass among a tangle of leaves, rocks, and tree roots. As hospitable as the kikwi had been, it was just about the worst night's sleep in his life.

He stretched. Checked his supplies – shield fixed up with the help of the old woman's potion, bag of slingshot seeds full, potion bottle two still full to the brim. With everything set, he pushed himself up and started towards the temple. "Alright. Let's go help Zelda."

Fi hovered beside him. "It would be very unwise to display overconfidence here. Within the walls of this place, no one will come to your aid."

A pause. Well that was a little ominous. "Do you think I'm not ready for this? Because I can't think of anything else that would help me more than I have, except more time." He gave a weak laugh. "And that's not exactly something we can afford."

Zelda… He didn't have any doubts about her ability to take care of herself, and the fact that she'd made it this far was even more to support that. Still, the thought of her alone in an enclosed space crawling with monsters…nowhere to run, really…the old woman's warning about the mysterious leader of the monsters echoing in his mind… It made his sword hand twitch. Not to mention that that reaction alone unsettled him deeply. He'd always been the peaceful one, protective yeah, but certainly nothing like Vayu's calculated manipulations or Zelda's "fight me" reactions.

Then again, no one's lives had been on the line like this before. Sure, no one would be coming to aid him, but he would coming for Zelda. And that was the least he could do.

His gaze hardened and he clenched his hand around the grip of his sword. "Zelda is counting on me. Let's find her."

Fi inclined her head slightly. "Then let us continue, Master Link."

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Zelda kneeled at the edge of the platform closest to the Goddess statue. She had changed into the regalia the old woman had given her, after cleaning as much of the mud and leaves off herself as possible. The fact that she had also noticed a hole in one of the knees of her outfit made her just a little bit more smug about her insistence about the clothing thing.

Now though, in the open sunlight of the spring, she forced herself to step away from all that and concentrate on her instructions. The old woman had said that once she purified herself in the spring, she needed to open her mind and spirit to the messages the Goddess had left for her, so that she might understand her mission. Slowly, her mind fell into a meditative state, blocking out the sound of the waterfalls, the brush of wind and scrape of stone on her knees, every stray thought as it wandered into her mind…

She didn't know how long she stayed like that, but eventually something inside her welled up and she broke concentration. Her knees gave up supporting her weight as she sank down to curl her legs to one side. Hands ran across the soft material of the dress. Deep breathing. She tried again, from this position.

When still nothing happened, she grunted in frustration and kicked her legs out off the edge, splashing spring water out over the pool in arcs. Cupping her hands together, she scooped up some of the water and poured it over her head. "Work! Ugh." She fell back onto the stone. As she stared up at the sky (which was almost totally cloudless. Weird, given the fact that there was definitely a thick layer of clouds blocking access to and sight of the surface, now that she thought about it), she muttered to herself, "couldn't have made it a little more obvious? I don't think there's many people just wandering around here. If I was the Goddess, I would've set it up to recognize my emissary's magical signature." She propped herself up with her elbows behind her. "Wait, you can do that, right? I seem to remember that from some book. Hmm…"

After a bit of deliberation, she sat back up. Swishing her legs through the water just enough to feel it move between her feet and the sandals, Zelda held her hands just above her legs, palms facing up but tilted slightly toward one another. If it is my magical signature Hylia wants, let's make sure she's getting enough of it then. And she concentrated on feeding a bit of her energy into her hands. It was a simple exercise, one of the first practical lessons those wanting to learn magic were given.

The feeling brought back memories of when Vayu had shown it to her years ago. She'd been sitting with him in his room at the academy, probably complaining about classwork or something, when she'd mentioned that she was planning on trying an introductory magic course the next semester…

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"But what if it turns out I can't even do magic and I embarrass myself in front of everyone?" she asked, legs propped up against the wall as she laid across his bed.

Vayu sighed. "You know there are ridiculously few people who can't do any at all."

"Yeah, but what if that's me?" she whined, one foot playing with the edge of a hanging tapestry.

The bed next to her dipped as he scooted over to sit directly next to her. His face appeared, upside-down, in her vision. "Then let's test it." A moment where he sat staring at her. "It does, uh, help to be sitting up for this."

Giving an exaggerated sigh, Zelda flopped her legs to the side so they landed on the bed and pushed herself into a seated position. "Alright, work your magic," she said as she reoriented to a better proximity to him.

"Very funny." He took her hands in his.

She flipped her head back as if to say 'I know, right?' "So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to show you something," he guided her arms so their hands were spaced about as far apart as their hips, held over the few inches of space that separated the two of them, "and you're going to copy it. Now, concentrate on the feeling in your hands, and tell me when you start to get anything different."

"Oookay" Squeezing her eyes shut, she focused on the warmness on the back of her hand, the slight pressure from the way he cupped her hands. Nothing seemed to be changing except a growing desire to swing their hands around or shake her leg, but then, as his thumb traced across her palm, there was the beginnings of a sensation like she'd been sitting on her arms for a time. "It feels…fuzzy? Oh! And warmer? I think?" She squinted, eyes still closed. "Is that right?"

A soft puff of air, accompanied by the suggestion of a vocalization. "It's not that kind of test. But yeah, you're picking up on it." He released his grip. "I was just channeling a little of my magic. It's the basis for starting any spell or-" Another laugh. "You can open your eyes."

The extra warmth that had been leaving her hands fled to her face. "Right. So, uh, you were saying?" She twirled her wrists.

"It's basically gathering your power so you can actively use it. That's what I want you to try." Vayu reached out. "It alright if I touch you to show something?" When she nodded, he tapped a spot a few inches below her collarbone. "Magic taps into your life force, the most basic parts of you, drawing out from the center to the rest of yourself." Running his hands across her collarbones, over her shoulders, and down her arms to catch her hands in his again, he continued, "you can feel it in the rhythms of your body, sometimes, but it's also something more."

Maneuvering her hands so they were clasped together, he squeezed before letting go. "Try cupping them like you're holding something, and concentrate on the space between them."

She did so, rocking her hands open and closed. After a few minutes, she thought she could almost feel a slight resistance as she pushed them together. Crouching more into herself, she tried keeping them open and maintaining the hold on that feeling. "I…think I have something? How am I supposed to know if it's working?"

"Can you make it like there's something filling that space?" He leaned forward. "Honestly, it is hard to tell until you get used to it."

"Yeah." She spread her fingers out, and it felt like there was suddenly an empty space where the extra room was, but not the rest of the area. "Yeah I think so." She spent another few minutes playing with the feeling before losing it a little. The more she struggled to get it back, the more it disappeared. "Oh." Looking up, she said, "I lost it."

Vayu watched her furrow her brows and begin to pout increasingly more as she went back to doing the exercise. "Hold on, no need to force it." When she glared at him, he sighed. "Alright, you know what, let me get something that should make this easier." Getting off the bed, he went to the dresser and returned with a small box.

"Aren't those the lights I got you from when the class went on that multi-island flight exercise?" She tilted her head.

"Exactly." He retrieved a single wire sphere covered in a soft fabric. "The crystal in the center is made to absorb magic and transfer it into light. Try it again holding that."

Giving a single, forceful nod, she sat back down. Hard as she tried, something about the material separating her hands seemed to block what she had felt before. After a minute's thought, she cupped her hands so the light could balance above them and waited until she could feel the connection before sliding the sphere into it like an egg into water for poaching.

Slowly, a light grew behind the fabric until it appeared like there was a small candle flickering inside.

"Vayu! Look Vayu I did it!" She practically flung the ball up in the air as she held her hands up for him to inspect. The brightness threatened to disappear for a moment, but reasserted itself as she steadied herself. "See? Magic!"

Vayu smiled so softly, eyes more than half closed, that it looked more as though he were about to cry.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, no. I'm just-" He ducked his head, laughing. "You know, you can actually be kind of adorable sometimes. A little."

"Hey!" She gave her best pout. She softened as her mind processed his tone. "Oh. Well, yeah. But I did good, right?"

"Yes, although you will need to work on your concentration." The light in her hands had completely gone out.

"Oh. I can do it again!"

He placed a hand over it. "I think that's enough for one try. Using magic is like any other thing you do – it takes energy, and you get better at it as you practice. I don't want you to overextend yourself." Biting his lip, he squinted at the sphere she was holding, then gently took it from her. "Here, close your eyes. I want to show you something."

Zelda complied. Time passed, and she got a little fidgety, but kept her eyes firmly shut and only once stuck her tongue out at him when he told her to keep waiting.

"Alright, now you can open them."

At first, it seemed like nothing had changed except for the lights being turned off. Then, slowly, pinpricks appeared in her vision, slowly growing to a collection of a half a dozen lights in as many different colors. "What…" she breathed, reaching out for the nearest one. Just before her fingers made contact, it floated out of reach.

As if that had been a signal, all of the lights began to hover around the room, some bobbing in place while others drew patterns or made a slow orbit. The objects they passed were briefly lit, then faded away again. One only drew her attention when it had already gotten up to the side of her. It zipped up to her face, bopped against her nose, and then skittered away before she could even react. Following its path, her gaze was finally drawn back to Vayu as it drifted onto his open palm.

"I- you- how are you-?"

He grinned, a light in his eyes that was probably just a reflection of the floating ones, but she couldn't have said completely for sure. "Magic." He shrugged, smile breaking out again. "More complicated but," Vayu tossed the one in his hands to her, "you practice enough, and maybe you can show me something like this, huh?"

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Zelda coaxed her magical energy to flow between her fingers, feeling it expand and contract with her breathing. As it pooled, she formed it into a ball in her hands, stretching them out to accommodate its growth. When her hands had gotten about a foot apart, something about her surroundings seemed to have shifted. She was still in the spring, nothing new or missing, but the taste in her mouth was too sharp, the water currents less pronounced as a nudge against her legs, the sunlight darker but also richer in color. A flash of- something – swept across her consciousness and she lost hold of the energy she had been holding. As she caught her breath, a force compelled her to look up at the Goddess statue as if someone had gently put a hand under her chin. A slow, gentle warmth spread through her as she met the statue's eyes.

From the edge of time, I guide you… Spirit Maiden, you have purified yourself in this spring, but a second is hidden away deep within the scorched earth of Eldin. With this blessing, you must travel there before you can begin to learn the full weight of your mission. The light of the Goddess will ease your steps…

Blinking rapidly as the message in her head faded, she sat still as she processed what she had been told. The old woman had mentioned another spring, but now there was even more to come. Yay.

She picked herself up and went to her bag to change. All she had really wanted was to be a knight, protecting people in Skyloft, maybe even some of the other islands; go exploring the open expanses of the air; and come home and drag Link and Vayu into whatever mischief she could come up with this time. Sighing, Zelda paused halfway through pulling one of her boots on. She missed her boys. The thought had occurred to her before that she should try to go back to the sky and get them, both of them (Goddess and anyone else who objected be damned, find a different spirit maiden if you've got such a problem with it), to come along with her. Except the only hint she'd gotten at that even being possible was the goron's mention of some old stories, and even then, there was the issue of getting back down past the cloud barrier.

So it looked like she was going to be on her own. Which, really, was much more distressing for the two of them, who didn't have any idea where she was or what was happening to her.

Well, that just means I need to get this done as soon as possible so I can get back to them. With this resolve, she was just about to touch the door she'd entered the spring through to make her way back out when a magical barrier dropped across the door with the force of a physical object. Even as she placed her hand on it to see what was going on, a wave of nausea rippled through her. Something was on the other side of the door, and it certainly didn't feel friendly.

As she stood there, a not-quite-voice tugged at her mind, the same tone as the message from the Goddess. Now that she thought about it, it was also remarkably similar to the pull she'd felt so many times in the last few weeks up in Skyloft. Groaning, Zelda turned until the force lessened its pull. "All right, fine. I get it. Bad monsters pursuing; got to find a different path." Slowly, she began to stomp off in that direction. "Well then, lead me out of here Hylia."