AN: I really wanted to post this during Friday, but some things just turned up and I couldn't access my laptop. Anyway, BotW is owned by Nintendo, OCs are mine.
Morning came and Revali was still asleep. Kaneli had decided that he might need a little more time to rest, knowing what escapades his foster son would get into.
Kaneli cooked up some Hearty Salmon for breakfast. ' He'll be up within a moment's notice once he smells this' He thought with a grin plastered on his beak.
Soon enough, the aroma of the salmon started to spread within their cottage. Once it hit it's mark, Revali bolted upright and landed not-so gracefully on the ground. He was already drooling when he got to the elder's side.
"What's the occasion elder? You never cooked Hearty Salmon unless something special's gonna happen!" Kaneli just laughed at Revali's behavior. He'd never seen him this happy before, this Archie fellow might've been a really good friend for Revali.
"Oh I just felt like cooking up some of your favorite. And besides, we have a lot more stashed away." He finished the salmon by using some rock salt to add the 'final touch' as Revali quoted sometimes.
"Dig in! You'll need every little bit of energy in you." Revali scarfed down every last piece of fish that was on his plate, while the elder slowly ate his, savouring the rich taste.
As Revali finished, he cleaned up the mess that he'd made and gave the elder a hug before departing to Archie's.
It took him a while, but after some asking around the village, albeit he was nervous to do so, he found Archie waiting for him in front of his cottage with his father.
"Oh, there you are. You ready for today's lesson?" Revali just nodded in affirmation.
The trio headed towards the Flight Range, passing by a few travellers along the way.
Dronoc's Pass was soon within their sights, and Revali was feeling all the more eager to shoot his first arrow.
"So, are we all ready to begin?" The both of us just nodded.
"Good, I've prepared a few targets over there." His father motioned to the targets near the edge of the platform.
"I know, it seems a little bit too tame, but archery is an art that takes a lot of practice to master." Archie's father handed both of us a Swallow Bow.
"Archery seems like a simple act of pulling the bowstring and lodging an arrow in the desired target. It's much more than that. A simple miscalculation in the tension of the string, and you'll either overshoot the target or hit right in front of it." Both of them listened to the sermon of Archie's father, taking note of every word that is deemed of importance, which is every word.
"It all comes down to your stance, if you're planning on shooting on the ground. If it's in the air, then it's all up to you." Revali raised his hand to ask a question.
"Yes Revali?" Archie's father turned to look at Revali.
"In the air? Is that even possible?" Archie's father just laughed at Revali's question.
"Why yes, Revali, it's possible. It just takes a lot more effort to do so." Revali seemed content with the answer and just listened to their instructor.
"As a matter of fact, why don't I just show you?" His father took a nearby Falcon Bow and flew towards the targets attached to the pillar and the walls.
Each one of the targets received an arrow directly at their centers. His father flew with such grace yet such deadly precision. To say the least, both of them were quite blown away at the display their instructor had put on.
Archie's father landed nearby the targets on the ground with a smirk, knowing he had just blown their tiny little minds. "And with only 25 seconds used up, a new record if I do say so myself."
'25 seconds?!' Revali was baffled at what he had heard. He counted that there were at least 16 targets with arrows all hit dead in the center.
"If you train hard enough, maybe you two can even beat my record. That is, when the both of you are old enough. But let's stick with the basics first." He grabbed two Swallow Bows and quiver of arrows.
"Why don't you try first, Archie?" He handed Archie one of the bows and a couple of arrows.
"Remember what we talked about yesterday, stance is key." Archie knocked the bowstring back and steadied his aim.
In a split second, the arrow flew and hit the outer ring near the lower-left corner.
"Nice shot, I was kind of expecting a miss of some sort. You know, seeing as you're both still young." Archie seemed content with it and readied another arrow.
This time, Archie hit the inner ring of the target.
"With a little bit of practice, you'll be hitting bull's-eyes in no time." He then handed Revali the same amount of arrows and a bow.
'Alright, focus Revali. Relax and breath in,' He knocked the bowstring back and steadied his aim.' concentrate, and release!'
The arrow flew in a straight line, hitting dead in the center. Archie had his beak open while his father just stared with a mix of shock and amazement.
"Are you sure it's your first time?" Archie's father laughed as he closed his son's mouth to keep any Cold Darners from flying in.
Revali readied another arrow and repeated the same mantra in his head. His shot was exactly the same as his first.
Again, Archie had his mouth open and his father was full on laughing at this point. Revali just stood there, amazed at what he had done. 'Two bull's-eyes in a row?!' He thought in pure astonishment. He never thought that he'd be able pull off even a single one, but two!? The Goddess must be pulling at his leg.
"Well now! Never thought I'd see the day! Never knew you had it in you kid!" He elbowed Revali as he blushed from the praise.
"I got lucky, I guess?" Revali shrugged and turned to look at Archie's still dumbfounded face.
"HOW?!" Was all that left Archie's mouth.
His father and Revali just started to laugh the day away.
By the end of the day, Revali scored 15 more bull's-eyes and 5 inner rings. While Archie was still off his mark, managing only 5 bull's-eyes, 7 inner rings, 5 outer rings and 3 misses. He was still grumpy with the fact that Revali scored way better than him. So he opted to say to his father that they should hangout somewhere else.
His father just agreed, knowing that his son was bitter at the moment and would not want to deal with a small, angry Rito.
They just went to the Warbler's Nest again to sit by the tree and relax. Revali took note of his companion's grouchy attitude and tried to calm him down. Archie was a bit hard to calm down since he was a bit stubborn in admitting his defeat.
"Come on Archie, you'll do better next time. You just need some practice is all." Revali tried his best to comfort him but all he got was a huff from Archie. Revali was quite a bit guilty that he was the reason why he was like this and looked visibly sad that Archie batted an eye towards him.
"All I hate for the fact is that you did a lot better than me, I'm not angry at you or anything if that's what you're thinking." Archie said with his back still facing Revali.
They just stayed liked this for a 10 minutes until Archie started to relax and slouched next to Revali.
To be honest, Revali was feeling mixed emotions about his performance earlier. On one hand, he achieved something only a professional could do. On the other, his friend was quite jealous because his results contrasted Revali's.
"I think I'll hit the hay for now, see you tomorrow." Archie just gave a quick wave goodbye and started to go back to the village.
Revali was worried, he might lose his friend after just a day and it wasn't technically his own fault. 'The Goddess must have some motive for this to happen' he pondered.
Archie's father happened to be passing by and noticed Revali all alone on the tree. He approached Revali and gave a cough to catch his attention.
Revali looked up, his thoughts being interrupted. He saw Archie's father with a look of confusion.
"He still angry about earlier? Don't worry, he's like that." Archie's father gave him a reassuring smile.
"Although you're already shooting like a pro, you still need to train. If you stop and think it's done, your muscles and abilities will deteriorate over time. So, same time tomorrow, alright?" He didn't wait for an answer and motioned Revali to come with him back to the village.
Revali saw that his father had already slept, even though the moon was only beginning to rise. There was a note on the table and some food prepped. 'Revali, if you're reading this it means that I have already fallen asleep. I had a lot to do today and my body isn't what it used to be. I've cooked up some fish for you as dinner. Sorry that I couldn't eat dinner with you. -Kaneli.'
Revali just ate the fish in silence and went to sleep after. He really hoped Archie would calm down tomorrow, he didn't want any barriers to their friendship.