Niphia and Melody sat at the table, slurping up their meal with gusto. The two of them loved Komali's cooking. It was second to none in the village. He was always the one to make the food during feasts and ceremonies, with the help of Tori. Komali watched the girls eat. They were already on their third bowl. "It's only lunch girls. You should hold back a bit." Niphia took a big bite and looked at her uncle, speaking as she chewed. "Can't hwep it uncole. Yaur foods to goof!" she swallowed and patted her stomach with a smile. "It's satisfying, and Melly and I have been told that we have the stomach of dragons. Eat a lot to do a lot." Melody nodded in agreement. Komali chuckled and stood up grabbing his bowl and taking it to the water bin where they did the dishes. They would have to pump the water through the lake into the bin, they then would wash the dishes and when they were done, they would dump it in another basin and let it sit there as it would evaporate over time and come back as fresh rain. A long process, especially when they did laundry, but it got the job done. Niphia and Melody grabbed their bowls and drank the last bit of the soup before setting their bowls down simultaneously with heavy, satisfied sighs and wide smiles.
"I really want to have more...but papa is right. We should try and hold back from eating so much Nini." Niphia laughed a bit. "If we did continue eating, the village wouldn't have anything to eat!" Melody blushed in embarrassment while Niphia continued to laugh. Komali chuckled from the wash bin and turned to look at them. "Girls, bring over your dishes and wash them." he said pulling out his clean bowl and spoon, setting it on a counter next to him. Niphia and Melody did as they were told and set their clean dishes next to Komali's. "What's the plan for the rest of the day girls?" He asked. The two looked at each other before looking back at Komali's with big smiles. "Training!" They said in unison. He chuckled with a slight shake of his head. "Don't even know why I asked. You know the rules. Stay near the village, no setting anything on fire, and no fighting." Niphia and Melody nodded before running over to their beds. Niphia pulled out her forest dwellers sword and forest dwellers Shield and forest dwellers bow from under her bed. Melody did the same, only she had pulled out a swallow bow, wishing to use the same weapon as the other Rito warriors in the village. They looked at each other and smiled before running out the door. "Bye Uncle we'll be back by sundown!"
"Yeah bye papa!" the two of the continued to run through the village, Niphia running down the stairs while Melody flew outside of the village wall. Niphia hopped onto the last stair rail and slid down with a whoop before jumping off. Melody swooped down and grabbed Niphia's hands in her claw feet and flew off to the small clearing across the first bridge leading out of the village. Melody set Niphia down on the ground before landing and the two shared a smile. "You ready for training?" Melody asked. Niphia pulled her bow off her back and set it down before drawing her sword. "You can bet I am! Today, I will master the Kaiten Giri!" Melody cheered a bit and spread her wings. "Well, I'm going to try my aerial moves. I gotta be able to shoot from the sky." She flew up, creating a small, strong, gust as she did so. Niphia held her sword in front of her and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. Niphia slowly got into a stance with one foot in front, the other planted behind her. She moved her arm back to where her sword was pointed behind her. "Let's do this."
Five hours later
Niphia laid on the ground a sweaty and panting mess. She was tired, dizzy, hungry, and smelly, but she felt proud of herself. Though she had not mastered the Kiten Giri, she had managed to do it once without her sword flying out of her hand, falling and having the feeling she was about to throw up. It was a step forward. A wonderful, sweaty, step forward. She watched as Melody flapped down to her tiredly. Once she had gotten close to the ground she stopped flying and plopped right next to Niphia with a groan. "My wings hurt…"
"My everything hurts." Niphia responded with a tired chuckle. "It's a good feeling though…" Melody rolled over and looked up at the sky to see the clouds slowly floating on by. The light from the sun creating multiple colors as it set on the horizon. "I'm glad to live in Hyrule." Niphia nodded. "Yeah...but I can't help but wonder what else is out there." Melody looked at her. "What do you mean?" Niphia stared up at the sky. "I...I want to see what all there is outside of Hyrule. I know I have a destiny, but I still have things I want to do. Ya know?" Melody nodded in understanding. "Yeah. I know what you mean. I don't get why you have to let your destiny hold you back from what you want to do, though." Niphia sat up with a painful sigh. "It's just...If I don't defeat Calamity, then darkness will spread throughout Hyrule. And not just Hyrule, the world! Calamity may have that power and...I'm scared. Scared of failing. So I need to train and get stronger. I won't give up until Calamity is gone for good!" she punched the ground with a determined look. Melody sat up and stared at her. She smiled and jumped onto Niphia giving her a tight hug. "Well I'll fight by your side!" Niphia looked at her in surprise. "Really?" Melody nodded with a determined shine in her eyes. "Yes! You're my family, my sister, my best friend! I'll fight by your side and become the greatest archer ever known! You shouldn't have to do this alone and you won't, who cares what destiny says! You can always bend destiny, even just a little bit." Niphia stared at Melody and watched as she stood up. "You don't have to hold this burden alone, just like Papa said. So please Nini…" she held out her wing. "Can I be the Hero you need?" tears slowly filled Niphia's eyes and she sniffed, a smile forming on her lips. She grabbed Melody's wing, the young Rito girl pulling Niphia to her feet. "Yeah." Niphia grabbed her sword, shield and bow and the two of them made their way back to the village, hand in wing.
