Link had taken a significant amount of their time traveling to develop a plan thathe hoped would help him and Revili start talking. Most of those plans were forgotten not long after they had finally arrived in Kakariko. Upon entering the village, they had been recognized or rather, the Slate they were carrying had been recognized, and they were immediately ushered into Impa's home. The Sheikah Elder had then taken it upon herself to educate them in Ganon's history, which coincided with the Royal Family's own past. After she finished telling them the history of the Hyrule family and the Calamity that plagued them, she then did her best to remind them of their fallen comrades: The Champions Daruk, Urbosa, and Mipha. While all the names struck a chord, one struck a very different chord.
Mipha.
The only thing Link really knew of Vah Ruta's pilot was that she was the Princess of the Zora people, and he only knew that because Impa had informed them of that particular detail. Despite his lack of knowledge regarding the Zora Champion, her name had meant something when he heard it.
Something important.
The only explanation was that he had somehow known her. He had felt his heart warm at the sound of the name and had discovered a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He had wiped it away quickly, but the warmth remained. Unfortunately, it was slowly joined by an intense dread. If she had disappeared in the Great Calamity, then she was likely dead, and he found that he was uncomfortable with the idea.
He opted not to think about it until he absolutely had to.
Link chose to focus on the more prevalent problem instead, which was the mission that Zelda had left them. Not only were they to defeat Ganon, but they were also to reclaim the Divine Beasts. In reality, there was probably nothing stopping the two from charging straight for Hyrule Castle, but he was unwilling to do something so brash, and he was certain Revili would agree.
If they had failed the first time when they were far stronger, than they would need every tool at their disposal.
He pulled the Slate out and checked the four markers that Impa had placed on the Map. Of course, as his luck would have it, each marker occupied its own corner of the map. They would have travel across the entirety of Hyrule, which would likely take months. He didn't know how long Zelda would be able to hold out, but he had a feeling they would be cutting it close.
Link's eyes trailed back up to the marker that sat in the upper left corner of the Slate's face as something odd finally occurred to him.
His luck made up for its failure in distance by making Revili far more agreeable than she normally was. While she had expressed a bit of discontent with the idea of heading to Zora's Domain first, her protests were short-lived and lacked any real force. Ordinarily, he would have assumed that she would want to return to her own homeland first, yet she hadn't taken the opportunity to argue her case. Rather, she had "resigned herself" to heading to Zora's Domain, which was the closest of the four locales they would have to visit.
The Hylian Champion frowned as he began petting Fox, who was sitting next to him on the bed. The more he thought about it, the more troubled he became. Not only had she not put up a fight as she usually would have, but she had been unusually subdued on the walk back to the inn. While silence was nothing new, subdued was.
He still couldn't claim to know her well, but he was certain that something was really wrong.
He sighed as he leaned back, suddenly feeling rather guilty. He had been so preoccupied with his own thoughts that he had completely missed that fact that Revili had needed a friend. He knew she didn't consider him to be one, but that didn't mean he couldn't act like one. As he saw it, he needed to prove himself to be a friend before he could actually be one.
And he had failed.
He considered the options left to him. By this time, it was unlikely she would be willing to talk with him. She might even be looking for a reason to be offended. No, he couldn't up and ask her about it.
At the same time, he didn't want to leave it. He couldn't say he thought of her as a friend, nor could he say that he even liked her very much, but he still hated the idea of letting someone suffer alone.
The hand that had been running along Fox's back froze as an idea slowly took shape in his mind. Maybe he and Revili weren't ready or willing to discuss such things, but he wasn't her only companion.
A few days prior, he had been returning to camp when he had noticed that Revili had been sitting next to Fox, talking to the animal about something. He wasn't quite sure what they were talking about as he had refused to eavesdrop, believing it was better to respect his companion's privacy. He had also known that she would be upset and even more defensive if she knew he had caught her interacting with fox. So, he had backtracked a bit and had snapped a stick as loudly as he could, giving the Rito Champion ample time to retreat to her end of the camp and pretend that nothing had happened.
Maybe all he needed to do was invent another situation in which she would have time alone with Fox.
Link looked down at the animal, finding it staring up at him warily, as though knowing what it was he had planned.
"You'll be fine," Link said quietly as he scooped Fox up. He had faith that Revili wasn't going to do anything to him.
Revili had been alternating between pacing the width of her room and throwing herself on her bed. A part of her was trying to process through the complicated things she was feeling, and the other was trying to avoid the problem entirely.
When she had heard about the land of her birth, she had felt an overwhelming sense of dread. She was worried about having left her people without their Champion to defend them. While they likely had other capable warriors, it was supposed to be her responsibility to defend them. It left her feeling defeated, but that wasn't the only problem she was contending with.
As the conversation with Impa had continued on, Revili slowly decided that she didn't want to return to her homeland. At first, she had been under the impression that it was because she didn't want to be faced with her failures, but something about that didn't quite mesh properly. She did want to return to make sure that everything was all right, but another voice whispered that it wasn't a home at all. Whereas the first seemed invested in seeing her duty through, the second was far more concerned with her survival, though why avoiding the Rito Village was necessary for her well-being was something she couldn't quite fathom.
As a result of her internal conflict, she hadn't really been trying to argue when Link and Impa had decided that Zora's Domain should be attended to first. Eventually, they would have to pay Rito Village a visit, but hopefully, she would have the time to sort out her conflicted feelings before they arrived. The Rito Champion believed it to be a naïve hope when she considered the fact that she didn't even know why parts of her were screaming about not returning, but she clung to it all the same.
It certainly helped that she was certain she wasn't the only one harboring an unrealistic hope.
Link had been different after he had learned the names of their fallen companions. It wasn't unlike him to be focused when the occasion called for it, but he had been uncharacteristically focused afterwards, to the point where he had missed her quiet attempt to make conversation. It wasn't unlike him to ignore her when she was acting aggressively, But the few times that she had tried to engage him in idle chatter, he had participated. On the whole, she acknowledged that he probably needed time to work through his own thoughts, but it had still stung.
He was supposed to be her companion. Sure, they didn't have to get along, but it would have been nice to know that she could count on him when it really mattered.
"Stop being stupid," she growled to herself. This was what she had wanted, wasn't it?
A knock at the door surprised her. She took a few seconds to compose herself before opening the door. She felt her beak tighten as she saw Link standing in her doorway. The Hylian Champion was holding Fox. "There had better be a good reason for bothering me."
"I need to do something. Can you take care of Fox?"
"What makes you think that I have any desire to… just hand him over," Revili sighed as she took the animal from him. In reality, she found the idea of spending a bit of time with Fox appealing. She was worried that if she put up too much of a fight, then the Hylian would find other accommodations for him.
"Thanks," Link replied before leaving her alone with Fox.
"Oh, calm down," Revili muttered as she set him on the bed and reached into a pouch at her waist and removed some jerky she had gotten from Link. She had suspected that if she would have to continue bribing Fox for some time before he would be truly comfortable with her.
As she expected, the animal perked up as soon as she brought the offering out. She sat down next to him and fed him as she had the first time.
And then she started talking.
She wasn't really aware of what was coming out of her mouth, and she decided it didn't really matter as it was. Fox wasn't capable of telling anyone else what she had said. In fact, she was certain he didn't care at all. At the same time, he wasn't judging her for anything that fell out of her beak. So long as she brought something for him to eat, he was content to sit and listen.
It was amazing to her that she could more accurately define the relationship between her and an animal rather than the Hylian she was traveling with.
Link was gone for a long time, far longer than she had expected. She would certainly give him an earful when he returned, but even she had to admit it would just be for show. Secretly, she was glad that she had gotten as much time to vent as she had. The Rito Champion had certainly needed it.
"It's about time you got back," she grumbled when Link was in her doorway again.
"Sorry," he replied, as he took the fox back. He then defied her expectations by remaining in her door, staring at her for a few moments before finally speaking again. "Are you okay?"
She felt a fair amount of irritation building up. Why was he pretending to care again? "Why should I believe you care?"
"We're allies," he replied, unphased by the question. "We should look out for each other."
"Funny. Earlier, you seemed to care only about yourself." To her surprise, she saw the briefest flash of something cross his face. Typically, his face was devoid of expression, but for a split second, it had morphed entirely. It looked like shame, or regret, or sorrow. Whatever it was, it made her want to squirm with the discomfort of it.
"I should have been paying more attention earlier. I'm sorry." The stoic expression had returned, but she wasn't able to rid her mind of the brief expression she had seen.
"I'm fine. I just… have a lot on my mind," she replied unsteadily, only realizing afterwards that she had said more than she had intended to.
They both stood there awkwardly as Link waited for her to say anything else while she scrambled to regain control of herself.
"… Just make sure you're ready to go tomorrow!" she finally snapped, promptly shutting the door with far more force than she had intended.
She stood, frozen in place as she tried to come to terms with what had just happened. Clucking in irritation, she crossed the room and flung herself on the bed, still unable to comprehend the expression she had seen on his face.
The fact that it had existed, even for a moment, meant that he did indeed feel, even if he refused to show it. It was a disturbing revelation as it then threw her own reactions to him in a new light. She wondered how many other times something she had said or done had caused him some form of pain.
She found that she was just as annoyed with herself as she was with him. Now that she had seen a glimpse of an actual person inside, she was confronted with the knowledge that she had probably caused him multiple forms of distress. Revili wasn't fond of him, but she didn't want to cause him more grief than was absolutely necessary.
She groaned as she buried her head in the pillow beneath her. Why did dealing with him have to be so bloody complicated?
A/N: You know, it has gotten to the point where my brain and I are in a constant state of arguing over which story should have priority. Unfortunately, my brain seems to be winning.
