UPDATE 6/15/18: Sorry about the update fakeout. I've completely changed the ending portion of this chapter. I felt that what I had before was choppy, unnatural, forced, and for the first time I wasn't happy with how a chapter for this story turned out. Everyone felt so out of character and awkward, so I spent all of today going over in my brain how to make it better, and this is what I came up with. Nothing else was changed besides the end, because I actually was satisfied with everything else, so repeat readers can skip to about the end and you'll spot the differences. Also, chapter title rename because I like this one better.
Yup! I'm alive and well. Just couldn't figure out how to start this one. Thanks for everyone's patience!
Yes, the last line of this first 'scene' is a reference to anyone who stuck around until the end of E3. I couldn't help myself. If you know what I'm talking about, you're fanboy/girling just as much as I am by now, and you'll know what I mean when I see it. Like I said, I just couldn't help myself.
Now. Shall we begin?
What If This Hurts?
Castle Town was as alive as it had ever been the following evening, its paved roads thickly congested with the enthusiastic crowds that had arrived. Comprised of both native Hylians and visiting persons of other species, the thronging assembly of people had lined the streets of Castle Town to join in a sending-off ceremony for the five Champions and Princess Zelda. Men, women, and children of all ages and races had convened to celebrate the departure of Hyrule's greatest heroes on the most influential joint operation in the kingdom's history.
Finally, an exited ripple spread across the assembled crowd as the massive, ornate steel gates to Hyrule Castle opened wide, revealing the empowering statures of the Champions. The crowd's excitement came to an explosive head at the reveal, the loud roar of approval nearly shaking the Castle's foundations. Slowly, the five warriors and the future monarch moved along the path set for them by the crowd. Confidently they moved, united as one cohesive unit, and the whole of Castle Towns knew in its very soul that the Champions were Hyrule's greatest chance at victory. The five deities on earth and their sovereign stoically advanced through the town's congested streets, met with the enthusiastic cheers and roar of the crowd. It wasn't long before their journey truly began, and the group walked out of town together, exuding confidence and strength on their way to Zora's Domain. Castle Town, and indeed the entire kingdom, felt undeniably safe under the watch of its synergetic and not at all dysfunctional team of warriors. Every Hyrulean citizen the kingdom over was united under one, undeniable fact;
Everyone is here.
"If you ask me, we should have departed hours ago, not hours after midday."
"Thankfully, nobody did ask you, so you also should keep it to yourself."
Mipha sighed in a not-so-subtle fashion, shaking her finned head and readjusting her Lightscale Trident from the place that it was secured on her back. She'd expected that their trip to her homeland would result in some in-fighting between Urbosa and Revali; she'd actually been counting on it, as it would likely present perfect opportunities for her and Daruk to begin trying to bring the bickering pair together.
She just hadn't expected them to already be at each other's throats the second they stepped outside of Castle Town.
"That's not the only thing that should be kept quiet," came the composed voice of Zelda at the group began their long sojourn to Lanayru. The Hylian royal's tone was quite subdued, and Mipha felt a sympathetic sadness pang emptily in her chest. The night prior, Link had told Mipha that he'd had a conversation with Zelda in her study regarding her tantrum after the Guardian attack. He'd said that he had made headway into making amends between the two of them, when King Rhoam had arrived suddenly and nearly broken the young girl's spirit. It was obvious her father's words still hung darkly over her, and by effect the entire group. Urbosa, despite her being occupied jabbing with Revali, intercepted Zelda's subdued mood and walked towards her at the front of the group.
Mipha didn't fail to notice the scowl that slashed across the Rito's indignant beak as he was deftly ignored. She found it strange; despite often expressing his discontent at Urbosa's presence, Revali seemed to actively seek out interaction with the boisterous Gerudo swordswoman. And actually, now that Mipha took the time to think about it, Revali seemed to almost glow (albeit not always in a positive manner) whenever he engaged in a verbal spar with Urbosa. I hesitate to call him a hypocrite, however, she thought to herself as they walked. I get the impression that Revali simply does not know what to make of Urbosa… or what he feels for her. Turing the issue over in her head for a few moments more, Mipha eventually decided to slow her pace the slightest bit and walk next to Revali at the back of the pack. This earned her a curious glance from Link, but thankfully the Hylian didn't press for answers, and instead kept walking. I'll tell him about this later. Provided there's something to say, that is.
Mipha tore herself from her thoughts, deciding to analyze it later. The Zoran Princess then noticed that Urbosa had offered a comforting hand to Zelda, which the girl had accepted gratefully. As the pair continued, reassured by each other, Mipha smiled softly at the obvious display of affection between Gerudo and Hylian. It warmed her heart knowing that Urbosa had taken it upon herself to fill an empty but crucial role in Zelda's life, and it was wonderful to see how they both benefited from it. Zelda received reassurance whenever she began doubting herself, and Urbosa gained a humbling perspective by being confronted with sometimes unsolvable problems.
"I don't want to talk, Mipha."
The Zora jumped at hearing the blunt words fall out of Revali's mouth and land in a jumble at her still-moving feet. Trying to save face, Mipha pretended to not know what the Rito was alluding to. "I'm not entirely sure what you mean, Master R—."
She was cut off with a short but amused laugh. "Mipha, listen. You are an accomplished spearwoman, a distinguished magical healer, and most definitely caring to a fault. You are not, however, capable of being subtle to save your life." Mipha felt her face flush in spite of herself. Royalty does not a politician make, so it seems.
"I suppose it was worth an attempt," she said as casually as possible, trying to ignore the obvious amusement scrawled across the Rito archer's face. "What gave me away?"
"Your timing is too perfect," said Revali without missing a beat, casting a quick glance down at her before resuming his glaring at the swaying red mane of Urbosa. "I start off on Urbosa again, and then the very first second after you magically appear, ready to delve into my personal life? A bit too convenient, I'd wager."
"Do you blame me for wanting to maintain some functionality between us all?" Mipha asked with the slightest bit of acid in her tone. "After all, it was just a week ago when you were holed up in the infirmary courtesy of a spat with Urbosa." Revali grunted in displeasure at being reminded of the most definitely unpleasant experience.
"Everything got so Farore-damn confusing after that," murmured the Rito to no one in particular, and Mipha's mouth moved before she had a chance to think about what would come out of it.
"You mean the embrace you shared with Lady Urbosa?" she asked a bit less than innocently, unable to stop her scaly lips from moving. "I rather think everything should have become simpler after that." Regret instantly washed over the Zoran healer as she realized just how much she'd divulged. Oh no…
"You saw that?" hissed Revali, and Mipha let out a quiet yelp of surprise as his wing roughly gripped her forearm. Zoran and Rito eyes met briefly; panicked jade meeting concerned amber. Despite being a creature of the water, Mipha felt her throat dry up in record time, nervous that she may have just overstepped her bounds before their journey had even truly begun. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a concerned Link glance back; perhaps against better judgement, Mipha shook her head at him slowly, implying that everything was fine. It most definitely isn't fine, Mipha thought as her childhood friend turned his head forward with no small amount of reluctance, but I need to deal with this by myself.
"Yes," Mipha said with a hint of steel in her voice. "I did. And I also took note of your reaction." Revali's rage quickly faded into defensive panic, and the pressure on her forearm vanished just as quickly. Mipha noticed how the off-put Rito cast a cautious glance at the rest of their group: Daruk at the front of the party, scaring off anything stupid enough to threaten them, Zelda and Urbosa just behind, talking softly with Link lingering steps behind the pair of women, trying in vain to keep a watchful eye on both Zelda and Mipha. Only once Revali was certain no one else was paying them their full attention did he attempt to defend himself.
"My reaction meant nothing but surprise on my part," growled the Rito, his wingtips clenching in repressed anger. "Besides, you had no right to be snooping around in my business, trying to watch all my private conversations. I thought you were supposed to be the moral superior here." Mipha's brows furrowed in annoyance; she never took it too kindly when her efforts to help were met with resistance. Never mind that he actually has a point, and I did infringe upon his privacy. I'm trying to help him, so at the very least he should hear me out!
"For the love of Nayru, Revali!" Mipha said, fixing the Rito with a steady glare. "I gained the right to interfere when you were struck down by a bolt of Gerudo lightning! Had I not interfered, there is every chance you would still be recovering in an infirmary bed."
"You fixed my injuries, righted that wrong," Revali admitted with a scoff, "but sticking around to snoop on what was supposed to be a private conversation is not in the job description of a healer, last time I checked."
"Perhaps not," Mipha admitted dismissively, struggling to keep her voice muted lest the rest of their companions catch on to the argument that was set to erupt behind them. "However, as a friend, I have every right to—."
"To what, Mipha?" snaps Revali, anger now so far developed that his voice raises, and the entire party stops in its tracks. All eyes were trained on Revali, but for once it seemed the Rito didn't care. "To invade my privacy? To question my every move? To deny everything I say in favor of you own ill-begotten theories?" Deadly silence permeated through the Champions, both silent and lethal as the indignant Rito stared down the ashamed Zora. Mipha now realized that she had, in her near-relentless pursuit of reforming Revali, effectively blinded herself to how forward she was being. She mentally berated herself for not realizing how pushy she had been towards Revali, and how little that would actually help the situation. As such, she had no answer for the Rito marksman, whose rage had receded just enough for him to realize that the five other members of their party were staring straight at him. There was a tense silence during which Revali remained frozen in place: wings clenched, beak torn open in a scowl, smoldering emerald eyes jumping between Urbosa, Link, and Mipha. Eventually, the silence broke him.
"I'm going to scout ahead," Revali spat, making it obvious to all that it was the last thing he wanted to do at the moment, but was the only option that offered him an escape from the ten eyes that pinned him down. The Rito marksbird cast a cold glare towards Mipha, who flinched under the frigid scrutiny of his eyes. "Unless you'd like to come along to do some more spying?" The Zoran Princess felt her face burn in shame as six eyes shifted from Revali to her: one pair a curious jade, the other a concerned sky-blue, the last a confounded icy cyan. Her lack of response drew another scoff from Revali, who wordlessly summoned one of his signature updrafts and flew into the sky at a nearly breakneck pace. It wasn't long before the troubled Rito was nothing but a black speck against the blinding backdrop of the late afternoon sun and cloudless sky.
Silence, during which all remaining eyes shifted from the fading speck to the flushed Zora, who averted her gaze to the ground, shame burning in her veins and shining on her face. Wordlessly, she continued walking forward, ignoring the prying stares that fell on her. As she made to pass Link, she felt his hand gently latch onto her elbow, softly jerking her to a stop. She shifted her moist amber eyes to her right, looking her favorite Hylian straight in his concerned face.
"What happened?" he asked quietly, just loud enough for her to hear, and Mipha took a small amount of consolation from the audible concern in Link's voice. Despite that, Mipha had to blink several times and clear her throat for a moment to compose herself.
"I…" Mipha's voice was shaky at best, and bogged down with damp emotion. The repercussions of what had just happened were beginning to hit her hard; all the progress she'd made with Revali in the infirmary was at risk simply because her curiosity had gotten the best of her. She wasn't being self-depreciating solely to have someone to blame; Mipha knew that Revali's inability to accept outside help unless necessary played a huge part in his latest tantrum. That still didn't change the fact that Mipha had been the one to set him off in the first place. "I failed, Link," she murmured quietly, tugging her arm out of his grip gently. "I had the opportunity to make things better, and I ended up making them worse."
Link seemed unsure of what to do, but Mipha was grateful that he simply decided to rest a comforting hand on her shoulder in a subtle act of compassion. She glanced up to meet his eyes and smiled at seeing the care in them. The sweet moment was abruptly punctured by Urbosa.
"What was Revali going on about?" asked the Gerudo, suspicion lacing her tone. "About you 'invading his privacy' and whatnot?" Wincing internally, it took Mipha a few seconds to gather enough courage to face Urbosa, knowing that she was likely in for a scolding.
"I… may have listened in on your discussion in the infirmary," admitted Mipha shyly. "And I also saw… well…" Urbosa seemed to understand, her eyes narrowing a bit and one of her hands slipping to her cocked-out waist. Daruk and Link's faces also cleared of confusion, seeing as how they both knew what Mipha was alluding to. Zelda, on the other hand, had no idea what was going on.
"What did you see, Mipha?" asked the Hylian Princess, but her words were ignored by the Zora was Urbosa spoke up again.
"While I don't commend your sneaking around," said the Gerudo in a surprisingly neutral tone, although her jade eyes were harsh. Her full blue lips were pursed in a thin line, "I understand your motives, Mipha. Your concern is appreciated, but please do not try to make something out of nothing. Neither Revali nor I fully understand what our actions in the infirmary meant. Namely my actions."Mipha nodded comprehendingly, a small reassured smile slipping its way onto her face.
"Thank you for your understanding, Lady Urbosa," Mipha said gratefully, and her smile grew as she felt Link's hand grip her just a bit more securely. "I just… want everyone to get along, is all. I suppose I was reading a bit too much into what I saw…"
"What are you talking about?" Zelda asked, irritation beginning to seep into her words. "What happened in the infirmary?"
Urbosa sighed to herself, and turned her head to glance at the dipping sun in the direction Revali had flown. "I need to go after him. That idiot is probably going to hurt himself in his anger."
"Why you?" asked Daruk, glad that he was finally able to put his own two cents into the conversation. "If we're worried about him gettin' hurt, why not send Mipha? She'd fix him up in a jiff."
"He just stormed off for a nice bit of 'scouting' because of Mipha," countered the Gerudo, casting a sympathetic glance over to the Zora, who nodded understandingly. "Sending her isn't likely to yield any desirable diplomatic results."
"So, why's it still gotta be you?" asked Daruk, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "I mean, I'd be okay with it 'n all, but I'm kinda wonderin' why you're so dead-set on makin' sure that you're the one to go after him." Mipha's smile broadened into a full-on grin as she realized what the Goron was doing. He was playing Devil's Advocate to coax information out of Urbosa regarding Revali. Brilliant, Daruk, though Mipha to herself as she sent the Goron a healthy wink. Absolutely brilliant.
"Clearly all of you are withholding information from me," Zelda said testily, crossing her arms as she glared at each of her remaining four Champions. "I demand that you all tell me what—."
"Revali won't listen to any of you," Urbosa said, ignoring the Hylian Princess yet again, coxing an irritated huff from the young girl. "He hardly listens to me as it is."
"So…" Another Goron chin scratch. "Why're you the best choice again?"
"I've got a better track record with him than the rest of you."
"You zapped him with a bolt of lightnin'."
"Irrelevant!"
Daruk sighed, scratching his head pensively once again. "Well… you gonna go after Revali, then?" Mipha had to feign a coughing fit to hide her sudden burst of giggles. Well, that went from subtle to blatant provocation in no time at all! she thought to herself as she saw Urbosa raise a curious eyebrow, obviously suspicious but also uncertain of what she was being suspicious of. I suppose that neither Daruk nor I are capable of shadowing our intentions just yet.
Despite the forwardness of the inquiry, Urbosa seemed to consider her options at face value, without delivering a pithy response for once. This surprised Mipha a bit. Instead of the typical boisterous Gerudo banter she'd expected, Urbosa was seriously considering the correct choice of action. It means she cares, at least on a very basic level, reasoned Mipha. Going to help a colleague may be typical and not matter at all when involving anyone else in the kingdom of Hyrule, but this is Urbosa and Revali. With these two, everything matters.
The scrutinized Gerudo warrior took a second to draw her Scimitar of the Seven, turning the dangerously beautiful blade over in her hand, then spared another few moments to secure her scarlet hair and slip Daybreaker into her other fist. Mipha watched as Urbosa's eyes flickered from her blade to the horizon, where the orange sun touched the earth and dealt a mercilessly gorgeous slash of crimson in the sky. The fading sunlight reflected off the Gerudo's intense jade stare, masking her eyes in an empty, almost miserable facade of black. It looks as if Urbosa doesn't want to run after Revali with every fiber of her being, Mipha thought as she analyzed the backlit, pensive Gerudo. She wants to forget about Revali's childishness, to ignore what happened in the infirmary, and to not care about his well-being at all.
But she can't.
"Damn you, Revali." These were the only three words Urbosa could think to murmur before dashing off in a breakneck sprint, headed towards the direction Revali had gone when he'd stormed off. Mipha watched with a satisfied smile, and she allowed herself to lean back against Link, letting him slip an arm around her waist as Urbosa literally ran off into the (nearly) setting sun. Glancing to Daruk for a second, she gives him a satisfied wink, which prompts an equally-enthused grin in response.
I'm quite the hopeless romantic, aren't I? Mipha thought with a smile as the group continued to walk onward, albeit at a slightly brisker pace. I suppose it's not the worst thing to be, at the end of the day.
"FOR THE LOVE OF HYLIA, WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT IN DIN'S NAME IS GOING ON?!"
Flying for a few minutes was usually enough to vent the negative emotion from any Rito; for them, it was a deeply spiritual use of their skill, heritage, and natural abilities. Flying served every purpose from stress-relief, to combat, to transportation, to a declaration of love. Revali found no such solace in the bloodstained Hyrulean sky that evening as he rode the fading trail of the updraft he'd summoned to escape the relentless staring of his fellow Champions. The wind bit and tore at the archer's feathers and clothing as though it were trying to slow him down, to stop him from going any further, but nature would not be able to stop him no matter how hard it tried.
How dare she, thought Revali through his haze of rage. I don't care if she claimed she was my friend. Claiming to be close to me doesn't give her the right to stick her aquatic nose in my business whenever it pleases her. Friendship was not something that the Rito took lightly, and Revali was a more severe example of this trait even by Rito standards. Becoming a friend meant fostering trust, not having one polite conversation in an infirmary. Friendship was something to be earned; a coveted reward reserved for a select few that proved they truly wanted to form an amicable bond. Calling Mipha and Revali friends was stretching the archer's version of reality far enough; the Zora then showing the nerve to go back on that supposed friendship was enough to set him off, perhaps for good.
If there was anything Revali hated more than anything else, it was hypocrisy. Compromising one's principles on a whim was, in his eyes, one of the most egregious acts a person could commit. If one couldn't stand for what they believed in, then what could they stand for? How could someone ever be trusted if they were willing to go back on not just their own word, but also their principles and morals?
His current state of contempt was amplified by the fact that Mipha had been the one to go behind his back. As far as the rest of his fellow Champions went, the Zora youth had been ranked a few notches higher on his respect-scale (he wasn't even going to try and rank Urbosa; the woman was far too volatile). Especially when compared to the eternally intrusive Goron brute and the Goddess-blessed Hylian warrior-wannabe, Mipha's composure was something Revali grudgingly respected. Add to that her conduct in the infirmary before she'd left, and the Zoran royal had built her appearance to reflect a compassionate, determined person who could also hold her own in a fight. Mipha had preached her morals to him—do something for others, and they would do something for you—and Revali had chosen to listen. He'd trusted her enough to actually take her advice into serious consideration as something he might actually end up doing. Then, it turns out, just after Mipha had gone off on him for being childish and petty, she'd decided to spy on him and Urbosa.
Face it, nagged a tiny voice in the back of Revali's mind as his rage-induced flight continued. You're not angry with Mipha because she spied.
Really? he snapped to the voice of doubt. Then what am I, if not angry?
You're afraid because she saw you hug Urbosa.
"NO!" denied Revali aloud, tilting his wings back to halt his flight and hover in place. No, I am NOT afraid, Revali told himself. I don't care about Urbosa, or what she did to me. This is completely about Mipha violating her moral principles, and nothing more.
His defiant subconscious didn't have an answer for him, but that didn't reassure the Rito in the slightest.
Revali shook his head as he hovered in the stratosphere, white-hot anger fading bit by bit in favor of cold rage and frosty denial. The last thing he needed was to waste valuable time and mental energy fretting about Urbosa's dubious motives. All that mattered was that she had admitted her admiration of him, so he could push anything else that came out of her mouth to the side and move on with the rest of his life.
Except it isn't that simple, interjected his unbidden subconscious mind. She's different than everyone else, and that terrifies you.
Everyone's different.
She's different-different, and you know it.
Yes, fine, she is different; she's three times as annoying and twice as persistent as anyone I've ever met when it comes to making me miserable.
Mental silence again. Revali huffed in combined annoyance and indignance at his inner predicament. It's gotten to the point where my own mind is starting to question my motives, thought the Rito to himself scanning the ground under him as he looked to continue flying. He was tired of arguing with himself about dubious and intangible things that he'd never get explanations for. He needed to shoot something.
It wasn't long before the Rito's sharp eye caught a tendril of smoke curling up from the valley below him. A quick analysis of the misshapen wooden structure that he was hovering over told the archer that it was a slipshod bokoblin camp. Doing his best to clear his mind of all the unpleasantness of Mipha's betrayal and Urbosa's antics, Revali unslung his Great Eagle Bow and dropped it, catching it in his talons before it could plummet earthward. Reaching into the quiver he'd been given by Urbosa (stop thinking about her), he pulled out a trio of bomb arrows. The Rito bent backwards and flipped into a dive, beak pointed earthward and bomb fuses sizzling as he gracefully shifted his bow to his wings, drawing the bowstring taut. Revali's natural inclination of archery drew a perfect line of sight down his arrows to the supporting trunk of the boko structure.
A confident grin split Revali's face as the monster camp rushed towards him. Finally. A problem I can actually deal with.
It's official. I hate him. He's an unbearable, insensitive, childish idiot.
As often as those words looped in Urbosa's head, it didn't change the fact that she was running at a breakneck pace with her weapons drawn to chase after the Rito she claimed to despise so much. It didn't change the fact that she'd left behind Zelda, whom she had been in the middle of comforting, to do the aforementioned. And it definitely didn't change the fact that she was thinking about it for much longer than she had any right to.
The Gerudo's secured crimson hair trailed chaotically behind her as she ran, her shoes relentlessly pounding into the paved path as though it had done her a personal wrong. Urbosa acknowledged that it was a little concerning that she had run off after Revali with no clear-cut way to track him. She tried to justify her admittedly irrational decision by telling herself that she was doing it for the good of Hyrule. If Revali somehow managed to hurt himself while he was off pouting on his temper tantrum, there would be no one to pilot one of the Divine Beasts that were necessary to defeat Calamity Ganon.
One would think I'd stop trying to rationalize and start actually concentrating on finding Revali, she thought to herself as she ran. Up ahead, she saw a bend in the road that could be skipped if she plowed on through a tree line. Not wanting to delay herself any further, the Gerudo warrior cut through the foliage.
I shouldn't have hugged him, Urbosa told herself as she sliced away some branches that intruded her path with her scimitar. All it did was make everything complicated. For all parties involved. If I'd just kept a lid on myself, I wouldn't be confused, Mipha would have had nothing to spy on us about, Revali wouldn't have thrown a tantrum…
… and I wouldn't have enjoyed it.
That was probably the part about her entire situation that bugged Urbosa the most; the fact that, despite all the anger, despite all the teasing, despite the massive incident of assault-by-lightning-bolt, she had found herself enjoying her embrace with the Rito. It had given her an oddly filling sense of satisfaction, when she'd approached Revali and wrapped him in her arms. Seeing him vulnerable had somehow managed to change her perception of him in an instant, if only for that brief moment. It made her feel as though her efforts actually meant something; as though she was having a meaningful impact on the world, and changing things for the better.
Urbosa wasn't stupid. She knew that their chances against Calamity Ganon were slim at best, considering the fact that Zelda had yet to figure out how to unlock her sealing power and that the Champions hadn't even attempted to work together as a functional and competent unit. That bled into her self-judgement the slightest bit, leaving her with an ever-present feeling that nothing she was doing would ever matter in the grand scheme of things. It was Gerudo nature to be loud, present, confident, and influential in everything they did. Urbosa would never be satisfied as a footnote in history, as just some vague character kept in the background that ultimately did nothing that truly mattered. Not to say she detested Link's position as de-facto leader of the Champions, quite the opposite in fact, but the Gerudo did everything she could to make herself… relevant. Childish and irrational? Certainly, and she knew that.
It didn't make fading away into nothingness any less terrifying.
At that moment, the earth rumbled beneath Urbosa's feet, causing her to stumble on the path she'd taken and nearly fall on her face. Just as she managed to save herself from an embarrassing faceplant, an orange blossom of fire bloomed in the distance, over the next hill she was about to scale. Upon listening closer, Urbosa could hear the wailing squeals of bokoblins amidst the raging blood-red inferno that stood out against the orange/purple dusk sky. Any doubts at what could have caused such spontaneous destruction was allayed when she saw a small blue figure shoot back up into the sky, riding a gust of wind that hadn't been there the moment before.
Urbosa ran after him without second thought.
fwish~THUNK
fwish~FWOOM
fwish~BZZZT
Arrow after arrow flew from Revali's Great Eagle Bow, the variety swapping with each direction he turned. A trio of bomb arrows to the camp's core had caused a complete structural collapse, trapping at least two bokoblins under the flaming shards of wood by Revali's guesses. The other bokoblins and the two moblins that had been patrolling the base of the camp immediately recognized him and sounded horns to alert whoever hadn't been woken up by the blast. Revali swiftly called up a gathering of fire arrows to take out a clump of bokoblins directly below him, then swooped down to an altitude of about ten yards to pick off a lone boko with a single shock arrow.
The Rito felt his anger begin to fade with every consecutive shot, with every consecutive kill. The repetition and familiarity of archery was reassuring to him, and it made it easier to revel in his success rather than relive his failures. A few more rounds of standard arrows later, and the entire ground was cleared of monsters. Movement out of the upper corner of his peripheral vision triggered an automatic response, and Revali dropped the remaining distance to the ground and loosed a single ice arrow. A bokoblin had been trying to scale the most pathetic-looking watchtower Revali had ever seen, and his latest shot froze the malicious leader mid-climb, leaving it frozen on the tower's ladder. Confusion elapsed Revali's face as he realized the boko hadn't been carrying a bow.
If it wasn't trying to climb the tower to get a better shot at me, he wondered, then what in the world was it trying to do?
"Revali!"
The Rito drew an arrow, knocked it, and fired it in the direction of the noise before his brain had time to process that the voice was a noise and, perhaps more importantly, who that voice belonged to.
Urbosa.
Panic crushed Revali's chest the moment he recognized the Gerudo warrior running at him. Not because he was concerned for her safety, of course (yeah, right, scoffed his nagging subconscious), but only because he knew he'd never hear the end of it from Mipha if he'd accidentally killed Urbosa.
Thankfully, the swordswoman in question had two crucial components that saved her life; a shield, and reflexes faster than a Lizalfos' twitch. In a movement that was deceptively natural and effortless, Urbosa raised her shield in time with her stride to deflect the arrow. Relief was quick to flood Revali's body.
You're actually pretty pathetic when it comes to her, you know that?
Shut up. I'm not talking to myself—or you— anymore.
That makes sense. Otherwise, I'd think you were going insane.
"Get down!" Revali's physical relief and mental reprieve proved to be short lived as Urbosa dropped both her weapons and lunged at him. Before he had any chance to react, the Gerudo threw herself at his midsection and sent them both tumbling to the charred ground. Urbosa used his surprise against him and managed to pin him down on his back with her entire body, her pointed nose but an inch from his beak. The Rito's surprise faded almost immediately, and the residual rage he still harbored towards Mipha was spewed approximately one inch upwards.
"What in Farore's name are you doing, woman?!" he yelled, hyperaware of how she'd somehow managed to pin all his limbs with her own in fractions of a second. "Are you out of—?"
BOOOOOOOM
Revali's complaint was cut off as his vision went white, and he momentarily lost his senses. When they returned, the first thing he noticed was that his ears were ringing nonstop, and he was still on his back. Despite his disorientation, he managed to get a glimpse at the top of the watchtower just in time to see a bokoblin celebrate without paying attention and accidentally fall to its doom. It occurred to him that, in his haze of anger, he'd forgotten to check the top of the watchtower for the bomb barrel that most bokos seemed fond of using as projectiles on intruders; being distracted by Urbosa had given it the opening it needed. Idiot. She almost got me killed.
It was then that the Rito realized that there was no longer a Gerudo chieftess pinning him to the ground, nor was there a pointy nose nearly being jabbed into his eye. Revali tried to get his wings and elbows to prop his torso up, but a shooting pain in his right shoulder coaxed an involuntary yelp out of him as he fell back into the dirt. Revali closed his eyes to focus on dealing with the sudden sensation equivalent to a Lynel nibbling on his shoulder. When he opened them again, he was met with the critical visage of Urbosa crouching over him. She wordlessly used a firm hand to keep his left shoulder pinned to the earth as he yelped, and he grunted in discomfort when she shifted a knee to keep his right wing steady.
"You dislocated your shoulder," she said, moving her other knee on his left shoulder to replace her hand, effectively half-straddling him. "I need to pop it back in place." To hide his sudden flush of self-consciousness, Revali jumped to his most reliable (and possibly only) fallback; annoyance.
"That may have been because you tackled me, you insane—."
"Shut up," Urbosa said matter-of-factly, and Revali's anger dissipated almost as quickly as it had been summoned. Her tone wasn't annoyed, nor concerned; instead, the Gerudo who was trying to force medical assistance on him sounded resigned, as though she were being compelled by an unseen, impossible-to-name force. Story of my life, frankly. "It was a bomb barrel, not me. Brace yourself." Revali panicked at feeling her hand secure his injured shoulder, biting back the pain to try and delay her.
"Wait," he panted, suddenly at a loss for breath, "can't Mipha do this?"
"Yes," Urbosa said simply, finally deciding to meet his worried stare. Revali was surprised to see the same resignation that had been in her tone bleed into her jade irises. "Unfortunately, she's not here at the moment. You'll be in perpetual pain unless I do this now."
"Wait!" yelped Revali again, and he was surprised that the Gerudo swordswoman that held him down actually listened to him. Did not expect that, I'll admit it. As such, Revali babbled the first thing that came to mind. "What if this hurts? What if it really hurts? I, um, I hadn't thought of that." The tiniest semblance of a grin split Urbosa's lips for a moment at his desperate words before it faded back into her serious and resigned countenance.
"Oh, it will," she said casually, securing her hands again and prompting another jolt of panic in her unwilling Rito patient. "Believe me, it will."
"Are you just saying that, or is it really going to hurt?" he asked, gulping rather loudly as he stared at her stone-faced expression. The adrenaline from his injuries as well as the sensation of being restrained pushed Revali's panic further and causing him to babble. "You're just saying that, aren't you? No, you're not. It is going to hurt, isn't it? Exactly how painful are we—AAAAAAAAARGH!" Urbosa popped his wounded shoulder back into place while he was talking, cutting off his panicked blubbering with a cry of agony. Thankfully, the pain receded quickly and Urbosa moved off him, allowing the Rito to sit up to face her. He glared at the analytical stare that the Gerudo fixed him with, and he rolled his wing around to alleviate some of the soreness as a distraction.
"Was that really necessary?" he asked in a voice that was much calmer than he thought it would be. "I'm fairly certain that Mipha would have caught up eventually, even if you did get here first."
"They wouldn't have come in time." Urbosa met his glance evenly, obviously trying to get a read on his reaction. Revali did his best to hide his surprise as a result. The last thing I need is to give her anything else to scrutinize. "We discussed for a moment, interrogated Mipha about why you ran off the way you did. At the end of it, everyone decided to walk. I was the only one who decided to run."
Revali felt the surprise and annoyance drain out of him, leaving a cold and damp void in its place. He scowled and did his best to meet Urbosa's stare without wavering. "And what do you expect me to say to that? Are you searching for gratitude? Perhaps as a way to end our squabbling?" Urbosa sighed and shook her head, finally sitting down all the way beside Revali, legs curled away from him. Her jade eyes slid over to glance at him, then redirected themselves towards the path she'd come from.
"I didn't want anything from you, I suppose," she said, and the uncertain waver to her tone drew a glance from Revali. However, in doing so, he finally noticed something odd; Urbosa had an elongated, thin, twisted piece of metal shrapnel protruding through her left arm. Shockingly, she didn't seem to be fazed by it.
"Urbosa," he said cautiously, his emerald eyes drawn to the Gerudo's injured arm. "Do you not notice the massive strip of twisted metal that's protruding out of your arm?" The Gerudo warrior knit her brows in confusion, but her eyes widened in genuine surprise at seeing the corrugated metal make its home in her biceps.
"Interesting," Urbosa said, true concern completely absent from her tone. She turned her arm over, eyeing her injury without so much as wincing once. Revali watched her for a few moments of silence longer before speaking up again.
"Does this... not concern you?"
"What are you talking about?" Urbosa asked, shifting her attention from her injury to glance at the Rito that sat next to her. "Obviously this is concerning. I have metal in my arm, for Dinsake." The Gerudo Champion's lips twitched in a momentary grin before she continued. "Why? You weren't concerned for me by any chance, were you?"
"Of course not," rebutted Revali, quick to cross his arms and scowl. "All I'm saying is that screaming in pain, or at least showing surprise, is usually the reaction sane people have to this situation. Since you're being quite blasé about this whole affair, I can only assume that you aren't—."
"Panicking is not exactly the most helpful course of action in this scenario," Urbosa responded candidly, raising an eyebrow. "Although, if it's such a powerful statement against my sanity, I could dissolve into tears to prove my mental health." Revali growled, but was disappointed to find that no pithy remark rose to the tip of his tongue. Urbosa noticed his lack of a response and laughed in that heartily annoying way that was typical of her, which didn't help Revali's mood in the slightest.
"Relax, Revali, I'll be fine," Urbosa said, mirth still tingling at the tip of her tongue. "If you're so concerned over my well-being, why not aid me in removing it?"
"Removing it," Revali said in plain disbelief. "You do realize that leaving a gaping hole in your upper arm is likely to cause you to bleed out and die? Not that I have a problem with that. I'm simply informing you of your lunacy."
"Your devotion to my health and well-being is astounding, Revali," Urbosa said dryly, the corners of her mouth quirked up in an amused smirk, despite the injury she'd sustained. "The fact still remains that I need to get this out of my arm. The adrenaline is wearing off, and this is going to wreak havoc with my arm if it isn't removed."
"And Mipha isn't better certified to do this?"
"Perhaps," admitted the Gerudo, "but I'd rather have it out before Mipha arrives with the others and scolds me for being irresponsible."
"Irresponsible? You?" asked Revali in mock surprise, standing to his feet and glowering down at Urbosa. "Perish the thought."
"Hilarious," said Urbosa with an amused snort, deciding to stand as well and slip a hand to her hip, despite the metal strip that protruded from it. "Now, are you going to assist me or not?"
"You aren't capable of fixing your own injury?" asked Revali skeptically. His doubt was met with an irritated eyeroll from the Gerudo.
"Perhaps I should lance your arm with rusty shrapnel and see if you feel like tearing it out by yourself," suggested the injured Urbosa with a frown. "This needs a steady hand to work, and my hand certainly will not be steady with the pain of jagged steel dragging against my muscles. Do it, Revali." Frowning, Revali searched for a reason to refuse Urbosa's request but, disappointingly, he was scarce to find any justifiable complaint. He would be in better standing with her, it would allow him to revel in the admission that she needed his assistance, and she was practically giving him free reign to hurt her (just a bit).
"You'll still bleed out, I feel obliged to mention," he eventually supplied, crossing his arms and scoffing in an attempt to convince himself that he shouldn't oblige. Urbosa rolled her eyes in response.
"That's why they invented tourniquets, my feathery friend," pointed out the Gerudo, tilting her head curiously as she gave Revali's form a brief once over. "That ribbon I gave you should do wonderfully." Revali's brows furrowed in confusion at her rather odd choice.
"Why does it have to be my clothing?"
"You'd be hard pressed to find acceptable tourniquet material on my person, unless you want me to remove my Champion's skirt," said Urbosa candidly, giving a short laugh of amusement. Revali did his best to not imagine the repercussions of Urbosa's suggestion, doing his best to suppress any reaction the Gerudo could prey upon. "Besides," continued the injured swordswoman, "the author wanted to insert ham-fisted symbolism of our developing relationship while also providing me with an opportunity to break the fourth wall, which he's wanted to do since chapter two."
"What?"
Urbosa sighed and hung her head in exhaustion. "The blood loss must be getting to me already, for me to be sprouting off such insanity," she said tiredly, deflecting away from the bit of lazy writing that no one thought was clever except the author. Raising her head a bit and fixing Revali with an uncharacteristically somber stare, Urbosa extended her arm to the confounded Rito. "Just do it already, Revali. All you have to do is wrap the ribbon and tug. It's that simple."
Scowling, the Rito huffed and walked over to retrieve his Great Eagle Bow, which was thankfully spared from harm during the blast. He untied the blue nightshade ribbon as he walked back over to Urbosa, who removed the shoulder guard on her left arm to allow him better access. Wordlessly, Revali wound the scented cloth around the Gerudo's forearm above the injury, doing his best to not concentrate on anything but his task.
"You'll have to tighten that if you want it to work," Urbosa commented passively, and Revali growled under his breath and tightened the ribbon with excessive strength to prove a point. He was disappointed again when Urbosa failed to flinch. Once the tourniquet was secured, Revali wrapped both his wings around the top portion of the metal shrapnel. Revali took a breath to steady himself, and prepared to jerk the intrusive piece of metal out—."
"Wait."
Revali flinched, but managed to restrain himself from pulling up on the metal. Glowering at the Gerudo, who didn't seem concerned in the slightest, he evenly met her indifferent stare and managed to growl out a question. "What is it?" A serpent's smile prefaced Urbosa's response.
"What if this hurts?"
Revali sneered, not appreciating her humor, and instantly yanked up on the metal, deftly pulling it free as quickly as he could. Urbosa, as it turns out, couldn't help but admit a yelp of pain as the twisted, rusty intruder was freed from her arm by Revali. Grunting, the Rito tossed aside the bloody scrap metal as Urbosa cradled her arm, rubbing it and frowning as the wound continued to dribble blood. Hissing a bit under her breath, Urbosa glanced up to meet Revali's stare. Her wound had ceased its excessive bleeding, and the soiled tourniquet that was coiled around her arm served as a reminder to the pair of their own vulnerabilities, even though neither one of them would ever admit it to themselves, or the other.
"Thank you," Urbosa said with quiet but grudging gratitude, shifting her slightly embarrassed jade eyes back to her injury. "And, erm... I apologize for mocking you just before. I needed to distract myself and... that was the best I could come up with spontaneously." Revali grunted, but despite how much he wanted to argue, he realized that Urbosa was being truthful with him. He'd be lying if he thought he wouldn't have done the same thing to distract himself from something that must have hurt like all hell.
"... You're welcome," responded Revali against his better judgement. As Urbosa fiddled with her tourniquet, she glanced back up at him and allowed herself a small smile at having her gratitude reciprocated. The Rito did his best to ignore how nervous the action made him, and continued speaking to distract himself. "But don't delude yourself. This was all your fault. I'd have been able to stop that bomb barrel if you hadn't crash-tackled me to the ground like a crazed lunatic."
Urbosa's smile widened, and it kept growing before she broke out in a bout of soft laughter. Her laughing continued to grow in volume, and Revali found himself getting annoyed at her obvious disbelief of his cover-up statement. If there was one thing he wasn't going to allow her to know, it was that there was a miniscule part of him that was glad they'd both gotten out of the incident in relatively good health. Relief wasn't the best thing for his "confident bravado" image.
"Stop laughing!" he snapped half-heartedly, which unsurprisingly did nothing to stem Urbosa's tide of laughter. "I'm being completely serious! This is all your fault!"
Urbosa was still laughing by the time the other Champions caught up to them.
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I'm just glad I managed to finish it at all, because for the life of me it just did not want to start. It also didn't help much that I happened across E3 footage. Hot damn!
If you've got opinions on the story or on SSBU (wink), don't hesitate to hit me up in a review or PM. Don't really have anything better to do, besides writing more of this!
Thanks, as always,
~Amethyst
