Link knew Revali would never be happy to see him. The Rito had made it known he wasn't happy with the outcome of the Master Sword's picking. But he certainly wouldn't be upset that someone had pulled it when it was obvious they needed someone to hold the powerful blade crafted over thousands of years ago when the Hero of the Skies were out saving everything and everyone from his villain, Ganon's ancestor.

The walk to the Rito Village from the Death Mountain was long and eventually Link had come across a wild pack of horses. He sucked in a breath when he found a black maned horse with a dark coat. It was a pure beauty and he swallowed thickly. He needed to get to the Rito Village to check in with the Rito Champion, but at the same time, taming a horse would make it go much faster.

Plus, there was a stable right there so he could get a saddle.

As he made up his mind, Link slowly made his way towards the beauty of a horse, and when the time was right he jumped on and fought tooth and nail to calm the horse down until it eased up with the fact he was sitting on its back. He grinned. Perfect. Now the walk wouldn't be so long.

Grabbing some of the mane in his hands, Link turned the horse around so he could ride it to the stables were the keeper glanced up and grinned at him. In Link's eyes, he knew the keeper was satisfied with his choosing.

"Mighty fine horse ya got there," he nodded, eyeing the black beauty. The horse's bright eyes glared into his own and he whistled, taking out his notepad. "Wanna register it? Ya can keep five horses here."

"Yeah," Link nodded. "But I want to keep the horse with me for now."

The keeper nodded as he gestured for his workers to saddle the beauty up as he took a look at the horse, determining the gender.

"Ya got yourself a stallion," he informed. "Gotta name the handsome fellow."

Link thought long and hard about his name of choosing and smiled happily as he patted the horse's mane. "Outlaw," he stated. "His name is Outlaw."

"Outlaw it is. We'll brush him up real quick and ya can be off with him. Just make sure to treat him right, ya hear? Horses are real treasures among us— they got back to the old stories when Hyrule had just started out."

He wanted to pipe up that wasn't true— not from what the Hero of the Skies' story had contained. They used birds to fly around; Loftwings. But they were nothing more than mere folktales at this point because no one had seen them since. They all had ceased to exist in this world and he felt saddened he wouldn't get to know them, but at the same time, he was happy they were at peace.

There was no way he could imagine the people taking it into their minds that the Loftwings were precious creatures that needed to be taken care of with gentleness. Yet, in his mind he had no doubts there were some who did care for those birds with gentleness and kindness, and he hoped the Hero of the Skies was one of them with his own Loftwing.

In his eyes, he could imagine him and Outlaw flying above the clouds, not having a care in the world as they soared, doing tricks and doing pranks on others that walked by. But he knew it wouldn't be— he had a destiny fulfilled and Outlaw would be safe from whatever was coming their way.

Eventually the keeper tapped him on the shoulder and Link beamed when he saw Outlaw with his saddle on. He quickly handed the stable keeper a few rupees before climbing onto his horse, patted his mane, cooing softly. His heart warmed when Outlaw gave off his response before following his newfound master's orders when he felt Link's feet gently kick him in the sides to get going.

The hero sighed, hoping Revali would be willing to speak with each other without having to be at each other's throats.

But then again— when had he ever shown happiness to see him?

Yet, he never knew fully. There still could be the chance that Revali would be happy to see him despite their ways of getting long. Link could only hope that day would today when Revali expressed his happiness at seeing him.

… He wasn't betting on it though.

"Still," he mumbled under his breath. "It would be nice."

…

Upon seeing the blue tunic entering his vision while he was flying below Vah Medoh to see if there was any way to make his new skill even better, Revali mumbled a curse as he watched the Hylian moving to his landing. Instead of ignoring his teammate— he knew he would have to set a good image, so he flew upwards, creating an upsoar to land perfectly in front of the Hylian.

Link gave him a slightly strained smile, trying to be civil with the Ritos all around them doing their daily tasks, watching with eagerness.

"Hello, Revali," Link greeted him with friendliness. "I came to see how you were doing."

Revali stared. "So it would seem."

Link rubbed his neck nervously as his eyes darted around before landing on Vah Medoh, who was lazily circling the Village. "I came to check up on Vah Medoh and to see how you were handling the Divine Beasts. Is it easily to control?" he questioned, hoping they could be civil with each other and not be like a bully and a victim.

Revali shrugged as innocently as he could. "Medoh is an easy thing to control for me. It's almost like he was made for me. Of course I don't doubt that knowledge. Medoh was made for the Ritos," he explained with a click of his tongue.

"That's good," Link nodded.

For a moment, neither spoke.

Instead, they were looking at each other with slight anger ( behind Revali's eyes ) and slight fear ( behind Link's eyes ), wondering who would break the endless silence between them and show the other they weren't going to bow down. This was their way of getting along; no other Champion could understand they got along when they had their disagreements.

Trying to think of a way to make Revali happy, Link thought back to the updraft Revali had created to land on the landing.

"Nice updraft," Link commented, hoping it would make the Rito smile.

It didn't. Instead, it made Revali huff as he smirked smugly.

"Impressive, I know." Revali clicked his tongue as he nodded, moving around the landing with smugness seeping into his voice. "Very few can achieve a mastery of the sky. Yet I have made an art of creating an updraft that allows me to soar. It's considered to be quite the masterpiece of aerial techniques, even among the Rito."

Link nodded slowly. "I'm sure it can help us defeat Ganon."

That statement proved to further Revali's ego.

"With proper utilization of my superior skills, I see no reason why we couldn't easily dispense with Ganon. Now then, my ability to explore the firmament is certainly of note… But let's not— pardon me for being so blunt— let's not forget that I am the most skilled archer of all the Rito," Revali explained as he circled him before stopping right in front of him, poking him in the chest. "Yet despite these truths, it seems that I have been tasked to merely assist you. All because you happen to have that little darkness-sealing sword on your back."

Link felt a stab of protection for the Master Sword and frowned heavily, moving to defend the old sword before Revali stood in front of him, placing a wing over his face to cover his eyes as he continued on. He didn't even have time to defend the old sword that would seal the deal for them.

"I mean, it's just… asinine." Revali sighed heavily, shaking his head.

"Aye," Link growled softly as he took a step forward. "It's not asinine! This sword will save millions of lives with the skill that comes with it— it's more than what you think it is. You'll see when it's in action."

Revali couldn't help the smirk that grew. "Oh, you think you can prove me wrong?"

Link nodded. "I do."

"Well, perhaps we should just settle this one and one," Revali chuckled as he leaned back to tap his beak. "But where…? Oh, I know!"

In an instant, his wing pointed upwards and Link followed it until he saw where the Rito was pointing and his stomach dropped; Vah Medoh. Revali was suggesting they settle their little disagreement up on Vah Medoh to which they couldn't even do considering Vah Medoh was in the air and Link had zero way of going up there unless he got a piggy-back ride from one of the Ritos and if he had the proper gear to keep out the coldness of the air.

He didn't want to annoy the Ritos for that; which meant he couldn't prove Revali wrong at all.

Not yet.

"How about up there?" Revali said smugly before realizing his error. "Oh, but you must pardon me! I forgot you have no way of making it up to that Divine Beast on your own!" he stated as he turned out to hold out his wings.

Link was about to reply when the Rito took off into the sky, turning over to yell one last thing back at him.

"Good luck sealing the darkness!"

The Hylian sighed heavily as he turned on his heels to walk away from the landing before he took notice of a young Rito watching. Immediately he felt his cheeks heat up with embarrassment— the Rito probably admired Revali greatly, taking his side.

But instead the Rito just stared before shooting him a grin before waddling off to join their friends, whom were all patiently waiting for them. Link sighed with slight relief as he slumped his shoulders a little, thinking back on Revali's words regarding the Master Sword and swallowed thickly. It couldn't have just been pure luck that he pulled the sword because Tora had said it sensed that of a pure heart to pull it— someone that would complete the task with ease.

That would fill in the hole left behind from its original master; its creator. All the heroes before him had this happen to them— they were just ones to fill in the hole left behind, so the sword could have someone to watch over it.

Thinking back to the books all about the Master Sword, Link couldn't help but feel slightly off about having it upon his back. It always had some sort of hardship along the way along with losses of important people to the carrier. He couldn't imagine having to lose the people who meant a great deal to him— and there was no way the Master Sword would actually take them away, would it?

As Outlaw came into his sight, Link took a shaky breath inward as Outlaw came up to him and nuzzled him. There was no way he could lose Outlaw. He loved the stallion despite just gaining him; the bond between them was strong despite being new.

There was just no way he could lose Outlaw and Zelda to the sword.

He just couldn't.

"Oi, Link," a voice came from behind him and the Hylian jumped to see Revali landing down behind him. "I forgot— my report to Princess Zelda and King Rhoam."

He arched an eyebrow. "I thought you could just call her Zelda?"

"When it's only us, yes," scoffed the Rito. "It's just disrespectful around others and who knows who I might accidentally piss off. Anyways, here, catch." he tossed a scroll over which was tightly tied up to keep it from unraveling.

"Thanks," Link replied as he placed the scroll in the bags on Outlaw's hips. "I'll make sure she gets them."

Revali nodded before eying the horse. "New companion?"

"Yeah, you could say that. His name is Outlaw."

The name took Revali back. He never expected that name to come out from the Hylian's mouth. But instead of barking back a snarky reply at the name, Revali just simply sighed and shook his head with a shrug.

"Might I ask why?" he asked. "Why Outlaw?"

"He looked like an outcast to me— he stood out from his herd."

Revali couldn't fight against that as he eyed the dark horse. He would've definitely stood out among his herd if he saw him with them. The name suited him. He couldn't say otherwise to Link in this moment because he knew he was right in the end about the horse suiting the name.

"If you say so."

Without another word, he took off.

…

The moment he got back to Hyrule Castle was the moment he realized how late it was. But he couldn't just go home and he felt too tired to even turn Outlaw around and head back home. A yawn escaped his mouth when he saw Zelda coming back with her assigned knights before stiffening when she saw him.

Hurriedly, Zelda made her way towards him. "Link! Are you okay? You look exhausted."

The Appointed Knight nodded sleepily as he rubbed his eyes. "I got you Revali's report," he said mid-yawn. "I forgot to get Daruk's report but he says Rudania is working smoothly for him. Just a few more adjustments and he's good."

"You need to sleep badly."

"I'm fine, princess, I assure you," Link replied as he patted Outlaw's pelt, leaning against him much to his stallion's worry at the display. "I can easily head on home and rest up for tomorrow— do we have another meeting or…?"

"No," Zelda shook her head. "You're not going anywhere. You'll fall asleep in the middle of the road! You're staying here tonight. I'll have Larkin and Dovina notified. You're coming with me." she glanced back at the knights. "Make sure Larkin and Dovina know of his whereabouts."

"Yes, princess."

As the knights rushed off, Zelda sighed heavily as she helped Link lean on her shoulder before fully taking notice of Outlaw. The stallion gave her a look before trotting off with her mare towards the stables and she couldn't help but smile; Link had picked up a stray horse and tamed it. Whatever he named it, she knew he had reasonings behind it and would have to wait to ask to see what the name was.

Without much more being said, she led him towards the guest room where he would be sleeping for the night. She couldn't help but wonder what stops he had taken along the way to Revali and Daruk, but she wouldn't question it.

The next morning, the first thing Link took in was he wasn't in his room. The walls weren't the right color and the bed felt way too soft for his liking. Immediately he sat up, eyes darting around until he took a deep breath to calm his pounding heart as he realized he was in the spare room of the Castle. He ran a hand through his hair and noticed how it wasn't in its usual ponytail and he chuckled as he ran his fingers down further, taking in the softness of his long hair.

His eyes landed on his tunic, boots and trousers on the chair and swallowed. Whoever helped him… he owed them his thanks. He removed the blankets and swung his legs over the bed. He was in his blue boxers like always and his hair tie was on the nightstand next to him, which made him happy to know he didn't have to go searching for it.

What also made him happy was the fact the Master Sword was leaning against the desk just behind the chair. That saved him the trouble of searching and having a heart attack.

Pulling his hair back, Link tied it tightly before making his way to the chair, pulling his trousers on before pulling on his socks and boots. He tightened his belt up before reaching for his tunic when he noticed a notice on the desk, swallowing, he picked it up before he felt his face beat red.

Zelda had helped him.

Zelda had undressed him down to his boxers and helped him into bed. It had been his childhood friend— someone whom he had only recently found out the reasonings behind the rift— had helped him into bed and undressed him.

Fuck, he hoped he didn't do anything embarrassing.

You were quite sleepy when we returned to the Castle from our respective trips to our friends. I had Larkin and Dovina informed on your whereabouts, so do not worry about them knowing where you are. I do hope you had a good sleep when you wake up tomorrow, Link.

— Zelda.

P.S: you must tell your horse's name. I know you tamed the fellow on your way because you left without a horse and returned with one.

So, she discovered Outlaw, did she?

With a tight smile, he finished up dressing and hurried to find her after strapping the Master Sword to his back.

He found her outside reading a book underneath a tree, and he knew the book must contain more knowledge on the secret power they needed. He glanced to the side and found Outlaw lazily eating the apples off of the tree with Zelda's mare, Storm. It seemed like a stallion's name but Link could easily agree with naming the mare Storm— it just suited the white horse.

"Outlaw," Link coughed, catching her attention.

Zelda arched an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"His name is Outlaw— my horse." Link explained as he glanced at the dark horse, who had picked an apple off for Storm to munch on. "I named him Outlaw."

"If you don't mind me asking…"

"It's because he stood among them with his dark pelt and mane— it suited him because I think he felt like an outcast to them; he seems to like his name though. I can't complain if he likes it," Link explained before she could fully ask.

Zelda nodded. "It's a good name. He's a good horse."

Link rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't do anything embarrassing last night, did I?"

Zelda blinked. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you helped me into bed and I know what I can be like when I'm too tired to give a fuck," Link smiled softly. "Now, I ask again; I didn't do anything embarrassing, did I?"

"No," she giggled. "You didn't do anything embarrassing."

Link sighed with relief as he slumped down next to her, leaning against the tree, feeling his sleepiness coming back to him. "Good," he yawned.

Zelda's eyes rose slightly. "Are you still sleepy?"

Link shook his head, but the yawn said otherwise. "No, I'm not. I'm awake."

"You're not," she laughed again, smiling softly when his head landed on her shoulder as he fought to keep his eyes awake. "Go back to sleep," she commanded. "I'll wake you up later. But for now— just get more sleep in."

Link nodded slowly as he closed his eyes, giving into his tiredness again.

Before he drifted off, he swore he felt her plant a kiss to his head, muttering a soft, "Good night, Link," and something else before his exhaustless took over again.