Revali's body slid across the ground, wholly unable to take a moment to recover under the vicious oversight of Yzi's men, the three of them circling him like vultures, cackling amongst themselves. He teetered down onto his stomach, angrily biting at his teeth as he took a painfully fierce clutch of the dust beneath him, fighting for his body to recover just enough for him to stand, but even then, he knew he was no match for three men who made their livings upon the soil. The sickeningly unwelcome thought that, even if he could stand, he'd never have the energy to take flight, stripping him of his greatest advantage outright.

He pushed himself up from the ground, only for Penso to raise a foot and slam it into Revali's back, sending the Rito right back into the dirt-ridden ground as Gamni laughed, "Difficult to figure out which of us is more worthy of those green pastures of Witwa's watch."

"Nah," Penso grinned, "It's rather simple."

At his final word, Penso had dug his heel into Revali's shoulder, forcing it to bend unnaturally enough for the Rito to growl with an intense frustration rather than cry out in pain, chewing his tongue to keep tears from welling up at his face.

"Ily, c'mon!" Gamni cajoled, turned up toward Ilyzo, who had remained mostly stagnant during the fray, "The gettin's good!"

Shaking his head, Ilyzo crossed his arms, "Were I to start, I wouldn't be able to stop."

Tilting his head knowingly, he confirmed, "I'll take care of him once Witwa's ours."

"You might have to get in line by then," Penso cackled, taking another swift kick into Revali's side, battering further his rib cage, "I think it would be fun to yank out each and every one of his feathers while he's only just clutching onto life. See if, perhaps, losing your will to live truly does offer an avenue toward death itself. Then we drag his putrid body down south for the Gerudo; see if they'll bother cooking him up for their dinner."

Gamni laughed at the thought, "He might be too bitter just to look at! No way they'd do that."

"Then we'll give them some spices and herbs- I just wanna see 'em puke," Penso coughed in between giggles, "I wouldn't want any Skoss to decompose into the soil and remain of this earth at all. They don't deserve that honor."

Another vicious kick into Revali's head, though this time, Penso crouched down to grab the feathers atop their prisoner's head, "Admit that your bastard hide is worthless and we might go easier on you."

Revali's sweltering eyes coursed narrow as he glanced off into the abyss, his lips spinning in refutation as he remained silent, leaving Penso with a sigh before he threw his hand down, slamming Revali's face into the rocky crust at their feet.

"We'll get it out of him soon enough," he surmised with a shrug.

Yzi remained on the outer edge of the action, supervising the scuffle with waning intrigue, his focus growing ever more concerned with Vah Medoh's flightful path. He had grown restless with expectation, thinking of a mere few hours from now, reigning over Hyrule aboard the most dangerous of all the Divine Beasts. He knew that he would begin with those Rito that had once banished his kind, the Skoss, but beyond that, who knew? Hyrule Kingdom? Zora's Domain? All Yzi knew, for certain, was that his cousin's death had brought to him, perhaps, the most opportune of moments to capitalize on, and capitalize he had done.

His eyes cast down upon Link, who had been scurrying in place while Yzi had his attention elsewhere, leaving the Lowlander with a grin, "You're not getting out of those knots, fool. Double bound, knotted in a Skoss noose- Try all you want, but you'll only die exhausted."

Yzi returned to gazing upon Vah Medoh, somewhere in the midnight darkness that Link's eyes couldn't follow. Driven my Revali's growls and the growing rumbling of kicks and punches, Link didn't bother with finding that Beast, his eyes shutting in focus as his wrists ached with pain, the halting numbness of carpal tunnel wringing throughout his nerves as he worked in silence.

He remembered that moment, back at the tent, Revali having slid that dagger that had wounded Link into the Hylian's back pocket. There it remained, until Yzi's men had their attention drawn away in their own oversight- until Link snuck it free, working his fingers with a bevy of constricting motion, sliding the knife's sharpest end along the ropes that held him.

Link's eyes darted through the darkness as he worked feverishly, the moon's light offering him a miniscule semblance of the brutish activity taking place atop Revali, knowing that Yzi's insistence that the Rito remain alive was their only saving grace. Even as Link drew blood from his lip, biting down in intense focus, catching a near non-existent glance toward him from Revali as if pleading for help-

He felt the rope begin to give, shutting his eyes in deepening concentration, not sure he might be able to face such a brief existence were he to drop the knife and fail in this final attempt at remaining earthbound. Even as Revali's bedraggled cries began to cross his ears, Link zoned the entirety of the moment out of his mind.

"He don't need his feathers, right?" Penso wondered sskeevily.

Ilyzo shrugged, "Beats me. We lost much of our plumage, and we survived."

Chuckling, Gamni patted his hands, "True, but ours were lost to time's transitions. I wonder if it were much quicker than that…"

Penso knelt down beside Revali's trembling body, the Rito's intense bruising having gone lost beneath his ornate feathers, before running a hand along the man's mantle, taking a handful of quills in his grasp. He snickered as he raised his head toward Gamni.

"Three… Two…"

In place of the final word, Penso drew his arm back with a massive force, sending Revali's eyes wide in shooting pain, searing his skin, feeling as though his very bones were being torn from his body. He grabbed at the putrid soil before Penso could make a second attempt at yanking out his feathers

"GWAAAAAAH!" Revali cried put in feverish revulsion, his body twisting itself around before Penso shoved a fist into his side, the battered Rito's body reacting only on instinct despite exhaustion.

Gamni chuckled, "That got somethin' out of him!"

Readying another tug, Penso laughed, "Took a bit, but I think we've discovered the fun part! C'mere, you waste of-!"

"Quark!" came a sputtering vocalization from Tokk, the ornery old man who had suddenly taken to hopping in place, rapidly fluttering his winged arms, "Q-! Quark!"

"Shut up, old man!" Penso shouted, releasing his grip on Revali as if the distraction had ruined the moment.

Gamni agreed with a shrill retort, "Pipe down, you coot!"

Tokk refused to be silenced, however, as he sputtered aloud, "I- Ily! That woman is coming into the village!"

Link's eyes coursed into narrow slit, horrified by those words.

A furious expression painted over Ilyzo's face, "That what now?!"

"That woman! The Hylian! Look!"

Sighing, Penso rose to his feet, frowning as he approached Tokk, "Looking with your stupid eyes again?"

"Well, look! Look with your stupid eyes!" Tokk challenged

It took a moment for Penso's eagle eyes to focus beyond the darkness. They magnified easily enough, eons of biological programming working in mere moments, yet as if a shroud were being delicately slid from atop hid eyes, he began to eliminate the dark silhouette that hung over his canyonous home.

"Shit!" he cursed vehemently, whipping around toward the others, "He's right. Got the whole damn cavalry with her, too! That Gerudo, and a freaking Goron in tow."

Ilyzo's eyes shot forward in intensifying focus before turning back toward Yzi, noticing a particularly wary look upon his leader. Bringing a hand to his chin, Yzi recalculated his plan, broken from his concentration as Tokk and Penso continued barking at one another.

"Silence, you fools!" Ilyzo instructed, yanking the two's ears down in a forceful show of discipline before returning to Yzi, "What should we make of it?"

"I don't know," Yzi grimaced, his eyes lowered to the ground, "If they're here, they're going to want to speak with me. I don't wish to cast any suspicion upon what we're up to, either."

He slid a thumb across his fingers, taking further stock of the situation, particularly the bedraggled state of the two outsides here atop Cuho vs. the might of a Goron, if not the collective might of him and the fearsome-looking Gerudo.

"Fuck," he cursed under his breath, showing off his loathing dismay with a rapid shake of his head as he stepped toward the edge of Cuho's pinnacle, "Penso, Gamni. Watch these two. I can't risk whatever stupid thoughts are running through that girl's head; Ilyzo and I will get them out of here."

He grumbled, "The sun'll begin its ascent soon. Make sure that Hylian's body is hung as high at that putrid Kingdom's secrets by the time it does."

Another kick into Revali's side as Gamni replied, "Aye, sir."

"What about me?!" Tokk complained.

Yzi rolled his eyes, "Stay here! Your age hasn't made you entirely devoid of worth, has it?"

Penso chuckled, leaving Tokk to bare his fangs toward him with an angrily look.

"If that pigeon-breathed sack of mud gives you any trouble, just knock the consciousness out of him," Yzi confirmed finally, waving for Ilyzo to follow along as the two burst into the air, leaving only three Rito left for Link to count.

The Hylian took a quick gasp of breath as he snapped the last strands of rope apart, freeing his arms, though he remained in place, not daring to squander his element of surprise. Like a lion lurking in the weeds, he lay there, waiting as Tokk spun away to watch his leader speed off, waiting as Penso reignited his focus upon Revali, waiting until Gamni lowered his head to good the man on.

He took one final glimpse at Revali's stone-like head, before silently pressing his hands into the dirt, pushing himself up to his feet…

"Let's just perform the coup de grace now and save us the hassle," Gamni reasoned with a dull shrug.

"No!" Penso retorted, an annoyed frown spinning into a sick grin, "I wanna hear him squeal some more!"

Tokk took the time to make his own case, "Yeah! And I haven't even had a chance!"

Cackling lowly, Penso asserted quickly, "You?! You'd probably spin a rib outta place trying to kick him."

"How old do ya think I am, you little runt? I'm a-"

The crotchety Rito stopped on a dime, eyes widening as his brain attempted to reckon with the hallowed sight of Link on his feet, rushing toward Gamni's backside. He attempted to speak, but his tongue loosed only intelligible drivel, though his surprise was plenty enough.

Gamni whipped around with a crooked face, eyes wide in terror as Link leapt toward him, the Hylian twisting his body like a slingshot, throwing the steel plate he had collected from the effigy into the Rito's face, launching the man aside as Link struggled to stay upright.

"Gam!" Penso cried angrily, whipping up his arms to take flight, "You little shit! I'm gonna-!"

Before the Rito knew what was happening, Link had spun around, clawing at the lasso'd end of the rope meant to hang him, and threw it at Penso's head, locking the Rito to Link's strained reach. Before he could take any momentum into the sky, Link gave a sharp tug, yanking Penso to the ground, forcing a furious stare from the Rito.

"Gah! You-!"

Link approached him as Tokk sputtered about in a panic, "D-! Don't worry! I'll assist-!"

Before he could complete the thought, a sinister clutch caught his ankle, the old man shooting a gaze down at his feet to find Revali's hand desperately taking hold of him, Tokk's eyes blowing wide in restless terror.

Link took to Penso's airless position like a man on a mission, though Penso only snarled with evil humor. He took the rope that strapped around his neck and yanked it violently, Link's eyes shooting into saucers as he was thrown forward, leaving Penso to crawl over him, raising a fist to slam into Link's head. The Hylian quickly spun to his back, catching the punch, before throwing one of his own.

The two men wrestled in a furious assemblage of throws while Revali slowly began to force himself to his feet, having dispatched Tokk by merely tripping him off the mountain's edge. He ground his teeth along one another as he watched Link take a massive punch to the nose amidst the maddening match of malicious blows, trying everything he could to deny his own body's need for rest, working his muscles through bruised stasis as he did so.

He turned to find Gamni carefully recovering, nursing a bloodied face that had run red with the stuff, forcing an eye perpetually shut due to the trickling show of crimson. He stomped toward Link and Penso, building his speed just as Link managed to work a leg up to his chest, taking a sharp kick at Penso's chest, detaching him long enough to recoil and aim another kick to his face

"You- rotten- piece-" was all Gamni could manage, swaying back and forth in time with his gait as though the vicious blow to his head had left him uncoordinated.

Link took a handful of dirt before throwing in Penso's face, the Rito throwing himself backward in retail, "GAAAH! YOU FUCKIN-!"

With a calculated movement, Link took the rope that led to the Rito's neck, gritting his teeth as he put his every muscle into tugging at it with one single motion. Penso was pulled at him like a fish on line, at a blistering speed, right as Link threw his foot up, his heel slamming with a cracking chorus against Penso's face, all but dispensing of the man as he collapsed onto the soil, rolling away.

Before Link could take a breath, Gamni fell onto him, throwing his arms in a blinding flurry, surprising Link and allowing him a few good punches to connect at Link's head before he could cover his face with his arms.

"YOU PUTRID WASTE OF SKIN!" Gamni ejected with hot air as blood continued pouring from his forehead.

Link felt his strength waning beneath the barrage, desperate for the crazed man to lose enough blood to collapse before he lost his defensive advantage, buy Gamni continued like a man possessed. The Rito finally took the time for a knee strike to Link's stomach, shoving it further into Link's torso as the Hylian drew a cringing cry of pain.

"GAAAH!" Link shouted, instinctively releasing an arm to reach for his stomach, though it only gave Gamni a swift opening.

The Rito sneered with a furious frenzy, throwing his arm up, ready to pour his entire being into a killing blow, but in that instant, Revali's weight fell on top of him, sending him crashing to the side of Link's body.

"You Skoss bastard!" Gamni cried out, throwing wild punches, blinded as he was, now, by both his eyes being mixed with blood.

Before he could take another breath to further retort, Link lunged toward him, Yzi's knife firmly embedded within his fist, taking only a second to focus on the weakest position of Gamni's furiously erratic behavior. With a disquieting sound of tearing skin, Gamni began to cough up blood, only for a moment's choking breath, before Link spun the knife further into his side, leaving Gamni wholly silent as he collapse, falling flat onto the ground with a thud.

Link twisted away, falling onto his back as he desperately attempted to catch his breath, staring up toward the dark sky, twilight just about to break over the horizon. The time had come for his death, and yet he lay, alive.

He turned his head to the side, glancing at Revali as the Rito curled up, clutching his side to ascertain the damage, though it failed to silence his panting breath from adding speech, "Slower- than a- fuckin' feathers growth."

Link could only barely pull his lips into a smirk, "Fast enough to save- your stupid ass."

Revali spun onto his back, grumbling to himself in painful regret as he made a sound Link hadn't ever heard before."

"You accursed creature," Revali muttered through a pain-addled, weak laugh, "A broken rib 'n- now I laugh. Great time to- decide to be funny for once."

Link shook his head, "I was always funny. You were just too stuck-up to realize it."

"Gah, you damned liar, "Revali retorted, "Your head is as filled with delusion as your words are full of crap."

Rolling his head back to relax his posture, Link sighed, "At least I'll always know your greatest mistep- Letting me save your life."

"Ugh," Revali answered with revulsion, "Never gonna allow me to live it down."

"Not for all of Naydra's scales," Link assured snarkily, keeping his smirk to himself.

Revali groaned, "I could have gotten free at any moment."

"Oh, yeah," Link noted sarcastically.

"I was merely abhorred to the point of crippling terror at the thought of being so surrounded by this grimy filth of earth," Revali assured with crooked logic.

Link reached up to massage his shoulder, "If only you knew how to fight like a Hylian. What are you to do when you're stripped of your ability to fly away?"

Without a reply, Link shot a wry glance toward Revali, "I won't always be there to save you, you know."

"Goddess…" Revali struggled to speak, shaking his head, "To think you could become more insufferable…"

Link grinned with sneaky intent before slowly working his way up to his feet, "I'm fairly certain you've already reached peak insufferability."

He groaned, heat swelling up in his throat as he trudged closer to Revali, seething painfully while reaching down to offer his fellow Champion a hand, "Just means I'm probably just used to it by this point."

Revali eyed him suspiciously, his hands still occupied compressing his waist and arm to soothe the pain, leaving Link to grin boyishly, as if knowing this Rito wouldn't buy his words, "Rolling in the dirt truly doesn't suit you, y'know."

Rolling his eyes, Revali frowned before taking the Hylian's hand with a breathless motion, gasping for breath as searing pain radiated throughout his body, "Gah… Something out of your mouth that isn't completely devoid of benefit to one's ears…"

Link couldn't hide his grin, watching the two's hands in union as Revali failed to pull away immediately upon gaining his posture, Link figured, due to the man's instability. He chose not to call attention to it. Instead, he stared at their thumbs, bound by one another's grip, taking a breath before relinquishing his grasp, though only to twist his hand toward a formal handshake, catching Revali off guard.

"Tch! What're you-"

"Thanks," Link spoke with deep sincerity.

Revali might have recoiled, were it not intensely painful to do so, leaving him wholly subservient to his words, "For what?! You hope to make a mockery of-!"

"For Death Mountain," Link confirmed, simply, "For that knife. For not turning your back on me- or us."

He sighed, "You're the biggest pain in the ass, but-"

A smirk crept along Link's face as he raised his head, allowing Revali full view of his battered complexion, "You're a Champion, too. and whatever crap that half-winged cretin spewed your way- You and I are bound by more than brotherhood."

"I'd be dead if not for you," Link confirmed easily, "For a brief moment there, you were my lifeline. and despite all we've managed to overcome- you came through."

Revali watched him with deep, critiquing eyes, allowing an increasingly uncomfortable silence to settle before furrowing his brow, "Th- Thank you. too."

He raised his hand, commencing the handshake Link had started, even if his motion was halting, as though his hand were waking from a numbing spell. Link could only grin wider, his grip tightening in time with Revali's, almost in competition, leaving the Hylian to reason as he turned to look down upon the Lowlander's retreat down the mountain as the sun began to break over the horizon, leaving him a madder red of a sight.

"They haven't a clue," Link nodded, the two breaking up the handshake, "What do you say we save the day?"

Revali frowned, "There won't be much saving, at all, if that monster gets on that Beast."

Shrugging, Link turned over his shoulder, "So why don't we get you up there first?"

Behind a darkening brow, slightly concerned over this Hylian's plan, given both of their battered conditions, Revali complained, "Why do I get the feeling you have a plan? and that it's absolutely insane?"

Link chuckled, offering nothing in reply.

Shrugging in answer, Revali went on with a smirk of his own, "Good thing I'm down for crazy at this point."