"Sleepers awake," Revali said out of nowhere.
The sun shone brightly. A few clouds dotted an otherwise clear blue sky here and there. A light breeze kept the temperature at a comfortable level. They had only been traveling for a couple of hours, but the rest of the day promised to remain just as pleasant.
Zelda turned around to eye the Rito. "Dreams will fade?" she replied, as if the two had suddenly switched to some sort of code.
"Go on," Revali flapped a hand at her. The Princess screwed her face up as she thought.
"Although we cling fast," she started slowly, but her voice gained confidence as she continued. "Was it real, what we saw? I believe..."
She paused, but the Rito waved again, encouraging her to continue.
"Lost in dreams we sleep on. Tossing and turning. Stay with me, by my side...never leave?" Revali nodded.
"What if the worst comes?" he prompted, and Zelda picked up the thread.
"If someday this sweet reverie ends...We too, our memories..." she hesitated. "Our memories...I can't remember what comes next."
"For real-"
"For real, Fade us by." The girl finished triumphantly.
"Needs work," the Rito told her. Zelda sighed.
"I've been working on it," she insisted. "I really have."
Revali shook his head, but in amusement rather than annoyance. "So you have," he conceded. "Very well. The last verse-"
"Dream with me, by the sea." A new voice broke into the conversation. By the time the newcomer had landed several feet in front of Revali, the Rito Champion had already drawn his bow and taken aim.
The brown-feathered Rito before him grew very still.
Revali lowered his bow. "Cyclos and Zephos, I nearly put an arrow through you," he snapped.
The other Rito bowed. "Forgive me, Master Revali," he apologized. "I meant no offense."
Revali rolled his eyes at the newcomer. "None taken," he grudgingly conceded. "What brings you here?"
"What else but a chance to meet the Rito Champion himself?" Urbosa rolled her eyes. The last thing Revali needed was an ego boost, however well the other Rito meant.
Revali looked skyward. "You've met him," he said. "What was your name?"
"Quill," the Rito introduced himself. "My ancestors were, in the past, post-carriers for the royal family."
"That was a long time ago," Urbosa observed. Quill turned to glance at her briefly before returning his attention back to Revali.
Revali shifted. "My companions." He began introductions. "Urbosa, Chieftan of the Gerudo and Champion. Daruk," he gestured toward the Goron, "Chieftan and Champion of his people. Princess Mipha, Champion of the Zora. Princess Zelda of Hyrule, Impa of the Shiekah, and Link, Hyrule's Champion."
The Rito bowed. "It is an honor," he said, awed. Rising, he looked from one member of the group to another, as if trying to decide who to address next. After a long moment, he turned back to Revali. "Our camp is but a feather's breath away, if you would honor us further with your presence. To meet the Champions of Hyrule! And the Princess, of course! What a tale to tell our children and grandchildren!"
Revali looked in the direction Quill had gestured with his wing and turned back to Zelda. "Probably about an hour's walk, if the terrain's not rough," he offered. "It is a bit out of the way."
The Princess smiled at him. "But a chance to see some of your people again!" she pointed out, excited for him. "And it would only cost us a couple of hours."
Revali shrugged before turning back to the other Rito. "Lead on, Master of the Written Word," he quipped. Quill startled, then relaxed.
"This way," he said.
"How many are there in your camp?" Zelda asked Quill, thinking to herself that they must be getting close. It had been nearly an hour of steady going, with the Rito alternating between walking alongside one of them and abruptly taking flight only to land about ten feet in front of them a few seconds later, watching them as they tried to decide whether to continue as they were or increase their pace in order to catch up.
"Seven of us," Quill replied. "We travel Hyrule, offering Rito goods for trade as well as purchase. He hopped neatly to the side, putting distance between himself and the Princess.
A feathered hand settled on his shoulder before he could take off again. "Quill travels in a family group," Revali explained as the other Rito looked at him oddly. "Some will be bonded pairs, some will be single. This time of year, there are probably fledglings, though likely they weren't included in his count."
"Ah, yes!" Quill looked back at the Princess. "My partner travels with me, as do two other bonded pairs. "Pashi remains unattached. Among us we have five little ones, fledglings darting about. In a month or two they should be learning to fly. We should be nearly there..."
His guess was confirmed as three small Rito came charging at him, all talking at once. They swarmed Quill, throwing themselves at him in obvious glee. The adult Rito tried to answer all of them at once to no avail; the situation was now distinctly out of his control.
One of the fledgling Rito saw Revali and let out a shriek, throwing itself into the air as if it intended to fly straight at him, the only problem being that he could not, at this point, actually fly. Zelda's eyes widened in horror at the sight.
Revali stepped forward and caught the fledgling as if tiny Rito came hurtling through the air in his direction every day. A second later the other two swarmed him, and for a moment the Rito Champion was nearly lost under a mass of light green and brown feathers.
When he reemerged it was with a fledgling perched on each shoulder while one tried awkwardly to climb his head. The Rito Champion raised an eyebrow at Quill, who rolled his shoulders and ducked his head.
Revali reached up to pull one of the fledglings from a shoulder only to launch it into the air, screaming and giggling madly. His companions watched with baited breath as the small Rito rose and fell in a perfect arc, landing neatly it its father's outstretched wings.
One of the remaining fledglings smacked him with wildly flailing wings. "Me! Me!" Quill set down the child in his arms, and Revali obliged with much the same result.
The remaining Rito locked wings around his throat in a death grip. "Nononononono!" It cried, desperate not to follow the other two in not-quite flight.
"What?" Revali rasped, reaching to loosen the fledgling's grip. "If you don't want it, I'm not going to toss you, Levias bless."
The fledgling stared at him. The Rito champion turned his head so he could stare back.
"Komali is afraid of heights," Quill explained, his voice soft. The fledgling hung his head.
Revali shrugged. "Good," he said. "A healthy respect for the distance between sky and ground is nothing to be ashamed of."
Quill regarded him strangely. "As you say," he conceded, his voice mild. Urbosa got the distinct impression that the rest of them were missing something, but one of the fledglings threw itself at Revali once more, interrupting the thought before it could fully form.
The Rito threw the fledgling straight up in the air this time, catching it easily as it came back down. The fledgling giggled and shrieked happily.
"What are you doing to them now?" A new voice, this one female, heralded the arrival of a green feathered Rito. She regarded her partner with suspicion, though her gaze quickly shifted to take in the non-Rito in the group, looking each one over with polite interest. Her attention settled finally on Revali, who was absently tossing one of her children up and down in the air.
Her hands went to her hips. "Melani, it is not appropriate to demand that the Rito Champion keep you entertained, especially when you're supposed to be settling down for a nap."
Revali caught and dangled the accused upside down by one leg. Neither parent blinked as the girl giggled and shrieked, twisting as if trying to get free.
"I'm not tired!" Melani insisted, spreading tiny wings wide as she could for emphasis.
"So she says," Her mother shook her head and exchanged a glance with Quill. "And if we let her stay up, two hours from now she'll be too tired to do anything but sit and cry in the dirt even though nothing's wrong."
Quill shrugged. "You would think she would have learned by now..." he said, his tone mournful.
"I won't be tired this time! I promise!" Melani insisted.
Quill raised an eyebrow. "You will, and then you'll be embarrassed to be caught crying in front of company, and then you'll feel even worse."
The fledgling somehow managed to twist free. Revali caught her just before she hit the ground, but none of the Rito present seemed worried by the near fall.
"What if I tell you a story?" Revali asked, his voice suddenly conspiratory.
Melani considered this. "What kind of story?" she asked.
"Why, the best kind," the Rito Champion assured her. "Stories about me."
"No thanks," Melani told him not quite politely. "I wanna hear about the great Sage Medli."
"Even better," Revali agreed, not offended by the rejection in the least. "Now, if you'll lead the way..."
The fledgling practically threw herself from his grip, scurrying to the ground awkwardly. She was followed by one of her siblings. Komali still maintained his grip on Revali, who followed the fledglings with a will.
Quill and his partner watched them go. "This is Amali," he introduced the other Rito. Quickly he ran through the introductions, starting with the Princess Zelda and working his way down the list without making a single mistake.
"Pleased to meet you." Amali bowed. "And an honor to share a meal with you, if you have the time."
They reached the camp to find Revali sitting in a circle with five fledglings, already deeply involved with whatever story they had managed to beg from him. Urbosa was surprised; she would not have expected, given his usual impatience when it came to dealing with others, that he had the temperament necessary for interacting with children.
They were quickly introduced to the other adult Rito. Skett and Akoot were brown-feathered Rito. Ilari was a green-feathered Rito. His partner Saki's feathers were a lovely shade of pink. Pashi also had green feathers.
The two other fledglings, both with pink feathers, belonged to Ilari and Saki. They were only a few days apart from the others in age, and roughly the same size.
"They'll be asleep before you know it." Ilari chuckled. "Inkfeather's got a voice that could put a great-horned rhinoceros on a rampage to sleep when he gets started on those old stories."
Saki nudged him. "Those stories important, and he does them justice," she scolded lightly. Ilari shrugged.
"Inkfeather?" Urbosa ventured. Skett snorted.
"Because he looks like he's been dipped in ink, his feathers are so dark." Akoot offered. "Only parents call their fledglings by their actual names. When we were children we just called each other whatever popped into our heads most of the time. Sometimes the nicknames stuck," he elaborated.
"So you knew Revali when he was just a fledgling?" Urbosa asked, her curiosity piqued.
"I did," confirmed Ilari. "Skett and Akoot, Pashi, Revali and I all hatched around the same time, so we saw each other often enough."
"Yeah, well, Featherweight kind of kept to himself, after a while," Pashi said. "He didn't really get along well with anyone. Took things personally. Got offended too easily. He hates being called Featherweight."
Akoot rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. "He probably got tired of being teased all the time," he suggested.
"If he didn't have such a quick temper, he wouldn't have been." Skett replied. It sounded like an old discussion, the sort that had been going on for years with no resolution in sight. "It's far too easy to get a rise out of him. Always was. I bet you anything that hasn't changed, Rito Champion or not."
Zelda frowned. "Are you suggesting Revali should not have been named Champion?" she asked. Ilari shook his head.
"Of course not. You won't find a better flier. Or archer. Or a Rito Warrior who takes their duty and responsibility to their people more seriously. He would defend his home and his people-and Hyrule-with his life. You couldn't have made a better choice in the matter.
"But all that aside, Sharpwing's got a temper, and it's ridiculously easy to set him off. You don't have to even try, most of the time."
"I take it Sharpwing is another nickname for Revali?" Urbosa asked, wondering exactly how many different nicknames her fellow Champion had been saddled with over the years. Ilari nodded. "Inkfeather, Sharpwing, Featherweight, there were more, a few of them even less complimentary, if I'm being honest."
"Because it was so easy to get a rise out of him," Urbosa guessed.
"Right."
They fell silent as the blue-feathered Rito finally left the children and headed their way, watching him approach.
"They're asleep," Revali looked around briefly. "What?" he demanded, his tone suddenly sharp.
They're right about how easy it is to set him off, Urbosa thought. "We were just getting acquainted with some old friends of yours," she told him, grinning.
Revali scowled at her. "You can't believe half of what they say," he snapped.
"What, exactly, do you think they said?" the Gerudo wanted to know. "What sort of things don't you want us to think are true?"
The Rito Champion huffed, crossing his wings in front of him. "Never mind," he said.
Urbosa chuckled at his discomfort. "You know, I just realized something. I don't think I've ever seen you with a bunch of other Rito before."
Revali's feathers ruffled. "So?" he asked.
"So, I never really noticed it before, but with you standing there..."
"What?"
"Well, either your friends are really tall, or you're-"
"Really short?" Pashi put in helpfully. Revali glowered at him.
"Not just that," Urbosa said thoughtfully. "He's skinnier than the rest of you too. Almost scrawny by comparison."
"He's heavier too." Pashi offered. "He does have more muscle than the average Rito. No idea how he gets it all off the ground."
"So I'm short. And skinny. And heavy," Revali snapped. "Anything else you want to add to my list of faults?"
Pashi shook his head. "We already know about your temper," he pointed out. Revali offered a rude gesture in reply, which made the other Rito laugh.
The Rito Champion huffed and hopped up to perch on a fallen tree beside Akoot. "So what happened to Nightshadow? Shouldn't he be just starting to fly now?"
Akoot looked away. Skett, on the brown Rito's other side, bowed his head. Revali looked suddenly stricken. "What happened?" he asked, his voice low.
"He wandered too far from the nest," Akoot, too, spoke softly. "We think it was a wolf. It was supposed to be safe..."
Revali hunched his shoulders briefly. Reaching out, he lay a hand to rest briefly on Akoot's shoulder. The other Rito closed his eyes, once again turning his head.
For a long moment no one spoke. Then Ilari stood, his feathers ruffling. "Come on, Inkfeather, show us your great technique-the one you supposedly mastered while hiding out in the wild, sequestered away from everyone and everything."
Revali scowled at him, but stood as well. Far from being pleased with the opportunity to show off, he looked annoyed. "Fine, come on. We'll need some space. Unless you want to risk waking the fledglings."
"Whatever you're doing, you boys can do it outside of camp." Amali told them firmly. "Go on,"
Ilari laughed, throwing an arm around Revali. The Rito Champion shoved him off, his frown deepening, but left with the other Rito. They were joined by Skett, Atoot, and Pashi.
Saki shook her head. "Men and their games," she said, but it was not without affection.
"You aren't going to go too?" Daruk asked, realizing that Quill had stayed behind. The Rito shook his head.
"I can tell well enough when my companions are up to mischief," he said sagely, "and I have no desire to be there for the fallout."
"They're getting a bit old for childish tricks," Amali frowned at her partner. Quill shrugged.
"Ilari will never be too old for childish tricks, I'm afraid," Saki admitted.
Zelda looked worried. "Are they going to play a trick on Revali?" she asked. "They won't hurt him, will they?"
"I'm sure he'll be fine," Impa assured the princess. Reassured, the girl soon found herself deep in conversation with Amali and Saki about Rito offspring, a subject she had honestly never thought to ask Revali about. Quill moved to keep a closer watch over the fledglings while they slept.
The rest of the group settled back to relax and enjoy the day.
Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda and its world does not belong to me