The stars shimmered within the heavens above, along with the slight flames being the only things keeping Link company as he sat beside the fire, sat back in a relaxed pose as he stared into those flames licking the air. Occasionally he would pay credence to those blips of starlight, thinking of Zelda's words from earlier, though he would just as quickly reorient his thoughts, thinking of the mission to come, and how fruitless it seemed to be. Still, it was his assignment, and while he so rarely doubted that part himself that proved too loyal, tonight allowed such questions to just barely break over his mind.

"Can't sleep?" came Urbosa's voice from behind, causing Link to flinch just slightly, still remaining with his eyes on the flames.

He shrugged in reply, "I can't, even if I wanted to. Some skirmishes are going on down south."

"Ever the vigilant knight," Urbosa chuckled teasingly, making her way toward the fire and taking a seat as a breath of relief passed her lips, "You can't ever turn that off, can you?"

"My fealty?" Link questioned, "I'm not exactly supposed to."

Urbosa grinned, "I know we're sprouted from different cultures, but while every Gerudo takes a bow of service, they're not at all expected to hold so much on their shoulders at all times. Not nearly to the extent as you do, anyway."

With a half-hearted shrug, Link replied, "We don't have a desert to do most of our defending for us."

Urbosa scoffed, holding back a laugh, "You also don't have gigantic sand worms at your gates."

"Okay, touché," Link offered humorlessly, earning him another chuckle from Urbosa as she reached her hands out to better receive the fire's warmth.

She allowed a moment of silence to pass before speaking up once again, "That was quite a stunt, though, earlier. Are you required to start fights as well?"

Grinning, taking his turn to correct Urbosa, Link answered, "Actually, yes, back in the barracks. We'd spar and wrestle to improve comradery, but in the field, I'd say no."

"Such terrible traditions," Urbosa mused with a dismissive sigh.

Link glanced toward her with a smirk, "Don't tell me you all sit around like this and talk to build comradery."

Scoffing quickly, Urbosa answered simply enough, "No, no; we just take knives and bloodlet amongst our sisters to accomplish that."

Ignoring Link's sudden surprise, Urbosa turned to give a smirk of her own, "But thank you for taking this discussion as my attempt at getting us to know one another more. Saves me from having to beat around the bush."

"Wait," Link stopped her, "Real bloodletting?"

Giggling mutely, Urbosa sighed as her eyes rolled, "You so easily believe such fantasy and yet you dismiss your own Princess' claims?"

Link frowned, "Taking you at your word that you cut each other up in the name of comradery is far different than taking Zelda at hers'."

"Hmm," Urbosa mused, nodding to herself.

"You're not the one claiming that these ancient, malevolent forces will somehow reappear out of the nether," Link shrugged, "Nor that these ancient Beasts are the keys to somehow defeating such an evil."

He watched Urbosa sit there unfazed, at though she weren't even taking his words into consideration, earning his inquiry, "You don't believe her, do you?"

Urbosa remained stagnant as she sat there, the light of the flames bouncing along her bodily form as her eyes remained transfixed, only allowing a single blink before answering, "Even if she's wrong, I see nothing wrong with what she has going on with this Company."

"Yes or no question."

Grinning, Urbosa shot Link a glance, "What good does my opinion do? At worst, we're improving the relationship of a myriad of people on this earth who all have to live alongside one another and cooperate. At best, we're doing a mighty fine job of keeping all those same people alive."

She shrugged, "I figured that's what kept you around for this."

Link dropped his head, "I'm here because my King instructed me to protect his daughter. I'm a single order away from leaving."

"Is that why you cling so desperately to that life?" Urbosa asked with a hint of aggression in her voice, as though hoping to get a rise out of her comrade, "Because it's so easy to live when you're only taking orders?"

Link glared at her, a quiet frustration growing as a result of her insinuation, "I'm a knight of the Kingdom of Hyrule. If you believe that life to be anything less than the most strenuous of existences, it's a testament to how little you know of my breed."

"Listen to you," Urbosa chuckled, "You sound as though you were born to take orders. I've seen you out in the field, boy; you're tapped for far greater than the lashing tongue of some higher-up."

Dismissively, Link turned his attention to the campfire, reaching for another log to place within their scorching reach, sending a billowing plume of smoke into the sky, before sitting back once again, turning silent while Urbosa watching him with curiosity. She gradually returned to her own self once it became apparent that Link was no longer interested in conversation, simply playing with some ornament on her vestment that had started to come undone.

"It's no one's place to question their fate," Link suddenly spoke up, a darkness tinging his voice.

Urbosa smirked suddenly, peering toward Link's direction, "Ah. Is that why you dislike Revali so much?"

Faintly, Link thought for a moment before replying, "He's a brute. He thinks he should own the whole world. But he should know, and understand, his place in this world; we all should. Were his destiny able to back up his attitude, I wouldn't mind so much. But he's just like me- nothing more than a whelp. and a whelp has no business hoping to advance themselves. It does nobody any good to hope for such things."

Her face having dropped slowly, Urbosa watched Link sadly as he spoke so concretely about himself, dreading such an existence for herself. But, then again, she'd had a pedigree herself; wasn't she simply doing as Link himself prescribed?

"The world needs whelps, whipping boys, worm-wranglers. We can't all leave those lives behind with nobody to fill them," Link concluded, again, rather easily, having thought about it for quite some time, clearly.

Urbosa lowered her head respectfully, though she wasn't sure why. Perhaps she felt for this man something along the lines of pity, but then, why? It certainly didn't seem to bother him. Maybe it simply was a chance for her to reflect on her own rule, one which she had fought hard to become as benevolent as she could make it. Might there be some, even under her rule, that faced the same mindset as Link? Surely not, she hoped.

Link's body tensed suddenly as Urbosa pushed herself up to her feet, looking off into the distance with an insightful enough stare that Link's own eyes wandered over to where she appeared to be envisioning. Slowly, keeping her eyes focused, she rounded the ring of stones guarding the fire, bending low to grab two scimitars she had brought with her, raising her arm to aim them out toward the open field just beyond Sanadin.

Uneasily, Link watched cautiously as Urbosa grinned, "Come on. We're gonna try some of that comradery you spoke up."

Link's brow curled in confusion, forcing Urbosa to snicker quietly to herself, "What, afraid of sparring with a girl?"

"I have no problem dueling a woman," Link assured, "I've got a slight problem dueling you."

Urbosa's face shined with a proud grin, "I seem to have some of that preceding reputation Revali spoke of. We're still gonna spare, though; it'll get us both tired enough to sleep again."

Link refused, still, forcing Urbosa to cock a smirk, "That's an order."

Sighing heavily, Link pushed himself up, shaking his head, "You know I'm aware you're just screwing with me, right?"

"Yet here we are," she winked, handing off one of the swords before the two strode beyond the reaches of the campfire's flickering light."

Link asked solidly, "So what's the real reason for this?"

"I just need you to be aware of how able I am when it comes to protecting your Princess," Urbosa shrugged, "I cant have you staying up all day and all night simply because you think you're the only one capable here. We're a Company of Champions for a reason."

Eyeing her dismissively, Urbosa reiterated humorously, "Consider it a reality check."

"I'm the only Hylian in this group bound to reality, you know…" Link groaned in reply, earning a laugh from his Gerudo companion.

Urbosa reassured, "Just take it as comradery building, then; as I said earlier. Though, if you're still too slow on your upswing, there may be some bloodletting yet."

Her chuckling betrayed her words, leaving Link slightly perturbed, if only because of her critique of his swordplay- how did she even remember such a thing from their previous meeting? Still, he remained aware of her own style of combat, the Gerudo's previous showings having grown somewhat into legend, even in her own lifetime. Lady Urbosa, known throughout Hyrule for her fluid, yet powerful, movements, meant to both confuse and astound opponents who just so happened to not have known the name. Even so, dread often came upon those foolish enough to challenge her, seriously, atop those sands she'd honed so much of her skills amongst.

"I'm just kidding; don't look so serious," Urbosa teased, readying her sword, "Loser gets one slash. If it's you, I'll make sure it's where no one can see it."

Link scoffed, allowing a smirk to cross his face as he dramatically swung his sword around in front of him, stepping back to take a striking pose, "I may just get a slash in during the duel, so make sure you're allowing yourself the movement to accept it where you'd like."

The two lost any sense of cordial language as they immediately drew their sword, pouncing at one another, sending a shining bolt of sword and spark flying through the air as their bodies wrangled and tore through the dark air. It was clear Urbosa had the advantage, dashing from side to side, flying through the air; however, Link's entire training predicated taking the defensive above all else, and he skillfully drew his sword back against his body to catch her blows, maneuvering his own body just in time with hers in order to dodge the blasts of metal coming his way.

Urbosa began to laugh happily as their duel progressed, much to Link's confusion, who was giving up all he could in terms of combat prowess. As his opponent's blows grew more and more endless, he felt his tired limbs begin to catch up with him; his gradually exhausted expression must have been the source of the opposing duelist's delight. Not long after, the butt of Urbosa's blade caught Link's elbow, forcing him to recoil to the side, where Urbosa swiftly caught him in the back, sending the Hylian to the ground with a THUD, leaving him grabbing a fistful of dirt as he worked his way back up to his feet, desperate to continue on, though Urbosa had already dropped her blade.

"Not bad," she surmised with a smile, "But I still believe I've won a chance to watch over your Princess, at least while you get some sleep."

"I'm fine," Link spoke, somewhat unconvincingly after exerting himself so heavily.

Sighing, Urbosa wondered aloud, "What are you trying to prove? That you're Hyrule's Toughest while staying awake twenty-five hours? Take a note from that duel- You can't watch your own back, not all the time."

Reaching a hand out to take grab hold of the sword in Link's hand, Urbosa shook her head, "You may not be a member of our Company, but you're among us all the same. We've gotta look out for one another."

Catching Link remaining still unfazed, Urbosa smirked, "or do you truly want to come across as proud as Revali?"

Such a statement finally seemed to catch something of a glimmer in Link's eye, the Hylian's sight finally falling toward the sword in his hand as his lips twisted in distaste. A chuckle left Urbosa in something resembling amusement as Link relinquished his hold, allowing her to take the sword back into her possession.

"We don't all have to like each other," Urbosa noted, "But we sure need to learn how to coexist amongst one another. And so long as you're unable to trust the rest of us with the safety of this Company- we're Champions for a reason- I certainly won't be able to trust you to make the right decisions."

She smirked, "or were you expecting to escort her through Gerudo Town?"

Link sighed, "You have a point."

"I have the victory, too," she replied with glee, pulling the sword upward and managing to only graze Link just below his shoulder, where the minor cut would remain hidden beneath his shirt.

His face grimaced only slightly as Urbosa hummed to herself, turning to retrieve her accompanying sword and returning back to the campsite, leaving Link to stew for a moment before following along, head hung low at the bruise atop his pride. Still, he knew it to be true; that Urbosa, and even Daruk and Mipha, were all more accomplished than he when it came to combat. Yet, he couldn't pinpoint why exactly it bothered him- he wasn't interested in this mission to begin with. But it was his life's work, his binding goal, his destiny, to protect the Royal Family to the best of his ability.

"Hee hee!" came a gleeful voice as Link stepped back onto the concrete pathway of Sanadin Park, his face curling with disgust as he recognized the voice of Revali.

"Had I not seen it with thine own eyes- I do believe you lost a duel to her!" he goaded on, snickering to himself.

Link muttered in reply, "There's no dishonor in losing to Lady Urbosa. You, however- were you ever to defeat me, I'd hide that shit in an instant."

Another wild giggle came from Revali as he stroked his feathers, perched atop one of the walls of the park, "T'would be an honor you're not exactly worthy of to fight me, I assure you. I've heard Hylian blood is an absolute terror to preen out of feathers, anyway."

"Not surprised with that bird brain of yours you wouldn't be able to figure it out."

Revali grinned, "I'll have you know, the great Rito researcher Kelneho spent years examining Rito and Hylian skulls and found at least one Rito to have a brain larger in comparison."

"Such science," Link replied with a droll expression, "Sure you don't wanna duel and find out between us?"

The Rito gave a dismissive grunt, "And ruin my callow charm? Doubtful. But please, tarry off to sleep now; we can't all have the privilege of requiring oiled feathers at all hours of the night."

Link sauntered off, shaking his head as Revali gave him a final critiquing glance before returning his attention to oiling his feathers, stroking his arm with his beak as the night sky grew to become his only company, with Urbosa by the fire, keeping watch, as Link received some rest.