The air surrounding the Company remained acrid due to the weight permeating amongst the group, particularly stemming from Link and Zelda's silence, leaving Daruk and Mipha slightly confused as if they had missed something. Despite the thick air of tension that hung over the group, the air grew rather humid as well as the Champions made their way deeper into Akkala, where the cliffsides along the sea allowed little of the breezy sea air to battle against the roaring hot air bellowing along the plains from the Eldin Mountains, making this land muggy, but also ripe for the farming that it grew to be known for.

Nightfall seemed an ironic respite. As the sun fell, the humidity remained, leaving much of the group to notice the hot air even more. Revali picked at his plumage to try and keep the air from altering that delicate chemistry atop his skin and quills, frowning at the maintenance required. Mipha had also required her own maintenance, applying gekari gel to her scales to prevent herself from overheating due to the blistering swathes of air that lapped at their bodies.

The Company managed to stumble upon the East Akkala Stable before the sun had returned entirely, leaving the final stretch of the Akkalan expedition for tomorrow, mostly due to the lethargy now combatting the Champions. As it came into view, Daruk gave a vigorous sigh of appreciation, despite the lack of effect the atmosphere had upon him.

"Ahhh, finally!" he cried happily, "Finally, some rest!"

"Rest," Urbosa chuckled before shooting him a glance, "You mean food."

Daruk shrugged, "Well, if the shoes match! Even so, our gait has slowed progressively. I can tell the lot of you are probably exhausted from the day's journeying."

Despite Link and Zelda's silence, Mipha replied, "If this hot air is a test run for Death Mountain, I suppose we truly are in need of some creative means to continue our visitations of the Divine Beasts."

She lifted an arm, watching her hand with worry, "Gekari gel seems to lose some of its properties in this weather as well…"

"Revali? Would you like some now?" Mipha inquired, having been turned down hours earlier.

He shook his head, "No. I'm having a difficult enough time perpetuating the cultivation of my skin through preening alone. Adding more chemistry would do more harm than good, I assure you."

Mipha nodded with understanding, though this only forced her attention to return to her own skin, her scales seemingly constricting under the viscous gel inlaid between them.

"Ahh," Urbosa sighed with grandiosity, turning her head to the side, "So much talk these last few weeks about everybody else, and now- Now it's my time to shine."

Revali's eyes darted toward the Gerudo, knowing where she was taking her words, Urbosa chiding, "Perhaps one of these days, you all might inherit something similar to the roughhewn skin of us Gerudo to carry you through anything these skies might force upon you."

Knowing she was mocking him, Revali merely lowered his head once again to nibble at his feathers, trying to spread out the secretions that kept them powerfully bound to his body. Slightly disappointed to not how received an outburst, Urbosa simply turned her attention to Zelda, slowing to her stride.

"How're you holding up?"

Zelda's tired eyes still drooping, she muttered, "Tired and gross."

With the suddenness of a mother in aid of a child, Urbosa fired a forceful tone toward Link, "Boy! What does the Eastern Akkala Stable offer?"

Link caught her with his own incredulous look, surprised of her tone before replying lowly, "…I would assume much the same as all the others."

"So private quarters, perhaps? I made sure to bring a few luxury soaps along, if Zelda requires them," Urbosa noted fondly, catching Daruk's excited expression.

"Ooh!" he shouted with interest.

Urbosa's eyes narrowed, "Skin only, I'm afraid."

Shrugging with new disinterest, Daruk returned to his thoughts of dinner, leaving Urbosa to curl her arm along Zelda's shoulders to pull her into her side, "Fear not. We'll have dinner and get you taken care of, child. Depending how long we're at this Robbie fellow's, this might be the last chance at relaxation for some time."

"You're not wrong," Daruk noted tensely, "I've been going over possible routes up toward Vah Rudania and- Well, there aren't many paths that won't be a few days, round trip; and that's just in general. There's no telling where Vah Rudania will be once we ascend."

Urbosa sighed, "Our odds are already vastly outweighing us. How about we forget the journey, at least for this evening?"

"For once, I agree," Revali grumbled in dismay, still biting at himself.

A fretful look appeared upon Daruk's face as if disappointed, now that he was offering some introspective thought, albeit out of character for him, though Link was quick to assure him, knocking a fist playfully against the Goron's arm.

"Don't worry; dinner will put you in the same column as the rest of us."

Now smiling fondly, Daruk nodded, "Ah, you are correct. I can already smell it from this distance… Fried apples, sautéed heron…"

"Hey, I take offense to that," Revali snarled with distress, though his own abraised skin left him unable to press on and ignore his preening.

"Gah!" Daruk shouted, taking off ahead of the group as the stable appeared not far off, "I'll save some seats about the campfire!"

The ground rumbled with furious stomps as Daruk made a dash for the lowly populated stable, Link's eyes raised in bemused surprise, speaking up indifferently, "I honestly didn't expect him to last this long."

"At least he should have dinner ready by the time we arrive," Mipha smiled, though it gradually darkened as her thoughts broadened, returned by Urbosa's sudden retort.

"Unless he's sitting there, alone… with a pot of stew… by himself…"

Revali's pithy glance found its way toward Urbosa as the Gerudo quickly swooped down to pick up Zelda in her arms, turning to the others with a zeal well-placed within a chieftain of her caliber, "Alright, let's hurry, then!"

"Hold on!" Link charged, "So spider hordes and food? That's what breaks our ranks?!"

Without reply, Urbosa took off toward the stable herself with Zelda in hand, allowing Revali to sputter with disgust, "Evidently."

Link was left awash with shame, though a gentle tug at his sleeve caused his head to turn and find Mipha's timid smile, alleviating the thought before she spoke up with amusement, "At least with Revali and myself, the three of us, alone, have all the bases covered."

"Pah!" Revali complained, "I would rather cover a distance greater than the entirety of Hyrule than him."

Mipha gave Link a knowing smirk, earning him a wary sensation as she retorted, "Even if you've won from him a debt?"

Link's eyes constricted in terror as he watched Mipha's mischievous smirk, all while Revali's angered look slowly began to melt into one of intrigue, his lips curling rather evilly as he nodded, "Yes… I suppose, however unwitting, of course, my saving his life has incurred something of a life debt."

"A debt," Link challenged, "Nothing more."

Revali's eyes turned toward him, "Whatever the case- I hadn't the thought. Perhaps I should view the remainder of this journey with interest; after all, a time must come where this man follows a demand of mine, much as how he follows the orders of his King."

The Rito inexplicably began to laugh, albeit with something of a sinister chuckle, as he thought of how best to gauge such a debt, nodding to himself as he silently mulled over the situation, allowing Link the option to complain to Mipha.

"What was that for?"

She grinned, "I honestly supposed he would find it beneath himself to expect a debt paid to a Hylian."

"Well obviously not," Link frowned, eyeing the Rito from over his shoulder, "He's probably gonna have be bite worms out from the ground or whatever his cucco brethren do."

Mipha stuck a teasing tongue out at him, "Besides, he did save your life. I'm indebted to him in my own way."

His lips turned in expectation, Link muttered in reply, "Well I hope you're down there chewing worms with me, even if he can't know why you're partaking."

"How undignified of a Princess," Mipha giggled, earning a glance full of ire from Link.

"Not fair," he noted distastefully.

She giggled at his droll, professional demeanor, knowing that Revali's presence was the only thing keeping him in such a state. With Revali piddling with the seemingly voluminous ideas racing through his head, utterly distracted as such, Mipha felt a slight comfort in leaning against Link much how Urbosa had pulled Zelda into her, although remaining careful not to touch Link with any parts of her skin where the gel had yet to dissolve along her scales. Such a handicap left her slightly dour, but Link's subtle acceptance, amidst Revali's presence, left her contented still.

The slightly sombering mood came to a climactic end as a roar came from the stable as the remaining Champions approached, the three of them alertly turning to find Daruk clutching the massive cooking pot from atop the fire, its scaling hot surface not fazing him in the slightest, while to Hylians did their best to assert their own claim over the cauldron, despite being unable to handle it themselves.

Link groaned a sour sigh as he stepped toward the dramatic scene, Daruk shouting, "The Princess has need of it!"

"Sir!" "Goron!" shouted the two gradually nervous Hylians shouted in reply, one of them pressing on, "Just-!"

Urbosa crept up to Daruk's side, joining the fray, though noticeably avoiding of the cauldron herself, having ostensibly put Zelda down somewhere. The confrontation heated up with a rather impotent air, the whole affair merely rising to little more than a shouting match, though before Link could intervene, Zelda appeared wearily from behind Daruk, throwing her arms up to bring pause to the disorder.

"Daruk," she murmured with tire, "I have need of food, not a pot."

One of the Hylian men threw a dismissive hand through the air, "I was just about to say-! You can't steal that!"

"Steal?" Daruk wondered aloud, turning his head to glance into the mighty cauldron, a nervous laugh escaping him as he swung the large pot back to its position atop the flame, "Heh heh… Sorry."

The Hylian took a deep breath, slapping his hand atop his forehead, "I swear, you had me at a start. I know the heat drives people mad sometimes, but a Goron?"

Daruk chuckled, "S-Sorry again."

"No worries, just so long as you're not interested in stealing our accouchements," the apparent stable hand groaned, "We've stew being made around the other end of the tent if you'd like some."

"Oh, absolutely! We'll just, eh-" Daruk came to a sudden pause, noticing Urbosa's piercing stare.

The two Hylian men slowly made their way back into the tent, allowing Urbosa the privacy to wonder aloud with disdain, "You nearly had me come to your aid…for an empty pot?"

"H- Hey now, I'm hungry!" Daruk explained nervously, "Hunger can drive even Gorons upset!"

Before Urbosa could further retort, Daruk impatiently rounded the tent while Link, Mipha, and Revali arrived amidst Urbosa's dismissive shake of her head, dropping her face into her hand.

"At least we didn't miss anything," Link teased.

Urbosa stared at him, her own hunger bringing a starved-serious look upon her face, causing a tremor to trail down Link's spine.

"Come on now," Zelda sighed, finding a chopped up log stump to sit down upon, dropping her head with exhaustion, "Let's just eat and head to bed."

Link pointed toward the adjacent seat before taking charge, "Alright, you all sit down and Revali and I will get us all-"

"Me and you?" Revali suddenly questioned, his inability to simply accept the command leaving Link perturbed.

"Yes. Unless that debt thing prevents you from adhering to common courtesy."

Revali gave a challenging smile, "Of course not. I'm simply savoring the opportunity of enjoying a meal not prepared by you for once."

"Yeah, as if your spotless bowls leave any doubt that you love what I cook," Link retorted.

A disgusted exclamation left Revali, "Pshaw! I'm merely ensuring I'm sustaining my body! I would never enjoy the food of the earth."

"Because all you Rito eat are clouds, right?"

"You don't even know how clouds taste!"

Link threw his arms up, "Why would I ever want to know that?!"

The two's argument came to an abrupt halt as Daruk reappeared, his hands grasping a wooden plank whereupon ten bowls of stew were places, enough for a few cups of seconds, much to Daruk's mindset when it came to meals.

"Did I miss something?" he wondered sincerely, noticing Link and Revali's heated postures, though with the problem resolved, Revali jolted away to find a seat of his own, leaving Link to follow along for a seat of his own.

Daruk shrugged indifferently before putting on a proud smile as he brought a bowl to Zelda, "There you go. I only hope it offers you joy."

At such reverence toward their meal, Zelda couldn't help but smile, nodding up toward him, "Thank you, Daruk. I'm sure it will."

The Goron grinned even brighter, turning to hand out the remaining bowls before lowering the plank onto the top of the cauldron to, presumably, keep the remaining bowls warm. With a boom, he sat down himself with a massive sigh of relief, turning his head to examine the Company before him, nodding proudly.

"This is nice," he chuckled happily before digging into his stew.

"It is," Zelda confirmed behind tired eyes.

Daruk cleared his throat, "I must admit, this is the first time I've ever been around non-Gorons for such a long time. I've had conversations and stuff, but there's something about- I don't know, time? Like with Link, here; I didn't simply make him my Sworn Brother on a whim. With enough time, you truly come to know people, -you know?"

"Indeed," Urbosa spoke up, blowing across the brim of her bowl.

"I hadn't any idea that you Zora would, you know- die- I mean, I did, but- I suppose I just never thought about it," Daruk admitted, rather embarrassed by his naivety.

Mipha smiled, "It's not big deal, I assure you."

"But-" Daruk groaned, "Your people were so nice to me- to all of us. I truly admired how well you all treated us as guests. I suppose I just, you know, feel a bit guilty. I mean, my home is no place for me to be a good host; I can't show off how beautiful I find my home to be."

Link shrugged, "Maybe you can. We won't know until we speak to Doctor Robbie, and even then, even he doesn't know everything."

"And even then," Mipha spoke up, offering an understanding smile, "You've been enough of a good friend and host since I've known you. Remember, this is my first time beyond Zorana's waters. Perhaps you can't show us Goron City- but you've shown me a great deal about Hyrule as a whole."

"Ah, well," Daruk couldn't hold back a weak smile.

Zelda giggled, "You've really taken that 'most helpful pebble' to heart, huh?"

"Pebble padd-" "Pebble Paddler," Link and Daruk both replied, the two sharing an embarrassed glance at one another before nervously returning to their stews.

Urbosa's eyes watched them from behind the rim of her bowl, suddenly spouting, "Oh, come on!"

Mipha and Zelda turned to her with curiosity, the Brothers' stares noticeably absent from Urbosa's vision as she immediately surrendered with a frown, taking a bite of stew, "Never mind…"

Link kept his eyes intensely averted, knowing what Urbosa was alluding to with her outburst, eternally grateful that she hadn't opened up that particular line of-

"So, Gorons," Urbosa spoke up once again, "They have interpersonal relationships, right?"

Link knew the trap that Daruk hadn't any reason to anticipate himself. The helpful pebble paddler merely returned to Urbosa with renewed pride at being asked about his people, much to Link's chagrin.

"Of course! Besides being Sworn Brothers, the bond between fathers and sons- that is, between those borne from rock that elders imbue with the breath of life, is rather strong as well!"

Relief running through his body, Link kept his eyes shut, knowing that Urbosa's entire game was to bother him without explicitly having anything spoken aloud. So long as he, himself, refused to entertain her line of questions, nothing would come to the fore-

"I asked a similar question the other night, actually!" Daruk spoke up with interest, "We Gorons procreate in that way, but the other people of-"

Zelda nearly spat out the stew in her mouth as she keeled over, coughing up a storm while Mipha slowly averted her eyes.

"What?!" Daruk asked, "Even Zelda, now? I haven't a clue how- Shouldn't such things as bringing forth life be among the most proud events to discuss?"

Urbosa smiled like a obliviously mischievous child, rocking back and forth upon her seat with reserved elation, "I don't know, shouldn't it?"

Link kept to himself. He knew her game. She wouldn't-

"Link?" she asked.

His eyes drew toward her with a savage look, only further brightening the smirk on her face. He took a breath, only thankful that Zelda suddenly interrupted the discussion.

"I- It-" she stammered, "It's a bit more, uh, complicated than that."

Daruk groaned in distress at not having his curiosity waned, "But I don't understand! I mean, none of your peoples go and mold clay that becomes your child, right?"

Urbosa snickered, "I mean, depending on what someone's into, I suppose it could."

Zelda immediately dropped her head with shame, leaving Daruk even more ravenous in his inquiry, "Into? What would that person climb into for Hylians to mold clay into children?!"

Finding nothing but wayward glances from the lot of the group, save for Urbosa, Daruk suddenly turned to Revali, "Well? What about the Rito?"

Revali's stare was stagnant in his annoyance, his mind incensed that such topics were, once again, being discussed. As if to end the line of questioning, right this moment, his objections from the night before obviously not having worked, Revali stared into his stew for another bite before speaking up in a coldly biting tone.

"The females lay eggs. The males fertilize them. That's all."

Daruk snapped a finger, "Aha! See? Some answers! Now, you said eggs, but Link often adds eggs to our meals and-!"

"I answered your question!" Revali shouted, "You can't compare the lowly, fettered eggs of cuccos to the might race of the Rito who conquer the skies! Now, if you'd kindly excuse me, I'd much rather do what I can to enjoy this meal rather than hear you prattle on about such depravities as two beings bringing another into this world when it had nothing at all to speak about it!"

Whatever glee Urbosa had derived from the scene quickly vanished as the mood turned dour. Revali, in a huff, rose to his feet, shaking away a scowl before turning to leave, taking a few steps toward the other end of the tent when Urbosa quickly shouted, "Revali!"

He continued.

"Wait!" she asked.

Revali's pace came to a halt as he gave a visibly deep sigh before spinning his head over his shoulder to glance toward the group.

"What?!"

Daruk's lips had turned at the taste of guilt in his mouth, a gentle voice leaving him as he spoke, "Sorry."

"Sorry? For spouting off incessantly toward an unsavory topic?!"

The Goron's face twitched, not daring to pry into that hole in Revali's armor that they had all seen, but instead offering up a sincere, "Yes. I'm sorry. It will not happen again."

Revali scrutinized the lot of Champions, including Zelda, for what seemed like fifteen minutes before slowly huffing his way back to his seat, muttering quietly to himself as he did so before continuing his meal, the sour mood now compelling everyone to remain quiet besides the echoing bites of slurping ejected into the air.

"However it came about," Revali suddenly complained aloud, "My parents couldn't be bothered with me. Such things as having children- such a worthless endeavor if you ask me."

Link frowned, hidden by his downturned head, at the similarity that appeared to bridge the two of their lives, at least in how they had both come to be. Despite their differences, perhaps they both were mere children of convenience, or for Revali, inconsequence. Regardless of the reasons why, Link suddenly realized, neither one of them might have been wanted beyond utilitarian means.

Revali dove back into his stew, muted to whatever reactions the others had beyond their silence. The meal remained rather jilted for a while, conversation not advancing beyond general bouts of pleasantries when seconds were passed out or for salt. As the mood remained beneath the weather, so to speak, Daruk's attention had begun to lock on to the cauldron atop the fire, watching the steaming jets of air floating into the sky like breaths of life from the bowls of soup.

"Somebody speak," Revali suddenly challenged with a face screwed up with frustration, "I don't need your solidarity."

Daruk's attention piqued.

"Well," he spoke up, "I know we said not to talk about the journey and all, but- Heat rises."

Zelda nodded, "Technically, all air is hot, even cold air, it's just that hotter air will evaporate and-"

"I understand, but-" Daruk muttered, stroking his beard, "I think I have an idea. I was watching the steam rising, and the cauldron reminded me of the reservoir back at Zora's Domain, and-"

His brow curled, "Back before we Gorons understood Vah Rudania's purpose, we attempted to mitigate the damages to our villages through our own means. The spewing rocks weren't much trouble, but the lava flows were horrendous; many Gorons would die simply getting enough of it on them to burn them to their core."

"To combat such things- We actually have something like reservoirs dug into the mountain, only for lava instead of water. There's a vast network of tunnels and vents put deep into the mountain, winding every which way."

Zelda nodded, "Interesting. Though, I'm not sure-"

"But here's the thing," Daruk noted, "They're built downward- to collect lava flows, right? So might those tunnels be cooler than the air surrounding the mountain itself?"

Link's head thoughtfully fell to the side while Mipha's eyes narrowed inquisitively, watching Zelda as she considered the idea, "I mean- It certainly couldn't be any hotter, could it?"

"I thought they were built to be pools of magma," Urbosa questioned.

Daruk nodded, "Well, that was the intention, but ever since, we've never had lava flows; at least, not flows that threaten our villages. Vah Rudania, for all intents and purposes, started getting rather stingier about the eruptions directed toward our villages."

"As if it knew..?" Zelda inquired, "Knew to protect your people?"

Daruk shrugged, "I wouldn't go that far. It is a machine, after all. Still, that's an interesting idea. In any case, the vents sprout within the volcano's crater as well, so we could literally hide out within the mountain until Vah Rudania appears nearby and then quickly swoop back in to safety."

Zelda turned toward Mipha for her opinion, to which Mipha nodded in reply, "As you said, you couldn't be any hotter."

"Unless it's simply trapping the heat and it has metamorphosed into an oven," Revali surprisingly added, albeit pithily.

Poking at her chin, Zelda nodded, "That's another possibility. It wouldn't hurt to at least dip our toes in, as it were. If it is a viable strategy, it would solve the problem of Vah Rudania skittering around the mountain every which way."

"They've been abandoned for centuries, so I'm not entirely certain of their condition, but if it works," Daruk spoke up with breathless anticipation, his rising excitement preventing him from continuing.

He grinned as Link batted his arm once again, the Hylian returning to his stew with muted praise, "Not bad, pebble paddler."

Daruk allowed a proud chuckle to leave him, hoping to have offered this cluster of a Company something to better even their odds of success.