Just as he suspected, Revali spent much of the day lagging behind everyone else. He didn't speak unless he was expected to respond, his head somewhere in the ether, asking himself over and over why he came. On the outside, he presented cool and aloof, but on the inside he was spiraling through the updraft of his emotions. He did his best to ignore his thoughts about the day before, but the more he tried, the more his brain seemed to want to betray him. His thoughts were so preoccupied, he didn't even think about his disdain for Link, not once!

Mipha appeared to be getting on just fine, however. Several times she made playful conversation with Daruk and Urbosa, and stopped to pet the dog of a Hylian man that Revali couldn't help but notice seemed a bit overly interested in her. She looked to be in a much better mood than he was at least. It was hard for him to know if she was still upset with him or not. Though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

Now, he was soaking in the hot spring, boiling alive. Or at least, that's how he liked to imagine it. He definitely would have been if one of the travelers at the foothills of Eldin Canyon hadn't taken pity on him and given away their Chilly Elixir. Revali practically collapsed in front of everyone. He couldn't believe he was so distracted that he didn't think to bring any of his own elixirs before heading out toward Death Mountain! Ritos were not built for this climate—he was made for the snow, not hell-on-earth. How embarrassing. He wondered if Mipha took any sort of pleasure in watching him fall to his knees like he did. As he contemplated the scenario, he sat still in the hot spring with his eyes closed, letting the water penetrate his feathers.

"You're offly quiet today," A familiar gruff voice bulldozed his trance.

Revali opened an eyelid half-way to see Daruk leaned over from the pool of water next to him, returning from visiting his fellow "brothers."

"It's hot," Revali responded simply.

"Ha-ha! It's actually pretty cool out right now! Oh, speaking of which, how are you feeling?"

Revali assumed he was referring to his little fainting incident. "Better."

"Good," Daruk smiled. "You know, I'm actually really glad you came with us."

Revali opened his eyes fully.

"I thought you might decide to leave and fly home or something, but I'm glad we get to spend time together as a group," He continued. "Of course little guy and the princess aren't here, but that's okay. Urbosa had a great idea too for later, if you're still feeling like hanging with us."

Revali gave the idea some thought. He looked across the hot spring at Mipha sunken in the water next to Urbosa, with only the top of her head visible and her eyes closed. "We'll see," he responded vaguely.

He kept wondering if perhaps now was a good time to try and speak with Mipha. With all of this future activity, he wasn't sure if he'd get the chance later. The longer he waited the more awkward he felt it might be. Ultimately, he decided he'd had enough. It was time to get this over with.

Revali slowly rose from the water. "Would you excuse me for a second," He said to Daruk without facing him. As soon as Revali placed his talons back on the dry earth, a small rock came rolling across his path. It stopped and unfurled, revealing a goron child. The rito was making his way across the designated walkway, over to Mipha when he heard a tiny voice call out, "Hey! Hey, you!"

Revali stopped and turned his head to the left. The goron child was staring at him.

"Yes?" Revali responded reluctantly.

"Are you a bird?"

Revali felt a sting of insult from this asinine question. But, this was merely a child, so he let it pass. "No… not exactly. I'm a Rito. Believe it or not, there's actually a difference, despite the similarities–"

"You look like a bird," The child cut him off. "Like a giant bird."

The rito exhaled to find his patience. "Again, I can see how you might make that mistake, but–"

"I've never seen a giant bird before," The child cut him off a second time, now walking up to Revali. The little goron reached out to touch his feathers. Revali was so taken off guard by the child's forthright nature, he remained frozen as the tiny goron lifted his wing over his head.

"Looks like you've made a friend," he heard Daruk say behind him. Revali turned his beak back to see him chuckling.

"I don't…" Revali muttered, shaking his head at Daruk, unsure what to do with this child and hoping desperately his goron colleague would come to his rescue.

"Show him something cool!" Another voice rang.

Revali swiveled his head forward again. Urbosa called out to him from where Mipha was. "We all know how you love to show off," She added.

Mipha was watching now too, her head out of the water. She was… smiling? "Yes, show him your gale!"

Mipha actually just spoke to him. She hadn't said a word in his direction all day until now. Wasn't she still angry? There was no way she'd forgiven him that easily. He hadn't even had a chance to speak with her yet. Still, there she was, showing him mercy by offering a solution to the situation he found himself in with this child. He glanced down at the young goron again.

"Can you fly!?" The child asked enthusiastically.

Amongst being with the other champions, and spending so much time at his village where everyone already knew him, it was refreshing to be revered again through a new pair of small, beady eyes. Perhaps this was exactly what Revali needed to lift his spirits. He couldn't help but grin.

"I can do more than fly..." He said.

The goron kid began jumping up and down. "Oh, show me, show me!"

Revali pretended to think about it. "Hmm, I dunno…. I don't think you really want to see."

"I do! I wanna see you fly! Lemme see you fly!"

"Mmmm… and how do we ask?" He teased as he playfully rubbed the underside of his beak.

The Goron child gave it some thought then beamed. "Lemme see you fly, right now!"

Revali looked at the child as if he was now seriously considering showing him jack shit.

"Revali… don't be an ass" He could hear Urbosa scold him from the sidelines.

He shot the woman a look before addressing the little one. "Yes, yes, alright. Back up." Revali waved his wing at the kid as he took a couple steps backward. "Prepare to be amazed," he declared as he dramatically fanned out his wings.

He bent down low to the ground and laid out his wings, concentrating. He'd managed to get his gale to work ninety-five percent of the time, but there was still that five percent chance of failure that his perfectionism would never let him forget. All eyes were on him, including those of a certain Zora princess. He couldn't fuck this up.

"Please, just let me have this… " He prayed to himself.

In a matter of seconds, the wind swirled around Revali, creating his famed updraft. He leaped into it, soaring and ascending, steadying himself in the eye of the whirlwind until he reached its peak. He spread his wings wide and circled the hotsprings below, spinning in the air. He could hear the cheering from the little goron down below. The cooler air in the sky felt so good he considered for a brief moment not coming back down.

Eventually however, he did. He made a graceful landing, gently touching down in front of the child. Proud, he stood straight with his wings crossed and his chest puffed out.

"Woweee-wow-WOW! That was awesome!" The child ran in circles with his little chunky arms extended, mimicking Revali's soaring.

The rito glanced at Mipha, hoping she was watching. Her head was back in the water with her eyes closed again. Did she even see him?

"Aw man, I wish I could fly," The kid bemoaned. "Oh! I got an idea. You should let me ride your wings!"

Ride!? What did this kid take him for? Some sort of sky-horse? Revali glared down at the young pebble with so much incredulous displeasure, he imagined beams shooting from his eyes bursting the little rock-child into dust.

"Hey, Little one, that's enough bothering the nice Rito." Daruk finally interjected. Revali looked at him thankfully and received a wink and a smile. "What's your name anyway?"

"Crag!" The kid bellowed. "Hey, I know who you are. Your name's Daruk!"

"Ha-ha! That's right."

Just like that, Crag's attention was diverted. He rolled over to Daruk and began asking him all sorts of questions about the gigantic divine beast he kept atop the mountain.

Suddenly feeling more confident than he had in the last twenty-four hours, Revali figured now was the perfect opportunity to approach Mipha. He had to ride this high while he still could. He was a proud Rito. He could soar like the wind itself. He was a master archer and the greatest winged warrior to grace this earth! He wasn't afraid of confrontation. If she hated him, he was certain he could take any blow she could deliver.

He approached the pool of water where Mipha was soaking, knowing he'd have to interact with the barrier named Urbosa. And of course, she was the first to greet him.

"Aw, what's the matter," She asked mockingly. "Didn't want to give the kid one little ride on your wings?"

Revali looked at her with a deadpan expression. "No. I'm afraid I'm too much of an ass."

Urbosa grinned. "At least you know."

Revali half-rolled his eyes. "As delightful as it would be to banter with you, I came over here on other business." He turned his attention to the zora princess. "Mipha… could I have a word?"

Mipha lifted her head from the water. "Of course," She said pleasantly.

Revali glanced at Urbosa. "In private."

"Oh, you want me to leave?" She asked as if she had no such intention.

Revali opened his mouth to respond, but was cut short by Mipha. "That's quite alright, Urbosa," she said as she rose from the pool. "I don't mind going for a walk."

"Are you sure, Mipha?" Urbosa asked, with much more concern in her voice.

"Yes, it's fine. I should be alright." She stood up completely, addressing Revali, "As long as it doesn't take too long. Let's walk this way, shall we." She began to walk down the main path.

Revali took one final look at Urbosa before turning up his beak at her.

He and Mipha walked quietly side-by-side until they were out of view of the hot springs. Revali had his wings behind his back while Mipha had her own hands clasped in front of her. He was busy looking up, while her eyes looked toward the ground. With the cold colors of his blue and white feathers walking next to her warm, reddish-pink skin, they couldn't have been more contrasting. Surprisingly, she was first to break the silence.

"So… what did you want to speak to me about?" She asked without looking up at him.

Here we go, Revali thought to himself. He took a deep breath. "I wanted to discuss yesterday's… incident."

She remained silent.

"It's just… I realize I may have lost my temper and said some things that might have been a bit… rude. And, well," he chuckled ironically, "you left before I could really explain myself."

"I didn't think there was much left to say. Seemed like you'd made your point." She suddenly sounded despondent, which made him uneasy. He could tell now she had been putting up a front the entire day. If his confidence were a glass of water, it was pouring out, fast. This might have been a mistake. Why was apologizing so hard?

"It's this whole champions thing," He carried on, making excuses instead. "it isn't easy for me—not that being a champion is difficult," he quickly corrected himself. "I mean, our skills aren't really even being put to use. All we're meant to do is pilot our divine beasts and serve as back-up for someone else who gets to fight Ganon, all because a magic metal stick said so. Don't you find that at least a little bit frustrating?"

Mipha was silent for another moment before speaking. "Not really. I'm just glad to be able to help in any way I can. And if that means piloting a divine beast just to back Link up, then that's what I'll do."

Of course she wouldn't comprehend his point of view. After all, she was in love with the chosen knight.

Mipha stopped walking and turned to Revali. "What I don't understand—or rather, what I want to understand—is why you feel like you have to prove yourself to everyone."

That was an interesting question. One he had never thought to ask himself. He didn't know why. He just… had to. So many times his fate had been pre-determined by someone or another. It was said he likely wouldn't live when he was found as an egg, alone in the cold. He was told he couldn't fly right when his growth was behind the other children. He was told he was too small to use the Great Eagle bow he has now mastered. He was told creating one's own updraft was impossible when he refused to believe it. All his life he had to prove others wrong, so perhaps that was the reason. He didn't want to be the poor boy everyone took pity on. He didn't want to be substandard, and he certainly didn't want to be ordinary. He wanted to be exceptional.

But there was no reason for him to disclose all of that to her. He doubted she would understand anyway, given her royal upbringing. Revali turned to face Mipha. "You were chosen as a champion because you have a special healing ability, yes?"

Mipha nodded.

"Daruk was chosen for his innate shield. Just like Urbosa was chosen as champion for her powerful lightning fingers," He said, as he fluttered his own fingers. "And I bet their standing as leaders didn't hurt either. With all that in mind, why do you think I was chosen?"

"Because you're the best warrior among your people," she answered.

"Correct. But things didn't turn out that way by accident. I wasn't chosen because I have some magic ability I was born with. Hell, depending on who you ask, I'm not even the leader of my village. No, I was chosen because I worked my tail off to be the best warrior among my people."

His tone shifted to cynical. "And how was Link chosen?" He asked rhetorically. "By a damn sword."

Mipha didn't speak. She looked away from Revali, into the distance.

He was mostly speaking for himself now. "To work hard your whole life just to be looked over for someone who was practically handed the position of being the chosen one… it's infuriating. So, while I appreciate your earnest efforts, you'll have to excuse me for stating that it's something you couldn't possibly understand."

Mipha continued to stare at nothing in particular. "You're right. I can't understand what you've been through. And I'm not going to pretend that I do." She said softly. "But I'd like to share something with you. I haven't been able to speak to anyone else about this…" she began.

Revali gave her his full attention.

"You already know that Link and I have history… and that I do have feelings for him," she continued.

Revali listened as she spoke, though to this point, he didn't need any reminding.

"But you probably don't know he was really different when I first met him." She continued to stare at the ground. "True, he was a small child in Hylian years, but he used to be so lively. So talkative. So silly… so happy…" Her voice trailed off. "It wasn't until he got that sword that he changed into the silent knight you now know." She looked up at Revali.

"I don't think you want the burden that sword has brought him."

Revali mulled over her words. He saw no reason not to believe her. Makes sense the knight would have changed due to his destiny of sealing Calamity Ganon. He must have felt the weight of the world when he was told its fate literally depended on his success. Revali hadn't considered this. Even someone as confident as he was realized, that was heavy stuff. To have the pressure of so many others depend on him… he felt similarly amongst the people in his village. Wow, was he actually comparing Link to himself? God forbid.

"Perhaps not," he replied. "But I do wish I at least got the chance to prove I could do exactly what he gets the honor of doing."

"And you think fighting with him is the only way to achieve that?" Mipha asked.

Before Revali could respond, the high pitched falling sound of a projectile could be heard heading in their direction. He tilted his head up with bird-like precision and saw a flaming boulder routed straight for them! Instinctively, he wrapped his wings around Mipha and took her into a tumble with him on the ground, rolling them both out of harm's way. The boulder exploded onto the surrounding rocks where they had been standing.

Mipha was startled, barely realizing what just happened. Another high-pitch whine of a falling boulder could be heard. Revali grabbed her arm and pulled her behind the safety of a large rock protruding from the ground. They peeked out from behind their hiding place and sure enough, they saw a Rock Octorok swiveling around.

"Ugh. Annoying," Revali breathed.

"I wish I had my trident…" Mipha started looking around. She'd left her weapon back at the springs. "Maybe there's a drill shaft around here somewhere… Nnngh…" She released a groan as she held her head in her hand.

"You alright?" Revali asked.

"Yes… I'm just feeling a little dehydrated. I think I need to get back to the hot springs."

Too bad the octorok was in their path. Another flaming boulder crashed in their direction. There was no way they'd be able to get past it without getting hit. Well, no way for Mipha to anyway. Revali realized he'd have to take it out from the other side. Good thing he at least remembered to bring a metal bow with him. "Wait here," He instructed her.

She watched as he crept away and flew up into the air with his gale. He circled the Octorok until he was on the other side of the now unassuming and unprotected beast, still facing where Mipha was. As he lowered himself to aim, he forgot completely where he was, because without thinking, he pulled out a singular bomb arrow.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The moment he released the arrow from the protection of his quiver… His realization of what he had just done… The arrow's explosive ingredients collided with the blistering heat of Death Mountain, detonating it right in front of him before he could even finish uttering the words, "Oh, shi–"

KA-BOOM

He was blasted back, hitting the ground hard until he tumbled to a smokey stop, some of his feathers trailing behind.

Mipha watched it all happen. The octorok's attention was now on Revali as it spun around away from her. While it began sucking in rocks to spit at him, she seized her opportunity and ran up behind it, brandishing a large rock of her own. Using all the energy she could muster, she spun around and gave it one good wack to it's backside, sending it to its demise. But not before it could shoot one final flaming bullet.

Revali was just getting on his feet again when he got blasted by the rock. He cried out in pain and fell back, sliding even further away, almost teetering off the edge of the sweltering cliffside.

With the octorok taken care of, Mipha ran to Revali and rolled him over. He moaned in pain as she inspected his wounds. "Bomb arrows… fire… so stupid…" He muttered. Even in critical condition, he still found the energy to berate himself for his lack of focus. He was not on his game today at all. Everything had been blowing up in his face so much, it was beginning to look like a curse. His left side was singed really badly, exposed, burnt, and bloody.

Mipha wasn't feeling quite one-hundred percent, but she had to try and heal him, or else. She breathed and held her hands out over his wounds. Concentrating, as she usually did when activating her abilities, she thought about all the things that brought her joy… her father, her little brother's smile… the safety of her people… yes, she was starting to feel it. Then she thought about Link…

Suddenly, the feeling faded. That was the opposite of what was supposed to happen. Something was wrong. She couldn't feel any power flowing through her. There was nothing happening. Why was nothing happening? She tried harder to focus on her feelings for the knight.

Still nothing.

This usually worked. It always worked. Why wasn't it working?

"No, no, please…" She pleaded. Revali was starting to lose consciousness. She began to panic, tears welling up in her eyes. She touched his wounds with her bare hands and tried again. Still, no healing. She began contemplating getting Daruk and Urbosa, but would it really matter? There was nothing they could do either. She was supposed to be the healer. But she couldn't do her job and now Revali was going to…

"Revali? Revali! Stay with me!" She grabbed his face with her bloody palms and turned it toward her. His eyes were barely open. She fell over and embraced him.

"Please… please… don't die…"

Suddenly afraid she might actually lose him, thoughts flooded her mind about the first time she saw him miss a shot and how silly he was talking to himself. The thought made her want to giggle through the tears. She thought about when she asked him to give her archery lessons and the confidence he tried to inspire. She did so admire his effortless confidence. She thought of how he tried, in his own way, to comfort her when she had no one else to talk to. How he knew about her feelings even when she never told him, and how despite his tendency to speak brashly, he never disclosed those feelings to Link or princess Zelda. She realized he was the closest thing she had to a friend right now… and she was about to lose him.

As Mipha weeped over him, Light began to illuminate Revali's blasted side. She sat up, still holding him, and placed her hand over his wounds. She began laughing past her tears out of a mix of joy and relief. Her powers came back! She stayed in that position until the damage was fully mended, wondering if perhaps the dehydration had some effect over her ability.

Once his wounds were repaired, Revali groaned and blinked, turning his head to look at her. "Oh… man…. I really blew it, didn't it?"

Mipha stared at him before realizing he just made an awful pun. She released a giggle that turned into full blown laughter. Honestly, she wasn't sure if it was because of his bad joke or the lightheadedness from the dry heat affecting her, but she found it hard to stop. "Were you coming up with that this whole time I was trying to heal you?"

Revali simply smiled at his own joke.

"You're ridiculous," she told him.

His smile faded as he looked her in the eye. "I wasn't just talking about the arrow."

She stared back at him.

Revali looked away shamefully. "I… I never meant what I said yesterday…I do care. About… you know."

Mipha sighed. "I think we both said things that were meant to be hurtful. I got defensive. And so did you." She smiled at him. "Let's just forget about it. Water under the bridge."

He stared at her, trying to muster the courage to say, "Thanks… for sa–"

Mipha held his beak shut with her hand. "No need to thank me,"

He returned her smile, though the moment was cut short by the call of a familiar gerudo voice.

"Well, isn't this a pretty picture!"

Mipha turned around to see Urbosa and Daruk standing in the path back to the hotspring. Realizing he was still laid out in front of Mipha, Revali sat up with a quickness.

"If you guys wanted to be alone, you could've at least told us where you were going," Daruk added, sounding like a worried father. "We didn't know where you went!"

"We heard explosions and when you two didn't come back, we thought you might be in trouble." Urbosa explained. "But I can see now, that must have been the opposite of the situation." She finished her sentence with one eyebrow cocked.

"Please," Revali sneered. He leaped up from the ground, trying to hide his embarrassment with his usual snobbish disposition. "This is NOT what it looks like."

Mipha stood up as well. "No, no. Absolutely not."

"Whatever you say," Urbosa gibbed.

"Well, we're glad you two are okay. Anyway, we should all start heading back to Central Hyrule if we wanna catch the princess." Daruk commanded.

He and Urbosa started back towards the hot springs. Revali glanced at Mipha before he followed. He took a few steps, then stopped, turning back to the zora girl. He leaned toward her, holding up a feathered finger as if he was about to make a demand.

"Oh and uh… by the way," He spoke in a low tone. "That whole thing I did with the bomb arrow…"

"Never happened," Mipha finished his sentence sweetly as she walked by him.

He retracted his finger, surprised by her response as he watched her go. Continuing on behind her, a tiny smirk crept onto his face.