The Tabantha Frontier, situated in the northwestern part of Hyrule, was not, geographically speaking, that far from Urbosa's home in the Gerudo desert. In fact, the two areas were separated only by the Gerudo highlands, a mountainous area north of the desert, and consequently south of the frontier. That being said, the two areas could not have been more different.
Desert had been replaced with mountain terrain. Sand had given way to forests and lakes, and the desert heat had been left far behind. The Tabantha Frontier had been chilly at first, not unbearable to a Gerudo used to cold desert nights, but the temperatures in the area had far too quickly gone from uncomfortably cool to frigid, and the Gerudo Champion was struggling with the change.
Even now, huddled next to their campfire in the snowquill tunic and trousers the Rito villagers had graciously gifted her and several other members of the group, Urbosa shivered. A permanent chill seemed to have set into her bones, and the woman honestly could not remember the last time she had been warm.
Daruk, surprisingly enough, had shrugged off the cold as if it were nothing. Urbosa had been half expecting him to be affected most out of their group, given that the Gorons lived around a literal volcano. She had not been the only one surprised; Zelda had asked if he were certain the cold would not harm him.
He had simply replied that Gorons used to be found all across Hyrule, congregating primarily in mountain areas. If anything, the jungles in the Faron region in the south and the Akkala region in the east were more likely to cause problems for his people because of the amount of rain both areas tended to receive.
Mipha had not been greatly affected either, though she had bundled up with the rest of them gratefully. While the deeper waters frequented by the Zora could be icy cold at times, it was one thing to swim in them, another to be constantly surrounded by that chill. Still, the princess had fared rather well overall.
Zelda and her attendant seemed to be managing well enough, at least. And Revali-
This was the Rito's home. He was well used to the current weather. From what the Gerudo understood, a Rito's feathers not only allowed them to fly, but provided insulation against the cold. Revali was likely the most comfortable of all of them, though his bare arms and talons made him look ridiculously under-dressed in comparison.
Giving up for the night, Urbosa abandoned the fire for her bedroll. Shivering beneath the blankets while still fully dressed, the woman wondered if she would ever feel warm again.
Urbosa awoke in the middle of the night. Listening to the darkness, she tried to identify what had interrupted her sleep. She thought about getting up to investigate, but was too comfortable, especially when she knew one of her companions was currently standing guard nearby.
The realization that she was warm made her tense, every muscle alert as she tried to understand what had changed.
The Gerudo had gone to sleep cold in the middle of the Tabantha Frontier. She was still in the same place when she awoke, or so she assumed. The thought of being moved to some warmer climate while she slept was absurd.
Urbosa gradually became aware of the sound of breathing that was not her own. Someone was very close by. Too close. Her bedroll suddenly felt small and crowded.
A soft sigh blew past her ear. She could feel hot breath against her skin. Something moved beside her.
Forcing back panic, the woman slowly and carefully turned on to her other side only to find herself with a face full of feathers. She spluttered, and whatever it was that was in her bedroll shifted.
Her brain started working all at once, and it was all the Gerudo Champion could do not to shout, or jump out of the bedroll, or both. Embarrassment warred with anger as she considered the remarkably warm individual that had crawled into bed with her.
Urbosa poked the Rito warrior sharply in the back. "Revali," she hissed, trying not to disturb their fellow companions. They needed their sleep, and she did not want to be seen like this. When he did not respond, she jabbed him harder.
The Rito somehow rolled to face her without disturbing the blankets piled on top of them. Absently she noted that he had thrown his own bedding on top of hers. One bright green eye opened and met her gaze sleepily.
"What?" She could barely hear him, for all that his body was pressed up against hers.
"What are you doing?" Urbosa demanded, keeping her voice low as well. The Rito regarded her with drowsy confusion.
"Sleeping?" He finally offered, though it sounded more like a question than an answer. Revali was clearly not awake enough to manage anything snide.
"I can see that." Urbosa rolled her eyes in spite of the fact that he probably could not see her reaction. The Rito had reluctantly admitted early on in their acquaintance that he had poor night vision. "Why are you doing it here, in my bed, and not in your own?"
Again, the Rito looked confused, though by now he also seemed slightly more alert.
"It's snowing again," he answered, which explained nothing.
"And?"
"And it's getting colder."
"So what, you were cold and looking for someone to cuddle up with?" she demanded, but she knew that wasn't right. The Rito was practically radiating heat.
His eyes narrowed. "You've been shivering all day," he pointed out. "Even with the suit, right next to the fire, you were practically shaking with cold."
Urbosa could hardly deny it. "And?"
Revali huffed. "I can leave," he grumbled. He was fully awake by now, and not particularly happy about it. "If I had known you Gerudo made such a big deal out of this sort of thing, I would have slept in my own roll and saved myself the trouble." He started to get up, grumbling about featherless imbeciles who didn't have the sense to put their bedrolls together in a snowstorm. His actions caused the bedding to shift, and a blast of icy air chilled Urbosa to her core.
"You're letting the heat out," she snapped, and the Rito stopped moving.
The Gerudo Champion considered her options. She could let him leave and spend the night freezing, or she could let him stay and worry about the impropriety of sharing her bedroll with a male for the night, even though nothing was happening between them.
Practicality won. Urbosa was tired of being cold. "So it's perfectly normal for a Rito to climb in bed with someone else if the weather's bad?" she asked, rolling over to put him at her back.
"We roost in groups, when winters get particularly cold. Fledglings sleep with their parents at least until they lose their down." She heard him say as he settled back down. "By fluffing our feathers we can trap air against our bodies. It serves as insulation against the cold, but sharing body heat when sleeping definitely helps."
Urbosa yawned and decided that there was at least one Rito custom she could adopt for the night. She had not felt this warm since leaving the desert. A thought occurred to her as she relaxed, and she half turned to address her fellow Champion.
"Are you wearing a shirt?"
She felt him shift beside her. "It was only cool in here for the first five minutes. Now it would be uncomfortable." There was a defensive note in his tone, and the Gerudo felt herself smirk. She waited a moment or two for him to realize she was not going to object, and another for him to start to relax, before she spoke again.
"What about pants? You are wearing pants under here, at least?"
"Yes." Urbosa was impressed; she had heard the Rito sulk before, but this surpassed all previous experience. The woman chuckled softly.
"Good night, then."
Urbosa was still warm the next morning, and far more rested than she had been in a while, though she could tell almost immediately by the tension in the body next to her that something was wrong.
"Revali?" she mumbled, her voice thick with sleep. Looking around, she realized that every last one of their fellow companions was staring at them. Debating whether she wanted to brave the cold that currently nipped at her nose or stay and enjoy the warmth of the bedroll for as long as she could, she offered a greeting. "Morning, everyone."
"Morning," Daruk offered uncertainly.
Urbosa raised an eyebrow. "Apparently it's Rito custom to sleep in a pile of bodies when it's cold," she offered. Beside her, Revali sniffed his disapproval of her summary of Rito nesting habits.
"Couldn't let you freeze to death," he retorted, "then we'd just have to go find a new Gerudo Champion."
Urbosa snorted. A good night's sleep had greatly improved her mood. "Good luck. I am not so easily replaced." Reluctantly she sat up. "It was nice being warm again, even if it was only for the night."
The Rito rolled his eyes at her and got to his feet, grabbing the bedding he had added to her own the night before. "It's not going to get better," he told her as he stalked off. "It's likely to snow like this all week."
Urbosa shuddered. Looking around at the other members of her group, she saw worry mixed with uncertainty in their faces. "I'm not used to the cold," she offered lamely. "It was nice to be warm for a change."
Zelda looked guilty. "I didn't realized how much it was affecting you," she said. Urbosa waved off her concern.
"I should have said something," she admitted. "I thought I could tough it out."
No more was said on the subject, at least not to Urbosa, but that night, as they all began to settle down once more, the woman could feel the eyes of the other members of the group flickering between her and the Rito.
Revali ignored them, waiting until Urbosa had gotten into her own bedroll before once again throwing his own blankets across hers in a practiced move. "Move over," he grunted. "You'd think with all the feathers you're wearing you'd be better at keeping warm," he complained as he put his back against hers.
Urbosa shrugged. "By that logic, I suppose you'd better start teaching me to fly tomorrow, too," she retorted.
The Rito snorted, then fell silent. Urbosa yawned and reveled in the delicious feeling of being warm.
Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda Universe, Breath of the Wild in particular, does not belong to me.
