Daruk entered the main room of the house in Kakariko in a state, his eyes wide and frantic as his hands carefully cradled...something.
Urbosa raised an eyebrow. "You okay?" She had never seen the Goron this worked up.
"Um," the Champion faltered. "I don't know what to do." he admitted. He resisted the urge to shift his weight, but it was clear Daruk was upset.
"About what?" The Gerudo wondered what on earth could have happened; Daruk was by far the most level-headed out of all of them, rarely taking offense at even Revali at his most quarrelsome, facing down monsters with cool, calm, confidence, and providing steady, constant strength and encouragement to all around him.
None of this was readily apparent in the overly agitated Goron currently standing before her.
"Daruk, I can't help if you won't tell me what's going on. What happened? What's in your hands?" She kept her voice gentle as she spoke, trying not to spook him. "Please, let me help."
"It must have fallen out of a tree," Daruk offered the non-explanation, but at least he was trying. "It was on the ground. I didn't know what to do."
Urbosa forced back a groan and willed her tone to remain even. "What is it?"
Reluctantly the Goron opened his hands, revealing a baby bird. The Gerudo stared, first at the bird, then at Daruk.
"You couldn't put it back?" she asked dryly, trying to cover her alarm with annoyance. She didn't know the first thing about taking care of wild animals, especially not baby ones, and neither did he. Clearly.
"I couldn't find the nest!" Daruk was distraught. Only the fact that he was trying not to scare the tiny creature in his hands kept him from raising his voice.
Urbsosa sighed. "Where did you find it?" she asked, wondering if it were too late. She did not want to be stuck with this thing. She had no idea how to care for it!
The baby bird started squawking, and both Gerudo and Goron nearly panicked. Daruk had not accidentally injured it, at least, not as far as either could tell. There was no reason for it to suddenly start making such a terrible noise.
"What in the name of the goddess are you two doing?" Revali had arrived, unannounced and largely unnoticed, except by the baby bird, which had turned to face him, still making that awful racket.
"Daruk found a bird," Urbosa offered, as the Rito reluctantly joined them for a closer look.
"It was on the ground." Daruk explained again. "I didn't know what else to do with it."
"It is a sparrow," Revali told him. "Not much of a mouthful, even when they're full grown," he mused.
Daruk closed his hands over the bird protectively while Urbosa scowled at their fellow Champion. Revali snorted and motioned for Daruk to open his hands again. Reluctantly the Goron did so, watching the Rito carefully, just in case.
Revali maneuvered the bird into his own hand with surprising gentleness. Looking it over, he frowned. "It doesn't seem hurt. Or sick," he fell silent as he continued his examination of the tiny creature.
"Where did you find it?" he asked. "It seems fine. It might just be learning how to fly. It should be old enough. Look, the flight feathers have grown in. If it were all down, that would be another matter entirely. Then we would need to get it back to the nest as soon as possible."
"Would the parents take it back, if it's been handled?" Urbosa asked.
"They would." Revali made a face. "The idea that birds won't take back their fledglings if they're handled by Hylians, or Gorons, or whatever else is ridiculous. They can't smell Gerudo on their offspring or anything."
"They can't?" Daruk asked. Revali shook his head.
"Birds actually don't have that great a sense of smell." Urbosa wondered whether Rito were included in that, but didn't ask. "This one though, it's still getting the hang of flying. Put it back where you found it, in a bush or something so it's not exposed. It's parents will hear it, and feed it, and in a few days it should be able to fly off on its own."
"That simple, huh?" Urbosa asked, raising an eyebrow at the Rito. Daruk had calmed considerably, she noticed, but looked a little glum. She wondered if he had convinced himself he was going to have to raise the thing.
"Put it back," Revali told them. "And in the future, put them back in the nest if they're too young to fly. If they're old enough, just make sure they've got some sort of cover. Most of the time, the parents are around somewhere. Don't bring them home with you unless you know the parents are dead." He returned the fledgling to the Goron.
A somewhat subdued Daruk led them outside and through the village, stopping near a rather large tree. "It was on the ground here," he gestured with his free hand. Looking around, he found a nearby bush and carefully placed the sparrow in among the branches.
Revali shook his head at the Goron. Daruk had already gotten attached to the fledgeling, never a good idea when dealing with wild animals. "Look at him hopping from branch to branch," he said, pointing. "He's happy. He'll be fine." Daruk watched the sparrow flit from branch to branch, a small smile making its way to his face. "And there," he tapped the Goron on the shoulder and gestured to a nearby roof. "That's probably Mom and Dad. They'll have a nice little reunion as soon as the two-legged giants are out of the way." He let out a chirp, startling his companions.
One of the sparrows perched on the edge of the roof replied, and both Daruk and Urbosa grinned.
"Well I, for one, am relieved not to be raising any baby birds," Urbosa admitted as they turned and headed back to the house. "Present company excluded, of course."
Revali rolled his eyes. "Not a fledgling," he retorted. "Certainly not a nestling."
"But you make just about as much noise as one," she pointed out. "Squawking day in and day out-" she broke off, her eyes gleaming as if something particularly delightful had just occurred to her. "If we just dropped a nice, juicy grub in your mouth when you start fussing, would it shut you up?"
"You know that would involve touching a nice, juicy grub, right?" He grinned when Urbosa shuddered. "And then you'd have to watch me eat it."
"And you would, wouldn't you? Out of spite, if nothing else."
"Are you kidding?" Revali's grin grew even wider. "Grubs are delicious. I should dig some up for Mipha to try, next time we find a likely spot..."
Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda Universe, Breath of the Wild in particular, does not belong to me.
