"I'm not competing." Revali scowled at the Gerudo, at the elaborate (in Urbosa's opinion only, it would seem, the Rito was decidedly not impressed) archery range, and finally at the pair of Hylian idiots who had just challenged him to prove that the Rito were not simply a race of braggarts and could, in fact, actually shoot.
Urbosa was surprised; between Revali's highly competitive nature and the ease with which the Rito often took offense even when none was intended, she would have thought he would be eager to teach the two Hylians who had called his abilities as an archer into question a lesson. Revali, however, remained unoffended by the insult.
If anything, he looked bored.
"He's afraid he'll lose." The blonde one said, and the Gerudo had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. "Everyone knows the Rito modify their weapons. He doesn't stand a chance when it comes to plain, old fashioned archery. No one can stand up to Hylian dedication and hard work.
This time Revali did roll his eyes, but still seemed strangely unmoved by the continued slander against his people as he considered the archery camp. "So you turn out the best archers in all Hyrule?" he asked. "And of course, they're taught by you, so you must be the best of the best."
The two Hylians had already made such a claim, when the Rito Champion and his companions had first arrived, singling out Revali and challenging him to prove himself the better shot with a bow. He had, it seemed to Urbosa, been interested in the impromptu competition up until they had made an off-hand comment about the Rito claiming to be far better than they actually were, and that was where he had apparently lost interest, much to the surprise of not just Urbosa, but most of their party.
Revali shrugged. "I have to admit, I'm not that impressed with your practice range," he finally said. "Or with what I assume has to be your lack of skill-I saw you when we first arrived, and honestly, I would be embarrassed to call myself an archer. Any one of my companions-Master Daruk excepted, of course, it is a well known fact that Gorons are not particularly suited for archery..."
"Of course," the darker haired Hylian put in tersely. Revali smirked at him.
"Any one of them could outdo the both of you, even while limited to the-ahem-more tradition Hylian bows you seem to favor."
"Any one of them, you say?" The blonde was immensely interested. "Are you willing to back that claim?"
Revali shrugged, and drew his own bow with a flourish. "I'll even go so far as to offer you the advantage in the form of one of those modified bows you claim make it so much easier to hit the target."
The two Hylians considered both the Rito and his weapon briefly. "Archer has his choice of feathers?" Revali quickly agreed. "Winning side keeps all weapons and ammunition used in the contest.
"Deal," the Rito spat out before anyone else was quite certain what had happened. "Shall I name our champion, or would you prefer that honor?"
The darker haired of the two men looked their group over briefly. "Not him," he said immediately, pointing at Link.
"The girl," his companion nodded toward the Hylian.
"The princess?" Impa's eyes widened even as Zelda paled.
"Your Rito friend did say any one of you."
"Agreed." The smile Revali offered the two men was almost malicious.
Urbosa stood between Daruk and Impa as the spectators in the competition filtered to the side of the range in order to watch. The Shiekah was clearly upset; Urbosa was not particularly worried, at least not for Zelda's safety. She only hoped Revali knew what he was doing.
Further rules were quickly agreed upon. One point for the outside ring, two for the inner, three for the middle ring. Five arrows each, Zelda would go only once. In order to win she would have to score better than both of her opponents.
It did not seem fair to Urbosa, or anyone else watching, but Revali had agreed without hesitation.
"These two are supposed to be master archers," Impa hissed under her breath. "How angry do you think he'll be if she loses his bow?"
Daruk heard, and turned to answer across the Gerudo. "He's been teaching her, in the evenings," he reminded them.
"With a Rito bow," Impa replied. "Hylian bows are different. It's also a lot of pressure."
Daruk shrugged. All they could do was let the scene unfold before them.
Revali handed his bow over to the blonde one. Of all the things that had happened so far, the fact that he was willingly letting a couple of strangers handle his preferred weapon was the strangest. While he examined the weapon and tried to adjust to its weight and size, the Rito approached the Princess.
She shot him a nervous glance as she took the Hylian bow in hand, but if she had been hoping for advice or encouragement, she did not get it. Revali remained silent as she raised the bow and experimentally drew the string as if to fire.
She released it slowly. The Rito kicked at her toe, causing her to shift her weight, and briefly settled a hand on her shoulder. Again the girl moved away from his touch.
Revali joined Urbosa and the others, coming to lean almost lazily on the fence that separated the range from its audience. The glint in his eye suggested that if anyone were being taken advantage of when it came to this contest and any resulting losses, it was not him.
The blonde Hylian went first. His first arrow hit the two-point ring on the target. The other four landed in the middle, earning three points each. He finished with a total of fourteen points. The other Hylian hit the middle ring every time, his arrows clustering neatly to create a five-sided polygon and earning him a perfect score of fifteen.
Zelda stepped forward, taking her time. She looked down to check her feet, eliciting a chuckle from her opponents, before adjusting the rest of her stance. Raising the Hylian bow, she drew her first arrow and took careful aim before releasing it to hit the target dead center. The remaining four arrows followed rapidly, all in the center, so close to the first that the fletching on all five seemed to be fighting to inhabit the same space.
Zelda lowered her bow, cheeks flushed and eyes bright. The two Hylians stared for a moment, then the dark haired one stalked angrily over to her, shoving Revali's bow at her aggressively as he snatched the Hylian one from her in almost the same movement.
"Does he think she cheated?" Daruk wanted to know. Revali shook his head.
"He thinks she had an unfair advantage. The draw on my bow is heavier-it takes more strength to pull an arrow back." The Rito explained.
"So he thinks if she uses yours, she'll do worse?" Impa asked. "But that's not what they agreed to." Revali shrugged, unbothered as Zelda turned and started in their direction. He handed his own quiver of arrows to her without a word.
"She managed three when we fought the lynel," Mipha recalled. "Will she be able to manage five?" His eyes on the Princess as she raised her bow and once again took aim at the freshly cleared target, Revali snorted.
Only after the girl had loosed every arrow in his quiver in a series of tight clusters that started in the center of the target and reluctantly worked their way out did he look back at the Zora.
"We've been working on switching back and forth between different bows," he told her. "It's one thing to have a preference, but in the heat of battle you may not get a choice. Then you have to work with whatever you can get your hands on."
Zelda and her former opponents rejoined the group, the princess attempting to smooth over any hurt feelings. "Revali is a master archer. His skill with a bow and arrow is unmatched by any other Rito. This is but one of the reasons he was named Champion and chosen to represent his people. He is an excellent teacher as well. Perhaps, if you were to offer an apology for any unintended insult to his abilities-or his people-he might offer you some advice on how to improve." She smiled at the two Hylians to take the sting out of the words. "At the very least, you might be able to beg a demonstration from him."
Revali narrowed his eyes at her even as the two men bowed and scrambled to do just as the princess had suggested. It took several minutes of apologies-and questions about Rito style archery-to get them both to settle down but when they did, it quickly became clear that neither intended to let any of them go without some sort of offering.
"Fine," the Rito said in that tone of voice that said that not only was he about to show off, but he did not actually mind doing so. He twitched his fingers at Zelda, who immediately handed over bow and quiver.
He had drawn and let loose a cluster of arrows before anyone could quite figure out whether or not they were in the line of fire. They struck center in the same target that had been used before. The wind picked up, and he took to the air, loosing another cluster in the same pattern into the next nearest target before riding the still-present gale even higher into the sky. He dove, aiming for another target and hitting it with his usual deadly accuracy.
This time Urbosa did not flinch when he landed beside her, though one of the Hylians jumped and nearly lost his balance at the Rito's sudden reappearance. Far from being angry, the Hylian laughed and slapped Revali lightly on the shoulder.
The two Hylians dragged both Zelda and Revali back out to the archery range, chattering excitedly the entire time. When it became obvious that the Rito was, in fact, being forced into offering an impromptu archery lesson, Urbosa decided they might as well settle for the evening.
Practice lasted until well after dark; Urbosa had no idea how Revali was managing that until she realized that Zelda had taken over offering instructions to the two men while the Rito just stood there with his wings crossed across his chest. At last the four finally quit for the evening and decided to rejoin the rest of the group, and Urbosa had to stifle a laugh as they approached.
Zelda led the way, chattering at a mile a minute about various famous Rito archers that Revali must have told her about at some point or another while the two Hylians walked beside her on her left, clearly fascinated. Revali himself walked on her other side, his hand out and barely brushing against her arm. As engaged as she seemed to be in the conversation, she was clearly keeping an eye on the ground in front of the Rito.
When they reached fence at the edge of the practice range she caught his hand and settled it on the top rail without missing a beat, ducking between it and the bottom rail while he simply launched himself over it.
They reached the campfire without incident; the two Hylians were invited to join them for a dinner that consisted primarily of roasted deer meat, sautéed greens, and an in-depth discussion of the differences between Hylian and Rito style fletching on arrows, and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda Universe, Breath of the Wild in particular, does not belong to me.
