"Sit down, Revali." Mipha's tone made it clear that she was not asking. The Rito stopped his pacing to stare at her.
Usually quick enough to cool down and equally quick to pretend whatever had initially upset him had never happened, Revali had, if anything, only grown more agitated since leaving his people behind. Though no longer so angry he was barely in control of himself, he had not forgotten the incident, and had spent most of the day both irritable and overly defensive. Even Princess Zelda had reached the point where she found it wiser simply not to try talking to him, though he had done little more than ignore her previous attempts at distracting him from whatever currently haunted him.
The Zora Princess raised an eyebrow, wordlessly repeating her command, and Revali gave in, wearily sinking to the ground in front of her. It was unclear whether his imitation of her cross-legged seat was intentional or not.
Ignoring everyone else in the camp, Mipha's eyes bored into his. Caught off guard, the Rito could not look away.
"Close your eyes," she said, her voice softening. Revali hesitated, and she tilted her head slightly to study him. "You're safe here, among allies," she reminded him, her voice strangely compelling. "I promise I will let no harm come to you."
Again, the Rito gave in, closing his eyes.
"Take a deep breath, long and slow," Mipha told him, her own eyes closing. "And let it out slowly. Breathe with me, and think of nothing but the breath."
It took several attempts before Rito and Zora matched their breathing together, Mipha leading, Revali following as she slowed, making each breath deeper and longer than the last. After a moment, the Rito's shoulders slumped, releasing a tension that had been building since the day before.
Mipha leaned forward long enough to take each of his feathered hands in her own. His breath hitched slightly as she did, but otherwise Revali did not protest. "Be still," she admonished gently, maneuvering hands so that their palms pressed together, fingers interlaced. Together their breath continued at a slow, steady pace.
All sense of time had been lost by the time the Zora opened her eyes. Revali followed shortly after, staring as if he had never really seen her before. Mipha met his gaze serenely as they disentangled their hands.
"If you ever wish to talk, I am here," she told him. "If you do not, then I am still here, cousin." The princess leaned forward to rest a hand on his shoulder briefly. "You have allies here, maybe even friends. Do not forget it."
He nodded, still not quite certain of himself. Mipha smiled at him, breaking whatever spell seemed to have taken hold.
Revali let out one last breath before standing. "Thank you," he said. For what, he was not entirely certain. Had she simply forced him to take a moment to remember to breathe? Or had there been more to it?
The Rito left without another word. His fellow Champion watched him go, unbothered by his departure.
She looked up as Urbosa's shadow fell across her. Tilting her head back, she smiled up at the Gerudo, who took her response as an invitation and sat down.
"Is he going to be all right?" Urbosa asked, her voice low. Mipha regarded her curiously.
"I can heal only physical wounds," she said. "If whatever so-called prank his friends played on him had resulted in physical injury, I could have healed it immediately."
"They aren't his friends. At least, that's what he told me." Mipha looked thoughtful.
"I suppose that paints the relationship in a significantly different light," she conceded. "Did he tell you what happened?"
Urbosa shook her head. Her fellow Champion sighed softly.
"I want to help," the Gerudo admitted. "I mean, he's infuriating at times, and almost always difficult, whether he's actively trying to be or not, but I don't like to see him hurt. And he's clearly hurting. His usual method of dealing with things is to storm off and then pretend they never happened when he finally comes back, but that doesn't seem to be working this time."
"No," Mipha agreed. "I suspect, however, that the most we can do for him right now is just be there. If he wants to talk, listen. If he doesn't-I think trying to force a conversation will do more harm than good right now."
"You're probably right." Urbosa didn't care for the thought that she might not be able to do anything about the situation. She was used to fixing things, and did not want to admit that this time, maybe there was nothing to fix.
Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda Universe, Breath of the Wild in particular, does not belong to me.
