"Move over."

Urbosa was not prepared for the feathery mass that plopped down beside her in the near darkness.

"Revali, what-?"

The Rito was close enough that only their bedrolls kept his feathers from brushing against her as he tried to get comfortable. When he did not immediately offer an explanation for his presence, Urbosa tried again.

"Did you get lonely, in that hammock of yours, sleeping at the edge of camp?" She teased. All she received in reply was an irritated sigh as the Rito gave up trying to get comfortable and threw himself on his back, staring up at the sky in silence.

The Gerudo considered her fellow Champion.

"Revali?"

"What."

Urbosa took a slow, calming breath. She really would have hoped that by now Revali might be just a little less work. At the very least, it would be nice not to have to drag information out of him piece by piece.

"I'm molting, okay?" The Rito spit out. Urbosa blinked, wondering what the big deal was for a moment before remembering how embarrassed he had been when Mipha had tried to broach the subject.

"So what do we need to know?" she asked carefully. "I know it's a sensitive subject." The Rito fidgeted beside her.

"I won't be able to fly until the new feathers in my wings grow in," he grumbled. Urbosa resisted the urge to offer consolation; she suspected he would only snap at her for the attempt. Instead she simply nodded.

"Anything else?"

Revali shrugged. "I look awful." His beak clicked shut immediately. Judging by the horror shining in his eyes before he looked away, the complaint, delivered in an almost mournful tone, had slipped out unintentionally.

"Is that why you've been wearing that cape all day?" Urbosa asked, curious. Revali shook his head, then sighed.

"Not really," he admitted after a moment. "I mean, it's not a pretty sight, but that's not really why."

"Then why? I've seen you run around the Tabantha Frontier during a snowstorm in nothing more than your shirt-sleeves. You've got to be burning up in that thing." She watched his eyes closed as he visibly resisted snapping out a reply and realized that he was still wearing the cloak under his usual bedding. "Are you cold?" she asked; a wave of understanding hit.

Again he bit back an angry retort. Urbosa reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder; the Rito was shivering.

Urbosa had spent most of her life in the desert. She could tolerate a little extra heat. Sitting up, she piled her blankets haphazardly on top of his before sliding in next to him. "Pretty sure this qualifies as something else we should probably know," she pointed out as he shifted to accommodate her.

"I was getting there."

"You just didn't want to admit that even the Rito get cold some times." Revali rolled his eyes.

"We've already established that we sometimes sleep in groups for precisely that reason," he told her. Urbosa chuckled.

"I'm not fooled," she declared. "You were lonely, pure and simple."

"So I came to you for company?"

"Of course."

The Rito sighed and shook his head. "I should've just stayed in my hammock," he said, his tone weary. "I could have at least had some peace and quiet. The company would have been infinitely better as well."

They both knew he didn't mean it.


Urbosa awoke the next morning to find the Rito still asleep and practically snuggled up against her, blissfully unaware of the odd looks being leveled in their direction by their companions. The Gerudo raised an eyebrow; meeting Impa's gaze, she shook her head, hoping the Sheikah got the message.

The less said about this the better. Revali might have finally reached a point where he was willing to talk to Urbosa alone in the darkness about such a sensitive issue, but his reaction, both immediate and long-term to being teased however indirectly about it did not bear thinking about.

Impa shrugged and went on about her business. The others took their cue from the woman, thankfully, and left Gerudo and Rito alone.

Urbosa considered her still sleeping bunk-mate and wondered what to do now.


Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda and its people do not belong to me.