ATE: Hey everyone! I just got back from my trip to MetroCon today and decided to post this chapter for everyone. I'd like to thank Nintendoborn and Guest for their reviews and to all those who have read this story so far; I'm glad people like the story as well. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Legend of Zelda or Nintendo. I only own my OC.

~*~Chapter 2~*~

Loud music playing, the room crowded with people trying to be heard over the blaring boom of the bass as it pierced the air, causing her body to tremble. Though the people around her spoke loudly, she couldn't decipher their words, and yet she somehow understood the context.

Vision hazy, sound distorted, everything blurred together until she found herself seated in the back of a car, but she wasn't alone. Her mind seemed to know the group of girls riding with her even with their faces being blurred, all of them giggling and chatting excitedly to each other.

She turned to the girl seated beside her, and she somehow knew she was smiling at her as a bright light gradually illuminated the unknown girl's face.

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Evangeline's eyes shot open as she quickly sat up, a gasp escaping her lips. A hand flew up to grip her chest in an attempt to calm her pounding heart. Once she managed to calm herself down, hazel orbs began to take in her surroundings.

The structure she was in was wooden, almost resembling a hut of sorts with a colorful rug covering most of the floor. The large windows (for lack of better words) were covered by wooden shutters built into the frame, the slits allowing some light to filter into the room to prevent the room from being too dark (it was enough to allow a person to sleep during the day). What she assumed to be the door leading out of the hut was covered by a curtain that served as a...well, door. In the center of the floor was a cooking pot that sat over an unlit fire pit, having a sort of stone circle and caging around it to prevent anything from catching on fire.

After observing all this, Evangeline realized she had been laying in a hammock that was a good distance above the floor (definitely something that would be hard to climb into for the average sized person). Seeing the blanket pooling in her lap made her aware of her body shivering and she didn't hesitate to pull it over herself as she curled up underneath it for warmth.

Even with a blanket she was still cold!

Sunlight flooded into the hut as the curtain was suddenly pulled to the side, followed by someone entering. The bright light hurt her eyes, causing her to block her eyes with an arm as she tried to make out who entered, though she could barely make out the silhouette of their figure.

Who…?

"Well now. I see someone finally decided to awaken from their slumber."

Evangeline mentally groaned upon recognizing the voice.

It hadn't been a dream!

She was actually stuck with the birdbrain.

"How long was I asleep?" She asked, deciding to get the question out of the way.

"It wasn't long, if that's what you are thinking. Only through the night and half of today." Revali answered, allowing the curtain to fall over the doorway and walking further into the hut. "I must say, you are awfully clingy when you sleep."

Her face heated up at this.

"I-I'm not clingy!"

"Oh really?" Oh, god no! She could hear it! "Sounds like you're in denial. You were like a little fledgling clinging to its mother."

Not knowing how to respond she pulled the blanket over her head. That didn't stop the Rito from chuckling.

"And yet your actions have done nothing to refute my claim."

She huffed.

"This your house?" She decided to change the subject.

"Of course." She could hear him rummaging around.

"And I basically work for you?"

"That was the agreement."

"When am I supposed to start?"

The rummaging stopped which left her confused. Removing the blanket from over her head, she found Revali standing below the hammock she was in looking up at her with an intense gaze that was...as much as she hated to admit it, she found it somewhat intimidating.

"You won't be doing much of anything until your ankle is healed." He told her. "You wouldn't be doing yourself any favors otherwise."

Huh?

Maybe Revali wasn't so self-centered.

Maybe he was capable of being a decent person…er, bird.

"But fear not! For you are guaranteed a full recovery under my care!"

…Or not.

"I am sure you are famished by this point. Fortunately enough, I have prepared you a meal ahead of time." At the mention of food her stomach started to growl and she became aware of just how hungry she was. "However, you will have to come down."

Evangeline's gaze drifted to the wooden floor below, eyeing the distance warily. She was in a hammock, which was high above the floor, and he expected her to get down?

"You must be joking." She told him. "You are aware of how high up I am, right?"

"It hasn't escaped my notice."

"So how do you expect me to get down? Jump?"

"That's exactly what I am expecting."

She gave him a disbelieving look. He was actually serious.

"No. I already twisted my ankle, and I'm not planning on breaking any bones."

Revali furrowed his brows at this.

"Are all humans like this?" He questioned.

"Only the rational ones!"

The Rito brought a wing up to his face before letting out a frustrated sigh.

"This is getting out of wing…" He grumbled before lowering his wing to look at her. "Do you truly believe I would let you come to further harm?"

Evangeline opened her mouth to answer, but paused as her mind registered Revali's question. Did she think he'd let her get hurt? She didn't know how to answer that question now that she thought about it. True he was a jerk, but he hadn't done anything that would make her question his integrity.

From what she was aware of given the short amount of time she knew him.

And he was expecting an answer.

"No."

He seemed to relax somewhat upon hearing her answer.

"Then you will jump. I expect you to trust me when I need you to."

She was surprised by the sincerity of his words. There was no boasting, no snide comments or arrogant words. Just…honesty.

It was…astounding how differently he was acting compared to how he had been from before.

She took a deep breath as her eyes shifted from Revali to the floor, and then back again. He expected her to jump and trust him.

Why was this so hard?

'Put aside your pride. Give him your trust.' She told herself.

With that she forced herself to slip out of the hammock and she squeezed her eyes shut as she fell towards the floor…

…Only to be caught by a pair of wings.

Hazel eyes blinked open to find that she had, indeed, been caught by Revali. This display caused her to have mixed feelings concerning him and she wasn't sure what to think.

He was...puzzling.

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" He asked, though his words lacked the usual rudeness. He could've given her sarcasm, but he chose not to.

Revali didn't wait for her to answer as he helped her over to a spot close to the unlit fire pit and cooking pot, as well as carefully guiding her to sit on the floor. Soon enough she was handed a fork and a plate with what appeared to be a lightly breaded fish that had a buttery sauce on top of it. The scent that met her nostrils was almost heavenly and taking a bite out of it proved that it was as good as it smelled.

"This is good." She complimented. "What is it?"

"It is salmon meunière. And it is only good because I made it."

Evangeline couldn't help the small laugh that left her mouth at this. Of course he'd be boastful of any ability he possessed.

She'd let him have that one. He earned it.

While she was distracted with eating she didn't noticed what it was Revali was working on, and it wasn't until she finished her food and turned around that she found him setting up a hammock, though it was made to hang lower to the ground compared to the one she'd woken up in.

"Why are you setting up a hammock?" She asked.

"I only do so because you need somewhere to sleep." He replied before turning to her. "And I would like to have my hammock back as well."

Her face heated up at this. So this whole time she had been sleeping in his hammock? Of course he'd want his hammock back (who wouldn't?), that was understandable, but did he have to make it sound so negative?

Well, at least she had somewhere to sleep.

Evangeline let out a yelp when something was tossed at her head and she quickly pulled it down and held it out in front of her to find out that it was a one-piece white dress with long sleeves, and it looked it was long enough to reach above her ankles; there was light blue embroidery along the collar, hem, and the ends of both sleeves that she found to be an interesting design. Thankfully it looked warm.

"As much as I enjoy the view, I suggest you cover up." Revali commented.

At first she was confused by what he meant, but then her faced heated up when she caught on to what he was referring to.

How had she been able to forget about the draftiness of her backside?

ATE: Explanation time!

(1) Evangeline's Dream: This is a bit of a hint as to what happened before Evangeline ended up in Hyrule. I wonder if you can guess what took place?

(2) Wooden Shutters and Curtain Door: Even though it wasn't shown in the game, I'd imagine the huts in Rito Village would have wooden shutters and and curtains covering the windows (what could be considered windows) and doorway respectfully. Not only for privacy or to block out light while sleeping, but imagine days the Tabantha region were to experience weather such as rain, snow, or just a particularly windy day? You'd want some way to keep the cold out, along with being able to keep a fire lit to warm the hut itself. Just something I could imagine being incorporated in the design of the Rito huts.

(3) Hammock: In the actual game the hammocks (at least the ones for the adult Rito) are really high up! True the Rito are capable of flying up when they want to sleep, but even I wouldn't want to jump from that height!

(4) Revali: I know that he might come off as a bit OOC, but I felt that the way he acted close to the end was necessary.

(5) The White Dress: Believe it or not, the white dress is actually the same as some of the female NPCs in the game wear (though they're wearing something over it as well as having a sash wrapped around their mid section). If you want an example of what it looks like, think of the female Hylian NPC named Jules, who happens to be standing outside of the Jewelry shop in Gerudo Town during the day.

Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter and I hoped you enjoyed it. With this chapter, the story is caught up with the version I posted on AO3.

Please let me know what you think (feedback is appreciated)! ;D