She didn't die.
Tya dusted off her clothing as she shifted to try and wring out some of the pain in her knee. She had to ignore the fact that her shredded palms were begging to be put out of their misery with each touch to her clothing.
Her shoulders ached from having to cling to the sailcloth like that, and honestly, she probably did extend it a little too early since it took her ages to finally get down to the surface.
To…
She paused.
"Hylia's tits…" she whispered to herself upon straightening up and looking around.
She had aimed for a clearing in her descent and had succeeded but just barely. In part, this was because she'd panicked when she realized what she was doing, but it was also a little bit because she had been so stunned by the vastness of the place. The view from above had been far more vague, seeing only the sea of bright trees, mountains, bodies of water. But now, standing among it all, she could barely believe it. Then again, what in this situation felt real to her thus far? It was barely new.
Before her was a thick density of trees the likes of which she had never even considered possible. There was a carpet of green that inched up the trunks of trees, appearing like velvet she wanted to feel. There were small creatures overhead, lingering on the branches, peering down at her with curiosity that she returned right back to them. Among the green of moss, grass, and thick bushes, were various bursts of colors in an array of shapes and sizes.
The smaller, snaking along the trees, were vibrant flowering vines in white, pink, and blue- though to her, it was blue, purple, and more blue. And while some flowers speckled the moss and grass between the roots of trees, there were some far larger, scattered throughout unruly bushes or hanging from trees.
But the largest of the colors- the most intriguing, was a plethora of massive mushrooms. She'd never seen any so big- she hadn't even known they could get this large. Nor had she known they could come in so many colors. Not that any of them exactly looked right to her or ever had when she found (and picked them out of) her food back home. They were brown in Skyloft. Brown and edible. Well, subjective on edible. Edible to people who liked them- She was not those people.
It was incredible… there was so much to see, but just as her excitement spiked, urging her to dart in and get a closer look, to touch all the things she wanted to touch, to pick flowers and poke mushrooms- a voice sputtered behind her "Hy-Hylia's what?!"
She whipped around to find Link staring at her with something near horror on his face. "Nothing!" She practically shouted. "You did not hear that."
"I ha-have trouble talking not-not hearing, Tya," he mused in return, the gentle smile on his lips suggesting that his intentions were more to tease than to truly distress her.
While the girl did somewhat soften as she read over his expression, she was made to tense again as he suddenly gasped. His hand hurried to press to his forehead, eyes suddenly closed tight as he hissed through his teeth at a sudden stabbing pain behind his eyes.
In an instant her embarrassment melted away and she stepped forward, brow furrowed in concern as she leaned to look at him. With his eyes closed so tight, he didn't notice her move, and thus flinched as she asked "are you alright?"
He let out a hard breath, opening one eye, then tried to nod only to be abruptly cut off the action as the pain seared with movement.
She didn't know what to do about that. Concern left her raising her hands, one setting on his shoulder while the other hesitated over the hand against his temple. It took him a moment before he was able to draw in a deep breath, and as the pain seemed to subside, he again opened his eyes to look down at her. It seemed he had the intention of assuring her of his well being, but instead of being able to do so, both of them flinched as a ball of light radiated from the sword sheathed at his back. It took the form of a woman in a familiar flash of magic that Tya recognized to be that of the spirit she'd seen in the statue.
Even if she knew what the spirit was, she couldn't help but sidestep away and, merely on instinct, pulled up a bit of her sailcloth to hide her mouth and nose behind.
"Master," the spirit bowed just slightly to Link as he somewhat calmed in her presence. "My studies indicate that this place is known as the Sealed Grounds."
Link looked around upon being given a name for their whereabouts. In truth, it really didn't seem so important to be named, merely a batch of thick forestation. But the spirit shifted aside just barely and indicated a portion of path that Tya hadn't actually noticed. It was wildly obvious, so the fact that she hadn't offended her on a personal level, but she scolded herself inward and moved on.
Link nodded his head, this time slower just in case it once again provoked whatever had been stabbing him in the face a moment prior. It didn't, and so he relaxed just a bit.
"I believe it would be best if you proceed this way," the ghost told him, and again, he accepted. She faded again into the smaller form of light, and as she returned to her place in the blade, presumably, Link took a step only to pause after and turn back toward Tya.
"You shou-should go home," he said. "I can take you back."
He was right! She definitely should go home!
"No," she said. "Thank you for your concern, but I will be of no use in Skyloft."
He quieted, seemingly confused for a moment. "Of use?"
"Yes," she replied. "What am I to do whilst in Skyloft? Stand and stare at the clouds and hope she suddenly pops up? I will do nothing more than lie in bed and worry if I return home."
"Don't yo-you have-you have a job?" He asked.
Valid question.
She… Probably should have said something about that.
She highly doubted anyone would notice she was gone, though.
"It will be fine," she assured. "I will aid in your efforts to find her. If you would rather I didn't come with you, I'll continue on my own path to find her." That was seeming less and less possible. There were a lot of things that seemed to be at play here that Tya couldn't even begin to know. Besides, it was probably safer to stay with Link than anything, even if he didn't look overly pleased by the fact that she wanted to.
She had to swallow the lump in her throat that said she was being a burden, and accept the fact that he resigned and held a hand out to once again gesture toward the path.
He didn't want her there, and that was obvious. Perhaps she could go off on her own after getting whatever information lay ahead. It was obvious she was missing something, otherwise she would have left then and there.
"Does that headache thing happen often?" She asked, slowing as she found herself at his side. She bunched her fingers in the thick fabric of her sailcloth, after drawing it away from her face.
"No," he answered. "...Ma-Maybe it's the air."
As they continued up the pathway, Tya couldn't help but notice that Link still seemed a little bit perturbed. She couldn't exactly blame him for it either. It hadn't quite hit her yet, everything that was happening. It was like she was operating fully on either wonder or adrenaline or both, but there were hints of exhaustion both physical and mental beginning to seep into her edges. They'd catch up, she knew. And if she felt this way, there was no surprise that Link did too.
Even if stress wasn't the cause, he had also just woken up from whatever it was that had knocked him unconscious to begin with. The realization that he was up and moving brought her pause.
"Link," she said aloud. In response, she earned a small 'hm', but her question was left unasked as the beginnings of structured stone began to show through the trees.
He slowed some, eying the implication of a mossy, aged wall.
Tya completely forgot about her concerns upon seeing it.
Rude, yes, but that was a building. A building on the surface.
The Surface, which Hylians hadn't touched in centuries.
She couldn't contain it.
She darted forward before her mind could warn her of any dangers, and just as Link realized she'd moved past him, he followed, uttering a little "Tya, wait" which was lost on her entirely.
Luck was clearly on her side, to have kept her from waltzing her dumbass right into danger, but Goddess this was beautiful. It was so natural…
A lattice of vines crept along old cracking walls. What was once a light colored stone was left dulled and greyed by time, weathered, dirtied, and yet the structure still mostly stood. She couldn't see all of it from her view- trees grew close, their branches curling over lower edges of the broken walls. The glass of windows were broken and frosted with neglect and one half of the pair of doors to which the path led lay slightly broken off an old hinge.
It was magnificent… Tya didn't hesitate in going to those doors.
She put her hands on the handle carved into it, but didn't pull at first as she was momentarily distracted by the vague embossing of old Hylian decoration. Even now with it so worn, she could see that they were detailed and had once been very fine. The thought of what they once were left her heart to flutter with excitement.
The part of the doors that were broken didn't open with her tugging. It had buried itself in the dirt when it broke and judging by how cemented the ground beneath it had become, that had happened some time ago. The other, however, seemed to have been used. It didn't seem recent, but it was in comparison to the other.
By the time she stopped trying the broken side- it had really only been one or two attempts- Link had caught up. He wasn't far behind to begin with, so that came as little surprise, and as Tya struggled to pull the heavy stone door open, he reached around her to help, doing what she struggled to do with one hand. He did still need to use a bit of muscle on it, so that was some solace, as was the fact that she helped.
It fell open, grinding against its own weight as it had become foreign in the absence of use. The moment there was enough room, Tya hurried inside, Link close behind.
Her footfalls fell upon stone, the sound of her boots echoing on high ceilings. Branches peeked through the parts that had fallen in, and around them, beams of sunlight. Light glinted off dust which danced in what breeze was allowed in through the remnants of the walls. Thick broken pillars had become worn much like the rest of the place and even so, they served their purpose to hold the structure in place for the most part.
Grass had begun to grow between the cracks of the stones beneath her. Dirt filled in corners, blooming weeds and flowers and even a sapling, she'd noted. It was so beautiful to see nature itself reclaim a structure built by Hylian hands. But among the greenery working to consume the stone, was one oddity. A sharp red contrasted that of the beautiful earthy tones. Link, upon having followed her inside, set a hand on her shoulder as a means of keeping her from darting off again. There wasn't much of the structure to be left unseen from their current point of view, but she guessed it was fair enough as she wanted to take the chance to look more closely at everything anyway.
He gave a small nod in the direction of the anomaly among the greenery, and Tya agreed to the silent question that had been asked.
Link's hand dropped from her shoulder, trusting her to follow him as he approached.
Upon nearing the stairway on which the anomaly sat, Tya could see the leathery indication of old flesh, shaded and cloaked by the red fabric that draped over it. The person's eyes were closed, and even as she and Link neared, Tya wondered if what they were seeing was truly a living creature at all.
They were so strange. Unreal and unmoving, fragile and frozen. They almost looked asleep, but there was a strange feeling to them that made Tya feel as if they'd been there in this place for a long, long time.
Link's first step upon the stairway before the elder was like a trigger that siphoned life into them.
Crimson eyes shot open, any indication of sleep or grogginess absent even despite the bags and creases around them. There was the briefest glimpse of hostility before recognition dawned in their expression. Both emotions had been so very subtle- so very trained.
They rose. The old cracking of unused joints crowded the sounds of distant creatures and rustling leaves. The red fabric of their cloak dragged along leaves and dust in the few steps they took forward toward the stairs of the stage on which they stood. Their approach brought Link pause, but he didn't go for his blade. Had he been aware of the possible danger this being could have been moments prior, it didn't much matter to him. He showed no aggression in return.
A voice so old and discordant, broken with disuse much like the temple in which they stood, broke the silence among them. "Child of the Sky."
Link, eyes trained on them, bowed his head gently in greeting, and they returned the gesture.
And in the theme of the day, through wrinkled lips, came another familiar phrase that further cemented Tya's knowledge that she was most definitely out of place in whatever strange destiny awaited the boy with the ghostly sword: "I have been waiting quite some time for your arrival."