"I'm looking for a Mrs. Trilani."
"Yes, that's me! Right here."
"I've for you a message from Hyrule Castle, regarding your son, the ambassador. He's well again."
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
"Oh, were you not informed? He was nigh mortally wounded in battle several weeks ago."
"What?!"
"I'm sorry ma'am, I am but a messenger. I was simply told to inform you that he was awake once more."
"What's the fastest route to the castle?! I have to see my son!!"
--
"Stelli? We got a letter. It's from the castle."
No, I really don't want to think about this now!..
"Thanks. You can just set it on the table." She knew what was happening as her childhood friend Garalo instead sat next to her. He was always nice to her, especially during this whole thing, but other people had been too. The pale green Zora held her hand. He had no Touch.
"Stell, you...I empathize, really. But I don't want you hiding from this, okay?" She gulped down an emotional response, forced to nod. If only...if I just didn't... "Would you mind if I read it? It's really short." Yet again, her response and thoughts were drastically different.
Don't say it. Please, I don't want to hear it...he's gone, I know he's gone... "He's awake. From Top."
No. Wait. That's not—that can't be right. She ripped the note out of Gar's hands. Sure enough, in clear print. Patisse was awake. A boatload of emotions swarmed her head. She had to see him! ...But how could she? What would even happen? Was he walking, talking...there was too much.
Gar stood, clearly not noticing her inner turmoil. "Well? Are you gonna go?"
"W—I, I don't know if, can't tell that—"
"Or are you going to let this one slip out of your life as well?"
Oh great.
A Traveling Journey Later
The doors. Those Hylia-forsaken doors. Stelli couldn't open them. It simply wasn't plausible.
No one had been there to tell her more. The whole castle was mysteriously empty. She had simply found her way to the recovery area, heart screaming to turn around and run the whole time. Had something changed in the time she'd taken to get all the way from Zora's Domain?
Those doors were still staring. Dark, imposing, silent. Stelli would inevitably have to face whatever sight lay beyond them, no matter how poorly it would end. The Zora would contemplate turning, fleeing, not putting up with it. But then...Pat's smiling face... No matter how brief, she would at least see this through.
"...yeah, you hear it too? Someone might be here..." W-wait, not now! I'm not ready!
Perfectly on time with the sun charging through the windows as it moved from behind a cloud, another bright star emerged from darkness.
She was startled (and guilty) to find that the only major change about him was a cast covering the entire left wing. His golden eyes seemed a little tired, but that was likely from meds and such. They still lit up with recognition however, sparkling with pleasant surprise. And yet...that same face...one that she'd...
Stelli couldn't hold back the urge to just look away and scrunch herself up. He had to have hated her just as much as she hated herself. All because of lousy aim. Such an individual, just ruined—
"...Stelli? Are you okay?" Stop...please... Of course she wasn't, but why would he have any reason to care? Never, would any sane person look at what happened and be able to find— Something came upon her arm. There was no Nostalgia Touch, but instead it's own warmth, a strange feeling that was just as fuzzy, but not as comfortable. Had she killed the Touch too? "Please. I just want to know you're well. —Wait, don't tell me you blame yourself?" All sorts of confused and mixing emotions welled up, and the Zora's mind felt ready to implode.
"P-p...huh...P—Patisse..." Hardly anything cohesive. She shuddered, beginning to helplessly sob as his calm embrace met her skin. It wasn't clingy, not heartless, not too strong, but just a gentle loving hold. Stelli felt like a small child without mother, blubbering away.
"It's alright now. Release it all...just know it had nothing to do with you. It never did. You've earned an undying love, and little will be able to pry it away. Like you've said once before: nothing was revoked in the first place." Nothing to do with me? Had he forgotten what happened? And yet still, such kindness and forgiveness was preposterous. One could even call it an unseemly thing for an individual to have. Kaiugi wouldn't have done such a thing. No, Pat was better than her now. That's why the Touch was gone; he no longer represented Kai and took up his own place in her heart. He hadn't only lived longer, but had played such a bigger role in her life. No offense to Kai, as she had been a good person...but to me, Patisse is the best person.
The only option left was to accept his esteem.
So soft. She could snuggle up and fall asleep in those feathers. It might actually work, with how big he was. The Rito's head gently landed atop hers in a loving position, leaving her in the curve of his thankfully unharmed neck. Stelli abruptly felt giddily gleeful. In her despair before, she hadn't fully contemplated that, well—he was alive. "When you're ready Stelli, there's someone you should meet." Huh? He had been clearly talking to someone in the recovery room; was it not a nurse or something?
Staying close, she permitted Pat to stand. Good wing still brushing her arm, he delicately led her back towards the doors that had been frightful a moment ago. She realized with chagrin that with his functioning forelimb at her side, there was nothing to open said doors.
Fortunately, they were pulled open from the other side—at the hands of another Rito.
Stelli's instinctual thought went to betrayal and dismay, seeing another woman. She had to struggle and remember they were never a thing to start, but he had still led her on— "Stelli, I'd like you to meet my mother."
Oops.
Now in the right mind, the resemblance was clear. Pat's red streaks in his plumage matched his mother perfectly; she was a stark crimson with a parrot-like appearance. Clearly though, he did not inherit her height, as she was much closer to Stelli. The giant lightly nudged her forward. Oh no, I've been crying! I probably look ghastly.
"Is this girl the one you mentioned? Why, she's downright beautiful!" Her voice...it was lovely. Though it sounded as though she were speaking to a small child, she had an odd accent causing her Rs to roll slightly. It sounded perfect for a Rito singer, and was of course very motherly.
"Right. Trilani, this is Stelli." Oh. Trill, I get it. Are all Rito names inspired like that? So what of Patisse?..
Wait. Was she 'meeting the parents'?!
No, surely it was just a friendly thing. But he'd apparently "mentioned" her to his mother. Why did I never ask Dad things about guys? I can hardly tell what he's thinking! Oh; she was missing Trilani's outstretched wing. The Zora shook it, finding her feathers to be more coarse than her son's.
"I see you match Pat's descriptions, heehee! I enjoy pleasant people. My little drumstick has such good taste in friends!" Drumstick?
"Mom..."
"Still no? Let your mother have a bit of fun." Stelli was confused (not by the nickname bit). She'd played a part in this brutal injury, yet his mother was as friendly and radiant as a puppy. Was it a guise? Did she hate her? "Oh, don't be frightened sweetie! I know I can be a bit 'extra' so he says, but any friend of my nugget is a friend of mine!"
"Really Mom? Nugget? What's next, 'my little three-course meal'?" Gone from worry, Stelli almost laughed. This was the first time in...however long, that she had felt good inside. As though, despite a few mistakes, she'd made the right choices. Trilani shook her head with a wide grin before giving Pat a hug, avoiding the injured side. She moved to a small chair, providing some polite space. The taller yet younger Rito moved to the counter and drew what looked like painkillers, as though it were done every day of his life. How does that feel? I've never had a severe injury before...still hurts? Is the cast at least comfortable?
Stelli was met with uncertainty. Now that he was well, the next step, to her, was safety. Though, that had failed last time... "Hey. What's the matter?" Her feathered benefactor knelt with the question. She loved that tender gaze. The way he still cared, despite such pain and struggle.
"I'm...unsure what to do. What I'm supposed to feel. Where do we go from here?" He bit back a hasty response, thinking.
"Well...far be it from me to force you into anything. But if you want suggestions, I—uh, could maybe offer some guidance." What was he so conflicted about? Surely it couldn't... "Excuse me a moment."
Pat abruptly dashed over to his mom and whispered something discreetly. Trilani was just as quiet in response, and the Zora was worriedly anticipating what her future would look like. Eventually, her best friend came back, looking still anxious but more determined. "Hey, Stelli, um, uh...you're comfortable, right?" Weird question. She hesitantly nodded. The almond-colored avian took both of her hands in one wing, sending billions of theories through her head. Even in this courageous move, he had the slightest tremble of anxiety.
Time seemed to slow as Pat became the only thing that existed. "You make me...inexplicably happy. That's the best way I can phrase it." Oh my gosh. This—this is— "The greatest friend I've ever really had, without contest. My life has been entirely changed, and I wouldn't have it any other way. You're incredible, which is why I have a suggestion. We should, I mean I think it would be nice if—rather, beneficial for us, that's not right, I, uh..." Both of them were equally speechless. That cute goof couldn't articulate it.
"That sounds wonderful. I agree." Pat looked about ready to melt in her arms, but something still was keeping him fidgety. Stelli got her own idea to fix that. It's only appropriate. —I hope this lives up to how everyone talks about it. It seemed they both had the same plan, because as the Zora slowly started to move in, her newly declared boyfriend dove for it.
The lower part of his hooked beak curved between her own lips with the gentlest of bites, in what could only be described as a Rito kiss. It took a bit of finessing, and looked awkward, but still felt incredibly lovely as it should. Letting instinct pull her into it, Stelli answered back, mouthing the oddly smooth bone as romantically as was possible with no experience. Thankfully, Pat had a falcon beak that wasn't very long, making the kiss look more normal, but that wasn't nearly as important as how wonderful it felt to be intimate. She'd pined for this so long, disguised it under feeling 'nostalgic' or 'really friendly', but it was really just wanting to be with him. It was a release to finally be open about this long dormant attraction, now made into love.
Of course, it didn't last very long; Trilani ruined the moment with boisterous applause.
"Yes! I knew it! You would write me letters about this 'good friend' but I knew what this was! I knew better! You two are perfect. It reminds me of how things were with Beleer when we were young... Every night was like a—"
"M-ma, please don't. I don't want bad first impressions of my family." Stelli felt mirth at this discordance. She didn't mind, thoughts only swarming around how Pat was hers now, and she his. This was going to last, and though the idea of an interracial couple posed a few problems, love would prevail. Hokey as that sounds. "Hey. Careful with me now." Huh?.. Oops! In her elation, the blue ambassador had instinctually wrapped around him, squeezing in the hurt wing. "Heh. You get even more cute when you're flustered." That look—those eyes... Yes. So much yes. But if she's still here, it gets awkward. Maybe we should move on.
"I think we owe some other people knowledge of this."
"Oh, right! I haven't even seen the others yet." Really? Huh. Trilani stopped them on the way out the door.
"I think I'll be stepping out now, honey. There's still business at home. But I'm so glad you're better. —And treat her right, okay?" The parrot Rito knelt down to Stelli in particular. "Tell me if things get less than ideal. I know just the trick for misbehavior." With this cryptic, and rather ominous final detail, Pat's mother took to a separate route, leading to one of the many castle exits. The subject of this looked unironically fearful, almost in a comical way.
"You look like I actually have something to worry about." She grinned as her boyfriend flinched, verbally trapping him in a corner, though without any seriousness. But was that...genuine panic? Note to self: hypersensitive.
"I-I'm so sorry, I'm new to this, I don't know how to act. I-I mean, am I less than ideal? Man, I'm screwing this up already! I can't—"
"Woah, Patisse, baby, calm down. It's fine; you are. You don't need some special act for this. The only 'right' way to have a relationship is to figure out what is right between both of you. And I know that I fell in love with the clueless, dorky, chivalrous himbo right in front of me."
"...The what?"
"No matter. Just know I love you." He shook it off and chuckled lightly, giving her a light caress along the frill. Oddly, this was nice.
"How could I ever forget?"
--
"Go on. Knock."
"No, you knock. You're the one they need to see."
"I have one arm, and it's busy holding yours."
"Fine." With a teasing smile, Stelli rapped on the simple wooden passageway, beyond which their ambassador buddies supposedly were staying. She and he acted like such a good couple already; it made Patisse's heart soar. Coming back to friends and a lover was a great decision so far.
"Come in," finally came Topado's crass response, hoarse from tiredness. This would be exciting. My memory isn't doing too well...what are they like? Stelli obliged, swinging the door wide open with a flourish. Oh.
The place was...well, not very well kept. Compared to how most rooms in the castle often looked, the whole thing was trashed. They clearly had been in some sort of depressed slump, enough to not even let the housekeeping services in. I didn't consider how...much of an impact I have.
As odd a time as it was, Pat suddenly found himself contemplating the worth of life. Both he and Kaiugi before him had left the people they knew in torment. But soldiers, sent to battle a ruthless enemy, were always cut down. They were expected to die. Patisse didn't deserve this much respect for his life. What had he done? This was a relatively peaceful time in Hyrule, thanks to everyone forming strong ties to deal with the impending Calamity, so even the supposed 'ambassador' duties were few. Yes, he did have plenty of reason to live for himself, but for what purpose did other people care?
Stelli nudged him out of deep thought.
"Go on. What, cold talons all of a sudden?" Right. The recovering Rito ducked in through the low doorway. Outside of the mess, the room seemed pleasant enough. Two rather simple beds, Topado laying motionlessly in one. Seeing him rekindled a bit of facial recognition, and memories made their way back. Elsewhere, a few lamps, a desk. Not much. Geiha sat slumped in a chair, not even looking up. So dismal...let's fix that.
"Hey, um. We're back."
At the sound of his voice, both Gerudo and Goron sprang to their feet. Top was so aggressive in doing so that he nearly fell back over.
"No rockin' way! No, you have to be messing with me."
"In the feathers, comrade of quartz. And feeling pretty fresh too; full-wing bandage wraps are in style this season." Stelli surprised him by laughing at the admittedly lame joke. Hopefully she didn't feel pressured because of the whole dating thing.
Pat offered a handshake to his rocky cohort, but this was replaced by a crushing hug, thankfully adjusted to his right side. "Urk!—You know when I said that, I didn't mean I wanted em on both arms—"
"Excuse me, attention hog." For what felt like the umpteenth time, Geiha bailed him out, instigating a new far gentler and kinder embrace. "My humblest apologies. I wasn't there for you as I should have been." Um?
"Then I beg your humblest pardon!" Woah! Whatever just happened got Stelli fired up. What would compel her to get herself between them so fervently—Oh, right. I guess I have to be more conscious of interactions now. The third wheel also seemed to notice the spike of emotion as she was shoved away.
"Hi there too, Con-Stelli-ation. What's with you? I don't think I was hurting him." The Zora blanched, realizing that her good-natured interference had more or less revealed what was at play.
Pat smiled in response to the confusion of the embassy. He turned Stelli towards him and started moving down, anticipating when they would get the gist. Closer...heads at the same level—
"Wait a minute. You don't mean..?" Closer now. Personal space limits crossed. His Zora understood too and equipped her own grin.
"Yes, I think they do mean." Even closer...eyes starting to drift closed alongside tilting of the head...
"To be honest, I suspected. It's too adorable to not happen."
"That's the first time I think I've heard you call something adorable."
Finally, as delicate as he possibly knew how, the avian nibbled his partner's lip and entered with the top of the beak: his mother's 'professional' tip for starting a Rito kiss. Surprisingly, it was again met with applause. Both performers flushed with embarrassment, and a giggle fit broke out that split their mouths apart.
Simply in love and nothing more, Pat opted instead to nudge the bridge of his beak along her neck in a nuzzle; her smooth fine scales clashed with warm feathers in a curious fashion. How he loved the feel of Stelli's hand arriving to gently caress his cheek at the same time.
"Ain't that sweet," Top said as he rested back into a chair, adrenaline fading. "It's like the love in the air is suffocating." The middle-aged molten man had a look of remembrance and longing, implying he too had once been active in the realm of romance. Poor guy. I hope he finds happiness.
Another thought rattled Patisse. Something that simply had to come up in conversation. Would it be safer to wait?
"I'm curious how you're feeling right now." Later then. He spun his right wing, which had never been better, and then loosely attempted to move the left one to no avail.
"Well. It itches. A little bothersome and sore due to not moving around. But otherwise, there's only flares of pain if something acts on it like a punch or squeeze. I mean, I myself don't even remember what happened, heh." Surprised and anxious looks were exchanged about the room.
"...What do you remember?" Stelli stammered, notably hesitant.
"We were resting, out in the rain. I was thinking about how cute you are as always. Link showed up and hung out for a few moments. Then...I think...there were bad guys or something? Swords... Something about this injury had to have affected my memory. One of them must have did this, right?" A cold silence. Was it that bad? His wing was still there for sure, but what had happened to it?
"I'll—tell you sometime later." Noticing her dismay, Pat embraced his girlfriend.
"You don't have to worry about it. I'm here with you now and that's what matters." The dazzling Zora thankfully accepted, holding on dearly.
"See, Geiha? This is what real love is like."
"Yeah yeah, shut it boulder boy. I'm taking notes."
Upon ending the hug, the cream-feathered Rito was surprised as Stelli draped her arms about his neck and held on, taking up a position where he could hold her close (much in the way he'd done to carry her following the Hinox attack, sans one wing). It was wonderful. ...And also a great time to speak out what was on his mind.
"Guys, while we're all here, another question. Why is the castle so empty? There's no one else around."
"Oh, yeah. The Calamity's starting."
What?! And just when things were going so well! ...We may just have to see where this leads, hm?