Revili breathed deeply as she awakened, the low crackling of a fire and creaking of wood rousing her. Cracking an eye open, she looked to the fireplace, seeing their source of warmth beginning to die out.

She considered staying where she was, but she knew being lazy would only cause her more problems.

So, she set her head on her companion's chest, she listened to his heartbeat and breathing. Hearing the slow, rhythmic sounds of life, she determined he was still fast asleep. If she was going to do anything, now would be the time, or else she'd risk giving him a show later on. Sure, he'd already seen pretty much everything, but that didn't mean she wanted it all on display for his extended viewing pleasure.

Assuming he even found her attractive.

With a quiet groan, she pushed herself up, freezing as she heard a disgruntled sound from Link.

Thankfully, he fell back into a deep sleep after a moment.

As quiet and gracefully as her healing body would allow, she finished rising and began the onerous task of rekindling the flames. While she didn't suffer as many sharp pains as she had hours previously, she was now far stiffer. It seemed that walking was even more difficult than it had been previously. Not to mention awkward.

The more rational part of her wondered if it had to do with how little it had mattered in the urgency she had experienced last night. Now, when she had the time to think about it, the Rito certainly felt less graceful and coordinated than normal. It also didn't help that various portions of her body were still splinted, preventing her full range of motion.

It was an annoyance, but a necessary one.

Once the fire had regained some vitality, she looked back at the Hylian Champion. So far as she could tell, he was still asleep.

Even though she had been hoping to avoid standing out in the open when he inevitably awakened, she couldn't help but sigh. She didn't know how long it had been since either of them had eaten, but it had to have been quite some time.

While she was a competent cook, she wasn't on par with Link. And that was when she had full use of both hands.

She was hungry enough to consider trying to wake him up to make something. Considering how much the temperature had risen within the cabin, she probably could have gotten away with it too. However, Revili still felt guilty about landing them in their current situation and, unlike him, she had no idea who was more physically able at the moment.

Resigning herself to the task, the Rito limped over to their supplies and dug out one of Link's most prized possessions: his cooking pot.

Again, she found herself awkwardly shuffling across the room with some unwieldly items. Then, after finally filling the pot with water for a simple stew, she began the process of trying to chop the ingredients.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long for her to get overwhelmed by the knife's refusal to cooperate, and after a particularly bad chop, she cursed loudly. Freezing, she looked over her shoulder to see if she had woken her companion, only to catch a wince fading from his expression.

"You're awake."

"... Yeah."

She began unconsciously covering herself up as adrenaline shot through her. "How long have you been watching?"

"Only listening."

"..." Anger quickly replaced the anxiety. "How long."

"Few minutes."

"And you didn't offer to help?"

"... I thought you wanted to do it yourself."

She said nothing for a moment, genuinely taken aback. "...What?" she finally asked.

Link finally opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling as he scratched his head. He was silent for a moment as he contemplated what to say. "I thought that after everything, you wouldn't want help with anything."

Revili gritted her beak and looked away. No, she didn't want help. She wanted to prove that she didn't need anybody. That she could do it all herself. But looking down at the knife and the mangled remains of vegetables, she couldn't deny that she wasn't in a position to actually do it all.

And that was when she didn't consider that if she was on her own, she would be frozen beneath a pile of snow, forgotten by all but maybe a few.

She swallowed past the lump in her throat and wiped at her burning eyes.

"Would you like me to do it?" Link asked uncertainly.

"... Fine."

Setting the knife down with a calm belying her inner turmoil, the Rito Champion rose and climbed back into the ramshackle nest she had built. Laying on her side despite the pain in her wing, she faced the wall opposite of the fireplace, her gaze nearly burning a hole in the wooden structure.

Behind her, Link rose, trying to disturb her as little as possible. Within seconds, the sound of quick and efficient chops sounded as Link finished prepping their meal with practiced ease.

And despite how he was showing off, she couldn't find it in herself to be angry.

She was just tired. Had her mind allowed it, she would have willingly surrendered to sleep, but it seemed she was cursed to remain awake and thinking as she listened to Link finish up.

However, he didn't climb back into the nest.

Instead, she felt it shifting around her.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting dressed. I need to go out and get supplies."

"Are you stupid?" she asked tiredly. "The storms around this time of year can last for weeks."

"Yeah. I need to go out and get supplies while it's still a bit warmer."

"Whatever. Don't expect me to go looking for you if something happens."

"... I know you would."

Revili stiffened. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I know you'd come eventually."

She had to fight to not curl up and hide beneath the quilt as she blinked back tears.

The Hylian Champion said nothing more as he finished getting dressed and gathered a few items then quickly and quietly slipped out of the cabin.

With him gone, her walls finally wavered and fell completely. Frustrated, confused, and full of hurt, the Rito curled up as the tears finally began falling.

What was wrong with her? Why was she crying when she should have been fuming? He didn't know her at all, and yet he had managed to reduce her to this state with only a few words. And the worst part was that what he had said wasn't an attack. Yet an expression of faith had cut her to the quick more than any insult he could have lobbed.

And what made it all the worse was that she didn't even know if she could believe it herself. She had abandoned him after all. And for a reason that would have disappointed the closest thing she'd had to a proper father.

At the thought of Daruk, another quiet sob wracked her as she wondered how he would have responded. Would he have belittled her? Reassured the feeling that she was indeed small, pathetic, and ultimately insignificant?

Or would have tried to build her up again?

Thankfully, Link was not quick to return. Giving her plenty of time to let out all of the tears that had come from nowhere, as far as she knew.

Wiping at her eyes again, she sat up, holding the blanket to herself. The stew that they had made was bubbling quietly above the fire, fragrant and warm. Rising, she continued to hold the blanket against herself as though it was some sort of armor that could and would protect her.

Searching through their things, she found a bowl and grabbed it, struggling to juggle it with the quilt she held and her injured wing. Once she finally had it in hand, she limped back toward the fire and ladled a helping of the stew for herself, and set it aside to cool.

As she stared dully at the cooling bowl of soup, it occurred to her that she didn't know how long Link had been gone. Looking out the window, she found it difficult to gauge how much time had passed since he had left, but she reasoned he must be returning soon.

And, as last night had proven, Hylians didn't do well in the Hebra mountains. He would be in need of warmth once he returned. So, she set another bowl aside to cool.

And as she had predicted, Link stumbled in a few minutes later.

"You were gone for a while."

"... Had trouble finding herbs," Link replied. She could feel his eyes on her, and the unasked question on his mind.

"You don't need to season every scrap of food," Revili growled. "I don't know if you realize how dangerous the mountains are, but-"

"We need more healing potions." Link fell silent again as he waited for her to respond. When she didn't, he continued. "We need more for your wing and legs."

There it was again. That indescribable hurt. She didn't try to hide her reaction this time as she pulled the blanket up higher, nearly covering her head as she lay down, facing away from him. "There's a bowl for you."

"Thanks."

She could hear it in his voice. He knew something was wrong and was concerned. Why couldn't he just hate her? Why did he have to continue making things so difficult for her?

She listened to him set his equipment down and sort through a few items as he muttered to himself. When he was finished, he returned to the fire's side. As he did so, Revili turned over, facing the opposite wall.

She could hear his pause in the silence that followed, but he said nothing, to her relief. At least then she could pretend he hadn't noticed.

The Hylian ate in silence, the only sound being the scraping of his spoon against the bowl. Then, there was the clatter of bowls, the rustling of clothes, and footsteps. Then a cold gust of wind as the door was opened and quickly closed.

She didn't move.

Nor did she move when the door was opened again a few minutes later. All she did was close her eyes as he moved around the cabin, sorting through a few items, and muttering to himself again.

Eventually, he made his way back to the fire and settled down next to it.

"..."

"... Get in," she said quietly, not opening her eyes.

"Ar-"

"Get in," she repeated, not having the energy to raise her voice as she normally might. "That first storm was just the beginning."

She heard the sound of rustling, belts being undone, and boots being kicked off. After a few seconds, she could feel the nest shifting around her, though she could tell he hadn't gotten in yet. He must have been trying to repair the damage he had done to it earlier.

Not that it mattered, at least to her.

Eventually, she could feel the cover being pulled back slightly as he climbed in at the edge, then wormed his way closer to the center.

Still, she kept her eyes closed and remained facing the back wall. She didn't know whether he was facing her, watching for any sort of reaction, or facing away from her and doing his best to ignore her. And she didn't know which she preferred.

They remained silent as the minutes passed and the temperature began to drop. Her sensitive ears could make out the sound of the wind beginning to pick up as their brief respite from the storm reached its end.

From behind her, Link rose.

She was about to ask what he was up to when she felt the nest shift under her, moving it and her closer to the fire. Then she heard him quickly moving around. Eyeing him over her shoulder, she watched as he fed the flames a little more, then set a few extra logs on the floor by their bedding, within easy reach from underneath the cover.

However, he didn't climb back in when he was done, instead crossing the room back toward the bed. Revili pulled the blanket tighter around herself as she stared firmly at the floor while he dug through the contents of his pouch.

Quickly, he found whatever it was he was looking for and he returned to the nest, setting a glass bottle within her reach.

She turned her attention to it and reached out to take it when she noticed it was another healing potion. She drained it as he finally climbed back in, just beginning to shiver. She said nothing as she set the bottle back down, and he made no acknowledgment that he had seen or heard her taking it.

So, she listened as he continued shivering despite being closer to the fire and in well-insulated bedding. She didn't blame him. Even she was beginning to feel the chill through her feathers.

"How's your w-wing?" he asked after a few minutes.

"It still hurts, but the potion helped a little."

"G-good. We'll n-need to m-make more… later."

"... You're cold."

"I'm fine."

"No you're not," she replied, suddenly feeling exhausted. Rolling over to finally face him, she found him curled up, facing the fire. Maybe there was a time when she would have felt some sort of satisfaction at seeing the mighty hero of Hyrule looking so pitiful.

But all she felt was guilty.

Wordlessly, she reached over with her good wing and tried to turn him toward her. He resisted at first; however, she continued trying to silently coax him, and he eventually rolled onto his back, finally looking at her.

Feeling as pitiful as he looked, she pulled herself over to him and awkwardly draped herself across him. Link lay still, incredibly stiff as she tried to maneuver herself while not getting tangled in the fabric that was keeping them warm. She was vaguely aware of his hands moving around, as though he were trying to figure out how to help but was unsure of whether or not he was allowed to. Or maybe he was hypersensitive about their placement considering their current state of undress.

What did it matter?

When she was finally settled, she tried to relax as much as she could, not that it was difficult when she barely had the energy to try and move into a more comfortable position.

"...T-thanks."

"Yeah," she muttered, barely processing the single word.

"..."

"..."

"A-are you o-okay?" She almost smiled as his voice still shook, even with his shivering abating slowly.

"Don't know," she replied dully, that almost smile still pulling at her beak. Why was she trying to smile? Had something funny happened? "Not sure it… matters," she muttered drowsily, not even sure what she meant.

She let out a deep sigh, just barely catching a very quiet "it matters," as an unfamiliar, yet comforting weight settled on her back. Whatever it was began moving in a small circle, gently lulling her to sleep.