DISCLAIMER: Nah.

—s—t—a—r—t—f—i—c—t—i —o—n—

"C'mon, Link! We're going to be late!"

"Just a second! Let me get my—ah!"

The boy was not given the time he needed, and was almost toppled over as he was dragged out of his room and down the hallway of the Knights Academy, where he lived along with Zelda and her father. Of course, he was no knight; he was a mere ten years old. How could he be? No, he lived there because that's where the kids with no parents lived. Zelda lived there because her father was the headmaster, who also lived there. Hastily he shoved his right foot into his boot and regained his footing as he and his companion exited the building unceremoniously.

A little ways outside they found two familiar people running towards them. When they crossed paths the group continued despite their little talk; as Link had been so kindly reminded, they were very close to being tardy to what must be the most important day of any Skyloftian's life.

"You two are so going to be late!" Karane chided them as they kept at that brisk pace, walking across the little bridge that connected the Academy to the rest of Skyloft. "How can you oversleep on a day like this?"

"It's Link, not me," Zelda whined, letting go of Link's wrist, something which he gladly took back. "I even offered to help him dress faster, but he insisted on fussing over everything."

Karane giggled. "Boys."

As the two went on about how the fairer sex was so much better, Pipit nudged Link's arm. "Is that true, man?" he asked him quietly, low enough that the girls would not hear.

Link didn't want to look up at him. "Well, yeah..." Truth be told, Link was afraid. But he was excited too. The thought of actually having his own personal loftwing was just amazing, as well as having been a dream of his since toddlerhood. However, what if there was no loftwing for him? He didn't know if that was even possible, but he didn't want to find out, either. What if—worse yet—he fell off? And plummeted down through the clouds into nothingness? The thought scared him out of his wits.

Pipit shocked him out of his thoughts with four simple words. "You're nervous, aren't you?"

Link's head snapped up to face him. He considered vehemently opposing the idea to save face, but he knew that he had already hesitated too long; this would only further prove the chestnut-haired boy right. So Link could only nod, affirming his friend's accusation. "Kinda."

Pipit, contrary to what Link had expected, didn't laugh. He didn't so much as chuckle, even, but he did smile down at him with that boyish half-smile of his that Link couldn't help but like. "I understand completely. I felt like that when it was time for my ceremony, too."

Link's eyes widened. "Really?" he asked, his volume still low but voice incredulous. Pipit got nervous, too? It seemed so out of character for he who was always so calm, cool and collected.

The boy nodded, chuckling fondly at the memory. "Yep. It's a pretty big deal, y'know? I was thinking, what if I screw up? What if something goes wrong? What if, what if, what if...I scared myself with thoughts like that. But once I was there, and it was happening, it was just so...awesome. Amazing. Spectacular." He grinned back down at the golden-haired kid beside him. "It can't really be described. But trust me, just do what you've been taught to do, and it'll all just come together."

Link returned the smile threefold, very grateful for the pep talk he'd received. He nodded immediately. "Right. I will. Thanks, Pipit," he whispered accordingly, noticeable weight lifted off his shoulders.

Pipit nodded as well. "Anytime, man."

Their conversation ended at a perfect time, as they had almost reached their ultimate destination; the Plaza. It was fairly crowded with various onlookers, all chattering excitedly about what was to come. Past these people, nearer to the wooden piers than the rest of them, stood Headmaster Gaepora and Instructor Owlan, looking pleased despite themselves. Above all their heads, a flock of variously colored young loftwings soared around in circles, cawing occasionally as they presumably waited along with the Skyloftians. Zelda grabbed Link's hand and sped off towards her father, leaving the other two behind to spectate.

"Good luck, you two!" Pipit called after them.

Sandals and boots came to a halt in the little huddle beside the two adults, a congregation consisting of three other children: Calwin, who was short and rather chubby with thick dark hair, Stritch with his very impressive height (5'5" at age ten!) and short blonde hair, and Groose, his pompadour ever-present with that cow-licked red hair of his. The latter of the three had hands on his hips and glared at Link accusingly. "Link!" he huffed. "You almost made Zelda late, you dummy!"

"Yeah, we were about to start without you guys," Calwin sniggered from behind him.

Before Link could attempt to retort, Zelda had an irritated index finger all up in Groose's face. "Now listen here, you," she frowned, "Link isn't a dummy. And we're here now, and that's what matters." Groose's face was hilariously taken aback, head held back a bit in a reluctance to get near that finger of hers.

Before more words could be exchanged, however, Gaepora's strong voice cut through the petty conversation. "Children! This is the not the time nor place to bicker with one another. Groose, keep derogatory comments to yourself. Zelda and Link, you two were almost late. Promptness is key in matters like this. Please keep this in mind." He let this sink in for a moment before turning to the gathered crowd of villagers. "Now, let the Loftwing Ceremony begin!"

The crowd roared its approval, excited clapping and whistling filling the warm air. Even the loftwings above gave a simultaneous crow of excitement. The kids were all looking pumped up as well, Link included. He and Zelda grinned brightly at each other while Groose and his cronies fist-pounded and what not.

Instructor Owlan waited for this applause to cease before he continued where Gaepora had left off. "Alright then," he said, "Please line up along the pier's edge and wait for further instruction."

The kids did exactly that, leaving supple space between themselves. From left to right, it went Groose, Stritch, Calwin, Zelda and finally Link, who fidgeted with a loose fiber of cotton that protruded from the hem of his baggy white shirt.

"Good. Now, do you all pledge your loyalties to your loftwings and promise to care for and treat them as equals until you are both too old to sail the skies?"

"Yes, sir," they all echoed one another, not one of them faking their enthusiasm.

He smiled at them all. "So be it. Groose, you shall be first. Whistle loudly, wait until one of the loftwings above accepts your call, and dive off the pier."

Groose swallowed audibly but nodded, refusing to look overly cowardly in front of everyone else. Slowly he lifted his head to loom at the pack of giant birds above. His whistle echoed through the plaza, where everyone observed with big eyes.

Then one of the birds, an olive green one, answered his whistle with a loud caw of its own and flapped its wings, zooming over to Groose's approximate location.

The boy, swallowing whatever fear he may have had, readied himself for a moment before, with a loud "YAAHHH!", he took a running leap off the platform and fell about a dozen feet before his newfound loftwing came up swiftly and caught him on its back safely. The crowd cheered him on, happy for the boy who looked elated to actually be flying. Groose waved at the crowd with a cocky smile, as if he'd been confident in himself the whole time. Link just rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless. He couldn't wait for his turn! He decided he'd stay facing toward the sky the whole time, so his loftwing would be a surprise.

Instructor Owlan kept the chain going. "Stritch, you're up next!"

The process continued like this for each of the others. Stritch ended up with a gray bird, and was a little clumsy on the steering, but other than that he did well. Calwin and his pale yellow loftwing passed with flying colors, flapping around nonchalantly as the crowd supported him. And Zelda was fluid in her actions, from gracefully diving off the pier to straddling her brilliant blue loftwing to piloting it about. Her blonde hair whipped about in the wind as she came back around and landed next to the prior three somewhere behind Link.

Now, right about then a slight problem became glaringly apparent. There had only been four loftwings in the flock above them, and Link was the fifth and final child set to go through this rite of passage. But as Link refused to look back, he wasn't aware of this little predicament. The crowd began to murmur amongst themselves about this, as Groose snickered and Zelda frowned in disdain. Gaepora and Owlan shared a few quick words, neither quite knowing what to do as it was something which very rarely occurred.

But before anyone could address him directly about it, Link inhaled sharply and gave the world his best whistle. It sounded loud and far, lingering in the air fir a moment. Then there was a long pause in which nothing much happened; Link strained his ears to listen for the loftwing of his that wasn't there, Owlan and Gaepora looked pitiful of the boy, and everyone else looked on anxiously.

Then, suddenly, there was an equally as loud squawk of acceptance heard by all, coming from a ways off. Link was shocked to see a bright red blur speeding toward Skyloft from the west, straight for him. The crowd wasn't faring much better.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"My goodness, I think it may be!"

"I haven't seen one of those since I was a wee lad myself!"

"So rare!"

"Where did it even come from?"

Link heard none of this conversation from where he stood on the pier; he was way too focused on bracing himself for what he knew he had to do next. Taking the deepest of breaths, his legs propelled him forward and straight off the edge before his brain could even begin to protest.

For a moment, it was the scariest feeling that Link experienced; dropping through the air like a stone, knowing that if the bird you had known for all of about five seconds failed to catch you you'd be a lost cause on all accounts. But he followed the instructions he'd heard so many times from his instructors; spread your arms and legs out wide and trust in your partner. His mind raced all the while, hoping and praying towards the goddess above that he'd make it through the day with minimal injuries.

And just like that, his legs found something firm yet soft below them, and he gladly latched onto the feathery animal, arms instantly encircling its broad neck. The loftwing cawed loudly, indicating its acceptance of Link and willingness to follow directions. Once he began to think about it, things began to click in his mind and suddenly he knew exactly how to fly this skybound beast with an innate sense of determination.

When he leaned his body right, the loftwing veered right. When he pulled ever so slightly up on the front of its neck, it flapped its wings to gain altitude. When he rested his chest on the bird's back, it swooped down accordingly. Link was careening through the air, exhilaration clear in his expression as he experimented with this newfound ability, testing just how far he could push his luck. Loop-de-loops, figure eights, upward spirals...his bright red loftwing voiced its enjoyment as well, obviously not minding all the showy techniques much.

Eventually Link knew he had to land so the ceremony could come to an end. So he came around to the set landing place slowly. He noticed now all the applause he had been getting the whole time; people were jumping into the air for him, clapping and making a big scene. Laughing, the golden-haired boy held up a modest hand, garnering more praise. There were so many faces down there he recognized: Orielle, Luv, Peatrice, Keets, Rupin, Sparrot, Eagus, Mallara, Gondo, Fledge, Piper and her toddler Gully, Parrow, Karane...

But the face he got stuck on was Pipit's. Everyone else was excited and happy for him, sure, but Pipit's expression was on a whole other level. He looked positively jubilant on the honey-haired boy's behalf, and even with the distance Link could almost feel the waves of pride his older friend gave off. Link gave him the biggest, most grateful smile he could muster, and abruptly he felt the strongest desire to run up and bear-hug the breath out of the boy. He decided he'd have to do that a little later.

He landed with no errors, his loftwing lowering its neck so Link could clamber his way off with little trouble. Groose looked awed despite himself, akin to Calwin and Stritch's expressions, and even Zelda's trademark smile was absent for a moment as her jaw hung agape. But she regained her composure quickly. "Way to go, Link!" she praised him cheerfully. "You looked amazing up there."

"Thanks," he replied, grateful to her too. "You weren't bad yourself, you know."

Groose coughed behind them. "Well, I guess you did look pretty cool," he admitted, though no one had asked him. "But its probably just the loftwing. It's such an awesome color!"

Link couldn't help but grin at him, too.

Instructor and Headmaster alike walked over to greet them as the last of the cheers died away. Owlan held ten bracelets in his hands, five regular-sized and five slightly smaller. He wordlessly passed out one of each to every child there, while Gaepora explained. "You were all fantastic," he praised, holding his hands up in front of him. Turning to Link, he couldn't help but comment on his loftwing. "Link, I am not sure if you are aware, but this loftwing that has answered your call is a Crimson Loftwing, the rarest of them all. I was doubtful that they even existed anymore...either way, I am sure that the two of you will get along extraordinarily."

Link was taken aback by this news. The rarest of them all? How lucky was he! The boy nodded to Gaepora politely. "Yes, sir!"

He nodded back. "Now, each of you have received two bracelets with beads of matching color," he informed them, and the kids looked down at theirs once more. Link's were a vivid green, his favorite color. "Place one of these, the smaller, on your loftwing's right ankle, and the other on your right wrist. These will bind the two of you together, so be sure to knot it very tight."

Link was already fiddling around with his while Gaepora finished his last sentence. He carefully tied it so that it wouldn't be constricting, but it wouldn't fall off, either. Standing up, he tied his own on and watch as the others did the same. He noted that Zelda had purple beads on her bracelets.

His loftwing shook the leg that Link had tied the bracelet to once more good measure, and cawed loudly before nuzzling into Link's side affectionately with its beak. Link gasped at the sudden unexpected contact before he laughed and patted its head in return.

Once all loftwings and their partners donned matching bracelets, all five of them flapped their wings in unison and lifted off into the air, nearly blowing their riders away. Link held an arm in front of his face protectively as he gazed up at them with a strong, warm feeling in his chest. They had passed this yet and claimed their loftwing partners. They had prevailed.

They were practically grownups now.

Suddenly people crowded around them, congratulating the kids on their success. Most gave Link a word or two.

Gaepora and Owlan gave him nods filled with pride. "Good job up there, my boy," Gaepora commended, grabbing his shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

Keets patted his back approvingly. "You looked like you had fun up there," he observed almost cheekily, but with good intentions.

Sparrot would have freaked him out with those big blue eyes of his had Link not already been used to them. "I see a bright future ahead of you and that brilliant loftwing!" he foretold.

Orielle practically knocked the breath out of him with her super hug. "Oh, Link!" she sang. "You looked like a natural out there! Maybe you're the next loftwing expert of Skyloft, eh?"

Link gave all of them modest smiles and soft replies, usually consisting of a "thanks," or an "I guess so," and possibly a combination of the two. The adrenaline that had been pumping through his veins was fading away.

When the commotion died down and everyone left the kids to their own devices once more, Pipit walked up to him cooly with Karane beside him, though he still beamed at him as he had before, while he was up in the air. "Congratulations, man!" he exclaimed, hands in his pockets.

Link honestly couldn't help it when he quite nearly knocked the older boy down with the tackle-hug he performed, arms firmly encompassing his middle. "Thanks," he said genuinely, meaning every bit of it. He owed Pipit for the much needed encouragement he'd so kindly given him.

Pipit looked surprised for a moment before his face softened and he hugged his friend back. "Oh, c'mon, no need to get all sentimental!" he laughed, though he didn't object to the hug at all. Meeting Zelda's eyes, he have her a thumbs up with one hand and a matching smile. "You too, Zel. You two were great!"

Even Karane was smiling at the two. "Yeah. You guys looked as excited as we were, huh, Pipit?"

The addressed boy laughed again. "Yep."

Zelda nodded her head, a cute smile on her lips. "Thanks!" she replied to Pipit's first comment. Then she pursed her lips. "Though I can't believe Link was being such a show off! You're not supposed to do things like that until the day after the ceremony, silly!"

Link, who had reluctantly pulled away from Pipit's warmth, shrugged his shoulders sheepishly. "I got caught up in the moment, I guess," he defended himself slightly.

"Yeah, right," Zelda rolled her eyes playfully. Then she suddenly held a finger up. "Hey, wait! I remember Father saying something about an after ceremony feast just for us!"

Pipit crossed his arms. "Oh yeah, I remember that! It was delicious when we had it."

Karane licked her lips. "It sure was. Hopefully some of Pumm's soup'll be served...I haven't had any of it in forever, and it's soo good!"

Zelda giggled as she began to jog. "Well then, what're you all waiting for? Let's go!"

"Oh, not so fast!" Pipit called, grabbing Link's hand and running after her, pulling the golden-haired boy along with him. "You're not allowed to hog everything down!"

"It's not Zelda I'm worried about," Karane pointed out, also joining in on their little race. "It's Calwin and Groose!"

Link just laughed along with them. Right now, he felt like nothing could bring him down from the cloud of euphoria he sat on. Squeezing Pipit's hand back, he ran along beside him, with not a single care in the world.

—e—n—d—c—h—a—p—t—e—r—

A/N: Sorry for the gaps in between updates, you guys. I have a fair few of projects for other fandoms I'm juggling, so chapters may be sporadic and infrequent. I apologize ahead of time. But I had fun writing this chapter~

Is Pipink the official name of the pairing now or something? Ahaha, it's so cute! xD

To answer a question I got from last time, they (Link and Zel) were eight years old and Pipit and Karane were ten years old last time (which I could've sworn I specified), and here there was a two year timeskip of sorts, so Link+Zel are ten and Pipit+Karane are twelve. The more you know~

Now then. Leave a review telling me whatcha liked, didn't like, things I can improve on, etc. etc. They mean a lot, and I appreciate them!

Ja ne~ C: