The Hyrulian Valhalla Saga
By Queenie Z

The Art Of Sky-Tipping

Engie stretched his arms above his head, sighing as he then dropped them loosely to his sides. "This'll be fun," he said, flashing a grin at the newer Hero beside him. "For once, I'm not the baby of the group anymore, and I'll get to be the one showing someone the ropes!"

With a small laugh, Brown scratched at his nose. "Yeah," he muttered, "must feel nice not being the designated newbie anymore, huh?"

"It really does!" Engie gave him a pat on his back. "But don't worry, Brown, you won't be at the bottom of the food chain for very long. Soon enough, you'll be helping a new Hero get settled in just like we are with you."

Brown looked at his smaller elder. "How soon are we talking about?"

"Oh," answered Engie with a shrug, "a couple of centuries at least."

"A couple of centuries!?"

"Trust me, time goes by pretty quickly when you're dead."

"It's still like forever to me - "

"Shh!"

Brown let out a muffled yelp as Engie's hand moved to cover his mouth. After giving the elder Hero an irritated look, he saw him pointing towards a bench that was no more than a few feet away.

"Check it out," he said in a hushed voice, "it's Sky."

The newest Hero tilted he head at the sight - indeed, it was Sky, and he seemed to be sleeping, his mouth half-open and his head lolling lazily over his shoulder. This in and of itself wasn't very impressive - even Brown knew that Sky was the resident sleepyhead - but when he noticed that he had managed to fall asleep sitting straight up, he let out an ugly snort.

"Wow," he said, "falling asleep sitting up? That takes talent."

"And it's the perfect opportunity to show you one of the traditions practiced among us Heroes."

"And what's that?"

"Sky-tipping."

Brown tilted his head. "Sky... tipping?"

Engie winked, holding up a finger to remind him to stay quiet. "It's a game we all play," he began. "Whenever we see Sky fall asleep sitting up, we go up to him and push him over. If we manage to get away before he notices, we win a point." He lowered his hand. "Apparently they've been doing it for thousands of years, and poor Sky just hates it."

"But," said Brown, his smirk returning, "you keep doing it anyway."

"What can I say? It's tradition." Engie moved behind the younger Link and began gently pushing him towards Sky. "And now, it's your turn!"

"Eh? You want me to do it right now?"

"Think of it as your initiation rite." Once they were closer to Sky, he let Brown go. "Remember, you have to run before he catches you, or else you're in for the lecture of your afterlife!"

"All right, all right." Eager to take up the challenge his fellow Hero had given him, he walked to the side of the bench and held out his hands, his tongue protruding slightly from his mouth in mischievous concentration. Then, after an encouraging nod from Engie, he shoved Sky's shoulder, causing him to fall over and hit the bench's seat with a grunt.

Despite himself, Brown let out a loud laugh at his prank. However, when he turned to Engie to ask what was next, the older Link had already vanished. His face fell at the realization that he'd been ditched, and it fell even further when he heard Sky groaning. In a panic, he looked to and fro for a possible escape route, but a large, gloved hand grabbed the collar of his tunic before he could find one.

"Looks like somebody's learning how to Sky-tip," said Sky, his tone a bit too cheerful for Brown's comfort. "Having fun?"

"I-I was..."

"Save it." He let the newcomer go, his face darkening into a threatening smile. "I have enough trouble getting the others to listen to me, so don't go catching their habits. Are we clear?"

Brown gulped. "C...Crystal clear, Sir."

Just ask quickly as it had come, the darkness left Sky's face, and he placed a friendly palm on his successor's head. "Just 'Sky' is fine, you know." He then turned and walked away, acting as if nothing had ever happened, leaving behind a perturbed Brown, who removed his hat and wiped a bead of nervous sweat from his hairline.

"Damn that Engie," he said, yanking his hat back over his hair, "leaving me out to dry like that...!"