The mess of bubbles and sand was only broken by the occasional swing of purple as with uncoordinated thrashing Galvatron eventually righted himself.
The stone he was standing on probably wasn't as stable as he thought then.
Now up to his lower chest in the lakes waters, he desperately wiped water off his face as if trying to wipe the 'error' out of his mind as he remembered he was not alone.
Cyclonus had come in up to his knees now, hands vaguely outstretched as if he were stood between going to help and merely requesting if he could help.
Galvatron snorted.
"That was your fault"
"I only made a request of my own!" He squeaked indignantly.
"Yeah!... Well, I'm the one that saved your life and it was meant to be my request anyway!" Galvatron argued back.
"Could consider it as payment for the things I've left you?" Cocky little Rito…
"Hey! You said they were just gifts to try and make me show myself!" Galvatron pretended his first instinct wasn't to back away.
"What's so bad about asking you to sing with me? You sang last night!" Cyclonus breathed as if actually excited by the proposition.
"That… was…" Galvatron scowled into the water remembering the sweep of emotions and memory that lead him to slip up so badly.
"Nothing to be ashamed or afraid of, I thought it was quite ni-" Cyclonus wasn't going to let it go.
"Galvatron is NOT afraid of anything!" He barked before Cyclonus could finish in an almost knee-jerk reaction, upset at the implication.
"Fine" The Rito's cockiness seemed to back down a little, "I will just sing most of it then! You can sing the backing tunes if you think you're up to it"
Determined little shit.
With that Cyclonus fulfilled his promise to repay his saviour.
There were no lyrics to be had, not a word was spoken.
A melody as sweet as any songbirds flitted out as if each note were a flock of tiny birds themselves dancing in the morning air.
It would suffice at least.
He could sing with better tones, better pitches and he had, but he kept the song subdued and simple.
It would only get it's true beauty now if someone filled in and supported his tune.
Otherwise, this would be such an underwhelming parting song, doubly so for a song sung to a saviour.
Probably because he was an arguably very selfish Rito.
He'd heard it once now he wanted more and if it took bruising his own morals and principles to get it, he apparently was fine with it as he continued on with his scheme.
He spied the Zora's eyes thinning as he scowled, picking up on notes that didn't quite fit - not without the supporting tune anyway - and the somewhat empty nature of the song as if it were a dancer, waiting for its partner to arrive.
Success.
Cyclonus could see the water vibrate irately as the Zora growled to itself, its face still twisted as if many thoughts and emotions were trying to enter through a single small opening and had 'backed up'.
Galvatrons head going back slightly was the only warning he got before the Zora blew out a bunch of bubbles into the water.
Taken aback and immediately concerned he'd overstepped his boundaries and pushed things too far, his tune faltered and became offkey as his mind panicked.
The Zora squinted at him and his worried expression before diving back under the water causing Cyclonus to come to a shaky stop.
He was left in silence as Galvatron did not resurface.
The wind ruffled his feathers slightly, the unnatural manner of the breeze prompting Cyclonus to turn around.
Thin, gangly, grey with a few red feathers and a dull blue tinge to the tips of his hand-feathers Cyclonus greeted another member of his own patrol as they landed behind him.
Below the water, Galvatron felt he was surely visible to those at the surface, but he needed to take a break from the situation, besides he could see something grey up above and knew that was not a normal birds flight path, so he submerged.
Hiding, he was still privy to the words spoken above, especially as the newcomer had a sharp voice.
"Just what are you doing all the way out here?" It demanded.
"Pleasure to meet you too, cousin" Cyclonus responded dryly and Galvatron arched an eyebrow.
"I allowed you to come back here out the kindness of my heart-" Galvatron probably could've heard Cyclonus snort from the bottom of the lake, "- and you go wandering off! Just how is that a way to repay your commander!"
"I… I told you, I saw Hylian tracks when I woke, I wanted to see if they travelled back through here" Cyclonus sighed as if he'd explained this a thousand times.
"Yes, just one Hylian out of many is just so conveniently going to stroll back through here? Get a grip and just try and think rationally for once!"
"Fine, you caught me, while I was here there was a rare fish I found and caught, it was delicious and I want to try and catch another one so I could identify it for sure and find a way to get more!"
Galvatron rubbed his face, tasty fish, even if he did find a fish tasty Galvatron probably caught it.
He found himself absent-mindedly sticking his tongue out at the surface of the water as if his gesture would be seen.
"Whatever" The cousin huffed, "Get back to the camp, you can re-engage in a border patrol later, and if you're insisting, bring back some fish for the rest of us" and with that the grey Rito took off back to the base leaving Cyclonus to sigh and slouch, only shuffling back slightly as he remembered he was knee-deep in the water.
There were a few moments lost to thought as both of them debated about saying, or doing something, alas nothing was mentioned.
Barely stepping out of the water Cyclonus caused a splash as he took off, following his cousin away from the lake ending their strange nightly encounter.
Galvatron was left floating aimlessly in the water again, unsure, curious, feeling small.
It really HAD been too long since he spared a few words of conversation…
No, no it wasn't, he didn't need to conversate.
He didn't need anything he didn't want.
He most certainly didn't need anyone else.
So says Galvatron, so it is true.
With more force than necessary Galvatron pushed against the lake floor, sailing back to his home as quickly as possible.
He barely reacted when he swam straight into the wall with force, merely reeling back and scowling at himself while ignoring the pounding throb he inflicted upon himself.
He resorted to giving his chin something to complain about as he made an ungainly, frustrated and somewhat aggressive flop into his bed.
He didn't get any sleep after all.
There was a day of nothing, then late in the evening of the day after that Galvatron couldn't ignore the heavy splash that jumped into the lake's edge.
"Galvatron!" A familiar voice bellowed, the Rito's powerful vocals making the name rattle around the area.
So loud and booming, Galvatron instinctively retreated from the noise.
"Galvatron! Are you there?" Cyclonus's voice became softer and Galvatron could collect himself enough to respond to a tone like that.
Cyclonus stood where he had the day before Yesterday, the lack of sleep on that night prompted him to oversleep the next day, his oh-so-caring commander had immediately ordered him to spend the rest of the day cleaning as punishment.
He hoped Galvatron had not been waiting for him… though why would he? He had stepped out of line the last time they met…
The water remained calm, unmoved, the only thing tampering with its surface was the occasional fish who swam close by.
Maybe he was just out, hunting and gathering food, Cyclonus had no idea what this fellow's schedule was after all.
The lake seethed angrily, hell, it practically felt angry before the seething even began.
Bubbled and flung water thrashed noisily as something large broke the surface but only for a moment.
Only to do one thing.
Cyclonus let out a loud, undignified squawk as he was roughly forced backwards by something large, cold, wet and slimy hitting him in the face definitely leaving a bruise.
Staggering for a few steps before quickly falling to his rear Cyclonus made a blind scrabble for the thing covering his face and eyes, pulling the thing off with a wet pop.
He'd been smacked in the face with a fish.
"Tasty fish!?" Galvatron squawked angrily and loudly before ducking back down under the water before Cyclonus had a chance to look at him, leaving the Rito dumbfounded.
"Uh, uhhh thank you?" Cyclonus eventually settled on chirping to the water, glancing between it and the fish in his hands multiple times.
That got Galvatron out.
"Thank you? Thank you?!" The Zora stomped angrily until it was half-way out "I throw a fish at you and all you have to say is 'thank you'!? What kind of response is that!?"
There was silence again, the only noise being the huffs produced by Galvatron.
"I… like this fish" Cyclonus finally, and quietly, conceded holding up the grey fish so the ring-like markings on its side were plain for all to see.
"I threw it at you" Galvatron felt everything vanish like a deflating balloon as he struggled to understand exactly what this Rito was thinking. Flaming weirdo.
"Yeah, but I WAS being rude" he answered as if that cleared everything up.
Galvatron made a noise that could only be described as a bunch of letters strung together randomly even if they made no sense next to each other.
"Um," The Rito was evidently confused at the noise as his plumicorns flattened down and he glanced to the side as if some sort of physical clue would present itself.
"What is with you?" Galvatron threw his arms out.
"I don't follow" Cyclonus squinted a little, noting down the body language and expressions of the Zora to figure out what he actually meant. It would be useful in the long run if he were to come back here again to know of any potential 'signals'.
"I threw a fish at you and yoUR REACTION WAS 'THANK YOU'!?" Galvatron broke into a yell before returning back to normal again, "And you shrug it off as normal because you were 'being rude'! What is with that!?" Galvatron had taken to throwing up large splashes of water as he paced back and forth while speaking.
"Oh…" Cyclonus sounded like he still did not understand, "I was rude, I did deserve admonishing for my rudeness, it's not becoming of a warrior… well, to someone who's not an enemy"
Ignoring the fact he was at least five percent clearer on what the Rito was thinking, or at least there was enough to piece it together had Galvatron stopped to think about it and their last encounter for a moment more but instead he spun around with a sneer
"Not an enemy? NOT an ENEMY!? You ARE aware our respective kings have been at each other's throats since… FOREVER!? You think I am not an enemy? Have you seen this band on my arm!? Do you know what it means!? You think I'm NOT an ENEMY!?"
Cyclonus seemed rightfully taken back by the tirade, the sheer speed and force at which this Zora rejected and put up 'barriers' at the idea of something nicer, more pleasant than senseless side-taking and squabbles that had befallen their respective species.
"Well… You did save me from drowning… and from bleeding out… and from starving… aaaand from being an easy meal for passing monsters" Cyclonus listed off the multiple, potentially fatal things that could've occurred due to his injuries and bad decision making.
"Oh… Y… yeah, I guess so" All anger vanished in an instant.