Paya wasn't kidding when she said Impa was a brutal trainer. If age had dulled her skills at all, she must have been a force of nature in her prime.
"You are improving, Felix Fraldarius," she said after Felix hit the ground again.
"Doesn't feel like it," Felix groaned.
"You have an affinity for the Wo Dao," Impa noted.
"I've practiced with one before," Felix admitted as he got up. "We do have Wo Dao in Fódlan."
"If we had a year, I could turn you into a warrior capable of breaking armies," Impa said. "But we might not have a year."
"Then I'll learn fast," Felix promised.
"You will. But you are not the only one I must train," Impa told him. "If you wish to continue practicing, you may spar with Paya."
Felix nodded, but he also frowned. Paya had been nervous around everyone at first, but she had quickly warmed up to Petra and Ignatz, and to a lesser extent Lysithea. She didn't talk much to Monica, but Monica didn't realize talk to anyone, and Paya had accepted that as a sort of status quo. But she was still a nervous wreck around him.
Maybe it had something to do with his attitude, he reasoned. Perhaps she wouldn't be so nervous if he tried to be more approachable.
Purely so they could spar without Paya being distracted, of course.
Hmm. What would make Felix seem more approachable?
"You shouldn't scowl so much," he remembered his mother chiding him. That could be a start.
Aside from that, though, Felix wasn't sure how to seem more approachable. Maybe he could try having a casual conversation with Paya before sparring with her? That might help her relax.
"Hey, Paya," he greeted the Sheikah girl.
"Oh! Um, hello, Felix," Paya said nervously.
Felix suddenly realized something. He had no idea what to talk about with her.
"So...what's it like living in Kakariko Village?" he eventually asked awkwardly.
Goddess, he felt awkward.
"Um...normal? I guess?" Paya said, just as awkwardly. "It's just like any other village in Hyrule, I think."
Then she remembered. "Wait, you're not from Hyrule! I completely forgot."
"No, I'm not," Felix said. "And the only other village I've seen here was destroyed."
"Oh. Right," Paya remembered.
"How about this," Felix suggested. "You tell me about Hyrule, and I'll tell you about Fódlan."
Two hours later, Felix and Paya were still talking.
"Fódlan sounds like a nice place," Paya said.
"Really?" Felix asked. He hadn't been shy about describing the problems with his homeland.
"Yes," Paya said. "It might have its problems, but Fódlan has a lot going for it. It doesn't have Ganon, and it barely has monsters."
"What it lacks in monsters, it makes up for in bandits," Felix noted.
"We do have bandits here too," Paya said. "Not around Kakariko Village, though."
"Still, it almost seems like you can't walk ten meters without running into another bandit gang in Fódlan," Felix said.
"Maybe," Paya agreed. "But at least you have knights to deal with them. And they probably won't try to eat you."
"True," Felix admitted.
"I have chores to do," Paya said. "But it was nice talking to you, Felix."
"Damn, I forgot to ask her to spar!" Felix thought.
Oh well. If he was being honest, he had actually enjoyed Paya's company quite a bit.
Ignatz had just finished his training with Impa. She had said he had potential with a Sheikah shortsword, but after receiving a thorough beating he needed to take a break. Impa was currently working Petra over, and Monica was next, so he was clear to draw for a while.
While he went to draw the water lilies in the pool around the statue of Hylia, he noticed someone else had the same idea.
"That's an excellent painting, sir," Ignatz said.
"Thank you," said the man. "I take it you are a fellow art lover?"
"I am," Ignatz admitted. "My name is Ignatz."
"My name is Pikango," the man told Ignatz. "I'm a bit of a traveler. In fact, I'm traveling the world in search of beautiful landscapes."
"Wow. That sounds amazing," Ignatz said.
"Just between you and me, I hear there's a Great Fairy Fountain somewhere near this village. I hear it's breathtakingly beautiful."
"A Great Fairy Fountain?" Ignatz asked. A fountain with fairies sounded strange, but this was Hyrule, so why shouldn't there be a fairy fountain?
"Aesthetics aside, they also say the place can bestow people with some kind of mysterious power," Pikango continued. "I've been researching it for ages, and I finally have a lead. There's a place that is beyond suspicious. The problem is, I can't seem to find the fountain there." He sighed. "Nothing beats the thrill of tracking down a perfect view. As a fellow traveler and art lover, you understand the sentiment, right?"
"Of course I understand!" Ignatz agreed.
"I knew it. I KNEW there was someone like me nearby who appreciates true beauty!" Pikango was getting excited. "Sadly, I can't pin down the exact location of the Great Fairy Fountain. I haven't put it all together yet, but there's a suspicious place I have my eye on. In fact, I was about to head there now. Would you like to come along?"
Ignatz was about to say yes, but then he remembered the Bokoblins. "I think we should bring one more person along. Safety in numbers, you know?"
"Sounds sensible," Pikango agreed.
"I don't know how you roped me into this," Lysithea grumbled. She had already had to use a healing spell to alleviate Pikango's exhaustion. "I mean, a Fairy Fountain? Can you even come up with a more fake-sounding story? It's like something someone made up to tell little kids."
"Fake?" Pikango asked. "Does that look fake to you?"
What he as pointing out was an enormous green bulb with a ramp leading up to it. But that wasn't what was notable. What was notable were the fairies flittering around it.
"Are those...actual fairies?" Lysithea asked. One flittered around her, and she suddenly felt healthier than she had in a long while. Yes, they were real.
"There's no fountain here," Ignatz noted. "But it must be nearby."
"Children," came a voice from the bulb. "Please, listen to my story."
"I'm not a child!" Lysithea protested.
The voice ignored her. "I am the Great Fairy Cotera. This place was once a beautiful spring. But as time passed, fewer and fewer travelers came to offer me rupees. As a result, much of my power has abandoned me. I'm nearly powerless now, so I need your help. All I need is 100 rupees. Once my power is restored, I can help you do great things." A giant hand reached out from the bulb.
"Even if I didn't think you were trying to scam us, we don't have any rupees," Lysithea told Cotera.
"I have 100 rupees," Pikango offered, taking out a pair of purple rupees. "This is just the sort of opportunity I was saving them for!" He placed the rupees in Cotera's hand.
Cotera drew the rupees back into the bulb before Pikango could change his mind. "Thank you. You are too kind." Suddenly, the bulb began to smoke. "The power. It's overflowing!"
The bulb opened to reveal a beautiful, regal-looking pool within a flower, and out of the pool burst forth a giant woman, who must have been Cotera.
The word that came to Lysithea's mind to describe Cotera was...ostentatious. Everything from her hair, to the scaled outfit she wore that left precious little to the imagination, to her bejeweled necklace, to her lipstick.
"And I thought Professor Manuela was trying too hard," she thought.
Ignatz didn't agree. "Wow." That wasn't a 'wow, you really thought that outfit looked good' kind of 'wow'. He probably genuinely found the fairy beautiful.
"Oh, what a feeling. The first breath after an eternity of decay. It's just so intoxicating!" Lysithea mentally added Cotera's manner of speaking to the list of ostentatious things about her. "Thanks to you, I have been returned to my former glory."
"I think these two youngsters deserve some of the credit," Pikango said. "Without them, I never would have found this fountain."
"Ah, yes. I know who the two of them are. Lysithea von Ordelia and Ignatz Victor. Ignatz, may I see your sword?"
"Certainly," Ignatz said, giving her the Sheikah blade.
"I think the sword needs something more to be properly suited for you," Cotera said. The sword levitated as she made hand motions around it. It began to shine blue, like the Sacred Weapons that had been used by Saint Seiros's allies during the War of Heroes.
The sword levitated back into Ignatz's hand. "Sadly, with my sisters yet to be awakened, I could not enchant it properly," Cotera admitted. "But nothing short of Ganon itself can break or dull that blade now."
"Thank you," Ignatz thanked her humbly. "You are too kind."
"And you, Lysithea. I will grant you a gift as well." She blew something out of her hands at Lysithea, bathing the girl in golden light.
Lysithea suddenly felt as if she wasn't ill at all. She felt stronger than she had since...ever. "Am I...am I really..."
"No, child," Cotera said. "Your curse is beyond my power to break. I temporarily stopped your Crests, as you call them, from trying to destroy each other, but you still are only meant to carry one. But in time, you may find someone who can break your curse."
Ignatz looked at her curiously. "Crests? Plural?" he mouthed.
"Later," she mouthed back. "Thank you, Cotera. You've already done more for me than anyone else could."
Cotera turned to Pikango. "I have no gift for you, I'm afraid."
"Being able to paint your portrait would be gift enough," Pikango told her.
"Very well," Cotera said. "I will gladly model for your portrait."
Lysithea contemplated leaving him, but reasoned that he would likely have difficulty making it back to Kakariko Village on his own. So, instead she looked for a place to sit comfortably while the two artists did their work.