"That could have gone better. Did I handle that situation correctly? I suppose it could have gone worse…"
Fi wasn't wrong when she had said Ghirahim was nearby, not that she had ever been wrong before. Link heard him before he saw him. "Could I have done more? She clearly wanted me gone, but maybe I should have attempted to apologize before I left? But it likely would have escalated…"
The demon was pacing listlessly, ringing his hands sporadically as he talked to himself. He didn't seem to notice LInk yet. The young hero realized that was a good thing; approaching him with his sword drawn after what had just happened with Impa would definitely give off the wrong impression. So after a whispered "Thank you" to Fi, he swiftly put it away.
The noise caught Ghirahim's attention, and he startled, whirling around to face the hylian. "Link! You're… here."
Link, for his part, had to take a moment to collect himself. The demon turning to face him so quickly had reminded him of the past, and he had to mentally reassure himself that this wasn't like those times. At least, he was almost completely convinced it wouldn't be. Fi doesn't lie.
"Yeah, I am," LInk replied, suddenly feeling a little awkward and not quite sure what to say. He wasn't used to talking to Ghirahim yet, and wasn't sure he ever would be. Before now, he'd just let the demon do all the talking before fighting him, or whatever monster he had unleashed upon him. That wouldn't work this time, but the poor hero's mind was just about shot from all the twists and turns this day had taken, and words were becoming hard to find.
Fortunately for him, Ghirahim seemed content to fill the silence. "How much of that did you overhear? I have a propensity to voice my thoughts more often than not, it seems. It is a little embarrassing."
A part of LInk was surprised about how open Ghirahim was when it came to what he was feeling and thinking. But another part of him wasn't. He recalled the times before, when the demon would speak to him in a weirdly casual manner, venting about his grievances as if they were acquaintances and not mortal enemies. It was a little weird. Ghirahim as a whole was weird, actually.
"Only a little," LInk replied truthfully. And he felt the still slightly foreign urge to comfort him a little. "If it helps, I think you dealt with it the best you could. Impa, that's the old woman's name, was really mad at you, and things probably would have gotten worse if you'd stayed." "If only I knew what I did in the past to make her so angry," Ghirahim laments. 'At least, I assume it was something on my end." He glances around the area. "Wait, where is Zelda?"
Link winces. "She… left. She went home."
"Ah…" Ghirahim looks a bit disappointed to learn this, and Link can't help but wonder why. "Well, I certainly do not blame her for that decision. I'd likely just want to return to the place I felt safest as soon as possible if I were in her position. … I wonder where that may be, for me? Where is my home?"
Hearing the demon ask that in such a soft, confused tone hit LInk unexpectedly hard, like a punch to the gut. Maybe it was because today had already been so difficult for him as it was. "I don't know," Link replies honestly. It was true, he really didn't know where Ghirahim had come from. Not even Fi seemed to have that knowledge. He assumed it was somewhere within the Earth; that's where it was said Demise emerged from. But besides that…
"I'm sorry." The apology came unbidden, before LInk's mind caught up with his mouth. He didn't regret saying it, though. The Skyloftian really did feel bad for his former foe. He couldn't imagine what it must be like to not only know next to nothing about yourself, or the world, but also deal with hostility because of things you didn't remember doing. No matter how deserved those reactions may be, it was still hard to witness.
"It's hardly your fault, Sky Child."
It is, though, LInk couldn't help but think. It is my fault you're like this. Even if it was a better outcome than what could have been, it doesn't change the fact that I was the one to do it.
"At any rate, I do hope that the Spirit Maiden finds her way home safely. And she gets herself looked over by a healer."
"I'm sure her father will make sure she does; he's been worried sick about her." Link can feel himself starting to smile a bit at the thought of Gaepora; he knows he will be overjoyed to finally reunite with his daughter.
The positivity seems to be infectious, and Ghirahim's white lips turn up slightly as well. This was a very welcome sight for the Skyloftian; he really didn't like the way the demon looked when he was upset in this state.
"Anyway," Link continued, wanting to further shrug off the heaviness of the past few moments. "The sun is starting to go down; we better get going ourselves, or we won't be able to leave at all."
This seemed to catch Ghirahim off guard. "I-you still intend to assist me?"
Which took LInk off guard, because he wasn't expecting Ghirahim's reaction. But when he stopped to think about it for a second, there were some good reasons why the demon might believe that. What with LInk's reaction, then Zelda's, then Impa outright telling him to leave, it wouldn't be hard to assume LInk would just go with Zelda and leave Ghirahim behind.
At least it would if you didn't know Link, and just how damn stupidly altruistic he was. Which, LInk realized, Ghirahim didn't because he didn't remember. Or maybe he didn't know in the first place, since when he thought about it, the two only encountered each other about six times. They actually didn't know each other all that well.
"I said I would help you, so I will. I wouldn't go back on something like that."
"I had no intention of implying—never mind, I am just being silly. Let's be off. … But where are we going?"
This is when LInk suddenly felt the urge to get back at Ghirahim for all those times he surprised him. He couldn't resist and, without warning, whistled sharply, causing said demon to wince and clamp a hand over his ear. "What was—oh!"
With a cry, Link's crimson loftwing came soaring down towards them, landing a few feet away. As soon as he saw the large bird, Ghirahim's dark eyes widened in awe.
"Now, this is a truly marvelous beast! And it's yours?"
Link hadn't expected this reaction at all. Before, Ghirahim never seemed to be impressed with anything the hylian did, and even though it was strange to see that now, the fact his unlikely companion found joy in something LInk equally cared about made him feel an odd, but not unwelcome sense of happiness and maybe a little pride. "It is," LInk confirms, smiling despite himself. "And he's going to be taking us to… our destination." Link originally was going to tell the demon about Skyloft since, like LInk's name, it was something he'd already known about before, but now he decided he'd rather see his blind reaction to it.
Meanwhile, LInk's loftwing seemed a bit uncomfortable to be in the demon's presence; it probably had something to do with being a guardian bird. But when Ghirahim began stroking his feathers, all was instantly forgiven.
Link mounted the bird, then helped Ghirahim up behind him. They were quite close together now, especially since the demon had to grab onto Link so he wouldn't fall off. But the Skyloftian found that he actually didn't mind all that much. At least, not anymore. It was crazy how fast this sort of thing turned from creepy and intimidating, to mostly casual and relaxed.
Zelda wasn't going to like this, and Groose even less so. Yet he trusted the instincts of his sword, his steed, and his soul. He knew he was doing the right thing. "Ready?"
"Wee!" Ghirahim exclaimed when they went soaring up into the sky, and Link couldn't help but laugh. Thankfully, his companion assumed it was because of the flight and not because he never in a million years thought he'd hear Ghirahim, of all people, make a sound like that. "This is exhilarating! This is incredible! I feel alive!"
"I'm glad you like it," LInk says over the wind. "Because we'll probably be doing this a lot for a while."
"Fabulous!" Ghirahim reaches out, letting his hand slide through a cloud. He seemed disappointed when his gloved fingers came back wet. "Just water? I was hoping a cloud would feel like a cotton ball. What a disappointment!"
Link has another chuckle at that; Ghirahim really was acting a lot like a child now. "I used to feel the same way when I was younger."
"How ever did you manage to get over it?"
"I just eventually had to accept that clouds aren't as fluffy as they look," LInk replied, not quite sure if the question was serious or just a joke.
The duo fell silent for a few minutes, just enjoying the flight and, still oddly on LInk's part, each other's company. Then Ghirahim spoke up again. "How were you able to find me so quickly?"
"My sword told me," LInk responds, straight-faced, not that his companion can see it in his current position.
"Oh, of course. We have evil gods and their soul-sucking followers, time travel, and now a sword that is capable of telling its wielder things. Why not?"
"I should introduce you sometime." It was more of a thought to himself than to Ghirahim.
"That would be nice, yes."
Minutes later, the unmistakeable sight of Skyloft is coming into view on the horizon, and Link can't help but glance behind him at his passenger's reaction. It doesn't disappoint him. Ghirahim's dark eyes are shining with a combination of wonder and curiosity, leaning forward slightly in anticipation.
"What is that? Are my eyes deceiving me, or are those… floating islands?"
"They sure are. Welcome to Skyloft, Ghirahim. This is where Zelda and I live."
"It is like something straight out of a storybook," the demon breathes. "Not that I remember any specific storybooks I have ever read. Even though the evidence is right before my eyes, I can hardly believe you live in—oh." He freezes for a moment, seeming to have a realization. "Sky Child! That's where that nickname originated from. One mystery solved, countless more to go."
Link brings his loftwing in for a landing, thankful that there aren't many people out. And the ones who are actually don't seem to be paying either of them much attention, likely getting ready to head home for the night. Normally, the hero's crimson bird would fly off after they dismounted, but no sooner did the two of them get off than the loftwing was immediately nuzzling up to Ghirahim in search of more pets, which the demon gave without hesitation nor complaint.
Traitor! LINk thought as he watched his bird being pampered, but it was mostly good-natured. Never would he have ever imagined those two getting along so swimmingly.