A quick note about the setting/world-The academy doesn't use the classic link hats for knights, in this they use headbands, kind of like naruto. For Loftwings I did consider replacing them with dragons but quickly decided against it. It makes dragons seem a bit less special and there are the dragons on the surface too. So we are sticking to the birds. For those not familiar with Skyward Sword, basic thing that you need to know: humanity lives on a floating island high in the sky, they ride around on birds, they cannot see the surface due to a cloud barrier between them and it and many doubt the surface is even real. Also, I consider the size of Skyloft in the game a game limitation. Like how when you go into a city in a game but you know there is more of it, but you can only go down a few streets. If the devs had no time limit or hardware limitations, I think there would be more in Skyloft and really any game city or town. So I am expanding Skyloft's size and population, only by a bit though because I think the sky was supposed to feel small on purpose, it is one of the big reasons why reclaiming the surface is such a big deal.

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Where in the skies was the kid hiding?

Kai could see Lloyd's loftwing flying above and the kid wasn't on it. So he was grounded somewhere and was somewhere nearby, a loftwing didn't stray far from its rider.

"Any luck?" Cole called over from across the plaza. Jay was a couple steps behind him.

"No," Kai answered. "He's definitely on Skyloft somewhere though. Probably sleeping. Where did you two look?"

"He's not in the school," Cole reported. "Chances on that were low to begin with though."

"Not in the bazaar either," Jay added.

"Nor is he on the east side of the river," Zane said, and Kai almost jumped. Shit, Zane could be quiet sometimes, Kai hadn't heard him coming up.

Kai groaned. "Ugh, we said we were going to meet up to help him practice for the Wing Ceremony. You'd think he doesn't care about the ceremony the way he's been acting."

They were a bit of an odd friend group, all things considered. Kai, Jay, and Cole had been friends pretty much their whole lives so them being friends wasn't really surprising, even if their personalities were very different. Lloyd and Zane were the unusual ones.

Zane had only moved to Skyloft a year ago, having lived with his dad in the outer sky isles before. He could be weird sometimes, probably due to his isolated childhood. It was hard being the new kid when new kids were practically nonexistent. When you lived on an island, everyone knew everyone, and very few chose to live apart from Skyloft. That paired with Zane's strange mannerisms had made it really hard for him when he'd first moved in. Zane fit into their group just fine though.

Lloyd was the baby of the group. Only fifteen whereas Kai and Jay were eighteen, Cole was nineteen, and Nya was sixteen. He was Headmaster Garmadon's kid. Fun, creative, naturally skilled at both flying and combat, friendly nearly to a fault, lazy at times. If Lloyd passed the Wing Ceremony (which he was already taking early), he'd be able to skip a grade and be in the same class as the rest of them. Maybe then he'd show up to class more often.

"Oh, he definitely cares," Cole said. "Although I understand why he's not worried. No one in his group is any real competition. It's just Groose and his cronies, Mavis, and Avel. Morro is the only threat, but he cares more about humiliating Lloyd than winning. And even with his help, I don't think Groose can win."

That was all probably true, but Lloyd could still put a little effort in. More than half of his competitors would be actively out to get him. Kai wasn't sure how that group had been chosen. With only two races, some of Groose's gang was bound to be with Lloyd, but all of them? Kai would call it sabotage if it wasn't Lloyd's uncle who had split the teams. Thank goodness Nya had been placed in the other race at least, that would have been such a conflict of interest for him. Now he could cheer for his friend and his sister no problem.

"Yeah," Jay agreed. "But Groose's gang is going to cheat, you know they will. And they'll gang up on him even though it's not a team race. I don't understand why Wu didn't just put them in the other group."

"He did it for Lloyd's benefit," Zane said, and they all turned to give him questioning looks. Because how in the skies had Zane reached that conclusion? Seeing their confusion, Zane elaborated. "Truthfully, it seems the teams were made with us in mind. Not in a way I think is unfair though. To start, Nya and Lloyd are on separate teams so they can both pass." Kai nodded along with Jay and Cole. That part made sense. "Now think of what would happen if Groose's gang were not in Lloyd's race. They would have accused him of cowardice and would have claimed that they would have won if given the chance. When Lloyd wins, even with so much against him, they will have no excuses. Plus, if any of them had been in Nya's group they would have just gone after her. They were going to be a problem no matter what."

Kai hadn't thought about it like that. So Lloyd's uncle wasn't trying to trip him up then.

"Those two need to grow up," Kai huffed, because really only Morro and Groose hated Lloyd. Cawlin and Strich were just tagging along. Groose mainly hated Lloyd because Zelda wasn't an idiot and clearly liked Lloyd and disliked Groose, which was Groose's own fault. Morro hated Lloyd for his talent. He couldn't stand that Lloyd seemed so effortlessly gifted. That Morro showed up to class, did the work, and Lloyd still outdid him. Kai had also heard rumors that Morro also resented Lloyd for his emerald loftwing, but Kai wasn't as sure on that one. Lloyd's bright green loftwing with golden wing tips was one of a kind, the only one seen in centuries, but there was nothing wrong with Morro's bird and Morro seemed to love his bird like any normal person.

"Yeah," Cole sighed. "I don't think it will happen anytime soon though."

"It's ridiculous," Kai continued angrily. "And for Morro, his stupid grudge literally holding him back. He could have taken his Wing Ceremony last year if he wasn't so obsessed with Lloyd. Now he's going to get humiliated and have to wait another term before he can take the test again."

"To be fair," Jay pointed out. "You used to hate Lloyd too, Kai."

"I didn't hate him," Kai argued, scowling. "He just annoyed me at first. Skipping classes and good grades and all. I thought it was just nepotism." It was also embarrassing to be outdone by someone younger than you. "Once I realized he was legit skilled and not a spoiled brat or anything I, unlike Morro, got over it. Don't compare me to him."

"Even gifted people need to practice," Cole sighed. "We really need to find Lloyd. Can you imagine how insufferable they'll become if Lloyd doesn't win? And it means we'll get Groose or Morro in our class instead of Lloyd."

Kai's lip curled in disgust. That was literally nightmare fuel. He refused to let that happen. But there wasn't a ton Kai himself could actually do about it. It was extremely frustrating. "Well we've looked almost everywhere for him. If Nya hasn't found him by the goddess statue, that only leaves people's houses. No one I've asked has seen him though." He really hoped his sister found him.

Jay's eyes shifted upwards. "Oh! There's Nya!"

Kai glanced up just in time to see a flash of blue and red feathers and then Nya was landing on the nearby platform.

"I found him," she announced, looking smug as she rushed over to them.

"Really?" Cole asked, sounding as relieved as the rest of them. "Where is he?"

"He's sleeping on a patch of island under the goddess statue," she reported. "Towards the back. I almost didn't see him at all, but I spotted him as I was flying away. I figured I'd come and get you all first so we can all jump him at once."

"Smart thinking, sis," Kai praised. He didn't think Lloyd would make a run for it or anything, the kid had probably genuinely fallen asleep. But having everyone there would help impress the seriousness of the situation.

"He's on the lower part of the goddess statue?" Zane repeated. "Under the cliffs? That is a difficult landing. There is almost no room for a bird."

"He probably just parkoured around the side," Nya shrugged. "It's not that hard, just a little out of the way."

"And that's how we'll get there too," Kai declared. "C'mon, let's go wake him up."

It was a beautiful day. The cloud barrier was a pure white, the sun was shining, the winds were calm. Tomorrow was supposed to be as nice as today. Perfect for the Wing Ceremony.

Once they got to the goddess statue, it took a few minutes to climb to where Lloyd was. The kid was fast asleep, lying on nothing but grass looking like he didn't have a care in the world. You'd never guess he had a super important test to take in the morning. The sight probably should have upset Kai more, but Kai couldn't bring himself to be truly mad at the kid.

"Lloyd," Kai said loudly, crouching down and poking at the kid's head. "Lloyd, buddy, wake up. Now is not the time to be sleeping. You can sleep after the Ceremony. Or at night, like a normal person."

The blond shifted, then his eyes slowly creaked open. For a couple seconds, Lloyd just blinked up at them blearily. Then the recognition hit, and Lloyd shot into a sitting position.

"Oh, guys, hey," he greeted with a yawn. "What're you all doing here?"

"You promised you'd meet us," Cole reminded him.

"Yeah, and you're super late," Jay added.

"What?" Lloyd said, cocking his head like a curious Remlit. Then he startled, craning his neck to find the sun. His eyes widened as he realized how late it was. "Oh, um-" his cheeks reddened. "Er, sorry guys, I guess I fell asleep."

Kai rolled his eyes. "You have an ability, Lloyd. You can fall asleep anywhere. I don't think it's a useful ability, but its impressive in its own way."

"Sorry," Lloyd mumbled, standing up.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Zane asked, gentle concern in his voice. "This is an odd time to be asleep, even for you."

Hm, Zane was right. They'd chosen this time partially for that reason. And as much as Lloyd didn't want to practice, he wouldn't actively avoid them, especially after promising.

Lloyd's face darkened in a way Kai had never seen on the boy before. He looked troubled, but the expression disappeared before Kai could analyze it further.

"I- didn't sleep- great- last night," Lloyd admitted. "But it's my own fault for falling asleep. I knew I was meeting you guys soon, I shouldn't have lain down at all."

Nya frowned. "Why didn't you sleep well? Nerves?" Kai had been thinking the same thing. Maybe Lloyd was actually worried about the ceremony and was just really good at hiding it.

"No," Lloyd scoffed, immediately knocking out that theory. "I just-" he glanced at the ground, breaking eye contact. "Bad dream."

"Bad dream?" Kai repeated, surprised. "Kind of unusual for you. You usually have those crazy fantastical dreams. Like that sky made of sand."

"Yeah," Jay agreed. "Or that really big hill made of rock and fire."

"Or the giant island full of trees," Cole chimed in.

Lloyd's eyes narrowed slightly. "Are you guys making fun of me?"

"No," Kai assured him. "We're just pointing out you almost always have fun dreams. I can't even remember you saying you've had a nightmare before."

"Yeah, well, I usually don't," Lloyd said. "And you aren't describing them right."

"That is how you described them to us," Zane reminded him.

"Well, yeah, mostly," Lloyd conceded, an edge of frustration leaking in. "I did have more details though. But I can't really describe them right either."

"That's how most dreams are," Cole shrugged.

"Yeah," Nya nodded. "You should take up writing on the side, Lloyd. You come up with some really creative stuff."

Kai grinned at the idea. "You should illustrate them too." Because what did a 'sky made of sand' look like? Kai tried to imagine the sand from the riverbank somehow filling the sky, but he couldn't picture it. "But to have a side job, you need your main job first. And to be a knight, you have to pass your Wing Ceremony."

The others nodded, Jay adding, "Morro's been practicing all day. Groose too."

Lloyd rolled his eyes. "They aren't going to make any real progress in one day."

"Practice is always beneficial," Zane argued. "And they have been practicing more than a single day."

"Yeah," Jay piled on. "And you must be nervous about it if you're having nightmares about it. Practicing will help you feel better."

"I never said it had anything to do with the Wing Ceremony," Lloyd protested. "It didn't. It was… random."

"What was it about then?" Kai asked.

"If you wish to share," Zane cautioned.

Lloyd shook his head, looking uncomfortable. "It's not- I don't know. I was in a dark place and there was this giant, black monster, as big as the goddess statue, with a huge mouthful of teeth. The mouth was all it really had, like it's sole purpose was to eat something. I think Zelda might have been there too, but-" Lloyd shook his head again. "Nothing bad really happened. It was just roaring and stuff but it felt wrong. Bad."

"Huh, that sounds like an anxiety dream," Jay said.

Cole nodded. "Yeah, especially if Zelda was there. Everyone's nervous before the Wing Ceremony. I couldn't eat the night before mine."

"What a miracle," Kai snorted, and Cole sent him a glare.

"I couldn't sleep before mine," Jay admitted. "And I had to take it twice, the second time was worse." The first time Jay had taken the test, Cole had won. Failing five times disqualified you from being a knight. Jay had won his second attempt though, easily outdoing the competition. Secretly, Kai believed the only reason Jay lost to Cole was because Jay had been freaking out and Cole had been calm because, in Kai's opinion, Jay was the better flyer. Cole did better than him at land combat though.

"I'm nervous about mine," Nya encouraged. "Even though I know my race will be easier than yours."

"I don't think that's what it was about," Lloyd sighed. "But it doesn't matter, it was just a dream. Just drag me off to practice already. At least Zelda won't be able to complain about my 'lackadaisical studies' now."

Nya snorted. "If she wasn't busy working on her outfit for the ceremony, she would have been drilling you since dawn."

"I know," Lloyd groaned, and Kai's lips quirked.

"She might be a bit intense, but she has the right idea," Kai said. "C'mon, we've got some stuff setup."