"Normal Text": Reactions

"Italic Text": Astra Stories

*I do not own The Legend of Zelda. All rights go to Nintendo*

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"Why wouldn't he be able to sense it? I'm sure he will be fine," Zelda said, pushing Link off the island as Link fell towards the clouds whistling.

Astra and Zelda watched as Gaepora walked over and glanced over the edge as well.

"Hmm, his bird sure is taking a long time to get here." Gaepora noticed with a note of panic in his voice. Astra and Zelda shared a panicked look, maybe what Link had said before Zelda tossed him was more serious than they both thought.

"Shit."

"Something's wrong!"

Both of them shouted as they jumped over the edge and began racing toward Link who was still in free fall.

"Why would you jump after him!" Zelda shrieks watching the three teenagers falling through the sky. Astra had acted so calm as his friend was pushed off the ledge moments before that the change was jarring.

"We had to catch him." Astra shrugged as if throwing yourself off an island in the sky to your death was just your average everyday ordeal.

Astra and Zelda whistled as they dove causing two large Loftwings to fly towards them. The first was the same blue Loftwing that everyone had seen earlier but it was the second that caught everyone's attention. It was a black Loftwing with white under feathers. Zelda was slightly faster than Astra and managed to catch Link.

"Hang on there Link I got you." Zelda told Link as her and Astra flew up towards the island. The trio landed getting off their Loftwings all gasping for breath. The birds were panting extremely hard as well.

"Are you three all right?" Gaepora asked as he walked over to his students. Astra just held up a thumb in his direction while Link continued to stare up at the sky trying to catch his breath. Zelda had gone over to her Loftwing and was checking on her.

"I'm sorry friend. I didn't mean to push you so hard. You didn't sprain your wings did you?" she asked as she petted her Loftwing.

"This is very odd, Link." Gaepora spoke to the young blonde beside him, "What could have possibly happened to your Loftwing? For a bird to ignore the call of his master… It's unheard of! And you still can't sense your bird nearby, eh, Link? This is quite a problem, especially considering the Wing Ceremony is about to start."

"I'm sorry Link I should have listened to you when you said you couldn't sense your Loftwing and you almost fell through the sky barrier because of me." Zelda nearly cried as she stroked her loftwings back. "I need to tend to my Loftwing but you and Astra better get going to find Epona. I'll catch up to you in a bit."

Link opened his mouth to say something but a sudden bell stopped him. The three teens and headmaster all turned their heads towards the noise. The large bell atop the academy's roof was being swung back and forth.

"It's so late already?" Gaepora mused to himself. "Link, Horwell is conducting the Ceremony this year. I think it best you go explain your situation to him and see if he is willing to delay the race so you and Astra can find your bird." Link nodded his head as Zelda spoke up.

"Father you're the headmaster so Instructor Horwell would have to ask you for permission." Zelda sighed in exasperation.

"It seems Heroes getting special treatment when they don't deserve it is common" Revali sneered. Everyone chose to ignore the Rito warriors attitude.

"Is it normal for Loftwings to disappear at random times like that?" Zelda asked Astra.

"No, your Loftwing would always come at your call unless something forced them to be unable to." Astra shook his head as he answered her.

"That is true my dear." Gaepora laughed. "Link, could you go tell Horwell to meet me in my office so I can explain what is happening to him myself."

Link nodded as he and Astra both started walking off towards the main island and the academy. They ran down the stairs and saw Horwell standing looking over the ledge where they had left him. They told him that the headmaster wished to see him before heading off towards town.

"I'll bet you every rupee I own Groose has something to do with this." Astra told Link as they walked past a little boy rolling into a tree.

"You're probably right." Link sighed and shrugged.

The two teens walked towards the large tower with three different teens at its base. One was a short round boy kneeling next to a tall stringy weasel faced boy who was hitting the back in a strange sort of massage while the smaller boy was rubbing the arm of a large muscular boy with a bright red pompadour .

"You know Groose that sure was a pain, with all that pecking and scratching." The tall stringy boy told the red-haired one.

"Of course, it was a Crimson Loftwing. There was no way it would go down easily." The red haired boy laughed. "It's not getting out of that pen anytime soon."

"He's the reason Sky almost died!?" Zelda couldn't believe that the red haired boy was willing to risk the first hero's life for some reason.

"Groose had a complicated relationship with Sky but even he didn't mean to nearly kill Sky. That was more of an unfortunate consequence of what happened." Astra sighed, shaking his head.

"How can you be alright with him being the reason your friend nearly died!?" Mipha agreed with the Princess.

"Because this all happened millenia ago and even then Groose, Sky and I made up long ago." Astra shook his head. That made both Princesses pause as they remembered that what they were watching had indeed happened before even the kingdom itself was founded.

Astra and Link walked up behind the group and when both smaller boys noticed them they slowly backed away.

"Hello Cawlin, Stritch." Astra grinned evilly as he saw the way the two backed away at the sight of him and Link. Groose turned around at the sounds of Astra's voice. He looked panicked when he saw Link and Astra standing there.

"Whoa! So uh… how long have you two been standing there." Groose looked at the two nervously.

"Long enough to wish Link had agreed to a bet with me." Astra said giving Groose a hard stare.

"A bet huh? Oh I got it you were going to bet on today's winner of the race. Maybe try to get me to throw the race so you can get some alone time with Zelda atop the Statue of the Goddess at the end of the ceremony." Groose said puffing his chest out thinking he got it right. "Well sorry pal but Groose doesn't throw a race for wimps. I'll give you some advice though free of charge. Work hard and wish with all your heart and maybe you'll even come in second."

"I really don't like this boy." Urbosa narrowed her eyes at Groose as she spoke. "I'm aware you said that you all sorted things out but he is rather cocky." The others even Revali nodded in agreement.

"Well I can assure you the tribe he founded had a similar temperament if less cocky. I'm not a huge fan of them but not all of them are bad." Astra laughed wondering what the proud woman would think if she knew that this was the first king of her tribe. This raised a few eyebrows wondering what tribe he could have founded.

"Come to think of it why don't I see your bird?" Groose got into Links face. "I can't imagine what could have happened to him. Do you think his tiny brain got confused by all the clouds and got lost?"

"Give him back Groose!" Link grit his teeth. Link was usually a relaxed guy but he didn't like when anyone talked bad about his bird.

"I have no idea what your talking about." Groose scoffed before looking at Link, narrowing his eyes leaning into Link and poking his chest. "You know, we're all getting tired of how you never let anyone forget you and Zelda go way back. So what if you've been friends since you were kids? It doesn't change the fact that you float through life which your head in the clouds. Would you wake up, straighten up, and grow a backbone already? Your the only one out of your little trio who hasn't passed a wing ceremony. Both Zelda and this punk are already Knights. Dopes like you are dragging our Academy's name through the mud."

"Sky didn't once mention Sun so why would Groose bring him up?" Impa wondered aloud.

"Sun and Sky's closeness was a large reason Groose treated Sky the way he did." Astra told her. Everyone except Zelda and Link seemed to understand.

Astra balled his fists ready to walk up and punch Groose in the face when he saw someone walking up behind Groose and relaxed. He smirked at the larger boy and got ready to enjoy the show.

"And just who might you be talking about Groose?" Zelda said from behind him both her hands on her hips and a stern expression on her face. Groose straighten up quickly and floundered about struggling to respond.

"Oh Zelda!? Hey nah it's uh.." Groose started to say before Zelda stormed up to him and began lecturing him one finger in his face.

"Don't even try it Groose. You're picking on Link again aren't you?" Zelda scolded. "He's a student of the academy just like the rest of you so I can't understand why you bully him so much." It was amusing to see the boy look frightened of the girl when he was a foot and a half taller and had at least 75 pounds of muscle on her.

"Yeah… I-I suppose." Groose stammered out.

"You suppose? Suppose what?" Zelda asked, her finger still raised. Groose got a strange look on his face exhaling heavily and smiling.

"I..suppose..you..er…" Groose said breathing hard with his eyes closed slightly drooling. He shook his head and turned away saying. "Pfft! Forget it. I wasn't supposing anything, OK?"

Groose and his two lackeys started walking away towards a large wooden ledge, they made it to the edge before turning around and looking back at the other three teens.

"Ok we're outta here,boys. Later,Link! Hope you find your bird or else you're gonna have to sit out today's race!" Groose said, waving at Link with a smirk. "That could be a major setback towards knighthood, so find that bird or get real used to the taste of failure! It's your special flavor." The three then jumped backwards off the platform. They came up a moment later flying away on their Loftwings laughing.

"Do all of you do that?" Zelda sighed in exasperation.

"It's how we were taught to get on our Loftwings from a young age." Astra shrugged. "There were always Knights on patrol to catch anyone if they slipped. If Zelda and I weren't there and panicked they probably would have caught Link when he was falling."

"I hate to say it, but I'm beginning to think that those blockheads had something to do with your Loftwing disappearance." Zelda said as she watched the boys fly off. "I don't think they will help us search."

"Obviously. He'd take any chance to mess with Link." Astra snorted. "I just don't know what he did with him."

Zelda ignored him and turned to Link. "I'll fly around Skyloft and see if I can spot any trace of your bird . You and Astra can ask around the island and see if anyone has seen anything. My father already spoke with Instructor Horwell and the race will be delayed. We have time to find your bird." Zelda told the two before she too jumped off the platform and flew away.

Link and Astra started walking back towards the academy to see if anyone saw anything. The two chatted about random topics as they approached the arch that lead to the academy. As they started walking back towards the goddess statue they heard a shout.

"Hey! Link! Astra! Over here. I have some info about your Loftwing. Come over hear!" A boy down below called up to them. There was two of them down in a courtyard near a small building.

"Its Pipit and Fledge, let's go see what they know." Astra said as he and Link jumped down the ledge to the two boys.

"Hey, Link! I was just looking for you." Pipit waved at the two."I heard your Loftwing has gone missing, so I thought I'd join the search. And get this, when I asked Fledge what he knew, he started acting weird."

"I'm so sorry, Link! I really wanted to tell you, but... if Groose found out I told you." Fledge started babbling.

"It sounds like Groose forced him to keep quiet about it. Go on! Tell him the truth." Pipit encouraged.

"Just a little while ago, when I was cleaning the dining hall, Groose and his buddies came in.They didn't notice I was there and starting talking about their plan to hide your Loftwing. I wanted to warn you, Link, but just as I tried to sneak away...Groose and his gang grabbed me." At this point Fledge was shaking."They said that if I told you, they'd make sure I would never be able to ride a bird ever again!"

Link didn't like this Groose. He reminded him to much of some of the older knights who tried to mess with him he first joined the royal guard. They would hide his equipment so that he would be late to morning training and when a squire tried to help him they beat him up under the guise of sparring. They had calmed down once he became the Princesses personal guard but he still noticed the looks some of the others gave him. As if they didn't have enough to deal with having the fate of the kingdom weighing down on them they had to deal with all the scorn. He glanced towards Astra and wondered how many of the other heroes had to deal with something like that. How did they deal with the pressure.

"It sounds like Groose and his buddies had a plan to capture your bird and hide him near a waterfall." Pipit said pulling out a map to hand to Link." That's it! Right there. I marked the waterfall here with an X."

"Thanks Pipit this is a big help." Astra said taking the map instead of Link.

"Forgive me, Link! I can't help being such a coward. I'm really sorry." Fledge told Link, his head down unable to look Link in the eye.

"Its fine Fledge. I know how Groose is you don't have to apologize." Link put his hands on Fledges shoulder." At least you told me where I can find Epona before it was to late."

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Well hello all it has been a bit since the last chapter huh. The reason is simple and also slightly stupid.You see when I started this story I hadn't truly planned it all the way through. Given there are 16 games I plan to include in this. I had most of SS planned and reactions to major events in the timeline planned for example Time breaking the timeline, Demise's curse and a couple others but that was all. So I have spent the last few months planning the story out a little better and trying to get better at having the AoC cast react more. I also want to add that I don't really believe Groose is the progenitor of the Gerudo tribe or that he was the first King of the tribe theory but for story purposes I thought it would be fun. I couldn't remember if Zelda had Graduated at this point but since in the grand scheme of things it doesn't really matter let's say she did. I have been reading a few reaction fic and realized a lot of them do a character perspective per chapter instead of the general pov I've been doing. I have considered doing it but am not sure how I would do. Let me know if you all enjoy the way I do or if you would prefer me to focus on a single character's thoughts per chapter. So I didn't realize how much was involved in getting to Pipit and Fledge so I cut the chapter in half. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

S.D Signing Out