#“revali these are DIAMOND earrings where did you even get this from” | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

corpsentry · 3 years

Text

ao3 mirror

fandom: age of calamity, botw rating: g starring: prince sidon and mipha note: spoilers for both games

"You know, Daruk’s my idol,” Yunobo says. He pumps his fists in the air like a kid at a fun fair in line for the big pirate ship ride. “They say he was the coolest Goron there ever was. Plus he had a beard. I think beards are awesome.”

“Great,” Sidon says. He stops peeling the mandarin in his hands for long enough to look up blankly at him. "Mipha was my sister."

the age of calamity, side b.

The thing about time travel is, even if someone stands in front of you and tells you point-blank that there’s a way to bring your dead sister back to life, you’re probably not going to believe them.

“I don’t believe you,” says Sidon.

“Okay,” Teba says patiently, fluffing his feathers with an absent glide of his wing. “Try harder.”

Sidon stares at him. He tries harder, though he’s not sure what that entails and so doesn’t end up really doing anything. “I don’t get you.”

“Which part don’t you get?”

“I get to see Mipha again?”

Teba’s eyebrow twitches. “Let me put this as simply as I can, Prince,” he says, a little too loudly. The soldier stationed at the bottom of the staircase turns to look at them. “We’re going to go back to the point a hundred years ago at which the four champions were killed in their divine beasts. We’re going to save them. We’re going to make sure they defeat Ganon before he can send Hyrule into ruin. And then we’re going to leave.”

By now, they’ve caught everyone’s attention. It’s been a long time since a hundred years ago, but here in Zora’s Domain it still feels like the events of last Tuesday, to be recounted over salt tea and fish skewers, to be mourned over an empty coffin. Everyone’s staring at the big white bird with the angry eyebrows, a little curious, a little apprehensive. For what he’s worth, Teba is indifferent. This much will not faze him.

Sidon twiddles his thumbs behind his back, where Teba cannot see them and the guards at the bottom of the staircase can point and laugh all they want. To be honest, he heard nothing. His heart stopped when he heard ‘killed in their divine beasts’, at which point a watery monster punched its way into his skull and crushed his brain. The monster is nothing concrete, nothing crystal-clear, just what little Link has told him, bits and pieces of a history he was prevented from taking part in. It’s been several months since the kid dragged his beaten-up body halfway across Hyrule and kicked Ganon’s ass, though they’re still feeling the after-effects of that particular calamity today. Mipha’s statue still looms over their heads, a reminder of what it means to die alone and far away from home.

“So,” Sidon starts, hearing his voice echoing in his ears like metal slicing through air. “What you’re saying is, I get to see Mipha again.”

Teba looks like he wants to grab one of the guards’ spears and stab Sidon in the face, but for what he’s worth, he reigns it in. “Yes.”

“Okay.” He grins. “I’m in.”

He tried to fight a lynel when he was fifteen. The domain had been overrun with monsters who had arrived for the pre-party to Ganon’s return, including an outstanding number of wizzrobes, several moblins, and a tall, intimidating figure which spat electricity from its pink-tongued mouth and whose name he couldn’t recall. While his father, the king, and his sister, the princess, breezed through the area like a lightning strike, reclaiming keeps and stabbing moblins with silver teeth so their generals could forge a path ahead, Sidon reveled in the wonder of being left unsupervised at four a.m. in the morning. And then heard the familiar, haunting roar of a lynel. And then decided to go and say hi.

It was a mistake, of course. The lynel was so tall he couldn’t make out the gear on its back. Its face was all squished up, like a birthday cake that had been stepped on, and its horns were too big for its thick, blocky nose. This was funny for all of five seconds. Then the lynel extracted a bow from that unknowable space behind it and aimed the sharp end of an arrow at his face, and it became a problem.

“H-h-h-hi,” said Sidon, holding up his Kid Spear, which was strictly for Kid Use Only, and had the offensive capabilities of a stick.

“RHOOARHGHHGHH,” said the lynel.

He jabbed the Kid Spear at the lynel’s leg. The lynel spat at him, though probably unintentionally, as it seemed preoccupied with the arrow it was trying to send into his face. It was stuck. The big scary lynel’s bow was stuck.

Emboldened by the stupid scary lynel’s broken bow, Sidon decided to try again. “Please go away, Mr. Lynel,” he said in his best and most charming Kid Prince voice, twirling his Kid Spear like a sweet jellyfish skewer.

“RHOAHOARHAGHOGHHHH,” said the lynel, who sounded significantly angrier than before.

“I understand,” Sidon said politely, and then closed his eyes and sent a prayer to the goddess Hylia (the way he had been taught to since he was old enough to speak, the way every child in Hyrule knew that there was a place for them to go to after they left this world behind). He braced for impact, which he hoped would be of the violent sort, earth-shattering and brisk enough to break his bones and leave nothing breathing in its wake. He was fifteen, not five. This was Ganon’s era. Every living creature in Hyrule knew this, the way their ancestors woke up and knew which direction the sun would rise from. Not if, but when. When the Calamity strikes. When your people die. When the knight emerges from the woods with the sacred sword in his hand, and saves you all.

But none came. When he opened his eyes, and he did so reluctantly, adrenalin coursing through his veins like thunder, the world was pitch black. In place of the cool blue moon was his sister, her ceremonial gear glittering darkly, the Lightscale Trident glowing like a star in her right hand.

“Holy shit,” whispered Sidon the kid. Mipha stabbed the lynel in the face.

She hugged him when it was all over and they had put the moblins and the wizzrobes and the electric moblin (so that’s what it was! Terrifying) back to sleep. Their father was upset, but he was frequently upset at Sidon and so it didn’t bother him as much as it could have. Sidon was not Mipha. It was all right if he got things wrong, as long as his sister never did. Coincidentally, the Hylian princess had been in the area at the time of the attack, accompanied by a knight with blue eyes and a Sheikah warrior who looked like she would throw a knife at a fish for sport. It was a good thing Mipha had been at home, and not visiting one of the other tribes or hunting for crabs near Lurelin. It was a good thing she had intervened when she had, lest the pre-party become the real thing.

“Thank you,” said the Hylian princess, trying her best to smooth her brow and failing. She looked anxious, though she had only come to pass on her father’s word, though the word that she had brought was victory.

Mipha smiled at her with a face full of sun. “It is my pleasure.”

He wishes the egg could talk. If the egg could talk then Teba would have less reason to talk, and if Teba talked less then Sidon would have less of a raging headache, which which would make him less of an asshole, which would make their discussions go much more smoothly than the janky, sputtering mess they’ve been all week.

“As I was saying,” says Teba, continuing whatever train of thought he picked up on their way up to Goron City and then dumped unceremoniously by the side of the road. As he does this, Death Mountain spits a chunk of lava out of its steaming gaping top, which lands a few inches shy of his breastplate. He hops backwards without missing a beat and begins fanning himself with one wing.

Riju stops fiddling with the diamond circlet in her hands for long enough to give him a look of inquiry. “As you were saying?”

“I can’t wait to see Daruk.” Yunobo scratches his arm. It makes a sound like two large boulders grinding together. Riju drops the circlet.

“You’re only going to see him for a short while,” Teba comments over the sound of the egg blowing its top at Riju and Sidon plugging his ears with his fingers. “No point getting all worked up about it.”

“You’re just as worked up yourself,” Riju counters. Patricia barks. Teba flinches.

This is true. There are two things Teba won’t shut up about. In ascending order of importance, they are 1) when they should depart for the alternate timeline in which they will prevent their respective ancestors from getting their spirits trapped in giant mechanical monsters for a hundred years, and 2) how incredible Revali is. Because Revali was the most powerful Rito warrior that ever walked the land (or flew over it, or blasted bomb arrows at it, whatever). Revali singlehandedly invented an entire style of aerial combat which involves launching yourself into the air with an updraft that defies the laws of the universe and then setting your surroundings on fire. Revali killed god.

Teba looks like he wants to go back to his wife and kid in Rito village. Good for him. Not all of them have bodies to put in coffins. “I just want to meet him once,” he says quietly.

Yunobo laughs, and it sounds like two extra large boulders grinding together. “Me too, brother.” He picks up the diamond circlet from the floor and puts it on his head like some kind of weird hat. “I’m going to tell Daruk how great he is. And then I’m going to go home.”

One time when they were much, much younger, before he woke up one morning and Mipha was three times his height, one of the guards brought back some durians. The durians were misshapen and spiky and smelled intimidating, though Sidon wouldn’t go as far as to say that the smell was unpleasant. The guard had obtained them from a merchant in the Faron region. He hadn’t meant to purchase them, but they were the last of her stock and she said she could only head home once she had sold everything. He empathized her.

At first they tried to open the durians with their hands, but this only produced several pricked fingers and left ominous and eerily substantial bloodstains everywhere, so someone brought out a spear, almost drove it through the table, and someone else brought out a carving knife. Halfway through the spectacle of watching one of the guards, who was thirty-seven and enjoyed collecting glowing stones as a hobby, attempt to de-spike an entire durian, the crowd parted abrutpyl.

“What are you all doing?” Mipha put her hand absently on Sidon’s head. He had been watching the ongoing debacle out of some kind of morbid curiosity, standing on tip-toes so he could peek over the top of the table, though now he had apparently been relegated to armrest.

“Trying to open this durian, your highness.”

Mipha laughed. His sister’s laugh was a delicate, heartrending affair, like trying to pull weeds from the bottom of a lake without breaking them at the stem. The weather at home was always more or less divine, but whenever Mipha laughed, Sidon swore it blasted a hole right through the clouds. If there were no clouds, then the hole appeared in the fabric of the sky instead. Mipha, at her brightest, was a walking catastrophe of sun.

Still chuckling a little, like she’d been made privy to a secret that none of them knew about, Mipha stepped up to the cutting board. “You have to do it like this,” she said cheerfully, digging her fingers into a seam in the durian’s shell like she’d been dealing with danger all her life.

Cue gasping. Cue the horrors of childbirth.

The durian was sweet. It was also a little goopy, but Sidon was no stranger to things which stuck to your fingers and refused to let go (he was one of those objects when it came to his sister, who he could rarely be found more than an arm’s length away from on any given day), so he felt for the little spiky fruit, and decided that he would make an effort to bring some back home when he went traveling himself in the future. While he examined the inside of the durian’s shell, which had been hollowed of fruit and had the texture of rough sandpaper, the guards crowded around Mipha and demanded that she share her secret to not getting stabbed to death by the fierce and terrifying durian. But either she didn’t know how to explain it to them, or they weren’t very good at listening, because she remained the only one capable of cracking open a durian with her bare hands for many, many years, up until she died while fighting a watery manifestation of Ganon inside the divine beast she had been told by the king of Hyrule to pilot to victory’s end. Then it was someone else’s turn to take over.

Painkillers for fish are a tricky affair. To begin with, charmingly little research has been conducted into the biology of the fish-person because the Zoras simply aren’t interested in how their bodies work, and while others have offered to do so in their place, among them several enthusiastic Sheikah researchers and one Hylian with a thing for huge glowing orbs, his people have never cared enough to give their consent. It’s a unique kind of apathy, one which stems from a place of privilege, or denial. They are, as a general statement of fact, very good at both.

“This will help.” Yunobo hands him a rock roast. Where did Yunobo get a rock roast from? Sidon frowns. They’re in the middle of the desert.

“Thanks,” Sidon says. Smiles. Kind of, like, holds the roast up to his mouth and gives it a sniff. It doesn’t smell half as good as durian. He puts it down.

It takes him several days to make sense of the convoluted sequence of events that Teba presented to him that day on the front door of the world he had rebuilt from scratch, surrounded by mystique and glamor and promising, in a breath of cold air, to bring his dead sister back to life. This makes it sound like he’s finished making sense of it all and will thus never be confused ever again, but if he’s to be entirely honest, he still doesn’t get it. He wants to. He’s scared to. He won’t look Teba in the eye.

“We should get going soon, don’t you think?” says Riju, who is twelve and somehow more put-together than all four of them combined. She pulls another book from the shelf and leaves it on the pile on the desk.

Yunobo shrugs loudly. “Doesn’t make a difference when we leave, does it? We could leave for Hyrule in twenty years, and we’d still end up at the same place.”

“But I want to save them,” Riju says earnestly. The pile behind her has been growing all afternoon, and will soon overtake her in height if she is not stopped. Mission preparation looks like archaeological excavation when you’re traveling backwards in time, and not forwards to some yet unknown destination. Ancient Sheikah records. Research journals. The writings of people who were obsessed with the events of a hundred years ago despite having no personal investment to speak of, and whose words carry with them a hint of reverence, even as they choreograph the funeral song of the old king. This is all that’s left of those ruins, aside from Link, who they’ve all quietly decided to keep uninformed of the current proceedings. Hyrule itself has been kept in the dark. No need for them to know about the maybes and the what-ifs and the could-have-beens. No need for more people to go crazy.

Sidon shuts the book in his hands with a thud. “But why?”

Riju’s eyes go wide. Drama queen. “Why what?”

Sidon opens his mouth, closes it, and opens it again. There’s a heat rash on the back of his neck which he can’t quite reach on his own. The elders had warned him about the desert, but the charm he received from Link has proven to be effective in all areas except for maintaining good skincare. He blinks dumbly at Riju, who has begun to flicker like the glassy surface of a pond. His eyes hurt.

“I mean, why do you.” His eyes hurt. His throat hurts. There’s something large and horrible stuck in his chest, and he can’t get it out. “Why do you want to save them?” There’s a durian in his rib cage. It must have lodged itself there when Teba glared at him like he was an idiot as he came face to face with the cruel reality of the universe, and it dawned on him like a dead body falling out of the sky that he would get to see Mipha one last time, and then he would have to come back. To a Hyrule without her. To the stupid stuck-up world that had to try again and again and again, coughing up blood and dragging itself through the dirt on bruised knees, before it could defeat the monster. “It’s not like they’ll come back to life,” he says, each word a silver knife in his mouth. “They’ll stay dead here. They’re already dead.”

Silence.

Riju has let everything go, including the diamond circlet, the topaz earrings, and three volumes sheathed in gold. Yunobo’s mouth is open so wide, you could stick your head inside and take a look around if you leaned in close enough. For the first time since he met him, Teba is at a loss for words. His chest rises and falls erratically, his hand on the bookshelf quivering, his eyebrows doing a little dance on his forehead. He’s sweating. Of course he is. They’re in the desert.

Riju, Hylia bless her soul, is the first to speak.

“It’s the spirit of things,” she says softly. She looks sadder than any twelve-year-old should ever have to look. But then and again, Sidon was barely old enough to hold a spear with both hands when his sister died and everything went to shit. Then and again, everything goes away eventually.

Sidon stares at her helplessly for a moment, gulping the humid air of the library like a fish out of water, then gives up and walks out of the room. He spends the rest of the afternoon blowing bubbles in the pool beside Kara Kara Bazaar while the other three continue their work, and then buys a durian from one of the vendors and hacks it open with his spear. You can’t crack open a durian with your bare hands, unless you’re Mipha, in which case you can do anything. It’s a good thing, then, that she’s gone.

When they were children and they got into trouble, his father would always scold Mipha far more harshly than Sidon. Mipha was the older sibling, after all. She should know better. This dynamic remained firmly established between them even as Mipha grew into her role as princess, future ruler, and eventually, champion. Of course, the reprimandings grew less stern, but Sidon had a penchant for winding up in places he wasn’t supposed to be in and Mipha had a penchant for being with him whenever this happened. He secretly resolved to pay her back when he got older and was finally able to stand up to his father, and therefore explain that most of the things they got into trouble for were his idea. He would be the one to weep at his father’s feet while his sister looked on with a horrified expression, and in that moment she would understand how much he loved her.

Then she died. You can’t tell the story of Mipha without this part. Mipha was a humble, kind girl, and then she died. Mipha could crack open a durian with her bare hands, and then she died. Mipha was the pride of their people, and then she died, and she died, and she died.

You can’t change the past with the wave of a hand. You’re not a bird. You’re not a fortune-teller. You’re a fish-person with an empty coffin for a sister, and in a few weeks’ time, you’re going to save her specter.

“...What if I brought her back with me?”

“Huh?”

“Hahajustkidding. No way I’d do that. Not a chance.”

“Um. Do you need painkillers?”

“Thanks, but they don’t work on me. I’m over a hundred years old, you see. Us Zoras, we’re different.”

The day before departure. They’re back at Zora’s domain. It’s raining. Teba is running through a checklist of items to bring with them which is so long, he has to hold it above his head to prevent it from touching the floor. Riju is feeding Patricia mandarin peels.

“You know, Sidon.”

Sidon looks up from his mandarin. “Mm?”

Yunobo grins at him. “Daruk’s my idol,” he says proudly. He pumps his fists in the air like a kid at a fun fair in line for the big pirate ship ride. “They say he was the coolest Goron there ever was. Plus he had a beard. I think beards are awesome.”

“Great,” says Sidon, as enthusiastically as he can, because he genuinely wants to be happy for Yunobo who is finally going to meet his idol and has clearly dreamed about this moment for some time. He wants to be happy for all of them. He fucking wants to. This is a rescue mission, not the imprisonment Princess Zelda walked into in Hyrule castle, not the hundred-year nap Link took on the Great Plateau. This is a happy ending, even if it’s not theirs.

Daruk the idol. Urbosa the warrior. Revali the bird. Sidon pictures them in his head, the way Link described them to him once, his voice carrying across the water like beams of light.

“Mipha was—”

He stops peeling the mandarin in his hands, his nails still embedded in the soft skin of it, the white-tinged flesh peeking out like a wound. Outside, the rain keeps falling. A river of tears from the sky.

Yunobo tilts his head to the side. “Mipha was?”

Mipha was the pride of their people. Mipha was the first person he wanted to live forever. Mipha was the only one he knew who could crack open a durian with her bare hands, like she was peeling open the heart of a monster, only to reveal that it had been something soft and scared all along. Mipha was a flesh-and-blood person. Mipha was the light of their world. Mipha is an empty coffin with a name inscribed on the lid, a house with the lights off, a memory drenched in ocean.

Yunobo prods his shoulder, though he barely feels a thing. “Mipha was?” he repeats kindly, herding him along to the end of the line, to the boat at the edge of the water.

Sidon puts the mandarin away. He stares long and hard at Yunobo, and hopes that his eyes will convey the wound his body no longer knows how to carry.

“Mipha was my sister.”

Let’s say you’ve been entrusted with the future of your kingdom. There’s a bad guy coming, and everyone’s scared to death, so you learn how to pilot this big robotic elephant which shoots turrets of water like a machine gun, and you get really good at it, and when the bad guy arrives on your new friend’s birthday suddenly you can’t do it anymore. You’re trapped inside the giant elephant. You’re bleeding out all over the floor. Your chest hurts like something awful, and your vision is beginning to blur. Sensing your despair, the monster closes in on you, wielding that big blue trident like fury. It holds the sky up over your head, and as it does so you close your eyes. You send a prayer to the goddess Hylia (the way you have been taught to since you were old enough to hold your little brother in your arms, the way every child in Hyrule knows that there is a place for them to go to after they leave this world behind). You brace for impact, which you hope will be the gentle sort, a slap to the wrist that’s conclusive enough to break your bones and leave nothing breathing in its wake. You’re twenty, not five. This is the end of all things as you know it. Every living creature in Hyrule knows this, the way their ancestors woke up one day and knew that this world would come to ruin. Not if, but when. When the Calamity strikes. When everyone you’ve ever loved dies. When you walk into the mouth of the elephant, and the elephant changes its mind, and decides to keep you in its belly forever.

None arrives. You open your eyes slowly, hesitantly, fear a living memory in your bones, but you are not faced with the stinging end of a trident. In its place is a boy almost three times your height, his eyes glittering darkly, the spear in his right hand shining like a star.

He is not your brother. But, Hylia bless you all, he is.

So what can you say, when the evil has been defeated and you are standing on the balcony of the castle, smiling up at him through tears while this big overgrown baby stares at you like you’re the answer to the universe, except:

We’ll definitely meet again, won’t we?

He flinches, but you don’t ask, and he doesn’t say why. He pulls you into an earth-shattering, bone-crushing hug. It’s a beautiful day to be alive, the sun shining like sin, Hyrule’s beaten but stubbornly breathing carcass laughing up at you from the fields below. He takes your hands in his. He’s shivering. He’s shaking from head to toe.

Of course, he says in the kindest, saddest voice you’ve ever heard, though he has only come to pass on someone else’s words, though the word he has brought is salvation. From now on, I’ll always be by your side.

: : : : :

You smile at him with a face full of stars.

117 notes · View notes

ghirahimbo · 4 years

Note

Are you open to prompts? I would suggest Link picking out new bangles for Revali's braids or something, if you'd like to use that!

Apparently I am open to prompts and would like to use that, because I went and wrote a whole post-Pinesong oneshot for it :D Here you go!

“Topaz,” Link said decisively, his voice slightly muffled by the thin blue veil that hid his just-too-angular jawline. “Definitely topaz. I assume it works for a Rito the same way it does for Hylians?”

“Of course.” Isha, the Gerudo jeweler, nodded eagerly. “Topaz harnesses the power of lightning to protect its wearer from electricity, no matter who wears it. A wise choice if your friend plans on traveling the desert for much longer—and the color would suit her nicely.”

“Do you think so?”

Revali couldn’t help but shift defensively under the somehow identical stares of consideration that turned his way, though in every other aspect the two humans examining him could not have looked more different. With her glowing dark skin and fiery hair worked elaborately beneath finely crafted ornaments that were no doubt proof of her skill as a jeweler, Isha was the very definition of put together beauty, so that Link looked almost drab and washed out in comparison. Some other Hylian might have disappeared completely in her presence—Isha would have towered head and shoulders over Link even without her golden heels, and the muscles that rippled beneath her sparse outfit were as hard and defined as any Gerudo’s Revali had ever seen—and yet… well, Link was still Link, even halfway hidden behind colorful silks. With one hand propped against his waist and the other scratching thoughtfully at his chin, Link inhabited his Gerudo clothing with a confidence that Revali had not expected from the way he’d blushed when he first pulled it out—a confidence that left Revali unaccountably flustered. He himself was not nearly so comfortable with his own feminine disguise, as evidenced by his constant prodding at the two looped braids that hung to either side of his face. How did Rito women function with those heavy braids dangling like that?

“You’re right,” Link agreed, and Revali raised an eyebrow as Link reached beneath his beak to push it up, examining his raised profile intently. “The jade went well with her eyes, I think, but the topaz…”

“The topaz will make her sparkle,” Isha insisted from his other side, holding an uncut yellow stone up against Revali’s face and squinting at them together. “You see it now, don’t you? What do you think, Vali?”

Revali rolled his eyes over the nickname Link had chosen as Revali’s impromptu alibi.

“I think that this place might be a waste of rupees after all,” he griped, jerking his head away. He might have reluctantly agreed to let Link buy him a gift from here if only because it made practical sense—there were an alarming number of creatures in the desert intent on shooting volts of electricity through his body—but he hadn’t agreed to being treated like an ornament himself, pushed and prodded and stared at.

Isha’s jaw snapped shut as she withdrew the gem, outrage sparking to life behind her eyes, and Link was quick to wave a dismissive hand.

“I’ll worry about my own rupees, thank you,” he said lightly, though Revali recognized the note of reproach in his voice. It was an effort not to stick out his tongue in response. “I told you, this is a gift. Besides,” he added impishly, “I’ll feel better knowing you have some form of protection if another electric keese sneaks up on you in the night.”

Revali bristled. “That was one time!”

“I assume you’ll want it crafted into a ring shape like the jade you showed you me earlier,” Isha interjected, addressing Link exclusively now as she turned towards him. “To hold back her hair, is that right? Earrings will not do her much good.”

“If you can,” Link said, fishing one of Revali’s large jade beads from his pouch and offering it to her as a sample. Revali watched it pass into her hands longingly, his unbound hair damp against the back of his neck in this dratted heat. “It’s fine if it costs a bit more than normal. This isn’t the sort of thing I usually ask you to make.”

“Nonsense,” Isha said briskly, brushing his concern aside. “It’s not as though I’ve never made rings before, and this is quite similar. I assume you brought the necessary materials?”

Link nodded, plunging his hand into his pouch again, although something he found there made him hesitate.

“Do you think…” Withdrawing a large, clear stone, Link half-glanced at Revali before avoiding looking at him altogether. “I know it’s not as practical, but… would a diamond be more traditional?”

Isha frowned. “Traditional in what way?”

“Well…” Link’s voice lowered to a whisper, and abruptly Revali realized that he’d been cut out of the conversation completely—an impression that Isha immediately encouraged by turning her back on him. In retrospect, he might not have needed to insult her entire livelihood earlier. The oppressive heat of this desert had left him admittedly snappish, with even less inclination to temper his tongue than usual.

With nothing to do but wait for them to finish, Revali wandered aimlessly around the dim storefront, looking around. The warm, recessed lighting and mismatched rugs kept the small room on the charming side of elegant, though the isolated pedestals that displayed the shop’s wares atop velvety pillows left no doubt of its luxurious nature. Running a reluctantly curious eye over the glittering pieces of jewelry, Revali noticed with surprise that he recognized most of them from Link’s collection. Perhaps Isha had not been exaggerating after all when she had lovingly called Link her shop’s patron.

Stopping in front of a pair of topaz earrings identical to the ones Link had put on that morning, Revali inspected the neatly penned price tag beneath them. And choked.

“I would still suggest the topaz,” he heard Isha say, the volume of their conversation rising to discernible levels once more. “It is more important for the final piece to suit its wearer than to cling to some tradition that neither of you cares for, I think, and your girlfriend… there is a spark to her.” Isha glanced back at Revali with a smile that showed too many teeth. “Yes, I think topaz will do very nicely.”

“You don’t think ruby would fit her better?” Link said dryly as Revali frowned, still wrapping his head around the thought that here he was Link’s girlfriend, and Isha threw back her head and laughed.

“Perhaps you should wear ruby, to guard against a scalding tongue,” she quipped, bowing her head in thanks as Link passed over a small handful of yellow gems. “Sarqso, my friend. This should be ready for you in about a day or so.”

“Link,” Revali hissed, drawing him aside as Isha wandered towards the back of the shop, still chuckling to herself over whatever joke they’d made at his expense. “Link, listen to me. You cannot spend this kind of money on a… a gift! A silly trinket!”

“What?” Link looked blankly up at Revali, then at the price tag he was gesturing towards furiously, and his expression cleared. “Oh, that! No, don’t worry about it. Isha gives me a good discount because I helped her get started with supplies.” Revali relaxed, somewhat mollified, until Link added casually, “I think she’ll only ask for about half that much.”

“That… is still a hefty sum of money,” Revali argued tightly. “I doubt that I even have that many rupees to rub together.”

Too late, Revali realized that he’d maybe revealed more about the nature of his misgivings than he’d intended to, because Link’s eyes were suddenly understanding above his veil.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said again, grabbing the tip of Revali’s wing to stroke gently. “I’m the one dragging you around, remember? That means it’s my job to make this worth your while.” As an afterthought, he added, “And it’s not a silly trinket. It’s a very serious trinket, and Isha is never going to forgive you for implying otherwise.”

Revali snorted.

“How shall I ever live on?” he asked sarcastically, prompting Link to bury his elbow in Revali’s side. Still, Revali resolved to be nothing but complimentary when they returned to pick up the finished product. Ever since meeting Urbosa, he’d suspected that only a fool would make an enemy of a Gerudo lightly. “Why were you asking her about diamonds, anyway? I thought we were here specifically for the topaz.”

Link hesitated for just a second too long before shrugging.

“No reason,” he said casually. Far too casually, and Revali raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “Just a… thought I had. Doesn’t matter.”

“What’s the tradition?” Revali insisted, following as Link headed for the shop’s exit. “It must be something Hylian. I would know if it was Rito.”

“It’s…” Link sighed, and though the veil he wore hid most of his ears, the part Revali could see had turned a sudden, burning red. “I’ve heard that Hylians who are… in love… might sometimes give each other diamond jewelry as a symbol of that. I don’t know, really. It’s just something that I’ve heard.”

Revali’s brow furrowed, and he shot out a wing to catch Link before he could duck away.

“So you wanted to… give me a feather?” he asked, catching onto the closest comparison he could come up with. “That isn’t embarrassing, Link. You do know that the two of us are already…” His eyes flicked back towards where Isha stood, and his beak clicked wryly. “Girlfriends.”

Link’s veil fluttered as he huffed out a laugh.

“I mean, that wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. Isha’s jewelry really is useful, you know, and the topaz will come in handy even outside of the desert, but…” He hesitated then, his hand sneaking up to tug at his earring—or, no. No, he was toying with the feathered braid behind it, tucked discreetly beneath his veil. “It did occur to me that… well, I don’t have feathers to give you, do I? People see a piece of you whenever they look at me. I guess it would be… nice? If they saw something from me when they looked at you.”

It was touchingly sweet and utterly corny, and Revali dipped his beak to brush against Link’s face, suppressing a smirk.

“Let me get this straight,” he said with low delight. “You essentially planned on tying a feather into my hair without telling me?”

“Oh, stop it,” Link laughed, slapping him away half-heartedly. “It’s just a gift, okay? You don’t even have to wear it if you don’t like it… though I think Isha’s right.” Although the veil hid Link’s grin, Revali could see it in his eyes. “Topaz will look good on you.”

“Of course it will,” Revali agreed haughtily, privately resolving to wear the thing daily whether he liked it or not. He’d always imagined that if Link had feathers, they’d be a sort of golden yellow… much like topaz, in fact. “Now, are you ready to drag me around some more? I’ll warn you up front that you’ll have to try extra hard to make this place worth my while.”

Link ran his eyes over Revali’s no doubt sweatily bedraggled appearance and grinned, flicking one of Revali’s looped braids.

“Drinks, maybe?” he suggested as Revali frowned, swatting him away. “I hear good things about the Noble Pursuit. They might even let me try one this time, though if they don’t, at least they keep ice at the bar.”

Anything with ice sounded like a spectacular notion, but before they could leave, Isha stopped them.

“Oh, Link!” she called, looking up from her workbench. “Could you come here for just a moment? I have a few questions to ask before I get started.”

Glancing up at Revali, Link shrugged apologetically.

“Sorry, Vali. Drinks in a minute,” he promised with a wink before swaying towards the back of the store to talk quietly with Isha, leaning over her desk as she sketched out a few quick designs. Really, he was a little too good in that outfit sometimes.

Another customer walked into the store as he waited—a Hylian woman with a pinched, unpleasant face who looked around with greedy interest. Though he thought he wouldn’t have noticed such a thing normally, today his eyes were quick to pick out the diamond ring prominent on her finger, and he felt a flash of interest. Something about that Hylian custom had sounded vaguely familiar once Link explained it, though he still didn’t understand why the idea of it had made Link blush like that. It sounded pretty straightforward to him, and Link had been far from reluctant to express his affection for Revali in other ways.

Curious to see what had caught his eye, the woman leaned over the pedestal with Revali, and her nose wrinkled up.

“Topaz,” she muttered. “Not a fan, really. Yellow washes me out.” Catching sight of the diamond circlet on a neighboring pedestal, her entire face brightened. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”

“Are you shopping for someone?” Revali asked, his curiosity overcoming his dislike of idle conversation. Maybe he should get something like that for Link… eventually, once he’d saved up some money and convinced Isha to stop staring daggers at him. It wouldn’t hurt to embrace a few Hylian traditions when Link had so readily adopted everything Rito, and Link did seem to like jewelry.

The woman laughed.

“Yeah, myself,” she said dryly. “My husband owes this to me, honestly. I was this close to divorcing him after that terrible honeymoon we went on. I might have done it if he hadn’t given me armfuls of baked apples as an apology. I’ve never been so bored and cold in my life… oh, but you’re from Rito Village, right?” she asked, looking Revali over. “You should know exactly what I’m talking about then.”

Revali stiffened in angry realization.

“I can’t say that I do,” he bit out, resolving to never attempt small talk with a stranger again. “Didn’t he already give you that? That should more than make up for whatever emotional distress such a terrible trip must have caused.”

He flicked a feather towards the ring on her finger, and the woman blinked in surprise.

“Well, of course he gave me this,” she said, holding her hand up to display the ring more clearly. “It’s a wedding ring. He’s my husband. We’re married.”

Abruptly, Revali realized why the tradition had sounded familiar.

“Done!” Link said, reappearing beside Revali to hold his wing. Eyeing the woman sideways, Link frowned in recognition but didn’t address her. “Are you ready to go?”

Revali didn’t respond, his mind still caught on the words ‘married’ and ‘husband’ and Link’s bright red blush. Ohhhhh. Oh.

Oh.

#revalink #pinesong #my writing #isha is amazing and juney sucks and that is that #Anonymous

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zeldahijinks · 7 years

Text

Flock Together

Part 5

[Previous Chapter] [Next Chapter] Revali/Reader Summary: Revali and Reader do a bit of sparring that causes a new step in their relationship. Word count: 2495 [A03] to reader full story

“So? How do you like it?”

Revali looked himself over, analyzing the fit of his new warrior’s outfit. You stood off to the side of the clothing shop, inwardly feeling pretty proud and slightly giddy seeing how well it fit him. The pauldrons fanned out giving him a rather dramatic silhouette and the crimson top popped against his dark navy blue feathers. He looked handsome, but you felt like keeping that to yourself. Least you inflate his ego even more.

He hummed thoughtfully as he gazed at himself in the mirror. “The pteruges is a tad short if you ask me..” He began to mumbled, his eyes peering off to the side to stare at you. He saw the tilt of your head and the crease in your forehead causing his throat clamp slightly. He cleared his throat, “But perhaps this will allow me to have more mobility. Afterall, I cannot be restricted.”

You had to force yourself not to roll your eyes at his obvious recovery, but you humored him nonetheless. The designer of the outfit was at Revali’s knees, checking that every seams and welding was at its perfected state before looking at Revali with a gleam, “I have to say this is my finest work yet!”

The Rito Champion gave a side glance towards the designer while he fixed his champion’s cloak around his neck. Absentmindedly, Revali mutters, “Looking nice and actually holding up are two different things, but yes, it is a grand gesture you did your best.”

You could only smack your forehead at his rude reply and you slid over to jab your elbow in his side. He glared before rubbing his sore spot and you only gave him a stern look in return. You turned to the designer and held out your hand for him to shake. “You did a marvelous job, and I am sure that the durability matches its strong design.”

The designer absolutely glowed and held opened his doorway for you. “It was a pleasure! Especially with such a generous amount you pro-”

You shushed him as quickly as you could, still feeling self conscious that the diamonds you took from the mines were a sensitive subject between you and Revali. You didn’t dare look back at Revali’s face, and honestly, you did feel silly. Revali is wearing the armor you had custom made for him, so he is not ignorant enough to think you could just randomly afford it. The incident in the mines, however, had caused you to walk on eggshells, afraid that you two will have another spiral in your...relationship? You supposed you could call it that, but it didn’t feel like a legitimate relationship.

Well, warriors and possibly friend relationship, yes, but anything more than that? You really had to wonder.

Revali and you made your way out of the shop and gave one last thank you before heading out to the fields. The only way to know if the armor could hold up was testing it out and so you were more than willing to spar with him, but the only problem was getting him to agree where to spar.

“Vah Medoh is a fine place for training!” Revali countered the heated argument that had conspired between you two while walking.

“Have you ever thought that it’s because you can fly if you fall off? And getting there is no easy task for me.”

He could only roll his eyes, his voice on the verge of irritation, “What are you blabbering on about? Having me take you is the safest transport you can get in all of land of Hyrule.”

“My heart bursting through my chest and winds knocking me around is not what I consider ‘safe’.”

“There are sacrifices you have to make for such travels.”

“Yeah, well, there are other ways to travels. It’s called feet.”

“‘Walking’ would have been more effective rebuttal.”

“Breaking my foot off in your ass is also an effective rebuttal.”

Revali scoffed, shaking his head as you two walked over a narrow wooden bridge. He leered at you in a smug fashion, and tilted his head to the side as he leaned closer to you. “You are wonderful at making empty threats, but can you prov- OMPH! [Name]! That was uncalled for!”

You gave him a cheeky grin as you brought your foot back from his tail feathers. “You callin’ me out, I have to bring the thunder.”

Revali spoke in a dry tone with an equally dead face, “Hilarious.” He leaned in closer and you became all too aware of the smell of his new leather, “ And this coming from the person who is terrified of thunder.”

You cringed, feeling your cheeks warm as you took a step back, “I am not!” Your voice squeaked, ruining any threatening air you had, “ Them fighting words, Revali.”

He took a step closer to you and peered deep within your eyes. His voice was low and rumbled in your eardrums, “Yes, they are. Care to take on the challenge?”

Normally, you would have shivered, but he was provoking you. So, you gave a smirk and pulled your sword from its scabbard, and held the point to his chest. Revali looked you over with a calm expression as he sized up your sword and how quickly your drew it.

“You wish to fight here?” He asked smoothly, feeling his adrenaline gear up as you shifted your weight and changed your defensive stance.

“No more words, chatty!” Exhilaration was flowing through your veins. It had been quite a while since you had a good fight and you were more than willing to give Revali a run for his rupees. You leapt towards him and you could see an air of confidence radiating from him.

“Attacking from the front is an amateur mo-” You cut him off by leaping over his head and right behind him. As he turned around you rolled to the side, kicking his feet out from under him. Revali lost his balance but quickly used his gale to shoot himself in to the sky. When he gained level air, he fell backwards until he nose dived for you. Excitement tingled throughout your arms and turned your stomach in ways you often relished in. You were prepared for him and ready to jump out of his aerial attack when he turned at the last moment and your sword swipe completely missed him.

The gust of wind that trailed behind him blew against you harshly causing you to cover your eyes from the flying dirt. You could hear him chuckle a distance away and honed in on the sound of his flapping to figure out where he was coming from while you regained your sight.

However, it seemed that Revali was quite aware of what you were waiting for and the sound of flapping came to a halt. You forced an eye open, struggling to see through the blurry world and the pain. You blinked a couple of times and when your vision finally cleared somewhat Revali was lunging right for you with his bow drawn. A surprised yelp fell from your throat and you dodge to the side roughly, narrowing missing an arrow.

You rolled until you were able to safely get up without his barrage of arrows, and you flung your sword towards him. He went to fly upwards, but the hilt of the sword jabbed right at his knee causing his nerve to fray and fell to the ground for split moment, losing his bow in the process. You took the opportunity and leapt for him once more but Revali darted to the side as your heel swung down. Pain shot through your leg as you fell to the side clutching your nerved wrecked foot.

“Good grief, aiming to take my head?”

A soft chortle escaped you as your pain ridden leg lessened. Taking a moment to compose yourselves, you got to your feet, turning around and wiped the sweat off your forehead. “Oh, I’m sorry, next time I won’t miss.” You teased causing a smirk to adorn his face.

He stood up and patted himself free of dirt, “Riveting, surely. You compose yourself well, especially after you were groveling on the ground just a moment ago.”

You clicked your tongue and shook your head. “Tsk, flattering me isn’t going to help you win!”

You took an offensive stance, kicking your sword up into your hand. With sword raised above your head and pointing towards him, Revali took a defensive stance trying to keep his eyes on you, but also where his bow went. Given that he was defenseless you sped off to the side and used the momentum to jump off a boulder to strike him from the air. But he had plenty of time to take in your attack plan and stepped to the side in a nonchalant manner. Your sword penetrated the ground and you struggled lifting it from its prison. You felt his presence come up behind you and your flipped around to jab him in the face with your elbow.

He caught it with ease just mere inches from his beak. Revali peered down at you with a smug mirth and blocked your on coming sucker punch with ease. It caused your arms to twist to which he took the advantage of, and spun your body around until your back hit his front. He locked your arms in front of you, holding onto your wrists. You struggled, flinging your body left to right all the while ignoring his chuckles.

“I dare say, [Name], you’ve been ensnared.” His voice vibrated in your ear and you could not shake the wave of tickling pleasure coursing through your body. However, your pride was burning being caught so easily and his own ego was frustrating you. With a sudden burst of adrenaline you flung upper half forward causing Revali’s body to fly over you.

It did not go smoothly as you hope as your head clunked against the ground. Revali skidded just a few inches before he pulled himself up from the ground and looked over his shoulder. You were clutching the top of your head while seething in agony and disoriented. You attempted to sit up, but immediately regretted the action as your world spun and felt yourself fall back.

Expecting to hit the ground, you felt something catch you in the midst of your descent, and although you wanted to look the throbbing pain prevented you.

You felt feather like touches wisping across your temple and finally peeking an eye open, your vision melded the split image of Revali together. He looked terribly concerned and brushed dirt off your face. He clicked his tongue once he realized that you were able to focus on him and for some reason the action caused you to chuckle. Revali had to prevent a chuckle escaping him as well, but before either of you knew it, the two of you were laughing hysterically. You felt so foolish, but it was the most fun you had, and Revali had a hard time believing your sparring session came to end like that. The laughter waned after a few moments, but the reminisce of your soft chuckles remained.

Revali felt himself relaxed, “Have to have the last action in anything and look where it got you.” He sighed dramatically, “Well, I hope that welt on your head taught you that was a poor move.”

You could only give him pout and a tiny glare, “Well, it worked, didn’t it? Next time I’ll execute it better.”

He couldn’t stop the short laugh that burst from his beak, “If that is your final move, I fear for us all.” Revali patted the last remains of dirt on your shoulders before he used his legs to lift himself up. You were about to make your way on your own feet when his wing came into your view. You paused, taking a moment to stare him in the eyes before taking his wing in your hand. He pulled you up with ease, but your vertigo had been thrown off making you fall forward. A tad embarrassed, you pulled yourself from Revali’s chest, and looked back at him. The look in his eye was filled with intense emotions you couldn’t decipher and felt locked in his gaze for what felt like heavenly eternity.

It was only when you heard birds chirping, did either of your pulled from the hypnotic stare off. The two of you moved an arm's distance away and took the time to dust yourselves off. You coughed, feeling your cheeks a bit warm and peered over to Revali. The feathers on his neck and collarbone fluffed up a little. It made you feel slightly better knowing he was just as flustered as you.

You turned towards him and gave him a once over before you hummed in thought. “What a shame, I don’t think I landed a single scratch on you.”

The sudden praised caused Revali to straighten his back and raise his beak to the air. “Let that comfort you at night, my dear [Name]. Rest at ease, I will be sure to vanquish Ganon.”

“Oh, I’ll be sure to think of it like counting sheep.” You replied dully and crossed your arms. The top of your head slightly throbbed and as you looked around, you realized you two sparred just at the entrance of the Rito village. You rubbed your upper arm and began to make your way back. “Uhh, well, if we’re done here maybe we should go freshen up..”

Revali looked himself over and sighed reluctantly, “That would be for the best. We look like a couple of wrung out rats.”

You laughed lightly in response and went to make your way back to the Inn when Revali called out for you. Curious, you turned around and saw him looking anywhere but you.

“P-perhaps, if it’s not too much of a inconvenience...You would want to have dinner with me tonight?” He made eye contact and although his voice had an underlying tone of nervousness, he held confidence in his stance.

It felt ridiculous how long it took your brain to process that Revali was inviting you out for dinner. However, once you realized you felt a jolt of anxiety burst through you body. Wait, what does this mean, you questioned to yourself and felt yourself fidgeting. Revali began to feel uneasy as he waited for your response and began to feel that perhaps he made his move too soon. He was about to open his beak to tell you ‘nevermind’, when your voice, uncharacteristically meek, spoke,

“W-where’d you like to go?”

Revali had never felt a wave of relief and serenity like he did in this moment. He took a few steps to be at your side and gave a soft smile. “Anywhere that sounds good to you. My treat.”

#Revali #revali x reader #flock together #flock together part 5 #hijink's wriiting #long post #YEAHHHHHHHHH #SO HAPPY #hope you like~!

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zeldahijinks · 7 years

Text

Flock Together

Part 3

[Previous Chapter] [Next Chapter] Revali/Reader Summary: Reader has good intentions, but doesn’t seem that way to others. Word count: 3623 [Ao3] to read full story

The weather was just absolutely perfect, you hummed. It was a tad warm, but underneath the shade of this beautiful tree the temperature even out. You sighed feeling relax while a gentle breeze kissed the exposed areas of skin, and the chirps of birds provided a rhythmical call of the wild. It was one of those days where contentment radiated everywhere, and gave a dream like appeal to the afternoon. You closed your eyes and leaned the back of your head against the trunk of the tree, feeling the corner of your mouth ease into a smile. The only thing that could make it better was if the trunk was a bit softer so you could take a brisk nap.

Peeking an eye open, you glanced next to you and saw Revali beak deep in a book. He looked like he was content as well with this beautiful day. He was perched against the tree, and a claw foot resting atop the other one while flipping through the novel. You could hear him read under his breath, his whispers floating to your ear drums and wisps out on the other side to mingle with the breeze. You inhale the peaceful air and hummed your exhale. You heard a little chortle from Revali and without looking away from his novel spoke, “Seems like you are in a sound mood.”

You only beamed and tilted your head toward him, “Mmm, I haven’t felt a day like this in a long time. It’s so nice, don’t you think?”

A smile tugged on his beak, his eyes still emerged in the book, “Indeed, we are not blessed with days like this often.” It was strange to hear Revali’s voice without any condescending tone, but for the first time you could appreciate how unique it sounded. It wasn’t deep, but it was clean and crisp. He held confidence in his enunciations that it was appealing to listen to despite what you imposingly claim. He could even be theatrical, especially when he would read the stories to you aloud. Revali flipped a page and clicked his tongue before he spoke again, “I say it has been about five moon cycles since I had a day fill me to such repletion.”

You hummed, letting your body sag, “I am too comfortable to process what you said.” Your response actually pulled a chuckle from Revali and saw from your peripherals shake his head. Silence had fallen between you two, but it was welcomed. The sound of nature was more pleasing than a small conversation. You could have fallen asleep, but as comfortable you felt on the inside, the crick in your neck said otherwise. Bleary, your head lulled to the side, and murmured, “Could I sleep in your lap?”

Revali choked audibly almost dropping the book before he finally looked at you. “Y-you want to what??” He held the book to his chest as feathers of his neck puffed out, “How-how scandalous! Here? In the open??” He surveyed the grass field while he whispered harshly, and you gave him an incredulous look.

“The fuck are you talkin’ about?”

He stiffen slightly and flipped his book open in a swift movement, “T-training. I was inquiring if you meant t-training so close to the castle.” If he could sweat, he would be pouring gallons because he never had to correct himself so hard before. What was he thinking, he mentally wailed. He puffed up so much he looked like the aftermath of zapped by lighting.

“What’s wrong with you??” You couldn’t help yourself, but you were concerned with his appearance.

“Nothing!” He squawked off pitch, and coughed to correct himself. He peered down back to his book with a little too much refinery you could tell he was exaggerating on purpose. His feathers fluttered back to their original place aside the ones at the nape of his neck. While he attempted to avert the situation he did get absorbed into his novel again. He found himself at peace momentarily before slowly peering to his lap. His feathers burst forth with a mighty speed as he went stiff as a scarecrow.

“.....What….are you doing?” He clicked his tongue, trying to process why your head in now using his lap as a luxury pillow. He wasn’t sure how he felt in this moment, slightly elated, but also a little anxious.

“I want to take a nap, and it’s more comfortable like this.” You simply stated the fact and sighed peacefully from your spot. His lap was a lot better compared to the tree, you mused.

“Is that what you asked before??” “Yeahh, before you went all weird on me. I figure you’re easier to deal with if I went ahead and did it.”

He cleared his throat and tried to ignore how aware he was of your head in his lap. He didn’t have the heart to shove you off like the alarms in his head shrieked for him to do, but he also realize there shouldn’t be anything wrong with this. This is exactly what he and you have been working towards. You two were getting along, he tried to convince himself, this is what friends do, right? They enjoy each others’ company, which he certainly was, but he had a difficult time ignoring how your touch zapped him. He inwardly sighed and tried to collect himself before getting back to reading.

The steady breaths from your lips reminded him that you were still there, and although the feeling of your head was overstimulating before he did not feel the urge to shove you off anymore. He had been staring at the same page for the last few minutes and he caught himself thinking of the two of you. He couldn’t help but think how far this relationship grew in just a short matter of time. It wasn’t that long ago he could recall angry words and heated faces. Each day the two of you were learning how to be around one another, and learning what made the other one tick.

He sighed reminiscing the feeling of loathing he felt for you. He never did have true reason to be acrimonious toward you, but he just felt offended the King and Princess went out of their way knighting them to Champions only to call upon your help. You were just a knight who specialized in scouting. He, at the time, wasn’t aware of your worth.

His beak quirked into a lopsided smile at the image of the first time he met you. You had the most disinterest look when you weren’t talking to Link or Zelda, and often sitting off on high perches while chewing on a wheat stem, adorned with a worn poncho and geta sandals. He believed that was the first moment that feud began as he thought back to the word ‘Hick’ slipping from his beak. He cringed at the memory, even he knew he was in the wrong. He hadn’t known at the time you were just pulled from the middle of another mission, it still didn’t excuse him though.

The back of your hand fell next to your head and he peered under his book. The same sensation of electrifying zaps soared back and he gripped his book. He shook his head, feeling ashamed of himself for treating you so poorly. He did not have much to enjoy and he was glad he had at least this going for him. As a breeze ruffled his feather it help lull his thoughts into a still, and enjoyed the moment while it last.

Sometime later, you had awoken still under the tree with Revali. You stretched and yawned looking toward him. He was asleep, his head back while the book laid open against his chest and one wing splayed across your shoulders. While rubbing the sleep from your eyes you leaned up and yawned. The sky was donning a pink hue and the warm air had turn a bit chilly. You were still pretty tired while you stared at Revali.

Looking him over you notice how his intricate chest piece was marred and worn. Humming to your thoughts, you quirked your lips while tapping your ankle. Your relationship was surely changing, you mused thinking how he wouldn’t hesitate to deny you earlier.

However, you sighed rubbing the back of your neck as you thought how it was still very fragile. He wasn’t completely relaxed around you and being assertive in showing him to be nonchalant wasn’t working as you had hoped. You thought perhaps there was a step you needed to take to break his barrier and in that moment realizing buying him a present would be the ticket.

A new chest piece would be perfect and you could excused it as he’ll be fighting against the greatest forces of evil soon. With a new vigor, you smile and tapped Revali’s beak a few times until he woke up. “Hey, wake up or I will leave you to the Stellos.”

He perked a feather brow up, as one eye leered at you and grabbed the wrist of the hand tapping his beak. His tone was dry as he made his way to stand, “Have I ever told you I never once wondered how you were a knight? Hm? Honestly never crossed my mind.”

You rolled your eyes, and smirked, “Careful, that’s a heavy serving of sarcasm.” He adjusted his chest piece and swept away any leaves that had fallen on him. He side glance you as his tone low, “I only serve the finest quality, but I also aim to please.”

A surprising pleasurable shudder crawled up your back and under your breath you muttered, “I bet you do.” You clench your throat to prevent the feeling that threaten to course through you and began internally screaming. You kept a blank face as Revali turned around leaning a suppose ear to you.

“You were muttering again, what did you say?”

“I.. uh..said ‘I’m beat, how bout you?’” You started marching away as he stared at you quizzically.

The next day, you still had the thought of giving a gift to Revali on your mind, but were unable to get a new chest piece as you didn’t have enough Rupees. Your income was maxed to cover your travel expenses, and what little Rupees you did have aside, still could not afford a custom made chest piece for a Rito. Something about different anatomies the craftsman said. You thought it was a bunch of hogwash, but to suit Revali’s taste it was a price to pay.

Then again you thought getting along with him shouldn’t break the bank, but might be worthwhile with the new mission. Zelda informed you that there may be ancient artifacts of the Sheikah tribe in an abandoned diamond mine. You figured if you completed this mission, perhaps collected a few raw diamonds left over in the mines, you would be set for that chest piece and then some. It seemed like a win win situation.

So the group of champions, and the princess gathered at the boarded up entrance of the abandoned diamond mine. Princess Zelda held the Sheikah slate looking at the digitized blueprint of the mines. “My goodness, what a mess. They hurried this operation.” She pointed to over laying underway, “These is poorly insulated and the structure is quite fragile in the lower mines.” She created a drawn copy of the mines as she continued to speak, “Also the shafts are small….Mmm..I believe I will cut out this part of the mines, it is too risky to venture there.”

You leaned over watching her draw it out, and whistled. “Hoo boy, that is a lot of tunnels.” Perhaps there would be a really great chance of finding diamonds.

Daruk looked at the map and saw the measurements, “I will not go. I will cause it to cave in with my mighty girth.” He bellowed with a laugh, “Just grab some rocks for me, the harder the better.”

Urbosa rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, “We all cannot go. Our collective weight alone will cave the mines. Princess, are you sure there are ancient items here?” Her concerns weighed heavily and Zelda bit her bottom lip side glancing Urbosa.

“Well, no...I cannot say for sure if there are any at all. I can only assume by a detailed blueprint they stored in the slate.” Zelda held the slate for Urbosa to look over. Urbosa pursed her lips examining the routes and felt torn from telling the Princess to abort. She could see how diligently Zelda mapping safe routes and how unsteady she was, but it was just too risky.

“Princess, please do not go. I don’t think this is wise.” Urbosa placed her hand on Zelda’s shoulder. “I’ll go!” You piped up, seeing how Urbosa was trying to disband the mission. You nervously gnawed your bottom lip, “If there’s anything I’m skilled at is crawling in small places. I think it’s best if I go in alone. I have tons of experience of situations like this, so I know which routes to avoid.” You did the best you could to sell yourself. The stubbornness implored you wanting to get the diamonds and you were anxious that you would lose this chance.

Standing off to the side Revali stood with his wings crossed and rose a brow. You snatched the map up and looked it over to further dragged your sales pitch, “And Zelda has marked the off limit shafts. I’ll be safe.”

Everyone looked between each other unsure before Revali side step next to you, and peered down at you, “Pardon me if I am being a tad, how shall I say, suspicious.” He got in your face and his words challenging your resolve, “It’s not often you volunteer for a solo mission.”

You blew a huffed of air in annoyance, thinking to yourself you should have known he’d pipe his two rupees. He doesn’t like to make anything easy for you, does he? “Normally, no, I wouldn’t go alone. I decide to have a partner if there is a possible way for the second party to aid. If these mines collapse why lose two warriors? Some sacrifices have to be made.” The look on Revali’s face was hard to discern, but you could only assume he looked deeply offended.

Taking a step back, not ready to deal with another emotional outbreak, you turned around, and ran toward the entrance, “Leave if I am not back in six hours!” You hurriedly shuffled under the gap of the boarded entrance, not giving anyone the chance to bring you back. You thought of all the nice things you could buy for them all afterwards...well...you thought, that is if you came back.

So far these dark, mucky old mines weren’t so bad, you though. Although you had to tied a bandanna around your face from spores, this part of the mine seemed in better shape than previously thought. The tunnels were lined with dusty old lanterns, and rolled up rope lining the walls. When you had notice you had grabbed a yellow roll and tied it to a stake in the ground at the entrance. You were lucky that is was still in decent shape and extremely long that you could use it and the several other ropes to help you find the entrance again. It was dark and seeing the map in your lanterns light wasn’t as easy as you first thought.

However, there were deep holes in the ceiling and the ground as you went down the mine. It looked dug through, and light cascaded the path. As you ventured a bit further the walls of the tunnel began to decrease in size and soon found yourself ducking forward. There were vines and long grass growing from the patches in the ceiling, and it was inevitable avoiding them. You finally came to a fork in the path, and by the map the left direction should be a densely populated room with diamond and tools. However, as you continued you couldn’t ignore the weird flapping sound around you. You saw nothing through the patches of the earth and it didn’t seem to be behind or in front of you.

Cautiously, you made your way into the mines. The tunnel began to expand again and you thankfully didn’t have to hunch over anymore. There were rusted mine-carts and tools, and the holes in the earth were larger in this room. Light shone brightly and casting on one of the carts. It was filled to the brim with raw chunks of diamond and you gasped aloud, but just as you were about to run toward it, someone scream out your name. You only had enough time to turn around before being flung across the room right on the carts filled with diamonds!

You left out a groan of pain quickly unsheathing your sword and froze at the creature in front of you. It was large and worm like, with burnt like flesh marred with iridescent symbols. Its head was like a flat intricate mask with a gem in the middle, and it adorn the same symbols on its burnt body. It let out a horrendous screech, its mouth spreading open like deku baba before lurching at you. You quickly flipped off the cart just in time as it charged right into the diamonds. You continue to provide as much distance as you could while you observed for weaknesses

You didn’t have time before it formed into itself, its mask sinking into its body and emerging the opposite end. It reared its ugly mouth and lurched for you again. This time you held your ground and attempted to slice into its mouth, but the burnt like skin turned out to be extremely tough. You groaned as you struggled in the stand still, and the creature hissed angrily. With a will so strong, you flung the monster backwards and went to charge forward in its moment of vulnerability when a flash flew in front of you, effectively separating you and the creature.

Revali stood at attention with his bow aiming directly at the masked creature. He shot the arrow with a strong impact right through the creature’s mask, and shattering the oval shape gem. Before you knew it the worm monster curled into itself and disintegrated in a black heap. All you could do was stand there staring at the pile of dust that once was the monster. You then looked at Revali in exasperation, exclaiming loudly, “Excuse me! But that was my kill!”

Revali stared at you aghast before shaking out of it, and marching right to you. His face was not pleased in the slightest and he looked downright furious. You unconsciously stepped backwards at the sight until you were trapped between him and a rusty old cart.

"’I decide to have a partner if there is a possible way for the second party to aid.’” His tone flat mocking your rebuttal. His feathered brows furrowed in irritation, “You want to know a few things you do that ails me with headaches? You are impulsive, let yourself get carried away, and end up in a predicament in which you have to fight for your life. That isn’t even the worst thing, but at least now, I have been made aware of your vice..” He held up a cluster of raw diamond, his eyes burning with silent rage, “You put your greed before your self worth.”

You went to speak, but he cut you off and dropped the cluster at your feet, “For a renowned picket, you are quite the hypocrite.”

You snatched his beak in a tight grip in a heat, your own eyes burning with rage and true hurt... “I would watch that tongue of yours, Revali.”

He shoved you away, straightening out his appearance before coldly leering at you. “Tch. I feel the more time I spend with you the more my intelligence diminished, because I cannot fathom a sane enough reason why I put up with you.” A sharp jolt shot through your chest, and stared at him in disbelief. Where was all this coming from? Had he conjured some warped perception of you? Your chest heaved with uncertainty and stress, and found it difficult to say the words you wanted to say. He just glared as you fumbled to explain yourself and he affirmed a confirmation within himself that wasn’t true.

He looked at you with pain, and struggled with himself with what he really wanted to say. Hadn’t you two promise to do better, he questioned. The urge to speak his mind bubbled, instead, he turned around and prepared to take off, “If you are fine throwing yourself away then I shall be off.” His gale propelled himself into the air and he was gone from your sight in mere moments.

You were left there unsure how to feel. The void in your chest left you wondering how fast this relationship could turned in just a day. However, this time you weren’t sure if there was a way out of this predicament. You pinched the bridge of your nose before noticing the diamond cluster glistening at your feet. Disdain bubbled in your stomach, a begrudging sigh releasing before you picked it up. While wiping your dripping nose with your sleeve, you slipped the diamond in your bag, and muttered, “Guess I am…”

You continued to search the mines for the Princess’ artifacts hours after, and felt reluctant when you finally came out with nothing to show for other than the large diamond in your sack. Revali was nowhere to be seen and none of the others seemed aware of the altercation between you and Revali.

And you swore you’d keep it that way.

#flock together part 3 #flock together #revali #Revali botw #revali x reader #reader #reader insert #long read #slow burn #botw fics #breath of the wild #breath of the wild fics #hijink's writing #violence #curse words #long post

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