Fall Into The Wild; BOTW Fanfiction

Chapter 17

I tried for hours, and I was no closure to getting better. I had used up both mine and Revali's arrows, and I was truly tired. Revali had heavily insisted that I take a break, until I hit the rock pillar. After that, Revali told me to stop. When I tried to deify him, he took his shield and bow back. Eventually, Revali told me to go back to Rito Village for some rest, but that was the complete opposite thing I wanted to do. Me learning basic combat was going to get me far in this world, so why couldn't I manage to shoot one arrow at a target? Despite my stubbornness, which was practically nonexistent, I went back to Rito Village and collapsed on my bed. Sleep took over almost immediately.

That next morning, I woke up before the sun had the chance to. Grabbing my few essentials, I walked out of Rito Village and toward Flight Range; However, when I was descending down the last bridge, Revali flew passed my tired form and landed right in front of me. "I'm glad I caught up to you. We won't be training at Flight Range today. It was brought to my attention that you are terrible at archery, so I have no other choice, but to use baby steps on you."

"Oh... okay." I replied softly, feeling more emotional than anything else, "Um... where are we going to train today?" I asked.

"The ruins at the foot of Cuho Mountain. It is tranquil and no one really goes there, so you'll have a quiet place to improve your skills. I'll be walking with you." Revali added, as he started to walk a good ways in front of me. After a couple of steps he turned to see me so far behind. Rolling his peridot eyes, Revali slowed his pace, so he was walking right next to me, "You're the type to beat yourself up when anything goes wrong in your life, correct? It is not a super attractive trait, you know."

"Sorry Revali, I am just worried about the future that is to come. Whenever I think about the impending Calamity, I can't help but feel a sense of fear and stress. If Princess Zelda is unable to awaken her Sealing Power, then who is to say that Ganon won't kill of the entire human race?! Sometimes, I feel like all the kingdom's efforts won't be enough. The Sheikah Tribe barely has a grasp on these new technologies and the Champions haven't been decided yet. And-" Suddenly, I was caught off guard with Revali constant gaze focused on nothing other than my face. His expression showcased no anger or worry. In the moment, Revali's feelings were nothing more than a blank slate.

"Human race? You mean Hylian... don't you?" I officially hated myself. Why was I doing this so much? Sharing my everyday life in my own world was never a daily occurrence the week before! I was about to say something, before Revali cut me off again, "Past that though, you have no need to worry. I may not entirely trust the King and his decisions, but a hero will rise to defeat Ganon and prevent the Calamity. Good always prevails, you'll see." I couldn't help but smile fondly, as Revali succeeded at bringing up my mood.

"I can't say this enough but thank you Revali." Right on schedule, we arrived at the ruins where a couple of targets were put up. Against a tree was Revali's bows and his shield. I ran up to Revali's Swallow Bow and gently grasped it. Revali picked up his Great Eagle Bow and motioned me to a spot on the grass. The first target was a couple of yards away.

"Since your saving shot was actually a fluke, we are going to start with some normal archery training. By the end of this though, I am expecting you to be able to shoot all the targets in Flight Range in one swoop. First, you'll try this target. Shoot in the middle circle three times in a row, then you can move on to another target. Give it a try." Revali sat on the grass behind me, watching my every move. As I grabbed a couple of arrows and put them in my holster, I drew one out and focused on my target. I drew back the arrow and angled it toward the middle. Before I could let go of the arrow, Revali stood behind me and inspected my form. His feathered hands were on mine as he changed little details. Releasing my hand, the arrow shot straight in the middle of the target. My eyes widened in surprise as I looked back at Revali.

"How did you shoot that so perfectly?! You weren't even in a normal position to shoot!!" I enthusiastically questioned. Revali looked at me for a second before looking away in embarrassment.

"Because I had training! Besides, I teach kids like you all the time, so you are no different!!" Revali scoffed, walking away, yet he had nowhere to go. After all, he was training me. I rolled my eyes and looked at the target. Pulling out another arrow, I drew it back and made sure I was in the same stance Revali wanted me to be in. Once sure, I released, and it shot pretty close to the arrow Revali assisted me with. The second arrow was still in the inner circle. With another arrow, I shot, and it stuck next to the first arrow. When Revali came back, I was expecting praise for shooting the arrows in the inner circle, but that was not the result, "This last arrow is dropping. It's not a good shot. Do it again!" A large sigh escaped my lips.

I worked all day and started to slowly improve. Some arrows would droop. Others wouldn't hit the bullseye. Sometimes, it would be a perfect shot. Most times, I had to redo it. The sun was close to setting, and I could only get to the fourth target. I felt dirty and gross. My clothes were more or less the same. I thought of good places to clean oneself in Hyrule. Immediately I thought about one of the hot springs. "Hey Revali! Do you know any hot springs nearby?"

"H-Hot springs?!" He squawked loudly, dropping a couple of arrows he was holding. I raised an eyebrow in confusion, before continuing.

"Unlike you, I have to bathe more often than not. I got to wash my clothes too, but I'll just wait to do that. So? Are there any areas I can take a break at?" I asked again, looking at him in questioning. Something about Revali's face didn't look right. Was he expressing disgust? I guessed so.

"W-Well... Sturnida Hot Spring is probably the best spot to... um... c-cleanse oneself..." Revali answered awkwardly. A large smile drew across my features.

"Great! Will you be able to take me there now? It would mean a lot to me, and you wouldn't even have to stay if you didn't want to. You would have to pick me up later, but I am able to be flexible." At the time, I had no clue what Revali was thinking. He looked nervous and tried to gaze upon anything but myself. It kind of hurt, but I brushed off his strange behavior; Nevertheless, Revali accepted to take me to Sturnida Hot Springs, as long as I came an hour early the next day for training. I agreed and carefully wrapped my arms around his shoulders. In a heartbeat, we were in the air. Revali still hasn't mastered Revali's Gale yet. If he did, he would be faster than this. In a couple of minutes he landed near the hot spring, "Thank you Revali! You can leave if you want. I'll be here if you need me-"

"N-No, I'll stay here to keep you company, just... don't do anything inappropriate will you!" My surprise turned to laughter before I took my bag of stuff toward the cave near to waterfall. Changing out of the Snowquill armor, I grabbed a thick piece of twine to tie my hair up. Grasping my soap bar, I peeked out from the cave to see Revali facing the other way. 'What a gentleman!' I snickered internally as I quickly made my way into the water. Checking to see if Revali could see anything, I saw very murky water.

"You can look now Revali, unless you are uncomfortable... then you can leave." I suggested loudly. Let the record books show that I was not close to Revali at all! I felt just as weirded out as he did. This was the first time I ever had company while taking a bath since I was a little girl. As the minutes passed, I felt more and more embarrassed, I hoped that Revali would say something. Out of nowhere, I heard the sweet music of an accordion. Revali was still not facing me, but it seemed like he was going to stay. As I rubbed the soap into my dirty skin, I listened to Revali's music. Once I felt clean, I walked toward the cave again and put my clothes back on. This was both the most pleasant and most awkward bath I had ever had, but the good thing was that it was over. Walking out of the cave, I saw that Revali was still playing his accordion. I noticed that he hadn't played his theme or Flight Range's theme throughout the whole time I was in the hot springs.

"Are you decent?" Revali asked, as he heard my steps approach him.

"Yes Revali. We can go back to Rito Village now." I answered, waiting for him to put away his accordion and signal for me to get on his back. Once my arms were wrapped around his shoulders, he took off and flew us back to the village I was so used to. One question about Revali circled through my mind as the navy Rito was midair, 'why was Revali so nervous about the hot spring, yet so insistent on staying?'