Forged in Malice

Chapter 2

The first day of his travel kept him weary of any other travelers, partially because of his strange appearance and partially because the Yiga could somehow learn that he is miraculously alive. With the stress from the morning and his thoughts making his emotions more difficult to ignore and keep hidden, he was utterly exhausted by nightfall. Link was lucky enough that he knew of a small camping spot right before the Dueling Peaks, so he could set up a rather simple camp and be able to cook with what few ingredients he had in his saddle bags. It was better than eating them raw, at least. The night sky was clear but the moon was waning, almost turning new, so it was rather dark when the last rays of light were gone. The hylian wasn't going to be rained on, and he doubted any monsters were going to pop out of nowhere. They were on the decline since Ganon was defeated and unable to use his power to revive them. What little power that was left, like the stubborn malice, could only revive less and less of the foul creatures, seeming to focus on the more dangerous ones returning with each blood moon. However, the Champion had been woken up in the middle of the night by something spooking his horse. Usually he's far more perceptive with his experience of sleeping out in the wild, but then again, he's not used to this new form and had to scramble for his sword, ready to defend himself and his horse...who was currently fleeing without a second thought.

Great, his quickest form of transportation was now running off all because of...a few small chu chu that must have dropped down from the nearby trees. With a huff, he quickly sliced through the living blobs of jelly, figuring he could get his horse back in the morning. He was far too tired and not dumb enough to go hunting it down on such a dark night and without a torch, so he laid back on his bedroll and tried to get what little sleep he was offered. In the morning, he was exhausted but had to continue his journey. First things first, he needed to find that damn horse. It was a young mare that he first tamed when he woke up from his century-long beauty sleep, but she was nothing compared to his Epona...or what seems to be a descendant of his fearless horse back when the kingdom wasn't in ruins. Link really should have taken Epona instead, but he didn't think he would be in any serious combat nor that the slate would outright stop working when he decided to take one of his horses out of the Dueling Peak stable.

Link dusts himself off before letting out a loud whistle, startling any nearby birds as he waits for his horse to return. When several minutes passed and he didn't hear anything other than bird song returning to fill in the silence, the hylian lets out a huff and grabs the dysfunctional slate before following the horse tracks left last night. He could afford to lose his bedroll, but the princess would have his head if he ever lost the slate, working or not. He walked farther down to the path, thinking that the mare would have run to the stables since they weren't too far from them.

However, Link was proven quite wrong when he heard a distant neigh above him. Snapping his head up, he could see the familiar brown coat of his horse against the dark gray stone of the mountain. How the hell did his Chestnut get up that high when she was such a scaredy cat?! Giving another whistle, he manages to get the mare's attention, at least letting her know that she wasn't alone and he was going to find a way to get her down safely. Cowardly or not, Link was not going to abandon his horse for making such a dumb move. And though he could rush to the nearby stable and have their stablehands somehow retrieve Chestnut, he couldn't risk them getting hurt and he already had a reputation of his horses being in odd places when he requested them to be boarded. So Link didn't hesitate when he started climbing, even when the rocky wall crumbled a little under his grip and footholds.

Despite the rather precarious climb up, Link was nearly able to pull himself onto the ledge his horse was on...that was, until his hold on the mountain had slipped and he was starting to fall towards the ground and river below. Instincts kicking in, he had attempted to whip out the paraglider stored within the Sheikah slate before remembering that it was still out of commission along with all the other items within its nearly endless storage. Panic started to kick in as his body was getting way too close to the ground at such a high speed. He wasn't even sure Mipha's Grace would be able to work now that her spirit is laid to rest after Ganon's defeat, so this fall could very well end him, if not gravely injure him. So when the sound of ripping fabric filled his ears over the wind and rushing water below in his struggle to try and land in the river regardless of how much it would hurt, Link was left in shock as his brand new wings had saved him from crashing into either the hard ground or icy water that would certainly knock the wind out of him in either scenario.

The hylian landed on his feet without much grace, stumbling slightly as his wings folded against his back once more. Though he wasn't very fond of his new features, he can't deny that the wings weren't useful when they literally saved him from having broken bones at best, and his own life at worst. Once his hammering heart calmed down enough, he glanced back up to where his horse was still standing. If his wings were able to help him glide down, then maybe they could fly him up there and figure out how he was going to get his horse down. Glancing around to make sure he was still alone on the trail before carefully spreading his strange wings out again.

The wingspan was rather impressive, the ends of his wings reaching far past his arms and he could probably wrap them around himself like a cloak or a blanket. They should be big enough for him to fly, though getting his feet off the ground may be a challenge. He didn't have Revali's Gale to assist him, but that didn't mean he didn't learn anything from the rito champion. Link has seen several rito take off by simply flapping their arms that double as wings to get enough lift, so he could probably do something similar. Without much thought, he tried flapping them while he was still standing up straight, causing him to stumble back and nearly tumble into the river behind him. Ok, don't do that...so if standing causes him to fall back, then maybe kneeling like when he prepares for Revali's Gale would help. His back would be more aligned to the ground, so when he pushes off, it should be enough force to get him into the air.

Trying once more in this new position, Link made another attempt at flying. This time, after a few flaps of his wings, he was able to push himself off the ground. It was rather daunting to be in the air without his paraglider, and due to his inexperience in actually flying, his stamina drained quickly as he got high enough to land on the ledge his horse had decided to lie down on. The hylian pants slightly as he leans against the rocky cliff face of the Dueling Peaks, giving Chestnut a glare for a moment before straightening himself and rolling his shoulders. Though climbing really worked on all parts of his body, it seems that flying focused on his back, specifically around his shoulder blades the most, along with the new muscles within his wings.

Link removed the now ruined Champion's tunic as he approached his mare, feeling a knot form in his stomach as he saw the large rips in the fabric from his wings. Hopefully the Great Fae, Cotera, could help mend it while he talks to Zelda. It wasn't the first time he nearly ruined his armor and clothes, but Link really tries to take care of such sentimental pieces like the tunic and zora armor. They can't be easily replaced like the Vai disguises that rip so easily with how thin they are. With a sigh, he carefully helps Chestnut back on her feet and tries to figure out how she had gotten up on this ledge. Most of the area is either too steep for a horse to walk up or is just a sheer drop, but Link manages to find the small, invisible path that Chestnut had climbed last night, so it was relatively easy to guide her back down with gentle coaxing and a promise of apples once they were both safely on level ground.

Once back at the simple campsite, Link retrieves the hylian tunic he thankfully kept in the saddlebags, made a simple breakfast of mushroom omelet and handful of apples for his horse, and packed up his belongings before noon. Though he knew it was important to inform Princess Zelda about the state of the ancient slate and his encounter with the malice thanks to some Yiga bastard, he was also rather hesitant about telling her all the details. The horns, wings, and tail were shocking enough on their own, but figuring out how to explain his other changes was going to be difficult and a little humiliating. Hell, even thinking about signing it to her was enough to make his face and ears burn with embarrassment. Hopefully she would forgive him if he ends up being crass in his explanation.

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