Father Time | Legend of Zelda

Chapter 2 - Fear the Sky Holds

WARNINGS: panic attack, vomiting

Sky had felt his resolve start to crumble the moment he set eyes on the beastly thing. It was something straight out of his darkest nightmares, something so undeniably dangerous and heart wrenching, he wondered how, in all of Hyrule, the others could be excited to go.

Couldn't they stay right on the ground and look at it from there? Why did they have to climb the damn thing, anyway? Couldn't Wild just poof them up there with that magic box-thing of his? It looked like one hell of a trek, fully equipped with electric enemies and torrential rainfall the entire way. 

And don't get him started on their destination itself. The mere sight of it his sent his stomach into rolling tides of nausea. Granted, it would be a tad easier on his lungs, but was the thinner air worth the utter torture he would have to endure to reach it?

Coming down the Surface during his journey had been one of the most arduous tasks he had ever completed, the monsters he faced along the way only being half the battle. Sky wasn't adapted to life on the ground, he was born to exist amongst the clouds, not the forests and caverns that lay beneath. The health problems that had conveniently arisen due to his decent had opened up a rabbit hole of further problems. The thicker air led to asthma, of all things. It was a condition rarely heard of in Skyloft, only around one in every five hundred children and adults being diagnosed at some point in their life. And don't even get him started on the dietary issues. Living on Skyloft meant a significant lack of any food consisting of meat, so the plentiful stores of everything from cuckoos to rabbits to goats hadn't gone down well with him. 

These were problems that he could deal with. Take more frequent breaks when the air got too heavy, and regulate his breathing. Avoid meat. Easy. Simple. What the others were expecting of him now... not so much. 

He couldn't blame them, not really. He hadn't told them of his fear, so how were they to know? 

In the end, he shook his head in defeat.

There would be no avoiding it. He had to go. 

Right up to the top of Shatterback Point.

Goddess above, what had he done to deserve this?

Suddenly, he felt an arm sling around his shoulders, the scent of sweat and something sweet assaulting his senses. 

"Looking a tad pasty in the face, bird boy. Not getting cold feet, are you?" Sky knew that Warriors was only teasing. That's how he was. Any concerns or worries would - more often than not - be prodded at through snide comments or blatant, snappy remarks. But even still, he wasn't wrong. As a matter of fact, the Captain had hit the nail on the head. He was scared. Terrified, even.

"No." He grunted under even more of Warriors' weight being pressed against him. "I'm just not liking the idea of being fried to a crisp in the pouring rain."

He felt Warriors shift, the weight leaving his shoulders and a hand finding the small of his back. "If you want to stay, you can. I'll tell them you have... food poisoning. Sick everywhere." 

Sky raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Flattering, but Hyrule would then stay behind and they would all worry. Relax, Wars, I'm fine." Sky met his eye, quietly surprised by the concern he found in the taller man's gaze. He wasn't sure why, but it constantly caught him off guard whenever Warriors was showing anything besides cockiness. The caring side of the hero reminded him a lot of Time, in a way. Quiet, but still there.

Warriors started at him for a moment longer, then relented, though not looking entirely convinced. "If you say so."