Shadow of the Fallen Lands

~Sky~

So this was what being free was like. Ah! It was utterly lovely, I thought. I stretched my arms out widely, careful not to fall from my Loftwing's back, and yawned. Now that there was no urgent deadlines or best friends that needed saving, the sky outside seemed vaster than ever. Especially since there was no cloud barrier anymore, and if you had keen eyes you could see all the way down to the Surface. Just by giving the outside world a glance, I could see so far down, my eyes just refused to focus on the Sealed Grounds below. Crimson's great red wings beat the air into a frenzy around us and I just stopped for a second, lost in the calm that the suspended moment gifted. The island in the sky silhouetted by a burning sun, it made such a serene picture that I almost fell asleep in the saddle. We glided on, the noises of the wind lulling my senses to rest.

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I turned my bird lazily towards the Faron Woods, letting my thoughts wander like the scuttling little Aracha. I wondered if maybe Groose was back up here, or still on the Surface. He'd been helping with the move to the Surface that Zelda and I'd started a while ago, but things were moving along slowly. Zel said once that she wanted to make a kingdom of her own, and I'd do anything to make her dreams come true. We passed over the completed Sealed Grounds, almost brushing the Goddess Statue's great head; deep in my bones I felt the peculiar, insistent urge to see... her, to hold her in my hands and feel the comforting weight of her blade in my palms. Oh, what was I thinking, no! No, I couldn't. The Master Sword was where she belonged, in the Sealed Temple. I couldn't have her again, she said it herself. Her duty was fulfilled. Lost as I was in the tumultuous expanse of my mind, a friendly, but still very loud, whale song penetrated my bubble of thought. I startled, accidentally giving Crim a solid dig in the ribs, which made him shoot forwards like a red arrow. Harnessing the sudden speed, I steered us back up towards Skyloft, the continuing whale-song  filling my heart with a mournful yet joyful tune. It came from the direction of the Thunderhead, so I knew instantly that Levias was making his rounds, faithfully fulfilling his Goddess-given duty as the Warden of the Sky. Whilst I was flying back home, Levias's thunderous voice recoiling in my head, a sudden and very much important realisation smacked me in my Skyloftian face.

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I'd promised to meet Zelda! Oh, she was going to absolutely murder me! I was never on time to see her and without fail, every single meeting began with a hard shove. Into water, off of Skyloft, into a patch of mud, Zel never discriminated when it came to teaching me a lesson. Crim picked up on my panic, and squawked questioningly. I shushed him, knowing that a calm Loftwing is a happy Loftwing. But there was no question about how cross Zelda was going to be. 

"Oh Goddesses!!" I swore to myself in a hiss, spurring Crimson onwards.  spiralling through the air, towards my lifelong home, the beautiful serene island that was Skyloft. 

I hoped that serenity would hold. I definitely didn't want a repeat of being pushed off of Skyloft. Never again.

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After a... honestly lovely meetup with Zelda, which had initially to my dismay involved being lectured about tardiness, then shoved off of the side of Skyloft, I was just about ready to turn in for the day. I'd never felt more tired than that day, who could've known doing barely anything could be so draining. Maybe I'd have to start getting back into shape again. But for now, bed. Just in time too, as the sun was beginning to set over the windmills and hills. Through the thin walls of my room I could hear the soft sounds of Fledge working out, and judging from the immense noise from the corridor, a certain Groose and his faithful cronies had arrived back. I yawned widely, and stumbled over to my bed. I was so exhausted, I barely even had time to register that it was the bed I was falling on instead of the floor before I collapsed into a fitful sleep, though I'd have slept like a log anyway on either surface.