Hero's Wings (A Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword AU)

Chapter 5: Surface Decent

This was not okay.

So far, he'd plummeted out of the sky thirteen times (yes he was keeping track) and he was beginning to question why he agreed to do this so soon when he just barely learned how to hover. While he had taken off from a stationary position when he'd visited Gondo, he had had solid ground beneath him. Now he had nothing to break his fall. However, he did have to admit to himself that even though he'd only just learned, he was doing pretty good in his opinion.

It had been two days since Zelda's disappearance and Link was getting more and more anxious to begin his search. But Gaepora insisted that he practice flying some more before he decends to the surface to look for her. Besides, his uniform that he was to recieve for winning the ceremony was still being made and Gaepora insisted he wait for it to be done. Link was reluctant to agree to this, he knew that time was of the essence in finding Zelda and the sooner he got started, the sooner he could find her.

He was currently taking a break on one of the smaller floating islands that occupied the skies around Skyloft, looking out over the sea of clouds the surrounded them. He had been wanting to ask Fi how he would get down to the surface if he couldn't even see it; however he'd left his sword back at the academy as a precaution because he feared he would drop it while practicing. Plus, he didn't have much need for a sword at the moment anyway. He sighed as his gaze trailed down to his lap. He wondered if Zelda was safe; his heart wrenched at the thought of her being hurt and alone down there.

"Link! Are you ready to get goin' again?" One of the knights called his attention back to reality.

He turned around to face his companions and nodded. The knight nodded back in acknowledgment before turning to mount his loftwing. Link waited for the knight to take off before preparing to do so himself. He readied himself and got a running start toward the opposite edge of the island, flapping his wings as he ran. He found that this method worked quite well and helped him get a better start than when he took off from a stationary position. While getting a running start was nice, he knew that he'd be taking off from stationary positions more often.

As he approached the edge, he push off the ground and tilted his body forward, keeping in time with his wingbeats. As he expected, his wings caught the updraft of the air around him and held him up, making it slightly easier on his already straining muscles. The knight circled him, ready to catch him if he fell. Of course, Link would just call his loftwing if he fell but Gaepora had also mentioned that he would need to practice without the help of his loftwing because he might need to fly at night, and everyone knew the loftwings don't fly at night. It was a valid reason, so he stuck to it. He tilted his body to the right, his heading directed at Skyloft; intent on getting there as this was his last take-off for the day.

As he flew his mind wandered to Zelda again. He could practically hear her berrating him about practicing as much as physically possible, and he knew that he should, but he also knew that he would be no good if he was exhausted when everything was finally ready for his decent to the surface. Beating his wings, he prepared himself for the landing. Giving one final big flap, he shot up about twenty feet above the landing platform. He circled above the plaza before tilting his body into an upright position and flapping his wings forward to slow himself to a hover. He slowed his wingbeats and lowered himself onto the plaza; the last downward sweep of his wings stirring up the dirt around him, creating a small cloud of dust before quickly settling.

He took a moment to settle back on his feet after being in the air for so long. He absentmindedly wondered why it felt to different to be back on the ground after this rather than when he dismounts his loftwing. He blamed it on the fact that it had been him doing the flying rather than his loftwing. It was to be expected that he'd be a little tired after supporting himself in the air for so long with almost no help whatsoever. The sound of a voice calling his name caught his attention as he looked up and was met with the sight of Gaepora approaching him.