Birds of a Feather

Chapter 4 - A Strange Hylian

Revali yawned as he woke, a cold breeze blowing through the window and ruffling his feathers. It didn't bother him, the Ritos were able to fly around the cold environment with their feathers to keep them nice and warm. Revali woke up and quickly got himself ready, for today was a special day. Revali had been informed recently that he had been chosen to pilot the Divine Beast- as he should. The Rito already knew that he was the finest archer in his village, and he would soon prove that to all of Hyrule. The amazing Rito archer that defeated Gannon!

"I deserve it anyways." The Rito mumbled to himself. "Considering I've worked for an opportunity like this since I was a child..."

The Rito shook his head. After carefully putting the braids in his hair, he walked outside. A wave of cold hair hit him in the face. The Rito went to the elder, Kaneli, to wait for the Princess. When he walked in, the elder chuckled.

"Hello Revali!" He said, his voice deep and cheerful. "Aren't you excited to meet the Princess today?"

Revali ruffled his feathers. "I suppose..."

Kaneli gave him a pat on the back, and the Rito archer nearly toppled over. "Lighten up, kiddo! This is a big deal! It's exciting!"

"Sure..." Revali mumbled. "When will her majesty arrive?"

"This afternoon, I'd assume." Kaneli replied.

"Then I'm going to do a little training at the archery range."

Kaneli chuckled again. "Making sure your skills are in top shape! Good idea!"

Revali quickly took off without much of a word towards the archery range. He stayed there for a few hours. He hit the bullseye almost every time, and if he didn't he was only a little off. But it was nothing new, so it was a little boring...

"Maybe I can find some monsters... they have been more frequent lately after all." He said to himself. 

Revali flew away from the archery range, scanning the area for monsters. He quickly took out a few with explosive arrows, and continued onward. A little bit later, he spotted something in the snow. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a Hylian... wearing a blue tunic and had messy blonde hair. Revali landed near the Hylain and made his way over.

"Hello? Are you alright?" He asked, looking concerned for once.

The Hylian didn't reply. Their eye lashes had snow frozen on them, and they were shivering. They seemed to be unconscious. Revali picked them up, and his eyes widened in shock when he felt their ice cold body. How long had they been in the snow? Hours? Revali had to think quickly. The village was kind of far... but he had just come from the archery range! They could stay there until the Hylian woke up! Revali slung the Hylian across his back and made his way back to the archery range and into the hut, laying the Hylian by the fire. Now that he had gotten them out of the snow, he was able to get a closer look. They seemed rather small... but not twiggy. More of in a short-ish way. Revali was a little concerned that he might not get back to the village in time. "If you bring back the rescued Hylian, it'll just show that you're just the hero the princess needs!" A little voice said. It had a good point. Revali sat down across from the Hylian, making sure his bow was in good shape and getting some arrows. Not too long later, he heard a quiet groan from across from him. When he looked over, the Hylian was sitting up, looking disoriented. They sneezed, and rubbed their eyes.

"I found you passed out in the snow." Revali said, alarming the Hylian with his voice. "You have a name?"

The Hylian made some confusing gestures that Revali could only assume were Hylian sign.

"I don't understand you." Revali said shortly.

The Hylian sighed, looking frustrated. This annoyed Revali.

"Well it's not my fault! You're the one who can't talk! If anything you should learn something!" Revali snapped. 

The Hylian narrowed their eyes, glaring at Revali. 

Revali scoffed. "I'm your only way to Rito village, so you better show some respect!" 

The Hylian looked away, resting their chin on their palm. Revali noticed they were still shivering. Despite the fire, their clothes were still wet and the wind was blowing. Revali sighed in an annoyed way and opened his wing. 

"C'mere." 

The Hylian looked confused. Revali rolled his eyes. "My wings are as warm as Rito armor, it'll help you warm up."

The Hylian looked skeptical, but then tensely slid over. Revali closed his wing around them, and he felt them relax and lean onto his side. It was doing weird things to Revali. He cleared his throat and focused on his bow. Revali was probably just embarrassed to be seen cuddling this random Hylian. He heard the sound of wingbeats and looked behind him to see one of the other warriors.

"Kaneli sent me to get you." She said. "Revali, where've you been? He's worried, and the princess is here!"

Revali pulled back his wing to reveal the Hylian, who was asleep. "I found this Hylian in the snow. They were unconsciousness and looked like they were on deaths door."

"Ah, that must be her knight." The warrior replied. "She mentioned that they had gone off to get rid of some monsters nearby, but they never came back to the village."

So this is the legendary Hylian warrior?  Revali thought to himself, raising a brow. What a joke!

"I can bring them back if you wake him up." The warrior said.

Revali shook his head. "I can take care of it. Tell Kaneli I'll be back in a minute or so."

The warrior nodded. "Alright then."

With that, she flew off. Revali roughly shoved the Hylian awake. They glared at him.

"Hey legendary knight, your princess is worried about you." Revali muttered. "Get on my back so I can fly you back."

The knight signed something to Revali, probably some obscenities, but got on his back. Revali took off into the sky, racing back to the village. He could feel the knight shivering on his back, but said or did nothing. They landed in the village, and the knight looked cold. The princess rushed up to him, took off the scarf she was wearing, and wrapped it around them. 

"Link! What were you thinking?" The princess scolded. "Link" smiled sheepishly at her. "I told you that you should've brought your scarf!" She continued.

Link signed something to her, and she sighed. "I'm just glad you're okay. Imagine if I had to go home and tell father that you froze to death..."

Link signed the same thing, which Revali now realized was probably an apology for worrying her. The princess looked over at him.

"Ah, you must Revali. It's nice to meet you, I'm Princess Zelda."

"It's my honor to fight beside you your majesty. I assure you that with my help, we will have our victory!"

Zelda smiled. The Goron gave Revali a pat on the back and almost knocked him over, similar to Kaneli. "Love the enthusiasm! I'm Daruk, the Goron champion!"

"I'm Mipha of the Zoras. Hello." The Zora girl greeted.

Revali righted himself and huffed. "I suppose it's nice to meet you too."

There was an awkward silence. Zelda clasped her hands and took a breath. "Are you packed and ready, Revali? We have to go to the Gerudo village before going back to Hyrule castle!"

Revali nods. "In fact, I am! Allow me to get my things, Princess."

Revali went to grab his bags and said farewell to the village elder. The Rito had no family to say goodbye to, so he arrived at the exit to his village rather quick. As the champions and the princess started on their way to Gerudo village, he quickly glanced back at his village.

Though he wouldn't say it aloud, he would miss his home. He hoped to return for a visit soon.