Winds of Change

The First August: Union

Ten Years Later

This was about the one day that Gael had ever bothered to get up at the same time as his siblings.

His light blue eyes swam hazily into focus as a mere ghost of a presence floated into his head. He rolled over and onto his front, staggering to his feet, and shook his bright orange feathers of twigs that had gotten tangled during the night.

"You're up early today," noted his Nightsky Black brother from the other side of the nest. Their mother, father and other two siblings were out.

"Yeah, well, I've got something weird going on up here," he grunted, indicating his head with a wing. "Like someone's calling me."

"You do realise it's our mother's partner's daughter's tenth birthday, right?" the black Loftwing pointed out. "You might want to get down to that statue and see what's going on."

"Thanks, Kuro," Gael groaned, stretching out, before spreading his wings. "And tell Niva that no, I did not take a bath for this incredibly important occasion!" With that, the young bird was off like a shot towards Skyloft.

He hadn't actually been around the large town before, at least not in the past five years of his life. He'd been taken to the Statue just once, when he was younger; before he knew about this whole occasion.

The whole town was gathered around a pair of young girls, and by one of them stood a Brick Red bird he'd never seen before. When he caught sight of the other, something inside him just clicked.

Everything about her – her long brown hair done up into two plaits, her green eyes, and her waiting face – just felt right. Natural. While before he had felt nervous with all the Skyloftians all around, he could only see her. Only the pair of them existed – and a small bubble of light appeared in his mind.

Where are you?, she was thinking. Do I have a bird at all? Is one not coming for me? And the bubble turned dreary blue with worry.

I'm here! I'm here! he thought back, directing it into the bubble and taking a steep dive down. The girl looked up in surprise just as the Fire Orange barrelled straight into her chest and bowled her over.

Most of the people were intrigued and bewildered. This bird had clearly not bothered to wash or preen in its entire life, yet its feathers still shone bright like flame, and for a Loftwing of its colour it was clearly male.

An unfamiliar adult walked over to both of them. "Can you both sense your birds?" he asked. Gael felt nervous about what he was doing to his new partner and started to hiss worriedly.

"Sir, is it normal to hear them?" the brown-haired girl asked. "I was wondering when he would be here and then he told me he was."

"...It is rare," the instructor replied, "but it has happened. You are lucky."

"Can we name them?" asked the other. She had long, tangled, dark hair and wore a pair of glasses.

"Yes, you can, but in your position you could find out what her real name is."

While the conversation was going on, the dark red bird turned to the orange. "You can talk with your partner? That's so cool!"

"Eheh... I guess so..." he muttered. He honestly hadn't had much of a social life, while one of his sisters knew pretty much everyone.

"My name's Sera. What's yours?" she asked. She was quite optimistic and perky compared to other birds he knew.

"I-I'm Gael. I think our partners know each other?" he pointed out. They did, indeed, appear to have some kind of connection beyond being born in the same month.

"Maybe. C'mon, let's be friends! I don't have many of those, and you're a nice guy!" she begged. "Please?"

Something warm welled up inside him, and something similar made the young girl feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Somehow she knew, despite not even hearing the conversation, that his name was Gael and that her friend's bird's was Sera. She relayed the unusual piece of information.

The bubble that had newly formed inside his head glowed bright, as if with understanding. He thrust his long, bony beak into her chest and almost lifted her right up off the ground before she pushed him away teasingly.

He really, really wanted to go flying with his new partner. There was honestly nothing he would like better than to just whisk her off across the Sky and far away, for her to be the one he spent the rest of his life protecting.

Please fly with me, he asked through the mystically glowing bubble in his mind. It began to glow bright orange with excitement, then faded to green with doubt.

What if I can't?, came the reply.

You don't need to do anything yet, just hold on!, the bird instructed, bending down for her to slide onto his back. Some of the instructors rushed out to stop her, but Gael was way too fast. He was off like a flaming arrow into the early morning sunlight, with no boundaries to hold them back.

The girl was frightened. She hadn't been on a bird before, let alone left Skyloft. However, just glancing down at the ungroomed orange plumage of her Loftwing was enough to calm her. She shut her eyes tight and buried her face into his feathers.

When she opened them, she was flying. She could feel the clouds sliced apart by her strong feathers, feel the warm and bright currents of air carrying her from below, feel free. And without doing anything at all, she opened her beak and let out a triumphant cry of union.

She saw everything, and it felt like she had always known the Loftwing that had bowled her over in that first meeting. Heard his voice in her head, the languages no longer holding them back. Gripped his warm feathers in her hands and soared away on his wings.

He took her around the Thunderhead and let her look down to the distant Surface through the barrier's gaping holes; he circled around his nest and around the many islands nearby; he flew rings around even Knights' birds before he was finally caught and sent back to Skyloft.

As he watched his one be led away, though, Gael could just tell that nothing but good would come from his partnership. Until the sky faded from blue into a deep, beautiful orange and the last of the sun washed over his flaming plumage, he waited for her to come back, but she didn't.

Eventually he spread his wings and took off homeward. He was sure his siblings would have a thing or two to say about the whole bonanza.

--oo00O00oo--

Yes, Gael is the abandoned chick from the prologue, and yes, the girl is my shameful self-insert. I will honestly try my absolute hardest to not make her some kind of awful Mary Sue because they are the bane of my existence, and I have no intention of becoming a hypocrite.

Going to update the Index now. See you tomorrow :D