A Rito Is No Good At Romance

Vacation: Part I

Trainings had become more difficult as time went on. Individual trainings with the most elite members of the Sheikah Tribe were horrible, Revali has never flown so much in such a short amount of time! He hadn't shot so many arrows in a single day either. By the time those sessions were over and done with the poor Rito Champion could barely even fly back to Hyrule Castle.

Link's sessions were no easier, in fact it seemed like he was getting even more physically and mentally exhausting work than the other champions! Every evening as the four pilots slowly made their way to their temporary home inside the castle walls, they could see Link, still swinging his legendary sword around. The Hylian Champion didn't stop till late at night when the moon was up at its highest. This, of course, caused some worry in the group. On one of their shared days off, Mipha confessed to the others that she felt as if Zelda pushed Link too hard. Urbosa agreed but stated that Link was the other half of the major plan to seal Ganon away. Daruk piped in, hoping Link wouldn't collapse out of exhaustion. Revali stayed silent, as always.

Time had passed since he and Link's little night together. They hadn't really spoken- or signed- to each other since then. Because of this, Revali had some conflicting feelings. Yes, he was glad that both of them were training hard but on the other hand he was somewhat scared that Link was being pushed too hard.

"No." Revali shut his book rather quickly. "He's the best swordsman in all the kingdom and he's been assigned to protect the princess of Hyrule. His practices are fine. Something to be expected out of someone of his...background." He closed his eyes and pushed his chair away from the desk he was sitting at. Today was one of his few days off (it was especially exciting since he had two days off in a row, the princess explained that she needed all of her resources for her own personal "training" so the Champion's sessions would be put off for an extra day) and he planned on spending it alone in his room. Reading was something he was looking forward to doing. Its been a while since he was able to actually able to read something and luckily the Hyrule Castle library was filled with interesting books. He found a few on the history of the Rito so he planned on spending the day reading. 

That was until Link began infesting his mind. Again.

Revali groaned and stared at the words in his book, trying his very best to concentrate. But alas, his efforts were futile. Soon enough he caught himself wondering what Link was up to, if he was okay. 

"You know what, fine." Revali spat angrily. He was, of course, talking to himself. He stood up and grabbed the books, shoving them under his wing. He practically stomped the whole way to the library, confusing and frightening the people he bumped into in the hallways. When the books were neatly returned to their places on the shelves, he sighed angrily and walked outside. If he wasn't going to enjoy his day off in complete solitude then he might as well succumb to his thoughts and see what Link was up to. Whatever, it didn't matter anyway. He always had tomorrow.

He soared up to the sky and began circling the castle, keeping his eyes peeled for a particular blond hylian. He nearly crashed into a tower when he finally spotted Link sparring with Impa. The Sheikah woman was fighting against Link, a Royal Guard's Claymore in hand. Although her attacks were considerably slow, Link still had a hard time dodging the gigantic weapon. 

Revali landed nearby, neither of the two stopped. He should've expected as much, Link's training wouldn't end just because he appeared! Hylia, now he was stuck here. He awkwardly adjusted his scarf and looked around.

The two continued their training for some time, Link didn't glance at Revali once. Which was understandable, in battle you couldn't be distracted. A single glance at something or someone that wasn't your opponent could cost you your life. Eventually Link lost the battle. He was obviously tired and could barely keep his sword up, this caused his defense to slack and gave Impa the opening she needed to hit Link in the chest with the flat side of her claymore. The poor hylian Champion was knocked to the side and against a training dummy. With the little energy he had left, Link pulled himself up and held his weight up with his sword.

Impa spent the next ten to fifteen minutes both scolding and praising Link. Telling him where he went right and wrong. She gave him more tips and tricks, recommended that during his solo practices he practice longer so he would get used to long battles. At the end of her conversation, she rewarded Link with a surprising bit of news, he would have tomorrow free as well. Impa had managed to convince the King that Link needed a break- Zelda would be fine as long as she was by the Sheikah leader's side. 

Link smiled and thanked his friend. She patted his shoulder, wished him good luck, and walked away. Link watched her go and when she was completely out of sight, he collapsed from exhaustion. This was Revali's que to rush over and help the poor tired champion.

"You know," Revali grunted as he propped Link up against the training dummy, "I'm starting to believe that maybe the Princess is torturing you. Just a little." Link smiled weakly and shrugged. He didn't have the energy to respond which Revali didn't mind. "Come on then, let's get you to a bed." The Rito Champion half-dragged Link back into the castle and through it's many hallways. He had decided to take Link to his own room considering Link's room was, for some reason, in the lower levels of the castle while Revali's room was closer to the library and Link didn't look like he could stay upright for much longer.

They finally made it to Revali's room and Revali had to help Link up into the hammock he was using for a bed. Link let out a relaxed sigh and he dropped his sword on the ground. As tired as he was he still held his arms up in the air and signed a thank you to Revali.

"No need to thank me," Revali said as he moved Link's legendary sword to the side, "I was only doing what any decent person would do." Link laughed and Revali felt the smallest hint of a smile threatening to appear. "And by the way, you'll be happy to know that in the very little time that I had to myself I learned some more sign language so communication will be a bit easier now though I cannot claim I'm an expert yet." Link slowly turned over and smiled widely. It was at that moment that Revali noticed exactly how tired and worn out Link was. He had dark circles under his eyes as well as bags and bags under those bags, a new facial scar had popped up just under his left eye and it seemed to go all the way to his jaw, his hair looked like it hadn't been combed in weeks. Ugh, Revali was disgusted.

"Revali?" Link signed, tilting his head as best he could in his current position. The Rito Champion said nothing to Link but began angrily muttering to himself. He paced for a minute, looked back at Link, and paced for a minute more. Finally, the Rito began gathering his things and spoke.

"You and I are going on a mini-vacation for the rest of today and tomorrow." Link blinked but before he could question the other, Revali continued. "You have a day off tomorrow and I miss my home. You need a serious rest and what place better than the Rito Village. Now hurry up and get down from there so we can get going as soon as possible. Hopefully I will be able to fly us over there before sunset but...well, we'll see." Link was confused for a moment, he wasn't sure if he had heard Revali correctly. Then when he realized Revali was standing there, ready to go and waiting for Link to hop down, Link smiled widely and summoned whatever energy he had to hop down from the hammock and grab his sword. 

"Now I don't know if you'll be comfortable," Revali began as Link climbed onto his back. They had stopped by the dining hall to grab some food before walking outside. Revali was bent over slightly, wings outstretched and ready, Link was trying his best to find a good position to hold onto his Rito friend. "...but this is all you have. I'm not that much taller than you after all." Link nodded and made a thumbs up to show that he was ready. "Hang on tight, if you happen to fall to your death while I'm in the air I won't be taking responsibility." Link chuckled and nodded. The next moment they were being launched into the air by the winds of Revali's Gale. When he felt he was at a good height, Revali stabilized himself and began a steady flight towards the Rito Village.