Champions of a Fallen Age

The Battle for Hyrule Castle

 "Sometimes, I'm amazed that they've survived as long as they have." The Rito Champion rolled his eyes as Prince Sidon hefted both Link and Mipha off the ground in a bear hug. While he had started to think that Link was too stubborn to die, judging by how blue the Hylian Champion's face was, he had finally met his match.

"Sometimes, I'm amazed that they still put up with you."

"That's funny, I don't remember you being so mouthy."

"A lot's changed since you disappeared," Teba replied.

"... Sorry."

"What?"

Revali found he was unable to look his pupil in the eye. So, he folded his wings and looked away, glaring at the ground as he forced himself to speak. "I'm sorry for leaving you alone. I... I know how hard that can be."

He watched as the white Rito looked away, folding his own wings as he uttered a noise from somewhere deep in his throat. "... You didn't really leave me alone. Kaneli took me under his wing and even let me use the Flight Range after you were gone." Teba chuckled ruefully. "I guess the old bird has a habit of taking in outcasts, doesn't he?"

"Yes, I suppose he does."

The Rito Champion finally looked up to find Urbosa and Lady Riju speaking quietly. Though she hid it well, he could see excitement in the girl's eyes as she spoke to her predecessor. He found himself chuckling as he watched the woman brush a strand of her still soaking hair out of her face. At first, when Link had suggested a bucket of water as their plan of attack, Revali had been disappointed. Now, he had to hand it to his fellow Champion. It was far funnier than he had imagined, especially as a group of Gerudo collected around her, some staring in awe while others looked horribly confused.

Not far away, Daruk was speaking with as much volume as ever, managing to distract everyone around him and Yunobo. His grandchild rubbed the side of his head sheepishly as the Goron Champion laughed before slapping him on the back, causing the younger Goron to jolt forward. Soon enough, Daruk was jovially greeting the other members of his race, slapping them on the back or outright hugging them. Their boisterous nature was a bit much in his opinion, but he supposed it wasn't that big a deal. There was a large battle looming over their heads, so any cause to celebrate was probably a good thing. He didn't understand it, but it seemed fitting for the tribe.

The Zora, for the most part, were a little more formal. Those who chose to greet Link and Mipha took turns, giving the Champions a handshake or a simple nod. One black-scaled Zora was bold enough to set a hand on Link's shoulder; however, with all the noise, Revali couldn't make out what was being said.

Oddly enough, the only one the Rito Champion couldn't find was Medli. He would have thought that he would see her standing in the middle of all the commotion, unsure of which way to turn. From what he had seen, she had a habit of becoming so excited by every little detail that she had a hard time deciding which particular person should be spoken to or which activity should be completed first. Now though, she was nowhere to be found. He couldn't help but wonder what would have drawn her attention so thoroughly as he continued looking for her.

The sound of Teba clearing his throat drew Revali's attention back to him. Motioning with his head, Teba gestured toward a group of Rito that had gathered behind them.

"You should probably know that they figured out who you are," his pupil muttered out of the corner of his beak.

"And how did that happen?" Even after regaining his memories of how he had dealt with crowds in the past, the Rito Champion still wasn't prepared to find himself the center of attention.