Chapter Text
“…Nothing. I’m so terribly sorry.”
Miphas small and gentle hands slip away from Urbosas larger one, a tight, exhausted expression on her face. “I cannot regenerate something lost, only heal what is still present.”
With an unreadable expression, Urbosa lifts her hand to flex the three remaining fingers still attached to it, closing her eyes briefly to give a curt nod. “It was a long shot, don’t beat yourself up.”
“I wish I could do more, truly I do,” the Zora princess sighs, a deep sense of guilt and woe held behind her soft words. “Perhaps once I have had more time to recover, and my abilities are stronger – just because something has never been done does not mean that it cannot be. I shall keep trying to-“
“Mipha, it’s okay,” Urbosa cuts her off gently yet firmly, emerald eyes drifting from the anxious Zora to the two Hylians watching sadly, a tight smile tugging at her blue lips. “What’s with all these dour faces, huh? We are alive. That is something of itself to celebrate. A few missing fingers isn’t the end of the world, I’m just grateful for another chance to see you all again.”
She was right, really.
It had been nearly two weeks since it had all happened now, and it was still hard to believe they were all standing in Hyrule once more – together again.
The Calamity finally sealed after a hundred years of battle, Hyrule finally at peace, and by some miracle that has been driving Purah and Robbie both up the walls trying to figure out, all four Champions of Old have risen once more.
Truly when Zelda has received the message from Zora’s Domain that Mipha had returned, alive and well, neither of them had really believed it. Link had seen her spirit aboard Vah Ruta, she had been dead for a century. It took them visiting the Domain in person before it became a reality that she was really here, in flesh and blood. Just the way she had been before it all happened.
Well…almost.
She was missing a fin on her left arm. All that was left of it was a marred flap of scales, blackened from ice burns.
Slowly, the letters had arrived one by one. Daruk had returned to Goron City; he apparently had a large chunk of stone missing from his torso from his battle with Fireblight, but he was recovering from his wounds and overjoyed to finally meet his descendant. His appetite it seemed hadn’t changed in a hundred years and he’d requested the two of them visit for a grand meal of Rock Roast to celebrate.
Rito Village had sent word that Revali had been discovered alive aboard Vah Medoh, and they were to host a festival in his honour which of course Link and the Princess were invited to. Then Gerudo Town had sent a missive to inform them the wonderful news of Lady Urbosa walking amongst them once more. However, the Gerudo Chief had located them before the letter had and had wrapped her arms so tightly around Zelda that Link had worried she would split the poor girl in two. She hadn’t even waited to be discharged from her medical check-up before venturing out to find her little bird. Thankfully, Mipha was more than happy to heal the many scars and bruises that painted the Gerudo’s body, as she had done for her own many injuries still remaining from the fight.
Considering how brutal their fights had been, perhaps they had all come away lucky with their losses. A few fingers or a missing fin seemed a small price to pay to walk the earth once more.
“I can still wield my scimitar, though it might take a little while to get used to the new grip,” Urbosa continues with a soft laugh that seems to ease everyone’s tensions. “Thank you for trying, Mipha, truly.”
“Did I overhear that your father is planning a celebration of your return within the Domain this evening?” Zelda asks the Zora Princess gently, a stark change in topic to distract the young girl from her guilt. “Urbosa, you will stay the night, won’t you? While I am sure that you are eager to return home to your people, I admit I have missed you so terribly.”
Miphas eyes light up warmly as she holds her soft hands neatly before her, “Oh yes, My father and dear brother have gathered all of our people for a grand feast. You simply must join us, the cooks have been running the ovens all day and there are plans to sing and dance late into the night.”
Urbosas eyes crease at the edges as she smiles, lifting her arms to wrap warmly around both young women. “I would be honoured to join you. I am sure my people will not mind waiting until tomorrow for my return – they’ve waited a hundred years already after all.”
It’s as Zelda parts her lips with a laugh to respond that they are interrupted by the quiet sound of talons clacking against the stone flooring of the plaza, and Link is the first to turn and nod a greeting to the pale grey Rito who bows respectfully before each princess.
“Apologies to interrupt, your majesty. A missive for you, sent with some urgency from the newly appointed Elder of Rito Village” the Rito announces almost anxiously, lowering her beak as she presses a wing into her satchel to rummage before pulling out a neat letter with a wax seal, “It took me some time to locate you, s-sorry-“
As Zelda steps forward to politely accept the letter from ruffled wings, her head tilts softly, hardly acknowledging them as she cracks the seal to open it. “I’m sorry, you are…?”
Seemingly flustered by her missed introduction, the Rito mailwoman bows again awkwardly, touching her wingtips together as the feathers around her pigeon-esq beak fluff up. “Taria, Ma’am. I am the appointed deliverywoman for Elder Teba. He requested I get this to you as soon as possible.”
“Teba’s the elder now?” Link mutters, scratching at a scar on his face absentmindedly as he tries to peer around the Princess discretely to catch some of the written missive. “…Good for him. I hope Kaneli is okay though…”
“Oh- he just retired- it’s…well the situation right now is kind of a lot and he didn’t feel equipped to handle things in his advancing age, so he passed his place on to Teba,” Taria babbles through a nervous laugh, clearly not used to being in the presence of royalty and unsure what to do with her wings. “We would have sent out an invitation for the ceremony for passing along the title but it didn’t go ahead because…well something came up. Things have been….turbulent in the Village ever since the Champion returned.”
That earns a snort from Urbosa and a wry little smile that tugs on Mipha’s lips, and they all understand why without any words being exchanged.
Of course Revali was causing trouble only weeks into his return. It sounds like his attitude problem hasn’t changed any more than Daruk’s appetite.
Zelda’s carefully composed expression does not change as she reads the letter before gently folding it back up and sliding it into the envelope, however her brows do furrow slightly as she folds her hands neatly behind her back and regards Urbosa and Mipha with a polite let saddened smile.
“My apologies, it seems that our presence is required elsewhere to assist with an urgent matter. I’m afraid that myself and Link may have to decline the invitation to your celebration tonight after all,” she offers gently before turning to give the Rito mailwoman a nod, “Please let the Elder know that we shall make our way to the Village promptly.”
“Damn, whatever Revali did to piss everyone off must have been pretty bad then,” Urbosa teases wryly, reaching out once more to press her three-fingered hand to Zelda’s forearm gently in a gesture of comfort as the mailwoman dives from the plaza edge to take off once more. “Go do whatever you need to, just don’t work yourself too hard alright? You are still recovering too, Little Bird.”
“I shall stay within my limits and take care, I promise,” Zelda offers politely, sad eyes lingering perhaps a moment too long on the space where the Gerudo’s missing fingers should be. “Link will ensure that, if you don’t trust my own word.”
To support her statement, Link glances up to give the Gerudo Chief a serious nod, earning a smile from her.
“Jokes asides too, please send our love and well wishes to Revali. I simply cannot wait until we are all able to meet once again, it has been such a long time,” Mipha hums warmly, reaching out to touch Link’s forearm in a way that mimics Urbosa. “And of course, send our regards to the new Village Elder. I’m certain he has his work cut out for him if he’s trying to convince Revali to rest off any injuries,” she adds with a laugh.
--
“Got my work cut out for me? Ha, you can say that again.”
Teba rolls his shoulders as he leads the Princess and her Knight through a snowy wasteland, wings crossed behind his back and an exhausted look hiding behind his polite smile. “I never expected that the Rito Champion would be so….” He mutters, lifting a wing to wave around as if trying to grab an invisible word from the air around him, “…Well, he’s certainly a character. My son Tulin is obsessed with him, but it’s been a challenge for the Village to get used to some of hismore challenging…mannerisms. We’ve been through three different medics trying to help with his injuries and they’ve all quit because of his attitude, and Kaneli has been so at his wits end trying to help him settle in that he decided to retire and hand the job over to me instead. Not that I don't enjoy a challenge.”
“Revali was always a strong personality. Behind all the pride and hot air though he really does have a good heart, I’m certain he will settle in within due time,” Zelda explains carefully, wordlessly allowing for Link to jog in front of her and offer his hand to help her step over a patch of slippery ice. “Your missive gave me the impression that something quite serious happened. How is it that you would like us to assist?”
From the corner of his eye, Link watches curiously as Teba’s expression faulters, beak tightening slightly. The man looks to have recovered from his injury while taking down Medoh’s shield at least, however something about him seems almost pained.
“Well uh- it’s-“ Teba mutters as if trying to gather his complex thoughts into something coherent. “I guess the two of you and the other Champions are the only people left alive who really knew Master Revali. I was hoping maybe you could talk some sense into him and he’d listen more than he’ll listen to any of us. Admittedly I don’t really know what else to try, but I don’t want to just give up on my old hero so easily.”
“Is he trying to go back to training before he’s fully healed,” Link asks cautiously, glancing past the Rito to the flight range just ahead of them through the flurries of snow. “Sounds like something he’d do. I don’t think we’ll have any more luck than you if you want us to convince him to rest. I don’t know if Hylia herself could convince Revali to rest.”
“Yeah I got the impression there was no convincing the Champion to do anything he didn’t want to do,” Teba laughs humourlessly as he continues to hop through the snow, his beak clacking slightly with his words in a way that conveys a sense of anxiety. “It’s uh- well I’ll be blunt with you. Master Revali is not…coping well with his injuries. In his defence, most Rito wouldn’t handle this situation well. It’s just that he won’t allow anyone to help him, and the situation has become pretty serious.”
“Serious in what way?” Zelda asks politely, her gaze following Links as they approach the range to the lone little hut, a single splash of colour in the barren white wastelands with colourful patterned tapestry blankets nailed to cover every door and window to keep out the wind and snow. An unfamiliar green Rito stands outside, a warrior by the looks of the arrowheads braided into their plumes and the stiffness of their posture.
“There’s no easy way to explain this, but Master Revali was caught…trying to drink poison, we think in an attempt to... end his own life,” Teba mutters so quietly that it’s almost incoherent over the winds, shooting them an apologetic, ruffled look at the Princesses soft gasp. “He was stopped with enough time to prevent any serious damage. I’ve uh, I’ve issued guards to watch him at all times to ensure he doesn’t try something like that again, but he’s set up camp all the way out here to try to get away from the Village and I’m worried if our surveillance slips up that he’ll do something stupid again. He won’t listen to reason, but maybe one of you can get through to him.”
As Teba clears his throat and hops forward to share a quiet word with the Rito guard keeping watch over the hut, Link finds himself watching the way that Zelda presses her hand to her chest, brows furrowed into such a distressed expression despite how usually restrained she keeps herself.
“…Revali would never try to do something like that. He’s far too proud to… There must be some misunderstanding, mustn’t there?” the Princess murmurs quietly, struggling to meet his eyes as she becomes lost in her thoughts, as if trying to pick apart memories to find some sort of indication, “Why would he try to drink poison? It just doesn’t make any sense.”
She isn’t wrong. The Rito Champion was so unbearably confident and proud, bordering on narcissistic .While he could be terse and controversial at times, he never seemed depressed at all, if anything he was a little too positive and overconfident in his abilities and the future it would surely bring him. He seemed the sort of person so committed to being a warrior that he’d resign himself to some day dying in the heat of battle, even trying to picture Revali simply knocking back a vial of poison and drifting to sleep felt so wildly uncharacteristic of him that the very accusation seemed absurd.
Teba said he was suffering with injuries, but they all were, and it wasn’t as if the Rito Champion hadn’t befallen injuries before and simply walked them off.
As the green guard Rito turns and launches himself from the flight range platform to return towards the Village in the distance, Teba turns back to the two Hylians with an exasperated smile. “You two should go in and see him. Who knows, maybe it’ll cheer him up to see you again?” Link doubts that. “I’m gonna hang back and give you kids some privacy, but I’ll be just out here if you have any problems.”
The hut is dark inside without the natural light able to filter through the thick blankets covering the huts wooden shell, though compared to the outside assault from the wind it’s at least a few degrees warmer. It’s Link who climbs under the flap of tarp left un-nailed down as an entrance first, holding it open briefly for the Princess to follow him inside.
Even within the very small space, it’s not immediately obvious where Revali actually is until Zelda carefully takes a match from the pouch on her belt with shivering fingers and swipes it alight, couching to light the cooking pot in the centre of the space with it to bring them a little warmth and light.
Rito’s little huts feel somehow significantly smaller when closed in like this.
There’s a tattered carpet and a few pillows on the ground, alongside a chest full of arrow bodies lacking the heads or fletching’s, and an broken old bow propped against one of the posts with no string attached. Beyond that, the only decoration in the space is the single makeshift hammock created from an old blanket tied between two posts – and the only real sign of life from it is the faint breathing motion of the lump weighing it down beneath a pile of blankets.
Zelda clears her throat politely. “…Revali? Is that you?”
“You know, it’s rude to enter someone’s home uninvited, Princess.”
The haughty snip in the tone of the familiar voice at least confirms they really are in Revali’s presence. However he does sound more worn than Link remembers, and there’s a slight whistle to his voice as if his breathing is amiss.
“My apologies,” Zelda announces gently, “The Village Elder requested our presence here.”
“Well I’m requesting you leave, and don’t come back,” Revali’s voice snips tersely from beneath the blankets. “Congratulations on sealing the Calamity. My uses are no longer required to you, so you have no reason to be here.”
Link finds himself frowning in unison with the Princess, watching her carefully as he awaits an order to shove the Rito out of his hammock for such disrespect. It doesn’t come, of course – but he can hope.
“Revali, I am not here as your Princess, I am here as your friend,” Zelda insists cuttingly, folding her hands neatly behind her back, “However, I still expect you to regard me with the same respect you would offer anyone else. Stand up and regard me while I am talking to you.”
Her tone holds no room for argument and Link is admittedly impressed by it. Not that she was ever meek to begin with, but it seems a hundred years trapped in that castle has done a number on her patience.
To his credit, despite an irritated sounding sigh of resignation, the lump beneath the blankets shifts and familiar navy feathers come into view. They both watch as the shape of the Rito rises in the dimly lit space before swinging his feet over the edge of the hammock and standing to face them with an icy gaze.
It appears as if he hasn’t moved from that hammock in a while if his unpreened feathers and upbraided plumes suggest anything. The faint whistling sound becomes apparent as a large chunk of the Rito’s near shattered beak being missing, making an awful wheezing whistle as he breathes and revealing his dry tongue inside of his mouth in a slightly unsettling way.
However, none of that really registers at first. Instead, their eyes are drawn to the extensive burn wounds across his torso and neck where feathers have melted away to reveal scarred skin pink skin that curls up and around his left shoulder – and the bandaged nub left behind where his wing should be.
Zelda’s hands lift instinctively to touch her lips, distress written across her face as her eyes refuse to look away from the space where the missing limb should be. At least Link has the awareness to glance down at the floor to spare the Rito the discomfort of being stared at like a caged animal.
“If you’re done gawking,” Revali hisses wearily, no fight left in his voice as he folds his good wing neatly behind his back, “then would you mind letting yourselves out and leaving me in peace.”
“You…cannot fly anymore?” the Princess blurts out a little clumsily, though her voice gentle. “Oh, Revali. Your wing. I’m so sorry. Did….did Windblight-”
“Yes Windblight wounded me, and no I can no-longer fly,” the Rito snips impatiently. The more glances that Link steals of him, the more haggard the Rito Champion appears. Beneath bandages and burnt feathers across his torso, he can make out ribs poking against his chest as if he hasn’t eaten for weeks. The plumes at the back of his head he seemed to once take great pride in look almost matted, and the feathers around his eyes dull and crusted from poor sleep. Despite it all though, he still looks and sounds as pretentious and irritable as ever. “Why are you still here? Don’t you have somewhere better to be? I’ve made it clear that your presence is not desired here.”
“Teba said you tried to kill yourself, is that true?” Link hears himself ask bluntly before really thinking the words through, feeling his stomach turn awkwardly over the words when the Princess shoots him an awful look, however he keeps his gaze firmly on the Rito. “He said you drank poison.”
Even Revali looks slightly taken aback by the forwardness of the accusation, emerald eyes slightly wide for a second before he makes a dismissive sound with his broken beak and turns his head to one side to roll his eyes.
“Rito who cannot fly scarcely survive more than a month. Our souls are tied to the skies, and without the ability to reach them, our bodies slowly wither away,” Revali explains almost robotically, brows furrowing to tighten a glare as he lets out a single, humourless laugh.
“My time here is limited – in fact, my time here should have been up long ago. There is nobody in the Village left alive who even knew me – nobody who’s parents or grandparents even knew me. I cannot hunt nor fight like this, and I refuse to receive charity from strangers like some….some helpless cripple. I shan’t have the legacy I worked so hard to build simply washed away as these people watch me die a slow death fading away into obscurity. If I am to perish, it shall be upon my own terms.”
“You really did try to kill yourself….” Zelda mutters in disbelief, seemingly so horrified by her own words that she misses the way it makes the Rito flinch uncomfortably. “How could you do something like that?! Medicine is always advancing, I’m sure we can find a way to keep you healthy even without the ability to fly!”
Revali’s remaining wing lifts as if he intends to cross his wings, only remembering after a second he no longer can and needing to lower it once more silently to his side. Despite the clear irritation and snark in his expression and the way the Rito holds himself, there’s something in his gaze that Link can’t help but think just looks…defeated.
“I am no longer of use to Rito Village as a flightless invalid, I shan’t take their hard earned food and supplies when I can give nothing back, it’s simply economics. There is no point in me continuing forwards,” Revali explains tonelessly as if he was simply talking about the weather, “I cannot fly, I cannot shoot, I cannot fight. My existence from here on is naught but a burden upon my people. I have no family to grieve me. Returning to the grave would be the most efficient path from here onwards.”
The single laugh that escapes the Rito’s throat is oddly hysterical sounding in contrast to his tired voice, and his eyes seem to smile even if his beak doesn’t. “Perhaps this time I will even have a real grave,” he almost sings, “I spent the past hundred years trapped, and now I am simply trapped within a new prison. Nobody shall stop me from setting myself free – not even you, Princess."
Zelda does many things incredibly well, but one thing that never fails to impress Link is how flawlessly she can reign in her emotions and project a calm, contained appearance even when he can tell that she’s being torn to pieces inside and will likely cry in her room alone later.
Reaching out, the Princess places her hand on Revali’s remaining forewing, eyes softening as she forces him to meet their gazes. “…You have clearly been through a lot. You are tired, you are scared, you feel lost and helpless in the situation you are now in. I too spent the past hundred years trapped and trying to claw my way to freedom,” she insists urgingly, her words seeming to guilt the Rito Champion into lowering his beak slightly and glancing to the side. “But you are the Rito Champion. To simply lay down and die would be to give up simply because things feel hopeless – and you have never, ever been the kind of man to give up that easily. Do you understand me?”
All Revali does is shake his head dismissively and offer her a slightly rude little shrug to try to dislodge her hand. It doesn’t work. “Tch. It isn’t…like that. It’s just…efficiency….it’s-“
“Cowardly,” Zelda cuts in sharply, clearing her throat a little in embarrassment for the harsh tone when his feathers flare slightly in surprise. “The Revali I know is no coward and would never simply throw himself away because he felt that his use was finished! I know that you are scared and that you are hurting, but I won’t hear any more of your excuses. You are not going to kill yourself. You are going to recover from this. You’re going to find a new purpose, and you’re going to appreciate this second chance at life that you’ve been given.”
The princesses outburst does more than slightly startle and ruffle Revali’s feathers, it also lures Teba into lifting the tarp to step inside with them all – a little awkward in the now rather claustrophobic space.
“Everything uh- okay in here?”
“They were just leaving,” Revali spits out a little too quickly as he retrieves a discarded blanket that had dropped to the ground and all but scrambles back into his makeshift hammock before the Princess has recovered from the surprise of the intrusion. “I…need to rest.”
Link watches Zelda, who stares up at the hammock sadly before nodding to Teba and allowing the elder Rito to carefully escort them both back outside. After the cozy warmth of the tiny space, the icy winds feel like cruel whips against their cheaks.
“We have to do something. Revali is in shock, he’s grieving and hysterical – this…this isn’t him,” the Princess mutters, more to herself than anyone else, though Link offers her a soft nod of agreement anyway. “I shan’t allow one of my Champions – one of my friends, to succumb to their pain and wither away. He needs to eat, he needs to come outside and get some sunlight, we need to help him see that he is more than just purpose.”
“Master Revai is…so young. Like the both of you he’s not even fully grown yet. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to have flight snatched away from you so young, and I can understand why he feels so devastated,” Teba mutters, voice a little more gruff than usual to be heard over the howling winds. “As a father myself, I can't stand by and watch a warrior so young just self destruct like this - Champion or not. I shall do whatever I can to help.”
“Good, because I have a task for you,” Zelda insists without pause, taking the elder slightly off guard. “I need you to have your mailwoman send out a letter to Purah down at Hateno lab, let her know that I am coming to visit and need urgent help with a project.”
With a slightly baffled blink, the white Rito nods curtly. “…Yeah okay. What are you gonna invent a potion to fix him or something?”
“No, but Revali said that Rito don’t live long if they cannot fly,” Zelda mutters almost to herself, that strange look on her face that she always has when she’s formulating some strange science idea. “I’m certain we could develop some sort of….sort of prosthetic or something. A mechanical wing! I know that we can get Revali back into the sky somehow.”
“Uh…huh…” Teba coughs, leaning a wing against his hip a little tiredly. “Sounds a little whimsical but if you think you can do it – sure,” he adds, “but what do you suggest we do about him in the meantime? Much as I want to, I can’t keep watch over him forever – I have to run the Village, and he's not exactly welcoming of help.”
“Perhaps you cannot keep watch over him forever, but I know someone who is so proficient at supervising an individual that he’ll never leave his charge alone, even for a second,” the Princess announces smugly, and Link feels his stomach drop when she tilts her head towards him with a wry smile, “someone who will follow him everywhere to keep watch, even when he’s getting dressed of using the bathroom, someone who never lets his guard down and has an unmatched ability to disarm weapons should an incident arise.”
As Teba turns to raise an eyebrow at Link, the knight raises his hands defensively, feeling his face pale. “Ah- I’m…not the best choice for….you know how Revali feels about me….we aren’t always on the same page about things…”
“Well then, time for you to skip ahead until you are on the same page,” Zelda insists tightly, leaving no room for argument as she turns swiftly on her heal and starts trudging through the snow back towards the Village.
At least Teba offers him a sympathetic glance before he follows, leaving Link alone outside of the flight range hut –
Which he supposes – at least for now – is his new home. Which he’s certain he is just as thrilled about as his new feathered roommate is about to be when he finds out…