*He stood in the training room in Tear's house, swinging his sword against a dummy. Recently, it's all been too much. Finding Twig, befriending her, losing his sword and her...
*Finding out she doesn't remember him. Helping her start to. Getting his sword back, realizing the man that took it was who she called her father.
*Fighting Demise -- or at least, being in the same area as Sky did. He wonders if he'll ever get to that point.
*....He really, really hopes he doesn't.
[I know you don't want to, kid, I don't think any hero has wanted to deal with this guy or his reincarnation. And that's valid, you can just stay here and while you do, your Goddess waits and waits and waits until Demise wins in your time. And there goes your whole timeline.]
*He tenses at the voice in his head, but frowns at its words.
That- that’s not what I meant. I meant, Sky’s had to deal with him so much, and I- I don’t wanna have to do that.
*He continues to swing, attacking the dummy, practicing.
I didn’t mean I should just stay here forever.
*He’d never be able to forgive himself if he did.
[Yet you keep stopping your journey. How long has it been since you've journeyed with the little Goddess? I mean, for her it's been two years. And then before running into her, you were - once again - here. And before that, you were here for, what, a festival you couldn't even properly enjoy?]
*For her it’s….
Wait, what? What do you mean, it’s been two years for her?? It hasn’t even been one!..
*Has it? No, it.. It can’t have been.
I-I… I keep getting hurt, and- I can’t save her if I’m dead..
*His voice wavers, sword pointing down more and more.
A-and, rest is important..! Right?..
[Ah, forgive me, I was going off her age. But it has been nearly a year and a half for her.]
[And why do you keep getting hurt? Because you're weak. It's why you needed her to begin with, isn't it? It's why you lost your sword.]
[Do you think Mama rested so much during her journey? During either of her journeys? I know the answer~]
I-I’m not weak..! I fought that Koloktoss guy and lived, didn’t I?..
*Only barely. Only because Revali was there to pull him out of the water.
I, um…Probably.
*His sword chimes, pulling his eyes to it. He sits down against a wall, sheathing it and holding it close.
*He has her again. He has her still. It’ll be okay.
[Didn't you almost die? You fainted into the water, you were lucky Revali was coming to see you, you wouldn't be here otherwise.]
[No, no she didn't. She rarely ever took the time to even heal herself.]
*…..Oh. He’d forgotten, that he did that.
*..At least one of them is strong. It certainly isn’t Birdie.
*His sword chimes again, in his grasp, pulling his eyes back to it.
@floralzeldahyrule
“Yeah, let’s call it that.”
*Gondo clearly has a different idea of why Birdie went with, well, Birdie, but he doesn’t voice it. Bloom gets one photo of Scrapper idle, having caught him off guard, but he’s quickly posing in generic ‘muscle’ poses. Gondo rolls his eyes, and Birdie can’t help another tiny smile. It makes sense, with what the robot does.
*He nods when Bloom says she's ready, leading the way out. Once they get outside, he lets out a sigh of relief, but doesn't say anything. Instead, he starts walking toward a wooden platform hanging off the edge of the ground.
*Zelda follows you out, looking at you with concern when you let out a sigh.*
Are you alright? You went quiet in there. I'm not unused to that sort of thing, but...
*She's not sure what else to say.*
*He nods, pausing at the edge of the platform.
Y..yeah, sorry. I'm okay. Sorry. I just.. It's so loud in there. And so not out here..
You, uh, wait here okay? I'll be right back.
*So he likes falling and calling for Crimson like that.
*She can understand that. It must have been a bit overwhelming for you, especially since you've been trying to avoid this place.*
*She waits like you ask her to, trying not to be concerned when you jump off the landing.*
*He throws himself off the landing, enjoying the air rushing past his face for a few moments. Then he whistles, nice and loud, and grins at Crimson's answering caw. He's back up at Skyloft in moments, Crimson landing on the ground as he smiles at Bloom.
Sorry. That always hepls me feel better, so..
*She smiles at you, waving a dismissive hand.*
No worries, so long as you're feeling better.
*She reaches up for aid to get onto Crimson.*
*He helps her up, and once she's settled they take off -- this time headed for the cloud with a beam of light coming from it.
Oh -- I should warn you, before we get there! There are tornados near the outside that throw us off Crim if we get caught in them, and these weird creatures inside that try to attack us. Crim can outfly them, thouhgh, so it's just a little bit scary haha.
*She settles behind you, wrapping her arms around your torso.*
Alright, thank you for letting me know. Though, considering what I have to face soon in my own time, I'm sure this is nothing in comparison.
*He nods at her thanks.
*It doesn’t take them long to enter the Thunderhead — at which point it starts raining on them.
Oh, I forgot about that..
*Crimson goes high, to avoid the creatures, changing to a gentle dive when they get too close. But they soon get to their destination, Crimson landing and Birdie helping Bloom off.
You do have to crawl to get inside, by the way. I forgot about that too.
*She was a bit caught off by the rain, shuddering at the slight cold. Looking around, she's amazed that there are buildings hiding in this dome of clouds.*
*When they land, she hums, like they forgot something.*
Birdie, weren't we asked to keep an eye out for someone?
Huh? Oh, right! Um.. Well, Crim, can you fly around and check out the isalnds in here? We're looking for Strich. While Bloom and I go and get the song. Two things at once.
*Crimson gives a soft caw, taking to the air.
I figure that way, we can get out of the rain for a little bit, heh.
*And so they can get the song before Birdie chickens out.
*Zelda nods with a smile.*
That works for me, I wasn't expecting it to be raining and I'm getting a bit cold from it. My clothes only do so much against it. Link is constantly wearing his knight uniform – despite him having the tunic I made for him – I don't know how he can deal with wearing it all the time.
Yeah..I always forget it’s raining, heheh…
*He shrugs.
Maybe..He’s just more comfortable in it?
*He knows he’d rather not be wearing his own knight’s uniform. The only real reason he finds it tolerable is because he has his normal shirt on underneath it. The tunic is so *itchy*.
*Regardless, he brings Bloom to the entrance.
It’s not that far, do you wanna go first or do you want me to?
*He doesn’t know how she’ll feel about the crawling, so he’s trying to make it better by giving her a choice.
I...never asked, truthfully... He's been distant since these rifts started, and even more so since...running into Recall...
*She hates the situation Link's gotten himself in. They could've found a way, from those that properly wish to help them.*
Ah, I don't mind either way. I'm curious as to the inside, so me going first means I get a moment to look around.
*She smiles at you before looking at the hole in the wall. She's curious as to why it's not a door, it doesn't make much sense to her. But, without complaint, she gets down and starts crawling through the hole.*
Yeah..Recall is- not fun.
*His hand touches the scar across his throat, and he shudders — not only at the memory of Recall, but at how he lost his voice to begin with.
Go ahead, but there’s not much in there.
*He waits a few moments before following her, letting her get out before he gets in.
*True to his word, there’s not much inside — a bird statue by the entrance, a long pathway above a pit that somehow has no bottom — despite the outside of the building very clearly having one.
*He leads her to the end, having a circular mark on the ground and a floating crest out of arm’s reach in front of it.
You should probably stand back? The Goddess Statue has come up from two different places, I’m not sure where this one will be.
*Entering the building, despite it's emptiness, she's still in awe of it. She looks back at the hole, giving you space to get out.*
*She follows you to the end, curious about the crest floating just a ways away. It's...almost like her family's crest, just missing the Triforce.*
*She looks at you, a small frown on her face. Goddess Statue? She takes a step back, fidgeting with her tunic.*
*Birdie stands in the middle of the circle, holding his sword toward the sky. Some kind of energy lights it, and once it reaches the hilt he brings it down fast — a beam of the energy flying and hitting the crest. The crest turns a light purple, with blue if you look at it from certain directions, and then the ground rumbles as light brightens where Birdie is standing.
Woah!-
*He stumbles, but doesn’t fall as the circle rises, revealing a Goddess Statue. For a moment, all he can do is stare, the only thought running through his head being ‘yeah, that’s something Zel would do’. Then Starshine jumps from the sword, floating across from him, and she smiles at Birdie.
*She stares at the Goddess Statue, a mixture of awe and some resentment towards it. She'll never understand why Hylia ignores her prayers, why her connection to the Goddess is non-existent. However, she has no plans to express this disdain with you around, the form of your sword tells her that this era is the closest to Hylia she's going to get.*
*Starshine speaks, and it’s a voice that doesn’t quite sound like her own. She sounds more like she’s delivering a message — though it’s basic and only reiterated information Birdie already knew. Then —
Now, I bestow upon you another melody. Let it serve as a key to unlocking your final trial. It awaits you upon Eldin Volcano.
*Birdie pulls out Zel’s harp, taking a breath. He starts to play, and Starshine flies around the room in a dance. When Birdie plays the melody a second time, the area around them seems to change. Now it’s a blue sky, with a bunch of Loftwings swooping around. None them are the same colors — the one that stands out most to Bloom is one a rich blue, flying away, before the visage turns into red sparkles raining around them. Birdie stares at the harp in his hands as Starshine speaks again, calling the song Din’s Power, a song of might.
*Then, the Goddess Statue lowers, and Birdie turns to Bloom, blinking quite a bit.
I thought it’d be in Eldin.
Eldin... It should be a volcano, yes?
*She watches the Goddess Statue lower, a slight sense of worthlessness filling her chest.*
Is it active? If so, I'm curious as to what you're using to stave off the heat.
Well- I dunno, what counts as active? Theres a lot of lava around.. But I think the Fire Temple was inside it?
Honestly? Nothing. Eldin is- very hot. Hotter than I’ve ever felt up here. I um, I don’t exactly know how to deal with it, so I just..Try to ignore it?
There’s also a lot of sand, lots of steep hills that you have a sprint to get up.
*He’s started walking back to the entrance as he talks.
That would be active if there's lava flowing. A dormant volcano is just a mountain. Eldin Volcano in my time didn't used to be active when I was younger, but as the Calamity approaches, it's started to flow with lava, but hasn't erupted yet.
*She looks at you in surprise.*
Nothing? Um...
*She looks in her bag, pulling out a couple bottles containing a gray liquid.*
I have some fireproof elixirs. They'll help with the heat while we're there. And sand I can deal with, I'm quite close to Lady Urbosa and she lives in the desert.
*She follows you, giving you a smile.*
Oh. Then yeah, it’s active. What’s erupting?
You can use them if you’d like! I can deal with the heat, I’m fairly certain I’ll be getting something that lets me deal with it easier anyway, heheh.
*They get to the entrance, and Birdie stops in front of the bird statue to wait for Bloom to go first. He presses his hands together and closes his eyes, muttering a prayer.
*Except, it doesn’t sound like a normal prayer. It sounds more like a plea for Hylia to remain safe.
Erupting is when so much pressure building up within the volcano, it causes an explosion, usually out of the peak of the volcano. Lava flow will increase and rocks will be spewed out, it's quite dangerous to be around. Gorons are used to this type of living condition, but us Hylians need protective gear.
If you're sure...
*She puts the bottle back into her bag as she makes her way to the hole. She glances at you as you stop at the statue. She takes a breath when she hears you pray, forcing herself to look away. She gets down, crawling through the hole and back out to the rain.*
Oh.. Well, I mean, I don’t think it’s gonna erupt or anything.
*He ends his prayer with telling Her he’s close to finding Her.
*He follows Zelda out after she’s through it, and Crimson is already there. He caws softly.
You found him?
*Crimson gives a visible nod, pointing to another island.
Right; let’s go tell him to go back to Skyloft.
*Zelda smiles at the loftwing, smart bird. She wonders what caused them to no longer be present in Hyrule.*
Why would he be here? Seems kind of dangerous, no?
*Birdie shrugs, climbing onto Crimson and holding out a hand to help Zelda up.
Yeah, but he’s Strich. I don’t really know much about him, but he is in the Academy too, so.
Either way, there’s probably something that caught his attention in here.
*Once Zelda is sat comfortably, Crimson takes to the air, flying to the island. Birdie sighs when he sees Strich.
You wanna stay here or go talk to him with me? Won’t take me very long.
*She climbs up with your help, wrapping her arms around your torso.*
*She shakes her head at the question.*
No, I'll stay here. It'll simply take longer if I get off just to get back on.
Okay.
*Birdie shifts as Crimson glides over to above Strich, and then he hops off, handing on the ground easily. Bloom can’t quite hear their conversation, but it takes a few minutes. Something Birdie says makes Strich light up, and he nods quickly. Birdie smiles, looking up to Bloom and Crimson. Crimson glides down, and Birdie hops off the island, being caught by his Loftwing.
That’s sorted, now!
*Crimson heads toward the beam of light marking their entrance, and not too long later a different whistle echoes out behind them, with an answering caw of its own.
Oh? What was he here for?
*She looks behind them, hearing the whistle, before looking back to you.*
*Strich is following them on his own Loftwing.
Turns out, that island is full of bugs. And Strich really likes bugs. So I told him I’d get him bugs from the Surface if he made it a point to at least go back to Skyloft every night.
*They make it out of the Thunderhead, and Crimson starts heading for the bright red beam of light.
Oh...
*She giggles.*
Tear told me of a merchant that has a bug obsession, specifically with beetles. It's amusing. My only interest in bugs is what special properities they can provide.
I know a guy named Beetle! He’s the one that runs the flying airshop!
Special properties? Oh, you mean like how Bertie usese bugs to make Luv's potions better?
Yes, Beedle! I didn't realize he was also present in different eras.
Similar. In my era, bugs and certain creatures, such as lizards and frogs, are used to make elixirs. Tear seemed to know a lot, which doesn't surprise me, since she's a chef.
Yeah? That’s interesting! Maybe I’ll have to ask her more about it.
*They’re getting close to the beam of light.
You ready?
You should! Perhaps the knowledge will be of use to you.
Oh, um, yes? For what exactly?
Going back to the surface?
*Crimson has started gliding in circles above the hole in the cloud.
Oh, well yes. It's the how I was asking about, Birdie.
*He blinks, still confused.
Isn’t it obvious? We fall.
Oh, I forget this isn’t normal in other eras.. Uh..
*He’s not entirely sure how to explain it, he’s finding.
Oh! Well, I suppose that makes sense. I do have a paraglider to break my fall.
*She smiles at you.*
Oh! Well if you have something that makes it easier. I will warn you, apparently I can be kinda scary when I do it? I have a habit of not pulling out my sailcloth until I need to. Like, last possible second, I mean.
I’ll go first, so you can y’know just follow me and stuff. Ready?
Sounds like something Link would do. Who said you're scary for that?
*She laughs in slight disbelief.*
*She nods.*
Yeah, I'm ready.
*He shrugs.
Tear didn’t seem to like it very much.
*When she says she’s ready, he grins, leaning to the side and letting himself fall off Crimson. He likes feeling the air rushing past him, even when it turns all hot and weird.
*Zelda rolls her eyes. Of course it was Tear, she's Birdie's mom, of course this would scare her.*
*She watches you fall, a sense of excitement filling her. She give Crimson a quick pet.*
See you later, Crimson!
*She follows behind you, in awe of what she sees as the surface comes into view.*
*Crimson trills happily at Bloom’s words, flying off after the two are off his back.
*Birdie looks at the map on his bracelet, seeming to make a choice. He angles his body, aiming for a specific area.