Day 23- "You'll have to go through me"
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Zephyr wished he had been open about this from the beginning. He knew right away that Warriors didn’t seem the type to trust many, and neither was his son. But Zephyr had fallen head over wings for the Hylian soldier, with his silky blond hair and eyes bluer than a summer sky, so tall and strong and confident, but with a soft side as well. The kind of man that Zephyr absolutely could not resist. So of course, in his enamored mind, he thought it was a good idea to keep his dark past hidden. After all, there was no way Wars would ever think of him the same way if he knew Zephyr had once been the enemy, would he?
He should have told the truth from the start. If he had, the two Hylians he now considered to be his family would not have turned their backs on him. They would not have seen him as a liar and a traitor… They would still love him. He really fucked this one up and he knew it. And it was going to take a lot to prove he could be trusted again; if they ever forgave him, that was. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try. And it just so happened he was presented with the chance to do so.
It hadn’t even been two minutes since he’d pulled Warriors and Mask from the ravine. He hadn’t even gotten Warriors to stop crying, or to tell him what happened. It was obvious it was about Mask, as the poor kid looked downright awful. It wasn’t even immediately clear whether the kid was even alive, he looked so pale, limp and motionless in his father’s arms, covered in what looked like electrical burns.
“He’s fine. We’re both… fine.” Warriors insisted, brushing Zephyr’s hand away rather harshly when he reached to take Mask from him. Zephyr flinched, but got the hint and backed off. He could see the tears welling up in the Captain’s eyes, but didn’t press the subject.
“Come on, we need to get you both back to the boat. We may not have your healer friend with us, but hopefully someone will have some supplies or whatever those weird potion things you talked about.” he urged, “Do you need help?” He offered his arm for Warriors to grab so he could lean against him as they walked. Warriors refused.
“I can walk… just fine, thank you!” He groaned, adjusting Mask’s position so he wouldn’t fall, then stumbling forward as if to show that he could in fact walk (even if not very steadily). All of a sudden, his way was blocked by three winged figures descending rapidly in front of him, decorated with the black, blue, and green feathers of the Birds of Prey, war paint on their faces in the same colors. Sensing imminent danger, Zephyr sprinted out until he was between his family and the enemy.
“What do you want now?” He demanded.
“To finish what we started.” Said Corentin, one of the Birds’ commanders, Zephyr remembered, “You are in the way. The enemies of Lord Nihrie must be destroyed.”
“We’re not sure how you two survived the fall, but soon it won’t matter anyway.” Nephele, a former rival of Zephyr’s, drew her bow and aimed over Zephyr’s shoulder at the two Hylians behind him. Zephyr immediately spread his wings to block them from view. He was not letting anything happen to them. He would die before he let the Birds take his family from him again.
“Out of the way, Zephyr. I don’t want to have to kill one of our own, but if you don’t step aside right now, you’re going to become collateral damage.” Corentin warned.
“I’m not letting you hurt them!” Zephyr refused, “And I am not one of you. I wasn’t in the beginning, I’m not now. Especially not after what you did to the Phoenix Clan!”
“Starling, we’re warnin’ ya…” Aither, the third of the enemy combatants, spoke up.
“No. I’m done doing what you ask. I’m DONE pretending to be one of you for my own safety. These two Hylians behind me are my family now, and I love them more than anything in all the worlds. I would die for them. SO IF YOU WANT TO HURT THEM, YOU’LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH ME FIRST!!!” He screamed. Warriors, watching and listening to the whole exchange, couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Zephyr really did love him and Mask. More importantly, he’d been telling the truth all along.
“Zeph…” He muttered, fighting the urge to cry again.
“It’s alright, you two. I won’t let anything—”
In a split second, there was an arrow sticking out of Zephyr’s back, straight through his left shoulder.
“Damn, I missed…” Aither grumbled. Warriors was infuriated. He didn’t care how hurt he was. His loved ones needed him now more than ever. He carefully removed his scarf and set Mask down on the ground gently, behind Zephyr still. Fire rod in hand, he stepped forward, now fueled with rage and the desperate need to protect his family, just like Zephyr had tried to do.
“Link, what are you—?” a burst of flame shot out of the fire rod, straight towards the trio of Avians, who flew up to evade it.
“Take Mask and get back to the ship. Call for backup. I’ll be fine.” Warriors promised. He then spun around quickly and pulled Zephyr into a kiss.
“I’m so sorry I doubted you, Zeph…”
Sorry this one was also late...