"After they all swam to the top of the falls, I tried climbing up after them, but I fell," Link muttered as he stared into the fire. He wasn't sure why he was telling Revili a story from his childhood, but he supposed it couldn't do any harm. After all, she already thought of him as a reckless idiot. "Mipha had stayed behind to make sure I was okay…"

"And she healed you," Revili finished as she poked at the fire with a stick. Her emerald eyes were locked on the fire, reflecting the light even as it danced across her face. "You know," she sighed as she tossed the stick into the fire, "I always thought you would be bad at telling stories, but that was worse than I imagined."

Link sighed. They had certainly been making progress in terms of learning to work together. They still weren't friends, but they certainly spent more time in each other's company then they had at the start of their journey. Despite that, Revili still had her moments when it came to needlessly insulting him.

"What else you got?" she asked as she leaned back and looked at him.

Link shrugged. No matter how short the story he had just told was, it was kind of exhausting to share with someone who he could barely be considered emotionally intimate with. The idea of trying to share any more of his past wasn't a pleasant thought at the moment, especially when the purpose would be to entertain the bored Rito Champion.

"So, now that you have your memories back, what do remember about the other Champions?"

The Hylian Champion frowned as he thought back to the past. While he could remember much of his history with Mipha, the other Champions were still a mystery to him. Truth be told, most of the memories he possessed took place in the Domain, with large gaps existing between departures and arrivals. Even so, he had a few stray thoughts and conversations with Mipha and her father concerning the other Champions.

After Mipha, Link remembered Daruk being his favorite ally. The why was still a mystery to him, though he could recall Mipha commenting on his boisterous, yet honest nature. Perhaps such qualities appealed to him. Maybe he hadn't had to wonder what was on Daruk's mind like he did Revili's.

From what little he knew of Urbosa, the Gerudo Champion, he had mixed feelings toward the woman. The why was missing, but he knew that somehow, she had possessed the ability to make both himself and Mipha uncomfortable. There had been many conversations with awkward silences and a general air of embarrassment that somehow related back to the Gerudo Champion.

Oddly enough, he remembered little of Revili as well. He had expected memories of the Rito Champion to begin surfacing as well, seeing as returning to Zora's Domain had been enough to bring back his memories of Mipha. However, it seemed that his other memories were determined to remain under whatever lock and key his mind was employing. Had it been a few short weeks ago, he wouldn't have cared too much that he still didn't have any recollections involving Revili. All he really knew was that he had not cared much for her, a sentiment that Mipha had agreed with, though she'd advised him to be patient with the Rito, as was her way. She had remembered the water even where Revili was concerned.

Despite still mourning Mipha's loss, Link had decided that he would do his best to honor her memory by being patient with Revili. While Mipha had been a warrior in practice, her heart had been one of healing. Keeping that at the forefront of his mind, he reasoned she would rather he honored her by having his ally's back, physically and emotionally, rather than by cutting Ganon down. He was well aware that she wanted the Calamity to be stopped; however, he knew her too well to believe that defeating Ganon was her only hope for Revili, Zelda, and most importantly himself. She want them to live and thrive even after they had fulfilled their duty.

Thankfully, setting a goal ahead of him made it easier for him to rise in the morning. It was something he could control in some regard, which motivated him. While not every aspect of his and Revili's relationship was within his control, he was determined to make the most of what he could do. It wasn't much, but it was still one more thing to cling to.

"We're getting close to Death Mountain," Revili said suddenly as her eyes lighted on him. "Think you'll be able to handle another Divine Beast?"

Link nodded absently as he turned his gaze to the fire. So far, the loss he had experienced had nearly crushed him, but he was determined to carry on. He hadn't been prepared to learn about Mipha, but now he better understood what lay on the road ahead. As odd as the thought struck him, there was some comfort in having some idea of what was to come. It made everything more grounded, even if it was painful.

"Good," the Rito Champion replied quietly.

He glanced back at her, raising a brow in question.

"What?... Look, it's not like I actually care about your feelings or anything. I just want to know whether or not you'll be reliable."

"I can handle it."

"If you say so," she grumbled. She sighed as her eyes returned to the fire. "So you don't know anything about Daruk, huh?"

"All I remember was he was loud… really loud."

"Fantastic," the Rito Champion groaned as she threw her head back. "Why couldn't any of you be normal?"

Link stared at her, bemused by the question. He was willing to accept that he may not have been what most would deem as the norm, but what made the Rito Champion think she was normal? As far as he could see, she was just as much an oddity as he. To be fair, he could count the number of other Ritos they had encountered on one hand. Still, other Hylians and Zora found Revili to be an unpleasant oddity as she was just as acerbic, perhaps even moreso, with strangers.

"Oh well, I suppose he couldn't have been any worse than you."

Link rolled his eyes at the less than subtle jab. Sometimes, he wondered if she became so bored at times that she used such comments to start a squabble. It would certainly explain a lot.

"What? Have something to say?"

"Yep."

"Well… out with it then."

"You have first watch." Without another word, Link bundled up a tunic, set it beneath his head as he lay down, smirking as he saw the indignance in her emerald eyes. He was content to let her have whatever victory she had just taken, but that didn't mean he was going to take it like some wounded dog.

The Hylian Champion smirked again as he heard Revili grumbling quietly as she got to her feet. Sometimes, it was nice to have the last word.

Dread was something that was new to the Rito Champion. Since her awakening, she had experienced loss, confusion, stress, anger, worry, and even fear. Dread, however, was something entirely new and unpleasant. It gnawed at her restlessly, eating away at her insides with every passing day. At the same time, it weighed more heavily upon her with every step, making her question whether or not she could continue. Looking up at the harsh red, smoking peak that was their destination only compounded that weight.

"You okay?" Link asked, his normally cool blue eyes warm with concern.

"Fine," she grunted, suppressing the urge to snap as she normally would. As much as the question irritated her, seeing as even she knew that she was visibly out of sorts, she found that she didn't actually want to create a rift between them right then. Though she hated to admit it, the Hylian had grown on her a bit. His quiet but steadfast nature was something she had come to rely on, both when it came to fights as well as normal everyday affairs. With the time they had spent around the various Hylians on their way to and from Zora's Domain, Revili had come to notice that Link was far from the standard for their race. Many of them were easily stressed out by dangerous situations, often panicking during something as simple as a Bokoblin attack. Even the ones that could remain cool under pressure proved to be less competent than Link. That was to say nothing of their inability to cook as well. Sure, they could throw together some hack-job slop, but she had yet to meet anyone that could match Link's culinary expertise.

Of course, there was another reason to keep him around. The Hylian, for all of his shortcomings, was somehow becoming necessary to maintain her emotional state. While he wasn't one to sit and talk about feelings, something she could appreciate, he would often give her a look that said he understood her frustrations, anxieties, and fears. He may not have shown any of it, but the fact that he could give her a knowing look, followed by a simple nod was something she had come to rely on. He still listened silently whenever she went on one of her rants, but the quiet understanding and acceptance was something she found herself relying on more and more. Especially since they had learned of Mipha's death.

Before that time, she had never noticed how involved Link had been in her and other's lives. It was never anything big, but things like cooking, cleaning, hunting, gathering, and doing small odd jobs to brighten people's days or help them out of a difficult situation. During the worst of his grief, however, he had turned so far inward that several pleas for help had gone by unheard, and Revili had been forced to take on the majority of the chores that accompanied their journey, including the cooking.

Just the thought of her pitiful attempts had been enough to stop her complaints about anything the Hylian had made. Apparently, Link had also had enough of it as well, as it only took a few days before he wrestled back the reins of the pot. Thankfully, a combination of that and her decision to start assigning him tasks had been enough to bring most him back from wherever he had wandered off to. Of course, she could still see something was missing.

She found herself hoping that he would rediscover that lost part of himself someday.

The Rito Champion shook the thoughts off as she noticed Link's eyes were still on her. Why she had decided now was an appropriate time to reflect on Link's emotional state was lost on her. "What?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Maybe it was because Link was finally returning to some sense of normal.

He continued staring at her, much to her chagrin.

"I said it's nothing." Maybe it was because she was worried he would retreat inward yet again after the loss that was potentially ahead of them.

Still, the blue eyes refused to look away. There was no way she was getting out of this.

"I'm just not looking forward to what we'll find on Rudania, okay?!" she snapped. The possibility she was the least willing to admit was that she would find significant loss on the heights of Death Mountain. She hadn't been particularly close to Mipha, but that didn't mean that she hadn't had friends among the other Champions. She found herself ashamed of hoping that she hadn't been close to any if only to avoid the ordeal that Link still found himself in. Perhaps time would heal the wounds, but time wouldn't bring the ones they lost back either.

Link regarded her, silent and stoic as always; however, there was only a second before his eyes crinkled in dissatisfaction and he frowned down at the ground below him. "I'm not either."

"What were you two friends as well?" Now, it was her turn to stare at him.

"Think so," he replied, sounding almost glum. He let out a sigh before resuming eye contact with her. "Sometimes, I wish it was someone else who had to save the world."

Revili stopped dead in her tracks at his words. It was unusual for him to complain, but that in and of itself wasn't what caused her to stop. In the short few months she had known him, he hadn't once uttered a word to make her think that he was dissatisfied with his role in everything, yet here he was, saying that he didn't want to be that person. "What…?" She found the question sounded stupid, however, she could think of nothing else to ask.

"Being the heroes means we lose a lot," he answered dully. "Friends, family, our lives. Even if we don't die, we'll have to live with the memories…"

"So, why keep going?"

"Because if I don't, someone else will have to. I don't want this, but I don't want to shove this on anyone else," he replied, something like conviction almost coming through in his tone. "Besides, I have a friend that still needs help."

"And how does any of this help me?" Revili asked, finally starting to get a hold of herself again.

"It doesn't," the Hylian Champion replied. "You need to find your own reason to get up in the morning." With that, Link began the still long trek that would lead them to Death Mountain, leaving Revili to lag behind, reflecting on his words.

A/N: School is just the best...

...

At any rate, sorry that this took like four months to update. I would try to promise that I won't take this long again, however, this is the part of the semester where all the research papers are starting to be assigned. Anyway, I am considering using Twitter/Discord to keep you guys up to date if you have questions about how updates are coming along. IF you are interested in such things, you can find the relevant information on my profile page.

At any rate, I hope you all have a good day.