A/N: I am not a meteorologist, so I have absolutely no idea if any of the facts about the weather on Skyloft is correct. Apologies in advance for any mistakes.

Thanks to all those who have read/reviewed/followed so far! Hope you enjoy :)

The next few days were pretty uneventful, which Link was thankful for. As promised, he was given safety equipment for his Loftwing, including a flashlight and harness, so that he could fly after sunset.

Link sat on the edge of the platform near the statue that had opened the path to Sky Keep. His Crimson Loftwing glided lazily around the sky, remaining close to Link.

Link had fastened the goggles and harness around his bird earlier that morning, wanting him to get used to the way the gear felt before they actually went flying at night. His feathered friend was flying well enough with his new accessories, but did not seem to want to veer too far away from Link.

"It's okay, buddy. You're doing great!" Link encouraged, giving his Loftwing a big thumbs up from the ground below.

"Our first shift out patrolling is tonight, so you gotta get used to wearing that stuff."

The bird squawked in protest, clearly not thrilled about his new outfit.

"Oh come on, don't be like that," Link called up to the bird.

"You're able to fly through the thunderhead, carry me to and from the surface every day for weeks on end, fight off a giant monster in the sky, and this is what you complain about?"

The red Loftwing cried out again as he flew in circles in front of the platform, affirming his stance against night flying.

"Well, too bad," Link said flatly.

"We're going flying tonight and that's final."

Out of all the things that big red bird could be afraid of, Link was surprised that the dark was what did the trick.

During his adventures on the Surface, Link did learn that it was better to be safe than sorry. Maybe he should pick up some medicine for his Loftwing, just to ease his worries about flying in the dark. It was the least Link could do, after how loyal and brave his bird had been.

"I'll tell you what, buddy. I'm going to pick up some mushroom spores, so that just in case something does happen - which it won't - I'll have the right stuff to heal you. That okay with you?"

The Crimson Loftwing reared his head, spreading his wings and letting out a happy shriek.

Link took that as a yes.

"Alright then, let's go to Faron Woods!"

Link ran off the platform and jumped onto his bird's back, directing him towards the green light shooting up from the cloud barrier. Once they reached the entrance to the woods, Link jumped off his Loftwing's back and aimed for the bird statue at Faron Woods entry.

Once he was close enough to the ground, Link released the sailcloth that was attached to his back. His acceleration came to a halt, allowing him a slow, smooth descent to the ground. He landed on his feet with a soft thud, knees bent. He re-attached the sailcloth to his back and took out his sword.

Link twirled the blade in his hand as he walked towards a glittering red mushroom. The sword he had been gifted when he was knighted was fine, but it could not compare to the Master Sword. After being strengthened by the three sacred flames, and blessed by the Goddess herself, combat was nearly effortless with that weapon. Its blade was long and sharp, and Link could always feel the power emulating through his arm when he charged a skyward strike.

And of course, there was Fi. Link's felt his heart drop a little in his chest at the thought of his old companion. He was a bit frightened of her at first, her robotic nature starkly contrasting her graceful appearance. But Fi always knew what to do when Link was lost, and over time, Link considered her to be a true friend.

Now, as he walked through the forest with a sword that was much too small and much too quiet, Link suddenly felt very lonely.

He tried not to think about how much he missed his spiritual companion as he slashed the large mushroom , reaching into his pouch for an empty bottle. Link scooped up the spores that leaked out of the mushroom at the spot where he cut it open, fastening the bottle and depositing it back into his pouch.

"Kweeee! Link!" squealed a high-pitched voice. Link looked up to see Erla, one of the Kikwi, waddling towards him as fast as he could.

"My green friend! Did you see? There are no monsters anymore, kewww! I don't know what happened to them but something must have drove them all out… I can finally wander around the forest safely again, kaweep!"

Link smiled as he sheathed his sword on his back, adjusting the straps of his pouch around his hips.

"That's right, I did notice that," Link said. "Where are the rest of your friends?"

"They're with the elder, kewww. Say, did you ever find your blonde friend?" The Kikwi asked Link excitedly.

Link's face lit up at the mention of Zelda.

"Yes, I did, actually. Speaking of Zelda, she and I were thinking of moving down here, just to the west of the woods," Link told the Kikwi, pointing to the left with his thumb.

"We'll probably be coming back down here together soon."

"Oh kweeeeee!" shrieked Erla, bouncing up and down from leg to leg.

"This is so exciting! I am so happy that you found your friend. Her name is Zelda, kaweep? That's a nice name. Will you introduce her to us?"

The Kikwi looked absolutely ecstatic at the thought of finally meeting the mysterious girl Link had been chasing for so long.

"Of course I will," Link said. "After all, I probably would not have been able to find her if it weren't for your help," Link said.

"Oh, you're too kind, kewww kewww. I'm going to go tell the others that Zelda is coming! See you soon!" he said, hurrying off to where the other Kikwis must have been gathered.

Link chuckled to himself, amused by how the timid little creatures were so easily excited. He began walking towards the bird statue to ascend back up to the Sky when he noticed a figure approaching the ground a rapid speed.

Link backed up, trying to figure out if there was something he could move to soften the landing of whoever was hurtling towards the ground.

Who in their right mind would jump down to the Surface like that? He thought to himself.

Just then, the skydiver released their own sailcloth, gliding them down to the ground at a safe speed. As the person floated closer to the ground, Link began to make out a figure - it was a girl, wearing a blue dress and brown boots. Her blonde hair was pulled into a braid down her back.

It was Zelda.

"Zelda!" Link shouted, running over to her. She hit the ground in a crouched position.

"Are you okay? What are you doing here?" he asked, checking to make sure she wasn't hurt.

Zelda furrowed her brow at him.

"I could ask you the same question, Link," she said, folding up her sailcloth and stuffing it in the small bag on her back.

Link ignored her. "Where did you get a sailcloth?"

Zelda rolled her eyes. "Where did you get yours, Link? I made it."

"I saw you jump below the clouds from Skyloft," she said. "I was sitting on the roof of the Academy when I saw you. I didn't know what you were doing or why you were coming here, so I followed you. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Oh," Link said dully. "Well, I'm fine. I just came down here for mushroom spores."

"Why are you so worried about me anyways?" Zelda asked, walking towards a grassy ledge. She jumped up to sit down on the edge, and Link followed her lead.

"You do realize that I also had to make my way through the Surface, right? And I did it without all your fancy weapons and items. I'm tougher than you think," she said, giving him a playful shove.

The push was gentle, but Link was distracted and did not anticipate it. He toppled over the edge, landing on his bottom with a thud.

"Ooof," he grunted, rubbing his hip.

"Link!" Zelda shouted, hopping of the ledge to kneel next to her very uncoordinated friend.

"I'm sorry, are you okay?'

"Yeah, I'm fine," Link grumbled, pushing himself off the ground and extending a hand to Zelda to help her up as well.

She paid no attention to his hand and stood up on her own.

Link looked at her and snorted. "Guess your new hobby is pushing me off of things, huh? This would be the third time in the past month."

She laughed, feeling slightly embarrassed as she remembered pushing him off of a ledge - more than once - on the day of the Wing Ceremony.

"Well, at least I know you can handle yourself," she countered, hooking her index finger in the strap of Link's adventure pouch and yanking him towards her.

Link's heart stopped as he felt his body being pulled towards Zelda's. He nearly choked when he felt her fingers fiddle around his pouch, digging for something.

"Uhh...Zel...what are you doing.." he stuttered nervously, avoiding her face.

Zeda smirked at his awkwardness.

"i just wanted to take a look at these mushroom spores you collected, sleepyhead," she said alluringly.

"I know you keep your bottles in the pouch on your hip, so I was just checking for myself." She found what she was looking for, pulling the bottle from the pouch and examining the bright yellow contents inside.

"They're a more vibrant color than the ones we have at home. We've always had to get our spores from the mushrooms on the islands. But the ones down here are different. I'll bet they're better," she said thoughtfully, twisting the bottle around in her hands.

At that moment, the sound of a loud crack filled the sky.

Link and Zelda tilted their heads up, noticing the darkening color of the sky above.

"What was that?" Zelda asked, alarmed.

"Oh, no," Link muttered, his fears being realized as he felt light rain drops begin to fall on his head.

"Link, what's happening? Is this a storm?" Zelda asked.

Storms didn't occur on Skyloft because it was situated high enough above cloud barrier that it was able to avoid most weather. The thunderhead was the only part of the Sky that really experienced rain and lightning.

Of course stormy weather existed on the Surface. Link realized this in some part of his brain, but never thought about it because he had been lucky enough to avoid storms during his adventure.

Judging by how quickly the sky was darkening, and how hard the rain was beginning to pour, Link didn't think they were going to avoid the one.

"Come on, we've got to find shelter. I've never experienced a storm down here so I don't know how bad it's going to get."

"Can't we just fly home?" Zelda asked, her voice laced with worry.

"No, I don't want to risk it. The weather could be too dangerous, we might not make the ascent up to the cloud barrier safely," Link said.

"Well, where can we go? I don't know what parts here are safe yet," Zelda said, jumping when a bright flash lit up the sky.

The thunder followed the lightning a few seconds later, a deep rumbling through the atmosphere. Link knew where they could go.

"Come on, Zel," he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. He began to lead her deeper into the woods, attempting to shield her from the downpour with his arm.

"Let's go meet the Kikwis."