A Wounded Jade
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Revali's POV

The Champions walk into Tarrey Town, having left Urbosa and Mipha's horses on the other side of the earth bridge. Revali walks forward, turning his head left and right occasionally. When Urbosa stopped beside him, she let out a soft sigh.

"Where shall we go, to look for her?" She asks, placing one hand on her hip. Revali gives a nonchalant shrug, before Urbosa speaks again. "I assume the inn will be our best bet. I wouldn't think she'd have enough ruppees to be walking around in shops, and she would have the Hylian decency to stay out of other's homes."

The four of them give a synchronised nod, before turning left to enter the inn. When the innkeeper, Kapson, notices their arrival, he stutters a bit before trying to straighten his posture.

"Good morning, esteemed Princess Mipha, Champions! To what do I owe the pleasure?" He says quickly, bowing gently in Mipha's direction. From his actions, Revali chuckles under his breath, until jabbed in the ribs by Urbosa. "Would you all like a bed to rent? I can make you some hearty soup too, if you'd like."

"Actually, we're here for something else." Revali speaks up, stepping up in front of the counter. "We're here looking for someone." Then Revali realises he didn't know her name. He looks to Urbosa for some help, but he turns back when Kapson starts speaking again.

"Oh, do you mean the lovely lady that stopped by my inn an hour or so ago?" He asks, his expression turning worried. "She said she'll return at nighttime, which I'd assume will be now, because she was yet to eat the soup I've made for her."

"Yes, that's who we're looking for. Any ideas to where she's gone?" Revali inquires, his gaze locking onto the Zora. Honestly, it would've been better if Mipha had talked to him, yet Revali had still insisted.

"Is she in trouble?" He asks worriedly.

"We don't know. Probably not, but we just need to find her." Revali answers, getting a little impatient.

"Well, I saw her mount her horse. A few of the locals said they saw her heading down to Torin Wetlands. Probably just on a little walk with her horse." Kapson explains, but the exact place sends shivers down Revali's spine. He knew for a fact Torin's Wetland was littered with Guardians. Walker Guardians.

"We need to go, now." Revali snaps, turning on his heel and walking out the door. Urbosa senses the urgency of the situation and quickly follows him, Daruk walking out straight after. Mipha quicks offers an apology to Kapson, before walking out to follow her companions.

Revali flew as fast as he could above the body of water, heading straight for the Wetlands. His heart clenched slightly as he saw flickers of purple and blue amongst the trees, meaning the Guardians had been activated. He heard their beam go off, and a terrible explosion erupted within the forest.

"No!" He cries into the wind, praying she was safe. Then, atop a serene hill, he saw your horse riding away. For a second, he was relieved, until he saw no rider mounted upon her. His body filled with dread once more as he dove headfirst into the forest.

Daruk had rolled in at the highest speeds possible and had reached the Wetlands at about the same time.

"Over there!" He yells, pointing to two Guardians standing next to a figure. Revali nods quickly and flies up into the sky, noticing the Guardians were standing in a clearing. When he saw Y/n standing there, all bloodied up and exhausted, with a red beam aimed at her, his blood ran cold.

She made no efforts to move.

Daruk was already rolling towards her, a determined look on his face.

~~🌹~~

Your POV

You heard the beating of wings somewhere but feigned no interest. It would have been birds flying away to safety. Just as the blue beam reaches you, you hear the grunt of a man in front of you, and a blinding flash of orange.

You involuntary scream, but you find that your body remains intact. "H-huh...?" You mumble, looking through your hands to see a giant Goron standing in front of you. Except it wasn't a normal Goron, if they were using Daruk's Protection.

There was a loud explosion, so you assume that Daruk reflected the Guardian's beam back at itself, destroying it. Then, another red beam shot at your chest, making you spin around in fright. In doing so, you fell over from the immense pain in your leg.

You stare fearfully at the Guardian, until three arrows land squarely in the Guardian's eye, making it falter enough for another three bomb arrows to finish it off. You look up to where you assume the arrows came from, to see Revali in the air with his bow strung with his beak and talons.

You let out a shaky breath as Daruk helps you up, a kind look on his face. You hear a clatter of hooves, and you spin around happily, expecting to see Nyx's face, yet it was only Urbosa and Mipha atop their horses.

They dismount and run up to the three of you. Mipha walks up and notices your bloodied leg, frowning worriedly. "Is it okay if I...?" She motions to herself then your leg, and you understand pretty quickly, which was evident in the way you quickly nodded.

She crouched down until she was eye-level with your bloodied shin. Again, you noticed Daruk looked away. Mipha held her hand out and the same blue aura shrouded itself around both your leg and her hand. There was an itching tingly sensation, with a little spike of pain. Due to the new sensation, however, you accidentally lost your footing.

Before you could hit the ground, a pair of strong wings wrap around your wait, holding you in place as Mipha healed you. "Stay still," Revali grumbles, as his wings stay firmly on your waist.

When Mipha was finished, Revali let go of you to see if you could stand normally. You give a shaky nod as you demonstrate that you could indeed keep yourself upright. After a while of awkward silence, you turn to the Champions, giving each of them a worried look.

"Thank Revali," Urbosa says, knowing that you were about to ask about a dozen questions. The only thing was, that her statement just made you more confused.

"How?" You whisper, your voice cracked and strained. You were still slightly weak from the Guardian encounter.

"Let's say that Rito have keen senses." Revali remarks, his feathers ruffling up in pride. This only elicits a half chuckle from you. A small smirk graces your features, until its noticeably replaced by a deep frown.

"Something wrong?" Daruk queried, stepping a little closer.

"Why save me? I'm the enemy, after all." You murmur, making sure to get a good look at each of their expressions. The four of them share and unreadable glance between each other.

"It would've been unethical to leave you to die." Urbosa sighed, sheathing her scimitar.

"We wouldn't just leave you, either." Mipha adds. You noticed she had a similar soft voice to that of Zelda–both pleasing and gentle to listen to.

"Don't think the favour needs to be repaid, Revali." You say sharply, looking to the Rito. Judging by his expression, you fathomed that he knew exactly what you were talking about. And for that, he gave a small shake of his head.

"It wasn't because of that, the innkeeper in Tarrey Town was worried." He responds, although the Champions give him a suspicious look. They knew the truth behind his words, while you did not. And so, you took the statement to complete truth. Revali had averted his gaze from yours as you examined his eyes. His electric green eyes.

"He was?" You inquire, remembering the sweet Zora you'd met earlier.

"Yes. He was the one that pointed us in the right direction." Urbosa clarifies, speaking the truth. She looks around, specifically behind you. Her actions cause you to turn around, curious to see what had caught her gaze.

"Where's your horse?" She asks, and then a wave of guilt washes over you, drowning your helpless body in a sea of horrible thoughts. You turn back sadly in their direction, fighting to keep the tears at bay.

"I forced her to run away... lest she be killed." You murmur, suddenly growing quiet. Revali steps forward, a rare, empathetic expression on his face.

"Then we'll find her." His face was soft, yet is tone remained that arrogant and prideful tone he always carried.

"Yes." You nod, a small weightlifting off your shoulders. You see the smallest smile on his face, before he quickly turns away, the smile replaced with a poker expression. You roll your eyes in mock defeat, as you turn back to Urbosa.

"We should head to that hill first." You point to the open grassy hill. "That's where I sent her off to." She nods, and then points to her horse.

"Want to ride on mine?" She asks, "or Mipha's?" Urbosa asks, a knowing smile on her face when Revali huffs angrily and stomps up to her.

"And my back's not an option?" He grumbles, before freezing. He shouldn't have said that. "Wait... never mind." His feathers ruffle up slightly at the sound of your laughter. He turns to you and gives you a glare, before aggressively flapping his wings, flying into the sky via his updraft. Urbosa sighs and shrugs her shoulders.

"I swear, that bird is Bipolar." She mumbles, eliciting a laugh from almost all of you. You although, remain quiet as you think of his words. Obviously, you weren't going to ride on his back to begin with, yet you were curious as to why he brought the question up.

"Anyway, which horse do you want to ride on?" Urbosa asks. You didn't exactly feel comfortable riding right behind that lady, so you point to Mipha and her horse. "Alright," she shrugs, and the three of you mount the horses.

Urbosa and Mipha point their horses towards the hills, urging them forward. Daruk rolls behind at a leisurely pace, as you just let out a shaky breath. You had avoided death–sure, it was with the help of others, yet you still avoided it, nonetheless.

"So," you start, holding onto Mipha's waist for support "Why are you all so eager to help me?" Urbosa looks towards you. "Yes, Urbosa, I know half of the truth, as I'm sure you do too."

"You're wrong. I know of the truth from our perspective, yet you still remain a mystery, Little Yiga." She clicks her tongue once, keeping her head held high. Although her tone was softer, which originally made you falter.

"That's because you don't need to know." You reply, your voice somewhat closed off. "After I find my horse, I'd like to be left alone." You notice Revali flying overhead, noticing his gaze sweep across the plains of Hyrule. When you look back down, however, his gaze flicks over to you, his eyes carrying a sort of sadness as he looks at you.

"Look, you stand out, alright? I don't believe you're like the other Yiga. Just let us accompany you. We'll get out of your hair when you head back to your Clan." Urbosa says, her tone feigning little annoyance.

"Bold of you to assume I want to go back." You scoff, shaking your head.

"That's right, you were the one that didn't like their Clan but remains loyal to Calamity Ganon nonetheless." When that topic was brought up once more, the air turns thick, as if you could cut it with a steak knife.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't." You innocently shrug, keeping your face expressionless, and your composure calm.

"Oh?" Urbosa queries, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't think I can stress this enough. My business is my business. Got that?" You hissed, your voice turning back to its guarded and aggressive state. You vaguely notice Urbosa's frown from your peripheral vision.

"Alright then. I apologise." She whispers, before urging her horse to a gallop, breaking away from you and Mipha.

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2025 words.