A Kindling, of Sorts (Revali x reader)

admiration

Your sleep was deep and uncomfortable, the kind that doesn't leave one feeling particularly refreshed the following morning. Cruel dreams rang in your head, familiar visions that've been getting more and more frequent the last few weeks. Somewhere in the back of your unconscious mind, you were relieved to have those dreams interrupted by someone groaning in your ear. "Urghh..."

You groggily raised your head, eyes squinted against blue morning light. You were back in the Flight Range, which makes sense you suppose. Though you were supposed to return to your post before sunrise. Oh.

...Oh. You shifted in your seat and tried to stand up, but there was a weight on your shoulder. Slowly, you looked down and realized Revali was sound asleep by your side, wings wrapped around your arm and head nuzzled in the crook of your neck. You felt dizzy as your heartbeat immediately sped up. How did this happen? What happened last night? Why is he voluntarily cuddled up to me?

With an anxious hand, you steadied his head and softly set him down against the hardwood floor, to which he whined to himself and huddled into a fetal position. He was probably hungover after last night, you realized. Goddess, you didn't know he was going to go that crazy. To be fair, you didn't know he was under that much stress, either.

I mean, this 'Calamity' thing does seem really important with how everyone is talking about it. The need for more troops, the strict punishments for petty crimes, the need for the Champions... its all to make people feel safer, isn't it? The real question is will it actually help? There's got to be some kind of plan in place to defend against this coming apocalypse(you assume its apocalypse- like), something you haven't really been told directly... right? Had you ever been told exactly what is going on? Augh, you wished Daruk and Urbosa had told you about that rather than explaining all the drama between Link, Zelda, and Mipha. You still can't even bring yourself to care about it that much. Maybe that's just what happens when you hit a certain age, like living vicariously through them.

Revali shifts in front of you, shielding his face from the morning light. The sun had begun to rise over the valley now, sunshine seeping into the hut. You positioned yourself in front of him to block the light, your shadow stretching over his wing.

It was funny, even when disheveled and in a heap on the floor, you couldn't help but gawk at him. Sure, his feathers were scuffed up and sticking out, but they still remained that deep blue sheen. His braids twisted into each other, almost loosely knotted, but they still held their shape. How is it even possible to braid feathers? Your guess is a good as mine.

As you watched over him, he began to snore rather loudly, to which you stifled a laugh. You're sure he probably doesn't sleep like this normally, but you still found it funny how graceless he looked. The arrogant and elegant rito you'd known, the one who'd pick on you for wearing a wrinkled shirt or having an untied shoelace was now before you, snoring on the floor. In a sort of backwards way you nearly felt victorious, like you'd won a bet or proven something.

"Haha! Not so smug now, are you?" you could've said, though there wasn't a point. He was way cooler than you'd ever be, messy sleeper or not. You also weirdly like it when he's mean to you anyways, but you're not ready to confront that just yet. Hopefully that's not unusual.

"Speedy," someone hissed from behind you. You jumped in your seat and looked over to a freckled face peaking over the edge of the entrance. Oh, its her. "What the hell are you doing?!" You glanced back at the Champion, who was still fast asleep, and turned back to her. The woman pulled herself inside, but sat with one leg in and the other still on the ladder. She was in a hurry.