Memories | Short Revalink Story

Memories

Link had been visiting Rito village consistently for a couple of weeks now, which initially did not seem like anything out of the ordinary.

Link had visited before to check up on Teba and his son, Tulin, or to stock up on food and supplies at the Slippery Falcon, the village's general store.

Oftentimes, he would stay a while to admire the scenery and listen to Tulin's stories about how he's helping out the village and his slight frustrations at his dad still treating him as a small chick, even though he claims to be 'fully-fledged'.

However, during Link's current visits, he seems to be preoccupied. His face didn't have the usual warm and eager expression Teba was used to, instead, it was replaced by a blank look, with the slightest hint of regret painted on his sky-blue eyes.

He would sit for long periods of time on Revali's Landing; a wood platform protruding out from the long vertical rock the village was built around. It was made for Rito to take off from and land, making the transition into and out of flight easier.

When talked to, he would usually take a few seconds to realize someone was trying to speak to him, and would politely tell them that he wasn't really in the mood for small talk.

Even Teba, Rito's village elder and a trusted friend of Link, was only able to pry a small "Oh. It's for the memories.." from his mouth when asked the reason for his visits.

It was then that Teba and Tulin started getting worried.

Link wasn't as sociable as before, he refused to talk to people, even his dear friend. He seemed so distracted all the time and his eyes were misty with an expression like what he had on his face when he was first appointed as Zelda's knight. - A blank slate, showing little to no emotion.

The purpose of his stay was also unclear, other than his cryptic "For the memories" response to Teba, they were puzzled about what the basis was for his continued visits.

He wasn't there to restock on food, Tulin pointed out that he had neither seen Link visiting the Slippery Flacon, nor eating at all. Teba later confirmed this by asking Misa, the shop operator, who responded with "No, he hasn't even set foot in the store.. I wonder what's up with him.".

Teba decided that to cure his, and Link's friends' (who consisted of Sidon, Riju, and Yunobo, who had also mentioned to Teba that Link was unusually quiet) worries, he would leave the task of finding out what was bothering Link to Tulin, the Rito Link was closest with and talked to the most.

After all, it seemed like their last option; if Link didn't respond to Tulin, then there was probably no chance he would respond to anyone else.

Link sat, dangling his feet off the edge of the platform and looking at the off-white stone hills topped with varying shades of grass.

Tulin stared from behind a wood pillar that supported one of the lamposts that lit up when the night came. Tulin was nervous. He started thinking of a way to find out what was troubling Link.

Ok, ok, calm down, Tulin. This is your responsibility, you gotta go up to Link and ask him what's wrong! A moment passed, and Tulin shook his head.

Wait- no. Asking him straight up wouldn't work.. hmm. Maybe I could make some conversation and try to slip in the question. He sighed.

Man, I'm really not good at this "figure out what's wrong with Link while also keeping it secret from him, but be careful! If you fail, people are gonna be real upset." thing.

He puffed up his chest. Well, never mind. I can do this.

Tulin walked backward, and, as best he could, looked like he was on his usual night patrol and just happened to come across Link, who was staring up at the dusk sky.

He faked an expression of surprise and curiosity as he walked closer to Link, who looked like he hadn't noticed Tulin's sudden appearance.

He walked until he was standing next to Link, who now seemed to notice Tulin, but paid no mind. Tulin sat down on the platform and took a sharp breath, readying himself.

"Sooo.." Tulin started, in the most casual voice he could muster after being told to act casual. (Which, unsurprisingly, sounded very much scripted.)

"What's up?" Tulin said with an awkward smile.

At first, he didn't think Link was going to respond due to his silence. Tulin felt the feeling of disappointment forming in the pit of his stomach when suddenly, Link replied.

"Nothing much... you?" He said in such a soft voice that Tulin was barely able to catch it.

He was always soft-spoken, as he didn't talk much and preferred to keep to himself most of the time. This time, however, Link's voice was not only soft but also had a small tone of sadness.

Tulin felt himself relax, hopefully, Link would continue to reply, and everything would be alright.

"Was wondering what's on your mind, you seem a little distracted and 'off in the clouds'." He said with honest concern. Then, quickly added "No offense by the way!" as he realized it seemed a little rude.