Skyward: A Zelda fan story (Book One in the Skyward saga)

Chapter 3: Race

       It was minutes before the start of the race. Everyone, even Budoh (who had been practicing for a while) was tense and slightly nervous. Arin's heart was beating very fast and he felt nauseous. He had never flown a Loftwing before, and here he was, about to begin a high level race- with no experience or practice. This was insane! Ralis seemed to notice his uneasiness, and put a hand on Arin's shoulder. "Don't worry," he said, "I know that you'll be able to do it. Trust me." He smiled, and Arin smiled too, forcing himself to relax. "So," Arin said, "Tell me the basics again." Ralis grinned. "I'd be glad to." Ralis then proceeded to making motions in the air as he spoke. "If you feel that your bird is-" Arin interrupted him. "Firebrand." he corrected him. "Not 'my bird'." Ralis looked, stunned, at Arin, and then smiled again. "You already named it, eh?" He gave Arin a hearty slap on the back, making him flinch. "Congratulations!" Arin looked down, flattered. "Well, it wasn't only me," he mumbled. "We worked together to name him. Firebrand and I, I mean." The stunned look returned to Ralis's face. "You talked to the bird?" He rested his chin in his hands, a looking thoughtful, making Arin anxious. "Is.. is there something wrong with that?!" Ralis looked back at Arin. "No! It's just that..." Silence. "It's just that... 'he?' How did you determine the gender?!" Arin sensed he was lying about what he was REALLY thinking about, but he didn't comment on that. "I just... have a feeling, you know?" Ralis nodded, smiling. "Yeah." Ralis changed his position, rubbing his hands together. "Okay! Shall we review?" Arin repositioned himself as well, grinning back at Ralis. "Yeah!" Ralis looked pleased. "Okay! So, if you want to get flying, you need to run straight off that deck there-" Ralis points to the wooden deck. "-And then, as you fall, spread your arms and legs out wide, and keep flat-" Ralis tries to demonstrate this, but is trying to balance on one leg, which make Arin laugh. Ralis smiled to hear the sound of Arin's laugh, but continued the lesson. "-Now, you have to whistle as hard as you can..." Ralis puts his hands to his mouth and whistles. "After you whistle, Firebrand should come..." Arin feeds Firebrand some berries. "You'll come when I whistle, right?" The bird nudges Arin playfully. Yes, it thinks to him, You can count on me. Ralis waits for Arin to pay attention, then continues. "Your bird will fly beneath you, and then it will thrust itself upwards, so that you are sitting upon it. So you need to get yourself into a sitting position first, legs splayed out." Arin agrees, nodding the whole time. Ralis puts his hands down. "You sure you're getting all this?" He asks. Arin nods eagerly. "Of course!" Ralis smiles. "Good! Just checking." Ralis then starts the next segment of the lesson. "If you want to get your bird to start flying, or keep moving, then you swing both hands downwards, and give an encouraging shout! He motions with his hands. "Hup!" he shouts, but not that loudly. "Okay, if you want to turn left or right, take the hand you use for writing, and firmly pull the feathers around it's neck in the direction you want to go, while leaning slightly in that direction, but not so far you fall off." He grabs an imaginary clump of feathers in the air, demonstrating as he leans left, and then right. Arin nods. Ralis continues. "If you wish to go higher, then do what you would do to get the bird to keep moving, but then wrap your arms around the birds neck, and while holding onto the bottom, pull up, and your bird will fly up with you." Ralis is wrapping his arms around an imaginary bird, then pulling up. "If you want to fly downwards and go into a dive, then firmly push down on the bird, which tells them to go down. Then, as you climb into a dive, you need to hunch over and keep close to your bird, because the wind will pick up and you could be hurt or thrown off." Arin nodded, keeping this in mind. "Now, this is very important, so listen. There is one technique that is dangerous, but you will probably need it often. It will allow you to speed up drastically. It is not only a massive speed boost, but it can also be used as an attack. You probably won't need to attack anyone, but just in case. You will need it, though, to speed up. Be aware, though: Your bird only has a certain amount of energy. You can do it about three times, but you'll have to wait about ten or more seconds to get it to speed up like that again." Arin nods, waiting eagerly for the instructions. "To do this," Ralis continues, "You give the bird a quick slap and shout with all your might, urging your bird to the heavens!" He smiles. "I know you can do it." As Ralis looks into Arin's eyes, Arin feels his heart speed up. Arin always had thought he'd never be something. No one would ever notice him. But now Ralis was in his life. He couldn't believe it. Ralis was a celebrity. Why would he care about Arin? If it was because Ralis believed in him... then Arin believed more in himself now. Arin smiled up at Ralis, and Ralis smiled back. "Arin... I was going to ask you..." Arin stopped now, his heart thumping in his chest. "Huh?" Ralis was about to answer when he heard the flight instructor calling. "Arin! Come on, we're starting!" called Horwell. Arin looked down. Ralis placed a hand on Arin's shoulder. "I'll tell you later." Arin nodded. Ralis thrust his fist into the air. "Give it all you've got! I know you can!" Arin looked up, and smiled. "Yeah!" Their yells rang out in the morning air as Arin headed to his flight instructor- and his one and only chance at graduating.