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Autumn is the season of change. It's the time when many things we'd grown accustomed to and started taking for granted over the course of Spring and Summer leave. Leaves on the trees change their colours from consistent and common greens to various shades of vibrant yellows, reds, oranges, and browns. A very spectacular way of saying farewell to the world as their short lives come to an end.
Flowers and grass wither, ridding the smallest inhabitants of this world of places to hide. Warmth abandons the air as the Sun continues to travel around the globe, sentencing the weakest to a harsh fate.
But where something ends, begins another.
Crops that had been carefully and lovingly nursed by dedicated farmers have all but grown ripe and abundant by the time Winter threatens to arrive with its cold winds as warnings. While some lives are being taken by Mother Nature, Harvest comes to save the others. It's the time of joy and festivities, and celebrations of all kinds.
Autumn is also the season Loftwings hatch.
The group of heroes was visiting Skyloft, an island floating high above the clouds the Chosen Hero called his home. After his and this time's Zelda's adventure people have slowly started moving to the surface, with only the eldest and most committed ones deciding to remain in the Sky for the rest of their lives.
Even though most of the Skyloftians have already settled in the land that would be called Hyrule in the future, the few days during which their soulmates would see the world for the first time bring them back to their homeland. It was a tradition to welcome the hatchlings with almost a week worth of celebrations, concluded by watching them spread their wings on their first flight.
Sky was thrilled to find out they arrived just in time for the beginning of hatching. He took his companions to the nesting area, claiming that witnessing the very beginning of a Loftwing's life was a sight one absolutely has to experience at least once in their life.
They kept a safe distance, the mothers tending to be quite ruthless towards those who disturb them, and walked around the nests. Giant birds of various colours were snuggled on their eggs, keeping them warm and secure in those last, crucial moments before they would be thrown out into the cold world.
"Why do they hatch so late in the year?" Wind asked, clutching onto the end of Warriors' scarf. The temperature up there was starting to make itself known. "It's only getting colder. Isn't it hard for the babies to survive?"
"It can get pretty cold on Skyloft, especially if you fly high up in the sky." The resident hero admitted, "Not to mention strong winds and thunderstorms. Loftwings have to adapt to the difficult environment from a very young age, that's why they are born late. To get used to it."
"And they just do that?" The sailor's eyes were wide with wonder, "It's not difficult?"
"Well…" Sky turned his gaze from his friend, finding the feather-covered ground exceptionally interesting, "It is." Wind's smile dropped at those words. Sky took a deep breath. "Loftwings need to be strong and capable, it's the only way to survive until they're paired with us, since we can't take care of them or interrupt them in any way when they're growing up. It's the flock's task to teach them everything." He paused, a happy squawk coming from one of the nests catching his attention, "If they can't survive the winter with their parents, they won't be able to make it when they can't rely on others."
"That's terrible!" Wind cried
"It is cruel," Time interjected, "but I believe it's how nature wanted it to be."
"You know," Sky said, voice weirdly small, "When I was a kid, I always wanted to take one of the babies home, one of the weak ones. Just snatch it out of the nest at night and hide in my closet, and I'd make sure it grows big and strong. But everyone told me that if we could do that, we would."
"It's just the way things are, kid." Warriors placed his hand on Wind's shoulder. "You can't do anything about it."
He answered nothing to that. Sky also remained silent for a good amount of time as they continued along the pathway. The two of them couldn't quite enjoy the rest of the walk, Wind having just found out and Sky having pushed the thought of every egg he sees being only an attempt at, not a new life to the back of his awareness for as long as he could remember.
They noticed it at the exact same time.
There it was, an egg, left alone in its nest. Other Loftwings didn't seem to pay it any mind, its mother nowhere to be seen.
"Why is it all alone?" Wind asked, not really expecting an answer.
"Its mother died last night." An unknown voice said from behind his back. He turned around and saw a slender man with long white hair. He was taller even than Time and wore something similar to a blue robe around his shoulders. "She got into a hoard of monsters while searching for food. This egg will most likely not hatch now."
"Professor Owlan!" Sky exclaimed hearing the voice of his old teacher.
"Welcome home, Link." Owlan smiled at him, then looked in the direction of his companions, "I assume those are the friends you've been traveling with?"
"Yes! Let me introduce you, this is—"
"Isn't there anything we can do for this egg?" Wind cut him off. There was something much more important than a stupid introduction now.
"I'm afraid we can't." The professor said, seemingly not minding the interruption. "There's no one to incubate it. Even though the hatching time is already near, the eggs need to be kept warm until they're ready to hatch, otherwise, they will die."
Wind clenched his fists and felt his face redden. It wasn't fair! It was not the baby's fault its mother left it! Survival aspect to the side, it should at least be given a chance to try! Screw the nature and its dumb laws! When something doesn't work as you'd like to, just make it so!
" I can take care of it!" Two voices spoke in perfect unison. Wind turned his head in the direction of the one that wasn't his and saw Sky, right hand on his chest and brows furrowed in a determined, blue-eyed gaze directed at Professor Owlan.
"Wait, didn't you say that…?" He asked in shock. Wasn't Sky against altering the natural flaw of things or something like that?
"I said I've been told we couldn't do it. I understand why it is that way and respect it but… it was always with already hatched Loftwings. This one is still in its egg, it might turn out to be the strongest one in the flock. It might be some kid's other half!" Sky was nearly screaming, his lower lip twitching with every word but his voice was still and firm. "If it doesn't survive winter, then so be it. But we must at least give it a chance."
The sailor didn't even try to hide the utter joy he felt his heart explode in. His eyes were lit up with hope and passion as he looked back at the white-haired man. "We'll return it when it starts cracking. Just please! let us help it."
“Boys, I know you want well but there really isn’t much you can do about it.” Time interjected, saving Owlan from the trap of two stares he was being crushed under.
“No, I think I will allow it.” The professor said unexpectedly. All eyes turned to him, even from the heroes that weren’t actively participating in the exchange. Even some bystanders managed to eavesdrop on the conversation and were now standing in place, listening in.
“Are you serious?” Wind chimed excitedly.
“Yes.” The professor nodded. “But you must know this won’t be an easy task. You might not be able to produce the kind of heat the Loftwing needs to develop properly.”
“We’ll find a way!” Sky said. “Thank you, Professor!”
After that, Sky and Wind were given the egg to take care of. It was painfully cold when Professor Owlan handed it to them. Sky immediately wrapped it around his sailcloth.
Obviously, it wasn’t going to be enough. The two had to come up with other ways to keep it warm and safe.
Wind proposed to make a new nest for it. A one that would be small but filled with all kinds of things and items giving it heat. The first thing he did was collect all the loose feathers he could find around the nesting area. If they’re the only thing mother Loftwings use to incubate their eggs, they must be super warm, right? So he filled the bottom of the box they found with all kinds of colourful plumes.
Sky wasn’t going to fall behind. He proposed to put some of the feathers inside his sailcloth so that they could touch the egg directly. They did just that and when the bundle was ready, they put it inside the box.
After that came a problem. None of them had anything more that could create a secure source of heat. Seeing how they struggle, Warriors came up to them and took off his scarf. He wrapped the egg in a thick layer of royal blue so that one couldn’t see the white of Sky’s sailcloth anymore and wished them good luck.
Twilight joined them soon after, his wolf pelt in hand instead of on his shoulders. He gladly put it on top of what was already twice as big as the egg it used to be earlier that day.
Wild came in next, he produced a cosy-looking winter jacket out of his slate and tugged the bundle inside, making sure to add a pair of feathery earrings there as well.
Four, not having any kind of warm clothing on him, offered to place his lantern beside the box. When lit, the thing started giving away waves of heat strong enough they could probably set the grass on fire if swang uncarefully.
Hyrule had a similar idea. He donated his candle and put it on the other side of the box, apologising he couldn’t help more.
Legend just laid his fire rod on the ground next to it, not adding any unnecessary words.
Time was the last to join in. He simply proposed to take watch over the fires when Wind and Sky would get too tired to do it themselves.
What started as a cold, hopeless egg was now more similar to a mountain of laundry but what was keeping people away from it was not a bad smell or dirt, but the sheer amount of heat coming from it. It was hard to stay close to it for long. Its guardians, at one point, even decided to remove some of the items from the pile for fear of it being too warm.
The next couple of days stretched out with switching watches between Sky, Wind and Time, unwrapping the bundle and checking for cracks on the shell, and looking around the festival with the other Links when kindly asked to at first only for them to have to be dragged there by force as a form of taking a break.
On the fourth day, they finally found a crack.
Excitement, fear, and anticipation filled the air around the camp. The box, as promised, was quickly transported back to its original nest where it continued to be observed by the restless group of heroes. It took a few more hours but, finally, a small, yellow beak peeked out of the shell to take the first breath.
After another hour, the hatchling has already presented itself to the world with its full glory. Its fluffy feathers were dark orange, like pumpkins or autumn leaves, or fire.
It squawked energetically and jumped around the nest. Soon after, they would see it be taken in by one of the Loftwing mothers and dry up by her.
And much later on, when they couldn’t witness it anymore, it would fly above the bright, spring sky.