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“Impa was right.”
Link hated the defeated sound of his own voice when he spoke, but he couldn’t really help it either. His sword was placed haphazardly in front of him, and he was leaning most of his weight against his loyal loftwing, waiting on a random island stranded somewhere in the distant sky. He'd been here nearly an hour, and still his thoughts wouldn't settle.
Fi emerged from the sword, her odd but steady eyes meeting his, and she waited patiently for him to gather his thoughts and continue. It used to startle him, when she responded to his voice, but now he was almost counting on it.
He swallowed hard, letting his head fall against his loftwing’s flank. He thought this was maybe the first time the full reality of his task had hit him, everything Fi and the old woman and the prophecies said. It was nothing less than he deserved, taking it so lightly until now.
He felt small.
“I haven’t been fast,” he said, picking carefully through words to try and put his thoughts into the world, frustrated not for the first time at how hard it was to make them come. “I waste a lot of time. I pick flowers. I fly for fun. I talk to people in Skyloft, and help them for no reason. I look into corners and plants and dead ends. I do… a lot of things that don’t help me find Zelda.”
He hesitated, and he didn’t know how she knew but Fi didn’t speak so she must have realized he wasn’t done. Link was glad. He wasn’t sure he could have continued if she’d interrupted. His words stuck in his chest like molasses, and he stroked through his loftwing’s feathers like it was all that kept him grounded.
“Fi?” he asked quietly, twisting a crimson feather around one finger, and steeled himself with his eyes fixed firmly on his hands. “Can you tell me what I'd need to stop? You know me. You know when I'm... wasting time.”
Link didn’t know why the thought made him so miserable. He’d never stand still again if it meant Zelda got home safe, if it meant that darkness in the sealed grounds never reached Skyloft. But.
But he liked daydreaming. It soothed him.
Would it be exploring that he had to stop, to ignore his insatiable curiosity and focus on his destination? Or would it be gathering, excitedly bringing back samples to show the people of Skyloft? Would he have to stop getting distracted, looking for lost little girls and crashed loftwings?
What would be left of him, if he stopped doing all that?
“Master,” Fi said, unshakably calm even now. But there was something more solemn than usual about her expression. “Lady Hylia knew what she was doing when she chose you as her agent.”
Link bit his lip. “But what if-”
“She knew that you spent approximately 47% of your time daydreaming,” Fi interrupted ruthlessly, her carved crystal face focused on him. “She was aware of your affection for puzzles, and for picking up anything that caught your eye even when it gets you into trouble 28% of the time, and your preference for exploring up to 92% of an area before moving on even once your task is accomplished. She knew that you would turn down additional requests for help only approximately 4% of the time.”
Link shrank, because all of that was exactly what he’d spent so much time doing the last few weeks instead of chasing Zelda, even knowing that she was being pursued by Ghirahim, even knowing she was in danger. And of course Fi had catalogued every moment of it with ruthless accuracy.
“Master Link,” Fi repeated, and this time there was something gentle about her voice. “Lady Hylia chose you because of those traits, not in spite of them. There is not a single part of yourself that you need to change. You only need to learn to hone them, to your benefit and that of your mission.”
“Why?” Link asked, unable to stop himself from sounding plaintive and vulnerable. One of his hands twisted into his loftwing’s feathers, and the bird nipped gently at his hair to get him to loosen his grip. “How do those help?”
This time it was Fi who was quiet for a conspicuously long moment, studying him with unreadable eyes, and Link who waited, playing with Crimson’s feathers.
“Many of the gods,” Fi said at last, pensive and calculated, “prefer their champions to be merely strong-willed and powerful. Such champions are characteristically unyielding, inflexible, and highly effective. Common weaknesses are third-party ultimatums and reckless action.”
Link nodded along, slow and uncertain. He knew the myths and legends. There were dozens to choose from, cultures and people now lost to time, stories of the surface, myths of nature. He assumed at least some of them were true, and yes, he supposed they were… mostly as Fi said. (Fi was usually right.)
“Lady Hylia,” she continued, more reassuringly, “wanted a hero who was clever and resourceful. Rather than a hero who would barge through all obstacles set before him, she wanted one who would be clever enough to find another way around, and who would be able to make use of all resources available. And…” Her voice grew both quieter and firmer. “She wanted a hero who would always remember that there was more to the world than his own objectives. Who would never forget to be kind. These are the traits that Lady Hylia values most.”
Link found that he couldn’t look away.
“Master Link,” Fi finished, with the most passion he had seen from her so far, “Lady Hylia could have chosen any Hylian in all of time. But she wanted you.”
Link blinked a few times, rapidly, trying to process the influx of earnest reassurance. Then, finally, he relaxed, freeing his hands, expression soft with an odd kind of exhaustion.
Okay, he signed meekly, a little too overwrought for easy speech. So… He hesitated, and then continued bravely, Then, I need to find ways to be faster without getting rid of any of those things. To… be more efficient, I suppose.
Fi smiled at him, the tiniest quirk of her mouth.
“You could stand to daydream perhaps 8% less, Master Link,” she said, with the sort of inflection that made it impossible to tell whether or not she was teasing.
Link smiled too, just a little, warm and relieved. He leaned back against his loftwing and considered for a moment. There’s that new region to look into. We can probably trial run a few ideas while we’re there, see if they make things go faster. I can prepare before I go, I guess, and make fewer trips back. Take a bigger bag, wait longer between retrieving new goddess cubes and sharing new information…
Already, Link was bouncing back, getting lost in his own mind as he ran through ideas for streamlining his work. Fi just let him talk, smiling that enigmatic smile, waiting patiently for him to reach out for her opinion.