Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This is Skyloft. Just to give you a rough idea if you've never seen it before.

This is Lloyd's Loftwing.

This is Kai's Loftwing.

This is Nya's Loftwing.

Where in the skies was the kid hiding?

Kai could see Lloyd’s loftwing flying above and the kid wasn’t on it. So he was grounded somewhere and was somewhere nearby, a loftwing didn’t stray far from its rider.

“Any luck?” Cole called over from across the plaza. Jay was a couple steps behind him.

“No,” Kai answered. “He’s definitely on Skyloft somewhere though. Probably sleeping. Where did you two look?”

“He’s not in the school,” Cole reported. “Chances on that were low to begin with though.”

“Not in the bazaar either,” Jay added.

“Nor is he on the east side of the river,” Zane said, and Kai almost jumped. Shit, Zane could be quiet sometimes, Kai hadn’t heard him coming up.

Kai groaned. “Ugh, we said we were going to meet up to help him practice for the Wing Ceremony. You’d think he doesn’t care about the ceremony the way he’s been acting.”

They were a bit of an odd friend group, all things considered. Kai, Jay, and Cole had been friends pretty much their whole lives so them being friends wasn’t really surprising, even if their personalities were very different. Lloyd and Zane were the unusual ones.

Zane had only moved to Skyloft a year ago, having lived with his dad in the outer sky isles before. He could be weird sometimes, probably due to his isolated childhood. It was hard being the new kid when new kids were practically nonexistent. When you lived on an island, everyone knew everyone, and very few chose to live apart from Skyloft. That paired with Zane’s strange mannerisms had made it really hard for him when he’d first moved in. Zane fit into their group just fine though.

Lloyd was the baby of the group. Only fifteen whereas Kai and Jay were eighteen, Cole was nineteen, and Nya was sixteen. He was Headmaster Garmadon’s kid. Fun, creative, naturally skilled at both flying and combat, friendly nearly to a fault, lazy at times. If Lloyd passed the Wing Ceremony (which he was already taking early), he’d be able to skip a grade and be in the same class as the rest of them. Maybe then he’d show up to class more often.

“Oh, he definitely cares,” Cole said. “Although I understand why he’s not worried. No one in his group is any real competition. It’s just Groose and his cronies, Mavis, and Avel. Morro is the only threat, but he cares more about humiliating Lloyd than winning. And even with his help, I don’t think Groose can win.”

That was all probably true, but Lloyd could still put a little effort in. More than half of his competitors would be actively out to get him. Kai wasn’t sure how that group had been chosen. With only two races, some of Groose’s gang was bound to be with Lloyd, but all of them? Kai would call it sabotage if it wasn’t Lloyd’s uncle who had split the teams. Thank goodness Nya had been placed in the other race at least, that would have been such a conflict of interest for him. Now he could cheer for his friend and his sister no problem.

“Yeah,” Jay agreed. “But Groose’s gang is going to cheat, you know they will. And they’ll gang up on him even though it’s not a team race. I don’t understand why Wu didn’t just put them in the other group.”

“He did it for Lloyd’s benefit,” Zane said, and they all turned to give him questioning looks. Because how in the skies had Zane reached that conclusion? Seeing their confusion, Zane elaborated. “Truthfully, it seems the teams were made with us in mind. Not in a way I think is unfair though. To start, Nya and Lloyd are on separate teams so they can both pass.” Kai nodded along with Jay and Cole. That part made sense. “Now think of what would happen if Groose’s gang were not in Lloyd’s race. They would have accused him of cowardice and would have claimed that they would have won if given the chance. When Lloyd wins, even with so much against him, they will have no excuses. Plus, if any of them had been in Nya’s group they would have just gone after her. They were going to be a problem no matter what.”

Kai hadn’t thought about it like that. So Lloyd’s uncle wasn’t trying to trip him up then.

"Those two need to grow up,” Kai huffed, because really only Morro and Groose hated Lloyd. Cawlin and Strich were just tagging along. Groose mainly hated Lloyd because Zelda wasn’t an idiot and clearly liked Lloyd and disliked Groose, which was Groose’s own fault. Morro hated Lloyd for his talent. He couldn’t stand that Lloyd seemed so effortlessly gifted. That Morro showed up to class, did the work, and Lloyd still outdid him. Kai had also heard rumors that Morro also resented Lloyd for his emerald loftwing, but Kai wasn’t as sure on that one. Lloyd’s bright green loftwing with golden wing tips was one of a kind, the only one seen in centuries, but there was nothing wrong with Morro’s bird and Morro seemed to love his bird like any normal person.

“Yeah,” Cole sighed. “I don’t think it will happen anytime soon though.”

“It’s ridiculous,” Kai continued angrily. “And for Morro, his stupid grudge is literally holding him back. He could have taken his Wing Ceremony last year if he wasn’t so obsessed with Lloyd. Now he’s going to get humiliated and have to wait another term before he can take the test again.”

“To be fair,” Jay pointed out. “You used to hate Lloyd too, Kai.”

“I didn’t hate him,” Kai argued, scowling. “He just annoyed me at first. Skipping classes and good grades and all. I thought it was just nepotism.” It was also embarrassing to be outdone by someone younger than you. “Once I realized he was legit skilled and not a spoiled brat or anything I, unlike Morro, got over it. Don’t compare me to him.”

“Even gifted people need to practice,” Cole sighed. “We really need to find Lloyd. Can you imagine how insufferable they’ll become if Lloyd doesn’t win? And it means we’ll get Groose or Morro in our class instead of Lloyd.”

Kai’s lip curled in disgust. That was literally nightmare fuel. He refused to let that happen. But there wasn’t a ton Kai himself could actually do about it. It was extremely frustrating. “Well we’ve looked almost everywhere for him. If Nya hasn’t found him by the goddess statue, that only leaves people’s houses. No one I’ve asked has seen him though.” He really hoped his sister found him.

Jay’s eyes shifted upwards. “Oh! There’s Nya!”

Kai glanced up just in time to see a flash of blue and red feathers and then Nya was landing on the nearby platform.

“I found him,” she announced, looking smug as she rushed over to them.

“Really?” Cole asked, sounding as relieved as the rest of them. “Where is he?”

“He’s sleeping on a patch of island under the goddess statue,” she reported. “Towards the back. I almost didn’t see him at all, but I spotted him as I was flying away. I figured I’d come and get you all first so we can all jump him at once.”

“Smart thinking, sis,” Kai praised. He didn’t think Lloyd would make a run for it or anything, the kid had probably genuinely fallen asleep. But having everyone there would help impress the seriousness of the situation.

“He’s on the lower part of the goddess statue?” Zane repeated. “Under the cliffs? That is a difficult landing. There is almost no room for a bird.”

“He probably just parkoured around the side,” Nya shrugged. “It’s not that hard, just a little out of the way.”

“And that’s how we’ll get there too,” Kai declared. “C’mon, let’s go wake him up.”

It was a beautiful day. The cloud barrier was a pure white, the sun was shining, the winds were calm. Tomorrow was supposed to be as nice as today. Perfect for the Wing Ceremony.

Once they got to the goddess statue, it took a few minutes to climb to where Lloyd was. The kid was fast asleep, lying on nothing but grass looking like he didn’t have a care in the world. You’d never guess he had a super important test to take in the morning. The sight probably should have upset Kai more, but Kai couldn’t bring himself to be truly mad at the kid.

“Lloyd,” Kai said loudly, crouching down and poking at the kid’s head. “Lloyd, buddy, wake up. Now is not the time to be sleeping. You can sleep after the Ceremony. Or at night, like a normal person.”

The blond shifted, then his eyes slowly creaked open. For a couple seconds, Lloyd just blinked up at them blearily. Then the recognition hit, and Lloyd shot into a sitting position.

“Oh, guys, hey,” he greeted with a yawn. “What’re you all doing here?”

“You promised you’d meet us,” Cole reminded him.

“Yeah, and you’re super late,” Jay added.

“What?” Lloyd said, cocking his head like a curious Remlit. Then he startled, craning his neck to find the sun. His eyes widened as he realized how late it was. “Oh, um-“ his cheeks reddened. “Er, sorry guys, I guess I fell asleep.”

Kai rolled his eyes. “You have an ability, Lloyd. You can fall asleep anywhere. I don’t think it’s a useful ability, but its impressive in its own way.”

“Sorry,” Lloyd mumbled, standing up.

“Did you sleep well last night?” Zane asked, gentle concern in his voice. “This is an odd time to be asleep, even for you.”

Hm, Zane was right. They’d chosen this time partially for that reason. And as much as Lloyd didn’t want to practice, he wouldn’t actively avoid them, especially after promising.

Lloyd’s face darkened in a way Kai had never seen on the boy before. He looked troubled, but the expression disappeared before Kai could analyze it further.

“I- didn’t sleep- great- last night,” Lloyd admitted. “But it’s my own fault for falling asleep. I knew I was meeting you guys soon, I shouldn’t have lain down at all.”

Nya frowned. “Why didn’t you sleep well? Nerves?” Kai had been thinking the same thing. Maybe Lloyd was actually worried about the ceremony and was just really good at hiding it.

“No,” Lloyd scoffed, immediately knocking out that theory. “I just-“ he glanced at the ground, breaking eye contact. “Bad dream.”

“Bad dream?” Kai repeated, surprised. “Kind of unusual for you. You usually have those crazy fantastical dreams. Like that sky made of sand.”

“Yeah,” Jay agreed. “Or that really big hill made of rock and fire.”

“Or the giant island full of trees,” Cole chimed in.

Lloyd’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Are you guys making fun of me?”

“No,” Kai assured him. “We’re just pointing out you almost always have fun dreams. I can’t even remember you saying you’ve had a nightmare before.”

“Yeah, well, I usually don’t,” Lloyd said. “And you aren’t describing them right.”

“That is how you described them to us,” Zane reminded him.

“Well, yeah, mostly,” Lloyd conceded, an edge of frustration leaking in. “I did have more details though. But I can’t really describe them right either.”

“That’s how most dreams are,” Cole shrugged.

“Yeah,” Nya nodded. “You should take up writing on the side, Lloyd. You come up with some really creative stuff.”

Kai grinned at the idea. “You should illustrate them too.” Because what did a ‘sky made of sand’ look like? Kai tried to imagine the sand from the riverbank somehow filling the sky, but he couldn’t picture it. “But to have a side job, you need your main job first. And to be a knight, you have to pass your Wing Ceremony.”

The others nodded, Jay adding, “Morro’s been practicing all day. Groose too.”

Lloyd rolled his eyes. “They aren’t going to make any real progress in one day.”

“Practice is always beneficial,” Zane argued. “And they have been practicing more than a single day.”

“Yeah,” Jay piled on. “And you must be nervous about it if you’re having nightmares about it. Practicing will help you feel better.”

“I never said it had anything to do with the Wing Ceremony,” Lloyd protested. “It didn’t. It was… random.”

“What was it about then?” Kai asked.

“If you wish to share,” Zane cautioned.

Lloyd shook his head, looking uncomfortable. “It’s not- I don’t know. I was in a dark place and there was this giant, black monster, as big as the goddess statue, with a huge mouthful of teeth. The mouth was all it really had, like it’s sole purpose was to eat something. I think Zelda might have been there too, but-“ Lloyd shook his head again. “Nothing bad really happened. It was just roaring and stuff but it felt wrong. Bad.”

“Huh, that sounds like an anxiety dream,” Jay said.

Cole nodded. “Yeah, especially if Zelda was there. Everyone’s nervous before the Wing Ceremony. I couldn’t eat the night before mine.”

“What a miracle,” Kai snorted, and Cole sent him a glare.

“I couldn’t sleep before mine,” Jay admitted. “And I had to take it twice, the second time was worse.” The first time Jay had taken the test, Cole had won. Failing five times disqualified you from being a knight. Jay had won his second attempt though, easily outdoing the competition. Secretly, Kai believed the only reason Jay lost to Cole was because Jay had been freaking out and Cole had been calm because, in Kai’s opinion, Jay was the better flyer. Cole did better than him at land combat though.

“I’m nervous about mine,” Nya encouraged. “Even though I know my race will be easier than yours.”

“I don’t think that’s what it was about,” Lloyd sighed. “But it doesn’t matter, it was just a dream. Just drag me off to practice already. At least Zelda won’t be able to complain about my ‘lackadaisical studies’ now.”

Nya snorted. “If she wasn’t busy working on her outfit for the ceremony, she would have been drilling you since dawn.”

“I know,” Lloyd groaned, and Kai’s lips quirked.

“She might be a bit intense, but she has the right idea,” Kai said. “C’mon, we’ve got some stuff setup.”

Chapter Text

Jay's Loftwing

It was getting dark when Lloyd started to head home. His friends had kept him training for as long as they could. Getting his nighttime flying license was one of the things Lloyd was most looking forward to when he advanced to his new class. Finally, not having to be grounded all night, to be able to glide through a star-filled sky. Lloyd was sure he was ready now even without the official classes and license, but the adults were very strict about getting the license first.

Lloyd was heading up the staircase that led to the back of the school when he spotted a figure waiting for him at the top. Morro. Great. What were the chances his cousin was here to wish him a good race?

“Hey, Morro,” Lloyd greeted cheerily, not letting the older boy get to him.

Morro glared down at him for about five long seconds before finally saying, “Your little friends got you to actually practice for once, huh? I’d almost think you were scared.”

Lloyd withheld his groan. Why was Morro like this? Lloyd swore they’d gotten along fine when they were little. He didn’t know what had changed, why his cousin had suddenly started disliking him.

Morro wasn’t Lloyd’s cousin by blood, Lloyd’s uncle Wu had adopted the boy when Morro was six. His parents had died from the same sickness that had killed Zelda’s mom and Cole's mom. The plague had torn through Skyloft, killing many people. It was the most horrific event to happen in over a hundred years. The adults were still haunted by it. Lloyd didn’t remember anything from that time, he’d been too little.

“Can we not do this, Morro?” Lloyd sighed. “The Wing Ceremony’s supposed to be fun.”

“No,” Morro snapped. “it’s supposed to be a competition.”

“Just don’t make this awful for Wu,” Lloyd begged, knowing that asking for much more was a lost cause. Morro was fighting with Wu a lot lately, but Lloyd was pretty sure the boy didn’t want his adoptive dad to be sad. Like, Morro was mad at Wu for some reason, but he didn’t want him to be miserable and he still wanted Wu’s approval. Lloyd didn’t really understand it.

“What does that even mean?” Morro scowled, green eyes blazing. “You think Wu won’t be happy when I win?”

“You already know what I mean,” Lloyd said, patience running thin. “don’t pretend you don’t. I really don’t understand what you’re trying to do. You could have taken your test early and advanced to the next class a year ago. You would have passed, you’re a great student and one of the best fliers in the academy. Everyone would have praised you for passing early and it would have all been fine and great, but no, you had to drag it out. And for what? If you wanted to race me, I’ll race you anytime, you didn’t need to do this to yourself. You’re only holding yourself back.” It was so frustrating. His cousin was so talented but just refused to appreciate it.

“Don’t patronize me,” Morro bristled, fists clenching. “And of course I could’ve passed earlier, but someone had to teach you a lesson, Garmadon.”

“Why do you say it like that?” Lloyd questioned, annoyance finally leaking into his voice. “We have the same last name.” No one really called Wu by his last name, it was too confusing to have two Instructor Garmadons in the school, but it was still his last name. The one Morro had inherited when he’d been adopted.

“Wu didn’t taint the name by going to Chen like your dad did,” Morro hissed.

“What?!” Lloyd startled, thrown by the accusation. Then he got defensive. “That was ages ago. He was young, he made a mistake. He’s already made up for all that.”

Chen’s weird cult lived out in the Dark Cloud Isles. Lloyd wasn’t entirely sure what they did out there, his dad didn’t like talking about it, but everyone knew they were bad. Anytime one of them left the shrouded islands they caused trouble for the people of Skyloft. And there were all sorts of creepy stories about dark magic, strange rituals, and other stuff they did. Lloyd had even once heard that they ate the Loftwings of their enemies- something so horrific it made Lloyd’s stomach turn at the mere thought.

“That they even let him become headmaster after that is insane,” Morro argued. Lloyd had to bite his tongue from telling his cousin a lot of people believed Morro might one day go join the cult himself. His behavioral issues weren’t a secret. “Wu should have been given the job instead. Garmadon shouldn’t even be teaching.”

“Is that what you’re so pissed about?” Lloyd asked, starting to get genuinely confused by his cousin’s rant.

“No!” Morro half shouted, getting so close to Lloyd’s face that his long black hair brushed against Lloyd’s skin. “My problem has always been you! Goddesses, you are so-!” Morro took a deep breath. “I’m wasting my time trying to get it through your thick skull. Once you lose tomorrow, you’ll realize how stupid you really are.”

Lloyd watched, bewildered, as Morro stormed off towards the academy.

Would letting Morro win fix- anything?

No, he decided. Probably not. Rewarding bad behavior never helped anything. And Morro would know if he was holding back. His cousin would accept the praise from the public, but still be furious that Lloyd was ‘babying’ him. He’d accuse Lloyd of thinking he was weak or something.

There was nothing Lloyd could do. Only hope his cousin worked through… whatever it was he was going through himself. Hopefully before he ended up doing something he really, really regretted.

The Wing Ceremony was going to create a whole lot of drama. He just hoped once it was over that everything would settle quickly.

Chapter Text

This is a Remlit, a popular pet it Skyloft. I've mentioned it a couple times in the story so far, so I figured I'd give a visual. I got this picture from the Zelda wiki. They are very cute and if they flap their ears they can fly a short distance.

Cole's Loftwing

Another nightmare?

Lloyd nervously eyed the roaring black behemoth in front of him. This was a dream. It had to be. A very lucid dream, he knew he was asleep. It felt very real for a dream, the darkness the monster exuded was suffocating, but it wasn’t his first time seeing this thing when he closed his eyes. Where had his brain come up with this?

Lloyd shivered. The monster wasn’t getting closer, he wasn’t sure if that was because it didn’t see him (it didn’t have any eyes) or it just didn’t care. Its mere existence made his skin crawl. If it actually started to move towards him…

Light suddenly burst out above the creature’s head. The light seemed to dim the darkness, even the roars became muffled. He felt like he could breathe normally again.

An unfamiliar female voice came from the light. “Rise, Lloyd. The time has come for you to awaken.” Lloyd tried to squint through the brightness to see who was speaking, but he couldn’t even make out a shape. “You are fated to have a hand in a great destiny, and it will soon find you…” What the…? Was this a stress dream like the others said? Where was this coming from? Why would his subconscious come up with this? This light and voice were new. “The time has come for you to awaken, Lloyd.”

Before Lloyd could even try to ask questions, the monster lunged upwards, chomping at the light and the light vanished. The roars grew loud again. They were starting to sound… different though. And they weren’t coming from the monster anymore. They sounded like-

Lloyd turned to his left and came face to face with a loftwing, its beak barely an inch from his face. He lurched back as it opened its beak to let out another screech. The quick movement sent Lloyd tumbling and- he was on the floor of his bedroom.

Lloyd blinked blearily, barely awake. Half his body was still entangled in his sheets. He’d fallen off his bed. Zelda’s loftwing gazing down at him. It let out a gentler trill then spat a piece of paper onto his face. Then it flew off, a couple stray blue feathers floating to the ground.

Plucking the paper from his face, Lloyd sat up. It was an envelope. It had been delivered by Zelda’s bird so he had a pretty good idea of what it was.

Opening the seal, he saw Zelda’s neat, somewhat swirly handwriting scrawled across the page. With a yawn, he began to read the letter.

‘Hey, sleepyhead. I know how much you like to sleep, so I’m sure this letter will be your alarm clock this morning. Did I guess right? Rise and shine, Lloyd! Today’s the Wing Ceremony. You promised to meet me before it starts, remember? You’d better not keep me waiting.- Zelda’

A smile slipped onto Lloyd’s lips. She wasn’t wrong. He’d better get going.

He threw on his clothes and rushed out of his dorm. He’d go out through the second-floor doors, he and Zelda were meeting up at the goddess statue.

Almost everyone was up by now. It wasn’t that early and today was the Wing Ceremony. Even the students not participating were excited to watch. As he neared the kitchen, he saw Cole, Jay, and Fledge helping the cook move boxes and barrel’s full of cooking supplies. Cloud cakes would be served after each race and pretty much everyone in Skyloft would be there. They needed a lot of cake.

“Hey, Lloyd,” Cole greeted.

“Guess not even you can sleep in today, huh?” Jay joked.

“I promised to meet with Zelda before the race,” Lloyd explained.

“You’ll do amazing in the race,” Fledge encouraged timidly, struggling to push his box towards the kitchen entrance.

“Say hi to Zelda for us,” Cole added, reaching over to help Fledge lift the box- or more like Cole carried to box while Fledge was holding on too. “I’m sure she’ll do great as the goddess.”

“I will,” Lloyd nodded. “I’ll see you guys at the race.” He wouldn’t have time to meet up with them after seeing Zelda. He was kind of cutting things close already. It was, admittedly, a good thing Zelda had sent her bird.

As Lloyd stepped outside, he was greeted with clear blue skies. Perfect. It would’ve sucked if the race had to be cancelled because of a storm. He hurried towards the stairway to the goddess statue, only pausing to give Zelda’s remlit, Mia, a quick pet.

Passing through the archway, he spotted Zelda over by the statue base. Her back was towards him, so she hadn’t seen him yet. He stopped himself from calling out to her when he heard music floating on the breeze accompanied by Zelda’s singing.

“Oh youuuth, guided, by the, serrrvant of theee godd-ess… Uuunite earrrth and skyyy… briiing light to the land.” The song sounded vaguely familiar. Maybe he’d heard it at a previous Wing Ceremony. Zelda was such a good singer.

She must have sensed him approaching because she stopped and turned around. “Hey!” she greeted cheerfully. “Good morning, Lloyd! I’m glad to see my loftwing got you out of bed. I was pretty sure you’d sleep in and forget to meet me this morning.”

“I wouldn’t have forgetton…” Lloyd protested, rubbing at the back of his neck sheepishly.

“But you would have slept in,” Zelda finished. She shook her head in fond exasperation. “Anyways-“ she held out the golden stringed instrument she’d been strumming. He didn’t remember what it was called, but he’d seen other girls with it at other ceremonies. It looked very fancy with its shining gold and winged pattern. “-look at this instrument! And look at this outfit!”

She was wearing a beautiful pink dress, a white wrap, and an ornate belt of golden circles that had a square of blue cloth with the Skyloft crest hanging off it on her left side. He’d seen other girls in the outfit, but Lloyd thought Zelda wore it best. The look fit her perfectly.

“They’re mine to use today for the ceremony,” Zelda continued. “Since I’ll be playing the role of the goddess. Aren’t they beautiful? Especially the instrument. They tell me it’s just like the one the goddess was said to have in the legends. It sounds gorgeous too.”

Lloyd nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, it really has a divine air about it. What is it called again?”

“Father says it’s called a harp,” Zelda told him. “I’ve been practicing for months to make sure I play it right. I also made the wrap myself-“ she tipped her head down at the white cloth around her shoulders. “-and we get to use it in today’s ceremony! Between this harp and this outfit, I’m going to make a great goddess today! I got you up early this morning because I wanted you to be the first to see me like this, Lloyd. So…” She twirled around to show off the outfit. “how do I look?”

“You look amazing!” Lloyd told her honestly. “Best goddess we’ve ever had.”

“Hehe,” Zelda giggled gleefully. “I don’t know about best but I do think I look good. I’m glad you think so too.”

“Ah, there you are Zelda.” They both turned to see Chief Gaepora walking up the path towards them. “Are you all prepared for today?”

“Oh, hello, father,” Zelda greeted. “Yes, I’m ready.”

The man stopped in front of them. “Ah, Lloyd, you’re here too,” Gaepora noted, nodding in approval. “Outstanding. It’s encouraging to see you up so early, given your capacity for sleep. No doubt today’s ceremony had you too excited to close your eyes for once!”

“Er, yeah, definitely,” Lloyd agreed, flustered. “Or… something like that.”

Gaepora gazed up at the goddess statue thoughtfully. “If you win today’s ceremonial race, you’ll get to participate in the post-race ritual with Zelda, so give it your best out there.” What? What did that mean? Was he implying something? Lloyd felt his face heat up. He didn’t need a ceremony to be alone with Zelda. It would be a special moment though-

“Yes…” Zelda said, interrupting Lloyd’s thoughts. “About that…” She suddenly seemed gloomy, the harp now clutched to her chest and her gaze downcast. Frowning, Lloyd’s brain raced to find a reason for the abrupt change.

Lloyd opened his mouth to give some kind of assurance but before he could Zelda burst out,” Father, I don’t know if he can do it!” Wha-? “Recently, Lloyd hasn’t been practicing much at all for the ceremony.” Oh. Oh no. His face paled slightly as he realized this was a scolding. “And even when he’s out riding his loftwing, he’s just lazily gliding around. Probably daydreaming!” Lloyd flinched. That wasn’t entirely true. He didn’t understand why so many people were convinced he barely studied or trained. He did. He just did it differently. “I don’t know what he’s thinking. He’s going to have to be in perfect control of his bird to win today. Morro certainly hasn’t been slacking off like he has.” Well at least she wasn’t scared he’d lose to Groose.

“I have been training,” Lloyd tried to plead. “I practiced a lot yesterday.”

Zelda whipped around and Lloyd shrunk under her glare. “Because Kai and the others basically forced you to.”

Lloyd squirmed, trying to come up with an argument that wouldn’t make her more mad. Thankfully, Chief Gaepora came to his defense.

“No need to worry yourself, Zelda,” Gaepora assured her, raising his hands in a calming gesture. “Though you may have a point.” Or maybe this wasn’t a defense. “Today’s Wing Ceremony tests the skill of the riders as well as his bond with his bird. Victory will not come easily. And, as you pointed out, I haven’t seen him practicing as hard as some of the other students.” Seriously, not a great defense so far. “But you’ve known him since you were both very little. You should know better than to fret about him!” Alright, they were tipping towards the positive things now, good, good.

Zelda huffed. “Me knowing him so well is why I worry.”

Gaepora’s eyes slid to the circular stone pattern in the platform beneath them. “Lloyd has been a talented rider from the start. You see, Lloyd and his loftwing share a special connection. I’ve never seen anything like it.” The man tilted his head to look up at the bird circling high above them. “Each of us in Skyloft is but one half of a pair. We are only made whole by our loftwing, the guardian birds that the goddess bestows each of us as a symbol of her divine protection. It is a momentous occasion when a youth meets their loftwing here under the great statue of the goddess.” A fond smile appeared on the man’s face, expression reminiscent. “Ah, but that first meeting between Lloyd and his loftwing was extraordinary. The bird that came to him was an Emerald Loftwing. It is a breed so rare we were sure that it had vanished from the line.”

Lloyd still didn’t really get why everyone thought his loftwing’s color was such a big deal. Yeah, it was the only one of its kind. Yeah, it was a brighter green than other green loftwings and green loftwings were one of the rarest colors already. But it was just a color at the end of the day. His loftwing was awesome because he was awesome, it had nothing to do with his feather color. Morro’s bird having dark green feather didn’t make his bird lesser than Lloyd’s.

“Yes,” Gaepora recalled, “and the boy and his bird seemed to share a profound connection from the moment they met. I’m sure you remember it as well as I. What a sight! The little boy just hopped up on that bird and gracefully flew away, without even a moment of instruction! And judging by how jealous you were that day, I’d say the friendship shared with his bird didn’t go unnoticed by you my dear.” Zelda still didn’t look happy, but at least she didn’t seem mad.

Thinking back to his first flight was magical even now. He’d ridden on his parents’ birds before, but riding on your own was something different. He’d been so small back then. Even on his tiptoes he’d barely been as tall as his loftwing’s legs, the bird had needed to crouch just so Lloyd could clamber on.

Fondness warmed Lloyd’s heart and he cast out his senses for his bird. It wasn’t something everyone could do, it was hard to explain, but he didn’t need to be able to see his bird to feel his presence.

Nothing.

Lloyd frowned. This was… How could there be nothing? There’d never been nothing. He searched the sky visually for bright green feathers. There were no clouds nearby at the moment, he should be able to see him. He could see Zelda’s and Gaepora’s, but no sign of his own. A nervous chill crept up his spine.

He was only half listening as Gaepora continued, “Ah, but who could blame you? I’m sure you weren’t the only one envious of the powerful bond shared by Lloyd and his bird. Anyone who is a part of something special is bound to catch some nasty looks sooner or later.” The man let out a chuckle.

His bird wasn’t up there. A pit opened in Lloyd’s stomach. How was that-? Maybe it wasn’t his bird, maybe there was something wrong with Lloyd. He didn’t feel sick, but his bird had to be okay, right? How could something even-?

Zelda sighed, then huffed in frustration. “This contest is nothing to laugh at, Father! This ceremony is part of the final test for those training to become a knight of Skyloft!” She nervously plucked at one of the harp strings, a single note ringing out over and over again. “If Lloyd doesn’t fly well enough during the race…”

Maybe he just needed a different angle? Lloyd started to drift sideways so he could see behind the goddess statue.

“Calm down, my dear,” Gaepora soothed. “It will be fine.” He shook his head. “Honestly, it’s almost as though you become a completely different person when you worry about Lloyd.”

Zelda was quiet for a few moments, then her troubled eyes hardened with determination. She turned and marched towards Lloyd, who wasn’t paying attention. He was kind of having a crisis.

“Listen, Lloyd, you’d better fly your heart out today,” Zelda ordered. “At the very least, you need to squeeze in a warmup before the race!” She grabbed his arm and started dragging him along. He didn’t fight her, more occupied with scanning the skies above them for his loftwing. “Come on, you’ll thank me later.”

Lloyd jolted when he realized they were on a skydiving platform. The wooden structure jutted off the island into the open sky, ready for someone to use it to dive off and mount their loftwing. Why were they here? What were they doing?

“Here we are,” Zelda declared. “Go on now. Jump and call your loftwing. It’s almost time for the ceremony, so be serious for once.”

“Wait, Zel,” Lloyd protested, trying to scramble away from the edge, but Zelda blocked him. “I can’t right now. My bird- I can’t sense my bird. I don’t think he’s nearby.”

Zelda’s eyebrows furrowed, the reaction anyone would have to such an outlandish claim. A loftwing was always near its rider. For it not to be- it never happened.

“What do you mean you can’t ‘sense’ your bird out there?” Zelda asked, sounding genuinely confused. She wasn’t the only one. “Oh wait, I get it.” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re trying to weasel out of having to practice! Nice try, but you aren’t fooling me.”

Lloyd shook his head desperately. “No, Zelda, I’m being serious. He’s not there. I can’t see him either. I don’t-“

If he’d known Zelda was going to push him, he could have braced himself and held his ground or dodged it entirely. He hadn’t known though. One second Zelda was smiling brightly and saying, “Off you go!” and the next he was plummeting downwards, air billowing around him.

Bringing his fingers up to his mouth, Lloyd whistled for his bird, hope bubbling within him. Even if his loftwing was further away for some reason, he’d come when called.

He wished he was more confident in that.

Six seconds later and still no sign of his bird. You fell a long way in six seconds. No one was nearby to catch him, everyone was by the plaza getting ready for the ceremony. He was falling face up so he could see Zelda and Gaepora watching him from the island. They must realize something was wrong by now. Why wasn’t his loftwing coming?

He tried whistling again. No response.

This really was not how he’d seen today going. He watched as Zelda dove off the platform, her bird coming when called, and the pair of them started nosediving after him. She would probably make it in time.

His heart was beating like crazy.

His eyes slid to the rapidly approaching cloud barrier beneath him. He really wanted Zelda to make it. He didn’t want to die yet. He didn’t want his friends and family to grieve for him. Kai and Nya especially would be devastated if Lloyd died in a way so similar to how their parents had died. Kai might never recover. He didn’t want Zelda spending the rest of her life blaming herself for his death.

There was though, a part of him that wanted to see if there was something beneath the clouds. Was it nothing, a void like most people believed? Like his dad believed? Or was there at least some level of truth to the tales of the Surface? Maybe not the unimaginably vast land the legends said, but something. Chen’s cultists believed in it enough to do crazy things. Maybe-

Large talons wrapped around his torso and he was rising, the cloud barrier once again becoming distant.

“Hang in there, Lloyd,” Zelda begged him, voice very high pitched. He couldn’t see her face from here, but she sounded scared. “I’ve got you.”

Her bird practically crashed back onto solid ground. The loftwing collapsed, panting heavily. Lloyd’s heart was hammering in his chest, and he didn’t even try to push off from the grass yet. Zelda moved over to stroke her distressed bird.

Gaepora strode over to them at an urgent pace. “Are you two all right?”

“I’m fine,” Lloyd answered breathlessly, heart finally started to slow down.

“I’m sorry, friend,” Zelda told her bird softly. “I didn’t mean to push you so hard. You didn’t sprain your wing, did you?”

Lloyd sat up so he could see Zelda properly. She had a guilt-stricken face. Before he could try to comfort her though, Gaepora spoke again.

“This is very odd, Lloyd,” the man said, expression deeply troubled. “What could have possibly happened to your loftwing? For a bird to ignore the call of his master… it’s unheard of!”

“I have no idea,” Lloyd informed him, standing up. “Everything was fine last night. The last I saw him was when I fed him after dinner. I haven’t seen him at all today. And I still can’t sense him.” What if he’d gotten hurt somehow? How could that have happened though? There were no storms, no word of an attack from Chen. A loftwing wasn’t a delicate butterfly, they were the strongest creatures in the sky.

“This is a problem,” Gaepora frowned. “Especially considering the Wing Ceremony is about to start…”

“Lloyd,” Zelda said, still crouched by her bird. She didn’t look up from the feathers she was stroking. “when you said you couldn’t sense your loftwing, well… I should have believed you…” She turned to look at him and Lloyd was horrified to see her eyes were wet. “I’m sorry.”

“No, Zelda, it’s fine,” he rushed to assure her. “I get it. I know it sounded crazy. And you caught me so- no big deal.”

“…” Zelda didn’t seem convinced, but the threat of tears was gone. “I need to tend to my own loftwing,” she said, casting a worried look back down at her bird. “I’ll help you look for yours once I’m done.”

They all startled as a loud clanging rang out in the distance. That was the academy bell, the first race was supposed to be starting.

“My, how did it get to be so late?” Gaepora fretted. “Your uncle is presiding over the ceremony, Lloyd. I will go speak to him, have the race delayed a little.”

“Couldn’t the second wave of racers go first?” Lloyd suggested.

It was Zelda who shook her head. “They won’t be ready yet. They aren’t expecting to race so soon. Besides, once word gets out about your bird being missing, people won’t be able to give the ceremony the attention it deserves. Such a celebration shouldn’t be tainted with a dour mood. And you know Kai and the others would miss seeing Nya’s race to help with your search.”

Lloyd deflated, recognizing she was right. She was usually right. This little incident had been one of the extremely rare exceptions.

“Quite right, my dear,” Gaepora nodded. “Go search for your bird, Lloyd. I shall speak to Wu about the race.”

Chapter Text

Zane's Loftwing

Kai was seething. Practically vibrating with rage.

“Oh, just wait until I get my hands on Groose,” Kai fumed, storming down the path from the academy to the plaza at a speed that had Zane and Lloyd rushing to keep up. “I’m going to destroy that moron!”

“We don’t know for sure if he had anything to do with it,” Lloyd pointed out mildly, though he didn’t sound even a little convinced that Groose wasn’t at fault.

“Of course, it was him!” Kai snapped. Lloyd’s apparent lack of anger was pissing Kai off even more. “How are you so calm right now?! He nearly killed you!”

“That’s a bit dramatic,” Lloyd said, scanning the sky above them, maybe looking for his own bird or for Groose’s. That Lloyd was trying to downplay what had happened made Kai’s blood run even hotter.

“It is an accurate description,” Zane disputed grimly. This was the angriest Kai had ever seen Zane, the dude was usually pretty chill. Kai was glad someone else was taking this seriously.

Their hunt for Groose was leading them towards the plaza. The idiot wasn’t trying to hide, plenty of people had seen him pass by. Did he think he could just wait out the clock at the plaza? He couldn’t honestly think he wasn’t a suspect?

“What if Zelda hadn’t realized what was happening?” Kai argued. Would Kai have realized? Probably not, and that terrified him. He wouldn’t have thought Lloyd’s bird wasn’t coming, no one would think that. He probably would have thought Lloyd was just playing around. By the time he would have realized Lloyd’s whistles weren’t being answered, it would have been too late for Kai to make the dive before Lloyd hit the barrier.

“Well, that wouldn’t have been good, I guess,” Lloyd admitted uncomfortably. Kai’s temper deflated a bit as he realized the event had maybe shaken Lloyd more than he let on. This attitude might just be Lloyd’s way of coping. Thinking back, Lloyd had gotten pretty quiet when Kai had saved him as a kid too.

“It seems that we’ll need to post more rescue knights in that area,” Zane commented. A rescue knight’s job was to patrol and catch anyone who fell off the island. Mostly, the job was aimed to protect small children who hadn’t met their bird yet. Someone Lloyd’s age would be expected just to call their own bird, though had a rescue knight been in the area they would have of course caught Lloyd.

“There usually is one in that area,” Kai told him. “But with the ceremony, and the Yiga being more active lately, we’re stretched thin, and no one was really supposed to be there today.” The statue was supposed to be limited to ceremony participants today, so no little kids would be in the area to need saving.

“Yeah, it wasn’t great timing,” Lloyd agreed.

As they passed a row of houses, Keet, who had graduated last year, waved from the bench he was sitting on. “Good luck in the race, Lloyd!” he called out. “Looking forward to seeing that emerald loftwing of yours in action!” Clearly, Keet had not heard the news yet.

“Thanks,” Lloyd returned, but didn’t say anything else. Kai understood not wanting to rope in every random person they met on the way into their search. Keet wasn’t even a knight, he’d only gone to the academy for basic flight training.

Kai’s eyes locked on to Groose, Cawlin, and Stritch as soon as the plaza came into view. The group was sitting by the watchtower, backs facing Kai and the rest of the plaza. Other people were milling around the edges of the plaza, wondering why the race was late to start, but most of the plaza was clear. The main section of the plaza was meant for the racers today. The two other racers who weren’t part of Groose’s gang were out searching for Lloyd’s bird, so Groose and his cronies had the area to themselves.

Bristling, Kai’s mouth opened to yell and get this interrogation started, but Lloyd jerked him back. Kai turned to look at the blonde in confusion. Lloyd tapped a finger to his lips. Ohhhh. A stealthy approach. Catch them off guard. Kai could get behind that. He nodded, following Lloyd’s lead.

As they got closer, Stritch’s voice became audible. Both Stritch and Cawlin were massaging Groose’s back and arms, the kiss-up losers. At least Morro had self-respect.

“You know Groose,” Stritch grumbled. “That sure was a pain, what with the scratching and pecking.” Kai’s fingers twitched. Lloyd signaled him to hold, which was incredibly frustrating, but understandable. If they were lucky, the gaggle of idiots would confess on their own.

“Course it was,” Groose boasted haughtily. “You thought a big emerald loftwing like that was gonna do down without a fight?” Well there was no misinterpreting that sentence. Lloyd still shook his head to say stay back though. Which- fine. “But we got him, and I don’t care how tough those birds are supposed to be. He’s not getting out of that pen anytime soon boys.” Anger finally sparked in Lloyd’s eyes.

Groose started to stand up, so Cawlin and Stritch straightened up too, turning around first. The pair flinched back when they saw the three onlookers just a few steps away. Kai smirked as the two stepped back, effectively cowering behind Groose. Then Groose turned around.

Groose startled as he registered who had been watching them but, to give him very little credit, he didn’t shrink back like his underlings. “Whoa! Lloyd!” the bully gasped, before pulling himself together. “So, uh… yeah. Just how long you been standing there?”

“Long enough,” Lloyd answered drily.

Groose seemed unsettled by the response but hid it quickly. “What’s your problem, anyways?” Groose scoffed. A smug grin spread across his stupid face. “Oh, wait… I got it. You’re here to talk about today’s race.”

“You know why he’s here!” Kai exploded, taking an aggressive step forward.

“He ain’t talking to you,” Cawlin barked, then cowered back again when Kai lunged towards him. The little creep was so lucky Lloyd held him back, Cawlin was more than a foot shorter than him, it would be like punting a ball.

Groose ignored the whole exchange, all his attention on Lloyd. “I can see it in those dopey eyes of yours,” Groose mocked, getting in closer. Groose had a few inches on Lloyd, towering over the kid. Lloyd didn’t look intimidated. “They’re pleading-“ Groose made his voice go higher pitched. “-Oh, Groose, can you please find it in your heart to let me win today? Please?” He chuckled, apparently finding himself hilarious.

“Lloyd never said such a thing,” Zane corrected unnneccessarily. “Nor would he ever say such a thing. You are clearly the one at a disadvantage.”

“Shut it weirdo,” Groose snapped.

“Groose…” Lloyd warned, fists clenching.

The dumb brute began to circle Lloyd like a ravenshark. “You’re just desperate to win so you can get some alone time with Zelda up on the Statue of the Goddess at the end of the ceremony. Well, sorry pal, Groose doesn’t do charity for wimps. My advice? Work hard and wish with all your heart. You might even come in third.”

“This is about Zelda?” Lloyd groaned. “Do you even care about becoming a knight?” Groose was never going to become a knight.

“She’s never going to be interested, dude,” Kai growled. “She is never even going to be slightly curious.” Zelda hated him. Like, really hated him. For obvious reasons.

“What would you know?” Groose waved off, not even glancing at Kai. “So, Lloyd, if you didn’t come to beg, did you come to surrender? Say, come to think of it-“ Groose made a big show of scanning the sky. “How come I don’t see your bird? I can’t imagine what happened to him.” His smirk grew wider. “Do you think his tiny brain got confused by all the clouds and got lost?” Cawlin and Stritch both giggled.

“Give him back,” Lloyd demanded coldly.

“Huh?” Groose shrugged, not even trying to convincingly play dumb. “I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You fucking-!” Arms were holding Kai back. “Lloyd, let me go!” The kid did not let him go. And Kai didn’t want to punch Lloyd to be able to smash Groose’s face in. “Urgh, Lloyd almost fell through the barrier!” he shouted, earning the attention of some of the distant crowd. People glanced over to see Kai struggling to get to Groose, but no one came over. Admittedly, it wasn’t a super uncommon thing for him. “You egg-brained moron! If Zelda hadn’t caught him in time-!”

Groose cut him off, rolling his eyes. “You know, Lloyd, we’re all getting sick and tired of how you never let anyone forget you and Zelda go way back. You’ve been friends since you were kids? Big deal. It doesn’t change the fact that you float through life with your head in the clouds.”

It was true that Lloyd and Zelda had been friends since they were toddlers. They were both children of the most important and influential families in Skyloft so that had given them an early connection. The sadder connection was the two had bonded over their lost parent. Zelda had lost her mother to the plague and Lloyd had been abandoned by his father when the man ran away to join Chen’s Yiga cult.

Kai still hadn’t fully forgiven Garmadon for that. His wife had just had a baby and the community had just been ravaged by a plague and his solution had been to go join an insane group of Surface obsessed cultists? It wasn’t that Kai couldn’t understand it, but understanding why someone did something didn’t make the thing okay. A lot of people had gone to join Chen’s gang after the plague. Kai had vague, fear-filled memories of the time the sickness had spread through Skyloft, and the scars would never fully heal. Cole still remembered his mother dying quite vividly. Kai completely understood how scared people had been at the time. With a wife still weak from childbirth and a newborn son, Garmadon must have been especially terrified. And many people had fallen for Chen’s ‘the goddess imprisoned us on this island. The Surface is real, and we’re being kept from it’ birdshit. Garmadon had been about to inherit the headmaster position, so to have him betray them had shaken all of Skyloft.

It had taken years for Garmadon to finally realize he’d made a mistake. The man had returned shortly after Lloyd met his bird. That was nine years Garmadon had missed out on of Lloyd’s life. Nine years he’d spent helping Chen. Lloyd had confessed to Kai that his dad had secretly visited him a few times over the years, but that didn’t really make it any better.

Garmadon was the only deserter who came back though. And with his experience and insider information, they were able to beat back Chen to the point he was barely a threat anymore. So everyone had forgiven him. Wu had been thrilled to have his older brother back, giving up the headmaster position to pass it back to his brother. For all his past mistakes, Garmadon had proven himself since coming back and Kai had grown a semi-grudging respect for the man.

Lloyd had forgiven his father remarkably fast. Groose wouldn’t get that kind of mercy.

“You’re going to be the next headmaster?” Groose continued to rant. “Yeah right. Dopes like you are dragging our honored academy through the mud.”

“And just who might you be talking about Groose?”

They all turned to see Zelda glaring at Groose, hands on her hips. Nya was standing a little behind her, also giving Groose a not so friendly look.

Groose was so screwed.

“Oh… Zelda. Hey,” Groose stumbled, flustered by his crush’s sudden appearance. “Nah, it’s… uh…”

“Don’t even try it, Groose!” Zelda snapped, striding forward, pushing Lloyd aside so she could get right in Groose’s face. She jabbed an accusing finger at him. “You’re picking on Lloyd again, aren’t you. He’s a student at the academy like all of us. Why do you insist on bullying him around so much?” How Zelda could be so stern and heated when scolding someone, but still oddly nice- or maybe it was elegant?- Kai didn’t know. When he chewed someone out, there was a lot more insults and swearing involved. To better convey his emotions.

“Yeah…” Groose said slowly, obviously not really processing Zelda’s words. Creep was too distracted by having Zelda so close. “I suppose…”

Zelda quirked an eyebrow. “You suppose? Suppose what?”

“I… suppose…” Groose dragged out. “You… er.” Then he snapped out of his daze. “Pfft! Forget it.” He waved Zelda off and started stomping away. “I wasn’t supposing anything.”

“Where do you think you’re going?!” Kai challenged. Groose and his goons were heading towards the plaza skydiving platform. They couldn’t just walk away! Kai followed them, now free from Lloyd’s restrictive grip.

“Yes, you must release Lloyd’s bird,” Zane agreed. He didn’t sound very intimidating, but Kai appreciated the support.

Groose completely ignored them, pausing at the edge of the platform. “Okay, we’re out of here, boys,” he told Cawlin and Stritch. He then looked over Kai’s quickly approaching head. “Later, Lloyd! Hope you find your bird, or else you’re gonna have to sit out today’s race. That would be a real setback for you.” They were going to jump before Kai got there, but that was fine. He’d catch them on his bird. “So find that bird or get real used to the taste of failure. It’s your special flavor.” The three idiots jumped off the platform and a chorus of whistles rang through the air. Less than two seconds later, they were flying away on their birds.

Kai was about to go after them when Lloyd grabbed his arm. He hadn’t even heard the kid approach. “Lloyd!” he hissed. The more time they wasted, the further away Groose got.

“Don’t bother, Kai,” Lloyd sighed, frustration dripping from his voice. “He wants us to follow. To waste time. He’s not going to tell us. He knows how much trouble he would be in, and he doesn’t want to look weak in front of his crew. If he didn’t break for Zelda, he won’t break for anyone.”

…

Dammit. Sometimes he hated how sensible Lloyd was.

Kai sullenly followed Lloyd back to the others.

“Those lunkheads definitely did something to your bird, Lloyd,” Zelda huffed. “But we’ll get no help from them. We’ll have to find your bird ourselves.”

“Why are you all hovering over here?” Morro?

Lloyd’s cousin was crossing the plaza to where they were. He didn’t look like he was in a good mood, but he never was.

“This place is for racers only right now,” Morro continued irritably. “And unless you two-“ he gestured at Zane and Kai “-managed to monumentally screw up and fall back multiple years in the span of a single day, you aren’t racing.” To Nya. “Your race isn’t until later.” And to Zelda. “I’m not sure about you, you are participating in the ceremony, I guess, but I’m sure you have better things to do.” Morro was always more polite to Zelda. It wasn’t because she was a girl, Nya was never spared. Probably just came down to her being the future leader of Skyloft.

Zelda shook her head. “Lloyd’s bird is missing. We have strong reason to believe Groose is responsible. I don’t suppose you’d know anything about that?”

Kai rolled his eyes. Like Morro would confess.

Somehow, Morro’s face twisted to look even more annoyed. And- frustrated? Kai could almost hear his teeth grinding as he said, “Missing bird, huh? Nope, don’t know anything about it. You’d have to be a real idiot to do something like that.”

Wait, Morro hadn’t helped? Kai had just assumed he had.

“C’mon, Morro,” Lloyd pleaded. Kai didn’t know why he was bothering, Morro slapped down every peace offering Lloyd so often gave him. “You can’t want to win the race like this. You didn’t delay taking the test to not race me.” Oh, that was a good point. The guy had rejected the opportunity to take the test early so he could ‘teach Lloyd a lesson’. Lloyd not being able to race would make that sacrifice meaningless. Maybe Morro would tell them where Lloyd’s bird was.

Morro shook his head stubbornly. “I don’t know anything about it. Like you said, I never would let you use a lame excuse like that to coward out of racing me.”

“But Groose told you where he hid the bird?” Nya tried.

“I haven’t really even talked to Groose today,” Morro lied, eyes fixed on one of the stones that made up the plaza instead of meeting his cousin’s eyes.

“You know he’s manipulating you too, right?” Lloyd attempted to reason. Probably fruitlessly, but might as well give it a shot. “He’s hoping you’ll effectively give up and drop out of the race too if I’m not there so he can win.”

“You give him too much credit, Lloyd,” Morro sighed. “He isn’t that smart.” They could agree on that at least. The eternal grouch spun around. “If the race isn’t starting yet, I’m out of here.” He glanced back at Lloyd. “Good luck finding your bird. Disqualifying isn’t satisfying for anyone.” Then he was gone.

“Seriously?” Kai groaned. “He wouldn’t even give us a hint?” Was he impressed that Morro wasn’t selling out his friends, or disgusted? It was a difficult emotional blend to pick apart.

Lloyd was watching his cousin’s retreat with a strangely unbothered look. In fact, he almost looked a little-happy? The kid let out a long breath, then said, “Guess we’ll just have to search for him. He has to be somewhere on Skyloft, no way Groose managed to drag him to another island. Skyloft isn’t that big. There are only so many places someone can hid a big bird.”

“I’ll fly around the island to look for any sign of your bird,” Zelda volunteered.

“So will I,” Kai jumped in. He’d find something for sure.

“Me too,” Nya piled on.

“I shall assist Lloyd with the ground search,” Zane offered.

“Thanks guys,” Lloyd smiled tiredly. “We’ll have to move fast. We don’t have much time.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Kai assured, cracking his knuckles. “Speed is my middle name.”

“No it isn’t,” Nya denied flatly.

“Well it should have been.”

Chapter Text

Wu's Loftwing

Cole was nearly drooling at the smell of the cloud cakes wafting from the oven.

“Ugh, the waiting is torture,” Cole moaned, peeking past the wooden pillar for a glimpse of Henya removing the sweet, fluffy cakes from the oven. Cloud cakes were the best thing about ceremonies.

“You’ve only got to wait a few hours,” Jay reminded him. “I don’t know how you’re thinking about your stomach right now.” The other boy bit his lip anxiously. “It’s a lot less stressful when you aren’t racing yourself, but I still feel nervous for Nya and Lloyd.”

Cole shrugged. “I’m not worried, they’re both top tier fliers.” Morro did have Cole a bit worried, but he was still confident Lloyd would win in the end. He sighed. “Let’s just head to our spots now that we’re done moving things. Hanging around here will just taunt me with cakey goodness.”

“Sure,” Jay agreed, not really hiding his amusement. Jerk. Reveling in Cole’s agony.

They headed out of the kitchen and back into the hallway. Fledge was still standing by the empty barrels.

“Hey, Fledge,” Cole called out, intending to invite the lower classman to walk to the plaza with them. The kid jumped nearly a foot in the air at hearing Cole’s voice. Odd. Fledge was always a little jumpy, but that was an extreme reaction, even for him. Especially when it was just Cole.

“Everything okay, Fledge?” Jay asked.

“Y-yeah,” Fledge stammered, face paling. “G-good. F-fine. Great. I’m, um-“

“You don’t seem fine,” Cole observed. His eyes narrowed. “Groose didn’t bother you on his way out, did he?” He had seen Groose and his cronies, minus Morro, pass by a couple of minutes ago. And Fledge was their second favorite target for bullying, behind Lloyd. Fledge was kind of a blonde stick with a soft-hearted nature who lacked the confidence to stand up for himself so he was easy pickings for the larger, and much dumber, Groose.

Fledge’s eyes widened, and he fidgeted in a way that made it clear, yes, that was what had happened. But why lie about it? The kid knew Cole and Jay would stick up for him.

“What’d he say?” Jay asked suspiciously, having come to the same conclusion as Cole.

“Nothing, it’s nothing,” Fledge assured unconvincingly. “I have to- go get ready for the race.” What did that even mean? Fledge wasn’t one of the racers. But Fledge ran out the door before Cole could ask any questions.

Cole and Jay exchanged glances.

“That was weird,” Jay noted.

“Yeah,” Cole agreed, then shrugged. “But there’s nothing we can do if he doesn’t tell us. Groose was probably just throwing a fit about his soon-to-be defeat. He’ll lose a lot of his bluster when he loses. If we’re lucky, he’ll shut up for at least a month.”

“I guess…” Jay sighed, starting after Fledge sympathetically. Groose used to bully Jay a lot too. He still did, but way less often and with much less success than when they were kids. Jay was a lot tougher these days.

They started to head towards the academy’s front door. “I hope Wu’s bird doesn’t fly too far out,” Cole chatted idily. “I want a good view of the action. Good thing Lloyd’s bird stands out so much, he’ll be easy to track.” Those bright green feathers were the only ones of their kind and they were easy to see against the blue and white sky.

Jay nodded. “They’re putting the border at Azure Island.”

“That’s good,” Cole said. Just from that he could guess where the rest of the borders were. It would be a good area for the racers to work with. Nothing dangerous but not just open sky either.

They’d only taken a few steps outside when Karane, one of their classmates, rushed up to them, her red hair up in their usual pigtails and her light green uniform was in perfect condition. She was on the shorter side, Cole always had to look down to meet her eyes. She seemed surprised to see them for some reason. “What are you two doing here?”

“Um, we were helping Henya move cooking supplies,” Cole answered, sneaking a glance at Jay, but he seemed confused too. Had they volunteered to help with something else and forgotten? They weren’t on the aerial performance team. They weren’t on the decorating team. What else would they have been expected to do?

Karane’s eyes widened. “Wait, have you guys not heard yet?!”

“Heard what?” Jay asked, tilting his head.

“Lloyd’s bird is missing,” she told them grimly.

“Lloyd is missing?!” Cole startled. “But the race is about to start! He didn’t sleep in, we saw him earlier.”

“No,” Karane shook her head. “Lloyd’s not missing. His bird is. Just his bird.”

Cole’s eyebrows furrowed, brain trying to process what she was saying. Lloyd… couldn’t find his Loftwing? It sounded outlandish; he’d never heard of a bird not coming when called. And Lloyd in particular had an extra strong bond with his bird.

“How can his bird be missing?” Jay spluttered.

“That’s what people are trying to figure out,” Karane shrugged, expression serious. “Lloyd hasn’t seen him since last night. When he jumped from the goddess statue platform, his bird didn’t come. He was seconds from going through the cloud barrier-“ Cole’s heart constricted with terror. Lloyd had almost died?! “-but Zelda managed to catch him.” Thank the goddess. “It was a close call.”

"So no one's seen his bird?" Cole asked, trying to wrap his mind around such a thing 

“Apparently,” Karane nodded, crossing her arms. “Obviously, it’s extremely concerning. There are no leads so far either. And there were no storms or sightings of Chen’s cultists, so it doesn’t seem likely he’s stuck injured somewhere. They’re postponing the race to give Lloyd a chance to search for his bird. If he isn’t found in a couple hours though, they’ll probably have to do the race without them.”

The race? Who would care about the race when- wait…

“This is… very convenient timing for someone who wants Lloyd out of the race,” Cole observed slowly. It was. But would Groose really stoop that low?

Karane frowned. “You suspect Groose? I mean, yeah, he’d definitely benefit from it. But messing with someone’s bird? What could he even have done? Even if his own bird had helped him, Loftwings don’t go down easily.”

“That’s for sure,” Cole agreed, mind racing. His feet were itching to run and check on Lloyd. Even if he hadn’t been physically hurt, the trauma of almost falling to your death… Just the idea of it gave Cole secondhand anxiety. That wasn’t even factoring in how worried Lloyd must be for his bird. The kid must be freaking out. First though…

“Jay,” Cole prodded. “We have to find, Fledge.” His behavior had been very shady. Cole didn’t think Fledge had done anything himself, but maybe he’d seen or heard something.

“Fledge?” Jay and Karane repeated in unison, both equally confused.

“Yeah, I-“ Cole didn’t want to throw Fledge into the whirlwind when he might not have done anything wrong. “He said something earlier that I didn’t think much of at the time, but hearing about this…”

“Oh, oh, that,” Jay realized. “Yeah, we should probably ask about that.”

“Well, okay,” Karane shrugged. She turned to look out at the sky past the school. “I guess I’ll leave that to you then. I’m going to search near the Thunderhead with Pippin. If you find anything out, make sure to let everyone know.”

“Will do,” Cole promised, then dragged Jay back inside. “Where do you think he ran off to?”

“I don’t know,” Jay said, flustered. “He didn’t seem to be heading for his room. Do you really think he knows anything?”

“He must know something,” Cole reasoned. “He panicked when he saw us and booked it out of there. Groose probably threatened him to keep his mouth shut.” That guy- if Groose really was behind this, he’d officially be worse than Morro.

They began to walk through the hallway, glancing into rooms for any sign of either Fledge or Groose as they went. “Ugh, why is this happening?” Jay moaned loudly. “This was supposed to be a fun day. Kind of stressful, but mostly fun. And now Lloyd almost died, his bird is missing, he might not even get to race, we might get Groose or Morro in our class- Do you know what they’d do to me, Cole? And the rest of us too, but you know they’ll go after me first. I almost can’t believe Groose would go after someone’s bird, but I can believe it. Because he’s the worst. What was he thinking? What if Lloyd had fallen through the barrier? I never thought Groose wanted Lloyd dead.”

“Groose isn’t that bright,” Cole reminded him drily. No sign of Fledge or Groose on this floor, but the chances of that had been low anyways. “I doubt he wanted to cause any real harm. He probably assumed someone would catch him. Or Lloyd would sense his bird wasn’t nearby and wouldn’t jump at all.” Lloyd’s unusual ability wasn’t a secret. That didn’t even start to excuse Groose’s actions though.

Jay scowled. “Him having the brain of a chuchu isn’t an excuse! If he did this, he is not going to get away with it.”

“No, he isn’t,” Cole agreed. They ascended the staircase quickly. “But we need to keep a level head if we’re going to fix this.”

“I have a level head!” Jay rebutted, words rushing out of his mouth. “It is so level. It is beyond level. Under these circumstances, screaming into one’s pillow and writing a list of everything that could have or will go horribly wrong and what consequences you’ll now have to deal with so you can start planning on how to deal with it would be expected. I’m not doing that. Because I am so rational and calm.”

Hm, they did need to be more rational about this. “We’re wasting time looking everywhere,” Cole decided. “We need to narrow things down. If Fledge was trying to hide, where would he go?”

“Uh,” Jay considered. “His room is way too obvious. That would be one of the first places anyone would look. I doubt he’s left Skyloft, he’d be scared someone would see him, especially since people are out searching for Lloyd’s bird. He’d want to bunker down somewhere nearby. Not the bazaar, probably not someone else’s house or dorm, nowhere around the plaza, somewhere no one would be right now…”

“The Sparring Hall!” Cole exclaimed. No one would be there now. There were no classes today and today’s ceremony was all about flying, not combat. The building would be empty.

“Oh yeah!” Jay gasped. “That would be the perfect spot right now!”

“Let’s go!” Cole declared. They backtracked to the first floor’s back door and zipped across the school grounds. When they burst into the Sparring Hall, they spotted Fledge right away, he was gloomily staring at the weapon’s rack. The kid spun around when he heard the door slam open.

“Fledge!” Jay shouted. “What do you know?” Maybe a bit too aggressively forward.

“Wha-a-about what?” Fledge asked nervously, cowering away from them. He did look very guilty.

“Lloyd’s loftwing is missing,” Cole informed him more calmly, though this likely wasn’t news to him. “Groose let something slip, didn’t he? We won’t be mad, but we need to know what you know.”

“I-um,” Fledge stuttered, gaze darting around. Cole waited; arms crossed.

It took Fledge only about thirty seconds to crack.

“I’m sorry!” Fledge blurted. “I wanted to tell Lloyd. I wanted to tell you. But if Groose found out I told…”

“Don’t worry about him,” Jay demanded. “We’ll deal with him. Spill the info. Groose can’t get away with this! Lloyd practically fell through the barrier when his bird didn’t come.” Jay’s voice wavered a little at the end. Like knowing how close they’d come to losing Lloyd was still sinking in.

Fledge’s face paled and his eyes widened with horror. “R-really?”

“This is serious, Fledge,” Cole pressed. “Even if the bird is fine and Groose plans to give it back after the race, he can’t get away with doing something like this.”

“I-I, when I was in the hallway,” Fledge confessed. “I was behind a stack of crates when Groose and his gang came in. They didn’t see me, so I hunkered down to try to avoid them. Then Morro bursts in and he and Groose start arguing about Groose having hid Lloyd’s bird, and, well, I couldn’t believe it at first, I thought I was misunderstanding something. But when Groose said ‘they’ll never find it behind the waterfall’ I realized they really had done it. Morro didn’t seem happy about it, he was actually really mad. Said that the hiding place wasn’t the issue and they shouldn’t have done it at all. It sounded like Groose had done it without telling Morro.”

“Really?” Jay questioned, raising an eyebrow. “Morro was against it?”

“I’m not surprised,” Cole shrugged. “As awful as Morro is, he wouldn’t want to beat Lloyd like this. He didn’t delay taking the test just to win because Lloyd couldn’t even race. We might even be able to get him to tell us where Groose hid the loftwing. There aren’t too many waterfalls in Skyloft, but the quicker we find Lloyd’s bird the better.”

Fledge wrung his hands together, wilting further. “I was going to try to sneak away and warn Lloyd, but I’m such a clutz… Groose grabbed me and told me I better keep my mouth shut if I ever want to ride a bird again…”

Scowling, Jay shook his head angrily. “He’s even stupider than I thought, which is impressive because I already thought he was an idiot.” To Cole he said, “Let’s go tell, Lloyd.”

Cole nodded. “You come too, Fledge,” he ordered. That way they’d be able to protect him from Groose and give Lloyd a firsthand account of what had happened.

“Alright,” Fledge agreed quietly.

They were only halfway across the grounds when Lloyd and Zane came hurrying over the walkway bridge that led to the school’s second floor door. Perfect, that saved loads of time.

“Lloyd!” Cole called out. “Down here!” Lloyd and Zane paused, coming up to the railing. “We’ve found out something about your bird!”

Lloyd’s eyes lit up. “Really?” Instead of going through the school to get down to them or even using the crates stacked up by the wall as makeshift stairs, Lloyd vaulted over the side of the bridge, hanging off with one arm for a second before dropping the rest of the way down. Kai was largely to blame for Lloyd’s more… adventurous way of getting around. Not that Cole could really complain, they all did it sometimes. Kai and Lloyd just did it the most, they both got bored easily.

Zane used the crates to hop down like a more sensible person.

“What did you find out?” Lloyd asked, rushing up to them.

“Fledge overheard Groose talking about your bird,” Cole explained, nodding towards Lloyd’s classmate. Lloyd’s lips thinned. “Groose threatened him to keep quiet about it. He’s definitely taken your bird. Tell him, Fledge.”

“I’m so sorry,” Fledge apologized, eyes squeezing shut. “I really wanted to tell you but if Groose found out I told you…” His eyes opened and flitted towards the school. “Just a little while ago, when I was helping Henya move supplies to the dining hall, Groose and his buddies came in. They didn’t notice I was there and started talking about their plan to hide your loftwing.” He met Lloyd’s eyes guilitily. “I wanted to warn you, Lloyd. But just as I tried to sneak away…” He gulped fearfully. “Groose and his gang grabbed me. They said that if I told you, they’d make sure I would never be able to ride a bird again.”

Lloyd let out an aggravated huff that was not directed at Fledge.

“It sounds like Groose hid your loftwing behind a waterfall,” Cole added.

“How fortunate,” Zane noted. “We were unable to get him to disclose the loftwing’s location.”

“Wait, you’ve already talked to him?” Jay asked.

“Yeah,” Lloyd nodded, frustrated. “He was the number one suspect from the start. And Groose has never been sneaky. We literally overheard him bragging about it to Cawlin and Stritch when we walked up. He still denied it when we accused him though. He wouldn’t even tell Zelda. I thought Kai was going to strangle him and chuck him off the island.”

“He was quite irate,” Zane agreed. Oh, Cole could imagine.

“Have you asked Morro yet?” Cole suggested. The chances that Morro would tell were pretty high.

“He wasn’t talking either,” Lloyd sighed. “He definitely knows, but he refused to snitch on his friends. Honestly, I’m kind of glad crushing me isn’t his top priority.” Well, that was a bright side of it, Cole supposed. “We should be fine though. If you heard Groose say behind a waterfall that doesn’t leave a lot of options.”

“Reviewing the waterfalls on Skyloft,” Zane analyzed. “The logical hiding spot would be the caves under the Source. It is a place no one goes due to the monsters and there is ample room for a loftwing.”

“Makes sense,” Lloyd nodded. To Fledge, he said, “Don’t worry, Fledge. Groose slipped up on his own, he doesn’t have a reason to blame you for anything.”

Cole frowned. “The monster population has increased recently, right? Wasn’t the entrance sealed off?”

“That isn’t hard for a human to get around,” Lloyd said, “It’s just to keep the monsters in. The cave’s our best bet. It shouldn’t take long to search.”

“But- what about the monsters?” Jay cautioned.

“It’s just keese and chuchus,” Lloyd shrugged, unconcerned. “I’ll just take my sword with me. My uncle will understand.” They weren’t supposed to be running around town with their weapons, they were still in training. Lloyd didn’t seem at all worried about the rule breaking. Perks of being the headmaster’s son and the lead sensi’s nephew.

“We’ll go with you,” Cole volunteered. Jay and Zane nodded in support.

“I don’t think we need four people for that,” Lloyd pointed out. Which, yeah, true, Lloyd would be fine by himself but Cole didn’t want to be stuck not doing anything.

“Then I shall update the headmaster on the situation,” Zane offered, “and make sure they do not begin the race. Fledge, you can accompany me.”

“Great, thanks,” Lloyd nodded. He turned to the Sparring Hall. “Let’s go grab our weapons.”

Chapter Text

Morro's Loftwing

Jay raced to keep up with the others. He hated that he was the only one who seemed nervous. Kai was angry. Cole was annoyed. Lloyd… was a little hard to read. He mostly seemed annoyed. Why was Jay the only one worried? What if Lloyd’s bird wasn’t in the cave? What if the Loftwing was hurt? What about the monsters in the cave? Yeah, chuchus and keese weren’t the most intimidating monsters out there, but the monsters were notably more aggressive recently with no explanation. And there were rumors of a big, scary, never before seen monster lurking around at night. What if that monster was in the cave?

They all jumped across the stones to the other side of the river with practiced ease, then ran up the slope to the cave. A row of logs had been tied together and pounded into the ground to block the entrance. They ignored the sign warning them to stay away and leaned in to examine the barrier.

Cole pushed against it experimentally. “Hm, it isn’t in there too deep. If we dig around the bottom, we can loosen it enough to move it.”

“’Kay,” Kai nodded, throwing himself into digging. Cole joined him. There wasn’t really room for more diggers without getting in each others way so Jay held back. Kai and Cole didn’t need help anyways, dirt was flying.

Jay fidgeted as he watched them, occasionally glancing over towards the plaza where the crowd was growing bigger. Lloyd was staring at the logs like he could see through them and into the cave.

“He’s definitely in there,” Lloyd murmured.

Jay perked up. “Really?” Some people said Lloyd was faking his special bond with his bird or just imagining it, but Jay knew it was real. “That’s good. Or bad, I guess. At least we know where he is.”

“There we go!” Kai cried out triumphantly, pushing the now loose gate forward then helping Cole haul it out of the hole.

Jay had been in the cave before, both for training and exploring, but it looked darker than he remembered. Was that a thing? Could caves get darker over time?

Lloyd went in first and the rest of them followed close behind. They’d only gone a few steps when a keese swooped down at them with a screech. Lloyd batted it down easily with his sword. The next two went down just as quickly.

“There are definitely more monsters in here than usual,” Jay fretted, eyes darting around nervously. It was colder in here and damp. Water dripped down the stalactites on the ceiling. There were a few holes in the ceiling throughout the cave so it wasn’t pitch black, but it was still very dark, none of the torches were lit. No one was supposed to be in here.

Kai scoffed. “A few keese aren’t going to stop us.”

“Keep an eye out for chu’s,” Cole cautioned, gaze sweeping the cracks and rocks on the ground and ceiling for any sign of the blob monsters. Those things could pop up out of nowhere.

As they made their way through the cave they were attacked by more keese and some chuchus, but no new monsters. Jay was very relieved there was nothing worse lurking around. Kai and Lloyd did most of the fighting, cutting through the little monsters with their swords. Cole took down a bunch with his scythe. Jay specialized in nunchucks himself, both bladed and unbladed. He’d brought his bladed ones to the cave, they were fighting monsters after all. He killed a few keese, but he was near the back of the group, most monsters didn’t make it that far.

When they were about halfway through the cave, Jay interrupted Kai’s grumbling about Groose to point out, “Er, guys? If he were in here, wouldn’t we have at least heard him by now? Unless he’s knocked out, which really wouldn’t be good…” He wasn’t even sure how one could knock out a Loftwing besides throwing a boulder at their head which didn’t seem like something even Groose could manage. Then again, he hadn’t thought Groose was capable of taking on and containing a Loftwing when he woke up this morning.

Lloyd frowned. “We’re getting closer… Maybe he penned him up in one of the little caves outside?”

Cole’s eyebrows furrowed. “Would any of those fit him? Those are more dents in the wall than caves.”

“There’s a couple that could,” Lloyd nodded. Then, after a thoughtful pause added, “Makes more sense if he’s out there actually. Groose wouldn’t have had to fight off so many monsters and it’s close enough to the waterfalls to help drown out any cries too.”

Jay sighed sulkily. “We could’ve gotten there faster from the sky then.” They didn’t need to be in a dark cave fending off monsters.

“Well, we’re almost out now,” Kai noted positively. And he was right, the next chamber looked much brighter even from here. The exit was waiting for them at the back of the last chamber. “C’mon, pick up the pace.”

They hurried through the last couple caverns and burst back out into sweet, sweet sunlight. The fresh breeze that brushed against Jay’s skin was reassuring. People belonged in the sky, not underground.

The stretch of land they were standing on curled around the island and out of sight. They were lower on the island now, having descended while going through the caves. The upper part of the island jutted out overhead, like a rocky ceiling. The bottoms of some islands floated above their heads in the distance. They’d only taken a few steps when Zelda’s voice called out, “Lloyd!”

Turning, they saw Zelda and her bird gliding towards them. Jay cast a worried glance at the rocky ceiling not too far above them. That was going to be a tight landing, there wasn’t much space… The section of land they were standing on only went about thirteen feet out. She managed it fine though, flapping to a careful stop and hovering to let Zelda hop off.

“Lloyd, I was hoping I’d find you here,” Zelda said, hurrying over. “I heard you’d gone searching for your bird around the waterfall, so I thought I’d fly around and help you look.”

“Did you see him then?” Cole asked hopefully.

Zelda’s expression drooped. “No. Though there was a spot I didn’t have a good view of. The waterfall and rocks get in the way. I take it you haven’t found any sign of him yet then?”

“No,” Lloyd confirmed, but he didn’t sound upset about it. “He’s definitely close though. He must be in that place you couldn’t see. There’s a little cave that could fit him there and Groose and his gang hang around there sometimes.”

“Let’s hurry then,” Zelda pushed eagerly. “Practically everyone’s already waiting at the plaza for the race to start.”

They heard it even before they rounded the bend. It was semi-muted by the rushing water of the falls, but the unmistakable screech of an enraged Loftwing could still be heard. Lloyd sped up, and the rest of them ran to keep up.

Jay let out a gasp at the sight. Large metal nails had been pounded into the stone wall. Ropes tied between the nails were holding several large wooden boards in place. And behind those boards was Lloyd’s emerald Loftwing, trapped in a cave so small it could barely turn around. Jay couldn’t remember ever seeing a Loftwing look so furious. The bird was screeching, feathers puffed out angrily, flapping its wings, scratching at the boards, clearly doing everything it could to escape. Jay couldn’t fathom how Groose and his gang had managed to get the bird in there and keep it there while they put up the boards.

When the bird saw Lloyd though, he immediately calmed down. Tucking his wings to the side, he cooed softly, looking expectantly at Lloyd.

For a moment, real anger glinted in Lloyd’s eyes. It was a rare expression on Lloyd. It made him look a bit scary.

All the guys threw themselves at a different set of ropes, hacking away at them with their weapons. It was easier than trying to dig the nails out of the stone wall. Zelda held back, watching them anxiously.

A minute later, the boards fell to the ground and Lloyd’s bird stepped out of the cave. It spread its massive wings and let out a pleased cry. Jay was struck with the reminder of just how big Loftwings were. He knew they were big, of course, but it wasn’t something someone constantly thought about.

The Loftwing stepped forward to nuzzle Lloyd, who grinned and patted its beak. Zelda began checking it for injuries. Thankfully, the bird looked fine as far as Jay could see. He, Cole, and Kai moved away to give the trio more space.

Kai smiled viciously. “All that idiot Groose did was delay the inevitable. He’s going to look even more stupid and pathetic when he loses now.”

“How in the skies did Groose pen him up without getting his arms torn off?” Jay wondered aloud quietly.

“It’s Lloyd’s bird,” Cole answered. “The bird reflects its rider. It didn’t want to hurt Groose.”

Jay half grinned. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

Kai huffed. “I wish the kid was less passive with those morons. What I would give to see him clock Morro in the face just once…”

That was the funny thing. Lloyd was very capable of taking his bullies on. It wasn’t that he was scared, like Jay. Or too weak, like Jay. And it wasn’t even fear of punishment either. With Lloyd’s dad being headmaster, Lloyd being on such good terms with the mayor, Morro and Groose being unpopular whereas Lloyd was very well liked, and Morro and Groose’s bullying ways being well known, it would be a minor punishment at most. But despite all of that, Lloyd still never smacked back. He was too softhearted for it. Jay wished he would sometimes, it was the only thing that would ever make them stop. Words never worked.

“It would have to get really bad before he even considered it,” Cole shrugged.

“He better not go easy on them in the race,” Kai grumbled.

“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” Jay said drily. “He isn’t that much of a pushover. I think he’s been looking forward to this.”

“We should go tell everyone that Lloyd’s found his bird,” Cole suggested suddenly.

Kai’s eyes widened. “Oh, yeah.”

Cole started tugging them towards the island’s edge. “We’re going to go tell everyone you’ve got your bird back, Lloyd,” he called over to the boy. “Get to the plaza as soon as you’re sure your bird’s alright.”

Lloyd glanced up from his bird. “Okay, thanks.”

“Um, do all three of us need to go to deliver a message?” Jay asked, confused.

“Ugh,” Kai whisper-groaned. “Honestly, Jay, you have zero sense of romance. We’re trying to give Zelda and Lloyd a chance to have a moment before the race, obviously. No wonder you’ve never had a girlfriend.”

Jay blushed a deep scarlet. “That’s not-” Could he and Nya have a special moment before her race? Would he be able to get her alone? What should he say? What if he said something stupid? Should he wait until after the race? But what if she lost? No, what was he thinking, that was crazy, she was definitely going to win. “Ugh, let’s just go.”

Chapter Text

Chen's Loftwing

Lloyd’s heart soared as he watched his bird take to the sky. It was like his bird’s freedom echoed within his own chest.

Smiling, he ran to the edge of the island to keep his bird in view. Zelda followed, also grinning. His bird arced through the clouds, the bright green feathers striking against the whites and blue.

“Your bird seems just fine, Lloyd,” Zelda observed happily. “We should hurry to the ceremony.”

Lloyd nodded; spirits high. The jubilation buzzing through his skin would put him in a good mindset for the race. “Yeah, let’s just give him a minute to stretch his wings. I think he was cooped up in there all night.”

It was the silence that made him glance over. He’d been expecting a response of some kind, but Zelda was looking away from him, seemingly distracted by something. Confused, Lloyd followed her gaze, but all that was down there was the cloud barrier. Nothing of interest, certainly nothing to make her lips press together like that. That was her perturbed lip press.

“Zel? You okay?” Was she still mad at him? He thought they’d gotten over that after the whole nearly falling to his death thing.

“Um, yeah, I’m fine,” Zelda assured, but her eyes didn’t leave the barrier.

“Hey, look, I try to avoid bragging,” Lloyd attempted to convince. “but I’m seriously not worried about the race. I’m more worried about the fallout from Morro not winning. He’s really good, but I’ve been racing him since we were kids, I know I’ll win.” Morro was not going to keep his cool during the race and he’d make a mistake.

Zelda half rolled her eyes. “No, no, it’s not that. And don’t be so cocky, you have to give it your best out there.” The words lacked their usual sharpness. “It’s…” she turned, her pretty, deep blue eyes searching his, and Lloyd’s heart fluttered, both with admiration and concern. “I… I heard this voice a few moments ago. Did you hear it too?”

Lloyd frowned. “A voice? No.” Not even a distant shout. “Maybe the wind just sounded weird?”

Zelda shook her head slowly. “It’s been happening a lot lately,” she confessed. “Almost like someone is calling out to me.” Lloyd frowned harder. She was hearing strange voices calling out of her regularly? That had to be someone pranking her then. Or now that she was listening for it she was mishearing other things. Zelda fiddled with her fingers anxiously. “Do you think a lot about what’s beneath the clouds?”

“Beneath the barrier?” he checked. She nodded. He let out a sigh. “You know my dad hates me, or anyone, talking about that Surface stuff. Says it doesn’t exist and no good comes from pretending it does.” Lloyd understood why his dad was so vehemently opposed to talks of the Surface, but Lloyd did think he tended to overreact.

“I know you don’t really talk about it,” Zelda acknowledged. “I asked if you think about it.”

Lloyd hesitated. His dad would be so mad if he ever heard Lloyd say it. But this was Zelda asking. “All the time,” he admitted quietly, like his dad might somehow overhear.

“Most people believe there’s nothing down there,” Zelda mused. “Some believe there is land but it’s completely barren. But Father’s old texts talk about the Surface, a whole world down there, far more vast than Skyloft. The Surface theory has a bad reputation these days, with Chen and the Yiga claiming it as their reason behind all their wrong doings. But Father’s texts date back to long before Chen’s time. Do you think the Surface is real, Lloyd?”

What a crazy conversation to randomly be having. She was genuinely asking though so- “I’d like to think that it is, even if I never see it myself. I… I can’t explain it really. But I feel like it must exist.”

Zelda nodded pensively. “Do you think it’s awful down there? It must be, right? If the goddess sealed it away.”

This was starting to sound like borderline cult speaking points, but Lloyd knew Zelda would never even consider joining Chen’s trash.

“Dangerous, maybe,” Lloyd answered. “No, definitely dangerous, actually. Even if it isn’t still crawling with monsters, there are plenty of natural things that can kill you in an unfamiliar place. But our ancestors used to live down there so it must have been nice then. And if it is as big as they say, it must have all sorts of wonderful and weird things. New plants, new food, new animals, things we can’t even imagine existing here in Skyloft. Even if there is nothing new and it just has stuff we already have in Skyloft, the extra space and resources alone would be worth it.” Skyloft could feel so suffocatingly small sometimes. Most of the time.

“So would you go?” Zelda asked. “If you could? Not in the stupid Yiga, human sacrifice throw people off the island way. Like if one day the goddess opened the barrier.”

“If the goddess opened the barrier? Absolutely! Wouldn’t everyone?” It was never going to happen, but if they were talking theoretically.

“I’m not sure,” Zelda considered. “It could be quite scary. And dangerous, like you said. The monsters are probably far worse there.”

“Would you want to go?” Lloyd asked curiously. They’d never talked too much about the Surface before, the topic being so taboo.

Zelda was quiet for a few long seconds. “Just thinking about it fills me with a terrible anxiety I don’t fully understand. But I still want to see the rest of the world the goddess created. I would go.”

“Well, if by some miracle the barrier does open in our lifetime,” Lloyd grinned, “we can go together. And you wouldn’t have to worry about the monsters, I’d protect you.

Zelda smiled. “I know you would.” When had they gotten so close? Their faces were nearly touching. Lloyd’s blood went hot.

Zelda startled suddenly and pulled back and Lloyd silently cursed. “Oh my,” she gasped. “Sorry, Lloyd. We don’t have time to talk. Let’s get going.” What? Oh wait- the ceremony! Crap! Everyone was waiting for them. They didn’t have time for daydreaming. “Look,” Zelda pointed, “your bird’s waiting for you.”

And sure enough, his bird was hovering nearby watching him expectantly. “Yeah, we need to hurry,” Lloyd agreed, speaking quickly. “They need both of us to start.” He jumped off the island and whistled for his bird.

Chapter Text

The plaza was packed when Lloyd flew over. The air was cracking with anticipation. Flags bearing the crest of the Knight Academy and Skyloft snapped and danced in the wind, along with strings of colorful banners strung all over. Even more pinwheels than normal had been put up all over the plaza as well. The stands were full to the brim with spectators eager to watch the race. Many loftwings were also milling around on the ground by the stands, secure in knowing that their riders wouldn’t be needing them for flying at the moment. Thankfully, no one looked angry about the delay. Some looked concerned, but not angry.

As Lloyd swooped down into the race area, a ripple of cheers broke out from the crowd. He could pick out Kai’s especially loud shout and he spotted his friends all sitting together in one of the stands to his left. He waved at them as he hopped off his bird and hurried to where the others participating in the ceremony were gathered. As he joined their ranks, the first peal of the bells rang out across the island, signaling to everyone the race was about to start.

“Lloyd,” Mavis greeted. The brunette looked relieved. “You found your bird! Is he okay? Is he good to race? What happened?”

“Yeah, where’d you find him?” Avel asked.

Lloyd eyed Groose, who was standing off to the side looking very displeased, as he answered, "Someone penned my bird up in one of the caves behind the source waterfall."

Mavis and Avel's eyes widened but before either could say anything, Groose was strutting forward, pushing past them to get in Lloyd's face.

“Well, this is just great," Groose sneered. "Because you and your dumb bird can't tell time-" Lloyd twitched, holding himself back. "-all the prerace warm-ups me and the guys did were for nothin'. Now I'm all stiff." The taller boy rolled his shoulders. "We've been waiting forever for the race to start, and they delay it for you?" Groose glared down at him, unjustified indignation drenching his expression. "I don't get it. The big flake gets special treatment? You're almost a man, and yet you still can't seem to go anywhere without Zelda or-"

“Shut up, Groose,” Morro snapped, stalking forward.

Groose's gaze flicked to his friend in annoyance. Lloyd wished Morro was speaking up for Lloyd's sake, but he knew he wasn't. His cousin just wanted the satisfaction of beating Lloyd in the race. He would have been livid if Lloyd had been forced to forfeit. This was just part of his superiority complex or inferiority complex or whatever his issue was.

Morro turned to Lloyd, a smirk twisting his lips. “I’m glad you found your bird, Lloyd,” he drawled. “Now everyone will be able see the difference between someone actually good at flying and someone who just flaps their wings and hopes for the best.”

Lloyd rolled his eyes. “Oh come on, Morro. Think up a good jab at least. You can’t pretend I’m not a good flier. Everyone knows I’m a good flyer.”

Morro scoffed. “You have some natural talent, sure. But some of us actually put effort in. You can’t go through life thinking everything will just be handed to you on a silver platter.”

“Oh, I know you aren’t going to just hand me the win, Morro,” Lloyd sighed, exasperated. “Believe me.” A mischievous glint sparked in his eyes. “So no complaining when I win. In fact, I’ll be wanting a written and signed admission that I do train and practice. Because you know I do, and I don’t know why you keep pretending I don’t.” He knew his training regime wasn’t as rigid or intense as Morro’s and he found the desk-bound lessons boring. That didn’t mean he wasn’t putting in the work.

Lloyd didn’t understand why Morro always acted like Lloyd’s very existence insulted him. Lloyd had tried everything to mend their relationship, they’d gotten along fine as kids. He didn’t know why that had changed. He’d tried apologizing for perceived slights. He’d tried open communication, laying bare his own feelings. He’d even tried to emulate Morro’s harsher training style to earn his approval. He’d run errands, done favors, anything to bridge the gap. But nothing worked. When he tried to adjust to his cousin’s criticisms, it was either not good enough or Morro would simply switch gears and latch onto some new grievance. Eventually, Lloyd had stopped really trying.

“You’re not going to win,” Groose interrupted, the booming voice an unwelcome intrusion. Lloyd felt a surge of annoyance at the brute’s constant need to insert him into everything. “Zelda’s sailscloth is as good as mine,” Groose declared, puffing out his chest. Then his expression grew moony. “And we’re going to have our special moment up on the Goddess Statue, just the two of us.” Ew. Lloyd mentally shuddered. He really had to win this. For Zelda’s sake. And, y’know, getting his night license, moving into the same class as his friends, etc. Lloyd had a lot riding on this race. He had to win.

Lloyd could tell Morro was holding back an eyeroll, but he didn’t lash out at his friend. “Sure, Groose. Just fly your best.” Then he spun around and stalked over to the starting line. Groose shot Lloyd a smug look and sauntered after Morro.

“We should go too,” Lloyd said to Avel and Mavis. Out in the open expanse of sky beyond the plaza, the seniors were finishing up their extended airshow. It was supposed to just be a quick show before the ceremony, but they’d dragged it out to buy Lloyd more time. Their grand finale painted the sky with bright strokes of color- three loftwings soaring in perfect sync, trailing plumes of smoke to create the crest of Skyloft. Lloyd was grateful they’d been so prepared and had been able to make the wait more bearable.

Both older teens nodded. “Not that either of us have a chance,” Avel joked, not sounding upset about it. “Everyone knows this race is either yours or Morro’s to win, Lloyd.”

“Yep,” Mavis agreed. “But no one is going to judge us with competition like this.”

"You never know," Lloyd encouraged. "Me and Morro might be so busy swiping each other that one of you could swoop in for the win." Lloyd didn't intend to let Morro distract him like that, but he couldn't just tell the two they had no chance of winning. "And it’s still a great time to show off your skills to Skyloft either way."

“That’s the way I’m looking at it,” Mavis grinned. “And then everyone will know I’ll pass next semester for sure.”

“Next semester will be a bit bigger too,” Avel added. “There’ll be enough for three races, so more spots available.”

The three of them headed to the starting line and Lloyd could hear the excited chatter of the crowd growing louder. As they approached, Lloyd’s father hurried over to meet him. Avel and Mavis continued to their starting positions, but Lloyd held back to talk to his dad. The man was wearing the headmaster gi for the ceremony which stood in stark contrast to the worry etched on his face. Lloyd felt bad that he’d probably added a few more silver threads to his already greying brown hair. “Lloyd, are you alright?” his dad asked, voice laced with concern. “Is your bird okay?” His worried gaze swept over Lloyd, searching for any sign of injury, his eyes lingering on his son’s face as if he expected to find some hidden wound.

“I’m fine, dad,” Lloyd assured. “Really. Let’s just start the race. Everyone’s been waiting long enough.”

His dad’s eyes narrowed. “Did you find out who messed with your loftwing? Was it cultists or someone from Skyloft?”

“Someone from Skyloft,” Lloyd answered. “But we can deal with that later.”

“Lloyd, if it was Groose,” his dad began, voice rising with barely suppressed anger and eyes blazing. His dad could have quite a temper. Especially if he thought someone was threatening his family. “he should be disqualified from the race. Possibly even expelled from the academy. He can’t-”

Lloyd cut his dad off. “Later, dad. I want him to lose the race fairly.” He let out a short sigh. “And I’m sure he wasn’t trying to kill me or anything.” Lloyd had just happened to be in the one place that hadn’t had rescue knights at the time. “He’s just dumb. He can be punished later. We don’t need to cause a scene and dampen everyone’s spirits even more right now.” Groose would kick up a massive tantrum if they tried to boot him out right now and the rest of Skyloft didn’t need to deal with that. And Groose had no chance of actually winning the race, so they didn’t need to worry about his behavior being rewarded.

His dad’s mouth twitched, not looking pleased, but nodded. “Fine,” he conceded. “We’ll address it after the race.” Then he smiled and nodded at Lloyd to go to the starting line. His angry expression softened into gentle pride. “Fly well, Lloyd. I know you’ll do great.”

“Of course I will,” Lloyd responded cheerfully, lightly bumping his dad’s shoulder. "They’ll put me in the history books for how fast I reach knighthood.”

His dad smiled fondly. “No need to rush things quite that much. Take your place, son. I’m going to go give the opening speech.”

Lloyd’s place was, unfortunately, between Morro and Groose. Both boys glared at him as he joined them; Morro predatory and Groose annoyed. Ugh, they were both taller than him too. He was glad Cawlin was here, so Lloyd wasn’t the shortest in the lineup. He and Mavis were about the same height, though Mavis might be a tad taller.

A few feet away, on a raised podium, stood his uncle Wu. His uncle was also wearing his gi for the ceremony, blonde hair neatly combed. Beside him was his pale gold loftwing, looking over the racers with keen interest. Wu gave Lloyd a happy nod in greeting. For some reason, the action made Morro’s face twist petulantly.

“I’m glad you made it in time,” Wu said warmly.

“You could at least pretend you want me to win, old man,” Morro sneered, a bitter edge to his voice. Lloyd blinked at his cousin, surprised. Why wouldn’t Wu be happy if Morro won? Of course he would. Was Wu not even allowed to be friendly towards Lloyd now?

Frustration passed over Wu’s face, but it was gone quickly. “I’ll be very happy if you win, Morro,” he assured, warm and sincere. “And we’ll celebrate your victory.” He paused, looking down at Morro tenderly. “But even if you don’t win, I’ll be immensely proud to see you fly so well. You don’t-”

“I’ll win,” Morro snapped. “I don’t need you to be ‘proud’ of some pathetic participation trophy.” His words dripped with scorn. “Now shut up and do your job for the ceremony.”

Sadness clouded Wu’s face, but he didn’t attempt to argue with his son further. Lloyd bristled on his uncle’s behalf. Why did Morro always have to be such a jerk? And uncle Wu had always been great to Morro. He didn’t deserve Morro’s stupid angst.

“Stop being a baby, Morro,” Lloyd hissed quietly. Morro turned to snap at him, but stopped himself when he saw that Garmadon had stepped onto the podium. A hush fell over the crowd as the headmaster raised his megaphone to address the crowd.

“Your attention please,” his dad began. “At last, we are ready to begin the Wing Ceremony. I was beginning to worry that we’d have to proceed without Lloyd, but luckily, that is no longer a concern. Before we begin, I will explain the rules of today’s competition.”

Lloyd shifted on his feet excitedly. Only a couple minutes now…

“I have attached a small statuette to this bird,” his dad continued, nodding to Wu’s bird. Lloyd could see the carved wooden bird statue hooked on a chain tied to the bird’s foot. Once Lloyd had that… “who will be released into the skies. The boundaries have been marked with the orange flags you see there-” he gestured out to the sky. “This is a simple test, yet requires great skill. Whoever catches the bird and claims the statuette will be the winner and will pass to the next step on the path to knighthood. When the whistle blows, the racers may begin their pursuit.”

Glancing out into the vast expanse of skies where the race would take place, Lloyd tried to guess what tricks his uncle's bird might try to throw at them. This wasn't going to be easy. His uncle's bird was a skillful flyer and would be lighter without a rider. And with this being a test, the bird would throw all kinds of aerial acrobatics at them. Even without the other riders trying to cut each other off, this would be a true test of skill.

"It is the goddess who grants us our birds," his dad said, gazing up at the swirling tapestry of loftwings circling overhead. "She protects us and provides for us." He sounded so sure, so certain of the goddess's benevolent intentions. He was so glad his dad had turned away from the cult's bizarre, anti-goddess beliefs and returned home to them. "This statuette is a symbol of the sacred bond between rider and bird. Thus, when the winner claims the statuette, he or she shall fly to the Great Goddess statue, along with the young lady chosen to play the role of the goddess this semester, the lovely Zelda. The winner shall then offer the statuette to the goddess in gratitude for her divine gift and complete the ceremony with Zelda." He turned towards the racers. "Do any of you have any questions before we begin?"

All the racers shook their heads. Avel fidgeted slightly, looking nervous. Cawlin and Stritch, on the other hand, seemed oddly unconcerned, their expressions bordering on nonchalant. They likely knew they were long shots and weren’t even going to try to win. Mavis, however, radiated eagerness, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. Groose wore his usual smug grin, as if the race were a formality and the prize was his for the taking. Morro, in stark contrast, was the picture of intense focus, his gaze fixed on some distant point in the sky, his mind clearly already mapping out his flight strategy.

Garmadon gave a curt nod. "Very well. Prepare yourselves. You may begin when the whistle blows, not a moment sooner." Wu’s bird took off, giving the bird a head start on the racers. Anticipation surged through Lloyd, a thrilling mix of excitement and nervous energy bubbling in his veins. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and his palms were slightly sweaty. But beneath the flutter of nerves, a sense of exhilaration bloomed. He was ready.

Lloyd was bouncing on the balls of his feet, ready to move at a moment’s notice. So when the whistle pierced the air, he surged forward like a coiled spring unleashed. He felt someone bump his shoulder hard as they passed him (Groose), but it didn't slow him down. He launched himself off the platform, the wind rushing against his face as he plummeted momentarily before he called for his bird. A flash of green feathers appeared underneath him and Lloyd reached out and grasped his bird’s strap.

Around him, the other racers were also mounting their birds, the air filled with the flapping of wings and the excited cries of the loftwings. Above him, the sleek, dark silhouette of Morro's loftwing blotted out a patch of the bright sky. Below, Cawlin struggled to get settled on his reddish-brown bird, while Stritch, looking only slightly less awkward, perched atop his pale green companion. To his right, Mavis had already found her seat on her sturdy brown loftwing, her posture radiating confidence. He scanned the horizon, searching for his uncle's loftwing. There! A flash of pale gold off in the distance to his left.

Lloyd urged his loftwing forward, setting a course for his uncle's loftwing. He wasn't the only one who'd spotted him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Morro, Groose, and Avel also angling their birds towards the same target. Knowing that a swift descent would be more effective than a labored climb when he got closer, Lloyd gained altitude. The wind whipped through his hair as he ascended, the figures below getting smaller.

Morro and Groose, mirroring Lloyd's tactic, were also climbing higher into the sky. Avel, however, opted for a different approach. He remained lower, skimming closer to the cloud barrier, perhaps hoping that the higher riders would force Wu's loftwing downwards, driving it into his reach. It was a reasonable strategy and kept him from directly having to fly near more talented fliers like Morro and Lloyd. But Lloyd would wait until everyone was closer to the target before pulling strategies like that. Right now, his primary objective was clear: reach Wu's loftwing as quickly as possible. Every second counted.

Lloyd dodged Groose and his dark blue bird as the other boy tried to ram into his side, moving his bird out of their path with a graceful arc. He and his bird were perfectly in sync, his loftwing responding to the slightest shift in his weight, the merest suggestion of a tug on the reins. He hadn’t even turned to look at Groose. He kept his eye on Wu's loftwing, which had entered a passing cloud, making him much more difficult to see. He couldn't lose sight of him, or he'd have to waste time finding him again.

Inside the cloud, it became even harder to see. Lloyd wished his uncle's bird were a brighter color. It was far easier to see the other competing birds than it was to see his uncle's bird. Morro especially stood out with his bird's dark colors. His cousin was dipping downwards to follow Wu's now rapidly descending bird.

Lloyd plunged after them, his loftwing responding instantly. Suddenly, something large and oddly shaped zipped past his face, startling him. It was far too small to be a loftwing, and it definitely wasn't one of the floating rocks that dotted the Skyloftian landscape. What was-?

He banked sharply, turning back to see Cawlin, his face a mask of mischievous glee, hurling large, oval projectiles at him. Eggs, Lloyd realized, likely pilfered from the kitchens, and they were coming at him fast.

Lloyd bristled, narrowly dodging the next egg hurled his way. Cawlin, and likely Stritch as well, weren't even trying to win the race! They were just helping Groose and Morro. Was this cheating? It was a murky gray area. Technically, there were no explicitly stated rules against such tactics. Racers were allowed to get in each other’s way, and while the eggs were certainly annoying, they wouldn't cause any real harm if they hit him, just slow him down or knock him off course. And there was no written rule against projectiles. However, it definitely went against the spirit of the competition.  And surely, intentionally not trying to win while actively assisting another racer had to violate some rule.  But proving it would be difficult.  Cawlin and Stritch could always claim they were acting in their own self-interest, that they were trying to improve their own standing in the race.  No one would believe them, but it couldn’t really be proven untrue.

Dodging yet another egg, Lloyd couldn't help but feel a grudging admiration for Cawlin's surprisingly accurate aim. Honestly, being able to hit a moving target while soaring through the air like that was a skill in itself. But Cawlin's barrage couldn't last forever. He'd surely run out of eggs soon; those things were practically the size of pumpkins, and Lloyd couldn't imagine he'd stashed that many.

Sure enough. No more eggs were thrown in his direction. Lloyd felt a surge of triumph that he'd endured the attack. He hadn't been throw off the trail, he was still closing in on Wu's loftwing, neck and neck with Morro, both of them vying for the lead. The pale gold bird, however, was heading straight towards a treacherous section of the sky, a region notorious for its unpredictable winds. Here, currents collided and swirled, creating small, short-lived mini-twisters that could buffet even the most experienced fliers. A tricky area to navigate, but Lloyd had been through such places many times. In fact, this was a great opportunity to gain more sky while others fell behind.

A mini-twister materialized to Lloyd's far right, but it was too distant to pose a threat. He felt the telltale shift in the air, the subtle change in pressure that heralded the formation of another one, and preemptively veered away before it could fully form. Morro, with his usual skill, was also navigating the treacherous air currents with ease. Mavis, too, was managing to avoid the swirling vortexes, her loftwing responding deftly to her commands. Cawlin, however, wasn't so lucky. A sudden, violent gust of wind caught him off guard, and he was unceremoniously knocked off his bird. The mini-twister dissipated as quickly as it had formed, and Cawlin's loftwing, with admirable loyalty, dove to catch his rider. But that was a lot of lost sky while Cawlin was tumbling through the air. He was likely out of the race completely now, so far behind that catching up would be nearly impossible.  He wouldn't even be able to try and sabotage Lloyd anymore.

Sensing the gathering energy that heralded the birth of another mini-twister, Lloyd angled his loftwing perfectly. As the air currents began to swirl, he banked sharply away, the pre-twister winds giving him a tremendous boost, a surge of speed that propelled him forward. He shot ahead. He was in front of Morro now! His uncle's loftwing was now so close, only about thirty feet away. Lloyd’s body was tingling with excitement. He was so close…

They were out of the twister field now. Lloyd noticed his uncle's loftwing's eyes flick back, a quick, assessing glance in his direction. The golden bird then abruptly shifted into a steep dive, tucking its wings close to its body as it aimed for a narrow passage between two small, rocky islands. Lloyd did the same. The rough, craggy walls of the islands seemed to rush past, inches from his loftwing's folded wings, the air whistling through the tight gap. They squeezed through the narrow passage, emerging on the other side in hot pursuit. He sensed Morro close behind, also executing the tricky dive with his usual precision. Then, a sharp yelp pierced the air, followed by the frantic flapping of wings. Lloyd glanced back to see Mavis's loftwing struggling, her left wing now moving awkwardly. The poor bird had clipped the rocky wall of the passage and Lloyd winced sympathetically.

He was only fifteen feet away now, the statuette dangling tantalizingly from the chain trailing behind Wu's loftwing. Grabbing it mid-flight would be a delicate maneuver, requiring precision and timing. Any movement from Wu’s bird could move the statue out of his reach. Catching up wasn't a guaranteed victory, but it was a crucial step, and he was so close. Ten feet. Five feet. He was practically on the golden bird's tail feathers now, the wind whipping past him as he matched its speed.  Lloyd extended his arm, reaching out, his fingers stretching towards the statuette as it danced and tumbled in the slipstream behind Wu's loftwing.

He startled backwards as something almost collided with his head. He turned. "Stritch!" he shouted angrily. The tall boy was hurling eggs at him from his left. Thinking back, Lloyd realized that Stritch hadn't even attempted to navigate the treacherous mini-twister field. The boy had gone around in case no one had caught the bird in the field to lie in wait. The tall boy chuckled thuggishly and suddenly Groose was banking into Lloyd's space and Lloyd just barely managed to avoid crashing. To his amusement, an egg intended for Lloyd, connected squarely with Groose's shoulder, the impact sending the larger boy stumbling awkwardly to the right and dipping downwards. Lloyd snickered, but rushed into action when he realized Morro had gotten ahead of him and was on Wu's birds tail-feathers, reaching for the statue with a victorious gleam in his eyes.

Lloyd gained altitude then went into a dive to gain speed. He was practically glued to Morro's tail feathers now, the gap between them shrinking with every beat of his loftwing's powerful wings. Morro's bird, sensing the presence behind them, glanced back and gave Lloyd an angry screech. But Morro, his gaze locked on the statuette, didn't even turn to acknowledge Lloyd. He was so consumed by the prize, so blinded by the prospect of victory, that he seemed oblivious to everything else, including the subtle shift in the air. "Morro!" Lloyd called out in warning without thinking. Wu's loftwing, sensing the change in the wind, had already begun to adjust his flight path, anticipating the coming turbulence. But Morro, lost in his single-minded pursuit, was caught completely off guard. His eyes widened in surprise as he was suddenly slammed sideways by the leading edge of a mini-twister, the swirling winds buffeting his loftwing and throwing him off course. Morro had failed to notice that they’d veered back into twister territory again. This was Lloyd's chance.

Lloyd rushed forward, following Wu's bird's movements to keep in line with the statue. He was forced to momentarily pull back as another mini-twister began to swirl into existence. But Lloyd was relentless. He deftly maneuvered his loftwing and was soon back on the golden bird's tail. His fingers brushed against the smooth surface of the statuette, but he couldn't get a firm grip on it. It slipped through his fingers. Undeterred, Lloyd adjusted his approach and the next time he reached out, his fingers closed around the statuette, finally plucking it free from its hook.

Lloyd whooped, a triumphant cry echoing across the sky as he held the statuette aloft. "Lloyd got it!" Avel's voice drifted up from below. The distant cheers of the watching Skyloftians could be heard even from here and the bellow of the ceremonial horns signaled the end of the race, proclaiming Lloyd as the victor. A surge of pure, unadulterated triumph coursed through Lloyd. He'd done it! He'd actually won! The thought of moving to the new class, joining his friends, and all the opportunities that awaited him filled him with exhilaration.

He turned his loftwing back towards Skyloft, a wide grin splitting his face as he set course to retrieve Zelda. He didn't look back to see Morro's reaction. He knew it wouldn't be pretty. But Lloyd had won fair and square, and Morro would just have to deal with it.

Chapter Text

These are the Ninja's symbols, if you weren't aware they had them. The snake is Lloyd's old one. The flowery one is Wu's. The phoenix is Nya's. The rest are obvious.

This is Lloyd's newer symbol and this is what will be on his sailscloth. Except the eyes will be green. The other ninja have their own symbols on their sailsclothes.

He’d won!

His heart soared. He'd been expecting to win (maybe he’d been little worried about Morro, but he’d still been expecting to win in the end), but that didn't make winning any less exhilarating. Now he'd be in the same class as his friends! And he'd get his night flying license and so many other cool things.

As he flew back towards Skyloft, the crowd was cheering wildly for him. Some were even chanting his name. Zelda was at the edge of the diving platform, beaming, her harp clutched in one hand and waving with the other. He was supposed to take her to the Great Goddess Statue now to complete the ceremony.

Lloyd actually was kind of cloudy about this next bit. He knew he was supposed to go on one knee for the blessing, but the rest of it was a blank. Someone had probably told him at some point, but he'd been more focused on the race part of the ceremony. Or maybe it was just a little speech and the blessing and there was nothing else to it. Surely someone would have very clearly emphasized if there was more Lloyd had to do. This next part had Zelda playing the bigger role. And if there was something else he was supposed to do she’d tell him. Not like there would be anyone else around to point and laugh. It would be fine.

He saw Zelda gesturing him to go low. She must want to hop on without Lloyd having to land. Alright, that would smooth things along. It also meant he wouldn’t have to deal with Groose and Morro for a little longer. He didn’t think Morro would start a fight in front of the crowd, that would only make him look worse, but it still wouldn’t be a pleasant interaction.

With practiced precision, he swooped down, catching the girl in his arms after she jumped from the platform. His loftwing dipped slightly under the new weight before straightening again. Her laughter mingled with the wind, her golden hair flowing against the sky. He shifted Zelda so she could sit on the saddle in front of him.

“Great flying, Lloyd!” she exclaimed, leaning forward, her smile wide and genuine. “Congratulations!”

“Thanks,” Lloyd chuckled. He ran a hand through his bird’s soft green feathers. “He did great. I wasn’t half bad either.” Zelda, blue eyes sparkling, playfully nudged at him.

“Now we’d better get on with the ceremony,” Zelda asserted, not losing the lightness to her tone despite moving to a more serious matter. Lloyd noticed that Zelda’s bird was now trailing gracefully behind them. The royal purple bird was staying close to her rider in case she was needed. Lloyd thought she looked as pleased with his victory as her rider.

“Right,” Lloyd nodded, turning to head towards the towering statue.

A momentary image of Groose being the one to fly Zelda to the statue flashed through his mind. It sent a wave of revulsion through him. Not that that would have happened under any circumstance. Zelda would have flown herself to the statue if Groose had somehow won. She was only catching a ride with Lloyd because it was him. It made him feel warm. And his heart filled with a quiet, somewhat smug triumph that he’d spared her the indignity of having to deal with that lunkhead.

Only a couple minutes later they were hopping down onto the platform created by the giant stone statue’s clasped hands. It was a larger space than he’d expected. He’d seen it at a distance before, but this was his first time actually standing here. This place was sacred, for ceremonies and such, you couldn’t just hang out on the Goddess Statue. Their birds ascended to circle above the statue, ever the watchful guardians.

Zelda turned to him, holding out her hand. “Lloyd, give me the bird statuette you grabbed in the race. I must offer it to the goddess.”

Lloyd nodded, handing her the statue. The figure depicted the very first loftwing, its feathers painted a deep cyan and wingtips a blue and woody pink. It was a tangible piece of history, a reminder of the ancient bond. There was a small hollow in the goddess statue for the figure to be placed. The offering was a reminder that it was the goddess who had given them their winged companions. Divine gifts.

Well, she was the one who had stuck them in the sky in the first place. She had to give us some way to get around. Lloyd flinched at the blasphemous thought, instantly regretting it. That was Yiga talk. The kind of talk that drove families apart and sent people jumping to their deaths. Lloyd knew better. This was a ceremony for heaven’s sake. What was wrong with him?

Thankfully, Zelda still had her back to him as she adjusted the bird figure into its proper place, and she hadn’t seen Lloyd’s wince. She would have asked what was wrong.

Zelda’s fingers strummed her harp’s strings, silken music filling the air. It was a very graceful, melodious instrument. Harps were reserved for ceremonies and rituals, so its music had a very special, sacred feel. The song was different from the one she’d played that morning, and she didn’t sing the words aloud. She was probably silently praying though.

When the final note faded, Zelda turned to Lloyd, her expression now more solemn. She slipped her harp into her side bag then extended her hand to him, palm up. Knowing what to do for this part, Lloyd dropped to one knee. He placed his hand in hers and bowed his head for the blessing.

“Great goddess,” Zelda recited. “guiding light and protector of our people, grant us your blessing and mercy as I act in your stead during this ceremony.” Lloyd could feel her eyes shifting to look down at him, though his bowed head obscured her face. “Valiant youth who grasped victory at the celebration of the bird folk… In accordance with the old ways… I now bestow the blessing of the goddess upon you.” Lloyd was impressed Zelda had memorized all this so well. He would have stumbled at least once. “The blessings of the goddess drift down from the heavens aloft a sail, which I now pass to you.”

Zelda withdrew her hand, and he heard cloth rustling. Looking up, Lloyd saw she was holding out to him a neatly folded green cloth with gold thread. In its center was the face of a golden dragon. His sailscloth! That was right, this was where he got it.

The sailscloth was another prize for winning the race. It wasn’t something Lloyd had been super excited for; he’d always managed fine without one. But his friends all had one, minus Nya, so he still wanted one. And it was useful, being able to jump off his bird at higher heights. A nice convenience item. And it was his favorite color! With his favorite legendary creature! Was that a coincidence or…?

Lloyd sprang up, eagerly accepting the sailscloth. “Cool!” He experimentally secured it to his shoulders, fabric draping behind him, leaving the dragon symbol visible on his back. It smelled nice too, flowery, like, er, um, well that wasn't important. When he got a compatible shirt, he’d be able to clip the sailscloth to his shirt like a hood when not in use. “Sweet,” he declared, striking a pose. “I look great in this.”

“Lloyd,” Zelda chided, but her lips twitched in amusement. “Stop goofing off. This is supposed to be a sacred ritual you know.” Her lighthearted tone dulled any edge to the scolding. She was fine with it. But at the same time, she was right, he should probably act a little more composed, even without an audience watching.

“Right, sorry,” Lloyd said, straightening his back.

“You know, they say that the goddess gave the sailscloth to her chosen hero long ago,” Zelda mused. “Of course, the one you’re holding isn’t the same one.” She glanced up at their birds abashedly. “I’ve been working hard to finish making this sailscloth in time for today. I’m sure you can tell I designed it with you in mind. I’m really glad I got to give it to you.”

“You made this?!” Lloyd exclaimed, very impressed. For him? The sailscloth suddenly became a lot more precious in his mind. Thank Hylia he’d won the race. The thought Morro getting this sailscloth instead did weird things to his stomach. “Was this what you kept hiding from me when I walked in?” He’d been wondering what it was she kept stashing away when he got too close.

Zelda nodded. “Yep, the art of weaving sailscloths has been passed down through my family for generations. Make sure you take good care of it, okay?”

“I will,” Lloyd promised. “Did you make Nya’s- er, whoever the winner of the other race will be’s-” he was 95% sure Nya would be the winner “-sailscloth too?”

“No,” Zelda shook her head. “my father made the other one. I wouldn’t have had time to make both. I’m still newer to it, it takes me considerably longer than it does for him.”

Hearing that his gift was unique made a quiet swell of satisfaction bloom in Lloyd’s chest. It was illogical and too embarrassing to say aloud. It wasn’t as if it would have changed anything if she’d made Nya’s too. It was stupid that it felt otherwise. “Well, it looks great, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Zelda replied with a smile. She brushed back one of her braids. “Thanks for making it up here to do this with me today like you promised, Lloyd.”

Lloyd grinned back. “Well, I’m not one to break my promises.”

Zelda clasped her hands behind her back, posture deceptively casual, and took a deliberate step closer. “Now, we really should finish this ritual… You…” She took another step, closing the distance between them. “do know what happens at the end, right?”

No. Lloyd had no idea what happened at the end. Blessing, sailscloth, what else could be left? A nervous flutter erupted in his stomach, a strange mix of panic and anticipation. His thoughts were a whirlwind. Why was she getting so close? Was she- no, that couldn’t be part of the ceremony. Maybe she-

Zelda put her hands on her hips, eyes narrowing playfully. “And just what are you thinking?” He didn’t know what he was thinking. What was she implying? “Don’t be silly. This is your big moment, Lloyd.” She closed the remaining distance, so that she was a mere inch from his face, and he instinctively moved back a bit. He could feel her breath.

Grinning widely, Zelda spun Lloyd around and pushed him forward to the edge of the platform looking down at Skyloft. “You have to jump off the statue!”

What?

“Look down,” Zelda instructed. “you see that big round design on the courtyard?” He did. He’d seen the gold circle haloing the stones countless times, but he’d always assumed they were purely decorative. “To finish the ceremony, you need to drop down right into the center of it!”

Why was that the end of the ceremony? What was it meant to represent? You’d think the end of the ceremony would involve flying, not falling. They weren’t meant to be jumping to the nonexistent Surface or anything like that. Was it meant to represent jumping to Skyloft? Maybe. That kind of fit. It was literally what he was doing. Or maybe a symbolic leap of faith? Like you trust the goddess’ gift to keep you from dying horribly, a mangled corpse splattered against the stone, from a ten-story drop. Okay, yeah, that made sense. Not very symbolic though. A very literal act really.

"...So, ready to jump?" Zelda questioned. "You know how to use a sailscloth, right?"

"I do," Lloyd confirmed. "I've used one a few times." They'd done drills with them before. This was a big leap though... He'd jumped/fallen greater distances than this, but those had been in the open sky, with nothing underneath him but his bird. He was a bit nervous to make such a big jump with solid, hard land beneath him. But also excited.

“Great!” Zelda cheered. “Off you go then!” And suddenly he was tumbling over the edge and the ground was rushing up to meet him. She’d pushed him! Again! That was the second time today! At least this time he wasn’t in serious danger of dying.

It turned out all the normal rules of skydiving still applied. He spread his limbs, maximizing air resistance, wind buffeting his body. He tilted slightly to aim for the center circle in the courtyard, the target growing ever larger. The circle was about five feet in diameter so it wouldn’t be too tricky to hit. With precise timing, he unfurled the sailscloth. The fabric blossomed above him, a vibrant green, the dragon symbol a flashing gold in the sunlight. The magic imbued in the cloth helped to slow his descent even quicker than a normal parachute and he easily dropped gently to the ground. Right in the center. Perfect.

Despite his stellar landing, he was still a little disoriented from the unexpected plunge, so it took him a second to register the purple feathers and flapping wings as Zelda landed on her bird a short distance away.

Zelda, golden hair bouncing, rushed up to him with sparkling eyes. "That was perfect!” She gave a little clap. “You're amazing, Lloyd!"

“It was pretty good,” Lloyd agreed, warmth filling his chest. Then a slight blush crept up his face. “I don’t know about ‘amazing’, but good enough for me.”

The radiant smile that had lit Zelda's face just moments before softened, fading into a more subdued expression. Her hands, which had been animatedly gesturing, now lowered and clasped in front of her. Lloyd heard his own bird landing behind him, but he kept his eyes on Zelda, a little confused by her change in demeanor.

“You know, Lloyd,” Zelda started, fingers fidgeting. “Seeing as how you won today… And with the weather being so nice…” she met his gaze. “You think maybe you’d like to, you know, go fly around the clouds together? Before Nya’s race. Everything will be pretty hectic after.”

Lloyd’s eyes widened a bit. She was right. After Nya’s race, they’d be expected to celebrate with everyone else. They wouldn’t be able to have anymore… private moments today if they didn’t take the chance now. They still had about forty-five minutes before Nya’s race was scheduled to start. That was enough for a short flight. “Yeah,” he replied quickly. “Sure. Let’s do it.”

As they headed to the academy’s diving platform so they could head to the eastern skies, they almost crashed into Nya, Kai, and Cole, who had absolutely been spying on the ritual from afar.

“Well, well, well, where are you two going?” Kai asked with a smirk.

“We’re going for a quick fly before Nya’s race,” Lloyd answered, refusing to be drawn in by Kai’s teasing. “Don’t worry, we’ll make it back in time.”

“Where will you be flying?” Cole asked, thankfully not piling on with Kai’s ribbing. “We should know where to look if we need to. You can’t go too far out.”

“We aren’t,” Zelda assured. “We’ll just be around the skies by butterfly island.” She turned to Nya. “Don’t worry, I would never miss your race. Especially when I have my part to play. You feel ready?”

“Oh, I was born ready,” Nya declared boldly. “I’ll be the one up on that statue with you soon,” She waved them off. “Have fun you two. And you flew great, Lloyd. You earned that win. Not even Morro could argue that.”

“I’m sure he’ll try,” Lloyd mumbled. But maybe he’d be left alone for at least a few days as his cousin processed the embarrassment.

“Pfft,” Kai scoffed. “You’re one of the best fliers in Skyloft and everyone knows it.” The taller boy ruffled Lloyd’s hair and Lloyd puffed in protest. “Have fun on your little private fly. We can party after Nya’s race.”

Once he and Zelda were in the skies, the open air was a peaceful sanctuary. After all the day’s chaos, it was a very welcome change. For a while, they flew in companionable silence. Or, rather, Lloyd enjoyed the silence. Zelda seemed distracted, lost in thought. Well, it had been an eventful day after all.

Zelda’s silence didn’t last too long though. “…Lloyd? Hey, Lloyd!”

He turned back to look at her. Their birds were very close. She was slightly behind him so that her bird’s wings didn’t hit his. “Yeah?” he replied curiously, wondering what she’d been stewing about.  

“Today was amazing,” she said earnestly. “Watching you win the race and performing the ritual together… I’ll always remember this. It really was wonderful.”

“Yeah,” Lloyd nodded, a blanket of contentment settling over him. “I’ll always remember it too. You were a great goddess. This was… a really good day.”

But then, Zelda’s gaze flickered away, her eyes darting downwards as if she’d spotted something amidst the lazy clouds below. Lloyd didn’t see anything. When she looked back at him, her expression was uncertain. “You know… Lloyd…” she began hesitantly. She glanced away again, a silent internal struggle playing out on her face. Then, she met his gaze, her eyes filled with resolve. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about…”

Before Lloyd could voice his concerned inquiry, a blinding flash of light erupted before them, like a miniature sun exploding in the sky. A shockwave of raw, violent wind slammed into them, buffeting their Loftwings, sending them into a panicked frenzy of squawks and desperate wingbeats. Lloyd's breath hitched in his throat, his eyes wide with mute horror. A colossal, swirling vortex of black and brown winds had materialized out of thin air, a monstrous tornado like nothing he’d ever seen before. Where in the heavens had that come from? There had been no forecast for storms! And the winds had been calm a second ago! Storms didn’t come out of nowhere like that!

With a frantic surge of adrenaline, Lloyd pulled back on his bird with all his might, but the winds were drawing them closer to the monstrous tower of winds. Panic began setting in. They could NOT get sucked into that thing. Not even a Loftwing could handle that. They'd be torn to pieces, or thrown from their mounts and there would be no way for their birds to catch them.

"What is that?!” Zelda shrieked. Lloyd's blood turned to ice as he realized Zelda's Loftwing, struggling valiantly, was being inexorably pulled towards the swirling abyss. Lloyd was managing to stay in place, fingers going white just to keep himself from being ripped off his bird, but Zelda’s bird was losing the fight against the unnatural wind. “What in the world is happening?!”

And then, a scream ripped through the air, a sound that would forever etch itself into Lloyd's nightmares. Zelda, nearly brushing against the swirling, visible winds of the tornado, was violently wrenched from her Loftwing. "Lloyd!" she screamed, her eyes wide with a terror that mirrored his own, as she wasn't just falling, but being sucked downwards by the dark, swirling clouds below.

All logic exited Lloyd's head and turned into just one thought: save Zelda. He stopped fighting the monstrous winds, plunging into a reckless, hopeless dive. The swirling black clouds instantly swallowed him, obscuring all sight. He felt a sharp, jarring impact against his head, followed by a searing pain in his side, but he ignored it, continuing to press the dive. He had to find her. She had to be okay! She had to!

A deafening boom, like the loudest thunder, reverberated through his skull, and he lost his grip on his bird. Something hit him, maybe his bird, turning the world into a chaotic smear. He was being thrown through the air, with no idea of what was up and down and no clue as to where his bird had gone.

‘We're both going to die today’, Lloyd realized numbly. Then the regret came crashing in, even as his consciousness began to dim and the pain from his injuries and strained muscles spiked. This was supposed to be a happy day. Everyone was going to be so sad. If only he could have done something, anything, to save Zelda at least… But the darkness closed in, and the world faded into nothingness.

Chapter Text

It was almost time.

Nya was hyping herself up as she hurried down the academy path. Lloyd had already won his race. Now it was her turn. Then their whole group would be in the same class. She was very confident in her skills, she’d spent so, so many hours practicing and she knew she was good. Really good. One of the best. Even knowing that, she couldn’t entirely quash the anxiety that always came with these things. Something could always go wrong.

No. She shook her head firmly. The race would be great. Kai would see what a great flyer she was and hopefully stop worrying so much. She and Jay would be able to hang out more once they were in the same class. Er, not that that was a big reason or anything. And she’d be one step closer to being a knight, just like her parents.

The usually bustling paths were quiet at the moment, most people were over at the plaza. Only a handful of lingering students remained, brightly wishing her good luck as she passed. As she neared a bend by the island’s edge, she looked over towards the sky where Lloyd and Zelda were flying to see if they were on the way back yet. They’d have to start coming back soon or they’d be late, and Zelda would never allow that.

She spotted them quickly, little green and blue specks in the distance. Lloyd’s bird was a very distinct shade of green, no one else had one like it. It made him easy to pick out. They were still pretty far away, but they could easily make it back in time from there.

As Nya shifted her gaze back to the path, she spotted something that made her pause. There was a girl Nya had never seen before sitting on one of the benches, looking out at the sky. Strangers were incredibly rare on Skyloft. Everyone knew everyone. Not necessarily super well, but enough to recognize one another at least. While the Wing Ceremony did draw visitors from the outer isles, it was still odd to see.

A little older than Nya, the girl wore a soft, light orange shirt. Her long vibrant red hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She didn’t have any cult markings that Nya could see (always a concern with unfamiliar faces). And she was just sitting casually, looking out at the sky. Nothing weird or suspicious. She was probably just from the outer isles. Still, Nya figured she should at least say hi and scope her out a bit. Just to be safe.

As Nya approached, she noticed she girl was holding something. It took Nya a couple seconds to identify it, but even then she didn't really know what it was. It looked like a thin, polished red crystal in the shape of a diamond (the shape, not the gem). Was it a weapon? No, it seemed too small, it fit in the palm of her hand. Very thin and delicate looking too. She was looking through it out into the sky, it seemed to be semitransparent. Maybe it was a crystal she had polished or something. Well, whatever, not important.

"Hey," Nya greeted cheerfully. "Beautiful day for the ceremony, huh?" She didn't want to come off as rude, there was no concrete reason for her to be suspicious, even if the girl's unfamiliarity had pricked her curiosity. Zane had come to the island late too, after all.

The girl paused, her head tilting slightly before she turned to face Nya, tucking her shiny diamond shard away. “Yeah,” she replied amiably. “No mist or anything. Would have sucked if a sudden storm had appeared out of nowhere and ruined the big day.” She smiled wider. “You’re one of the fliers in the next race, right? I saw you in the line up earlier.”

“Yeah,” Nya confirmed. “My name’s Nya.”

“I’m Skylor,” the redhead introduced. “Good luck with your race. The first one was so exciting.” Her gaze flitted back to the distant specks that were Zelda and Lloyd. “Everyone flew so well.” Oh, she knew that Zelda and Lloyd were out there. She’d probably seen them as they were leaving.

“Yeah, Lloyd did great especially,” Nya boasted on her friend’s behalf. “I never doubted he would win though. He was always the favorite to win. I guess you wouldn’t know him though. Where are you from?”

“My dad and I live closer to the Thunderhead,” Skylor explained. “We grow a lot of the food for Levias’ offerings. I don’t get out much, I’m a bit of an introvert, but my dad insisted I come to the ceremony. Get out there and all that.”

Just her dad, huh? Maybe they were one of the families who had retreated to the outer skies after the great plague. If her mom had died from the sickness, the dad could have decided to go for the more isolated lifestyle. A fair number of people had made the same choice during that same time. “Well it’s cool of you to come cheer on the trainees. It’s always a fun ceremony. I-”

“Nya!” Kai’s sudden arrival was like a gust of wind, his voice eager as he skidded to a halt beside her. “Hey, who’s your pretty new friend?”

Nya barely suppressed an eyeroll. Of course Kai had cannonballed headfirst into flirting. She recalled her brother’s past lamentations that all the redheads their age were already taken. There weren’t a lot of options for dating, that was just how it was. So to see a new girl their age and she was a redhead would fire him up for sure. But it wouldn’t kill him to show a little restraint. “This is Skylor,” she informed him, flashing him a ‘get it together’ glare. “She came to watch the ceremony from the Thunderhead isles.”

“Well it’s a great party,” Kai declared, eyes bright. “I’m Kai. Nya’s older brother. And since I’d definitely remember if I’d seen you around before, I take it you don’t get out to Skyloft often. I could totally give you the tour after the ceremony if you want. I’m a great guide, I know all the coolest spots.”

Skylar raised an eyebrow, but didn’t seem annoyed. She opened her mouth to reply, but her words were swallowed by an explosive boom.

Nya and Kai both startled, whipping around to find the source of the blast. Nya’s breath hitched and her eyes widened in horror as she realized a massive storm had erupted out of nowhere out in the sky. Dark clouds churned and roiled ferociously and at its center was a huge twister, the biggest she’d ever seen. Or at least tied for the biggest. How was this possible? The weather had been perfectly clear just a second ago!

An icy wave of panic slammed into Nya’s chest. “Lloyd and Zelda were out there!” she rasped, her lungs forgetting how to breath. The swirling maw was almost directly where she’d just seen them flying. They wouldn’t be able to…

“What?!” Kai’s voice cracked, a rare look of fear overtaking his expression. He stared out at the ravaging tempest, the winds lashing at his hair and face as the ripples of the storm hit them. “No! That’s not- are you sure?!”

For a drawn-out moment, Nya was frozen, her mind flashing back to another storm. The one that had ripped their parents away from them. The memory was suffocating, but she forced herself to nod. “I just saw them out there…”

With a strangled cry, Kai lurched forward, clearly intending on launching into the sky in a desperate, doomed rescue attempt. Nya lunged and pulled him back, keeping her grip tight. “Nya, let go of me!” he yelled, fighting against her, eyes fixed on the storm. “We have to help them!”

“We won’t be able to do anything!” Nya argued, her eyes watering as anguish overtook her. “Not in this! No one could fly in this!” Her hold on her brother was already slipping. He was stronger than her, she wouldn’t be able to hold him back for much longer. Her instincts were screaming at her to try to go help her friends, but her mind knew it would be suicide. And Kai had to know that. He was probably having flashbacks to their parents’ deaths as well. He’d remember that terrible day even better than Nya, she’d been so young at the time.

It wasn’t hopeless. Maybe Lloyd and Zelda had managed to crash into an island instead of the cloud barrier…

Even to herself it sounded like a lie.

The odds of surviving that were…

Why was this happening?

“We can’t just sit here and watch!” Kai bellowed, his voice raw and strained against the howling winds. Crowds of people were rushing by them now. Some were running to their homes, many of the adults were coming to the edge of the island to watch the storm with horrified expressions. Skylor had disappeared at some point.

“What in the skies is going on?!” Cole demanded, pushing his way towards Kai and Nya through the crowd.

“Kai, there’s nothing we can do right now!” Nya pleaded again. He was going to break out for her grip any second now, she was barely hanging on, but he couldn’t jump. He couldn’t!

“Guys, what’s going on?!” Cole asked, glancing between the two with deep concern. “Was someone out there?”

Before Nya could answer, Headmaster Garmadon’s voice cut through the clamor of the winds and crowd. The man was standing further up the slope, the spot giving him a good overhead view of the crowd. “Stay away from the edge everyone! Get the children inside!” His gaze, serious and determined, swept across the sea of agitated faces. “Does anyone know if anyone was out there?!” The man seemed hopeful. As far as he knew, no one should have been out there. Almost everyone was on the island right now for the ceremony.

“Lloyd and Zelda were out there!” Kai called out, still wrestling against Nya, but Cole had hooked an arm around Kai, pulling him back as well. Her brother wasn’t going to be able to jump now. Cole’s face went pale at Kai’s declaration. The words hung in the air for a second before a surge of fresh panic spread through the assembled masses.

A chorus of horrified “Whats?!” “Hylia, no!” and wails erupted. Garmadon’s composure crumbled, his face falling. “What?” the man breathed, the shocked murmur too quiet to be heard over the crowd. But Nya could read his lips to know what he’d said.

Morro shouldered past the stunned headmaster. “What do you mean Lloyd and Zelda are out there?!” he snarled, anger laced with worry. His hatred for his cousin didn’t extend to wanting him dead, that was something at least. “Why in the Cursed Realm would they have been out there?!”

“They were going on a celebratory fly before the next race,” Nya explained mournfully. Was there a sign she’d missed that the weather would turn like this? What if she’d insisted the pair wait until after the race? But she hadn’t known this would happen…

“The storm’s already clearing up,” Cole noted hopefully. And he was right, as sudden as the storm had come, it was already beginning to dissipate. But Nya knew a storm didn’t need to be long to be lethal. No one could have stayed on a bird in that. Their only chance of survival would have been being flung onto an island instead of falling through the barrier. And there were only small islands in that area and even then, the impact would be-

“Wait, look there!” someone shouted, Nya couldn’t see who. “Lloyd’s bird is still in the air!”

Really?!

Nya whipped around, following where everyone else was looking. And, yes, through the lingering haze of the storm, much further to the right than Nya had seen them earlier (the wind must have blasted him away) was Lloyd’s bird. Those bright green feathers were unmistakable, and the bird was flying back to Skyloft. And in his talons…

Lloyd’s limp form was being clutched and Nya’s heart jumped. A jumble of fear and hope shot through her. She strained her eyes, but they were too distant for her to be able to tell if the blonde was injured. But the mere fact that his bird had managed to catch him meant that he was almost certainly at least still alive.

The sight sent much of the previously stationary crowd into action. A few people leapt from the island and flew to meet Lloyd to check him over and escort him back to the island. Cole and Nya released Kai, who, along with Cole, called their own birds with urgent whistles. Nya held back. There was already a swarm of Loftwings surrounding Lloyd’s exhausted bird, whose wings were flapping with a pronounced uneven beat. Nya would just get in the way. And there was nothing she could do until they landed anyways. So she held her breath, chest tight, as she waited for them to get back to ground.

There was no sign of Zelda or her bird.

So many people were talking but some sentences stood out. “Get a doctor over here!” someone shouted. Someone else called back, “Pipit’s already gone to get them!” A female questioned, “Should we send out a search party for Zelda?”

Garmadon stood rigidly at the very edge of the island, his gaze fixed on his son. Beside him, Lloyd’s mother had appeared, her face twisted with desperate worry. Morro’s expression was hard to read, but he didn’t look happy. The mayor and Wu must be doing something elsewhere.

With visible effort, Garmadon shook himself and turned to Morro. “Morro, find Instructor Eagus and have him take you and a team of knights to start the search for Zelda. Be extremely cautious. That storm was not natural. Something like it might happen again.” The man then raised his voice to the rest of the crowd. “No one except for Zelda’s designated search party is permitted to take to the skies until we investigate the cause of this spontaneous storm.”

“Me?” Morro frowned sharply. “But I-” he glanced towards the steadily approaching Lloyd. Nya was surprised by his hesitation. That the headmaster was asking Morro to be part of the search party despite only being a student was a big acknowledgement of Morro’s exceptional skills. “Fine,” Morro bit out, the word sharp as he spun on his heel and raced away.

Morro really did care more for his cousin than he let on. Lloyd would be thrilled.

Or he would have been. The loss of Zelda was going to crush Lloyd, it was unlikely he’d spend any brainpower on Morro. This tragedy was going to scar Lloyd for life. The first few months especially were going to be a cycle of depressive torture. Lloyd was going to blame himself even though this was in no way his fault and she was certain he’d done all he could to save Zelda.

Nya would love to believe Zelda had also survived, but two miracles were too much to expect. She couldn’t get her hopes up. And Lloyd was a much stronger flier than Zelda. That storm had been so intense, Zelda had probably been knocked off within the first thirty seconds.

As Nya’s thoughts spiraled, Zane and Jay materialized at her side. “What’s going on?” Jay asked, panicked. “What happened to Lloyd?! Did he get caught in that freak storm?!”

“Is he unharmed?” Zane pressed, his usually flat tone high with concern.

“I think he must be mostly okay,” Nya assured them. “Kai would be freaking out if he wasn’t.” Her brother wasn’t moving erratically, and he wasn’t shouting or anything. And he was close enough to see his expression was tight but not frantic like it would be if Lloyd was seriously hurt.

Finally, with a soft thud, Lloyd’s loftwing came in for a careful landing. The bird gently deposited Lloyd onto the grassy ground before collapsing into a trembling heap of emerald feathers. A bird healer immediately rushed forward, beginning to examine the creature. At the same time, the human doctor knelt beside Lloyd. Lloyd’s parents hovered nearby, along with Kai, Jay and the rest of their friend group. Nya was hovering as well, she supposed. She wished she could help somehow. Lloyd was unconscious, with a few visible scrapes and scratches, that bled thinly, but all things considered, he looked fine. Thank the goddess.

As relieved as she was that Lloyd was physically okay, her stomach churned with dread for his reaction to hearing about Zelda when he awoke. Nya herself was in some kind of shock over it. This was all happening so fast and suddenly, she didn’t think her brain was processing her friend’s death properly yet. It didn’t feel fully real right now. She knew it was going to hit her hard later. A part of her wanted to cling fiercely to the slim hope that the search party would find Zelda alive and this whole thing would, against all odds, have a happy ending.

But Nya knew what fate her parents had met in a storm like that. It felt foolish to hope for anything better this time.

Chapter Text

Kai felt exhausted.

Which was stupid, he hadn’t done enough that he should be tired. He suspected it was mostly emotional. And that he’d only gotten, like, two hours of sleep (Nya had forced him to take a nap. And even in those short two hours he’d had nightmare of his parents’ fall) since the race yesterday. He’d spent most of his time searching for Zelda, but hope for her survival had withered completely at this point. Her only chance would have been being thrown to a nearby sky island, but she hadn’t been on any of them. No sign of her or her bird anywhere, not so much as a feather.

Now Kai was sitting at Lloyd’s bedside in his room at the academy. Kid hadn’t woken up yet. The blond had shifted and mumbled a little, dreaming probably, but his eyes hadn’t opened. The healers weren’t worried, said he just needed rest. As much as everyone wanted to see him awake and alright, there was a feeling of dread as well. They didn’t have good news for Lloyd when he woke up.

All of Skyloft was mourning Zelda’s death. Everyone knew her, she’d been very popular, and she’d been meant to be their next leader. She was the mayor’s only child. Beyond the grief over her very sudden and unexpected death, Skyloft’s future was now uncertain.

Kai’s leg bounced with frantic energy, as he tried to burn off the anger coiling in his gut. He wanted to be doing something, but being there for Lloyd when he woke up was the only worthwhile thing he could do right now. It was infuriating. He hated feeling so useless.

The rest of their friend group was either out still looking for Zelda, trying to get at least some sleep, or lending a hand around the town and academy. Even Nya, whose race had been cancelled after the tragedy, hadn’t uttered a single complaint about being held back. His sister had just joined the search party with the rest of them.

Even Morro was being uncharacteristically subdued. Other than one minor insult towards Jay, he hadn’t been his usual jeering self. The emo actually seemed legitimately concerned about his younger cousin. He was tense, quiet, and had checked in on Lloyd multiple times. If there was anything positive about all this, it was the confirmation that Morro didn’t totally hate Lloyd. Lloyd would be happy about that at least.

“You can go for a walk if you’re feeling restless,” Lloyd’s mom, Misako, offered, noting Kai’s jittering leg from where she was sitting near the end of the bed. “He doesn’t seem near waking up yet, you’ll be fine.”

Kai shook his head. “I’m good,” he replied curtly.       

Misako sighed but didn’t press further. She instead turned her attention back to her son. “He’s going to be devastated about Zelda,” she lamented. “I just hope he doesn’t blame himself for it. That storm was far too powerful for anyone to have done anything, especially with no warning.” Of course it wasn’t Lloyd’s fault. But he knew Lloyd wouldn’t see it that way.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Kai growled, clenching his fists in his lap. “The weather was supposed to be perfect. That’s why we chose that day for the race.” The memory of the dark, raging tempest flashed in his mind. “I’ve never seen a storm appear so suddenly and violently and then just- disappear minutes later. It’s unnatural.”

But what could have caused something like that? There were rumors that the Yiga used some weird magic, but if they were capable of conjuring storms like that, they would do it all the time. Garmadon said he didn’t think it was them, and he’d know better than anyone else in Skyloft. No Yiga had been seen around at the time either.

“Yes,” Misako agreed softly. “We’re looking into it but haven’t found anything yet. It doesn’t help that no one saw how it began. Maybe Lloyd will be able to tell us if he noticed anything when he wakes up.”

A low groan from the bed made both of them turn. Kai’s breath hitched in his throat. Lloyd’s eyelids clamped tighter for a moment before flying open. His body shot into a sitting position. “Zelda!”

Chapter Text

He was falling.

He could feel the air billowing around him as he fell, but there was no sound. No wind rushing past his ears, no birds, no people, nothing. The world felt empty. And it was dark. Absolute blackness surrounded him. His eyes were open, but there was nothing anywhere.

He should probably be panicking, but his brain was fuzzy and sluggish for some reason.

A sound broke the silence. A voice, female and unfamiliar. “Lloyd…?” Or, maybe he did know it? He couldn’t place it, but there was something familiar about it.

He opened his eyes. Oh. They hadn’t already been open after all? He’d been so sure…

High above Lloyd (he was falling face up) there was a purple light shining. He could see his own body fine, but besides himself and the light, the world was still darkness. A figure was floating in the center of the light.

It was a girl. She looked young, a teenager maybe. It was hard to be sure though because she looked very strange. Her skin was a light blue. As was her hair, which was a bob cut just above her shoulders. Even more bizarre, her eyes had no iris or pupils, they were just polished blue spheres. And yet, he could feel her gaze on him. Her whole face seemed like a mask, but her lips were moving like real lips.

She wore a short, regal dress of purple with gold lining, a large blue gem on the chest. The dress ended before her knees, but a pair of black leggings with crisscrossing light blue entirely covered her legs. He couldn’t see her arms or hands, the length covered by flowing sleeves, or maybe a cloak. The right sleeve was a purple that matched her dress while the left sleeve was the blue of her skin. What was she? She couldn’t be human.

Her lips were moving. She was speaking to him. Lloyd focused in on her and the fuzziness vanished.

“I am waiting for you,” the girl told him, no inflection in her tone. There was something odd about her voice, but he wasn’t sure how to describe it. Metallic? Crystalline? It was very precise. “The time has come for you to awaken.”

“What?” Lloyd asked, not shouting despite their distance. She didn’t seem to need to raise her voice and he knew it was the same for him. Why wasn’t she getting further away? He was falling, but she was floating in place. “What do you mean? Who are you? Where is this?”

“You are vital to a mission of great importance,” the girl continued as if he hadn’t spoken. Had she not heard him?

This was a dream, right?

“Lloyd…” the voice morphed, layering on top of another. One he knew very well.

Zelda.

Suddenly, Zelda was directly before him, wearing her goddess outfit. The darkness faded into the white mist of clouds. The world itself seemed to flip. Despite Lloyd not shifting positions, he was now facing down, and Zelda was falling beneath him, looking up at him with fearful eyes. There was sound now, the wind came rushing back.

That was right… Zelda had fallen. He needed to save her!

Fear surged through Lloyd as he attempted to reach down and grab Zelda. But he always came just slightly too short no matter how hard he strained.

His thoughts were jumbling together nonsensically. Where was his bird? Where was this? Was this real? A dream?

He had to save Zelda.

“Zelda!” he gasped, fingers once again just missing the girl’s outstretched arm. Something massive and black rose from the white directly beneath them.

The monster! The one from his dreams! With its gaping maw of impossibly huge teeth that longed to devour. The malice the creature emanated made Lloyd’s skin crawl. And Zelda was plummeting straight to it.

“Zelda!” The cry tore from Lloyd’s throat, terror seizing him. No, no, no! What could he do?! Where was his bird? This wasn’t Skyloft. The monster below opened its abyssal mouth, an unavoidable chasm that disappeared into a red void.

Zelda let out a piercing scream.

Lloyd jolted awake, sitting up sharply, heart hammering. He- he was-

“Lloyd, oh thank the goddess you’re awake!”

His mom was here. Sitting at his bedside. This, this was his room. He was in his bedroom. In his bed. Had it been a dream? Had it all been a dream? The darkness? The monster? The alien blue girl? Zelda’s fall? The storm?

The storm.

Zelda fell. His mind snapped back together. After the race. That- that hadn’t been a dream.

“Zelda! Where’s Zelda?!” His eyes darted around wildly. She wasn’t here. Kai was. So was his dad. It seemed like the man had only just burst into the room and Lloyd had missed it in his disorientation.

Mom looked pained, Kai was a mix of angry and sorrowful, and Dad looked stoic, but Lloyd could see the regret in his eyes.

No. No!

“We… haven’t found her yet,” Kai admitted softly.

“What are you all doing here then?” Lloyd demanded, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. But before he could stand, his mom put up her open palm, resting it just above his chest, fingers brushing lightly against his shirt.

“Lloyd, you musn’t get up!” she asserted gently. “You were in that storm too. You’ve been injured; you need to rest.”

The blonde glanced down at himself. There were just a few neatly bandaged small cuts and a bruise on the arm. He couldn’t even feel it. It was fine. “I’ve been resting!” he argued. “For- how long has it been?” He looked towards his window. It was dark outside. It was night now. Which meant it had been six or seven hours minimum. That was so much time. Far, far too long. “My bird, is my bird okay?” Had he been injured? His stomach twisted further. His loftwing had flown so well, if he’d hurt himself saving Lloyd… And he’d need him to find Zelda.

“Lloyd, calm down,” Dad ordered firmly. “It’s a little past two in the morning, you’ve been out for quite a while. More than half a day. That was- You had us worried. Your bird has been attended to and is fine.” He looked Lloyd in the eye. “Tell us what you remember of that storm.”

What he remembered? What did he remember? “I- it came out of nowhere,” he stammered, voice tight. “It just- it was too strong. We were both knocked from our birds. She fell first.” His words were growing shakier. “I- I tried to reach her but then I got knocked off too. And- she- you haven’t found her?” No, no, that couldn’t be true.

“It wasn’t your fault, Lloyd,” Kai assured him fiercely, grabbing one of his hands and squeezing it. Lloyd fought the urge to pull away, heart beating frantically in his chest. “No one could have done anything. It’s a miracle you even survived.” There was a haunted look in his eyes.

“We’ve had search teams out constantly since it happened,” Dad promised him. “If she survived-” if she survived? “we will find her.”

“You think she’d dead,” Lloyd said flatly. They hadn’t found her yet. Everyone would have been out looking. And there was only so much area to search. Which meant-

None of them said anything.

Lloyd yanked his hand from Kai and stood up, the world tilting as he did. He didn’t think he was that inured, it was just the brutal rush of emotions and adrenaline and the sudden movement.

“No, Lloyd,” Dad refused, eyes unyielding as he stepped to block Lloyd’s path. “You need time to recover. We have others out looking for her.”

“I’m fine,” Lloyd gritted out. He was fine. Zelda wasn’t. “I’m not just going to lie around in bed, I-”

Dad held his ground, but his expression softened. “It’s dark out now, Lloyd,” the man reasoned. “Your chances of finding her are very low, you’ve never even flown at night before. And your bird also needs more time to recover. He strained himself immensely getting you to safety.” There was gratitude in those words. “As I said, we have people out searching even now, the night watch is trained for these situations.” He put his hand on Lloyd’s shoulder. “Rest for now, then you can join the search in the morning when light has returned. If the healer approves.”

Lloyd stood there trembling for a moment. He wanted to argue but couldn’t come up with anything his dad would accept. “I can’t,” he finally whispered hollowly, throat tight. “I can’t just sleep.”

“Do what you can, son,” Dad coaxed. “Lie in bed and rest if you cannot manage sleep. But you going out now would do no good.”

Lloyd hesitated, then stepped back, sinking back onto his bed. He didn’t lie down, just stared down at the floor. “Fine,” he agreed quietly, voice shaking.

“Lloyd-” Kai started, but Lloyd cut him off.

“Leave, please leave. I- I need to be alone for a while.”

Kai frowned. “I don’t think that’s a good-”

“Leave!” Lloyd barked more harshly, the command exploding from his chest. He then immediately felt drained, voice growing weak again. “Please.”

The older boy didn’t look happy but reluctantly nodded. “Fine, but if you change your mind, I’m right next door.” He briefly placed a hand on Lloyd’s back then left the room.

“I’m so glad you’re okay, Lloyd,” Mom murmured thickly, pressing a kiss to his head. "You did better than anyone could have managed, I know. The weather is not your fault. Please, don’t torture yourself over this.” She didn’t even pretend that Zelda might be fine.

Dad was the last to leave. “Healer at dawn, Lloyd. No running off before that.”

“Yes, sir,” Lloyd whispered, his mind a spinning haze.

Dad crouched down and drew his son into a hug Lloyd didn’t return. “If there is any chance she survived, we will find her, I promise. Rest now, so that you can be of help later. And the others are right; you have no blame in this.” The man gripped him tighter. “Thank you, for coming back to me. For surviving. I’m so proud of you.”

Lloyd said nothing.

When he got no response, Dad sighed and withdrew. “I’ll see you in the morning.” The door clicked softly behind him.

Lloyd had no idea how long he sat there. His mind replayed the disaster over and over again. What could he have done differently? Could he have pushed harder? Noticed sooner? If he hadn’t won the race, they wouldn’t have even been in that part of the sky. Or he should have insisted they wait until after Nya’s race. Or-

So many what-ifs ran through his head, a crushing, inescapable swarm.

Admist the relentless looping, as he thought about the storm, how it had snuck up on him, he realized: the storm had come from underneath the cloud barrier. Broken through it. That shouldn’t have been possible. How could that happen?

“Come to me…”

Lloyd’s head snapped up. That voice… The blue girl from the dream? Was he dreaming now? No, impossible, he wouldn’t have fallen asleep. Not now.

“Lloyd…”

“It’s time…”

“Come to me…”

Lloyd stood up. There was… something, drawing him to follow that voice. A pull. What was this? The voice sounded like it was coming from just beyond his door.

He walked over and reached for the door handle.