Chapter Text
A shock arrow. Mipha stares at the point of gold in the dark sky, at the red glowing eyes, at the face of death itself. Of course the lynel by her home wielded shock arrows.
She braces for impact. Well, she thinks, detached and perhaps delirious, at least it isn’t Poseidon.
…No impact ever comes. The arrow doesn’t land. A swift blur of white surges between her and the beast. “Not this time!”
The lynel staggers backward, an arrow lodged in its eye. A wooden shield— or perhaps the lid of a cooking pot— skitters away, a golden arrow lodged uselessly within it. Arrows, faster than anyone should be able to fire them, scatter across the battlefield.
Mipha is just as stunned as the lynel they battle, but she is trained— she will not look such a gift horse in the mouth. Her trident flashes through the air, her fountains spurring her onward.
When the beast falls, Mipha’s strange savior finally touches the ground. He turns to face her— sharp eyes finding her brother and lingering there a moment— voice gruff. “You alright, kid?”
“I… yes. Fine, thanks to you,” Mipha manages, lowering her head in thanks. She looks to Poseidon as well; shaken, but unharmed. He charges toward her and practically flings himself into her arms. “My brother and I thank you.”
She notices the slight twitch in the Rito’s brow, looking down at the little prince. He inhales, beak opening to speak—
“Your Highnesses!” A member of the guard charges toward them. “Lady Mipha, are you hurt?! Either of you?”
“We are unharmed,” Mipha responds, regal. It’s not exactly true— she has many scrapes and bruises— but it’s close enough. “What of my father?”
“Uninjured as well. We’ve repelled the worst of them, but…” The guardsman pauses, blinking once at the Rito. “Ah— you have— company.”
“He aided in the battling of the lynel,” Mipha hums, and promptly looks away as the knight panics over her having fought the lynel. “Forgive me for not introducing us sooner. I am Lady Mipha, and this reckless, brave little prince is Poseidon.” The little prince flashes a sweet smile full of sharp teeth.
The Rito tips forward in what’s almost a bow, looking almost sheepish. “You did most of the heavy lifting.” He, seemingly very intentionally, does not look at Poseidon. “Name’s Teba.”
“Now, if I may ask,” Mipha starts, beginning the trek down the mountain, “where did you come from? I thought we were alone.”
Teba narrows his eyes at nothing, clicking his beak. “At the risk of sounding totally out of my mind, I was at home.” He nods northwest, toward Tabantha and Rito Village. His brows furrow— Mipha’s sure he’s not telling her everything, but… he is telling the truth, or at least thinks he is. He hisses a sigh through his beak. “I can’t really explain it. I just… saw you.”
“If I may,” the knight interrupts; he looks to her and waits for her nod before he continues, “and please, don’t think me ungrateful… you came to Lady Mipha’s aid without knowing the consequences?”
Shrugging, Teba fiddles with the string of his bow. “I mean… yeah. She was in trouble.” He says it so plainly, as though he hadn’t even considered the possibility of leaving her.
Mipha watches him for a few long moments. This Rito was a total stranger— and yet he had come to her aid without a second thought, at risk of his own life. Had she not seen his prowess in combat, she would call it foolish. But Teba was perfectly capable. He knew what he was doing. He was not reckless— he was selfless. Her knight seems to come to the same conclusion; he nods slowly, and says nothing more.
With introductions out of the way, the four of them begin toward the Domain in earnest. The Zoras take the waterways; the Rito flies above them. Mipha does her best to keep her eyes on him— she does not succeed. He seemed to have a penchant for interfering with monster fights, though, so she assumes he’s probably being helpful.
They reach the village without another hitch, with Teba flying not far behind them. He— has a different bow. Mipha sees her guard noticing the same thing; they make eye contact, and she just shrugs. Surely the Rito had his reasons.
They’re ushered to the throne room— Teba tries to linger behind, but Mipha doesn’t let him.
…
Saki’s gonna kill him. Saki was gonna kill him and Teba was probably going to let her, because, well, he’d flung himself through a weird window whirlpool thing without even thinking about it.
If he can get back to Saki, that is. He tries very hard to not make a face as he carefully does not consider the possibility of being stranded. Surely, if he could end up here, he could end up back home. He’ll figure something out. He’s resourceful, or stubborn, or whatever people like to call him.
Well. However he was getting home could wait— he’s sort of talking to the King right now.
Now, Teba tries his best to be sympathetic when he thinks of King Dorephan. To the Zora, the events of the Calamity still seemed very recent. The loss of Mipha was still very much an open wound. Grief is a terrible thing, and it can make people do terrible things. The loss of a daughter affects the relationship with the son.
But Teba, as a father, has very little sympathy for a man who treats his son the way Dorephan treats Sidon.
The first thing the King does is make sure the kids are okay. Well. That’s already better than what he’d done when Teba and Sidon had come back from Ruta. He checks in with the knight that’d been with them, makes sure that everyone is still ready for another fight should the monsters return.
“And you,” King Dorephan hums. His voice is slow and steady, but his gaze is intense.
“Father, this is Teba,” Mipha smiles, though it tugs downward at the edges. Her father glances to the guards standing behind them all. “He aided in the fight with the lynel.”
“You fought the lynel.” Dorephan tries to look indifferent, but Teba can see the way his face twitches with concern. “I suppose that is where Poseidon was?”
Mipha nods, both exasperated and fond. The little prince sheepishly smiles. Teba gets the distinct impression that this is not the first time Sidon has tried to sneak off to Ploymus Mountain. Actually, now that he thinks about it, there had been that one time the lynel’d been gone even after the Blood Moon—
“On behalf of the entire Domain, I must thank you.” The King leans forward to look Teba in the eye. “Both for the safety of my children and the safety of my guards.”
Teba bows again. “I’m glad I was able to help.” Okay, he has to know. He glances to the little prince, trying to be as respectful as possible. “Does he, uh… do that often?”
“Yes,” both Mipha and Dorephan say at once. Teba nods and tries very hard not to laugh.
He hadn’t really considered how Dorephan would act when Mipha was around. The King sounds so much warmer. When Sidon looks up at his father, it’s without a hint of fear.
Somehow, the thought makes Teba feel worse.
“I hope,” Dorephan tries to scold, clearing his throat as though he is also trying not to laugh, “that you do not act out in such a way when Princess Zelda visits.” Poseidon giggles, sheepish, but he nods.
Mipha smiles at Teba with all the kindness in the world. His heart aches. “I am glad that this time, you were here to aid him. We are in your debt.”
“It’s what I do.” He smiles back at her. All he can think of is the statue.