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A loftwing doesn’t always come the first time a child stands beneath the goddess statue. It might not even come the second, third, or fourth time. But one always comes eventually. At least, for every person living in Skyloft, that was true.
Pipit’s loftwing arrived the second time he stood beneath the statue. Between the quick arrival and the quick bond he had formed with his bird, everyone knew right away that he was destined to be a great knight of Skyloft someday.
Annoyingly enough, Groose’s loftwing arrived the third time he stood and waited. Everyone had praised him for only taking three attempts, or at least they did until Zelda got annoyed and decided to wait below the goddess statue for her own loftwing.
Her bird showed up on her first try.
Slowly but surely, everyone in Link’s class began receiving their very own loftwing, giving them access to the entirety of Skyloft and its surrounding islands. Everyday after class, Link made it a habit to wait below the goddess statue for an hour or so. No one had ever heard of someone waiting longer than two weeks for their loftwing to finally appear, but it had been three months since Link started his daily ritual.
It was like clockwork with him. Wake up, eat, attend class, eat again, finish class, wait under the goddess statue, eat, then bed. Rinse and repeat for three months.
Groose and Link never really got along, but when it was becoming more and more apparent that Link’s loftwing wasn’t going to show, that’s when the bullying picked up. It got so bad, Link knew he could slap “Get bullied by Groose” on his daily schedule twice a day- once before he went to the goddess statue, and once after he walked away without a loftwing of his own.
Zelda offered to take him flying on her own loftwing countless times, but each time Link turned her down. His feet had never left the ground of Skyloft, and he swore that they never would until he had his own loftwing to sore on. A loftwing was a promise from the goddess that she was still watching out for them, and that they would never plummet below the cloud barrier.
It wasn’t just Groose that bullied him for not having a loftwing. While no one else said it to his face, Link could hear the whispers from the adults on the island. According to them, he was someone the goddess obviously didn’t see any point in protecting. He was the one destined to fall, to lose a fight against gravity one faithful day and not have his own loftwing there to catch him before plummeting to his death.
“Your loftwing will come one day, Link! Don’t worry!” Zelda would reassure him every day after chasing off Groose and his gang.
Every day her words would light a little spark inside of Link and give him hope that the day he received his loftwing would be that day. And every day he would drag his feet as he walked away from the goddess statue and await the expected teasing from Groose. Some days he’d fly above Link and throw eggs onto his head.
“It’s not something you can just force to happen,” Pipit would tell him in between classes. “I know my own loftwing showed up pretty quickly, but it wasn’t because of anything I did, I can tell you that.”
Gaepora would pass Link in the hallway and tell him of the research he was doing on loftwings and why Link’s likely hadn’t shown up yet. Possible injury, maybe it hasn’t hatched yet, or maybe it’s simply taking a very long nap. None of those options seemed likely, but Link would always make sure to thank the headmaster for his work before locking himself in his room for the night.
“I have to thank you, Link. I was scared I would take the longest to receive my own loftwing, but it only took ten days!” Fledge told him the day after he received his bird. “I was worried Groose would start bullying me too.”
As the fourth month creeped closer, Link’s grades began slipping. He noticed his mind would wander later in the day as his eyes stared out the window towards the goddess statue. All he could think about was a bird that couldn’t even bother to show up. His teachers would try to encourage him to focus, but they never knew what to say. No child had waited as long as Link had for their loftwing. No one ever worried about whether they would receive a loftwing or not, but a few of the newer, younger students found themselves confiding to their parents and teachers that they were scared they’d be like Link when they grew up.
“You’ll know when your loftwing is going to show up,” Karane tried to explain. “I wouldn’t call it a voice, but you’ll notice a presence in your mind, like someone else is there. It’s pretty sudden and will happen when you’re standing below the goddess statue.”
The day the fourth month hit was what could only be described as absolutely horrible. Link had managed to over sleep past the point of missing breakfast. The only reason he woke up in the first place was thanks to Zelda banging on his door to get him up in time for class. Once he was outside the safety of his room, Groose decided to switch up the schedule and get an early start on all of the teasing for the day.
“Happy four month anniversary, Link,” he teased as Link slid into his seat by the window. “You know, as someone who genuinely cares, I’ll give you some advice.”
Even though Link didn’t turn to acknowledge him, Groose kept talking. “After class, instead of going over to the goddess statue, why don’t you go over to a platform and just jump? Either you have a loftwing and it’ll come save you, or you meet the fate you’re destined to have without your own loftwing.”
Class started and everything was a blur in Link’s mind. He briefly heard his teacher mention an extinct breed of loftwing, but he didn’t bother to stay tuned in for long. As much as he hated Groose, he had a point- without a loftwing, Link would almost certainly meet his end by eventually falling off of Skyloft. He wasn’t going to speed up the process and willingly jump, but it was still a horrifying thought to think about tripping one day and suddenly tumbling down towards the clouds.
“Link, take a seat, class hasn’t been dismissed yet.”
Link hadn’t realized he had stood up, nor did he really register his teacher’s words. Instead, all he could focus on was the faint humming in his his head. He wasn’t sure what Karane meant when she mentioned feeling another presence in her mind, but Link wasn’t about to risk missing out on the thing he had been waiting his entire life for.
Without thinking, he bolted out the door, not even noticing Zelda hot on his heels. Several other people must’ve guessed the reason why Link was running and followed out of curiosity, because he was not alone by the time he reached the goddess statue. Completely out of breath, Link tripped once he reached the center circle, but before his body could hit the ground, something soft appeared underneath him.
Sure enough, he ended up face planting into a pile of crimson red feathers. Link slowly raised his head to stare into the eyes of a loftwing- his loftwing .
In that moment, all of the frustration and anger he had felt over waiting so long for his loftwing to show up melted away. Despite not being able to share words with one another, Link knew what his loftwing wanted from him. Before a teacher could come over and assist him, Link climbed atop his loftwing and let out one long whistle.
He had spent the last few months worrying about falling below the clouds, but in that moment, soaring about the clouds, he realized that being able to experience the view from above Skyloft was well worth the wait.