On his first night back in Zutona, Tonatiuh slept soundly.
The next day.
The crisp chirping of birds stirred his thoughts awake.
"Chirp, chirp."
Tonatiuh slowly opened his eyes, still groggy from sleep.
An unfamiliar bird was perched by the window. He didn't know what kind it was; it had a hint of blue-black coloring. It had been resting quietly, but when it noticed him looking, it began hopping around and chirping, tapping the wooden windowsill with its small beak.
Tonatiuh shook his head.
The creatures in Un'Goro Crater were almost all left to grow wild. There were countless kinds of plants and animals, so it was only natural that he wouldn't recognize some of them.
The light of the Eternal Statue had drawn many small animals here. One unfamiliar little bird was nothing unusual.
Morning light streamed through the window. Day had broken.
"Mm."
Tonatiuh threw off the thin blanket. The Eternal Statue could regulate the climate, and Zutona was enclosed within a barrier, so it wasn't cold at all. Still, he'd gotten himself a blanket, purely out of habit.
As he got dressed,
Tonatiuh smiled at Xal'atath, which he carried with him, and said, "Good morning."
No response.
He didn't mind. Once dressed, he stood by the bed and looked outside.
A vast sea of forest stretched toward him in the distance, its emerald-green expanse like a gaping maw that could swallow everything. Only Zutona's walls, separating the city from that wild, untamed vitality, brought a measure of peace and ease.
This was Un'Goro Crater.
Tonatiuh couldn't help but marvel. "It's so beautiful."
Indeed, compared with the Tanaris Desert, a primeval forest was like paradise—as long as there was no danger to life.
A paradise that belonged to him.
He left the bedroom.
A small figure was leaning