Teb was eight the first time he met Aloy.

His father had just come back from a hunt and was trying to teach him how to gut a boar, though Teb wrinkled his nose at the smell of the blood. His father was handing him the knife so that he could help when he heard the first shouts coming from the top of the hill that Mother's Heart stood on. Curiosity had always been a weakness of his, his father said so, and it won out once again.

Ignoring his father's shouts to come back, Teb raced through the village, dodging around people and jumping over anything in his path, until he finally reached where the shouts originated. He halted, panting, right in front of the Matriarch's longhouse. The door slammed open as he watched, causing him to freeze, and the High Matriarchs stepped out.

"I will not stand for this, Teersa! It is a demon!" One shouted, her face twisted into ugliness and scaring Teb enough to make him take a stumbling step back.

"Lansra! Be silent! You'll-" Whatever she was going to say was cut off by a shrill cry from a small bundle that he had just noticed in her arms. "Oh, Mother, you've scared her!"

Lansra sneered. "What care I for it? Get rid of it, Teersa!"

"This is not up for discussion, Lansra!" Teersa looked around for a moment before her eyes fell on Teb, head down and backing away. "Ah! Young Teb, is it?" He nodded meekly as she stepped forward and patted his head. "Would you be a dear and hold her for me? I need to talk some sense into my sisters." Her voice lowered to a whisper and she winked at him, eyes twinkling knowingly. At his nod, she carefully arranged the bundle into his arms and turned back to the fuming Lansra.

While they continued their argument, sometimes shouting and other times whispering, Teb looked down into the blankets and gasped.

A baby! He thought in surprise. The baby had stopped crying as soon she was in his arms and was now looking at him curiously. A pretty baby too. Prettiest baby ever.

Teb had never really seen any other babies, but he was pretty sure that she would be prettier than them all anyway. Her hair was the color of a sunset, and her eyes were the color of his favorite toy. His mother had called it… emerald green? Yes, emerald green. She had painted it for him on his sixth Naming Day, and it had been his favorite ever since. She had funny little orange dots across her nose too, that almost looked like the star shapes his mother showed him at night.

The baby smiled at him then, a great big gummy smile, and he just had to return it.

"Hello!" He said happily. "You don't have any teeth! I've never seen anyone who didn't have any teeth." He stopped to consider for a moment. "Well… except for maybe my grandfather, but he at least had one tooth. You don't have any! But don't worry, I think you'll get some. My mama said that babies have to grow a lot once they're born."

The baby just kept smiling at him, wriggling in the blanket until one of her tiny hands was free. She reached up and grabbed at his nose, giggling a little. He made a face at her, scrunching his nose under her fingers and causing her to laugh again. With that, Teb was lost.

"I like you." He decided. "We're gonna be friends, okay?" He grabbed her hand and shook it like he had seen his father do with other hunters sometimes.

"It is unnatural, an abomination!" Lansra's shout startled Teb.

They're not talking about her, are they?

"It cannot and will not be allowed to corrupt our people!" He stepped back and held the baby closer, as if to protect her. They were talking about her.

"And what would you do, Lansra? Kill her?" Teersa retorted, close to losing her usual calm. "She is a child! An innocent child!"

"Cast it out then! Send it away! I will not tolerate its presence in Mother's Heart!"

Teersa went silent and bowed her head in thought. Teb's stomach suddenly didn't feel right, and he looked down at the baby. She was still smiling at him, hands now playing with the beads around his neck. She was so tiny.

They wouldn't do that, would they? Who would take care of her? There… there are animals and machines out there! There would be nobody to protect her! Teb sniffed a little and held the baby tighter. Looking into her eyes, he made a promise. I won't let that happen, baby. I'll take care of you.

As quiet as he could, he turned around and scurried back through the village, using shadows and alleys to get back to his house. Father was probably out looking for him or with the other Braves, and mother was with her friends taking care of the younger children. Mother's stomach was very big now, and they had told him that he would have a brother or sister soon.

I'm sorry, mama. Sorry, papa. Teb thought, wiping his nose on his arm. I made a promise, and you have to listen to the Matriarchs. I can't leave her alone.

Cautiously, he inched the back door of his house open and stuck his head inside.

Empty, good.

He walked over to his bed in the corner and laid the baby down, placing his pillows next to her so she couldn't roll off. Grabbing one of his father's packs, he set about trying to pack as quickly as he could. Lots of blankets, jerky, water, milk for the baby, a loaf of bread, the hunting knife his father had given him, and his bow and quiver. It wasn't a very big bow, and he suddenly wished he was a little older so he could protect her better, but he would have to do whatever he could to protect and provide for her.

Since nobody else would.

The girl was content on the bed, giggling and playing with her hands, innocently oblivious to the grim expression and tears on her self-proclaimed protector's face. Teb placed the now full pack on the ground by his bed, and, taking a piece of charcoal and old parchment from the table, scrawled a short message to his parents to explain. He knew they would worry, but he didn't want them to get in trouble with the Matriarchs because of him. He knew that he would be an outcast after this.

His parents had told him about outcasts when he was little, told him that they were bad people and that he couldn't talk to them ever. Teb would miss his parents, would be sorry that he wouldn't get to meet his little brother or sister. He'd miss his friends.

But she needed him too, outcast or not.

Hoisting the bag over his small shoulders, he stumbled under the weight of it. It was heavy, but they needed everything in it, so he squared his shoulders, stood as tall as he could under the weight, and picked the baby up. Time to go.

He left through the back door again, just to be sure, and made his way through the village avoiding people wherever he could. Teb was a quiet child, and any adult who saw him luckily just looked right over him. Stopping cautiously when he got near the gate, he looked around, surprised to see it open and unguarded. He decided not to question his good luck and rushed through, heading to the nearest patch of trees.

He was nearly into the forest when he heard someone call out to him. Clutching the baby tighter to his chest, Teb turned slowly and prepared to run if needed. When he recognized Teersa walking calmly towards him, he took an automatic step back and turned to run.

"Teb! Hold a moment there!" She called out, and he stopped in spite of himself. Turning back around and eying her suspiciously, he remained silent. "Where are you going, dear boy?"

Arms trembling as he held the baby, voice cracking with the tears gathering in his eyes, he spoke accusingly at the High Matriarch. "I'm taking her away! Y-you were gonna send her away. You were gonna let her die! I won't let you, she's mine now! Just leave her alone!" Voice lifting to a shout at the end, Teb heard the baby whimper softly and realized that he'd scared her. He bounced her gently, as he'd seen some mothers in the village do, apologizing in a whisper.

Teersa just smiled at him gently, startling him. Shouldn't she be mad at him?

"Teb, my boy, what makes you think I'd do that?"

"But…"

She held up a hand. "Come with me."

Teb hesitated for a moment, but eventually followed. They walked an unfamiliar path up the mountain opposite Mother's Heart, and as it started to get colder Teb halted to wrap the baby in an extra blanket to keep her warm. After a while they came upon a small cottage in a clearing, far from the main villages, where a huge, bearded man was chopping wood. As soon as he noticed them, he dropped his axe and knelt respectfully in front of Teersa with his head lowered.

"Greetings, Rost! It's good to see you well."

The man, Rost, refused to look up and stayed silent, confusing Teb. Why wasn't he talking?

"Come now, Rost. Stand up and talk to me! I'll not be punished for speaking to an outcast, especially when I have a request to make of you."

"Of course, High Matriarch. Shall we speak inside?" The man finally stood and addressed her, voice deep and warm. It made Teb feel safe, and he watched him with wide eyes. Why was this man an outcast? He didn't look like a bad person. Maybe outcasts weren't bad people after all.

When they entered the small, warm home, Teersa asked Teb to sit on the bed in the corner and watch the baby while the adults talked by the fire. He plopped down on the bed and watched the baby play with his beads, gumming on them happily.

He wasn't stupid. He knew why they were here. Teersa was going to leave the baby here, as an outcast, with Rost. She would be taken care of… but Teb would never be able to see her again. He wouldn't be able to even talk to her. He sniffed, tearing up again.

He could still take her and run, but… he really didn't know how to take care of a baby. What if he accidentally hurt her because of it? Now that there was a chance that she would be okay, Teb remembered his mother. He really didn't want to leave her, and she was probably really worried about him.

When Teersa and Rost finally finished talking, they walked over to find the baby sound asleep in Teb's arms and tears running down the small boy's face, his forehead resting on hers. He finally sniffed and wiped his face, looking up at Rost defiantly.

"Rost will take her, Teb. She'll be safe with him." Teersa coaxed him gently.

Teb just held her tighter, staring up at the man. Rost was surprised and impressed at the young boy, protective and unafraid for an unknown baby he had only just met. Such bravery deserved his respect. Rost knelt on one knee in front of the boy and stared at him seriously, just as if he was a man grown.

"I will take care of her."

"Will you take good care of her? Make sure that she's happy?"

"I will."

"Do you PROMISE?!" He stressed grimly.

"I swear it on my spear." Rost answered, equally grave.

Teb nodded solemnly and carefully placed the still sleeping girl into the man's giant arms. He hesitated for a moment and removed his beads from his neck and placed them carefully over her head.

"So she'll remember me." He said firmly, then looked up challengingly. "And so I can find her, when we both grow up."

It was six years later that Teb saw a little red-haired girl as he ran along the Brave trails. His eyes locked onto the string of beads around her neck and he smiled. He remembered. He remembered, and when she saved him from the heard of machines bent on trampling him, he felt like such a failure. He was supposed to protect her! He tried to talk to her, tried to thank her, but his father came after him. Yelling, not listening, talking about them, about Rost and Aloy, like they weren't even there, like they were less than nothing.

Teb felt like an even worse failure when Rost stepped in front of her to protect her from Teb's own father. When his father stomped away, Teb snuck back while he wasn't looking. He followed Aloy at a distance, hoping to catch her alone so he could thank her. He watched the confrontation with the other children and burned with rage, promising himself that he would make that boy's life miserable, he could manage it easily enough.

When he heard Rost and Aloy fighting, heard Aloy begging to know about her mother, his heart hurt, and he wished he could make himself known. He wanted to be able to help her. He had promised, even as a child, to protect her. Some protector he had turned out to be.

An idea came to him though, as they set off to begin her training for the Proving. If she didn't need a protector… then he could still help her, still be there for her. She would need someone in Mother's Heart, when she came for the Proving. He would wait for her.

He would be whatever she needed him to be.