Aloy was freezing and on fire. She could hear whispers, murmurs around her. There was a tug at her thigh, a pinch and a stinging pain. Over and over again. She tried to move her hand to swat away the thing causing the pain, but found that her fingers were entwined in another set.

"She's waking up, Teb."

"Working as fast and cleanly as I can, Varl." Varl. Where was Erend? She tried to tug her fingers away, but found that she had no strength. She gave up, exhaling sharply as the sting returned to her thigh. She turned her head away, wincing, and was met with the smell of Hintergold emanating from her shoulder. She opened her eyes slowly and saw a bulky bandage covering the majority of her right shoulder, blood soiling the stark white of the fabric. But when had she…

The arrow. The last Eclipse soldier. Erend's horrified face.

Erend.

"Teb," she whispered. Teb continued to focus on her thigh, but spoke back to her in a calm, even tone.

"You're safe here, Aloy. I'm almost done stitching this wound and you can rest. The fight is over. Everyone has been cleared from the field." She swallowed slowly, drawing a small breath.

"Erend?" she asked. Teb looked up from his work, eyes locking with hers.

"They took him to Helne. She's set up across town in Olin's apartment. Aloy, he… it didn't look good. I'm sure she is doing everything that she can to save him. She stared up at the ceiling, blinking in an attempt to keep the tears filling her eyes from falling.

She shouldn't have loved him. Maybe that would have saved him. This war had taken everyone and everything she had loved. Rost. Her home. Her normalcy.

Now Erend. If he died…

Teb's needle brought her back to the present. The squeeze of Varl's hand on her own made her wish it hadn't. "There," Teb said. "Done with the worst part. Now just the dressing. The Hintergold might sting a little." he began applying the paste to her wound, which stung as promised. But Aloy sat still, focused on her breathing, trying not to think of the very real possibility of Erend's death. Teb wrapped more of the white cloth around the wound, securing it with a small pin. "All done," he said. We'll change those every day, and at some point we will take the stitches out."

"And you're going to need to stay off of that leg for at least a week. And no crutches so that shoulder gets some rest. So basically, little warrior, that means that you're stuck in a bed, doing nothing, for no less than one week." Helne said, walking through the door. Teb smiled, Varl frowned, and Aloy took a deep breath to keep herself from bursting into tears. Helne's presence meant one of two things. Varl took her breath as annoyance with the Oseram woman, and snapped at her.

"How dare you address the Anointed that way! You do not order her around like some common-" Aloy ripped her hand from his, ignoring the flare of pain it caused her.

"Like some what, Varl? Some outcast? Like some girl who isn't good enough to be talked to by the rest of society?"

"Anointed-"

"Stop calling me that, Varl! I'm not your Anointed!" Varl stood from her bedside, face contorted in anger. He left the room in a rush, not saying anything. As the door slammed shut behind him, Helne burst into laughter.

"Even laying there with most of your blood missing, you're the most fierce little warrior I've ever encountered. Let me take a look at her, Teb. You've done good work." Teb smiled, speaking softly to Aloy.

"Focus on healing, Aloy. I have a feeling this city isn't done with you yet." Aloy smiled back at him.

"Where will you go?" she asked weakly. She hadn't realized how much energy her outburst at Varl had taken. Helne stepped up beside him, patting his shoulder.

"He's going to stay here with me. Never met someone with a knack for healing quite like him. Helps that he's a stitcher, now I can stop listening to the men bitch about their scars being too jagged." Teb continued to smile shyly, seeming to seek approval from Aloy. She smiled at him again.

"That's fantastic, Teb. I'm so happy to hear that. Who knows where I would be without you here." Teb frowned, shaking his head.

"You would have pulled through," he said. "You always do. Even when the odds are stacked against you, and there's no help, or no one who will listen to you, you pull though. That's what makes you you, Aloy. And you're right, you aren't our Anointed. You don't belong to anyone." he smiled sadly, brushing some stray hair out of Aloy's face. "I'm so sorry for how the tribe treated you, Aloy. We were wrong," not waiting for a response, Teb turned and left the room. Helne stepped closer to Aloy's side, carefully examining her dressings.

"We're lucky to have that boy here," she said. "I can't be in two places at once, and I've never had someone learn as quick as him," she sat on the side of the bed, locking eyes with Aloy. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Helne, please." The woman sighed, patting Aloy gently on her uninjured arm.

"It was bad, Aloy. I won't lie to you. I'm not sure how he made it down here with that arrow in his chest. It was barbed, had to pull it all the way through. His ribs on that side are trashed, skin is so bruised it looks like a moonless sky, and he isn't moving much air through his lungs, broken nose, more cuts and bruises than I could catalogue. But he's alive. Somehow. And it's going to be work to keep him that way. He needs rest. So do you. Strict. Rest. I'll be doing what I can for him, and Teb will keep an eye on you." Tears rolled down the sides of Aloy's face, and she had to focus to keep herself from sobbing.

"When can I see him?" she asked meekly. Helne shook her head slowly.

"It could be weeks, Aloy. Weeks until you are well enough to travel across town, even longer for Erend. I'm going to have to keep him medicated for a time, make sure his wounds have enough time to begin to heal. I'm not sure who will be harder to keep down, you or him." She patted Aloy on the arm once again, standing. "I need to go back to him now, Aloy. Rest. Worrying won't do anything for either of you."She walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind her. Once she was sure Helne was out of earshot, Aloy wept.

She shouldn't have fallen in love with him. He would die, and she would be to blame.