A couple more days and several more meetings later, the Vanguard were ready to head out. But missing Aloy so far, and Erend was getting worried. Though she had said she'd be leaving with them, she wasn't there in his arms when he woke that morning.

She did leave a note, saying she'd be there later, but she hadn't shown yet.

"Captain? We're ready sir." One his men said, and Erend shook his head.

"We aren't leaving without her-"

"Sir, don't worry, we aren't suggesting it. Just letting you know." He said, holding up his hands. Still. Erend simply looked to the outskirts where Mother's Heart's gate was. He hoped Aloy hadn't gone hunting, what if she got injured? His own mind came up with so many scenes of her bleeding or trapped. 'Relax.' He told himself. His imagination was always running away with him, so he decided to turn to speak to his men.

Before he got the chance however, he felt thin arms hug his own arm.

"Aloy!" Erend grinned, and she laughed. "Yeah, sorry I'm late. All packed now., and I got up early to get some help too."

He wasn't sure what she was talking about, but as they exited the main gate, five striders stood there. Several of the men put hands on their weapons, but Aloy stopped them.

"Hold on! These are the help, see?" She proved this by mounting one, which stood perfectly still. Erend, once again was amazed by her.

Hours passed, and the machines she had overridden helped pull the carts, which put the men into good spirits, not having to haul them themselves.

Erend's second in command was leading the men now, so he and Aloy could talk in the back without too many of them hearing or seeing what they were doing. Not that they could do much besides kiss and such. Erend was still on duty after all. Still, it was great to just hold her hand as they walked together.

"We're making good time, thank you again for the striders." Erend smiled, kissing her on the cheek. Aloy smiled back, squeezing his hand once. "You're welcome, again-wha?" Erend pulled his hand out of hers to snake it around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

"I love you." He said quietly, pausing to kiss her deeply. Aloy made a surprised moan, and returned the kiss. "It's getting dark soon, maybe you and I should uh, go look for a spot to camp, come back to the others in a few hours?" He whispered suggestively, and her cheeks turned pink. She let out something between a huff and a laugh, then looked away.

Alas, night came all too soon, because they weren't able to make love. Erend had to tend to one of his men that had gotten caught in some very prickly bushes trying to eat the berries. Aloy didn't laugh at his face, which was now sour, but she did smile, and kiss him before being asked away to tell them a story about her life. There were a few women in the Vanguard, and Aloy was now in their grasp.

Erend had a bad feeling whenever a group of women were around.

"So, how did you end up together? Never took the captain for a romantic, but around you he seems nothing but." One asked, raising her brow. "I saw how he holds you close."

Aloy's heart beat faster when she thought of their first night of passion together, and her eyes darted away, as if they could see that night in them.

The other two women laughed. "That good eh?" The other said. "I gave my husband a black eye for feeling me up one night after a drunk night. Before we were married of course." Aloy laughed. "So... What is marriage like, for the Oseram?" Aloy asked, almost shyly.

"Oh! It's different for the Nora, right?" Aloy nodded.

Apparently, a lot different. Rings, a whole ceremony and feast for the bride and groom.

"Why, what do the Nora do?" Well, they asked. And she told them. They both turned pink, but a look of both surprise and glee on their faces.

"Well well, they simply bed each other? Have you and Erend...?"

Aloy sighed, and the women's eyes went wide. "You have?!" One exclaimed a bit loudly, the other clamping her hand over the mouth. Aloy rested her forehead on her arm. A part of it was amusing, the other part she better understood why Erend seemed so shocked at the 'mates' part. The a part of her even wondered if he thought of her as his mate now. He said at that time it wouldn't be proper to mate before marriage.

"Aloy?"

"Hm?" She looked up and both of them were looking at her more closely.

"What?" Aloy asked, and one scooted closer to her. "If you...you know, what about...a child?"

Aloy turned red, she could feel the burn in her cheeks. "W-what about it?"

"There's a chance you know, for a baby, what if-" But Aloy stopped her.

"That's not going to happen." That statement surprised them. "The Nora, they have something. Herbs that prevents a child."

There was a silence, then the younger one looked both confused and annoyed.

"Forgive her," the older one said. "She's been waiting, and it seems she's missed out on some things... Me? I'm a proud mother of two boys." The older one beamed, folding her arms. Aloy laughed a bit, then heard footsteps closing in on them. Aloy turned to see Erend's face, looking lost and shaking his head. The two women stood and the younger one bid Aloy a goodnight, before walking off. The older one nodded to her, then to her captain, but before he got any closer to Aloy, she nudged his arm, then whispered something to him. Erend froze, then looked at Aloy.

"What was that?" Aloy asked as he sat down, pulling her close.

"She just threatened me!" He said, now looking as if she had punched him. Aloy couldn't help but half smile. "Seriously? Why?"

Erend shook his head. "She said if I ever hurt you, she'll uh...do something I wouldn't like. What the hell did you talk about?" Aloy burst out a short laugh, then kissed Erend's cheek.

"Just girl stuff, I'm sorry she threatened you..." He sighed. Women. He figured he'd never be able to live with one, but with Aloy, he found he wanted to.

He fiddled with the fire near them, thinking it was too soon, but Aloy halted his thoughts.

"Erend?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Come with me."

She stood up and began walking off into the trees, and he followed.

When they were a ways from the camp, she paused. Might as well.

"Erend-"

"Marry me-"

More silence. Then Aloy broke it.

"W-what?"

Erend advanced on her until she had to look up at him, and his face was serious. "I said, I mean asked... By the forge-" He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I know the Nora have their mates, but we, I, the Oseram, marriage is really important. I wanted to ask you when you said you loved me back, but I thought it was too soon. Then when you came to me that night, and we made love..."

"Erend, are you asking me to marry you because-"

"Not because we already bedded each other. I love you Aloy. More than I've ever really thought I could love someone. You saw me at my worst, and still helped me, accepted me. No one's ever done that. I want to marry you, because-"

Aloy didn't let him finish, she kissed him, and he swore he felt as dizzy as if he was drunk.

She pulled back enough to say one word. "Yes."

Before she knew it, she was up against a tree, his hand squeezing her hips. She wrapped one leg around him, pulling him closer, and could feel the bulge in his pants. Erend kissed down her neck, then shoulder, cupping her butt, grinding himself against her core. Aloy moaned his name, and he started back up her neck, then kissed her as his hand slipped into her leggings, stroking her lips between her legs. She moaned into the kiss, her legs shaking, threatening to buckle out from under her. He slipped a thick finger inside her and she broke away gasping. He moved it in and out a few times before removing it altogether, and Aloy made a dissatisfied noise.

Erend broke the kiss and then knelt in front of her, pulling her leggings down as he went. He moved her armor skirt aside, then licked her core, making her gasped loudly, before pulling her lips into his mouth and sucking on them. Aloy couldn't help the moans that escaped her now, as Erend pleasured her, and her legs shook even more. She lost control when he started sucking hard on her sensitive nub. Her lips found his as she mounted him, and more clothing came off.

Aloy took out a vial from her armor and chugged it down before going back to Erend. She lowered herself onto him as he angled himself into the right position. He moaned at the sight of her sliding down onto his cock, the sensation almost overwhelming. As she began to ride him up and down, his hands went to her hips, and he started to thrust upward.

It all felt so good Erend thought he could die happy, making love to this woman. He couldn't control his voice soon, as her walls started to clench around him, moaning her name into the night as he thrust up into her tight heat. At last his release came and he exploded inside her, Aloy gasping as her own orgasm came, and she rocked herself on him through it all.

They took their time getting cleaned up and back to the camp. Thankfully, most the men were asleep and the night watch didn't say a word when he saw them coming from the woods. Aloy was led by Erend to his tent, where they stripped down to their under clothes and he fell asleep holding her in his arms. Aloy closed her eyes, smiling as he whispered how much he loved her, and her dreams were filled with possibilities of the future.

"Aloy?" Erend whispered when he couldn't feel her by him anymore. He opened his eyes to her not there. At first, blinking the sleep from his eyes, he thought maybe she had gone out to relieve herself or something, but it was still marginally dark outside when he peeked from the tent flap. He lay back down waiting for her to return, and he must have fallen back asleep because his body woke up at first light automatically to get the day going.

Though after a while, Aloy still wasn't there. Erend couldn't help but feel a bit panicked now, and he started asking the men where she'd gone, but no one had seen her.
Aloy? I thought I saw her coming out of y-I mean, I saw her leaving the camp a while ago." One of the men said when Erend had stopped him. He was the last watch before the men woke up.

"Aloy?" Erend was now moving through the trees, walking as quickly as he could.

"Aloy!" He shouted louder. Slag, he wished he had gone out sooner to-he froze. He had put his head down and think, arms crossed, when he noticed blood on the ground. No, it was a berry, right? He knelt down, hand just touching it. Blood. Erend's panic rose now, and he ran. "ALOY!" He yelled, and he heard a noise of a machine. He took hold of his war maul and spun around, taking out a scrapper. It twitched and sparked, and he brought the hammer back down on it's head before it could get up. But there was always more than one nearby.

He heard a woman's voice, but it wasn't Aloy's. He turned again to find the older of the two women who had joined the Vanguard in his group.

"Shan?" He wasn't expecting her to be out here, crushing another scrapper with her own hammer. "Captain." She nodded to him, walking up.

"I heard you yelling for Aloy, figured you may get into trouble." She grinned. Erend shook his head, panting, his heart still racing. "Do you know where she is?" He asked quickly. "I saw blood, she may be hurt and-" Shan held up her hand.

"Don't worry, I went with her, come on." Shan said, and Erend followed beside her. They went a ways into a clearing near a stream and there sitting at the edge was Aloy, bloody cloth beside her. His eyes went wide and he ran toward her. "Aloy!" She turned, a clear look of surprise on her face.

"Erend? What are you-" Erend almost skidded onto his knees and pulled her into a hug. "I was so worried, I thought you were hurt-are you hurt? There was blood!" He rambled, but Aloy shook her head. "No, I'm not hurt. I'm sorry, I thought I'd be back by now." She did feel bad about leaving for so long, but it couldn't be helped. He looked relieved, then confused. He looked at Shan.

The woman shook her head. "He was screaming for you in the woods, attracted some scrappers as I was getting you what you asked for." Shan said, raising her brow. "Saw blood, though you were hurt."

Aloy understood now. She turned to him, and thankfully Shan began to walk away after she set the flowers down, giving them some privacy.

"I'm alright Erend, I didn't mean to worry you, I just..." How to explain to him? He had a sister, Ersa, he should know. But, Aloy had never talked about it with anyone really. Especially not to a man. She motioned for him to sit down, which he did.

"Erend, I'm not injured, I'm just...bleeding." He looked confused.

"Uh, what?" It thankfully, only took him a few more moments before it clicked.

"Oh. OH." His eyes went wide and he coughed, leaning in closer. "Ersa uh, never talked about it save for once when I pissed her off... So, let me know, ok?"

Aloy just smiled and nodded, then lean in to kiss him.

Shan stayed away long enough for Aloy to show Erend the flowers for a tea that helped the pain that came with the blood. Erend then held Aloy in his arms, her back against his chest when Shan returned.

"Alright, I'll wash those leggings while you two cuddle." She laughed, making Aloy turn pink.

Afterwards, before they went back into the camp, Erend paused and asked Shan if they could have some privacy. The woman nodded, and went back into view of the others.

"Erend?" She was going to ask if something was wrong, when he took her by the hands and kissed her deeply. Aloy made a surprised noise, but soon melted into it. When he broke away, he found his voice. His forehead rested against hers. "Marry me..." He whispered. Aloy laughed softly.

"I already said yes-" Erend kissed her again.

"Yeah, but I love hearing it."

The days went on, when at last they reached Meridian. Everyone was tired, but not as much as if they'd hauled the stuff themselves, the striders making it much easier. As much as he wanted to scoop up Aloy in his arms and tuck them both into his bed, Erend knew he had to meet with Avad about the trip. He turned to her, but she already held something in her hand.

Before he knew it she put it into his and he looked down. It was a key.

"Meet me at my place afterward." She said quietly, then walked off. Erend only felt a bit of confusion for a brief moment before it dawned on him. Olin's old place. That's what she meant, and his heart beat faster.

He went on to meet with the King, and much to his dismay, it took a couple hours to tell him about what had been talked and agreed about in the Sacred Lands. Well, almost everything. He left the part out where Aloy was back. It could wait, Erend decided.

Olin's old place had been fixed up just a bit since the battle at the spire. He used the key and went in. Inside was dark, curtains blocked out most the light from outside.

"Aloy?" He called out, and for a moment, nothing.

"Up here." Her voice called out, and he moved up the stairs faster than he meant to, but oh how he wanted her. It had been almost a week since they last laid together, he had to control himself around his men when it came to Aloy, but now they had much more privacy. Once he was at the top, he whipped his head around for her. At first she wasn't in sight, then she came out of a closet, wearing nothing but her leggings and the binding that held her breasts.

Erend crossed the way and kissed her, his arms holding her tight against him. Aloy made a small moan, then pushed him away enough to catch her breath. He began to remove his armor, and she soon followed, unbuckling his belt. But before he could discard his own fatigue shorts, she walked away, leaving him hard and panting. Aloy looked back, a coy smile showing before she went into the wash area.

Oh. OH. Swallowing hard, Erend followed her and took note what was around him. The bathtub was full of hot water, and the only light were several candles. By the time his eyes went back to Aloy, she had unbound her breasts, and was taking off her leggings. Erend turned so hard it hurt. He quickly took off his shorts, gripping himself from relief, before going up to her and kissing her neck. Aloy hummed softly as his hands gripped her hips.

She could feel his hard cock pressed against her lower back, and she moaned at the thought of him inside her. Erend's hands slipped up to her waist, then her breasts, gently fondling them, his breath hot on her neck, close to her ear. Aloy's breathing was labored by now, and she turned to kiss him after he lightly pinched her nipples. Erend kissed her hungrily, his hands on her butt, pulling her against his cock, which was now buried between her legs. She moaned into his kiss, her arms wrapping around his broad shoulders, holding him close. Soon Aloy was pulling him forward, towards the tub, and broke away to step into the water, Erend following.

Erend thanked the gods that it was big enough for both of them as they sat down, him pulling Aloy onto his lap. She faced him, sliding down to take him inside her, his eyes heavy lidded as her body went down, her hips meeting his. She let out a breathy moan as she bottomed out, and Erend's mouth went to her breasts, suckling a nipple into his warmth mouth.

The water began to slosh out as she went up and down on him, her breasts bouncing with every movement. His hands gripping her waist again and kissing her neck and shoulders. Aloy's hands gripped his shoulders, her movements becoming more urgent as she felt her climax approaching. Their moans of pleasure mixed with the sounds of water sloshing onto the tile floor. Suddenly, Aloy cried out, her orgasm hitting her hard, walls closing onto his cock as Erend grunted hard, spilling himself inside her.

"Erend!" Her voice loud.

"Ohh Aloy." He responded as she rolled her hips through the aftershocks. His head rested on the edge of the tub, eyes closed in ecstasy and panting hard. Aloy was panting too, collapsing on top of him.

They washed up afterward, climbing into her bed dry, but still naked. Erend couldn't remember the last time he felt so content.