The lovers awoke determined to spend the day in a cosy tangle of limbs and bedsheets, and for a good, very good half hour, they succeeded in that. Unfortunately, the thirty-first minute brought a hammering on the door.

"Aloy," Ikrie said. Well, squeaked if she was honest.

"Let 'em knock," Aloy murmured, her face buried in the crook of Ikrie's neck, planting kisses. "They'll get tired and then we can-"

"Aloy!" Talanah's shout rang out downstairs. "Ikrie!"

This time it was a groan that resonated against Ikrie's skin. Aloy knelt up, pulling an apologetic face when Ikrie let out a frustrated whine. "I know, Ikrie. But…"

"The Sunhawk needs us," Ikrie conceded.

Aloy pulled on a gown. "I'll go let her in."

Ikrie flopped back onto the bed, grumbling wordlessly. We should've had a whole day in bad, at the very least.

She could hear Aloy and Talanah talking below as she went to grab a robe of her own. Then, even as she picking it up, something about the tone of Talanah's voice cut through to her. She froze, then immediately put the item back and grabbed underclothes, followed by her Blazon armour.

She was pulling it on when Aloy knocked on the bedroom door. "Come in!"

Aloy gave her an approving smile, but there was a tightness in her expression. "You're going to need that." She shucked off her own gown, and Ikrie had to fight the temptation to stop and stare as Aloy picked out some smallclothes. Come on, you spent all last night with her. Focus.

"What are we hunting?" she asked.

Aloy's words explained her worried look. "A Fireclaw."

Ikrie stopped dead, staring at her girlfriend to be sure that she was being serious. There was no hint of teasing. "Alright," she said, moving to the cupboard where Aloy stored their potions. "Then we need all the bottles of fire-turner that we can carry." She busied herself with that.

"Talanah!" Aloy called, as she pulled up her breeches and belted them. "You can come in."

The Sunhawk didn't waste any time. "Sorry to rope you both into this, but I need excellent Hunters for this, and you're the only two in the Lodge who know anything about Fireclaws."

"Only at second hand, in my case," Ikrie confessed.

"Better than nothing. Besides, you said yourself that you'd fought Frostclaws. That alone is more than anyone but Aloy can claim.

Aloy, meanwhile, had conceded the point with a shrug and a wry expression, and reached for her armour. "So where are we headed?"

"Rising Light first," Talanah said. "A messenger got in early this morning and came straight to the Lodge."

"Is he coming with us?" Ikrie asked. Another spear could hardly hurt.

Talanah shook her head. "Best not. He'd only slow us down."

"On which note…" Aloy slung her bow over her shoulder and reached for her spear. "Let's not waste any time."

/¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯\

They were on the road, heading north, before the sun had even fully risen. Soon they were close to Rising Light, but Talanah steered them around the village, heading into the wilds instead. "The Fireclaw attacked a camp, and the hunters lost it before they split and one came to get us."

"We're heading for that camp then?" Aloy asked.

"Just so." Talanah beckoned. "Which means heading down river."

It wasn't hard to see why – from where they stood, Ikrie could only see rapids, the river twisting its way between a capricious scattering of sharp, unyielding rocks. In many places, bits of wood or metal, perhaps broken Machines, created siphons. It was all too easy to imagine being swept into one and trapped, just under the water. Just deep enough to drown…

"Hey." Aloy touched her arm. "We're going around that, Ikrie. You can take your eyes off it."

Ikrie swallowed and nodded, and the two of them followed Talanah.

Some way past the rapids, they found a calm stretch and swam across. It was still hard going though, the water flowing fast and strong. Aloy halted in the shallows to help Ikrie out of the river.

"Thanks."

"Anytime, lover." Aloy's eyes flashed mischievously. "Warmer than any river in the

"A pity it flows so fast," Ikrie said, emptying her boots. "This would be a lovely place to take a dip otherwise. Not a Snapmaw in sight."

"I fear it's only the speed that keeps the Snapmaws away," Aloy responded, retrieving her arrows from a drawstring back and returning them to her quiver. "Talanah did mention that there's a pool in the area, though, so maybe our luck will be in after we're done poking around here."

/¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯\

That buoyed up Ikrie's spirits right until they came across the campsite. It was barely identifiable as one – almost everything here was ash and charred wood, with a few bits of metal which had melted and then set, like frozen puddles.

"Look here," Talanah said, pointing. Ikrie rather wished she hadn't. There was an enormous, clawed footprint, not just pressed but seared into the earth. Its claws get that hot, she thought.

But they were committed now, and as Aloy would've pointed out, they had a duty to keep others safe. So they followed the tracks, and when those became too faint for Ikrie to spy easily, Aloy used her Focus to guide them.

Finally, the distinct blue glow of a Cauldron loomed through the shadows of the trees.

"That Cauldron that Talanah blocked up," Aloy murmured. "I think something's uncovered it."

"So we're…" Ikrie swallowed, "going down there?"

"Well, I've got a saying." Aloy set her jaw in that fiercely determined way that Ikrie's breath hitch just a little. "When the Metal World gives you trouble, you give that trouble right back."

"I get the feeling you haven't tried that saying on anyone else before."

"True enough, but I've led Banuk there before."

Ikrie eyed her seriously. "Those were Aratak and Ourea. A grizzled old Chieftain and a Shaman who'd endured everything the Shadow Carja could throw at them. And not all of you made it out."

She didn't like to incite the sad look on Aloy's face, but she had to say it. Confident as she was in her own bravery, she couldn't feign unworriedness.

Aloy, to her surprise, took her hand and squeezed it. "Sorry, Ikrie. I didn't mean to sound callous."

"Me neither. Just… it's scary to me."

Those bright eyes glittered with emotion. "Me too. Believe me, those places are always frightening to me. But I need to go down there."

Talanah was waiting just up ahead. She pointed to the Cauldron entrance, now clearly visible through a gaping hole in the rock. "The way hasn't just been uncovered, it's a whole new entrance. The Fireclaw must've smashed, blasted and melted its way through solid rock."

"Are you sure about melted?" Ikrie asked, not wanting to believe that part.

Aloy made an uncomfortable sound. "I am. See this?" She pointed to a few bits of stone, which had a strange, puddle-like look. "These have melted and then set."

"And a Fireclaw can just… do that." Ikrie felt queasy. "Great. Uh, I suppose I should ask what you want me to hit it with. Blast bombs?"

Aloy shook her head. "The Icerail will be much better, I say. And Talanah, nothing but hardpoint arrows. We need to hit it hard, and just keep striking. It'll have Blaze containers on its arms and belly, so we want to take armour off those as much as we can."

/¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯\

To Ikrie, the rhythm of the Cauldron's depths sounded like breathing. Not for the first time, the place struck her as almost a living thing, as if they were prowling inside a Machine.

The Icerail felt strange in her grip, heavy and yes, really quite cold. That it seemed to thrum with power was, at least, reassuring, though her mind kept returning to the quarry which warranted such a potent weapon.

"Shouldn't there be more Machines here?" she hissed to Aloy.

A frown creased Aloy's brow. "Normally there would, but my guess is that Hephaestus put all its resources into one Machine."

"Then why not a Rockcrusher?" Talanah wondered. "It would have an easier time with that rock."

"At a guess," Aloy said, "because of the Clawstriders and Shellsnapper you and Amadis dealt with last time. HEPHAESTUS wants a big, brutal Machine to deal with the likes of us."

Ikrie gripped the Icerail more tightly. "That's less than encouraging." Then the ringing of heavy footsteps drew her eyes forward, over the edge of a metal slope. "Neither is that. Sacred Blue…"

It wasn't as large as a Thunderjaw, but it looked every bit as alarming. True to Aloy's description, it looked just like a Frostclaw, only much larger, armoured in black and red, and somehow possessing a more malevolent look. The air around it was hazy, and even at this distance, she fancied she could feel the heat that its body threw out.

"That's a Fireclaw alright," Aloy breathed. "Not a demonic one, luckily."

"Looks pretty demonic to me," Talanah remarked airily. She couldn't hold the lighthearted expression for long, though. "As monstrous as the rumours in the Cut made it sound."

Ikrie gritted her teeth. "It is."

"Tripcaster first," Aloy said, readying the weapon. "If you two can cover me…" She slunk a little way down the slope, and Ikrie tried to ignore the fact that her heart was now thumping away in her throat. Then they retreated into a wider chamber, Aloy setting more wires.

"Well, the slope rules out getting the first shot in with an arrow," Talanah says. "Good old Lodge sling it is. Ready?"

At a nod from both women, she drew back and loosed. They heard it hit metal, with a ringing impact which suggested something curved. She really is that good, Ikrie thought.

Less reassuring, however, was the mechanical roar which echoed up towards them and shook Ikrie's very bones. It was still echoing when the unseen Fireclaw broke into a charge and thundered up the slope towards them. The first few tripwires went up, explosions reflected by the gleaming walls.

Ikrie heard Aloy take a breath next to her, and forced herself to breath as well. She heard and saw more explosions, and her finger tensed on the Icerail's trigger. There's a bit of Thunderjaw in this, right? Let it be one of the mean bits.

Then it came into few, its armour scorched and gouged, but still largely intact. Added to which it was now very, very angry. It ploughed through even more of the wires, shrugging off the explosions. They did damage, but only a little.

Immediately, Aloy and Talanah let fly, pelting its scarred metal hide with arrows and bombs. Ikrie fired too, a freezing bolt which caught it on the shoulder. Aloy and Talanah trained their bows on the weakened part, hammering it while Ikrie fired again. The armour gave way, but then the Fireclaw was on them and they scattered, barely ahead of its scything claws.

The clamour of its attacks filled Ikrie's ears. The growl and whining of its servos were joined by whooshes of flame which accompanied every attack, threatening to scorch them. Someone swore, loudly and vehemently enough to carry over the din. Ikrie couldn't tell if it was Aloy or Talanah.

So fast. The word flashed through her mind, the only coherent thought she mustered as she skittered and rolled away from the monster. Aloy and Talanah, less encumbered, quickly got out of range, but she was less manoeuvrable, and the Fireclaw almost immediately marked her as its priority target. Aloy was yelling, drawing and loosing as quickly as she could regardless of how much damage it caused, but that did nothing to deter the Machine.

Talanah bought her a reprieve with a bomb which hit the exposed sac of Blaze. The explosion rocked the Fireclaw, ripping out chunks of armour and mangling the shoulder joint. That broke her attacker's charge.

Ikrie made good use of the opening. She brought the Icerail's spray function to bear and hit the Fireclaw with a torrent of Chillwater. It bellowed and started for her, but she kept up the barrage. Ice crystalised and thickened on its armour, and the synthetic muscles of its body stiffened as they cooled.

The now fragile second shoulder plate gave under Aloy's attack. An arrow punched into the membrane and drew up a spout of flame. This time the Fireclaw's lurch was smaller, its body less able to move. Ikrie felt her eyebrows singe from the wash of heat, but kept up the stream of Chillwater. Finally she emptied the weapon, rooting her enemy in place like an ice-rimed metal statue.

There was… not silence, but it felt like silence after such deafening noise.

"Holy Blue," she gasped. The Fireclaw was heating itself from within, the ice steaming and breaking off. It began to move again, slowly but steadily as it regained mobility.

"It's still weakened!" Aloy cried, continuing to pepper it with arrows. "Keep shooting!"

Ikrie cast the Icerail aside and drew her sling, but before she could take a shot, the Fireclaw's inner flame burned brighter and it hurled a fireball at her.

She barely rolled aside in time, hissing in pain as sparks from the impact met her skin, and again as another ball of flame came flying towards her. Talanah struck its eyes with a Hardpoint, making the Fireclaw bellow, only to have to dive away as it leapt and crashed down hard enough to mar the metal underfoot. Ikrie flanked it, pitching a bomb to explode under it and crack its chest armour, before sliding around to end up behind it.

That ought to have given her all the advantage she needed, but HEPHAESTUS had crafted a smarter Machine than that. Without even turning, the Fireclaw launched itself at her, and though Ikrie launched herself backwards in turn, it came down with an eruption of fire.

The impact and explosion threw Ikrie clean off her feet. Seemingly distant, Aloy cried out, but she barely registered it. She scrambled for a bomb and loaded her sling, but then a shadow fell across her. The Fireclaw reared on its hind legs, its terrible grinding jaws wide and fire building behind them. Ikrie gritted her teeth, bracing for the impact that would surely end her-

A trio of Hardpoints smashed into its chest and finally, the weakened armour gave way. The Fire Unit was exposed, and as the Fireclaw tensed to leap, Ikrie launched her bomb.

Praise be for the power of a Banuk sling. The incendiary struck home with such fury that the Fire Unit on the Machine chest burst. The pressurised Blaze immediately erupted, with enough force to knock send Ikrie rolling away. She did awkwardly, coming up with her weapon raised, and found the Fireclaw was still standing, but swaying. The explosion had cored it, messily scooping out its mechanical innards and leaving a sparking, smoking hollow.

After what felt like an age, the light left its remaining eye. The metal carcass crashed heavily to the ground.

Ikrie threw her hands up and howled out her triumph, silhouetted against the burning mass of the destroyed Fireclaw. Aloy came over, breathing raggedly.

"Holy," Ikrie whispered, as her lover slumped down next to her. "So… that's a Fireclaw."

Aloy nodded, clearly needing to get her breath back. Ikrie let her lean in, and gladly returned her embrace.

"On balance," Aloy eventually said, "I think we can count that in lieu of a Thunderjaw trophy. If that's alright, Talanah?"

Ikrie started, so caught up in the moment with Aloy that she'd forgotten to check whether the Sunhawk was alright.

"I have no objection," Talanah smiled, coming into view. She was covered in soot in several places, and her armour was blackened over one shoulder, but she seemed to be whole. "That was a hell of a Machine kill, Ikrie. Even if we helped, you should be proud."

"Great – and thanks, Sunhawk," Ikrie smiled. She eyed the broken Machine. "I suppose we should loot it. Before the Cauldron makes some Scrappers."

"I suppose." Aloy struggled to her feet. "And then we'd better get to the nearest settlement, so we can have a good lie down."

"Can we make it a few days of lying?" Ikrie asked, taking Aloy's proffered hand and allowing her partner to help her up.

Aloy's eyebrows shot up. "You mean you want to... lie with me? For days on end?"

"Don't act like you've got a better idea!" Ikrie stuck her tongue out at her, only remembering after a moment that they were in the presence of a Carja noble. Mercifully, Talanah said nothing, seemingly lost in her own thoughts as she inspected the fallen Fireclaw.

"No, I suppose I don't." Slipping her arm around Ikrie's waist, Aloy steered her slowly towards the Machine's remains. "Just let me get a solid meal in first. I'm gonna need my strength."

"Oh, I was thinking we'd deal with that well in advance. Store up some food, perhaps get some delivered…"

"Wow, you really have been thinking about this."

At that moment, Talanah gave a rich, melodious laugh, and turned to face them. "If you fancy some proper relaxation," she smiled. "I can go one better. You talked about swimming, didn't you Ikrie?" Ikrie nodded, and Talanah's smile widened. "Well, there's a lovely, secluded pool I can direct you both to. Think of it as my way of making up for interrupting you, this morning."

"That," Aloy said, with feeling, "sounds perfect."

/¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯\

So while Talanah headed to Rising Light to deliver the good news and collect the Lodge's payment, Aloy and Ikrie made for the hidden pool.

"You're sure it's that warm?" Ikrie asked, as Aloy shed her clothes. "Even without thermals?"

"The sun provides, Ikrie!" Aloy laughed, and leapt, without a shred of clothing, into the water. "Come on!" she called, when she resurfaced.

Ikrie grinned, shook her head, lost the rest of her garments and sprang after her, diving in and surfacing into Aloy's arms.

It would be indelicate to speak of exactly what the Seeker and her mate got up to for the rest of that day, and indeed in the following few days they spent in Meridian. What can be safely said is that throughout, Ikrie's spear stayed propped up in the room which they now both called theirs. And Aloy's spear too, right beside hers.