Her errand complete, she made her way to the cabin Rost had built for them on a hillside in the Sacred Lands, protected by a gate and fence of sharpened tree trunks at the front so that machines could not disturb them. It was protected in the rear by a forest so dense it was impassable to all but humans and small animals, by a rocky cliff to the right that jutted up far overhead, and on the left by an extension of the wooden fence.
Rost was already there, in the midst of skinning a fresh boar kill, his knife and hands glistening with its blood. Aloy craned her neck for a better view as she approached.
"That is one plump boar," she said. The animal's belly, cheeks, and neck were all thick with fat.
"He seemed to have his pick of the grubs and acorns near the weeping willow on the forest's edge. All the other boars in the area were much smaller. I think he was big to begin with, and used his size to bully others of his kind."
"He got what he deserved, then," Aloy replied, shrugging. "I bet he's going to taste delicious!"
Rost sighed. He had taught her to respect all life - man, animal, machine. Sometimes the things that came out of her mouth crossed a line for him.
"I respect the boar's life," she said, recognizing his disdain. "Why can't I appreciate its death, too? Can we not be grateful for the rich flavor it brings to our table as well as the nourishment?"
Rost considered for a moment. "Aloy... It seems easy for you to dismiss the animal's life, and the pain of its death, when you're talking about food."
It was true. Although Aloy shared Rost's beliefs that all life should be respected, it was easy to anticipate a hearty meal for its enjoyment and forget the sacrifice of life that was necessary for their survival.
"You're right. I will remember that and try to be more spiritually grateful," she said in earnest. "But look at him..." she grasped a thick boar leg that Rost hadn't reached yet in the skinning process, and wiggled it gently. "This is going to be the richest meal we've had in ages. The boar we usually kill are nowhere near this size of this one. Thank you for providing for us."
Rost nodded in acknowledgement as she left the hunting table, heading inside the cabin. She paused in the doorway. "Have you eaten lunch yet?"
"I have. There is some bread and dried fish inside," Rost told her.
Aloy brought her meal outside and sat on the porch, legs dangling over the side as she ate, watching Rost skin and gut the boar. He was methodical in his movements in a decided effort to avoid waste wherever possible. He would use as much of the animal's body as possible.
Aloy swallowed a mouthful of fish. "The Proving... it's so close now," she mused.
Rost glanced up as he skinned a leg of the boar. "It is. How do you feel?"
She took a small bite of bread and pondered the question as she chewed. After swallowing, she replied. "Excited, but also anxious. This... is my only chance to discover the truth about my past. Who my mother was, where she is now, why I was outcast... questions that have driven me over the years. It all comes to an end soon, whether I finish first in the Proving or not."
Rost set the sharp hunting knife down and spread his palms on the table, leaning forward on them to emphasize his words. "You forget the point of the Proving. In completing the trial, you will become a Nora Brave. For other Nora, it is a rite of passage to adulthood. For you, it is a means of casting off your exile and becoming a fully-fledged member of the tribe." Rost paused, considering how to phrase his thoughts. "The Proving may bring an end to the uncertainty about your past, but it will also be a new beginning. You know this," he finished quickly, picking up the knife once again and continuing to scrape the boar skin from its flesh.
"I do," she admitted. Her focus all these years had been on getting answers to her questions, not joining the tribe. Becoming a Nora Brave was not something she had spent much time thinking about, and Rost knew it. He seemed to think she would benefit greatly from joining the tribe, but she had survived the wilds on her own with his help, and now she had achieved capable independence. She didn't need the Nora. Why would she want to join with a group of people who had intentionally cast her out, for unknown reasons, when she was just an infant? It was the cruelest of sentences in a world fraught with mechanical monsters hellbent on their destruction.
"To be honest, I still don't know what joining the tribe will mean for me. What it will mean for you. I have lived my entire life with you, learning how to survive on my own. What can the tribe offer me?" she asked.
Rost knew then that he had one more lesson to teach her. She would not be ready for the Proving until it was learned. With one last slice of the knife, the boar skin came free from the flesh.
"Unfettered trading, companionship, support. But what can you offer to the tribe?" he asked her.
Aloy laughed. She wasn't about to do any big favors for the Nora. The burn of her exile would likely never leave her hardened bones. She didn't have a polite answer for Rost, so she said nothing. But then she began to wonder in earnest what the Nora would expect from her, and the good humor drained from her face. All the Nora contributed somehow to the benefit of the tribe. Was there a place for her? Would she want to take it?
She looked down at the hunk of bread in her hand, her appetite suddenly gone. She stood and took it inside, wrapped it in a waxed cheesecloth for safekeeping, and strode quietly out the door.
"I'm going for a walk," she told Rost.
"Please meet me at the campfire at nightfall," he requested. "And be prepared for battle." She nodded in acknowledgement.
He watched her go, her long red hair shining in the bright sunlight, the fringe of her leather garments swaying lightly in the breeze.
Eyebrows scrunched together in consternation, she walked downhill from their cabin and kept going in a line across the foothills of the mountains that bordered Nora territory. There were few machines here, mostly watchers and striders, so she didn't have to worry about stumbling into one. They were pretty hard to run into by accident. She looked at the watchers tromping to and fro quite noisily, making inquisitive sounds as they scanned their area for intrusions. A pair of nearby striders, on the other hand, spent most of their time facedown in the grass, munching on it for fuel. She sat down in the tall grass on the edge of the forest to watch them graze, circled by the watchers. The sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly, but Aloy was in the cool shade, breathing in the fresh air of a gentle breeze.
She found peace in the wilds. Harsh as they could be, there was a fierce kind of beauty to it all - machines and animals alike acting on instinct. It was nice to know what to expect, without the scheming and posturing of mankind. Wildlife and machines both generally wanted to be left alone, and would leave you alone, too, unless provoked. Squirrel, fox, strider, grazer - they would all mind their own business, and run away if startled. Sometimes bears would wander into settlements looking for food, but they usually didn't try to hurt anybody to get to it. Stormbirds, stalkers, and sawtooths, however, were a different matter altogether. They would try to kill you on sight. But they were all the same in that way. Once you knew enough about the different machines, you could easily avoid most of them.
After some time, she got up and continued meandering across the countryside until she reached the outskirts of Mother's Heart. Many Nora were outside the walls this time of the day, fetching firewood, hunting, or doing their laundry in the stream. She paused a moment to survey the settlement from the outside, as always - their cabins were hewn from wood, tied together with blue machine cording. Their designs were far from complex, but the Nora had few tools at their disposal. Building anything that size required a good deal of collaboration. She had seen several Nora working together once over a span of several days as they replaced the roof on one of the houses; it was a laborious process.
Some hushed whispers reached her ears; two young men around her age were talking about her from the stream where they were collecting water.
"Just stay quiet, and she'll get bored and walk away..." one of them said, a short boy with brown hair and a disdainful expression. His companion, who had a taller build and long blonde hair, shifted his weight uncomfortably.
"Excuse me? I can hear you," Aloy said, turning to face them directly.
The brown-haired boy was incensed, and spoke again with arrogant articulation. "Ugh. I don't talk to dirty outcasts," he said, turning away from her. He spoke to his blonde friend. "I'm going to tell my father she's breaking the rules."
"Go ahead and tattle to your daddy," she spat. "Are you five years old? Grow up and learn to think for yourself." She strode away, fuming.
Aloy hadn't decided which made her angrier - the ridiculous Nora laws themselves, or the way they were followed without question. As though none of them even considered the idea that some laws might be wrong, or hurtful. She had heard many things like this as she passed through Nora settlements or tried in vain to speak to members of the tribe, but the sting of the words remained fresh. "I will not speak to those cast out by the Matriarchs." "I'm not going to break the law to talk to a filthy outcast." "All-Mother, make her go away." "All-Mother protect me. I think she's trying to have a conversation."
Few Nora would deign to speak with her at all; those who did were either interested in trading, or in dire need of help with no other options. Most of them were so rooted in Nora tradition that they thought nothing of their cruel words. Outcasts had always been treated this way. Would they suddenly sing a different tune once she was part of the tribe? Aloy had her doubts.
If their disdain turned to kindness when she became one of them, it would only make their laws seem even more foolish, and the Nora all the more petty for following them. The change would make Aloy uncomfortable. People should not be treated based on their circumstances, especially ones that were out of their control. On the other hand, if they continued to treat her like dirt, why would she want to be around them at all? It was beginning to feel like her history with the tribe would be painfully difficult to overcome. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.
She wandered aimlessly for the rest of the afternoon, leaving the unwelcome company of the Nora in favor of the wild Embrace. As the sun began to slide deeper down the horizon, she climbed a derelict building in the ruins of the old ones to watch the sunset. The cement had spent countless years crumbling from the metal rebar, but there was enough structure left for her to scale it safely. When she reached the top, she pulled herself up and swung her legs over the side.
The sun was a radiant orange, bathed in shades of cherry and plum. The colors burned through the broken windows of another tall ruin that rose from the semi-darkness to the left. It was a brilliant display of warm colors and light that faded quickly to black. She sat in the darkness for a few minutes, letting her eyes adjust as the wavering chorus of insects filled the night air. It was time to go meet Rost.