The investigation into Bregul did not go as well as Aloy had hoped after they returned to Hidden Ember. Most of the Oseram there only knew him by name or reputation but not much else. One merchant, however, recalled a detail that did prove helpful—Bregul's partner had been delving in the Lowland clan's territory when she was killed. From there Aloy was able to make the decision on where they were to go next if they were to have any chance of finding Bregul, Korreh, or any of the other missing Tenakth—Memorial Grove. There was a chance of course that he would not be there but maybe some of the Tenakth in the Grove knew Bregul's partner.

"We should head out as soon as possible in case that's his target," she said to the others upon returning to the rooftop. "The Grove is well-defended but if he's figured out how to lure a bunch of machines to their front door and then blow it all up, it's going to be a slaughter."

Seyka grabbed her pack and moved to clean up the space. "Let's get packing then."

"Good." Aloy looked to Beta and hesitated. Bringing her sister to a Tenakth village that could possibly be attacked was probably not the most responsible thing she could do. But Seyka's words resonated with her this time, and she knew Beta would most likely object if she tried to send her home anyway. She wants to help. I have to let her.

It took more willpower than she expected to push down the urge to ask Alva to take Beta home. She struggled to get her next words out. "Beta, it…would be a good idea if you continued your training with Seyka on our way there. If that's all right with you, Seyka?"

Seyka was in the middle of folding one of the blankets. "Of course. I won't take it easy on you, though." She winked at Beta, who laughed and seemed to be genuinely excited at the prospect. Behind Seyka stood Sokorra, who nodded with approval Aloy hadn't asked for. Alva hadn't said anything but judging by how focused she appeared on packing Aloy guessed she just wanted to get out of the desert as fast as possible.

I hope I'm making the right call. For Beta's sake. She was grateful for Seyka's support in all this, but she hoped with every inch of her being her decision wouldn't result in sending Beta into unnecessary danger. She's surrounded by friends. And me. And while Aloy didn't entirely understand the situation with her sister and Sokorra, she knew Sokorra would continue to protect Beta. She could count on that.

The journey to the Grove took a few days, which each one growing more and more humid as they approached the edge of the forest where the desert and the Lowlands met. With the jungle in sight as they climbed one particularly steep and rocky hill, the warm breeze not helping the already thick air, Aloy could see the others were starting to tire. Beta in particular appeared to struggle more with each step, still not being used to such long treks. The red and black Tenakth war paint had finally washed off her face, revealing the sheen of sweat and minor sunburn she had incurred. The backpack slung over her shoulder weighed her down, but she would not allow anyone else to carry it. Aloy figured she wanted to prove to the others that she was capable and held back from offering to help until asked. Again, she had to suppress the urge to take over and assist, but she noticed it was gradually becoming easier to do so the more she did it.

As they reached the top of the hill, Beta slipped on a rock that had been obscured by piles of sand. The bag of EMP charges on her back made her top-heavy and she fell forward. Being at the front of the group, Aloy didn't notice until it was too late when she heard the scrabbling of dirt and rocks tumbling down the hill, but Sokorra thrust her hand out with lightning-fast reflexes and caught Beta's arm, stopping her midfall.

The whole group stopped as Beta's face went bright red—whether due to exhaustion, exertion, embarrassment, or some combination of all three Aloy wasn't sure.

Beta took a breath as she regained her balance. Sokorra held on to her arm the entire time, watching her with hawk-like focus until Beta nodded and muttered that she was ready to continue. Aloy picked up the pace again, smiling a bit to herself that her hopes of her friends helping support Beta had already been confirmed.

She decided to have them stop before dusk as they had just entered the forest but were still well outside the borders of the Grove. They set up camp next to the nearby stream, their tents and gear covered under the shade of the massive canopy above. Seyka and Alva volunteered to catch some fish, leaving Aloy, Beta, and Sokorra to check on the supplies and weapons before dinner.

She took a seat on the ground near the tent she and Seyka shared and spent some time adjusting her bows' strings and made a few replacement arrows, taking advantage of the break to unwind her mind a bit from everything that had happened so far. They were fortunate not to have encountered any hostile machines or bandits on their trip so far—the Tenakth lands in general had been quiet since Regalla and her rebels had been stopped. She had never met Bregul, of course, but had known enough people like him to guess what he might do. People who were desperate, grieving, wanting to die…and willing to take as many people with them as possible.

The one thing that still stood out to her were the missing Tenakth. What do they have to do with any of this? GAIA had concluded Korreh had killed the dead Tenakth man they found near Cauldron IOTA. Why were they fighting? She tightened her hold on the bow she was adjusting.

It made no sense. Not yet anyway. If the last several months had shown her anything, it was that these things came together eventually. Hopefully we'll find more answers at the Grove.

Laughter startled her, quiet as it was. She set her weapon down next to the rest of the gear and climbed to her feet. Walking through the camp, she took note of the rolled blankets, weapons, and cooking equipment they had brought with them. It was more than she would have normally packed, but then again, she wasn't on her own this time.

She found Beta and Sokorra in the center of the camp, sitting next to each other in front of the fire. She stopped when she saw that Beta was showing Sokorra how to use the Focus Aloy had given her back when she and Jaxx had come to the Base. She knew Alva had given her a quick overview but seeing as how Sokorra only recently started wearing the device Aloy understood the need for a refresher.

"…down this way. And activating this here will show you its composition—what it's made of."

Sokorra squinted up at their shared Focus interface. "What is this?" She pointed. "And this one?"

Beta glanced up to see what Sokorra was pointing at and instantly recognized it. "Oh! Those are coordinates. Locations. See…" She reached up and pointed at a glowing purple icon on what Aloy recognized as a map of the entire western region. "This one up here is the Base. And this here is Plainsong. A-and way over here is Barren Light."

Sokorra took Beta's wrist and gently moved it westward on the map until stopping somewhere in the desert. "And here? That's Scalding Spear, right?" She took her eyes off the interface to look over at Beta with a crooked smile.

Beta exhaled a short laugh, pausing to meet Sokorra's gaze before saying anything. "Yes. Well, it's technically here, a bit to the north, but you were close enough."

"You might like the tower," Sokorra said. "It's from an old ruin but we built around it. You can see everything from the top. Rhetta, one of my squad—he climbed it with me. Commander Yarra nearly caught us. We probably would have been held back from doing our last training mission, and the maybe Korreh…" She didn't finish, only shook her head.

"Sokorra," Beta said softly. She moved her hand to hold Sokorra's. "My friend died protecting me and…I still wonder if I there was anything I could have done differently to prevent it. Been more prepared, accounted for more possibilities, better planning, more efficiency—anything that would have resulted in a different outcome than…" She looked away. "It doesn't make a difference, though. I can't go back and change it. And Aloy tells me it wasn't my fault. And…I believe her. Just like you should believe me when I say you can't blame yourself for what happened to Korreh."

Once again finding herself unintentionally eavesdropping, Aloy sighed—an all too familiar wave of sadness washing over her. Varl's death had hit everyone hard, but especially Beta. They were all getting through it, and moving forward was really the only way.

Sokorra cleared her throat. "Maybe. I'll…try to keep that in mind." With her free hand she pointed up at the Focus interface again. "Now, what does this say?"

Aloy was about to leave them to their conversation when Seyka and Alva approached from behind, the murmurs of their conversation growing louder as they stepped through the brush and undergrowth of the jungle. Seyka carried a sizable fish in one hand, her gear in the other, while Alva walked alongside her.

Dinner was a quiet affair, mostly due to everyone being hungry or exhausted. Despite the sun having set, the campsite remained lit by the fire and a few of the round Quen lanterns Alva had brought with them. But without much conversation, the calls of the animals and insects in the surrounding darkness were the only sounds they had for company that evening.

Plans were made for the following morning—they would most likely reach the Grove by early afternoon if they kept their pace. While she knew Kotallo wouldn't be there, Aloy hoped she would be able to speak with the chaplain, Dekka, who might have heard or seen anything that could help them find Bregul and the missing Tenakth.

As night set in, the group retreated to their separate tents—Aloy and Seyka being the exception. On a solo trip, Aloy would have opted to sleep under the stars, but Alva insisted they travel "appropriately prepared" citing that she didn't feel up to sleeping in the open if it rained and tents were packed instead. Aloy really didn't see the point—they were out in the elements during the day anyway—but the advantage became clearer when it was time for bed, and Seyka took her hand to guide her to the one they shared.

"Thanks for catching dinner," she said once they were in the privacy of their tent. She watched as Seyka removed a few of the bulkier pieces of her armor and decided to do the same. It wasn't something she normally did when traveling alone but their weapons were nearby and Sokorra and Alva had offered to rotate watch.

Seyka arranged the armor pieces in a neat pile on the ground and proceeded to lie down on the thin, rolled out mat that was their bed. "Anytime. I was surprised when it didn't take longer. Back home it was a miracle if you caught something this fast."

"It used to be pretty bad out here, too," Aloy said. "But since GAIA got most of her subordinate functions back it's been improving. Maybe it did back in your homeland as well."

"Maybe." Seyka patted the empty space on the mat. "Come here?"

Aloy complied, taking her spot next to Seyka and expecting the usual comforting arm to wrap around her middle before their shared presence eased her into a restful sleep. But tonight was different. Seyka's hand went to her face, pulling them together into a soft kiss. Aloy responded in kind, her hands going to Seyka's shoulders out of instinct as she shifted to move her body closer to her. With the kiss deepening, the shift became an unintentional roll, and she found herself on top of Seyka—a position she quickly decided was far more comfortable than the rolled mat they were to sleep on. The usual bulky Quen armor was missing, and Aloy had to pause briefly to reset her mind when she registered just how close they were—how well they fit together.

Seyka's arms wrapped around her, her hands going to Aloy's shoulders as they both shuddered and continued kissing. Aloy's heart raced as it usually did when they were this close, and she found herself struggling to breathe as Seyka's hands dragged down her shoulders to her back where they eventually stopped just above the waistline of her pants. Aloy knew what probably came next, but a nagging voice in the back of her mind worried at her—she wasn't sure if going that far in a tent, surrounded by their friends was what she wanted.

"You're just…amazing," Seyka murmured. In the darkness, it was difficult to see her face, but her ragged breathing gave enough away to know she was just as caught up in this as Aloy was. "Aloy…is this okay?"

Aloy pulled back, her hand going to Seyka's cheek. "I want this, Seyka—I really do. I'm just not sure if, well—"

Seyka kissed her again before finishing her thought, and for a moment, Aloy wanted nothing more than to throw caution to the wind and keep going. "Maybe we shouldn't when our friends including your sister are just a few steps away?"

Aloy grinned, relieved that Seyka understood. "Something like that."

"I get it." Seyka's hands returned to Aloy's back, her fingertips pressing into the fabric of the clothes Aloy wore under her armor. "I have a confession, though."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I think I might like you better without armor, as stylish as it is."

"Ah." The feeling is definitely mutual. "Well, I can't promise anything while we're out, but I think I can arrange something when we get back to the Base." Her heart having resumed its normal rate and her breathing evened out, she rolled off Seyka with great reluctance and wrapped her arms around her. It felt good to be able to hold Seyka like this. It was protective, but in a way she was still getting used to—one that didn't require the use of weapons or fighting. "Does that work?"

Seyka hummed before settling into Aloy's hold with a contented sigh. "Thank you, I find that acceptable."