Disclaimer: I don't own any part of HZD

Warning: Rated M.

Note: I hope since you've gotten this far into the story that you'll leave a review. I know I'm not a great writer but I do put a lot of time and effort towards creatng a chapter. It is especially challenging to write sex and this chapter...and possibly the next will include it. Is it too much, maybe I should just focus on plot and not romance? If it was worth your time to have gotten this far, could you tell me why?

Chapter Five

Umnak would not be a part of this hunt, Ikrie was disappointed to learn. Not that she blamed him, he was the oldest hunter she had ever met afterall. What she found sad, was the fact that the ending of the story that had made him a legend, would include him.

The man could see it in her face when he told them, but he was not bothered by it. He took them time to explain:

"My girl, I have spent my entire life trying to destroy this killer. I have led the best hunters to their deaths. To him, I have also lost my love...my son in pursuit of some supposed glory, but still he lives on. Until it is put down, countless more will meet a brutal and meaningless end."

He stopped talking then. His eyes wandered away; Aloy imagined he was reflecting upon his many losses so she didn't speak. She had many question she would need addressed shortly, primarily, about what kind of machine The Claws Beneath was. Ikrie was still holding her hand, she was so very warm, and alive. What kind of peril were they about to face? Was she okay knowing that Ikrie was going to go into this hunt believing their odds of death were greater than their odds of survival? Her questions paused as Umnak continued.

"I would rather live my final years with the peace of knowing that no other Banuk had to die because I failed...many times. The stories of Aloy and her accomplishments have led me to believe that she is the one who can finally put down this menace."

"She will." Ikrie spoke confidently. "And I'll be with her. At least one of us will leave being able to sing the end of this song, but first we need to prepare."

It was settled that they would meet at Snowchants after they settled their debt with Lauvuk. After the fight the previous day, they would need to restock their supplies with Patras the trader, but also strategize how they would take on the vicious creature. What went unsaid, was Ikrie's desire to get her tattoo. Aloy wasn't under the impression that she no longer wanted one, but she was too distracted by her empty stomach to express concern about it.

There was a river at the bottom and a treeline in the close distance. Goats would surely be plentiful there they deduced.

The snow became deeper the further they descended along the sloped pathway. It was frustrating for Aloy, the entire time she had been in The Cut, the obstacle she most resented was the snow. It made travel slower, even when riding on the back of a strider. Hunting was definately more difficult searching for white animals in white terrain. She had to admit to herself that the challenge probably made her a better hunter, but now, more than ever, she was eager to get back to the green world. If she returned to the Sacred Land, it would be in full summer. She wouldn't have to wear so many layers of clothing, there would be sweet berries growing, it made such a wonderful paste to put on fish.

Then again, going back to the sacred land meant facing the admiring gazes of those who used to spit at her. Even worse than the strangers, it was the people she knew whom she dreaded most. The night after the Battle in Meridian, she was approached by War Chief Sona who was about to depart for her longed for home again. They walked together in the jubilant city, but despite the noise around them, her commanding voice was clear.

"Aloy, if you return to the Sacred Land and you are ready to begin your next stage of life, should you choose Varl as your mate you will have my blessing."

Aloy hadn't been drinking at the time, but what saliva was in her mouth shot back into her wind pipe. The proposition had caught her by surprise and she began to cough. The war chief placed a motherly hand on her back and thrust gently against her.

When Aloy had regained composure, the normally stoic woman was wearing a slight smirk. Sona was not known for jokes, Aloy was certain she was dead serious.

"Mate?" she coughed out, the dark woman continued.

"You are still young, I am not expecting you to leave with me now, but the Nora need strength and leadership in the years to come. He has been a good son to me, and I would be proud to claim you and your children as kin.

Uncharacteristically, Sona enveloped the red-head in a friendly hug. Aloy patted the other woman on the back and forced herself to smile.

"Umm, thanks War-Chief; I'll think about it"

She wondered if Varl knew what his mother had done, but she was definately not ready for 'the next stage of life'. Varl was a very attractive young man, and she loved that he always had her back in a fight. The problem with him was the way he looked at her, the admiration and adoration; he didn't see her as a woman, but as some thing to be worshipped. He just needed to grow out of that, maybe in time.

"Children" she muttered without thinking. Ikrie had been close enough on the hill to overhear.

"What about them?" she asked taking another few trudging steps.

"Oh, nothing...actually, I was remembering the mother of a Brave I fought aside with in Meridian. She's interested in me giving her grandchildren."

The pale northern woman laughed briefly at the story. In the Banuk culture, the old saying went that having an infant meant two less hands to hunt with, but she was aware that children were seen as a blessing in other places. Her interest caused her to address it further.

"Do you want little ones?"

Aloy stopped trying to move forward then. She looked into the curious face and answered honestly.

"I don't know. Maybe?"

Ikrie smirked mischievously then and took Aloys hand again.

"You know if I had been a man and you placed your intentions on me, you would probably be pregnant now."

Aloy threw her free hand up in the air in exasperation; she finally wanted to address this false story being told about her.

"Why do you and Lauvuk feel that I am the one who made the first move. As I recall, you're the one who wanted to have the naked massage bath-"

Ikrie tilted her head, confused as to what Aloy was so upset about.

"Because you asked me to have sex with you." she spoke out. "I was ready to go to sleep; I hadn't even considered sharing a bed with you until then."

"I did not!" Aloy said defensively. "What I said is I wanted to share some warmth...with...you...oh" she stopped herself then as she realized then that maybe she wasn't as clever with Banuk slang as she thought she was. The embarassed heat in her chest inflamed her head again, Ikrie covered her mouth and giggled as she suddenly understood what had happened.

"Oh Gaia" Aloy muttered. "I asked you to have sex with me infront of Lauvuk and Patras.

"I just thought you were taken by the heat of battle" Ikrie held her smile to the other woman, but a few embarassed moments went by with no words said. The Banuk woman finally broke it. "I don't regret it. You were wonderful to be with; I hope I get to touch you again before we take on The Claws Beneath"

Aloy couldn't help but smile. She didn't feel regret either. Their hand still linked, she pulled the woman close and grasped her second hand.

"Well...Lauvuk did offer to let us continue using the lodge. Maybe we...warm up again?" Aloy suggested flirtatiously.

Ikrie's eyes sparkled, and she leaned in as close as their headpieces would allow.

"Did you know about the cave at the bottom of this canyon? If nobody is in there right now..."

Aloy did know the cave. It was well lit with bluegleam lanterns but without a fire it was very cold. She didn't want to kill the vibe between them but realistically she didn't want to get undressed there either.

"Let's find food." she recommended. "I need the energy to keep up with you"

Ikrie held her gaze for another moment. In her mind she was seeing long blaze hued tresses thrown back with wild abandon as her heaving breasts arched into her face inviting her mouth to devour them. She loved like an experienced woman who had been deprived of touch for ages, yet Aloy's brief adjustment to the sensation of fingers inside of her and then the traces of blood under her short fingernails informed Ikrie that she had been her first lover. Of course this wouldn't be true if she had been with women in the way they had been in their first two sessions. Aloy was sweaty from their exertions; the sweet taste of her sex followed by the salt on her skin was intoxicating kissing back up Aloy's body those strong quivering thighs nearly smothered her. The blonde's mouth watered at the memories and she swallowed causing the Nora to wonder where her mind was.

Aloy clapped her hands infront of the other woman's face.

"Are you ok?"

The Banuk blinked a few times having been pulled out of her hypnotized state.

"Hungry, right, breakfast, let's go." She turned around and pulled Aloy towards the bottom of the canyon fixing her eyes towards the forest. Maybe they could catch a small creature such as a badger or rabbit; something easy to cook. In the distance, she could see movement, but it moved robotically like a red-eye watcher. This meant if they went into the woods they were going to have to put out more energy before they finally got to eat. Of course putting one down would be simple enough with some well aimed arrows, but they always gathered in packs. As she assessed how she was going to make the first move, she hadn't realized that her companion had walked up to the river and caught within her sight a fat trout. Without hesitation, she raised her spear and quickly put an end to this hunt.

Ikrie would never know why the visual of Aloy standing proudly with a flopping fish on a pike was such a turn on. In that moment she smiled widely, but it was tinged with frustration. There were iron pots and pans near the hearths inside the cave, but cooking took time and if she had just thought to buy something from the trader, they would have eaten long ago. They could still be writhing naked in the agony of glorious pleasures. The tattoo she would be receiving would have to be embellished further just to mark the extra chapter in the story-perhaps of how they had died in fire created by their love making...although the dead do not get to receive such things.

However, if they didn't leave, they may never have met Umnak and been invited on the greatest hunt yet to come. She didn't regret meeting him.

Alternatively, she mind deduced that he would have caught up with them at Snowchants anyway since he had been tracking Aloy anyway. He would have had to wait for them to finish and thus end any question he may have about if Ikrie had the stamina to fight alongside a legendary outlander. It just would have been rude to make him wait.

The two women made their way into the cave. The Nora warned that she was a terrible cook but that she had enough salt to hide any bad flavour if she overcooked it. Ikrie declared then that she would take charge of the breakfast making if Aloy would make fire in the two hearths. This wouldn't be too difficult and she was happy to be relieved of having to prepare the meat. She found it strange however, that before Ikrie took the black iron cooking pot to fetch water from the river, she removed her chest guard and outer jacket. Sure, it was mild for a cold day outside, but the inside of the cave was hardly better. She couldn't deny that it was enjoyable seeing her lover in fewer layers of clothing; she was wearing brown leather pants and shirt and Aloy smirked in appreciation for how the outfit accentuated Ikrie's curves. The woman was not as round as the Carja dancers who entertained the streets, or even herself. The northern woman was lean and strong with small perky breasts and a surprising lack of scars on her pale, almost blue skin. How the woman wasn't freezing as she carried the pot out was a mystery to Aloy, but she didn't comment on it, instead in kind, she removed the crown of her Shield Weave but nothing more, and built their fires.

There was a short distance between the cave entrance and the camping area set up by previous hunters. This area diverted into two paths that delved further into the system. Deeper down, Aloy knew there were Stalkers, but they just stuck to their area, she was not concerned about them searching for them. The perimeter showed no signs of fighting, it looked like the previous hunters knew this was a safe place as well. Just to be safe, Aloy set a few shock wires to guard the passageways. The walls were decorated with various Banuk symbols and colors, especially blues and yellows. She knew the signs were stories but she didn't understand just by looking at them. She wondered if it was common for the people to tattoo these markings on themselves as Ikrie was planning to do with their incident with the Fireclaw. Aloy took a few moments before her companion returned to sit on the cold floor near the fire and just try to absorb some warmth. She looked ahead of her and tried to interpret a few stories.

One blue triangle surrounded by red circles. The blue triangle carries a red stick. One hunter faced many predators, the hunter defeats them?

Two red lines parallel to the floor: Dead hunters. One blue line its centre is red: One injured hunter. It is within a circle: a battle that took an entire day. This one was painted too close to something else that got painted over so she wasn't able to figure out what its enemy had been.

A yellow square beside a blue square. A black line connects them. Strange, there is nothing more to the story. She looked up to the ceiling then and other parts of the cave wall and saw similar symbols in that orientation. Thankfully, her questions on that would be addressed sooner than later as Ikrie arrived back bearing a heavy cauldron of icy water. She smiled widely at Aloy as she placed it on the ground and picked up another pot before spilling some icy water into it.

"Hey Ikrie, these cave walls tell stories about its visitors right?" She asked as she stood up, preparing to be of assistance if requested.

"Yeah." Was the reply, Ikrie placed the larger pot on the cooking grate that covered the hearth. She then pointed to a large one on the wall behind Aloy. It was clearly a large claw coloured in red with blue finger tips. "That's the Thunderjaw that attacked the Burning Spear werak up in Ban-Ur. It killed a lot of hunters before it was finally taken down. I reckon this was drawn by one of the children of the fallen."

Interesting.

"What about these?" Aloy asked, pointed to the Yellow and Blue Square symbols that appeared several times. Ikrie's mouth made an O shape and she raised an eyebrow, but no words came out. Instead, she placed the second pot over the second hearth and dropped a packet of herbs in it.

"Fish soup and tea?" Ikrie asked, not addressing the question asked. She grinned before taking Aloy's spear, which had been leaning against the cave wall, and used her knife to force the fish into the pot. "Why are you wearing so much clothing?" she continued. "It's hot in here."

The Nora had to agree that it was not as cold now that the blaze was going, but it didn't feel to her as hot as the Banuk woman was making it out to be. Also, she was being evasive, which piqued her curiosity even more.

A different packet of herbs was dropped into the pot which would be their tea.

Aloy cleared her throat to get the other woman's attention to no avail. Ikrie picked up a metal spoon out of another cooking pot and gave their future meal a swirl with it. She looked up then at the inquisitive outlander and cheekily turned her back to her, keeping her attention elsewhere.

The Nora wasn't sure how to interpret this. On the one hand, Ikrie was making their meal so she was busy, but it was soup? There was nothing more to do until it was done. Thinking perhaps she needed to try another approach, she moved directly behind the blonde. She placed her arms around her and pulled her close. She could hear the other woman's breathing hitch as her lips approached her ear.

"Why won't you tell me?"

Ikrie closed her eyes and dropped the large spoon into the pot; she pressed back into the embrace. The metal armor was an unfortunate barrier between them, but it wouldn't be a difficult one to remove. She groaned as Aloy pressed her lips softly against her neck; she would tell her anything she wanted. The northern woman wasn't trying to be coy, but her hands had been busy and no Banuk worth their Bluegleam would tell a story without animated movements. Also, she needed to gauge the fiery woman's response. Every story could change depending on how one's audience reacted to it and the one she was about to tell was quite simple, but she had time to be creative.

"Alright" she began, pushing back on Aloy to give herself space to talk. She walked up to the set of symbols closest to them. "Give me a moment." She looked closely back and forth between them before moving on to another set, and then a third set. There were more, but she left it at these three. She looked back to Aloy and was struck by the affectionate smile she was receiving. She returned the expression but had to take in a few breaths to calm down the palpitations in her chest. It made her feel even warmer than she had been a moment ago, but she imagined it was just the heat of the large fire between them. She clapped her hands together before raising them to the sky and began the tale.

"Outlander! Many stories you have heard along the road, and many you have made in your journey to these frozen wilds. By the side of your humble narrator you have walked, and fought and bled for, and in this place of mysteries you have come seeking answers. These lips are yours to command and shall speak no lies!" She touched her own lips with three fingers the presented her palm from this hand. "I sing the song of one, two and three" she pointed to each of the three paintings "who in this place of sanctuary, fate bequeathed them each the same gift. Hands together, two and two and two, "She held her hand out to Aloy who reached out interlocking their fingers "seeking a kind relief from the cruelty of winter come together, they held each other closely, becoming one and one and one. And the walls remember them, and the gifts of many others of our yesterdays, tomorrows and today, a story as hallowed as any hunt, for what is the song of the hearts beat than that of life."

It was a lot of flowery language, but Aloy got the gist of it. She wanted to ask why Ikrie needed to go through the whole process of making a story when she could have just said "A lot of people stopped by here and coupling occurred", but she liked the way the blonde woman was staring at her with dark eyes and semi-opened lips. Her own mouth felt dry then and she licked them for the moisture, but she realized then that maybe Ikrie was right, that the cave was very warm.

"Aloy," the Banuk spoke with throaty voice. The Nora felt an instant rush of wetness down below. "Did you like my story?" She moved to be before the stunned looking red head, who nodded and coughed to clear her throat.

"Mmmhmm, s'good." She hadn't noticed that Ikrie's hand had come up to her shoulder and before she knew it, the metal hull of her armor fell with a clank on the stone floor. The sound was like a signal. Aloy couldn't stretch out the tension between them any longer, aggressively she closed their distance and smashed her lips against Ikrie's, painfully feeling her teeth break skin, but she didn't care. They moaned into one another's mouths flavoured by copper, even as the blonde redirected them and pushed Aloy against the cave wall and dextrously began undoing her pants.

Ikrie growled and sucked hard against her bottom lip as enough of her clothing was loosened and she was able to slide her hand inside to cup the soft and wet ginger mound.

For the most part, Aloy was fully clothed as she was taken against the wall of the hunters cave. Ikrie's adept fingers played with her and they found a rhythm much too quickly before with a high exhale of quivering breath, Aloy's release came as she gripped Ikrie's body to keep from falling. She held onto that sweet northern face and used her thumb to wipe off the blood from the side of her mouth. She kissed her once again before she herself began trying to undress her lover. Ikrie pulled off her jacket revealing her underlayer of clothing, the soft body suit that was done up in buttons. Aloy kneeled and arranged the jacket so she could be on the floor.

"Where ya going?" Ikrie said breathily as her buttons continued to be undone. The red head was the skin beneath the fabric as it was revealed. She looked up and with an impish grin.

"Becoming worthy of a cave painting I hope."

Ikrie had to chuckle then, it helped push back the worry. Her heart pounded as Aloy's bitten lips kissed the top of her pubic hair and nuzzled it and inhaled.

"You shouldn't be doing that." A voice in the back of her head spoke in an annoyed tone, but it was silenced by what sounded like a muffled snarl coming from Aloy. She hadn't realized her eyes had been shut, but when she opened them, those hazel orbs were fixed intently on her awaiting permission.

"Let me" her words barely a whisper but they conveyed so much more within the Banuk woman. A chance at forgiveness and healing was being offered, trust. She could feel some strong emotion in her chest and behind her eyes, but she didn't let the sting of it show. Instead, she placed her hand within her fiery tresses and offered herself. Aloy smiled, and lifted one of her legs over her shoulders. It disbalanced Ikrie, she used her other hand to hold against the cave wall in front of her.

Neither of them would remember it as having been an especially graceful act. Athletic would have been a more apt description, it had taken a lot of balance and strength to keep themselves from tipping over. Aloy hungrily lapped up the sweet nectar as her tongue made swirls and different patterns on the whole of her sex. She tried to use Ikrie's moans as a sign that she was doing something right or that she should try something else when she moved her hips away. She knew she was in a good place when she placed the hard flat of her tongue against Ikrie's clit and the Banuk woman began thrusting her hips into her face, her breath loud but rhythmic, she called out loudly,

"Stay there!...Oh... Stay, Ok!"

Aloy let her take her pleasure and her neck threatened to cramp, but Ikrie sounded so incredibly sexy as she became louder the closer she came to release.

"There!...Oh...Ohhh...Aloy yes! Oh! Ahhhh!"

Ikrie gripped the back of Aloy's head hard as her climax rushed through her like waves, and she rocked her hips with it until it was calm. So calm. It wasn't a feeling she was used to, and the feeling she had pushed back before returned in full force. It felt like a hand gripping her heart attempting to soothe the broken places, it was warm.

When Aloy looked up, she was startled by the tears she again saw falling down Ikrie's cheeks. It took only a second as their eyes reconnected that she understood what she was seeing was neither fear nor sadness as she had seen the previous night. There was a lightness in her eyes and in the muscles of her face; somehow she seemed to be more beautiful than ever because even though she was crying, she seemed to be caught up in another feeling. To her, it seemed closer to happiness.

Aloy bursting with compassion pulled Ikrie to the ground and held her close.

By the warmth of the fire, the two women shared a few peaceful moments forgetting briefly that they may not live to see the day after tomorrow.

A heavenly spicy aroma filled the cave, a sign their tea was ready to drink and soon would be followed by their meal.

The hunt was soon to continue.