Avad descended the stairs, searching the crowd with his gaze for Aloy. He found her waiting for him, leaning against the metal door of the elevator, her gaze lost somewhere in the sky. She was wearing the typical Carja attire of Meridian that suited her so well. A smile automatically formed on his face upon seeing her. She also had a backpack hanging on her back. The king couldn't help but wonder what she might be carrying.
"Hey, are you ready?" she greeted cheerfully, waving her hand and smiling back.
"I hope so..." he replied, blushing slightly as he thought about his conversation with Marad. "What are we going to do?" he asked, intrigued.
"It's a surprise," she responded with a smile. "I hope you'll like it. Let's go!"
They left Meridian through the area where they had gone to gather wood days before. Both were silent. Aloy looked determinedly ahead, as if searching for something in the forest, and he couldn't take his eyes off her or get his thoughts out of his head. When would be a good time to try to tell her how he felt? Suddenly, she came to a sudden stop, startling him. She grabbed Avad's wrist and pulled him towards a bush.
"Hide and listen carefully to what I'm about to say. Do you see those Grazers?" she said, pointing to a herd of machines grazing.
"Yes..." he replied, confused.
"I thought you might like to sabotage one. I can show you how. The day we came for firewood, you seemed quite impressed when I did it, so I thought of bringing you here to show you that it's not complicated."
"Ohhh..." he said. "Honestly, I would like to, but I'm a bit... well, quite afraid..."
"I'll be by your side the whole time," she said, handing him her Champion's Lance, the one he had given her himself. "We'll sabotage the machine together, and I won't let anything hurt you. If you're stealthy, everything will go smoothly." Hesitating, he took the weapon, lightweight yet sturdy."
"Alright, tell me how to do it." he finally responded.
"Great!" she exclaimed "You need to hold the lance with your right hand and bring it close to the Charger. The machine will stay still, and you won't be in any danger. When I tell you to stop, it means the machine is sabotaged, and... that's it!"
"Alright, I think I got it, but you'll come with me, right?"
"Of course, absolutely, let's go! You're going to love it." she said enthusiastically. Crouched down, they approached the herd stealthily. One of the machines had strayed a bit from the rest. That would be the one they would sabotage. Carefully, they closed the distance until they were only a few steps away "I'm going to hold your hands so you can see how it's done, okay?" he nodded, swallowing nervously, feeling his heart racing. Aloy's idea intrigued him as much as it made him uneasy, especially the latter. She circled around him from behind, making him blush, and placing her hands on top of his, she started counting down in a whisper in his ear "Three... two... one..." and with a strong push, she moved towards the animal, pressing their bodies together, urging the monarch forward. The tip of the lance lit up in an orange hue. Holding his hands, and slowly, the orange hues turned into blues. When it was done, Aloy pulled the lance away from the Charger and brought it back towards him.
"Is it done...? Is it done?" —he whispered, his voice slightly shaky. Without a Focus of his own, he couldn't see the holograms that appeared around the weapon. It was the first time, excluding the day Aloy had sabotaged the Broadhead to gather wood, that he had been so close to a machine without it lunging at him.
"Yes" she responded "You're still alive, aren't you?" she asked playfully.
"I think so…" he replied with a smile, wiping the sweat off his hands on his pants. He had gotten genuinely nervous.
"Alright, now stay here, I'll scare the rest off so they won't attack us."
"Okay, yes, better... I'll wait here." he answered, not taking his eyes off the seemingly docile machine. Aloy ran off with a war cry. The lights on the Chargers turned red. That meant a fight, but with a single blow, she took down one of the machines, rendering it useless. The rest scattered as soon as they saw it.
"You can come out now." she signaled Avad. He cautiously peeked out.
"Now comes the best part," she said as she ran towards him "it's amazing to feel the speed riding one of these, you'll love it, although since it's your first day, we better take it slow."
"O-oh, wait, you want me to get on there..."
"Of course, why would you sabotage a machine if you're not going to use it?"
"It's just that... um…" he sighed "I'm really embarrassed to admit it, but I've never ridden any kind of animal, machine, or anything... actually, I've hardly ever left Meridian." he added, his gaze fixed on the ground, embarrassed, clutching his biceps with his hands "For someone like you, this might sound... silly, but I'm really scared of machines…" he stuttered, embarrassed, not lifting his gaze from his feet, as if expecting her to laugh at him.
"Oh, I see, I'm so sorry... if you want, we can leave it for another day, and today we can go for a walk on foot, if you prefer... Not too long ago, I hadn't even left the Embrace, so I understand how you feel. Machines can be really frightening at first… You feel your body freezing the first times they attack you. And everything looks immensely big, while you feel insignificant." he fell silent, lost in thought.
"Well, at this point, I'm not going to give up without trying," he responded after a few seconds, "lest you think that the Sun-King Avad is a coward... but let's go very slowly, please." he requested.
"You're not a coward, and I don't think you are in the slightest." she replied with a friendly smile. Then, she redirected the conversation back to the strider, "Alright. Whenever you want to stop, just tell me, don't hesitate, and we'll stop instantly, get off, and continue walking." He nodded.
"Thank you, Aloy." he said. She responded with a kind smile and positioned herself next to the strider, intertwining her fingers to create a kind of step for him to climb up more comfortably. Once he was seated, she explained how to control it.
"When you want it to start walking or go faster, you have to tap its belly with your heels, and to steer it, you need to hold onto some cables coming out of its neck. Do you want to try, or should I steer?"
"I think the most prudent thing is for you to do it this time." Avad pointed out.
"Alright, then make some space for me, I'm going to get on the front part." she moved carefully on the strider's back towards the back. With an elegant leap, she mounted the strider, right where he had given her room "Ready?" she asked.
"Well... I-I think so," he responded uncertainly, wrapping his arms around Aloy's waist, holding onto her as if they were suddenly going to take off. Gently, she tapped the strider's belly with her heels. The strider began to walk. Nervously, he held onto her even tighter. They went slowly until Aloy felt he was more secure, noticing that the strength of his grip on her had lessened. Gradually, she accelerated the speed until they were galloping. She let out a cry of exhilaration. The wind tousled her hair, and she smiled joyfully. After a good while of riding, Avad shouted, feeling more confident but still not letting go of her, "I must admit, this isn't so bad!" She smiled contentedly. They rode around the outskirts of Meridian, circling the city a few times. Considering he hadn't ventured far from the place, she preferred not to stray too much. They would do that later. Finally, they returned to civilization. She helped him dismount, and they headed back towards the palace.
"Did you like it?" she asked, hoping that it had gone that way.
"Wow…" he sighed "It was incredible. I admit I was terrified at first, but I liked it! Thank you, Aloy, it's a big step for me."
"I'm really glad, that means you'll want to do it again, right?"
"Yes!" he exclaimed with enthusiasm "I'd love to do it again." They walked in silence for a few seconds until Avad added, "One thing... what was the backpack for?"
"It was for another plan, but it's better that we try it another day. I think you've had enough for today." They returned to the Sun Palace, where they encountered Marad the Unflinching.
"Excuse me, can I take Avad for a moment?" he asked "There's one last important matter he needs to attend to."
"No problem." Aloy responded.
"So, how did it go? Did you tell her? What did she say?" the advisor asked once they had prudently distanced themselves from Aloy.
"I have good news and bad news." he replied. "The good news is that we had an incredible afternoon. I tamed a strider with my own hands, and then we rode around all the outskirts of Meridian on it." he narrated enthusiastically.
"But you have a phobia of machines!" he exclaimed, impressed.
"I still can't believe it..."
"And the bad news is that you didn't tell him a word about what we talked about, right?"
"Well... no, but that doesn't mean I won't do it... it's just that I didn't find the right moment."
"Ahhhh..." Marad sighed. "That's fine, but I advise you not to delay too much. Even though I'm really happy to see you so happy, remember we don't know how long he's going to stay in the city." he said, very pleased for his friend. The Sun-King smiled back.
When Avad entered his room, Aloy had prepared a mixture with plants of an orange hue. Seeing it, and remembering when she cured his corruption-tainted wound, he feared the worst. She chuckled at his tortured expression, guessing what he was thinking.
"Don't worry, this time it won't hurt, really. It has a bit of corrupted root in it, but most of the mixture is Medicinal Valley's Blush, which will make it heal much faster. At worst, it might sting a little, but compared to yesterday, it'll feel like a tickle." He sighed.
"I guess... I have to lie down," he said, shyly taking off his shirt. Aloy, unable to resist, briefly let her gaze slide over his sculpted body as he settled in. She took the vial and let droplets of the liquid fall directly onto the wound, and then gently spread it with two fingers around the area. She noticed that this time the temperature of the cut was stable, not exceeding that of his body. Finally, with a clean cloth, she dried the edges of the wound, leaving the part that hadn't completely healed yet damp.
"And... there you go," she said once she had finished, giving one last look at Avad. He didn't venture far from Meridian, but it was clear that he trained hard. His abs were defined, and his arms looked strong. "Didn't hurt as much as you thought, did it?" she asked.
"Honestly, you were right. There's no comparison. It stung a little, but nothing like before," he said, sitting up relieved. "It actually felt good," he added, blushing slightly as he thought that the way she had applied it had felt like caresses.
"And now it will heal incredibly fast, you'll see for yourself in no time."