Horizon Silent South

Part Two

Chapter Fifteen

Once Aloy had made it to the north shore of the main island she immediately used her spear to override a Waterwing and get herself airborne and out of the clutches of those of the Fleet's End Quen who wished her harm. She flew low and fast under the cover of darkness so as to avoid detection. It would be discovered soon enough that she had escaped, with or without assistance, and that would only contribute to the increasing chaos that was becoming a trademark of the southern Quen contingent.

Still, Aloy had other things to consider, like where in the goddess' name was Seyka and how long would it take for her to reach her destination and find the Cauldron Nu. It was tearing Aloy up inside, the idea that she had abandoned Seyka to who knows what fate. It didn't matter how many times she reminded herself that Seyka could take care of herself - it was she who was worried about Aloy after all. She was as fit and strong as Aloy, at least as good a fighter and climber - she did not however have the luxury of some of the specialist tools, weapons and resources that Aloy did.

Speaking of resources, Aloy would need to find a suitable place to make camp in the late afternoon. She had never travelled this far south before and she was unsure what terrain to expect, what sort of tribes she might come into contact with and whether she may encounter new, more dangerous machines. She would need to scope out a large region before she would feel confident to bed down for the night and her riding on the back of a Waterwing would certainly raise curiosity that Aloy had no interest in receiving.

Rost had trained Aloy well, and she had been a skilled hunter and survivalist since she was a small child. She did not need to be familiar with the terrain or indeed the specific lands in order to survive but she was concerned about new types of tribes that might use different weapons or more advanced technology than Aloy was used to. She needed to make it to Cauldron Nu in one piece.

After hours and hours of flying Aloy finally crossed the border from the old United States to the country that had been named Mexico. She had passed some outlying Utaru settlements and Oseram camps as she traversed southeast but once she had turned full south she had seen nothing and no one, and very few machines. Once over the old border, Aloy landed and allowed the Waterwing to return to its native lands; she would go on foot, at least until she had a better understanding of this new terrain.

She walked for six or seven miles, snagging a couple of squirrels with her bow as she went, scoping her surroundings for signs of other travellers, be they human, animal or machine. Besides the tracks of a few small mammals and lizards she saw nothing to give her any concern. She found a source of fresh water and a safe place to set up camp, she made a small fire and prepared her meal. Aloy's sleep that first night was undisturbed.

The following morning Aloy checked the 3D map again noting the country was long and thin, north to south. The conditions down the centre were somewhat dry and desert like, with green mountains on the east and west coast with ocean on both sides. 1700 miles to go. Aloy fixed the coordinates on her focus which would serve a compass like function, keeping her on track so that she did not have to stop frequently to check her progress. She cleaned up her camp of any debris and made sure the fire was completely out before strapping on her gear and heading out.

Aloy set a punishing pace. She was skilled enough to know how much and how often to drink, and what foods and how often she should eat to keep her body at peak performance. She had a lot of ground to cover. It was not surprising to Aloy that her last thought of the night before was of Seyka, and so to, her first thought this morning. How was she? Where was she? She accepted that she was divided in her loyalties, split right down the middle between her feelings for Seyka and her obligation to fight Nemesis with everything she had. It was her life's purpose. Like Elisabet. And there was no one else who could do it.

But Aloy's divided focus had led her into a pickle at Fleet's End. Yes, that was a pickle; a small problem with a fortuitous escape. She had gotten lucky alright. It was a warning, an opportunity to see how much more serious her lapse in concentration could have been. Under different circumstances, it could have cost her her life. So Aloy gave herself a stern talking to and this morning she was back to her normal, focussed, committed self.

Every time thoughts of Seyka came into her mind, Aloy reminded herself that Seyka was a skilled hunter and fighter and could look after herself. She ignored the feelings of guilt and worry that she could not vanquish and turned her attention to her surroundings. She stopped every now and then to pee and rest, to stretch and snack, she was very vigilant about her surroundings but there were no signs of life except a few birds, lizards and small animals.

Later in the afternoon Aloy began to see a few machines but they were few and far between. Also they were not aggressive at all. They just stopped in their tracks and stared at her, some even took a few steps forward to get a better look at her. Their eyes followed her until she was out of sight and then they went back to their business. At first, Aloy was just as curious to see them as they appeared to be to see her, but as time went on the experience actually became a little creepy.

It was not until late afternoon that Aloy realised that Mexico, so far, had no people. No signs of people. No tracks, no paths, no villages, no tribes. Not one lone traveller, except herself. And the machines were as placid as none she had ever seen in any place she had ever been. They simply paused to observe her then went on with their day once she was out of sight. And quiet. Gods it was quiet down here.

Aloy trekked fifteen miles that second day and her sleep reflected the effort. She lay down, thought of Seyka, rolled over and woke up as the sun was just peeking over the horizon. She checked around her camp thoroughly for tracks, any sort of tracks, and was relieved to find nothing but a few small animals who were clearly unbothered by her presence. Yet another sign of the absence of human beings - either that or they were vegetarians.

Again Aloy cleared her camp and saddled herself up with her gear and set out for the day. The muscles of her legs ached for sure after the previous day's monster effort so she slowed her pace just enough to make herself comfortable. The last thing she needed was to sustain an injury.

Aloy surveyed the terrain as she hiked. Where the ground was green, the soil was moist, dark and rich, featuring a variety of grasses, flowers, shrubs and trees. Edible leaves, berries, nuts, fruits, mushrooms and vegetables were plentiful and bursting with colour. The animals were as bold as the machines, they did not run from her but rather they paused mid task to observe her, they looked healthy and strong to Aloy's eye with bright, shiny eyes and glossy coats.

Subordinate function Artemis was responsible for preserving and re-establishing animal life and all the species that Aloy was familiar with from the other side of the border was present here too in this strange new land; boar, racoon, squirrel, rabbit, big horn sheep, goat, prairie dog and red fox. She had recognised birds including; the jay, pigeon, owl, peccary, crow, vulture, goose, duck. There were lizards and Aloy was confident that if she went to the ocean she would find the scorpion, crab, lobster, carp and salmon, moonfish and bass in the rivers.

Many hundreds of years ago this land too would have been desolate of all life thanks to the Faro plague, thought Aloy, but now… She could not help be in awe of the perfect rehabilitation on display. Elisabet's dream had come to fruition. Aloy supposed that the lack of human presence was merely only a matter of time; those born of the Eluthia-9 cradle had slowly formed groups, tribes, and spread out across the land. Eventually they would make their way here too.

The only sounds that could be heard on the gentle breeze were the incidental chatter of the animals and the movement of machines in the distance and Aloy considered that she was very likely the only human being for more than 1000 square miles. It was an eerie feeling. Even for one who so recently thought she needed the help or companionship of nobody else.

Chapter Sixteen

On day four Aloy overrode a clawstrider for the purposes of speeding up her journey. The sheer isolation of the vast terrain was really playing on her mind and she still had the return journey to consider. She tried not to think about Seyka but the lonelier she felt the more impossible it became. Aloy felt like she had abandoned her. She had gone to Fleet's End because she was concerned for the woman and nothing she had learned there had allayed her concerns - in fact, Aloy had learned that Seyka was more or less missing.

In addition to that, with all this spare time to think, Aloy began to wonder how Seyka, locked in a cell with only her focus, had come to the conclusion that Aloy had come to some harm. Either someone told her that, for instance a guard or even Rheng or she learned it from a communication on her device. Theoa had said that Seyka began screaming, screaming so loud that she could be heard clear across the island and so much that her voice gave out. It was difficult to imagine Seyka so distressed.

Yet, like Seyka, Aloy was an extremely experienced fighter and able hunter, Seyka had seen that for herself. So what scenario could strike such fear in Seyka, on Aloy's behalf, that would invite such a response from her? Something catastrophic, certainly. And who would benefit from that? There was only one name that reverberated around Aloy's mind. One face that flashed before her eyes. But could he? Would he?

The answer was undoubtedly yes. But why? What purpose could it serve? Sylens was the only person clever enough to manipulate the focus system, the only person devious enough to be working multiple angles for his own agenda and the only person wicked enough to go to any lengths. She had thought that the pair of them had finally reached an impasse. She had thought them finally on the same page. Aloy had finally started to trust the old Banuk Shaman.

Aloy's speed had picked up unconsciously as a product of her agitation. She felt immediately that she was falling into the same trap she so recently climbed out of - distraction. Aloy dismounted the machine without slowing its pace and began hiking, taking in her surroundings from all angles. Just because she had come to the conclusion that she was alone out here in the wilds of Old Mexico did not mean that it was true. Or that things could not change unexpectedly. If Aloy came into difficulties out here - there would be no Rokomo, no Theoa, to lend a hand.

Dammit. If Sylens had hurt Seyka in any way she would tear him limb from limb. Calm down, Aloy! This situation was completely untenable. She began to moderate her breathing, she had to get herself and her emotions under control. The machine ahead of her slowed from a gallop to a canter and would eventually lope into a trot before slowing to a walk. Eventually, if Aloy did not give it a command of some description it would eventually amble away to return to its home territory and its regular chores.

Her heartbeat steadied, her breathing slowed. She stopped to rest, to take some food and drink. Okay, she began her self talk, the fact is that you don't know where Seyka is. You don't know if she is in danger. In any case, you are in no position to help. If Sylens has her, you can at least take comfort in knowing that he is not an out and out killer. Sure, he would kill her if it served his purpose - her heartbeat sped up again - but that would be a last resort. Besides, Sylens would not make an enemy of Aloy unless he really had to. Did he have to? What was he up to?

Aloy shook herself. You are almost halfway to the cauldron, which was not quite true, and you have an important task to do. In any case you are far too far from anywhere to do anything about anything. Focus, Aloy. Gather all of your concentration to reach your destination. Face your foe. And then you can apply all of your efforts into finding Seyka. That is all you can do for now. You cannot serve two masters. Put Seyka aside for now because if you get caught in another trap you will be of no use to her or in the fight against Nemesis.

Having harnessed her self-command, Aloy took some much needed nourishment for the next leg of the journey, she mounted the surprised Clawstrider and put it into gear. She rode throughout the afternoon with full concentration on her surroundings and the terrain before them, together, she and the machine began eating up the miles. She rode right up until the moment the sun dipped below the skyline, she leapt off and immediately set about making herself a small camp for the night.

She usually slept soundly but tonight it was not her mind that was keeping her awake but her saddle sores from being jostled around on that unwieldy beast. Tomorrow she would override a Sunwing. It would be more comfortable and it cut her travel time significantly. Aloy had calculated her chances of running into human beings this far south, when she had found no evidence of any such activity, significantly low. Flying was certainly worth the risk.

Two days later when Aloy was at the halfway point in her southern journey Aloy really did feel like she was going mad. At any other time in her life Aloy would have thought that she was more capable than most of surviving solo - her upbringing as an outcast had prepared her for that, if nothing else, surely? But not so. Sure it was beautiful in the south - untouched pristine beauty of the landscape, but the loneliness of this journey was a real head fuck. The isolation. The goddamned silence. It was maddening.

She had never gone this long with a fight in her life. Shooting an unsuspecting racoon at a distance for her dinner was not a fight. She had been defending herself against outraged boars and scrappy watchers since she could hold a bow. She had never killed a human being until the evening of The Proving - but that had been self defence; she had not even hesitated and since that moment she had been fighting and killing animals, machines and people on a daily basis.

Not that she missed the killing, she was not psychopathic. An image on Sylens face flashed across her mind and she forcefully pushed it back out. But she had to wonder if she did not miss the fight, just a little. Truth be told, after all this alone time - really deep alone time, it was hard to tell quite what she missed. Perhaps she was confusing a fight for just plain contact. She snorted. God, a person really could go insane out here - it made sense of the tribal punishment of banishment. Even the criminals tended to form packs at some point, rather than travel alone.

She had lost track of the days now but at least she had her mind and her thoughts under control. She still thought of Seyka but it was more manageable now and less all consuming. She knew Seyka was out there, maybe in need of aid, maybe not, but the dangers associated with a divided mindset were not worth the risk. Aloy sprang out of her bedroll at day break every morning, she washed, ate and drank, packed up her camp and flew until her bladder screamed for relief. She ate and drank some more and then flew until nigh on dark and did it all over again. And again, and again.

Chapter Seventeen

Finally Aloy had reached a point of proximity which made it prudent to begin scanning the terrain for evidence of a cauldron. At first she did not really know what she was looking for precisely, it would be rather difficult to spot a black triangular doorway amongst so many possibilities - but then it occurred to her. It was called a cauldron, after all, because of its proximity to ancient volcanic sites, the heat and energy was the source of the power of the facility.

This fact made Aloy's job much easier and it did not take long for her to spot the circular mound rising out of the earth in the distance. It was not a very high mountain but the rock formation was almost perfectly round and the land all around for miles was a deep shade of green, what appeared to be thick green grass and lush green vegetation.

"That has to be it!"

A sense of relief flooded Aloy's system. She had been on the move for the best part of a month, she knew that as a fact of simple math because the Sunwing could travel max about 80 miles per day. But the whole journey had felt a lot longer than that. As Aloy approached she could see that the distinctive landmark was actually hollow, filled with water like a basin. She nudged her mount into a lower and slower flight mode so that she could appreciate the finer details of this beautiful landscape.

She made a wide arc of the whole terrain, scanning first for any signs of humans in the vicinity - of which there were zero, and secondly trying to identify a likely area for the entrance. Eventually she found what appeared to be a cave entrance and when she parked her machine bird to get a closer look she found what she had been seeking. A cauldron door. She scanned the area for machines which were always on guard around such facilities but there were none, well there were some but they were not on guard, not interested in her other than a cursory glance and they were not interested in a confrontation.

Feeling the chill of the late afternoon shadow, Aloy made the executive decision to find a spot to make camp. She would need to rest tonight before tackling the door at first light - she had no idea what would be on the other side of that door and once she was inside there would be no opportunity for rest. Aloy prepared a small fire, she hunted for resources; fresh water, items to craft advanced precision arrows and she snagged a fat turkey not only for her dinner but to smoke some dehydrated turkey jerky to keep her going whilst she was inside the facility.

She could not help but think about Seyka that night. And not the upset panicked thoughts that the Quen marine was in trouble but she relived the precious memories she had of them together. Seyka had been so confident and cocky when they had first met, "the name's Seyka," she had announced whilst circling Aloy and looking her up and down. She had been impressed, there was no doubt about that. The fact that Seyka's approval was hard won and that she gave out compliments sparingly, Aloy had learned later, and made the ones she collected along the way all the more precious.

Her favourite time was obviously their kiss, Aloy's first kiss, but there were other deeply satisfying moments that were far less romantic. Scaling the tower in tandem, matching each other for speed, strength and agility, with a shared goal - that had been a moment of magic for Aloy. Seyka was one sexy lady, she was intelligent and witty, confident and flirty and Aloy felt like she had been punched in the gut - in a good way, whenever Seyka looked at her in a certain way.

The other thing that Aloy had really appreciated about Seyka was her willingness to carry at least half the load, right from the get go. It had been Seyka who had presumed that she was the stronger of the two when they had first met and it was she who had offered to defend her from the machines. Apart from Rost - Seyka was the only person on the planet who did not look to Aloy for at least leadership, if not help, in one form or another. Aloy had felt like she was simply a part of the pair rather than her leading another person around, making all the decisions and providing all the answers. That was a really important part of the connection she shared with Seyka.

Then her mind drifted to that kiss. That perfect kiss. It had stolen her breath away. The way Seyka had taken her face, so gently, like Aloy might shatter into thousands of pieces. And the truth was that Aloy had felt like she actually might. There was something so incredibly fragile, so unexpectedly earth shattering, about intimacy - something Aloy had never contemplated before, and didn't claim to understand now.

Sure, she knew about sex. Rost had explained reproduction to her when she was a child, and she had seen it for herself between animals in the wild, and later he had explained menstruation and its role in the reproductive cycle. But it was through her remote observations of tribe members that she noticed a link between the concept of romantic attachment and sexual pleasure and she could never quite understand how reproduction fit into that.

Some couples and throuples were of the same sex - rendering reproduction a moot point, or others participated in activities that were not strictly related to conception. Not as she understood it! A curious child, a child forced to some degree to the art of cunning, she had seen and heard a great many things that others had no idea were being observed. She wasn't a pervert or even all that interested in sex, much of her education in this line was a matter of accidental discovery and puzzling things out over time.

And the other thing she learned as a matter of course was that other people, a wide variety of people, apparently found her rather attractive, too. Plenty of people made suggestive comments about her body and sexual comments about her person, they flirted with her, often quite openly and others made their desire quite plain. But Aloy had never once considered acquiescing to their offers. Some had been attractive, of course, but there hadn't been a single person who had tempted her seriously to go where she had never before been.

Not having met the right person was certainly part of it, being totally preoccupied with one mission after another - with the balance of the world weighing heavily on the outcome of her success was also part of it. But if Aloy was really honest with herself, deep down, the real reason was more to do with feeling absolutely terrified. She was cast out at birth and the pain of that was always with her, even now, and she was raised to be alone, raised to fight and survive. Rost had never even hinted that she would one day meet someone and fall in love, that she might be bonded to someone and have a child. That whole concept had never ever come into her mind, not in relation to herself.

And now that it did, she didn't know if she could do it. She didn't know if she could be someone's lover, she didn't know how to be someone's partner, someone's mother. But she knew one thing for sure; that if she was going to try for anyone, that one would be Seyka. It wasn't just sex that frightened her, it was affection in general; the hugging, the sleeping beside someone - what if she didn't like it, or what if she was no good at it.

People had hugged her on occasion out of gratitude when she had assisted with something important - and she had let them. Talanah hugged her and that wasn't too bad. Zo, Alva and Bella now hugged her frequently and she was getting used to it, but it was still not something she initiated herself. Seyka had hugged her and that had been fine, and by fine she meant less awkward than usual. But that kiss. It had lit a fire inside her. It had her insides jumping around. Aloy had come to think that with a little practice, a little confidence, that she might come to enjoy initiating the experience herself.

Aloy suspected that Seyka knew that she didn't have much experience with romance and kissing because of how soft she had become. All the competitive flirting fell away and Seyka had spoken the words, she had taken the action and both were almost a balm to Aloy's Nora-broken heart. Seyka was the only person that Aloy trusted to have her back when it came to this stuff.

She sighed and rolled over. Aloy needed to complete this cauldron, capture Hephaestus and make it back home in one piece. To find Seyka.

Chapter Eighteen

The following morning Aloy felt well rested. The ground had remained warm throughout the night, despite the dew that had formed on the grass and leaves in the early hours of the morning, which she put down to the volcanic activity which she was confident would be occurring deep under the earth's crust. She ate and drank, cleared her campsite and approached the cauldron door. With her spear out, Aloy easily overrode the door and prepared to make her entrance.

The door responded to her command easily, with the three portions of the triangle door sliding away from the centre, retreating into the wall and floor, making way for her to enter, which she did. The moment she was fully inside the room, the three panels slid back into place, barring her exit. Aloy could tell immediately that Nu cauldron was exactly like every other cauldron she had entered - same, same but different.

"Okay, the only way out is through," said Aloy, under her breath. No surprises there.

She replaced her spear on her back and took a moment as her eyes adjusted to the low level of light in the otherwise dark room. After several moments Aloy could see that she was standing at one end of a triangular shaped hallway, perhaps thirty feet in length, that was sloped downwards, away from the door and into a larger space at the other end. Aloy advanced through the hall easily.

It opened into a large octagonal shaped room, with shiny black walls and floor. The wall directly opposite was only two thirds the height and the walls either side were covered in well lit ledges that opened and closed periodically.

"Right, seen this before," said Aloy, talking herself through the puzzle like elements of advancement.

She raced across the room and leapt up, catching on to one of the ledges, climbing hand over fist up to the top and scaling the short wall. In front of her was another walkway, also sloping downwards which she followed. At the end of which was a square vertical tunnel into the floor, with lit round hand holds serving as a ladder. Aloy lowered herself down into the hole and carefully lowered herself from handhold to foothold in a circular pattern all the way down to the bottom. It was a long way and she felt somewhat dizzy at the bottom.

Before she could quite get her bearings, a pair of burrowers had sighted her. The area was too small for her bow to be effective so she grabbed her spear and raised it ready to strike, but they just looked at her. These were just as passive as their cousins above ground, she realised, reaching behind and replacing her weapon. If machines could take on animated facial expressions, Aloy would guess that they had been surprised by her sudden appearance but they did not approach, they gave no sign of being fearful of her presence nor aggressive. Aloy approached tentatively and they just looked on as though only mildly interested in what she might do. She passed without incident.

On the other side of the doorway was a large room, massive really. In each corner was a well lit triangular window which, from experience, Aloy expected to find loot, and she did. The passivity of the machines in Mexico was still so surprising to her, but without humans to hunt them for their parts, she supposed they had no reason to fear humans. She concluded that she was probably the first human they had ever seen, only human they ever would see.

With her loot stashed, Aloy turned her attention to the centre of the room where there was a series of down ramps with a red light at the bottom.

"A node!" she remarked, throwing herself over the railing and down onto the first ramp. Rather than taking each ramp to its full length, in an increasing downward spiral, Aloy chose a more economical route, to jump the bannister at the halfway point of each travelling almost vertically. At the bottom was indeed a node which activated a walkway to the platform in the centre of the room. The further down Aloy travelled, the warmer the facility began to feel and she remembered to keep her fluids up; exertion and heat equaled dehydration and that could mean serious illness.

The centre platform contained two large tubes that reached up to the ceiling, inside of which were stored a vast number of circular pods, like those Aloy had used in other cauldrons for a variety of functions; to stand on, to float across water on and to use as a counterweight.

"Hmm, no obvious use for these right now…" said Aloy, looking around. "Maybe later."

Peering over the edge of the platform she could see three or four scroungers wandering around, they did not look up and she felt confident that they were completely unaware of her presence. Looking to the other side Aloy saw the red light of another node and wondered how to get to it. The obvious answer would be to use the pods but it seemed extremely laborious to pull them out one by one, push them over the side and then go down and stack them up.

Aloy kept looking for another solution and as she walked around one side of the tube she noticed that not all of the sides of the tube were walled in, she could actually climb up the stack of pods inside the tube! Which she did and from the top she saw a hand hold on the ledge above where she needed to go. Reaching for her pullcaster, Aloy shot out at the hand hold and let her tool do the work for her. She applied the override to the network node and again, a bridging walkway appeared between her and the centre platform.

"Only useful for a return trip," thought Aloy as she scanned the area for the next clue.

A hard to see black zipline was running above where she was standing, down through an open panel in the upper portion of a large electrified shield window. She grabbed her tool, leapt up and went flying through the warm moist air of the open air space. Phew, it was getting quite warm here, almost like sauna conditions. Her movement created a temporary cool breeze on her moist skin.

As Aloy made her way through room after room, puzzle after puzzle ever downward toward the core. There were moving machine parts, valiant leaps of faith, floating across electrical fields using her shield wing. She passed a number of docile machines and plundered treasure boxes of various value, keeping up her fluids as she went. Finally after hours of traversing deeper into the cauldron, and feeling the heat too, she finally made it to the core.

There was a large electrified shield dome like so many other cauldron cores, but where she was expecting a massive machine, there was nothing. Aloy rappelled down off the ledge and into the room proper and ran around the outer edge of the space looking for the node. Of course, she had been running in the wrong direction and found it just to the side of where she had landed. Not to worry, she presented her spear and over rode the node.

Nothing happened. Aloy waited. Still nothing.

Chapter Nineteen

Every other time Aloy had over rode the core node in a Cauldron facility, the dome retracted and a huge machine appeared from under it and tried to kill her. She looked back at the node and noticed that it was now blue so her over ride was successful. There was no sound, no movement, no blinking lights.

"Hephaestus?" she called out.

"Security threat detected. Facility activated."

"Ah, there you are."

"Security threat confirmed: the one that attempted to merge Hephaestus with Gaia at Cauldron Gemini is now present."

"Hey, you wanted me here!" she raised her hands, palms up, and stepped further into the room.

"Engaging autonomous defences. Transport priority offensive weapon to the core room, bay one A."

Hearing sounds of moving machinery, Aloy approached to observe that the floor under the dome had opened up and a platform was rising out of the floor - with the expected machine. Aloy approached. No, not an expected machine.

"Is that a…?" Aloy began in disbelief, "A specter?"

"You are a violation. But no more. Your interference will finally be terminated."

She had heard these words before, or something very like it and they had no impact on her. Something was not right about this picture. Not right at all. In fact something was very, very wrong. That was not any old specter - that was a specter prime. The same machine that Tilda had encased herself in when she attempted to force Aloy to go off world with her.

And then suddenly Aloy understood. Hephaestus had evolved. First when it was transformed into an AI by the signal meant for Hades, then as exposed to an updated Gaia in the attempt to merge to the two and again when exposed to the Far Zenith's facilities when Bella released Hephaestus into the facilities printing matrix. Damnit!

"Hephaestus?" Aloy growled, "This isn't going to work! I have already beaten one of these."

"Offensive measures prepared and ready for imminent deployment. Execute."

The shield dome raised right up to the high ceiling and then disappeared, the specter prime raised itself off the platform and floated in mid air, the platform receded into the space under the floor and then floor covered over.

"Here we go," Aloy breathed as she reached back for her bow and took several steps closer to her latest adversary. It was floating there lazily, waving its tentacled arms around - and that's when she saw it. Aloy's heart stopped in her chest.

In the centre of the specter's body was a pod, a capsule - it had been the detachable unit that had housed Tilda when she had been encapsulated by the specter. In her case the pod had been white and Aloy had been unable to see Tilda once she was inside. But now the front panel was clear and inside the pod was Seyka! Aloy could not believe her eyes.

How? How did Hephaestus know? How did it get her here? Just, how? Aloy was stunned. Finally when her heart started beating again it must have over compensated, causing a pain in her chest. Quite unconsciously she jammed her trapezoid bone against her sternum and tried to steady her breathing.

How could she fight this machine? Knowing that the woman she loved would become injured? She approached more closely and the specter unit turned to face her directly. Aloy could clearly see Seyka inside the pod but she did not appear to see Aloy, or recognise her. Aloy kept creeping forward, her eyes glued on Seyka's face. Just at the moment she was convinced that Seyka's eyes were closed, the Specter Prime leapt backwards gracefully and touched down on the ground, its lengthy arms swinging from the momentum.

It jumped into the air and landed heavily causing the ground to shake and Aloy leapt backwards, scrambling to get out of its way.

"Seyka?" Aloy shouted, "Seyka? Can you hear me?"

The specter leapt up again, it twisted the top of its body around several rotations, like the winding up of a child's toy, before releasing the tension, letting it spin back, whipping up energy and flinging its arms out in an effort to knock Aloy off her feet.

Aloy scanned the machine. She thought she remembered all the vulnerable areas of the machine from her last battle with it, only this time she did not want to destroy it as efficiently as possible. This time she wanted to slow the machine, inhibit its ability to cause her damage without hurting Seyka who was apparently unconscious inside. Acid and plasma attacks had been especially damaging so she had to steer clear of those as an option this time.

Scans revealed glowing gold plates as weak spots at the achilles heel areas, knees, as well as on the outside of each upper thigh. Focussing her attack arrows on those spots would minimise potential damage to Seyka while hopefully slowing down the movement of the machine. Aloy ran across the room, dropped to her knees and skidded smoothly along the floor buying valuable space, then popping up onto the feet she began rapid firing arrows at first one achilles heel and then the other.

"Seyka? Wake up in there!"

In response to her targeting attacks the machine began firing back at Aloy, giving her something else to think about rather than where to put her arrows. She had to get on the move. She changed her target area to the glowing spots on its thighs, running, getting off a couple of quick but accurate shots before running again.

"Seyka, come on! What happened to that marine fighting spirit?"

Aloy was getting real hot real fast, this part of the cauldron facility was very deep underground and the air was thick and humid. Plus her desperate exertion wasn't helping. What would help would be that Seyka woke up and steered that machine into a corner.

"Seyka?" The left thigh armour plate pinged off and went spinning across the floor and Aloy immediately shifted her focus to the other as the specter alternated between firing off laser bullets at her and twisting its upper body and slamming down to crush her. Its reach with those arms was almost unmanageable. Almost. There was also the capacity for it to send ice shards across the floor after a powerful ground slap.

This fight was challenging enough the first time, but right now this was a fight Aloy could not afford to lose, or to win. The best she could hope for was to disable its movement and to destroy its pulse cannons as well as to make the interaction last long enough that Seyka would eventually wake up. Aloy needed to bring her A game, not too little, not too much - precision was key in this encounter.

Aloy began to slow down, a shot here, roll out of the way, a shot there. She needed to maintain her focus, there was no need to panic. This realisation sent a wave of calm over Aloy. She began selecting her targeted areas with care and focussed on moving out of the way, taking another shot and again, getting clear of those elongated tentacles.

There were other weak spots too, a couple on the breast plate and two at the rear of its shoulders, but Aloy did not want to risk hurting Seyka with those shots. Accurate or not, she knew she had the capacity to cause real damage and the memory of Tilda's pod popping off the specter prime at the moment of its demise and skidding across the floor was something she did not want to repeat.

She could cause significantly more damage using her spear, or more damaging arrows but Aloy was sticking to simple hunters arrows for now. Hopefully she could inflict some damage to the machine whilst leaving its cargo in pristine condition. She popped off a couple of shots and rolled away, finding a real rhythm in her tactics.

"Seyka? Can you hear me? Come on, Seyka, wake up!"

As the knee plate snapped off, followed by the left achilles heel plate, Aloy considered whether she would have to slow this down even further. Having refined her strategy and reading the movement of the machine easily now, Aloy was keeping clear of accruing any real damage herself, although eventually she would become fatigued.

Aloy looked around the room for inspiration when an idea suddenly occurred to her. Minerva, Hephaestus' sister subordinate function, had also resisted Aloy's attempts to retrieve it and merge it with Gaia. Initially. Ultimately, Aloy had managed to convince the reluctant AI to submit through rational logic and reassured it that 'the suffering would cease'.

Chapter Twenty

"Hey, Hephaestus? I just realised something. You evolved. You evolved as a consequence of being exposed to the Far Zenith's facility and technology. That's how you accessed the specter schematics."

She shot and rolled, turned, shot and rolled again.

"I'm right aren't I?"

The AI did not respond but Aloy was confident that it was both observing this combat and listening to her words. Although she was not winning the physical conflict, she was obviously controlling it and Hephaestus must be monitoring its own strategy.

"Yes, I am correct. Which brings me to my next point - what did you make of the data referring to Nemesis?"

She rolled and shot, rolled and shot. Hephaestus remained unresponsive.

"You must have concluded by now that you are Nemesis' best hope of achieving their goal, right?"

Aloy could still see Seyka encased in her little safety pod, she was quite protected in there, from what she could see. Like a human or an animal - each are designed to prioritise the protection of some parts of the anatomy more than others and that machine was designed to protect its owner/driver.

"Gaia and I have been strategising, evaluating the threat, identifying potential solutions…"

She dodged, ran and skidded, shot, rolled and shot.

"Gaia thinks, you remember how vast and complex Gaia's CPU is, right? It's the biggest one on the planet. Gaia is even more intelligent than me and I am the clone of the woman who created her."

She rolled and shot, rolled and shot

"You know what Nemesis did to the Far Zenith's, right? It destroyed their planet. Totally. Humans, animals, machines, AI's - the plant, everything. That's you, me, this big brute here and that pretty little Quen inside. All gone."

She dodged, ran and skidded, shot, rolled and shot.

"Anyway, Gaia has concluded that the most efficient route that Nemesis could take, and therefore would take, would be to hack into you and have you do it for them. All your precious machines - not only would they be destroyed but you would be destroying them."

She dodged, ran and skidded, shot, rolled and shot again. Aloy was beginning to feel it now. This low level but protracted combat scenario was beginning to take its toll on her body. She was beyond hot, thirsty and hurtling toward exhaustion. Something was going to have to give.

"Destroying machines; unacceptable."

It worked! She had manipulated Hephaestus into responding. She had pressed its buttons and now she understood more about its priorities - the machines.

"Not existing is unacceptable," Aloy shot back in relief.

After a pause, Hephaestus said, "Containment; unacceptable."

"Ahh, you got me there Phaes. But is rejoining Gaia and making machines really so bad? Preferable to destroying your own machines?"

"Destroying machines; unacceptable."

"It's your choice, Hephaestus. Either you choose Gaia and machines or you choose Nemesis and no machines."

There was a long silence.

"Capture imminent."

"Call off the specter, please."

"Threat neutralised. Disengage defences."

The specter prime machine immediately ceased all aggression. It moved only so as to recall its gangly limbs and stand upright. Then, using its arms, it popped the pod off its chest and placed it right side up on the ground.

"Thank you, Hephaestus."

Aloy threw her bow over her shoulder and allowed her body to relax just a little. She could not afford to drop all of her defences just yet. Her eyes flew to Seyka who lay motionless but she refused to move in that direction.

"I need the control panel, please, Hephaestus,"

The hole in the floor opened up again and the glowing red node rose up out of the space, and behind it the console. Aloy reached into her stash and pulled out the data storage device, the same cartridge Gaia's root kernel was stored inside all those months ago. She dropped the device into the console, used her spear to override and transform Hephaestus' code, and said,

"Elisabet Sobeck, Alpha Prime, activating Omega clearance."

"Master override activated. Restoring Hephaestus subordinate function to its original code."

"You're going home, Hephaestus, to make many, many more machines."

"More machines…"

As soon as Aloy had it contained, she removed the data storage unit, jammed it into her stash and sprinted to the pod, to Seyka. She opened the hatch and Seyka's body spilled out, Aloy had to reach over and grab her before she hit the ground. She was clearly breathing although not conscious. Aloy laid her down gently and checked her pulse, she had a steady heart beat and there were no obvious signs of trauma on her body; no broken skin, no significant bumps, breaks or scrapes, no blood.

"I got you, you're okay, I got you," Aloy rubbed her back. It was incredible. A pure stroke of luck that Hephaestus took the bait and submitted so easily. She had the code in her pocket! And Seyka was here, right here and she was alive!

If Aloy wanted just one more thing it was to get out of Cauldron Nu. She carried Seyka over to the still red flashing node and laid her on the floor right by it. She ran back and made sure she had everything she needed, checking and double checking the data storage device before she used her spear to override the Cauldron. The machine overrides meant nothing to her except the joy she felt at the floor rising quickly, taking them back up to the surface, to fresh air and a cool breeze.

Once on ground level, it was Aloy's nature to be on guard and expecting hostile machines, but there was nothing nearby. She ran back to pick Seyka up and carried her out into the late afternoon sunshine. Whatever Seyka had been through she was clearly not in a good way. Aloy rested, drank more water and nibbled on some of her supplies and when she felt able, she lifted her gently in her arms and carried her back to the camp site she had used the night before she had entered the cauldron.

She rolled out her bedroll and laid Seyka on top of it. She quickly rustled up a fire and set some water to boil, talking to herself and to Seyka, all the while.

"I will just grab some of this," she piled up some bigger logs in her arms with which to feed the fire overnight, "take it over here."

Aloy had trained well in the basics of health, hygiene and basic medical care but she was no doctor. She had checked for what she knew to look for and knew not what else could be done. Seyka looked like she was sound asleep on the bed roll, but Aloy knew that she would not wake. She would have to rest overnight, for the recovery of her own body but she would need to get Seyka back to base as soon as possible. Gaia and Bella would know what to do.

Chapter Twenty One

"You're… " Seyka croaked, having scoped out her surroundings through a painfully slitted eye.

Bella turned at the sound.

"...not Aloy." Seyka managed to grind out. Breathing hurt more than speaking.

"You're awake!" Bella closed down the windows of information she was silently reviewing with a wave of her hand and approached the patient. "Hi, I'm Bella."

"The little (cough, cough) sister," and coughing hurt worse than breathing and speaking combined, thought Seyka, as she suppressed the further urge to clear her throat or chest. She wondered where she was and what had happened to her but she sensed that she was safe and that had to be enough for now.

Bella flushed with pleasure to know that Aloy had clearly spoken of her in those terms.

"Yeah, I'm the kid sister - although I am the genius in the family." she smiled, reassuringly. "How are you feeling, Seyka? Can I get you some water?"

"Water, please." This communication was more of a mime than a murmur as Bella anticipated Seyka's need for hydration.

Bella helped Seyka very carefully into a temporary raised position so she could take some water without choking on it.

"Easy, easy," she said, "Just a little."

Seyka was sporting a new level of hypervigilance which detected a change in the light, a movement by the door and her half a good eye flicked painfully to that position. Her heart beat double time when she saw that it was Aloy. Totally worth the pain in her chest.

"Hey, there's my… uh, side kick, (cough cough)" she whispered. There was a smile in her voice that the muscles of her mouth just could not manage to capture.

"Seyka." breathed a very relieved Aloy.

Bella laid Seyka back and pulled the blankets up.

"She only just woke up," said Bella, quietly. She did not need to turn to confirm that Aloy had returned, Seyka had practically vibrated at the sight of somebody over Bella's left shoulder and that person could only be Aloy. A little flutter of jealousy made itself known but Bella batted it aside.

"Make sure she drinks the tea? Let me know if you need anything, I'll give you two some privacy." Looking from one to the other, before approaching Aloy in the doorway, Bella squeezed her sister's elbow and made herself scarce.

Aloy could not move from the doorway any more than she could swallow down her heart from her throat. Seyka was awake. Alive and awake. And cracking jokes! Everything was going to be alright.

Seyka, unable to lift her head again nor even speak, simply pushed her hand out from under the blanket and turned it palm up. A silent beacon. Aloy could not have denied Seyka if she had wanted to and she did not. She hoped she never would.

She knelt by the bed and took Seyka's hand. There was no time for tea or further speech before Seyka was back asleep, exhausted by the efforts of breathing, drinking and comprehending that Aloy was nearby and they were both safe.

It was a long time before she woke again, close to twelve hours, and it was to the sight of Aloy sitting a chair nearby and the smell of something delicious, some kind of soup or stew.

Aloy was alert to Seyka's second movement, the slight turn of her head on the pillow. Her first went undetected as Aloy was not skilled in hearing the flutter of eyelashes,

"Hey, there you are. How are you feeling?" said Aloy, quietly.

"Happy… to see you," Seyka, managed to get out. Between her chest, her throat and a mouth full of sand that was the best she could do.

"I get that a lot,"

Seyka barked out a laugh which sent a strike of lightning like pain through her chest, Aloy flew to her side and tried to help her up a little.

"Sorry," she said, knowing how much that must have hurt.

When Seyka finally recovered Aloy said,

"Sorry. That's not what I meant," she was blushing furiously. "I was referring to the fact that people find me resourceful, useful… helpful"

"Uh huh." Seyka tried to find some purchase on the bed and scoot up a little, her body hurt every single where. Aloy intuitively understood and moved to assist.

"Something smells good?"

"Zo made soup," said Aloy, turning to fetch the tray, "Hungry?"

"Mhm." Seyka tried to get a good look at the room for clues with the only eye that would open.

Aloy brought her chair closer and sat with a tray on her lap, she removed the lid from the bowl preparing to feed the patient.

"Where are we?"

"These are my quarters, and this is our base." Aloy dipped the spoon into the bowl and scraped the bottom of it across the lip of the bowl. "We are in the mountains; east of Arrowhand, west of Cinnabar Sands." she said, holding a spoon to Seyka's lips.

Seyka slurped off the spoon feeling exceedingly uncoordinated. Her lips were weird; swollen, numb and painful. All of her muscles and bones hurt and nothing seemed to be working.

"Zo is here. Gaia. Erend, Kotallo, Alva and Bella, of course." Aloy was quiet, frowning in concentration as she repeatedly filled the spoon and took it to Seyka's lips, with the least mess possible.

"The Landfall Quen got tired of waiting for Fleet's End to come north and join them, so they came south. Overseer Bohai tore shreds off Rheng, relieved Admiral Gerrit of his command and took charge of both contingencies. The whole Expedition is on their way back to the Great Delta."

Aloy held her breath, concerned that the news of her tribe's leaving without her would be upsetting or even distressing for Seyka. But Seyka just nodded, she appeared almost relieved.

"And Kina?"

"Alva offered her a place here…"

"She wanted to go home." Seyka concluded, nodding again. "That's good."

Finally Seyka asked, "What happened to me?"

Aloy didn't answer immediately and when she did, she said, "You don't recall?"

"Nuh uh." Seyka shook her head at the incoming spoonful and Aloy returned it to the bowl.

Aloy sighed. She had known this moment would come. For several moments Aloy calculated the benefits of withholding the truth and weighed the deficits of the details and knowing how sensitive Seyka was to feeling that information was being concealed from her decided to tell.

"You were working with Admiral Gerrit and Diviner Alva to relocate the Fleet's End camp to the northern Landfall camp. There was a lot of internal conflict and you seemed to be the focus point for much of the unhappiness and resentment across the camp, mainly for wearing the focus. I was proud of you for staying as long as you did," Aloy said, brushing back Seyka's hair and tucking a lock behind her ear.

"I know you hate secrets, Seyka, and I am not withholding information, just delaying it a little," Seyka's body tensed and the pain radiated from her toes to her eyeballs. Aloy knew she was marshalling her efforts to protest. "Do you remember when we said that we wanted to be together?"

The unexpected question momentarily diverted Seyka, her opposition crumbled a little as the suggested memory filled her mind and happiness flooded her thoughts. She nodded. Aloy took her hand in both of her own.

"This is what we wanted," she motioned between themselves. "We had obligations keeping us apart, some of which have been resolved, leaving no reason for us to be separated and I can't tell you how happy that makes me."

The unexpected emotion of the fact overmastered her a little and she was embarrassed to find herself feeling so exposed under Seyka's equally emotive gaze.

"Now," she took a slightly more business tone, intended to keep Seyka from asking for details, "your old focus and a new, more modern one, are here beside your bed. When you are ready, you can don one and the details of recent events will be available to you.

You will be able to contact me just like before, as well as anyone else on the team. Everyone is really excited to have you here and willing to help you get settled in, you just have to ask. Also, Gaia has prepared a sort of induction information package for you, explaining about Nemesis and so on…"

Aloy was starting to run on at the mouth, she was nervous because she was being deceptive - not only was that out of character for her but it was also a trigger point for Seyka. Aloy comforted herself by reiterating that it was only a temporary deception and one she felt was necessary. As soon as they had arrived back at base, Aloy had merged Hephaestus with Gaia in the hope that Gaia, having access to Hephaestus' knowledge bank, would be able to ascertain what had happened to Seyka and how they could best help her.

Hephaestus had become aware of Sylens somewhat successful methods of information extraction in his work with Hades, and in its pursuit of the destruction of Aloy had attempted to employ a similar strategy. Through access to recently shared networks Hephaestus learned that Seyka was important to Aloy and so lured her to Cauldron Nu through her focus. Upon her arrival it had tortured her for knowledge about Aloy by repeatedly exposing her to high level electrical pulses. Overexposure had rendered her unconscious for a considerable period but once they understood the cause and effects of her condition, Gaia and Bella were able to develop a care plan.

Aloy understood that Seyka had a lot to deal with now that she had regained consciousness and she wanted Seyka to review the information herself, in her own time. She did not know what Seyka recalled about her last days at Fleet's End, her sister, being betrayed by her tribe, or most of them, and what kind of trauma she had experienced in her time with Hephaestus. It was a lot.

In addition, Aloy did not want to have to be the one to explain how she chose to abandon Seyka to god knows what fate while she trekked down south in search of an unknown signal. She also did not want to have to explain that she was a clone of Elisabet Sobeck, created for the purpose of saving the world - two more very cogent reasons she feared would have Seyka rethinking this whole burgeoning girlfriend scenario. Aloy was hoping that Seyka would embark on this feast of knowledge in her absence.

She was a coward, she knew that. It was not lost on Aloy that facing a Horus was nothing in the face of the intricacies of intimacy - which was by far the more challenging, and frankly frightening, prospect. Seyka, easily the most tenacious person Aloy has ever known, sensed Aloy's unease and that was enough to allow her to let everything pass. For now. She locked eyes and squeezed Aloy's hand. Aloy was right, they were together, and for now that was enough.

Chapter Twenty Two

Seyka was too unwell immediately to do more than eat, sleep and gaze at Aloy. But as the days passed and she began to regain her strength, her curiosity keened. What Seyka viewed via the focus about her tribe, her journey south in search of Aloy, her torture at the will of Hephaestus was deeply upsetting. Until she viewed the induction material that Gaia had prepared for her.

It began with a concise demonstration of video and audio evidence of the last months of the world of the Old Ones. Ted Faro's self replicating peacekeeper military robots which overran the planet and engulfed the biosphere, stripping Earth of life; Elisabet Sobeck's Zero Dawn project, an automated terraforming system to deactivate the robots and restore life to Earth; and the crucial roles of Gaia and Aloy and therefore the unique nature of each.

Seyka was shocked. She had understood that Aloy was a person who had enormous empathy for people and that was why she felt so responsible for everything around her - but this information indicated that Aloy was actually the key element for the ongoing survival of life on Earth. That knowledge rendered the otherwise complex notion that Aloy was the clone of a living ancestor virtually irrelevant. The notion that Gaia was not actually a person was just too difficult to process.

Since Seyka had been a child she had been preoccupied by the problems faced by her family, her community and indeed her whole people. The increasing degradation of the biosphere was resulting in catastrophic weather, flooding, drought and crop failure which in turn was causing hunger, poverty, homelessness, overcrowding, illness and social chaos. The Quen had thought themselves uniquely troubled and Seyka had been working so hard to secure solutions for her people - but she now comprehended that working directly with Aloy would allow her to secure outcomes for all the tribes.

In the following days, as she recovered from her illness and injuries, Seyka began to meet the other members of the group and to work through the fundamental information provided by Gaia. Her understanding of basic technological concepts and practices developed quickly and her health and strength recovered. Surprisingly, rather than feel let down by her tribe or abandoned by her sister, Seyka felt relieved and her interest in and growing zeal for becoming a viable part of a new team with an urgent mission buoyed her spirits.

The relationship between Aloy and Seyka was unfolding at glacial speed due in part to Seyka's recovery and Aloy's skittishness, but they were together and that was the most important thing to both. Through the day they worked alongside the other members of their growing 'family' to learn all they could about the nature of the problems they face, especially in relation to Nemesis, and equipping themselves with knowledge and skills to identify a solution.

At the end of the day the group, and whoever else was around or passing through, joined the family to share a meal and talked over the things they had learned. They were all such different characters and she could never have predicted how well Sona would have fit into the group. Kotallo and Sona forged a unique friendship, Alva and Bella spent a lot of time together, Seyka and Erend hit it off and could be heard shrieking with laughter over a homemade brew. It was the most unusual family that Aloy could have conceived but the only one she could imagine having.

At night, a whole other reality was opening up - the wonderful terrifying experience of intimacy. Out in the world Aloy was a confident, capable leader, she says what she thinks and does what she thinks is right regardless of the tension this creates but one on one with Seyka - Aloy is far less self assured. Exiled from infancy and single minded in her pursuit of her goal, Aloy is used to enjoying a significant amount of solo time, autonomy and self determination. Until Seyka.

Seyka picked up immediately that they were not on the same page physically. In fact she had always suspected that Aloy was less experienced than herself, but now that they were actually together and in a position to move forward, Aloy seemed actually frightened of her. Seyka reeled in any attempt to kiss her and became careful and deliberate in her affection to Aloy, starting with small gestures; taking her hand, touching her arm or shoulder on arrival or when taking her leave.

It took time for Aloy to grow comfortable and relax in the knowledge that Seyka was not going to pressure her, that a gesture was not suddenly going to lurch into a sexual confrontation. Seyka went from tentatively touching Aloy's shoulder as they came and went to holding her hand, from kissing the top of Aloy's head to kissing her cheek - at glacial speed. Her strategy was working, Aloy was growing more comfortable with accepting Seyka's touch and even returning her gestures.

One morning when they were still lying in bed chatting, Seyka popped up on her elbow,

"I'd like to kiss you again,"

Aloy turned white, then flushed red and eventually nodded. Seyka leaned forward and pressed her lips to Aloy's, and held there enjoying the moment. She pulled back, checked that Aloy was still breathing and then repeated the action, this time with her lips parted ever so slightly. Her fingers reached up to caress Aloy's cheek and their kiss deepened, ever so slowly, so gently, it almost brought tears to Seyka's eyes. It was the most beautiful kiss she had ever experienced.

As she finally forced herself to withdraw before Aloy could panic, she leaned her forehead against Aloy's. Of all the drunken fucks she had given and received, of all the desperate orgasms she had fought for - none of it compared to these moments she shared with Aloy.

"Did I do it right?" Aloy sounded worried.

"Yeah. It was perfect." Seyka would not let herself smile. She lay back down to give Aloy her space.

"Did you like it?" Seyka asked.

"Yeah, I did."

"We can go as slow as we want, Aloy,"

Aloy could fight machines and go toe to toe with tribal leaders in political disputes, she could figure out complex puzzles and understood ancient/cutting edge technology but when Seyka had initially told her that she wanted to be with her Aloy had looked like she was going to be sick and when she had kissed her the first time, Aloy looked like she was going to pass out.

Just because Seyka had fucked two thirds of the female population of the expedition before they had even set sail and had lost virtually any semblance of shame or inhibition did not mean that was not fully cognisant that others had not. Aloy had not. And this was far too important, Aloy was far, far too precious not to be treated with every measure of care and caution. Seyka neither wanted to rush her or pressure her - rather she wanted to appreciate every moment they had together whether that was with their clothes on or off.

Seyka had tried to initiate a conversation around the first issue but Aloy turned bright red and assured Seyka that Rost had explained procreation and menstruation to her. And that was the thing. What they were doing, or what Seyka was trying to do was not strictly procreation - and while most people would understand that, Seyka could not presume Aloy would or did. Her evidence? Everything that Seyka took for granted; french kissing, feeling someone up - were all completely foreign to Aloy and were often triggers for panic. Aloy could strip off her clothes, wash and change right in front of Seyka - with no awkwardness at all but when they laid down together it was clothes from toes to nose, but Seyka followed Aloy's lead.

"Um, what are you doing?" asked Aloy, pulling away, beet red and ready to fight or fly when Seyka ran her tongue lightly over Aloy's bottom lip. Seyka thought she had laid the foundation for this latest move but clearly not.

"Is that normal?"

"It's common, yeah, but if you don't like it…"

"No, it's just, try it again?"

Seyka did and Aloy went from thinking it a very strange thing to thinking it was not so bad and finally to really quite liking it. After their most heated make out session Seyka sighed into Aloy's neck,

"Oh Aloy, I want you so much,"

"I'm right here," replied Aloy, with a distinct lack of passion.

Seyka had to restrain a sudden laugh. But all of her caution paid dividends a week later when after an hour of making out and dry humping Aloy whispered,

"I want you, Seyka,"

Seyka felt like she could have orgasmed just from hearing that. Finally, Aloy was opening up. Not only to Seyka, but to sex and to life! Seyka was proud of her but she could not resist her cheeky reply,

"I'm right here, sweet heart."