Horizon Loop Escape

by BbK2442

An Elster's dying story and a Bioresonant goddess's last wish results in a certain Eule and Star couple ending up very far from home and seeing the dawn of a new horizon for the both of them.

3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Lessons of the Wild for All

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Star yawned. It was a pretty big yawn to boot, with the Security Technician Guard Replika opening her mouth wide, prominently showing off her carbon steel teeth.

Seeing her lover yawn set Eule off yawning as well, with little Äloy following immediately afterwards as the trio sat on a cliff edge just a short distance outside Rost and Äloy's house. It took a short trek across a sturdy wooden bridge lashed with more blue-colored wire which Rost must've made himself (which further increased his Ara-like impression in Eule's eyes) and a brief climb (which Star easily traversed for both of them by simply picking Eule up and leaping to the top of the rock face using her long bird-like legs, to Äloy's amazement since she had to scramble up wooden and metal handholds driven into the rock to get up the same way) to get to that cliff, but Eule could immediately see why Äloy wanted them to sit on this particular cliff, for it overlooked practically the entirety of The Embrace.

Or at least it would if any of them could see anything. As it was, the entire valley was still cloaked in darkness. The only sign that it wasn't night was the orange, pink, and blue hues of morning light in the sky above.

"So Äloy…is there a reason why you dragged us all out here so early in the morning?" Star asked, wiping the tears from her eyes and blinking slowly from drowsiness.

"Just wait and see, Shtar," Äloy said sleepily, but with a hint of smugness mixed in.

Eule on the other hand was content to patiently wait and see why Äloy had led them to here. She didn't have very long to wait.

The sun crept over the horizon, slowly but surely. As the yellow glow turned into a point of bright light which was then followed by shining rays, Eule's eyes widened at the sight below.

Far below, the sun's rays lit up the darkness of The Embrace. Dark shapes slowly became more distinct, and dark grey turned green as the sun drove away the night and ushered in the day. It was then that the advantages of their vantage point became quite obvious. From this high perch, Eule could see everything in The Embrace, including the settlements.

To her left, there was a sprawling village that must be Mother's Heart. Thin wisps of smoke rose from numerous chimneys: a sign of a large number of fireplaces, which in turn meant a decently large population center. At least, for the Nora. Even from this distance, Eule could tell that even a single Rotfront apartment complex of a single Blockwart was larger than Mother's Heart, but it was the thought that counted.

Further to the right, there was a smaller village in the distance. That town bordered a shining lake, and even from this distance, Eule could make out boats on said lake as well as small docks extending out into it from the village. Clearly, that was Mother's Cradle.

Just beyond Mother's Cradle was a high wooden wall that spanned the gap in the mountain range that surrounded The Embrace. Even from here, Eule could see the 3 gates embedded in it, with the middle and largest gate obviously being the main gate Rost had mentioned was the best way out of The Embrace.

To the right of Mother's Cradle, there was a smaller village still that indeed looked like a fortress, with a high wall and a great wooden gate guarding a mountain pass. Even if those fortifications paled in comparison to the ones Eule had seen around Rotfront's main spaceport: Raumhafen A, Mother's Watch did indeed looked like it deserved its name.

Thus, the mountain beyond Mother's Watch must be All-Mother Mountain. It did indeed look like quite an impressive mountain, with great stone peaks capped by snow and snaked with tentacles–

Eule's thoughts ground to a halt. She rubbed both of her robotic eyes to clear them, and then ran a self-diagnostic check on said eyes. The program reported back that her eyes were fully functioning, and that it could not detect any problems. So indeed, Eule was actually seeing massive black tentacles snaking into All-Mother Mountain, seemingly frozen in the middle of burrowing into the rock.

Eule's eyes followed the tentacles, trying to track them to a source. Her mouth fell open in shock as she found that source: a gargantuan, insectoid shape crouched on one of the peaks that made up All-Mother Mountain. It too was frozen there, and judging from all the snow piled on it, it had been frozen there for a very, very long time. It was a very good thing to Eule too, because judging by its size, it was nearly the size of All-Mother Mountain itself.

Her device wasn't helping either. Either that insectoid thing was too far away for her device to scan, or her device didn't know what it was either.

"Star?" Eule asked.

"Yeah?" Star replied.

"Do you see that thing? Right there on what I'm pretty sure is one of the peaks of that All-Mother Mountain Rost spoke of? The one that's the source of all those tentacles burying themselves into said mountain?"

"…Yeah?"

"…What in the name of the Red Eye is that thing, and how did we miss seeing it all this time?" Eule asked in disbelief.

"I think…maybe it was in the background and is so big that our brains just processed it as part of the landscape at first? But as for the former, maybe our little guide can help us here about the former?" Star asked, turning towards Äloy.

"Oh, that? That's just the Metal Devil's dead body," Äloy replied blithely.

Now it was Eule's turn to look at Äloy, looking at her with as much disbelief as Star must be.

"Metal Devil?!" Eule and Star asked simultaneously.

Äloy nodded. "Uh-huh…oh wait, you don't know what the Metal Devil is?" she asked Eule and Star with a baffled look on her face.

Star raised an eyebrow at the little Gestalt girl. "Just woke up here in The Embrace with no idea what anything is. Remember?"

Äloy grimaced and nodded. "Yeah, okay. Makes sense." But she then grinned. "But that means I get to tell you about the Metal Devil then, and his great big fight with the All-Mother. Let me start:

"Once, long ago, the All-Mother gave birth to everyone and everything, even the Machines. Everyone was happy. But then the Machines told the humans that they would serve them and make them even happier. Some humans said no, but others said yes. The Machines built big cities for the humans who said yes, but then the Machines turned out to be evil. They made a Machine king that made the humans worship him instead. That Machine king was the Metal Devil.

The Metal Devil still wasn't happy though. He wanted all humans to worship him, not just some of them. So he decided to attack the All-Mother to take her power so that he can make everyone worship him. Oh, but the All-Mother was too strong, and killed the Metal Devil with a BANG! At least, I always thought it was with a bang, but anyways, the Metal Devil dying turned all the Machines into beasts and killed all the humans who worshipped him. So the only humans left are those who didn't let the Machines serve them. That's the Nora, by the way, and everyone else are just Nora who've lost their way.

So that's why the Metal Devil is just sitting there dead on All-Mother Mountain. It's been there for a really long time. Rost said it was there when he was a kid, and when his mother was a kid, and when his mother's mother was a kid, and…actually, I don't think there's a time when it wasn't there. I'm going to have to ask Rost about it later, but yeah, that's it."

"Umm…" Star began, raising a black mechanical finger in the process.

"Oh, so that's why this Metal Devil is there. That explains a lot," Eule said, interrupting whatever Star had been about to say.

Eule looked at Star, mouthing "We can ask Rost more about it later" at her. Star nodded back.

Honestly though, Eule wasn't sure how much help Rost was going to be here. Especially if Rost was the one who'd told Äloy this story. Äloy's story, while certainly lovely sounding, didn't sound like something that actually happened. It sounded more like a creation myth than anything else. Eule honestly had trouble telling which parts were real and which parts weren't…if any of the story Äloy told them was true, really.

But seeing as how this Metal Devil didn't seem to be of any threat, it was something they could ignore for now. Hopefully.

"Oh, but that made me think of something about the Metal Devil," Äloy piped up.

"Oh?" both Eule and Star asked, now curious as to what this little Gestalt girl will say next.

"Well, the Metal Devil is a man…sort of. Rost always calls the Metal Devil a 'he' and 'him', so it must be a man. So maybe…maybe the Metal Devil was jealous of the All-Mother for not being able to have kids? I mean, only women can have kids, and men can't no matter what. So I think the Metal Devil just really, really, really wanted to have kids even though he couldn't, and that's why he was so angry at the All-Mother and tried to kill her," Äloy concluded.

"I…I guess?" Eule hesitantly said. "I mean, it does make sense under that logic."

Äloy then tilted her head at Eule. "Hey, now I'm wondering, Eu-le…you and Shtar have the legs of Machines right?"

Eule nodded. "That's…more or less correct."

"Are your arms Machines too?" Äloy further asked, curiously looking at Eule's white gloved-arms.

Eule nodded as well. "Indeed, they are. Here."

Eule pulled the nearly shoulder-length white glove off of her right arm and rolled back the short sleeves of her uniform, exposing the black robotic arm and hand underneath up to where it connected to her mechanical shoulder.

Äloy tilted her head as she looked at Eule's exposed robotic arm. "It just looks like a human's hand and arm, but…it has black skin, and metal bits on the knuckles? Are you sure that's a Machine arm?" she asked disbelievingly.

Eule smiled, but this time, there was more than a hint of mischief in it. "I can show you, if you like?" she asked.

Äloy nodded with the speed typical of a very energetic and curious Gestalt child.

"Alright. Just give me a moment to undo the maintenance latches, and…" Eule said, doing exactly that before taking hold of her right upper arm with her left arm, and pulling. With a pop, Eule's entire right arm came free from its shoulder joint. Eule held up her own detached right arm, and smiled happily at Äloy with a cheerful "Ta-da!"

By this point, Äloy's eyes had opened so wide that they were practically popping out of their sockets, and her mouth had gaped open so wide that Eule was honestly afraid some flying insect would try to dive into it, but fortunately, no such insect was there to disturb the spectacle.

"Whoaaaa!" Äloy breathed.

"Would you like to hold it?" Eule asked, her smile having turned into a mischievous grin.

Äloy nodded so rapidly in reply that Eule immediately held out her arm to the little Gestalt girl to keep her from looking like her head was going to vibrate off of its neck. Äloy took hold of Eule's right arm, carefully and gently turning it around and examining it from all angles.

"It's still warm!" Äloy said in astonishment.

"Of course. It was online only a moment ago, after all. It will get cool in a bit though, because it's not part of me right now," Eule explained.

Äloy carefully manipulated the limp Replika limb, bending the arm and moving the fingers around. The little Gestalt girl even took Eule's arm and used it to wave at Star, who happily waved back with a grin of her own.

"Does that mean you can also take off your arms, Shtar?" Äloy asked as she handed Eule's arm back to her, still vibrating with excitement at the experience.

"You betcha," Star replied, her grin never leaving her face. "My legs too, although not right this second. I do need it to walk around, after all," she said, forestalling Äloy's request in the middle of the little Gestalt girl opening her mouth.

"Aww," Äloy said in a disappointed tone. She then immediately brightened up and asked Eule as she replaced her arm back in its shoulder socket: "Is there any other part of you that's also Machine that you can take off?"

Eule didn't answer immediately. Instead, she redid the maintenance latches on her right arm, and tested it out by rotating and bending the arm, as well as flexing each and every robotic finger before pulling her sleeve back down and her glove back on. Fortunately, the process didn't take long, and Äloy seemed so fascinated by it that she was perfectly willing to wait for Eule to be ready.

"Well, our eyes are basically Machines," Eule said finally. She smiled at Äloy's astonished look and continued: "And yes, we can remove them too for maintenance or just to replace it with a new module."

"You can take out your eyes?!" Äloy breathed, her voice full of wonder and curiosity. "Can you?! Please?!"

Eule gave a laugh. "It's a little embarrassing to do that right in the open, Äloy. It's a bit like asking someone to take off their clothes for us Replikas."

"Awww!" Äloy moaned in even louder disappointment. Fortunately for Eule, she didn't press the issue, and instead peered curiously at Eule's…face? At least, that where she thought Äloy was looking.

"Does that mean that black stuff on your neck, face, and ears is Machine skin too?" Äloy asked, still just as curious.

"Oh, that's just my polyethylene shell," Eule said, before seeing Äloy's baffled expression made her think for a moment how to explain it to her. "Think of it as…like scales on a reptile. My polyethylene shell grows out of my skin in certain places to protect it, just like lizard scales."

"Ohhh," Äloy said, before once more tilting her head at Eule. "What's…poly-ethy-lene? What a weird word."

"Oh, it's a type of plastic that we Replikas grow from our skin for protection, as well as making up a part of our bodies in general."

"…What's plastic?"

Eule opened her mouth to answer…and then closed it because she actually had no idea how to answer Äloy's question. She had to think about this for a moment. How in the name of the Red Eye were you supposed to explain what plastic was to someone who had never heard of it? A quick glance at Star earned Eule a baffled shrug in reply, leaving Eule alone with her thoughts as she struggled to come up with understandable explanation for the little Gestalt girl.

"It's a synthetic polymer…no, that wouldn't make any sense to Äloy," Eule muttered as Äloy looked even more baffled by her initial words. "It's…something artificial. Human-made. Umm…"

Eule wracked her brain for an answer.

"Maybe…maybe you can examine my shell more closely? Maybe you can tell me if you have anything like plastic after feeling it?" Eule asked Äloy.

"Can I?!" Äloy said, scrambling to her feet and staring excitedly at Eule.

Eule smiled at the ever-curious and ever-adorable little Gestalt girl. "Go right ahead."

Äloy took the opportunity to lean in close to examine Eule's neck. "They really are scales. I can see it. It does look like lizard skin," Äloy said in a fascinated tone.

"Mm-hmm," Eule simply replied.

Then she felt Äloy's hand first poking her neck, and then gently feeling it.

"Wow. It feels warm, dry, and…bee-ey. Like the beefat the bees make inside their hives," Äloy commented all the while stroking Eule's neck. "Oh, and hard. Really hard. Like…oh! It feels like Machinestone."

"Machinestone?" Eule asked. She could already tell that "beefat" was beeswax just from the context, but "Machinestone" was something that completely puzzled her as to its meaning.

"Oh, uhh…okay, so Machines have some parts made of this weird…stuff. It's kind of like stone, but it's really smooth, feels like a little like beefat, and is a lot lighter than any stone. It even floats too, usually. I think people just call it Machinestone because they didn't know what else to call it," Äloy explained.

"It…does sound like plastic," Eule admitted. "Or at least, the kind of plastic my shell is made of…maybe?"

Äloy tilted her head and folded her arms, seemingly in combination bafflement and exasperation. "Maybe if I show you some Machinestone parts sometime, you can see if it's this…'plastic'?" she asked.

Eule nodded. "Alright, I'll be waiting."

Äloy smiled before she suddenly had a look of realization. "Oh, now I remember what I was going to ask about!"

"Oh?" Eule asked with a smile and a tilted head, finding Äloy's lack of an attention span to be absolutely adorable.

"So, if both you and Shtar are part-Machine and part-human…then were you 2 born because a human and a Machine prayed to the All-Mother for kids?" Äloy asked.

Seeing Eule and Star's dumbfounded and bewildered looks, Äloy further explained: "When I asked Rost where kids came from a while back, Rost said that when a man and a woman want to have kids, they get together for a whole night and pray to the All-Mother to have a kid. If the All-Mother hears their prayers, then she will bless the woman with a kid by putting them in her belly. Sometimes the All-Mother accidentally hears the prayer twice and puts 2 kids in the woman's belly, or even 3 if the prayer got to her really wrong, but that's really rare. And if She didn't hear the prayer and the woman doesn't have a kid, then the man and the woman have to keep praying to the All-Mother the next night and the next night after that until the All-Mother finally hears their prayers–hey, why are you laughing, Shtar?!"

"Nothing, nothing," Star managed to get out in between some very badly suppressed laughter.

Eule merely kept smiling, managing to successfully suppress her own laughter. To her, it sounded like a perfectly reasonable explanation Rost gave to Äloy, seeing as she was still a kindergartener in age. Rost wouldn't have wanted to get into the…actual details of what the man and woman do together during those nights, after all.

"To answer your question, Äloy: no. That's not how we Replikas are born," Eule replied, still managing to keep from uttering a single chuckle.

Äloy tilted her head at Eule. "Then…who are you and Shtar's mothers? Are they humans or Machines?"

Eule was about to answer that question, but as her mouth opened, Rost's voice bellowed out from behind them, calling out: "Äloy! Eu-le! Shtar! Breakfast is ready!"

"Oh, breakfast! Let's get back to it later. Right now, food!" Äloy said excitedly before dashing off back towards her and Rost's house.

Eule and Star looked at each other.

"She sure jumps subjects quickly, doesn't she?" Star asked wryly.

"Well, she is only a kindergartener, after all," Eule replied with a smile.

"Heh, not sure I'll ever understand Gestalt children, but I can say for certain that Äloy is adorable," Star said with a warm chuckle. Her smile then turned a bit lop-sided as she asked: "How do you think she'll react to learning that we Replikas don't really have any parents in the sense Gestalts do?"

"Not well, I think, given how much she values having a mother," Eule said with a concerned look.

"Do you want to…you know, make something up to Äloy? Say that our parents were weird or something?" Star asked.

Euel firmly shook her head. "Äloy is a very intelligent Gestalt child, and she's as good at reading faces as a Eule. She can tell if I'm lying. Also, I promised her that I wouldn't lie to her again. She doesn't like being lied to, and I don't like lying to her. So I'm just going to tell her, no matter what."

Star nodded. "Alright, I'm with you on this one all the way then. No holding back about those Replika-Werke."

"Uhh, maybe hold back just a bit about parts of it. You know, the bits that might be traumatizing to a young Gestalt child who has never seen or heard of a Replika before?" Eule said with a nervous laugh, thinking about what the description of anywhere from dozens to hundreds of Replika embryos each floating in their own growing vat and attached to the feeding tubes by their biomechanical umbilical tubes would sound like to young Äloy.

Star blinked, and then gave a sheepish laugh. "Yeah, those I'll hold back on. Don't want to give Äloy any more nightmares than we already have."

As if on cue, the aforementioned Äloy popped up from the rock face on the way back to her and Rost's house. "Eu-le! Shtar! Come on! Food!" she yelled out impatiently.

Eule giggled and stood up. "Shall we adjourn for breakfast then before Äloy drags us back?"

Star also stood up, stretching as she replied: "Yeah, let's. I'm famished, and I don't want to keep a certain little Gestalt girl waiting, so–"

Eule was not prepared for Star suddenly scooping her up and holding her in a bridal carry.

"Let's go the fast way down, shall we?" Star said with a grin.

Before Eule could ask her lover what she meant or even agree to it, Star was dashing across the rock at full sprint. Eule squealed as she felt the wind on her face from the speed they were going at. If she recalled correctly: Star mentioned that her Replika model can reach speeds of 55-70 km/h depending how much room they had to accelerate, and whether they were just running at a maintainable pace or flat-out sprinting. Eule figured that they probably didn't have enough room on this small bit of rocky path to accelerate to those speeds, but it was probably pretty close.

Fortunately, the burst of speed was extremely brief, and Star slowed down right before they reached the rock face, leaping down with a grace that made Eule wonder if she could teach Star how to dance ballet. Star gave Eule a quick peck on her nose, making Eule giggle as her lover set her back down on her feet with that obstacle crossed.

"Whoa! That was fast!" Äloy said excitedly, hopping back down from the handhold she had been holding onto.

Star gave Äloy a proud look. "Naturally. We Stars were built to be police officers as one of our duties, after all. What kind of officers would we be if any Gestalt could outrun us?"

"I don't know what most of that meant, but you were still really fast!" Äloy replied, hopping in place. "Is it because you're really tall, so your legs are really long, so you can run that fast?!"

Star nodded. "Pretty much."

Äloy suddenly stopped hopping to look up and down at Star, mostly up though. "How tall are you anyways, Star?" she asked curiously.

"220 cm. Same as my sisters," Star replied instantly.

Äloy's eyes widened in amazement. "That's taaall. That's…Grazer tall."

Star raised an eyebrow at the little Gestalt girl still staring up at her. "Grazer?"

"The practice dummies around the house? Rost made them in the shape of Grazers. They're Machines that also eat grass like the Striders, but they're a lot bigger. I've never seen a real one before, but Rost said he used real Grazer parts to make them more real. He said he even made them their real size, so if they're that tall, then you're that tall too," Äloy explained to the Star-class Replika still looking down at her.

"Huh, I guess that explains what those were," Star said, as much to Eule as to herself.

"I suppose now you'll know what to shoot for on these 'Grazers'," Eule commented with a smile.

"Maybe whenever Rost tells me which parts I have to shoot for," Star added with a relaxed smile of her own, suggesting that she was in no rush to find out at the moment.

Eule's smile widened as she watched Äloy reach as far as she could to tug on one of Star's fingers. "But, you know, maybe to be sure, I can climb up and measure you myself? You know, just to be sure?" Äloy asked, looking up at Star with a pleading look.

Star chuckled. "You just want an excuse to be tall for a bit, don't you?" she asked teasingly.

"Nooo," Äloy replied, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

Eule had to cover her mouth to keep from bursting out in laughter at Äloy avoiding meeting Star's eyes. It seemed that as much as Äloy hated others lying to her, she herself was terrible at lying to others.

Eule could see Star trying to suppress her own mirth as well. In the end, Star bent down a little and offered Äloy her robotic hand. "Alright, kid. You can come aboard. But only for a bit, okay?"

Äloy didn't even bother to reply. She just gave a cheer, and then took Star's hand. She didn't even wait for Star to pull her up. She just took Star's hand in both of her little hands, and pulled herself up. Star squawked as Äloy clambered up Star's arm, using her still-proffered hand as a foothold, stood atop Star's mechanical shoulder, before finally planting herself firmly on both of the Security Technician Guard Replika's shoulders, gripping Star's neck with her thighs and resting her hands on top of Star's head.

"Heh, wow. You're like a little monkey, aren't you, kid?" Star said with a laugh as she stood up to her full height, much to Äloy's delight.

"Monkey?" Äloy asked.

"Yup, monkey," Star replied, finally beginning her walk towards Rost and Äloy's house, with Eule walking beside her. "As for what a monkey was, well…"

Eule watched with a warm smile as Star attempted to explain to Äloy what kind of creature the long-extinct monkey was, noting that Star was deliberately walking at a very slow pace for her. Seemingly to both ensure that Eule is able to keep pace with her, as well as keep Äloy from falling off. Eule even noted that Star was holding onto Äloy's legs with a gentle but firm grip to further minimize the risks of that. Honestly, Star's care is why Eule thought that Star would make a great mother…and probably father too.

Even at Star's slowed pace though, it didn't take long for the trio to reach the entrance of Rost and Äloy's house, where Rost was waiting next to the open door with an indulgent look that turned amusingly exasperated at the sight of Äloy perched high on Star's shoulders.

"Look, Rost!" Äloy called down to Rost. "I can see everything from up here!"

"Yes, I'm sure you can," Rost replied in a tone as dry that must surely be as dry as Kitezh's red deserts. "Now stop bothering our guest and get down from there."

Äloy made a hesitant groan. "But…"

"Äloy, how do you think you'll be able to eat breakfast if you are…about half a meter above the dinner table?" Rost asked, still in that same dry tone.

Eule again struggled not to giggle as Äloy looked thoughtful, as though the problem of how to eat breakfast in that way was another puzzle for her to solve. In the end, Äloy sighed and said: "Okay, I'll get down now. Thanks, Star!"

"Anytime, kid," Star happily replied as she released her hold on Äloy's legs, allowing the little Gestalt girl to leap down, and landing as neatly on her feet as any cat.

As Äloy ran into the house with Star following behind her, ducking past the doorway, Eule had to ask Rost: "You use the Eusan Metric System?"

Rost blinked at her. "Yes, although we just call it the 'metric system'. We Nora have been using it as far back as we can remember, and so do all the other tribes we know."

"Huh, such a peculiar coincidence there," Eule said as she walked into the house at last.

"Indeed, most peculiar," Rost replied as he closed the door behind her.

---

Breakfast today (which Rost had still steadfastly refused to allow Eule to help with) turned out to be an entire pot full of colored rice and what looked like oats and buckwheat, all mixed together in a dish that resembled congee but made with much less water. To this not-quite-congee, Rost added in a big handful of the blueberries from yesterday, plus a few spoonfuls of thick golden liquid that was unmistakably honey. To be honest, it was Eule's first ever experience with what was essentially sweet congee, and it was a fascinating idea for a dish that made Eule wonder if other typically savory dishes can be made into delicious simply by making them sweet instead.

Add in skewers of the final bits of rabbit meat from yesterday roasted on the open fireplace, and the result was a most hearty breakfast, which both Äloy and Star greedily devoured along with Eule.

While relaxing for a bit after breakfast, Äloy decided to explore her device's functions. Seeing this, Eule decided that it was a good idea and began doing the same, with Star following immediately afterwards. Rost declined to join in, but Eule was certain that he was listening to them talk about the devices and paying attention.

Eule discovered that the device responded both to voice commands and to the user touching illusory displays in the air it generated. For example: when asked to bring up the audio logs recovered from the dead Gestalts in the Metal World facility yesterday, the device displayed them all in a list simply titled "Datapoints: Metal World Facility": exactly the same as she called that place. By touching the play button on each audio log, she could replay any of them to her heart's content. She very deliberately avoided touching that audio log made by that man who shot himself though. The mere thought of hearing his final words again made her shudder, and she didn't want to repeat those experiences again today.

It was while looking up those audio logs and comparing with Äloy that Eule realized that Äloy had managed to scan audio logs that Eule had missed, including one that from the time when only Äloy had a device. Said audio log only raised more questions without answering any of them (something about Skylar talking about a "flash traffic" from a "USRC" and "Black Quartz encryption" to Director Evans, none of which meant anything to Eule), but it did at least result in a happy discovery: that users can copy and send data from one device to another. Äloy figured out how to use that feature to add the datapoints from her device to Eule's device, which Eule had then sent to Star's device.

Star ended up remaining silent for the rest of the device examination, presumably listening to the audio logs from that Metal World facility. Eule noted that Star's face turned somber during that time, and resolved to talk to her lover about the datapoints later. Right now though, there was more experimenting to perform.

Fortunately, Eule did manage to find out one last thing about the device: its name. It took several attempts, but she finally managed to get her device to figure out that she was addressing it by specifically asking it "What is this device on my right temple called?"

The result was a simple text box appearing near the center of her vision, with a revolving picture of the device itself below it. The text box simply read: "Focus".

Eule thought it was a rather strange name, and Star and Äloy agreed. At least Eule knew what to call her device now though.

Unfortunately, it was also the final discovery Eule would be making about her Focus for now, because Rost chose that moment to cough and say: "Perhaps you can all stop…I don't wish to say 'playing', but that's what it appears you all are doing with your…Focuses."

That part made Eule smile just a bit smugly, having had her guess proven right. "So you were paying attention to us after all," Eule commented happily.

Rost merely gave Eule a decidedly neutral look in reply to that before turning his gaze to Äloy. "Unless you've changed your mind about that Brave training, Aloy–"

Rost had just barely managed to get Äloy's name out before she quickly clambered up the ladder, and then promptly returned with an adorably tiny bow that nearly made Eule squeal at how cute it was. Eule could see that it was a perfectly functional bow, but just sized for Äloy's tiny hands. It even came with an equally as small quiver for Äloy attached to her belt, and both were almost certainly works of love by Rost to help Äloy train.

"I haven't! Let's go Brave training!" Äloy declared with the same fiery determination she had in her eyes last night, holding up her miniature bow like an adorable spear.

Eule watched Rost give Äloy a look that mixed worry with pride. Eule smiled at the thought of Rost worried about Äloy's safety, while simultaneously proud of her bravery and determination. It fitted him, she thought.

"We will, but first, I need to ask 2…no, 3 very important questions of Shtar and Eu-le. With my first question being for Shtar…and possibly for Eu-le as well," Rost said, turning to them.

"Oh?" Star asked.

"Shtar, your…weapon…actually, before that, does it have a name?" Rost asked, looking pointedly at the very weapon in question in Star's hip holster.

Star grinned, undid the latch on her holster, and pulled out her Einhorn revolver in one smooth motion. "This is my Eu-K508 S: the standard-issue sidearm of all Stars everywhere. Me and my sisters call it the 'Einhorn'…ah, that's 'Rhino' in case it didn't translate right," Star said, noting Rost's confused expression.

"It did translate, and I still have no idea what either a 'rhinoceros' or a 'rhino' is," Rost said, shaking his head. "That's not why I was confused though. I was wondering: do you have another name for your…sidearm? Something that's shorter than…that jumble of letters and numbers you called it by?"

"Well…I guess you can just call it a revolver. It is a lot easier on the tongue. Maybe if we ever find another revolver somewhere, then you can call this one an Einhorn," Star sheepishly suggested.

Rost nodded. "Very well, your 'revolver' then. May I ask that you not use your revolver unless I say so, or if it's obviously clear that the Machines have spotted us?" Seeing Star's raised eyebrow, he continued: "Your revolver is powerful and accurate, but as you might've noticed 2 days ago, it's as loud as a thunderclap. The moment you used it, every single Machine in the area was alerted. I don't want a stampede to start every time you use it."

Star nodded. "Point taken. Alright, no using my revolver unless it's absolutely necessary. Got it. Besides, I can always use this if I have to stay quiet."

Star returned her revolver to its holster, and then immediately pulled a black plastic-coated metal baton even longer than her entire arm from where it had been hanging from her belt by its lanyard, tipped with its usual red armored double prongs and still emblazoned with that blue lightning bolt marking, holding it up for Rost to see, and by extension for Äloy to admire with intense curiosity.

"I've been wondering about that, actually. What is that thing?" Rost asked with a raised eyebrow.

Star grinned, before pulling a trigger on the grip. For a few seconds, an arc of electricity crackled between the red prongs, briefly lighting up Rost and Äloy's house with bluish-white light (making Rost raise an intrigued eyebrow and making Äloy gaze at the stun prod with even more intense interest) before Star released the trigger, making the small bit of lightning disappear as quickly as it had made its appearance.

"This is the EIG-2 disposable stun prod, or the 'Judicator' as we Stars call it, although I'm not sure which part of it is meant to be the disposable part. Maybe the battery? But anyways, it's so durable that I can beat most Replikas' heads in with it even without the electroshock bit working. That said, it's at its best when it is working. It's got enough charge for me to stun a handful of Gestalts with it, or a single Replika…that's not a Mynah, that is. After the battery runs out though, it's just a plastic-coated metal baton. Still useful though, don't get me wrong. Just not quite as useful," Star explained.

Rost stroked his braided beard in a thoughtful manner. "That could actually be very useful in a hunt. Most Machines are vulnerable to electric attacks, whether from Shock Arrows or from detonating some of the large Sparkers–like much larger versions of the small ones I carved from those Watchers–you find on the outside of certain Machines. The electricity stuns them for a short time, allowing a good hunter to easily move in and stab them in a vital spot. So if you feel like you need to use that 'stun prod', then I encourage you to use one. And if your stun prod uses electricity to work, then hmm…perhaps if it runs out, we can experiment with using Sparkers to somehow restore life to it?"

"Huh, that's hopeful. Guess I won't be counting this girl out after all," Star mused as she rehung her stun prod back on her belt.

"Indeed," Rost said, nodding before turning to Eule. "Now for you, Eu-le: does your revolver also make that same thunderclap sound when you use it?"

"Yes, but it's not a revolver. It's called a pistol," Eule corrected. "And yes, I'll avoid using it for the same reasons you listed."

"Well, technically it's a–" Star began.

"Type-75 semi-automatic pistol, also called the 'Protektor'," Eule finished with an amused smile. "I know, Star. I was just trying to keep things simple."

Star laughed even more sheepishly than before. "Yeah, fair enough there," she said with a light blush.

Eule leaned over to kiss Star on the cheek. "Don't worry, Star. I find that side of you to be just as adorable as your other sides."

Star somehow contrived to blush even more deeply. "Aww, stop. You're embarrassing me."

Rost's cough brought Eule, and by extension Star, back to the conscious world. "Yes, I'm glad that you both understand how loud your weapons are. Now for my second question, or rather, request."

Rost walked over to the ladder, climbed upstairs, and then came back down with a pair of large…they looked like wooden ladder-like frames fitted with leather straps tied to the frame with the blue-dyed Machine wire Rost seemed to like using. There was a sort of wooden shelf on the bottom of the frame, upon which sat a large leather sack strapped to the frame with more leather straps, and tied at the top with more Machine wire. Eule would swear to the Red Eye that they were backpacks, but they looked completely different from the backpacks she'd seen Rotfront schoolchildren carry.

"May I also ask that you two take and wear these backpacks? We will be going hunting today, and we need help with carrying all the parts back. I know you have your…custom to follow, but it really would help me greatly here, as well as to avoid wasting kills," Rost asked.

Eule nodded to Rost. "Alright, I'll do it. Just let me get put down a pouch, and…there," she said as she placed a pouch containing a half-full box of 10mm bullets on the table. "Now I'm not violating the Rule of Six. Star?"

Star placed her own pouch on the table at that moment. "There, now I've got 5 items too."

Eule looked at the pouch. "Isn't that one of your 12mm ammo boxes, Star?"

"Yeah, but it's only got 2 rounds in it anyways. It's not much of an issue if I leave it behind," Star explained.

"If you say so," Eule replied, trusting Star's judgement.

With the Rule of Six out of the way, both Eule and Star then stood up and put on the backpacks Rost offered them. Eule had thought the wooden frame would make the backpack uncomfortable to wear. To her surprise though, the wooden frame fit snugly against her back without digging into her uniform or her polyethylene shell underneath. It was quite frankly a novel experience.

"Hmm, I like this," Star commented.

Eule nodded enthusiastically in agreement with her lover. "It does feel quite comfortable," she commented as well.

Rost only nodded in reply. "I'm glad you two think so. Now that that's settled, all that's left is my third and final question for you two: do you feel…overly encumbered by the leggings and boots I made you two wear yesterday? Do you believe it would affect your ability to move quickly and quietly?"

Eule looked down at her own white bird-like legs tipped with their peg-like feet, currently unencumbered by the hosen and leather boots Rost had made her and Star wear yesterday in such an improvised manner, and gently tapped the footpad of one foot on the wooden floor as she thought about it.

"Honestly, it wasn't that bad whenever I was just walking. It was only when I was running that it became…awkward. I don't think I could run very fast with those boots on, and I certainly don't think I could run quietly," Eule concluded.

"Same here. I nearly tripped more times than I could count yesterday whenever I tried to run, or just move faster than a walk," Star added.

Rost sighed. "Very well then. You can both leave the boots, and the leggings too if you want since neither of you seem to need it nor be bothered by it. We need to move quickly and quietly for the lessons today, and speaking of which: I believe it is now finally time to start our lessons, Aloy."

The little Gestalt girl whooped and dashed out the door. Or at least, she tried to, before Rost deftly snatched her by her blue scarf, preventing Äloy from doing what she wanted to.

"Aloy, listen to me: this is important," Rost said in a tone of complete, dead seriousness.

Äloy immediately stopped trying to wriggle free from Rost's grasp, and turned around, listening attentively to Rost now due to his tone.

"Today's lesson will be the start of training you into a Brave. Not just any Brave, but the best Brave hopeful who has ever taken the Proving. Thus, there will be danger. If you fail to listen to me, you could lose your life. So please, do not run ahead of me. Stay close behind me, and do as I say. Understood?" Rost asked not so much as a question, but as a confirmation that Äloy would listen to him.

Äloy nodded, her normally cheerful face now just as dead serious as Rost's.

"Hmm, that reminds me, can you hold on for a second, Rost? I want to check something with Eule," Star asked.

Upon seeing Rost nod as well as Eule giving her a tilted head of puzzlement, Star looked to Eule and further asked: "Hey Eule, can you set your radio receiver frequency to 70 kHz?"

Eule nodded and did so, resulting in her hearing a crackling noise coming from her own left ear as her REM-63 Longwave Radio Receiver Module installed in her left ear module slot picked up a signal in the lowest frequency she and Star's radio receiver modules can receive in.

"Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Eule? Can you hear me, over?" Eule heard Star over the airwaves.

Eule smiled at her lover's voice, tinged with a hint of radio static. She then used her own RSM-46 Short-Range Radio Transmitter Module in her right ear module slot to send her own reply to Star. "I copy, Star. I hear you, love, over," she broadcasted back.

Eule heard a static-tinted chuckle come in. "Good. I was afraid that your radio wasn't working since I was running around for most of yesterday, calling out for you with both my voice and radio. I guess you were just too far underground to hear me then, over," Star broadcasted.

"It seems so. Unfortunately, Äloy and I did fall pretty far down. Honestly, I was afraid your radio was broken since you couldn't hear me, over," Eule broadcasted back.

Star smiled at her. "Well, good news then: both our radios are working. So we can have our own private conversations whenever we want. We can even talk dirty to each other with no one the wiser, if you want? Over?" she broadcasted to Eule, with Star's smile turning shyly suggestive.

Eule giggled. "Maybe some other time, Star. When no one is watching, over."

Star snorted. "Doesn't that defeat the whole point of this, over?"

Eule giggled once more, this time with a blush. "It's so embarrassing though! Over!"

Star laughed in reply. "Then let's just agree that talking dirty to each other over radio…may not be the best use of it, over."

Eule's reply to that was her own laughter. "Copy that, out!" she cut the transmission with a final laugh.

Eule then turned back to Rost and Äloy, who were both looking at her and Star with combination bafflement tinged with just a bit of worry.

"Are you two…okay?" Rost asked. "You were both smiling and laughing at each other, as though you were telling each other some kind of joke…without actually saying anything."

Eule giggled one last time before explaining: "That was just us testing out our radios. They're functioning perfectly, by the way."

Seeing the even more baffled and confused expressions on Rost and Äloy's faces though made Eule realize something.

"Oh, dear. You don't have radios yet. How do I explain this? Radios are communication devices that send out radio waves, allowing someone with a radio to hear someone speak or play something into another radio. Radio waves are…think of them as invisible forces like heat or wind, and that they make invisible ripples in the air like when you touch water. I can transmit these ripples to Star as my voice, and thus she can hear my voice with her own radio. The same is true in the opposite direction," Eule explained further.

Rost stroked his beard once more in thought. "Invisible voices in the air…I wonder…the Machines can speak to each other without words. We know this because Watchers are able to summon nearby Machines for help, including those that aren't other Watchers, even if they're out of hearing range. Could they be using this 'radio' you speak of?" he asked.

Eule blinked in surprise at him, and thought about it. "Yes, that could be it. It would certainly make sense for these Machines to have radios for communications."

Star also looked thoughtful at this theory. "We can certainly try to test it out. Change our receiving frequencies when we're around the Machines until we get their channel. That would allow us to see if this theory is right."

"Good," Rost said with a nod. "Then we best be on our way. Because where we're going, there are definitely going to be Machines."

---

Eule ended up walking right next to Äloy, both of them trailing close behind Rost. Star took up the rear, with Eule noting that her lover was carefully scanning the area around them after Rost's ominous words. Star gave a reassuring thumbs-up and a cocky grin when she saw Eule looking at her, and Eule was relieved a bit. It didn't quite entirely eliminate the flies buzzing in her biomechanical stomach, but at least they were buzzing a bit more quietly now.

Eule noted that they were heading west, along the bank of a small river amidst the fertile land besides it, instead of the easterly direction towards the Nora settlements they had gone before.

"We are heading into a small enclosed valley to the furthest west of The Embrace," Rost explained when Eule asked. "Only small Machines like Watchers and Striders can get into this valley and even then only in small numbers, so it's a perfect place for Braves to train, whether to hunt or carve them, and thus for Äloy as well."

Eule nodded at his explanation, to which Rost nodded back in reply before he turned to Äloy.

"Your first lesson right now is this: not all that the Braves do is killing. Braves need to learn to identify and gather medicinal plants from the wild to treat the inevitable injuries they incur while hunting. The type of plant is important. Knowing the difference between hintergold and wild ember can mean the difference between life and death, whether from not using a potent enough plant or using too much of a potent plant. This, I will teach you.

"But first, here: take this medicine pouch. It's yours now," Rost said, pulling a small leather pouch from his belt and holding it out for Äloy to take.

Which Äloy promptly did, briefly gazing at it with the excitement of a Rotfront child receiving a Mondfest present before tying it onto her belt.

Rost then walked on a bit further before he spotted something, making his way over to it and beckoning for Äloy to come over before crouching down. The little Gestalt girl followed suit, as did Eule, who was also curious as to what Rost wanted Äloy to look at. Eule could even feel Star looking over their shoulders, also brimming with curiosity.

The thing Rost was looking at turned out to be a small plant, barely taller than the grass around it. Unlike the simple green grass blades though, this plant was composed of a stalk of pale pink flowers growing out of a base of green leaves. Among the flowers though were equally as pale pink berries hanging on long thin stems that were undoubtedly all that remained of the flowers they had developed form.

"This is called salvebrush. Its potency is right in the middle between hintergold and wild ember, making it a good treatment for moderate injuries. Consuming the berries will both alleviate pain and promote healing," Rost explained.

Äloy nodded, as well as Eule.

"That said, you're not injured, so you don't need to eat any. Eule however…do you still feel any pain from that cut on your cheek?" Rost asked.

Eule looked at him in surprise before instinctively reaching to feel the scab on her right cheek. "It's okay. It's long since stopped hurting, and it definitely isn't bleeding anymore. My oxidant–that's what we Replikas call our blood–has coagulated just fine even without a repair patch."

Rost still stared at Eule's cheek though. "I see. In any case, maybe you should just eat a single berry to make sure it does heal right…actually, that reminds me: does human medicine work on your people? You Replikas?" he asked.

"Unfortunately, no," Eule replied with a frown. "Gestalt and Replika medicine are fairly exclusive to our respective races. There's only a few overlapping things like bandages that work on both Gestalts and Replikas, and even then, they're either less effective on Replikas or outright toxic to Gestalts."

"Hmm, that is unfortunate indeed. It sounds like we do need to test to see if any plants work on you and Shtar, not just salvebrush," Rost said with a pensive look. "Still, perhaps we should save the medicinal plant experimentation for when we're back home. If salvebrush does make you sick, I would rather you be purging yourself when we're somewhere safe and not in the wild."

Upon seeing Eule nod, Rost then turned back to Äloy. "For now then, just pick the salvebrush berries to put into your medicine pouch. The berries remain potent even when dried, so it's always a good idea to have some in your pouch when you need it. Don't take it all though. Always leave a few from each plant you harvest from so that more may grow there next time."

"Okay," Äloy replied as she did exactly as she was told, for once.

Once Äloy had finished with her salvebrush berry picking, Eule continued walking alongside her through the forested area, always with Rost ahead and the sound of Star's footsteps behind her.

"Further downriver, there should be that small herd of Machines I mentioned before. "There, I will teach you how to hunt, Aloy. Remember: all Machines are dangerous, even the small ones like the Watchers and Striders. Their power must be respected, but don't worry. I will be beside you."

Eule smiled at the loving warmth and calm patience in Rost's words. As Äloy nodded in reply though, Eule's smile disappeared as she suddenly heard the distant sounds of heavy footsteps. Very familiar heavy footsteps from her first day in this world, and getting closer.

Rost looked alert, clearly having heard the footsteps as well. "Everyone, a Machine's coming. Crouch and follow me into the tall grass. Hurry, but be quiet," he said in a low voice.

Eule quickly did as Rost ordered, staying low and crouch-walking as fast as her bird-like legs would allow after Rost and Äloy. This time, she kept her eye on the ground in front of her, watching for any sticks or twigs she might accidentally step on and alert the Machines. She still remembered what happened on that first day. She will not be repeating that mistake again…hopefully.

Fortunately, she stopped right next to Äloy in the tall red-tufted grass without making a single loud sound, with Star stopping right beside her with her stun prod already in her right hand and ready to stab into a Machine if it sees them. Said Machine soon stepped into view in front of them: a Watcher just like the ones from the first day.

"Stay still. Wait for it to pass," Rost quietly commanded.

Eule watched nervously as the Watcher stomped past on its pair of mechanical bird-like legs, so uncannily like a Replika's legs. She held her breath when it passed less than a meter in front of her face, and yet didn't seem to notice they were right there. Eule knew that her black and white color scheme should be perfectly visible even through the tall grass, and yet the Machine behaved as though it hadn't seen anything. It just blithely continued walking past them without a pause.

"Now keep low, and follow me across the trail to that other patch of tall grass," Rost commanded once more, nearly making Eule jump from how suddenly he'd said those words.

The move occurred without issue and, most importantly, without noise. At least, not any noise that was audible enough for the other Watcher that just appeared to notice.

"Ho. Another one. Let it pass," Rost commanded once more in that same quiet voice.

This Watcher passed by them as well, following in the wake of the first one. It took another move to the next patch of red-tufted grass to hide from a third Watcher before Rost breathed out a sigh of relief and said: "That's the last of them. Let's move on."

Eule followed after Äloy as they stepped out of the red-tufted grass, breathing out her own sigh of relief as she looked back at the Watchers receding into the distance.

"You did well. All of you. They didn't see or hear you, and you successfully managed to avoid the temptation to use your revolver, Shtar," Rost added with just a hint of dryness in his tone.

Star merely laughed sheepishly in reply as she rehung her stun prod on her belt.

After giving her lover a reassuring pat on her back, Eule's curiosity finally boiled over. "Rost, while that was certainly…exhilarating, I just don't understand. I could swear by the Red Eye that those Watchers were looking right at us from mere centimeters away, and yet they didn't see us? How?"

Rost looked surprised at Eule's question before he nodded in realization and pointed at the red-tufted grass they'd just been hiding in.

"This tall grass? We call it foxtail grass because, well, you can see why," Rost explained, gently lifting up one of the red tufts for emphasis. "We don't know why, but foxtails seem to…blind the Machines somehow. Anyone hiding in foxtails, as long as they don't make a sound, will be invisible to the Machines. Remember this if you ever find the need to hide from Machines, which I suspect will be happening sooner rather than later for you and Shtar. Note though that it won't be of much help against humans, especially at close ranges, so be mindful of that."

Eule looked at the red tufts in surprise…and frankly amazement. Even Star whistled in appreciation.

"Maybe we can weave some of this into a suit?" Star pondered. "Make it so that we're always invisible to the Machines?"

"Unfortunately, I know of a few Nora hunters that tried to do exactly that. The results were…mixed. It only seemed to work if the hunter gathered a lot of foxtails to wear, enough to hide their outline. Too little, and the Machines see right through it. Not only that, but the foxtails lose their effectiveness when they wither and fall apart, so the hunter would have to remake this creation for each hunt. It's just too much effort for too little gain, especially since foxtails seem to grow everywhere anyways," Rost explained.

Star scratched her cheek in sheepishness. "A pity there," she said.

Rost nodded in agreement before beckoning them to follow him once more. "Now stay close, and avoid making loud sounds. That herd should be just ahead." he warned.

Despite that warning, Eule still found the trek down the trail to be fairly relaxing after that near-encounter with the Watchers. At least there weren't any Machines looking to maim and/or kill them yet.

So Eule was surprised but not alarmed when Äloy tugged on her hand, and pointed at the rocks ahead of and above them. At first, Eule wasn't sure what Äloy wanted her to look at, until a flash of movement caught her eye, and her robotic eyes finally focused on a young Nora man scaling the rocks using handholds buried into the cliffs and leaping across gaps like some Stone Age acrobat.

"Who's that?" Eule asked at exactly the same time Äloy did, prompting both of them to briefly look at each other with a smile and a grin respectively.

"Ignore him," Rost said, only barely looking at the young Nora man still clambering around like a long-extinct monkey.

"But why's he up there?" Äloy pressed.

Before Rost could answer, the young Nora man swung across a gap and landed neatly on a log that, judging by the yellow-dyed wires wrapped around both ends, was placed there explicitly to bridge a gap between a pair of rock formations. As he crouched on the log to gather his breath, he looked around, and finally noticed the Gestalt man, young Gestalt girl, and 2 Replikas staring up at him.

The young Nora man looked surprised at first, but then adopted a curious look as Eule watched his gaze first go to her bird-like robotic legs, and then to Star's. Despite that though, he smiled at the group and gave them a greeting nod, prompting Eule to give a little wave of hello to him in reply. She was quite pleased when the young Gestalt (who now that she could get a good look at him, was probably no more than a young teenager a few years younger than Erika Itou had been at most) returned the wave with a brief wave of his own, saying a shy "Hi" to them in the process.

Before anything more could happen though, a male voice rang out from the distance: "Teb! Get back where you belong!"

The young Gestalt man, who was likely the "Teb" being addressed by the unseen speaker, looked up sharply at the voice. Giving another brief wave, this time as a goodbye, Teb then ran off as the still-unseen man shouted, in just a slightly more annoyed tone: "Teb! Where are you?!"

"Ignore him," Rost said suddenly, making Eule look at him in puzzlement, only to see that he was looking down towards Äloy.

"But he was just smiling at us," Äloy complained.

Rost shook his head. "We are outcasts, and he is of the tribe. For him to even interact with us means he's breaking the law."

"Maybe he doesn't like the tribe," Äloy countered.

Rost stared in the direction Teb had run off to. "Then he is a fool," he said quietly.

Eule looked at Rost's face at the tone of his voice. He sounded…sad and disappointed, as if this Teb might've been trying to run away from something Rost so desperately wanted himself. Eule was struck by a desire to give Rost a reassuring hug as she would for Äloy, but stopped herself, realizing that such a gesture might not quite work on an adult Gestalt man. Especially not Rost.

"If it helps, you can imagine that this Teb guy was saying 'Hi' to us instead of you and Äloy," Star spoke up. "It's not against the law for him to speak with us now, is it?"

Rost grunted, whether in agreement or acceptance, Eule couldn't tell. "Come now, let's find that herd. Follow," he commanded, putting an end to the matter.

It wasn't long before they all came across the Machine herd in question: a small group of the quadrupedal Striders, standing just across from a sturdy-looking Nora bridge, grazing on the grass and other plants growing on the riverbank.

Rost stopped and looked around. "No sign of any herd guards, but no way to approach this herd stealthily. Hmm, everyone, follow me closely and trust me."

Eule was suddenly very nervous, both at Rost's words and because Rost had now resumed walking, but was heading right for the Striders.

As soon as they stepped onto the bridge, Rost suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs: "Ha! Get!"

Eule's oxidant froze in her plastic-laced veins as the entire Strider herd looked up at them. Then the entire herd…bolted away from them. Eule had honestly been expecting the herd to charge at them from what Rost had talked about last night. Instead, these Striders seemed far more interested in flight than fight, galloping away down the riverbank as fast as their mechanical legs and hooves would allow.

"Rost," Star said in a low and very dry tone. "I know you said to trust you, but you better have had a very good reason for that."

Rost turned to look at Star with a face that was even more serious than normal. "I was showing Aloy how herd machines are skittish, and will bolt if frightened and they have somewhere to run to. It's a good way to either get a Machine herd to head to a place that's more advantageous to the hunter: either traps or kill zones, or even both. Either way, with no herd guard Machines around to attack us, this seemed like a good time to demonstrate that.

Rost then looked down at Äloy. "I also wished to teach Aloy and both of you that as much as we must respect the Machines' power, we must not let it turn into fear. A small, healthy amount of fear keeps a hunter wary and cautious, but too much of it can paralyze the hunter, as it did for Eu-le."

Eule started and blushed. She only realized now that she'd been rooted to the spot, too afraid to move for a moment at seeing all those Striders looking at her before they decided they would rather run than kill her.

"It's alright, Eu-le. I can already tell you aren't a hunter. It's not fair at all to expect you to behave like a seasoned Brave," Rost consoled. "Just remember this, and learn from it the next time you are confronted with herd Machines."

Eule forced a smile and nodded at him. She would learn from this. She will…she hoped.

"Now, as you all just saw, the Machines are best approached by stealth," Rost continued, with a bit of a dry tone. "Don't worry, we'll catch up to them further down the river. You'll see."

As Rost led them across the bridge, Eule couldn't help but peer over the side of said bridge, leaning across a gap in the fencing, and look at her reflection. The river, despite being fairly still, couldn't hold a candle to a proper mirror like the one in the Eule dorm, but it will do.

Her face was as exactly as she thought it was: the same as the first day, just with the addition of a small scab of coagulated oxidant right on a part of her cheek that wasn't covered by her polyethylene shell. Even seeing the healing injury though didn't detract from the relief she felt. There was just something about seeing her reflection staring back at her that anchored her to the present, confirming that despite everything, she was still EULR-S2324. It certainly helped her relax after seeing all those potentially dangerous Striders staring at her.

Something else that helped Eule relax was the sensation of Star's hand resting on her shoulder in warm understanding, and also seeing Äloy's reflection pop up next to Eule's.

"What are you looking at?" Äloy asked curiously. "Did you see a fish?"

Eule smiled. "No, I was just checking my reflection. I'm done now anyways."

Äloy shrugged and said "Okay," before her reflection popped back down.

With that little ritual done, Eule continued following Rost, who she noticed had also briefly stopped when she had.

"Are you alright?" Rost asked in a worried tone.

"I'm fine," Eule replied with a smile to show that she was okay. "Really, I am now."

Rost nodded. "Very well then."

After finally crossing the bridge, Rost then looked around in the area just ahead, where there was a patch of ground that was covered in a large number of small rocks. Probably from a recent landslide or possibly washed up there by the river during a flood, Eule guessed.

"Now Aloy, I want you to find some rocks that fit the cup of your hand," Rost ordered.

"Why?" Äloy asked with the same curiosity as before.

"Do as I say, and gather the rocks. I will show you how to use them. Trust me, even a simple rock can be useful against the Machines," Rost insisted.

Äloy made a curious sound before moving to do as she was told. As the little Gestalt girl picked out appropriately sized rocks from the selection around her, Eule bent down and picked up a rock as well, rolling it around in her mechanical hand and idly wondering if Rost was going to teach Äloy how to take out a Machine with a rock alone? Like some kind of martial arts master?

"That's enough. Those will do," Rost said when he saw that Äloy had collected a trio of rocks, each roughly the size of a small apple, before ordering: "Follow."

Eule followed after an excited Äloy as the latter stuffed her rocks into a spare pouch. Eule looked at the rock in her own hand, and on a whim decided to put it into her backpack. Eule looked back towards Star, who was giving her an amused look. Eule could only shrug in reply. There was plenty of room in her backpack for a single rock, after all. The Rule of Six did allow for a container to be counted as a single item, no matter how many other items were actually in the container. It was why both Eule and Star could carry boxes full of bullets in single pouches, and have those pouches count as a single item. It was a handy loophole for Eusan Nation citizens to…not exactly break the Rule of Six, but bend it in a way so as to make things a bit easier on themselves.

Eule's attention was quickly pulled away though when she saw Rost suddenly sprint ahead, crouching by a tall tree with drooping branches. "Everyone. Over here," he said in a quiet voice.

By now, Eule realized what that tone meant even before she made her way over to Rost and crouched down beside him.

There, far below them and a fair distance away, was the Strider herd again. They had apparently stopped their flight to graze on some more grass. Unfortunately, they were no longer alone. A single Watcher had taken up station a short distance away from them, and appeared to be running a patrol back and forth along the most direct way to the Striders.

"There's the herd, and there's a herd guard," Rost muttered before turning to Äloy. "Alright, it's time to throw some rocks."

Eule looked at Rost with a raised biomechanical eyebrow. "Wait, you're not actually going to teach her how to throw a rock through a Watcher's eye, are you?" she asked in disbelief.

Rost laughed quietly. "If only it were that easy, but no. However, what a rock can do is distract Machines, or draw them into traps. Just like that Watcher over there. It must be dealt with, or it will warn the herd and send them running before it will get within range."

"Warn them? Like with that radio Eu-le and Shtar were talking about?" Äloy asked curiously.

Rost looked thoughtful before looking at Eule. "Can you tell now if they using this 'radio'?"

Eule began rapidly cycling through the frequencies she could receive, from 70 kHz all the way up to 220 kHz. Unfortunately, she could hear nothing but the sound of quiet static.

Eule shook her head at Rost. "I can't hear anything. Either the Machines aren't using radio, or they're using it at a frequency I can't receive."

Seeing Rost and Äloy's confused expression, Eule explained: "Think of radio frequencies as…like music tones making invisible ripples in the air as though it is water, with each tone being a slightly different ripple from one another. My REM-63, er, the little machine in my left ear that hears radio tones can only hear a specific tone if I'm listening for it. Otherwise, it's inaudible to me and I can't hear it.

The best metaphor I can make for this is the wind. You can see the wind move grass and tree branches when it blows, but if you're not looking at the grass or trees, then you can't tell the wind is blowing or which direction it's blowing in. And if your eyesight is bad, then if you're looking at the grass or trees from too far away, you still can't see them move. That may be what's happening here with me. Admittedly, I'm not sure if this is a 100% accurate comparison, but hopefully it makes sense to you both?"

"Somewhat," Rost replied, stroking his braided beard in deep thought, with Äloy trying to mimic him by stroking her definitely beard-less chin. "Still, while this 'radio' certainly seems interesting, it's unfortunate that you can't hear the Machines' radio, if that is indeed the case. If you did, I had been wondering if you could speak to that Watcher and lure it over to me. Since you can't, that just means we will go with my original plan then.

"Aloy, stay here on the ridge with Eu-le. On my signal, throw rocks and draw the Watcher to me." Upon seeing Äloy nod to him, Rost then turned to Star and said: "Shtar, can you come with me to that large patch of foxtail grass, the one behind that large rock outcropping? If something happens and the Watcher survives, I want you to hit it with your stun prod. If its electrical attack is as powerful as you say it is, then it should be enough to stun the Watcher long enough for me to get it with a second strike."

Star unclipped her stun prod from her belt in reply. "Alright, I can do that. It'd be interesting to find out what this girl can do against that Watcher thing," she said with a grin.

Rost nodded before beckoning her to follow. With a final "Remember, on my signal" to Äloy, Rost then leapt down from the cliff, with Star following immediately after. Eule didn't need to worry about their safety there though. The drop was only a short distance. Really, she was more worried about the Watcher and what will happen when Rost does give his signal–

Something just occurred to Eule. "Äloy, what is the signal? Rost never said," she asked the little Gestalt girl quietly.

"A whistle," Äloy replied just as quietly. "He always uses that as a signal."

Eule nodded and then turned her attention back to Rost and Star below. Rost was now crouched down near the edge of the foxtail grass patch, spear in his hand. Meanwhile, Star was just a meter next to him, her stun prod still gripped in her hand and ready to jab at the Watcher still patrolling the same path back and forth.

Soon enough, Rost quietly made a 2-tone whistle that sounded very much to Eule like birdsong.

Instantly, Äloy threw her rock. That's when Eule found out that Äloy had very good hand-eye coordination despite her young age, for her rock arced up in a rainbow-like trajectory before coming down onto a patch of stony ground, clacking off of it, and bouncing only once a very short distance away before coming to rest less than a meter from where Rost was lying in wait.

The Watcher instantly spun around, its eye glowing in that same suspicious yellow Eule had seen on that first day. It stalked over exactly to where Äloy's thrown rock laid, bending down to peer at it and making curious clicking sounds that were audible even from where Eule crouched with Äloy.

It happened so fast Eule almost missed it.

Rost dashed out from the foxtail patch, springing forth from his crouching position until he was right next to the Watcher. It barely had time to turn its head to look at Rost before he thrust his spear right into its chest, driving it into the ground. The Watcher could barely even get out a pitiful whine before the yellow light in its eye winked out, and it was still at last.

Rost ripped his spear out of the Watcher in a shower of sparks and crackling electricity, peering warily towards the Strider herd as he did so. Eule looked over to the herd as well, and was relieved that not a single Strider had noticed that their guardian was no more.

"There. Come, you two. It's safe now," Rost said from his position, just loud enough for Äloy and Eule to hear, but not loud enough that any of the Striders noticed.

Eule was about to offer to help Äloy down, but the little Gestalt girl had already leapt down from the cliff herself and was sliding down towards Rost. Eule smiled, proud at Äloy for her initiative, before heading down herself, stopping next to an excited Äloy and an amused Star.

"Guess you didn't need my help after all, eh?" Star noted to Rost.

"Not this time," Rost admitted. "Still, I would rather have help and not need it, than need help and not have it."

Star only nodded in agreement.

"Now, Aloy," Rost said, handing out a knife made of what looked like a sharpened piece of Machine armor with one side wrapped with strips of leather to serve as a handle, and a simple piece of leather wrapped around the blade portion and tied with a bit of Machine wire as a crude sheath. "Take this and harvest the kill. Take only some of the hide, the skin, and some muscle for now. I will teach you how to use them to make arrows."

Eule didn't think it was possible for Äloy to get any more excited, but seeing her unwrap the knife and take it out with a fire in her eyes made Eule rethink the little Gestalt girl's maximum possible excitement levels. Despite that though, Äloy quickly and efficiently did as she was told, using the knife to first pry off a piece of armor off the Watcher's thigh before cutting a large section of the soft black skin off of the same area.

As Eule watched Äloy cut the skin, she did indeed note that it looked a bit like a thin layer of soft plastic. It looked too stiff to be rubber, which seemed to suggest a plastic nature. It made Eule wonder if she could use it to prepare a dish for herself and Star, but it was something she'll have to experiment with later.

Finally though, Äloy cut a bundle of black muscle fiber from the Watcher's thigh, and then proudly presented the entire bundle to Rost. She attempted to hand back the knife to Rost, but Rost held up a hand.

"No, Aloy. It's yours now," Rost said with a smile. "I have another knife of my own. Just remember, you can always make a new knife from the hide of any dead Machine and something to wrap around it to keep from cutting yourself on it."

Eule smiled as well at the sight of Äloy staring at the knife which was now hers before wrapping the blade back in its leather wrap and tucking it into her belt.

"Good. Now watch," Rost said, taking the armor piece and laying it on the ground.

Rost then took 2 bundles of leather from a pocket, unfolded it into a large sheet, and placed it on the ground. He then placed the armor piece on it, placed the other leather sheet over it, took a nearby rock, and began hammering it. Despite how hard Rost was hammering it though, the leather sheets muffled much of the noise. Eule looked over at where the Striders were, and noted that the large rock outcropping was actually blocking her view of the herd, which meant that none of the Striders could see them as well.

Eule was quite impressed. So this was the skills of an experienced hunter like Rost. A vague desire to want to be that skilled as well started to form in Eule's mind, but Rost's voice interrupted her thoughts with a "There now."

Eule turned her attention back to Rost to see him lift the sheet. The armor below was now thoroughly in pieces, but something was odd about them. No matter which piece she looked at, they were all triangles. Some were bigger and others smaller, but it seemed like the armor had somehow broken almost perfectly into small triangles.

"Machine hide will always break into triangles when hammered hard enough," Rost explained, as if he'd read Eule's mind. "This makes them perfect arrowheads. It's also why every tribe we know uses them as currency, but that's a topic for another day.

"For now Aloy, gather stalks of ridge-wood from the plants over there," Rost commanded, indicating at clumps of thin, woody, sapling-like plants growing next to the river.

Instantly, Äloy leapt to her feet and did so. Eule watched as the little Gestalt girl struggled to break off the branches of the ridge-wood, with the plant apparently not giving its branches up that easily to a mere Gestalt child. Alas though, the ridge-wood was still doomed to defeat, as Äloy's determined tugs finally succeeding in pulling off branch after branch until she was holding a large bundle of long, stiff, and unusually straight branches; carrying them all to a satisfied Rost and setting them down next to the shattered Watcher armor, the bundles of Watcher muscle, and the cut-off portions of Watcher skin.

"Good. Remember, ridge-wood always grows in long straight lengths of stiff wood, making them perfect for arrow shafts. You can always find stalks of them growing by water sources, so look for rivers, lakes, ponds, and the like when you need arrows," Rost explained before continuing: "Now, watch me."

Rost took a length of ridge-wood branch, carefully paring off bits of it with his knife until it was perfectly straight before cutting both ends off, forming a shaft of wood.

Next, he used his knife to cut off short lengths of Watcher muscle, placed a triangle of Watcher armor onto one end of the wood shaft, and tied the triangle on tightly with the muscle wire.

Then, he cut off 2 egg-shaped ovals from the Watcher skin before slicing each one in half, notched each egg half at both ends, and then tied them onto the other end of the wood shaft, spacing them equally apart to form a 4-part fletching.

Finally, he hacked a deep notch into the end of the shaft with the fletching, presumably this being the part of the arrow that you were supposed to put on the bowstring. Eule's knowledge was a bit murky there owing to her lack of familiarity with bows, but she was fairly certain she was correct on that bit.

At last now, Rost held up an arrow made entirely with Machine parts. It looked a bit crude, but it also looked perfectly serviceable. Eule thought it was a bit like all of Rost's equipment so far really, and from what she has seen so far, the crude nature of his weapons belied just how deadly they were in the hands of a trained warrior.

"There. You see, Aloy? All you need is ridge-wood, a dead Machine, and a knife; and you can craft arrows for hunting, no matter what the beast," Rost said, handing the arrow to an intensely interested Äloy. "Now that you know what to do, it's time to make your own arrows. About 20 should suffice. With my arrow included, 21 should suffice to take down a Strider."

Eule nearly broke out into laughter at the odd coincidence there, but managed to suppress it with the help of her hand covering her mouth. She was fairly certain that if 21 had been here, she would've been far more interested in trying to ride these Striders than in trying to kill them.

It was then that the last bit of what Rost said finally hit Eule.

"Rost? You're…not going to try to make Äloy kill one of those Striders, are you?" Eule asked in a very worried tone.

Rost blinked in surprise. "Yes, I am. How else is Aloy to learn how to be a Brave unless she kills a Machine with her own hands?" he asked.

Eule turned to Star for assistance. Her lover, as it turns out, had been staring at Rost in disbelief the whole time.

"Look, Rost, you're a great guy and all, and you seem pretty smart and rational," Star began. "But well…don't you think it's a bit much to have Äloy try to kill a killer robot horse by herself? I mean, she can't be much more than…what kindergarten age?"

"I don't know what this 'kinder-garden' is, but I assure you both, this is necessary for Äloy," Rost said firmly, before further explaining: "The Proving itself isn't that difficult if you know what you're doing. However, Aloy needs to be the first of the Braves to complete it in order to obtain that boon. In short, she needs to be the Bravest of the Braves. For that, she needs to start early, and killing a Machine is the start of that."

Rost's gaze then softened. "Don't worry though, Aloy will not alone in this trial. I will be right there beside her, with a bow in hand ready to take down the Strider and any other Machine if they get too close to Äloy. I want to help my girl become a Brave. I don't want her to die."

Star breathed out a sigh of relief. "Fair enough then. Although, you mind if I help with my stun prod if it does come to that? I don't want to see Äloy dead either."

"I can shoot too, if need be," Eule added. "I know my pistol will alert every Machine in the area, but if it's either that or letting Äloy die, I will bear the consequences of my actions."

Rost nodded to both of them. "I don't mind your help at all, Shtar, and fair enough about you and your weapon, Eu-le. If we do get to that point though, then my advice to you is to shoot the Machines' eyes. No matter the Machine, their eyes are always a weakness. If you can hit that, then they should go down quickly."

Eule nodded in reply. "Alright, I can do that–"

"Done!" Äloy chose that moment to pipe up.

Eule turned to look at the little Gestalt girl along with everyone else. She was surprised to see a pile of arrows lying beside Äloy. A quick count of the pile revealed to Eule that there were indeed 20 arrows in that pile, with all of them almost identical to the one Rost made, which was itself sitting to Äloy's other side. Really, it was only with that arrow sitting side by side with Äloy's arrows that she could tell the difference, with Äloy's arrows only being slightly less straight. It would seem that Äloy is a very quick learner indeed.

Rost smiled at Äloy's work. "Well done. Now, it's time to put your work to the test. Gather them into your quiver. It's time to hunt. Lead the way into the edge of that tall grass, Aloy," he commanded.

Judging by the fiery excitement in Äloy's eyes, it was a command she was more than happy to obey.

Eule followed close behind Äloy along with Rost and Star. This time though, Eule had pulled her pistol out of her holster, performed the usual gun safety procedure with it, and held it at the ready with finger off the trigger or now and the muzzle pointed at the ground.

They quickly reached the edge of the patch of foxtail grass next to the large rock outcropping. From here, Eule could see that the Strider herd had mostly stayed in place, but they hadn't exactly been idle while Äloy had been making her arrows. Most of the herd had moved a bit further upriver and out of sight, leaving only 2, no, 3 Striders visible from here and still just as blissfully unaware of their presence as before.

"It is time to make your first kill, Aloy: a Strider," Rost said quietly. "One of the weaker Machines, but even a weak Machine can kill a hunter if she is careless. You must study your prey. Its hide is thick, but there are spots where it is vulnerable, like its eye. Can you guess another?"

Eule watched Äloy study the closest Strider, neighing and shaking its robotic head like an actual horse would, with a look of intense concentration. Even in this serious a situation, she smiled at the little Gestalt girl for making the most adorable face.

"The canister on its back. Is that a weakness?" Äloy suddenly asked.

Rost blinked in surprise. "Y-yes. How did you guess that?"

Äloy turned to grin at Rost. "The device–the Focus–it showed me."

Rost looked stunned. "Did it now?" he asked with a healthy dose of skepticism in his voice, but there was a curious tone that suggested he wasn't outright dismissing the Focus.

Now curious herself, Eule stared at what Äloy had been looking at to let her Focus scan it. As soon as the green circle around the reticule filled up (which took less than a second according to Eule's internal clock), a palely glowing outline appeared around the Strider's body, seemingly highlighting it. Next to said Strider was an information box floating in the air beside it, with her Focus noting that it had a hard outer casing of steel and synthetic polymer to protect its equally as synthetic muscles and operational systems, thus confirming that the Machine skin did appear to be some form of plastic. This new information about the Machines suggests that in a way, they're an existence not too far off from Replikas, just minus their biomechanical nature since the scan data said nothing about anything resembling biocomponents in the Strider.

Eule however quickly noticed the canister on its back, which was now glowing such a bright gold color that she could only have missed it if she was blind. Eule was about to ask the Focus to give her more information on the canister when the information box changed on its own. It would seem that the Focus can track eye movement to better help its user, Eule assumed, before switching her focus to what's in the information box.

The general information about the Strider's body had now been replaced with notes about the canister, with her Focus noting that it's a canister filled with biofuel at 87% capacity. Her Focus also helpfully added a warning that the biofuel is highly flammable, and that she should avoid damaging the canister to prevent leakage and to exercise caution with it around any open flames.

Somehow, Eule doubted Äloy was going to follow that warning.

"Well then, since your Focus seems to be telling you the truth, then put it to the test. Take down that Strider. Target the eye or the canister," Rost said at last, before adding: "And if it charges, be ready to roll out of the way."

Äloy only nodded silently in reply, observing the nearest Strider for a few moments longer before at last, Eule watched as the little Gestalt girl stood up, drew her bow back with an arrow nocked on the bowstring (one of ones Äloy had made, Eule noted), and released.

Äloy's arrow flew through the air, wriggling like an eager serpent before sinking its steel fang right into the biofuel canister on the Strider's back.

Eule had expected the canister to shatter like cheap plastic. Or at least for the arrow to impale itself into the canister. Instead, the arrow tore the entire canister loose from the Strider in a spray of sparks and biofuel, with the canister crashing to the ground apparently intact, and tumbling before rolling to a stop nearby.

The Strider's bulky steel-plated head instantly shot up, with the Strider making a pained screaming sound that tugged at Eule's biomechanical heartstrings despite the situation. The other 2 Striders also instantly looked up from where they'd been feeding, with their pairs of eyes now glowing the same frightened yellow the first Strider's eyes had changed into.

Äloy didn't hesitate though. For as Eule watched, the brave little Gestalt girl sent another arrow straight at her targeted Strider's eyes, penetrating into the top eye and snuffing its yellow light out.

Now thoroughly alerted to the danger, the other 2 Striders bolted away screaming. More horse-like screaming and panicking neighing indicated that the rest of the herd was following suit.

Except for the injured Strider Äloy was shooting at. It turned to face the direction where the arrows were coming from, its sole functioning eye changing from a fearful yellow to an ominous red. It screamed again, but in rage this time, and it started directly moving towards–Eule realized with a chill–Äloy.

"Again!" Rost shouted, no longer bothering with stealth.

Äloy fired off another arrow that snaked out at the Strider's head. Being a moving target now though, the arrow hit the armor plating on top, tearing it off and staggering the Strider a bit, but otherwise doing little to no apparent damage. A second arrow from Äloy embedded itself deep into the Strider's head above its ruined eye, but didn't stop the Strider from continuing to move ever closer towards Äloy.

"Keep firing!" Rost shouted once more, standing up himself with his bow in hand. "Go for its last eye!"

Eule raised up her pistol, centering the triple green dots of its sights on the Strider's remaining eye. The Strider fortunately wasn't moving all that quickly. In fact, it was less rushing at Äloy and more stumbling at her. It was pretty clear that Äloy had already inflicted critical damage to it, and it just wanted to take Äloy down with it. Eule was NOT going to let that happen, and if the sound of crackling electricity next to Eule was any indication, then neither was Star.

Before Eule could even think about shooting though, a final arrow from Äloy streaked out, burrowing deep into the Strider's bottom eye and now rendering it blind. The Strider collapsed into a heap with a final scream. Eule continued aiming down at the fallen Strider as it sparked and crackled with electricity, but it didn't get back up. Eventually, the lightning died as well, leaving only thin wisps of smoke rising from a very still Strider corpse as Eule finally sighed in relief and returned her pistol to its holster.

Eule looked over at Äloy to see if she was alright. The little Gestalt girl was gaping at the fallen Strider with open mouth and wide eyes, as if she couldn't quite believe what just happened even though she was the cause of it.

Äloy was startled out of her reverie by Rost's massive hand gently coming down on Äloy's head and ruffling her flame-red hair.

"You did well today. You have much to learn, but with this kill, you have taken your first step towards becoming a Brave. Cherish this moment, and be as proud of it as I am of you," Rost said with a warm smile gracing his face.

Äloy looked at Rost, then at the fallen Strider again, with her gaze switching between the 2 with an ever-increasing excitement. Finally, Äloy couldn't contain it longer. Eule watched as Äloy held both hands up, one hand still gripping her child's bow, and started whooping and laughing. Eule smiled and laughed with her, especially when Äloy took her by the hands and started dancing with her on the spot. Eule could tell that Äloy didn't have the first clue how to dance professionally, but she couldn't care less. To her, dancing like this felt just as joyful as dancing with her sisters, and she savored every moment of it.

Even when Äloy parted ways with her to also take an amused Star by her hands (while stretching her arms as far as they would go to reach Star's hands no less) to dance with her too, she savored the sight of them dancing just as much, clapping along with their merriment to the tune of "Eulenlieder".

Eventually, Äloy tired herself out so much with her excitement that she collapsed onto the ground, lying there staring up at the sunny sky and still giggling.

"I see you still have energy to burn, Aloy," Rost noted with wry amusement.

Äloy's response was to raise up both arms and announce: "I'm ready to kill the rest of the herd now!"

Rost chuckled at that announcement. "Unfortunately, we don't have nearly the space in our backpacks for that. I'm honestly worried about having enough space just for that Watcher and the Strider parts alone. Which reminds me: can you retrieve that Blaze canister and that Strider hide headpiece and then come over here? I need to show you how to butcher a Strider, and then we can end your training for the day."

And just like that, Äloy sprang back up and practically sprinted for the fallen Blaze canister and said headpiece before dashing back to Eule with them. "Here, Eu-le! You can call that our first carved Machine part! Oh, and this is what I was talking about for Machinestone, only this is the clear kind. I don't know why the Focus calls it by that weird name, but it's definitely Machinestone," she said as she handed the canister to Eule, and then raced behind Eule to stuff the Strider headpiece into her backpack.

Eule hefted the canister of the biofuel Äloy and Rost called "Blaze". The yellow-green fluid sloshed a bit as Eule examined the canister, turning the cylindrical container in her hand. Eule only realized just how big the container was now that it was in her hands. If she had to guess, the Blaze canister was roughly the size of a 5 liter water bottle, and considering that her Focus had mentioned that it was 87% full, that means there was well over 4 liters of biofuel in this canister. Considering the size of that Strider herd, that means they're hauling around a truly impressive amount of Blaze. Eule wondered if maybe these canisters were the Striders' equivalent of a fat deposit for lean times, or if they're collecting all that Blaze for some other purpose.

In either case, Eule ended up being more intrigued by the canister itself rather than the Blaze in it. Eule quickly found a dent in the translucent plastic where Äloy's arrow had struck it. If her Focus hadn't already told her that the canister was basically made of plastic, then this dent instead of a crack would've already confirmed that it wasn't glass.

Still, Eule was surprised that the arrow only made a dent in the plastic, and yet still tore the canister right off the Strider, especially since the metal base of the canister looked fairly durable. It took a close examination of said metal base to reveal a single broken hinge, suggesting that this was the weak link that had failed instead of the plastic. It did still suggest that whatever kind of plastic this canister was made of, it was incredibly durable.

"Yes, it does seem to be a similar type of material as my and Star's shell," Eule finally said to a fascinated Äloy. "It might even be tougher, honestly."

As Äloy nodded in acceptance, Rost looked at her in surprise. "Your…shell? Do you mean that black material on your neck, face, and ears? It's all Machinestone?" he asked.

Eule simply nodded. "It's on my back and sides too, with Star having the same layout. As I told little Äloy earlier, you can just think of them as like scales on a reptile," she explained.

"So you grow Machinestone scales on your body. That's…interesting," Rost said, although Eule wasn't precisely certain what he meant by that. "In any case, that's something to ponder later though. For now, let's butcher these Machine carcasses before scavengers come and–"

Whatever Rost was about to say about scavengers was interrupted by a scream from a distance. Not a Strider's scream either, but a human one, making everyone look up in shock.

"What was that?" Eule asked at the same time Rost did.

"That boy!" Äloy said with eyes wide. "The one running the Brave trails!"

A chill ran down Eule's carbon steel spine as she realized that Äloy was right. Teb wasn't the only other person here if that other man's voice was any indication, but he was the most likely candidate given how high-pitched that scream was compared to the deeper voice of that other man.

Apparently, Rost came to the same conclusion. "Follow, everyone! Quick!" he said to them before taking off further down the valley.

Eule quickly shoved the Blaze canister into her backpack before taking off after Rost. She then realized that Äloy was rapidly falling behind, before she saw Star neatly scoop her up and carry her under one arm. The seriousness of the situation was such that Äloy only gave a squawk of surprise before accepting the help.

With her worry that Äloy couldn't keep up alleviated, Eule focused on keeping up with Rost. Because if that scream any indication, Eule anticipated a new worry awaiting her in the very near future.