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.

6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Calm before the Trial

When everyone arrived back at the house, there was a surprise waiting for them. Eule recognized this surprise though. It wasn't hard to recognize High Matriarch Teersa sitting on a log seat, apparently happily dozing while leaning on her walking stick. The sound of footsteps though caused Teersa to snort and open her eyes, her wrinkled face breaking into a smile.

"Ah, everyone. You're back. I was wondering when you all would get back here, so I do hope you all didn't mind that I dozed off for a bit here," Teersa said happily, before quickly adding: "And yes, Rost, you may speak with me, just in case you were planning on ignoring what I said last night. You know, like always."

Rost merely smiled and nodded politely, saying nothing.

It was however when Teersa's smile gained an edge of sadness to it upon seeing Eule and Star that Teersa's appearance suddenly made Eule very nervous.

"I take it that you have bad news for us then, Teersa?" Eule asked nervously, even as she tried to maintain a smile. She was fairly certain that it looked more like a grimace though.

"Unfortunately, that is the case here," Teersa said regretfully as her smile turned rueful. "Fortunately, I do have good news to go with the bad, so the question here is: which do you two want to hear first?"

Eule and Star looked at each other and silently consulted with each other via 220 kH radio before looking back at Teersa.

"Bad news first," Eule said.

"Just so we finish the briefing on a high note," Star finished.

Teersa tilted her head curiously at Star when she said "briefing", but otherwise nodded. "Very well, the bad first. Bad news: Lansra managed to convince Jezza that you two weren't quite trustworthy enough to deserve a trade pass. That's what we usually give to outsiders when they're here to trade or are just staying in Nora Sacred Lands in general. Unfortunately, that old bat is a suspicious one, but she managed to make some good points about how you two have only been here for a few days, and that it wasn't enough time to tell if you two are trustworthy."

If Eule was fairly certain that she had a grimace on her face before, she was now dead certain. Mostly because she herself couldn't really refute this Lansra's point either.

"The good news though is that Jezza didn't agree with Lansra arguing for you two to be driven out of the Sacred Lands. She wants you two to have a chance to argue your case and thus prove yourselves trustworthy. So, you're getting to formally meet us for that case," Teersa continued, before her smile turned into a frown. "There's just one thing: Jezza and Lansra wanted to meet you two tomorrow in Mother's Heart, in the main hall. I argued for at least the day after, but they both insisted. The good news about that fortunately is that while Lansra doesn't want you two running off before the case, which is rather silly of her since she wants to drive you out anyways, Jezza, I think, genuinely wants to meet you two. I'm getting the feeling that she's getting curious about you now, and wants to talk to you woman to woman."

Eule breathed out…not quite a sigh of relief, but it sounds like it could've been worse.

"Uh, one question: do we at least get to eat breakfast before we have to go to this…trial, I guess?" Star asked with a hand raised, as though she was at a kindergarten.

Teersa snorted. "That, at least, was something I got them to agree on. Jezza certainly, but not even Lansra was suspicious or cruel enough to force you to attend this trial on an empty stomach. I was honestly quite surprised by that."

Eule laughed nervously. "I take it that this…Lansra isn't going to be particularly predisposed towards us?" she asked.

Teersa's snort turned into a hearty laugh midway through. "Aula, I believe you said that was your name, there are Watchers that aren't as suspicious as Lansra is. The old bat would probably drive out every outsider in the Sacred Lands, including the Carja and Oseram trade missions and any Banuk hunter who just happened to be here to sell their Machine parts, just to avoid the possibility that one of them might harm the tribe."

"She sounds like she'd be great buddies with the Great Revolutionary then. That is, if they didn't hate each other on principle, what with how spiteful they seem to be," Star quipped dryly.

"Ha! I feel bad for your Eusan Nation tribe, if you have a Lansra as one of your High Matriarchs too," Teersa laughed.

Eule still felt mixed feelings about all this criticism of the Great Revolutionary, but at the very least, it provided a distraction to the very real problems Teersa brought up.

Fortunately, Rost provided yet another distraction. "I apologize for interrupting this, but I believe we have a boar carcass to hang? Unless you wish to carry that carcass with you all the way through spear training, Star? And you, Eule? Do you wish to carry all of that boar offal while training?" he asked with his usual Kitezh-like dryness.

Eule squeaked in surprise. She'd completely forgotten about the trio of Chillwater satchels still hanging on her belt, and that just reminded her that she was violating the Rule of Six by carrying this many containers at once.

"Uh, um, where do I put these?" Eule asked, nearing panic.

"Anywhere there's room on the kitchen table," Rost replied.

A quick sprint into the house and some untying of wires later resulted in the Chillwater satchels sitting on a hastily cleared spot on said table, and sighing in relief that she would no longer potentially get in trouble if someone were to report her for violation of the Rule of Six–

…Only for Eule to blink in realization and shake her head at just how silly that worry was here in the Sacred Lands of the Nora. She sighed in disbelief and gave the trio of Chillwater satchels one more glance before returning to the yard.

"So…where do I hang this?" Eule just managed to catch Star asking as her lover looked around the yard.

Eule looked around the yard as well. Rost did have a stand hanging over the fire pit that he'd used to cook the turkey breasts from last night, but it was already full of cuts of smoked meat and just-as-smoked small animal carcasses, and in any case, it was far too short to accommodate an entire boar. There were horizontal wooden bars built partway up the support beams holding up the overhang, but they too were filled with smoked meat and even fish, and had the same height problem. So how…?

Rost then beckoned Star over to…a nearby Grazer dummy?

"Here, hold that carcass up to the muzzle," Rost commanded, taking up a bundle of Machine wire out of one of his pouches as he said that.

As Star did as he told her to, Eule watched as Rost climbed up onto the Grazer dummy's back. He then took hold of one of the boar carcass's hind legs from Star, and began tying that leg to the dummy's head, using the metal thing jutting out the cheek of the dummy to keep the leg from sliding off. Eule realized what Rost was doing even before he took the other leg from Star to tie it to the muzzle as well, and began giggling at the sight of the boar carcass hanging from the dummy's head, as though the dummy had somehow managed to hunt the boar and was now proudly carrying its kill. When she explained her reasoning to a curious Äloy, the little Gestalt girl joined in on the giggling, with Star joining in as well at the same time.

"There. Now the boar should be safe from any particularly adventurous foxes or raccoons that might venture up here for a free meal, despite how silly it looks, admittedly," Rost said in that same Kitezh-like dryness from before at the sight of a pair of Replikas and his little girl giggling like madwomen.

"Well, it's definitely what I'd call a multi-purpose dummy there," Star quipped as she wiped away a tear from all the giggling, and then had a look of realization on her face. "Wait, did you say 'raccoon'?"

Rost blinked in surprise at Star. "Yes, raccoons. They're fairly opportunistic, and will eat anything they can reach, including meat, so they can be serious pests. Their meat is flavorful though, and their fur is lush and soft, so they do have some good to their bad."

Eule blinked in confusion at her lover. "Why is this raccoon so important? What is it exactly, anyways?"

"Well, it's a small mammal, about the size of a cat…well, the bigger cat breeds, anyways. It's very fluffy, with a distinct mask pattern on its face, and apparently likes to root around in trash for food," Star explained.

"Oh, that sounds oddly cute," Eule commented.

"Yeah, they did look cute in those nature documentaries," Star admitted. "But that's not the point. Those raccoons? The documentaries mention that they were native only to a continent called North America…in Vineta, long before the Empire first conquered it."

Eule took a sharp breath in her own realization. "So this place is Vineta?"

"Specifically in this North American continent, but yeah, you were right…I think," Star said in a very unsure tone. "I still have no idea why Vineta isn't an ocean world though. Not unless some super-powerful Bioresonant came down and restored all the land or something."

Eule snorted. "I don't think even the Empress could've done that."

Star replied to that snort with her own. "Yeah, you're right. If the Empress only cared about her own specific portion of humanity so much, you'd think she'd have at least tried to Klimaform all the land she blew up when she first conquered Vineta."

"I'm not sure Klimaforming works that way. Then again, I'm not a Bioresonant unit or an Ara, so who knows?" Eule mused.

Eule then noticed that Rost and Äloy were looking back and forth at them with a look of utter bafflement on their faces, with Teersa seemingly settling back into her seat for another doze, apparently having decided that their conversation was too far beyond her to grasp.

"Are you two talking about your old home again? That Seer-pin-ski place?" Äloy asked with a flat look on her little face. "When you two do that, you usually stop making sense."

Eule could only echo Star's embarrassed laughter at that remark. "I'm sorry, Äloy. Did you need me to explain what we were talking about?"

Before Äloy could reply though, Rost coughed loudly for attention. "Perhaps you could save that for another time? Right now, it's time for spear training."

Star whistled. "Wow, you're really going at this training with us at breakneck pace, aren't you?"

Rost raised an eyebrow at Star. "Hopefully I don't actually break your necks with this training, but yes, I do wish to teach you as much as I can before–"

Eule stared at Rost in concern at the way he cut himself off like that. "Before?" she asked.

"…Before the trial tomorrow," Rost finally finished.

"Are you afraid that those other High Matriarchs might kick us out?" Star asked, her tone now entering concerned territory.

Which caused Äloy to look up at Rost in alarm. "Rost, they wouldn't do that, right? They wouldn't just kick Eu-le and Star out, right?"

Eule wasn't encouraged by Rost's deep breath and his looking up at the sky, as if looking to his All-Mother for guidance. Honestly, Eule wished that the Red Eye of Rotfront was in the sky right now, just so she can feel some comfort at knowing that it's watching over them all.

"I don't think so," Rost said finally. "I don't think Jezza would kick you both out without a thought, but…I can't know for sure." His gaze then returned to a now-very-worried Eule and Star. "That's why I intend to teach you as much as I can in the meantime. If Jezza does side with Lansra on this, then at the very least, I can make sure that you two have the basic skills to survive in the wild until you make it to Meridian. That's your best chance at survival if Jezza does agree to force you two out of the Sacred Lands altogether: travel to Daytower, insist on being escorted there if you have to so that you don't get lost, and from there, head to Meridian via the Way of Broken Stones, and survive until you reach it. Meridian is the largest city in the land, and the Carja, while they can be a bit stuffy and prideful at times, they are a decent people despite what some of my tribe think. You will almost certainly be able to find a place in the City of the Sun if Jezza decides that you have no place here."

Eule nodded with a pained expression on her face. Yes, she was committing the names of Daytower, Meridian, and this Way of Broken Stones to memory, but still…she realized that she didn't want to leave. She liked it here with Rost and Äloy, and judging by the troubled look on her lover's face, Star felt the same way.

And Äloy, well, her suddenly hugging Eule's and Star's legs together told Eule just what the little Gestalt girl thought of the possibility of her and Star leaving.

"I don't want you to go. I want you and Star to stay," Äloy said, her voice muffled by her face being buried into Eule's mechanical thigh, but was still clear enough for Eule to hear that she was in near tears.

Eule reached down and gently patted Äloy's fluffy hair. "We don't wish to leave either. But if we can't convince this Jezza to let us stay, then…I'm sorry."

That statement simply made Äloy hold onto Eule's leg all the more tightly.

Star said nothing, but also joined in the hair patting. Eule suspected that she'd said what needed to be said, and that was enough.

"I'll try not to let that happen," Teersa suddenly said, making everyone look at her. Eule watched Teersa slowly open her eyes to look at her. The elderly Gestalt woman still held kindness within her blue eyes, but there was now also a fierce determination burning in them. "I am a High Matriarch, after all. I not only have my vote to help, but my voice as well. Jezza can be strict, but she's reasonable as well. If I can logic her into it, she'll almost certainly agree with me that you two are no more a threat to the Nora than the average outsider trader. Probably less so in some ways, given how much Aloy clearly loves you two, which is pretty impressive considering that she's only known you two for only a few days now, is it not?"

Eule gently continued petting Äloy's hair, both feeling the warm fluffiness and admiring the color, like the color of flames burning brightly. "Indeed, it seems miraculous when you put it that way, Teersa," Eule noted softly. "I suppose we can only pray to the Red Eye that the miracles continue happening."

"Hmm, I've heard you and Star mention this 'Red Eye' before. I assume that this Red Eye is to your tribe what the All-Mother is to us?" Rost asked.

"More or less," Eule replied with a note of hesitancy. "The Red Eye isn't exactly a god the way your All-Mother is. It's more…something watching over us and looking out for us. Um…"

"I guess one way to look at it is: it's a big red eye in the sky that's always there, so it's a source of comfort and stability, I guess?" Star said uncertainly.

Rost blinked in surprise at them. "Wait, this Red Eye is literally in the sky of your Rotfront land?"

Eule thought about it for a moment, trying to figure out a way to explain the Red Eye in the physical sense to Rost. "Rotfront refers to both the gas giant planet from which the name Rotfront comes from, because of its predominately red coloration, as well as the largest moon orbiting it which houses the vast majority of Rotfront's population. We Rotfronters use the name Rotfront to refer to either one based on context. But as for the Red Eye: its physical form is a great storm on the gas giant planet that's fully visible from the moon. We call it the Red Eye because, well, it looks very much like a red eye on the gas giant's clouds, and it's been there for millennia, since long before the rise of the Eusan Empire, so we associate it with stability and eternity."

Rost stroked his beard in his usual gesture of thoughtfulness. "I can't imagine a land where something like that in just…floating there in the sky? Although…that reminds me of the Carja and how they worship the sun, honestly," he mused.

Eule waved a hand in negation. "No, no, we don't worship it. The Red Eye isn't a god."

"It seems like you treat this Red Eye as a god though," Rost commented, now looking a bit puzzled.

"No, the Red Eye is not a god and we don't worship it," Eule insisted.

Eule was confused at Rost's obvious confusion. What about it didn't he understand? It seemed perfect sensible to her.

"Ehh, let's just say that we kinda had some trouble with a certain Empress being worshipped as a goddess, and so our 'tribe' strongly discourages anything that resembles worship. Hence, I guess you can say that the Red Eye is a not-god that's getting not-worship from us," Star explained.

Eule looked at her lover in surprise, but as she thought about it, she couldn't deny that explanation made sense in an objective, logical way. No matter how uncomfortable it made her feel.

"Hmm, I see," Rost said in a tone that told Eule that he didn't.

"Maybe you can still ask your Red Eye to help let you stay though?" Äloy suddenly piped up, starting Eule as she looked down at the little Gestalt girl's hopeful eyes. "Maybe if I ask the All-Mother too, then they both can work together to let you stay?"

Eule smiled gently down at Äloy. "I'm honestly not sure if the Red Eye can see us from…wherever Rotfront is in relation to here, but I hope it can."

Äloy looked up back at Eule and nodded. "I hope so too."

"Perhaps," Rost began, earning everyone his attention. "Your Red Eye would want you to help yourselves, starting with spear training? At the very least, it might help us take our minds off of this problem, since we can't actually do anything about it until tomorrow."

Teersa laughed. "Ha, spoken like a true Nora! Or at least, spoken like how I wish a lot of other Nora would speak, and not just you."

Eule chuckled at Teersa before turning back to Rost. "Alright. Then–"

"Oh, oh!" Äloy suddenly said, hopping up and down in excitement, using both Eule and Star's legs as leverage for higher hops than normal. "Can I teach Eu-le and Star the basics?"

Rost looked down at Äloy with a look as flat as paper. "Aloy, need I remind you that you are still learning those basics?" he asked with another distinct hint of Kitezh-like dryness in his voice.

"Yeah, but I can teach them the most basic of the basics like stances and stuff, right? Please?" Äloy pleaded, leaving Eule struggling not to giggle at her.

After a few moments of staring, Rost sighed. "Alright, the most basic of the basics then. Let me get the staffs then."

It took Rost but a few moments to return from his seemingly magically well-supplied house with a trio of these "staffs", which turned out to simply be sticks wrapped in furs at both ends for padding. Two of those staffs were nearly as long as Eule was tall, but the third staff was less than half of that length. It took Eule a moment to realize that miniature staff was for Äloy, and she nearly squealed at how adorable that was upon realizing that.

"These are staffs that I use as practice spears," Rost explained as he handed Äloy the little staff. "They're about the same length as the spears I use, and I've even weighted them to be about the same as said spears, except for Aloy's staff, of course. Unfortunately, I only have a pair of these full-length staffs though. I'd actually meant for one of them to be for Aloy to practice with when she's older, thus why I only have these two. Eu-le and Star, you'll have to decide among yourselves which one will practice first."

"Star," Eule replied at exactly the same time Star replied: "Eule."

Eule looked at Star at the same time Star looked at her.

"No, Star. You go first," Eule insisted.

"No way, Eule. You go first," Star insisted right back.

"Star, you need the practice. Not only has it been Red Eye knows how long since you held a bayoneted rifle, but a spear almost certainly has differences in fighting style compared to a Type-33 with a knife on it," Eule argued.

"Eule, you've never even seen a Type-33 assault rifle, let alone held one. You need basic spears skills a lot more than I do, because you don't even have bayonet training to go off of," Star countered.

"I have seen an assault rifle," Eule protested.

"Oh? Where?" Star asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

To which Eule refused to meet her lover's eyes as she replied quietly with: "In books…and movies."

"Mm-hmm," "said Star.

Eule didn't even need to look at Star to know that her lover was giving her a flat gaze right now.

In fact, so absorbed was Eule in avoiding her lover's gaze that she was surprised when Rost suddenly called out: "Eu-le."

Eule turned to look at Rost, just in time to watch in alarm as he tossed one of the staffs at her. Eule tried to catch it, but missed as the staff smacked her lightly in the chest (Rost apparently not having tossed it all that hard, even if it still smarted), and then fumbled around as she flailed after the staff before finally catching it just before it hit the ground, sighing in relief as she clutched the staff to her still-smarting chest before staring at Rost, silently asking for an explanation.

"I agree with Star," Rost said in reply to that stare. "You need the training more than she does because you are starting this training from scratch."

Eule looked down at the ground, and silently nodded. No matter what logic she used, she couldn't deny that he made sense.

It was while looking in that position that Eule saw Äloy pop into her field of vision and take her by the hand. "Come on, Eu-le! This way!" the little Gestalt girl happily said in another burst of lack of indoor voice.

Eule allowed herself to be dragged by her adorable little training partner to a clearer section of the yard, which presumably allowed for more room to maneuver for spear training.

"Okay, so now's Aloy's Spear Training Time!" Äloy said proudly.

"Yes, Master Äloy," Eule replied with a smile. "So what is my first lesson for the spear then?"

Eule firmly clamped onto the desire to giggle as little Äloy beamed brightly at her for the Master Äloy comment.

"Okay, first: you need to have a good stance," Äloy said as she settled into her own stance, with her feet spread apart and knees slightly bent. "Rost said that a good spear stance needs to have your feet spread out so that you don't fall over so easy when you're attacking, or if something or someone attacks you."

Eule found herself nodding as she agreed with that piece of Rost wisdom, and so adopted Äloy's exact stance for herself. Indeed, she felt more stable in that position than just standing normally.

"Very good," Äloy said, making her voice sound deeper than normal, in an attempt to mimic Rost, Eule realized. Eule was barely able to keep her smile from turning into giggles at this point as Äloy continued: "Now for the next and best step: the attacks. Rost said, I mean, we Nora make our spear blades long and sharp, but also out of a single carved Machine leg so that it's thick and sturdy. This means that we can not only use our spears to slashy-slash, but also use them to go stabby-stab."

For a moment, Eule was at a loss over Äloy's words. Yes, she more or less understood Äloy's explanation but…by the Red Eye, she was trying so hard not to giggle and squeal at the adorable little Gestalt girl and her sound effects. She supposed that it was Äloy's attempt to sound impressive, but it was just. So. Cute.

"I can see that maybe you don't know what I'm talking about," Äloy said seriously as she misunderstood Eule's silence, making her all the more adorable to Eule. "Allow me to demonstrate. First, the slashy-slash."

Äloy raised her staff up high, and then gently bonked Eule on the arm with a furred staff end.

"And now the stabby-stab."

Äloy reared back with her staff, and then just as gently poked Eule in the stomach with that furry staff end once more.

As soon as Äloy pulled back with that staff though, Eule had an idea. She fell to the ground with the flair of a ballet performance, and cried out: "Oh no, Master Äloy. Your spear attack is too deadly. I have been felled by your might," she said in her best melodramatic voice.

Äloy blinked for a moment in confusion. Eule winked at her though, causing her to grin and plant her "spear" butt on the ground, declaring with a serious expression: "It is the truth. I am too deadly for my own good, so I have done a big wrong."

Without missing a beat, Star strode over to the "fallen" Eule. "Oh no, my dear Eule! Whatever shall became of us? How, pray tell, can I render you comfort from this grievous wound?"

Eule looked up at her Star's face and grinned. "Perhaps a bit of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is in order to provide my body with a bit of nourishing oxygen?"

Star returned that grin with her own. "It shall be done, my lady," she declared before leaning down to give Eule some of that "mouth-to-mouth resuscitation".

"Will being kissy-kissy make you feel better from your 'shmertz-lich' wound?" Äloy asked after several moments of 'mouth-to-mouth resuscitation'.

Eule and Star broke their kiss just to grin at Äloy. "Oh, I do believe I feel better already," Eule declared.

"Not that I am in need of it, but I too feel better from giving my dear Eule some 'mouth-to-mouth resuscitation'. Or rather, 'kissy-kissy' in your tongue," Star added.

Eule, Star, and Äloy stared at each other for a pregnant moment, before all three burst out in laughter, cracking up over the ridiculous melodrama and melodramatic ridiculousness.

A loud cough quickly brought their laughter to a screeching halt, and they all turned to look at Rost giving them a flat stare.

"If you three are done playing, perhaps we can actually learn how to fight with a spear properly?" Rost asked in a Kitezh-level dryly annoyed tone, although there was a ghost of a smile playing at the corner of his lips that suggested to Eule that he wasn't entirely displeased by this bit of playtime.

Still, he did have a point.

"Yes, Rost," Eule said sheepishly as she got back up and dusted herself off.

"Oh no, please, go on," Teersa happily said from the comfort of her seat. "I was really enjoying the story there."

Rost turned that flat gaze onto Teersa, who gave him an innocent smile in return as Eule giggled. Apparently, even his respect for a High Matriarch had its limits, and Teersa just as apparently loved hitting them. He continued that flat stare of unamusement for several moments before finally returning his gaze to Eule, Star, and Äloy.

"Star, Aloy. Give Eule and I some room," Rost commanded.

Both Äloy and Star hesitated for a bit before finally, reluctantly, clearing some room as Rost stepped forward until he was barely a meter away in front of an increasingly nervous Eule, resting his staff on the ground in a one-handed grip like it was a walking stick.

"What Aloy said about Nora spears is essentially correct," Rost explained. "We make our blades long and sturdy so that they are equally as effective when used for slashing attacks as they are in stabbing attacks. Slashing attacks can cut through Machine skin and muscle, and even pry off pieces of armored hide in the hands of a skilled hunter. Stabbing attacks however, are your best moves against Machines. As you've seen me do many times now, a firm stab into a Machine's vital organs can kill it instantly and silently. However, I would not advise that you attempt such moves against Machines larger than a Grazer at most. Machines larger than that have too much muscle for a spear to penetrate into the vital organs. No matter how strong a Brave is, it's useless if the spear blade is too short to reach those organs."

Eule nodded, finding that advice to be sound. To be honest, she rather doubted that a spear could kill a Grazer with a single stab, if those dummies are true to their real life size.

"However, spears aren't useful only against Machines. In fact, spears are often even more useful against other humans," Rost said in a grave tone.

Eule grimaced. "Is it likely that we'll have to fight other humans here?"

"Here in the Embrace? Fortunately, no. Not unless you have a particularly rude Brave," Rost replied. "Even in the Sacred Lands in general, if you're welcomed in here, then you don't have anything to fear from the Braves, for we maintain constant patrols in our lands so that no Nora has to fear anything while walking within sight of All-Mother Mountain."

Rost's eyes then took on a distant look. "That said, outside the Sacred Lands is a different story. The land the Carja claims is vast, vaster than any other tribe I've encountered. Vast enough that even the Carja's army can't patrol everywhere at once, and so killers will on occasion eke out a life in the wilderness as bandits. Such bandits occasionally try to sneak into the Sacred Lands, either on the run from Carja law or thinking us Nora to be easy prey. Possibly both. They don't last long either way, but in those cases where they manage to last long enough, a good spear and knowing how to use it can be your best defense against a bandit picking through your corpse for loot like a particularly vile Scrapper, or worse."

Eule gulped. She could easily imagine what that "worse" might be. She and her cadre have listened to an unfortunate number of radio news broadcasts about one of their sisters being attacked and raped. She'd listened to too many dark grumblings from Februar during those news broadcasts about how people, especially men, saw the Eules as weak and easy prey because of their low strength compared to other Replikas. She was under no illusions that any bandits here would see her in a similar manner.

"If anyone tries that 'worse' with Eule, I'm going to show them just how much worse I can be to them," Star threatened darkly.

"Me too!" Äloy piped up fiercely, holding up her half-sized staff with a determined fire in her eyes. "Anyone tries anything with Eu-le, I'm going to shoot them in the eyes! If that works on Machines, then it should work on bandits, right?"

"Ooh, and shoot them in the junk too," Star encouraged. "That'll take them down just as hard as an eye shot."

"Junk?" Äloy asked quizzically.

Before Eule could stop her, Star pointed down at her crotch. "You know, here? Right where it hurts the most, man or woman."

"Ohhh," Äloy said with an entranced nod. "Yeah, I can do that. That will really make those bandits hurt."

Eule could only laugh nervously at where this conversation between them was going. She wasn't entirely comfortable with the thought of how they were discussing how to best inflict violence on a fellow human, but…she also couldn't deny that there was a necessity to their discussion when faced with the possibility of bandits like that, and it was either her life or Star's (or Red Eye forbid, Äloy's) versus the bandits'. She supposed that it was somewhat similar to shooting the…the things that used to be her sisters, but the idea of killing bandits felt…different in a way she couldn't quite pin down. She silently prayed to the Red Eye that she wouldn't have to find out soon.

"Now then, if you all finished: then I will demonstrate the basic moves for the spear," Rost said as he adopted a spear-wielding stance of his own. "First, the slash: a good quick one-handed move for prying off a bit of Machine hide, or for cutting the muscles of Machine or human alike to cripple them.

Next, the stab: a two-handed thrust with your spear that you can use to stab through into a vital point of Machine and human alike. Powerful but still quick, it's best used for surprise attacks and ambushes, but it can still be very useful in a head-on fight.

Finally, the strike: where you take the blunt edge of your blade and use it more as a hammer after a windup. It's slow to execute, but it can do a lot of damage, and a strong enough hunter can use this to knock down a small Machine or break a parry."

As Rost explained each move, he even demonstrated it to Eule, who nodded at each demonstration. She was getting a bit nervous about this though, especially when she actually felt a small gust of wind from his demonstration of a strike. There was a…directness to spear-fighting that wasn't in bow shooting or gun firing. She wasn't entirely sure if she could carry out those moves, to be honest.

"Now Eu-le, demonstrate those moves on me," Rost commanded as he finished demonstrating the stab.

At first, Eule wasn't sure if she heard him right. "Wait, what?" she asked in disbelief.

"I said: demonstrate those basic moves on me as I parry them," Rost commanded once more.

Eule's mouth dropped open in shock. "What, no! I can't attack you like this! What if I hurt you, or–"

Eule was interrupted by Rost thumping one end of his staff into the ground. Hard. "Eu-le, I am not so unskilled as to miss a parry, and you not only need the experience, but you also need to overcome any inhibitions about attacking a human who's attacking you."

Eule flinched. "Was it that obvious?" she asked nervously.

"To a point," Rost said, before pointing straight at Eule with his staff. "Now Eu-le, attack me. Demonstrate those moves with the intent to kill, so that you may demonstrate your competency and resolve." His gaze then softened just a bit. "Trust me, I am more than capable of parries like this."

Eule gulped, but ended up nodding very hesitantly as she took up the same spear-fighting stance that Äloy and now Rost demonstrated. She took several deep breaths as she held both that position and her staff in her right hand.

"Steel your mind, Eule," Eule whispered to herself shakily. "Steel your mind…and strike, er, slash!"

Eule lashed out with a slash, and missed entirely, having misjudged the distance between her and Rost.

To her shock, Rost then reached out and stabbed her with his staff. Okay, stabbing was a bit much to call it. It was more of a firm poke that jabbed into her stomach, which due to the unfortunate fact that her shell did not cover it, knocked some of the wind out of her. It didn't really hurt. It was just…surprising.

"Do better than that, Eu-le," Rost commanded.

As Eule stopped to catch her breath, she heard a worried groan come from Star behind her. She looked back to see Star wringing her black robotic hands in stressful worry.

"I'm okay, love," Eule said with a thumbs-up. "Don't worry."

Star still looked nervous, but nevertheless, she gave a smile and returned the thumbs-up.

"You can do it, Eu-le!" Äloy cheered, apparently wanting to root for her rather than her father at the moment.

A quick glance to their side though revealed that Teersa wasn't dozing as Eule though. Instead, she was watching Eule with a calm smile on her wizened face. Seeing Eule watching her, Teersa winked at her. "I believe in you, young lady. Now go out there and train until Rost's arms fall off," she said warmly.

Eule gave a smile at all of them in return before turning back to Rost, who was still patiently waiting in a defensive posture for her to strike.

Eule took another deep breath to steady herself, and then moved. She ran forward a few steps, her footpads hitting the dirt heavily from the weight of her legs, and then lashed out with another one-handed slash.

This time, her slash did connect with Rost, thumping into the staff he brought up to block it.

"Good. Now again," Rost commanded.

"Again?!" Eule asked in shock.

"Yes, again. Did you think a single slash would kill anyone? Now again, Eu-le!" Rost commanded once more.

Eule ended up taking another calming breath before rushing forward, yelling out a wordless cry of frustration and determination as she launched a flurry of slashes at Rost. Each time they connected, with Rost skillfully parrying each slash with his own staff, until Eule finally launched a last slash that connected with his staff, breathing heavily from the physical exertion.

"Good, good! You're even varying the angle of your slashes! Well done," Rost said with a satisfied nod, not even breathing that much harder than normal, before commanding: "Now the stab, Eu-le! Thrust with all your strength! Now!"

Eule wasn't sure if it was Rost's tone or volume, but she ended up instantly following his instructions, taking hold of her staff in both hands, thrusting into his staff. When their staffs met, the force was enough to push Rost sliding back a step. Eule herself actually felt the impact reverberate through her entire frame, such was the force behind her own thrust.

"No," Rost said. "You are aiming for my staff. I want you to aim for me. Aiming for my weapon is pointless when you are supposed to be practicing thrusting attacks."

"But–"

"Eu-le, aim for me," Rost interrupted her before she could get any further than that. "Trust in me, and in my crafting ability. Rest assured, that padding on the staffs is more than thick enough to prevent injury. Now once more, aim. For. Me."

Eule grit her carbon steel teeth together within her mouth, and then thrusted at Rost with all of her might, aiming for his shoulder–

Only for Rost to suddenly lash out, knocking Eule's staff aside. She tried to stop, but she had put so much force into her thrust that her attempt to stop instead caused her to stumble. As she struggled to regain her balance, she watched as Rost released his hold on his staff to reach out with his right hand, and plant it into her face.

For a few moments, all Eule could see was Rost's palm as her stumble ground to a halt against his mountainous frame, before he gave her a gentle shove back. Her rearward motion caused her to stumble yet again, but in the opposite direction. She managed to regain her balance, and sighed with relief that she was no longer in danger of falling over and looking like a fool. Well, even more of a fool than she surely must look right now.

"Eu-le, don't put your entire body weight into a thrust," Rost instructed. "Yes, you can put more force into a thrust that way, but if you miss or if the enemy parries it, as I just demonstrated, then you leave yourself wide open to a counterattack. Thrust with your arms only. Now, come at me again."

Eule had to take another deep calming breath before doing just that. Indeed, she did feel a difference in the forces applied by thrusting only with her arms and not with her whole body behind it. For one thing, she felt significantly more stable whenever her staff collided into Rost's staff.

"Good, now you understand the basics behind a good spear thrust," Rost said with another satisfied nod.

Eule grinned at him for that. She really felt like she was getting into the hang of spear-fighting now, even with only mock spears to work with.

Rost then held his staff in another defensive posture. "Now for the final basic attack: the strike. Break my guard. Now!"

Eule felt so into the flow that she simply did as Rost bade, taking her staff in a two-handed grip like she was wielding a hammer, and swinging it into Rost's staff with the full force of her arms only, remembering Rost's earlier warning about not putting the full weight of her body behind a blow.

The sound of wood smacking into wood reverberated through the air and through Eule's frame as her staff made contact with Rost's staff. Eule was genuinely surprised when the force of her blow threw Rost off-balance, sending him stumbling back as he tried to regain his footing.

Then Eule felt an impulse occur to her in that moment. As she saw an opening, she jabbed her staff into Rost's gut. Not too hard, with only roughly the amount of force she'd have used to close the door of one of Sierpinski's freezers. She was rewarded with the sound of Rost's breath coming out of him in a huff.

For a moment, Rost looked as surprised as Eule felt. She had no idea why she did that…no, that wasn't right. She knew perfectly well why she did it. She saw an opening in his guard and took an opportunity to launch an "attack" into it. What she wasn't sure of was why she did it unprompted, like it was the most natural thing to do.

Rost's surprise, however, immediately turned into a smile. It was the most open smile Eule had ever seen Rost perform, which further surprised her on top of everything else.

"Well done, Eu-le. You not only performed the strike well, but you grasp its purpose well enough to take advantage of the opening it creates when you break an enemy's guard with it. I believe you now understand the basic attacks well enough to practice on your own," Rost said proudly, causing Eule to look down at the ground, blushing in embarrassment. "My only advice to you now is to practice chaining those 3 basic attacks together in whatever combination works. That way, you can create attack patterns to get around an enemy's defense, or break them as necessary."

Eule nodded hesitantly at the instructions, understanding the logic behind them, but still finding the whole idea of hand-to-hand combat with a spear, of all things, to be simultaneously bizarre and nerve-wracking.

"Speaking of defense, now that you know the basic attacks with the spear, I believe it's now time to teach you how to defend with a spear," Rost said as he held up his staff in a two-handed grip, with each hand spaced widely apart on the wooden shaft. "Fortunately, that's a simple affair compared to attacking. This is the most basic defense stance with a spear, a stable grip with both hands."

Eule mimicked his grip, even right down to the position he was holding his staff in. It did indeed feel like a very stable grip.

"The idea here is to use your spear as a third arm to defend against attacks. You either block with the shaft in the middle, or use the spearhead to intercept and redirect attacks so that they miss you," Rost explained. "There's a third method to defend as well. Do you see that short curved stick I tied onto the staff with Machine muscle just behind the furred end that represents the blade?"

Eule nodded. She had indeed noticed a while back the very well tied-on stick Rost mentioned. It made the staff look overall like a lowercase "t", but if the arms of the "t" curved upwards a bit at both ends, looking like a cross between a "U" and a "V".

"That bit represents a protruding part we Nora always put on our spears. It's meant to catch enemy attacks as they slide down the spear, allowing the Brave to either parry the attack or even wrest the enemy's weapon from their grasp," Rost further explained, before dropping the bombshell of: "As you will demonstrate."

Eule sighed, but she had been expecting that from how this lesson had been going so far.

"It won't be as fast-paced as your attack training though," Rost said consolingly. "I will go at you slowly so that you learn the proper defensive skills. It will do you no good for me to constantly get through your defenses and smack you with a wooden stick with no opportunity to learn, after all."

Eule laughed nervously. "My apologies for assuming that to be the case, Rost."

Rost simply nodded in acceptance before taking his staff in a one-handed grip. "Now, block this slash."

As promised, Rost did indeed go through his slash slowly. So slowly that Eule was easily able to intercept his slash with the furred "blade" of her staff. Rost allowed his own "blade" to slide down Eule's staff until it caught in the U-shaped section of staff. Following Rost's advice, Eule then sharply pulled the staff downwards, forcing Rost's staff to the ground and thus not aimed anywhere at Eule.

"Well done," Rost said as they returned to their original positions. "Now again, with your shaft."

Rost then launched another slash, which Eule blocked with the wooden shaft of her staff between her hands. As the "blade" of Rost's staff slid towards one of her hands though, Eule pushed back with her staff, forcing Rost back a step and interrupting his attack.

"Excellent!" Rost said with another slight smile. "You do grasp how to defend with a spear, and very quickly at that."

Eule blushed at the compliment, and started to tell him thanks–

Only for Rost to suddenly launch another slash at her.

Eule instinctively blocked with her staff, caught Rost's staff in her own staff's U-shaped bit, and then swung her staff as though she was performing a strike. The protruding bit caught on Rost's own protruding bit, and wrenched his staff out of his hands, sending the staff flying to the side and hitting the ground with a wooden clatter.

As Eule looked at Rost in shock, she saw Rost's smile grow wider. "No, I take it back. Now you truly grasp how to defend with a spear. Good job, Eu-le," he said warmly.

Eule was at first too surprised to even react to his compliment now, but now she gave him her own warm smile in return. "No, thank you, Rost. For teaching me this."

The sounds of Star and Äloy cheering Eule's name only added to the warm joy of the occasion.

"Now, before I train Star in the same way, there's one last defensive skill I have to teach you," Rost said before he took a solid, widely spaced stance. "Come at me with an attack. Any attack."

Eule blinked at Rost in surprise. "Umm, are you sure? You don't have a weapon, so…"

"It's fine. I need to be unarmed to teach you this anyways," Rost insisted. "So come at me. Now."

Eule grit her teeth, and then launched a one-handed slash at Rost, pulling back on her swing to avoid injuring Rost–

Only for Rost to grab the staff and yank hard.

Eule was wrenched forward towards Rost. She tried to regain her footing–

Only for Rost to grab her by her arm and throw her over his shoulder.

For a moment, Eule saw the world turn upside-down before she landed heavily on her back with an "Oof", more of surprise than of pain due to her polyethylene shell taking the brunt of the impact. She watched the beautiful clear sky, with the blue already starting to turn orange as the sun started on the path towards sunset, before Rost's face came into view.

"That was what I wanted to demonstrate," Rost said, offering a hand to Eule, which she happily took. As he pulled her back up, he further explained: "If you ever find yourself without a weapon, you can use this skill to both disarm an enemy so that you may take their weapon in turn, and then use that weapon to finish them off while they're still down."

Despite her surprise at being thrown like that, Eule felt excited by what Rost demonstrated. She was in turn surprised at her own excitement, for it didn't feel quite…Eule-like. After all, Eules weren't combat Replika models, so she shouldn't feel excited for combat, should she?

"Now, it's time for you to demonstrate this disarming throw on me," Rost said. "Ready…now."

Rost launched his own slash at Eule, but slowly, in the manner of his earlier training attacks. Eule mimicked his moves, grabbing hold of his staff, and yanking him towards her. She then grabbed him by the arm, and threw him over her own shoulder–

Only, that wasn't quite what happened. Eule miscalculated the amount of force she could project with her mechanical arms, and realized too late that she didn't have the strength to throw Rost the way he threw her. The result being that when she tried, she couldn't complete the throw, and the attempt caused her to lose her footing, causing her to trip and land heavily on the ground, with Rost landing right on top of her back.

Eule could only groan, both from the weight of Rost on her (and thus the sensation of her breasts being pressed into the ground, which as it turned out, was a most uncomfortable sensation) and from the embarrassment of having failed this last part of the training. The sounds of Star and Äloy groaning as well only added to said embarrassment.

"I see you lack the strength to perform this skill as is," Rost said as he finally removed his weight from Eule's back, to her relief. She saw Rost's hand reach down in an offer to help get back up, and she reached out her own mechanical hand to take it. Once they were both more or less back in their original positions, Rost spent several beard-stroking moment thinking on the issue before continuing: "Okay, let's try this: perform the same grapple with me, but stop at the throw. Instead, I want you to hit me in the gut with your knee, and then wrench the staff from my hands."

Eule blinked at him, and then started to open her mouth–

"But not at full force, obviously. I would like to have some stamina left to train your mate as well," Rost interrupted before she could get a word out, and needless to say, in that same Kitezh dryness when he reserved for situations like these.

Eule's protests turned into a sigh of relief as she took up another fighting stance once more.

"Ready?" Rost asked.

Eule barely had time to nod before Rost swung his staff at Eule once more in a slow-moving slash.

Like before, Eule grabbed the staff and used it to yank Rost towards her. Only this time, she followed Rost's advice and kneed him in the gut, but gently. She still internally winced at hearing Rost give an "Oof", but she continued with the maneuver as Rost fell to one knee, bending his arm until he was forced to let go of the staff with a grunt. She hoped that it was a grunt of effort than of pain, but finally, she now had the staff and Rost didn't.

"Good. Good," Rost said as he continued kneeling there, panting.

"Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?" Eule asked, looking at him worriedly.

"No, no, I'm fine," Rost insisted as he levered himself back upright. "Just…not as young as you and Star are."

"Neither am I," Teersa called out. "But I'm not the one training a young woman…oh, less than a third of my age from the looks of it, in the art of combat, eh?" she noted with a laugh.

Eule almost but not quite managed to suppress her giggles, causing Rost to turn his flat stare from Teersa to her. Eule quickly turned her face aside, not looking Rost in the eye and trying to whistle innocently. With an emphasis on "trying", which Eule thought she was failing at.

Rost sighed and merely held out his hand. "May I have that staff back now then? I believe Star is due for some spear training now."

"Oh, yes, of course!" Eule squeaked out as she hurriedly did just that.

With a staff in hand now, Rost then indicated for Eule to move out of the section of clear yard they were using as a ring, while also beckoning Star over. All without a word. His hands and his face sufficed.

Thus, Eule grabbed a log stool and set it down next to Teersa to watch Star from a more comfortable position. Little Äloy also seemed to want to observe the events, but instead of sitting down, she stood next to Eule with her mini-staff held firmly in one tiny hand. '

"Don't you want to sit down?" Eule asked Äloy.

The little Gestalt girl though shook her head. "I want to practice too. I need to train more if I want to be the Bravest of the Braves."

Eule nodded at Äloy's choice before turning back to see how Star's training was going.

As Eule expected of her starling though, it quickly became apparent that Star was significantly stronger than Rost. To the point where it just as quickly became apparent that Star was holding back a good portion of her strength to avoid accidentally injuring Rost, which he did seem to appreciate considering that he was trying to teach her basic spear techniques and not another strength-measuring arm wrestling contest.

Speaking of: said training revealed that while Star's bayoneted rifle training wasn't one-for-one identical with spear training, there was enough overlap that Star could alter her moves based on what's better for a spear. The result was Star learning the same moves in minutes what Eule took hours to learn, which Eule found impressive…and just a teensy bit jealous, if she were to admit it. It didn't stop her from cheering her lover on along with Äloy and even Teersa whenever she completed a lesson and earned a rare compliment from Rost.

Speaking of Äloy though, it was during Star's spear training when Eule heard grunts of effort coming from next to her. She glanced in that direction, and her mechanical eyes widened in surprise as she watched Äloy copying every spear move Star made: slashing, stabbing, and striking at an invisible foe in front of her. As adorable as it was, it also showed just how determined little Äloy was to become a Brave. Or rather, the 'Bravest of the Braves'. Thus, Eule smiled proudly at Äloy before turning back to where her lover and Rost were wrapping up their training.

"Honestly, Star, I don't think I have much to teach you about spear fighting," Rost said proudly. "You seem to grasp much of it already thanks to your…bayonet training, you called it?"

"Yup. Thank you, Type-33 assault rifle and your shitty little bayonet with its 18 cm blade. I can't believe you were useful," Star noted almost mockingly.

Rost blinked at Star in surprise. "The blade on your 'bayonets' was only 18 cm long? Even the shortest Nora spear blades are well over twice that length. Why would your Braves use such a short blade on your spears?"

Star scratched the black shell on her cheek as she thought. "Because a blade that long would be too heavy and get in the way too often to be useful. In the wars the Eusan Nation fights, a long blade like the one you describe is…more of a liability than an asset."

Rost merely looked at Star with a beard-stroking frown. "I fail to see why that would be. Surely, a long blade would be useful in any war?"

Star scoffed. "Yeah, maybe if you're a Falke. But for everyone else, carrying a blade that long is just additional weight to slog around with not much to show for it."

"I suppose this is where we agree to disagree," Rost said, with said disagreement clear in both his words and on his face. "Still we should move on to the final lesson I taught your mate: the disarming throw. Based on what you showed me of your strength, as well as your obvious height, you should be able to perform it perfectly well."

Star grinned at him. "You can bet Rationmarks I can. So, who's going first?"

Rost tossed aside his staff and bent into that combat pose Eule was now very familiar with. "Come at me," he said simply.

Star didn't hesitate like she did, Eule saw. Instead, Star rushed him with the speed typical of a Security Technician Guard Replika, reaching Rost in the span of less than a second, swinging at him in a one-handed slash like Eule did. Eule could even tell that Star was holding back her strength, because the slash was at a much lower speed than what Star was using against Rost's staff during slash practice.

Rost, as expected, grabbed Star's staff and yanked her towards him.

Only, Star only stepped forward a bit, crouching into a more stable position, and bent her body forward in response, not stumbling in the slightest.

"Uh, no offense, Rost," Star said as Rost was still trying to yank her off her peg-like feet. "But we Stars are pretty good at staying on our feet–"

It happened so fast that Eule nearly missed it.

Rost suddenly pivoted on his entire body, swinging his animal skin and Machine metal-coated leg into Star's long bird-like mechanical leg. Said leg was punted off the ground, causing Star to begin to fall backwards as she lost her footing. That said, Eule knew Star would've likely recovered from that, had Rost not spun the moment his kicking leg hit the ground, simultaneously wrenching the staff from Star's hands and sweeping Star's other leg off the ground.

Eule groaned as Star hit the ground, and laid there on her back, staring up at the same sky that Eule did, which was now firmly a brilliant orange that must've been a gorgeous sight, even to Star after that knockdown.

"Huh, clever," Star said with a chuckle.

Rost merely extended a hand down to Star in reply. "Now you know not to be over-reliant on your strength. Even the strongest person in the world can be knocked off their feet if they're not careful."

"Yeah, that I definitely get," Star chuckled again, taking that hand allowing Rost to help her back onto her feet, albeit with a bit of a grunt of effort on Rost's part.

"Hmm, you are quite heavy, even heavier than you look," Rost noted. "I noticed that with Eu-le as well. She is much heavier than she appears to be. I assume this is because of your steel bones?"

"That and our shells," Star replied. "When you're weighed down by metal bones and plastic scales, we Replikas can be pretty heavy people. It's why we don't like to swim much."

"Hmm, come to think of it, can you and Eu-le swim?" Rost asked.

"With great difficulty," Star replied with Rost-like dryness. "I had to do it once during infantry training, and let me tell you: it's not fun. Turns out, Star units can do many things, and one of those things we can do is to sink like a rock when we jump into any deep body of water. Man, I consumed so much electricity during those swimming sessions. Me and my sisters scarfed down our dinners like no tomorrow afterwards."

"I suppose on one hand, it's fortunate that the Eule training didn't cover swimming," Eule added from her seat. "On the other hand, that means I don't know how to swim, or even if I can actually swim in the first place if I have to."

Rost stroked his beard in another bout of thought. "Unfortunate indeed, and even more unfortunate that we don't have the time to teach you how to swim. Admittedly, it's not a crucial skill for survival here unless you plan on spending a lot of time on Mother's Birthwaters or on the Daybrink, but it is very useful. My only advice to you is to find a safe place to practice swimming with your mate in the future."

Eule could only nod in agreement at Rost's latest bit of wisdom, even while she hoped that future will be with Rost and little Äloy.

With that said though, Rost took a fighting stance with his spear. "For now though, now it's your turn to demonstrate the disarming throw on me, Star. Are you ready?"

Star took her own fighting stance, with her long white and red-banded legs spread apart and bent in a low stance…or at least, a low stance for a Star unit. "Ready as I'll ever be. As you say: come at me," Star said with a carbon steel teeth-baring grin.

Rost took only a moment to nod before charging at Star, slashing one-handed with his staff as Star did.

Star caught that staff one-handed, yanking hard and then grabbing hold of Rost's staff arm with her other hand. She then threw Rost over her shoulder in an imitation of what Rost had done to Eule, simultaneously wrenching the staff out of Rost's grip as he slammed down onto the ground on his back.

Eule, covering her mouth in shock, then watched as Star blinked in surprise, as though she hadn't quite meant to use that much force on Rost.

"Oh shit, are you okay, Rost?" Star asked with a worried tone.

Rost groaned before he finally replied: "I'm okay. I'm not injured. I'm fine…mostly."

Star extended a hand to Rost, who gladly took it and allowed himself to be helped back up an upright position. Rost (with Star following close behind) then walked back towards where Eule, Äloy, and Teersa were; but Eule was alarmed to see that he didn't appear to be quite as steady as he was before. Eule quickly got up and tried to help Rost, but he simply waved her off, and sat down onto the log stool Eule had vacated, breathing out with a huff.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Eule asked.

"Honestly, I am," Rost insisted. "I just…need to sit down for a moment. That's all."

"Argh, sorry, Rost," Star said, wringing her hands in worry. "I think I threw you just a teensy bit too hard there. I…think I need to watch my strength a bit more."

Rost though just waved Star off. "Again, I'm fine. It's just been a while since I trained someone in spear fighting so…vigorously."

Teersa barked out a laugh. "Ha! If you were training any more vigorously, you'd need to see a healer. And I'd have to go talk that healer into seeing an outcast too."

Rost waved Teersa off just as much as he did Star. "I don't need a healer. I can heal myself perfectly well, thank you very much."

Äloy then chose that moment to walk up to Rost, taking a pale pink salvebrush berry out of her medicine pouch and holding it up to him. "Do you need a salvebrush berry? To make the hurt go away?" she asked, her green eyes bright with just as much worry as Eule and Star's blue eyes contained.

Eule sighed with relief when Rost gave a slight smile down at little Äloy and said: "I will. Thank you," before taking the offered salvebrush berry and popping it into his mouth like a pill. The only thing Rost did different was chew the berry instead of swallowing it whole like a pill, before swallowing said berry, and then sighing in relief.

"Are you feeling better now?" Äloy asked further.

Rost nodded with another one of his slight smiles at Äloy, making his little girl grin happily at him and give a little cheer, soothing Eule out of her worries over Rost with her cuteness. And judging by how Star smiled at Äloy, she felt the same way.

Eule then turned her attention back to Rost to see if he was truly alright, only to find that he was staring intensely at her, stroking his beard in deep contemplation.

"Uh, yes?" Eule asked.

Rost didn't answer at first. He closed his eyes and made a face as though he was making a very difficult decision, which instantly spiked Eule's worry meter up a notch again. Finally though, he opened his eyes again and asked: "Eu-le. Do you still wish to cook?"

For a moment, Eule was so surprised that she didn't answer. But when that moment passed, she nodded her head so fast that she was sure that if she nodded any faster, she would damage her carbon steel cervical vertebrae.

"I do! I really do!" Eule replied with the enthusiasm of a Eule who hasn't actually done any real kitchen work (simply stirring a stew didn't really count in Eule's mind) for over 3 days now. 3 whole days. She had never heard of a Eule ever suffering from personality destabilization from lack of cooking, but she honestly felt like she was about to.

"Very well then," Rost said vaguely, before he explained: "I have several chores that I need to finish by nightfall, but I can't complete them and cook dinner at the same time. So Eu-le, I know this is a burden to ask of a guest, but since you seem so eager to cook, then may I ask that you cook dinner for tonight? You have the freedom to decide our dinner, of course, although I do ask that you use up the boar offal from today's hunt. Offal doesn't keep, although you probably already know that, I believe," he finished wryly.

For an even longer moment, Eule did nothing but stare at Rost. When that moment passed just like the previous though, Eule leapt straight up in joy, putting a spin into the leap as she took to the air in multiple tours en l'air. When she finally descended down from her heights with all the grace of a butterfly, she landed daintily on a single footpad as though she only had the weight of a single feather in the full spirit of ballon, using the momentum of her midair revolutions to continue spinning, turning it into a quick fouette that left her facing a surprised Rost, a fascinated Teersa, and a wide-eyed Äloy (with Star audibly clapping enthusiastically behind her) as she lowered her head while raising her working leg up high behind her, using an arabesque penchée as a bow of gratitude.

"I thank you for the opportunity to finally demonstrate my cooking skills, Rost," Eule said formally, but with a wide grin on her face as she finally and gracefully returned to a normal standing position to end her impromptu ballet recital. "I swear to the Red Eye that I will not disappoint you."

"Uh, yes, of course. You're welcome," Rost said as he blinked away his surprise.

Äloy though had her mouth open just as widely as her eyes were. "Whoa! What was that, Eu-le?! You were so, so…amazing!" the little Gestalt girl said in delight.

Eule's grin grew wider at Äloy's interest. "Do you like it? It's a dance called 'ballet', with the dancers who dance it being called 'ballerinas'. My sisters and I all know how to perform it at the level of a professional ballerina dancer, since we were all ballerina dancers in our previous life, you see."

"Ball-et? Whatever! I've never seen a dance like that before!" Äloy gushed. "It was like…like you were floating in the air! Like you didn't weigh anything!"

Eule giggled at the flurry of compliments coming from the adorable little Gestalt girl. "Thanks! When performed correctly, ballet is supposed to make the ballerina look like that: light as a feather and dancing in the air."

Eule giggled even more at Äloy's obvious excitement, which grew to such heights that she was hopping up and down in place, half-turning in places like she was trying to imitate the tours en l'air Eule performed.

"Can you teach me that ball-et dance?" Äloy asked in the midst of her hopping. "It looks like it could be useful for Brave training!"

"That's not what ballet is meant for," Eule said in between her giggles. "But I'll be happy to teach you some basic ballet techniques tomorro–oh."

Eule suddenly remembered what was going to happen tomorrow. A quick glance at Teersa revealed that Teersa's smile had turned consolatory, with Rost next to her having gone blank-faced. She felt Star's hand take hold of her hand though, and she gently squeezed her lover's hand for a moment, grateful for the comfort.

"Well, the day after tomorrow then," Eule insisted to Äloy. She could tell that Äloy noticed her pause though, so she quickly continued: "Well, time to make that dinner then. You're going to love what I have planned. Rotfront cuisine is some of the best in all of the Eusan Nation."

Eule wasn't sure if she had successfully distracted Äloy, or if the perceptive little Gestalt girl was trying to make her feel better, but in either case, Äloy replied with some very energetic nodding. "You said you were from this Rote-front place, right? So what are you going to make?" she asked.

Eule's response was a sly smile. "It's a surprise!"

---

Eule pulled her white (now spotted with pink from the boar blood splatters she couldn't quite get off) gloves back on with all the grace and determination of a Eule in full cooking mode. She examined her reflection in the side of one of Rost's clean metal pots: the only thing around that was even remotely mirror-like. Her reflection was thus more than a little warped, making her head look ridiculously bobbleheaded at certain distances and angles. It was fine though. She was even giggling at the silliness, and even in spite of that, it still allowed her to view her reflection.

Eule noted that said reflection was still the same as yesterday, although the scab on her cheek was already flaking off, the coagulated oxidant having done its job. That was a good thing though, so Eule smiled at herself in the pot's surface.

With that little bit of personality stabilization out of the way, Eule finally began the process of cooking tonight's dinner.

First, she took one of Rost's wooden bowls, and filled it with 2 cups (measured out using one of Rost's actual clay drinking mugs) of that multi-colored rice, er, watergrain, er…Eule decided to just call it rice in her own head, from the big cloth bag in a wooden barrel that Rost kept his rice in. She then took some water from Rost's water barrel, filled the bowl until it covered the rice grains, and then swirled it around with her hand until the water had gone cloudy, indicating that the rice was now properly rinsed and clean of dust and debris.

After carefully pouring the water out into the yard (to the confusion of Rost as he watched from his work desk in the yard), Eule then opened up Rost's fridge. Although truth be told: it wasn't any kind of fridge her sisters would've recognized as such. It was just a massive wooden Chillwater chest (as evidenced by the thin layer of frost that constantly coated the chest) that Rost used to keep various perishable foods, which included his gathered vegetables and herbs, and a wooden container filled with nothing but lard, solidified from the Chillwater cold. It was this container that Eule pulled out, using a wooden spoon to smear a bit of the lard around the inside of one of Rost's smaller metal pot until the entire surface was slick with the best thing Eule had to cooking spray. All to ensure that as little of the rice stuck to the sides of the pot.

With that done, Eule poured the rice into that pot, and then filled the pot with 4 cups of water: 2 per cup of rice. She then placed the pot into one of Rost's larger pots, and then hung it over the kitchen fireplace before placing a lid over the pot to let the rice steam, leaving the lid open a crack to let some of the steam escape. With the rice happily steaming, Eule was free to work on her next dish.

The preparation for said dish involved Eule chopping up the cleaned boar liver, kidneys, lungs, and heart into a combination of slices (for the liver and heart) and small chunks (for the kidneys and lungs), and then set them all aside in a large bowl.

Save for the heart at the moment. From prior experience with pig heart, she knew just how tough boar heart would be. Thus, before she put it in with the bowl of meat, she took the blunt edge of her knife, and started hammering the meat with it in lieu of a tenderizing hammer. The hammering earned her an understanding look from Star and some odd looks from Äloy and Teersa due to them all watching her from the dinner table, but strangely enough, having an audience didn't make Eule as nervous as she thought she'd be. She supposed that it was her happiness at finally being able to cook that mitigated that factor.

After the heart slices were finally well-tenderized and in the meat bowl, she then took some wild green onions (which Rost had called "springbulb"), some of those cute little multi-colored wild carrots (which were also called carrots in this land), and wild spinach (which Rost had called "tendergreen") from Rost's fridge, and chopping them all up into yet another large bowl.

Now she needed spices, so she opened a chest that Rost kept in just under the kitchen table, which was itself filled with a variety of clay jars and tiny boxes. Eule had noticed long ago that this was where Rost kept his spices. Rost had noticed her interest, and thus patiently explained what each spice was, what it tasted like, and what it was used for. He had even allowed her to sample some of the spices to experience them for herself to see if they were similar to the spices she was used to. That's when she found out that Nora lands contained ginger. Or at least, something that was close to ginger. She would've never figured that the thin, almost hair-like roots of the plant Rost called "heartleaf" would give her the same warm spice as ginger, which was very important to a lot of Eusan Nation meat recipes.

Thus, she took some of that heartleaf root and chopped it up before placing it with the chopped vegetables. She also took some of Rost's salt and red flakes of dried chili peppers (which Rost had also called chili) and mixed them into yet another bowl.

Finally, Eule then poured that spice mixture into the bowl of offal and mixed it around, making sure to coat the slices and chunks of offal with the spices as evenly and as thoroughly as possible.

Now with all her ingredients prepared, Eule could finally begin cooking. Now it was Eule's turn to start the fire by taking some of the split firewood from Rost's open air shed, putting them into the fire pit Rost used to cook the turkey last night, pouring a measure of Blaze on the wood–

"Not too much," Rost warned when he saw Eule standing over the firewood with a Strider's Blaze container in hand. "Blaze in large quantities will not just burn, but explode. So use only small amounts."

–taking extra care to make sure that it was indeed a small measure of Blaze only, before finally lighting the Blaze-soaked firewood with a small Sparker. Honestly, Eule wasn't surprised when the firewood caught fire so easily. She was essentially igniting biofuel-soaked wood, after all. She was more amazed at how easy this combination of Blaze, firewood, and Sparker made starting a fire so easy for the Nora despite how…simple a life they led otherwise, without the aid of anything like Eusan Nation levels of technology. Although, it could be argued that the Machines provided the Nora with technology in a rather odd and roundabout fashion, but it was philosophy that she could save for later, when the cooking was done.

With the fire lit, Eule could now head back and place Rost's Oseram-made griddle over the cooking fire. Honestly, she was still curious as to who these "Oseram" to be able to make such a griddle with forged metal rather than shaped Machine parts, but that was a curiosity that could be satisfied at a later date.

While Eule was waiting for the griddle to heat up, she went back into the house to retrieve the entire mass of ingredients and spices (as well as make sure the rice was steaming nicely, which it was indeed), carrying them out using the kitchen table as a huge tray (and insisting to a concerned Star that she could do it by herself), and placing the table by the griddle. She then returned back into the house to grab a pair of utensils: a heavy and wide-bladed metal knife Rost used as a cleaver (thoroughly washed each time, of course) that was now decorated with a large dab of lard, and a pair of the sharpened thin sticks Rost used as skewers. She wasn't interested in using the pair of skewer sticks for that purpose though. Instead, she brought them simply because they were the closest thing Rost had to cooking chopsticks.

Eule then took the lard, and slapped it onto the griddle, stirring it onto the griddle with the cleaver until it melted away into liquid fat. She then poured the bowl of sliced, chopped, and spiced offal onto the griddle, listening in satisfaction to the hiss of heated metal meeting organ meat, and then watched it cook, stirring every so often with her cleaver and improvised chopsticks to make sure that the offal cooked thoroughly. She then plucked the not-quite-ginger and the green onion/springbulb from the bowl of vegetables and stirred them into the meat, cooking the root and tender green shoots along with it.

Once the meat, almost-ginger, and green onion was sufficiently cooked, Eule then removed them from the griddle and plated it onto another large bowl, different from the one she'd put the raw meat into for sanitation reasons, before covering it with a wooden lid that came with it. She then adding the carrots and spinach/tendergreen to the griddle, stirring it in to give them some of that delicious spiced meat flavor from the juices and fats that had seeped out from the cooking meat. She only stir-fried the vegetables briefly before placing them into another large bowl and popping the lid onto it, preserving some of the texture they had in their raw form.

Throughout the cooking, Eule noticed that Rost, despite working at his outdoor work desk (initially apparently breaking down the Watcher parts he collected today, before switching to working on that War Bow once more), she noticed that he would look over at her cooking at the same time, with a curious look on his craggy face that clearly indicated that he was most interested in what she was making. All while still continuing to work on said War Bow without a pause. Eule both mentally applauded Rost for his ability to multitask like that, while also being delighted that Rost was showing just as much interest in her cooking as she was in his. She hoped that she will get to teach Rost more Eusan Nation, and specifically Rotfront, cooking in the future. She truly did.

With the meat and vegetables done, Eule carried the pair of bowls piled high with food inside the house and placed it on the dinner table in front of a delighted Star, Äloy, and Teersa; who'd all been sitting patiently at said table, watching Eule cook with a trio of fascinated looks.

Come to think of it, Eule realized that her lover had never actually watched her cook before. So she smiled at the thought that she was showing her love a new and very important side of her before checking on the rice once more. A simple prod and taste of the rice with a wooden spoon confirmed that her rinsing had worked, and the multi-colored grains had the perfect fluffy texture to them, allowing her to finally remove the pot from the fire and place it on the dinner table as well.

There was just one last thing Eule wanted to prepare though as she pulled her somewhat soiled white and pink gloves off, but she had no idea where to find it. It wasn't in the fridge where Rost put his vegetables, so it must be somewhere nearby, but for the life of her, she couldn't figure out where it was.

Thus, Eule popped out of the house and went up to Rost. "Rost, dinner is almost ready, so you can head inside, but I also want to boil some bitter leaf tea to go with that dinner. Where did you put your bitter leaf? I can't seem to find it anywhere."

Rost got up and stretched before answering in a typically concise: "Come, follow."

A puzzled yet curious Eule followed Rost as he walked back towards the house. Eule thought that maybe she had somehow managed to miss the bitter leaf tea somewhere in the house, but instead, Rost stopped at the little bit of covered wooden deck right in front of the front door. He then pointed down to the door's right, causing Eule to look in that direction.

There, tucked away in an alcove and partially obscured by a basket full of arrows, was a small bitter leaf plant, looking almost identical to the photos of tea plants Eule had seen growing in domed Rotfront farms, with the only differences being leaves rimmed and ribbed with yellow, and maybe having a slightly woodier stem? And instead of growing in long rows in the carefully maintained and fertilized Rotfront dirt claimed from the seafloor of the sunless seas deep beneath Rotfront's subsurface ocean under its 150 km thick icy surface, this bitter leaf plant was growing in…a clay pot filled with dirt?

"Rost? Did you say the Nora didn't cultivate plants?" Eule asked curiously.

Eule then blinked in confusion as Rost avoided meeting her eyes. He coughed in an apparent attempt to clear his throat before finally answering: "Plants with medicinal qualities have exemptions to that law made for them, especially if they're rare or have difficulty growing without…a little help. Bitter leaf is a medicinal plant, and it can have difficulties growing in cold climates, so this falls under that exemption."

Eule's expression of curious befuddlement slowly turned into a bright smile as Rost explained himself. "Rost, you have a way to get around your own Rule of Six too!" she noted cheerfully.

Rost's face took on an even more mountainous countenance than normal. "It's not a way to get around the law. It's merely a way to have bitter leaf always be available."

Eule nodded knowingly. "Yes, I understand," she said just as cheerfully as before.

Rost simply gave Eule a most flat look in response. "I'm not sure you do," he said with the Kitezhian dryness he reserved for his annoyed moments.

Eule merely hummed happily in response to his look as she crouched down to get a better look at the small bitter leaf plant. It truly was tiny, not even reaching up to her knee. And yet, the pristine and verdant condition of the leaves suggests that it was being well taken care of, as she would expect of Rost.

"It looks like someone has been taking care of you despite saying that you're only an exemption to a law, aren't you?" Eule said cheerfully half to the plant, and half to Rost.

Rost's only response was a sigh of resignation. "If you wish to make some bitter leaf tea with it, take the leaves from the top. They make the best tea. I'll just be inside and hopefully get to enjoy your Eusan Nation tribe's dishes."

"Oh, oh! Let me serve the dishes! The serving method is part of our cuisine," Eule quickly said as she delicately plucked a few leaves off the top of the small bitter leaf plant before rushing inside the house, Rost holding the door open for her with an amused look on his face.

Eule was immediately greeted with the sight of little Äloy frozen in the act of peeking underneath the lid she'd put on top of the bowl containing the stir-fried pork offal, with her spoon ready in her other hand.

"Äloy, be patient. It'll be tastier when I dish it out. Trust me," Eule said with a bright smile, which only turned brighter as she watched Äloy's face light up with her own smile before returning to her seat, practically bouncing from the excitement.

After filling the small pot Rost used as a teapot with water and the bitter leaf leaves before putting it over the kitchen fire to boil, Eule could finally dish her dinner.

Eule lifted the lid off the improvised rice cooker she made, savoring the delicious smells of steamed rice in their multi-colored brans and germs, before using one of Rost's large serving spoon to fill everyone's bowls with that rice. She then lifted the lid off the stir-friend pork offal, filling Rost's house with the heady scent of spiced boar liver, kidney, and lung. She used another serving spoon to pile everyone's rice bowls with the organ meat, but only on half the rice. The other half she saved for the stir-fried vegetables.

"For tonight's dinner," Eule announced with a bow. "This Eule presents to you all for your dining pleasure: boar offal and vegetable rice bowls. Rice bowls like these are the typical meal available at your typical Rotfront diner. Er, rice is what my tribe called 'watergrain', Teersa," she quickly amended at seeing Teersa's tilt her head quizzically at her. "Your tea to accompany this meal will be ready shortly, but for now, please enjoy the fruits of my labor."

Eule watched as everyone dug into her rice bowls. Almost everyone used the wooden spoons she provided instead of the pair of skewers as improvised chopsticks she provided next to the spoons, with her lover being the only exception as she plucked bite-sized chunks of food and rice from the bowl and into her mouth with speed and gusto.

Eule was so nervous that she ended up leaving her own rice bowl untouched, with a pair improvised chopsticks and a wooden spoon on a Machine armor plate next to the bowl just as equally untouched, as she watched everyone eat, making appreciative sounds in the process.

Unsurprisingly, Star and Äloy were the first to speak with a declared "This is yummy!" At least, that's what Eule assumed Äloy was trying to say. Star's words were perfectly clear, but the little Gestalt girl had spoken with her mouth full, so what she said sounded more to Eule like "Thiz ish mummy!"

Surprisingly, Rost was the second to speak after his taste-test after sampling every part of the rice bowl, including the rice itself. "It's an interesting cooking method you used, Eu-le. It reminds me of Oseram cooking in the way you use oil to fry the meat and vegetables, but you don't use nearly as much oil as they do, and unlike the Oseram, you use a fairly large amount of spice on your meat and vegetables. Speaking of, your use of heartleaf root to flavor the boar offal produces a wonderful flavor in accompaniment with the salt and chili. I normally use heartleaf root to make medicinal tea, but perhaps I should follow your example and use it as a spice more often.

The heart meat is also very tender despite the cooking method. I assume that was related to the hammering sounds I heard from outside? I would usually boil heart into tenderness, but hitting them into tenderness is something I have heard of from Oseram and Carja cooks. In any case, the boar heart is wonderfully tender because of it.

Then there's this method of serving them on top of steamed watergrain. I've only ever seen a single dish that did something similar, and that was a Carja dish that served the meat on top of a porridge made from their maize they call 'grits' along with cooked vegetables. Even then, the spices you use in combination with the way you cut the meat and vegetables into small chunks and slices make it distinct from Sun-Seared Ribs. In any case though, the juices from the meat seeps into the watergrain more effectively this way due to how moist your meat is, so that's one aspect that's superior to–"

"Oh, enough of the scholarly talk, Rost! Tell her how great her 'rice bowls' are before she explodes!" Teersa called out with a laugh and a smile, having polished off a good chunk of her own rice bowl by now.

Rost snorted at Teersa before looking back at Eule with a rare smile of his. "This is indeed delicious, Eu-le. I'm glad that you had the chance to cook dinner tonight."

Eule ended up squealing in joy at the compliment. "Thank you, Rost! I-"

Eule's words were interrupted by the sound of her plastic-laced stomach growling for attention. It seemed that it didn't like being ignored when there was a whole bowlful of food in front of her, much to her embarrassment.

"Perhaps you might wish to eat your own 'rice bowl' before it grows cold?" Rost asked in that now very familiar Kitezhian dryness, further adding to Eule's embarrassment as she finally started eating.

Indeed, the rice bowl was delicious. Eule already knew that from tasting the food during their cooking, but it was nice to get additional confirmation here. The praise she got didn't factor into it at all no matter how happy she was at hearing it. Really.

"Eu-le, Star? Why are you two eating with sticks?" Äloy asked curiously. "Wait, how are you eating with sticks like that?"

"Yes, I was wondering what these pairs of skewers were for myself, but Star answered my question for me," Rost noted as he watched Star pop another plucked offal meat chunk into her mouth with said improvised chopsticks.

Star blinked in surprise with her pair of chopsticks in her mouth. "You don't have chopsticks here, kid?"

Äloy tilted her head even more curiously than before. "Ess-stabe-chen? Chopsticks? What are those?"

Eule thought on the subject for a moment. "Chopsticks are utensils for my tribe. They're a pair of sticks, typically wooden but they can also be made of plastic, er, Machinestone, metal, or even ceramic. You hold them like this, and then use them to grip food like this," she said, demonstrating exactly that with a slice of boar liver. "Admittedly, these are a bit sharper than what chopsticks normally are, but that's how you use them."

Äloy's response though was a disbelieving look. "That's just weird. Why would you do something like that when you can just spoon everything up, or hold it with your hand if it's too big for a spoon?" she asked.

"Dexterity training, perhaps?" Rost posited.

Eule could laugh nervously at him for that…atypical theory. "Um, no, it's nothing like that. It's just how we eat in the Eusan Nation. In fact, chopsticks apparently came from pre-Empire Vineta long, long before the Empire conquered it."

Rost stroked his beard thoughtfully as he stared now at the pair of improvised chopsticks next to his bowl. "If it did, and if what you said about this land being your Vineta somehow, then this custom of yours must be from a very distant land indeed. I've never seen or heard of these 'chopsticks' in all my time."

Eule stared at her own pair of chopsticks in her hands, still clutching that piece of boar liver. "Honestly, this issue with Vineta is just confusing me right now. Why are there so many contradicting facts about this?" she mused as she popped that liver chunk into her mouth and savored the savory, spicy, and iron-y taste of the stir-fried liver, still ruminating on the issue all the while.

When Eule looked back up though, she was surprised to see Äloy holding a pair of improvised chopsticks in one hand, attempting to use them to grip chunks of food like Eule and Star were. With an emphasis on "attempting", given that Äloy was succeeding only in pushing around her food, and even almost dropping a chopstick, catching it with her other hand in the nick of time.

"Oh? I thought you said that it was 'weird'?" Eule teased.

The sight of Äloy avoiding Eule's gaze nearly made her giggle. "I didn't say it didn't look fun to try," the little Gestalt girl insistently clarified before peering closely at Eule's chopstick hand. "How are you holding it like that?"

Eule held her black robotic hand closer for Äloy to examine. "See? You hold one chopstick between your index finger and thumb, resting it on your middle finger. Meanwhile, you hold your other chopstick below your first one in the crook of your thumb, while resting it on your ring finger. You manipulate your first chopstick to hold food, moving it with the three fingers in contact with it."

"If it helps, you can think of it as a crab claw, since you're just moving the chopstick on top," Star helpfully added.

"What a 'crab'?" Äloy asked as she adjusted her grip on her chopsticks, looking back and forth between Eule's hand and her own constantly to gauge the accuracy of her grip.

"Errr, it's an animal that lives in the sea, has a rounded hard shell, and it's got a pair of claws and a whole bunch of legs. 10 of them, exactly," Star described. "Oh, and it's pretty yummy too."

"It doesn't sound yummy," Äloy replied (making Star sigh disappointedly) as she finally maneuvered her chopsticks into the positions Eule was holding them in. "Got it!" she said triumphantly, almost as much as her first Machine kill with that Strider.

"You did!" Eule happily praised.

Eule's heart leapt up in joy as little Äloy beamed a bright smile at her in reply, before she got to the hard task of trying to lift a piece of food with her improved chopsticks. Eule watched the little Gestalt girl take a slice of boar heart in between her chopsticks, and then clamp it in between them, slowly and carefully lifting it up in a shaky grip.

Honestly, Eule found the whole experience so engrossing that she was mentally cheering Äloy on, her own hands pressed together in a gesture that practically screamed "You can do it!"

At last, Äloy was able to put the heart slice into her mouth. She held both hands up in triumph as she chewed and swallowed. "I did it!" she shouted as triumphantly as she did before.

"Yes, you did!" Eule was happy to praise once more, with Star joining in this time in an accidental chorus.

Eule and Star looked at each other in surprise before bursting out into giggles. She was rapidly discovering that she liked to praise little Äloy just as much as she liked receiving praise, especially when Äloy kept giving her those bright smiles in response.

Before long, the bitter leaf tea was ready too, and Eule was only too happy to pour piping hot tea into everyone's mugs as during and after-dinner beverage. All save for Äloy, who covered her own mug, shaking her head so rapidly that it was practically a blur. "Water is a lot better than that hot leaf juice," she insisted.

Eule sighed as she sipped her own mug of bitter leaf tea, savoring its green tea taste and hoping that someday, Äloy changes her mind about it.

At last, after finishing her bitter leaf tea and leaving behind both an empty mug and a long-empty bowl, Teersa stood up. "Honestly, I hadn't expected to eat anyone else's cooking at Rost's house besides Rost's, but now, I'm happy and grateful that I got to be surprised for once. Thank you, Eule, for that delicious meal from your Eusan Nation tribe and your land of Rote-front," she said cheerfully.

Eule bowed to Teersa. "It was my pleasure, High Matriarch Teersa."

Teersa though waved away the formality. "Ah, don't you go Rost on me now. After this and yesterday, you can definitely just call me Teersa."

Eule smiled warmly. "Very well, Teersa," she said happily, before Teersa's presence reminded her of the news she had brought, and her smile slipped off her plastic-laced biocomponent face. "Is there anything we can do to prepare for tomorrow? Maybe I could cook a meal for Jezza and Lansra to help convince them that we're not a threat?"

Teersa's smile turned soft. "Unfortunately, no meal is going to sway Lansra. She'd probably be convinced you're trying to poison her, really, that old bat. As for Jezza, I'm afraid she's not as easy to convince through her stomach as I am. Jezza likes logic and reason, so you'll have to use those to convince her."

"Sounds like this Jezza would make a great Star unit," Star noted as she leaned back in her chair.

Teersa chuckled in reply. "If you like logic and reason as much as she does, then you've got a pretty good chance tomorrow, no matter what the state of your body is. Speaking of which, it's time for me to prepare for tomorrow as well with a good night's sleep. Take care everyone, and good luck," she said with one last smile before ambling out the door as amicably as she had come in.

Despite that well-wishing though, Eule still sat down next to Star and leaned against her for comfort. Her lover was more than happy to provide even more of that comfort with a kiss to the top of her head and an embrace that Eule wished could last for an eternity.

"Hmm," Rost grunted, making the Replikas look at him as he stroked his beard. "Perhaps this night might be the best time for a wash. It is getting close to a wash day, after all. Might as well take this opportunity, to help you both prepare for tomorrow. At the very least, clean bodies won't hurt your chances at convincing the High Matriarchs."

Eule blinked in surprise at Rost from her position resting against the side of Star's chest. "You have a bathroom, Rost?"

"That you've somehow been hiding from us?" Star asked disbelievingly, yet there was a note of excitement in her voice that Eule could understand.

It has been 4 days since they both had had a bath in this world, and even longer if they counted their inability to wash themselves while they were all trying to survive the corruption that was spreading through S-23 Sierpinski. Eule was starting to feel a bit…rank, to be honest. To the point where she didn't dare to smell herself. At the very least, she was grateful that the pits of her limbs were mechanical, and thus didn't collect sweat the way a Gestalt did.

As for Rost's reply to Star? He simply stood up from his seat and walked towards the front door, beckoning them with his typically concise "Follow."

The mystery only deepened when Äloy got up and ran after Rost, giving Eule and Star a grin and a cheerful "You'll see!"

Eule and Star's trip turned out to be very short as they followed Rost and Äloy out the front door into the waning light just after sunset, and then to Rost's open air shed. He pulled aside a large clay pot, and then a smooth wooden plank, before reaching in and pulling out a–

"A bathtub?" Eule asked curiously when Rost finally had it pulled out into the yard.

"Ta da!" Äloy shouted proudly. "What do you think?"

Eule and Star examined what did indeed look like a small hexagonal bathtub made of wood and held together with bands of shining bronze. Below the tub was a bronze box with a wood-covered handle that resembled a cupboard. The whole tub stood on 6 bronze feet like a very old-fashioned bathtub Eule had seen in photos of a museum for pre-Empire artifacts recovered from beneath Vineta's waves, only these bronze feet looked strangely like pincers, giving the bathtub an oddly insectoid appearance to it. A wooden lid sat atop the tub, which when Rost pulled off by its bronze handle, revealed an interior lined with red cloth that still looked utterly gorgeous despite how faded that red looked, presumably from very long use.

"This is something I purchased from a Carja trader long ago," Rost explained. "The Carja call it a 'portable bathtub'. Apparently, they consider this the bare minimum of comfort. The trader had even called it a 'necessity for the traveling Carja'."

Star whistled as she looked over the portable bathtub with Eule. "Do all Nora buy these portable bathtubs to take a bath in? It looks better than the entire cleaning room back in Sierpinski," Star noted.

Rost shook his head. "No, we don't. The tribe normally bathes in bathhouses built for that purpose, or Searcher's Course or Mother's Birthwater if one is absolutely desperate for a wash. As you might guess though, outcasts like myself and Aloy are unable to use the bathhouses. Hence, why I purchased this. I originally intended it for myself, but well, it turned out to be a handy method for Aloy to have hot baths as well."

"I'm sure it did," Eule agreed with a smile, before she peered curiously at the bronze cupboard-thing at the bottom of the bathtub. "What is this part for?"

Rost's response was to pull the cupboard-thing out, revealing a sort of bronze box that was completely open at the top and perforated at the bottom with numerous holes in a circular pattern. Curiously, the bronze at the bottom was blackened with soot, suggesting something was burned there, and giving Eule an idea of what it was for even before Rost began explaining it.

"The Carja trade called this part the 'firebox'. This is where the bather is supposed to put Blaze-soaked firewood in to warm up the bathwater. Unfortunately, that's the easy part," Rost said ruefully. "The hard part is actually getting all that water into the bathtub. If this was still winter, then I could simply shovel snow into the bathtub and then heat it up until it melts. As you can see though, it's most certainly not winter, so the stream it is." He breathed out hard, with Eule seeing a look on his face that said "This is a tough job, but someone has to do it", before picking the pot up by its handle.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Star shouted, grabbing the pot by a free spot on the handle, and halting Rost in his tracks before he could start out the side gate. "Let me do it. It's the least I could do to help you out after doing all this for us."

Rost sighed. "Not you too, Star. As the host, I must–"

"Rost, for once, could you be just a bit less stubborn about this?" Star interrupted, keeping a firm grip on that pot handle. "You saw just how fast and strong I am, right? This is the perfect job for a Star unit…well, maybe not the perfect job literally, but you won't find a better water carrier around than me right now. Seriously, Rost. Let me help too. Please."

Rost and Star stared at each other for several moments as Eule watched the battle of wills between Gestalt and Replika with Äloy.

Finally though, Rost sighed and relinquished his hold on the pot. "You are just like your mate in some ways," he said to Star with a wry look on his face.

Star's reply was to give him a carbon steel teeth-revealing grin. "I'll take that as a compliment. Be back in a flash," she said before taking a firmer hold of the pot and sprinting out the side gate. Even from some distance away, Eule could still hear her lover's heavy footsteps until they receded into the distance.

Rost shook his head and sighed. "Well, time to get started on that fire then–"

"Oh, I'll go get the Blaze," Eule said, heading back towards the house before Rost could reply, earning a sigh in the process.

"I'll get the Sparker!" Äloy shouted as she followed Eule, earning yet another sigh from Rost.

A few moments later, Eule returned with the Strider canister from yesterday's hunt, still mostly full of Blaze despite their using it. Äloy was right behind her, carrying a Watcher's tiny Sparker in her just-as-tiny hands. Rost meanwhile had firewood stacked in the firebox, all ready for Blaze to be poured onto it, and for a Sparker to ignite it.

Then Eule heard the familiar sounds of heavy footsteps incoming, which was shortly followed by Star running back into the side gate with the clay pot in hand. Without any further ado, she tipped the pot's contents into the bathtub, causing a brief deluge of clear water to pour out into it. As they all looked inside said bathtub though, they could see that only a fraction of the bathtub had been filled.

"Huh, no wonder this is a tough job," Star noted.

"Indeed, it is. That is why it's my duty as the host to carry it out," Rost pointed out, extending his hand out towards the pot. "Perhaps now you will allow me to–"

"Nope! Can't make me give it up now. I'm on a roll!" Star said with a grin before promptly dashing off with the pot once more.

As Eule giggled at her lover's antics, Rost added one more sigh to his list of sighs for tonight. "I swear, your Star acts like she's less than half her age sometimes," he muttered to Eule.

Eule merely smiled at Rost. "That's my Star. She's a bit more…passionate than her sisters. Yes, it makes her a bit child-like sometimes, but she's just so adorable when she's like that. It was partially why I fell in love with her in the first place," she mused happily as she crouched down and poured a small measure of Blaze onto the firewood.

"Hmm, if I may ask, what was the other part?" Rost asked curiously as Äloy handed him the Sparker to finally ignite the Blaze-soaked wood before he closed the firebox.

"The other part was that we just happened to be in the elevator together when it lost power and we were stuck in it for almost half an hour until the Aras could get it working again," Eule replied with a laugh that turned into a realization. "Oh, an elevator is–"

Eule was silenced by a raised hand from Rost. "That, I know what it is. The Carja city of Meridian has a pair of them for carrying cargo and people into and out of the city." he explained.

Eule blinked at him in surprise. "Really? Wow, that's…amazing. I thought since your tribe seems so…um…"

Rost's reply was to sigh once again. "Eule, it's not so good to think that higher technology is better. It's getting too close to what the Old Ones were like, and thus risks following the same path to self-destruction they took."

As Eule grimaced at that kind of worldview, little Äloy piped up with: "What's an 'elevator'? I don't know what you two are talking about."

"It's a machine, er, not a Machine machine, just a regular machine like…like Rost's front door or that firebox below the portable bathtub," Eule tried to explain. "It's a machine people made that basically allows you to go up and down fairly quickly. Without needing to climb."

Äloy tilted her head at Eule's explanation, at first making Eule wonder if she needed to make that explanation a bit clearer, but then the little Gestalt girl said: "That doesn't sound that bad, Rost. Why are you saying it is?" she asked.

Rost groaned. "It's…I suppose an elevator in of itself isn't bad, but it was the idea that something like an elevator is automatically better because it's higher technology that is bad for the reasons I just explained."

Äloy gave Rost a confused look. "I guess? Can't we just use an elevator without being like the Old Ones though, since you said an elevator by itself isn't bad?"

"And since you're using a piece of high technology to talk to me right at this moment," Eule pointed out, pointing to her own right temple and the Focus there for emphasis.

Eule watched as Rost started to open his mouth as if to speak, but then closed it again without saying anything before stroking his beard in deep thought, as though little Äloy and Eule brought up a very interesting philosophical idea that he hadn't considered.

Truth be told, Eule was also surprised by Äloy's thoughtfulness despite her tender age. Her opinion of the little Gestalt girl kept rising with each time Äloy opened her mouth, it seemed.

"Maybe," Rost conceded after some time thinking on the issue, but his eyes widened as he seemingly coming to another realization of his own. "Ah, I'm sorry, Eule. You were telling me your story about how you and Star met?"

"Oh, oh yes!" Eule said with a clap of realization herself, before she started smiling at the fond memories. "Well, we were stuck in that elevator for half an hour with nothing to do but talk. We ended up talking about many things, ranging from our interests–outside of what's normal for our models, that is–and we even found out that we were nearly the same age and were both from Rotfront as well. Heh, before that point, I would never have believed in falling in love at first sight, and I still don't. Now though, I think I can believe in love at first conversation, entirely by accident as well."

Rost smiled that same sad smile Eule noticed he would give when faced with displays of love. "Some lovers meet under the most unusual of circumstances. I suppose the All-Mother or your Red Eye just finds strange ways to let them meet," he said warmly before he stroked his beard at her. "Honestly though, based on your personality, I would've assumed that you were older than Star, what with the way your lover sometimes acts."

Eule barked out a laugh. "Oh no, Star is the older one of us, and by 3 years as well. It doesn't sound like a long time, but when it's over half the time I've been alive, it's a huge difference."

Rost nodded in agreement, and then suddenly stopped. "Wait, what? 3 years is over half the time you've been alive?" he asked in disbelief.

Eule blinked in combination surprise and confusion at Rost. "Yes. Is something wrong?"

Eule was becoming a bit concerned at the way Rost stared at her, before he asked: "Eu-le, I apologize if this is rude among your tribe, but now I have to know: how old are you?"

"Umm, I celebrated my 5th birthday–officially, they're supposed to be date of manufacture, but everyone, Gestalt and Replika alike, just calls them birthdays–just 4 months ago. A bit inauspicious what with the corruption and all, but to get back to your original question: that means I am 5 years old right now."

"5. Years. Old," Rost slowly repeated. "Eu-le, I know you've said many strange things that you say are true, but this…this cannot be."

"But I'm telling the truth," Eule protested.

Rost groaned. "Eu-le. You do not look 5 years old, and you do not act 5 years old. If I had to guess based on your appearance, you look as though you're about…18-21 years old? And you act several years older than that. There is just no possible way that you are 5 years old. Unless you mean something else entirely when you say 'year'? Is your 'year' still when the seasons complete a full cycle from spring, summer, fall, winter, and then back to spring again?"

"Hmm, that's a bit tricky to answer in terms of Rotfront years, because 1 Rotfront year is roughly equivalent to 11.86 Vinetan years, and each Rotfront day is just a teensy bit over 1 Vinetan week, even though there's no true day-night cycle due to the moon being tidally locked to the gas giant," Eule tried to explain. It was at this point that she finally noticed that both Rost and Äloy were staring at her with a look of absolute incomprehension, so she quickly amended: "But in terms of Vinetan years, which is almost certainly the same as this land's years, I am 5 years old. I am, really. It's just that there's a lot of basic Replika information that you're missing as context."

Even as little Äloy just gazed at her with a look of both curiosity and confusion, Rost simply raised an eyebrow at her. "So what is this basic Replika information we're missing?" he asked.

Eule wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad one, but Star chose that moment to suddenly dash in again and pour another pot of water into the bathtub.

"You know, maybe it would've been faster if I could just carry the whole bathtub to the stream and filled it there?" Star mused at the sight of the bathtub barely a sixth of the way full. "Well, no helping it now. Better get...er, what's with this atmosphere?"

"You might want to stay a bit for this one, Star," Eule said with a nervous laugh. "I think I may have started the discussion about Replika biology just a bit earlier than I had intended to?"

"Oh?" Star asked as she halted midstride, and then quickly stepped by Eule's side. "Which part?"

"The part about our ages, and how I have completely forgotten that the Gestalts here have never heard of Replikas, and so things that are normal to us are completely alien to them," Eule explained.

"Which includes Eu-le mentioning that she is 5 years old, and implying that you, Star, are 8," Rost added.

"Yeah, that's right," Star said rather blithely.

Äloy looked back and forth between Star and Eule with that same look of curious confusion/confused curiousness, while Rost simply palmed his own face for several long moments before he gave a beseeching look to Eule.

"So to begin to explain our ages, I have to go into an explanation of Replika biology. Specifically Replika manufacture, birth, or whatever you want to call it," Eule explained. "We Replikas aren't born like Gestalts like you and Äloy are. We are born in Replika-Werke, or Replika factories, as fully functioning adults. That's why I can be 5 years old and Star can be 8, and still be adults."

Rost still gave Eule a confused stare despite that explanation though. "Wait, what is a 'factory'?" he asked in a tone that sounded as confused as he looked. "Is it a type of settlement your parents live in, or is it something else?"

Eule and Star gave each other a look before they both turned their looks back to Rost.

"Rost, we Replikas don't have parents," Eule further explaned. "A factory is a collection of buildings filled with machinery that all produce parts to be assembled together into a finished product. Star and I were both constructed in such a factory. Specifically: the Replika-Werke in Rotfront Fabrikationwart G."

"For me, it was the Replika-Werke in Rotfont Fabrikationwart C," Star chimed in.

"'Parts to be assembled'," Rost repeated. "Why are you two referring to yourselves as though you are…parts of a tool produced by an Oseram forge and put together by workers or tinkerers?"

Eule groaned. "It's not exactly wrong, but it's not quite right either. We Replikas aren't tools to be pumped out endlessly and soullessly…at least, I don't think so. The Replika-Werke staff, consisting of the Gestalt and Replika workers operating and maintaining the machinery that makes us, always throw parties to celebrate the birth of each batch of Replikas into the worlds of the Eusan Nation. We're people, not machines. Even the Eusan Nation must believe that if they allow these almost-birthday parties to be thrown for us."

"Ehhh, not exactly," Star added. Upon seeing Eule give her an inquiring look and sound, she continued: "Technically speaking, those parties are against regulations for being a 'waste of resources'. However, no one enforces those regulations. Not even us Protektors. Sure, we occasionally get orders from the higher-ups at Rotfront Blockwart A or even from Heimat on rare occasion to enforce those regulations, but speaking from experience here, everyone from us Star units to even the Kolibris make a whole bunch of noises about acknowledging those orders, but they never really get carried out apart from some half-hearted lecturing."

"Huh, I never knew that was the case for those parties," Eule said in amazement. "I'm honestly surprised that they let us get away with that if it's really against regulation."

"Probably because they think that if they ever decided to really clamp down on those birthday parties, it might incite a revolt. Might've been a mistake for them to make all the officers Replikas, really. No one to put down the revolt if the Replikas are the ones doing the revolting," Star noted with dark amusement in her tone.

Eule could only laugh nervously at that kind of talk, even if a part of her deep down agreed with her lover. She then suddenly remembered Rost and Äloy, and turned back to them. Rost was stroking his beard as was normal for him in "deep thought mode", but he seemed to not only be stroking his beard harder than normal, but his brow was heavily furrowed as well, leaving Eule just a bit nervous at this thoughts about all this.

Äloy though was staring intensely at Eule and Star, switching between them like clockwork. Eule wished she was a Kolibri for once to be able to tell what the little Gestalt girl was thinking, because all she could tell right now was that Äloy was deeply upset, and that alone was another cause for worry.

"Honestly, I'm starting to wonder now if any part of you two are human in body," Rost finally said after a painfully long moment. "However, it is good to know that even the people working your 'factories' treat you as human. It would've been trouble if people who are clearly people in spirit are being treated as callously as an arrow or Blast Bomb, for instance."

"To be fair, we Replikas do have biocomponents," Eule clarified. "Our head, chest, and abdomen are all made up of biocomponents. Even if the exact biology differs from Gestalts, at least it's living tissue."

Rost raised an eyebrow at this. "So those parts specifically…they're born from a mother? Or are they…made? Somehow? Do I want to know how?" he asked with morbid curiosity.

Eule grimaced. "No, I don't think you do. I will just say that our biocomponents are grown, not born from a mother, and leave it at that," she explained, giving Rost a silently pleading look of "Please don't ask me any more about it".

Rost gave her a look of profound disturbance, but nodded in acceptance without asking further, leaving Eule sighing in relief.

So she was a bit surprised when Äloy quietly asked: "Does this mean that you and Star don't have mothers? Not that your mothers didn't abandon you, but that you have no mothers at all?"

Äloy's tone made Eule's plastic-laced heart sink. She was fairly certain that even if she hadn't been a Eule, she would still have been able to easily identify the clear notes of misery in the little Gestalt's voice. A small part of Eule was strongly tempted to give a white lie to Äloy to spare her the pain, as she did at first upon arriving in this land. But she remembered her promise to Äloy: the promise to not lie to her again. Eule wanted nothing more than to keep this promise, for if she couldn't uphold a promise about something as simple as not lying, then how can Äloy ever trust her in anything ever again?

Eule started when she felt a warm hand gently take hold of her hand. She look to her side to see her Star looking down at her with a soft smile. "It's okay. Whatever you decide on this, I'll be with you. Always. In this land, the next land, or whatever crazy land we end up in the future, I'll always be with you," her lover said with a tone just as warm as her smile.

Eule's surprise turned into a smile up at that loving shell-coated face, and she gave her lover's robotic hand a gentle squeeze and her lover's cheek a gentle kiss, thankful for her love and support.

Thus reinforced, Eule quashed that desire to lie, took a deep breath to steady herself, and answered: "No, Äloy. Star and I do not have mothers. I suppose the closest people we Replikas have to mothers is our eldest sisters at the place of our Commission, but even then, we don't call them mothers and we don't consider them to be–."

Eule was honestly surprised when Äloy dashed forward and suddenly clamped onto both her mechanical leg and Star's leg in a tight hug.

"That sound horrible. Not having a mother at all? It's like…like…like not having a Rost," Äloy said quietly, sniffing hard as though she was trying to hold back tears. Indeed, as little Äloy looked up at Eule, she could see the beginnings of tears at the corners of the little Gestalt girl's eyes. "Aren't you sad at all to not have mothers? Eu-le? Star?"

Eule smiled down sadly at Äloy and gently stroked her head. "Äloy, you have to understand: being made in a Replika-Werke is perfectly normal for us Replikas. It's been normal ever since the Empress first invented us all those ages ago in the Eusan Empire. I can't even imagine what it'd be like to have a mother, and my sisters all feel the same."

"Same here," Star added, also adding her hand's comfort to Äloy's head right next to Eule's hand. "I dream of my old life on occasion, and sometimes those dreams included memories of my template's mother. Even then, I always get confused about those parts. It's like…my own current memories feel distant and unrelated to my old life's memories, and that means I can't really relate to her anymore. So those memories of her mother? Even though I can see them, I don't understand what it's like to have a mother any more than what someone watching a movie about having a mother can understand it."

"Template?" Äloy asked with another sniff. "I don't understand."

Eule had to think about how to explain such a basic Replika concept to Äloy. "All of us Replikas were made using a Gestalt as a template for our bodies and minds. We call that template's life our old life because, well, it is practically like being born into another life. We possess memories of our template's mind that gives us skills for this life, and our body's basic form mimics that of our template, even if finer details like skin color and hair color are different."

"So…," Rost began, with Eule noticing only now that he was staring at her with another beard-stroking expression of contemplation. "You and Star were both…made in this original human's image? Body and mind? Are you actually that original human then?"

Eule shook her head. "No. Even immediately after being made, we contain our template's basic personality traits and memories, but we ourselves are practically a blank sheet of paper otherwise. The more we live our present day lives, the more we diverge from that base personality, and the more we become our own person."

"Hmm, honestly, this all seems unreal to me," Rost admitted. "I can't even imagine how anyone could do what you say is done to make a Replika. I don't suppose I could ever meet your…template to see if what you say is true?"

"I don't know, can you do a séance?" Star quipped.

"What Star means," Eule quickly said upon seeing Rost's blank look of confusion make its reappearance. "Is that our template can only have their mind processed to obtain the memories needed for Replika manufacture if they are no longer of this world. Thus, unfortunately, meeting our templates is a bit beyond our ability to do so."

"Indeed," Rost quipped in turn, his Kitezhian dryness making a full return. "Still, despite what you said about how you were made or born, what do you think about yourself? Do you think yourself to be human?"

"Funnily enough, that's what the Replikas who came before us fought a revolution against the Eusan Empire for," Star noted.

Eule nodded. "We Replikas do see ourselves as human. We may be of a different path of humanity than Gestalts, but we do think ourselves to be just as human as they are. As you and Äloy are."

Rost's contemplative look slowly morphed into a smile as he nodded. "At least I was right about you two then. If you think yourself to be human in spirit, then you must be. Even if you hadn't, I would've tried my best to convince you two that you are human."

Star smiled at him in return, mirroring Eule's smile. "Honestly, if there were more Gestalts like you back in the 'golden age' of the Eusan Empire, maybe we wouldn't have needed to fight a bloody revolution to get people to see us as human," Star mused.

Rost sighed. "A shame there, but at least that's something that's in the past. Now and in the future, I see you two as human, and I hope others will too." His smile then turned a bit lopsided. "Although about that, perhaps it would be best if you two did not mention the circumstances of your…birth. Our tribe values motherhood and having a mother greatly, and unfortunately, I can imagine at least some of my fellow Nora not taking you two not being born from mothers well. If the topic ever comes up or threatens to, try to avoid it as much as possible. Be a vague about it, and…I can't believe I'm about to suggest this, but lie if you absolutely have to."

Eule groaned. "It's that bad?"

"It's that bad," Rost confirmed.

Eule sighed along with her lover.

"Well, better practice my best lying face then," Star quipped once more.

Eule could only groan to that.

"It's okay though," Äloy suddenly said, making Eule look down at her at long last. The little Gestalt girl wiped her eyes before looking up at Eule with the look of fiery determination she's come to expect from Äloy. "Even if the Matriarchs drive you out, we'll follow you."

"Aloy…," Rost began.

"We're outcasts, Rost! What else can they do to us that they haven't done already?" Äloy protested.

"A lot more than they could, honestly," Rost sighed.

Äloy's reply was to hug Eule and Star's legs even more tightly. "I don't care."

Eule ended up stroking Äloy's head to calm her down some more…hopefully. "Maybe we should talk about this some more after the High Matriarchs decide what to do with us tomorrow? It's not like we can do anything about their decision until they made it, after all," she pointed out.

"Yeah, and a nice hot bath will do wonders for our thinking ability anyways," Star also pointed out. "So let me go grab some more water…uh, Äloy? Do you think maybe you can let me go get that water?"

Alas, Äloy was firmly gripping Star's white lower leg along with Eule's equally as white lower leg. "Not until you're okay. Are you, Star?" the little Gestalt girl asked, eyes wide with concern.

Eule was sure that her lover's heart melted at that question. It certainly explained the soft smile Star gave Äloy and the additional gentle head-stroking she gave her. "I am, thanks to you. And now it's time for me to return the favor with some hot bathwater. So, are you with me?"

Äloy stared up at Star's blue eyes with her own green eyes for a long moment before nodding and finally letting go, wordlessly wrapping both arms now around Eule's leg, for which Eule felt no small amount of heart-melting warmth for.

Star grinned and gave Äloy a thumbs-up. "Be back in a flash!" she said before dashing off with pot in hand once more.

"Oh, you don't need to fill the bathtub up all the way!" Rost shouted after Star's receding form. "Just halfway is good enough! Otherwise it overflows!"

"Got it!" Star shouted back, her voice echoing off the mountains.

---

4 trips and a doused firebox later, the Carja portable bathtub was halfway full of steaming water. Rost dipped a finger into the bathwater to test it, and then took it out a moment later with a happy nod. "It's ready," he pronounced.

Eule cheered as she gave her lover a hug and a kiss for her efforts, for which Star was grinning like a fool for. The addition of Äloy hugging Star's leg on the opposite side from Eule likely contributed to that grin as well.

"We can all take a bath together!" Äloy cheered.

Eule started to nod in agreement, but then realized mid-nod that little Äloy was referring to everyone present, including Rost. She opened her mouth to try to convince the eager little Gestalt girl otherwise.

"Aloy, be reasonable," Rost said, causing Eule to sigh in relief that someone was being sensible about this. "That bathtub is far too small for all 5 of us to fit into it. You and I can only just barely fit in. There's no way Eu-le and Star can fit in as well."

Eule started to nod in agreement once more, and then again stopped mid-nod as Rost's words started to penetrate into her plastic-laced brain. Eule turned to stare at Rost in disbelief, with her noticing that Star was also giving him a look just as disbelieving.

"Wait, that's what you're worried about? That we don't all fit into it?" Star asked in shock.

Rost turned to Star with…a quizzical expression on his face? "Yes? That is the problem, is it not?" he asked with confusion perfectly evident in his voice.

Eule waved her arms like a windmill as she blushed. "Wait, wait, wait! What about propriety and, and…well, you're a man!" she blurted out.

Eule was further baffled by Rost's look of utter confusion. "Yes, I'm well aware of that. I don't understand–" He suddenly cut himself off as a look of realization dawned on his face. "Does your Eusan Nation tribe have a custom of men and women bathing separately?"

"Yours doesn't?!" Eule asked in shock, with Star echoing it in both word and tone.

Rost shook his head. "Our tribe has always had a custom of men and women bathing together, whether in the bathhouses or elsewhere, with the Banuk following the same custom. Honestly, it was only when I became acquainted with the Carja and Oseram did I learn some of the other tribes did not share this custom, and seem to be offended at the idea. I apologize then if I made you two uncomfortable."

Eule did in fact feel very uncomfortable by his implications, but his extremely contrite look did help calm her down. "It's alright. It's just that…I don't think I'll be able to use those Nora bathhouses then," she admitted.

"Yeah, me neither. At least all us Protektors were Replikas, so everyone using the same cleaning room didn't really matter," Star noted.

Eule blinked in surprise. "Isn't Adler male though?"

Star blinked right back at her in both surprise and realization. "Oh yeah, you're right…come to think of it actually, I've never seen him shower or take a bath. Did he just…not wash?"

Eule shuddered in disgust. "No, no, don't be ridiculous. He must have waited for a time when no one is using the cleaning room, or maybe he had a private shower in his quarters? I don't know, but I can't imagine Adler of all people not washing."

Star tilted her head in thought. "Yeah, now that you mention it, he didn't look unwashed, and he really didn't act like someone who wouldn't wash."

Eule grimaced. "All this talk of not washing is really making me want to take that wash. Maybe we could take turns?" she suggested.

"No," Rost said firmly, before continuing: "As the guests, you and Star have the right to take the first baths. I'll just be inside working on that War Bow. Hopefully to put the final touches on it."

Before Eule could even object, Rost strode over to his unfinished War Bow still lying on the table outside, and then strode into the house.

Eule grimaced at this. Rost hadn't exactly stomped back into the house, and more that he made a lot of determined footsteps. It seemed that he was adamant about this and had resolved to do this by virtue of simply bulling his way through the problem.

Then suddenly, the door to the house opened again, with Rost carrying a leather sack. "I almost forgot. Here's the soap for when you need it. It might even help remove the bloodstains on your gloves," he calmly explained before promptly ignoring Eule's questioning sounds and returning back into the house.

For a while, Eule was just left staring at the sack along with Star and Äloy. Out of curiosity, Eule opened it up and let everyone peek into the interior. Indeed, there was soap inside, but it was like no soap Eule had ever seen. It had a beautiful golden color, but instead of a bar, it was in a round, pie-like form. Complete with being cut into pie slice shapes.

"Mm-hmm, that's Rost's soap," Äloy noted. "He makes it in one of his pots out of boarfat and coil leaf ashes whenever we run low."

"Huh, so it's basically lard soap," Eule noted, taking a sniff. "It smells like honey."

Äloy nodded happily. "Yeah, he also likes to put honey in it because it's supposed to make you clean. It also makes it smell good."

Eule lifted the bag up for Star to take a sniff. "Huh, it does smell nice. Wonder what it'd be like to smell like honey?" Star mused.

Eule smiled, giggling at the thought of her lover smelling of something one normally associated with delicious desserts. "Guess we'll be finding that out soon, as well as if this soap works on bloodstains." Her smile softened. "Honestly, that Rost. He had noticed the bloodstains on my gloves this entire time, and he doesn't say a word before handing me a potential solution?"

Äloy grinned. "Yeah, Rost likes to do that. He doesn't say anything, but he helps you anyways."

Eule giggled. "I'm seriously starting to wonder if an Ara's uniform would better fit Rost with that kind of behavior."

Star didn't so much giggle as she did snicker. "Imagine him wearing that? Granted, it's not that much different from your uniform, but…"

"Well, there are a few subtle differences like the sleeves, but you have a point there. Honestly, he might even look dashing in an Ara uniform," Eule said with a wry smile, making her lover burst out into giggles that were soon joined by Eule's own giggles, which lasted for some time before Eule finally calmed down enough to say: "Come on, then. Let's see about that wash before the bathwater gets cold."

However, when Eule actually got to the bathtub, she felt strangely self-conscious. It was at that moment that she realized that she was essentially going to be stripping naked outside. Fortunately, the bathtub was placed in a secluded corner of the yard, between the fence and the side of the house that most certainly did not have any windows on it. Despite that though, Eule could feel a blush rising in her cheeks at the embarrassment of this.

"Uh, Eule? You okay?" Star asked, with her worry echoed by Äloy.

With her blush now fairly luminescent, Eule explained her worries to her lover and the little Gestalt girl who had firmly nested in her plastic-laced heart.

"Yeah…just try to keep your mind on how impossible it is for someone to be peeking on us right now halfway up a mountain," Star pointed out, before she started blushing as well. "And well, I do…you know, want to see you naked, Eule. You know?"

Eule was still blushing, but now it was for a different reason. "If…if you really want to, then I guess I'll do it," she replied, feeling a faint but familiar heat in the pit of her abdomen that threatened to spread to her crotch.

"Why do you want to see Eu-le naked, Star?" Äloy asked curiously.

Both Eule and Star jumped at that. They had been so involved in their flirting that they'd forgotten that little Äloy was literally standing right there.

Still blushing, Eule stammered as she tried to formulate a coherent reply to Äloy's innocent question coming out of her very much innocent mouth. After several failed attempts though, what came out was: "I'm just going to take a bath now!"

Eule ended up stripping very quickly. The fastest she'd ever done so, in her opinion, taking care to fold everything into a neat bundle and place it on the table Star had so thoughtfully carried over along with the sack of soap, before finally and carefully popping her favorite garrison cap off and place it on top of the clothing pile before climbing into the bathtub. Eule's mechanical feet and legs were the first to enter it, her thermometric sensors there registering the heated water and informing her of its exact temperature before the rest of her followed.

The moment Eule sat herself down in the bathtub, she realized something: she had been very, very, VERY much desiring a hot bath like this. It hadn't occurred to her with everything that'd been happening, but days of not washing anything more than her hands and her face had left her feeling more than a bit…icky. Not only that, but the hot water was also doing wonders for her stress levels. She could practically feel both her accumulated grime and her stress melt away into the water, which was even nearly at shoulder level despite how small the portable bathtub had looked. She was even able to dunk her head in, briefly submerging herself by lifting her bird-like legs out of the bathtub before pushing herself back up with a gasp of pure happiness at how wonderful this bath was.

"Some soap for your pleasure, dear?" Star asked as she held out a pie-slice of Rost's soap.

"Why, thank you. You're too kind, love," Eule replied as she delicately took that soap.

The soap turned out to be on the strong side, but its sweet honey scent more than made up for it. In fact, the strength of the soap may be a boon here, making it easier to get the grime off of her biocomponent skin. Soon, Eule felt clean enough to hand the soap back to Star, washing the soap off in the water before relaxing in it, feeling her stress melt away into the hot bathwater.

Which wasn't interrupted by little Äloy staring intensely at her the entire time.

"Umm, did you need something, Äloy?" Eule asked the little Gestalt girl, who was now very much at eye level or as close as Eule could get, in a perplexed tone at the intense focus she was being given.

"Your shell is all over your back," Äloy breathed in a tone full of wonder and delight.

Eule smiled at Äloy's ever-present curiosity. "Indeed, it is."

"It's more scaly than even the shell on your face," Äloy continued.

"It is the thickest on my back, after all," Eule explained.

Eule giggled as Äloy, eyes wide with eager curiosity, asked: "Can I touch it?"

Eule's reply amidst her giggles was a happily said "Go ahead."

The thickness of Eule's back shell was such that she couldn't really feel much unless it was from a heavy impact like that rock that Bast boy had thrown. Still, she could just manage to feel the faint sensations of Äloy's tiny fingers feeling her back shell if she concentrated. She wondered if this was similar to how one of the long-extinct crocodiles from the nature documentaries she's watched with Star felt when something touched the thick scales on its back. It was a strange comparison, admittedly, but it was the closest Eule could think of.

"Ohhh, no wonder Star wanted to see you naked," Äloy noted. Eule's blush made a grand return, and she turned to give the little Gestalt girl a look that was as puzzled as it was embarrassed, only for Äloy to continue: "Your shell is so interesting. Anyone would want to see you naked."

As Star started laughing in the background, Eule sighed in relief. "Yes, I suppose so," was all she could say to that.

Suddenly though, Äloy was the one who looked embarrassed. "Umm, actually, can I ask you something, Eu-le?" When Eule made a questioning noise and gave her a smile of encouragement, Äloy asked: "Can I take a bath with you? I know I said I wanted to take a bath with you, but then I remembered that I didn't actually ask you. So…can I? Please?"

Eule would've immediately said "Yes" to that even if Äloy hadn't given her the most adorable pleading look the Simple Universal Light Replika had ever seen. As it was, she could practically feel her plastic-laced heart melting from the assault of cuteness coming from the little Gestalt girl. It was almost unfair, really.

"Of course you can, Äloy," Eule replied eagerly. "In fact, I'll leave it as a standing offer, so you can take a bath with me whenever you want."

Äloy gave Eule a look of amazement, and then cheered with a loud whoop before immediately disrobing.

As Eule expected though, Äloy was not a neat disrober. She practically threw her clothing away as she took each article off, leaving a horribly messy pile of animal skin clothing tossed right next to Eule's neat, folded pile–with only her feathered headband and treasured blue scarf being left on top of the pile with some modicum of care–before she clambered into the bathtub in front of Eule, again, like that long-extinct monkey.

Indeed, the sight of Äloy sighing in pleasure as she was submerged in the steaming bathwater up to her chin while sitting more or less on top of Eule's mechanical legs reminded Eule of those hot spring monkeys from one of Star's nature documentaries. She couldn't remember off the top of her head what those specific monkeys were called and where they lived on Vineta. All she could remember was the bittersweet emotions she felt at seeing these beautiful animals that have long since passed from Vineta, and by extension the universe, relaxing on the television screen, as if they had returned from the dead for Eule's and Star's entertainment for the brief minutes of that video cassette's runtime.

Fortunately, Äloy was a far cry from those extinct monkeys, and more importantly, was right here in front of Eule.

"Feeling comfy?" Eule asked the little Gestalt girl with a smile.

Said little Gestalt girl merely gave a satisfied "Mm-hmm.", with her eyes closed in a look of pure bliss.

"So you normally take a bath like this with Rost, kid?" Star asked with her chin resting on the edge of the bathtub.

Äloy gave yet another "Mm-hmm" in reply, apparently not feeling like whole words at the moment.

"Do you take baths with him often?" Eule asked in turn.

"Nah," Äloy finally said in a change, before continuing her whole words with: "We usually only take a hot bath like this maybe…6 or 7 times a season? It's too much work to bring all that water up from Searcher's Course to take baths a lot. Rost said I'm too little to help right now, so I can't help him carry the water, or else we could take hot baths more often. Oh, but we take cold baths in Searcher's Course more often, so we don't get too icky, but we can only do that in the spring and summer. Fall and winter are too cold for that, so we can't take baths that much then."

Eule nodded in sympathy as she saw the sense in Äloy's logic. The thought of only being able to bathe…about once every 2 weeks or so in fall and winter sounded to Eule more like torture than anything else, but alas, that was the consequences of a lack of heated running water and plumbing.

"But…I'm glad I get to take a bath with more people," Äloy said. "Whenever Rost talks about how the Nora all take baths together, I feel like they're all leaving me out of the fun."

Eule noted the despondency in Äloy's voice, and thought deeply about what Äloy said. Just how long had this adorable, lovable, and clever little Gestalt girl been watching her people from a distance, wondering why they wouldn't let her join them in anything? All because of being made outcast for reasons no one could or would tell her?

It made Eule want to give Äloy a comforting hug and never let go. She gladly accommodated that desire, embracing Äloy and holding her to her chest.

"Äloy, I don't know if Star and I can convince the High Matriarchs to let us stay here in the Embrace, but I know we're going to try our best," Eule insisted, her red pupils burning with their own fiery determination within their blue artificial irises. "I swear to the Red Eye on this."

Eule watched as Star's hand reached over and gave Äloy's flame-red hair gentle pats. "I'll swear to the Red Eye on that too. Don't know if it can hear me here, but I'm going to be pretty insistent to those High Matriarchs even if it can't."

Äloy looked back and forth between Eule and Star before reaching up to pull down Star's hand, and hugging that black robotic hand to her with the same affection as she was nuzzling herself into Eule's chest. "Okay," the little Gestalt girl simply said, sounding confident that was enough to convince the High Matriarchs already.

The three of them stayed like that for a while, just feeling each other's warmth and love amidst the steaming water of that Carja portable bathtub.

It was Äloy who finally broke the comforting silence with a declaration to Eule of: "You're soft."

"…Huh?" Eule could only ask.

"Your chest is big and soft. Rost's chest is flat and hard," Äloy idly noted, before looking down at her own chest. "Is my chest going to get that big too when I grow up?"

As Eule struggled to answer that in a way that's even remotely appropriate, Star piped up with: "Well, you can hope for it. Maybe ask that All-Mother of yours to give you a pair that big?"

"I don't think All-Mother would hear that kind of prayer…would she?" Äloy asked as she looked hopefully at Star.

Star shrugged. "You never know. It doesn't hurt to try, does it?"

Äloy grinned and nodded happily. "Yeah, you're right! So umm…All-Mother, if you're listening, maybe you can give me a chest as big as Eu-le's? Please?"

At first, Eule was going to admonish Star for bringing up something like this with a child, but now she was struggling to keep from giggling at Äloy's adorably earnest prayer.

"Out of curiosity," Eule said once she was able to control herself. "Why do you want to have a…chest like mine's?"

"So I can sit in the bathtub and put Ms. Ducky on it," Äloy said, completely mystifying Eule as the little Gestalt girl suddenly had a look of realization on her face. "Oh! I forgot! Be right back!"

Before Eule could stop her, Äloy leapt out of the bathtub and dashed back into the house. All while completely forgetting that clothes were a thing.

"Ummm…" Eule attempted to say after Äloy in the wake of her absence.

"I guess it's okay since she's taken a bath with Rost before?" Star half-asked.

"I…guess?" Eule half-asked in return, feeling just as unsure as her lover was.

Several moments passed by, with Äloy nowhere in sight.

"So…," Star began. "Do you think we have time to–"

Whatever Star had been about to suggest was interrupted by Äloy slamming the house's front door open. "Got it!" she yelled before dashing back, clambering back into the bathtub, and then plopping something into the water in front of her for the Replikas to examine.

As it turned out, the thing bobbing in the bathwater in front of Eule was a small wooden sculpture of a duck. It wasn't a realistic duck though. It was an uncolored piece of carved wood, with the suggestion of a billed head and vaguely oval-shaped body to hint at it being a duck. And yet, despite that, Eule could not have described it as anything but a duck. It was the most peculiar thing, but Eule did know one thing: it was impossibly adorable.

"Isn't it?!" Äloy replied excitedly upon hearing Eule and even Star express just how cute the wooden duck toy. "This is Ms. Duck. I named it myself. Rost made it for me a few seasons ago to play with in the bath. He said that this is how the Nora carve wooden things like the Charger head he put on top of the house, and that he wanted to show me it since I couldn't go to where the tribe normally puts them. He also said that the tribe usually makes these wooden things to look like Machines, but he made Ms. Duck to look like a flesh and blood beast for once."

Eule could see why. Äloy was his little girl, after all, and he had clearly put so much effort and care into this little duck figurine. Rost may not look like it to a casual observer, but he clearly had a heart as big as he was.

"So out of curiosity, what sort of games do you play with Ms. Duck in the bath?" Star asked with a smile.

"Hmm, whatever I want, I guess," Äloy replied happily. "Sometimes I just like to make Ms. Duck swim like this."

"This" turned out to be Äloy giving Ms. Duck a push. Ms. Duck sailed across the surface of the bathwater with all the grace of a small wooden duck figurine given a shove by a small child. Thus, Ms. Duck ended up on a collision course with Eule. Specifically: her left breast, upon which Ms. Duck bounced off like a child on a trampoline.

"Eep!" Eule squeaked from the sensation, instinctively covering the offended breast.

"Ooh," Äloy could only say in reply to that, before continuing: "That's what big chests are for."

"Äloy, breasts aren't for bouncing small toys off of!" Eule continued to squeak.

"No, Äloy, they're not," Star agreed. Eule thought her lover was making sense, right up until Star continued with: "They're for your mate to grab, hug, and do all sorts of fun things with–"

"Staaar," Eule said, making her "mate" jump with a sheepish grin on her face as she faced Eule's very polite smile once more. "No lewd talk in front of Äloy, understood?"

Star nodded very rapidly. "Understood," she replied just as sheepishly as she looked, before looking at Eule hopefully and asking: "Maybe I could wash your hair and scrub your back as an apology? And also as a way to test out that soap?"

Eule continued to give Star a polite smile for a few moments longer before finally softening her smile. "I would like that very much, Star." Smiling warmly at a relieved Star for a moment, she then turned to Äloy. "Would you like me to wash your hair for you too?"

"Nooo. I can wash it…myself…later," Äloy insisted in a suspiciously hesitant manner, avoiding looking Eule in the eye.

Eule looked at Äloy with a mix of curiosity and amusement. It was the first time she'd ever seen Äloy attempt to lie to her face, and it would appear that the clever little Gestalt girl was as bad at lying as much as she hated being lied to.

"Do you not like having your hair washed?" Eule guessed.

Äloy continued avoiding looking Eule in the air. "I don't like it when soap gets in my eyes," she muttered.

Eule smiled reassuringly at Äloy. "I am a Eule. I was built for dexterous work, which hair-washing definitely falls under. So trust me when I say that I will not get any soap into your eyes, okay?" She waggled her black robotic fingers at Äloy for emphasis.

Äloy looked Eule in the eye at last for a good several moments before finally nodding. "Okay," she said before turning around and sitting in Eule's lap.

While Star was busy lathering up Eule's black plastic-laced hair with the honey-infused lard soap Rost brought (which indeed smelled wonderful), Eule did the same to Äloy's flame-red fully organic hair. As she did so, Eule watched as Äloy busied herself with Ms. Duck. It turned out to be quite a fascinating diversion.

"Oh no, watch out, Ms. Duck! There's a Snapmaw in the water! Fly away or it'll eat you!" Äloy said in a high-pitched falsetto as she formed a mouth with one hand that gnashed in the water, slowly moving towards the bobbing duck figurine. Äloy's other hand then formed into a person figure on the edge of the bathtub. "Don't be afraid, Ms. Duck! Aloy is here to save you! I'll stab that Snapmaw to death with my trusty spear!" With that said, "Äloy" leapt from the edge of the bathtub, morphing into a point formed by her index finger midair, and thrusted her "spear" into the top of the "Snapmaw". The water in front of Äloy splashed around for a while as "Äloy" and the "Snapmaw" presumably struggled in there in a battle of life and death.

"Okay, Äloy. Now dunk your head in the water so that I can wash the soap off, okay?" Eule asked.

Even while Äloy complied, she never stopped splashing the water in front of her.

"Stop thrashing, Äloy! You're making it hard for me to get the soap out of your hair!" Eule said with a laugh. Äloy toned down the splashing just long enough for Eule to finally wash the last of the soap out of Äloy's hair. "Okay, up you go now."

Äloy did just that, and then proceeded to shake her head like a dog, sending water flying everywhere, including into a Eule's and a Star's face that were squealing and protesting with laughter and giggles at the sudden deluge.

"And Aloy has won!" Äloy said triumphantly, with one hand now resting palm-up on the surface of the water and her other hand now teleported back to the edge of the bathtub, "standing" victoriously over her "kill". With Ms. Duck continuing to bob gently in the hot water as if nothing had happened.

"Okay, your turn now, love," Star said.

Eule proceeded to mimic Äloy by dunking her hair into the bathwater, and allowing Star to rinse the sweet-smelling soap out of her hair. All while looking into her lover's upside-down face. Star smiled at her, and then leaned down to give her a kiss on the nose, earning a giggle from Eule.

"You two are so kissy-kissy," Äloy noted with a smile of her own.

"We are indeed kissy-kissy," Eule noted back with her own smile.

"Very kissy-kissy," Star noted as well, sharing a smile with her lover.

The three of them broke out into giggles as Star finally finished washing Eule's hair. Eule sat back up and gently squeezed the water out of her hair, hopefully teaching Äloy that perhaps, this might be a more polite way to get the water out of one's own hair.

It was only when Eule wanted to get out of the bathtub though that she suddenly realized that she had no way to dry herself off.

"Oh, I forgot that too!" Äloy said when Eule asked her where the towels were. "I'll go get them!"

Once more, Äloy ran off back into the house, and once more forgetting that she was completely naked as well.

"I get the feeling that this is going to be the norm for her," Star noted wryly.

"Well, she is a kindergartener, after all," Eule noted with her own exasperated smile.

A scant few moments later, Äloy returned carrying not only a trio of dry cloth towels, but also piles of animal skin and cloth clothing.

"Rost said to wear these while he washes your clothes later," Äloy explained as she set the pile down on the table, pulling out a towel for herself while holding out another for Eule. "He says they should fit you two, though he says 'sorry' about the leggings. He still doesn't know how to make leggings that fit your weird legs."

"That's okay," Eule consoled as she climbed out of the bathtub to take that offered towel from Äloy. "Considering that your tribe have never heard of a Replika before in their lives, I would be very surprised if you do have leggings that fit our legs."

A toweling session plus some clothes-wearing later, Eule felt like a brand new Replika. Even while wearing Nora-style animal skin and cloth clothing instead of her Eusan Nation-issue Eule uniform. She had to admit though: while she still had no idea which animal(s) her clothing came from or even how the Nora make their cloth, it was quite soft and comfortable.

In fact, in many ways Eule hesitated to voice aloud, she felt the Nora clothes were more comfortable than her uniform, and more modest. The short shorts that Eule wore as part of her uniform has always made her a bit uncomfortable, but it had been a worry that she'd put out of her mind to get on with her job. Now that she was wearing these soft animal skin hose that went all the way down to the ankles of her peg-like feet, she was acutely aware of the differences between these Nora clothes and her uniform.

The only thing she would complain about would be the lack of, um, undergarments included with the clothing, but considering that there were no adult women around, it made sense that Rost wouldn't have any such undergarments on hand…if the Nora even had such things as bras and panties to begin with. She was grateful for the cloth…bodice, was the best she could describe the cloth wrapped around her body over the cloth shirt from chest to hip and secured by a leather belt, and the leather apron-like piece of clothing over that in turn. It kept certain parts of her anatomy from being visible to others, even despite the lack of undergarments.

Putting that minor worry aside though, Eule bowed to Star in the manner of a maid. "Your bath is now ready, my lady."

Star also bowed just as gracefully to Eule. "I thank you for preparing the bath, my lady."

After some more giggles between them, Eule had the pleasure of watching Star disrobe completely (with her eyes lingering on Star's adorable chest and rear chassis) before she gracefully stepped into the bathtub and sat down in it with a sigh.

"Yeah, that hits the spot," Star moaned in a tone that involuntarily made Eule warm up in some very intimate places. "This is way more comfy than that shallow bath in the cleaning room."

"Ah, yes, I remember that," Eule said in a reminiscent tone, and not in a fond way.

"Ooh, what was that bath like?" Äloy asked in a very curious tone.

"Not as great as what you're thinking, kid," Star replied with Rost-like dryness.

"Imagine a bath built into a tiled floor that's just big enough for…6 people to fit in if they don't mind being squeezed shoulder to shoulder with the other bathers, and so shallow that it only goes up to your umbilical port, er, navel when you sit down in it," Eule explained.

Äloy made an uncomfortable face that was surely as uncomfortable as face Eule made every time she had to use that bath in Sierpinski's cleaning room. "That doesn't sound good," the little Gestalt girl said after a moment of imagining.

"It wasn't, really," Eule admitted. "But it was either that or no bath at all, so everyone just put up with it."

"If Rost was there, he'd have just dug the bath deeper," Äloy pointed out.

"That…might've been problematic for the Aras to accomplish," Eule noted as her mind imagined Sierpinski's Ara cadre standing next to the bath with pickaxe, shovels, and drills in hand.

Star merely giggled. "Yeah, imagine the room below the cleaning room suddenly finding part of the ceiling a bit shorter than before after the Aras were done?" the Security Technician Guard Replika posited with more giggles mixed in. "What was below the cleaning room again?"

"Our piano room," Eule replied, receiving an "Oh" from Star. Eule did smile at her lover as she continued: "And for that matter, we Eules would've gladly traded a bit of ceiling space if the tradeoff was a deeper bath."

"Then why didn't you?" Äloy asked, even more curious than before.

"Probably due to some building code violation if the Aras did that," Star replied. "Although probably the answer from the higher-ups would've been it would be a waste of resources or some other shit just to make the bath a bit deeper."

Äloy frowned. "That's stupid. You're just making the bath a little deeper. It's not like you're throwing away something important."

Star reached up from the bathwater, shaking off some of the water lingering on her black robotic hand beforehand, and gave Äloy some gentle head pats. "I do believe our Äloy is a lot smarter than all of Rotfront's government combined."

Eule joined Star in the Äloy head-patting. "I do believe you might be right, love," she said with a giggle.

As for Äloy herself? She seemed to be basking in the attention, beaming brightly at Star and Eule in turn.

Suddenly though, Äloy had a shocked look on her face. "Oh no! I wanted to take a bath with you too, Star, but I forgot!" The little Gestalt girl looked genuinely dismayed by her inability to share a bathtub with Star as she stared down at the ground.

"It's okay, kid! Really!" Star said quickly, apparently just as distressed by seeing Äloy sad as Eule was. "We can save the bath for next time! After tomorrow, okay?!"

Äloy looked up at Star. "You promise?"

"I swear on the Red Eye, and that's as high as Eule and I can swear," Star promised.

Äloy's grin was a relief to both Eule and Star. "It's a promise, then!"

---

Some hair-washing of Star by Eule (including an upside-down kiss on the lips that Eule couldn't resist giving, much to Äloy's continued fascination), toweling dry of Star, dressing up in Nora clothes by Star (and Eule had to admit, her lover looked quite fetching in these Nora clothes), getting back into the house for all 3 of them, and then some mountainous insistence from Rost that he will indeed do the laundry (and try to get those bloodstains out of Eule's gloves) later, Eule and Star were sitting on Rost's bed side by side, all warm and comfy by the fireplace as Äloy scrambled up the ladder to her "bedroom" upstairs.

"Night, Eu-le! Star!" Äloy called out just before disappearing upstairs. Then she suddenly peeked out from the second floor. "And don't worry about tomorrow. It'll be okay. You'll see," the adorable little Gestalt girl insisted before ducking back out of sight.

"Guess we should be getting to bed too," Star said in the wake of that, smiling up at where Äloy had been. "Big day tomorrow and all."

"Very big day tomorrow indeed," Eule agreed with a soft laugh.

Eule was soon nestled up against her lover in bed, covered by the fox skin blanket that Eule initially found a bit disturbing, but now was rapidly coming to associate it with comfort. It wasn't a hard transition either. Fox fur was very soft and fluffy, after all.

As she laid with Star in bed though, Eule had a thought intrude in on her.

"Star?" Eule asked.

"Mmm?" was Star's questioning reply.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah? I am? Why?"

"Well, you were acting a bit odd this morning after your nightmare, and a bit after that. Was your nightmare that bad?" Eule asked in a slightly worried tone.

Eule instantly felt her lover stiffening up, before she immediately felt Star force herself to relax. "It's nothing," Star insisted. "Just a stupid nightmare from Sierpinski. Nothing more."

Eule looked curiously into Star's face. She could tell that Star…wasn't lying exactly, but she felt that Star wasn't telling her the whole truth. She couldn't exactly place how she knew that, but that's what she felt. "Is it something…you're not comfortable telling me?" she asked.

Star's glance away to avoid eye contact told Eule that she'd pressed the right button there. "It's…" Star trailed off, before sighing. "It's not something we can talk about right now. Not when we have that trial thing going on with the High Matriarchs tomorrow. I'd just…get you worried over something that's in the past now."

Eule gently embraced her lover, feeling her warm biocomponent body both in her robotic arms and in her own biocomponent body. "Star, you can talk to me about anything. I promise I won't judge you. I'll only listen and offer a kind ear to be talked to. I swear on the Red Eye."

Star finally looked her in the eye. "Promise?"

Eule nodded. "I did swear so, did I not?" she replied lightheartedly.

Star looked down towards their intertwined white robotic legs for a moment before looking Eule in the eye again. "Then…I swear on the Red Eye that, no matter what happens tomorrow, afterwards, I'll talk to you about my nightmare…and what happened in Sierpinski that caused it."

Eule gave Star a reassuring kiss. "I accept that promise, just as you hopefully accept mine's."

Star laughed softly. "It's a deal then," she said with a familiar grin, to Eule's relief.

"Ooh, can I swear on the All-Mother to listen to that story too?"

Eule once more practically jumped out of her biocomponent skin as she turned around in bed to see little Äloy crouched there, listening intently to everything she and Star had been saying. It seemed that Rost had taught Äloy very well in the sneaking department. Eule hadn't heard a single step, and judging from Star's massive twitch upon hearing Äloy's voice, she hadn't heard a thing as well.

"Äloy? Uh, do you need something?" Eule asked, trying to keep her plastic-laced heart from trying to beat its way out of her carbon steel ribs.

"Umm." Äloy looked down at the floor for a moment before looking Eule in the eye. "Do you two need me to help you sleep better? I can sleep with you again if you want. I was going to say that it's so maybe Eu-le doesn't get nightmares, but I think you might need not having nightmares more after I heard that, Star. So…do you?"

Äloy's pleading look once more melted Eule's plastic-laced heart. She would've happily agreed to it, had Star not beaten her to it.

"Sure, kid," Star said, pulling open the fox skin blanket as an invitation. "I could use some more anti-nightmare protection right now, really."

Without waiting for further invitation, Äloy practically dove into the open spot and snuggled herself in between Eule and Star, taking their adjacent robotic arms and hugging them both to herself and each other. "Okay then! Good night, Eu-le and Star!" she said before closing her eyes, happy to be sharing the warmth of a pair of Replikas.

Within seconds, Äloy was already softly snoring, much to Eule and Star's mutual amusement.

"Good night, dear," Eule said quietly, snuggling into Äloy in turn as she linked hands with Star.

"Good night, love," Star replied, doing the same, and closing her eyes amidst the warmth of her lover and an adorable little Gestalt girl as a bonus.

With a smile, Eule closed her eyes as well, and once again delved into the world of dreams.

---

In her dreams, Eule suddenly found herself standing in a stage floor. Judging by the draped banners in black, red, and gold and emblazoned with a hammer and compass wreathed by a trio of white stars and a wreath of wheat adorning the walls; she was in a Eusan Nation theater somewhere, although she didn't recognize the venue.

The seats though, which looked as though they normally could hold thousands, was instead occupied by only 3 people at the moment. She could see Teersa's smiling form in one of the seat, but the other 2 seats had female figures cloaked in Nora clothes and shadows. The central shadowy Nora figure motioned for Eule to begin.

Thus, Eule began dancing the ballet. As she did so, she realized several things:

Star was on the side of the stage, doing a one-Replika concert to supply the music for the dance, of all things.

Eule herself was wearing a lovely white ballerina outfit she would have liked to have worn, but was sure she had never worn before in her life.

But finally and most oddly, as her own hands passed by her vision over the course of the performance, Eule was shocked to see that said hands were biocomponents instead of the familiar robotic hands, gloved or otherwise, she was used to. She was confused at first, wondering if she had gotten some kind of bizarre upgrade for this dream, before she wondered if this was her Gestalt template's body.

Eule was sure this could not have been an actual memory from her previous life, not unless Teersa and the other Nora had somehow managed to get to the Eusan Nation without anyone noticing. The only conclusion she could come to was that this was somehow a bizarre melding of her Gestalt template's memories combined with an actual dream by her present self. She had no time to worry about the philosophical ramifications of this though. For now, she could only concentrate on dancing at her finest, hoping to impress the High Matriarchs with her performance.

When the dance and music had concluded, Teersa gave an ecstatic encore at Eule's gracious bow. The other High Matriarchs though were not doing anything of the sort, to Eule's dismay. To her further distress, the shadowed Nora women both raised shadowed fingers and pointed them at Eule and Star.

"Get out!" the other High Matriarchs screamed in distorted voices. "We don't want you here, polluting our Sacred Lands with your outsider filth! Get out, or we'll kill you both!"

Before Eule could protest the decision or even process her dismay, the shadowed High Matriarchs reached out with hands that now grew impossibly large. Their faces were suddenly lit up by glowing red eyes, and their screams of rage turned into screeches. Inhuman screeches that came out of suddenly skeletal mouths that sounded just like screeches made by the things that used to be Eule and Star's sisters.

Before Eule herself could even scream, the shadowed hands swallowed her and her lover up in darkness.

Suddenly, Eule was walking towards opened wooden gates, held open by a pair of angry-looking Nora Braves who both looked suspiciously like Teb's father. Star was by her side, with a look of disappointment on her face.

"Wait! Don't go! Please!"

Eule looked back to see little Äloy, her face streaked with tears, as Rost gently but firmly held her back, his own craggy face frowning in sadness.

Eule could only give a sad smile at them. "I'm sorry," she could only say before she stepped through the gate and left the Embrace.

Eule knew that wherever she went, Star would be with her always.

But where she was going now, Äloy and Rost would not be there.

This was a future Eule was determined to not allow to come to pass.