#avad x ersa

[sorbetowl]

Leave your titles by the door

My contribution to the Rare Pair Roundup event held by the @everybodylovesaloy server. These two deserved some appreciation. 🧡

Bonus:

Sneaking out of the Sun-King's private chambers undetected afterward can be tricky. Aldur keeps getting exposed to the love lives of his Captains against his will.

[steelsartcorner]

Art Practice of The Day: Meme Time

(so like. Avad totally did Ersa’s carja noblewoman makeup before the escape right? I mean it’s not super likely that she did it ….)

bonus oblivious Erend telling this totally hilarious, whacky, and definitely platonic story about his king and sister to Aloy

[horizon-of-fel]

Ao3 Fanfics

With the encouragement of a few friends, I have decided to start posting here on Tumblr my Ao3 Horizon fandom stories that I write. I'm fairly new to these parts, so please let me know if you see any way I can improve how I put these up. I also would love to hear from you guys so feel free to send me any Asks or messages!

My Works

Stories in Progress:

Road to Mainspring - Aloy/Erend In the weeks after the Battle of the Alight, Aloy is recruited to escort Dervahl to Mainspring with Erend Vanguardsman - a journey neither of them expected to go the way it did. Set after Zero Dawn, before Forbidden West. Rating: Mature/Explicit (for eventual smut)

Blood and Sandstone - Aloy AU re: Carja Red Raids An alternate narrative following the 'what if' of Aloy being kidnapped during the Red Raids for the Sun Ring instead of living her life peacefully in the Embrace, and what her life might've been like during that time. Features: Ersa, Erend (eventual Ereloy), Rost, Helis, Avad, Jiran and so many others... Rating: Mature/Explicit (for dark themes, violence, eventual smut)

Echoes of Enduring Hearts - Aloy/Avad Aloy and Avad navigate a complicated relationship before and after the events of Horizon: Forbidden West. Rating: Teen and Up (for now, who knows, will update if it changes)

Completed Stories and One-Shots:

A Breath of Fresh Air - Aloy/Kotallo (maybe completed, tbd) Set just before heading to the mission to the GEMINI cauldron. Kotallo notices Aloy getting antsy being cooped up in the base as they wait for Beta to prepare herself for the merge and finish the 'rig', so he invites her for an outdoor excursion. Rating: Teen and Up

Embers of the Past - Aloy/Erend Prompt for two minutes Oseramtober 2023 - "Ember" Aloy takes a friend's advice for some downtime and ends up coming face to face with a messy part of her and Erend's past. Will they be able to finally move past it or will it burn everything they'd built to embers and ash? Rating: Teen and Up

[alexxxaloy]

This drawing is perfection! The expressions, the details of the outfits, the subject itself... LOVE IT!

You never told me exactly how your sister escaped the Mad Sun-King.

[strangefable]

WIP Poll - tagged by @adelaidedrubman, @inafieldofdaisies, @direwombat, and @jillvalentinesday, thank you lovelies <3 <3 <3

Rules: Make a 24-hour poll with the names of your wips, let it run, then write one sentence for every vote the winner received.

i have considerably more wips than i could include here, so this is just a random selection tbh

passing some (no pressure) tags along: @thisisrigged4, @voidika, @v0idbuggy, @marivenah, @dumbassdep, @wrathfulrook, @cassietrn, @josephseedismyfather, @mars-colony, @foibles-fables, @poisonedtruth, @trench-rot, @shallow-gravy, @florbelles, @unholymilf, @chazz-anova, @aceghosts, @gayafsatan, @henbased, @funkypoacher, @socially-awkward-skeleton, @incognito-insomniac, @roofgeese, @turbo-virgins, @legally-a-bastard, @strafethesesinners, @vampireninjabunnies-blog, @peppertheferalraccoon, @confidentandgood, @the-lastcall, @clonesupport, @fourlittleseedlings, @kittiofdoom, @g0dspeeed, @theelderhazelnut, and anyone else i've still managed to forget <3

[goldmolamola]

some hfw sketches

[all-pacas]

my one wish for the liberation comic is that, since erend is the one narrating, at one point he goes “by now, ersa and avad were pretty good platonic friends,” and the panel just straight up shows them making out

[wildflowerbloom]

I just remembered that fic and i reread what i wrote. And i absolutly love it. I will finish this. I have spend to many precious hours writing this damn thing.

So now i am acountable. I will post this is less then 48 hours. Mark my word tumblr void. Mark my word. (Also again if anyone could just check if my english makes sense that would be great)

Just a question i kinda want to throw into the horizon fandom void:

I wrote a fanfic about Avad griefing Ersa and getting a tattoo in the end. I had this idea way back in october (yes part of the horizon month i was super lazy while writibg this) and have finally found the spirit to finish it.

Is there anyone out there who would beta read it?

Normaly i do not care that much but this became important to me over the last few months.

[justahorizonsideblog]

Sims List & Households:

Households in World:

Sobecks: Aloy, Beta, Elisabet

Love interests: Talanah, Regalla, Petra, Varga, Ikrie

HFW Base Crew: Varl, Zo, Kotallo, Alva, Erend, Sylens, Gaia, Tilda

HFW & Love Interests Fam: Sona, Vala, Rost, Burgrend, Ersa

Old Ones: Travis Tate, Charles Ronson, Samina Ebadji, Patrick Brochard-Klein, Margo Shĕn

Banuk - Aratak's Werak: Aratak, Ourea, Cyan, Sekuli, Naltuk

Banuk: Tulemak, Tatai, Urkai, Inatut, Laulai, Aluki, Enjuk

Carja: Avad, Fashav, Marad, Vanasha, Uthid, Nil

Nora: Teersa, Lansra, Jezza, Grata, Nakoa, Yan, Bast, Teb

Oseram: Delah, Boomer, Beladga, Jorgriz, Stemmur, Morlund, Abadund

Quen: Bohai, Harriem, Kristia

Tenakth - Leadership: Hekerro, Atekka, Dekka, Yarra, Jetakka, Drakka, Tekotteh, Gerrah

Tenakth: Ivvira, Sokorra, Penttoh, Jekkah, Wekatta, Rokko

Utaru: Fane, Milu, Yef, Jaxx, Korreh

The Bad Guys: Ted Faro, Helis, Dervahl, Ceo, Gerard Bieri, Erik Visser, Nemisis

The Sorta Bad Guys: Hades, Hephaestus, Resh, Ulvund

Households in My Households: (May add later to world)

Carja - Extras: Janeva, Queen Nasadi, Itamen, Three-Toe Huadiv, Amadis, Namman

Nora - Extras: Karst, Solai

Oseram - Extras: Olin, Enasha, Olin's Son, Milduf, Gildun

To Murder (or not?): Miriam, Jiran, Fashav's Mother, Nakoa's Father, Kadaman

~

Relationships: Planned (to play out ingame)

Aloy × Talanah (Planned)

Beta x Regalla (Planned)

Elisabet x Petra (Planned)

Varga x Ikrie (Planned)

Morlund x Abadund (Planned)

Penttoh x Rokko (Planned)

Relationships: Undecided

Avad x Ersa or Avad x Amadis (Maybe)

Cyan x Gaia or Cyan x Ourea (Maybe)

Relationships: Set Up (In CAS)

Varl x Zo (Engaged)

Vanasha x Uthid (Engaged)

Beladga x Jorgriz (Engaged)

Queen Nasadi x Jiran (Married)

Olin x Enasha (Married)

~

Notes:

Total Sims: 110 (Added Kadaman)

Time: 51 Hours

Households: 20

Households: I was gonna mod the game so I could have more then 8 sims in a household till I realized that required me remembering to not go into CAS so I had to reorganize because I cannot be trusted. The house holds are a bit lop sided because I wanted their to be a theme to their togetherness.

Charcaters Selected: I bascially choose charcaters I liked, were iconic, or I thought would be interesting to interact. I started with a list of 133 then slimmed it down to like 80... then slowly increased to 109. To be fair the 7 were very easy to do cause I could do what I want (AI’s, Parents, etc.). The outfits were the hardest part and after like sim 60ish I gave up doing unqiue outfits for all events so I focused on their main outfit and pruning the random clothing the game gave them. I wanted to fill a world with Horizon sims so that's why I went Ham.

Family Connection: Every family connection is correct except Rost and Aloy but I might use MCCC to correct that. Thats’ why I had to make Jiran, Fashav's Mother, Nakoa's Father because you can’t just make cousins/aunts/etc. in CAS. I made Miriam because I planned to murder her along with others to make a more interesting family tree instead of the blank image till I felt bad. I also made Stemmur Morlund’s dad..... cause I could (I recogize its not canon but he seems like a adopted dad kinda thing).

Relationships: I like rare ships and Beta x Regalla has been on my mind since I saw a post hinting at that. The planned stuff is also not fully set in stone though because I do love almost every ship, just some are more my favs (The gay ships mostly).

Future: I gonna start posting all the Sims and the CC I used in a few days along with the houses I have been making (so far I have made 10 out of 16 houses over 98ish hours).

[meggannn]

hfw story trailer thoughts/theories

things i want/am excited for

more varl and talanah and companions. WITH FOCUSES!!!!! i hope that others (avad, petra, vanasha) will also come back but that might be a long shot. it would also be nice to see meridian again, maybe in the beginning or the end

underwater cauldronssss

sylens as a neutral party or antihero. i really don't want him to be a villain, i think it weakens his character as someone who's portrayed to be out for himself/knowledge, not out to like, rule the world or anything.

SUBFUNCTIONS. LITERALLY ANY SUBFUNCTION PLEASE i hope we meet some that are not homicidal too. my theories are that eleuthia and minerva are most likely to be friendly, but we'

things i do not want/am not excited for

sylens as a straight-up villain. i don't think that's the direction they're going in, because he's on aloy's "side" against (presumably) the tenakth in the official art, but i still worry

"revenge" as regalla's goal, who's also described as bloodthirsty and vicious

a big twist coming with vast silver or odyssey being behind the signal that awoke the subfunctions. they've said they want to make this sequel open to new fans, so imo i doubt they'd hide information about main plot points in obscure datapoints only a handful of players collected in game 1. they could spend time building up silver or odyssey in the second game enough that it feels less weird, which would be the best path imo if they wanted to do that, but... i've always felt those details were there for lore flavor, not that they were hints at what was coming. if they were hints, then i prefer those sorts of hints to be given in things like side quests, not random points you have to hunt down in an open world and are likely not to find at all.

things i am neutral about/depends on how they do it

the woman at the end, tilda: people are speculating she's vast silver, or a human from the odyssey project. i really don't want there to be any people from the old world who secretly survived or anything. AI like cyan, yes; humans that have secretly been alive or frozen all this time, no. i think it lessons the impact of what happened to the old world. a big theme of hzd is moving on from substantial loss (rost, ersa, elisabet, the old ones) so pulling a "surprise, x is still around!" twist in the form of old world humans or apollo's knowledge would kill a lot for me. so i hope she is not human, like an android or a servitor, because i find it a lot more interesting if only AI are still around from the old world.

romances. it's easier to avoid getting them wrong by just not doing them at all, but i'm not inherently opposed. i think it would just be a really hard line to walk given aloy and her personality aren't really that customizable, and given everything that's going on in the plot, i don't think it would be a priority for her. if they're all written well and given equal writing treatment, i'm down. i just really wouldn't want them to do romances to cater to fanservice.

in one shot it looks like they're investigating what might be thebes, ted faro's bunker; it doesn't look like any project zero dawn bunkers since it has a huge yellow triangle, so i'm assuming thebes... if we learn more about ted faro, i hope it's about what "omega clearance" was. what i hope we don't find is ted faro's frozen body in cryostasis

[sorbetowl]

New stickers of NPCs I think are pretty neat™ and could do with some art~ Now up on my redbubble!

[rederiswrites]

Fiery Sunrise

Fandom: Horizon: Zero Dawn Rating: Gen Pairing: Aloy x Avad

Dervhal’s attack on the palace and its aftermath, told from Avad’s point of view.

The sound was everywhere, beating against him, inside of him.  Avad’s head was splitting open; his stomach was trying to rebel but his muscles couldn’t coordinate enough to do anything about it. He pressed his eyes shut against the nauseating distortion of the world around him. Dervahl’s gloating voice was a wasted afterthought, barely registered. This was how Ersa had died, and this was how he would die.

Under all the agony, the tiny part of him that sat outside and observed was almost glad. Finally, the hammer had fallen. He had always expected to die for his father’s sins. His brother had. His people had. His lover had. He was tired of fighting it, tired of trying to fix what was hopelessly broken, and now Ersa was gone. If it would end this pain, he welcomed it. If only Itamen could be spared…

And then she came. Aloy. He opened his eyes to her enraged shout, and she flashed by in a blur of red hair, and the horrible, all-encompassing sound stopped. Just--stopped.

[Read the whole thing on AO3]

[sun-and-shadow-aloy]

D, N, X!!

D. Is there a song or playlist associated with Seeker of the Nora?

But of course... and if you have spotify, you can find the entire Playlist here. However, since I know not everyone does, I will give a few for each ship and a few for Aloy.

Alvad:

Sit Still, Look Pretty - Daya

She Will Be Loved - Maroon 5

PILLOWTALK- Zayn

Just So You Know - Jesse McCartney

Niloy:

Nicotine - Panic! At the Disco

I’d Kill for You - Skylar Grey, Eminem

There’s Nothing Holding Me Back - Shawn Mendes

Angel with a Shotgun - The Cab

Ereloy:

Something That Wild - Chris Cagle

Memphis - Justin Bieber

Seize the Day - Avenged Sevenfold

Follow You - Bring Me the Horizon

Aloy:

Confident - Demi Lovato

You Don’t Own Me - Grace, G-Eazy

I’m Only Human After All - Rag’n Bone Man

Headstrong - Trapt

N. Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you?

Sigh... someone want to finish SotN? Just kidding. I have thoroughly enjoyed writing this novel-length fic but sometimes writing is hard. There is an idea that @oops-gingermoment and I have bounced around a few times but neither of us have finished our current fics, so it seems a long way off. (I’ll keep that one under wraps for now.) BUT, I would really like to read a fic centered around the Liberation. That would make me insanely happy. I want to see what drew Avad and Ersa together and how they fell apart (sad times but someone tell me why she just couldn’t love that man so I can process it, PLEASE!). I know it was political on both sides but dang. 

X. A character you enjoy making suffer.

EEESH! I feel called out, lol. Okay, I put poor Erend through absolute hell. It is not that I enjoy it, it just comes from personal experience in living with an alcoholic. I love Erend, though and I happen to think he is an amazing person with much personal growth throughout the game. But, tbf, I kinda like putting Aloy through the wringer, too. Girl just can’t win sometimes. 

[ao3feed-ereloy]

The Anvil

by mynameisginster

Erend is sure his fate is too much for him to bear. His shoulders are strong, but not strong enough to carry his sisters legacy. As he hunts for Ersa's murderers, he teams up with Aloy, the Nora huntress he had met months ago back in the embrace. But their quest for Ersa's fate shows Erend that being broken is no excuse, and that there are fates in the world that are worse than his.

If she can carry the world, maybe he can carry a city. Shoulders are muscle, after all, and maybe he can make her load lighter if he just carries his own.

Maybe, if he gets strong enough, she'll let him help carry hers.

Words: 3344, Chapters: 2/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: F/M

Characters: Aloy (Horizon: Zero Dawn), Erend (Horizon: Zero Dawn), Avad (Horizon: Zero Dawn), Talanah Khane Padish

Relationships: Aloy/Erend (Horizon: Zero Dawn), Aloy & Erend (Horizon: Zero Dawn)

Additional Tags: Ereloy, Aloy x Erend, Erend x Aloy, Slow Burn, Character Study, Post canon, Drinking, Canon Compliant

source http://archiveofourown.org/works/20950262

[xtolovers]

Wild Ember

Wild EmberCompanion fic to The Anvil Pairing: Aloy x Erend Rating: M ( albeit in later chapters) Warnings: Graphic Mentions of Violence Summary: Aloy is used to the look in people’s eyes when they regard her. Hatred.Mistrust. Disgust. Sometimes, careful curiosity. Even rarer, cautious friendliness. An unreprehended smile, almost never. The looks have changed since she became a brave, and again after she left the Sacred Lands, but they are never that different. She has a mountain of problems more pressing than helping a drunk Oseram find the murderers of his sister. The search for answers and revenge has driven her out of the Sacred Lands and a sense of urgency she can’t explain yet spurns her on. But there’s something about the grief and fury in his eyes that feels so close to her own, that Aloy can’t turn her back on. There is something else in his eyes she can’t turn away from either. Red stains cover her fingers as she’s ripping out another stalk of wild ember. The sun is just cresting over the mesa, casting a golden shine and the deep, long and soft shadows only found at dawn. The sounds from the waking city have started to drift down from the upper rings, but down here at the village set at the foot of Meridian people have been bustling about for the last half an hour. None of them have payed her much mind while she’s wandered the river shore, gathering herbs and passing the time, and Aloy is glad for it.

Back in the Sacred Lands, nobody had ignored her the way these people do. Back there, people acted like she wasn’t there by claiming loudly that they were not in any way acknowledging or accepting her presence. In her mind, she hears Rost’s voice, telling here they were only abiding the law and protecting themselves from even looking like they were breaking taboo, but the words were barely a comfort back then, and now, the grief and anger feel like Metalburn in her stomach. In Meridian all the attention she got was simply because she was a stranger, maybe a novelty as a traveling Nora, but to most of them she was just… part of the crowd. In a way, it’s like she’s not even here, and she can see how that could be lonely too, but to her it feels like a blessing, like sinking into a cool pond. The image makes her groan a little and she uses her free hand to wipe the sweat from her brow. Even though it is barely dawning, Meridian is already almost too hot for her. Admittedly the Blazon Armor helps, although her bare midriff is still something to get used to. It makes her feel unnecessarily vulnerable, but whenever a cool breeze grazes her skin, she knows it is worth it. The thought of spending the next days in the blazing heat of the desert is less than thrilling her, but she supposes it doesn’t make a difference. Even if she had turned down Erend’s plea, she’d still be baking in the sun for a while. Before she can head to Makers End, she has to make a detour to the Spurflints. She wants to curse her compassion, because she needs answers, but Rost’s last lesson has sunk too deep into her bones. To serve a purpose greater than yourself. Because of Rost, she wanted to kill Olin. Because of Rost, she didn’t. And now, this. Of course she had agreed to find Ersa, once she’d found out there was a chance she might still be alive.

A loud guffaw of laughter echoes down from the Eastern Gate, and Aloy taps her focus. Sure enough, she can see Erend’s familiar broad, purple silhouette flare to life, accompanied by five other people. She watches one of them rub his head as she starts to make her way up the ridge. The slightest bit of unease is buzzing in her stomach. This will be the first time she’s travelling with more than one person, and the fact that she is the outsider, again, is not exactly helping. Not like I’m not used to it. And Erend’s there. The thought gives her a little ease. As blunt and exasperating as he can be, Aloy knows his heart is in the right place, which is the reason she is hear after all. “A guy can remember that Aloy is the only reason we even know Ersa could still be alive, so a guy would do better to shut up!” Erend bellows somewhere on the ridge, and as Aloy’s head rifles through what this might have been the reply to, the unease crawls back. “I thought we were leaving at dawn. Where is she?” Another voice asks. The tone is more casual than exasperated, but Aloy clenches the herbs in her hand harder anyhow. She was here on time. She’d done everything right. She tries for sarcastic instead of angry, but her voice doesn’t completely comply. “At first light is what we agreed upon, I believe. She was here then, but because the rest of you weren’t here, I went down to the river and gathered some herbs in preparation.” At her words, Erend turns around, a look of … relief, she decides, on his face, while the other man, who has apparently spoken, clambers to stand up straight at her sight. A blush spreads across his cheek as another Vanguardsmen steps out between Erend and him, older than both of them, with a seasoned but kind face. At the right moment, he twists just so, and his hammer hits the younger man in the head. Aloy thinks of seeing him rub his head moments ago, and has to suppress a grin. The man bows his head to her, and out of the corner of her eye, she can see Erend watching him. “Apologies, m’am. We ought to have been here sooner, there is no time to lose.” Aloy corrects him and offers up her name. She has no business with titles and politeness, and there is no point in wasting time with them, not when the have a life to save.

Karan, she learns is his name, complies without protest, something that doesn’t happen nearly as much as she’d like, and Aloy decides that she likes him. With him and Erend along, she can do this. She sees him send a look to Erend, who clears his throat awkwardly and starts introducing his men. The one who had asked where she was is called Andrik, he’s one of the slimmer ones of the troop, even though that means little. Apparently all Oseram are sturdier in built, and even Andrik is as broad as the stronger Nora men she has met. She supposes he is good looking, in an obvious way, with dark hair falling around his dark eyes, a small beard at his chin, but Aloy can see a cockiness about him that hides insecurity. Two brothers, Beren and Enoch, both young, dark-skinned and the smallest of the group, one with short cropped curls, the other with a shaved head but both with full beards braided in different styles. Oren, a giant towering above the group with a reddish tint to his skin, a light brown bushy beard and a leather cord wrapped around his bald head. She returns their nods curtly, and turns to look at Erend. This time there is no hesitation as he meets her gaze with clear eyes. He is sober, and she is glad. The need for alcohol seems to be replaced by purpose, and she thinks it’s a good sign that he’s able to quit it when he needs to. With a nod she pushes through them, unsure of what to do other than get on the road. As she passes Andrik she makes a point of pushing the wild ember against his chest, hoping it’s enough to assert her presence, before she leads the group through the gates and up the trail. She forces herself not to look if they follow. As Avad’s Vanguard they have to be good fighters she supposes, but drunks or assassins are different opponents than a herd of machines in the wild. Erend can hold his own, she knows, but he is not exactly quiet either, and if they are going to run into machines— and they will— then Aloy would rather be at the tip of the group, dictating the conditions on which they will fight. The sound of several pairs of heavy steps are encouragement enough for her. She half expects Erend to catch up to her, but no one slips in next to her. It’s a quiet procession due north, and the silence behind her unnerves her. Erend alone usually makes more noise than all of them together right now. She would’ve expected a group of them to be loud, talking, joking, a  drunken road-song or two bellowed across the desert. Maybe she has it wrong, or they suppress their Oseram nature. She wonders if that is because of their positions as Vanguard or because of their dire quest. Aloy’s held out for nearly an hour when she glances over her shoulder in curiosity, wondering what had suddenly managed to stop Erend out of all people from talking. He’s watching his steps, and doesn’t notice her looking at him, apparently lost in thought. Erend seems tense, but she supposes that is to be expected given the purpose of their mission. A mission she hadn’t wanted to be part of, at first. Why should you have justice and not me? With a huff she turns back to the road. It wasn’t like she was really going to deny him her help. It was her own need for revenge and answers that needed fulfillment, that made her turn him down at first, not disregard for him. Erend had been one of the first people to treat her without suspicion or apprehensiveness, even if his personality took some getting used to. Back then, in Mother’s Heart, he’d been brazen and confident, clearly enjoying his status as emissary in such a savage tribe, and maybe she’d have found him off-putting, had it not been for the ease with which he’d calmed the crowd and the easy acceptance with which he’d answered her two dozen questions. Two minutes talking to him and it was easy to see that while his bravado wasn’t as real as he put on, his friendliness was. Only later she’d realized that he’d been flirting a little, too, embarrassed at her own obliviousness. Not that she’d wanted to reciprocate, but it made her keenly aware that where she was sure and experienced in the wilds, she was lost and unpracticed in  society. That was the first time anyone had ever expressed interest in her other than a harsh and rude remark made by a drunk hunter somewhere on the edge of some small village, but she still felt stupid for not understanding what he meant. At first, when she had headed to Meridian, she’d thought that maybe he could mistake her appearing there as an acceptance of his invitation, but Ersa’s seeming murder had  put an end to that before it could begin. He’d been happy to see her, but since then he’d made no further attempt to flirt with her— at least she thought so. The Oseram where so blunt and open, Aloy felt like half the time they were flirting with the whole world for no other purpose than simply because they could. But even completely drunk he hadn’t flirted with her once when she arrived in  Meridian, and nor any other time since then, so maybe he’d lost interest. Or maybe he was not drunk enough to miss the look on her face when he’d greeted her, and knew better than to try.

If she was honest, half of the reason why she didn’t accept his plea at first had been the state she’d found him in. Aloy had tried some liquor she’d wrangled from Karst three summers back, and after a few sips and the following problems with walking straight, decided she didn’t like it. Out in the wilds there was no room for inebriation if you wanted to survive, and the few incidents where she’d met drunken Nora— usually men— had been extremely uncomfortable. A part of her could understand him. There’d been a small part, or rather, there is a small part of her still, that wishes she could just diffuse all the pain, all the anger, all the questions. But it wasn’t an option. Rost never drank.

Your mind is a blade, Aloy, useless if not kept sharp at all times. The weird thing was, despite seeing through his bravado, she’d also thought Erend was capable, and when she’d found him at the gate, she was relieved for a moment, expecting his help. That had turned on its head pretty quickly,  and she’d been disappointed in more than one way. Helping him investigate a battlefield wouldn’t just cost her time, if he was going to be drunk and loud and slow to understand, it would cost her twice, and Aloy couldn’t risk it. Don’t act like this isn’t personal. Don’t make me beg. He didn’t have to. In the end, concerns and causes aside, it hadn’t really been in question. She’d spent hours on her way from the embrace to Meridian helping others, Rost’s last lesson still branded into her mind. Erend was right, and turning him down would’ve been cruel. And the pain and fury in his eyes, not disguised or hidden as if they were a weakness, felt all to familiar to her own. So she’d agreed, albeit reluctantly, but told him that he needed to pull it together if he wanted her help. Aloy had vowed to herself that she’d go to Red Ridge Pass and help him only if he was sober. And he was. His mind wasn’t clear, but this time it was only grief and anger, nothing else that occupied his thoughts, and that was something Aloy understood all too well. He’d surprised her that day, following her step by step, trusting her conclusions, closing the gaps next to her in battle. And then she’d looked around and felt the familiar rush of answers to be found, the thrill of the hunt. It didn’t take her long to piece the signs together, and the moment she realized that Ersa had been abducted, not killed, she’d expected to feel envy, but there was none. There was a rush of victory and satisfaction that she’d been useful, because she knew that without her help, Erend would still be grieving someone who was out there, waiting for him. The look on his face when she’d laid out her theory had erased all her doubts about whether or not she’d wasted time. The thought hurt, but she was only chasing revenge. Erend was chasing someone who could still be saved. So when she came back to Meridian and had her theory confirmed, Avad didn’t need to ask her. She was going anyway. But last night Aloy had slept poorly, ill at ease at the upcoming trip, not knowing what to expect of her companions. Now it looked like there hadn’t been any need to worry, because nobody had spoken to her in the last four hours. Aloy tries to shake the thoughts from her mind, but like flies they keep coming back, settling, itching. She focuses on her feet, on their surroundings, enaging her focus now and then, but they’re still close enough to Meridian that the machines are scattered sparsely before them. Above them the sun bears down on them, and she can feel the sweat in the small of her back and gathering in her hair at the base of her neck. They’ve been walking for hours, and it’s almost noon. They’re slow. With a flinch she thinks back to the basement. I’m faster alone. It was true, but maybe a little cruel too. She hasn’t been to Pitchcliff, but by Erends description it is to the north way past Red Ridge Pass, up in the mountains past the desert. If they keep this pace, it’ll take them a week to get there. A week Ersa might not have. They had passed a herd of Striders earlier, and Aloy had considered to get all of them mounts, but the silence weighed heavy on the back of her mind. If they didn’t talk to her because they thought she was strange and a savage, walking up to them with a bunch of tame machine in her wake would probably not help her image. Maybe that’s why Erend isn’t talking to me. The thought makes her angry and for half a dozen reasons, and she starts to walk faster to blow off some steam. Within minutes she’s out of earshot of the group, hand up on her focus, pretending to scout ahead. It takes half an hour of solid effort to let the anger go. It takes half an hour more to swallow her pride and let herself fall back to Erend, but she knows they need the rest. At the last moment she remembers that he is supposed to lead them, and the way he doubted himself, so she leaves the choice to him. “There’s a small valley between those mountains up ahead where we can rest for a bit. Unless you want to push ahead.” “Something you never do, I’m sure. Do you ever eat?” It’s the first real laugh she’s heard of him all day, and a little of her unease slips away. The way he teases her is no different than usual, so it’s probably just the stress of chasing his sister that keeps him silent. Erend turns around and watches his men for a second, all  of them avoiding her eyes.

Or maybe it’s his men’s opinion of me.

The dread comes back a little. Aloy pushes it down. It’s nothing she hasn’t handled before. “Let’s rest.” With a nod, she turns away, and hurries to the front of the group, where she doesn’t have to see the looks. Just as she’s pondering whether or not she should tell Erend that she will hurry to Pitchcliff alone and scout ahead, she can hear steps picking up behind her.

[strangefable]

At last, here’s my 2022 @writersmonth​​ fics in a masterpost! Please mind the ratings and tags. <3 [AO3 Completed Series]

A Quiet Sacrifice - Far Cry 5 - Micah Hale - prompt: promise

New Leaves - Far Cry 5 - Micah Hale - prompt: chance

The Forge Variation - Horizon Zero Dawn - Ersa/Avad - prompt: gold

A Lullaby To Lead You Home - The Outer Worlds - Lore Jameson/Vicar Max - prompt: melody

Shelter In My Arms - The Outer Worlds - Lore Jameson/Vicar Max - prompt: heart

The Proper Care and Feeding of a Wife - The Outer Worlds - Lore Jameson/Vicar Max - prompt: popular & married life

What’s One More Sin? - Far Cry 5 - Micah Hale/John Seed - prompt: flag & castle

Fire Draws Us Closer - Far Cry 5 - Micah Hale/John Seed - prompt: heat & enemies to lovers

Mutiny of Allegiance: Chapter 1 - The Outer Worlds - Lore Jameson/Vicar Max - prompt: echo

Mutiny of Allegiance: Chapter 2 - The Outer Worlds - Lore Jameson/Vicar Max - prompt: kiss

Parley in Holy Waters - Far Cry 5 - Micah Hale/John Seed - prompt: swim

Interlude - Akande - The Outer Worlds - Sophia Akande - prompt: leak

A Father’s Guiding Hands - Horizon Zero Dawn - Rost & Aloy - prompt: knot

Her Father’s Eyes - The Outer Worlds - Lore Jameson/Vicar Max - prompt: wild & on a ship

Brother’s Keeper - Far Cry 5 - Micah Hale/John Seed - prompt: comfort

Profane Reverence - Far Cry 5 - Micah Hale/John Seed - prompt: shadows

Melt Into You - The Outer Worlds - Lore Jameson/Vicar Max - prompt: ice

Seeds Among Thorns - Horizon Zero Dawn - Ersa/Avad - prompt: bridge & secret garden

Late Night Bubbles - The Outer Worlds - Lore Jameson/Vicar Max - prompt: bubble & single parent

Belonging - Far Cry 5 - Micah Hale/John Seed - prompt: jealous

Vigil of a Void - The Outer Worlds - Lore Jameson/Vicar Max - prompt: pain & lost heir

Sins, Signs, & Penance - Far Cry 5 - Micah Hale/John Seed - prompt: forest

A Little Tea For Equality - Horizon Zero Dawn - Ersa/Avad - prompt: lodge

Little White Puffballs - The Outer Worlds - Lore Jameson/Vicar Max - prompt: bow

Wash Away The Rest - Far Cry 5 - Micah Hale/John Seed - prompt: lips & underworld

Man of His Word - The Outer Worlds - Lore Jameson/Vicar Max - prompt: scream

Becoming - Far Cry 5 - Micah Hale/John Seed - prompt: silk & car shop

Confectionery Chaos - The Outer Worlds - Lore Jameson/Vicar Max - prompt: sugar

Wayward Homecoming - Far Cry 5 - Micah Hale/John Seed - prompt: bond & animal hybrids

I’ll Follow You - The Outer Worlds - Lore Jameson/Vicar Max - prompt: loud & prison

A Mark to Make Me Yours - Far Cry 5 - Micah Hale/John Seed - prompt: rainbow & artist and model