#sky admiral Kotallo | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

diviner-alva · 2 years ago

Note

Hey again! I've been wondering about the Bblue & white cloth that hangs in Aloy's room in the base - and how the knots looks awfully similar to those Kotallo uses for his own cloth in his bunk. So far as I can tell, they only appear after Kotallo moves in (and extend after subsequent main missions). I know Varl and Zo alos have this blue cloth but they don't have any rope knots holding them up... I've done a few play thrus Posiden first (imo the best and Kotallo's dialogue lines up the smoothest!) but i honestly can't remember if the blue cloth shows up before K in those playthroughs. tbh it alwasy seemed to me like Kotallo was finally done with training/bored of strike nd just pottering into an absent Aloy's room like "hmm.. how can I make this more fit for my l--commander...' LOL I mean, he seemed to get carried away - the Slitherfang fang (more thn understandable), pieces of the bulwark, and then just... keeps on going? Lmao very minor point here lol but..... thoughts? <3 <3

you are absolutely right I never noticed this before?? Sorry I took so long but I had to open the game and get some screenshots, also used it as an opportunity to replay the broken sky and what I noticed is that before the broken sky Aloy's room has those cloths but they are too short to act as privacy curtains

Zo and Varl's room also in that point in the game doesn't has any either

And after the broken sky we also see the room being practically the same. But note that the clawstrider training dummy from Kotallo doesn't appear in her room until she acquires demeter as well (the what was lost quest also only triggers after acquiring all three subordinate functions, the devs might have opted this way bcs the player is free to either acquire aether first or last), and I noticed that with the clawstrider dummy she gets a proper curtain in her room

Varl and Zo's room curtain in the other hand is exactly like the ones that has been in Aloy's room since the beginning

But theirs is strung just like Alva's and the one they have next to the showers

If we take a closer look on the knots:

The knots and how it's strung is indeed the same!! Having the curtain to show up the same time with the clawstrider dummy is the ultimate confirmation I was hoping for, and this is absolutely adorable. I was a little sad that we don't get many tenakth stuff in her room, but I think it's lovely that Kotallo would consider giving her a privacy curtain like the one he has on his bunk. We see there's food in one of her desks so it's very likely other companions would go in her room to giver her food and take care of her, now I hc Kotallo would notice this and decide to give her extra privacy, he is observant enough to see the is very reserved and is not used to people, perhaps that's why he strung there an actual curtain (srsly the other ones are completely useless why are they even there in the first place?).

This is very minor, but equally important, it's nice to see their influences in their domestic environment (since we see its all like 90% Zo), erend is the billions mugs of ale, alva is all the scrolls, varl we see a few nora items here and there and kotallo we see machine parts and scrap, trophies + this now!

But I need to say this just makes me love him so much more bcs he doesn't overwhelm aloy in any way, the amount of respect he carries for her is really like breathing fresh air. He gives her space but still admires and cares for her this is absolutely adorable, I feel the need to mention again that even when she reached to touch his arm to keep alva safe, his hand twitches and he almost reaches to touch her as well but he doesn't. This is small but speaks volumes for me.

#IT'S THE RESPECT #I think they're just perfect #we stan a man that values a woman's feelings before his own #kotaloy #kotallo #hfw #horizon forbidden west #hfw spoilers #horizon forbidden west spoilers

33 notes · View notes

lastbluetardis · 3 years ago

Text

Whispers on the Wind

Horizon Zero Dawn/Forbidden West fic

Aloy takes a moment to sit and mourn Varl, and is joined by her ever-loyal ally.

For @elialys (because this is all your fault 😘)

AO3

There is a chill in the air, the kind that cuts to the bone and settles deep in the marrow. It’s always cold here, in the rocky peaks coated with an ever-present dusting of snow.

Well, at least it’s better than the Banuk lands, Aloy muses.

The far north had been unforgiving, with snow as deep as her hips in some areas. Not to mention the machines and their enhanced, deadly skill. If she never meets another frost- or fire-claw again, it will be too soon.

The setting sun shoots splinters of magenta and orange through the sky behind her, while the horizon before her is dappled in shades of darkest blue. Though there are but a few clouds high overhead, snowflakes drift, petal-soft, to the earth, kissing her cheeks.

Despite the gray of the surrounding mountains, all around her is greenery: flowers and shrubs that Zo has painstakingly—lovingly—transplanted from the ground and into pottery all around this overlook. Aloy admires the contrast, the many hues of pink and yellow, simultaneously loving and hating it. They shouldn’t be here. There shouldn’t be a reason for them to be here.

Aloy nabs a flint from one of her many pouches and crouches in front of the dozen candles, fat and squat, that sit around the overlook, leading to the pile of rocks at the ledge.

“Hey, Varl,” she whispers, her voice getting lost on the wind as she strikes the flint, coaxing a spark to the candle’s wick. A gust of wind snuffs the fire before it can catch. Aloy grits her teeth and tries again, ignoring the futility of her efforts. “You would probably tell me not to bother with the candles, wouldn’t you?”

Oh, I know better than to tell you what to do.

Her lungs hitch at how easily his voice echoes in her mind, his warm smile and playful drawl.

“Glad you finally caught on,” she replies to the ghost of her friend. “Took you long enough.”

Aloy tries to light the candles for another few minutes, and actually manages to ignite four of them, before a gust of wind buffets her and they all go out in a wisp of smoke. Growling, she stuffs the flint back into her pouch and folds herself to the ground, knees to her chest, settling atop the woven mat Zo had made.

“Go ahead, laugh,” she mutters, wrapping her arms around her knees.

“What would I be laughing at?”

Aloy startles, panicking for half a heartbeat that she’s been caught off-guard, that her opponent has her at a disadvantage, that she was so stupid to let herself get distracted with visiting the memorial of her dead friend. But then the tenor of the voice washes over her, low, deep, and familiar.

“Kotallo. You should know better than to sneak up on a hunter.”

“A hunter should know better than to leave herself so exposed,” he counters, though his eyes sparkle with the barest hint of a smile.

She can’t bring herself to return the expression, so she turns away from him and back to the bed of stones. An empty jug of ale and two tankards—one half-full—catches her eye. She reaches for the bottle and gives it a sniff, but cringes away from the pungent fumes that burn her nose.

“I will never understand how your Oseram friend finds that drink enjoyable.” Kotallo is standing beside her now, and Aloy finally realizes he’s holding something bulky and misshapen beneath his arm.

“Apparently it’s an acquired taste. Though I think he enjoys its effects more than anything.”

“Drunkenness impairs the senses, and causes a lapse in judgment,” Kotallo counters.

Despite herself, Aloy snorts. “And you mighty Tenakth are above such revelry, huh? You don’t have wine or ale in your tribe?”

“Of course, right next to our supply of blood.”

There it is again, the whisper of warmth, the lilt in his voice that took her ages to hear and even longer to recognize as humor. Between his stony silences and sharp insults, Aloy had been convinced that Kotallo wouldn’t be able to identify a joke even if it danced naked in front of him.

“Tasty combination,” she retorts.

Sighing, she tips her head back and closes her eyes, letting icy pricks of snow sting her face. Without her vision, her other senses sharpen into focus. She can smell the tang of snow, the dirt of the mountain, the freshness of the trees. She can hear the whistle of the wind, the clop of hooves from nearby mountain goats, the cry of sunwings that make their nests at the summit of the mountain.

Soon, she’ll be climbing the rocky cliff face to procure herself a flying mount, assuming the override works. But that’s later, in the morning when everyone has had a chance to sleep. Everyone except her, and Kotallo, evidently.

“What brings you out here?” she asks, wondering if he found all of the data and blueprints he needs to build himself a new arm. If it were her, she would want to get right to work on crafting a new limb.

But Kotallo surprises her when he says, “I thought you might be cold.”

The object he carries takes form as he extends it to her: a blanket. It’s thick and soft, and now that he’s said something, Aloy is painfully aware of the bite in the air. She shivers, and gratefully accepts the blanket. However, he doesn’t hand it to her; instead, he shakes it out—his stump wiggles a bit, as though trying to assist in the motion—and drapes it around her shoulders.

She’s immediately surrounded in his scent. Aloy can’t help but gather the fabric close, burying her nose in it and simply breathing. It’s strange, the way the tightness in her chest eases, the way her mind quiets until her thoughts are a background hum rather than a cacophony of noise.

Kotallo crouches beside her, his posture loose. “Your homeland is to the East, yes?”

Aloy nods, looking past the memorial of rocks and into the distance, as though she can see all the way to the Sacred Lands if she just tries hard enough. Her memories close the gap, sending her to another snow-capped mountain side where a different pile of stones marks the final resting place of someone else she cared about.

Rost. She can conjure him in her mind’s eye so easily, his big, barrel chest and long, bushy beard. The eyes that crinkled in a rare smile. The arms and hands that cared for her and taught her to be a survivor, taught her the ways of the world and how the lands could provide for her if she knew what to look for.

“Would you ever go back?” Kotallo asks.

Aloy shrugs. She’s never really thought about it, too caught up in first finding the backup of GAIA, then with figuring out how to survive the Zeniths. Now, after seeing the enemies she’s up against, seeing their invulnerability and the ease with which they can kill…

“The Nora lands were never very welcoming of me. Not until recently.”

“Yes, I understand that attitude,” he murmurs. At her puzzled glance, he gestures to the stump of his arm. “The Tenakth are warriors. There is great honor in battle. When a warrior returns home in the manner that I did…”

He trails off with a slight sigh that twists something awful in her gut. She reaches out and touches the shoulder of his maimed arm. His skin is solid with muscle, and alarmingly cool.

“You’re cold as ice,” she complains. She grabs the edge of the blanket she’s been holding and tosses it around his shoulders. He remains crouched, unmoving, and the blanket slips to the ground. Aloy grits her teeth. “And here I thought you would be tired of losing limbs. Don’t you know what happens if you’re out in the cold for too long without protection.”

She regrets her callous words the moment they cross her lips. A muscle ticks in his jaw and his eyes go hard. Her cheeks are on fire and must be as red as her hair, but before she can force an apology through her dry mouth, Kotallo draws in a breath, and lets it out again.

“Very well.” He shifts out of his crouch, presumably to stand and leave her in the twilit night, but he doesn’t. He mirrors her position and sits on the mat beside her, grabbing the edge of the blanket and tucking it around his broad shoulders.

For as chilled as his skin felt, he radiates heat. The lure of it draws her closer, until her shoulder grazes his stump. He flinches away.

“Sorry. Does it still hurt?”

“No.” A grimace pulls at his lips and he amends, “Not much. If I were to put my full weight on it, then yes. And there are some days when it aches. I do not understand how I can feel pain in an arm I no longer have.”

Before she can think of something to say, Kotallo continues, “My people would act as though I am diseased. They would avert their eyes from my arm, and back away if I got too close. As though my… affliction… is catching.”

Rage bubbles deep inside of Aloy as she recalls all the times Nora had fled from the mere sight of her, all because she had been a motherless child.

A fatherless child, too, she thinks wryly to herself.

But Kotallo had been—and still is—an honorable warrior. How dare his tribe rub salt in the wound of his sacrifice?

“Why didn’t you leave?” Aloy asks.

“I am duty-bound,” he says simply. With another rare smirk, he adds, “Not a free spirit, like you.”

“This free spirit is duty-bound to save the entire planet, thank you very much,” she sniffs.

“And it is an honor to save it by your side. Already, you have shown me so much of the world. Not just with this device—” He flutters his fingers next to his Focus— “but this.” He extends his arm to the valley beyond them.

“Well, if I survive this, then maybe I’ll show you the Sacred Lands. Give you another new territory to experience.”

“There is no ‘if’. You will survive this.” Kotallo speaks with such certainty, such sincerity, that for a moment, she lets herself believe him, lets herself see this fabled future where she and her friends emerge victorious from the jaws of the Zeniths.

“Stopping the Zeniths is only step one,” Aloy grounds out, pulling herself back to reality and the grim future that’s laid out before her. “I still need to restore all of GAIA’s subordinate functions and hope that’s enough. And to do that, I need to find and rescue Beta. But to do that, I first need to put an end to Regalla’s reign of terror.”

The words pour from her faster and faster the longer she speaks, until any shred of hope that Kotallo’s words had given her are long gone. In its place is a yawning chasm of helplessness, and frustration at her own stillness. What is she even doing out here, sitting with Varl when there is so much to prepare for?

“It is the mark of a great warrior to understand the battles that face them,” Kotallo says quietly. “But it is the mark of a foolish warrior to plan to face those battles alone. Every warrior needs allies.” He reaches across his body to brush his fingertips across the fingers that clutch her half of the blanket. “You are not alone.”

Her skin sparks at his touch, electricity that raises the hairs across her body in a delicious chill. She draws in an unsteady breath, inhaling the familiar scent of him, and says, “You’re the greatest ally a warrior could want. I’m glad you decided to come with me.”

He meets her gaze, his dark eyes intense. She could get lost in those eyes, memorizing their shape and color, the way they soften in a way nobody else sees. His face is mostly shadow now that the sun has set, but the rising moon provides enough of a glow to highlight the sharp angles of his nose, cheeks, and jaw. The silvery light washes out his face paint, rendering it paler than she knows it to be.

“There is nowhere else I would rather be.” His voice is gravelly but rings with a truth she can feel all the way in her bones. He will follow her into the very pits of hell, ready to face demons he never knew existed. All of it, for her.

Her chest aches. Throat too tight to form a reply, Aloy shifts closer to him. Slowly, so slowly, she slots herself into his side and rests her head on his shoulder above his missing arm. His body is strong beside her, the long, lean muscles flexing as he holds himself rigidly upright. But in the span of a few heartbeats, Kotallo relaxes once more.

How strange, to be perfectly content in a moment like this, as though her world hasn’t been ripped apart, leaving her a catastrophic mess to clean up. How strange, that it’s so natural to rest against him like this, as though she has known him her whole life. How strange, that everything has gone silent, and she feels no urge to get up and run, to move forward on her own.

Aloy lets out a long, slow breath. She and her allies—her friends—will mourn their losses, then tomorrow, they can begin to plan their next moves in this never-ending, ever-evolving war. For now, though, she will rest.

So she closes her eyes, empties her mind, and nestles closer to Kotallo.

#elialys #horizon zero dawn #horizon forbidden west #aloy x kotallo #kotaloy #my fic #whispers on the wind #whoopsies i joined a new fandom 😂#ah well

27 notes · View notes

unyieldingfashav · 3 years ago

Note

If you are still interested in requests, I would love to see your take on a quiet moment where Aloy is tracing Kotallo and/or Fashav's tattoos while he tells her the story behind them

"Are these all just accomplishments from after you joined the Tenakth?"

Fashav had been dozing lightly in the bed they shared at the base, one arm wrapped around the huntress at his side and the other folded under the back of his head. They'd just come back from a trip to the Bulwark, going up to the Sky Clan territory at Hekarro's request. There'd been a bit of discourse lately, more push back against Tekotteh since Aloy and Kotallo blasted a hole in the wall and showed his flaws more clearly to the clan. Kotallo had gone as well and had stayed behind in Stone Crest to help with some repairs that needed to be made to the settlement after a nasty storm had come through. They'd offered to stay and help but he'd insisted it wasn't necessary and that he'd only be a day or two behind them. Fashav suspected he wanted some time with a few of the warriors left who'd fought alongside his parents, people who'd known since he was a small child.

"They are," he answered, eyes opening to look at the mark she was tracing her fingers over. She had a hand pressed to his chest, curiously looking at the mixture of ink and scarring that marked a battle with a tremortusk a few years back. "The Tenakth inkers were hesitant to give me any marks when I first arrived in the Grove and they certainly weren't about to take my word for it on anything I'd accomplished under the Sun King's command. It took me three months just to convince them to allow me a mark to commemorate the Kulrut I'd won my freedom in."

Aloy propped herself up as her eyes took in more of the ink marking the left side of his body. He simply laid there, waiting for any questions she might have and admiring way her expressions were more open here in the privacy of their room. Most of the time she would school her features into an unreadable mask, keeping her emotions to herself except for the times her anger would get the best of her. But he'd noticed her drop those guards here in this home they'd all made, opening herself up more to him and Kotallo and the others that had followed her in the pursuit of restoring GAIA.

Her hand stopped on the scarring on his stomach, the spot where the spear had almost killed him just outside Barren Light just six months ago. It had left a jagged mark that was still unmarked, not having taken the time to have the events of the embassy inked on his skin yet. His own hand reached up, fingers threading through the loose red curls that fell over her shoulder. She leaned into the touch as she said, "I'd like to come with you when you get this marked. Maybe...maybe get a mark of my own if you think the Tenakth would allow it."

He offered her a warm smile, stretching up to press a kiss to her cheek as he replied, "Oh I'm certain the inker in the Grove would be more than happy to give Hekarro's champion her first mark."

#horizon forbidden west #hfw spoilers #fashav #aloy #fashav x aloy #this isn't the best but like #i hope you like it #just fashav here bc that's all my brain is providing rn #drabbles

25 notes · View notes

maimedmarshal · 3 years ago

Note

❰❰ WALL ❱❱ sender pushes the receiver against a wall

Kotallo released a muted grunt as Aloy shoved him out of view against a wall in Memorial Grove. Hekarro had sent the pair on a reconnaissance mission to find out which of the three clans was responsible for the most recent violence that decimated an entire Utaru village. The leaders of each clan had all been summoned under the guise of distribution of supplies courtesy of Hekarro's champion. While the supplies were real, it was the clan leaders themselves who were under investigation. With Regalla's dwindling troops all but wiped out and Regalla herself killed in action at the Zenith Base, the Tenakth Chieftain was forced to look at those he trusted most.

Though he listened to the whispers on the other side of the wall just as Aloy did, Kotallo tipped his head down to observe her as she peeked around the corner. The flame of her hair was always muted in the low light of the Grove. Though he preferred seeing it where the sun could play such brilliant tricks with it, he realized he was just as satisfied with admiring her braids here.

Tilting his head, Kotallo found the curve of her ear and followed it down to the base of her neck. Her hair had fallen over her shoulder, exposing the tender flesh that met the curve of her jaw. He gritted his teeth against the ache to find out just what she tasted like right there. Now was hardly the time for his hungering, yet he found he had no strength to tear his gaze away.

She must have sensed his lingering gaze. In the low light, her green eyes matched the depths of the jungle outside the Grove's walls. As always, the Marshal was trapped there, searching for her soul laid bare with a tenderness he held for none other.

Aloy's brows drew down in a moment of confusion even as a hint of a smile played at her lips. Surely she knew how she could undo him with just her proximity. It was impossible for her not to know the effect she had on him.

Her hand tensed on his chest plate as those voices drew nearer, their discovery all but a guarantee. Undeterred, Kotallo wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged her to him. He loved the breathless gasp she made when she found herself flush against him. Lowering his head, he gave in to his earlier urge to taste where her jaw met her neck. His tongue slid across her pulse and his own leaped to match hers.

"Brace yourself, Commander," he whispered at her throat.

Without waiting, Kotallo's hand dropped from her waist to her upper thigh and hiked her up until her face was flush with his own. He switched their positions until she was pinned against the wall instead and slanted his lips hungrily across her own.

"Can you not debase yourselves elsewhere?" Tekotteh asked with disgust as he rounded the corner and saw them wrapped around each other like randy recruits. If he felt any fear of what they may have overheard, the Sky Clan leader didn't show it as he stomped off with three of his men at his heels.

His lips still locked against Aloy's, Kotallo was hard-pressed to battle a smile. Any chance he had was stolen the moment Aloy laughed against his mouth. He breathed in the sound of it as if it could sustain him for life.

"Quick thinking, Marshal."

"I live to serve."

#ask meme #warpaiint #/he would like to leave many marks of his claim across her skin kthanksbai #kotaloy #kotallo #Aloy #hfw

15 notes · View notes

i-lavabean · 6 months ago

Text

Admiral Kotallo from @quiche-draws Wind Weaver au

#featuring his Null ability which is both extremely rad and occasionally unfortunate #my art #horizon forbidden west #art #kotallo #illustration #wind weaver au #sky admiral Kotallo #quiche-draws #fanart #hfw au #the ship gets ‘Disney Villain Green’ bc I wanted PotC vibes #lavabean art #back to the scribbly scratchy style we go

44 notes · View notes

setavvo · 11 months ago

Text

Drew this a while back for @quiche-draws's Wind Weaver AU and now Quiche has posted her very first fic about it huhu it's so magical!

Read it here on AO3 - The Wind Calls

#wind weaver au #wind weaver aloy #admiral kotallo #horizon forbidden west #kotaloy #the sky admiral and the wind weaver #horizon forbidden west au #my art

57 notes · View notes

huntress-therion · 2 years ago

Text

In Another Life: Chapter 2

Summary: (AU) Aloy grows up among the Sky Clan instead of the Nora and is raised alongside a boy whose life will be inextricably bound with hers.

Chapter 2: Child of Nowhere

Read it on AO3

10 years later…

They call her Kotallo’s shadow.

This is because everywhere the young warrior went, the little Nora was sure to follow. When Kotallo remarks on this, she would scoff and say, “I’m not little. You’re just stupidly tall.” Which would make him bristle with self-consciousness. At sixteen, he has already outgrown some of their most seasoned veterans. He is no longer lanky, awkward, or morose (though his temper is still known to frost over, every now and then). If anything, he’s becoming fiercer and more formidable by the day. Whispers of admiration - and not a little flirtatious interest - trail after him, mostly from his peers.

“I hear Tekotteh is eyeing him to become part of his personal guard.”

“Can you believe it? The youngest ever to get his soldier’s marks.”

“I heard he did the March as though it were a summer’s stroll.”

“He’ll be a squad captain worthy of the Ten. Just watch.”

The clamoring attention annoys Aloy for reasons she cannot explain. Jealousy is partially at the root of it, though it pains her to admit to something so petty and childish (even if she is a child). It makes sense: Kotallo is older and more experienced. Even so, she cannot stand how often - and how thoroughly - he beats her in the ring. At bows, at spears, at swords, at knives…he is faster, stronger, more cunning with his tactics.

For now.

“You’ll catch up,” he says, after another bout where he’s made her eat dirt. “Eventually.”

“No,” says Aloy, burning with determination. “I’ll go even farther. You’ll see.”

And while this amuses the rest of the clan, Kotallo does not take her words lightly. “It would be a mistake to underestimate you,” he concedes. Then they take up their spears again.

But as much as Aloy wants to best him, she knows that isn’t what drives her to take up her gear every day, often long before her squad wakes, and go through each form and exercise until her limbs shake and she can no longer stand. It isn’t Kotallo’s skills or talent she wants…it’s…

It’s the ease he has. The comfort in his gestures as he moves about the clan. People smile and make room for him in a way they do not for her. He is welcomed and expected to do great things. Aloy, even by proximity, is only tolerated. No one expects anything from her. And with every year that passes, the gap between them grows a little larger. Even if Kotallo doesn’t see it. Or perhaps, he just refuses to.

Whatever their differences, Kotallo is her closest squadmate. Somewhere between sibling and dearest friend, though not quite either. It is hard to define the bond between them, except that it was forged in grief. Their paths crossed, as fate would have it, when they were both most alone. And so, they understood one another in ways others did not. But while Kotallo’s circle of companions grows wider, Aloy is not so fortunate. Many, in fact, still call her “outlander” or “nowhere’s child.” Though only when Kotallo isn’t present (they want to keep their teeth, after all).

But they aren’t wrong, Aloy thinks. She is an outlander, even if saying so makes Kotallo angry.

“No, you are one of us,” he would say, with finality. “Pay them no mind.” Then he would take her hand and place it over his heart, its beat as strong as a war drum. “Here. Listen. Your blood is my blood. Never forget that.”

“If you say so…”

Still, Aloy cannot rid the feeling that she is something…other. Different. It gnaws at her, leaving an ache in the pit of her belly. Because despite wearing their colors, their paint, and reciting the deeds of the Ten to perfection, Aloy knows in her very marrow that she is not Tenakth. No matter how much she and Kotallo would wish it otherwise.

She does not always follow our ways. How often do the elders reprimand her for this? She is known to be willful and disobedient. I see you’d rather fly on your own path, than on the Wings of the Ten. She also questions orders, to the heavy consternation of others. One of her favorite words to say, since she could walk from the cradle, is “Why?” and everyone around her would groan in exasperation at her relentless pursuit of knowledge.

“Why don’t you just become a Chaplain?” they sneer.

Maybe she would.

Gerrah is battle-hardened and wise in the ways of the Ten. But even so, there are questions even beyond her grasp. One of which is the riddle of Aloy’s origin. She makes Gerrah tell her, again and again, the story of how she found Aloy in the snow, in the arms of a man who journeyed far from the East. A man she thinks about often.

Who was he? Why did he bring her here? Could he have been her father? And if so, what of her mother? Such questions linger over her every waking moment, and the longer they go unanswered, the more aware she is of her own incompleteness. There is only one token from the man that Aloy could keep in remembrance - a strange necklace in the shape of an upside-down tear. It’s fitting, she supposes, given the tragic way she and this man parted ways.

She is a person with too many missing pieces, and she cannot help but believe that this man is the key to understanding it all. But all anyone knows is that the man was a Nora. A tribe she desperately wishes to know more about.

“Such a wish would not be so easily granted,” says Gerrah. “To go that far East would mean crossing into Carja lands and Chief Hekkaro has yet to forge a steady alliance with Sun King Jiran.”

Sun King Jiran. Or, the Mad Sun King, if the rumors of his latest exploits were true. News had traveled far from Barren Light that Jiran had begun to prey on neighboring territories, setting his sights on the Orseram, the Banuk, and yes, even the Nora. Those taken prisoner were sacrificed to their sun god, in hopes of reversing the strange Derangement plaguing the machines. It would not be long, the squad captains said, before the Sun King would set his sights on the Forbidden West.

“If it comes to that,” says Kotallo. “We’ll be ready for him.”

“I hope it doesn’t,” says Aloy. “Maybe there can be peace one day, like Chief Hekkaro says.”

Kotallo snorts. They are both eating their dinner rations in the mess hall, with Kotallo handing her extra portions from his own meal. “You’re too skinny for your own good,” he says. Which he knows would make her scowl. Though she will not say no to more food, given that the season’s game and harvest have not been plentiful and their accord with the Utaru has not yielded as much they all hoped. Where Kotallo is all height and hard muscle, Aloy finds herself all knobby knees and pointy elbows.

At the other end of the long table are their other squad mates, who loudly call Kotallo to join them (Aloy notes that there is only one seat open). Kotallo always politely declines, though she notes that it’s getting harder and harder for him to do so. She may be ten, but she can detect longing when she sees it. So she eats the rest of her food in silence, trying not to feel like a burden. Trying not to feel as though she is someone who he must look after out of obligation and duty.

Later, they sit side by side, upon a ridge that overlooks the valley below. It is a nighttime ritual they both share, where they take in the chill wind and the wooded silence below. The sun has just set behind the mountains beyond, casting everything in twilight.

Aloy traces the faint stars above her in nonsensical patterns. “Do you ever think about…what’s out there?”

“Out where?” asks Kotallo. He is lying on his back, hands laced behind his neck. He wears a new headpiece, something he has pulled off a scrounger, she thinks. Or maybe even a ravager. The way others talk about him, it wouldn’t be long before he could take on a whole behemoth on his own.

Aloy shrugs. “Maybe East. Maybe further.”

There is a pause as Kotallo considers her, his face gilded by firelight. Here, in the dark, Aloy can almost see the man he is becoming, the man the elders have such high hopes for.

“Why go anywhere?” he says, finally. “Our home is here. Behind the Bulwark. It's as Tekkoteh says: our strength comes from the stone.”

Her disappointment stings. Kotallo has been doing this more often lately. “Tekkoteh says this…Tekkoteh says that…” Kotallo can be so exceptional in many ways, but in this, he's as blind as an eyeless burrower. It is as though Tekkoteh’s word is nothing short of law, no matter that they have a Chief whose word weighs far more than that of their commander. Aloy does not like the gleam in Tekkoteh’s eyes, which makes her think of greed and ambition. How Kotallo could mistake that for courage and tenacity, she doesn’t know. But she would rather not spend the rest of the night fighting with him about it, so she lets it go.

“Our strength may come from the stone,” Aloy begins, “But we all must aim to fly on the Wings of the Ten. Maybe one day I’ll become a Marshal. See the rest of the clan lands. Maybe I’ll even see what’s beyond the gates of Barren Light, if another Embassy will take place.”

“With the danger of the Red Raids?” says Kotallo. “Unlikely.”

True. But danger or no, the taste of such an adventure fills her with a different kind of longing. She would risk it, she realizes with astonishment. Yes, she would risk it all. To see the breadth of the world and its people beyond the Bulwark would be…extraordinary.

“There’s more to the world than the Sky Clan,” she says.

Kotallo isn’t impressed. “Everything we need is right here.” He turns to face her. “Would you really leave home? Leave me?”

“I…”

Of course not, Aloy wants to say. Never.

And yet…

“It wouldn’t be forever,” she says. “You could come with me! If you rise through the ranks any higher, you could probably compete in the Kulrut. Think about it: Marshal Kotallo.”

It has a nice ring, she thinks. But he barks a dark laugh.

“Tekkoteh would never allow such a thing. And I, for one, am glad for it.”

Aloy sighs. Tekkoteh, again…

Kotallo rises to his feet. “Come on. It’s getting late. And I have an early patrol tomorrow.”

“You go on ahead,” says Aloy. “I want to watch the stars a little more.”

“Suit yourself,” he says. “Just don’t stay up too late.”

And when he walks away, her eyes linger on the empty space he’s left behind.

Thanks for reading <3

A/N: Growing up can also mean growing apart and I wanted to show some of the nuances of that in Aloy and Kotallo's relationship. They're obviously close, but it's clear that their goals and visions of life are very different. Cue that sweet coming-of-age angst.

Up next: Aloy gets her Focus.

Other Kotaloy fics:

Captivated

This Tenderness

In Another Life: Chapter 1, 3

#kotaloy #kotallo x aloy #aloy x kotallo #hfw fanfic #horizon forbidden west

7 notes · View notes