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Aloy tried not to be openly nervous as she walked into the Hunter’s Lodge. Talanah’s leadership made the lodge more welcoming by force, but it was still tainted by the older Hawks. The old bags now stuck to the bar in an ugly clump glaring at the new Thrushes taken on by more progressive hunters.
Aloy walked purposefully over to one of the supply merchants. She was just there to pick up materials for traps and then get on her way. Her hopes of a quick visit were dashed when Talanah stepped into her path.
“Long time, no see, Aloy-despite-the-Nora,” Tahlanah said, smiling. She was wearing her new Sunhawk armor, which looked good on her. Aloy noticed herself noticing the way the armor emphasized Tahlanah’s toned frame and looked away.
“Sorry, I’ve been…” Aloy paused, not sure Talanah would understand why she was following the guidance of some weirdo to attack a mystery cult dedicated to some dead machine. “...busy,” Aloy concluded weakly.
Talanah raised an eyebrow. “Too busy to fulfill your charitable duties as a Hawk of the Hunter’s Lodge?”
“Duties? What duties?” Aloy asked, wary of the twinkle she saw in Talanah’s eye.
Talanah smile widened. “I’ve decided the lodge needs to be less of a high born’s club and more of an asset to the community. Now each Hawk and Thrush are required to spend a few days a month answering calls for help and teaching villagers how not be killed or horribly maimed by machines.”
Aloy rolled her eyes. “Sure, I’ll do that once I’m finished with… what I’m doing. I’ll get right on that.”
“No.” Talanah shook her head. She was still smiling.
“No? Last time I checked the lodge was about hunting what you wanted, when you wanted.”
“We’re under new leadership. You’re not getting out of this,” Talanah said grabbing Aloy’s arm.
“Fine.” There was something about Talanah that made Aloy not want to disappoint her. It was particularly hard when they were in physical contact. Aloy let Talanah pull her over to a wall with a map and a detailed sketch of a Stalker. Aloy groaned and dragged her hands down her face. “Stalkers? Really? Not only are you dragging me out against my will, Stalkers are the worst.”
Talanah cocked head. “Aloy, the last machine we hunted together was Redmaw. Is a stalker really worse than a crazed Thunderjaw?”
“At least a Thunderjaw can’t sneak up on you,” Aloy grumbled.
“Don’t be a baby.” Talanah tapped the map. “The Stalkers have been attacking Meridian village from the South. They’re probably lurking here.”
“Good, that’s only a day’s walk from here. Less if we ride.”
Talanah raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean ride?”
“Just climb on, it won’t hurt you,” Aloy said from the back of her Strider.
Talanah walked slowly around the overridden steed. “Give me a moment, this is… new.” She reached out a hand and cautiously pat the Strider’s side. “There’s a good machine. Don’t trample me to death please.”
Talanah finally pulled herself up on the Strider. “Alright now do I make it go?”
“Just, you know, squeeze it with your legs,” Aloy said hesitantly. Talanah was the first person she’d shared the override with, and she was starting to think walking would have been safer.
Talanah dug her heels in hard and fast. The Strider took off at a run. Aloy hurriedly urged her own Strider forward, trying to keep up. She could hear Talanah’s cries of joy and laughter. Aloy smiled, she should have known if anyone could appreciate the rush of riding a Strider, it would be a Talanah.
They arrived outside the Stalker site in no time at all. Talanah dismounted as gracefully as if she’d been riding her entire life. She smiled at Aloy for a moment and then sat heavily down on the ground, laughing.
Aloy knelt next to her. “Talanah? You okay?”
“Aloy, that was such a rush.” Talanah’s face was shining and her smile was completely infectious. “That was amazing. You’re amazing.”
Aloy felt heat rush to her cheeks. The way Talanah was looking at her made her heart race like she was already fighting the Stalkers. Aloy stood quickly and helped Talanah up, trying not to look her in the face.
“So, on to the Stalkers,” Aloy said, startled by how gruff her voice sounded.
Talanah kept looking at her and smiling faintly. “Right, Stalkers.”
The two took the rest of the journey on foot and low to the ground. Aloy noticed that Talanah’s hand lingered on her back a little too long every time they stopped to listen. She also noticed that she didn’t mind.
The Sun was setting when Talanah grabbed Aloy’s shoulder and pointed over into a gorge to the East. Sure enough, there was a patch of distorted scenery that had to be the Stalker’s natural camouflage.
“How are we going to play this, machine whisperer?” Talanah asked, seeming completely relaxed.
“You’re the Sunhawk.” Aloy would be the first to admit that Talanah was the better technical hunter.
“And you used to be my Thrush, even though you didn’t really need my guidance, at least let me see if I was a good influence on you.”
Aloy watched the Stalker, they usually traveled in packs, and sure enough, there were three other shapes through the gorge. One of the most annoying things about Stalkers is that she couldn’t track them with her Focus while they were cloaked. She’d have to rely on memory and her partner.
“I’ll set up shock wires at the mouth of the gorge. When I’m in place, I’ll draw them into the trap and you can finish them off from the rear. How does that sound?”
Talanah smiled her radiant smile. “Sounds like exactly what I would have suggested.” She reached up and laid a hand on Aloy’s cheek unexpectedly. “Be careful, Aloy,” she said quietly and then was gone.
Aloy raised her hand to the place Talanah’s had just vacated, feeling a strange regret that the touch was gone. She shook her head and muttered to herself. “Snap out of it, Aloy, it’s just Talanah and we have Stalkers to kill.”
Talanah skirted the edge of the gorge and managed to higher ground without alerting the machines to her presence. Aloy moved forward slowly, taking her time laying the trap, making sure none of the Stalkers picked up on her. When she finished, Aloy signaled Talanah with a Turkey call.
She crouched be behind a rock and really focused. It was hard to make out, but she could just make out the shape of one of the dart cannons on the back of of one of the stalkers. She nocked an arrow and fired in one smooth motion.
The stalker she hit decloaked and its dart cannon flew off into the brush. Aloy heard the familiar sounds of the machines scanning for her. She rolled out of hiding and shot the wounded machine again, making sure they knew where she was.
Aloy ran straight back until she heard the the tell tale sound of machines meeting tripwire once and then twice. The winded stalker was down and in a flash Talanah appeared from the shadows and finished it off with her spear.
Aloy jumped up on a nearby rock and lined up her next shot. The remaining three Stalkers had decloaked. Aloy got three shots into one before they recovered from the shock wire. She dodged foreword as two dart sprays whizzed into the space her head had occupied only a moment earlier.
Aloy dropped her bow and shifted to her spear. Stalkers were easier to handle up close.
Talanah was engaged in a sparring dance with one of the other stalkers as Aloy delivered the final blow to the one she'd been putting arrows into.
Aloy took a moment to look up and realized they were missing a Stalker right as a spray of darts shot out of nowhere. Aloy flinched, but two lodged themselves painfully into her arm.
“Aloy!” Talanah called out as Aloy bent double in pain.
She saw the Stalker now, outlined against the foliage. Talanah was suddenly beside her, holding a sling. She fired off a well placed bomb which shocked the Stalker. It decloaked and Aloy pushed through the pain to deliver a devastating slash with her spear. Talanah followed her lead, driving the spear up through its jaw and then pushing it further, through the head. It finally fell to the ground.
Aloy leaned against a bolder and inspected her arm. The darts weren't lodged too deeply, but she was bleeding into her bracers.
“We’ll need to boil some water to clean and pack those,” Talanaha said, worried. “We’ll stay here for tonight. I don't want you going into shock or risk those getting infected.”
Aloy sighed, she really didn't have time to waste healing when Project Zero Dawn was so close. “I'll be fine, Talanah. Just pull them out and we’ll deal with it when we get back to Meridian.”
“Aloy, there are times your absolute stoicism is attractive, but this isn't one of them.” Talanah wasn't smiling, she was completely serious. She pulled a strip of cloth out of her bag and tied it tightly above the wound. “Now try not to bleed to death while I set up.”
At a rare loss for words, Aloy complied. She watched Talanah expertly start a small fire and then stoked it for her as she went to retrieve water. Talanah removed her bracers and headdress as they waited for the water to boil. She took her hair down for a moment to readjust her ponytail. Her hair fell loose around her shoulders.
Aloy was taken by how beautiful her long black hair was and how nice it looked framing her face. It was probably the blood loss.
Talanah started to grind Hintergold into a paste. “Look, Aloy, I'm sorry I dragged you out here. I didn't want to slow you down. I just hadn't seen you in a while.”
“It's alright, if I'd been a better hunter, I wouldn't have gotten hurt,” Aloy said hurriedly, suddenly wanting to reassure her. “Besides, it’s not like you really forced me out here, I could have said no, you know, harder.”
Talanah smiled faintly. “Okay, turn this way this is going to hurt a lot.”
Aloy presented her arm. It did hurt, she bit her lip to keep from making any noise. Talanah’s expert hands quickly applied the healing salve and and a bandage.
Aloy signed and leaned back against the rock. “Thanks, that does feel better.”
Talanah settled in next to her. “So what are you doing out there? Still hunting the Shadow Carja that attacked your people?”
“More or less.”
“That's cryptic. Do you need any help?”
Aloy looked over at her. “Are you serious?”
Talanah’s eyes twinkled. “Deadly.”
Aloy looked into her eyes and knew that she was being genuine, that Talanah wanted to help her. Aloy suddenly wanted to tell her everything, to take her along. It would be nice to have someone that wasn't Sylens to talk to about everything.
But there was just too much and not enough time.
“Talanah, you're the Sunhawk. You can't leave that just for me,” Aloy said slowly.
Talanah leaned forward. “But I would. The lodge can take care of itself for a while.”
“It’s not just that, it’s hard to explain. You wouldn’t understand.” Aloy knew those were the wrong words he moment they left her mouth, but she didn’t know how else to say it.
Talanah’s brows knit together in anger. “I wouldn’t understand? Aloy, I lost my family too! I also had to fight my people to get what I wanted. I know we’re not the same, but don’t tell me I don’t understand what it's like to want revenge and what it’s like to have to work harder than everyone else to get to the same place.”
Aloy reached out, instinctively putting a hand on Talanah’s shoulder. “That’s not what I meant. If I could tell anyone, it would be you. I have to do this alone.”
Aloy looked into Talanah’s eyes and watched them soften. Talanah’s hand was suddenly on Aloy’s cheek, guiding their faces together. Talanah gently pressed her lips against Aloy’s. Aloy went rigid with surprise, not only at the unexpected kiss, but by how much she wanted it. She leaned into it, feeling the softness of Talanah’s lips and moving a hand to her neck and pulling her closer. Their mouths moved together and Aloy felt a shiver of pleasure run down her spine.
She pulled back, suddenly light headed. Talanah looked concerned. “Was that alright?”
“Yeah, it was great,” Aloy said lamely, trying not to stare at Talanah’s lips. “You know how no one was allowed to talk to me when I was growing up?”
Talanah’s eyes widened. “You mean that was your first time? I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.”
“Don’t be. It was nice, you’re nice.” Talanah laughed which made Aloy flush harder than she was before. “Come on, I said I like you, okay?”
“Do you now?” Talanah asked slyly, and pulled Aloy back towards her.
A while later, Aloy lay with her head in Talanah’s lap staring up at her. She marveled at how she hadn’t really let herself see how beautiful Talanah was until now. It was intoxicating.
“So you’ll be leaving to go back to whatever you’re doing?” Talanah asked, quietly.
Aloy sighed and held her hand. “I have to go and stop Eclipse and figure everything out. But after that, I don’t know.”
“You can always come back to Meridian and fulfill your Hawk duties.”
“I guess you can’t change the attitude of the the Hunter’s Lodge by yourself.”
“I can, but it would be much more fun with you around,” Talanah said and leaned down to kiss Aloy on the forehead.
Aloy closed her eyes. She didn’t know where this would go with Talanah, or if there would be anywhere to go after she found the truth about her mother. For now, she just let herself enjoy lying in Talanah’s lap and reveling in whatever this was.