The tall grass prickles against Beta’s skin as she hides in the red brush, trying desperately not to move as she sticks almost too close to her sister’s side. Aloy herself doesn’t seem to either notice nor mind. Her green eyes are focused elsewhere, taking in a herd of Grazers as she, Beta and Elisabet hide together amongst the tall grass.
The three of them are currently not that far away from home, close enough where they can still see both it and Plainsong in the near distance.
Beta briefly glances toward the mountains, trying to keep her skittish gaze on anything other than the herd as she listens to her mother speak.
‘Remember that the code we’re after is always accessible from any machine’s interface.’
Elisabet taps the device on her temple, the movement jostling the red fishtail braids at her ear. As well as the fur lined bracers strapped around her wrists.
She has been feeling much better lately in her recovery from the merge, steadily growing stronger with each passing day. She still occasionally struggles with pain, or fatigue; the final remnants of having her digital mind transferred into her now human body, according to GAIA. But she’s improved enough recently that the AI has given her blessings for Elisabet to slowly start venturing further away from home.
Today is the first time that Elisabet has done so, and as such she decided to use it as an opportunity to teach her daughters.
‘The focus has a decent range, too.’ She instructs. ‘So often times you can start from much farther back than you think.’
Beta reaches up, mimicking her mother by touching her focus. The triangular shaped metal is cool and grounding against her fingertips as she lets her hand travel down to nervously run over her own fishtail braids. The wilds here smell like tree pine, the sound of billowing branches and birdsong helping to calm her racing heart as she takes deep breaths in.
She fidgets in place, every motion weighed down by unfamiliar, heavy armor.
A gift from her sister.
Before setting out today, Aloy had offered both her and Elisabet any set of armor that they would like from her stash. As necessary protection for exploring out in the wilds.
Elisabet easily gravitated toward one of the Nora outfits, the Nora Tracker set.
‘It will look more natural this way.’ Elisabet reasoned. ‘If we run into anyone.’
‘People will already assume that you’re Nora.’ Aloy gestured to her mother’s red braids. ‘Plus, you’ll be with me anyway, so it won’t exactly be very hard to fill in the blanks.’
‘Well, it still doesn’t hurt to fully look the part.’ Elisabet reached out to brush a red fishtail braid behind Aloy’s ear, her touch maternal and warm. ‘Don’t you think?’
‘… Right.’ Aloy only looked away in response, her voice quieter than normal.
Ultimately not wanting to be left out, Beta also chose a Nora outfit: the Nora Brave set.
Only after her sister handed it to her, though, did she remember who Aloy had gotten it from.
‘But… are you really sure?’ Beta nervously tried to hand them back. ‘Your friend gave this to you, right? And, well, I’m not a Brave, so…’
‘It’s fine, Beta.’ Aloy insisted. ‘Teb would be happy we’re getting more use out of it, trust me.’ She pushed the clothes into her little sister’s hands. ‘I never wear it anymore anyway since I have this one.’
The armor that Aloy was referring to also has Nora origins. The Shield Weaver.
It used to be another, second Nora Brave outfit. One that Aloy used as a base to construct an entirely new set of armor with ancient shield technology. The force shield on it hasn’t been working for some time, apparently. Not since the Battle of the Alight. But with Elisabet’s help, Aloy was able to both restore and reinforce it, and she has basically been wearing it like a second skin ever since.
All three of them, together out in the wilds. Wearing Nora armor with matching braids.
Beta is not unaware of the fact they look like a typical family.
Not wanting to let that thought overwhelm her, Beta instead watches the blue lights dance across her sister’s armor, hesitantly taking quick glances at the machines milling around nearby.
She has never seen a Grazer up close before. They resemble Old World animals called deer, with strong mechanical legs built for running and kicking.
Aloy had said that they are usually peaceful machines, too, if given their distance.
But if not, then they were simple enough to outmaneuver and take down.
Easy for her to say…
‘It isn’t reacting to you at all.’ Aloy’s comment has Beta refocusing her attention.
Elisabet has already targeted one of the Grazers on the outskirts of the herd.
Her focus shines with an interface not normally seen when scanning machines; a special, deeper menu specifically designed for navigating through core coding.
One that Elisabet has only recently shown Beta and Aloy how to access.
‘Right.’ Elisabet confirms, shifting through the interface. Her movements are purposefully slow so that her daughters can follow along. ‘But watch what happens the moment I change something…’
She disrupts a random string of numbers, causing the machine to immediately stand up.
Its eyes glow with a suspicious yellow gaze as it turns around, scanning for a threat.
Beta sinks further down into the grass between her mother and sister.
‘So, we have to be quick.’ Aloy reads between the lines.
‘Exactly.’ Their mother nods, both she and Aloy barely paying any attention to the deadly machine only a few yards away. ‘It takes practice, and that’s why I had you both try it out on Georgette first.’
Georgette the pink-eyed Clawstrider had been a good sport, merely standing there while Aloy and Beta each took their turn fiddling with her code this morning. But whereas she was a non-hostile target, the machines out here can and will do serious damage if provoked.
A fact that has Beta fidgeting uncomfortably as the suspicious machine moves ever closer.
She watches on as her mother scrolls down, looking for a particular string of code. Once found, Elisabet easily inputs a few keystrokes, causing the Grazer’s dangerous yellow eyes to leisurely fade away into a calm shade of pink.
‘There.’ Elisabet turns back to her daughters. ‘Notice how I wasn’t rushing. Speed will come later, I only want the two of you to practice the rhythm of it for now.’ She says while the pink machine resumes grazing the ground as if nothing happened.
‘But what if we… what if we input the wrong numbers?’ Beta can’t help but ask. ‘Or if we take too long?’
‘Then you’ve seen what happens.’ Elisabet gestures to the pink Grazer. ‘If it comes to that we can wait here until the machine calms.’ She suggests, unbothered. ‘Or absolute worst-case scenario, your sister has her weapons.’
‘Right…’ Beta lets out a breath, unconsciously remembering back to the last time Aloy had to protect her from machines.
Back in the bowels of Cauldron GEMINI. HEPHAESTUS’s chilling voice overhead among purple cables. The panic, the uncertainty, the fear. Until finally a calm moment, where everything had seemed right in the world between her and her sister.
And then…
‘It won’t come to that.’ Aloy puts a hand on Beta’s shoulder, stopping her thoughts before they can travel any further.
‘Then why don’t you go first?’ Beta looks at her with nervous green eyes.
‘I always go first.’ Aloy points out lightly, trying to be encouraging. ‘Maybe you should take a turn.’
‘But you could use more time to, you know, to practice with the code.’ Beta offers back, fiddling with her fingers and refusing to meet her sister’s gaze.
In response to the unintentional jab, Aloy sits back and gives her a look.
She’s already come so far since starting her coding module courses with APOLLO. And while Aloy may not be as fast or efficient as Beta yet, she has still managed to hold her own with whatever their mother has tried to teach them thus far.
‘Fine. But this is the last time.’ Aloy relents, her voice low in an older sibling sort of way. ‘Beta, this world is full of machines. You can’t avoid them forever.’
Her words leave Beta in silence as she watches Aloy move to their mother’s side.
It’s a well-known fact between them that Beta isn’t comfortable being close to machines. The only one that she has been able to enjoy being around so far is Georgette, and that’s only because she once housed Elisabet’s consciousness inside of her code.
When it comes to wild machines, if there is distance between them, she can admittedly admire them from afar just fine.
But up close, that’s a whole different story.
Besides Georgette, the only other machine that Beta has ever interacted with are Specters.
Just the thought of them causes her to unconsciously sink even lower in the tall grass.
Their smooth Zenith metal plates. Their dead eyes. Their near silent footsteps.
They were always grabbing her, golden nanobots uncomfortably brushing her skin as they dragged her wherever they wanted with or without her consent.
All at the slightest whim of the Zeniths.
And if she resisted…
Beta looks down at the ground, unconsciously wrapping her arms around herself.
‘Pick your target.’ Elisabet directs Aloy.
‘How about that one?’ Aloy nods toward a machine to their left, another easy target on the outskirts of the herd.
‘Go ahead then.’
Elisabet watches intently as Aloy follows the steps that they’ve been practicing.
‘… Aloy. Slower.’ She corrects her daughter. ‘It’s not a race.’
‘I know that.’ Aloy says, her back tense and her words harsher than she means as she searches, unable to find what she’s looking for.
‘If you can’t find it, you know what to do.’ Elisabet calmly points out, watching as her daughter stubbornly continues on anyway in an attempt to brute force her way through.
After a moment or two, however, frustration comes over Aloy’s face.
She closes the interface down to start over, reluctantly heeding her mother’s words.
Aloy has admitted before that working with code is very… difficult. That even with all of the experience she has under her belt from delving into Old World ruins, and teaching herself how to use a focus, that this type of work is very easy to get lost in.
Aloy still can’t help but feel frustrated with herself every time. For not picking it up as fast as she wants.
Elisabet has not pushed her, letting her learn and figure things out at her own pace.
With this time clearly being no different.
Aloy is able to find what she’s looking for after only a few more moments. Once she does, she starts changing numbers without hesitation, causing the machine to stand up in response. The Grazer suspiciously looks around as Aloy inputs the digits for the manual override just as her mother taught her. She ends up having to redo it once or twice, unconsciously clicking too fast for the interface to process, but ultimately finishes the override without any further hiccups.
‘Well done.’ Her mother praises once the Grazer settles. ‘Don’t forget to add your color.’ She nods toward the machine, prompting Aloy to add a letter to the end of the number string.
Elisabet has said going into this that it would be wise for each of them to have different signature colors from each other. Emphasizing that it would make things easier if they ever run into a situation where they need to know who has overridden a machine.
Yellow, blue, red and purple were off the table, as those are already the normal hues of HEPHAESTUS’s creations. But there are still a few options left to choose from. Elisabet’s color is pink, and as Aloy finishes her override, it becomes apparent that she has chosen green.
Her Grazer’s eyes shimmer like glowing greenshine as Aloy shuts her focus down.
That only leaves Beta, who unconsciously curls into herself when her mother turns to her expectantly.
‘Your turn, Beta.’ Elisabet beckons her closer.
Beta takes a deep breath.
‘Alright. Okay.’ Beta’s voice is small. ‘My turn.’ She repeats, moving forward in the tall grass. ‘Booting up. First step, find the code.’ She talks to herself, tapping her focus.
‘Pick your target first.’ Elisabet kindly corrects her.
‘Right. Target first. Um…’ Beta gestures to a lone Grazer by the bushes. ‘That one.’
‘Alright.’ Elisabet nods, watching intently as Beta follows the steps.
The string of code is easy enough to find as Beta lets her instincts take over, using the practiced data skills she was forced to learn to her advantage. Once found, her fingers hover over the numbers, knowing that once she starts making changes, the machine will notice her.
Then, if it notices her, it can find her.
And if it finds her, it will get mad.
And then… and then…
‘Breathe, blossom.’ Her mother says gently, her voice soothing. ‘When you’re ready.’
Beta takes a deep breath, her face twisted as she starts inputting code. The machine looks up, but it barely has any time to react as the lights in its eyes shift to a milky shade of white.
‘Done?’ The word comes out more like a question as Beta holds up her hands.
‘Done.’ Elisabet confirms, running her fingers reassuringly through Beta’s hair.
‘That was terrifying.’ She puts a hand to her racing heart.
‘But you got through it.’ Aloy reminds her.
‘Yes, you handled it well. Both of you did.’ Elisabet praises, then turns to click a device that is strapped onto her satchel belt.
The device is a Machine Deterrent. One that she’s been putting together over the past few days. It takes only a moment for it to send out a pulse within a hundred-yard radius, causing any non-overridden machines in the area to scatter in the opposite direction.
With the coast now clear, Elisabet stands in the tall grass and whistles for her Grazer.
Beta and Aloy both do the same, and the tri-colored machines heed their call without fuss.
‘Perfect. Overrides are holding up well.’ Elisabet looks over both of her daughters’ handiwork with an assessing gaze. ‘These machines will be put to good use for the farm.’
They are expecting chicks any day now from their Utaru neighbor, Yel. Elisabet has been preparing for their arrival by making a brooder box and putting finishing touches on the chicken coop. As well as rearranging the garden with Zo to start moving plants down into the field. There will be a proper wire fence and other barriers set up so that the chickens won’t reach the crops once they’re older, but for now what they really need is for the ground to be dug up for fresh seedlings.
Hence Elisabet’s choice of machine for today’s first lesson.
She goes to her own pink Grazer, casually opening up its code. Her fingers travel through it, find a particular string, and expertly input something. Her movements are much too fast for either of her daughters to comprehend, both of them merely observing with growing curiosity. The machine itself doesn’t react at all, but when Elisabet snaps her fingers twice in quick succession, it turns and takes off running.
‘What did you do?’ Beta watches the machine scamper off.
‘I sent it back home.’ Elisabet says simply, bringing up a map of the surrounding area. ‘Aloy, you once asked me how I can control machines.’ She says, earning a nod. ‘This is how.’
Aloy and Beta both observe with fascination as their mother explains how certain parts of a machine’s code can be manipulated to input commands.
‘The base is set up as a location in our focus network. You can find the coordinates here on your map, and they can be set as a destination… here.’ Elisabet points to a specific spot in the trail of numbers that make up a Grazer’s code. ‘All machines have their own code, so it’s not always easy to find, but once you do, you can input any command that you want.’ She explains. ‘Even link those commands to specific keywords, or other machines.’ She then shakes her head, fondly looking back toward the base. ‘Like miss you-know-who that keeps getting her head stuck in the oven.’
‘It happened again?’ Aloy asks, some humor in her voice from disbelief.
The last time that Georgette had gotten her head stuck in Erend’s outdoor brick oven was only about a week ago. The pink Clawstrider, while very docile and having a fondness for humans, strangely also has a tendency to steal things. Be it Elisabet’s tools, Zo’s baskets, Alva’s quilt scraps, and any assortment of socks that happen to be left unattended. She’s even been known to steal Kotallo’s arm once or twice, much to his very heated chagrin.
The oven, however, seems to be on a completely different level when it comes to thievery. Her latest attempt was to steal an entire roasted pig out of the oven after it had already been lit, which, non-surprisingly, almost resulted in her entire nose being burnt off.
At this point, everyone is honestly just surprised that the oven is somehow still standing.
‘Always.’ Elisabet rolls her eyes. ‘But that’s neither here nor there.’ She nods toward the waiting machines. ‘Try it out with your own Grazers. Send them home.’
‘Alright.’ Aloy brings up her focus and walks confidently toward her green Grazer.
‘Okay…’ Beta says, glancing at her sister before hesitantly doing the same
Her white Grazer stands a few feet taller than her, its large frame intimidating as it looms still as an Old World statue. Beta reluctantly stands next to it, only as close as needed, and clicks her focus on to go through the motions of working with code.
She puts all her attention into her task, wanting to get it over with as quickly as possible.
So, when the Grazer inevitably shifts to start grazing once more, she startles.
Aloy’s boots, which are just a tad too big for her, easily catch onto the bramble beneath her feet, and Beta trips pathetically backward onto the ground.
Elisabet and Aloy both turn to her with concern.
‘Are you alright, Beta?’ Elisabet dusts off her shoulders once Aloy helps her up.
‘What happened?’ Aloy asks.
‘Nothing. Nothing happened.’ Beta says quickly, putting her hands up and refusing to meet their gazes. ‘I’m fine.’
Her mother and sister both immediately frown, knowing those words are not to be trusted.
‘You’re sure?’ Aloy presses.
‘Yes.’ She insists, peeking her gaze up toward her mother.
Elisabet looks her over, her intelligent green eyes assessing as she gazes toward the white Grazer then back to her daughter.
From her eyes alone, Beta can tell that her mother clearly does not believe her words.
Beta looks away before their eyes can meet.
‘… Alright.’ Elisabet says, thankfully seeming to take pity on her. ‘If you’re sure.’
‘Yea, it was um, just an accident.’ Beta nods and quickly goes back to work, feeling her mother’s lingering stare at her back. ‘I’m fine.’
Elisabet says nothing more, allowing the topic to drop.
She motions for Aloy to drop it as well, gesturing for her to return to her green Grazer.
An awful feeling settles into Beta’s stomach as she watches her sister interact with the machine, not at all bothered by its presence as she works. Aloy’s posture is relaxed, seeming to take great interest and pleasure from learning something new about machines.
Beta’s shoulders slump, shyly looking away from Aloy toward their mother.
Elisabet has dedicated her entire life to creating machines, both in this new world and that of the Old Ones. Really, if it’s anything that Elisabet is more obsessed with than flowers, it would be machines. And Beta knows full well by now that her mother takes great pride in her work.
So then, really…
How pathetic is it that her own daughter is afraid of them?
After spending a few more rounds of gathering Grazers, the three of them decide to head toward a nearby ruin to break for lunch.
It is a crumbling brick building. With abandoned metal tracks, creeping vines and rusted railcars. The place immediately caught Beta’s interest upon arrival, allowing her jumbled thoughts to gradually fade into background noise as she curiously looks around.
She and her sister are currently sitting side by side, forming a semi-circle with their mother in the ruin. Elisabet is perched upon the only functional seat in the area; a low broken wall in the middle of the building. She tried to protest earlier, stating she’d be just fine on the ground, but didn’t have the heart to argue with her daughters when they both insisted she take it.
Beta silently glances at her mother, before she turns her attention toward her sister.
There is a patch of untouched grass sprouting between them, Aloy casually sitting close but not touching. A fact that is not unusual, but one that bothers Beta. Especially after today.
There is… so much distance between them. Always.
Beta stares at that empty space in the grass, her eyes hardening with resentment. Aloy is not looking at her, busy eating one of the sandwiches that Elisabet had made for them this morning.
She pauses, however, and looks at Beta upon noticing her odd staring at the ground.
‘… What do you think this building used to be?’ Beta asks.
The worlds come out unconsciously, unsure of what else to say in that moment.
‘I’ve been here before. All I know is that the Utaru call it the Restless Weald.’ Aloy shrugs, unbothered as she takes another bite of her sandwich and she taps her focus. ‘There is an ornament around here somewhere, but I haven’t gotten it yet.’ She then turns toward Elisabet curiously. ‘Mother, would you know?’
‘This may be a surprise to the both of you, but I don’t know every single building that we may come across.’ Elisabet says. Her voice holds a certain lightness that Beta has come to know she only uses when around the two of them. ‘But…’ She squints at the crumbling bricks and overgrowth. ‘It was probably a railway station.’
‘Is that sort of like what we saw in Dumbo?’ Aloy asks, recalling that specific scene in detail. ‘At the beginning? When all of the animals were boarding the train?’
Ever since watching that holo, Aloy has seen a few others here and there. No story has ever managed to grip her as much as that first one. But they’ve found that holos can sometimes be surprisingly helpful to bridge any communication gaps between all three of them.
Gaps that tend to just keep getting bigger and bigger with each passing day.
Beta only looks down at the grass once more.
‘Yes.’ Elisabet nods. ‘People would come here from all over to board trains.’ She looks around, her green eyes landing on the rusted tracks outside. ‘Going anywhere they wanted to go.’
‘I wonder what this place was actually called. From back in the Old World.’ Beta muses, allowing herself to get caught up in the mystery of it all. ‘We could maybe find out more if we look around, you think?’
‘Probably.’ Aloy shrugs, and Beta glances at her before looking toward their mother.
Beta has mentioned before that she would be interested in exploring ancient ruins, and Aloy has even said that they maybe could explore one together someday.
But…
While Elisabet has been making leaps and bounds of progress lately, this is the first time that she’s ever been this far away from home. And even though she has been doing just fine so far, Beta and Aloy promised both GAIA and each other that they wouldn’t push her past her limits today.
‘I can watch from here.’ Elisabet picks up on her daughters’ hesitance right away.
‘No.’ Aloy shakes her head. ‘We should probably head back soon.’
‘Right.’ Beta starts, immediately agreeing. ‘We can-‘
‘Girls.’ Elisabet cuts them off, her tone full of logic and reason. ‘It’ll do me no harm to simply sit here for a while so that you two can go explore.’ She waves them off deeper into the ruin. ‘Go on. Get some good bonding time in.’
At their mother’s insistence, once lunch is finished, Aloy scales the wall nearby with ease and helps her sister up to take a better look around.
‘There’s the datapoint I found.’ Aloy gestures to a message left on the floor.
Beta scans the document, excitement rushing through her veins as she finds her first datapoint out in the wilds. She reads it over, taking in the notes left behind of a person berating someone new to this building for not knowing the year it was constructed. She tilts her head as she finishes, going towards the door nearby. Upon approaching the lock, she notices that a key module has already been inserted.
‘It needs a code.’ Beta reads the message over again. ‘There’s a number on the outside of the building?’
‘Right. This is how far I’ve gotten.’ Aloy turns away from her to peek around a giant hole in the wall. ‘I can’t remember why I never finished it. I think I got distracted by something.’
‘Knowing you, that sounds probable.’ Beta says absentmindedly, the words leaving her without much thought.
‘Well, you don’t have to say it like that.’ Aloy says, stepping away from her.
‘Ah!’ Beta realizes her mistake, reaching out for her sister in apology as Aloy jumps down onto the ground outside of the building. ‘I-… I didn’t mean it that way!’
‘Sure.’ Aloy teases. ‘Anyway, sit tight! I’ll look around for the code.’
‘… Okay.’ Beta lets out a breath, her sister’s lighter tone easing her worries.
Even so, she picks at the fur lined bracers around her wrists, sinking into herself as she watches the purple outline of her sister through her focus.
‘Try 1923.’ Aloy calls up to her, prompting Beta to redirect her attention elsewhere.
‘That did it!’ Beta calls back as the door opens. ‘Looks like there’s a zipline into another room.’
She looks at the awaiting zipline, then reaches into one of the satchels around her waist. This Nora Brave outfit still has a few of her sister’s things left in its pockets.
A knife, rope, some climbing gear, etc.
A trolley for ziplining is among them, and Beta looks at it curiously. She gazes down toward her sister, before glancing hesitantly back in the direction of their mother.
‘Okay, I’m coming back up.’ Aloy walks back inside the building just in time to see Beta clumsily go down the zipline.
She can only watch with surprise as her sister crashes through an open hole in the opposite wall, thankfully not slamming into it and breaking her neck. The huntress listens as Beta noisily falls into a hidden room, the sound of clattering rubble clamoring in her wake.
‘Are you okay?’ Aloy calls, coming to stand underneath the hole in the wall. She reaches up and tries to climb, but there are no hand holds in the smooth, ancient brick.
‘Yea. I’m… fine.’ Beta groans. Her voice sounds embarrassed, clearly only having injured her pride more than anything else. ‘Just fine!’
Aloy only snorts in response and goes to follow her. In doing so, she runs into her mother.
‘What was that?’ Elisabet asks suspiciously.
‘Nothing.’ Aloy says as she jumps up to start scaling the wall.
‘It didn’t sound like nothing.’ Her mother raises a challenging red eyebrow.
‘Well… it was.’ Aloy shrugs, a bit of humor in her voice.
Elisabet frowns at her, putting her hands on her hips.
‘Aloy.’ She says disapprovingly.
‘We’re okay, I promise.’ Aloy assures, pulling herself up.
Ultimately their conversation ends there as Aloy hastily follows Beta down the zipline.
‘Okay. Where-?’ She looks around once she lands, spotting her sister nursing a bruise on her knee. ‘Why didn’t you wait for me?’ Aloy puts her hands on her hips in a manner mimicking their mother.
‘I can manage a zipline.’ Beta defends herself shyly, not meeting her gaze.
‘Oh yea? And how well did that work out for you?’ Aloy kneels down, her tone equal parts judging and amused.
When Beta only furrows her brow, still refusing to look at her, Aloy straightens up a bit.
‘Hey.’ She calls for her sister’s attention. ‘What’s going on with you today? You’ve been acting… odd.’
‘It’s nothing.’ Beta shakes her head, her ears red. ‘I already told you I’m fine.’
Aloy looks her over, her intelligent eyes looking so much like their mother’s.
Really, everything about Aloy does.
‘Beta, I get that being out here, in the wilds, it’s probably-‘ Aloy starts.
‘I know.’ Beta cuts her off, gesturing to the firegleam nearby. ‘Can you please just blow up the wall now?’
Aloy frowns, looking her little sister over once more.
When it becomes apparent that Beta won’t say anything more, she sighs and stands, brandishing her spear. She walks over toward the glowing red crystals, absentmindedly hearing Elisabet’s voice float through the open ruins.
‘Hello? Oh, hi Zo, how are you?… No, I’m out with the girls right now.’ Elisabet says, her voice muffled a bit through the brick walls. ‘I am. Why do you sound like you don’t believe me?’ She asks lightly. ‘… Oh. I suppose that’s fair.’ She then sighs. ‘Yes, I promise I am taking it easy. As I hope you are too, for that matter? I know you were worried about the…’
At her mother’s concerned tone, Aloy pauses just before her spear touches the firegleam.
Beta stands up and dusts herself off, having apparently finished sulking.
‘What’s wro-?’ She moves to ask, but pauses as her sister holds up a hand.
They both listen in on their mother’s conversation.
‘Zo, if you want me to go down there… Don’t worry about that. If you need me, I will be there.’ Elisabet says earnestly. ‘Alright, but are you sure?’ Her voice then grows a bit softer as she hears Zo’s presumably next words. ‘Zo, I promise you have nothing to worry about. You’re going to be an amazing mother… Yes. I know so.’ Elisabet then pauses. ‘… Me? I am not a perfect mom, Zo.’ She sighs heavily, her words carrying some unknown weight. ‘To be honest, I don’t even think I’m a good one half the time…’
At this notion, Aloy lowers her spear.
She looks at her sister, who shares a similar look of confusion on her face.
What?
‘Well, thank you, but… No. I suppose you’re right.’ Elisabet relents as their conversation wraps up. ‘Okay, I’ll catch you tomorrow. Goodbye.’
Elisabet’s voice fades, and Aloy takes that as her queue to finally ignite the firegleam. The resounding explosion is deafening, and Elisabet’s startled voice can be heard once the rubble clears.
‘What was that?!’
‘Firegleam!’ Aloy shouts back.
‘Sorry!’ Beta shouts as well.
‘Are you hurt?!’
‘No.’ Aloy walks out of the room just in time to see her mother rounding the corner along the train tracks to meet them. ‘I think we’re figuring it out.’
‘Oh.’ Elisabet says, looking her daughters over worriedly before noticing their destructive handiwork. ‘I see.’ She puts a relieved hand over her heart. ‘Firegleam. Right.’ She repeats, recounting that new world term and what it means.
‘I think we’re almost done.’ Beta says reassuringly, coming to stand by Elisabet.
Her mother tuts and takes her face in her hands, making sure that she’s really alright, as Aloy walks off to pull a nearby railcar into the now open room.
Without any fanfare, she uses it to climb the walls with ease as Beta and Elisabet watch on.
‘You make it look so easy.’ Beta laments.
‘It is. With practice.’ Aloy says, jumping backwards to grab a beam on the opposite wall. ‘You would know. If you got up to train with me every once in a while.’
‘I do.’ Beta defends herself. ‘Sometimes.’
‘Just be careful up there, Aloy.’ Elisabet calls as she watches her daughter cling to yellow pipes and staggered bricks like a Clamberjaw. ‘Please.’
‘Yes, mother.’ A small smile comes over Aloy’s face as she pulls herself up onto the second floor. ‘Always.’
It only takes a moment or two for her to claim her prize.
‘What did you find?’ Beta asks curiously when her sister jumps down.
‘The ornament we were looking for.’ Aloy reaches out, offering it to Beta.
Her sister pauses for a moment, stuck on her sister’s inclusive words. She gives Aloy a hesitant, small smile as she takes the small round object, taking great interest in the moon crescents it projects into the air.
‘There were some other things up there, too.’ Aloy shrugs. ‘But nothing much, just a cache with some shards and an ancient necklace.’
‘An ancient necklace?’ Elisabet parrots, raising a red eyebrow.
‘Yea.’ Aloy says casually, pulling the item out of her pocket and handing it over. ‘Here.’
Elisabet takes it, her brow furrowing with confusion as she silently inspects the small, engraved metal plate and cord.
After a moment, her eyes widen like saucers.
She gasps, dropping it into the dirt and taking a startled step back.
‘What’s the matter, mom?’ Beta startles as well and looks at her with concern.
‘Nothing.’ Elisabet says, shaking her head as Aloy picks it back up. ‘Um, I’m sorry. What did you say it was?’
‘An ancient necklace.’ Aloy repeats. ‘I find them all the time.’ She says, blinking with surprise as Elisabet only seems to grow more visibly upset by that notion. ‘They’re used for selling to merchants. There’s just so many of them lying around that they aren’t worth much.’
‘I… I see…’ Elisabet says.
Something in her eyes grows dark as she looks at it, an unknown weight coming over her face.
‘Mother?’ Aloy asks, concerned, as she reaches to put a hand on her arm.
Elisabet allows the touch but shakes her head quickly.
‘I’m… kind of tired, girls.’ She admits. ‘I’d like to go back, if that’s okay.’
‘Are you hurting again?’ Beta asks with a worried frown.
‘No, just… I think I need to lie down.’ Elisabet turns and quickly exits the ruin.
Her daughters share a worried glance, before hurriedly following after her.
Bonus Scene:
‘Mother, what are you doing?’
Elisabet can’t help the smile that comes over her face.
‘You always ask me that.’ She fondly points out.
‘Well, that’s because you’re always doing interesting things.’ Aloy sits down to watch Elisabet curiously.
The two of them are out in the garden, which looks different now than it used to be. There are less flowers and vegetables about, most of them having already been moved down into the field below. The outdoor furniture is still set up, but without all of the plants, there’s so much more open space now for lounging or for visiting with Varl. And as spring fades into summer, the mountainside has been growing less chilled, so this spot has been plenty popular lately with those in the base.
Elisabet is currently set up in that open, tranquil space, atop a strange rectangular mat as she stretches into an odd pose without any shoes on.
Her focus screen is set up in front of her, appearing to be following along to a holo.
‘I think it’s sweet.’ Elisabet looks over at Aloy with a soft gaze. ‘That you and your sister are always so curious about what I’m doing.’
Aloy looks away, her lips upticking as red warms across her cheeks, remembering a recorded conversation from way back when.
Of Elisabet mentioning what she would want in a daughter.
Aloy says nothing more, her mind resting on that notion as the holo continues.
A voice speaks through the screen, instructing Elisabet to move into another pose. This time on all fours, her back lifted in a position that has something to do with a… dog?
Whatever that is.
‘You never answered my question.’ Aloy prompts, watching her intently.
‘Well, what do you think I’m doing?’ Elisabet asks.
Aloy hums with thought, watching as her mother next lowers all the way down onto the mat, pushing her upper body up like a Slitherfang.
‘I don’t know.’ Aloy says uncertainly. ‘Some sort of dance?’
‘No.’ Elisabet shakes her head, dutifully following along with the holo. ‘I’m exercising.’
‘Exercising?’ Aloy repeats. ‘What, you mean like training?’
‘Sort of. It’s called yoga.’ Elisabet nods. ‘I used to do this a lot back then.’ She straightens up to pause the holo and catch her breath.
‘Doesn’t look like any training that I’ve ever seen.’ Aloy comments, much more used to fighting, running, hiking, climbing etc. to get her own training in.
‘It helps with a lot of things, not just staying active.’ Elisabet reaches for her water bottle nearby. ‘GAIA and I thought it might be a good idea to start it up again. Especially since we’ve all agreed I’m not ready to join you and your sister yet.’ She says, to which her daughter nods.
Aloy has been trying to teach Beta some of the basics of self-defense, particularly how to use a bow and spear. Their sessions haven’t amounted to much, as Aloy is often away, and whenever she is home, Beta still tends to sleep in through the morning hours when it’s best to train.
For now, Aloy is letting it be. But has every intention of dragging her sister up out of bed once their mother is well enough to join them.
Which hopefully won’t be long now. Considering how her recovery has been going so far.
‘What sort of things does it help with?’ Aloy asks, looking over the paused image of the instructor performing an odd pose. This one sort of looks like a warrior’s stance, but the practically of it would be all wrong in the heat of battle.
‘Strength. Flexibility. Pain. Confidence.’ Elisabet lists off with a shrug. ‘Though in my case, peace of mind most of all.’
‘What do you mean?’ Aloy tilts her head.
‘It’s sort of… difficult to explain.’ Elisabet makes a face as she tries to think of the right words. ‘But would you like to try it?’ She offers instead.
Aloy looks from her mother to the holo with interest, curious to know what it’s all about.
‘Sure. Why not?’
At first, yoga doesn’t seem so hard.
Aloy is plenty seasoned when it comes to balance and strength, which seem to be a clear advantage here. But as they continue on, the strange poses become less and less about those things and a bit more…
‘Okay.’ Aloy inhales sharply. ‘Ouch.’
The two of them are kneeling on the mat, bent backwards for their hands to touch their heels.
Camel pose, it’s called apparently.
And it hurts like hell.
“Keep your breaths even and hold here. Lift your heart to the sky, ground your shins down to the mat.”
‘I am.’ Aloy tells the holo instructor with perhaps a bit more force than necessary.
‘I never knew you were so impatient, sunrise.’ Elisabet says with a chuckle.
Aloy shifts, her shoulders shaking. Her back and her legs hurt, having never had to bend like this before. Holding position doesn’t help either, as it only seems to provoke her restless nature.
‘I’m not used to staying still.’ She admits.
‘Me neither, and that’s why I got into this.’ Elisabet says earnestly. ‘When it was first recommended to me, I hated it too.’ She acknowledges. ‘But it’s grown on me over the years.’
Aloy only hums, letting out a relieved breath as they are finally instructed to do something else.
‘You’re like me.’ Elisabet says with a knowing tone. ‘Always thinking. Always doing something.’ She acknowledges. ‘This helps with that. Trust me.’
‘If you say so.’ Aloy says, not sure if she likes this new training from the Old World or not.
They continue onwards anyway through more poses, including one that looks like a tree, some twists, some bends, some lunges and folds.
None of them are that much of a challenge for Aloy.
Until they get to Plow pose.
‘Mother, how are you even doing that?’ Aloy asks, at a loss.
Elisabet is laying on her back, her shoulder blades pressed into the mat and her legs thrown all the way back over her head. She looks almost serene as her toes touch the ground, her arms laid out flat.
‘It takes some practice.’ Elisabet hums, barely shaking as she holds this pose, her eyes closed. ‘But overall, it’s not that hard.’
‘Um, yea I would beg to differ, actually.’ Aloy disagrees, not even close to being flexible enough to pull that off.
The best she can do is keep her back and legs elevated with the added use of her hands.
Even then, she looks nothing like the person in the holo.
Aloy huffs, forcing herself to stretch as much as she can, irritated by not being able to do something that looks so simple.
It’s been a long time since her body has failed her like this, and she absolutely hates it.
‘Don’t strain.’ Elisabet says, not opening her eyes. ‘You’ll hurt yourself.’
Aloy lets out a tight breath through her nose, her brows furrowed together.
‘Aloy.’ Elisabet’s voice is gentle as she opens her eyes, calling for her daughter’s attention. ‘You don’t always have to be perfect.’
Her mother’s words cause Aloy to drop all the way down to the mat in a show of surrender.
She says nothing, only doing as she’s told when the instruction continues.
They do a few more poses after that, before lying flat on the mat for something called shavasana. Which, as Aloy finds out, amounts to simply laying there like a dead fish.
She shifts impatiently, wondering when it will be over.
‘You’re thinking too much.’ Elisabet points out.
Aloy looks at her quizzically, noticing that her eyes are closed once more.
‘How do you know?’
‘I know.’ Elisabet says simply, reaching out blindly to hold her hand. ‘Because I’m your mother.’
Aloy goes to protest, but the words die in her throat.
‘Just breathe, sunrise.’ Elisabet instructs. ‘Try not to think of anything, and just feel.’
Aloy sighs and shifts back down, closing her eyes once more.
She reluctantly calms, trying to do as her mother instructs.
Feel. She can feel the warmth of the rising sun against her skin, and hear the sound of the babbling brook that flows down the mountain. There are Sunwing calls from up high, and the scent of fresh mountain air tickling her nose. If she listens harder, she can hear the sound of Georgette traipsing about in the field below, and the hum of early summer wind swirling the trees.
With each breath, Aloy sinks deeper and deeper into the sensations, absentmindedly wondering if this could be a small taste of why her mother loves it all so much.
She cracks open one eye, peeking toward Elisabet.
Her mother looks completely relaxed among the world, almost as if she’s sleeping.
Aloy unconsciously squeezes her hand, and watches as a smile comes over her face.
The music then slowly fades and the instruction ends, but Aloy does not let go of her mother’s hand.
Elisabet opens her eyes and sits up, turning off the APOLLO interface.
‘How do you feel?’ She asks, turning to her daughter.
‘Um…’ Aloy starts. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Does it feel sort of like you’re floating?’ Elisabet asks, using their entwined hands to pull Aloy up.
‘Yea. I think so.’ Aloy says, sitting on her mat. ‘I feel sort of…’ She holds out an arm, the muscles completely relaxed. ‘Floppy, I guess?’
‘That’s why I do it.’ Elisabet says with a hum and a nod. ‘To just, think about nothing.’ She sighs, a small shadow passing over her eyes as she looks down at the mountainside. ‘Even if it’s only just for a little while.’
Aloy gazes at her, wheels turning in her head.
‘You mentioned before that someone recommended this to you.’ She innocently recalls. ‘Who?’
Her mother noticeably pauses, her posture tensing.
Aloy looks at her, but Elisabet doesn’t meet her gaze as she stands to roll up her mat.
‘It’s not important.’ She puts the mat away into a storage box by the porch swing.
Her daughter goes to press further but grows silent as she notices the expression on her mother’s face. Aloy reluctantly lets the topic go for now, not wanting to upset her about things long past.
Things that are probably better left forgotten in the ashes of the Old Ones.
Aloy follows her mother’s lead by also getting up to put away her mat. When she stands, she’s surprised to find that the floating feeling lingers. It’s a pleasant, calming sensation that spreads over her muscles, almost soothing in a way.
She’s never felt anything like it.
As they are moving to head inside to wake Beta for breakfast, Aloy turns to her mother.
‘Can we do this again sometime?’ She asks hopefully.
‘Of course.’ Elisabet reaches out to fondly brush her fingers through Aloy’s hair. ‘You’re welcome to join me anytime.’
‘Tomorrow.’ Aloy suggests, a small smile coming over her face. ‘At sunrise?’
Elisabet blinks before smiling as well.
‘Sounds perfect.’
Dream Eater Allyphant Creations 
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