Chapter Text
It was late afternoon when Aloy entered the Base with a tired sigh. She was glad to be back, even if it was just for the night. Her arm stung from a recent battle with a Clawstrider. Normally she would never have been caught off guard and been wounded so easily, but she had been distracted by a recent encounter with a Tenakth. Subsequently and embarrassingly, she ended up with a few bruises and a nice little gash on her arm.
She had helped a Sky Clan Tenakth named Ikkotah clean up his lands of machines since his tribe had lost their Marshal during the Embassy battle. That in of itself was no big deal, it was the revelation that the former Marshal was Ikkotah’s love. The heartache when he talked about his loss was tangible. Aloy was no stranger to tragedy, but something about his face when he talked about his lost love kept distracting her as she walked. Therefore, when she ran across a stray Clawstrider, she embarrassed herself by being caught with her guard down.
After the battle, Aloy had quickly determined that the injury wasn’t too bad and would just need cleaning and perhaps a bandage. Since she wasn’t far from the Base, she decided to check in with everyone and resupply before moving on. She still needed to find Poseidon, so she wouldn’t be able to stay long.
Aloy could hear Zo’s voice as she opened the inner doors. Zo must have returned with some new decorations and supplies because she was directing the men. Every time Aloy returned there was something new added to the space. At first, Aloy didn’t understand why Zo would bother with decorating, but Aloy had to admit that her additions did make the place comforting to return to.
Varl was lifting a big plant and Erend’s arms were loaded with a couple of baskets. The Oseram’s armor was off, and she could see the yellow and white stripe of his Vanguard shirt. Zo gave a small wave when she saw her. “Aloy, glad to see you returned.” She turned back to the men and pointed Varl in the direction she wanted the plant.
Erend looked up and smiled. Aloy felt her stomach heat up and again she reflected on Ikkotah’s face when he talked about the ache in his heart. She was troubled at the thought and felt a strong urge to flee to her room. But she stopped herself before she took a step—she was being ridiculous. Aloy turned and walked back toward the others. Erend was no longer looking at her as he helped carry in the extra supplies. This time she couldn’t stop staring at his arms and what might be underneath the loose shirt. She bit her lip at the idea. What was wrong with her? It was that damn Tenakth and his story of heartache. It just got to her.
Aloy tore her eyes away from Erend and felt her face burn at her silliness. A thump of the last basket was accompanied by Erend grunting. He said something to Zo and Aloy lifted her head, she jolted in shock when she saw Erend suddenly in front of her. Before she could question it—her arm was in his hand.
“Your hurt!” he cried as he lowered his head to examine her wound.
“It’s nothing,” she muttered in reply.
Erend’s hands were soft—callused, but softer than she anticipated. This wasn’t the first time he had touched her, but he always had on his gloves. She couldn’t help but notice how huge his hand was next to her arm. He was examining the cut, and she took the opportunity to study him. Erend had recently shaved and trimmed his facial hair. His skin looked smooth, and she noticed a freckle on his head that she had never seen before.
Erend moved her to sit and grabbed some medical supplies. Aloy could take care of her own injuries, but his concern was so genuine that she couldn’t help but let him work. His hands moved gently as he cleaned the wound and then applied a salve. It stung, but she barely noticed it under his tender hands. He then started wrapping her arm in a bandage.
Before Aloy realized what she was doing she was raising her free hand and stroking his newly shaven cheek, feeling the softness of his facial hair. His hands abruptly paused. “Erend,” her voice was a whisper.
She could see his eyes slowly lift to hers—a question—she didn’t know the answer. And before she could figure it out, Varl’s voice broke the moment, “Erend, when you are done there could you help me move some of those plants in the hallway?”
Aloy hastily dropped her hand from his face and Erend blinked in confusion. “Uh, sure—of course.” He let go of her arm and got up. Aloy noticed that he didn’t look at her.
Aloy could still feel the warmth of his touch on her arm and decided that sitting here staring blankly at his missing form was doing nothing, so she went to her room. After pacing for a minute, she picked out some clean clothes, grabbed her soap, and went to the bathroom. The Base’s shower stalls were the best part of coming back and she really needed a wash. Aloy did her best to keep her newly cleansed wound out of the water and for the most part succeeded. She undid her braids and cleaned her hair. She spent a few minutes just standing under the water. It felt amazing on her aching muscles. After a short while, she left the stall and quickly got dressed in some soft Nora leathers.
When she left the bathroom, she didn’t see anyone, so she went back to her room to braid her hair and clean her armor. After an hour she heard Varl announce dinner. She smiled and made her way out. Having dinner with everyone was still new, but she was finding herself enjoying the company. Something she was still getting used to—not being alone.
Erend was his usual inane self and gave no indication of the earlier incident. Maybe Aloy was reading into it too much. He was probably shocked that she touched his face. Which, when she thought about it, was a weird thing to do. Of course, he wouldn’t bring it up. After dinner she went to bed and tried not to think about Erend’s arms and soft facial hair.
The next morning, she left without delay—determined to stay focused.
For once Erend was feeling useful. Zo had just come back from Plainsong with some decorations and supplies, and he was helping her move and carry them. Erend had to admit that it did make the place homier, though he would never confess it to her, or acknowledge that he actually liked the numerous plants. All the metal did make the place feel cold.
Erend smiled as he picked up the heavy basket—lifting and carrying were undeniably on his list of things he could do. All this studying and reading was making his head hurt. However, Erend would do it because he would do anything to help Aloy. Though he really wished she required more things that required hitting and hammering. He felt more comfortable with a hammer in his hands than a focus on his head.
Erend was waiting for Zo to direct him to where his current load should go when he heard her welcome Aloy. He quickly turned and smiled when he saw the red hair. Aloy looked tired, but well. Erend hated that he was constantly worrying about her, but it couldn’t be helped. From the moment he first saw her she had captured him in a way no one else had ever been able to do.
After he set down the last basket he asked Zo, “Do you need anything else moved or carried?”
Zo looked around with her hands on her hips. “No, I think we got it. Thanks for your help.”
While Zo was talking, Erend turned around to examine Aloy, and that was when he spotted her wound. He responded to Zo with a quick nod, before he rushed over and grabbed Aloy’s arm to examine it. Luckily, she didn’t pull away and Aloy let him drag her down to sit so he could give her some medical attention.
Erend noticed that his hands looked so clumsy next to her arm. Sometimes he forgot how small she was since she was the strongest person he knew. He tried to be gentle as he cleaned the wound and applied a salve. Erend was slightly stunned that she was even letting him cater to her and wasn’t chastising him for something she could easily do. He was glad she let him do this small thing, Erend often felt useless around her, and it was nice to be able to help her for a change.
Erend began wrapping a bandage around her arm and unexpectedly, he felt her hand on his face. His body froze in shock. The touch was so gentle. He thought he heard her say his name, so he slowly raised his eyes to question her. He couldn’t read her expression, but before he could figure it out Varl came over asking for help. He felt Aloy drop her hand quickly and whatever it was that had occurred was over. He shook his head. That was odd, but he tried not to overthink it. It was Aloy after all.
When he came back, she was gone, so he decided to take Kotallo up on his offer of sparring before dinner. He was much better at just using his brute strength when he was in battle, but Kotallo was helping him be slightly more strategic when he fought. It was something to work on at least.
During dinner, he tried his hardest to be his entertaining self. His goal was to make Aloy laugh as much as possible as he knew she would be gone on another mission soon.