Chapter Text
Have you ever wondered how everyone recognizes Aloy? Even when she wears Carja armor or Tenakth war paint. When she switches into the clothing of an Utary farmer or she's covered in blood and dirt. People always know it's her whether they have met her before or not. It's not that people describe her appearance to the minor detail nor does she have a distinctive scar or tattoo to tell her apart from all others.
It's the hair. People not only recognize its color but the Nora braids in it. The Nora hair was famous for its complicated braiding patterns, each more delicate than the last. Rumored to signify one's place in the world, tell their age, make them better warriors, connect them to their families, contain secrets and old lore. Some even believed the Nora hid small blades in their braids in order to assassinate people without getting caught. The stories about them were told to children at bedtime, practically the only positive story said about the Nora. It had always been a mystery to the rest of the world what each braid signified, but the Nora could tell so much about one another simply from their hair.
It was like a means of communication. A secret language known only by their own tribe. Almost like the tattoos and paint of the Tenakth, or the sigils crafted into Oseram armor.
And while the stories about the Nora braids went from wild to tame most of them were true. Every braid had a meaning. Each Nora family had their own braid worn by all the members. Some braids did signify someone's age, marital status, and if they had offspring or not. Some braids were only for warriors, some for seekers, others for hunters, and some were only sported by the Matriarchs; these were seen as the most sacred. There were rites on how and where to braid hair. Rules to who was allowed to braid the hair of another. Touching someone's braids without permission was a crime and cutting off someone's braid was to bring them shame. Whenever someone was outcast from the tribe their head was shaved to mark their status for the first year as a recluse.
But none of this was shared with the outside world. The Nora kept their braids and their meanings to themselves and since they didn't leave their Sacred Lands much they never truly needed to explain them either. But that didn't stop the stories from the travelers who came to the Nora lands and accidentally witnessed a braiding ceremony.
Stories spread like wildfire and within months these stories reached the Forbidden West too, echoing to the ears of the tribes there. Soon it was a known fact Nora were told apart from other tribes from their hair, no matter how rare it was to see one outside of their Sacred Lands.
The braids didn't evade the notice of Kotallo either. And the longer he spent at the base the more Aloy's hair and the delicately woven patterns in it caught his attention. When he would speak to Aloy he'd look at her eyes, but when she would turn her back and walk away it was her hair his focus was always drawn to. Within a week he wanted to learn how to braid. He collected as much data into his focus as he could about braids and even asked Gaia about them. He didn't dare ask Varl, in case he would offend him, but the longer he went without knowing everything about Aloy's hair; the more he burned with the need to learn.
He found himself walking to the door of the room he usually studied in and just standing there, leaning against the frame whenever Aloy would pop by to get more supplies. And there he'd stand and watch, see her hair glimmer under every light, how it would be shiny after she'd have a wash, and how it was messy after taking down machines. How you could always see from her hair what mood she was in. Her hair was stationary on her back when she was relaxed and not in a hurry. Her movements turned jerky and the hair would fly around from her motion when she was stressed. And when she was happy she had a tiny bounce in her step, making strands of her hair bop on occasion.
It was clear she took good care of her hair. Whenever she would enter the base with her hair a mess she would go into her room, close the door and appear an hour later with it being flawless again. And whenever this happened Kotallo would casually find a reason to walk past her room because a lovely scent would waft out of it that he was never able to fully place. It was strangely familiar, but he couldn't tell where from.
On occasion, Varl would smell like this too, but much rarer and it wouldn't last as long almost like an afterthought that was masquerading as a scent.
But Aloy's hair was always the same. She wore the same braiding patterns; until one day. It was an odd occurrence. Aloy had come to sleep at the base the night before and stayed the whole day after, which was something she never did. Varl seemed distracted all day, going into his and Zo's room on multiple occasions and staying there longer than was normal for him. At first, Kotallo thought Varl and Zo had endured another fight and Aloy had stayed to try and appease the situation, but soon night fell and people retreated to bed.
But something told Kotallo it was a day of significance somehow. And at midnight; he woke. Two of the compound's doors opened almost at the same time and the slapping of bare feet on the floor nearly echoed in the main room. He wished he would have a reason to get up, but instead he listened. For a warrior like him, it was impossible to sleep while someone else was awake and moving around at the base. His heart found no rest when others were awake.
For a few minutes, he could only hear candles being lit as two people walked quietly- not speaking, around the main room. Soon the sounds quieted down but no doors closed or opened for another hour. From what he could tell the two people were still there and so, he lay still, eyes open staring at the roof, hoping that the others would retreat to bed soon so he could find sleep as well.
But no luck. It felt like hours passed, but he didn't truly know how long it was. He waited for his queue to sleep, but for quite some time it wasn't given to him. Then; just as he thought he was going to have an entirely sleepless night; the two people got up, whispered something unintelligible, and retreated to their rooms, with the sound of two wooshing doors.
That morning Kotallo woke up later than the rest. Not by much, but enough so that Erend gave him a strange look having gotten used to the marchal being up first. "Bad luck with sleep?" The Oseram asked and Kotallo, surprising everyone nodded. It wasn't like him to admit a weakness such as lack of sleep. "Well then, let's drink tonight! Some ale in you might make you sleep easier." Erend smiled, having found his excuse to drink for the day. And this one was actually a far better one than the one he'd come up with 3 days ago when he claimed it was an Oseram tradition to celebrate with a heavy drink when fixing a leak in the ceiling. Which also had been his task for said day. Now one of the rooms had some wood nailed to the roof to cover up a gash that was leaking due to a broken pipe. Gaia had informed them it was not a good permanent solution to which Erend had retorted that it simply gave them a reason for another 'fixing the leak' party in a few days' time.
Kotallos eyes were drawn to Zoe, who stood with her arms crossed, looking at data with her focus and doing her best to ignore Varl, who was speaking with a rushed tone, clearly apologizing for something. Perhaps Kotallo had been right in his guess that the two of them were fighting, but he seemed unable to give his entire concentration to the couple as he went to get breakfast and his mind circled on last night. It had been strange for two people to meet up in secret in the middle of the night and he didn't like it one bit.
Two people on the base had a secret and it wasn't hard to guess who. Erend had been steadily snoring all night and only Aloy, Zo and Varl had rooms with doors that would make such a sound when left. So clearly Aloy had to be one of the people in the mystery meeting and it was either Zo or Varl that had met with her.
A dark thought about Aloy and Varl having an affair clouded Kotallo's mind and for a moment he felt a pressure in his chest that grew heavier and heavier as he gave more thought to the subject. He mistook his alarmed state for concern for Zo and how hurt she would be by such a betrayal and wondered if that was the reason for the woman's anguish now.
He'd seen the way Varl looked at Zo and believed he was in love with the Utaru woman... But at the same time, he'd also seen how the Nora man looked at Aloy, and the two looks were all too similar speaking of a multitude of mixed feelings and inner turmoil. He was certain Varl had been in love with Aloy at one point. That it was the reason he had rushed to follow her into the Forbidden West and the core of his devotion to her, but did he still love her? Did his heart thump in his chest like Kotallo's did when looking at Aloy? Did his breath catch in his throat as the woman approached? The pressure in Kotallo's chest grew heavier still as he imagined Aloy and Varl kissing in their little private meeting last night, but a gentle touch on his arm shook him from his thoughts.
Aloy. And just like that, the pressure was gone. She looked a little tired, but happy nonetheless. She smiled up at Kotallo and asked something. It all flew past his head. By the ten she was beautiful. She was so close and all he could do was take in her scent. That familiar waft that came from her room sometimes hit him so fast it was all he could acknowledge. It seemed to seep from Aloy like fresh mountain air or the smell of grass with morning dew on it. The scent was clean and so strong, far stronger than it had ever been before.
"What?" Kotallo asked, clearing his throat and shaking his head a little as he brought himself back to earth, switching to breathing through his mouth to get rid of the distraction.
Aloy was still smiling and offered something: "Would you like an orange for breakfast? I know they're rare nowadays. I bought them two days ago from a merchant and I forgot to add them to the food pile."
Kotallo looked down at the woman's hands and there it lay, an orange. Fresh and such a vivid color against her skin. Kotallo hadn't seen one in more than a year. "I- Thank you." He said as he accepted the gift and put down the apple he had picked from the pile a moment ago. Aloy's fingers grazed his skin as the orange exchanged hands and then she walked away to Erend to give him one too. She seemed to have got one for everyone at the base and Erend proceeded to make a large commotion about Aloy's offering.
"An orange! I haven't seen one in ages. I hope it burns my tongue so I may remember the taste for days. Thank you, Aloy! Where did you come across such a thing?"
But Kotallo listened no more. Aloy sat down by Erend and moved her hair to the side. There it lay. A new braid. After months Aloy's hair... Had changed. There was something new. This braid started from behind Aloy's ear and seemed to extend sideways to the base of her neck, where it was secured with a blue wooden bead and flowed openly to the rest of her hair. It was braided in a way where it seemed to lay smooth against her skull unlike any of her other braids. It was made with carefulness clearly and every hair seemed to be exactly in its place.
And just as Kotallo was about to ponder its meaning he spotted a matching one in Varl's hair. In every other way, his hair was the same as usual. But this new braid lay tightly to his skin, almost impossible to see from how smoothly it had been made amongst the rest of his hair.
The two had done each other's hair last night. Kotallo was sure of it. But why? Had they done it before? What did it mean? Why last night? Why sneak around alone? It's not like braiding was somehow obscene... Unless this braid signified their secret dalliance. Perhaps with these braids, the two had claimed one another? Perhaps...