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Hunting with Talanah was always a thrill: the casual and easy banter, the way they synced up and played off of each other’s strengths…Aloy missed this, when Talanah returned to the East.
They were making quick work of a small herd of Clamberjaws that were starting to move in on Carja territory. Clamberjaws were always a hassle—the two found themselves rolling and leaping out of the way to avoid blasts of Blaze fire and cascades of sharp rocks.
“Good dodge!”
Talanah’s voice broke through the chaos, and Aloy smirked as she came out of a roll, sinking a hardpoint arrow into the machine’s optical sensor array. It reeled back, momentarily blinded, giving Talanah the opportunity she needed to finish it off with a thrust of her blade.
The fight was going well. Maybe too well. Because amidst the chaos, they didn’t hear the Fireclaw approach.
Not until it was too late.
Aloy caught the moment where Talanah’s triumphant grin slackened and twisted into horror, eyes fixed at a point over Aloy’s shoulder. She twisted, catching sight of the machine just as Talanah screamed.
“Aloy, watch out!”
The machine was upon them too fast. Before Aloy could dodge, the lumbering beast rammed into her. With dexterity that seemed impossible for a machine so large, it scooped her up like she weighed no more than a sack of maize. Aloy tried desperately to wriggle from its grasp, but it held her tight. Fire dripped from its maw, singing her cheeks as it hoisted her up.
Behind her, Aloy could hear the desperation in Talanah’s yell as she fought her way through the remaining Clamberjaws. The brush around them started to smolder and spark, caught between the Fireclaw and Clamberjaws’ Blaze attacks. The heat started to become unbearable.
Aloy managed to land a solid kick against the Fireclaw’s mandible, but all it seemed to do was annoy the machine. It roared and tossed Aloy like a doll. She slammed into a tree, air leaving her lungs in a shuddering gasp. Her helmet saved her skull from the worst of the damage, but she felt a searing pop in her rib cage.
Talanah was at her side in moments, despite the nasty gash Aloy could see across her cheek.
“Talanah, you need to get out of here,” Aloy gasped out, desperate to regain her breath.
“No chance,” Talanah replied, sliding her arm underneath Aloy’s armpit. With a pained grunt, she hoisted Aloy up, leaning heavily against the tree behind them.
At the same time, the Fireclaw was readying it’s next attack, scooping up the surrounding gravel.
“Watch out!”
Aloy pushed Talanah off of her in time, taking the full force of the flaming rocks that showered down. Unable to defend herself, the barrage battered Aloy. Her armor wasn’t enough to protect her from the burning impacts and she collapsed.
Talanah shouted, scrambling to her feet. She managed to drag Aloy behind the trunk of the massive tree just in time to avoid the cascade of fire that washed over it. Luckily, their quick disappearance seemed to confuse the Fireclaw; it swiveled its giant wedge of a head as if looking for them.
“Just leave me—“ Aloy moaned, clutching her side. Burns and welts dotted all of her exposed skin. In Talanah’s arms, she trembled from the pain.
“I’m not going anywhere.” The force in Talanah’s voice hit as hard as the Fireclaw did.
Aloy shook her head, desperate to get her Hawk to safety. “Talanah, you have a better chance of getting out of here without me. I can hide—“
“Enough, Aloy. You’re my Thrush. I’m not leaving you behind, not ever. Now sit tight while I take care of this machine.”
“Talanah, wait—”
But Talanah was already on her feet, sprinting back around their shelter. Aloy groaned and slumped back, grasping for the bottle of cleansing solution tucked into her belt pouch. She weakly brought the cork up to her lips and popped the bottle open with her teeth. The relief she felt once she was able to drop the potion over her burns was almost immediate, taking the edge off the pain.
She let the empty bottle drop from her grasp and grabbed a handful of berries, shoving them into her mouth without ceremony. The tart burst of them alone steadied her. Limbs still shaking, she pushed herself back against the trunk and used its leverage to come to her feet, wincing as her side spasmed. Yup—at least one of her ribs was definitely broken. Great.
“I need to help Talanah. Got to—breathe through the pain—“
With a grunt, Aloy managed to slide her sling over her forearm. She didn’t think she had the power to draw her standard bows, and her warrior bow wouldn’t make a dent on the machine’s armored plates. The sling was probably the best she could manage. She loaded up a freeze bomb and rounded the tree trunk, only a little unsteady on her feet.
It was hard to see through the smoke. Between the burning brush and smoking Clamberjaw carcasses, the battlefield was smothered in it. Flashes of light and an angry roar erupted to Aloy’s left, and she raised her blast sling.
Talanah appeared through a break in the smoke, only slightly worse for wear. Her shoulder pads were singed, but she hadn’t been deterred; she danced around the emerging Fireclaw like a vengeful goddess of death. She darted in and out, slicing through metal sinew and sac webbing with her sword like it was a part of her arm. Aloy could only watch as she dodged each swipe of the machine’s claws; with Talanah in close range, she couldn’t risk shooting off a freeze bomb and injuring her Hawk.
Both of the Fireclaw’s shoulder sacs had been pierced, Blaze dribbling out like blood. With a burst of speed, Talanah shot around the beast and severed the wire tendons behind its knee. The Fireclaw dropped back down onto all fours and Talanah darted back out of range.
Now it was Aloy’s turn. Biting her lip to hold back a pained grunt, she drew back her sling and fired. The freeze bomb burst on impact, showering the Fireclaw with chillwater. Two more bombs followed; Aloy fired until the chillwater formed a thin sheet of ice over the machine. It visibly slowed, confused by the sudden attack from behind.
The ice made the Fireclaw’s armor brittle. Talanah’s next thrust pierced deep into the machine, and she must have hit something vital, because the red glow drained from the machine’s eyes. It slumped forward, lifeless and still. Talanah tugged out her blade from the carcass and looked up, meeting Aloy’s gaze with dark, blown-out pupils.
Despite the heaving of Talanah’s chest as she sucked in lungfuls of air, triumph flushed across her skin. Aloy felt her own skin prickle, heat blossoming on her cheeks. Her Hawk looked dangerous. She looked—
Vertigo overtook Aloy. Her vision swam and she slumped back against the tree, grunting at the impact. Talanah was at her side in moments, checking her pulse and peeling back her eyelids.
“You have a concussion,” Talanah stated matter-of-factly. “We need to get you to a settlement. Can you call one of your mounts? I don’t think I can carry you.”
Aloy groaned and tapped her Focus, pinging the Charger she’d left to graze earlier. Its system acknowledged the call.
“Should be here…soon,” Aloy mumbled, and Talanah grasped her shoulder.
“Hey, you’ve got to stay awake. You know how this goes.”
Keeping her eyes open was a struggle, but at least Aloy had a reason to: Talanah’s face was so close to hers. She could trace the freckles sprinkled across the bridge of Talanah’s nose—if only she could get her vision to cooperate.
“Pretty…” Aloy mumbled, and the realization she had spoken jolted her to attention like cold water.
“Pretty beat up,” Talanah drawled, but her cheeks warmed. “I think I hear your Charger. Let’s go.”
With difficulty and a great deal of help, Aloy managed to sling a leg over the machine and mount up. Talanah settled behind her, and to Aloy it seemed like she was more careful than usual. She was trying not to jostle her injuries, probably. Talanah reached around her to grab the reins Aloy had fashioned to the beast, and Aloy let herself slump backwards against her chest.
“Thanks, Talanah,” she said weakly.
“Anything for my favorite Thrush,” Talanah joked back.
It was nice that Talanah took the lead in getting them back to civilization, keeping her awake with anecdotes from the Lodge. But what was even better? The way Talanah held her tightly the whole ride.
Maybe she should get injured more often.