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The past few months had been quite eventful for Aloy and Seyka. First, Aloy and her red dragon mount had been blasted out of the sky, unceremoniously crashing down onto a beach in the Burning Shores. Then, she met a Half-Elf who had dragged her to her feet and challenged her to see who could defeat most rogue ghouls as they were ambushed. That victory had gone to Seyka. In no time, they realized their goals were intertwined, Seyka needed to find her sister and her people, Aloy was on the hunt for Londra- both of them needed to destroy the arcane cannon atop Starlight Rise.
On their journey, they discovered the missing Quen had been abducted by the notorious sorcerer, Londra. But he hadn't formed his cult following through natural means. He had been controlling most of them with illithid tadpoles. After digging for information about the immortal sorcerer, they discovered he was a mindflayer in disguise, using his illithid powers to make the infected adore him. Seyka's sister was his most devoted follower. She was lucky to be tadpole-free, but it was only a matter of time before Londra would decide to infect the young girl.
Seyka wasn't going to wait for a monstrosity to turn her sister into a mind flayer. She couldn't sit by and watch her people be hollowed out either. Aloy stuck with her throughout the entire journey, not wanting her to face such a powerful enemy alone. They'd been triumphant in all of their battles until Londra got tired of them rescuing his prey.
Londra completely dropped his disguise, revealing his hideous true form. He had taken a few of his most devoted and had transformed them. Seyka and Aloy had fought valiantly against the illithids
None of his taunts and insults could distract Seyka and Aloy while they fought valiantly against the illithids. But in the chaos of battle, Londra had tapped into Aloy's mind, crippling her. Aloy had been helpless when Londra ensnared Seyka, yanking her into his clawed grasp. If Aloy wasn't as headstrong as she is, that could've been the difference between Seyka living or dying horrifically…
Aloy knew she had to leave Seyka soon. She only had so long to prepare for Nemesis after all. But Seyka had asked her to return to where they first met, to say their goodbyes. Even though she hated goodbyes, Aloy wouldn't let herself hurt Seyka the way she'd hurt Erend all those months ago. And she didn't regret it whatsoever. She was finally able to put her feelings into words for the Half-elf, and Seyka had a mutual love for the red haired Tiefling.
Aloy had never been kissed before that afternoon. She'd never wanted to be kissed or to kiss anyone. It always seemed weird to her and she didn't understand why couples did it so much. When she was younger, she couldn't imagine herself kissing a man without cringing. When it came to women, she found it appealing but no one interested her. Not until Seyka. Seyka didn't put her on a pedestal, she didn't give her any new titles, and it felt cathartic to be kissed by someone who respected her and looked past their physical differences.
***
Aloy approached her dragon mount, who Seyka had affectionately named Sunny. She'd been searching the Shores for outposts of Londra's failed colony, killing any mind flayers she found and rescuing any non-infected Quen, but now was her time to leave. She'd stalled long enough. Aloy tied her bags to the dragon's saddle, preparing to return to Base. But she didn't want to go just yet. At the same time, she also didn't know if she should stay for longer.
“Should I tell her? She clearly trusts me, but there's no way she'll trust me if I tell her.” Aloy spoke to herself.
Sunny looked at her and huffed, making an expression as if she were a fool for worrying. Or, at least, that's how Aloy interpreted it.
“What the hells am I supposed to tell her then? “You know how we've been hunting mindflayers and killed an Ulithard mind flayer a few days ago to stop it from making a colony? I'm half-illithid, surprise!” She'd try to kill me at worst or lose all trust in me at best…” Aloy rambled.
The dragon hummed at her and moved its massive wing to pull her closer to its back, telling her to get on.
Aloy listened and climbed on to its back. But her dragon wasn't going to change her mind about this being a bad idea.
Sunny took off without any input from her, turning around and heading back towards Fleet's End.
“No no no! What are you doing? We have to go back to Base, I can't keep stalling like this!” Aloy protested, pulling on the reins.
Sunny resisted and connected with her mind to directly speak to her. “ No, Aloy. You and Seyka must speak about this. If she was able to handle the knowledge of Nemesis, she will not harm you for being half-illithid. For someone with intellect more vast than most humanoids, you often do not think things through. You will tell her exactly what you are. I will not allow you to lie to the girl you love. Master Kotallo would not let you either.” Aloy’s druidic connection allowed them to speak normally without Aloy having to assess Sunny's body language.
Aloy tried pulling on the reins again but Sunny simply ignored her. “Sometimes I hate how similar you are to Kotallo…”
“ He was my first and my true master. While I trust you, I follow the judgment Master Kotallo would have. And I am sure he would do the same as I am doing for you.”
Much to Aloy's dismay, they landed on a sandbar by Fleet's End. Sunny titled its head to the side, gesturing for her to get off. Aloy listened and jumped off the dragon's back. She untied the straps on her pack from the saddle and put it on her back. Sunny turned his head and pushed her forward with his snout.
“Okay okay, I'm going. I just- I don't know how to approach telling her what I am. Do you have any ideas?” Aloy asked.
“ I am not here to think for you. You have explained this to your allies and your clone sister. And how did they react?”
“They were shocked and Beta was scared of me…”
“ But- when you explained why you made the decision to take this power, they understood. Seyka is a very bright woman, this will not be hard for her to wrap her head around. Now go.”
Aloy huffed in annoyance, not appreciating being pushed out of her comfort zone. She paused to take a deep breath. As she looked up at the evening sky, she casted an illusion spell to hide her face once again. Seeing stars twinkle in the sea of the sky made her think of Beta. She smiled to herself, knowing that Beta would tease her mercilessly when she got back to Base.
This relationship stuff doesn't get easier I guess… You can do it, Aloy. You told her about Nemesis and basically ruined the mystique around the Ancestors and she handled that really well. This isn't the craziest thing you've told her.
Lanterns and standing torches had been lit throughout the sprawling settlement, bathing the sandy pathways in warm light. Some Quen put candles inside of stained glass bulbs, making them glow green and blue. She noticed some sailors standing around campfires with bowls of soup in hand, chatting about the past week. A few people gave her strange looks, but, this time they weren't expressions of disgust.
The population of Fleet’s End were elves, half-elves and humans - so the sight of a flame-haired Tiefling with horns as big as a bull’s was a jarring sight to the sailors. But since she had rescued so many of their people, the people that had been wary of her now looked at her kindly. She much preferred this over the way the Quen in Landfall treated her. Being looked at like a deity was beyond embarrassing to her. They behaved as if she would smite them for the smallest transgression when all she wanted to do on the average visit was talk to Alva, help put around the camp and get her armor fixed.
Aloy put her thoughts on the Quen aside for now, centering her focus back on Seyka. She searched the grounds for the dark haired marine thoroughly, tracking her down to the smithing tent down by the shore. As she approached her, she knocked on one of the wooden poles holding up the tarp.
Seyka jolted, whipping around to see who had snuck up behind her. She was fully prepared to attack until they made eye contact.
“Aloy? I thought you left days ago?” Seyka asked.
“Not yet. I found out that Londra had his followers build tons of camps on the islands around us. I was able to save a ton of your people, but there were a few that were too far gone…” Aloy replied.
Seyka looked downcast. She wondered who those sailors were before being morphed into mind flayers. “I'll figure out what their names were and we'll compile a list of the dead. The Admiral will have to send messages to their families.”
“I can't imagine getting a letter about my kid turning into a mind flayer. I don't know how their families will react, but I hope that they'll find peace.” Aloy added. Come on get to the point, Aloy.
Seyka took a deep breath, dreading the day she'd have to write those letters. “So, I assume there's a reason why you came to see me?” Seyka went back to the workbench, fletching a bundle of arrows.
Aloy noticed she didn't have enough feathers to finish the arrows. She knelt down and searched through her bag, finding a pouch filled with perfect feathers. She put the pouch on the workbench.
Seyka smiled at her, thanking her silently.
“There's something important I've been hiding from you. I know, shocking, but this time I had a good reason to hide it. If you end up hating me when I tell you this, that's totally fine, and if you don't, then cool-”
Seyka turned to her and cupped Aloy's face in her hands. “Stop, breathe, think and get to the point.”
Aloy looked stunned, not expecting her to be so blunt. Seyka didn't let go as she waited for Aloy to take a deep breath in. Aloy did as she asked and Seyka let go of her face.
“Now, what exactly have you been hiding from me?” Seyka asked.
Aloy fidgeted with the end of her tail, holding it close to herself. “It's best if I just show you and then go from there. Is there somewhere private we can go?”
Seyka looked at her incredulously, wondering what she could've possibly been hiding. She raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't press further. “We can head to my tent if you need to keep this private.”
“That would be great, actually.”
“Then follow me.” Seyka handed the pouch of fletching feathers back to Aloy and packed up all of her supplies. She took the few finished arrows and dropped them in her quiver. She led her through the camp, leading to a small, secluded tent inside of an ancient ruin. The tent was surrounded by little lanterns with candles inside, illuminating the shadowed alcove. Seyka ducked inside and Aloy followed. They sat down together on a thick bedroll surrounded by woven pillows and blankets. Clearly Seyka had been using them for a long time, judging by the worn stitching on the pillows and the patchwork all over her blankets.
“So, what's with the mystery? And why does this require so much privacy?” Seyka asked again.
Aloy's heart thumped in her ears. Her hands trembled and a bead of sweat rolled off her brow.
“Is something wrong..? You're shaking pretty badly.” Seyka asked with concern in her voice.
Aloy closed her eyes and stopped concentrating on the disguise spell, lifting the veil. She hesitantly opened her eyes and made eye contact with Seyka.
Seyka looked like she'd seen a ghost.
Where there had been soulful green eyes that glimmered in the sun, she only saw an inky black glaze over Aloy's eyes. Dozens of dark veins spread out from her eyes, obscuring the freckles that covered her cheeks and forehead. Her skin looked a shade paler as well.
Seyka gently grasped Aloy's hands. She looked like she was about to cry. “What happened to you..? Who did this to you?”
“It's a long story, but I'll simplify it. I got infected by a mind flayer two years ago, but a man named Sylens protected me from transforming. Way later, my sister had been taken by Londra and his equally disgusting “friends” and they were torturing her. If I had rushed in as I was, all of them would've crushed my mind in a second. But Sylens found something that could give me a fighting chance… I took it and it made me- it- it made me a half-mind flayer.”
“How the Hells have you not physically changed if you're half-mind flayer? Shouldn't your normal body be totally gone by now?” Seyka asked.
“The thing that gave me this power prevents me from transforming against my will. I’ll never transform unless I choose to.” Aloy answered, finding relief seeing that Seyka didn't freak out. “I'm still me, my personality and body haven't changed. Despite everything, I'm still me…”
A small lantern sat beside them, casting a shadow on one side of Aloy's face while the other half had a warm glow. Seyka could see the tiny flame of the candle flickering in Aloy's darkened eyes. Upon closer inspection, she could see Aloy's pupils and irises were still visible. Even with a black glaze over them, she could still see the emotion in her eyes.
“You know, if my family knew I'd gotten this close with a partially-illithid tiefling, they'd probably think you'd infected me.” Seyka remarked.
Aloy laughed nervously. “Telling them about the illithid part probably isn't a good idea. It would already be hard enough for them to accept a tiefling, let alone a tiefling from the “savage frontier”. They'd probably assume I drink blood or something crazy like that.”
“My family isn't that sheltered!” Seyka pushed back.
“I- I'm sorry. That was a bad joke- or at least an attempt at a joke.” Aloy apologized.
“It's fine. They would definitely have some choice words for me if I told them about you, but I'm sure that if they ever get the chance to meet you, they'll like you.”
“I've never exactly had to do something like that. But I'd do it if it would get them to understand- us.” Aloy couldn't believe that she was actually having a conversation like this. They were talking like a real couple, except without the constant overt flirting like Varl and Zo.
“I'm sure Kina would be able to vouch for us too.” Seyka added.
“Yeah, having her would be a great help. How's she doing by the way?”
“She's been really quiet lately but she's eating and drinking fine. She's still shaken up about what Londra did but she's safe here. The crew and I will take care of her and the other survivors.”
Seyka’s remorse for treating her sister so badly was clear as day. Aloy felt tempted to probe her mind and see exactly what she was thinking but she stayed out.
“I have a question. So you have the powers of a mind flayer, which means you can mess with people's minds, right?” Seyka began.
Aloy nodded, wondering where she was going with her question.
Seyka broke eye contact with her, trying to find her words. “Could a mind flayer infiltrate someone's mind and force someone to love them without that person knowing?”
Aloy felt her heart sink. “Yes. That's what Londra did to his infected followers. What are you getting at?”
Seyka paused and took a deep breath. “Have you messed with my head at all? Is this thing we have 100% real?”
“I haven't looked in your head at all. I'd never violate you like that. Even if I was totally okay with probing into people's heads, I wouldn't want to manipulate someone into loving me. It would never feel real to me. If you want proof, I can show you.” Aloy replied, trying not to sound defensive.
“Then show me. I need to know- for my own peace of mind.”
Aloy nodded in understanding. She closed her eyes and gently grasped Seyka's hands. It would be more difficult to form a connection since Seyka wasn't infected, but she could manage. She squeezed Seyka's hands when she successfully formed the connection.
Seyka shuddered from the uncomfortable sensation, but being able to feel Aloy's hands kept her grounded.
Aloy showed her a montage of their time together through her own eyes. From the second they met till the present, she'd never looked into anyone's mind. Seyka could see their fight with Londra from a different perspective. She could hear what Aloy was thinking in that exact moment and she was utterly terrified. Terror turned into a blood boiling rage as Aloy had outstretched a trembling arm and clenched her fingers as if she was crushing something. In the second that she made the crushing motion, Londra’s brain was turned to mush. That was the only time Aloy had ever used her power during her time here. Seyka flinched from the brutal sight. But she suddenly felt calm seeing what was meant to be their final goodbye. She could feel the joy Aloy had felt in that moment when she'd expressed her feelings to the red-head. As they both relieved the event, Seyka felt the dull sensation of something embracing her. Seyka lifted up her arms and returned the hug as she focused on reliving such a wonderful moment. But the connection was abruptly severed.
“Why did you cut it off?” Seyka asked.
“I- my thoughts when you kissed me were pretty embarrassing… You wouldn't want to hear them.” Aloy let go of her, and scratched the back of her head.
Seyka went from confused to giving her a knowing grin. “What kind of embarrassing things were you thinking about?” Seyka gave her a teasing nudge.
Aloy's sunburnt face turned a shade redder. “Nothing bad, if that's what you're wondering.”
“I wasn't wondering that at all. I'm just curious as to what you were thinking about when I kissed you. It wouldn't hurt to let me hear it for just for a second.” Seyka pressed further.
“Hey, I didn't probe into your head, you don't get to probe into mine. Deal?” Aloy replied curtly.
Seyka realized she'd pushed a bit too far. She nodded in agreement. “My bad. But I couldn't help but notice that you really seemed to enjoy that kiss. Interested in getting a second one?” Seyka gave her a playful smile.
Aloy looked stunned, realizing she was serious about the offer. She didn't know what to say so she settled for a frantic nod.
Seyka chuckled to herself. She moved closer to Aloy and cupped her face with her hands, letting Aloy finish it.
Aloy felt more at ease being in such a private place, not worried about possible prying eyes. She still didn't understand how so many people were so comfortable with sharing something so intimate in public. She supposed that ease came with time. But, for now, this was a private moment between her and Seyka. Without breaking the kiss, Aloy reformed their mental connection.
“ Love you, Seyka…”
To Aloy's surprise, Seyka was able to reply.
“ Love you too.”