Unintended

38

It slowly became increasingly clear to those that were hidden away in nearby Cauldrons, that something was not right. Though radio silence was a must, even still, it seemed like the time between last contact with Aloy, and now, was too long. It was firstly an obvious thing that Hephaestus would likely put up a fight, making it hard if not near impossible to capture it. But even still, surely by now at least one of them would've heard from Aloy, or the others?

It was Erend that drove for something to be done, definitely more of a person for action than sitting around waiting, something in his gut just didn't feel right. It wasn't nerves about everything this mission entailed, no, this was a feeling like something seriously wrong had happened. The overridden Charger which he had rode to his Cauldron still waited for him outside. He communicated with everyone else to converge on Gemini. What was the point of them all hanging around here for more time than what they had already? Nothing was being accomplished by sitting and waiting. Plus, if something was happening, then they could surely aid?

Zo and Kotallo seemed to take to Erend's plan quite readily, Alva wasn't too certain. "Aloy said to wait for her word," her voice came through Erend's Focus, she sounded worried. But more for the fact that she was going against their friend's words, than anything else. Which yes, Erend understood, he didn't exactly feel right going against Aloy's words, but at the same time he could not ignore this lingering nagging feeling in his stomach. Something wasn't adding up, and he wasn't too sure why or what the reason was, but he sure as anything was going to find out.

"Listen, I get that. But I also can't help but feel like we would've heard from her by now. Anyone else think something doesn't feel right, or is it just me?" Erend by now had seated himself on the Charger and nudged it into a slow walk. He didn't want to be jostled about while trying to have a conversation here, but he did urge the machine into a faster trot the more it went along the pebbly path.

"It wasn't like we were given a time limit, Erend." Zo replied, though she did sound hesitant. Erend couldn't help but feel like she was agreeing with him, even if her words said otherwise. Even if she was interested in his plan to go to Gemini, it did seem like there was an apprehension to leave her Cauldron too.

"Well has anyone heard from Varl or Nureka? Even Beta? One of them would've got in touch now, don't you think?" Erend frowned as he lowered his body down against the machine as it picked up its pace, now fully running he stayed low to make less resistance. Regardless of what two of his companions thought, he was still going to Gemini because he was adamant that something wasn't right. It was a gut feeling, really it was, but Erend wasn't one for ignoring inklings, inklings often needed to get chased up; be it fine, nothing is wrong, or something was, for peace of mind more than anything, he needed to get to Gemini.

"It has been more time than I thought necessary. But then as Zo has said, we weren't aware to how much time this would take. If you are already on the way, I will meet you on the road." Kotallo's voice seemed calm enough, though Erend would like to believe he sensed lingering worry in his tone.

They should all be worried, these were their friends and loved ones and really, Erend for one wanted answers. He would take the full brunt of Aloy's wrath if they stumbled in, and all was fine. But walking around an empty Cauldron with nothing to do but look over the odd mechanical structures was slowly driving Erend nuts. He didn't do good with sitting still. True though, everything could be okay, but what if it wasn't? He was hoping he wasn't looking too into a moment, however if he were in Zo or even Kotallo's position; he'd want to know if his partner was okay. The Charger turned a corner and continued on, a low rumbling coming from it as its mechanical hooves kicked up dirt and pebbles.

The sounds of bird calls and even the odd machine noise from the distance was an interesting contrast of peace that had become this planets ambiance. Regardless of the calming noises around him, and the breeze which made the leaves above him rustle about, Erend just stayed solely focussed on getting to Gemini. He couldn't say that the gut feeling was dying down at all; if anything, he supposed he could say that the closer he was getting, the worse the feeling was getting. Hearing oncoming hoofbeats, he looked to the side and wasn't too surprised to see Kotallo staying true to his word and meeting him along the way. It seemed that the other interlocking roads and paths had their friends travelling down, regardless of any reservations.