The Sweet Escape |Part 2| The Nora

Chapter 8 - Detour

As soon as she landed her Sunwing near the Plainsong's western gates, Aloy barely managed to hide her excitement to see Zo again. Her dear Utaru friend had been such a crucial support recently...

She helped her to clear her mind after her altercation with Shirin at the Tenakth shelter a few days before, but not only.

Most importantly, she prevented her from locking herself up in the lonely fortress of her self-sacrifice and burying all her newfound feelings for Erend. And for that, Aloy would be eternally grateful.

She promptly jumped off the robotic bird and Erend followed, sliding from its back with a growing ease. To her great surprise, he approached the mount's front and patted its neck affectionately.

"Stay put, Sunny. We'll be back soon."

He turned around to find Aloy staring, completely baffled.

"You know he's not going anywhere, right...? He's overridden... And... Did you just call it Sunny?!"

He shrugged. "Well, we have and will spend a lot of time in its company and also..." A cheeky smile drew on his lips, "After our little 'session' yesterday on the mountain, he's kinda part of the family, don't you think?"

He quickly closed the distance with Aloy as he saw her face take a pretty rosy blush at the allusion. He placed a soft kiss on her lips and concluded in a low voice, "He deserved to get a name."

She remained silent for a few seconds, her eyes darting between Erend and the Sunwing.

"I guess you're right..." She finally returned his smile and picked up his hand before guiding him towards the gates. "You have a talent for finding nicknames. Sunny... it suits him well."

"Like 'brightspark' or 'firegleam' suits you well," he declared in a charming voice, gladly tangling his fingers with hers. He held himself a little taller after she naturally reached for him like this... Aloy definitely wasn't the touchy type, so it warmed his heart even more and filled him with pride.

She finally shot him a sidelong glance, concluding, "I'll leave it to you to judge that, but I can assure you I prefer this to 'Savior' or 'Champion' or 'Anointed'."

He let out a low chuckle and they walked together into the settlement.

Unlike Scalding Spear, Erend had already come a few times in Plainsong, accompanying Varl and Zo during their short visits when they were all living together at the Base. The town was like a vegetal vertical maze, intricate suspended walkways twirling around and connecting with the giant platforms that were in fact Old Ones' satellite dishes. He wasn't familiar with every sinuous track but he could make his way to the key locations.

A major point of difference with the Tenakth pointy designs and architecture, was the Utaru's preference for everything round and curvy. This was much more to Erend's taste, as most of the Oseram constructions were also following easy geometric principles: round and circular, or square and rectangle.

Simple. Sturdy. Robust.

Where the Oseram loved stone and steel though, everything here was plant-based, light timber, reed, bamboo or thick leaves weaved tightly to create strong building materials and delicately bent to replicate the curves of Mother Nature. Erend had to admit that this was creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere, and where the Oseram buildings, especially in the Claim, could be quite cold and daunting, the Utaru style was more inviting to peaceful reverie and wandering.

How hard he was wishing they could just go for a stroll, hand in hand, their enamored gazes lost in each other's, savoring those delightful moments of their blossoming relationship... Where they could sit and just watch the landscape, where he could lean in for another kiss... Lose himself in her delicate smell of pine and dried flowers... Circle her shoulder, bring her close...