Chapter Text
Seyka, as it turned out, was extremely competent at life-threatening tasks… and only mediocre at everything else.
“I’m planting,” Seyka said, lifting her chin just so.
“We call it gardening.” Exasperation and amusement warred in Zo’s tone. She rested a hand on her pregnant belly as she eased to the ground beside Seyka.
The path to Varl’s gravesite was littered with holes: some with poorly packed soil and tiny sprouts, some with whole saplings crammed into spaces far too small. The summer wind, absolutely frigid at this altitude, whipped up the mountainside.
Even the saplings were shivering.
Aloy covered her mouth to hide her laughter. “Gardening, huh? When you said you were ‘too busy’ to come hunting with me, I expected—”
“Combat practice? Rock climbing?” Seyka’s eyes gleamed. “Listen, those were fine when my tribe’s survival was at stake, but I’m on vacation now. You’ve got to learn to relax, sunwing.”
She’d started calling Aloy that a few weeks ago: sunwing. “Because your hair is red like the sun. Also, because of how you face-planted when we first met.” Then she laughed and laughed as Aloy’s cheeks turned as splotchy red as her hair.
Now Seyka pulled it out to poke fun at Aloy—but the nickname still made Aloy’s stomach flip.
A bit like flying, actually.
Aloy’s face flushed. Zo smirked, which made it so much worse. Shit. The group knew Seyka was… special… to Aloy, but none of them had asked for details. On the one hand, it was nice that she was offered privacy. On the other hand, it left Aloy wondering how much they’d surmised—and what was fabricated to satisfy their curiosity.
“I can relax,” Aloy spluttered. “I put candles in my room—”
“Oh right. You do have a room. I forgot, because I’ve only ever seen you drifting asleep on your mounts between distress calls.”
A challenge.
Aloy crossed her arms. “Oh, oh. You’re one to talk. Filling every waking minute with combat practice with Kotollo and Erend.”
“That was six times.”
“In six days.”
Seyka’s smirk turned devilish. “Well. You could invite me into your room, with its spectacular candle-filled ambiance. We could always test your bed. Learn to relax together.”
Zo continued tending the sprouts, as if they weren’t having this conversation beside her. But she was listening aptly, if her knowing smile was any indication.
Aloy, meanwhile, felt like she was in the middle of the desert. Heat slid up her spine, warmed her veins until she might die of embarrassment. “Really? Just going straight to that, huh?”
“You started it, sunwing.” And with a wink, Seyka redirected her attention to the sapling. “The point is, relaxing is important. You must have hobbies other than saving the world, right?”
Aloy stared, jaw unhinged.
Because she didn’t.
Not really.
Seyka clapped her hands together, giving the pine sapling at her knees one final pat—like one might a friendly dog. “There we go. Perfect.” The sapling was perched at a precarious angle, jutting out over the abyss. The next strong wind might blow it over—and Aloy opened her mouth to say that.
But Zo stepped in smoothly, felt the roots, and the soil, and smiled. “It will have to fight to survive… but with a nurturing hand, it will prove it’s stronger than all the others.” She gestured at the other saplings and sprouts, none of which had the same fight ahead of them.
“Oh. I’ll be so fucking nurturing.” Seyka said aggressively.
Aloy scrubbed her face. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”