#might see if I have an old save from my ps4 transfer tho. will likely be producing many gifs and videos if I ever have time

[katiemcgrathisdaddyaf]

waves come crashing

“The open sea ahead and Fleet’s End disappearing behind us… along with everyone in it.”

Aloy feels a pang of sympathy. “Why do you put up with them?” Perhaps she’s never understood this bond to a tribe, never had the opportunity, but she struggles to see why someone would want to stay with people who don’t appreciate them.

“Well, it wasn’t always like this. I was a good marine. A good sister. I felt like I belonged,” Seyka explains. “That belonging is a strength, one that keeps me going even in the roughest seas. When you have something like that, you can’t cast it aside.”

Aloy thinks of Beta, of her friends who she’d go to the ends of the earth for. With them is the only place she’s ever truly felt like she belonged, not a tribe or a place. She supposes she can relate to that.

“I see,” Aloy starts. “You know, your people don’t know how lucky they are… to have you.”

Aloy’s stomach leaps up to her heart as she says it. It’s the way the boat hits the wave, the moment the hull leaves the water and they’re in the air. That’s all it is. Nothing more. A simple human reaction, not unlike the fall from her Sunwing earlier, or the countless times grappling from the side of a sheer cliff.

“I don’t know about that,” Seyka says, doubt laced in her voice.

Aloy winces at the sentiment. It doesn’t sit right. Seyka is clearly talented, strong-willed, intent on the survival of her people.

There’s a deep, angry burn in Aloy’s chest.

Seyka deserves better.

Aloy can’t help but imagine how well she’d fit in with the rest of her friends — how they seem to be a group that doesn’t quite fit in anywhere else. She wonders what it’d be like to bring Seyka to the base, what bunk she’d get, how their spears would stack alongside one another by the door. Maybe she’d like Zo’s cooking, or Erend’s Oseram ale.

But she's getting ahead of herself. Seyka has too much to worry about as it is. She’s not ready to learn about Gaia, the Zeniths, Nemesis, the imminent destruction of their world. She doesn’t need that burden.

No. Aloy will help Seyka find her sister, take care of Londra, and be on her way. Back to the Forbidden West, back to her own mission.

“I do.” The words slip out of Aloy’s mouth before she can stop them.

There’s no wave to excuse the flutter in her gut this time. The silence between them is louder than the engine propelling the skiff.

Aloy mentally kicks herself for saying it. She’s not even sure why she feels the need to push this.

But it’s true. Aloy knows. She may have only just met Seyka, she may not understand the customs of the Quen, but Aloy knows what it’s like to come from a tribe that doesn’t see value in her.

She knows that pain — the desire to be accepted, to be recognized — going as far as to risk her life for them. The burden is a heavy, ceaseless weight, harder to bear alone. And if Aloy can help her bear that weight…

“There,” Seyka points out. “My people’s boats.”

She drives the skiff onto the beach. The awkward conversation is left behind with the water as they turn their focus to the mountain and the Horus on top. There’s no time to sort out her emotions — there never is. Defeating Londra is what’s important, preparing for Nemesis. This… this feeling can wait.

~also posted on ao3~

#I’m sorry I cannot get enough. especially this scene for some reason idk!!! #finished the dlc last night and I am So Normal about this okay #I’m actually kicking myself rn bc I didn’t do a manual save before starting the dlc and I already wanna replay it #might see if I have an old save from my ps4 transfer tho. will likely be producing many gifs and videos if I ever have time #seyloy #horizon forbidden west #horizon forbidden west burning shores #burning shores #burning shores spoilers #horizon zero dawn #aloy #seyka #aloy sobeck #aloy x seyka #don’t mind me rambling to the void