Thunderjaw Heart - Horizon Zero Dawn Fanfiction

Good to see you

Here. Right here was sitting Kïma, arms crossed, holding her chin with one hand.

She had longer hair, but the shaven part now had a geometrical tattoo.

She wore a nice outfit, made with different layers and her "Zero Dawn" tattoo was invisible, hidden under her sleeve. Nothing "Nora" about her outfit, though. That was surely annoying some of the Braves around. Good.

Aloy approached her hesitantly. She had no idea what to tell her but she had to have a talk with her.

"Hey'', she simply said.

What a stupid way to begin a conversation. She would have slapped herself, but Kïma turned to her, preventing her from doing so.

Her eyes shone when she recognized her and a bright smile appeared on her face as she jumped from her seat, throwing her arms around Aloy's neck.

"Wow, Aloy, I didn't expect you to be here! What a pleasant surprise !", she exclaimed.

The huntress tried to hide her blushing with her hair, angry with herself. She never blushed. She was never speechless. Never, except when Kïma was around. She was just intrigued, nothing more.

"I didn't expect you either! What are you doing here ?", Aloy asked.

She fought the urge to slap herself once again. It was more than obvious. She came here to watch the Proving.

"Why don't we go a bit further to talk? To make sure we're not disturbing the Matriarch."

Aloy nodded and followed Kïma to a small table. The machine tamer told her to wait a bit and came back with two of the breads Aloy had seen earlier.

"For you. As a gift for our reunion", said the collector with a wink.

The redhead thanked her twice, before asking her again what she was doing here. The bread had a really sweet taste, as the inside was filled with fruits.

"I came here to take part in the Proving. I want to win it, because merchants avoid me more and more. It's unlivable. They didn't even want to buy my Stormbird's lens ! A Stormbird lens ! They don't want to sell me any weapons, any food, or any clothes."

Aloy had frozen when she heard Kïma was going to fight in the Proving. She would have to fight against her. There could not be two winners.

"I... I also came here to fight in the Proving", she admitted, gulping.

Kïma stopped chewing her bread and looked at Aloy like she didn't believe her.

"I want to have answers about my mother. About why they made me an outcast at birth. About Rost too. Those questions follow me since my birth and I finally have the opportunity to get them answered."

Kïma nodded slowly and whispered :

"Damn, I feel like my reason to fight tomorrow is pointless, now. I sincerely hope you'll get your answers, Aloy, but I think you perfectly understand that during the Proving, I'll be a simple competitor."

"I do. I don't expect you to be less than that."

There was then a weird silence. Aloy felt incredibly uncomfortable, so she hurried to change the conversation's subject :

"I tried to get you a present, to thank you for your chimes. But I didn't think we would meet again so soon and I needed time to train so... Sorry, I have nothing for you."

"Oh, you know, I didn't give you these chimes expecting something in return", Kïma smiled.

"I know, you gave it to me so I could remember you. Let me tell you it worked perfectly !"

She noticed a second later it was maybe too enthusiastic or odd, so she added :

"I know that it's only been like three or four years but still."

"That's kinda cute, what you're saying", Kïma said, with a hand gesture and a lovely grimace. "Do you have someone yet?"

The suddenness of the question made Aloy choke with the piece of sugary bread. Kïma tapped gently on her back, laughing softly. She looked proud of herself.

"No, I don't have anyone," the huntress answered eventually. "I didn't have the time for it and who would date an outcast, anyway ?"

"Oh, I wouldn't see any problems dating an outcast. I even think it's sort of charming. Outcasts are much stronger than the others", she casually responded.

"You are a kind of outcast yourself," Aloy noticed. She continued, ironically "You're complimenting yourself."

"No, not at all, I excluded myself from the Outcast pack. I've never belonged to any tribe, so no tribe could have cast me out. But seriously, I would definitely date an outcast. Wouldn't you ?"

As Aloy was not used to those conversations, she was unsure what to say. The last thing she wanted was Kïma to find her ridiculous so she replied :

"I didn't think about it very much. I could date anyone, I guess. If that specific person and I get along, I think I could date them."

"I see."

"What about you ?", Aloy heard. This was her own voice, surprisingly.

"A few Banuks and Carjas openly told me they were interested in me but... No, just no. I mean, there is much better to meet around here."

She sipped a bit of syrup, and looked Aloy right in the eyes. The redhead's cheeks burnt her wildly, so she mimicked Kïma and tasted the syrup.
What in the Metal Devil's name was that ? It tasted so bitter ! She acted like everything was fine but her throat was burning like a wildfire.
She ate the last piece of bread, hoping that the taste would disappear.
More or less successfully.

"So, erm, how were your trips ?" Ally continued, coughing gently.

"It was awesome ! I went once more to Meridianthen I went in the desert, for Thunderjaws or course, I visited a lot of Ancient ruins, in the North. But I'm always thinking about the Banuk lands. It had something different. Something... wild and something beautiful. Something really cold too. But by the Moon, Aloy, you have to go there once in your life."

"I will, don't worry. Did you... did you go to this salty lake you told me about ?"

"No, I told you we would go together. I'll wait for you to go there."

"That's... I can't believe you're actually waiting for me. I mean, wow... Thanks a lot."

She put her hand on the collector's shoulder, stroking it a bit.

"Do you have any new anecdotes now ?"

"Well... There was this time I had to pick up leaves for the new sun king's crowning's meal. I was employed as a servant during the week I stayed in Meridian. So, I had to pick those leaves for the cooks. And I am definitely not an expert in western plants, so I picked something that just looked like it. Turned out it was uh... hallucinogenic leaves. The whole room was completely high when the dessert came, because of a poor foreigner servant."

And Aloy got started.