[Aloy x Erend fanfiction] Published Jan/Feb 2023.
This fanfiction takes place in the Horizon game world (Horizon Zero Dawn, Horizon Forbidden West) and takes place immediately after the events of Forbidden West.
This story is the first Part of a tr...
Before Aloy made it back to the stairs, Talanah spotted her and called: "Hey Aloy! We're here!"
At her name, Erend and Shirin turned their heads in her direction.
Shit. She couldn't leave now.
As Aloy walked slowly to the group, she could see all the Oseram around, drinking and laughing loudly. The air was filled with smells of smoke, sweat and alcohol, which were contrasting so much with the cool and quiet underground chambers she just emerged from. The Sunhawk and her Thrush were sticking out from the rest of the crowd with their shiny Carja armors, and some in the room were glancing at them with curiosity.
Erend reached out and grabbed her closer to him, tucking her under his large arm, as he did after the Zenith battle. She remembered well as it was the first time they were physically touching so much. It felt good at the time... and it felt even better now. She felt... Surrounded. Protected. Safe. She found his eyes and shot him a small smile.
Shirin took a step back to make some room for her.
"Hey! Here's the boss lady," Erend said affectionately, visibly happy to see her. Aloy was relieved to see that Erend's mood had improved since their last conversation. However, she did not look that great herself, and he noticed straight away.
"All good?" he asked, brows furrowed and concern tainting his low voice. How was he always so in tune with her emotions...?
Of course, she lied. "Yeah, thanks. The swim was... refreshing."
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Aloy was still fuming internally. She had never seen Erend being physically so close to another woman and that was really putting her on edge. This girl was definitely being very... friendly with him. They apparently knew each other, and Aloy needed to know more.
Still tucked under his heavy arm, she turned to Shirin and asked the burning question: "So, Shirin, can you tell me how you met Erend?"
Erend, who was still amused by the anecdote he was telling just before, became serious all of a sudden. Aloy could feel his body tense. It made the answer to come all the more interesting...
Slightly bewildered by the direct approach, Shirin simply stated, "Well, he saved my life a few years ago."
Aloy was surprised by her response. This was unexpected, especially coming from someone that was living with the Shadow Carja... "Oh, is that so?"
Erend dropped his arm from her shoulder and rested against the bar, suddenly very interested by the bottom of his tankard. Aloy could sense he was feeling nervous about the whole conversation.
Shirin started to explain. "Yeah. After the Liberation, my family had to exile to Sunfall. We were one of the last families to leave Meridian, and at the time Jiran was dead, Helis, the High-Sun Priest Bahavas and the kestrels had just run away with Prince Itamen and Avad had taken the throne to become the new Sun King. My father left for Sunfall with Bahavas during the first night of the siege, leaving us behind to finish gathering our belongings. With my mother and younger brother, we left our Meridian estate to join him a few days later, once things had settled a bit."
