abraxaslogs | [OPEN] november/december catchall

No unfinished business?

[She finds that hard to believe. Steve doesn't strike her as someone who ever really slows down, and she wonders if he finds his situation in the Free Cities to be lacking, compared to what he's used to back home.

Maybe it's best, for now, to talk about food.]

I'm not picky. [Aloy has most certainly eaten her fair share of squirrels.] There's a place over here that I like.

[In that it mostly serves various combinations of meat and bread and ale. An unassuming stall, not so far from the entrance to the hunting grounds.]

... At least not when it comes to the intergalactic warlord we had to stop to save the universe.

[ Steve says it in a put-upon casual way. You know, that little problem.

Still, there's a lot more. First on the list being returning the Stones to where they came from in both space and time, and that's supposed to be Steve's job. But what apparently comes with it is a future he still can't quite accept, and Abraxas has given him a lot of time to put off thinking about it, for better or worse.

He doesn't like to imagine that he'll go home and everything he's been through here will amount to a zero sum, but... well. He doesn't need to dump all of that on Aloy.

When Aloy points out a place, Steve doesn't hesitate to move that way, and he quickly peruses the small menu and orders himself some freshly grilled meat over rice. He's learned that the meat here, especially those sold by the werewolves, tends to be pretty good.

Once both of them have ordered, he finds them a table. They're still outdoors, so it might not feel entirely private, but it's far enough off the main thoroughfare that they can relax a little. ]

Before, you said we. That "we" had a plan to get it back. Who was helping you?

One of those, huh?

[Aloy matches Steve's casual tone, but that strikes a chord with her, too. NEMESIS might not be a warlord, but it's an intergalactic menace headed right for Earth, so practically she sees little difference. Ordering food and finding a place to sit provides an excuse not to elaborate further, and when Steve picks the conversation back up again, it's in a more agreeable place.

She hasn't talked much about her friends, since arriving here, and though she's a little loath to give all the details, there's no reason to deny who she was working with, especially since it's such an important part of the story.]

I had some friends. People I picked up along the way. And GAIA, too.

[ That response from Aloy does actually throw Steve for a moment, because this is one thing he wouldn't necessarily expect to have in common with another Summoned, as it's pretty specific and pretty dire. Still, her reaction at least makes him hope it's something that's been resolved, so he doesn't immediately follow up.

It's no surprise that Aloy found like-minded people to work with in her quest to handle the deranged robots, as it doesn't sound like the sort of thing you do alone. Aloy does strike Steve as the sort of person who tries to do things on her own, but he's glad that she's either realized that doesn't work, or other people have picked up on her tendencies and insinuated themselves anyway. ]

So... kind of a team? [ He smiles fondly, because it brings back his own memories. ] And GAIA, the AI that likes dinosaurs. [ And therefore made dinosaur robots. It's a heck of a story. ]

I know it must be frustrating not knowing how it's all gonna turn out, but if you've got a good group together, I'd say your chances are a lot better.

[ If there's one thing Steve has learned over the course of his life, it's that you need to rely on other people to make it through the hardest trials. ]

[That gets a laugh out of her, however slight.]

Yeah, that's her.

[There's more to it, of course, like the fact that GAIA is wholly responsible for the fact that Aloy exists, but that's a topic she's not sure she can breach yet. Even talking about her friends, and her situation back home, is more than she usually does.

She can't say she's entirely convinced by Steve's platitude, even if it comes from a place of personal experience, but she appreciates the sentiment.]

We've had some tough fights before. [An understatement, but Aloy trusts her team now, and they have to succeed because the alternative is total obliteration.] What's one more?

[ Steve is familiar enough with AIs that behave at least somewhat like humans that he doesn't blink much at the idea of GAIA having that kind of preference. It's honestly kind of endearing.

Still, it sounds like Aloy isn't going to let herself consider any possibility other than overcoming those challenges back home. Steve knows how that feels. ("This has to work, because I don't know what I'll do if it doesn't." And then, well, it didn't — but he's not about to mention that.) ]

That's the spirit. [ He doesn't think she ever needed his encouragement, but that's no reason not to give it.

Their food shows up shortly after that and he starts in on his meat and rice before asking another question. ] That aside, how have things been for you here? How's it going over in Solvunn? [ Because ultimately, speculating on what the future might hold back home won't got them too far. ]

[The food arriving is a good excuse for her to not discuss the subject any further, though Steve is friendly enough that he doesn't let things fall into silence for long. He asks how Solvunn is and she shrugs.]

Quiet. They haven't tried to summon a demon recently, so that's good.

[A lame joke, because she expects something strange to happen sooner rather than later--the question is just a matter of when, and what she can do to stop it.

But her mind isn't on Solvunn, recently. Not since the Free Cities made off with the Thunderjaw.]

I'm more worried about everyone else.

[ Steve's mouth twitches at the dry joke, though he is glad to hear it. While he has Wanda to keep an eye on things over in Solvunn, she is also a witch with her own connections to a dark god. And while she's made it clear that she has things under control, Steve can't stop himself from worrying all the same.

Aloy seems to have a good head on her shoulders, though, and experience besides. He likes to think he can trust her to be an extra pair of eyes in that neck of the woods. ]

Good. I'm glad things have been relatively quiet, after everything with Josselyn.

[ Though as he works on another bite of food, he tilts his head at Aloy's next statement. ]

How do you mean?

There's someone new in charge of the Tertiary settlement. I don't know much about him.

[The implication, being, that she doesn't care to know much about him. Aloy would rather keep to herself, something most people know well by now--but she'll certainly step in to protect the commune when necessary. What Josselyn did, and how long she planned it for without detection...Aloy won't let that happen again.

So it's not really Solvunn she's worried about, not when Thorne and the Free Cities continue their posturing.]

I don't like that the Free Cities have the Thunderjaw. If you hear anything else about it, you have to let me know.

[Not that she thinks Steve will withhold that information from her, but there's urgency in her voice, something that indicates she'll do whatever she needs, to make sure that technology isn't utilized by a country so militaristic as Cadens.]

Is that... [ Steve pauses from working at his bowl of food, head tilting to one side as he tries to remember the name. ] Isar Hart? Wanda mentioned him.

[ Her opinion of him hadn't been too negative either, though she also hadn't seemed to know too much. Aloy seems to be a bit more suspicious, and for good reason given what grew out of Solvunn not so long ago.

As for the problems that the Free Cities are currently facing, Steve isn't surprised that the Thunderjaw is what Aloy's focused on. He would feel the exact same way if some piece of tech from his Earth fell into the wrong hands here, and he doesn't feel great about this particular situation either. ]

Yeah, of course. [ He nods firmly, his meal still forgotten as he eyes Aloy across the table. ] I'm gonna do what I can to figure out where they took it. If I learn anything I'll definitely let you know, but I don't feel like it's the last we've seen of it either.

[ Which is an unsettling thought, to say the least. ]

Yeah, Isar Hart.

[She shrugs. Aloy will keep her fingers on the pulse of the settlements as always, and Isar hasn't done anything objectionable yet, but after what happened with Josselyn she knows they can't give anyone the benefit of the doubt. It's not comforting, either, that the Free Cities seems to exist in a similar state of waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Aloy might already be formulating a plan--but if Steve comes back with more information, then it might be worth waiting for it, if only so she doesn't go in blind.]

Something like that machine? No. They'll strip it for everything they can use.

[And then they'll use it.]

[ There isn't much more to say about Isar Hart, as Steve really doesn't know all that much and Aloy doesn't seem to either. It's enough to know that people like Wanda and Aloy will be keeping an eye out, not wanting to get burned again.

Besides, it's not like Marlo Reiner doesn't have a few skeletons in her closet too. ]

Yeah, if we don't do something we'll start to see aspects of it incorporated into their weaponry.

[ Which is the last thing that any of them want. Steve pauses in his eating for a moment, a hand dragging across his face as he heaves out a sigh. ]

I wish I'd been able to nip it in the bud, but I'm not just gonna let this one slide.

[ There's far too much at stake for that. ]

[Aloy doesn't have a response to that beyond a vague gesture that indicates Steve is saying the obvious. She doesn't like the idea of the Thunderjaw's corpse being available to anyone, but at least Thorne would find it abhorrent and destroy it, and Solvunn wouldn't know what to do with it. The Free Cities is probably the worst option.

Steve knows it, too. At the very least, she's glad she has someone in Cadens who knows how serious this is.]

You know I'd get there. If it comes down to that. [Crossing dangerous wilderness isn't anything she hasn't done before--the challenge would be avoiding the various governments of the territories, but Aloy's fully aware of her own stubbornness. She'd find a way.] That thing is here because of me. I'll make it right.

[ Steve stares across the table at Aloy, feeling both in her words and her gaze the sheer strength of her resolve. He knows that she isn't kidding; it's not like she's the type to do that. She takes this as her responsibility, whether it is or not, and she's ready to hop borders if it gets to that point.

To be honest, he could easily see himself doing the same thing in her position, so he isn't here to judge or dissuade her. ]

I know. [ He nods firmly. ] Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

[OPEN] november/december catchall

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wrapping!