#niloyakka

Confused and a little alarmed now, she ran after him. They ran through the exit and stepped onto a platform overlooking the solar panel array, and Drakka held up a hand. “Okay, this is good. They should be coming back around soon.” 

“Who?” she said impatiently. “Who are you talking about? Who’s coming back around?”

“Them,” he said, and he jerked his chin to the north.

Aloy looked. In the middle distance, maybe a half a kilometer away, there was a dust cloud — a dust cloud that was quickly moving in their direction, and which was shot through with hazy and erratically-moving beams of blue light.

She relaxed. “You’re talking about the racers?”

“Yeah,” Drakka said. “I saw them a while back when I was still at Arrowhand, but I couldn’t do anything about it then. We had other problems on our hands at the time. You know, the water shortage and all.”

“Right,” Aloy said. “But why do you want me to look at them?” She frowned. “Hang on, are you worried that they’re a threat or something?”

“I don’t know yet,” he said. “Can’t decide yet if they’re a threat. You ride tamed machines, you know all about that, so I need your eyes on this. What are they doing?”

She was a little bemused. “They’re… I mean, it’s obvious, isn’t it? They’re racing.”

He gave her a chiding look. “I can see that much. What I don’t know is why. They’re rebels, aren’t they? That’s the only way they could have those tamed machines.”

“No — well, they were rebels, but they’re not anymore,” she said. “They left Regalla’s ranks after the Embassy attack.” Then she gave him an odd look. “Would you care if they were rebels? I thought your clan was trying to stay out of the whole Hekarro-versus-Regalla thing. ‘The strongest fighter gets to be the Chief’ and all that.”

“Sure, we were,” Drakka said. “Then you got into the mix.”

She raised her eyebrows. “What do I have to do with it?”

He smirked. “Are you low on sleep or something? You’re a little slow on the uptake today.” He playfully flicked her forehead.

She flinched. “Hey, that hurt,” she complained, and she punched his arm.

His familiar cheeky smile lifted his lips. “You’re Hekarro’s Champion and you kicked Regalla’s ass at the Kulrut, so yeah, you’ve got something to do with it. The Desert Clan stands behind the Chief now.”

“I didn’t kick Regalla’s ass,” Aloy pointed out. “Hekarro was the one fighting her, and Kotallo—”

He patted her shoulder urgently. “Hang on, they’re slowing down.”

“I would hope so,” Aloy said dryly. “They passed the finish line.”

His eyes narrowed. “Passed the finish line, huh? They’re not slowing down right in this spot because they’re doing recon on Scalding Spear or anything like that?”

“No, Drakka,” she said patiently. “They’re not rebels anymore, like I said. They’re not spying or planning to attack anyone, okay? They just want to be left alone to race.”

“You sure about that?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” she said firmly. “I’m completely sure. Why are you so suspicious of them, anyway? I would have thought you’d like this kind of thing.” She gestured at the racers, who were laughing and shoving each other playfully as they dismounted; it seemed that Josekk had won the race, based on his puffed-up posture. “It’s a competition, they’re having a good time, there’s some hitting and shooting with arrows involved… I thought you’d approve of something like this.”

“Maybe I’d approve if it wasn’t for that guy,” Drakka said darkly.

“What… oh.” She huffed in amusement; he was staring daggers at Red Teeth, who was sauntering over to the racers from… where had he been, anyway? Hiding behind one of the solar panels, maybe? She wouldn’t put it past him.

Drakka was still staring hard at Red Teeth. “I don’t remember seeing him when those racers were tearing around Arrowhand. He must’ve joined them recently.”

“Red Teeth?” Aloy said. “No, he’s been with them for a while.”

“Red Teeth?” Drakka said in a deeply skeptical tone. “That’s what he calls himself?” Then he frowned. “Wait, you know this guy?”

“Yes, I know him,” Aloy said, a little impatiently now. “I’ve raced with them before.”

“You—?” Drakka wilted in exasperation. “Aloy, why didn’t you lead with that?”

“You didn’t ask!” she said defensively.

He clicked his tongue. “All right, look. I need to know what that Red Teeth guy’s deal is, because he’s definitely a threat.”

Uh-oh, she thought. Drakka wasn’t right, but he wasn’t exactly wrong either, depending on the context. “Why do you think he’s a threat?” she asked carefully.

He gave her an are-you-kidding-me look. “Because he’s a bare-armed outlander who killed one of our guards and stole that armour.”

Aloy chose to ignore his correct statement that Red Teeth was an outlander. “What makes you think he killed one of your guards?”

“Uh, maybe the fact that he’s wearing the exact same helmet and chestplate that our guards wear?” 

“You don’t know that he killed a guard to get it.”

Drakka peered at her, then folded his arms. “Just how well do you know this guy, Aloy?”

She narrowed her eyes. “If you’re about to get all protective or something, don’t. I can take care of myself.”

Drakka snorted. “Me, protect you? Please. If someone attacked you, I’d just sit back and enjoy the show while you tore them a new asshole.”

“Then why are you interrogating me about this?”

His expression grew serious once more. “Because you know more about this guy than you’re letting on. And I need to make sure my clan is safe.”

She softened at this. He had a point. “Okay, fine. If you have to know, I know him from back east. He’s…” She sighed, then lowered her voice so the nearby guards couldn’t hear. “He’s Carja, kind of. But not really.”

Drakka arched an eyebrow. “He’s Carja but not really?”

“He’s about as Carja as I am a Nora,” Aloy said wryly. “He’s from the Sundom, but he doesn’t exactly… fit in with them.”

“If he was Carja, then he fought us in the Red Raids,” Drakka said accusingly. 

“Yes,” Aloy admitted. “But he regrets it,” she added quickly when Drakka opened his mouth to argue. “Sort of. In his own weird way, I think. And he hasn’t killed anyone recently.”

“Yeah?” Drakka said skeptically. “Then how’d he get that armour?”

Aloy wilted. “Look, if you’re so suspicious, you should just ask him yourself. Come on.” She hopped down off the platform and gave Drakka an expectant look.

Drakka jumped down to join her. “Fine, I’ll give this scab a chance to talk. But if I’m not convinced that he’s not a threat, I’m gonna challenge him.”

“If you do that, you’ll have yourself a new best friend,” Aloy said.

“Huh?”

She waved him off. “You’ll see. Just be quiet and let me do the talking to start.” 

He gave her a knowing look. “There’s a lot of mystery and intrigue going on here, Desert Flame. Are you trying to keep my attention? Because if you are—”

“Don’t you give me a line about my boobs,” she threatened.

He ignored her. “—all you have to do is take off your top.”

She scoffed and punched his arm. “Shut up now, okay? Hey,” she called out to the racers as she neared them. “How’s the track?”

The racers looked over, and Haxx beamed at her and waved. “Aloy! You’re just in time! There’s a mount here with your name on it!”

Before Aloy could reply, Attah held up a hand. “Hold on,” she said. “What’s going on, Aloy? Why is he with you?”

“Attah, what’s the problem?” Wikkoh said suspiciously.

She jerked her head at Drakka. “He’s the Desert Commander. And I hope there’s not a problem here,” she said to Aloy, but her eyes were on Drakka.

Drakka grinned: one of those sharp grins that was more a baring of teeth than a smile. “Hey, if you’re looking for a problem—”

Aloy held up her hands. “Everyone take it easy,” she said soothingly. “There’s no problem, all right? Drakka’s a friend of mine. We’re just here to talk. To Red Teeth, actually.” She looked over at Red Teeth, who was hanging back from the others with his thumbs hooked into his belt. “Mind if we have a word?” 

He tilted his head. Then he sauntered over in a very casual way. “You know the rules, Aloy,” he said in his fake Red Teeth voice. “If there’s something you want, you’ve got to earn it on the track.” 

She wilted. “Really? Just to talk for five minutes?”

He lifted his shoulders in a shrug, and Josekk puffed up his chest. “You heard him, fresh meat,” he said. “Looks like you’ve gotta race with us.” 

“Yeah, bloodhair, race with us!” Pekka said excitedly. 

The others joined in the clamour, urging her to race and jeering at her in equal measure, and she finally gave in. “Okay, okay. But if I win—”

She was drowned out by their cheering. They darted over to their mounts to prepare for the race, and Drakka scoffed. “Seriously?” he said quietly. “You’re giving in to their conditions? You, the most stubborn woman in the entire west?”

She shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

He gave her a disbelieving look. Then his face cleared with comprehension before lifting into a slow smile. “You want to race with them, don’t you? This is exactly what you want to do.”

“Of course it is,” said Red Teeth, who had edged closer to her while the others were preparing their Chargers and their weapons. “She doesn’t just want this: she needs it. She lives for the feeling of riding hard on that fine line of blood and sweat. Don’t you, Aloy?”

“That’s one way of saying the races are fun, sure,” she said dryly.

Drakka, surprisingly, didn’t reply. When Aloy looked at him, it was to find him peering shrewdly at her and Red Teeth both. 

“What?” she said. 

“Exactly how do you know this guy, Aloy?” Drakka said. 

She rolled her eyes. “I told you, we—”

“Ah-ah,” Red Teeth interrupted. “That’s a conversation for later. If you win, of course.” 

She gave him a knowing look. “We both know I’m going to win.”

“We’ll see,” he said, and he stepped back. “I’ll be sure to stay right on top of you while we’re out there, don’t worry.”

“Thanks, I think,” she drawled. She turned back to Drakka to find him smirking at her.

“What?” she said in exasperation. “What’s with the face?” 

“Ah-ah,” he said mockingly. “That’s a conversation for after your little race, remember?”

“You’re so annoying,” she complained. “Now go stand over there or we might trample you when we come back through at the end.”

He held up his hands and backed away. “Whatever you say. I can’t wait to see what this is all about.”

 It had been a long-ass day - Travis Tate’s words - when Aloy decided to take a break from delving through files at the Base and fly out to the Stillsands. Nil had been out there for days with the kids and Drakka had arrived the prior evening to parlay with the Oseram in Hidden Ember. She hopped off the wall out the western exit and whistled for her Sunwing, laughing gleefully as it caught her mid-air and flipped her onto its back. It would be good to be in one place with her partners again. It had been far too long since they gathered at the Base for their anniversary and various obligations had kept them apart since. Getting a holo picture that morning of the two men together in Nil’s tent had tugged at her heart, making her miss them even more. As she drifted through the air towards the desert a plume of smoke rose on the horizon. Her first instinct was to expect disaster, but she knew that her partners would have contacted her if one of them was injured, so she chalked up the smoke to another one of Morlund’s failed experiments. Some changes to his orb that had gone wrong, probably. It wasn’t until she got closer that she realized her first instinct was probably right. Three Chargers were collapsed just short of the finish line on the Stillsands racetrack, an acrid wave of smoke billowing from the downed machines. Nearby, she spotted the six teenagers, Elottak and Wikkoh tending to Josekk, who lay on the ground. Set apart from the group were two full grown idiots that she loved. She hopped from the back of her Sunwing, gliding down gracefully on her shieldwing, and landed a few steps behind them. “Should I even ask?” Both men turned quickly at the sound of her voice. “Babe!” “Love, this isn’t—” She held up a hand to stop them. “Why are three of your Chargers on fire?” The two exchanged a glance before a nervous grin broke out on each of their faces. Nil scratched the back of his neck, and Drakka simply let out a nervous chuckle. “Well… I went to see the trespassers this morning, and the talkative one asked me if I knew the racers—” Drakka started, then glanced over to Nil. “He had been watching us, drawn in by the spectacle of the race—” Nil added. “I guess he had made up some new kind of blaze and wanted to see if it would… give the Chargers an extra kick. Add some spectacle to the event.” “Not that the race needs improving, the promise of blood and machine oil is enough to—” “Shut up,” Aloy held up her hand to the Carja. “Did either of you think to ask if he had tested it himself first?” There was quiet then, the only sounds the crackle of burning machine and the shuffling of feet awkwardly kicking at the sand. She sighed. “You’re both okay?” Each man nodded in confirmation. “And Josekk is okay?” “Never better, Aloy!” came Josekk’s shout, voice raspy from the smoke. He shot his hand into the air, giving her a thumbs-up. She waved back. “I guess you need three new Chargers,” she huffed. Slow smiles spread across the faces of her partners, and she rolled her eyes before motioning for them to follow. “Aloy—” A hand grabbed her and she was hauled into Nil’s arms. She smiled as she settled into him. “I missed you, love,” he said, pressing a kiss into her hair. “Missed you too, babe,” Drakka pressed up to her back, wrapping his arms around the two of them the best he could. The three would spend the day tracking a group of Chargers to override and bring back as replacements, then the night testing Morlund’s new blaze in much smaller increments as they raced. But for now she was right where she wanted to be, surrounded by love.