Chapter Text
The last thing Varl expected when he finally caught up with Aloy, Anointed of the Nora, Savior of Meridian, was that she was carrying a child on her back. Like a real infant baby, strapped to her back in a makeshift carrier, painted in Nora colors and all.
From a distance, he thought the bulky form was just a strange backpack of some kind, but when she turned around to face him, bow raised, he was instantly drawn to the soft face peeking out from over Aloy’s shoulder.
It’s been forever since he’s last seen her. About a year, give or take. Not that long in the grand scheme of things, he supposed, but Aloy looked like she had aged years. With that baby on her back, it made her seem so much older by comparison.
Aloy had her bow drawn at him, her eyes glistening a blazing fury, which had since dissipated once she recognized who had just come out of the bushes. “Varl?” She lowered her bow, scrutinizing him like he had grown a second head.
But she was the one with the second head, one poking out from right behind her shoulder, making some adorable babbling sounds.
There were a lot of things Varl wanted to say at that moment: ‘Is that a baby?’, ‘Is that your baby?’, ‘How did you get a baby?’, but he quickly reigned those thoughts in as best he could. Knowing Aloy, she would appreciate the barrage of questions like that, not when she already looked so spooked to see him.
Instead, he just smiled and tried to pretend that this was all normal. Yes, completely normal. “Well, if it isn’t Aloy, the Savior of Meridian, Anointed of the Nora,” he greeted her.
Aloy frowned, not quite angry, but definitely annoyed.
When she didn’t say anything in response, he continued approaching her. “And a… mini Savior?” Aloy continued to face him, as if she was trying to hide the baby, who was looking at him silently, a hand in his mouth.
“Don’t call him that,” Aloy snapped sternly. “And you know I hate being called that stuff.”
“Well,” he replied, unphased by her attitude. “Consider it punishment for running out on us on the very same night we defeated HADES.”
In all honesty, Varl wasn’t actually that angry at Aloy for running out on them, not as hurt as Erend had been anyway. He knew that Aloy must’ve left for a good reason, her mission to the goddess. Still, it was a bit rude to leave without saying anything, but Aloy had a very lonely upbringing. It only made sense that she would slip away unnoticed.
Although Varl had correctly assumed that she had left to continue her mission, now that he was here, he couldn’t help but wonder if the real reason she left was because she had a baby.
“I’m not much for parties.” Aloy’s voice cut him through his thoughts, and Varl met her eyes to see that she was still watching him carefully.
“So, uh,” Varl gestured vaguely to the baby on her back. “Who’s this?”
A long pause.
“His name is Isaac.”
“Isaac?” That was a strange name. It didn’t sound Nora, Carja, or even Banuk; Oseram maybe, but he wasn't sure. The fact that the name didn’t sound like it was from any culture he knew from seemed to add to the mysteriousness of this whole situation.
“Yeah.” Aloy nodded curtly. “My son.”
Even though he could've guessed by just looking at them, hearing it straight from Aloy's mouth felt like he had been kicked in the head by a Strider.
She wouldn't lie about something like this. Had Aloy really been… pregnant during the time she's been away? She hadn’t looked the part last time he saw her, though considering Isaac’s possible age, it might have been during the early months, which would've been easily hidden. And he didn’t exactly get a good look at her without the armor and all those sparkling lights.
Growing up, the Matriarchs had told stories about how mother foxes would retreat deep into their dens to have their litter in privacy. The idea that Aloy had burrowed herself somewhere to have a baby like a mother fox was a little silly, but he couldn’t help but draw that comparison with what was presented to him.
“Your… son,” he repeated, still trying to take it all in.
Seeing his apprehension, Aloy began to grow defensive. “Do you have a problem with that?” she challenged pointedly.
“No, no,” Varl quickly assured her. “Not that all.” Aloy continued to give him a hard look. “It’s just, the last thing I expected you to do is have a kid.”
It was an honest comment, one that Aloy seemed to wilt at. But she offered him a weary smile. “Since when do I do what’s expected?”
“Fair,” Varl chuckled back. He wasn't really going to judge her life choices. Not when the Nora had taken that sanctity away from her. What she obviously needed now was his support, not advice.
There was a long-drawn-out silence. It seemed like Aloy was waiting for him to say something else, but Varl just didn’t know what. He had so many questions, but he didn’t really know what was appropriate to even ask.
Varl wasn’t an expert in guessing ages, but Isaac didn’t look much older than maybe five or six months, give or take. That meant that Aloy would’ve had him some months after the Battle of Meridian. With all the tension and chaos, it was no wonder that no one noticed, not that he could tell under her shimmering armor anyway. Varl did feel sad that she hadn’t told him about it, the least he could do was offer a… congratulations?
But is it a ‘congratulations’ for Aloy?
Nora celebrated motherhood and birth, but Aloy acted less Nora than Erend did sometimes. He can’t be certain what she might have thought of it. Speaking of which, who was her partner? And where was he now? Maybe it was the Nora-instilled values in him, but it felt so irresponsible of Aloy’s partner not to be at her side to help care for such a young child, especially on top of the mission assigned by All-Mother.
“It’s complicated,” Aloy eventually explained, as if she had read his mind. “I’ll… I’ll tell you some other time.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” Varl threatened, in a half-serious, half-joking tone.
Although Varl really wanted some answers, he knew better than to keep pressing for information when Aloy didn’t feel like sharing yet. She was a very private person by nature, and pestering her for an explanation might cause her to close up even more. So instead, he decided to turn his attention to the reason he had tracked her all the way out there in the first place.
“So? What are we doing?” Varl asked her, putting on the friendliest face he could manage. “Delving into ruins? Or maybe something to do with the blight?” He looked at the red vines growing on a tree nearby.
“Both. Actually.” She gestured with two hands, taking a few steps back. “But I should-”
“Oh no.” He spoke up, cutting her off. He didn’t track her all this way just for her to leave again. “I’ve been tracking you a long way. After all you did, I swore an oath to help you, no matter what. You’re stuck with me now.” He knocked on the blighted tree. “Like bark on wood.”
Aloy was giving him a hard look, looking uncomfortable. On her back, Isaac made a soft sound of frustration, and Aloy looked over her shoulder to quietly shush him.
“And, I might not be the best babysitter,” Varl continued, making eye contact with her baby. “But I know a thing or two about childcare. I am Nora, after all.” Learning to care for children and support mothers was practically a whole section of his training growing up. He never thought he’d have to do it so soon and with Aloy of all people, but he was thankful that he had gone through the practice growing up. Now he had a way to help.
Aloy looked uneasy despite his assurances.
“I know how hard it is on your own,” he continued. “I can help with Isaac.”
Her expression grew tighter, and she almost looked… guilty. She met his eyes before looking over her shoulder towards her son, who giggled upon seeing her face, just happy to have his mother’s attention.
“Okay,” she finally said, a bit wearily. “But if you’re going to come with us, you need to see what I see.”
Getting this ‘Focus’ from Aloy was honestly both the strangest and most amazing thing he had ever seen. To think that Aloy had been seeing like this since she was a child… no wonder she was as amazing as she is. All this time, he had thought she was blessed by the Goddess, that she had some sort of superpower, but to think it was just this tiny little piece of ‘technology’. He was certain his mother would disapprove of him taking on such a device, but he’d do anything to help Aloy.
Aloy led him down a cliffside, and his heart lurched every time she made any big movement. Isaac seemed to be having the time of his life as he swung about on Aloy’s back, and Varl was amazed she was able to keep her balance. But her movements indicated that she probably had practice.
When they finally reached the bottom, he watched, flabbergasted, as Aloy checked on the baby before turning forward again as if it was completely normal.
“Do you do this all the time?” he couldn’t help but ask. She gave him a confused look. “Climb cliffs with Isaac?” he clarified.
“I… well, yeah,” she answered, avoiding his gaze. “I can’t leave him alone so…”
“I’m not judging,” Varl quickly assured her. With her mission, it probably felt like she didn’t have a choice. It was just sad that she had to do both at the same time.
Aloy just blinked once in acknowledgement and continued on her way. Varl was uncertain if that offended her in some way, but she made no visible indication that she was.
They continued on their way and Aloy continued to teach him about his new Focus, but made little, if any, small talk at all. But he couldn’t help but wonder if he had poked the hornet's nest by asking too many questions about Isaac, but Aloy was pretty good at remaining stoic. Overall, this has just been a very surreal experience for him, maybe even weirder than the killer robots that had risen from the dead to kill them almost a year ago.
When they encountered machines, Varl wondered how Aloy was going to handle it with her baby in tow, but as soon as she detected them, she silently retreated a considerable way back. She found a sheltered cranny in some rock and vegetation and took Isaac and his carrier off her back. Aloy began making the area more secure with more foliage and a fallen tree nearby.
“What are you doing?” Was she going to leave him here?
“He can’t come with me to fight machines,” she replied factually, though there was a hint of uneasiness. “I’ll come back for him once I’ve dealt with them.”
The idea of leaving the baby alone in the wilds was alarming, but he realized that maybe it wasn't that crazy, considering Aloy was literally once exactly that. She was acting pretty calm, she's definitely done this before.
“Is he going to be safe?” He didn’t want to say that this was irresponsible to Aloy's face, but it absolutely did seem very dangerous to leave her baby on his own in the wilds.
“Isaac has a Focus.” Aloy gestured to the small triangular device on the baby’s temple, one that Varl hadn’t noticed until she had pointed it out to him. “I created a program that keeps me updated on his vitals and keeps an eye on the surrounding area. If there’s trouble, it’ll ping my Focus.”
Program? Ping? The language was lost on him, but it did seem sophisticated at least. Aloy looked confident with this setup and Varl sure that it was competent, but he felt like he couldn’t just stand by. “I’ll stay with him while you deal with the machines," he decided.
Aloy genuinely looked surprised. “You will?” But there was some relief in her voice.
“I’m sure your Focus… program can keep an eye on him, but I think I’ll stay with him. You know, just in case.” Varl smiled. “Plus, I’d like to take the time to get to know each other. Isn’t that right, Isaac?”
The baby perked at his name, looking at him with wide eyes. He furrowed his babyish face and turned his attention back to his mother in equal confusion.
"Alright," she said with a small sigh as she knelt down by Isaac.
She reached into her pouch and produced a small wooden toy that seemed to be a figurine of a Broadhead. Varl recognized the Nora handiwork in the carving, quite well done, if not a bit lopsided. Had Aloy carved it herself? Isaac’s eyes brightened up at the toy and eagerly took it when it was handed to him and made an adorable happy sound.
"It's quiet time, Isaac," she whispered in a low voice before looking at Varl. “I won’t be long,” she told him, standing up. “Don’t let him lose… ‘Baba’. It’s his favorite toy.”
She said that with such a flat and serious look to her face, Varl wanted to laugh at the disparity, but he bit the inside of his cheek. “Don’t worry, Isaac and ‘Baba’ are safe with me.”
Aloy nodded once, looking at both of them before slinking away to deal with those machines. Varl waited until she was out of earshot before breathing out a deep breath. He came over to Isaac and sat on the ground near him.
“Your mom’s a handful, you know that?” he said to the baby.
“Ah,” Isaac replied.
Watching over Isaac was stupidly easy. He wasn't fussy, he didn’t cry, he just patiently and quietly played with his toy as they waited for his mother to return. Isaac wasn’t like any of the other babies he has had to watch growing up. Maybe Aloy wasn’t the only one used to this setup.
“So uhm, how’s life, little guy?” he asked, deciding to just roll with it.
Isaac smiled, lifting his toy up to him. “Baba!” he chirped excitedly.
“You sure like him, don’t you?” Varl chuckled. “Did mama make it for you?”
The baby blinked. “Mm… mm...” he babbled, turning the toy Broadhead in his hands again.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Mm.”
Just like Aloy to have the smartest baby he has ever met.
Aloy was gone for quite a long time. Varl was starting to get worried that something might’ve happened, but before too much of the day burned away, Aloy finally returned. He quickly stood up to meet her, his eyes darting over her form worriedly, but thankfully, other than being covered in a light layer of sweat, Aloy was otherwise unharmed.
“Sorry, I wanted to clear the way forward the whole way through. It should be safe to get through most of this complex,” Aloy explained, kneeling down to check on Isaac. The baby squealed, happy to be reunited with her.
She cleared out all the machines? He should really stop being surprised with what Aloy was capable of. “Isaac was good the whole time you were gone,” he decided to inform her. “He was no trouble at all.”
A small smile appeared on her lips. She looked proud. “I know.”
With the way now clear, Aloy led the way as they ventured deeper into the ruins. They learned more about the Zenith, about how they selfishly escaped the stars. But they made little small talk, if any. It didn’t seem like Aloy was too keen on talking right now. She did ask about what happened when she left and about everyone, but it seemed like she was just trying to be polite. He wondered if the questions about Isaac had scared her from talking too much.
They walked through some doors into a chamber that was now overgrown with greenery, sunlight filtering through the ceiling that had now rotted away.
“Looks like some sort of meeting room,” observed Aloy, walking towards the center to where there was some sort of circular structure. Her eyes flicked up. “Looks like the door on the other side’s locked.”
She touched one of the consoles and brought out more lights that she could interact with. Isaac squealed in delight, reaching for the lights in excitement. “ANZU?” she commented, reading a language he couldn’t read yet.
Aloy tapped it and a disembodied voice began speaking. Both he and Isaac’s eyes grew wide as they observed the moving pictures, but for very different reasons. Varl really wasn’t sure what it was all about, talking about a ‘Dr. Elisabet Sobek’ and all these fancy names he had never seen before, It was all a little much for him to really understand, but at least Aloy seemed to get what was going on which was good…?
A man popped up on the display, an old one, dressed in rather loose clothing and a haircut reminiscent of something a Carja might do. But it was the woman that appeared after that really caught his eye.
Aloy? That Old One looked exactly like Aloy. He looked at it closer, then back and forth between Aloy and the Old One and yeah, they were very similar. Their clothes and haircut weren't quite the same and the Old One looked much older, but the resemblance was uncanny. Surely it must be some sort of coincidence or something, right?
“I thought Elisabet sent the backup here, but she didn’t,” Aloy muttered, ignoring the fact that she was a spitting image of this Old One. She looked at him, a sort of annoyance in her eyes. “Far Zenith stole GAIA.”
“Uh, Aloy,” he said, finally addressing the Thunderjaw in the room. “...why does that woman look like you?”
It didn’t seem like she knew what he was talking about until she looked at the screen at the woman being displayed. Instantly, a flash of fear ignited in her eyes, but just huffed and nervously shook her head.
“It’s okay, Varl,” she assured him, even though she was probably the one who needed to be assured. “We look alike because… we’re exactly the same. I’m a… copy of her. Genetically identical.” Her voice seemed to falter slightly.
He didn't know what that last part meant, but a copy? “But she was one of the Old Ones,” Varl protested, unable to wrap his head around it. “How can you be a 'copy' of her?”
Aloy was silent for a while before she finally spoke again. “I, uhm, it’s a lot more complicated. But I wasn’t… born. I was made… by a machine.” Isaac whimpered, seeming to sense something was wrong. Aloy ruefully smiled, touching Isaac to comfort him. “It’s why I’m motherless. Why I was cast out.”
“I don’t understand,” Varl admitted, trying to claw all this understanding into his mind. “What kind of machine can make a person?”
“The backup is like a set of instructions, but it’s more than that,” Aloy explained. “It’s called ‘GAIA’. And for a long time, she cared for the world until she had to destroy herself. So I was made to bring her back.” Her shoulder slumped slightly and her eyes glistened. “I’m the only one who can,” she added quietly.
“You once said the Goddess spoke to you when you went into All-Mother Mountain,” Varl started to say. “Was that this GAIA?”
“Yeah, but she’s not the Goddess, Varl,” she replied. “There isn’t one. I’ve… had a lot of time to figure this out. And you will too. But for now, let’s just focus on finding the backup, okay?”
Varl still had so many questions he wanted to ask, even more on top of the already existing ones about her son, but Aloy started walking away before he could properly put them into words he could ask. But as he watched her walk away, he lost all urge to ask.
Aloy just had so much on her shoulders. And there was just so much he didn’t know, to the point that his lack of knowledge might be a detriment to her quest. Also, what’s with the whole thing about being a copy? Is that why Aloy was treating herself like this? There was just so much to unpack, and Aloy was already making her way forward. Varl just hoped there would be a moment to really discuss it all and to truly understand the weight she carried.
They continued on, passing through old abandoned Oseram camps and picking up new tools along the way. It seemed like something big had passed through and killed them all, but thankfully it seemed like it was long gone. Still, Varl couldn’t help being put on edge with whatever was making those huge holes in the wall.
Finally, they climbed up some dilapidated stairs and up a rickety old wall, and he noticed Aloy slowing to a stop, her eyes fixed on something in the distance. He peeked over the side and saw three huge snake machines, gnawing on a piece of old debris.
“Three of those things,” he commented, glancing at Aloy who seemed to be deep in thought. “And if they slaughtered all those Oseram, we’ll ever get to the Data Center.”
“There’s no way to slip past them,” Aloy replied. “And they’re too tough to take head on.”
“We could find a settlement,” Varl suggested. “Find some hunters to help us.” It would take at least an entire war band to take down those massive machines, maybe even more.
Aloy growled. “That could take weeks. We don’t have that kind of time.”
Says someone who had the time to have a baby, apparently, but Varl wasn’t going to voice that. Aloy’s eyes darted all over the place, she was scheming. After a moment, her eyes latched on to something on the other side of the ruins.
“Maybe that shuttle is all we need.”
“That thing? How?”
Her eyebrows furrowed, then a heartbeat later Aloy was scurrying away, not towards that ‘thing’ she pointed out, but back towards the ruins they had just climbed out of.
“Aloy?” he called out, confused. Then he realized that she was scoping out a location to hide Isaac again. “You… need me to watch Isaac? So you can do whatever dangerous thing you wanna do?”
Her head snapped to him and she seemed strangely hostile. Varl raised his hands in shock, unsure why she was being so aggressive, only to have it occur to him that he legitimately might be the first person to handle her son besides Aloy herself.
“I promise, I won’t let anything happen to him, Aloy,” he declared seriously.
Aloy looked like she wanted to argue, but she let out a deep sigh and took off her carrier. Isaac, who had fallen asleep by this point, blinked his eyes open to look at his mother, confused.
“Please… take care of him,” Aloy requested in perhaps the softest voice he had ever heard.
“Of course I will,”
-~*~-
“Oh boy, looks like mama might need some help,” Varl exclaimed as he scrambled to his feet to get a better look at the carnage that was happening down at where the machines were.
The entire shuttle had come crashing down, crushing the machines under its weight. He spotted Aloy skillfully swinging all the way down safely, much to his relief, only to be confronted by one of the snake machines. It coiled up, hissed, opening its maw wide, trying to attack Aloy.
If anyone was going to hold their own against a machine at least twenty times their size, it was Aloy, but Varl knew he couldn't sit idly by.
He turned to pick up Isaac, who was giving him a weirdly accusatory look.
“Look, I know your mama told us to stay here, but I think she needs our help,” Varl reasoned with the child, slinging the carrier over his shoulder. “Hold on, buddy, it might be a bumpy ride down.”
He heard what sounded like a mechanical hissing and a few more explosions. Out of instinct, he took cover and made sure that Isaac was okay. Fortunately for him, the baby seemed to be having a blast with the change of scenery and the movement.
“Aren’t you a glutton for adventure?” Varl smiled at him over his shoulder.
Isaac laughed, pulling on his hair a bit.
He could get used to this, he hadn’t much thought about taking care of kids, but he was pretty good at it. Wait… did he want to be a dad?
Suddenly there was a huge crash, a few more clicks, groans, and… it was all silent. Varl looked over the cover he had been hiding behind, and he saw that the mechanical snake, what his Focus dubbed a ‘Slitherfang’ was completely dead. Aloy must’ve taken it down in the time it took to get down.
Still, he didn’t want to bring Isaac into any potential danger, so he waited for a bit before finally coming out to the clearing. The Slitherfang sure was dead, expertly taken down by one of the best machine hunters of all the lands.
“Now, where’s mama?” Varl looked around. Aloy was nowhere in sight. “Right, Aloy said I can use this to track her…” He pressed his Focus and with a bit of fiddling, the purple trail appeared, showing where Aloy went. “Wish I had this a year ago… would’ve saved me the months…” the man muttered to herself as he hurried after her trail.
Varl followed the purple footsteps into another part of the ruins, the part Aloy had wanted to go too. As he entered, he found it all quiet, which was strange. But to his relief, his Focus was able to scan Aloy’s form through the wall, but she was slumped over. Was she injured?
He rushed down the hallway to see what was wrong, only for a bright, glowing figure to catch his eye instead.
“The Goddess…?” he exclaimed in shock. In the flesh!
Growing up he has always had images of what the Goddess might’ve looked like, but even his childish imaginations could never measure up to this holy glowing womanly figure.
“There is no goddess!” A voice snapped and Varl turned to see Aloy, her eyes sharp with anger and spite. “I told you that already.”
Aloy approached him, absolutely fuming; even Isaac seemed to sense his mother’s fury and had quieted down. Varl quickly offered her back her child, hoping it would appease her or somewhat quell her anger, but Aloy just snatched him back, slinging him back on her back. Isaac whimpered, shirking back into his carrier, clearly frightened by her outburst.
“That’s not GAIA, it’s not what I’m looking for,” she growled. “It’s nothing but a fake.” She shot the glowing figure a look that could rival metalburn, shaking her head before storming back out the ruins.
Varl was bewildered, by the glowing not-Goddess and Aloy’s harshness. Of course, he felt awful that she hadn’t found what she was looking for all this time, but did she really have to spew her malice all over the place like a raging Bellowback?
He gave the glowing figure one last look, sighing wearily as he trudged after the fuming Aloy.
Luckily, she hadn’t gone that far ahead, she at least seemed to be waiting for him, but she was completely quiet. They walked in silence all the way back through the ruins, not even Isaac’s calls for her attention caused her to stop.
When they finally returned to where they first met, it seemed like Aloy had finally cooled down. She had leaned over the edge, her face looking quite guilty as she offered her hand to help him up.
“I got it,” he said as he waved it off and climbed up herself, still a little miffed by her hostility.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized. There was a look of genuine guilt on her face.
“You have a sharp bite sometimes, you know?” he told her frankly, and she looked away.
Then it was his turn to feel a little guilty. Sure, he was peeved, but he knew Aloy couldn't exactly help it. Her friendless upbringing had railroaded her into internalizing everything and then exploding due to not having the proper outlet. Aloy was still learning what it meant to have friends.
Thankfully, she seemed to understand her behavior was wrong and Varl didn't want to hold it over her head for too long.
“But it was pretty amazing to see you fly off that tower and blow up the entire basin.” Varl changed the subject, offering her a smile to show that he had forgiven her. He glanced back at the shuttle and the dead machines, Aloy sure was one kind of warrior.
Unfortunately, Aloy didn’t smile back. She avoided his gaze for a moment, before looking up again. “Thing is, there’s going to be more of that.” She paused briefly to pat Isaac’s head as he grabbed at her braids again. “I’m out of leads, Varl, but I have to keep searching, and fast.” She was still looking at her son as she said her next words, “And whatever risks I have to take, I will.”
Then she finally met his eyes. “And it doesn’t make sense to have any more people with me. People who might get hurt. This is on me, Varl. Nobody else.”
She got up to leave and was in the middle of trying to walk away, but Varl spoke up. “On Isaac too?”
Aloy froze. “He’s different,” she replied, though she didn’t turn back to face him.
Hang on, out of him or the baby, who was in more danger here?
Sure, if she was by herself, he’d get the whole ‘by myself’ thing, but she was literally carrying a defenseless infant on her back and she didn’t want him, a fairly dependable adult Nora warrior, at her side?
“Aloy, you know you can’t do this all on your own, right?” he stated softly, trying to be as non-hostile as he could. “Saving the world is one thing, being a mother at the same time is different.”
Aloy didn’t say anything in response, her gaze lowering to the ground. Even though he couldn’t see her face, Varl could tell she was troubled by this.
"I've made my choice," she stated coolly.
Varl frowned. There was still a lot he wanted to say on this, but maybe it was still a bit much to say so soon after they just met. Maybe easing it in slowly was a better solution, if Aloy saw how easy it was to juggle Isaac and her mission with him, she would be more willing to have an extra hand around.
So he decided to let the topic go for now and switch the topic slightly.
“Before, in Meridian, you said there was a man who helped you…” He thought for a moment. “Sylens…” he managed to recall, approaching her gently. “You said you used to talk to him a lot about things, you discovered in the Old World, things no one else understands. And he gave you that lance you used to defeat HADES.”
Finally, Aloy turned to look at him. “He’s gone, Varl. I haven’t heard from him since.”
“Sure, but that Spymaster back in Meridian, he’s good at fighting people, right?” he continued. If anyone was going to find Aloy’s mysterious ally, it would be a spymaster for one of the biggest empires around.
She didn’t look quite convinced, the thoughts visibly flitting over her face. Isaac, who has been neglected from the conversation, made a noise of frustration, pulling on Aloy’s braids again. “Shh, Isaac,” she scolded him, then she looked at Varl. “I don’t know, Varl…”
“Come on, it might work,” Varl pressed. “Plus, we might meet up with some friendly faces again.”
The mention of friendly faces made Aloy’s face light up in a way he hasn’t seen since he’s reunited with her, before it was overtaken by a look of uncertainty. Was she worried her friends would judge her for having a child? If he was in her shoes, he might feel a little intimidated, especially after leaving the way she did.
But before he could say something to assure her, Aloy nodded. “Okay,” she finally agreed. “I guess it’s worth a shot.”
Varl grinned, happy to finally have Aloy agree. “We’ve got a lot of walking ahead.”
Before he could get too far, Aloy touched his shoulder. “Actually…” Confused, Varl followed her gaze to something not too far away, where there was a herd of Chargers. “I’ve got a better idea.”
Riding a Charger was much harder than he had first thought it would be. Aloy had made it look so easy. Varl had thought the machine was doing most of the work, but it wasn't that simple. There was a lot of balance involved, a level of ‘moving with his mount’. It took a while, but he liked to think he caught on pretty fast.
Aloy had flipped the carrier so it was slung over her chest instead, probably for Isaac’s safety, and the little one was giggling relentlessly as they moved quickly through the lands. Maybe there was a reason why his favorite toy was a Broadhead.
When it finally became dark, he convinced Aloy to settle down near some shelter. He was starting to feel the threads of exhaustion, and he didn’t even do as much as the action as Aloy did. He couldn’t imagine how tired Aloy was, but she didn’t seem particularly winded.
When Isaac began crying, for one reason or another, he offered to set up the camp to let Aloy tend to her son. He wasn’t trying to stare, but he stole glances at the mother and child as he got the bedrolls out and a campfire going.
He watched out of the corner of his eye as Aloy checked him over, then changed and cleaned him. It was just all things he couldn’t have ever imagined Aloy doing.
Then he was treated to a scene he thought he would never witness: Aloy feeding her son.
Aloy was feeding him some sort of gruel, a baby food of some kind. Isaac was in her arms as Aloy heated up the food on the campfire, not even taking the jerky or bread he had put aside for her, more interested in feeding Isaac than herself. Aloy began feeding him with a sort of gentleness that felt strangely nostalgic.
Isaac ate pleasantly as he looked around and occupied himself with babbling absolute nonsense to his mother. In response, Aloy would just nod her head seriously, like every time she was receiving important information. It was just so… wholesome that Varl thought he would melt from how endearing the sight actually was.
It was just nice seeing a different side of Aloy; it felt like he had learned so much by watching her interact with her son. He would have never figured Aloy to be someone so motherly given her background, but he was sorely wrong. And in a way, he was glad he was wrong. Despite the extra burden that came with a child, it seemed like Isaac was making Aloy happy in a way no one could. It was like she had always meant to be a mother.
In a way, though, he felt sort of heartsick watching them. He wondered if Vala would have wanted to become a mother like this. From what he remembered, she and Aloy had become brief friends. Maybe Vala would be a stoic and serious mother like their mother had, or would she be a more cheeky, fun-loving one? He would never know.
Varl blinked away his watery eyes.
He and Vala always bickered about this and that, and also had this sore rivalry when they vied for Sona’s attention. But now that she was gone, Varl realized he missed everything else that came with that.
Isaac burped and shoved away the incoming spoon now that he was now full. Then he whined, trying to reach for the pouch where Aloy usually kept his toy Baba. Aloy shushed him gently, and he eventually settled once he had grabbed one of Aloy’s braids again, more specifically her beads (a habit he guessed?), something Aloy allowed him to do.
His face was filled with grime and food, so Aloy tried to reach for a rag, that unfortunately was a little out of her reach. But the more she tried to lean, the harder Isaac tried to pull her hair. She was about to speak before Varl took the rag and handed it to her.
“Here,” he offered with a smile.
"Thanks," she replied, her eyes only briefly meeting his.
As Aloy busied herself with cleaning Isaac’s mouth, Varl smiled a little. He would never know if Vala had wanted to be a mother, or what she would have been like if she had, but helping Aloy like this was pretty nice too.
"I'll take the night's watch," he stated, not intending to let Aloy say otherwise.
Aloy frowned. "We can take it in-"
"No, get some rest, Aloy," Varl insisted. "You need all the rest you can get." He made eyes at Isaac. Who knows how long Aloy had gone without a good sleep with a baby that young.
She didn’t look too happy, but Aloy relented with a sigh. “Okay.”
The Nora was surprised when Aloy didn’t try to push back, but maybe that was just indicative of how tired she really was. Sure, it was going to be a tiring night for him, but Aloy probably needed the extra sleep.
They spent a few moments in silence, Aloy letting her son play a bit before finally beginning to tuck him in to sleep. To his surprise, Aloy didn’t shed a single piece of armor, instead she just made sure Isaac was carefully tucked into his carrier. After she was sure he was asleep, she curled up on the bedroll he had spread out, curling around the carrier. She rested her head on her arm and draped the other one across the carrier to hold it close. Then she closed her eyes and just… slept.
Varl grimaced just watching her. That can’t be the least bit comfortable. He could see the metal pieces of her armor digging into her cheek as she dozed, but after a moment, he realized why she was sleeping like this in the first place.
Both bow and spear were within arm’s reach, pouches and ammo too. Isaac in his carrier and in her arms meant she could sling him over her shoulder at the moment’s notice. She was sleeping so uncomfortably because that’s probably how she protected her and her son all on her own during these months.
He frowned. This was a clever arrangement, but he had hoped that maybe his presence would help her relax a little more, but it seemed a little too late to ask her to become more comfortable. He decided to just leave this arrangement as it is, Varl didn’t really want to risk waking Isaac and earning Aloy’s ire. Maybe he could convince her another time.
With mother and son now asleep, Varl decided to find something to occupy his time as the night droned on. He managed to carve out a chunk of wood from one of the stumps nearby and began fiddling with it with his carving knife.
At first, he didn’t really have anything in mind, but then he caught sight of Baba the Broadhead, peeking out of the carrier, his stubby hand clutching it as he slept. It didn’t look like Isaac had many toys, it made sense since Aloy was on the move all the time and probably didn’t want to be carrying too much.
As a shape began to form in his mind, he carved out piece by piece, thinking to himself how nice it would be to give him another toy.