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fandomweekly2019-01-03 08:34 pm
sunspot) wrote in fandomweekly2019-01-03 08:34 pm
Entry tags:
[#001] Lives in Recovery (Horizon: Zero Dawn)
Theme Prompt: 001 - Second Chances
Title: Lives in Recovery
Fandom: Horizon: Zero Dawn
Rating/Warnings: PG / Implied violence, mentions off-screen deaths, minor early game spoilers.
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 996 (omg it was so tough keeping it concise)
Summary: A second chance after The Proving.
The pain tears through her, a searing, ripping feeling that’s worse than any injury she’s taken during training. Vala hits the ground hearing the others screaming in terror, Aloy shouting, and the thudding of the bizarre enemy weapon. She tries to push herself up, hands sliding in the snow and something red. Blood, her blood. She doesn’t remember much after that.
Varl’s wiping sweat from her brow when she comes to, which is unusual for many reasons. The darkened room smells and feels familiar, so she knows she’s home, but her brother’s never been one to pay her much attention. There’s muffled noise from outside, the clattering of hammers and heavy footfalls, people moving fast with heavy loads. There are voices, maybe some far off singing, but no laughter.
“Varl?” she manages to choke out around her dry, heavy tongue.
He drops the cloth and takes up her hand in both of his. “You’re awake,” he says. His actions, his tone… He’s shocked, relieved, his voice is rough like he’s not been taking care of himself. She’s awake, he says. That must mean that others are not.
“Everyone else?”
“Some alive. Not many, but some.”
“Bast?”
“Dead.”
“Aloy?”
“I’m not sure. She was alive when they… The High Matriarchs thought she'd die. I haven’t heard since then.” He lets go of her hand and rises to cross the room.
“When they?”
“Took her inside All-Mother Mountain.”
“...Wow.”
Varl returns to her with a cup of something hot and sharp-smelling. “The others who survived say she’s the reason they did. Well, the two of you.”
“And Bast. He was brave,” Vala says. She struggles to sit up and take the cup from her. Her chest aches with the exertion of trying to breathe. The first sip from the cup burns all the way down, but she breathes easier right away. The second one isn’t as bad.
Varl lights a torch on the far side of the room, not bright enough to blind her, but enough so that she can see. She looks down at her hands – bruised and scraped, looking about as bad as they feel. She balances the cup between her knees, letting the warmth ease the strain in her muscles while she flexes her hands.
Satisfied they’ll work well enough once they’ve healed a bit more, she looks around. Vala knows instantly that besides them, the house is empty. Her mother’s bow is gone and the oiled leather sack she carries while out hunting is missing from its peg by the door. “Where’s Sona?”
“The killers Aloy didn’t finish took off through the Sacred Lands. She took a war party after them.” He returns again to her bedside and sits on the low stool so she doesn’t have to crane her head around to follow him.
“You didn’t go too?” It’s exactly the kind of mission both of them would scramble to be a part of. She can’t believe he wouldn’t have fought a hundred other Braves to go with Sona.
“Someone had to stay with you.”
“I’m sorry,” she says, truly meaning it. Staying back with an invalid is for healers, the people who were called to that task. It's a punishment for Braves.
“You're my sister, Vala. I requested to stay,” he clarifies, knowing the pity in her tone. “Plus, I can defend Mother’s Heart, if need be. This is where I am best used. Sona knows that.”
“Will she be back soon, do you think?” Vala kicks herself a little for the question. She’s always been too anxious for her mother’s approval and Varl teases her for it.
“Been gone four days and we haven’t heard yet. Maybe, but I doubt she’ll come back before it’s done with.”
“Four days? I’ve been out for four days?” Vala feels her heart speed up, feels the pressure of it in her ears. Her chest starts to ache again.
“It was almost a full day between explosion and when Sona left, and then four, four and half since then,” he says.
“Explosion?” Her head is spinning, her chest is burning, and she’s itching for fresh air to clear her mind and maybe make some sense of all the nonsense he’s saying. Vala moves to stand, to throw off the furs off the bed she’s tucked up in and run into the night until she finds Sona. She'll get some answers and life will return to normal.
“After the rest of the survivors got down safely, you and Aloy were still up there. The killers set off some kind explosion. All-Mother must have been protecting you both, because you were at the bottom of the mountain, alive.” Varl goes on to explain the massacre, then war party following after, the rebuilding, the mourning, everything that's been happening in Mother's Watch and Mother's Heart since the Proving. There's theories, of course, about who would do this and why, but no solid answers.
It's all a lot for Vala to process.
She spends the next day sitting on the edge of the cot, flexing movement back into her extremities and taking the food, drink, and herbs that Varl brings to her. A few of her ribs must be broken, but the strong salvebrush elixir helps dull the pain and speed the healing.
"I'm going outside," she tells him. He opens his mouth to protest, but Vala will have none of it. "Bring me a stick to lean on if you're so concerned, but I am going out." Varl hooks his arm around her and she uses him as a crutch to get outside.
There's a shock of red hair coming down the path towards them.
"I'm going," Aloy barks at her. "Are you coming?"
"Going where?"
"Answers," Aloy says. "And vengeance."
She looks between her brother's frown and the former outcast, looking as weak and tired, as angry and determined as Vala herself is.
"Just give me a moment to pack," she says.
Title: Lives in Recovery
Fandom: Horizon: Zero Dawn
Rating/Warnings: PG / Implied violence, mentions off-screen deaths, minor early game spoilers.
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 996 (omg it was so tough keeping it concise)
Summary: A second chance after The Proving.
The pain tears through her, a searing, ripping feeling that’s worse than any injury she’s taken during training. Vala hits the ground hearing the others screaming in terror, Aloy shouting, and the thudding of the bizarre enemy weapon. She tries to push herself up, hands sliding in the snow and something red. Blood, her blood. She doesn’t remember much after that.
Varl’s wiping sweat from her brow when she comes to, which is unusual for many reasons. The darkened room smells and feels familiar, so she knows she’s home, but her brother’s never been one to pay her much attention. There’s muffled noise from outside, the clattering of hammers and heavy footfalls, people moving fast with heavy loads. There are voices, maybe some far off singing, but no laughter.
“Varl?” she manages to choke out around her dry, heavy tongue.
He drops the cloth and takes up her hand in both of his. “You’re awake,” he says. His actions, his tone… He’s shocked, relieved, his voice is rough like he’s not been taking care of himself. She’s awake, he says. That must mean that others are not.
“Everyone else?”
“Some alive. Not many, but some.”
“Bast?”
“Dead.”
“Aloy?”
“I’m not sure. She was alive when they… The High Matriarchs thought she'd die. I haven’t heard since then.” He lets go of her hand and rises to cross the room.
“When they?”
“Took her inside All-Mother Mountain.”
“...Wow.”
Varl returns to her with a cup of something hot and sharp-smelling. “The others who survived say she’s the reason they did. Well, the two of you.”
“And Bast. He was brave,” Vala says. She struggles to sit up and take the cup from her. Her chest aches with the exertion of trying to breathe. The first sip from the cup burns all the way down, but she breathes easier right away. The second one isn’t as bad.
Varl lights a torch on the far side of the room, not bright enough to blind her, but enough so that she can see. She looks down at her hands – bruised and scraped, looking about as bad as they feel. She balances the cup between her knees, letting the warmth ease the strain in her muscles while she flexes her hands.
Satisfied they’ll work well enough once they’ve healed a bit more, she looks around. Vala knows instantly that besides them, the house is empty. Her mother’s bow is gone and the oiled leather sack she carries while out hunting is missing from its peg by the door. “Where’s Sona?”
“The killers Aloy didn’t finish took off through the Sacred Lands. She took a war party after them.” He returns again to her bedside and sits on the low stool so she doesn’t have to crane her head around to follow him.
“You didn’t go too?” It’s exactly the kind of mission both of them would scramble to be a part of. She can’t believe he wouldn’t have fought a hundred other Braves to go with Sona.
“Someone had to stay with you.”
“I’m sorry,” she says, truly meaning it. Staying back with an invalid is for healers, the people who were called to that task. It's a punishment for Braves.
“You're my sister, Vala. I requested to stay,” he clarifies, knowing the pity in her tone. “Plus, I can defend Mother’s Heart, if need be. This is where I am best used. Sona knows that.”
“Will she be back soon, do you think?” Vala kicks herself a little for the question. She’s always been too anxious for her mother’s approval and Varl teases her for it.
“Been gone four days and we haven’t heard yet. Maybe, but I doubt she’ll come back before it’s done with.”
“Four days? I’ve been out for four days?” Vala feels her heart speed up, feels the pressure of it in her ears. Her chest starts to ache again.
“It was almost a full day between explosion and when Sona left, and then four, four and half since then,” he says.
“Explosion?” Her head is spinning, her chest is burning, and she’s itching for fresh air to clear her mind and maybe make some sense of all the nonsense he’s saying. Vala moves to stand, to throw off the furs off the bed she’s tucked up in and run into the night until she finds Sona. She'll get some answers and life will return to normal.
“After the rest of the survivors got down safely, you and Aloy were still up there. The killers set off some kind explosion. All-Mother must have been protecting you both, because you were at the bottom of the mountain, alive.” Varl goes on to explain the massacre, then war party following after, the rebuilding, the mourning, everything that's been happening in Mother's Watch and Mother's Heart since the Proving. There's theories, of course, about who would do this and why, but no solid answers.
It's all a lot for Vala to process.
She spends the next day sitting on the edge of the cot, flexing movement back into her extremities and taking the food, drink, and herbs that Varl brings to her. A few of her ribs must be broken, but the strong salvebrush elixir helps dull the pain and speed the healing.
"I'm going outside," she tells him. He opens his mouth to protest, but Vala will have none of it. "Bring me a stick to lean on if you're so concerned, but I am going out." Varl hooks his arm around her and she uses him as a crutch to get outside.
There's a shock of red hair coming down the path towards them.
"I'm going," Aloy barks at her. "Are you coming?"
"Going where?"
"Answers," Aloy says. "And vengeance."
She looks between her brother's frown and the former outcast, looking as weak and tired, as angry and determined as Vala herself is.
"Just give me a moment to pack," she says.
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Thank you for sharing.
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Think you'll be sticking to this fandom for a while? I think I'd enjoy this being expanded upon; I'd really love to see how the "folks vs robots" thing plays out from such an intimate perspective. It's definitely a favourite trope of mine.
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