Aleida Erikson ⚙ Aloy of the Nora (mechanical) wrote in dunhavenic, @ 2017-11-10 22:19:00 |
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The filly in question was even more magnificent than she'd seemed online. She was a silver, diluting her black coat to a beautiful, lightly dappled chocolate and giving her a flaxen mane and tail. She was also speckled with a handful or birdcatcher spots, something he hadn't noticed in the listing. She moved with absolute grace, but there was a spark in her that was irresistible. The filly, registered as Greta's Missing Holiday, was undeniably unique, just like the young woman Lennox planned her for. If Lyllianna suspected his end game, she didn't pester him for it. She only asked what disciplines the planned for the filly. Lennox intended to train her the way he'd trained Asco, but even more specialized. She would be bareback trained, mostly for trails and Western pleasure, but he was curious to see how she jumped. She wasn't as tall as Asco, but she still had good height on her. By the end of the afternoon, Lennox was convinced and when they picked her up early the next morning in Lyllianna’s trailer he left eleven thousand dollars lighter, but with a smile on his face. It was about two hours from Dunhaven when he texted Alee to ask her to meet him at Lyllianna's stable. The request itself wasn't strange as he often met her there for a trail ride or lesson. She was able to get there at two and when they arrived that gave him about forty-five minutes to get Greta -- or whatever Alee would name her -- situated and settled, grazing in a tiny pasture by herself near the gravel drive. When the motorcycle pulled up, Lennox and Lyllianna were leaning on the fence watching her trot about and chew some grass, silvery tail flicking about absently. Their conversation was light, comments on how the filly carried herself and her unique coat, but it halted at the sound of the bike. The filly looked up and snorted in irritation at the noise, but she didn't seem afraid. “Aleida!” Lennox called out when she turned off the engine, waving for her to come over with a broad grin. He met her halfway, pulling her close for an uncharacteristic display of public affection as he pressed a hard kiss to her mouth before she could say anything. Then he took her hand in his. “Come here,” he encouraged excitedly, leading her over to the pasture. “There's someone you need to meet.” For the last day and a half, Alee had noticed Lennox’s absence. She did as she promised she would, stopping by to spend time with Oren and make sure that he had food and plenty of attention to hold him over while his person was gone. She had snacked around in the prepped food that Lennox had left for her, and she had worked as normal in town. The time had passed decently fast, although she had also slept a lot, trying to regain her energy and her appetite, though she felt like she could sleep for days on end. She had gotten the message from Lennox Thursday afternoon, and she’d headed to the stables when she left work after going in early. She was more excited than she wanted to admit about seeing Lennox, and maybe a little nervous too. It wasn’t as though they hadn’t gone a day without seeing one another before, but they’d had a fight before he left and she had hoped that it wasn’t...somehow connected. He’d promised to bring her back a present, though she didn’t know what that might be and had given a few too many sassy remarks about it before he left. As usual, she parked out of the way, raising a hand in a wave as Lennox motioned her over. Her heart did a little somersault as he met her in the middle, pulling her into a kiss that really just made her want to grab him by the front of his shirt and pull him somewhere private. She shook off that urge, his excitement almost tangible, “Someone?” she asked, letting him pull her over to where Lyllianna still stood by the fence. She managed a meek smile, but didn’t really say anything to her right off. It was unfortunate, but Alee still felt a little lingering bitterness where Lyllianna was concerned and for her part in the conversation that had wrecked Alee’s faith earlier that week. Instead of focusing on the other woman, she let her eyes go to the horse that was grazing inside the fencing. Her eyes widened a little, a smile turning up her lips as she looked to Lennox a moment. Her gaze was drawn back to the filly, feeling a pull towards her that she couldn’t quite explain, though she ignored that feeling in favor of inquiring, “Did you get another horse? Oh, she’s beautiful. What’s her name?” “Well,” he answered, still grinning broadly, “that's the trick of it. She has a registered name, of course.” He said it as though every horse came with the pedigree she did and would have a registration on file with a national organization. “But what do you think she should be called?” He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Lyllia, wondering if she had put two and two together. It was likely she had. She didn’t know any better, figuring that all horses were in some way named when they were purchased. That’s just how things with horses worked, right? He asked what the horse should be called and she could see Lyllianna’s smile change to something resembling a smirk, but the other woman said nothing and Alee just raised a curious brow, “I...don’t know, Lennox. She’s your horse. How did you pick Asco’s name?” Lennox shrugged. “It means ash tree,” he answered nonchalantly. “Trees are sort of my thing. But I want you to name her.” Alee still wasn’t sure why he was so insistent on her naming his new horse, though perhaps it was just one of those things. He could just want her involved in the process. She looked at the horse for a long few moments, thinking about what she would name her, and something Lennox might like on top of that. It took her a few long moments of contemplation, but before she could even fully form the name in her mind it was leaving her lips, “Gaia.” She watched as the filly moved across the small enclosure with grace and power barely contained beneath the surface, “Mother Earth. The ancestral mother of all life…” His smile broadened further and he kissed her temple. “It's perfect. She'll be used to it. Her show name is Greta's Missing Holiday and they've been calling her Greta.” The filly trotted over curiously, but stayed just out of arm's reach and as she examined Alee. “What do you think of her? She's watching you.” He grinned over at Lyllianna briefly, noticing her contained amusement. “Greta is a terrible name,” Alee said after a moment. She didn't think it sounded nearly whimsical enough for this filly. The rest of her given name was alright, but Alee felt no connection to Greta. The name Gaia somehow spoke to her soul, as if it belonged to a long lost friend, or some figure that she'd never met and still somehow was irrevocably tied to. “She's magnificent. There's something familiar about her,” Alee told him truthfully, reaching out her hand, fingers down and relaxed, hoping it would encourage the filly forward. “She's young, free spirited, and stubborn,” Lyllia said, the first words spoken since Alee had overheard that fateful conversation in the stables. She shook off the way that it made her bristle, but she knew what Lyllia was saying. This horse was like Alee. Perhaps that's where the familiarity came from. “Apparently Lennox has a type,” she said, grinning up at him. He smirked at that, pinching Alee’s side in retort. “Perhaps I do. But she isn’t for me, Miss Stubborn Free Spirit.” He crossed his arms loosely and leaned them on the fence to watch the intelligent young horse as she took a step forward and sniffed Alee’s outstretched hand. “She hasn’t been ridden yet, which is good. Too many people start them too young and it hurts them. I’m going to start riding her and train her in bareback. I’m thinking trails, Western pleasure… maybe a bit of jumping, just for fun.” He looked back at Alee and his expression was pleasant but serious. “Then when she’s ready, she’s yours.” Alee's expression scrunched, curious about what he meant that the horse wasn't for him. She hadn't quite made the connection, the filly gently nosing at her hand with her velvety nose. As she listened to the plans that Lennox had for her, she wondered if he was going to train her and then sell her. It never crossed her mind that this horse would be hers, until the words left his mouth. She was sure she looked silly, standing there with widened eyes, her lips parted for words that couldn't seem to be formed, “Lennox.” She scrambled to make sense of it, “She is my present? You got me a horse? Are you serious?” In her excitement, she pulled her hand back from Gaia’s sniffing, though the horse didn't seem spooked even as Alee gave a squeal and pulled Lennox out of his stance so she could kiss him hard, her arms stretching up around his neck. If anything, Gaia seemed almost curious about this development. Lyllianna took this as her cue to take her leave, stepping back from the fence and letting the couple have a little more privacy, even if they were right out in the open. Lennox stumbled a little, caught off guard, and laughed against her mouth even as he returned the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a squeeze, not shying away from the public display. Let people talk. What would they say? That Lennox cared deeply for his girlfriend? It was true, after all. When the kiss broke, he still held her close, grinning down at her. “Yes. I had been thinking about it since you rode Asco. Romeo’s a wonderful horse to learn on, but you need something that’s going to work for you long term. It’s going to be about a year before she’s completely ready,” he warned, growing a little more serious. “You can ride her before then, but she’s not broken at all. She’s three, so I’ll start with light riding now. When she turns four, she can start galloping, jumping, and hard trails. I figure she's a… long-term investment in us.” Although she was relieved that he caught his balance and she didn't knock the both of them right to the ground, she wouldn't have been sorry if she had. She didn't even want to think of how much he had paid for the filly or how much he would continue to pay for her board and feed. She held onto him tightly, trying to push any concerns she had out if her mind for the sake of accepting this gift without unnecessary complications. Her smile was wide, crinkling her eyes at the edges as he explained that it would be a while before Alee could truly ride with Gaia, but that didn't bother her. Gaia being unbroken meant that she could be trained exactly as they wanted her to be, “I like the sound of long-term.” She told him, her heart feeling full to bursting. Alee stole another shorter kiss, but as she pulled back she looked over her shoulder to the filly, “How acclimated is she? Do you think it would spook her if I went in the ring with her?” Lennox rarely smiled this much for this long, but her happiness radiated off her and he was so relieved that she was as in love with the horse as he'd hoped. “She's settling really well, actually,” he answered. “She needs a blanket on her in this chill if you want to put it on her. I'm coming in with you, though. If she does spook, I'm larger. I can control her better.” Lennox picked up a lead rope that was draped over the fence so he could hold her head and gestured at a blue horse blanket a few feet away. Stepping towards the fence, Alee went to where the blanket was draped and picked it up carefully. She let Lennox open the gate since he had less in his hands, but she waited for him to actually secure the lead rope to Gaia’s halter before she went near her. Even then, she stepped slowly. The filly didn’t try to sidestep out of the way, but she turned her head a little, keeping an eye on Alee as she reached out and gently ran a hand over her withers. For a moment or two, that was all Alee attempted, then finally she adjusted her hold on the blanket and slipped it over Gaia’s back, adjusting it a little so that it hung more evenly. With the blanket over her back, Alee went back to petting her gently, hoping that she would learn to trust her. As her hand brushed across Gaia’s neck, something in her gave pause, her fingers lingering where they rested. The smell of dust and horse hair faded, replaced with the sharp tang of metal and blood. The wind pulled at her braids, her leather and plating shifting quietly as she crouched in the low grasses. What she’d seen at Mother’s Watch should have been impossible. She could go where she pleased, having the blessing of the Matriarch’s as their anointed Seeker. She could return to the Sacred Lands, but she wasn’t certain how sacred they would remain with machines like the Corrupters ravaging through villages. It couldn’t just be the only one, could it? That solitary, vile machine infected and controlled everything around it. Once peaceful machines became hostile and violent. They had killed more Braves, what few of them had remained. If one machine could do that much destruction, she was sick to think how horrible a flock of them would be. Still, she wondered…could the piece of technology that she’d scrapped from the machine really control them? Could she turn machines to her side, for any length of time? It would make her travel so much easier. The herd of Striders near the entrance to Mother’s Watch were busy grazing, but as she hunkered out of sight, Aloy’s heart thudded like a war drum in her chest. She edged closer to one further away from the rest of the herd, and whistled low. It lifted it’s head curiously, all whirring gears and wires and metal plates. The headlight turned yellow instead of the serene blue, on alert as it approached the bushes. Still, it didn’t sense her. She reached out, jamming the extension of her spear into an access point below its neck, twisting and turning on the display. For several moments, she just held her breath, and then the light gleamed blue. She stood in front of it with bated breath, but the Strider didn’t go on high alert. The headlight never turned red. It didn’t charge or run to warn the herd. It merely stared at her, and then shifted to graze at the grass by her feet. She was amazed, but her words were low an appreciative as she declared to no one but herself, “It worked!” Cautiously, she reached out, and then put her foot against the plating, shifting to throw her leg over its back. She didn’t have long...the other Striders would notice soon, and having a ride would make her travel across this world in search of the attackers and the Alpha Registry better than going on foot. She reached up, grabbing some thick tubing. The Strider responded to her silent command, racing forward toward the closest gate of the Embrace. As she charged past other herds of machines, none of them could catch her even as their displays turned red and they gave chase. Her hair whipped wildly behind her, but Aloy’s face split in a grin. This was almost as good as zip-lining. She could feel every shift of metal beneath her, the hooves clanging against the dirt path below. She fought in the urge to scream, both some release of joy and sorrow. She couldn’t let herself give into the grief...into despair. She had a job to do, and Seeking she would go; for justice and revenge and truth. Aleida blinked, but she came to face not with gleaming metal and gaskets, but Gaia’s chocolate coat beneath her fingers. She shuddered a little, a memory of a demon-like machine rampaging through a village stuck in her mind. She was surprised to find her hair shorter and unbraided, only a light sweater and jeans as her clothing instead of the heavy weight of leather, fur, and woven armored plates, pulled from machines by her own hands. Her heart had begun to race, but there was no reason for it. She didn’t feel like it was Gaia that had brought on that...sensation. It felt like something remembered, from a far off life. “Asco is going to be jealous,” she said finally, trying to grasp on something that was very much grounded in this world. She didn’t know how long she’d been standing there quiet, and she was worried about that part in case, “You didn’t have to do this, Lennox...but she truly is the best present you could have gotten me. She’s got a fire in her heart. You can see it just looking at her." Lennox, for his part, didn't notice Alee's silence for those seconds, focused on stroking the filly and keeping her calm, though he didn't have much cause to worry. As spirited as she was, she wasn't afraid of them and stayed calm, even as Lennox secured the fastenings of the blanket to keep it on her. “That's what convinced me,” he agreed. “You don't need a boring nag. You need a horse that can keep up with you and challenge you to be your best. I don't know a lot about Quarter Horses so Lyllianna came with, but looking at Gaia told me everything I needed to know. She's going to be an amazing partner for you.” Still holding the lead rope in one hand, he reached out to pull Alee into his side with the other, hugging her. “And so you're not uncomfortable, she'll stay in my name until you're ready for her to go to you, alright?” The things that she had seen only in her mind were still distracting her, but if Lennox noticed anything amiss, he didn’t comment on it. She felt a little shaken by it, wondering just what reality that might have been. It helped to ground her when he reached for her, pulling her into a hug. She slipped her arms around his waist, her hold on him like a lifeline. His decision about Gaia hadn’t been made lightly, it seemed. She let out a slow breath that she’d been holding when he assured her that the ownership of Gaia would remain in his name until she said otherwise. It was considerate to her feelings about finances. He was learning his way around her needs, and it made her more grateful than she could really say, “Thank you for that.” She hoped that they worked, but since this was his financial investment, she felt better knowing that she didn’t actually possess Gaia even if she was intended to be hers. She looked up at Lennox, her cheek still pressed to his shoulder, “You’re really kind of amazing, you know that?” His stomach fluttered at the praise and if he were one to blush, he might have. Instead, he grinned at her, trying to hide his embarrassment as he played it off with a small joke, “Well, I try…” “Well, you seem to achieve what you try for,” Alee told him with a small smile, more serious than he seemed to be. She tightened her arms around him a little, relieved that she hadn’t left Dunhaven thinking all those horrible things less than a week ago. It still sometimes crept into her thoughts, but when she was with him, all of it was easier to ignore. Whatever poison her thoughts held onto seemed to wither under the antidote of his touch, “I’m glad you’re back. I did notice your absence...and it was different than you being here and just being busy. Even if you were gone for a very good reason.” Though she didn’t really consider herself clingy, she had felt the distance. His grin softened into a smile. “I thought about bringing you with me, but I liked the idea of surprising you. Plus, I didn’t want to get you excited if it didn’t work out.” Gaia nuzzled curiously at Alee’s curls, mouthing them a little and blowing warm breath on her face. He grinned, petting the filly’s cheek. “She likes you. I can’t have imagined this going better.” She could smell the sweetness of feed and grass on Gaia’s breath as she nosed into her hair, the horse’s nose grazing from her hair, bumping a nudge against her cheek. She laughed, lifting a hand to scratch beneath Gaia’s chin, “She’s very friendly. I think there’s something to all this...affinity that I have for the riding and archery. It seems very much meant to be, like I’ve learned before…” she shook her head a little, remembering the weight of that bow against her back, the spear balanced in her hand, the quiet gears turning in a horse-like machine that seemed to operate on a mind of its own. As she brushed her hand over Gaia’s nose, she sighed, “Or maybe I’m just a natural.” Even as Lennox continued to smile, he looked thoughtful. Rather than dismissing what she’d said, he thought about it. “By all logic, you shouldn’t be as talented as you are,” he pointed out, scratching the whorl of hair on Gaia’s blaze-marked forehead as she continued to investigate them. “You shouldn’t have been able to control Asco as well as you did and you shoot like an Olympian. I’ve never seen a natural that natural.” He was comparing her even to himself and Nina, who had both taken to archery like they’d been born to it, but they both learned at an early age. He had no reason to expect that they would be like Alee if they’d tried it later. “You are rather extraordinary.” As she thought about what he said, she knew that it was true. She’d trained as a gymnast and had enough talent to be an Olympian in that right, but there were other talents that had always come easily to her. She free climbed without fear of falling, her time at artificial climbing walls never seeming to be enough to satisfy her. She had taken even more naturally to archery than she had to horseback riding, and it was as if her muscles had retained some memory, guiding her through instinct even when technical knowledge was far out of reach. “Maybe,” she said after a moment, looking up at him with a slightly drawn brow, “I’ve had these...feelings of familiarity. A certain phrase sometimes strikes it, or...some actions do as well. Then...a dream...” nevermind that it was a waking dream and it had happened mere minutes ago, “If I believed in reincarnation, I might think these were skills ingrained from a past life. These things...they just seem to be getting stronger and more frequent. It’s hard to explain without sounding completely insane.” Lennox successfully hid any discomfort he felt at the turn toward talk of religion, even as casual as the way she’d brought it up. He was well used to this, especially in the South as they were. Getting into what he believed or didn’t believe was always tricky here and he’d been judged enough times to mostly keep his mouth shut. Still, he did venture, “Maybe they are. I mean, we can’t really know, right? But I don’t think you’re insane, whatever it is.” His suggestion that maybe they were memories from some other part of herself, long hidden away, didn’t make her frown or step away. Instead, she considered it carefully, even as Gaia continued to demand the attention being given to her, “I guess we can’t know for sure. Maybe we’re not meant to...but I don’t think what I’ve experienced is something yet to come. It feels like something remembered, tugging at my mind even though I know it’s not me...not as I am now, anyway.” She thought about herself...her unexplained urge to keep her feet on a wandering path and how in the memory, the girl had been going to Seek truth in lands unknown, knowing that she would go alone and she might never come home. Alee pursed her lips and tried to let it go, grinning up at him, “Insanity is relative, isn’t it? Everyone has their own perceptions and beliefs and they all see things differently than anyone else...whatever it is, I don’t think it’s going to go away.” Lennox unclipped the lead rope, confident now that Gaia was comfortable, and wound it up to shove in a jacket pocket. The filly stepped sideways to graze, but didn’t leave them. Thinking about her words, he scratched Gaia absently on her dappled belly. “I… sometimes dream that I’m an elf,” he admitted, not meeting her eyes. “But they feel like memories… Nothing concrete, though. I’ll be in a forest, practicing my bow, or riding a horse that looks just like Asco.” He saw Nina sometimes, too, though without her glasses and with pointed elf ears. He left that out of his admission now, though. “They’re always very fleeting, but they seem real. I think they are real, in some form or another. Yours, too.” Aleida paused when he admitted that he sometimes had dreams of being an elf. While it sounded a little odd, it was no more strange than her dream had been. He had told her the reasons he had named his camp Sylvester, and he had been so excited about it...she wondered if he had already been having dreams even then, so she smiled and added, “You seem like you could have made a good elf in another life.” Hers had been slow to develop. At first, it was just something clicking in her mind when he told her to follow him, or moments on the archery range when she felt like she’d had a bow in her hand her entire life. Now, she had something a little more concrete to apply it to, so she didn’t think that his admission about elves was so strange. “I’m...I don’t know what I am,” she said after a moment, her eyes serious, “In these dreams, I’m human, but it’s not like this earth. There are villages, but different machines cover the land...and they mostly keep to themselves, only a threat if they feel threatened.” She paused a moment, swallowing thickly, “I can still feel the bow on my back, the spear in my hand, the smell of sweat and blood and scorched earth...metal and burning oil.” She shuddered, shaking her head, “Something evil came into the Sacred Lands of my…her people. It killed many...but there was a piece of technology that was useful. I used it to turn a machine that looked like a horse to my side...the machine let me control it...let me ride.” She put her hand against Gaia’s neck, shaking her head softly, “I’m not imaginative enough to come up with that on my own.” Hearing the details brought it to another level, but he listened intently and without judgment. When she finished, he bent and kissed her temple. “Maybe… it's an omen. A good one, though. She's amazing and you're amazing. I'm really excited for the two of you.” He kissed the top of her head then and asked, “Do you wanna get Romeo and we can go for a hack? I'm going to leave her out here for a while and put her up before it gets dark.” She looked up grinning, her seriousness put aside by his optimism, knowing that whatever it was, she couldn’t change it so she might as well not worry herself over it until she knew more about it. Alee kissed him, pushing up onto her toes to do so, and finally answered, “Absolutely. I’ll stay to help get her settled for the night, and maybe we can have dinner after.” It had the makings of a perfect afternoon, she thought. They could take the trail easy, and have some time to themselves. After being away, perhaps he had work that he needed to get done, but she was hoping he could put it off until tomorrow. She just wanted a little more of his time. |