AU for @notathreat
It was fucking cold.
It was always fucking cold, this time of year, of course. It was well into the end of autumn and into the start of winter. It was even coming up on the Winter Solstice as the Mothers referred to it. The darkest time of the year when nothing would grow and when everyone among the Nora huddled inside together near their fires to block out the chill.
Everyone didn't, of course, always include Aloy. When you were 'motherless' and your only parent had been dead six months, you did what you had to do to get by. At the least, she could count her lucky stars that she hadn't been driven away from what they called the Sacred Lands--she was tolerated, even if she wasn't well-liked by the High Matriarchs. Being an able huntress who had won the Proving handily the year before was a big help with that. When you could bring in fresh meat, no matter the time of year, your idiosyncrasies and oddities tended to get overlooked.
It was a cold, clear, sharp winter's day now and Aloy's feet crunched against the surface of the snow as she stalked along the game trail that wound through the evergreens hugging the flank of the mountains. There was no guarantee of catching anything, but she patrolled it regularly anyway, if only to make sure none of the Beasts had strayed into the Sacred Lands again. Besides that, there was the hope that some of her snares had caught something, even if she wasn't able to find a deer.
Aloy looked more like a creature than human being herself, swathed in furs draped over the battered old water-proof snow jacket to help disguise the too-bright artificial colors. As Aloy clambered further down the trail, she paused as she caught a glimpse of movement amongst the trees. Someone or something was at one of her snares. Her steps slowed and she stalked closer, tugged her toque up over her mouth to help disguise the puff of her breath.
There. Something had been caught in a snare. And someone was in the middle of pilfering it. Carefully, Aloy knocked one of the horrid broadhead arrows and began to draw the string back.
"Leave it," she snapped as if she was talking to one of the dogs back home. "Or at least ask before you take something that doesn't belong to you, Outlander."
It was always fucking cold, this time of year, of course. It was well into the end of autumn and into the start of winter. It was even coming up on the Winter Solstice as the Mothers referred to it. The darkest time of the year when nothing would grow and when everyone among the Nora huddled inside together near their fires to block out the chill.
Everyone didn't, of course, always include Aloy. When you were 'motherless' and your only parent had been dead six months, you did what you had to do to get by. At the least, she could count her lucky stars that she hadn't been driven away from what they called the Sacred Lands--she was tolerated, even if she wasn't well-liked by the High Matriarchs. Being an able huntress who had won the Proving handily the year before was a big help with that. When you could bring in fresh meat, no matter the time of year, your idiosyncrasies and oddities tended to get overlooked.
It was a cold, clear, sharp winter's day now and Aloy's feet crunched against the surface of the snow as she stalked along the game trail that wound through the evergreens hugging the flank of the mountains. There was no guarantee of catching anything, but she patrolled it regularly anyway, if only to make sure none of the Beasts had strayed into the Sacred Lands again. Besides that, there was the hope that some of her snares had caught something, even if she wasn't able to find a deer.
Aloy looked more like a creature than human being herself, swathed in furs draped over the battered old water-proof snow jacket to help disguise the too-bright artificial colors. As Aloy clambered further down the trail, she paused as she caught a glimpse of movement amongst the trees. Someone or something was at one of her snares. Her steps slowed and she stalked closer, tugged her toque up over her mouth to help disguise the puff of her breath.
There. Something had been caught in a snare. And someone was in the middle of pilfering it. Carefully, Aloy knocked one of the horrid broadhead arrows and began to draw the string back.
"Leave it," she snapped as if she was talking to one of the dogs back home. "Or at least ask before you take something that doesn't belong to you, Outlander."
Entry tags:
Mental Link | Station 72
OUTCAST I'll prove them wrong | CURIOSITY I want answers |
HUNTER For one to live, one must die | LIFE is precious |
Entry tags:
Information + permissions | Station 72
BASIC INFORMATION
Name: Aloy
Canon: Horizon Zero Dawn
Age: 18
Bio: Briefly, Aloy comes from a post-apocalyptic Earth where she grew up in a tribal society known as the Nora. Kind of. Due to the strange circumstances of her birth, she grew up as an Outcast, raised by her foster father Rost. She's a bit of an odd duck as a result and had the unique experience of being raised in a culture, but also being able to view from outside of its strictures in part.
As part of her childhood she learned to hunt both animals for food and the strange animal-like machines that romaed the wilds for parts. At the age of 18, she had a chance to rejoin her people through a ritual known as the Proving, where young Nora men and women compete to become braves. The winner of this ritual has the right to ask anything of the Matriarchs that rule the Nora. Aloy planned to ask about her birth and to discover who her mother was. She had never known and mothers and motherhood are the central tenant of Nora society. She did win the proving.
Then everything changed with death-god worshipping cultists attacked.
More details can be found in the app.
SYMBIOTE INFORMATION
Iota - Cleansing and Purification
Elizabet Sobek, and by extension her machines, her Project, her whole life, was about cleansing environmental poisons and healing damage. Aloy, following her legacy, fights against corruption in the abstract (both politically and otherwise) as well as the literal corruption of both Gaia, and of all the machines that she meets. In this case then, the ability granted to Aloy is the ability to detect and eventually purify poisons, diseases, pollutants, toxins, and other corruption.
As her complicity with the Nest grows, and the bonds deepen, she will gain the ability to not just detect poisons and contaminants, but to purify them, rendering undrinkable water potable, cleansing wounds of gangrene and rot, and turning foul air breathable
Rank 1) She can detect, with complete accuracy, the presence and/or nature of a poison or pollution in a nearby target. This extends to things like the nature of, say a poison gas flooding corridors or being able to determine that a wound is infected. This ability can be used as often as needed by Aloy without too much strain or trouble.
BROOD: ALIOTHHelen Magnus | lifewithoutrest
Gladiolus Amicitia|Nasu Rei|Stefan Salvatore|Derek Souza|
BROOD PERMISSIONS
Aloy has lived the vast, vast majority of her life as essentially a hermit with no peers her own age to talk to and only her adoptive father for company. She spent a lot of time alone either toying with her focus or hunting. As such she has difficulty with normal social cues at times and tends to talk to herself. She will not be used to having other minds in close proximity to hers and may bristle a little at the sudden intimacy. Despite her childhood, she seems mostly well adjusted, even if sharp-tongued and a bit acerbic at times. She has a deep well of compassion and a desire to fit in or belong to a group even if she is outwardly stand offish in many respects.
NEST PERMISSIONS
Aloy is very curious and very open-minded. She's unsued to mental intrusion and is likely to simply broadcast whatever surface emotion she's feeling without regard for others until she gets used to her situation. She gets fed up with nonsense like riddles and obtuse trickery quickly and has something of an impatient streak.
MENTAL LINK
Curiosity. Compassion. Annoyance. Fresh, clear air. The weight of a lance in the hand and the tension of drawing a bow. Images of mountains, rivers, and trees. Vast deserts.
Glimpses of strange metal creatures that resemble animals more than robots. Robotic war-machines. Violence. Arrows punching into targets, machine and human. The sensation of lance sinking into flesh. A heavy sense of purpose and responsibility to... the world? People? It's not clear.
PERMISSIONS
Physical Affection: Aloy is unused to physical affection but by the same token, is probably a little touch-starved. If she gets comfortable with someone, she'd undoubtedly be happy to sprawl around be a cuddlebug or exchange platonic touch in some other way.
Physical Violence: Violence is not Aloy's first choice, but she is used to it and will inflict it if it's needed. Though not always ready for a fight, she is not afraid of taking a few hits.
Romance/Relationships: If she met the right person, she could probably become involved. She has no experience with romance at this time (4/30/17 OOC) however.
Thread-jacking: Just ask and it'll probably be okay.
Back-tagging: Always
Fourth-walling: No.
Offensive Subjects/Triggers: Nothing I can think of at the moment.
Anything Else? If anything here doesn't make sense or seems confusing, please don't hesitate to contact me via PM or a private plurk or what have you.
[YOUR NAME] • CONTACT @ PLURK/JOURNAL/ETC