The Deck, Saturday Morning

[not_of_the_nora]

The weather had gotten drearier over the past few weeks, and that suited Aloy just fine. Too much sunshine wasn't good for the land - regardless of what the people of this time did to keep the food and drinks flowing freely.

No, a rainy morning was fine. She'd been tinkering on something that might be a step towards plugging herself into the portal system for a while now. She took the device, a mess of wires and two skillfully autopsied phones, and sat down with it on the porch.

Her Focus was on, showing her a multitude of facts about the device she was working on, and helping her block out the world.

Tinker, tinker...

[[ open! ]]

Comments

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

Jaylah looked down at her hands in confusion because it was clear to most on this planet that she was hardly native. "I came from an area of space they have not yet navigated."

[not_of_the_nora]

She came from another planet, sure. But that said nothing about whether she'd been to space.

"So did you come here by ship or by portal?" Aloy specified.

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

"By ship," Jaylah replied with a bit of frustrated confusion behind it.

[not_of_the_nora]

"Most people I've met here came by portal," Aloy explained. "I think you're the first person outside of Professor Skywalker who's actually been on a ship in space."

... Oh honey.

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

Bless her heart.

Jaylah frowned, thinking that over. "There are other ships here. I have seen them."

[not_of_the_nora]

"I haven't," Aloy said.

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

"You do not know what to look for then." Well, that was blunt.

[not_of_the_nora]

"No, I don't," Aloy said, equally blunt. "We don't have them where we come from."

They didn't even ride animals.

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

YOUR HOME WAS WEIRD, ALOY. IT WAS WEIRD.

"What do you have then?"

[not_of_the_nora]

Very low biodiversity and a population with stone-to-bronze-age technology surrounded by advanced mechanical monsters would do that to a home.

"We walk," Aloy said.

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

THE WEIRDNESS STANDS.

"You walk on a ship. Off them too."

[not_of_the_nora]

Well... duh.

"We walk... not on a ship," Aloy said slowly.

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

"I do not understand why you would not build something more," Jaylah replied like Aloy was just being unreasonable here.

[not_of_the_nora]

"Because I don't have any idea how," Aloy said simply, "And my people believe machines are an affront to the Goddess."

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

"What is this Goddess and why would she not want you to build things?" Well, it was safe to say she wasn't the religious sort.

[not_of_the_nora]

"All-Mother," Aloy said lightly. "The mountain that stands at the heart of Nora lands. I don't know why the Matriarchs feel that way, but they're the ones who make the rules for most of the Nora."

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

"A mountain can't think things," Jaylah pointed out helpfully. And with great offense. "They sound foolish."

[not_of_the_nora]

"It's what they believe."

And what Rost believed.

Aloy was just more skeptical than anyone else she know. Blame it on being made outcast as a baby for sins nobody bothered to explain to her.

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

"They believe foolish things." And Aloy's skepticism was perfectly reasonable to Jaylah.

[not_of_the_nora]

"You won't hear me disagreeing on that one," said Aloy.

[likesthebeatsandshouting]

Jaylah nodded again like they'd come to an accord on the matter. "If you wish to see a ship, I will show you one."