Again he doesn’t get an answer, and it is off-putting for the Explorer of the redwoods. Add this to the way Ray still sits comfortably in her forelock, lighting her up like a Christmas tree (none of the women have noticed the firefly so far, so really, Oren’s imagination stems from his own uncertainty), and add her enhanced beauty; the handsome young male gets nervous around her. Not to say he is not attracted to her, on the contrary - but he is so unused to the situation that he gets uncertain about his next move, especially with the other, extremely beautiful mare besides them. The latter has more of an overweight than Oren - is he really just a boy then, he wonders for a moment; Aela seems to regard him in that way.
Aloy saves him, and for that he thanks his lucky stars. A direct question, that he can answer. ”Taiga’s just a home for everyone. Friends become family, and families live beneath the trees. The North as a whole...” he tilts his head, nearly drifts off like his mother would, but catches himself in time. ”It’s a stronghold.” he decides finally. Once in, she’d be part of that family. If anyone opposes it... there’s no easy way to earn any trust again there, if ever. But really, most of it goes without saying, and the strong, resilient Northerners don’t discuss this amongst themselves so often. Perhaps it’s an Amazonian heritage of them. And added to that, honestly Oren had always had an outside-directed point of view, and self-analysis was hard enough without his orientation.
He shrugs a little, focuses once more on the now unlit bug and silently commands it to return now. Ray doesn’t seem to be too happy about it, and in fact buzzes in circles before he lands back on Oren’s neck. He doesn’t know what Aela has to say, but he bets it’s probably something that sounds way more exciting.
@Aloy
@Aela
Aloy saves him, and for that he thanks his lucky stars. A direct question, that he can answer. ”Taiga’s just a home for everyone. Friends become family, and families live beneath the trees. The North as a whole...” he tilts his head, nearly drifts off like his mother would, but catches himself in time. ”It’s a stronghold.” he decides finally. Once in, she’d be part of that family. If anyone opposes it... there’s no easy way to earn any trust again there, if ever. But really, most of it goes without saying, and the strong, resilient Northerners don’t discuss this amongst themselves so often. Perhaps it’s an Amazonian heritage of them. And added to that, honestly Oren had always had an outside-directed point of view, and self-analysis was hard enough without his orientation.
He shrugs a little, focuses once more on the now unlit bug and silently commands it to return now. Ray doesn’t seem to be too happy about it, and in fact buzzes in circles before he lands back on Oren’s neck. He doesn’t know what Aela has to say, but he bets it’s probably something that sounds way more exciting.
@Aloy
@Aela