castlenim | I saw rise in the heat settle soft and as pure as snow

[Talulah follows Frostnova's lead without hesitation, using her arts just enough to turn some of the water into a cloud of steam that hides their retreat.

The back alleys, like in a lot of Victorian cities, are narrow and a little winding, and the locals definitely know them better. On the other hand, losing them in a crowd further towards the city center won't work as long as Frostnova is covered in blood.

They need a hiding spot. Thankfully, there always seems to be a handful of abandoned factories in Victoria nowadays, and Talulah gestures towards the gaping hole in the rusted fence surrounding one at the end of the backstreet.]

That way.

[ for practicality's sake she really should've tried not to make such an obvious mess of herself, but Yelena wasn't thinking that far ahead at the time. close combat isn't her specialty, and with a handicap of being unable to use her arts, she didn't want to prolong the fight. ]

Mm.

[ FrostNova reacts quickly to Talulah's direction, swerving and ducking to guide them through the fence, still holding onto the other's hand all the while. she only releases it when they near the building and she needs to test the door, finding it locked but workable after using her arts to shatter the handle. once they're inside, she seals it shut with more ice, working carefully to ensure it's not overly obvious from the outside. ]

That should hold, as long as they don't march up with a battering ram.

[Talulah follows her lead until they're inside the building, where she slowly wanders around the perimeter of the room, avoiding the windows and looking for any other entry points. Finding none, she addresses Frostnova when she completes the loop.]

I don't think they have the means for one. That was a pretty sloppy bunch.

[That still managed to split her and Frostnova apart, which is annoying. Fighting under all of these constraints is becoming more and more frustrating.]

I'd heard it was bad here, but I really didn't expect this.

[ slumping against the least filthy wall she can find, Yelena lets herself relax as much as the situation allows. it seems like the only time she's able to feel fully at ease since coming to Hillock is when she sleeps. ]

I'm not surprised Dublinn's been able to gain a foothold here. If the base nearby does have something valuable, it's possible they're planning to make their official entrance into the conflict by dropping a match here.

[ as she speaks, she pulls the hem of her dark shirt up to start wiping the rest of her face off, the other hand carefully tracing the outline of her nose. ]

I don't think it's broken, at least.

[She makes a thoughtful noise at Frostnova's assessment of the town. It would complicate things a little more if Dublinn is also after whatever's in that base. Even if it's nothing, they still get the benefit of kicking off their conflict with the Victorian army while Talulah and her companion get caught up in the subsequent inferno.

Before that, though...]

Let me see.

[Talulah leans forward more to get a better look at the other's nose. It doesn't look crooked, which means it is probably fine.]

You're right, it's not. But did you get elbowed in the face, or something?

[ she drops her hands when Talulah asks, letting her get a good look to confirm her suspicions. a strange thought flashes through Yelena's mind when she leans in, though it's gone before she really knows what to make of it. ]

I headbutted one of them when they tried to grab me. Must've hit him at a bad angle.

[ if they'd managed to pin her down, she would've had no choice but to use her arts to get out of it. risking a few shattered bones had seemed like a fair trade to keep her identity hidden. ]

Do you think we should try going back to the safe house tonight? They might be waiting for us.

It's hard to say.

[Talulah shrugs, sighing, and leans back out of Frostnova's personal space again.]

It's not like we have anywhere else to go. And there's no guarantee they'll care enough to be waiting. They seemed like they just wanted to scare us, and now, maybe we're too much trouble.

[That's being pretty optimistic, though.]

We might be able to check if there's an ambush waiting from a distance and decide from there.

I'd rather go back then hang out in here until the morning.

[ and Talulah's might be right about the dedication of their attackers. they'd been organized, but not to the level of actual trained militants. there's a chance they hadn't made plans beyond roughing up a noblewoman for bragging rights. ]

How long do you want to wait before going to take a look?

An hour or two? If they didn't make plans beyond cornering us, I can't see them wasting much more time than that.

[And if they don't hear any of the stragglers trying to break into the factory she and Frostnova have holed up in, the chances their attackers have rethought the whole scheme increase.]

We could also see if this place has an exit towards the back. Then we could take a long way around to the safehouse.

It would make sense to have multiple exits in a building this big. Let's see.

[ though common sense doesn't always play into it. depending on the factory's original owner, safety for the workers might not have factored into the construction.

Yelena straightens up and begins to make her way to the opposite end of the factory floor, moving carefully to avoid the garbage and broken glass littering the floor. as they go it becomes harder to navigate between the abandoned machinery, a practical jungle of rusted machinery, and FrostNova can't help but think of how this would be an awfully good hiding place for someone—

which is exemplified when they turn a corner and come across what is or was a small camp set up in an open spot between work stations. ]

Ah.

Hm.

[Well, this is possibly a problem. There's no telling if this is an old camp and its residents are long gone, or if they're going to come back sometime soon. And if they do run into possible residents, Talulah really doubts they'll be any more friendly than the ones she and Frostnova just shook off.]

I don't want to wait around to see whether or not someone comes back. Do you?

[ FrostNova's eyes take stock of what's there, the dirty mats and makeshift fire pit, and when she catches sight of a holey, child-sized sweater, her expression darkens to a pitch that Talulah's never seen from her before. ]

... waiting here isn't an option, no.

[ without elaborating, she starts moving again. stepping around the edges of the occupied space to continue on to the other end of the factory, she exits through the first door she finds with barely more than a glance to the area outside. ]

[Talulah's startled by both the expression and how fast Frostnova moves after agreeing they should leave. She can keep up, easily, but that's not really what's worrying her.

The other had been out of sorts practically since they arrived, which does make complete sense, but Talulah can't seem to parse the source of it. At first, she thought it had been that Frostnova was concerned about Talulah's injury, but that's healing up just fine now. It could be the entire situation, or the role Frostnova has to play within it, but...]

Hey. Slow down. We shouldn't get split up again.

[ as far as FrostNova's concerned, she's been handling the situation as best as she can. Talulah's injury might be healing, yes, but they got lucky with the supplies in the safe house. with the cover story that she decided on, she's put Talulah right in the crosshairs of yet another group that wants to harm her.

Yelena has no illusions about what will happen if they're caught. the princess of Ursus is valuable as a bargaining chip. the leader of a rebellion, regardless of her high birth, will be neutralized. Talulah doesn't deserve that— no one deserves to be disposed of once they've outlived their use. ]

I'm not going that fast.

[ still, she slows at Talulah's request, pausing behind a rotting stack of pallets out in the yard to turn to her. ]

We shouldn't be lingering out in the open.

[Having a target on her back is just part and parcel of being a rebel leader. Still, she fully understands the ramifications of their situation. If things go sideways, the entire rebellion goes up in smoke.]

No. But moving too quickly is suspicious, too.

[She pauses, not entirely sure how to bring up what she really wants to speak about.]

This isn't a great situation in general, but you've been...really on edge, recently.

[ FrostNova's never excelled at diplomacy. she can be a bully under the best of circumstances, and when it comes to navigating delicate situations, she's been told she's can be painfully blunt.

she stares at Talulah, expression devoid of all emotion for several awkwardly long seconds before she finally answers. ]

Are you stupid?

[ it's not a real question. mostly. despite her idealism, she never took Talulah for fool, though maybe she needs to reassess that opinion. ]

This situation is a nightmare. I'm not a stealth operator, Talulah. I'm not good at lying or blending into crowds. I've got one way to protect the people I'm supposed to keep safe, and I can't use it here.

[She's about to say no, obviously, she knows how bad the situation is, but Frostnova's attitude had been increasingly testy despite things not really devolving all that much, until today. But part of what she says pulls Talulah up short.]

You're...that worried about me?

[Talulah is important, to the rebellion, to Ursus's success in this war. If she dies, there will be a cascade of worse and worse situations for everyone attached to her and her goals. But Frostnova doesn't sound like it's just that.]

Okay. Yeah. You're stupid.

[ FrostNova doesn't know what to say besides the obvious, one hand going to run coarsely through her hair with a groan of aggravation. she doesn't even want to look at Talulah right now, casting her gaze to the side before she says something she'll regret later. ]

We might not be friends, but do you seriously think I just see you as some kind of investment? Like I'm one of your Victorian dukes who treat people like game pieces on a board?

[ she twists a length of hair in her fist, anything to distract from the warring emotions threatening to spill out. ]

Even if you fail at taking the throne, I don't want you to die, Talulah.

I didn't mean it quite like that.

[Talulah shuffles a little closer, trying to convey a sense of comfort without physically touching Frostnova.]

I've never thought for a second you were like any of the nobles here. You care about people. You care about those who follow you, you care about your father, and you care about your country. I understood that my well-being is now tied very closely to all of theirs.

[She wonders how she should phrase what she wants to say, but she's already crammed her foot in her mouth.]

Maybe you're right, and I am pretty stupid for not realizing I was also in the same category. But you're just as bad if you don't count that as being friends, Yelena.

[ Yelena's ears swivel cautiously when Talulah steps toward her, expecting Talulah to— get in her face? that's a stupid conclusion, given her temperament, but FrostNova's agitated sense fight or flight is clouding her judgment.

then she actually hears what Talulah has to say, and an unfamiliar feeling of awkwardness takes over. ]

... I didn't want to assume anything. I've basically been your sponsor through all of this, so.

[ she huffs out a breath, trying to regain some of her usual composure. ]

But I never would've stuck my neck out for you if I hadn't liked you to begin with, you know.

You have a funny way of showing it. But I guess I should be used to it by now.

[Talulah laughs, quietly. She really hadn't realized that the other liked her as a person, even from the start, rather than liked her as a leader or an ally.]

Now that that's settled, if you keep being this needlessly tense all the time, you're going to burn yourself out. And you're not the only one who can get worried.

I'm not just stressed out because of you.

[ it feels a little strange to speak frankly about her emotions to Talulah, but there's no avoiding it now. they're supposed to be friends, Talulah said— the word hangs heavy in FrostNova's mind, something about it making her chest tighten for reasons she can't put a name to. ]

This is the first time I've been this far out on my own ... ever, maybe. You remember the entourage I had when we first met, right? Any time I step out of Saint Grypherburg, it's either with the Yetis or an guard squadron.

[ she frowns when she mentions the name of her own unit, another worry coming to the forefront. ]

And the Yetis ... without me, they're a lot weaker, and not because they aren't capable of commanding themselves.

You're not used to being alone, is what you're saying.

[That's a concept that's a little baffling to Talulah. She'd been alone for quite a while, even if there had technically been someone around her as she was growing up.

She doesn't say anything to that effect, though, and instead puzzles over Yelena's other statement.]

Does it have something to do with your arts?

... basically.

[ it seems silly to admit. FrostNova's a commander of the greatest army on Terra, trained by some of the most revered warriors still living today, but in a sense, she's still a coddled princess. even before the meeting that saved her life and placed a crown on her head, she and the children who would come to be known as the Yetis were always together. when there was no one left to take care of them, they only had each other. ]

Yeah. I don't know what you've heard, but the Victorian military thinks my squad boosts my arts, that I'm a living conduit. They've got it wrong way around.

[ while her raw power is undeniable, her ability to funnel her arts to those fighting alongside her is one of the things that makes Yelena a truly remarkable caster. ]

... actually, I could just show you. I don't know if you'd be able to use it that well, with your arts being the opposite of mine, but it would help me out in a couple ways.

[If there had ever been a point when Talulah understood that feeling, it must have been when she was separated from her sister. But that had been so long ago now.]

There's only one way to find out.

[If the other says it will help, then Talulah's more than willing to try. Frostnova's right that the chances of it being successful might be lower than normal, considering Talulah seems to be the only one capable of handling the cold, but she's never been one to give up before at least an attempt.]

What do you need me to do?

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