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

[reunionize]

[This, honestly, took a lot of work. More work than some of the battleplans, but admittedly the machinations of the Victorian nobles are predictable. The only thing Talulah knows about the northern territories is what she's gleaned from her father's journals.

Edward Artorius apparently had a decent enough relationship with the ruler when he'd been alive, and since the wendigo race of Sarkaz live for a very, very long time, perhaps any goodwill towards her parent might be extended to her.

She has also gleaned the northerners are not unreasonable; they've crossed paths during various skirmishes at the border, and they ignore all rebel forces once their own task is complete. Talulah has made it very clear no one from her side is to engage with any other party that isn't either obviously Victorian, or strikes first, and it seems the courtesy is returned.

That said, isolationist policy is hard to overcome, and what she's asking isn't a mere favor. To be embroiled in civil war in another country is an idea most people would scoff at, but...the north has undoubtedly seen the writing on the wall for what will transpire after the dust settles. Victoria's appetite is ever unsatiable.

The Gaulish castle she walks through is a testament to that. It's nothing but ruins now, good for little else besides neutral territory. She's brought two members of the rebels with her, two with a calm rationality suited to negotiations. She'd be fine going in alone, but, well...if Talulah saw another group's leader sitting all alone during a meeting that was meant to be a peaceful talk, she'd think there was an ambush waiting.

Still, no matter how rational one is, curiosity tends to win out, and she can hear her escort party gossiping even behind their masks. They're wondering if the northern princess is as beautiful and strong as the rumors say. If she's half as strong as that Cautus she'd seen once during a border skirmish, then her alliance would be more than a boon.

By her estimation, the meeting time is near, so she supposes she'll find out soon enough.]

Comments

[reunionize]

So I effectively have a tracker on me?

[Talulah twists her wrist back and forth, as if to examine her hand for a bug.]

Well, that is useful in this situation. But we don't really know if my arts are useless to control your temperature or not. We haven't tried it the other way around yet.

[The air around them both warms, faintly, a few degrees above what a deary Victorian afternoon should be.]

[hypothermy]

It goes both ways, if you can figure out how to use it.

[ just as Yelena uses the spread of her arts to track her men, they also use it to stay aware of their leader's position on the battlefield.

she pauses when Talulah mentions using her own arts to temper FrostNova's cold. usually how it works is by simply lessening the intensity of her power by letting her comrades siphon it from her. while there are skilled casters among them, no one has the ability to actively counter Yelena's condition. she's never actually considered trying to negate her condition that way. ]

I can handle it fine like this, but if you want to give it a shot, I won't stop you.

[reunionize]

Hmm.

[Talulah had never really been good at arts that need finesse, but she does try to follow the tendril of power back to Frostnova. It's very faint, but after a minute, she gets a new sense of awareness, a way she can perceive where the other is without sight or sound.

That really is an invaluable ability, especially on the battlefield.]

Tell me the next time you need to regulate your temperature because of your arts. There's no use in trying it when you're feeling fine and can't tell if it'll work.

[hypothermy]

I need it most after a fight. Let's hope that's not anytime soon.

[ exhaling, she lets some of the tension she's been clinging to ease from her shoulders. it would've been nice to have this conversation somewhere else, but there's no helping it. for whatever reason, it seems like Yelena's destined to forge all of her important bonds under dire circumstances. ]

Do you want to try circling back to the house now?

[reunionize]

I don't think waiting around here much longer is going to make much of a difference. Let's head back.

[If their attackers are that tenacious, then it wouldn't matter if they went back right now or hours later. But Talulah doesn't think they're so single-minded.

She's proven partially wrong when they do make their way back to the safehouse and there's a car parked on the street too near to be for anyone else. But, judging by the make and model, it's not the military, and certainly not something a ragtag group of Tarans could afford.]

...that's a noble's car.

[hypothermy]

Why would they be here?

[ Yelena stays close to Talulah, reminded once again of how she still has blood drying on her skin and clothes. of all the possible factions to account for, she really hasn't been giving the local noble populace much thought. even with Taran ancestry, gentry in Victoria have a reputation of ignoring anything that doesn't immediately threaten their status quo. ]

Have you run into any of them in town?

[reunionize]

I'm not sure. And I haven't run into them, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't know about us.

[Or more accurately, know about their cover. Especially nowadays, with conflict hanging over the whole country like an executioner's blade, information is better than gold. If a new person claiming to be a disgraced noble came to town, it's something worth looking into, at the very least.]

If I had to guess, they're probably scoping out if we're beholden to a bigger player. We can avoid them, but...they'll definitely come back if they're rebuffed.

[hypothermy]

Engaging with them directly right now seems like a bad idea.

[ if there's one universal trait to nobility, it's that none of them ever shut up. Yelena can already envision how their interest in Talulah, however benign, would devolve into a game of 20 questions where she's inevitably say something to implicate them in a lie.

but she also knows Talulah's right, and that same curiosity would only be intensified if they avoid them. she wishes they had some breathing time between this and the assault by the locals— FrostNova's dangerously close to being on her last nerve. ]

Maybe if you tell them what just happened they'd let us take a rain check.

[reunionize]

We can at least see what they want. I'll do the talking.

[Now that she isn't injured or in imminent danger of harm, it would seem odd to others, especially nobles, if her (apparent) servant spoke for her.

As they get closer, it's apparent that it's not the noble themselves waiting for them, but a messenger. Judging from the uniform, it's likely the chauffeur. He bows, says a bit about his esteemed lord wanting to welcome them, and then offers an envelope sealed with wax, explaining that it's an invitation. Talulah glances at the crest pressed there. It's not one of the major players, which means the local lord is a minion of someone else.

Turning this down would be incredibly suspicious. No genuine noble in her situation would ever turn down the opportunity to integrate into the local circles, even if there are strings attached. She takes the envelope with a polite smile.]

Thank you. Please tell your master I will do all I can to attend.

[hypothermy]

[ FrostNova is more than happy to let Talulah do the talking. she'd be happier if they weren't talking to the local nobles at all, but it seems like there's no way around it.

she hangs back and keeps her head down as they approach the car and the servant who's been waiting for them. an invite to the lord's estate would be a good opportunity to gather information, if everything else about their situation wasn't already dangerously precarious. as it is, Yelena knows there's no way to get around the meet and greet, at least for Talulah.

avoiding eye contact with the messenger, she waits until they're (relatively) safe within the house to speak up. ]

This could be a trap.

[reunionize]

It could. But it's also one we can't avoid. They really won't like it if we refuse.

[Even if they come up with a decent excuse for why they won't come to this party, another invitation will inevitably arrive on their doorstep, and rebuffing that one would absolutely lead to hostilities.

Talulah turns the envelope over in her hands before peeling it open and taking out the embossed cardstock.]

This is coming up pretty soon.

[hypothermy]

[ glancing over the invitation, Yelena's expression sours further when she realizes this is an actual, bona fide noble event. it wouldn't be completely out of the question for Talulah to attend on her own, it's not like they're pretending to be from any family high ranking enough to require their own servants be brought along to such gathering.

FrostNova entertains the thought for all of five seconds. if things go south while they're separated, they really might jeopardize the entire rebellion. ]

I'll be honest, I'm not that familiar with the etiquette for Victorian parties, especially not as a servant. We're not very formal in Ursus.

[reunionize]

I can teach you enough to get by.

[Even Talulah, who is usually more comfortable with risky maneuvers if there's a benefit, doesn't entertain the idea of attending this on her own. She knows more about Victorian high society, but even in the boonies like County Hillock, it's still a pit of carnivorous beasts.]

It's frustrating...I don't recognize the family name or the crest, so I can't tell who they're allied to. My best guess is they're using this as an excuse to scope out where our sympathies lie.

[hypothermy]

I can't help you there either. I learned about the royal family and the duchies of Victoria, but that's it.

[ given the relations between Ursus and Victoria during Yelena's lifetime, her tutors hadn't considered it information she'd get much use out of.

she sets the invitation on nearest flat surface, then works on pulling off her boots. all she wants is a hot shower and to crawl into bed, but FrostNova's life hasn't been that straightforward for a while now. ]

What should I expect? Do guests get poisoned all the time like they do in the novels?

[reunionize]

[Talulah laughs softly as she unlaces and takes off her own boots. The crisis of the day had been averted, so once they figure out what to do about the party, they could probably relax a little. Well, as much as they could behind enemy territory, anyway.]

No, definitely not. I'm sure it's happened once or twice, but that's definitely not a concern for this party. As far as I can tell, they don't see us as a threat. More like...we're an opportunity for them to score points with more important players.

[She tips her head to the side, curiously, when she turns to face Yelena.]

I've been wondering this for a while based on your cover act, but have you got all your ideas about what a "servant" is from knight novels or something?

[hypothermy]

Ah, you caught that.

[ Yelena reaches to rub at the back of her neck, definitely to work out an anxious kink she's been carrying since a trio of disgruntled locals approached her in alleyway, and not just because she's embarrassed. ]

I don't know if you noticed at the palace, but my father's never liked keeping excess staff. I had a governess as a kid, a housekeeper now, and a few maids that clean my apartments.

[ and given FrostNova's background and Buldrokkas'tee's down to earth parenting style, Yelena would never dream of treating any of them the way she sees nobles from Leithanien and Victoria do with their household. ]

Knight novels aren't what I usually read. This one series, An Obscure Wanderer, got popular at my secondary school, and I ended up reading all of them to understand what my friends were talking about.

[reunionize]

I don't have much more experience with servants, since I never liked anyone Kashchey decided to assign, but I know you always acted more like a retainer.

[Which is what made Talulah wonder where Yelena had been drawing her inspiration from for their cover, and from there, it had just been a matter of putting two and two together.]

You have some wiggle room since the story is that you've been my playmate since I was a kid, but most Victorian servants don't act so...independently?

[hypothermy]

So just defer to you for everything? I guess that's the whole point of servant.

[ she stops short of saying that it sounds easy enough— if Yelena's truly honest with herself, when was the last time she was truly in a position with zero authority? it's the furthest thing from completely unknown to her, but FrostNova's grown into a natural leader. letting someone else speak for her will take some getting used to. ]

I'll do my best. If you're going to handle most of the talking, we might want to decide on a signal in case you need to me to act.

[reunionize]

That's a good idea.

[It would have to be something obvious to them both, but still look natural enough in the setting of a party that none of the staff, hosts, or other attendees would notice. Talulah thinks for a moment, arms folded, before the contemplative drumming of her fingers in the crook of her elbow gives her an idea.]

Well, I don't really gesture with my tail. If I move that, you'll know I did it on purpose.

[hypothermy]

That's true, you don't.

[ Yelena states it plainly, a casual observation. if she were a little more self-conscious she might be struck by the thought of whether or not it's normal to pay that much attention to another person's body language, but she isn't. being able to read Talulah was important for their initial negotiations, and now that they're essentially living together, FrostNova's become accustomed to most of Talulah's regular tics. ]

Do you know if I'll be allowed to stay near you while we're there? Or are there rules about where it's appropriate for me to go?

[reunionize]

I was taught growing up that it's a bad habit.

[One of the few lessons that managed to stick. Talulah's glad it happened to be one that didn't matter much in the end, instead of any other of Kashchey's less savory teachings.]

You're likely not. Even if you play at being a bodyguard, the host might see it as an insult. It's not all bad, though. If you play your cards right, you might be able to get information from the other servants.

[hypothermy]

You mean listening in on gossip?

[ Yelena's mouth quirks as she tries to imagine herself navigating that situation. eavesdropping is probably the best she can manager there— she can play docile well enough, but her straight-forward, no-nonsense approach to conversation isn't something she can convincingly set aside. ]

I think I'll be lucky if I can manage to make them believe I know anything about attending a proper lady in the first place.

[reunionize]

There's a lot of information you can gather just by watching. Who ignores who and who's acting odd according to the group...things like that.

[The interactions between servants can sometimes reflect their masters' relationships. Especially now that tensions are rising in the town.]

And, if anything does go wrong [She smiles, a little wryly] just apologize and say you've never been out of the countryside.

[hypothermy]

[ a servant from the Victorian countryside. all things considered, there are worse covers she could've come up with when faced with two enemy soldiers and Talulah's blood still fresh on her hands. ]

I don't know how realistic it is for bumpkin nobles to have money for Kazimierzan slaves. I guess we'll find out.

[ she gives a shrug, the movement slow and exaggerated. now that the adrenaline's starting to go, Yelena can feel the exhaustion fully seeping into her body. she should really eat something before she gets too tired to bother with the stove, at the very least. ]

[reunionize]

It is. Even if they didn't have the money, they'd find some way, if only to save face. I don't think we'll have trouble with the cover story

[Talulah gives a responding shrug, before pointing to the other's face.]

The person with blood still on her face gets to clean up first. Did you have any requests for dinner?

[Which is a funny thing to say, considering there's only so many options with the supplies they have on hand.]