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

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

[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.]

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[True to her word, Talulah doesn't spend long at all cleaning up, and emerges back into the main room of the safehouse after a short time. At least she knows to keep her gaze above a certain level when she wanders in.]

I'm finished, so you can use the sink now.

[She busies herself with drying her hair with her arts the best she can, so it won't drip water onto her collar.]

[ she really didn't need Talulah to say anything, considering how acute her hearing is. once she hears the faucet turn off upstairs, she's already putting water in the battered old kettle and stacking dishes in the sink. ]

Thanks.

[ with her back to Talulah again, the little white puff of fur is fully visible, standing out against her dark clothes. ]

I'm probably going to bed after I finish this and have some tea, but it won't bother me if you want to stay up later.

No, I'd rather go to sleep. I do want some tea, though.

[Even though the quality of the stuff they can get their hands on here barely counts as tea.

She moves to sit at the table again, sparing a glance at the irrationally tempting fluffy tail before watching the faint lights of the town outside the window. Passing people and cars make them dim, and this far behind enemy lines, it's hard not to feel the need to be watchful all the time.]

Sure.

[ she'd already made sure to put enough water in the kettle for two people. the stuff the last occupants of the house left behind is the cheap stuff in bags that tastes like it's cut with sawdust, but Yelena's never been picky about something's flavor, as long as it's not rancid.

the dishes don't take long, and she's setting one of the three mugs they have in front of Talulah. her own cup goes on the opposite side, but she makes a detour before sitting down, going over to the closet where her uniform coat hangs to dig through the pockets before returning to her chair. if she'd known what was going to happen on that damned mission to intercept the Victorian special operators, she would've grabbed something other than a fist full of candy. ]

Do you want one of these? [ she holds up one of the brightly colored wrappers, a practically neon hue when compared to their drab surroundings. ]

[Talulah recognizes the candy. She often sees Yelena eating a piece or two during breaks and has wondered about the flavor for a while.]

I'll have one. Thanks.

[She takes the offered candy and undoes the wrapper, setting it aside before popping the whole thing in her mouth. At first, she's confused when there's no sweetness to it, but after the candy dissolves a little more, a sudden burst of capsaicin spreads from the tip of her tongue to the back of her throat, and she starts coughing.]

--it's spicy?!

[ FrostNova can acknowledge it's a little mean to pull this prank on Talulah right now. she hadn't even gone to grab the candy from her coat with the intention to offer one, but something about the oddly peaceful atmosphere had placed the idea in her mind. a feeling came over her, something like a premonition, that things wouldn't be quiet like this again for long while.

she stays completely blank as Talulah unwraps the candy and puts in her mouth, and it's only after it starts to melt that the placid facade she puts on begins to fracture— brows scrunched together, mouth pursing, until she breaks out into loud, bright peals of laughter. ]

Sorry, sorry, I know—

[ she picks up the wrapper in her palm and lifts her hand to Talulah, face still flushed while she giggles. ]

You can spit it out, I've had my fun.

[Talulah's slightly mollified hearing Yelena laugh, even if it is at her own expense. She's certainly never heard it that bright and joyful before, and it's such a rare occurrence in general that it distracts Talulah from the burning that's spread through her entire mouth. At least briefly.

She takes the wrapper and spits the candy out into it, making a face.]

At least one of us enjoyed that. I can't believe this is what you've been snacking on the whole time.

[She also can't understand how Yelena maintained a straight face as she ate the candy, either. There are some flavors that imitate spice, like cinnamon, but this certainly didn't taste like that at all.]

When I get really cold, it's the only thing I can taste.

[ she re-wraps Talulah's unfinished candy to throw away later and tosses her own piece into her mouth, immediately cracking it in two with her molars. ]

Sometimes I don't know if I really like it or if I've just gotten desensitized. [ it's clear FrostNova's so used to the snack that she's gotten adapt at speaking around candy in her mouth— a skill she exhibited back in the palace, with identical candy in her private departments. ]

I haven't been able to pull that prank on someone in a while. All the Yetis and the generals know they can't trust me about food.

And no one thought to warn me.

[Probably because they figured that Talulah would learn her lesson sooner or later.]

But I believe you can taste that even through the cold your arts puts out. Actually, I think the dead could probably taste it. How'd you even discover something like this? No confectioner in their right mind would make it, right?

[Talulah winces slightly when she sees Yelena bite down on the candy. The burn still lingers in her own mouth, and the visual reminder of what caused it just makes it worse.]

No, I make them myself.

[ but as for the other part of Talulah's question, FrostNova doesn't answer at first. it's been so long, the exact circumstances aren't as clear as they once were. ]

It was in that first year or two after my arts presented and I moved into the palace. I didn't have any significant level of control, and I completely lost of my sense of taste and smell. I wasn't bothered by it that much, so it took a while for everyone there to find out.

[ she'd just been happy to have anything to eat at all. ]

Once they did, they let me try basically any food I showed interest in. I think the story goes I got into someone's Yanese takeout order at an emergency meeting when they brought me in to say goodnight to my father.

Gone completely?

[Talulah is understanding more and more why Yelena's father brought in Fremont to help. Arts manifestation like that in a child is, to her knowlege, practically unheard of. Normal tutors or methods simply wouldn't work.]

But that doesn't seem unlikely. Some regions' cuisine is notoriously spicy. I guess it works because it's a "feeling" more than a "flavor", in the end.

Yeah. I couldn't safely touch anyone besides my father either.

[ and "safely" is a bit of a stretch. the skin on the hand Buldrokkas'tee first cradled Yelena with never entirely healed— even the invulnerable Wendigo struggled against the blizzard her tiny body created when she was staring death in the face. ]

It's probably the feeling I like more than the flavor, but I associate one with the other. Being able to have that sensation again was helpful with my training. Once I got used to the cold I had trouble remembering what anything else felt like.

You really had to struggle with this.

[But, thinking back to their sparring matches, Talulah doesn't think the other's arts would be nearly as devastating and precise if she hadn't. She's never seen caster like it before or after they met.

That's probably small comfort to Yelena, though. Talulah's already having a hard time wrapping her mind around a small child being unable to touch anyone other than her own father for fear of freezing them.]

I really wonder if mine will be any help...but it won't hurt to try.

For a while. Even if it was scary, I was still a princess with every possible resource available to me. I'm lucky I was able to struggle with it for a while. If things had been different, I probably would've died within hours of my arts manifesting.

[ Yelena speaks bluntly, reaching to pick up her tea as the last bits of candy finish melting in her mouth. in the eyes of all the Yetis, herself included, they've been blessed beyond belief. as awful as FrostNova remembers feeling as a little girl when nothing seemed to warm her, those memories are nothing compared to what came before her father and his entourage just happened to be passing along a remote section of the Ursus-Kazimierz border on a seemingly random spring day.

not that Talulah would know about that— the specifics of the Yeti's early childhood is classified information for no small number of reasons. it's ... sweet, honestly, that she seems so affected by the complicated history of Yelena's arts. she'd torn Talulah down when they first met for being too naive, but there's something to be said for holding into a more optimistic attitude. ]

If you're really that worried about it, we could do a test run now. If we went down to the cellar, I could probably lower my temperature without damaging the house.

[Talulah doesn't know any of that, true, but one couldn't really be the leader of a rebel army on the premise of being a ruler who would make the world a better place for them all without being sensitive to the suffering of others. Most do call that naivete.

At the offer, she frowns over her own mug, contemplating it. On one hand, it would be best to test this in a situation they can control. On the other hand, she doesn't really want Yelena to use her arts to that degree for what is, in the end, mostly a curiosity.]

If it's just that much. But, you've been handling this much longer than I've been around, so my suggestion is just on the off-chance.

You're right— I've been living like this for over a decade. I'll be fine no matter what happens.

[ in practical terms, there's no pressing reason to pursue this theory they've come up with. ideally they want to avoid fighting here at all costs, especially to the extent that FrostNova's arts would start to significantly wear on her.

on the other hand, as coolly logical as she can be, Yelena's not immune to the charm of seemingly impossible fantasies. ]

But I'm curious too. There's no harm in trying.

I guess there's not.

[If Yelena thinks it's a possibility to do without either damaging the house or going too far with her arts, Talulah isn't going to question that much more. She had, after all, been sincere when she pointed out that the other had dealt with the cold much longer.]

Although, honestly, I'd probably be more up for an experiment tomorrow rather than right now.

[ Frostnova chuckles, somewhat surprised at herself, in response to Talulah's last comment. pulling that stupid little prank on her had really made her forget just how exhausted she was after running through the town. ]

That's probably for the best, yeah. We should try to pace ourselves.

After today? I'd think so.

[Talulah didn't have to suffer an injury like Yelena, but she didn't really enjoy having to dodge attackers and run around half the town.

She takes a sip of her tea, shaking her head minutely.]

Hopefully, we won't have anyone knocking on our door tomorrow, so we can try whenever we want.

Maybe not first thing in the morning, but the nobles will eventually send servants around again to give us clothing for the party.

[ nothing in their current semi-communal wardrobe was suited for it, and it would take a particularly sadistic noble to invite someone down on their luck to an event and let them show up looking common. ]

It shouldn't take very long, unless they're feeling generous.

Edited 2025-06-20 03:51 (UTC)

They won't be. Too much flattery could backfire on them. You're right that the servants will probably just drop packages off and go.

[Though the outfits likely would be decently fashionable and of good quality. Some nobles would let their guests show up looking completely out of place and shabby. But Talulah is a complete unknown, so there shouldn't be anyone who has a grudge against her strong enough to warrant that kind of public execution of someone's social standing.]

But nobles tend to do things whenever they want. There's no telling if they'll come in the morning or later, like they did today.

Most of them, yeah

[ she says with a little shrug. the irony in the way they speak of the local nobles isn't lost on her— even if they don't do a very good job acting like it, this is a conversation between a princess by adoption and a royal by blood.

finishing off her tea, she rises to put it in the sink. two cups left until the morning won't be the end of the world. ]

Since we're holding off on the experiment, I'm going to bed.

[Talulah hasn't ever really felt quite like a typically Victorian noble, considering her...unique upbringing, and now as the head of a rebel army, but it is a little funny.]

Okay. I'll probably do that myself soon.

[She can take care of the dishes this time, and finishes her own cup of tea before heading to the sink.]

[ the date of the party arrives sooner than FrostNova anticipates. the local nobility provide adequate clothing and transport to the sumptuous mansion in the small, wealthy part of the city. tension amongst the locals has progressed to a fever pitch as the army patrols become more frequent, their arrests more brutal. if the nobility have been put off by flames starting to lick at the foundations of homes, Yelena certainly hasn't noticed.

she only gets a brief glimpse of them anyway, quickly shuffled off down the stairs to assist the other servants in their tasks. it's expected, but she can't completely swallow the sour taste in her mouth from Talulah's absence. this whole charade is really starting to wear on her— the leader of the anti-ducal rebellion can handle herself. she doesn't need Yelena breathing down her neck like a minder.

and maybe it's the same paranoia that's making the behavior of the servants seem so blatantly odd. the chores are quickly sorted through and the gathering turns into its own sort of party, extra bottles of wine uncorked and shared amongst the attendants. they're insistent about FrostNova joining them, bringing her into the conversation, shooting her looks of strained sympathy as they ask if there's some other type of liquor she'd prefer. the same nervous energy that's taken hold of Hillock is brewing here, and it sets Yelena on edge.

in the end, she lets the paranoia win out. when dinner finishes and the staff's attention is shifted to preparing for after-meal treats and entertainment, she slips back upstairs, sticking the side halls the guests are less likely to be frequenting. finding Talulah and getting her attention in a way that won't immediately rouse the suspicion of the hosts isn't going to be easy, but it's better than sitting around and waiting for something to go wrong. ]

[Almost immediately, Talulah senses that something is not quite right.

She's not being asked questions. Or at least not the right questions. She'd otherwise think she's being ignored and left to her own devices if it hadn't been for the servants and lower-ranked guests keeping an eye on her whenever she wanders too closely to an exit.

These are not the actions of Victorian nobles trying to discern a newcomer's allegiances. These are Victorian nobles who have already decided what her allegiance must be, and are proceeding accordingly. She can almost see the spikes and snares of the trap set up all around, just waiting for the right moment to spring, and she immediately misses Yelena. Even in such a short time, she'd gotten used to relying on someone watching her back.

Well, that can be remedied so long as they can meet up. She just needs a distraction to throw off her minders. There are always one or two candles a little too close to the drapery, and a surreptitious use of arts causes a minor commotion in the main dining hall. She slips out, slipping into one of the side halls to avoid anyone else coming back from the powder room or balconies.]

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