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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[ Yelena's ears swivel around when Talulah touches her shoulder, as if she's aiming them to pick up a certain noise, but just— falls into step besides Talulah without comment, sticking close to her side. ]

I could eat.

[ she's not that hungry, given that her job for the last few days has been sitting around and watching the countryside roll by, but she's missed sharing meals with Talulah. in this case, she's happy to follow Talulah's lead again. ]

How long were you waiting? I didn't think we were running that behind schedule.

A few days at most, I think. We were held up a little too, but that was because of the weather.

[Which in Victoria meant a lot of rain and mud.

She's aware of the escort trailing behind them as she leads Yelena through he camp, but thankfully, as she stops in front of the entrance to one of the larger tents set up, it doesn't actually take that much convincing to get them to stay outside of it. The other guards around probably have something to do with it, or they'll try to remain when they come back with the food Talulah asked for.

Regardless, she slips inside, holding open the flap for Yelena to follow in after her. For effectively being camped out in a noble's garden, it's certainly a lot nicer than some accommodations Talulah can think of in recent memory. A lot of them certainly didn't have a nice portable table and chairs to spread plans and maps on.]

Take a seat. I'm pretty sure the map there is accurate as of today.

A few days ... the run in we had with those Victorian scouts set us back longer than I thought.

[ Yelena remains in Talulah's shadow as they move through the camp, her eyes moving quickly over their surroundings, already starting on her mental map of the camp. this location is supposedly off the duke's radar, but she knows how fast that can change.

she begins removing her outermost layers once they're in the tent, hanging her raincoat (that's clearly a few sizes too big for her) over the back of a chair before she sits down. it's dry and reasonably lit, which is check all of FrostNova's boxes for nicer places to be in Victoria. a lot of the hideouts she's been to can't even clear that bar.

another odd, stray thought crosses her mind, that she should've waited for Talulah to pick her seat first so she could— what? pick the one nearest to her? make sure she sits somewhere she can see her face? she dismisses it stubbornly, chalking it up to some lingering funk from being woken up suddenly, and turns her attention to the map. ]

Are you just accounting for armed forces here? Or civilians too?

Enemy forces, bases, civilian towns and villages, and supply routes.

[Talulah stands long enough to point to each on the map as she lists them out, showing Yelena how they're annotated, before she sits in the seat closest to the other. Maybe it would be better for this type of discussion to sit at the other end, but...she just plain didn't want to.]

The pins and twine are possible routes or enemy encampments we don't have full confirmation on, but we suspect are there. Where were you when you had to cut out the comms, by the way?

[ Yelena tries not to show how pleased she is by Talulah taking the closest seat. she's being shockingly childish, reactions closer to how a kid feels when their favorite playmate arrives for the day, and even though she knows this, it's doing next to nothing to damper her mood.

maybe she hit her head while she was asleep and didn't realize it until now. it would be less embarrassing than some other options. ]

A couple of hours past a village checkpoint. We weren't expecting to run into any soldiers that far out, I thought they might've been following us.

[ her eyes trace over the map, picking out the corresponding town and road before indicating their approximate location with her hand. ]

Around here— but we didn't see anyone after that.

[Talulah makes a thoughtful noise and puts a marker where Yelena indicated. There really shouldn't be enemy forces out that way, but maybe they're missing something.]

I'll have scouts check certain areas. Even if they did follow you from someplace we know about, I'd rather not chance an ambush.

[Although, even with this new potential problem, the sense of ease she feels can't quite be shaken. It's as though something has slotted into place now that Yelena's back in her presence again, although she's just going to assume that comes from trust rather than anything else. Thinking too deeply on what else it could be is...unproductive, is maybe the right word. Distracting, possibly more accurate.

Thankfully, a distraction does come in the form of one of the rebels coming in with tea and food, which Talulah makes space for. He glances quickly between Talulah and Yelena, before he apparently decides it's not worth it to stick around and leaves with a brief salute.

Odd. But Talulah merely shakes herself and pours a cup.]

The stack of papers next to you should be the most recent reports, if you want to take a look.

[ Yelena quietly thanks the rebellion member who brings the food, not entirely picking up on the pensive behavior he displays before leaving. she's focused on the map, superimposing the markers over her memory of the land she passed through. ]

It could be a coincidence, but that route's vital to this encampment.

[ she pours herself a cup of tea after Talulah, mostly to have something warm to hold in her hands while they speak. ]

Are those your reports? Or are they for the area?

They're a little bit of everything. Scout reports, recent skirmishes, spy data. Oh, and one about how well the supply routes are holding up a little further out.

[That's one she hasn't read yet, so she sets her mug down to reach over and flip through the folios for the right one. It puts her a bit more into Yelena's space, but that's fine, isn't it?]

I still need to go over that one, but you're welcome to the rest. Before that, though, did the soldiers you spotted look like regular rank and file, or not?

They looked like average grunts. I didn't speak with them, but they weren't kitted out, and Oleg thinks they had posh accents.

[ Yelena hadn't gone out to speak to them herself. ever since the Hillock incident, she'd been ordered to let her subordinates handle any interactions with Victorian nationals. it's just one of many concessions she had to agree to in order to be allowed back to the front lines again.

she doesn't react immediately to Talulah moving more into her space. if her ears twitch or her body naturally turns more in the draco's direction, it's only to hear her better. ]

... I've been getting the letters you send me too. I tried to send a response a few times, but it seems like nobody can pin down where you are by the time I get around to writing anything.

Edited 2025-09-03 01:10 (UTC)

Hm. That's a little interesting.

[While the rank and file could have a "proper" Victorian accent, the majority did not. But, either way, they didn't sound like scouts, which still begged the question of where they came from.

She rolls the problem around in her mind for a moment before visibly brightening at the mention of her letters.]

Yeah, I knew that would be a problem, so I didn't write as many as I wanted. I'm glad you got all the ones I did send, though. Maybe we should figure out a better way so I can actually get your reply.

[ there's that flare of heat in Yelena's breast again when Talulah's expression lightens, like the sun's turned to directly face her. ]

Don't worry about it. I'm not that great at communicating over text. All my responses would probably read the same.

[ she's simply too blunt and concise to be a good pen pal, at least in her own eyes. Talulah's natural charisma becomes even more apparent in the written word, conveying her thoughts as aptly on paper as she does in person. even if FrostNova had a way to return her messages, she's not sure it would feel like a real exchange. ]

They can't justify keeping me at the border for much longer, anyway. We'll have to start marching south soon, and we can't spare any offensive units if we want to settle things quickly.

I'd still want a reply.

[That's just natural. And it's not as though she isn't used to or doesn't appreciate Yelena's bluntness. A letter with the other's actual personality on the page is the valuable thing, in the end.]

See, you could have been complaining to me this whole time about how bored you were. Especially since I'm guessing the Victorians haven't been taking as many pot shots at the border towns now that their big superweapon is damaged.

[She still thinks they should have gotten a little more understanding and credit for pulling that one off.]

You wanted to hear— read me complain?

[ Yelena's face screws up, openly incredulous. her old etiquette tutors would expire on the spot if they learned she was penning letters to foreign nobility about how dull her day to day had become. that image should encourage her, but at the same time, she can't really believe someone as eloquent as Talulah would get anything out of a message like that.

she shakes her head dismissively, or like she's trying to dislodge the thought. ]

It's been quiet for weeks now. Even if are were planning some surprise attack, we've already fortified all the major hubs. They don't need me there to direct construction.

Yeah? [That's what friends did, right?] You could at least have gotten everything off your chest when talking with me.

[And besides that, Talulah did want to hear Yelena's thoughts, even if they had just been about how bored she was. It would still be better than being apart and wondering about it, instead.]

Do you have an idea of where they'll send you first? Things have stabilized enough that there's finally a little talk about making a plan for Londinium.

I know they've had our spies focused on tracking down any other research sites for that weapon. If they find another one that's outside of the capital, they'll want to aim the Yetis at it.

[ she takes a sip of her tea and turn her attention to the food that's been brought for them, unconsciously looking for something else to focus her attention on to fight off the nervous energy simmering beneath her skin. Frostnova thought she'd be happy to see Talulah again— and she is. part of her feels almost too happy, the emotion teetering on the edge of overwhelming her natural calm.

she doesn't hate it. she just doesn't know what to do with it. ]

And if you really want me to write you back, I will. Try not to be disappointed when I don't send you a novel.

It's frustrating that we got that location data, but because of what happened in County Hillock, the military probably moved all the other parts immediately.

[Talulah frowns now, faintly, not happy to be reminded of the fact they're still at least one step behind. But, thankfully, it would take a while for the Victorians to get anything functioning after the damage to the main energy source.

It's also difficult to stay in a poor mood when she's with Yelena after so long. She probably shouldn't be as happy about that as she is, but there's no real harm in it, is there?]

I'll hold you to that. And I definitely won't mind, no matter how little you write. Well...maybe one-word answers are off the table. I'll just give you plenty to respond to.

Based on the intel that's come in, after Hillock they've been trying to move all the production and research to Londinium. If the rest of the weapon components are as large as the energy source, we should be able to catch them in the act.

[ Ursus' military has already begun working with the rebels to start tracking the main roads of Victoria and documenting the traffic. if they try to transport any part of the weapon through those routes it will be obvious, and might force the opposing army to try riskier, alternate methods. given the results she witnessed of their attempts at teleportation arts, Yelena has half a mind to think the Victorians might sabotage their own operation. ]

Are you sticking around here for long? I didn't think they needed you for something like this.

They certainly don't have many options for where to build it now.

[County Hillock had been a bit of an anomaly that way. Although Talulah thinks it might have been, in part, the higher-ups' thinking that the Taran people and their sympathisers are more acceptable casualties in case the research went wrong.]

And they don't, but the noble here wanted to meet and speak with me. I guess it's a positive sign that they're all starting to think making my acquaintance early is worth the effort. But that means I won't be here for too much longer. Lucky we met when we did.

That's ... good.

[ the last word is tacked on, a course correction from Yelena's original thought of 'that's too bad'. too bad that Talulah won't be here for long, and Yelena won't either, because— what? that has nothing to do with the goal at hand.

she frowns into her teacup, thrown off course by her own thoughts again. Yelena doesn't like this newfound inclination to censor herself, the instinct at odds with her straightforward nature. carrying on with it will only make her feels worse, she can already tell, and there's nothing wrong with what she's thinking. it's a little embarrassing, sure, but there's no reason to hide it. ]

It's always going to be easier for me to tell you this stuff in person. It's too bad we both have to move on soon.

It is too bad. After all that time we spent together, being separated for so long feels a little weird, doesn't it?

[Talulah is going to assume the relief and contentment she feels in Yelena's presence has something to do with how familiar it had gotten to have the other by her side.

Recalibrating after Couny Hillock is just taking some time. Otherwise, the...intensity of things isn't something that she has the ability to examine when in the middle of a rebellion and war.]

So I guess we'd better have a long chat while we can. You should tell me what you wanted to put in your replies.

It took some time for me to adjust.

[ that's about as much as she can say on the matter without getting too into the weeds of her own emotions. being farther than a room away from Talulah had felt like a phantom pain for the first week after they parted ways. she'd thought it would be get better with the Yetis around, the family she's known for her entire life, but their company felt more like a bandage than a true cure for this particular ache.

maybe seeing Talulah in the flesh again will shake whatever lingering fog's clouded her senses. at least there's no way it can possibly get worse. ]

I mostly wanted to check on how big your ego's gotten, between your whole entourage and the Victorian nobles bothering to remember your name.

Me too.

[She never thought she'd ever prefer sleeping in that cramped space to a nicer, warmer bed, but the absence of someone resting beside her had been felt acutely. It's not the same sleeping in close quarters with the rest of the rebels, even when necessary so...maybe it had just been Yelena.

At the other's teasing, though, she makes a bit of a face.]

Do you want to trade, then? The nobles are one thing, but I'm really not used to being followed around like that. I understand the reason why, but it's...very new. [Then again, while she offered to trade, the thought of an entorage does bring something to mind.] Oh, I just realized, you are probably more used to it than me. I remembered all of your father's shieldguards the first time we met.

Edited 2025-09-11 01:38 (UTC)

I've wondered if you thought that was a show of force. I get a looser leash when I'm just hanging around the palace, or the other Yetis are around to look after me, but being in line for succession and personal guards are a package deal.

[ she shakes her head ruefully, remembering the logistical nightmare that ensued whenever she'd visit Leithenien when she was younger. ]

If we manage to take Londinium, you'll see how it is whenever I show up there after the dust settles.

[ it's only going to get harder for them to talk like this, really, if things go according to plan. Talulah won't just be a collaborating general anymore— she'll be a queen, and have everything that comes with the crown. ]

I thought it might have been an intimidation tactic, but that didn’t make sense, either. So I figured I’d talk to you first before making any assumptions.

[It had been quite startling to see all those shieldguards at what was supposed to be possible alliance talks, but Talulah had figured out soon enough that Yelena is simply cherished by her father.]

We’ll both be in the same boat then. I’ve been told very clearly that nobody on Victoria’s throne gets away with wandering around on their own. I guess you can say my current escort is a trial run.

[A part of her doesn’t feel quite right thinking about that future. It’s important because it’s what she and the rest of the rebels are fighting for, but if she assumes too much about what lies ahead, she’ll miss a step in her current place, and she can’t afford a mistake before they’ve even reached the city’s borders.

And, that is also the point where there’s no escaping the fact that’s the moment her and Yelena’s relationship will have to change.]

[ Yelena has her own reasons for not dwelling too much on what tomorrow might have in store. a reminder of her childhood— the first one, before her near-idyllic life as Ursus' beloved princess. there, the future had been a fantasy, something afforded to people who were seen as actual humans. thinking ahead could only distract from your survival in the tangible present. ]

I'm kind of surprised this is your first time dealing with it at all. A lot of nobles like having bodyguards, even if they don't actually need it.

[ it was a status symbol, after all. going on what broad strokes she knows of Talulah's past, though ... when she was with Kaschey, it was probably a situation more like the one Franz and Kreide were in. ]

But they should be people you can trust. Don't let anyone push their way into that position just because they say they're important.

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