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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[ for her part, Yelena does try to get the rest Talulah urged her to. she's out like a light as soon as she moves to lay down on the cot, and doesn't rouse until later, when something tucked under several layers of her clothing begins to thrum with a steady, foreboding power.

she seeks out the communications center first to see if word has come in from Ursus main command yet. they've heard nothing about reinforcements, which doesn't necessarily mean a lot— the squad she's expecting doesn't answer to any of the generals currently standing at the front line. she gives the engineers the channel and the message she needs sent along it, before leaving to find the one in charge at this outpost.

while Yelena once insisted that web of arts she weaves between herself and her squad wasn't solely used like a tracking device ... it's not not a function of that particular technique. with the encampment's relatively small size, she can follow Talulah's trail easily, pushing the door open to the temporary armory without needing to ask anyone of it's location. ]

The shieldguards have entered Londinium. My father's going to break Victoria's inner defenses as soon as we evacuate our people from the breach point.

[ meaning the ducal forces outside the wall have been eliminated. meaning Ursus' Patriot will be at the head of his army before the day is out, and the Grand Dukes chances at victory will be ground to dust beneath his heels. ]

That's great news.

[If Talulah's surprised to see Yelena suddenly appear behind her, she doesn't show it, and merely smiles as she checks her sword is secure at her waist.]

That means we can go ahead with our own efforts. The remaining Grand Dukes are trying to fortify a last stand in the middle of the city. We're planning to strike at multiple points, jam their comms, and sow enough chaos that hopefully one of the more paranoid camps thinks the others have turned on them. If they're desperate enough to avoid a war on two fronts that they'll blockade the middle of Londinium, we'll force the issue. And give your father an easier time.

[She moves to stand at a more companionable distance, noting that Yelena's looking a little more rested. But even if she had appeared just as exhausted, Talulah knows better than to think she'd put herself anywhere besides the middle of the fighting.]

I assumed you'd go with your Yetis, but the strike teams aren't set in stone.

How far away is the main camp? Some of them should be there, and the rest will be coming in with the Ursus reinforcements. We're more effective when we're together, but I don't know how long it would take for us to meet up with either group.

[ having someone of her status slip off the radar to travel covertly again might just contribute to high command's anxiety, even if her father is gearing up to start the final march of the war.

Talulah might have qualms about predicting the outcome of this fight, but Yelena doesn't share her hesitation. as far as she's concerned, the Victorian army's last chance at success has come and gone. Buldrokkas'tee is in their city now. they have no hope at holding it anymore. ]

I'll stick it out with your group or go join up with the forerunners for the Shieldguards. This is your command point, so I'll leave the decision up to you.

I could always use your arts.

[And she really would feel some pretty unshakeable confidence if she had Yelena watching her back. Especially against Caster's notoriously formidable personal army. But, this operation has a very, very specific goal.]

The point of this, though, is to make sure they can't form a united front as a last stand. If you think you can meet up with the main camp to the north, even when the roads are this bad, and hit the Grand Dukes from another side, then that's the best option.

[ the answer isn't as decisive as Yelena was hoping for. part of her desperately wants Talulah to ask her to stay outright, to give her some excuse to cling onto, but ... maybe it's better that she doesn't. she can write that moment in the break room off as an exhaustion-fueled fantasy with no greater meaning behind it and get on with her life. ]

I can get there with a smaller squad. I'll leave the rebels we picked up here with you and take the Yetis to a different point.

[ she doesn't let her voice betray any disappointment. Yelena's feelings are secondary to the objective, and that's only going to become more and more unavoidable as time goes on. Talulah doesn't belong to her— never did, never will, and she should start getting used to it. ]

[Yelena's voice doesn't, but they've spent enough time together that Talulah can sense something is slightly off. She tilts her head to the side, evaluating.]

This isn't me keeping you out of the way, you know.

[Because she assumes the problem might have something to do with suggesting Yelena go somewhere besides the front lines.

In truth, she does want Yelena to stay, but Talulah can't think entirely of what she wants. She hasn't, from the moment she decided to take up this cause.]

You should know by now, I always feel better when I have you to watch my back.

I don't think you're doing that.

[ she raises an eyebrow, not quite sure of what Talulah's trying to say. Yelena's not a child, she's not going to throw a fit because she's not picked first for the team. what she'd prefer doesn't factor into their current situation, where acting on emotion instead of desire could easily jeopardize the entire war effort.

it does make her feel ... something, to hear Talulah puts that much faith in her. all the more reason she should pick the most optimal role for her abilities in their current mission. ]

Do you remember what I told you right before we took on Dublinn and her lieutenant? You still haven't given me a direct order. You could cash that in now.

[Talulah does remember that moment, the banter before what they both knew would amount to a fight they actually needed to use their full strength for. More importantly, she wonders if she should voice the thought that immediately popped up in her mind.

Well. If not now, when? Even if there are consequences.]

Does that mean you need an order to go where I said, or an order to stay?

[ Yelena had expected to be brushed off, more or less. some avoidant comment from Talulah that skirts around the tuskbeast in the room, leaving things vague enough between them to preserve the sense of friendship between them. this could be a simple extension of that— Talulah wanting to know how deep their camaraderie goes, looking for reassurance as the weight of her decisions begin to fall irrevocably into place.

she could be empathetic to that. it's the mature, responsible thing to do. Yelena tries to find a scrap of that emotion, and comes up empty-handed. all that fills her now is irritation, needles lancing into her skin as Talulah continues to turn the question back on her.

before she realizes it, she's stepping forward, moving into Talulah's space to glare up at her, voice turning icy. ]

I need you to give me a straight answer on what you, as a leader, need me to do. You're not in a position to care about that order hurts my feelings.

[Talulah blinks, not expecting Yelena's anger or her sudden proximity, but she doesn't back away from either. In fact, a part of her wants to hold onto Yelena's shoulders or some other kind of soothing touch in the way of an apology, but ultimately, she just lowers her gaze, briefly.]

Sorry. I know. I do need you to strike at another position. But...

[She should have learned from her mistake ten seconds earlier about saying things she shouldn't say, especially since Yelena got angry at her for it, but this one is already halfway out of her mouth.]

You can tell me if one does hurt your feelings. You're the last person I ever want to take for granted.

[ part of Yelena wants very badly to grab onto Talulah's coat and shake her. that's an egregious overreaction, and she knows it, but why is she choosing now of all times to act timid? Talulah seemed to have no issue acting on impulse back in that room. had she just been playing along with what she thought Yelena wanted?

her nostrils flare, emotions beginning to get the better of her. Yelena trains her face into her best approximation of cold and unflappable, but her twitching ears are an easy tell for her mounting frustration. ]

What does that matter? My family is out there right now, fighting to secure a throne for you. If you don't want to piss me off, you should start acting like you're aware of that.

[Yelena's right. It should not matter, especially for someone in Talulah's position. She'd been fishing too much to hear something like, yes, I do want to stay with you. And now that the thought is out in the forefront of her mind, she...feels a little ridiculous.

A slight pause, as she forcefully shoves all those emotions someplace they won't be a problem until all of this is over, and then nods.]

I haven't forgotten any of that. I meant the first order, and you can take it as one. Come on, I'll even show you where I need you to go on the new maps.

[And they can both write this off as a momentary lapse due to the stress, or something.]

[ the relief Yelena should feel at Talulah's acquiescence is slow in coming. the words only left her mouth a few seconds ago, but she's already looking back on them with a sense of embarrassment, her outburst leaving a sour taste in her mouth. she's confused, mostly— about what Talulah was asking for, and why, when she feels her intent is painfully obvious. is she looking for confirmation so she can let her down easily? Yelena doesn't know where to begin with untangling this.

she drags a hand over her face, looking down and away to avoid Talulah's eyes. ]

All right. Let's do that.

[Yelena's reaction just solidifies Talulah's assumption that she's really misstepped. All she can do now, really, is turn towards another exit in the temporary armory, expression as neutral as she can make it.

And awkwardly steer the conversation to a topic she hopes is slightly safer.]

Did you manage to get some rest? You definitely don't feel as cold anymore.

Yeah.

[ she feels infinitely more tired than she did a minute ago, however. biting back at Talulah for a mostly innocuous question hadn't been on her list of things to worry about in Londinium. even now she's second guessing herself, wondering if she imagined the loaded meaning behind Talulah asking which order she needed to give.

Yelena forces her hand to drop, but she still can't make herself look at Talulah head on, afraid of doing something equally reckless before they have to part again. ]

I fell asleep as soon as you left. We haven't had any downtime since we left the docks, which was ... a day and a half ago, probably.

Edited 2025-11-08 08:03 (UTC)

Almost two, now.

[Talulah hadn't had that much rest herself, either. If she hadn't been fighting, she'd be moving to the next area as covertly as possible. The hypervigilance required for that didn't lend itself to very deep sleep, even when she could manage it. But she's also gotten pretty used to hiding her own exhaustion for the sake of morale.

The room she enters with Yelena is barely more than a closet, storing a few things that aren't weapons or gear, but there is a table and a map inside. Talulah approaches it, putting her finger down on a particular spot once she sees it's annotated with the newest intel.]

Here. The green marker is our current location, for reference.

Huh. I was out longer than I thought.

[ the first thing Yelena notices about the room is the size, and how the cramped quarters force her to shuffle up to Talulah's side to see what she's pointing at. she keeps her focus trained on the lines and markers laid out on the table, doing her best to ignore the warmth leaking from her body, enticing her to move closer.

not that long ago, Yelena wouldn't have hesitated to take the chance. now she keeps her feet firmly planted where they are, crossing her arms while she judges the distance she'll need to cross for a successful attack. ]

That's doable. Is the Victorian army in control of the roads in this area, or have they retreated?

[Talulah doesn't think the issue had been proximity, so she has no hesitation moving around in the enclosed space. Which she does to draw an invisible line with her finger down the map, reaching right in front of Yelena.]

They've retreated, but the problem with the roads is more their condition. I'd say from here to here it's going to be rough.

[She looks at other areas of the map, thoughtfully.]

The rebels you've brought have said something about underground networks. You might be able to use those. Or get a guide. They all seem pretty eager to get back into the fray.

Yeah, that's how we got here. Alexandrina told us how to get in to reach rebels in the industrial district factor, and we were planning to take the same way out after we finished up there.

[ Yelena assumes the engineers took them through the tunnels, but in a different direction— she hadn't been fully conscious when they made the call to abandon the factories and move on.

she makes an aborted movement to trace a line representing a road, but draws back when her arm nearly bumps into Talulah's, awkwardly tucking it behind her back instead. ]

We're trained to move over ice. I could freeze an even route to the other camp, but I wouldn't make anyone besides the Yetis travel like that. Do you have enough men here?

Yes. We planned everything assuming no one would meet up with us, since we didn't know how bad the fighting or logistics would get.

[Talulah does notice the weird, awkward movement, and has a moment where she wonders if Yelena is avoiding her. She never really shied away from Talulah's touch before, but...pointing it out would just derail things again, wouldn't it?]

The comms would probably work better if you stayed aboveground, too, but does making that kind of bridge take a big toll on your arts? The fight's the important part. I'd rather have everyone as fresh as possible for that.

Not really. That's as simple as a construct can get. It would be the fastest way to get there, but we'd be out in the open.

[ which brings its own challenges. any time they might save could be lost if the Victorian's choose a bad time to send out a scouting party or launch a counter-offensive.

Yelena clenches and unclenches her hand behind her back, thinking of how readily Talulah had taken it. if she had threaded their fingers together, would Talulah have said anything?

—part of her fears she might be fully losing it. ]

I think you're right. Going underground is the safer bet.

[Talulah wouldn't have said anything at all. Mostly out of the suspicion that if she did, Yelena would have immediately let go, and that's the last thing she would have wanted.]

Hm. Then I'll pick one of the rebels to go with you as a guide. The one who brought you here, Feist, seems knowledgeable enough. Maybe he and his group can even figure out a way we can at least send signals to you down there.

[She stares down at the map again, contemplative. Lately, she's done the mental equivalent of pacing around a room, going over the important plans and contingencies again while trying to keep any stray thoughts at bay. It really wouldn't do if she's distracted by thinking about whether or not Yelena is now avoiding her.]

Do you have any other questions? When this mission gets started, that's it until it's all over.

[ it's hard to miss the tension pouring off Talulah, her movements like a beast pacing its cage. in her heart, Yelena knows she only has one question she really wants to ask, and it has little to do with the task at hand. she's never thought of herself as a coward before, but then, there's a first time for everything, isn't there? ]

No. My part doesn't call for a lot of complex maneuvers. I think once my father's in a position to start casting, things will move fast.

[ she bows her head slightly, considering. even if she can't bring herself to be fully honest, Yelena doesn't want to leave Talulah thinking she's done anything wrong. ]

I'm not going to say goodbye. We'll see each other later. If I don't see you before then, let's meetup at Westhaleg.

[At that, Talulah finally cracks a smile, her shoulders relaxing a fraction.]

Then I won't either. More than likely, I'll see you at the Palace first.

[Assuming they manage this, but Talulah believes she should start thinking it will be so.

There are more things she wants to say. Or ask. Or do, since this may be the last chance. Instead, she takes her hands off the map and turns to pass Yelena to get to the exit.]

I'll go find you that guide and see how long we have left until we move out.

[ Yelena tenses as Talulah brushes past her, the hand she still has clutched behind her flexing, wanting to reach out and catch Talulah by the wrist, or arm, or whatever she manages to grasp in time. but her brain knows better than her body, that this is the last place on terra she should be acting so rashly, and she forces her fingers to ball into a fist instead. ]

All right. I should go gather the Yetis and let them know about the plan.

[ a pang of guilt hits her as Yelena realizes she hasn't spoken to them since she woke up. this situation is clouding her judgment, her fixation with Talulah making her clumsy, selfish. she needs some distance to clear her head. it's a good thing she's getting away from her for the final push. ]

Come find us once you've got our navigator.

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