So this chapter and the next one are likely to be a bit shorter than previous chapters given that they aren't as heavy in the dialogue and explanations as some of the other chapters may have been. After those two are up the following chapters will definitely see a return to the ~3k-4k lengths from what I can tell, maybe even longer than that depending on how much I end up writing for each chapter based on my outlines.
Otherwise I hope folks are liking things so far, and that you all look forward to the stuff to come.
As one final note before actually getting into the chapter, some may be wondering what exactly the rough look of Frost's sword might be like given how many different swords come up on Google image search when you look for Curtana, so I'll save you guys the trouble of trying to figure it out. It's the one that looks like it has a whole bunch of gemstones embedded into the sword and the sheath, with more of a focus on the colours I described in the last chapter rather than all of the silver and gold in the image you'll find. Hope that helps for any that might be curious.
"Remind me next time to go for the legs first, alright Neo? The number of times they manage to get a solid hit in when I try to knock them out with a punch and they dodge it is starting to get annoying?" Frost sighed as he and Neo, as well as a few of Torchwick's assorted hirelings, returned from another Dust heist from the city. "Ironwood's soldiers being around all of a sudden is making these…jobs," Frost states while grating his teeth against each other a bit, "a little difficult to accomplish. The sooner we can get Torchwick to ignore us and let us go, the better off we will be."
Neo patted Frost's shoulder comfortingly as the two broke off from the group lugging in the cargo as they made their way to the space that had been set aside for them shortly after Torchwick had brought them into his circle of cronies. As they make their way down the hall, a few White Fang members manage to get in a few dirty looks at the two, with a few seeming to target Frost specifically. Aside from a few rough shoves, and a couple careful turns in the halls, Neo and Frost arrive at their private space without incident. Neo goes over to a nearby couch that she lies across as she pulls out a scroll, while Frost sets aside his gauntlet and sword and starts exercising on some equipment set in one corner of their room.
"Hey…Neo," Frost grunts out whilst doing some pushups on a more open space of the exercise-oriented portion of the room. "There's something I've…been meaning to…ask you…lately." Frost takes a short breather between reps to see if Neo has responded to his request at all.
From her position on the couch, Neo glances over in Frost's direction and gives him a small twirl of her hand to signify that he should go on with whatever he was going to say. She then immediately returns to looking at her scroll, even though Frost knows that she is, at this point, paying more attention to him that whatever she's seeing on the screen. He therefore decides to continue with what he was going to say.
"Have you ever wondered what exactly we're going to do once Torchwick lets us out of this mess, if he even does at this point?" Frost asked as he started doing his pushups again. For a little while, while Frost continues on another set Neo looks towards the ceiling for a bit before returning her attention to her scroll and typing out a message.
A moment later, Frost notices his scroll light up on the desk next to his weapons, so he decides to stop that portion of his exercises to see what it is. Upon opening it up to read the message, he sees it is a response from Neo about his previous question. It reads as follows- It depends on the way things go whenever that happens. It could be in a few days, it could be in a few months, but at this point what matters is that we please Torchwick as much as we can so that way it's not us trying to leave with gunfire following us. As for after that, who knows? We could see about just returning to regular society, but at this point we've likely already been marked as criminals going around with Torchwick's goons so much that we're probably best suited to just stay closer to the underground. Maybe be bouncers at a club somewhere in Downtown Vale?
Frost somehow manages a scoff and a chuckle at the same time upon reaching the last part of Neo's message, "Bouncers, really? Like at Junior's club? You do realize that a good portion of the guys here used to be Junior's, right? How do you think he'd feel having us work for him after coming from Torchwick when he's never seen his own guys in...how long now?" Frost places his scroll on a cradle nearby as he turns to a nearby punching bag, now starting some more exercises as he jabs and hooks at the suspended weight. "Besides, all that aside, I've overheard from the ones that are here now that Junior's often getting interrupted by a few crazy's that tend to leave the place a little bit unhinged by the time they leave. So I'll pass on that one, thanks."
Neo just shakes her head with a soft smile before keying in another message to Frost. From the way he has his scroll placed, he is able to briefly tap the screen to light up the message before returning to his punches, now starting to mix in a few kicks here and there. Then what about as a bodyguard for someone, or as a fighter in some sort of king of the hill kind of tournament? You've gotten a lot better at fighting since we got here a month ago, and I'm pretty sure there are very few people left that can actually match your physical power with your Semblance factored in.
Frost sighs as he places a hand against the bag to stop its movement before looking over towards Neo. "Why are all of the options you're giving have to involve staying in the shadows even after we're out of our biggest one yet?" Frost implores as he moves over to his last exercise of the day on an elliptical bike. His legs start to move in tight, controlled circles as he starts the last leg of his self-designed regimen. "Why can't we just see about getting back to something peaceful, maybe even see about finding actual jobs for ourselves so that we can actually look at our future in a better light for once?"
Neo's face contorts into a slightly frustrated expression as she types out a brief message before moving quickly over to the nearby washroom to freshen up before the two start getting ready to go give their debrief to Torchwick. Frost waits a few moments after she has closed the door a little rougher than usual before finishing up his exercises and looks over to the last message Neo sent him. This IS our life now. Torchwick knew that as soon as he got us into this that getting back into regular society would be next to impossible. The most likely scenario is that on our first day back in the lighter side of things we get noticed by some officers, whether it's Vale police or Ironwood's soldiers, and we get thrown in prison for the things we've conspired on. They won't care that we got strong-armed into it. The only thing that might do is lessen our sentence slightly. So I'd much rather try to live some sort of life without the police always after us, or never being able to get reliable work due to the darker side of our pasts. If it means that we may get stuck working for Torchwick indefinitely, then that's okay with me as long as it doesn't mean having to look over our shoulders every single night.
Frost sighs as he picks up his scroll and goes over to another open door that leads to his own personal bedroombefore gentling closing it behind him. He takes a moment to look at the message still on his screen before closing up his scroll and setting it on his desk before opening a couple drawers on a dresser to grab fresh clothes to change into. "This is why I want us to get out of here as soon as possible, Neo." Frost whispered to himself as he started getting changed. "I was always worried that we might eventually start giving into this life and give up on a happy ad peaceful life away from all of this." As Frost finishes taking off his jacket and shirt, a few scratches and bruises can still be seen from the night he hurled himself to Neo's side the first day they "met" Torchwick. He sighs as he puts on clean attire as he throws the dirty clothes into a pile in the corner.
"I just never thought you would be the first one to break given how the two of us have always been."