Ivan's eyes opened the moment he felt Katya shaking him.

"Get up! We have to hide!" She said, her voice an urgent whisper. Ivan locked eyes with her, catching his breath. He could almost swear he still had goosebumps from the cold.

"What? Why?" He whispered in return.

"Because there are people looking for you. Bad people who want to kill you. They stopped the train, and they're coming to search every car." Ivan bit his lip and nodded.

"Right. Lead the way." He muttered, and Katya took a moment to quickly peek outside.

"Nobody's coming. Okay, let's go. If we hurry, we can make it to the back." She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the hall, leading him through the long line of train cars until they reached the very last one. Katya opened the door and the two immediately felt a blast of cold wind. "Put on your jacket," Katya ordered, "go on up the ladder to the roof. I'll meet you there." She said, and Ivan did as he was told. His gloves didn't help much against the cold metal stinging his fingers as he climbed carefully up the icy ladder. Pulling himself up onto the roof, he took a moment to sit and look around at the winter countryside. Just being up there was terrifying and sickening. Katya soon joined him on the roof, and they took a moment to assess their options.

"So, are we just going to freeze up here until they leave?" Ivan sighed, wiping his nose on his sleeve. If his mother had been there, he knew she would have chastised him for it.

"I don't know. Once they get to the back, they might come and check up here. If that happens, we might have to fight. If not, we should be able to sneak back on once they le-" Katya's words were cut off as they heard several people coming up onto the roof.

"There they are!" A voice cried, and Katya pulled Ivan to his feet.

"Okay, fight it is." She huffed, sounding more inconvenienced than anything else. Without another word, she charged forward (which surprised Ivan, considering how coated with snow and ice the roof was) and almost immediately landed several blows to the guy's chest and face. Katya moved with the dizzying speed of a dancer, and Ivan merely watched her for a moment. She easily took care of the soldiers, and Ivan's eyes darted back and forth as he followed their limp (and hopefully only unconscious) bodies sliding off the roof to the side of the tracks. Once they were all taken care of, Katya simply stood there a moment, breathing heavily. She turned around, walked towards Ivan, and slapped him hard across the face.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?!" He cried, rubbing his cheek.

"Thanks for the help, asshole!" Katya cried, huffing angrily.

"You had it covered!" Ivan fumbled, not wanting to admit that he'd gotten distracted by her amazing speed and skill.

"Still, some fucking help would have been nice! Ugh, just… Come on. Let's get back inside the train. They're probably going to start soon. I'll clear things up with them. And when we get back, don't talk to me." Her words were a low growl as she turned and stomped back to the ladder, and Ivan followed her. He supposed she had a point, though. Why hadn't he helped her? He knew it had been more than just his fascination with her fighting. That was for sure. As he walked back behind her, he mulled over his feelings. It didn't hit him until they got back to their compartment (after Katya had given a long, fabricated explanation to the conductor) and Ivan had curled up under his blanket.

Because you were afraid.

The voice in his head that told him this felt like it wasn't entirely his, and Ivan wanted to deny it, but there was no other possible answer. But why was he afraid?

You're afraid that you don't have what it takes.

Ivan decided to ignore that one. It didn't make much sense.

What it takes.

What it takes…

When he fell asleep again, he didn't dream.