Frostnova paused her walking for a moment, scanning the landscape for threats. The bright morning light reflected off the snow and blinded her for a moment, before her eyes adjusted and she could see again - nothing but snow. She was tired of it, after all this time. But at least it was safe.
She continued walking, safe in the assurance that nothing could threaten the Yetis – not now. The small footsteps she left in the snow she quickly swept over, evening the snow out and making the footsteps unrecognizable at first glance.
"We've got snow, snow and more snow, huh?" Andrey chuckled at her predicament. Remembering how she had said the exact same thing just a few days ago, a small smile graced Frostnova's face.
Much had changed since then… including her cooking, which had been steadily getting better with Andrey's help.
"Sometimes you'll see something different. Maybe some trees, a few bushes, sometimes a frozen lake. But you're right." Frostnova said.
As she walked down the hill, Frostnova stumbled upon a small root, buried and dead. Beside it, a green moss-covered rock barely extended out of the snow, like a small island in a sea.
She continued, her hands gliding across the rock as she passed. The slippery moss was a soothing sensation under her fingers, but there was no point wasting her time here. Still, it was a small oasis of life in the mostly dead landscape, the land this far north eternally covered in suffocating snow.
Now that she was paying attention, she noticed that life was still stubbornly clinging on, more hidden rocks of moss and low-growing shrubs and bushes still alive in the landscape, abnormally ice-resistant physiologies allowing them to grow on.
She walked in silence, the quiet only punctuated by the sounds of the Yetis' footsteps and her own breaths.
As the sun crossed the sky, and as she crossed numerous flat hills and valleys, she came upon something interesting again.
Frostnova crested yet another hill, legs slightly sore from the exertion. The other Yetis followed suit, looking down at the land ahead. A flat expanse of ice greeted them.
In some areas, the ice had broken, holes in it revealing freezing water beneath.
Frostnova walked up to the lake, testing the ice for a moment. It felt firm, and satisfied, she stepped on. Either way, she could just freeze the water if necessary, but the other Yetis had no such luxury.
"Ice is stable." She told the rest of the Yetis, the group following her across the small stretch of ice. As she passed, her Arts began freezing the ice below for the rest of the Yetis.
Eventually, they crossed to one of the breaks in ice, the thick ice having had a large meter-wide hole dug into it with what appeared to be hand tools.
"Somebody's been here before." Petrova observed. Immediately, the surrounding Yetis tensed up, and he hastily added on. "Not recently, obviously. The ice is starting to refreeze."
"Why?" One of the Yetis asked.
"Fishing, likely." Frostnova replied. "An extra source of food, especially for those who do not hunt."
She spared a glimpse at the water, the still waters reflecting her visage as she stared down at them.
For the first time, Andrey saw her. Shoulder-length white hair and a beautiful face, eyes placidly gazing at the water.
A tattered coat fell across her shoulders, protecting her from the elements - her form light and agile without the heavy coats of the other Yetis.
Andrey remembered her form in her mind – younger, innocent. The scar across her face gave him a minuscule window into what she had suffered to become what she was today, death and pain chilling her heart – but making her no less beautiful.
And out of instinct, he said it. "You're beautiful."
"You're beautiful."
Frostnova almost recoiled in shock for a moment, fighting to suppress the blush rapidly forming on her face as she turned away from the rest of the group, crouching down and pretending to study the ice further.
"…what?" She almost-whispered.
Andrey was quiet for a long few moments, before replying. "It's the first time I've seen your face. That was the first thing I thought of. Sorry, if I flustered you."
"How can you say that so… casually?" Recovering slightly from her daze, Frostnova asked.
"What else am I supposed to say?"
"I'll die soon anyways, Andrey. This is pointless."
"If you die, I die." Andrey countered.
Left speechless, Frostnova decided not to reply, just returning to pretending to inspect the ice as her blush abated. Unbeknownst to her, her Arts had near-entirely faded, just small waves of frost now, coming off her skin.
After a long moment, she stood up again, emotions back to normal.
Turning back to the Yetis, who were now gathered before her., Frostnova motioned for them to continue. "No danger. This hole's been present for some time, and it's unlikely the fishermen are experienced trackers even if they come back."
"And thanks… for the compliment."
They continued on their trip, a bit of heat still dancing on her cheeks as she walked.
Fortunately, Andrey wasn't up to any shenanigans for the rest of the day, and it passed in relative peace, leaving Frostnova some time to recover from, well, that. They hunkered down for the night, and the day passed with no further complications.
The next day, however, was the polar opposite.
"Convoy!" Just as the Yetis had stopped for a rest, one of the scouts rushed back to report.
Immediately, all the Yetis froze in place, awaiting their leader's next command.
"Where?" At Frostnova's questioning, the scout pointed towards the west. Frostnova glanced that direction – nothing, so far. They had some time.
"Move the carts that way." Pointing to the side of the convoy's path, Frostnova then gestured towards the carts. "Go!"
Almost immediately, the Yetis sprang into action, driving the mules towards a steep hill and over it. Frostnova and the rest of the Yetis followed in haste.
"Your footsteps." Andrey reminded.
"These people, clean up our tracks." Frostnova pointed in the rough direction of the main Yeti force, and the Yetis rushed to hide their tracks.
Taking in a deep breath, Frostnova surveyed the horizon to the west, as the rest of the Yetis hid in the shadow of the hill. Still no convoy…
Right. The scouts.
"You five, tell the scouts to stay in place. Stay with them." The Yetis in question sprinted off, racing against the clock. It would be a disaster if one of the scouts gave away their position – if anything gave away their position.
Looking around their hiding place, Frostnova quickly ran back over the hill, checking to see if any of the carts or Yetis were visible.
"Andrey?" Surveying the landscape with Andrey, Frostnova checked for anything visible. Sure enough, one of the carts was sticking out.
"Cart to your left, Yeti to your right." Andrey replied. Frostnova looked to the right of the hill – and sure enough, Petrova was there, peeking out at her.
"Petrova, back down." Petrova quickly went back behind the hill. "That cart to your right is visible."
Soon, all the Yetis were hidden, and Frostnova breathed a sigh of relief before returning to the cramped space behind the hill – staying away from the other Yetis, but still close enough to be hidden.
A black speck appeared on the horizon – and that was their cue to disappear.
"Down. Now." The Yetis followed her orders, hiding in the shadowed back of the hill and leaning back against the snow. Hopefully, the scouts were now doing the same.
Frostnova trusted them. This had happened before.
The black speck slowly grew in size. As it came closer, Frostnova began to make out it's features – twenty Infected Patrol surrounding a set of two covered carts. Not much, and much smaller than their force. Frostnova relaxed slightly; they could kill them if necessary.
And Andrey had noticed that too. "Why not attack?"
"Why would we attack?" Frostnova replied.
"…Supplies? Why else?"
"Those are mining tools. Not much food, or anything else useful." At this distance, Frostnova's eyes could pick out the markings on the sides of the carts – all tools.
"Then just to pick off Infected Patrol?"
"Their troops are near-unlimited. Ours are very limited."
"Ah, okay."
The carts of the small convoy trundled past, full loads of tools weighing them down as they passed. The carts pressed down on the snow, crushing it and creating deep gashes as they passed; yet nobody cared to hide them. A luxury only the Infected Patrol had, their dominion over the region affording them much freedom.
The convoy passed through the hills, slowly crossing towards where the Yetis hid. Soon, the convy passed right by, a few meters of snow and dirt the only barrier between them and the Yetis.
The Yetis tensed up. Nobody dared make a move or a dound, everybody staying stock-still as they lay against the side of the hill.
It was so close they could hear the Infected Patrol talk, and hear their footsteps echo throughout the empty tundra.
"How long?" One of the Infected Patrol demanded.
"Twelve days. Hasn't changed, Alexey. Fuck off."
"Walking… I hate walking. We've been walking for five days already." "Alexey" groused.
"And we'll be walking for a dozen more." The second Infected Patrol flatly stated again.
"Once we get there, you think the tools will help?" A third voice chipped in.
"Quotas will go up for a while, then those Infected will get lazy again. Same thing, happens every time." A fourth Infected Patrol added.
This elicited a round of agreements from the Patrol, and they continued on their way, idly chatting – and complaining – about their current assignment.
Slowly but surely, the convoy shrank, becoming just a black dot on the horizon and eventually disappearing entirely.
As their convoy faded into the distance, the Yetis stood back up, brushing off the snow on their heavy coats and preparing their carts to move again. Frostnova's bunched-up shoulders finally relaxed as she stood back up, ready to move again.
"Recall the scouts." Frostnova addressed the five Yetis closest to her, and they rushed out – though in much less haste now. The remaining Yetis hauled the carts back onto flat ground, reattaching the mules.
Group by group, the scouts returned.
First the western and southern groups arrived, before the northwestern group came back with the northern group, the Yetis returning to their positions in the group as they waited.
And finally, after an eternity of waiting, the eastern group returned.
"Sorry. Convoy came our way." The leading Yeti quickly said, before they returned to the back of the group.
Frostnova nodded, before turning to the Yetis. "We can continue."
They were almost halfway there.
AN: I feel like some of the realism-related things may be a bit off (e.g., how deep the snow is). Feel free to leave a review if you find any plot holes / mistakes, or if you just have something to say. Thanks for the reviews so far!
Regarding SirAlphonso's review: Ursus is, indeed, pretty boring. Just snow, Originium, and death. Unfortunately, it's also where all the Frostnova-related stuff happens in canon, so they'll be there for a while (though not forever).