Frostnova opened her eyes, finding herself lying down on cold steel. What had happened? Her mind was hazy from sleep – and something else.
Right, Andrey. As her mind cleared, Frostnova turned to her right, finding the crystal that supposedly now contained him encased within a pillar of red Arts. Was he gone?
"Andrey?" No response.
No small part of her wanted there to be one. She stood up, stepping towards the pillar.
"We leave." Patriot thumped his halberd against the ground, as if knowing what Frostnova intended to do.
"Understood." Frostnova turned away, and followed the Wendigo as they descended down the steel steps of the altar. But not before giving the crystal one last, longing gaze – and etching a marking at its base.
Frostnova hurried to catch up to Patriot, sprinting down the steps and following him as they returned to the ice. If her memory served her, they would be taking the detour… good. She suppressed a shiver as she recalled that nightmare of a forest that they had crossed through.
Best to avoid any black ice in the future, she supposed.
The sky was clear and empty, a light breeze rustling her coat as she followed behind Patriot. A perfect day. Good visibility, she noted. They crossed the ice and snow once more, mule following behind, tugging their cart along. She had almost forgotten the cart existed, in all the activity; yet the mule still loyally followed behind them, tugging its heavy load.
Its life must have been simple, she thought. Eat, sleep, walk…
Time flew by, and in no time, it was night again. Without Andrey to talk to the world seemed filled with a resounding emptiness, but habit took over quickly, Frostnova returning to her usual stoic self as she walked.
They pitched their tents on the ice, and Frostnova quickly fell asleep.
The day came just as quickly, and soon they were on the road again. As they approached the snowy tundra, the low hills came into view, fields of rolling white nearing as they crossed the ice. Without any winds, Frostnova could see the world around her in perfect definition – but that was as much a blessing as a curse; Frostnova finding herself suspecting every shrub and bush around her.
As they crossed fully into the tundra, the world around them slowly turned bright white, then a palette of browns and greens as they crossed into a small patch of forest. Frostnova could sense it; they were going in a different direction. Pulling a map from the cart, Frostnova noted down the path to the altar as they walked with some extra charcoal. It could become useful in the future, she supposed.
Night came, then day again.
The two of them kept walking through the forest, and soon it gave way to tundra again. Frostnova was thankful; she had heard a few howls rather close to them, and as much as she was confident in herself, battle was always something to avoid if possible.
At noon, as they sat down to eat lunch, Frostnova asked Patriot how long they needed to return. Eleven days.
Once they were on their way again, Frostnova pulled the map from her coat, and quickly wrote "two weeks" upon the path she had sketched down.
And as they passed a large outcrop of rock, she checked her map. Good; her path was accurate.
She was spending a lot of time on this map, she realized. Well, she did want to talk to Andrey once more, someday.
That vague desire quickly bloomed into an idea, and then a plan. As she walked, she hastily started sketching it down on the back of the coarse fabric of the map. Perhaps it could be useful.
In front of her, Patriot kept marching forwards, uncaring of what she was doing – so long as she was catching up. Fortunate, she supposed. Explaining could be difficult.
The wind picked up in the afternoon, and they soon found themselves facing a full-blown blizzard by the night. Such weak blizzards were common in the tundras, and Patriot had accounted for it; the two simply hunkering down in their tents, keeping them behind a large snowbank as to avoid the winds. The mule was unaffected, surprisingly. It simply stood behind the snowbank as the winds blew past, placidly staring into the distance as it chewed on some hay Patriot had fed it.
Sitting in her tent, Frostnova found it strangely cozy, despite the freezing air of her Arts. Yet she felt as if she was missing something. Habitually, she called out to Andrey a few times as she waited; no response. Well, that was to be expected.
Perhaps, when the time came, she would go back to the altar. Not now, however. Even if she tried, she lacked the supplies to return back to the Yetis if the time came. And Patriot would stop her anyways, she was sure.
Night came quickly, and day came after that; and soon, by noon the next day, the blizzard had cleared enough to let them keep moving forwards.
By night, it had cleared entirely, and the sky was left empty once more; Frostnova looking up and only finding the stars looking down at her from their black canvas. They pitched their tents, and soon the two of them retired for the night once more. Within her tent, Frostnova pulled her map out from her coat, etched a few more lines upon the fabric, and went to sleep.
Another night passed in monotony.
The day came with a renewed vigor, and after a quick breakfast, Frostnova and Patriot were on their way again. They soon approached yet another forest, and Frostnova etched another short line upon their map.
As they walked, Frostnova took in the sights around them. They would have been breathtaking to any other traveler, rolling hills covered in trees like so many spears pointing towards the sky. Nonetheless, they were still pressed for time – Patriot had said they would return in a month, after all – and as such Patriot's monotone calls to hurry up stopped Frostnova from spending too much time idle.
Noon came, and they stopped for lunch. Uncaring of the shrubbery around them, Patriot started a fire, and soon had a stew; Frostnova staying far behind to avoid accidentally freezing the water.
She had to admit, it was quite pleasant finally feeling a faint sliver of warmth flowing through her body. They kept moving soon, however; and by night, they were out of the miniature forest once more.
Sitting down within the tent, Frostnova looked at her map. Halfway there. They were making good pace, despite the blizzard.
She laid down and went to sleep. She needed the energy, and despite her long years in the wilderness, she had to admit she was feeling somewhat tired from Patriot's quick pace.
When the day came, however, she was ready again; and thus began another day. Without her Yetis or Andrey to talk to, time slipped by fast; and in the blink of an eye, it was night again. Silence permeated the tents; none of the lively chatter of the Yetis, or the banter of the Guerillas, or her conversations with Andrey.
A slight twinge of sadness went through her at that. She was worried for him. She was safe now, yes, but now that she thought of it, Andrey was likely to lose against his doppelganger; and even if he won, he would still be trapped within the crystal for weeks, without any hope in sight.
She was starting to regret her decisions. But the decision had been made regardless, and there was no turning back. Clenching her fists, she resolved to return to him.
Even if he was… interesting at times. A faint blush tinged her cheeks at the memory.
Another night passed in strained silence.
When the day came again, Frostnova emerged from the tent, groggily rubbing her eyes. She hadn't had much rest the night before – too busy planning out her vague ideas of "rescuing" Andrey somehow – but she could still function.
Andrey was too valuable an asset to lose, she told herself. She needed this to work.
A quick breakfast, and they were on the road again. They soon crossed a snowy lake, Frostnova wary of the ice below. It seemed far thinner here then on the icefield – perhaps the temperatures were warmer?
She had checked her map while Patriot was marching forwards ahead of her, making sure the path she had drawn was correct – and indeed it was. Only a quarter left to go, too. A small smile graced her face at that. She was good at this, it seemed.
Though Andrey was probably better… and that only further reinforced her desire to take him back.
It occurred to her, while she jogged back up to Patriot, that she had never really considered the chance that Andrey had lost within her plans. It was likely, given his doppelganger had far more knowledge than Andrey did, but…
No, she could not accept that. She had to trust him.
She put that to the back of her mind, trying to forget it, but it still remained a constant, niggling doubt. As they pitched the tents once more, she was reminded of him; as she lay down on the snowy floor, only covered by a thin mattress, she was reminded of him; and as she fell asleep, she was reminded of him.
Another night passed in nightmares of failure and loss.
Frostnova woke up late the next day, to Patriot parting the flaps of her tent. Hastily, she apologized to the Wendigo, before following him as they departed once more. As they walked, Patriot finally spoke to her; they had a mere day left. Frostnova found it fortunate that the Wendigo seemed to miss – or was it avoid? – the weak tremble through her frame.
She had been through nightmares before, ever since she had lost her Yetis in that fateful battle against the Army, but she had never had a nightmare about Andrey before.
She hoped she wouldn't have to again.
Time passed by quickly, and by noon, they could see the distinctive peak of stone distinguishing the site the Guerillas called Rendezvous Two – a small peak of worn stone, covered in millennia of ice and snow. None of the Guerillas or Yetis cared much for that, however; to them, it was just another feature of the landscape.
By afternoon, the scouts had spotted them. Soon, Skar came to meet them, and with naught but a nod, Patriot was ushered in; likely for a debrief. Frostnova wasn't invited, it seemed, so she simply left to find her Yetis.
Striding forwards, purpose slowly returned to her gait, as she recalled the plans she had made. If everything went right… Andrey would be back with them soon.
She was curious how the Yetis would react to him, though. Petrova would like him, for sure.
The corners of her eyes crinkled up, and a smile graced her face once more.
AN: Don't worry, Andrey isn't gone. He'll be back in a few chapters; not immediately, though. This chapter progressed far faster than the other chapters (two weeks in a single chapter) – mostly because there isn't much to do. Patriot's not the talkative sort, and Andrey's gone for now. Either way, I hope you liked it!