The pair woke up about an hour before sunrise. After Krystal took a quick shower, they donned their snow gear and left the hotel. As the frigid wind hit their faces, Krystal pulled her hood over her head and pulled the drawstrings tight.
"Who would be suicidal to fight in weather like this?" Krystal asked as she followed Fox down a path.
"You don't always get a say in what weather you fight in." Fox told Krystal, "Besides, it could give us an advantage over enemies that underestimate our capabilities."
As they continued down the path, the wind seemed to increase. As they walked, Fox kept checking their vitals on her communicator every few minutes. If they came too close to hypothermia, she could remotely activate the heaters built into their coats and pants and then lead Krystal back to the hotel.
"Just be glad we don't have enough time to make this a bigger part of your training." Fox told Krystal, "Otherwise, we'd be doing combat and wilderness training during the coldest, stormiest months."
Krystal could tell Fox was serious and considered herself lucky. For now, she just focused on keeping up with Fox. Eventually, they came across a section of a wrecked capital ship from a war fought decades prior.
"Let's at least get a little combat training." Fox told Krystal, "This ship has been a part of cold weather combat training for years. The drones and repair bay are still functional, so we can keep training for as long as you like."
Fox handed Krystal her staff before walking into the wreckage and pressing a button. Robots marched out of the wreckage and fired at Krystal, hitting her almost immediately. While their rounds did no damage to her body or clothes, it was still one of the most painful experiences in her life.
"Try to take them all out as fast as possible." Fox commanded, "It would be wise to use whatever cover you can find."
Krystal began running in a zig zag pattern toward a large rock, avoiding most of their fire but still getting hit by a few rounds. Krystal took a quick peak from behind the rock and began formulating a plan.
Aiming carefully, Krystal managed to hit a few robots with blasts from her staff before hiding behind the rock to avoid the volley of return fire. She heard the robots begin to approach her. It wasn't exactly part of her plan, but she could make it work. Krystal fired again a few more times, taking out nearly a dozen more robots before the remaining robots were close.
When they reached the rock, Krystal jumped out from cover and began bashing the robots. A few more rounds hit her, but most either struck other robots or flew harmlessly into the snow. Before long, the robots were all destroyed.
"You did well for a first attempt." Fox told her as she left the wrecked ship section.
"I got hit by so many rounds." Krystal complained, "In combat, I'd be dead."
"This was about getting you used to fighting in the snow." Fox explained, "Actually learning how to fight in the snow comes later. Let's return to the hotel."
Krystal was glad to hear those words. As they made their way back to the hotel, Solar began to rise on the horizon. Krystal had never been so glad to see a sunrise. Nearly an hour later, they reached the hotel. The heated air was the best thing Krystal had felt in quite some time.
"What would you like for breakfast?" Fox asked as they walked toward the hotel's small dining area.
"I'm not too hungry." Krystal answered.
Fox shrugged as she removed her hood and walked toward the buffet table. She made a few waffles on the waffle iron with the pre-made batter and put it on a plate along with some syrup and utensils. Krystal grabbed a bowl of cereal and a spoon and joined Fox at a table.
"Still cold?" Fox asked.
"I crave the heat..." Krystal explained as she ate her cereal, "Among other things."
Fox ignored that last remark and ate her waffles.
"When are we heading back to the Great Fox?"
"Tomorrow." Fox replied, "To be honest, one of the purposes of this training exercise was to get a change of scenery for a day. Sometimes you just need some distance from Falco. Falco hates it here. Fara's alright, though."
"I can see why Falco would hate it here." Krystal observed, "It's a cold, barren wasteland.
"Falco always said that about here." Fox explained, "He hated leaving the hotel. The only time he would run out was when we were leaving the planet. He really hated fighting here."
"The weather here seems to chill everything except the burning desire for something within your grasp, but still so far out of reach." Krystal continued, "A desire that gives hope and crushes it with reality."
"Falco always said that too." Fox added, "He also talked about how it froze parts of one's soul, that being the only thing that made killing foes here any easier. I think they print that last part on fortune cookie fortunes now."
"It sounds like it would be accurate." Krystal mused.
"You sure you don't want to remove your hood?" Fox asked, "You have to be getting warm by now."
"After our little adventure today, I enjoy the warmth and close, enveloping contact my hood provides me." Krystal explained.
"Let's watch a movie in our room." Fox suggested, "This time of year, that's the only thing to do here that doesn't involve freezing outside."
After they finished their breakfast and returned their dishes and utensils, they returned to their hotel room.
"I'll let you pick something." Fox offered. Krystal browsed through the selection until she found something she thought might be interesting. As the movie started playing, Fox sat down on the chair and Krystal squeezed in beside her. As the title appeared on the screen, Krystal began to cuddle.
"What kind of movie did you pick?" Fox asked.
"It's about a pair of warrior women who form a bond of friendship in battle." Krystal explained.
"That sounds familiar." Fox observed.
"It's a type of story I'm familiar with." Krystal countered, "Now let's just watch unless you want to partake in a certain other activity since there are no other guests here."
"Movie sounds nice."
As the movie progressed, it was hinted at that there was something more to the "friendship". Fox was surprised and mildly embarrassed by all the blatantly obvious innuendo, but Krystal didn't mind. She enjoyed having an opportunity to take in Fox's scent up close while watching an enjoyable movie. By the end of the movie, they stopped hiding the implications behind innuendo. Fox felt embarrassed, But Krystal enjoyed the movie greatly.
"There's a version of the movie that forgoes innuendo entirely... if you want something a bit more... naughty." Krystal suggested.
"I'm perfectly happy with relaxing for a few moments." Fox told her, "I need to get some of those scenes out of my head."
"We can watch it together later." Krystal offered, "We can even buy a copy online to watch in the Great Fox. Would be nice to watch another take on the story."
"I think I'm all 'movied out'." Fox told her. Krystal sighed as she pulled out her phone and surfed the internet. She ordered a copy of the movie from an online store and began shopping around. Eventually, she bought a few books that caught her attention and had them shipped to the Great Fox under her name. She might share them with Fox, assuming they weren't also filled with stuff Fox found embarrassing.