Frostnova reclined back into the plush chair of the captain's room, aimlessly staring into the distance. The room's former occupant had "generously donated" it to her the moment they came onboard the miniature landship; and at Petrova's insistence, she had accepted.

She'd admit, the man knew his creature comforts. An entire corner of the large room was filled with sturdy-looking shelves, carrying a massive array of various liquors. She'd sampled a few, out of curiosity; the burn as the alcohol went down her throat was a pleasant reprieve from the usual cold.

She was feeling a bit drowsy. The alcohol, no doubt; there was a reason she usually ate the candies instead.

As she felt herself doze off, however, she quickly snapped back upright again. She was surrounded by enemies, she reminded herself; the smugglers were still nearby.

"Relax." Andrey assured her. "You should have some rest. It's been a long day."

"I'll sleep when I should." Frostnova halfheartedly replied.

"Which is now. I'm watching the smugglers – you don't have to worry."

Frostnova sighed. "I should still –"

"Do it yourself?" Andrey guessed. "That's an easy way to waste energy. Plus, I'm better than you in watching others. I can see their every action, Yelena. Their captain's busy shoveling in Originium into the reactor, his first mate is repairing a faulty pipe…"

Reluctantly, Frostnova nodded. His logic was sound.

She hauled herself up from the chair, laying herself upon the bed. Soft, comfortable… it almost felt like she was back in her childhood again, reliving those precious few memories she had of that time.

"Goodnight, Yelena. I'll be here when you wake up." Hearing his "voice," Frostnova smiled. It was nice having him around, she surmised. Stretching out upon the covers, she closed her eyes, feeling the regular cacophony of the engines beneath her.

When she awoke, she stretched out her arms and let out a satisfied sigh. All her worries felt as if they had been melted away like snow; a faint spark of warmth lighting within her.

"How long have I slept?" She asked Andrey.

"Just about until dinner. The Yetis are in the canteen now, finishing up the cooking."

Frostnova nodded. "I'll join them, then. Where is the canteen?"

"Need instructions?" Andrey asked.

"Mhm."

With Andrey's guidance, Frostnova quickly found the canteen, slipping through a side door. Picking up a tray of food, she found a corner to sit in and began eating.

Much to her surprise, Petrova soon sat down beside her – or at least, as close as he could get beside her.

"Not often we get to eat in someplace as nice as this. Solid roof above our heads, good food, and warmth, for once." He smiled, though his smile dropped slightly at that last one. "Though warmth can't really help you, I guess."

Frostnova nodded. "I'm used to it."

"Doesn't mean it's a good thing." Petrova replied.

"Speaking of eating, you might have to get used to eating 'properly,' with three knives and whatnot." Andrey commented.

"Ah, Andrey!"Petrova almost jumped up from his seat, before quickly recovering. "What do you mean by that?"

"My identity means that you're probably going to get dragged into a fancy dinner or two. Frostnova, this goes for you too."

"And that means… knives? You want me to kill my food?" Petrova said, stabbing a slab of meat with a fork and taking a bite. "I don't get it."

"No, not knives for combat. Smaller ones, for cutting up meat into slices." Andrey sighed. "Please don't eat your steak like that if we're at one of those dinners."

"That sounds like a waste of effort."

"It looks better." Andrey replied. "Either way, you don't have to get it. Just cut up your meat before you eat it."

"…Okay. Why do we have to go to fancy dinners, anyways? I thought we were dealing with spies." Petrova asked, tilting his head.

"You can't get spies very far without cooperation from some higher-ups. I'd bet plenty of nobles are in on what the spy cell is doing, and those nobles have enough etiquette rules to fill a book."

"Okay, so like those Ursus officials we bribed once –" Petrova glanced at Frostnova – "but even fancier."

"Pretty much. I'll be watching if it comes to one of those dinners, don't worry."

"Got it." Petrova took another bite.

Andrey watched as Frostnova made her way back to the captain's room. As she walked into the room, the glint of a tall mirror caught his eye, precipitating a sudden, indulgent request.

"Yelena… can I ask you to do something?"

"Go ahead." Frostnova nodded.

"Do you mind… standing in front of that mirror for me?" He outlined the mirror in question with his Arts.

"Sure… you want to see what I look like? It's not pretty."

"Yes." Andrey replied, before laughing. "I've been here with you for… a few months, now? I've only seen what you look like once."

"Okay." Frostnova shifted in front of the mirror, fidgeting slightly as she waited.

That same tattered coat was still laid across her shoulders, shifting as Frostnova moved. Andrey doubted it was really to protect her from the cold, anymore – at best, it could block some of the sharp winds.

That same scar ran across the bridge of her nose, a reminder of something of her past… and her face was as beautiful as ever.

A sentiment that he soon expressed. "Do you still remember when I told you that you were beautiful?"

Frostnova blushed and nodded.

"I stand with that statement."

Frostnova broke down into a fit of giggles. Andrey thought she looked quite cute, all things considered.

Once she finally recovered, she spoke. "Sorry… you just sounded so formal when you said that."

"…yeah, I did, huh?" Andrey realized.

"Yeah."

They stayed in comfortable silence for a short while, before Andrey spoke up again. "If you don't mind me asking… where did you get the scar from?"

"It's from the mines. Stray whip hit me in the wrong spot… I don't think it'll ever heal."

"Huh."

Eventually, Frostnova grew tired, and sat down on the side of her bed. "I'm not quite sleepy… it's late, though."

"We've got some time." Andrey replied. "But before you think about it, don't go asking the Yetis where you can help. Petrova is just going to send you straight back to your room."

"I'm not sure whether he's the leader, or if I am." Frostnova chuckled.

"Well, you lead then in combat. He leads them out of combat."

"Mhm. Anything you have for me to do, then?" Frostnova asked.

"Do any of those books look interesting to you?" Andrey highlighted a bookshelf beside the bed.

"Hm… History of the Ursus Empire, sure." Frostnova picked a book off the shelf and opened to the first page.

"Of course it has to be something serious." Andrey chuckled. "Well, I may as well read with you."

Frostnova slept quite late that night, and woke up equally late the next day.

It was a strange sensation, waking up with the sun already high up in the sky. It certainly wasn't unpleasant, however. Curious, Frostnova decided to take a trip to the upper deck.

A few quick turns and climbs, and she was standing upon the freezing steel of the landship exterior, the sun shining down upon her with its cold rays. The wind blew at her face, gently pushing away a few strands of hair. It would only pick up later in the day, Frostnova knew, giving her plenty of time to relax and observe the tundra.

The snow's reflected light was blinding, but Frostnova hand long since gotten used to it. Unimpeded by its white flashes, she regarded the flat plain around her, unsure what she was looking for.

Perhaps just something to do – an inbound raid party, maybe, or perhaps some obstacle. It felt wrong to just be standing here. But micromanaging the smugglers would do more harm than good. Andrey was always watching against sabotage anyways; nothing much could go wrong.

Well, she supposed she could take a look anyways. "Andrey? Do you know the directions to the reactor rooms?"

His response came as quick as ever, a red line appearing in her vision. "Yes. I've memorized the ship layout. Follow the line"

Well, that was impressive. And so quick, too.

"How did you do it?" She asked.

"Plenty of people look at the maps from time to time. I just had to focus on their view whenever they were looking at the map, and try to remember it whenever they saw it." Andrey explained.

Well, that was awfully inconvenient. Having to jump from person to person so fast… couldn't be easy. Which reminded her of something. "Has your crystal had problems recently?"

"No; I've been taking some breaks at night, which seems to have helped."

Frostnova smiled. "Good."

They soon reached the reactor, where a group of the smugglers were shoveling Originium into the reactor in heavy protective gear, under the vigilant watch of a squad of Yetis. The room was hot, the Yetis present having long since shed their winter coats.

Frostnova gave a quick nod to the leading Yeti, before walking up the console and beginning to inspect the complex displays. Engine temperature, power level, mechanical wear… everything was green, presumably meaning that everything was going well.

Then the console suddenly flickered and shut down. Frostnova raised an eyebrow, turning to one of the Yetis beside her for an explanation.

"It's designed for hotter temperatures, I think." The Yeti explained. "Your… Arts probably stopped it."

Well. She'd best leave the place, then. Frostnova nodded and stepped away from the console. "I'll leave you to your work, then."

She sighed after she was out of earshot.

"Not your first time, I presume?" Andrey asked.

"No. I have a tendency to break sensitive machines." Frostnova replied. "Screens, processing systems, small mechanical toys… It's usually best that I stay away from them. It's lucky that console doesn't look permanently damaged."

"Makes sense. Where to now, then?"

"I'm not sure…" Frostnova hesitated for a moment, before deciding to consult Andrey once more. "Is there anything else that's important on this landship?"

"Well, there's Steering, but… that could go worse."

Frostnova nodded. "It would be too easy to break something."

"Yes. Let's go to the armory, then."

Frostnova again followed Andrey's markers, this time opening a heavy door to a small room full of various weapons.

She quickly inspected all the weapons. "The Yetis could use some of the shortswords."

"Yes." Andrey agreed. "And you could use one of those spare wands."

Frostnova sighed. Great, now he reminded her of Patriot again…

"I don't need a wand." She protested.

"No, you certainly do." Andrey argued. "As a disguise, if anything. Leithanien nobles don't think well of Infected, and I think it would be quite suspicious if you started casting Arts without a focus."

"My ice aura would give it away anyways."

"Not if you explain it as a side effect of the wand." Andrey countered.

Frostnova grudgingly walked over to the small racks upon the wall and picked off a wand. It was a simple piece, just a tapered piece of Arts-sensitive steel tipped with treated Originium. "You might be right. I'll take one if I need it."

Frostnova could feel him smiling over their connection. "See? That wasn't that hard."

AN: Finished this a bit late, because poor time management (and various tasks and whatnot, but mostly poor time management).

Regardless, I'm glad everyone enjoyed the last chapter! I was a bit concerned about how quickly the smugglers just decided to give up, but it looks like it makes sense.

P.S.: I just realized that Andrey's effectively Halo's Cortana… complete with location markers, bouts of instability, and regular side comments. I don't quite know what to make of that.