Carter woke up at the crack of dawn to Sephia being absent from the tent. She was tending the fire.

"You're wearing armor today," Carter commented as she exited the tent. It was a relatively light set, consisting of a metal breastplate, gauntlets, and leg and shoulder guards. Sephia's sword hung over her back in its scabbard, and her shield was strapped to her arm.

"I'm not driving today." Sephia's mouth twitched up. "And it seemed like a good idea."

 She then asked Carter to take down the supply bag which they had strung up in a tree last night to deter bears.

Carter obliged. A few minutes later, Astrid and Jacob emerged from their respective tents, the ambassador looking more lively than Carter had ever seen her look in the morning. Sephia and Jacob had some weak tea, and the four of them ate breakfast before quickly packing everything up and hitting the road.

It was supposed to get colder from here on out, so Carter and Jacob wore their cloaks, and Astrid had donned a red coat and mittens. 

It was good that they did, because as they proceeded down their path, the air became increasingly frigid.

"So what are we going to do when we get to this stronghold?" Carter said at one point.

“I thought you’d never ask!” said Jacob. He snapped his fingers. “Seph. The map.”

Sephia reached into her pack and handed Jacob a scroll.

“Here's the stronghold, and here's the northern catacomb system,” Jacob explained, pointing out the building and the winding gray intersections next to it on the map. “There’s not much stuff or personnel in the building itself, but one thing we do keep is a key. It will allow us to unlock a gated tunnel to the catacombs. We built the gate to prevent intruders from invading the stronghold through them. But somewhere inside… is the Zitaflora, or so they say.”

“My job was to handle negotiations at the stronghold and carry the key when we get it,” said Astrid.

"But now you don't know what's happening there," Carter said.

"That's about right," Astrid said.

"Lovely."

The temperature continued dropping at a worrying rate and showed no signs of halting its descent. As they continued onward, snow had appeared on the ground, and then it started falling from the sky and piling up further. Carter pulled the cloak tighter around herself. Luckily her boots resisted the moisture for now.

Sometime in the late afternoon, Sephia declared that it was time to stop for a break. They gathered near a tree and passed around dry food, their breaths condensing in front of them. 

"We should stop here for tonight," Carter commented. "It'll get dark soon, and there's a lot to do."

"Like what?" Sephia asked.

Carter stood. "I'm not an expert in this climate, but we can't just set up tents in the snow like this, so we have to flatten out the space."

"Alright. Let's set up near the trees. They'll probably shield the wind and snow," Sephia said.

The delegation walked over to the trees and worked together to tamp down enough space for the tents. 

"Is that it?" Jacob grumbled when they were finished, slicking his hair out of his face. 

Carter replied that they needed water, and not dry snow shoveled down their throats, but actual water.

"Is there a stream nearby?" she asked.

Sephia checked the map and handed it to Carter, pointing. "There's a river."

"Nice." Carter started rummaging through the supply bag. "I'll go there. You and the prince can gather firewood."

"Then, Carter…" Astrid said. "What should I do?"

Carter stood with a bucket in each hand and smirked. "Of course, you're coming along."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

The river wasn't far away. Carter and Astrid trekked through the snow and brush to get to it, until Astrid suddenly hurried forward as they reached the clearing.

"Hey—" Carter yelled. "Where are you—" She quieted as she exited the canopy of trees and saw the beauty of the scene. 

The river was there, and its frozen waters extended into the horizon as far as the eye could see. The sun was descending in the distance, casting pink and orange and yellow dyes over the sky and reflecting onto the snow all around them. Astrid stood at the edge of the water, taking in the scene.

Astrid turned as Carter approached her. "Isn't it beautiful?" she asked.

"Yeah," Carter said.

Astrid plopped onto a nearby log and patted the space next to her. "Sit with me."

Carter frowned but obeyed. "You're not getting out of carrying the bucket, you know."

Astrid chuckled. "I wouldn't dream of it."

In silence, they watched the sunset.

"Hey, Carter… What do you think you'll do after this? Will you take your fortune and go back to the woods to resume your life? Or would you do something different?"

Carter scratched her head. "I dunno… I guess it'll depend on whatever happens in the next few days."

Astrid edged slightly closer. "Ah, for instance, based on what you learn about Yun'ha?"

"I…" Carter gripped the bucket handle tighter. She hesitated. Some part of her wanted to answer, but she'd been unable to let go of her suspicions that Astrid was hiding something. The lack of clarity bothered her. But in the end, she couldn't get behind the idea that Astrid was plotting against her in any way. They'd had countless chances to destroy each other, but it never happened. In fact, Astrid had saved her.

So Carter replied— "I kind of have this feeling. That maybe if I continue on the same path as her, we'll always come across each other. Because we're connected by blood."

"Do you like that path?"

"I'm not… sure yet. Is this even the path?"

Astrid tilted her head. "It's hard to say. Even if you take up the same job description, you're still a completely different person. With different dreams, pastimes… even Prince Jacob or the queen don't really know what she was thinking all the time."

"Maybe. Um, we should get the water now." Carter stood and walked over to the river. Astrid followed behind her and watched as Carter banged the bucket against the surface of the ice. Once, twice. It cracked open.

"May I ask you something else?"

"I guess." Carter dipped the bucket in the river and removed it, excess water dripping out with a slosh.

"It's a hypothetical," Astrid said. "I'm interested in your opinion. Do you think, if someone messed up, and was unable to help someone close to them, that there's any way that they could continue on being companions?"

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Carter could see that this question was obviously about Astrid. But she felt like she was far away. "...No. That is, if you just can't help someone, then whatever. But if you refuse to? Or if you're the cause of their issue?" She looked at Astrid, and her voice went up a little. "Then no. I mean, if you're part of a group then you can never endanger them. Or you're just useless to them. Isn't that how it works?"

Astrid lowered her eyes and tapped her chin. "I see." 

Carter turned away and Astrid spoke again. "Then what about Yun'ha? In that case… wouldn't she be irredeemable to you?"

"What do you mean?" Carter said. "Did she do something wrong?"

Astrid remained silent. 

"She just… if you mean she abandoned me or something, then I think you don't understand. We're immortal. She was just following her dreams or whatever. Whatever they were. I'll find out." Carter filled the second bucket in a smooth motion and turned around to see Astrid right in front of her. Astrid reached up and hugged her.

Carter's eyes widened, though she made no move to extract herself. She stood quietly in shock, having forgotten what it was like to be this close to someone. But it was warm, and the air was cold.

"Wh— what did I do?" she blurted out, as though Astrid had hit her.

Astrid let go of her a second later. She looked up, and said, "You didn't have to do anything. Just remember that."

"Uhh, okay." Carter shifted her feet and handed Astrid one of the buckets. "Here." She coughed. "If you spill any I'll make you regret it," she said, adding a smile to try and show that she was joking.

Astrid smiled too. "Roger that."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Jacob woke up in a daze. At first he wasn't sure why. Gripping his sleeping bag tighter around himself, he scooted over to the opening of his tent, unzipped it, and looked out.

After bracing the blast of cold air that greeted him, he glanced around. The campsite was illuminated from the nearly-full moon, and there was no sign of Sephia or Carter rummaging around. So it was the middle of the night still. 

He crawled out of his sleeping bag and kneeled at the opening, craning his neck to look into the trees. He wanted to see someone there, to meet them now, when he was as prepared as he could be. He wanted to kill—

Just then, a howl filled the air, long and sonorous.

Ah, so that's what it was. The Seshreyan. Or some other wolf-like creature. Seemingly far away.

Jacob retreated into the tent and the sleeping bag. Breathing into his hands and rubbing them together, he lamented his bad luck. There had been no sign of those immortals since he'd left Mavar Town. What if they were gone forever?

He loved magic for its own sake, yes. But now he saw that he relied on it. To be bombarded with events for which he had no prior warning in the past few days had been shocking. He still had power, but his grip had been considerably loosened. 

He shook his head and tried to put those thoughts to rest. But it took him an hour to fall asleep, and each bump in the night roused him thereafter.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

The next day was spent trekking further through the North, mostly uneventfully. It stopped snowing, but the wind was still strong, and the snow on the ground came up to their ankles.

Eventually Carter and the rest stopped, as Sephia declared that they would set up camp for the night. "One and a half more days until we arrive at the stronghold," she stated. "Ambassador, how are our rations?"

“We're good. Running slightly low, but it should be fine.”

“Um, no way,” Jacob objected. “Are you trying to starve us, Faizah? You know there's a fair chance that we won't be able to stock up at the stronghold.”

"That is true…"

"So," Jacob said, "we should preserve our preserves and send Noelle to get us some meat for today."

Carter shrugged. “Fine by me. I’ll go hunting, and you all can get a fire going. We'll meet back in this clearing?” 

Sephia nodded. “Alright. Do you want to borrow my revolver?”

“Er, no thanks. My bow and arrow will be fine.” 

With that, Carter strung her bow and set out into the woods. She briefly wondered whether the others would be okay if they encountered danger, but decided that she needed to focus on this task. She hadn’t seen much wildlife since they arrived. Could those pesky critters be hibernating or something?

Whatever. Carter could be patient. She stalked through the forest with the silence of a practiced predator. In this moment she was no human. All her alien properties, everything that made her an outsider, were brought to bear. She concentrated on opening her senses until she was aware of everything around her, down to the fluttering of a leaf. 

She continued on in this fashion until, finally, she sensed a rabbit nearby. She turned to face the creature, pulled back the arrow which she had readied in the drawstring, and released. It flew as true as ever, and the rabbit died instantly.

The rabbit was big enough to satiate all of them, so Carter decided to start heading back to the meeting place. But just then, she noticed something. A flash of blue hair in between some trees. Astrid?

She was supposed to be with the prince and the knight. What was she doing here? 

Carter decided to follow her, instead of calling out to her. She was being suspicious again, and this was Carter's chance to get to the bottom of it. 

So they set off together, although Astrid didn’t seem to know it. Carter caught glimpses of her expression, and she seemed determined, and maybe a little scared.

They soon reached a clearing, and Astrid stopped in the center, taking deep breaths and looking around expectantly. Carter crouched low in the undergrowth to avoid her gaze. But it soon turned out that Astrid was looking for someone else.

Carter held her breath as a lumbering creature emerged from the sparse trees. It was the Seshreyan. Astrid held her ground for some reason. Carter wondered why she wasn’t running, and how she had known it would be here in the first place.