Lance felt the sharp wind tear at her cloak as she aimed at her target, Jason standing right beside her. Halm and Nolvi were conversing near the entrance to the pod, with Nolvi sitting inside to keep warm while Halm sat just outside it, not even shivering as the wind ripped at his steel flesh. Jason had insisted that no fire be built while camping here, as the smoke would alert anyone watching from the walls that they were here. The snow had been completely flattened by Nolvi to make their site walkable, the girl having to repeatedly push it away every hour as the snowfall never seemed to end. The result was a ring of chest high snow surrounding their camp, one that often fell apart when the wind intensified. Lance's fingers felt half-frozen, even through her leather gloves, the tips of her ears were much the same, her hood barely keeping the wind out.
"Don't lock your elbows." Jason instructed, "And don't stop to check after every shot, that's forming bad muscle memory. When we're in an engagement you have to follow through with your shots; stopping to check if you hit during practice now will make it so you're at risk of doing it in combat."
Lance nodded, looking down at the pistol in her hands. It wasn't a Fortis, like what Jason carried, it was a dainty thing in comparison. Sleek and black, this used smaller bullets than she thought it would. He called it the Levis pistol, Jason had said the rounds weren't ideal for larger foes, despite that he insisted they still packed a real punch. Apparently the tips of the bullets were made from Tungsteel, accelerated magnetically to deliver maximum force. Lance had no idea what most of that meant, but she was getting the basics down at least. They had been training for about two days now, using empty bottles and spent MRE packages for targets.
Jason wasn't pleased with having to use those, having said that he would have preferred a target dummy or the like. Well, in a sense he got his wish, for the third day after arriving here, a poor Fiend had come to try and attack them. Lance felt sick doing it, but Jason had insisted that it would be ideal for target practice. It was tied to a cursed tree, constantly writhing as its brain had been destroyed long ago. Pillars forgive her for this atrocity, but she had to become proficient with these weapons to stand a chance against Kazon's minions. She's been practicing with a Visus rifle as well, the long sleek weapon slung over her shoulder.
As she had suspected, she was far better with these firearms than any bow she'd ever wielded. Aside from her bad habit of checking her target after each shot, Jason had been singing her praises for her accuracy. Her chains wriggled every time she took a shot or Jason complimented her aim, sometimes tightening painfully against her forearms. If she didn't know any better, she'd almost say that they were jealous.
Lance took a deep breath, exhaling as she took aim at the Fiend's perforated center mass, firing off five rounds in quick succession, making sure to evenly space the shots to maintain accuracy. Not a sound escaped the pistol, Jason actively suppressing any noise it could create. The Fiend writhed as the bullets tore through it, Lance suppressing another shudder at seeing it writhe, but Jason paid it no mind, uncaring for its suffering.
"Excellent shots, good spacing, if you were a diver you would have been an exceptional marksman…" He trailed off, "Maybe you would have been a marine instead, you would be far too heavy to make for a good diver." He noted.
Lance frowned, looking up at him, "What do you mean by too heavy?" She asked, feeling slightly indignant.
"You're too tall to be optimal for diver training, you have more mass than what would be desired for their recruits." He explained, "Cat was five feet tall with a lean physique, she has the ideal body for a diver."
"You like smaller women then?" She asked, failing to keep the spite from her tone.
Jason paused, "What? I didn't say that, why are you angry?"
"I'm not." She told him flatly.
"Listen to your tone." Jason said, "You're clearly irate again."
"Again?" Lance asked, baffled.
"You keep getting angry with me for no good reason." Jason told her in a calm tone, as if trying to ease some wild animal.
"Trust me, I have a reason." Lance huffed, turning away from him.
"Whatever it is, I'm sure it's dumb." He said flatly.
Lance's jaw dropped, and she turned back to stare at him wide-eyed, "What?"
"It's a dumb reason, whatever it is." Jason repeated, "I won't put up with this. Explain to me why you're angry." He ordered firmly.
Lance forced her mouth shut before she could launch into a furious tirade. As much as she hated to admit it, it really was a dumb thing to be mad about. Why had that gotten under her skin so much? He hadn't said that he liked Cat's body, he was just stating an objective fact that she was ideal for being a diver.
Lance sighed, "It was a dumb reason. Let's just forget it and move on, please?" She asked.
Jason stared for a long while, his expression hidden beneath that blank helmet of his.
"Stop that." Lance frowned.
He continued to stare.
"Jason." She urged.
Stare.
"Fine!" She hissed, "I didn't like hearing you talk about Cat's body."
He shook his head, "Why would you be angry about that?" He asked, perplexed, "That makes no sense. I said she had the right build for a diver. I wasn't calling you fat."
"I know you weren't." Lance said.
"Then why-"
"I think I've finished training, I don't want to expend too many rounds before we attack the castle." Lance interrupted, "Can we please put that poor creature out of its misery?"
Jason crossed his arms, "..I don't see a problem with that." He said after a moment, "You're an adequate shot now, so I agree that we should start conserving what we have. Hopefully Twindil and the others will show up soon, Nolvi told them where we're hidden, so they know where to go. I'll want to teach them how to shoot as well."
"In The Dream, yes?" She asked, "I wonder what it's like there."
"No idea. I'll dispatch our target now." He told her, approaching the fiend.
Lance watched as his right fist began to glow with raw Golden Flame, a mote of fire that reflected off his dark armor. Jason then grabbed the Fiend's skull, the creature practically evaporating from the contact. It turned to a pile of gray ash, which was subsequently ripped away into the wind. Lance quickly whispered a prayer for the Fiend she had tormented, asking for its forgiveness. She'd torn apart dozens of Fiends with her chains, guiltlessly in fact, but something about strapping one to a tree and shooting at it while it was defenseless had felt wrong. Jason however, didn't seem to care for its suffering at the time, but she supposed that made sense, considering the world he'd come from.
The Raw Flame left his hand then, and he turned, walking back to her before saying, "It's getting late again, they aren't going to show up today." Jason said, pointing out the growing darkness, "They'll set up camp again, so we should turn in early."
"I'm surprised you want to rest already." Lance pointed out, "You've become quite the early bird."
"I feel better than I have in years." Jason admitted, "I find that I actually enjoy sleep quite a bit, all this rest will serve to make me more optimal in the field as well."
Lance smiled, "It's nice seeing you take care of yourself."
"Why?" Jason asked as he turned toward the pod.
Lance followed after him as he approached it, "Seeing you run yourself ragged was difficult, I hate seeing people push themselves to the point that they fall apart."
"Makes sense." He said.
I also care about you, you ox.
"Sleepy already?" Halm asked, "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were getting lazy."
"You're the only one sitting around." Jason replied flatly, coming to a stop just before the entrance.
"Hey now, what about Nolvi?" He asked, gesturing to the girl with a massive hand.
She frowned, "I keep the snow out, you sit around."
"What am I supposed to do? I can't use magic, I just hit things. You want me to fight the snow?" He asked, "That might be a challenge."
Nolvi nodded, "It's faster than you, smarter as well."
Halm scratched one of his tusks idly, apparently pondering her words, "I always thought of myself as being pretty smart for an orc."
"Snow uses cold logic to beat its enemies." Nolvi sighed, "You don't stand a chance."
Halm then, while staring at Nolvi the whole time, pressed his fist into the snow, "Looks like I win."
"That's just one small part." Nolvi told him, "You're outclassed by sheer size alone."
"I win by default, it can't freeze me and I'm way stronger." Halm countered.
"Snow will be around long after we're all dead and gone." She said, shaking her head, "It will win in the end."
Halm helt up one meaty finger, "Actually, I can't die either."
"Nuh-uh." Nolvi huffed, "Just a little bit of Golden Flame and just like that, you're gone."
"Are you implying the snow can use Foundation?" Halm asked.
"Who's to say that it can't?" Nolvi shrugged.
"Basic biology." Jason said, inadvertently joining Halm's side.
Halm laughed, "I knew you would be a stalwart friend!"
Jason hesitated, "What?" He asked, before shaking his head, "Nevermind, I have a more important question. If all it takes is a little bit of Raw Foundation to exterminate the Fiends, then the Twelve should be easy to neutralize, but I'm assuming it's not going to be that simple."
Halm nodded, "You would be right. Each of them are resistant to it. There is a spell they've been taught by Kazon, I don't know what it's called, but it's like they have a shield around them. Any spell's gotta have limits though, I'm sure if someone put enough power into it, they could punch through the shield, but it would take a fair bit of Foundation to accomplish."
"I see." Jason said, "Excuse me."
Halm's eyes widened, "Right, sorry." He said, standing from the doorway.
"It's no problem." Jason said, "Good luck in your fight against the snow."
Halm chuckled, "I'll hit it with something stone cold, a real stunner, you'll see."
Lance rushed into the pod ahead of Jason, eager to warm herself up. Her fingers were starting to feel like damn icicles, and she couldn't even feel the tips of her ears. Compared to the outside, the pod was toasty. She collapsed into a nearby chair, unslinging her Visus and holstering her pistol with a sigh. She stowed them away in the compartment beneath the chair, reclining back her seat as far as it could go. She couldn't kick her feet up unfortunately, but otherwise the seat was as comfy as any bed she's slept in-
Alright it wasn't exactly luxury, but compared to prison this was heavenly. She heard Nolvi stand as well, letting out a yawn as she made way for the cockpit.
"I could use some rest as well, good luck out there Halm." She said as she walked off.
"It hasn't won so far." He shrugged, inspecting his nails as the snow and cold wind battered him, "Not impressed."
With that, Halm sealed the pod door, right at the same time Nolvi closed the door to the cockpit, leaving just Lance and Jason, the latter still standing beside the now sealed entrance. She then heard his armor hiss, the plates loosening for easy removal. Lance looked away as Jason began to take off the different sections of armor, placing them beside the cockpit door. Once she heard him begin rustling with the blankets, she turned to see him laying down across the aisle, as he usually did. He was just too big to sleep comfortably in the chairs, even out of armor, leaving this as his only option for rest.
He pulled the blanket over himself thankfully, turning to face her with tired golden eyes, "I estimate that they'll arrive tomorrow at some point, given the amount of time that's passed. We only got here this quickly because we found this pod, they still had to travel on foot."
Lance nodded, "I do hope that they'll be alright." She said, "Do you think they'll go with your plan?"
"If they don't, then we'll need to scale those walls, which isn't optimal. I'm sure they'll see why my plan is ideal." He said, confidence in his gaze.
"It's not exactly a quiet entrance." She frowned, "But I do agree that your way is the best, I can't think of anything better."
He nodded, his eyes grateful, "Can you shut off the overhead lights?" He asked, closing his eyes.
"Sure thing." She said, standing up before moving over to the entrance, flicking the switch next to it.
The buzzing white light then flicked off, leaving the room almost completely pitch black. Her eyes were well adjusted to the dark though, hundreds of years prowling the Faewood in the dark gave her amazing night-sight. Still, she needed to adjust for a second as the darkness settled. She blinked, seeing the rough outline of everything within the pod, though no clear details.
Lance maneuvered back to her chair, leaning back into it with a yawn. She still wasn't ready to sleep, it hadn't even been a full week yet, but she still liked to lie down despite that. She twisted and turned in her chair, trying to get comfortable until eventually, she gave up. Grumbling under her breath, she turned to stare at Jason's dark outline. He was like a slumbering bear, comfortable in its den as it hibernated through the bitter winter. She stood from her chair after a moment, squatting down beside him as she thought.
This could be the last night they spent together… Lance could die or he could once they entered that castle. She'd had plenty of time to get a solid grasp on how she felt about Jason, even though the time they'd spent together was short, Lance found that she truly did care for him, and not just as a friend. The exact reason still wasn't clear to her, maybe it was because of those things he said, or perhaps the fact he clearly cared for her back, it could have even been because Jason was simply exciting. Centuries of monotony completely shattered by a chance meeting by a man from the stars, come to take her into a life of adventure. Ever since he landed here, things have rarely been boring, yet as she thought of it, it couldn't have been possible that was the only reason. It was likely a combination of all these things that had made her fall for him.
If he had never taken up his true nam, then this would have never been possible. Lance wouldn't have fallen for Hoplite, Jason though… he was different. Curious, kind, and willing to put his life at risk for her world, of course she fell in love with him. If Lolena or Leone found out about this, they would never let her forget it. They'd poked fun at her during the Death-Day, wondering if she was only going to the Fiendwood because she loved Hoplite. Well if she did return with Jason as her lover, Lance would ensure that they understood that the two were hardly the same person. She shook her head, they would still tease her, no matter what she said.
She turned her attention back to Jason, who was still sleeping peacefully. Maybe she should tell him how she felt now, just in case the worst happened? She considered it for a while, opening her mouth to awaken him, but her tongue failed her. She was too much of a coward to do that now, and she shouldn't be bothering him while he was trying to rest. Besides, she wanted him to be the one to initiate, not her…
She thought that, but still she decided to speak.
"Jason?" Lance asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"...Hmm?" He asked, "What is it, is there trouble?"
"No, I just wanted to tell you something important." She said, feeling her heart begin to race.
"Alright then, what is it?" He asked, sitting up from the blanket.
Butterflies filled her chest,"Jason, I think I might-" Her voice caught, lips tightening, "I hope you don't find this strange, but I am- that is to say, I have-" She trailed off, sighing in defeat, "I am wanting to lay next to you tonight, if that is alright."
He blinked, his golden eyes nearly the only thing visible in the darkness.
She was too scared to tell him that she loved him. It was pathetic. She averted her eyes, ashamed at her cowardice. Jason lifted up his blanket then, grabbing her by the shoulder before easing Lance onto his chest. She bit her lip to stop it from quivering.
"That's alright. I don't know why you want this, it isn't cold in here, but it doesn't matter." He told her. "I'll hold you whenever you want."
She smiled, wiping away budding tears, "Thank you, Jason."
They had better survive this adventure so Jason could confess to her… because Lance knew that she wasn't brave enough to tell him how she felt. He was honest though, as soon as he understood his feelings, he would make them known, she just needed to be patient. When she heard his breathing move into the calm, even rhythm of sleep, she finally found her courage, of course it was only when her quarry was vulnerable, like the coward she was.
"I love you." She whispered.