Coldsnap: Harbinger of Ice

Chapter 28: Now That You Are Here

Later that evening, Firebird and Leo had already retired to bed for the night, while Coldsnap was taking a short nap. However, at around 9:25PM ERT, she was gently awoken by Keena, who lightly jostled her back and forth.

"Wake up, 'Snowdust'!" she said warmly. "It's time for our night out!"

Coldsnap sat up in bed and let out a yawn. "Alright, Kiki, I'm up, I'm up....!" she chuckled. "Can you at least give me a hint to where we're going?"

Keena grinned. "We won't have to go very far. Now, come on! Get your things ready and let's go!"

The icy heroine grabbed her bag from nearby and slung it over her shoulder before following Keena's lead out of the room. However, much to her initial confusion, the water mage seemed to be taking her to the inn's rooftop rather than the ground floor.

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After both girls had exited their room and departed for the time being, Leo quietly snuck down the hallway towards it, holding a hidden knife behind his back. He picked the lock on their door within seconds and swung it open, barely being able to see anything; Coldsnap and Keena had turned the lights out before they left.

He tiptoed across the room and approached Coldsnap's bed, raising his blade to stab her in her sleep, only to find that it was empty.

With a frustrated growl, he sheathed his weapon, left the room, and shut the door on his way out, to make certain that it looked like no one had been there.

However, on his way back down the hall, he was ambushed by Firebird; she had noticed that he had disappeared from the bed next to hers, and went out to investigate.

"Figures. I had a feeling you were a traitor the whole time," she said with barely-restrained rage. "Trying to kill Coldsnap, hmmm?"

She unsheathed her two daggers and brandished them threateningly. "You're going to pay for that."

"Would you really attack me here?" Leo asked.

"What do you mean?"

"If you kill or even wound me....and Coldsnap comes back eventually.....what do you think she'll do when she finds me? As far as she knows, I'm completely innocent, and you have nothing on you that can convict me of a crime.....at least, nothing that I know of. Isn't it going to look like.....you were the attacker?"

"Coldsnap's definitely going to trust me over you," Firebird countered. "I've been her longtime friend, while you've been nothing but a snake who won't mind his own business."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that....."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm saying that, being the heroic, just figure she is, she's not likely to play favorites, regardless of connections. She won't believe either of us until she gets both sides of the story about what happened here," Leo explained. "And it'd be really hard for her to make a decision without any kind of recorded footage or physical evidence, instead having to rely on word of mouth alone." He paused briefly and allowed Firebird to take all of this in. "So.....what do you say we both go back to our room, and pretend like none of this ever happened, hmmm?"

Firebird cursed under her breath. As much as she hated to admit it, he had her backed into a corner. She sheathed her weapons and stormed off, with Leo following behind her.

That's it..... she resolved. Tomorrow.....I'm showing Coldsnap that Seared Hand recording.

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