[ F R O S T B I T E ]

“    Maybe if things were in our favor, we could’ve seen the better light of day. Unfortunately, whatever we had and whatever was going on up that backfired, and it backfired hard, causing some domino effect which led to....this.   ”

An annoyed sigh from her. With a quick check of the ammo clip before laying the weapon at rest to her side, she’d only give a half-hearted look.

“   …..Right.   ”

She’d rather not have that thought in her mind. It was bad enough as is, but he was right; any left behind were truly beyond help…

Or down in Pacifica depending. Most of the air fleets survivors had headed there. Better docking facilities for their shattered vessels…

“   .....Right.   ”

She’d rather not have that thought in her mind. It was bad enough as is, but he was right; any left behind were truly beyond help...

So most, if not all of the people did manage to get out after all. That was...a bit of a relief, but knew better than to have high hopes. Getting as many out of there as possible was all that mattered, and it at least seemed like someone prioritized that over what was going on at the top.

The now once mighty kingdom was actually gone? The entire thing fell....and on top of Mantle, no less. The entire ordeal was hard to believe, and honestly even more difficult to accept, but that was just that. It happened; it was all truly gone.

  Returning customers were a commodity that he rarely had, let alone single-time buyers, so one could only imagine the blacksmith’s surprise when he saw her come through the shop door once more. He almost dropped his tools in shock, yet he did his best to conceal this. Physically, anyway.

A small sigh from her as she went through another aisle of shelves. Picking up a few more things, she’d only get caught midway through when the other threw in the proposition.

“   Huh….really? A shame, that stuff was quite good when I put it to use….Certainly more affordable than the other stuff….   ”

A jab at the Atlas market, no less. The prices being biked at absurd margins and other bits that just make no sense at all.

“   I was in the neighborhood, so I figured I’d see if anything else caught my eye. Never had the chance to check out the full inventory.   ”

  “That’s what you get when you come to a Vacuan ‘smith rather than the stores that peddle the worthless pieces of scrap that the ‘glorious’ kingdom of Atlas puts out. Sometimes they’re not pretty, but they work real well and they’re cheap.”

  He was always in the mood to throw shade at Atlas. A city of rich pompous fops who strangled every industry should never exist, in his opinion.

“   Huh.....really? Kinda figured genuine stuff usually sold well than the ‘cheap replicas’, but I’m no business owner, so what do I know?   ”

An exaggerated shrug as she trailed up and down the aisles, picking up some small munitions and items.

“   Well….let’s at least try to enjoy this night while we still can….   ”

There was even a light dusting of snow falling. He chose to ignore the meaning in that…he knew Mantle’s heaters were down. They were going to BE down for the forseeable future.

But the city had survived without them before. It would survive through this too. 

Odd, but nice it was. The silence; no gunshots, no screaming. It was almost as if the world stood still for that one night. This night she’d at least try to enjoy it.

A small smirk from the woman as the door closed behind her. She recalled her first trip here, picking up some materials but failing to remember what exactly.

“   Yeah, I’m back. Surprised? I liked the stuff you had; packed a punch. Plus, I have a bit of free time on my hands.   ”

“   Huh....really? A shame, that stuff was quite good when I put it to use....Certainly more affordable than the other stuff....   ”

A jab at the Atlas market, no less. The prices being biked at absurd margins and other bits that just make no sense at all.

“   I’d lie and say yes, but I lack even the mentality to do that....not that I’m a good liar anyway.  ”

She’d give a little sigh, patting the seat next to her. Whether the other did or didn’t didn’t entirely matter, though..it was a little refreshing at least to see ‘em regardless.

“   ......Heh.....figures...   ”

Perhaps she expected a response similar to that, or something of that sort. Part of her honestly did believe something good might help out in some way, but that was long gone..

“   So...how long do you think it’ll be before we take their place out there?   ”

  Returning customers were a commodity that he rarely had, let alone single-time buyers, so one could only imagine the blacksmith’s surprise when he saw her come through the shop door once more. He almost dropped his tools in shock, yet he did his best to conceal this. Physically, anyway.

A small smirk from the woman as the door closed behind her. She recalled her first trip here, picking up some materials but failing to remember what exactly.