"You're sure this is a good idea?" Anna asks, looking over the edge. Elsa's atrium is a massive, natural-looking cave, set high in the side of the mountain. Towards the back, a double door five times Elsa's size is disguised as part of the grey stone. Anna wonders just how large her future wife will get. She's always wanted to sit astride a massive, fire breathing beast. Preferably in battle, but she will settle for Halloween.
The other end of the atrium opens over the sheer mountainside. Anna swallows and takes a step back.
"Yes." Elsa says. "It is the only way out. My home was designed to be difficult for humans to access, you know."
"Well yes," Anna says. "I get that. But… It's a long way down. What if I fall?"
"Then I'll catch you," Elsa snorts, and makes that weird clicking noise again. Anna wonders if that's how dragons laugh.
"What if we're too low to the ground for you to catch me in time and I get splattered across the rocks like a water balloon?" Anna pouts. "What if we're really really low, and I only break my spine, and I can't ever hike again?"
"I do have magic you know," Elsa says. "Now get ready, I'm going to become a dragon again. Please don't run."
"Ok." Anna nods. "I'm ready. I was born ready."
"Calm down," Elsa says. "You might fall." And with that, she's a dragon again. All diamond scales and razor spines. Anna holds her breath for a moment, before she realizes that it serves no purpose. Elsa is careful to hold perfectly still.
Anna takes a few deep breaths. "Ok," she says. "I think I'm good." Elsa as a dragon is actually surprisingly pretty, she realizes. Fierce, and absolutely terrifying, but pretty. Her scales glint like diamonds in the dim morning light, and Anna gets a sudden urge to see her in the direct sun.
"Are you ok?" Elsa asks.
"Yeah," Anna hums. "Yeah, just fine." She walks slowly over to the dragon. Her wings aren't the bony leather she expected. Sure, they aren't dissimilar, but Elsa's wings are covered in tiny, interlocking scales, almost like feathers. Anna runs her hand along the delicate membrane. Elsa watches her with one sapphire eye.
"Sorry," Anna mutters. The wing feels, not quite soft, but almost. Like a snake's skin, but dry, and warm. The thicker scales running along her body shine like cut glass, but they aren't completely white. Near the base, they have a tinge of blue or pink, or purple. They feel like glass, but surprisingly flexible. The long spines that line her back feel more like chalk, but they don't leave a residue on Anna's freckled hands, and they don't bend or break, regardless of how hard she pulls. Elsa jumps slightly, and shies away.
"Please," Elsa says. "Please don't." She shakes her great, horned, head and ruffles her scales, but she can't quite get rid of the tickling sensation. She shakes herself again.
"Sorry," Anna blushes. "I got kindof carried away. You're prettier than I expected, not that I thought you were ugly, necessarily, but…" if it were anyone else, she would probably go for the spines again, but Elsa's teeth and claws are very long, and very sharp.
"I see." Elsa snorts, and twin wisps of smoke spill from her fanged mouth. "Just… don't pull my spines. It feels weird."
"Yeah," Anna nods quickly. "Sorry. Yeah." Well that settles it. One day- maybe when she is more sure that Elsa won't eat her- she will go for those spines again.
"We should get moving before the trails fill up," Elsa says. "I don't want half of Norway to see me."
"Yeah," Anna nods.
"So you should probably ride me," Elsa says.
"How?" Anna asks. "Aren't you a girl?"
Elsa blinks once. She blinks again. "I think you may be misunderstanding something important about reptile anatomy," she says.
"So you didn't mean…" Anna flushes. "No. Of course you didn't. Why would you mean sex? God. I'm such an idiot. This is so embarrassing."
"You are an idiot," Elsa nods sagely. "But you're only human. There's only so much that can be expected. I fail to understand why this is embarrassing for you. It's only a misunderstanding. It could happen to anyone."
"It's embarrassing," Anna insists. "It's sex. It embarrasses people."
"Well," Elsa hums, "the people you speak of are weird hairless monkey things. Of course they're embarrassed. Monkeys look dumb even WITH hair."
"Excuse me?" Anna protests. "You're a weird winged lizard thing. You look weird as hell too." They stand there awkwardly for a moment. "You're still gorgeous," Anna says.
"Feel better?" Elsa asks. She makes that clicking noise again.
"Yeah," Anna says. "I guess."
"Good. Hop on," Elsa lowers herself to the ground, and holds out one pale wing. "Don't step on my wing."
Awkwardly, Anna clambers onto the dragon's lithe back, careful to avoid the spines.
"Hold on," Elsa commands, then her powerful muscles bunch under Anna's thighs like steel cables. With a great surge, like a dam breaking, she launches herself into the air, and Anna is flying. She's ridden on a plane before, but it was nothing like this. She didn't feel the wind whipping through her hair, or the tears in her eyes on a plane. She didn't need to crouch low over Elsa's back, and she didn't feel the titanic surge of her great wing muscles, but on Elsa, she feels all this and more. It's exhilarating, like being alive for the first time in her life.
Elsa flies surprisingly smoothly; she barely moves with each firm wingbeat, but the ground passes by in a blur. Though the wind whips through her hair, it doesn't tear her from Elsa's back like, perhaps, it should. Maybe Elsa's wedge shaped head and smooth contours break the wind somehow? Anna holds herself low, careful to avoid the ivory spines, and the little wind she feels dies away entire. Elsa banks hard, and Anna gives a joyful whoop.
The ride is disappointingly short. Almost as soon as they take off, Elsa is spiraling down smoothly towards the glacier below. Aside from the occasional tight, wheeling, turns, Anna barely even feels the descent. She wonders how Elsa flies so smoothly, so quietly.
Elsa lands lightly, and surprisingly quietly, for a horse sized flying reptile. Her claws carve miniature canyons in the hard ice and tightly packed snow.
"Off please," she says. Shakily, Anna complies. She falls to the hard snow, and is surprised to see the tough material of her hiking pants worn away on the insides of her legs. Beneath the ragged tears, her freckled legs are scraped and rubbed raw.
"Huh," Anna says. She notices that Elsa looks human again. Instead of the silvery tunic she wore before, Elsa wears the same sort of orange parka and tough, insulated pants as Anna. "I guess your scales did this?"
"Probably," Elsa nods. "Humans are soft. I'm sorry. I should have thought." She's crouching over Anna now, cool hands playing over the raw interiors of her thighs. "How can I help?"
"Oh god," Anna gasps.
"That isn't necessary," Elsa replies. "I am no god. I assure you, I can be killed."
"Oh," Anna says. "Hmm? What?"
"Nevermind," Elsa blinks. "How can I help you? You're bleeding?"
"Yeah." Anna struggles to focus. "Um. It's fine. Just a scratch." She grips Elsa's wrists gingerly. While she would love for Elsa to continue, she wants Elsa to know what it means when she does. "I've had worse."
Elsa gives a short, panicked snarl, and jerks her hands back. Anna releases her slowly. "If you're sure," Elsa stands abruptly. "Look , Anna, I agreed to help you at your store, and I intend to honor that agreement, but, well… you touch me a lot, and you should be aware that I'm not really comfortable with that. In draconic society, you don't get that near to someone unless you mean to start a fight. Most of us are reasonable enough to attribute your actions to a different culture, and forgive the insult, but some of us aren't so reasonable, or else, more prideful, and touching a dragon very possibly might get you killed. I shall not kill you. Not for your past actions, and likely not for your future ones, but it makes me uncomfortable to be touched, and I would prefer that you stop. Flying here was fine; I invited you to, and if I ever do so again, it will be fine then too, but…"
"Um." Anna blushes. "Sorry, of course. Yeah." She gets back to her feet as well. "Yeah, I feel like I keep fucking up, and I don't want to upset you, but I just sort of say or do whatever pops into my head, and sorry…"
"Some amount of offense is natural in interacting with a creature from such a different culture," Elsa replies. She looks around, as if expecting people with guns to materialize on the wide, open, glacier. "For my part, I apologize for any offense I may have given. Am I correct in assuming that it is a social faux pas to ask a human about their weight?"
"Yeah," Anna shrugs uncomfortably. She isn't sure it's quite the same. She feels like she might have really upset Elsa earlier.
"And humans consider reproduction a taboo subject of conversation as well?" Elsa frowns.
"Yeah," Anna says. "The trail is that way. Should we get moving? Elsa nods and they set off at a leisurely walk. "Sex isn't… taboo… for dragons?" Anna asks after a moment.
"Not particularly," Elsa shrugs.
"Do you mind if I ask about lizard fucking?" Anna asks with a mischievous grin.
"Only if you refer to it as 'lizard fucking,'" Elsa gives an amused snort. "The female lays an egg if the ruling council determines that it is of use to the species for offspring to carry her genetic material. Some time before the egg dies, usually only a decade or two, they select a male who's genetic material they believe will be of use in the offspring, and he fertilizes the egg. It's not terribly complicated."
"That's… so clinical," Anna gasps. "What about love?"
"It never results in murder," Elsa shrugs. "Or in any of the other drama that surrounds primate mating rituals. Some dragons are very close friends though, and when they are particularly close, they sometimes choose to live together permanently."
"I guess," Anna says. "How does this ruling council decide what genes are good? Isn't that eugenics?"
"My species consists of fewer than five hundred members," Elsa replies with a low growl. Anna is glad that it doesn't seem directed at her. "Four hundred thirty seven, to be precise, unless an egg was laid in the last decade or two. We reproduce very slowly, and it takes centuries for a hatchling to reach maturity. And humans are doing their best to eradicate us. We need every advantage we can possibly get. Is this 'eugenics?' Probably, but we don't kill undesirable members of our species like those of yours who have attempted something similar. I fail to see how our methods are morally incorrect."
"Fair enough," Anna raises her hands in surrender. "That makes sense I guess. How do they tell what genes they need?"
"It's based off a number of factors," Elsa says. "How closely related the parents are, how often similar genetics were used, genetic factors that govern things like physical strength, intelligence, and emotional stability, based off of rolls the council needs filled."
"What were you bred for?" Anna asks. "If it's not rude?"
"Not at all," says Elsa with that clicking noise she makes. "I was bred for significantly heightened intelligence. The council sacrificed a fair amount of genetic diversity for that, hence my unfortunate coloration."
"I think you're a good color," Anna says with a self-righteous nod.
"Forgive me if this is also taboo in your culture," Elsa begins suddenly, "it seems likely that you are attracted to me. It is the explanation that most accurately fits your actions. Is this the case?"
"Oh god," Anna blushes. "Am I that obvious?"
"Yes." Elsa says. "Yes you are. You should be aware that I find you to be moderately interesting, and dragons do have social arrangements that are not dissimilar to human romances. It is theoretically possible that you will be successful in your endeavor. However, you are a different species, one that is responsible for my mother's death, and your culture doesn't seem all that compatible with mine. It is very unlikely that you will be successful, but not technically impossible. I think it unfair not to warn you."
"I don't know how to react to that," Anna says.
"I apologize," Elsa says uncomfortably- Anna takes some comfort that this might be as awkward for Elsa as it is for her- "it would be unreasonable to expect a human from another country to behave like you, it is only reasonable that the culture clash would be more severe when interacting with a member of another species."
"Yep," Anna nods. "Dragons are weird. But I'm going to have to learn everything I can about your culture if I'm going to marry you one day."
"So you're not deterred," Elsa says. "Well, good luck."
"Thanks," Anna huffs. "So tell me about this council?"
"It is a group consisting of the oldest three members of my species," Elsa says. They've gotten back below the tree line now, and are walking amongst the huge evergreens. "They govern the entirety of my species, until such time as the queen returns."
"The queen?" Anna frowns. "There's a dragon queen? Who? What's her name? Does she wear a tiara?"
"Tiaras are human adornments," Elsa sighs. "She might wear one when she pretends to be human, and also wants to advertise her status- which is to say never- but she would have no reason to do so in her true form."
"What's her name?" Anna asks with a gleeful grin.
"You haven't figured that out?" Elsa makes her clicking noise. "Humans really aren't that bright, are you?"
"Nah, we're pretty smart," Anna says. "We got to the moon! My mum says I don't think though. If it's that obvious, I'm sure I'll figure it out the next time I try thinking."
"You are an incredibly bizarre creature," Elsa sighs. "Stop. There's someone ahead. I smell gunpowder."
"I'm sure it's fine," Anna says, but Elsa is already hiding behind the thick bole of a tree.
"Anna?" A gruff voice calls in Norwegian "Is that you?"
"Kristoph?" Anna replies in the same language. "The fuck're you doing here?"
"Looking for you," he pushes through the thicket, and comes into view. A long hunting rifle is in one hand, leather strap wound around his arm. "Where've you been?"
"Fell," Anna shrugs. "Had an… interesting few days. Found my future wife. Kristoph, meet Elsa. Where'd she go? Elsa?"
"You know someone with a gun?" Elsa asks from behind her tree.
"Kristoph is a ranger," Anna says. "He keeps people safe from wild animals… er, like bears and elk and things."
Kristoph laughs. It's a deep, cheerful sort of sound. "Better come out before she short circuits. Look, I'm putting the gun down."
Convinced more by the cheerful, disarming nature of his laugh, than by his words, Elsa pokes her head out. Cautiously, she walks over. "You may call me Elsa," she says in flawless Norwegian. "It's a pleasure to meet you." She doesn't break eye contact as she bends, and picks up Kristoph's discarded firearm. She fumbles with it for a few moments, careful, despite her ineptitude, to keep the muzzle pointed away from her two companions. Finally, she gives a satisfied grunt, and the magazine pops free. Kristoph smiles politely when she returns his gun and pockets the magazine.
"You missed one," he says, and racks the bolt. Elsa tenses for a moment, but he tosses the bullet to her.
"Sorry for her," Anna says. "Some people shot her mother. She doesn't like guns much."
"Wow Anna," Kristoph frowns. "You know she might not want people sharing that, right?"
"Oh my god!" Anna gasps. "I didn't think of that. Elsa I'm so sorry!"
"There was no harm done," Elsa says. She smiles to show that she means it. "It was a long time ago and justice was done. I don't mind who you tell."
"Kristoph," Anna says abruptly. "We were just on our way down the mountain and I would literally kill for a fat stack of pancakes. You're the reason we aren't moving, so GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR!"
Kristoph wisely decides to comply.
"How many languages do you know Elsa?" Anna asks, as they set off again.
"All of them," Elsa replies.
AN: thankyou all for all of your support. Reviews, both positive and negative, help me immensely. Let me know what you like, and you'll see more of it, let me know what you don't like so much, and you'll see less of it. As always, follows/favorites/reviews buy my love.
A little explanation for this chapter, I guess... Elsa kindof came across as remarkably forward? I tried to convey that it only makes sense for draconic society to be very very different from human society, and I feel like her actions probably make sense to her, given the societal norms she is used to, but I'm not sure that really came across? It's my first time writing a scene like this (looking at a creature from a very different culture) so let me know what worked and what didn't?
