Disclaimer: I don't own Frozen.

Elsa adjusted her seat on the thick tree branch she was perched in. Bark scrapped against her arm, and she rubbed her sleep-heavy eyes.

She had slept in that tree. She had waited. She had waited until dawn, but still there was no sign of her supposed friend.

She sighed and leaned against the trunk, letting one of her legs dangle while she hugged the other to her chest.

All humans are the same, she thought. I was a fool to think anything different.

But Anna was different.

At least, she thought she was.

She has her family. I've made my use. She doesn't need me anymore.

Elsa looked at the pool of blood splattered on the ground beneath her. She was angry last night to say the least. Angry and hurt. Unfortunately for a stray doe, it caught her at the peak of her turmoil, and now a pool of blood was all that remained of the creature.

It wasn't quite morning. The sky was a peachy pink, and the sun hadn't peeked over the horizon yet.

I might as well stay around for a little while. At least until I get enough supplies to make the trip back again—

Elsa's head snapped up, her nostrils flaring and her mouth parted.

Anna.

She silenced whatever elation her heart felt with a snarl. She wanted nothing to do with that human.

"Elsa!" Anna called, looking around. She was wearing a thick green and yellow winter dress with long sleeves. A large sack was flung over her shoulder. "It's me! Anna! Your friend who didn't mean to abandon you last night!"

Elsa glared at the approaching redhead, suppressing a growl in her chest.

Anna walked beneath her tree. She was breathing heavily, and she shifted the apparently heavy bag over her shoulder. "This was way further away than I thought," she wheezed, rubbing sweat off her brow.

Elsa stood up, careful not to make any noise. It would have been easier if you came last night like you promised.

"Elsa! I'm sorry!" Anna yelled again. She trudged a few more paces. "I got really caught up with my father and things were just really hectic—and I'm sorry! I made a mistake and I'm sorr—"

Anna's eyes widened. She stopped walking and dropped the bag. "E-Elsa…?" she shakily said, staring at the mass of blood painting the forest floor.

She spun around. Hot fear raced through her blood and quickened her breathing. "Elsa!" she called again. "Elsa, t-this isn't funny!"

Elsa snorted and rolled her eyes. Figures she would be scared of a bit of blood.

She watched Anna pace. "I-It's all my fault…," she mumbled, her voice cracking.

Elsa quirked an eyebrow. What?

Anna sunk to her knees. "They got her. They followed us and they got h-her." A hard tremble shook her body. "It's all my fault. I made her stay here, and it's all my fault…"

Elsa tried to ignore the hot dagger piercing her chest when the redhead choked on her words. She looked away and gritted her teeth, her hands balling into fists.

Anna's shoulders shook as she continued to berate herself.

Don't cry. Don't you dare cry.

Anna choked out a tearful sob on her next word. She doubled over, face in her hands.

Dammit.

With a frustrated snarl, Elsa jumped down. Her whole being ached when Anna's tear-stained face whipped towards her. "Elsa!" she yelled, jumping up and scrambling over to her. She lunged at the blonde, wrapping her arms around her in a crushing hug.

Anna buried her face in Elsa's tunic, breathing in the scent she was scared she would never smell again. Relief flooded over her like a rush of cold water. "Elsa! You're okay! I saw the blood, and I thought you'd been—!"

She pulled back to look up at the blonde, and she immediately stopped talking. Elsa's face was back to her stoic mask. She didn't even flinch at the hug she was giving her. She stood stock still.

Anna hesitantly pulled away. She wiped the wetness off her face. "Elsa…?"

Elsa shoved past her, and Anna stumbled to the side, blinking in confusion. Then she remembered why she came out here. "Elsa, wait." She picked up her bag and jogged after the blonde's longer strides. She reached for her arm. "I'm sorry—"

Elsa spun around the second her fingers brushed her skin. She snarled, baring her pointed canines. Anna shrunk back, genuinely fearing that Elsa was going to attack her.

The blonde let her snarl die to a growl. Her eyes hardened to icy chips that glared into frightened teal. She abruptly turned and continued to walk away.

Anna froze where she stood. She must have hurt Elsa pretty bad for her to have reverted to her old self overnight. Well, chances are that you're the first person she's ever trusted, so yeah, she's probably pretty pissed.

She jogged after her. "Elsa, please wait. I'm sorry—really, really sorry. I didn't mean to abandon you last night, honest."

She followed her into a denser part of the woods that was littered with horse-sized boulders. Elsa made a sudden turn and disappeared behind a screen of vines and ivy that was hidden between the rocks.

Anna hesitated only a second before following after her. Behind the curtain of green was a short stone tunnel that led into an area that made her jaw drop.

Holy…hell…

The place was ginormous. It was a large valley of thick grass and tall trees that was split by a wide, lazy-moving river. The hidden cove was surrounded by walls of stone, like it was lying in a giant bowl. The trees stayed more-so to the edges, leaving the river and middle area clear for a grassy field.

Anna blinked out of her stupor and raced to catch up to her friend. "Elsa, let me explain, please. I just—"

She rammed face-first into an ice wall. She yelped and fell down from its sudden appearance, and her bag tumbled from her hands.

She sat up and rubbed her sore forehead. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to her feet and continued forward.

Elsa was almost to the other side of the stony cove. Anna could tell from her risen shoulders and clenched fists that she wasn't going to be stopping anytime soon.

The blonde stepped into a small cave, and a thick wall of cerulean ice shot up behind her.

Anna ran up to the icy door, beating her fists against it. "Elsa!" she pleaded, pounding harder. "Elsa, please let me in!"

No response.

Anna pounded and pleaded harder, but she was met with the same result. Defeated, she sank to her knees.

"Elsa…I'm sorry. I can't say it enough, but I'm so sososo sorry." she said, her eyes threatening to mist over again. "My father canceled a meeting yesterday." She smiled wryly. "Just for me. For the entire day. I was so happy. He…He was smiling again."

She sat back, wringing her hands in her lap. "So much was going through my mind. I just…I forgot, and I didn't remember until it was too late to come." She took a deep breath. "But that's no excuse. You're a wonderful person, Elsa. The best person. Like, ever. I'm eternally grateful that you're my friend. Or, were my friend…And you don't deserve to be forgotten."

Anna stood up. She wrapped her arms around her middle. "I understand if you don't want to see me anymore. Trust is a fragile thing, and I broke it. But please, just…just know that I'm sorry."

Anna turned around but stopped when the ice door cracked open a fraction of an inch. She could just see part of Elsa's face.

"…In that bag." Elsa peeked more of her face out. "Did you bring the chocolate?"

Anna blinked, frozen in place for a solid six seconds.

"O-Of course!" she stuttered. She dared to smile, trying not to get her hopes too high when the ice completely dissipated. "What kind of person would I be if I didn't bring my best friend some chocolate, eh?"

Elsa gave a small smile. "Good. It would be a shame for me to turn you away because you didn't bring a proper peace offering."

Anna pouted. "I see how it is. You only like me for my chocolate. Elsa, I'm hurt."

"No…," Elsa smirked and flicked her in the forehead. "…now, you're hurt."

Anna rubbed the sore red dot on her head. She couldn't help but smile when Elsa laughed at her.

"So…does this mean I'm forgiven?" she tentatively asked.

Elsa smiled and ruffled Anna's hair. "Yes. I forgive you."

Anna playfully swatted her away, protecting her hair with both hands.

"But do you really have chocolate?"

"Elsa, who do you think you're talking to?" the princess asked with an arched eyebrow. "Of course I really have it. I brought a bunch of stuff, but I grabbed chocolate from my personal stash to sha—"

Elsa ran past her before she could get another word in. Anna's eyes widened, and she chased after her as Elsa made a beeline for the bag. The blonde quickly untied the top and tipped it over, a small pile of miscellaneous items tumbling onto the ground. Her eyes locked onto a medium-sized brown box, and she quickly snatched it up.

"Elsa! Don't you dare!" Anna ran up to her just as she picked up the box. "Those are to share!"

Elsa grinned, jumping away from the redhead with the speed of a mischievous wood nymph.

"Elsa!"

The blonde ran to the edge of the cove. She stopped by an ancient oak tree next to the cave she went in earlier, held the box between her teeth, and shot up into the branches.

Anna caught up minutes later. She leaned against the massive tree, huffing and puffing. She looked up and found Elsa reclined against the trunk, tossing a chocolate into her mouth and humming.

"Elsa, those are to share! That's my entire stash!"

Though the blonde was eating her prized possession, Anna couldn't help but smile when she heard her laugh. "This is your punishment," Elsa said, eating another chocolate.

Anna groaned. "I'd rather die."

Elsa rolled her eyes. She continued to eat the chocolate, the box quickly emptying.

Anna frowned. She balled up her sleeves and jumped, trying and failing several times until she finally grabbed a low branch and pulled herself up.

Elsa looked down at her. "Anna, what are you doing?"

"If you won't share, then…then I'll have to take them back by force," she grunted, hugging her branch and positioning herself to hop up to the next one.

"You're going to kill yourself."

"Pfft. Are you kidding me? I'm a great climber." She yelped when her foot slipped, her grip on the trunk the only thing that kept her from falling.

Elsa stood up, her brow furrowed. "Seriously, Anna. You're going to hurt yourself." The blonde jumped down, catching herself on lower branches to cushion her descent before she gracefully landed on the ground. "Just come down. I was only kidding."

Sweat dibbled down Anna's back. She craned her neck to look down, dizzy from how high she managed to get herself.

She tightened her hold on the trunk. "I-I don't think I can."

Elsa arched an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Anna swallowed hard. "I'm…I'm stuck," she squeaked, her face heating ripe red.

Elsa put down the box of chocolate. "Here, just let go. I'll catch you."

"What?! Nonononono. Not happening."

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Come on, Anna. Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you. It's me that I have a problem with. What if I hit something?"

"Just fall to the left, and you'll be fine. Trust me."

Anna hesitated before shakily nodding. Yeah. Okay. I can do this. Just…let it go, I guess.

She gave the ground one last glance before she released the trunk and fell, screaming from the sudden weightlessness.

Familiar hands greeted her fall. "Oof!" Elsa caught her in open arms, holding her securely to her chest.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Anna blinked. Seeing Elsa's eyes soften with concern brought a smile to her face. "Yeah. Glad you caught me."

Elsa lightly laughed, not immediately putting her down. Anna blushed as the blonde shifted her to get a better grip on her knees, and she let her head fall against her shoulder. Elsa walked a few paces and set Anna down beside the small pile of things she had dumped from the bag.

"This is some place you have here. It's beautiful," Anna said, looking around.

"Thanks. It's my favorite hideaway, actually, and the only one I really called home." She pointed at the river. "The river is the best part, though. The water is always warm enough to hold fish, and it never freezes over. I went upstream a few years ago and found that it has these holes in the ground beside it that are filled with hot water. I think they mix together."

"Those are hot springs, I think. Or geysers. I'm surprised they don't hurt the fish because of all the chemicals and harsh minerals and whatnot. But I guess those are what make this place so green."

"Chemicals?"

Anna waved her hand. "It's complicated." The princess picked up a pillow from the pile of things. It was a blue one from her bedroom. "Anyways, I brought you some stuff that I thought you might like. I'm sorry if they're not all that fancy, but I couldn't take too much without someone getting suspicious." She handed her the pillow.

Elsa's eyes widened as her fingers sunk into the squishy blue mass. She held it in front of herself and gave it a tentative squeeze. Her face lit with wonder. "It's so…fluffy…." She tentatively held it against her face. Anna's familiar scent saturated the fabric and flooded her sensitive senses. The welcoming smell made her blood run hot and her ears hum.

Anna smiled as Elsa snuggled the gift. It humbled her to see someone who had absolutely nothing be reduced to an excited child over something as simple as a pillow.

The redhead dug through the pile. She had spices, flints, clothes, soaps, pots, blankets (also hers), and all other kinds of miscellaneous things. But what she was most concerned about finding at the moment, was a book.

Sure, she normally despised the paper demons, but this was different. She had spent three hours before dawn in the library searching for the tome, a large leather-bound book that weighed more than everything else in the bag combined.

She sat cross-legged and grunted as she pulled it into her lap. 'The Corona Encyclopedia of the Animal Kingdom.'

Anna lifted the cover, but before she could flip a single page, it was snatched from her lap.

"Hey!" Elsa held the book with one hand, letting the pages flip open. Anna thought she heard a rip. She lunged to take it back, but Elsa used her superior strength to keep her at arms-length as she analyzed the new object. "Give it back! You're going to break it!"

Elsa curiously examined it while Anna strained against her. She laid it on the pillow in her lap and turned a page. There were pictures of all sorts of animals, most of which she had never seen before.

She pointed at one of the pictures. "What's this?"

The distraction caused her grip on Anna to momentarily fault, and the redhead grabbed the book back, holding it away from her. "It's an encyclopedia. And even though I hate books just as much as the next guy, you should be careful with them. It took someone a lot of work to make it."

Elsa cocked her head. "Why do you hate them?"

Anna reconsidered her words. "Well, I don't really hate them. I shouldn't hate them, actually. They're a great source of knowledge, and only a few people own them and fewer can use them."

She opened the book. A light blush lit her face when Elsa scooted close and peeked over her shoulder to get a better look. Her mouth slightly parted, and she furrowed her brow. "Why does it have all that dirt on it?" she asked, pointing to the paragraph below a picture of a lynx.

"That's not dirt, Elsa. It's words."

"No, they're not. You say words."

Anna giggled. "Yes, you do, but these are words, too. Someone wrote them down so other people can look at them instead of listening to them."

Elsa's brow furrowed further. "I don't get it."

"Here, let me try to explain it like this. You're Elsa, right?"

Elsa raised an eyebrow. "Yes…"

"Your name is made up of four sounds. E, L, S, A," she explained, sounding out each letter. She took Elsa's hand and pointed her finger. "When you write, letters have certain sounds. So E, L, S, and A represent the sounds in your name." She drew the letters in the dirt with the blonde's finger.

"So if you read this now, you get…"

"Elsa…!" the blonde quietly exclaimed.

Anna laughed. "Yeah. And then my name is A, N, N, A," she said, writing her name below Elsa's.

Elsa smiled. She pulled her hand away, wanting to draw their names herself. 'Anna' came out fairly well, but 'Elsa' looked more like 'Elza.' Eventually, she was littering the ground with 'Elzanna.'

Anna returned her attention to the book as Elsa redrew their names in the dirt. It was obvious that Elsa was part animal of some kind, in some weird magical way. The growling and canines were early proof of that. And it was made even more obvious after the incident in the cave that Elsa could shape-shift somehow, specifically into a feline if the purring was anything to go by.

"Elsa?" she asked. Elsa stopped her drawing and looked at her. "Can I…Can I ask you a favor?"

Elsa straightened up. "Depends on what it is, but sure."

Anna swallowed and glanced at the ground. "I know it's probably kindof nosy of me—and you don't have to if you don't want to—but I was…ugh…I was really curious about what kind of cat—a-and I'm just guessing that—that you…kindof were. Are. Half-are. You get it," she rambled. She took a deep breath. "The point is, I was wondering if you would...change so I could see exactly what you change into and…and maybe identify it? I know that whatever it is will be awesome and totally beautiful because I mean, come on, look at you with two legs. I'm sure going to all fours will be just as amazing."

Elsa looked away. "I…I don't know, Anna…"

"I-It's okay if you don't!" Anna quickly said, flailing her hands. "Perfectly fine! It's your choice, but I just thought there would be no harm in asking, right? Just kindof throwing it out there, yeah?"

She sheepishly smiled, a bead of sweat running down her face, but Elsa didn't meet her eyes.

Anna immediately closed the book. "I'm sorry. Forget I said anything. I…I'm sorry. I knew this was a bad idea, but I just—"

"I'll do it."

"You—Wait, what?"

"I'll do it if you want me to."

Anna furiously shook her head. "No, no, no, it's fine. Really. It's so really fine. Totally fine. My curiosity just got away from me again. Don't feel obligated to do it just because I asked."

Elsa gave her a small smile. "Anna, it's alright." She stood up. "I don't mind. It's just…" She looked away, grinding her teeth and scowling before she shook her head and looked back at the redhead. "It's been a while since I've shown it to anybody."

Anna opened the book again, poorly contained excitement bubbling in her stomach. "Well, if you're absolutely sure, then I'm ready when you are."

Elsa smirked.

Nothing Anna did to prepare herself for this moment readied her for seeing the blonde shape-shift.

It happened so fast that she would have missed it if she blinked.

She had expected bones to pop or skin to stretch or clothes to tear like in the books she read about werewolves, but this was completely different. The whole process was a fast, smooth transition. Sure, she watched skin stretch and sprout fur, and her face grew and enlongened to a muzzle, but it wasn't as, well, exciting as she expected.

But it sure as hell was breathtaking.

And she wasn't at all what she expected her to be.

In a split-second, Elsa had morphed into a feline whose size easily rivaled any horse, though her body was much longer and not as tall. Her legs and neck were as thick as logs, compact muscle wrapped taut beneath thick fur.

She's a...tiger.

Except, she wasn't like any that Anna had ever seen before, not even in the circus' and bizzares that traveled the kingdoms. Thick black stripes ringed around her body and face, but where a normal tiger would have been orange, Elsa was gray. Almost silver.

Anna shot to her feet. "Holy hell, you're huge!" Elsa's head came to about her shoulder, and she wasn't even completely straightened up. Elsa slowly blinked at her, her eyes the same chilling arctic blue.

Anna giddily laughed, frantically flipping through the book. "Here!" she exclaimed. She turned the book around, pointing out the picture to Elsa. Her tiger friend bent close to the page and gave it a tentative sniff with her pink nose.

Anna pulled the book back. "Siberian Tiger," she read. "Not to be confused with its cousin, the Bengal, the Siberian Tiger is the largest living cat in the world. They live in some of the coldest regions on the planet and are very solitary creatures." Anna snorted. "Got that right…," she mumbled. Elsa lightly growled, but Anna waved it off with a laugh. She read some more to herself before scoffing. "Well this explains a lot. Like their other tiger relatives, Siberians thoroughly enjoy swimming. And here I thought it was because you were a fish."

She continued reading. "…Besides preferring solitude, Siberian Tigers are extremely territorial. They are normally aggressive to any and all intruders since they live in climates that limit their prey resources. Wolves and small bears are regularly hunted, and conflict within the species typically ends in a fight to the death."

Anna looked up at Elsa and poked her nose. "Pfft. Yeah right. You're way too big of a softy."

With Anna still close to her face, Elsa laid her ears flat against her skull and roared. The sound echoed around the stony cove, frightening away a flock of birds. Elsa's fangs were longer than Anna's fingers.

Anna screamed and jumped away. Her book fell from her hands as she collapsed, and she reflexively scooted away from the beast before her. Her ears rang, and for a frightening second she thought she had gone deaf.

Anna righted herself, pushing up on her elbows to look at her tiger friend. "That was not funny!" she yelled, her voice cracking terribly. If it were possible, she could have sworn Elsa was smiling.

Anna fell against the grass with a groan, closing her eyes. Her heart was beating like a caged bird, and her fingers shook with adrenaline. She heard Elsa pad over to her and felt her moist nose gently prod her face.

"'M fine…," she mumbled, clutching a hand over her heart. "You almost gave me a heart attack, but I'm fine." She coughed, taking a deep breath. "Your breath smells terrible, by the way."

Elsa snorted in her face, a deep growl thundering deep in her throat, the predatory sound louder than anything Anna'd ever heard. The princess didn't have time to react before Elsa curled around her and plopped her very heavy head and front paws over her torso.

Anna wheezed, but Elsa just closed her eyes in contentment, retracting and extending her large curved claws as she pawed the grass. Anna tried to push away the giant feline, but she may as well have been trying to move a tree. Elsa's head was larger than her chest, and combined with her front paws she covered her from chest to mid-thigh.

Anna flung her arms above her in defeat. She couldn't sit up with Elsa laying over her. She glared at the striped face that was smugly looking down at her. "You just had to have the last word. Didn't you."

Elsa closed her eyes, snuggling her face into Anna's dress. That was a 'yes' if she ever saw one.

Anna rolled her eyes. Breathing was becoming easier as she calmed down, but Elsa's weight did prove some difficulty, especially since one of her paws was laying over her throat and the other over her hips. She blushed and did her best to ignore the latter fact.

The thought of asking Elsa to get up did cross her mind, but she decided against it. She had no doubt Elsa would move if she knew it was hurting her. However, she actually liked their current position. Elsa was like a giant, warm, fuzzy blanket.

Anna smiled when she felt her tiger friend purr, though it sounded more like a non-aggressive growl. She rested an arm over Elsa's paw and experimentally ran her fingers through the fur on her neck. Her smile broadened when Elsa's purr intensified, and she rubbed her face into her dress to give her greater access to her neck.

Anna's smile fell into a thin line. "Elsa?"

The tiger opened one icy eye.

Anna glanced away. "I'm…I'm sorry. Again. I was being a really shitty friend. I know you said you forgave me, but I'm still sorry."

Elsa slowly blinked before giving Anna's hand a comforting lick. The sensation was strange, but not entirely unpleasant. The pink muscle had rough barbs on it that felt kindof soothing against her skin.

Anna smiled. Elsa readjusted herself and closed her eyes, her purr still thundering from her chest.

"Thanks."

Anna felt weightless when Elsa finally got up. The void of her warmth left her shivering before her body readjusted, and she resisted running over to hug the blonde.

She watched Elsa shape-shift back to her human self. Black stripes and silver and white fur melted to human flesh and platinum blonde hair.

Anna held her breath until she realized that Elsa still had her clothes on.

"Doesn't that hurt? It doesn't look like it, but I mean, changing your body like that has to have some sort of recoil."

Elsa shrugged. "Not really. Tickles a little, I guess."

Anna hummed and looked at the sky. The sun was finally starting to arc over the horizon.

She sighed. "I hate to say it, but I have to get going. My father will have a heart attack if I'm not back soon." She turned to Elsa. "I don't want to make any promises I can't keep, but I'll try to come see you every day, or whenever I can. I…I like hanging out with you."

Elsa blushed. "I-I like hanging out with you, too…" Anna smiled, and Elsa couldn't help but reciprocate the gesture. "I can agree to those terms, Your Princessness," she drawled, swooping into a deep bow.

Anna laughed before clearing her throat and sticking her nose in the air with a squeaky monotone. "Rise, peasant. I order you to stay here and await my return. Unless of course you get bored and want to leave and do something…or get food because food is very important and—Anyways, you must promise not to permanently leave."

Elsa half-heartedly rolled her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere, Anna. At least, not for a while. Have you managed to…you know? The thing?"

Anna stared at her for a long second before she got what she was talking about. Our deal. "Oh! That thing. Not yet. But I'm getting on it. I haven't managed to catch my father in a mood to do it, but I'll tell you as soon as I do."

The blonde smiled. "Good."

Anna glanced away, scratching her neck. "Oh, and ugh…I was thinking. After I get everything settled with my father and Crow and whatnot…what are you going to do?"

Elsa looked taken aback. She furrowed her brow and rested her chin in her hand. "Well…" She suddenly blushed. "I was thinking about just staying here. It's my favorite place, after all. And besides…" Arctic blue met teal, and Elsa smiled toothily. "…I very much enjoy your company."

Anna smiled back, and her heart skipped. She didn't know exactly why, but hearing that made her extremely happy.

Things are finally getting jiggy.

-REKA