Author's Forewords: Hey, guys. Good to see you've come back for chapter two. Hope you're ready for a bit more action, because Kristoff's found himself right in the sights of an angry Earth Giant.
Sound exciting? Jump in to see what happens.
Out of the Woods
Chapter Two
"Left, Sven, left!"
At Kristoff's urge, Sven took an enormous leap to the left, clearing the spot where the Giant's house-sized boulder had landed. However, they felt the force of the thunderous impact even still, and the possibility that such titanic creatures might chase them to the ends of the forest birthed an awful feeling in the pit of Kristoff's gut.
"And you're absolutely one-hundred percent sure that you don't know what these things want?!"
Before Kristoff could get an answer over the din of the Earth Giant's footsteps, he heard a definaing, inhuman roar. He whipped his head round to see one of the same boulders thrown from earlier back in the Giant's hand. Kristoff's eyes widened as the monster reared its arm back in preparation for another attempt at flattening them.
"Right!"
Sven lept to the right this time, landing slightly off of his balance, to Kristoff's initial horror. The boulder crashed down, instantly making splinters out of a group of trees. Following Ryder, Sven darted further right, between a cluster of trees.
"Positive!" Ryder shouted at the top of his lungs, his reindeer galloping ahead of Kristoff and Sven.
Kristoff had been following him through these woods. Wisely, they chose not to split up, with Yelena at the forefront of this chase, urging the Enchanted Forest dwellers to follow her. Honeymaren and Ryder followed them, leaving Kristoff to bring up the rear.
You don't have to outrun the Giant, Kristoff thought sourly. You just have to outrun me.
That couldn't have been further from the truth, Kristoff knew. These massive rock beasts likely had a clear view of them all with how tall they towered over the forest. Being in the back also had the advantage of having the best view of their pursuers. Kristoff was at least grateful that he could better advise the others how to act with this thing hunting them.
The mountain man spun his head, taking his attention from the path ahead. What he saw nearly made his heart stop.
"He's got two! Everybody watch out!"
"Whoa!" Ryder yelped, his reindeer shooting off between the trees.
Without even waiting for a command from Kristoff, Sven did the same, soaring full tilt in the opposite direction. They landed in a small ditch—right out of the path of one of the boulders. The other had gone sailing high over Kristoff's view. Was this perhaps in an effort to catch them off guard?
No, no, no, He thought. Please be as dumb as you look, rock creature.
Kristoff hoped they'd all heard the shout at the top of his lungs. They'd been shaken from their little formation at his warning, and he feared he'd see the innocent forest-dwellers trapped underneath the other rock.
He frowned with resolve. Whatever it's reason was, he couldn't just allow this thing to hurt these people.
"Sven, buddy?" Kristoff called. "We gotta get this thing away from these guys. You think you can make it focus on us?"
Kristoff heard the reindeer give a questioning grunt.
"It's dangerous, I know!" Kristoff pleaded. "But they could be crushed if we keep this up! We'll meet back up with them once we shake the Earth Giant! Deal?!"
Sven grunted. But this time, it was deep, confident, and determined to help.
"Ryder!" Kristoff shouted ahead. "I've got an idea!"
It was in vain. Kristoff hadn't lost complete sight of Ryder, but he'd fallen too far behind him to be heard.
Apologies in advance for how badly I'm about to scare you, Ryder. . .
Kristoff spared a glance behind him to see the Giant with one of the massive rocks in its hand. To Kristoff's horror, it now seemed to be fixated solely on him at this point. The creature gave its loudest roar, the resulting gust of wind sending leaves flying off the trees and across Kristoff's vision.
"Now!" Kristoff shouted.
Sven made a hard right, charging into the cluster of trees. Rather than celebrate, Kristoff whirled his head around to see the monstrosity slowly, but imposingly turning its body to accommodate his abrupt change of course.
Kristoff's head swiveled this way and that. His eyes were kept peeled for any possible solutions to their super-sized problem, only to find none.
That left the two of them with one goal for the time being—run.
"Tell your legs not to fail us now, Sven," Kristoff grunted. "We're on our own!"
Ryder saw the last Nothuldran run through the clearing that Yelena had found for them. To say it was hidden away in this vast forest would have been an understatement. He hadn't known that this area even existed, and Ryder had spent his entire childhood running about this forest. Even with the knowledge that he'd likely forget, he immediately made a mental note to remember about this little hideaway the next time one of the Spirits decided to get feisty.
Determined to make it through himself, he forcefully, yet considerably, urged his reindeer to run faster through the opening of leaves that Honeymaren held open for him.
"Whew. . ." Ryder sighed, dismounting the animal before briefly patting its back in gratitude. "Thanks for the lift. Remind me to pay you back for that one."
Honeymaren released her hold on the opening of their hiding place, taking one more cautious glance at the trail behind them before joining the others.
"Is everyone alright?" Yelena demanded, but not without concern.
Murmurs of "yes" and the like came from the group. That wasn't enough for the old woman, and she turned her attention to the two young Nothudrans that she practically raised.
"Honeymaren? Ryder?"
"I'm okay, Yelena." Honeymaren answered.
"Yeah, I'm fine, too." Ryder nodded rapidly.
Honeymaren narrowed her eyes at Ryder after a moment. "Hold on. . .where's what's-his-face? The Arendellian you were with when I found you."
"Kristoff?" Ryder blinked, turning around. "He's right behind. . ."
Ryder trailed off. There was no Kristoff anywhere, nor any sign of his reindeer, Sven. Without so much as a peep to any of the others, Ryder dashed over to the clearing entrance. He ripped back the leaves.
All he got was a view of the barren trail path that they'd ran down.
With wide eyes and a face contorted in grief, Ryder quietly choked out the only thing he could think of.
"No. . ."
At its latest failed attempt at flattening Kristoff under a boulder, the Earth Giant gave another enraged roar.
Kristoff could have sworn that the Earth Giant had inadvertently caused a small earthquake by doing so. Heck, what did he know about these things? Apparently they'd been able to tear up the cobblestone streets all the way in Arendelle. If anything, this was probably nothing compared to what it would do if it really got mad.
Yeah. . .that line of thinking wasn't the best for his nerves at the moment. Being aware of the danger was one thing that Kristoff understood, but he was all too aware of what he'd been forced to deal with. The best way to think right now was to keep an eye out, and to keep an open mind. Anything that had a mere remote chance of getting this thing off their backsides was worth giving a shot.
The mountain man risked a glance behind them. It looked like the Earth Giant was too concerned with picking up its boulder for another toss. That was good news for Kristoff, because before he knew it, he'd had to duck under a tree thick with leaves. Then it hit him.
"Sven!" Kristoff whispered sharply, a smile across his face. "We've got cover!"
The reindeer nodded happily, continuing on through the colourful camouflage. The leaves were soon out of Kristoff's face, giving him an eyeful of what Sven would have run right into.
Then Kristoff really smiled.
"Yes! I can't believe it!" Kristoff gave a hushed cheer, pulling a hefty fist pump. "We're saved!"
The two beheld a small, cave-like space. They'd found a place to hide! And a foolproof one at that! If that titan came lumbering through, it'd likely pass right by them, assuming a rock to be nothing of importance.
Kristoff hastily dismounted Sven and hurried into the dark crevice. Sven followed suit, hunkering towards the middle next to his owner. Especially as they heard—and—felt earth-shaking footsteps approach. . .
And then they'd heard the trees being ripped from their roots as though they were twigs. Kristoff was sure that their outside cover was nonexistent, but at least it didn't matter now. He hoped so, anyway.
All that could be heard next were the brief, but deafening footsteps of the Earth Giant, walking right next to where they were huddled inside. Kristoff held his breath in tight. He could only silently pray that Sven had been doing the same.
Kristoff knew the monster was leaning down. He'd heard parts of the creature's body grind apart from the friction of it doing so. They may have been insignificant chips to it, but relative to Kristoff, they were huge slabs of rock, and each one made an impact with the roof of their hideaway.
The mountain man held his breath. He prayed Sven was doing the same.
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon. . .Nothing to see in here, you big lunk.
To Kristoff's horror, he heard a familiar noise, a long, hiss-like sound.
No! Don't sniff us out! How can you even do that in the first place?! You have no lungs!
But after several more moments of trying to pick out any signs of life from the cave, Kristoff heard the behemoth give a low rumble of irritation. More rock chunks began hitting the roof of the impromptu hiding place. It was standing up, Kristoff deduced. Did that mean they'd outsmarted this thing?
The creature went back to rocking the earth with its footsteps, but to Kristoff's relief, each boom sounded farther away than the last! They'd done it! They were safe!
Or were they safe?
Kristoff paused. The Earth Giant may have been gone, but the ice harvester realized that the existence of living wind and a flaming salamander creature shouldn't compel him to leave his guard down. If there was ever a time or place to be careful, it was here.
Still, Kristoff was glad they'd at least gotten to live, even if only for a little while longer.
"Sven," Kristoff whispered, patting the animal on the back. "I think we're okay."
"Can we get out of this cave now?" Kristoff "heard" Sven ask.
"Yeah. Yeah, sure," Kristoff promised, giving an unseen nod. "Just do me a favor and lemme clear my head first."
Just when Kristoff let his body slump with exhaustion, he heard a sharp and sudden whisper.
"Kristoff!"
The blonde gave a loud, short scream, covering his mouth. But before he did anything rash, he noticed that the voice sounded vaguely familiar. It almost sounded African accented. . .
"Mattias?!" Kristoff hissed back. "Is that you?!"
"Yeah, it's me," The Lieutenant answered. "Those giant monsters ran me in here, too."
In the very little light that Kristoff could make out, he saw Mattias inch his way out of the tunnel. Kristoff stayed put, merely leaning forward to listen when Mattias poked his head back in.
"You can come on out now. The coast is clear."
Kristoff gave a nod. "Alright. C'mon, Sven."
Kristoff crawled out, watching Sven do the same. Mattias had been brushing the bits of dirt and leaves from his own clothes.
"I imagine it wasn't a very fun experience," Mattias said, eyeing Kristoff with concern. "You okay, at least?"
"Yeah, thankfully," Kristoff nodded. "You?"
"It's not the word I'd use," Mattias grimly frowned. "My men and I got separated when that thing appeared."
Kristoff felt his heart stop.
"Oh man, tell me they're not. . ."
Mattias' eyes widened. "No! No, they're fine. . ."
Kristoff sighed with relief, running a hand across his face.
". . .At least, that's what I'm telling myself," Mattias somberly added. "We were about to be killed, but I told them all to scatter, while I drew its attention. I managed to outwit it and find this little cave."
Kristoff scratched his neck. "And then it came for me."
"So it seems," Mattias replied, dipping his head. "I was just about to look for them, actually. But then I heard footsteps in the distance. Jumped back in as fast as I could."
"Yeah, about that. . ." Kristoff began nervously. "That was kinda my fault. But you gotta understand—I had to get it away from Ryder."
Just as Kristoff feared, Mattias' kind eyes went dark.
"Ah, so the little heathen boy brought this on, did he?" "His leader and I will share words."
Kristoff himself practically hadn't even noticed his own change of mood. All he knew was that he did not appreciate Matthias' little nickname for Ryder. Heathen boy?!
"Hey!" Kristoff snapped. "You don't know that!"
While Mattias appeared strangely calm, even for him, there was a subtle change in the way he held himself. Mattias seemed to tower over Kristoff, and yet all he'd had to do was make piercing eye contact with him.
"Don't I? Haven't I been the one trapped in a forest with them for years?"
Kristoff ran a hand through his blonde hair. "What I mean is, none of us know what to make of this. Ryder and the Nothudrans were really scared of that giant, too. It'd be wrong to just hold them responsible."
"So you take their side in this?" Mattias questioned.
"I'm saying that right now, we've only got each other. And since there's nothing that me, you, your men or the Nothuldrans can do to stop those giants, we should find the Nothuldrans. We all need to keep each other safe out here."
Mattias deeply frowned at the thought of ever working with Yelena.
"Hey," Kristoff gently laid a hand on Mattias' bicep. "I know this won't be easy for you, but it's our best bet if we want to get through this."
To Kristoff's surprise, Mattias gave a single, dry chuckle. He wasn't completely without sincerity, returning Kristoff's diplomacy with a smile.
"You know, you almost sound like me. What exactly do you do, Kristoff? Who are you?"
"Me? I'm no one special," Kristoff lopsidedly smiled, tussling the fur on Sven's head. "Just a reindeer lover who sells ice for a living."
Mattias nodded, his smile never wavering. "I see. In any case, you'd be a fine soldier with that attitude, Ice Man."
Isn't this the second time I've been called that today? What're the odds?
"Uhh. . ." Kristoff stammered, struggling to take the compliment. "Thanks alot. . .Lieutenant."
"And since you may have a point," Mattias began, turning on his heel. "I'll track down those Nothuldrans for you."
Kristoff beamed, patting his reindeer. "Look at that, Sven, he came around!"
"Don't go setting standards for me just yet."
The mountain man blinked. "Wait, what?"
"I made a vow to protect Arendelle at all costs. That includes its people," Mattias said. "I'll take you to them, but right after that, I'm going to set out for my men. They're still in these woods. That's to say nothing of what kind of shape they're in, as far as I know."
Kristoff sheepishly rubbed his neck, feeling a tad foolish. He supposed that whatever apparently happened between him and the Nothuldrans ran too deep to reconcile even under these circumstances. It was a shame, really, but Kristoff was grateful that he'd at least persuaded Mattias to meet him halfway.
"Buuut. . ." Mattias continued, idly rolling his eyes to the sky. "When I have everyone on my watch present and accounted for. . .you can expect us all to join you."
Wait, I actually managed to convince him after all? Kristoff thought. Well, isn't this adventure full of ups and downs. . .
Kristoff was silent. He wasn't sure how to respond to Mattias' promise, so he decided to just react the way he usually would—straightforwardly, and with honesty.
"Mattias. . ." Kristoff smiled. "Thanks."
"You're quite welcome." The Lieutenant warmly replied.
The two men traded a firm handshake. They locked eyes, exchanging mutual respect.
"Now then," Mattias smiled. "Shouldn't we be on our way?"
"Yeah, definitely," Kristoff nodded, scratching the back of his neck. "The sooner we get there, the better. I can't imagine Ryder's having a good time right now. . ."
"Don't worry," Mattias assured, starting to lead them forward. "We won't be long. I know these woods like the back of my hand."
Kristoff looked down at Sven. Even during all this madness, the reindeer hadn't complained once. He owed him big time, and Kristoff knew just how to pay.
"Sven, remind me to buy you a bag of the juiciest carrots when this whole thing is behind us."
"I don't think just one bag'll be enough to cover this, Kristoff."
Kristoff brightly chuckled. "I hear ya, buddy. Just you wait."
Author's Notes: We're two chapters down, but still several more to go. But before that, there are a few things I need off my chest. This was the chapter of Kristoff's big moment in my expansion of Frozen II, and honestly while I had a blast writing this, it also made me feel annoyed all over again with the actual movie for not even giving Kristoff something meaningful to accomplish like this. And I don't count him giving Anna a brief ride during the climax when she went to destroy the dam. The actors went on record to say that the scene was intentionally portrayed as him simply doing whatever she told him to rather than him showing any true desire of his own to help. Kristoff has come a long way from the bitter, misanthropic young man he was in the first movie, yet all the movie does to show for it is to have him drill into the audience's head how much he loves Anna.
But since Kristoff's making his own decisions in my take of the story, he actually gets to prove how much he's really grown. He's just met the Nothudrans, doesn't know all that much about the environment that he's in, but wants to help anyway because his experiences have taught him that people are worth the trouble. And what better way to convey that development than to have him selflessly help Ryder and the Nothuldrans escape a rampaging Earth Giant?
Admittedly, it was a bit tricky to come up with this scenario with what the movie actually laid out. It was not made with consideration for him being there, but I think I managed to pull it of and use that gap in the plot for him to operate in regardless.
I think it panned out wonderfully, but what do you guys think? Let me know, and I'll be back soon with the next part of this story, which'll have Kristoff interacting with the rest of the supporting cast for a bit. A sort of calm before the storm.
Until we meet again.