Show Yourself Into The Unknown

Summary: The one where Thanos is dead, Tony has weird dreams instead of nightmares, the Avengers watch dubious Disney movies and mystical creatures are more than real. Oh, and the Cloak totally ships it.

"I can't believe you're almost here!" Elsa said by way of greeting the second Tony became aware of his dreams. For some reason he won't question too much, he'd 'woken up' already in Elsa's 'place' and hadn't had to go through the nightmarish experience of falling through that frigid cold darkness like he'd had to the first time around, something he was extremely grateful for as he had more than grown sick of falling down that hole/well whatever thing. Instead, he was now sitting against something he couldn't see with the ball of light once again cuddling up to him. Only now he knew what she was, what he was supposed to be and what they were supposed to become. And 'Elsa' probably knew that, too, though it would seem that didn't change her demeanor or interactions with him one bit, at least not in her book.

Tony still didn't know what to think of it all.

"And where is 'here'?" He asked, trying to look around but, as always, all he could see was himself and Elsa's immense light. He wasn't sure if she was doing that herself, on purpose, or if she had no control over it. Still, her light was a welcome change to all the darkness around them so he wasn't making much of a fuss. The more light the better, after all. However, there were still things he'd like to know and what Elsa actually looked like was one of them. He guessed he'd just have to wait for a little while before he can find out.

"The Well of Ahtohallan, or so I heard the humans calling it every time they came to check up on it. It's inside the temple they'll be taking you to in a few hours time!"

"Okay, but why does that name sound so familiar?" He asked, more to himself than to his companion and she didn't seem particularly eager to share the joke for she giggled mischievously and refused to answer him when he asked for an explanation. Tony huffed and flicked her forehead - or at least what he thought was her forehead as it was still impossible to tell any of her features apart - making her squeak in protest. "Fine. I'll figure it out eventually on my own. I am a genius, you know." Elsa said nothing to that though she might have rolled her eyes at him. Not that Tony could know. Damned lights. "Is it always going to be like this? You invading my dreams?"

"I don't know," he felt her shrug in his hold as he hugged her close, enjoying the way her purr vibrated through her entire body and into his own chest. "The dreams are a calling. I just wanted you to come. I've been lonely without you."

"You've woken up only recently, though."

The little dragon only shook her head against his chest where she had snuggled close. "I may have been awake and aware in the human definition of the word for less than a year but I have in fact been aware of the world for the past seven centuries and a dragon's incubation cycle lasts all of five weeks before a egg is physically ready to hatch. After that, we simply wait for our Ib to come to us. Many dragons, like myself, have had to wait for centuries just for their Ib to be born."

"Ib?" Tony asked, not sure why that word resonated with him stronger than the rest of what just been revealed to him. Elsa had, after all, just told him her true age despite sounding so young and being so small. And she had been aware all of that time! How lonely must have she gotten in all those years she'd waited for him? It made Tony nearly choke on guilt and he held her tighter. She seemed to appreciate that, though, snuggling even closer, as though she wanted to climb into his chest, nestle next to his heart and hide there forever.

Elsa hummed, voice becoming both breathy like the wind and rough like a growl, a volcano waiting to erupt. Word in a language he should never understand flowed from her like sharp English or elegant Italian and he could decipher, knew every word of the explanation. Even if he didn't need it put in a human language, the dragon did so, anyway. "The heart of my fire, the fire of my soul, Ib is a word we dragons use to describe the one with whom our souls are connected, the ones destined for us and whom we are destined for. You are my kin, Anthony Edward Stark. You have named me and you will summon me. Then, our connection will be complete and we will be established soulmates."

"Okay, so soulmates are an actual thing," the engineer muttered to himself, trying not to become overcome with this information. That was too much magic for someone like him. "Good to know. One more thing to lose sleep about, figuring out everyone else's soulmates so I can play ultimate matchmaker."

Elsa snorted, her warm breath washing over his neck. "Only dragons have a soulmate. At least a natural one chosen by the fates themselves, by the multiverse and the stars. Other species create similar bonds through magic shared and lifeforces intertwined. Those still cannot measure to the bond we will share once I hatch. I am waiting for you, my Ib."

Tony tried not to think about that last part. It was somewhere between weird and disturbing, really. "Okay, but what about a mate? Surely they are equally if not more important?"

Elsa let out an amused chortle at that. "Are you trying to get rid of me, my Ib?" The question was asked in a joking manner but Tony could detect some underlined genuine uncertainty and fear in it, which made him want to beat himself up for scaring the young dragon.

"I'm just curious. Trying to get a feel of our situation, you know?"

The little one remained quiet for a moment before she just burrowed deeper into his chest, if that was even possible, and demanded more cuddles. "No, mates are not as important. While dragons can mate for life and even form soulbonds with another of its kind, no bond is stronger than our summoner's. You are the most important thing to me in the entirety of existence, Anthony Edward Stark. My soul is you."

"Did you mean 'yours'?" He asked, a bit flummoxed by the wording, but he felt his companion shake her head against him.

"No, you. A dragon cannot be without their Ib and you are mine. As such, a dragon cannot live, cannot be born, cannot survive without their Ib. Had you died at any point, I would, too."

'And given how likely it is that she's the last of her kind and that her death may very well lead to the destruction of everything, that's not a burden I wanted to carry. Not with my lifestyle,' Tony couldn't help but muse to himself with a sigh. "So I'm practically the mystical love of your life. That's nice. Is that why you healed my arm and side?"

"Yes," Elsa responded immediately and with not an ounce of remorse. "They pained you and I did not like that. You didn't deserve that pain."

"My friends had went to great lengths just to ensure that I survive. After everything, the pan was almost reassuring. It was proof I was still alive after all of that shit. It was a reminder of what I nearly lost for not being good enough."

"It was a reminder that you were alone and you carried a burned no single being should," the young dragon reprimanded him with a wisdom no baby should have, not even a dragon one, at least not in Tony's mind. Wisdom usually comes from suffering. He'd rather she be as innocent as a human babe than face a reality where her wait for him had brought suffering on an unhatched being. "As you are no longer alone, no matter where we might be or how far apart, I deemed it obstinate and as such have removed it. Besides, I could not let my Ib suffer for no good reason. You blame yourself even when the blame is not yours to bear. Most certainly not alone. Have you not tried to prepare? Have you not prepared even while those around you ridiculed you?"

"I thought you woke up only a year ago?" He half asked, half accused, if for no other reason than to ensure she stopped talking about things he feared will soon return to haunt him as proper nightmares once she is hatched and they stop meeting in this frozen darkness.

The ball of light snorted again. "How little you know, my Ib. Yes, I have been awake for only a year but that does not, however, mean that we are not still connected. We have been connected since the day you were born, Anthony Edward Stark. I received snippets of your life as my dreams while I waited for the day when we can first speak. I know a few things about you and as soon as I hatch, there will be little I do not know about you."

"That ... sounds a bit creepy."

"I will know your very soul, my Ib. That is our bond." Tony figured he'd have to accept that. He'd usually hate having anyone in his head but he had a feeling Elsa will be nothing if not a reassuring presence. He couldn't help but wonder if Maximoff would be able to get into his head again once he and Elsa get that proper connection she seemed so excited about. "Of course not," the dragon in question replied, sounding offended, and the inventor wondered if he had accidentally spoken out loud that last part. "You are mine. I would protect you from all who would wish you harm, no matter its form."

"Thanks," he couldn't help but sigh in relief, rewarding his soon to be waking-world companion with cuddles since she seemed to like them so much. "You have no idea how much that means to me. Or, well, maybe you do." And maybe it won't be so bad to have someone else in his head if it was someone as sweet as Elsa.

She purred in happiness and the sound actually made him grin. It was cute. "My pleasure, my Ib."

"You know, you should call me Tony, seriously. I realize the meaning of the word is important in, like, millions of ways but you sound almost formal when you say it. And what should I call you? You must have a name and while I like teasingly calling you Elsa, it's only fair that I know your real name, too." The dragon stopped purring and rubbing against his chest, falling still and utterly quiet. Tony frowned, worried, and once again cursed the light shinning from his companion which prevented him from actually seeing her. He couldn't tell what her mood was right now. "Hey, you okay? Did I step over a boundary I shouldn't have? Did I do something wrong?"

" ... I like Elsa. You gave me that name," came the reply after a long moment of silence where only their breathing could be heard in this strange void she resided in. The Well of Ahtohallan, she had called it.

"Yeah, but it's not your real name, right?"

"Tony, you give me my name. A dragon's Ib is always the one to name them. It is their true name, their destined calling. And you called me Elsa. And I like it." Tony froze. He ... He had called her that in jest and yet that was now her name for the rest of time. Named after a silly Disney princess - well, queen and now practically goddess as the fifth spirit of nature, if they were being accurate - character.

"I ... I'm sorry. I didn't realize-"

"You don't have to be sorry. I like it." Elsa even did something that must have been a shrug. How very interesting.

"Well, I think it suits you either way," Tony said with a shrug of his own. Hey, it was her name. If she liked it, he wasn't going to fight it. He was just glad he hadn't screwed something up without even knowing it. He could practically feel her beaming up at him and couldn't help but laugh when something wet, warm and rough licked the side of his face. "Okay, okay, that's enough excitement for one night." Only he would rather not this end only for it to be potentially replaced with a nightmare. Be it falling through the Well again or one of his previous numbers. Heavens, please don't let it be anything even remotely Thanos related!

"Yes, you probably should rest for the night. We shall see each other soon enough," Elsa said with what felt like a nod and Tony nervously agreed. The mythological creature, of course, caught on immediately. "You hesitate. You are afraid. Why?"

Tony figured there was no point in lying. "I used to suffer from serious nightmares before you started pulling me into ... whatever this is. I guess I'm just not eager to have that part of my life back, even if it would be the normalest thing to happen to me in the past year."

Elsa fell silent again, contemplating what he had just told her and Tony just allowed himself a moment to hold on to her for his own reassurance. He'd never have imagined that a dragon of all things would one day become a source of comfort for someone like Tony Stark. Like, seriously. 'Life just has a way of screwing with me, I swear.'

"Then how about I sing you to slumber? That way, I can monitor your dreams and stir you clear of any night terrors." That suggestion made Tony pause, considering it. 'I mean, it's not like she doesn't already have a way to enter my dreams and she's pretty damn adamant that she'll protect me. And I don't want the nightmares to start now after a whole year of relatively peaceful sleep.' "You need proper rest, Tony. Tomorrow will be a tough day for the both of us."

Seeing as she sounded so earnest and he can practically feel it in the air, Tony nodded. "Let's give it a shot, shall we?"

Elsa cheered and then flew out of his hands - he felt something like wings brush against his skin and he automatically knew she wasn't that Chinese-like type of dragon with no flying appendages, which will make him more comfortable when she starts flying because it will have more logic to it than saying magic just lets her fly - circled him once, twice as he laughed at her antics before she pushed him to the ground as gently as she could. Tony complied, wondering if she'll be like this in the real world, too, but was soon distracted by the fact that the light grew and he soon found himself practically swaddled up in a far bigger dragon than he was used to. 'Must be the dream world's doing or something.'

"Where the north wind

Meets the sea

There's a river

Full of memories

Sleep my darling

Safe and sound

For in this river all is found."

And Tony also couldn't help but relax as his companion kept singing. Elsa really had a voice fit for voicing a princess in a Disney movie. And she was just the perfect temperature, too, not too warm but definitely warmer than their surroundings. He could already feel himself slipping into true sleep, one without dreams or half-awareness or whatever it is he's been experiencing for the past several months.

"In her waters

Deep and true

Lie the answers

And a path for you

Dive down deep into her sound

But not too deep or you will drown"

'That doesn't sound ominous at all,' he thought to himself sarcastically. If he could be bothered to keep his eyes open, he might have even rolled them. 'Why must all lullabies have such foreboding in them? And why do I keep getting a sense of deja vu?!' That last one actually unnerved him but he was getting used to that particular feeling. He had a feeling he might have to keep getting used to it. He was, after all, about to hatch a dragon from its egg any day now. His life was so weird.

"Yes, she sings to those who can hear

And in her song, all magic flows

But can you brave what you most fear?

Can you face what the river knows?"

'I actually have a bad feeling about this.' Lullabies really had no place being this ominous. What if one of them traumatizes some poor kid for life?! Tony was feeling a bit traumatized and he's an adult! 'I should seriously talk with someone about that. Gotta stop that trend. Kids are sharper with each new generation.' Those were some of his last thoughts before he let himself drift off with a yawn to Elsa's beautiful voicing singing the hauntingly good song.

"Where the north wind

Meets the sea

There's a mother

Full of memories

Come, my darling

Homeward bound

When all is lost

And all is found."

00000

The Avengers sort of jerked awake at dawn when a weird noise started coming from outside the little cottage that the Sami had given them last night, all of them disoriented and looking like they hadn't gotten enough rest. Tony, on the other hand, felt perfectly rested, which was probably the weirdest turn of events anyone had seen so far. Anyway, he was the best rested and so he was the one who was most awake, which was why he was the first one who recognized the noise as some sort of tribal music involving stomping of feet and sticks/spears on the ground, hands clapping and singing, once again, a melody vaguely familiar to him. He swears the whole ordeal was a sort of deja vu he wasn't sure he wanted to question - at least not just yet - but never the less, his curiosity has been peeked.

"What's going on?" Strange, who probably fell back on his ER training to immediately snap to attention, asked, his robes appearing on him with a single hand gesture. He was still seated on the couch he'd slept in but his eyes were sharp and aware. That didn't stop a yawn from breaking through, which was actually kind of cute, a word Tony would never usually associate with the man.

"Who the fuck is awake enough to sing this early in the morning?" Barton, after stealing a glance outside and saw that it was still before dawn, complained, burying his head under a pillow, which only made him groan in discomfort as his head was now separated from the cold, hard wood only by his sleeping bag. Serves him right for being an idiot.

Tony just shrugged, tugging on a jacket as he headed towards the door to investigate. "Could be some cultural thing, a way to greet the new day." Which was interesting enough on its own but Tony was more intrigued by why and how the melody was so familiar to him. He was intent on walking out and outright asking what they were singing, but as soon as he opened the entrance door and the full volume hit him, he realized a few things he hadn't noticed before.

One, when the cold air hit him, he wasn't bothered by it, as though it were a pleasant summer breeze.

Two, the Sami weren't just singing, they seemed to be weaving a new kind of magic he'd never seen before through the simple, repetitive 'Na na na hey na na na hey na na' and the beat they made with their feet, hands or spears/sticks.

Three, Elsa was humming along in the back of his head, sounding even more excited than yesterday, which he'd thought to be impossible enough.

And four, perhaps the most important part, was that the Northuldra, as they had called their group, were all standing in a vaguely circular pattern, one hand on each side of them as they held spears between them that they hit the ground with together, all of them smiling hopefully and almost as if in awe as they looked at him and all of that pent up magic immediately surged towards him when he appeared, like a whiff of air, smelling of all four seasons at once, of fire and wet earth and ozone and that peculiar scent that perminated the air when the snow covers the world in white.

And then he saw that each of them had some rather familiar designs etched into their much more formal looking, colorful tunics and dresses and he felt like there was no way this was his life.

And then, as if to screw with him some more, as the song reached a sort of culmination, they all bowed. To him. The Avengers might think its to all of them, as they had all come to stand behind or next to Tony, but they didn't know what he did, what he was. 'And fuck my life.'

"We wish you welcome," Aidna, now wearing a crown of white flowers that couldn't be blossoming here and now unless aided by magic, said as her head finally lifted, dark eyes locking onto Tony's own honey brown ones. Her entire community echoed her words, their heads still bowed despite some youngsters trying to steal a peek at him.

"Tony? Your hand ... ?" He heard Rogers say behind him and Tony cursed as he realized he'd forgotten to put his hand in gloves or a pocket so no one would see the smooth, scar-free skin he now sported. "Language," Rogers, predictably, said and then winced when Tony shot him an angry and annoyed glare.

"Fuck you," he ended up telling him, absolutely done with all of this bullshit.

"Is this some kind of rite to welcome heroes or something?" He heard Maximoff ask of the closest Sami and the young boy eagerly nodded, excited eyes straying to Stark before he shyly looked down again.

'And fuck my life, too.'

Elsa only giggled.