Elsa didn't know how it had taken her so long to realize just what reindeer herding entailed. It wasn't like she was unfamiliar with the herding practices in Arendelle nor was she in the dark as to where the meat she'd eaten came from.
And yet it hadn't occurred to her to make the same leap with the animals the Northuldra cared for, which was why she'd had to excuse herself before she did something embarrassing; like throw up.
She was definitely not ready for that part of life in the woods, but she also wanted to contribute. It wasn't even just a Fifth Spirit thing but a not wanting to be a loafer kind of thing. Elsa didn't want to take advantage of these people, they'd suffered because of her father's people enough as it was.
She wandered around a bit, a little green around the gills, but smiled when Bruni dropped onto her shoulder, "Hey there."
He licked his eyeball in greeting and Elsa laughed, "Yes, well, I guess I should have started with watching something a little smaller. Like fish, or maybe a squirrel." Though the thought of the latter made her queasy again.
Bruni slid down the front of her dress and she caught him in the palm of her hands, then lifted him and kissed the top of his little head. "I feel like such a spoiled, privileged brat."
"I wouldn't say that. At least, you're not a brat."
Honeymaren's voice startled Elsa and she flailed a bit, sending Bruni spinning through the air. She caught him in a snow drift and then turned around and smiled at Honeymaren. She opened her mouth to say something but all that came out was a squeaked, "Hi."
Elsa cleared her throat and added with what little dignity remained to her, "I'm not that spoiled."
"Sure you weren't." Maren stepped close, smiling at Elsa with that expression that had repeatedly driven her to distraction. Honeymaren had the most beautiful smile Elsa had ever seen and that included Anna's.
A wave of dizziness that had nothing to do with why she'd been nauseous earlier swept over her when Honeymaren's hand brushed hers as she stepped past. "Maren, I need you."
Maren froze, and stared at her.
Elsa grimaced. "Help. I need your help. Can you show me something useful? Fishing or something? I'm definitely not ready to help with the Reindeer."
"I understand." Maren took Elsa's hand and squeezed it, "It's not Ryder's favorite part either, but it's a necessary role."
"I'm not saying it's not. We have to eat, and the hides for your clothing have to come from somewhere. It's just … seeing it is way different from knowing about it objectively." Elsa looked at their hands.
"I can show you how to spear-fish?" Maren asked, "And how to clean and prepare the fish."
"And cook them? I can start the fire!"
"You can't use Bruni this time," Maren teased, letting go of Elsa to lead her towards one of the streams. She shrugged off her outer layers, until she was wearing just an undershirt that exposed her shoulders and impressive arms.
Elsa nearly ran into a tree before she caught herself, "I'll have you know that he volunteered."
She patted the tree and whispered 'sorry' before stepping around it and catching up with Honeymaren. "Anna was always better at using flint."
"You'll just have to keep practicing then." Maren hung her tunic on a tree branch and then tugged off her boots. "You should take your layers off too."
Flushing, Elsa looked down at herself, "I don't have any layers." She was suddenly embarrassed by the fact she'd left her entire wardrobe in Arendelle. "I don't have any other clothing out here at all."
Maren looked her up and down in a way that made Elsa feel hot, "We'll take care of that soon. You at least need boots and trousers, I'm sorry I never asked before. I guess you're just really pretty as you are."
"It's okay." Elsa kicked her sandals off, then tapped her chin before using her powers to change her clothing. A flurry of sparkling snowflakes later, her leggings shrank into shorts, her train disappeared and her top shrank significantly too. "How's that?"
"That works." Maren said, voice cracking as she picked up her spear where she'd suddenly dropped it. "So first I should show you how to hold this."
Elsa studied the way Maren's arms looked as she gripped the spear, and her mouth went dry. "Okay."
Slowly, Maren pressed the spear into her hand. It was lighter than she expected it to be, and she found that it was fun to hold while maintaining the balance. Then Maren slipped behind her, pressing her chest into Elsa's back and sliding her hand down Elsa's arm, before adjusting her grip. "Like this."
They stood like that for several minutes, Maren using her hands and even her hips to help Elsa adjust her stance, before she instructed her in how to lift the spear up into a throwing position. Somehow, despite the hazy fog that drifted through Elsa's mind every time their bodies molded together, she managed to get the form right.
Maren stepping away left Elsa with a keen sense of loss and a need for a cold shower. She took a steadying breath.
"Throw it there," Maren said, pointing. "Try to hit that point between the two rocks. Once you've got a feel for throwing it, I'll show you how to spear small, fast moving targets that are close."
"Are you okay?" Elsa asked, breathless. "You sound like you're out of breath."
"Everything is fine." Maren cleared her throat, "Now throw the damn spear."
Elsa grinned, then concentrated as she threw it. It hit close to it's mark, which was better than she expected and she bounced, "I did it!"
Before she could think about it she'd thrown her arms around Honeymaren. Maren hesitated, then hugged her back and Elsa couldn't help but admire how nice her hair smelled.
"Are you going to hug me every time you get it?" Maren asked, looking up at her.
"Do you not want me to?"
"No! No. This is okay, this is great, please don't stop." Maren's face heated up and she buried it into Elsa's shoulder.
They stood like that for a few moments before Maren pulled away. "Now it's time to get wet."
Fanning herself, Elsa followed Maren down to the stream. It was deeper than it looked, and she watched Maren hop onto a large rock in the center. "Toss me the spear."
Careful to avoid running her friend through, Elsa tossed it up, then jumped onto the rock next to her so she could observe more closely. She was acutely aware of Maren's proximity, and reached over to brush some hair away from the back of her neck.
She wondered what Maren's skin would taste like, and forced herself to study Maren's form.
Her spear-fishing form. Not any other form.
"Can you see the fish?" Maren was asking, and Elsa tried to snap herself out of it, but the sunlight made Maren's skin glow and her hair shine, the shadows bringing her face out in stark relief. The strong set of her jaw, and lips that made Elsa's buzz as she stared at them.
"Fish?" Elsa shook herself again, and looked in the water. Maren's reflection made it impossible to see anything else and she stood there a moment trying to understand why she felt like she was on the edge of understanding something.
"Yes, fish." Maren pointed into the water, "See the shadow?"
"Yes." She had to squint one eye up to be able to focus past Maren. Elsa had the feeling her body was already ahead of her mind, but fish. They were here for fishing.
She really wanted Maren pressed against her again. Leaning forward more, she placed her hand on Maren's waist for balance.
The throw went wide, the spear clattering along the bank as Maren lost her balance and flailed into the water. At the last moment, she managed to grab Elsa's hand and Elsa went in with her.
Maren lifted her head out of the water, and Elsa sputtered as she did the same. Maren was a warm weight in her lap as their eyes met. She started to laugh, which only made Elsa more embarrassed, even as she laughed with her.
And then, like it was the most natural thing in the world, their lips met. A jolt went through Elsa. Understanding and something more as she pulled Maren closer to her. Elsa had never kissed anyone, nor been kissed herself, and yet it was as natural as breathing.
Half-swimming, half-dragging themselves along the stream bed, Elsa and Maren managed to reach the stream bank. Elsa deepened the kiss as she lay on top of Maren now, little sparks on her skin wherever fingers drifted.
"Elsa," Maren said, part gasp, part whine, her fingers digging into a spot near where Elsa's hip became her ass.
It made focusing on anything but that incredibly difficult, but Elsa lifted her head, "Is something wrong?"
"No." Maren giggled, cupping Elsa's cheek, "I mean, I don't think so. Are you okay?"
Elsa grasped Maren's shoulders, inadvertently pinning her down and drawing a groan from the woman, "I feel like I just figured out something I should have years ago and that I'm the last one to know."
"I've been wanting to kiss you for a long time," Honeymaren said. Her hands stroked up Elsa's legs now, and then her sides, hesitating when they brushed the outer edge of her breasts. "Among … other things."
Elsa's mouth moved before her brain to mouth filter could get in the way, "What kind of other things?"
"I want to touch you. Taste you." Maren's hands moved closer, her fingertips lightly brushing against nipples hardening through the thin layer of Elsa's magical top.
That lightning strike hit her again, different this time. It was a primal feeling that surged through her and made her intensely aware of everything that was the two of them and absolutely nothing that was around them.
"Please," Elsa pleaded and Maren immediately kissed her again, her hands squeezing and brushing and stroking at her. They moved up to her shoulders, skin against skin and Elsa desperately needed more of that. Her clothing melted away into a fine mist that drifted onto the rushing stream as her fingers dug into Maren's undershirt, searching for a way in.
Maren groaned, hands jerking across Elsa as if she couldn't figure out where she wanted to touch her first. Reluctantly, they had to pull apart, if only long enough for Maren to strip. Elsa sat back on her heels, staring at her with wide eyes.
"Gods, look at you," Maren said, tossing her top aside and trying to get her pants off, fumbling with them for a moment before succeeding.
"Look at you." Elsa moved in as soon as Maren was nude, their slick bodies sliding against each other as she did so. She was feeling so much, and didn't know where to start or what to do. Even the cold water rushing over their legs and knees could do nothing to help her.
"Sweetheart?" Maren's voice was shaky. She kissed her lightly, then slid her hands up and down Elsa's back and sides.
The motion calmed Elsa, while simultaneously stoking a fire low in her stomach. She caught Maren's lips, a low moan escaping as Maren resumed exploring her body. The woman seemed obsessed with the freckles on her chest.
It was all she could do to keep herself steady, with whispered words in her ear and gentle hands tracing fire across her body. Elsa broke the kiss, licking the hollow of Maren's throat and tasted salt and the earth. She sunk her teeth lightly into the tender skin there and sucked deeply.
Maren arched her back, gasping loudly and holding Elsa tight against her skin. Her fingers dug into Elsa's hips and ass hard enough to leave bruises. Elsa nuzzled her, nipping at her jaw, caressed her breast and her stomach with her hands and savored this passion burning between them.
A leg slipped between her thighs, pressing hard against her center and rubbing there, making her body shudder and shake as a feeling like a coiled spring grew tighter and tighter and tighter.
Then the world was upended and Elsa was on her back, Maren hovering over with eyes darkened by lust and an adoring, hungry expression. Her hair had come undone from it's braid and framed her face like a brown, sun speckled curtain. Elsa panted, gazing up at Maren as she dragged her fingers down her stomach and across her thighs.
"Elsa?" She hesitated, hand hovering close enough to feel the heat and yet much too far away. Elsa whined and rocked her hips up into that hand. Maren laughed, leaning down to kiss her. "I'll take that as a yes."
Maren's fingers stroked through the slick wetness between Elsa's legs and she grew super-heated, arching underneath her, gripping her arm with one hand while the other searched for some way to give back even a fraction of the pleasure she was receiving.
The coil snapped, Elsa's voice lost in Maren's mouth as wave after wave washed over her. Writhing as her vision went white, Elsa tilted her head back with a shuddering moan.
Elsa's eyes fluttered open as sense returned to her. Maren was still over her with a broad smile on her face as she lifted her fingers to her lips and licked then clean. Another, smaller orgasm stole what little breath Elsa had left and joy bubbled up out of her in the form of uncontrollable giggling. She flailed her hands, trying to pull or move Maren, as eager to taste and touch as Maren had been, but quickly realized she needed a breather.
Maren settled her head onto Elsa's chest, eyes closed. "Take a minute, it's okay."
"Want you," Elsa managed to say, pushing herself up on her elbows so she could … catch sight of the magically carved ice sculpture on the rock in the stream.
The two of them, locked in passion, Elsa's head thrown back and Honeymaren gazing at her with such a loving expression that it made Elsa's heart ache for the three seconds before what had happened registered.
Seeing Elsa's shocked expression, Maren turned to follow her gaze. Her eyes went wide and then she started to laugh.
"It's not funny!"
"Yes, it is." Maren's fingers touched Elsa's cheek, and forced her to look at her. "And it's also beautiful."
"I guess maybe it is," she admitted, smiling lopsidedly. It was a good memory to have, she thought. But it would have to be just for them.