A/N: Hey guys. Geez I got to stop saying i'm doing weekly uploads. Honestly i'm having fun writing and since I don't have much going on in life at the moment, I tend to sit back and play games/write all day. So that's why I keep finishing chapters even though I expect to work on them for several days. Enough about me though, lets respond to my awesome reviewers.
Guest (1): Glad you don't mind me shoving chapters down you guys' throats. I do enjoy writing the communication, but I might have trouble with it when they begin going beyond grunts and growls.
JustAnInnocentDevil: Last time I spelled your name I realize it didn't go through properly. I think it was the periods so i'm just going to not add them, I hope you don't mind. But anyway, thanks for the review. I'm glad I effected your day in a good way =D. Also don't worry, I very much enjoy writing and give myself a week to have a chapter uploaded. This makes me feel less pressured and makes me want to write more.
GeekFun: Glad you don't mind early updates because I love doing them. Glad you're liking it and I will certainly write some more.
laryssa1234: Yes, poor mother. Also Elsa is indeed learning a bit more about them. And omg, you like the style? That makes me super happy as I have been very worried i'm writing in a much too rushed manner. Glad you're enjoying it.
Guest (2): Glad you enjoyed. Honestly, I find it a little cliche, but I am very happy that you don't and that it entertains you.
asdf: Another person who says it isn't cliche. Damn, thanks man. It sometimes feels kind of corny to me, but i'm doing my darndest not to go down that route.
DreamWalker: You do? I'm glad. I noticed a lot of stories i've read in this fiction section don't deal in uh... death and gore? I was worried about posting it, assuming everyone would hate that I did this to the characters. However i'm glad you and others are enjoying it.
Sorry for that long A/N, but man you guys sure know how to review and keep a writer happy. Glad you guys are enjoying. Enough of me ruining your immersion though, on with the story.
Anna had never seen anything so strange. Sure, Elsa had eaten the boar, or at least as much as she could manage, however it was the way she ate it that had Anna shocked and stunned even though they were already back in her home. Anna was combing her hair with a comb made from the rib cage of a smaller animal, her mind still working over what she'd seen Elsa do. The strange girl had stuck a piece of meat, that Anna had to skin for her, onto a stick and held it over the fire that Ooowaayoo had set up for them in his hut that was designed to house a fire pit. It took quite some time before Elsa was willing to eat it, and when she did, the meat had lost its white and red color, turning more gray and brown. It looked dried out as well, having lost its luscious blood and juice. Anna wondered about what other strange habits Elsa might have had.
Elsa, for her part was feeling rather lazy at the moment, having eaten as much of the boar as her stomach would allow. She felt stuffed, content, and warm thanks to Anna's bed pelt around her body. She had been sitting in that strange rat-man's hut for some time, having Anna skin pieces of meat for her to roast over the fire. Maybe it was because she was hungry, or maybe the meat really was exotic, but it had been some of the best meat she'd ever tasted, even without seasonings. Elsa rubbed at her full stomach, feeling like a fat cat who'd just finished dining.
She almost forgot about the current situation she was in, being a captive and all.
That was when she turned to Anna who was still combing her rat's nest of a head. Elsa wondered just how much of a captive she really was. Was Anna truly holding her against her will, or would she follow Elsa if she left. She honestly didn't know. She couldn't tell how well Anna got along with the other villagers. They harmed Elsa at first sight, and Elsa imagined that it was common knowledge that Anna had brought Elsa home. Not to mention how quickly Anna killed the boy from before. Would friends kill one another so easily, did Anna have attachments enough to stay here?
"Anna." Elsa called.
Anna just managed to get a nasty tangle out that threatened to rip her hair from her scalp when Elsa called her. She turned towards the blonde, comb still seeking to fix a mess that would take all morning to fix. Elsa realized that she didn't know the full situation with Anna. The only thing she could think to do was to gain more trust with the girl and to build some sort of relationship.
This would require communication.
"Sssss. Ssss." Elsa pronounced out, letting her tongue rest against the roof of her mouth while she blew out air to create the sound of a snakes hiss.
Anna blinked at her. Was Elsa challenging her?
"Ssss. Ssss." She tried again, hoping Anna would attempt to repeat it.
Anna stared at her blankly for a moment before she dropped her comb and crawled over to Elsa in that monkey-like way that she did in her hut. She looked Elsa dead in the eye.
"Sssss." Elsa tried again. "Sss-"
Anna brought her hand up and smacked Elsa under her chin, effectively clacking her teeth together. The dumbstruck look on Elsa's face made Anna smile, and soon after laugh.
"Ehah." Anna scolded, thinking that Elsa was attempting to challenge her. It was something done to children who challenged their parents when they were too young to be taught harshly. A simple smack under the chin to shut their mouths. This could be followed up with a roar or threat, but Anna felt this was enough, especially after seeing Elsa's face.
And somehow, Elsa understood part of what just happened.
"N-no. I'm not being threatening. I'm trying to get you to pronounce my name. Its Elsa, not Ehah." Elsa said, feeling thoroughly embarrassed after Anna had essentially asserted her dominance.
"Ehah." Anna smiled, not really understanding Elsa, just liking her voice.
Elsa sighed.
"Please, you can do this. It's Elsssa. Elsssa." She tried again, wary this time of a potential swipe from below.
Anna actually did understand this time. It seems Elsa was bothered by the way she pronounced her name. Anna didn't care about the way Elsa pronounced her own name. Elsa could have just called her 'Ahh' and that would have been enough for her. Still, if Elsa was bothered by it, perhaps she should put more effort into it.
The literal hiss she created with her tongue at the back of the roof of her mouth, nearly scared Elsa half to death.
"N-no, not like that." Elsa put her tongue in the right place and opened her mouth to show Anna. She made the sound correctly, even giving off an 'ah' sound at the end to complete it.
Anna ended up putting the middle of her tongue to the roof of her mouth and was unable to create any sound. Elsa sighed and went through the step again with her. This went on for a solid ten minutes before-
"S...sssa." A new sound escaped Anna's lips.
Anna tensed up as Elsa suddenly grabbed her shoulders, smile wide.
"Yes! Yes, like that! Do it again!" Elsa basically commanded in joy, having her first taste of being a teacher with a successful student.
"Ssssa." Anna did it again.
"Yes! Now together. Elsa!" Elsa told her. "Elsa." She said one more time just to get the message across.
Anna looked to be concentrating. "Ehsssah."
Elsa's world crumbled as she realized she forgot the 'L' sound in her name.
"Almost." She simply said, not feeling too distressed since Anna was smiling and seeming to have fun now that she conquered a new syllable.
The next sound didn't take as long, probably due to it being a little easier.
"La." Elsa said.
"Ah… Nnnah… Lllaa."
"That's it! La."
"Llla."
"Now together. Eeelll." She tried to take it slower.
"Ehhlll"
"Sssssaa."
"sssa."
"Now, Elsa." Elsa bit her lip in anticipation.
"Ehllsa. Elsa." Anna repeated.
Elsa reached forward to grab Anna again, feelings of pride bubbling for herself and for Anna. She figured she deserved some of the praise, after all she was teaching someone brand new to a language how to speak. Anna as well deserved praise because she was such a fast learner.
It helped that Elsa was comparing Anna's progress to her two brothers as toddlers when they first tried speaking.
And that was how it went for most of the morning, Elsa attempting to get Anna to speak different words. The girl didn't understand them, but the sounds became easier and easier to produce. Anna, for her part, was enjoying herself. Elsa had never been this active with her before. It made her feel like perhaps Elsa did like her. Maybe she wasn't like the pet bird Anna once had. Maybe she didn't have to worry about Elsa running away if she learned to speak like her and communicate better. She was a long way from understanding Elsa, but she at least tried to grasp what she could.
It was hours later that Elsa tried getting her to do something else that wasn't just copying words.
"Me, Elsa." Elsa placed a hand to her chest. "You, Anna." She touched Anna between her breast.
Anna was much too into their session to notice the way her heart sped up at Elsa touching her so close to what she considered a sensitive area.
Anna touched Elsa's chest, an action that had a whole lot more meaning to Anna then it did to Elsa in the vice versa situation.
"Me, Elsa?"
"No, no." Elsa clicked her tongue, starting to have fun with this. "Me, Elsa." Then she touched Anna's shoulder. "You, Anna. You."
Anna began to get a little frustrated, but it was mostly masked by her excitement to continue 'talking' with Elsa. Truthfully, Anna's mind did not do anything so complex as speech. Hunt, eat, poop, get along with villagers, kill intruders, be strong. That was as far as Anna's mind went. It was a simple life, a happy life. Elsa's life seemed complex, needing to put her food over a fire for long periods of time before eating, having no claws to defend herself, using this strange speech, and most importantly, Anna was almost positive that Elsa could not change forms now. It seemed the girl was always stuck in such a fragile form. Anna had thought she was some small creature at first and perhaps that's why she didn't change. Now she wondered why none of her squadron had changed, why they all stayed so small and helpless while Anna and her people tore them apart. The answer was simple: They couldn't morph. Such strange and complex creatures, Anna was really glad she wasn't like them.
One look at Elsa's big blue eyes and Anna wondered if staying in her humanoid form forever was a possibility if it meant getting close to Elsa.
"You, Anna." Anna said, touching Elsa's chest again, honestly using any excuse to get close to the two orbs of flesh on her chest. She didn't know why she wanted to touch them, but something told her that Elsa would be mad if she did.
"No. Me, Elsa." Then she touched Anna. "Me, Anna." She tried instead.
"Me, Anna." And Anna touched herself.
"Yes! Good!" Although Anna didn't understand the words, she had learned that Elsa's spikes in excitement meant she had done something correct.
"Now… Me, Elsa." She touched herself.
Anna felt as though Elsa was trying to trick her with the wording, so instead she said, "Me, Anna." She touched herself. "You, Elsa." She tried, feeling wrong and awaiting her light scolding that Elsa did whenever she was wrong. Anna had at least learned that 'no' meant she was wrong.
"Yes!" Elsa bounced up, both of them still sitting on the floor, though Elsa was taking up the comfortable bed.
Feeling successful and wanting more praise, Anna said it again. "Me, Anna. You, Elsa."
"That's right. Very good Anna. We'll have you talking in no time." At least that was what Elsa wanted to believe.
Truthfully they spent half the day teaching Anna words. Anna had trouble learning when to say things, not being able to properly put together a sentence. Elsa wasn't the greatest teacher either, not really knowing what else to teach her besides words in general. The best she could do was tell her what things in her hut were called. She taught her to say the words: Tooth, Comb, Bed, Leaf, branch and an assortment of other words she used to best describe something she saw. She didn't know what to call the giant head that was mantled on Anna's wall, a thing she wished to greatly ask about. She taught Anna that it meant 'trophy', and that was as far as she got. Anna didn't beam with pride like Elsa expected when they moved to the trophy, if anything the girl seemed melancholy. Elsa had first assumed it was some strange creature from the forest, but now that she was certain these people could morph, Elsa imagined it was in fact the head of a transformed Half-Beast. Whoever it was, Anna did not seem very proud to have it on her wall.
It was some time during midday that they were interrupted. A call of 'Ahhhma' from outside was all it took to steal away the learning atmosphere that Elsa had created. Anna growled at the voice that called her, moving away toward the hut entrance to look out towards whoever called her. Elsa couldn't see, but Anna growled at whoever it was before moving back inside. She looked regretful for a moment before taking Elsa's arm and pulling her along toward the entrance. Elsa followed, though a little less willingly then she would have liked. Anna dragged her out of the hut, making sure to access the ladder first.
Elsa gulped at the sight of several villagers outside Anna's hut.
She thought to run back inside, but what good would that do her? If they wanted to get to her, then they could easily climb up. In fact, one of them had large insect like wings that were likely capable of flying him up there. She took a deep breath and followed Anna. She convinced herself that it must have been safe, surely it was when Anna was so willing to drag her down as well.
Well… she tried convincing herself anyway.
Once at the bottom of the tree, Elsa turned to see several villagers looking at her, all of them looking rather tough. Some were older, possibly thirty to forty years old, but most seemed young, looking around Elsa's age of twenty. Only one of them greeted Anna with a call of her true name. The rest seemed content with staring Elsa down. The only one Elsa was sure she recognized was the one she assumed to be some sort of leader figure. The tall man that must have been seven feet in height. He was the one who killed her captain, the one with the third eye that looked like a scar in the middle of his forehead.
Nothing was said, simply a staring contest between all of them. Elsa did her best not to participate, staring at the ground, looking at Anna's clawed feet. Eventually, whatever the reason for staring passed. The 'leader' walked away, others following as well. Anna went to follow as well, making sure Elsa stayed close to her. Elsa couldn't say she liked this, but no one had immediately attacked her, and Anna didn't look worried.
What Elsa didn't know was that she was not in any danger. At least not anymore than usual. Anna was a part of the scouts that patrolled the borders of their forest and she was expected to continue to do so even with her new company. She had no problem continuing to do her duty, but she was rather peeved that they'd decided to scout while she was getting along so well with Elsa. Anna loved to see the excitement in Elsa's eyes as they began to try and communicate better. Elsa was so happy, perhaps happy just to have someone to converse with. Anna was still a long ways away from that, and even though it frustrated her trying to learn new words and when they should be used, she was willing to do it, just to see Elsa smile, just to know that Elsa was liking her more and more.
Anna, the ignorant beast, had mistaken Elsa desire to escape for something entirely different.
Eventually, deeper into the forest, The party began to split away from one another, all of them having different areas to look into before meeting back up. Anna took her normal route, making sure Elsa was following behind her as she discreetly sniffed at the air and listened for anything abnormal. While Elsa had the notion that Anna was looking for human intruders, in truth Anna looked for more than just that. There were large beasts in the forest, some that even Anna considered monsters compared to her own people. Sometimes the scouts would have to get together to chase off the larger predators to keep them away from the village and other times they'd have to band together to chase off packs of animals that, while smaller, were still a threat to the weaker members of the village. Unlike what Elsa thought, not everyone in the village was a fighter. Some were small, some were smart and invented tools to help, some were like ooowaayoo, who learned to make fire and shared it with those who needed warmth in the colder times. As for Anna? She wasn't particularly good at making tools or learning in general, but she could fight, and her beast form was a lot bigger than most others.
While Anna searched for something that could potentially threaten her village, Elsa looked around at her surroundings, eyebrows furrowed as she thought she recognized the area. She could have been wrong, but she was sure she heard a waterfall. It just so happened that her squadron had passed a waterfall before being attacked. She remembered because she wished the laws of physics allowed her to simply swim up the waterfall instead of having to climb up the nearby rocky hills in a suit of armor. It sounded far away, but Elsa wasn't very sure, she had been hearing it for awhile, meaning they were perhaps circling it. She wanted to run off, to go see just what it was, but one look at Anna was all it took to make her see reason.
You don't turn your back and run from a predator that can chase you down.
For all Elsa knew, Anna's animal instincts could kick in if the girl ran. She didn't fully believe this would happen, having seen how docile Anna was around her and her will to protect, but still. Anna once knew a neighbor with a cat, a very nice cat that let everyone pet it. It seemed docile, seemed okay, but then, one day out of nowhere, the cat scratched someone. It had been a toddler, a little kid who went to rub the cat, only to be blinded in one eye after the cat sunk its claws into the child's face, hissing all the while. Elsa had witnessed it, and she knew then that animals could turn the other cheek just as quickly as they were to show you the other. They had no logic, no reason, only instinct.
She seemed to forget that Anna was, even if only partly, human.
It was probably around two hours of walking all together before Elsa was back in the village. Anna had found nothing on her walk, and the others didn't seem to have anything to report once they met up in the woods where they originally broke off. The walk back was in silence, and once entering the village, they all left without a word to one another. Elsa wondered if it was always like this, or if her presence was causing some sort of rift or something. She hoped it wouldn't involve Anna being outcast from her village. However, the thought was quickly perished as she remembered that she was not friends with Anna, that Anna kidnapped her and held her hostage. She tried to ignore the good that Anna had done, always trying to put something selfish with it. Anna had only tried to feed her because she didn't want her hostage to die. She only protected her because she wanted to keep her plaything. Anna would eventually lose interest in her, and then what? She would be fed to the villagers, heart ripped out and body torn into for sustenance. She didn't want to die like that, she couldn't die like that.
And although something in her mind kept poking at her, telling her that Anna was a friend, she denied it and buried it away. She needed to escape, to be free of this village where one wrong step could end up with her dead.
Elsa stuck to that thought, thinking of the waterfall and wondering how she was going to get to it.
It was late at night, Anna snoring off in her corner and Elsa sleeping on the bed, warm with Anna's pelt. After they'd gotten home, Anna had tried to get Elsa to engage in teacher her again, but Elsa seemed distant for some reason, the girl unwilling to participate. She had no way of knowing that Elsa was trying to convince herself to stay away from Anna, to continue thinking of ways to escape from her. Had she had wolf ears like her beast form, they would have wilted at the cold way Elsa ignored her. She wondered why Elsa had these random moments, wondered why she seemed willing to follow Anna and talk to Anna one minute and then be distant or angry with her another. Anna, not understanding the complexity of the situation or Elsa's real feelings, simply sat in her corner thinking of ways to befriend her until nightfall hit and she fell asleep.
Elsa had fallen asleep, unaware of Anna's turmoil and most certainly unaware of the person creeping towards the tree from the village, climbing up the grooves in the wood.
Elsa awoke to a hand on her mouth and something sharp at her neck. She nearly screamed, calls for Anna at the tip of her tongue, however something strange happened, something she didn't think could ever happen in this village.
Someone spoke to her.
"You… want leave? Want out?" The voice was feminine, voice uncertain as though they weren't sure they were speaking correctly.
Elsa wondered if she was dreaming a terrifying, yet very exciting nightmare.
"Speak. Want out?" They whispered.
Elsa blinked, unable to see in the darkness of the night, the moonlight not being enough to shine into Anna's tree. Elsa gave a nod of her head and a muffled yes. She wondered if someone had found her, if someone had come to save her.
"Good. I take hand back. You no speak until we away. Ahhma big sleeper, but bad to take chance." She whispered one last time, taking away her hand and whatever sharp thing was against Elsa's throat.
Elsa was so grateful that she didn't dare to question what was going on. There was someone else here. Someone else who could speak. They could escape together if they worked with one another. Elsa smiled as she followed her rescuer outside. She gave one more look towards Anna's corner, finding darkness and the sound of snoring. One outside her rescuer quickly descended the ladder, much to fast for Elsa to see a face. She followed after, trying to be as silent as she could as she went down. It wasn't until Elsa hit the ground, rescuer standing behind her, that she realized the person called her 'Ahhma'.
"You..." Elsa said, looking shocked at the sight once she turned around and saw who it was.
"Quickly, we go. Come or stay." Said the mother of a recently deceased child.
The mother quickly turned away, walking towards the woods as silently as she could. Elsa stared in surprise for a moment before following. She didn't understand. How was this woman talking? No one in this village even hinted at knowing a language. None of them talked, only growls and hisses being the way to communicate. Even the way they acted hinted that they did not use language to understand one another. Instead of talking, they stood near one another when wanting company. The village was always silent, the only sounds being those who were working. And her most prime example was Anna, who communicated in baby sounds and growls. The girl couldn't possibly know even a slice of English, yet there was someone in the village who talked to her, who snuck her outside and was trying to help her escape.
Someone whose child was burned after his death.
"Wait. How can you speak? No one seems to understand me, and yet you can speak." Elsa asked, wholly confused.
"I learn from mother. She learn from mother. Always learn from mother." She said simply, moving further into the woods, trying to get them out of sight of the village.
"But no one else speaks." Elsa said, unable to wrap her head around it.
"They no teach. They like their way. A lot like their way. Too many, so talk is bad. Teaching is bad. No one teach, so no one learn. Few talk now, always secret. Teach to child, no one else." She said, suddenly stopping once she realized she realized they were out of sight of the village.
"You speak my language though… how?" Elsa was getting a weird feeling in her stomach, the world she thought she was beginning to understand made no sense.
The mother chortled darkly. "You see animal, yes? You wrong. We like you, always. We change for forest, change for strong."
Elsa finally noticed the sharp object that had been placed to her throat was the same spear she tried stealing from the storage hut before. The woman held it tightly, grip so strong that Elsa wondered if she could break it.
"What..." Elsa swallowed, staring at the spear. "What do you mean?"
The mother looked Elsa dead in her eyes and finally Elsa could see the simmering anger, the redness from tears, and the one thing that was being communicated through eye contact alone.
She wanted her dead.
"I teach son. He not like. Want to become strong. Want to become leader. I no like, but love him. I tell him is okay. I watch him grow daytime, nighttime. He grow strong, stronger than father. He still want leader. I tell him is okay." Her face took on murderous rage. "You come. You come here. You and Ahhma. Son only want to test strength, to be strong. Leader never approve of Ahhma and you. Son try to be like leader, try do what leader does not do. Then… then you and Ahhma… you kill son, you kill baby. Young, he young." And suddenly she looked like the sad mother that Elsa knew from earlier. She looked ready to break down, tears already falling as she could barely finish the words.
Elsa's hands came up, like she wanted to console her, but truthfully she didn't know why they came up. She couldn't console this woman. Nothing she said would bring her any comfort. Elsa was a product of her son's death. No, perhaps her hands came up in defense, a small stance to get ready for what she knew must be coming. The woman had lured her out here to kill her. She didn't look very strong, but she didn't need to be when she had a weapon and Elsa did not.
"Please… I didn't…" Elsa said, feeling sorry, but feeling more of a need to survive.
The mother looked to Elsa again, small smile slowly spreading on her face.
"You take son… You take baby… Now take you." And then she gripped the spear with both hands.
Elsa screamed, screamed for Anna, but it was drowned out by the overpowering yell of the woman next to her. Elsa put her hands up to defend herself as the woman lifted the spear up with two hands. The spear came down, sound of flesh being pierced and Elsa gasped.
"Now you… gone." The final words Elsa would ever hear from her.
The woman slumped to the ground, body falling to the forest floor on her back. The spear sticking out of her chest that she'd pierced. She died mere seconds after, all the while staring at Elsa. The final smile on her face that came with the sounds of roars from the village, told Elsa everything she needed to know.
The woman could have killed Elsa… could have stabbed her there… but then what? Anna would still be alive, her son's murderer. Why take one when you could kill both. Her final scream was not one of pain, but one to alert the villagers of something amiss. They would find her, find the spear, they would instantly look to Elsa. She would be killed by others… and Anna… Anna would follow as well after going berserk on the villagers who killed her.
One sacrifice for the price of revenge on two others.
The roars from the village got louder as multiples were hard now, all of them smelling the blood that seeped from her chest and running to find out what happened.
Elsa had been a fool to follow.
Elsa snatched up the spear, feet pounding against the forest floor as her legs carried her away from the scene. She could already hear them behind her, her the painful screeches and the nasty snap of bone as the others found the body and began to transform. She ran, breath coming out in heavy puffs from the adrenaline. She knew they'd catch onto her scent, perhaps even catch onto the flesh and blood that was soaked onto her spear. She ran as it was the only option available to her, there would be no talking, no words to defend herself. They would tear into her, rip her apart and feast upon her for what they assumed she did. Even Anna, her protector, could possibly be part of the group gathering to hunt her down. Who was she to Anna but a plaything to keep around? She would be murdered if Anna suspected her of what happened. Elsa would be just like her neighbors cat who was stomped to death by the father of the child that lost his eye.
Something flew by her head, air hissing by until a thump sounded in a tree next to her. Briefly as she sprinted by, she recognized the object as the same one that had pierced through the throat of the first ever person she'd seen die. She needed no one to tell her how deadly they were, images of the man's throat swelling filled her vision. Her legs kept moving, more air whistling as more projectiles were flung at her. Some stuck into trees, others landing on the ground near her feet. Elsa had actually accidentally dodged the last one as she nearly tripped over a vine along the ground, the projectile flying where her neck would have been. There was a growl behind her but she didn't stop, refusing to let her last moments on this earth be her dying when she still had some steam left in her.
It hardly mattered when something suddenly swooped down from over head and knocked into her, sending her tumbling to the ground, knees and elbows being scrapped along the forest floor, arms being scratched by a nearby bush. Elsa was quick to stand, but her pursuers were quicker to surround her. Suddenly she found herself between two different beasts, all of both looking menacing. The flap of insect like wings overhead let her know there was a third as well. Above her was a giant insect like creature with oversized wings for its six foot long body and fat abdomen. Around her were mammals of some kind, or perhaps reptile. It was too dark to tell. She was sure though that they walked along four legs, like most animals. Elsa took up her spear, aiming at any who stepped too close. It instantly reminded her of being surrounded by the villagers on her first night here. The only difference was that they were now large beasts. She wondered briefly where the rest were, sure that more than three would have followed her. Maybe their beast forms were not meant for running, perhaps she had only been caught by the faster species.
She hopped that with speed, came a lack of strength.
Elsa swung out at one, stabbing her spear at it as she missed the initial strike. The strange behemoth backed away, swiping at her spear to try and rid her of it. The other one, the second beast on the ground, circled her and lunged for her back. Elsa barely moved out of the way, and with a stroke of luck, managed to stab her spear into its side as it missed. The beast wailed, whipping about and backing away. Elsa barely held onto her spear from the brief thrashing, luckily hanging onto it as it did not go deep enough to stick itself in the beast's flesh. The first beast lunged at her while she was off guard. Her Mind fearful but body wanting to survive, causing her to fight back, she went to stab, tried to go for an eye, only for the beast to vanish from her sight.
And by vanish, she meant it was knocked away so fast that she almost didn't see.
The beast tumbled away, something else attached to it, biting into its neck.
"Anna!" Elsa called out, instantly recognizing her large frame.
Anna was transformed, jaw locked around the neck of the one that tried lunging at Elsa. She'd drove into him, mind locked on one thing: Protect Elsa. There was a crunch of bone as Anna bit down as hard as she could and twisted the beast's neck, killing him instantly. She roared triumphantly and in warning to the other two present. The beast from before that walked on his legs, the one Elsa stabbed, backed away, not ready to take on such an opponent by himself. The insect overhead seemed more for scouting and less for fighting as it flew away.
"Anna!" Elsa ran over, body acting on instinct to the one that has protected her.
Elsa suddenly found herself scooped up, Anna dipping down and using her muzzle to tip Elsa over onto her nose before lifting her head up and depositing Elsa onto her back, right between Anna's four tendrils. Without a word she began to walk off, picking up her pace until Elsa grabbed onto as much fur as she could to hold on. That was when Anna took off in a sprint. Elsa wondered briefly what was going on. That was until she heard the roars that came from behind.
Anna was running.
There were too many. Anna seemed quite the capable fighter, but even she couldn't handle an entire village. Anna didn't know what was going on. One moment she was asleep, the next there was a scream. Anna smelled something strange in her home, a smell that didn't belong to her or Elsa. She rushed outside, following the scent, only to find other villagers surrounding the dead mother whose child Anna killed. At first there was confusion, but it had only lasted a moment as she realized Elsa's scent went deeper into the forest. Others had already run after her, Anna could smell it. With limited intelligence, Anna ran off after Elsa, changing into her beast form as she ran along the forest floor, crawling when the pain became to much, but never stopping. Eventually she reached full form, the pain present, but bearable. She ran, running past the slower beasts who had chased Elsa. She caught up to a small group, one of them firing off barbs at Elsa, trying to hit her. Anna knew all about them, knew that it only took one to poison the target and leave them dying. Sure, it wasn't all that effective against larger beasts, but for one so small as Elsa, all it would take was one pinch of the barb.
Anna had to create a distraction to get them away.
Elsa, braid whipping in the wind, gasped as she felt something wet on Anna's back. She brought a hand up, finding it bloody. Elsa looked and realized that Parts of Anna were wet and damp, blood dripping from wounds she had acquired. Elsa almost questioned it, however Anna wouldn't understand her and she doubted the girl could speak in this form anyway. How had Anna gotten injured? The brief tumble from before could not have done this much damage to her. Elsa however knew already, knew in the back of her mind that the only way Anna would have gotten injured was in defense of her. It explained why there were only three beasts that managed to catch up to her. The others were all too busy dealing with the traitor, the one who chose Elsa over their own.
"I'm sorry." And Elsa meant it, not strictly because of the pain Anna must be going through from her wounds, but for doubting her. She had thought Anna just a beast, thought her as just a monster that was using Elsa. Truthfully she still thought Anna was more animal than man, but she couldn't deny that Anna wanted her safe. She wouldn't doubt that anymore, she wouldn't doubt that Anna cared for her.
Anna was giving up everything she knew to keep her safe.
Elsa suddenly found herself being assaulted. The giant bug from before came back, swooping down and pushing at Elsa, trying to knock her off Anna's back. To fall off meant death, as Elsa could hear more foot falls behind them. The others were chasing, waiting for Anna to slip up so they could rip both her and Elsa apart. The bug swooped again, knocking into Elsa and nearly knocking her off. A tendril whipped out, trying to hit the bug, but that was all. Elsa expected them to charge full of energy, to be more accurate like the day Elsa saw Anna use them before. She realized however that Anna couldn't see, her face staying looking straight ahead to navigate the forest. She was swinging blindly at the air behind her, trying to find a mark. As for the electricity form before, Elsa imagined that might not be the best with her on Anna's back. Elsa remembered the spear in her hand and swung out at the bug when it swooped at her again. She missed, nearly being taken off Anna's back again. Anna kept up her brutal pace that had Elsa jostling on her back, unable to slow down or else she'd have to come face to face with however many people were chasing them. Elsa had just gotten readjusted when she saw the bug going for another push. She stuck her spear out, unable to gain much thrust due to her position. Her aim was true however as the bug impaled itself, squealing in a way that Elsa didn't know bugs could do before falling. The weight was too much and the spear too deep. Elsa had to let go, letting her spear fall with her down opponent.
Elsa clutched onto Anna as they pushed through the forest. It was sometime later full of jostling and Anna jumping over or weaving through obstacles that Elsa heard the sound of the waterfall.
"The water… Anna! The water!" She yelled.
Anna didn't understand, continuing to run. Elsa, thinking fast, grabbed Anna on the side of her neck that was towards the direction she heard the water, she pulled as hard as she could, trying to steer the mighty beast. Anna growled, changing direction, at least understanding that Elsa had somewhere specific in mind, something Anna didn't. So Anna ran, guided by Elsa until they came to a clearing, a long river of water that led to a waterfall. Elsa guided Anna towards the waterfall, not really knowing what she wanted to do, but knowing that it was the direction towards the city, towards home.
They reached the end, having to stop, Anna turned ready to face her former villagers. Truthfully she would have kept running, but her stamina was running low and her wounds ached. She couldn't run anymore, but she wouldn't just let them kill her and Elsa without a fight. Elsa looked around, seeing no one. She wondered if they had stopped chasing, that is until Anna roared in challenge. Elsa watched as beast after beast left the woods and entered the clearing, all of them staring Anna down. One lead the charge, a large and hairy beast that walked on four legs. It's tail reminded Elsa of a scorpion, coiled at the back and aimed towards the front of the body. At the end however was no stringer, but a ball full of spikes. Some spikes were missing, and upon closer examination, Elsa realized that this was due to them being fired off. This was the one, the creature that could fire poisonous barbs from its tail with deadly accuracy.
Anna stood, breathing heavily, blood flowing out of her with a steady trickle. She snarled, growling at her enemies, letting them know that she refused to be an easy kill. While Anna was ready to fight, Elsa was looking for a way out. She thought about telling Anna to break to the left, to try running around the waterfall and back the way her squadron had once passed through. However the rocky area was not easy to navigate and would take a long time to get down. Anna was in no condition to navigate its rough surface anyway. That was when she turned to look down the waterfall. She nearly gulped at the thought she had, but knew it was either this or die fighting.
"We've got to jump, Anna." She whispered, not knowing why, Anna didn't understand her and it seemed as though there were very few villagers who spoke, if there really were anymore besides the mom from before.
Anna growled.
"We've got to jump, Anna!" She pulled on Anna's fur, trying to get her to notice the waterfall to the side of them.
Anna planted her feet and prepared to fight.
Not knowing what else to do, Elsa jumped off Anna's back, their enemies getting closer and closer, all of them cautious of Anna even in her weakened state. Elsa jumped stood next to the rushing waters, turning back to Anna one more time.
"Anna!" A call for attention.
Anna turned.
Elsa jumped into the rushing waters and fell over the waterfall.
Elsa was suddenly lost in a torrent of water before feeling herself falling. She yelled, screamed, flailed her arms, just about everything expected of someone desperate enough to jump off a waterfall. Eventually she crashed into the waters below, narrowly missing a jagged rock as her body was thrown around by the torrents of water. She rose to the surface, unscathed besides a growing headache from the rush. She breathed heavily, looking up the water fall.
"Anna!" She called, mouth spitting out water.
There was a loud splash some feet away from her that sent out a ripple that pushed her away. Elsa began to swim over to the splash, hurrying to try and help Anna out of the water, though she didn't know how she'd handle such a massive beast.
A furry head emerged from the water instead. Elsa screamed at the site of the scorpion tailed beast she'd seen before. The beast bit at her, missing narrowly due to it being in the water, trying to swim and fight her at the same time. Elsa swam away just as a second body came crashing down, this one slamming into the beast from above. Roars were heard and fighting ensued in the water. Elsa swam away until she reached land. She climbed up, clothes wet and heavy and she turned to see Anna and the beast from before fighting in the water.
"Anna!" She called. She just wanted Anna to come out of the water and run. It would be so much easier to escape one beast rather than a whole village.
That was when Elsa heard a pathetic roar, one that sounded so weak, so hurt, a dying kind of sound. Elsa gasped at the sight of Anna going limp in the water, the scorpion-beast being triumphant as one of its barbs dug into Anna's back leg.
"No…" Elsa said weakly.
The beast turned to her now, finished with Anna as it stepped onto land, Anna's body washing up on land, unmoving. Elsa backed away, fear entering her mind now that she had no weapon to fight with and no protector to fight for her. She was left alone now, weaponless against a massive behemoth.
She looked at Anna's body again, feeling strange at the sight. Her fingers tingled, feeling cold all of a sudden.
The beast stepped forward, Elsa stepped back and tripped, falling on her bottom. It growled at her, taking its approach slow, wanting her to feel as much fear as possible before it killed her.
The tingling in Elsa's fingers spread to her arms. She realized she'd felt this once before.
"No… not again." A new fear, one she hadn't experienced since she was but a small child.
The beast lunged.
"I said, no!" Elsa screamed, throwing her right arm out towards the beast.
The sound of piercing flesh.
A weak bellow of pain.
Elsa stared in shock at the large icicle that jutted from the ground, stabbing into the beast's chest. The beast whined and writhed on the ice, trying to pry itself off. Elsa watched, barely able to breath as the beast began changing forms, a desperate and last attempt to escape. Elsa saw it… no her morph into a young woman that couldn't have been just a few years older than Elsa. She cried, body full of pain from the transformation and the icicle that pierced her lunge. Tears fell as blood dripped, her final gasps ones of desperation as she died on the ice.
Elsa sat stunned for nearly a minute before she remembered something.
"Anna." She weakly called.
Elsa stood, running over to Anna's body. She bent down, placing her hands on the cold beast that washed up on land.
"Anna…" She felt heat behind her eyes, tears ready to fall.
A whimper.
Elsa gasped, looking up to see Anna's eyes opened and looking at her. The weakened beast girl whimpered again. The pain from the poison was so great as it spread throughout her whole body. The barb had stuck into her leg, one of the better places as the poison would not reach her head from there. The poison was a quick killer, the fact that Anna still lived, meant it would not finish her off, but the pain would remain for who knows how long.
"Oh, Anna. I'm sorry." Elsa apologized. "I didn't do it though. I swear I didn't kill her." She told her, begging for forgiveness for everything that had happened. She wanted Anna to know that she didn't mean for this to happen, wanted her to know that she didn't kill the mother from before.
Anna just blinked at her, a low growl leaving canine lips.
The two sat there for a moment, Elsa doing her best not to cry on Anna, while Anna did her best to stay alive. It was when Elsa felt the water rise up and touch her with its cold grasp that she realized that Anna was still partially submerged.
"You have to transform back." Elsa told her, wanting to pull Anna out of the water. Of course Anna didn't respond with anything but a pathetic growl compared to her normal one. "Please, Anna." Elsa begged her to understand as she began trying to pull the great behemoth of a girl.
Anna grumbled pathetically. At first Elsa didn't think she would, but soon her body began to change, bones snapping grotesquely, putting her in more pain than she already was in. Elsa waited until Anna was back to human form before pulling her naked body from the water. Anna gave a whimper in human form that dared to break Elsa's heart.
"You can't die on me, Anna. You're tougher then that. I know you are." She told her, just trying to get Anna to stay awake really. She'd heard somewhere that it wasn't good to fall asleep if you were badly injured or cold.
Anna didn't respond, but her open eyes and chest that moved with every breath. let Elsa know she was awake.
"I'm not going to let you die, Anna. I'm going to take you home, just like you did for me." It was a promise, one she planned to keep.
Elsa reached down did her best to get Anna on her back. The city wasn't far. She could get help there. Elsa tossed Anna onto her back and began to move, finding the girl heavier than she looked.
And move Elsa did.
Elsa walked for nearly an hour, sometimes stumbling, sometimes falling and needing to take a rest. All the while though she would talk to Anna, force her to respond to try and keep her awake. Anna was covered in blood and it was flowing out of her in drops. It wasn't nearly as bad as her beast form, but Elsa knew she would die if left uncared for. So she forced herself to walk, kept going even when her legs screamed for her to stop, kept going even when she fell and hurt herself. Her drive to go forward being triggered with every breath she felt on her neck from Anna, every whimper or growl she got from the girl whenever she talked to her. Anna had gone above and beyond to prove that she cared for Elsa, and so Elsa would do the same.
It was sometime later that Elsa recognized light, recognized torches lit around the city. She walked all the way to the front gates until she was stopped by the guards who brandished spears at her. After everything she'd been through, the spears meant very little to her. Instead she just fell to her knees, too tired to go on and gave one final word.
"Please… help her."
She blacked out.
A/N: I kind of just remembered that this story was supposed to take place during a cold winter... please shame me as I start to include that in newer chapters.