A/N: Whoo, this chapter was a bit tougher than I anticipated (mainly the last few scenes). While this is lighthearted for the most part, I want to mention that the fight near the end is pretty ugly. Read with caution if you get grossed out easily.
You Are A Fever
"A party?" Elsa repeats, turning the idea over in her head. She and Anna are sitting at the kitchen table, finishing their breakfasts and watching fat flakes of snow drift past the window.
"Well, maybe not a 'party'," Anna quickly amends after taking a swig of orange juice. "More like a 'get together' or a 'gathering'. Maybe an 'assemblage'?" She's not sure if that last one is a word, but it sounds pretty legit. She's more concerned with the half-flipped collar of Elsa's peacoat. The jacket looks great on her, but the collar needs to be even, dammit.
"I think that's more than enough adjectives," Elsa responds dryly. Her eyebrows draw in thought. "But you really want to have a Halloween…assemblage…here?"
Anna nods. "Nothing too crazy, just some people, a little alcohol, maybe a scary movie."
Elsa is still looking unsure, so Anna adds, "I could do the party at Kristoff's instead." He was always down for a get together at his place, probably due to the fact that his only frequent visitor is Anna.
"No," Elsa says, abruptly changing her mind. She shifts in her chair, part of her jacket's collar bobbing with the motion. "Our place is fine."
Our place. The words make Anna grin. "Thanks. Feel free to bring some people if you'd like. Friends, a date, whoever."
"Oh, I'm not seeing anyone," Elsa says dismissively. At Anna's raised eyebrow, she stutters, "I-I mean I'm just going to ask Rapunzel if she wants to come." She stands up with more enthusiasm than a Wednesday morning deserves. "We should probably get going, right?"
Anna shoves the rest of her toast into her mouth and nods. She follows Elsa to the door but stops her before they step outside. "Wait," she demands after her mouth is empty.
She reaches up towards Elsa's collar. Grasping both ends, she smooths the problem side down until she's happy with its placement. "There," she says in satisfaction, "perfect."
Elsa, stiff with surprise, takes a moment to find her voice. "Umm…thanks?"
Realizing she's still holding onto the jacket (and therefore keeping Elsa extremely close to her), Anna lets go as if it's scorching hot. "Sorry! It was just bothering me. I didn't mean to invade your space and just start touching you. I know you don't like that, so I guess I wasn't thinking and—"
Elsa holds out a silencing hand, stopping the jumble of words coming out of Anna's mouth. Almost smirking, she flips the collar back up. "Is it still bothering you?"
"Yes," Anna replies, playfully glaring at her. She's relieved that Elsa has decided to joke around with her instead of shrinking away (something that would have happened just a few weeks ago). She snatches the collar again and pats it down with a little more force than the first time.
Laughing, Elsa takes ahold of Anna's forearms before Anna can lower them. The move brings the two closer together. "You know, something's been bugging me as well." Elsa's voice is quiet and Anna is near enough to smell the Earl Grey she just finished.
"Y-yeah?" Anna asks. For some reason, it's become a bit harder than usual to breathe.
Elsa's gaze drops away from Anna's eyes to somewhere lower. "Yeah."
Anna feels a tugging around her neck and looks down to find her scarf being skillfully knotted by Elsa's quick fingers. Giving it one last pull, Elsa nods firmly and steps back to admire the final product. "My work here is done," she says, echoing Anna's earlier pleased tone.
"Huh," Anna says dumbly. What do you know, her scarf does look better like that. "Touché."
Her roommate slips out the door before Anna can wonder when Elsa got so comfortable around her. After locking up, she hurries to catch up with Elsa. They walk right past the snowman they made last weekend, the one they mutually agreed to name 'Olaf'. Miraculously, Olaf hasn't melted despite his proximity to the road, which had reduced everything around him to slush.
Anna waves goodbye to the snowman before starting her car and carefully navigating the rarely-plowed street of the apartment complex.
During the first commercial break on the radio, Anna sees Elsa turn towards her in the passenger seat. "It's okay," she says with a hint of resolve. Fingers rake nervously through her blonde hair.
Anna shrugs questioningly without taking her eyes off the road. "What is?" It's unlike Elsa to randomly blurt things out like this.
Elsa takes a breath. "Earlier…you were apologizing for touching me. I wanted to say…I mean—" The car comes to a slow stop at a light and Anna glances over at Elsa, an encouraging smile on her face.
Elsa returns the smile with a small one of her own. "It's okay," she starts again, "if you touch me. It's fine." She looks away as soon as she says it, though the edge of an ice-blue eye seems to be peeking at Anna, waiting for her reaction.
Oh.
Anna blinks in surprise. That certainly wasn't what she expected Elsa to say. Still, it's good to know that the roommate who went from sitting as far away from her as possible is now a friend she can touch without causing offense to.
"Thanks," Anna grins, her attention going back to the road. "I'll keep that in mind."
Anna and Kristoff didn't expect to be anywhere near the forest on Halloween. Yet here they are, trudging through snow and over fallen branches under the gray afternoon sky. The Guild had given them (and every other hunter in the area) word that the scope of their territory would be expanded, in some places up to eight miles.
The two, accompanied by Sven, had decided to familiarize themselves with the new border and later add the coordinates to the maps hanging in their bedrooms. It also gave them a good excuse to wander through the trees without having to worry about taking down any creatures. Even with all of its ancient trees and hidden paths, Anna sometimes forgot to appreciate the beauty of the forest.
Much to her surprise, Elsa had asked to tag along with them, saying that she wanted to see Anna's workplace for herself. Due to Kristoff, she was under the impression they were just out for a long recreational walk.
Anna has no problem with her inclusion—she's been itching for the other woman's company outside the apartment since they went to the archery range. Elsa somehow seemed to be a lighter and happier person the more time they spent together, like she was slowly letting go of the surly defenses and insecurities that had been set in place long before she met Anna. The changes were oddly fulfilling to witness.
Kristoff tugs on Anna's jacket, bringing her back to reality. "…I was talking about my favorite Halloween costume," he says, an exaggerated amount of annoyance in his voice at her inattention.
Anna rolls her eyes. "I already know what it is; I went trick-or-treating with you when we were ten." Kristoff has the gall to look skeptical so Anna continues, "It was the one where you dressed as Santa Claus and dragged Sven around as Prancer or Dasher or one of those reindeers." It had been Sven's very first Halloween and Kristoff had made the sacrifice of forgoing candy in order to carry the puppy around in his arms all night.
Kristoff nods, mollified. "Just checking. So what was your favorite costume, Elsa?" he asks over his shoulder. He stops and turns around when there's no answer. "Oh, oops."
He and Anna have forgotten just how difficult it is to navigate the forest's many obstacles. Elsa is a few paces behind them, struggling with her gloved hands to clamber over a fallen tree. Anna immediately backtracks and puts her hand out for Elsa grab. She takes it gratefully and is soon on the other side, only a little breathless. Squeezing Anna's hand in thanks before releasing it, she hurries to catch up with Kristoff.
"I was a princess when I was eight," she answers Kristoff's earlier question as if there hadn't been a lull in the conversation. Her smile has a touch of sadness when she says, "My mom made me this beautiful blue dress. She was really good at sewing and used to make all my costumes, whether it was for Halloween or tea parties with Rapunzel."
Anna doesn't mean to, but she snorts at the thought of the darkly-clad, awkward Elsa as a princess, of all things. It just doesn't compute.
Elsa glares at the sound, heat rising to her cheeks. "Is there a problem with that, roommate?" she asks in a voice that's probably supposed to be threatening. Her hand twitches and Anna wonders if she wants to throw a snowball at her.
"Oh, no. I promise," Anna says, attempting to look contrite. "I just thought it would be much more fitting for you to be a queen, not a princess. That's all."
Elsa aims her nose into the air. "Of course you thought that." When she levels her gaze to Anna, there's a serious expression on her face that she's trying hard to maintain. "I do possess many royal qualities, after all."
"That's very true," Anna says eagerly, continuing the charade. "Like the fact that you can't bear to switch your laundry until it needs to be re-spun, or that you take showers the length of a Lord of the Rings movie, oh, and you also—"
"That's enough, peasant," Elsa cuts her off. She bites the inside of her mouth to keep from smiling. But unable to keep character, she breaks down and mock-glares at Anna. "I didn't realize laziness and enjoying a warm shower were qualities of a queen."
"As a wildlife major who has completed only two history classes, I can assure you that those are the qualities of the very best queens," Anna says solemnly.
Their fun ends when Elsa's boot gets caught on an unseen root and she stumbles forward. She's quick to catch herself against a nearby tree but the action returns them to their surroundings. Anna had very nearly forgotten that Kristoff and Sven were even with them.
To cover her embarrassment, Elsa says, "I honestly thought you would be the clumsy one, not me. Didn't you say that you could," she puts up air quotes, "'barely walk in a straight line without getting hurt'?"
"Good memory," Anna mutters under her breath. She actually forgot she's supposed to be some kind of klutz, and has practically been gliding through the forest compared to Elsa. She imagines that if she pretends to be clumsy, it would come off looking terribly fake. Why can't I think of good lies to tell? she despairs.
Kristoff comes to the rescue in a rather annoying way—before she knows it, Sven starts a complex series of loops between her legs, causing her to trip over her feet to avoid stepping on him. "Seriously?!—" she starts in annoyance before tumbling headlong into Elsa. The blonde is unprepared for Anna's sudden change in direction towards her, and can do nothing but brace herself for impact.
The two land in a pile of snow, Anna trying valiantly not to fall completely on top of Elsa and knock the wind out of her. She manages to brace her hands on either side of Elsa's head, supporting most of her weight. Grinning in relief, she looks down at Elsa.
Her blonde hair is splayed out against the snow, looking as if it's been purposefully arranged to do so. Elsa's eyes are as big as she's ever seen them and there's a look in them that's both strange and all-consuming. Even through all the layers of clothing, Anna swears she can feel Elsa's heart beat against her own chest. Unnerved by the stillness between them, Anna tries to get up as quickly as she can, only to realize her legs are entangled with Elsa's. There's a soft, surprised intake of breath from Elsa when Anna's hips move upwards to get off her.
Anna quickly stands, head already feeling clearer. She shoots Kristoff a venomous look and he shrugs helplessly (though the smile on his face speaks volumes of his guilt). "I can't control Sven. He does what he wants."
"Sure he does," Anna huffs. Belatedly, she realizes her face is flushed.
Elsa is soon to get up as well, though she's a bit unsteady on her feet. "So…" she coughs, eyes averted. "How about you, Anna? Favorite costume?"
"Oh," Anna says, taken more off-guard than she should be by the question. Her parents, both being Level One hunters, were a bit touchy when it came to Halloween. Instead of being a werewolf, zombie, or vampire (creatures they were very familiar with hunting), she tended to go as a different famous person each year. "Probably Abraham Lincoln," she decides. "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure was my favorite movie that year. Instead of saying 'trick-or-treat' for candy, I would say 'party on, dudes!'" She plays the air guitar for a second to hammer the point home.
The unexpected answer startles a laugh out of Elsa. "You…you really went as Lincoln?" she asks. "You had the beard and top hat too?"
"Of course," Anna scoffs. "What do you take me for, an amateur? I was dressed like a president going to see half of a play."
Kristoff chuckles. "Oh, you're bad." He pauses for a moment. "Had we already met by that point? The furthest costume back I can remember is Rosie the Riveter."
"I honestly have no idea," Anna confesses. "Everything kind of blurred together after a while, costumes included."
"You two have known each other since childhood?" Elsa asks in something close to awe.
Anna wonders why that surprises her before recalling that Elsa was homeschooled for most of her formative years. Even now, Elsa's never spoken of anyone besides her cousin as a friend.
Kristoff nods. "Our parents were friends and introduced us sometime during elementary school. They wanted us to all practice together so we could learn to—" he abruptly cuts himself off, looking stunned by what he almost said.
Anna sucks in a surprised breath. She's never seen Kristoff so close to spilling any sort of crucial information. Being in the forest with her on Guild business must've made him forget Elsa is not part of the same world as they are.
Thankfully, Elsa doesn't notice the odd stopping place in the conversation or push the subject further—she's concentrating very hard on keeping her feet beneath her as they trod over a small and completely frozen-over creek.
Anna and Kristoff glance at each other in relief, though Anna is quick to mutter a curse in his direction. In retaliation, Kristoff's eyes get a distant look in them—the telltale sign that he and Sven are communicating.
Anna backs away from both of them, hands going up in a placating manner. "That really isn't necessary—"
But Sven is already bounding towards her. Before she can register what happened, she's already lying on the ground with the dog pressing warm kisses to her face. Distantly, she can hear Elsa and Kristoff laughing at the scene.
She hauls herself up and just barely refrains from shooting the bird at Kristoff. Her annoyance dissipates when she sees how happy Elsa looks in their company.
"I'm staying back here with Elsa," she says staunchly to Kristoff. "I don't seem to have nearly as many problems with her." He waves her away good-naturedly and continues on walking.
Elsa positively beams at the statement, and Anna thinks something good may have come from Kristoff's jackassery after all.
Once Kristoff deems they've spent enough time in the great outdoors for the day, they head to the closest liquor store. Anna and Elsa's place would be completely dry if it weren't for the Bailey's Anna sometimes likes to put in her hot chocolate.
"…It's because she's a lightweight," Kristoff is in the middle of informing Elsa as he puts a bottle of rum into his basket. "She can get tipsy just from looking at something alcoholic."
"Okay, that clearly isn't true," Anna protests, spreading her arms wide to remind him where they are. "Though yes," she addresses Elsa with a grimace, "I am tragically easy to get drunk. A drink with a meal is fine, but parties make my liver hate me." The story was always the same—one drink led to another, which led to another…and then boom! Instant hangover the next morning.
"Look on the bright side; at least you're a cheap date," Kristoff quips. Totally expecting the slap on the arm he receives, he goes on, "Anna gets touchy when she's inebriated, bossy too. Don't be surprised if she ends up in your bed, Elsa."
Elsa almost knocks over a Captain Morgan cutout when she suddenly jerks backwards. "I—wha?" she sputters, dumbfounded. Anna and Kristoff burst out laughing at the reaction, causing Elsa to cross her arms and blush brilliantly.
"I mean she might sleep there, thinking it's her bed," Kristoff says, still chortling. "Jeez, get your mind out of the gutter."
"Yeah," Anna pipes up, wanting to get one last tease in, "Kristoff said I'm a cheap date, not an easy one."
Elsa buries her head in her hands but Anna can still see her heated ears. "Oh it's okay," Anna says, giving her a good pat on the shoulder, "It's a common mistake to make."
Elsa's words are muffled but Anna hears her say, "I would never think you were an easy date." She sounds almost offended that Anna would say such a thing.
Anna wonders how she can be so nice even as she's being teased mercilessly. She gently takes one of Elsa's hands away from her face, smiling when she sees blue eyes peering back at her.
She steers the conversation into less awkward territory as the three head to the cashier. "How are you with scary movies? I have a few ideas in mind."
Elsa shrugs, embarrassment beginning to fade. "I don't really watch them, but I doubt I'll get scared easily."
Anna narrows her eyes. Is that a challenge? "We'll see about that."
"Elsa…I can't…feel my arm," Anna whispers shortly after a facehugger skitters across the screen.
The living room is completely dark except for the glow emanating from the tv. Hiccup and Merida are laying on their stomachs in front of the tv, legs kicked up behind them. The couch holds Elsa and Kristoff, with Anna sandwiched between them. Rapunzel and her boyfriend Flynn hover near the kitchen. Rapunzel is protectively enveloped in Flynn's arms, taking small peeks of the movie while he looks on, amused.
"I'm not sorry," Elsa hisses back vehemently. Her grip on Anna's forearm loosens slightly but she doesn't let go. "I didn't want to watch this movie in the first place because it looked really—" She flinches at the tv screen when the facehugger manages to wrap its tail around Ripley's throat.
Rapunzel gasps at the same time and buries herself into Flynn. Apparently the blondes are genetically predisposed to being terrified of Aliens.
Kristoff points excitedly at the screen. "Newt almost got killed! Take a drink!" he orders the others. He tips his own beer back, finishing the last of it in one swig. Sighing in satisfaction, he moves his legs until one is flush against Anna's, causing her to scoot closer to Elsa so he can have some space.
She nurses her own drink (sprite mixed with some seriously delicious mango rum) and side-eyes Elsa. While the rest of the group is comfortably buzzed, she's taking sips of water out of her favorite mug. It's a shame she doesn't seem to like the warm, relaxing sensation of alcohol humming through her veins, Anna thinks. Because it feels awesome.
The rest of the movie goes along in much the same manner; all the hunters cheer whenever an alien gets fried and talk about how they would finish them off. The others either chime in (Flynn) or are too busy averting their eyes when a scary scene comes on (Elsa and Rapunzel).
During the climax, everyone who has seen the movie raises their drinks and choruses, "Get away from her, you bitch!" alongside Ripley. The line signifies chugging the rest of their preferred poison, and Anna starts to feel incredibly lightheaded and not the least bit sober.
Once the credits roll, Hiccup demands they play Super Smash Bros., confident he can wallop the rest of them into the ground. The mechanical engineering major lives on the opposite side of town as Kristoff and Anna, and as such they rarely see each other. However, every Level Two hunter in the area has heard the story of how he lost his foot fighting a pakhangba. Despite the horrendous experience, he's still an incredibly chipper guy.
Elsa, who has been hanging back most of the night, volunteers herself for the first round of Smash, a look of intense focus suddenly coming over her. Rapunzel and Flynn join in and the four go at it to the cheers of the others. The first match is over shockingly fast—Elsa comes out the victor, her Zelda absolutely destroying the competition. There are cries for a rematch, but the results are the same—Elsa wins rounds two, three and four as well.
Hiccup's mouth drops open and he turns to gape at her. "The hell?" he says, tone vaguely accusing. "I've been the reigning champion since the beginning of time!"
Anna, oddly smug over Elsa's victory, wraps an arm around the woman's neck. "There's a new champion in town and she is my amazing, cool, super awesome roommate!" If her words slur a little, no one points it out.
Elsa feels warm under her touch, but then again, everything feels warm at the moment. She should definitely stay away from the mango rum at the next party. Releasing Elsa from her hold, she swipes Hiccup's controller and announces, "I'm next! I'll beat everyone in the world!"
Hiccup sighs and fiddles with the Gamecube for a second before standing up, the tip of his prosthesis poking through a hole in his sock. "Fine, fine. Let's see how you do."
The game is on, all competitors launching into action. Anna can barely follow the movements on the screen and contents herself with mashing buttons at random. When the end of the match is over, Anna fist pumps in victory. "Don't feel too bad," she tells the others, who are looking at her in bewilderment. "I used to play a lot when I was younger."
"Umm…Anna?" Elsa says haltingly. Her shoulders begin to shake and she breaks out into a full blown grin. "Hiccup unplugged your controller before you even started playing."
Anna stares down at her controller in confusion, pulling on its cord until the end is firmly in her hand. Everyone starts laughing as she turns red. "I hate you all!" she yells over their amusement. "You're all terrible people!"
She stands up and swipes a Strongbow Merida brought (because of course she'd buy anything with an archer on it) and stomps towards the entryway. The protests of her friends fade as she puts on her jacket and heads outside.
She's not angry at them, not really. Even her alcohol-soaked brain realizes they were just having fun. But drinking can make her uncomfortably hot, and so she plops down in the snow under her apartment, not really caring that it will make her clothes wet.
The sky is bereft of clouds tonight, allowing the universe to showcase its best and brightest stars with no distractions.
She takes a sip of cider and smiles at the warmth pooling in her stomach. It's not long before she hears someone coming to join her.
"You okay out here?" Kristoff asks as he sits down next to her. For once, he's missing his beanie. Small flakes of snow make contact with his hair and melt.
"'course I am," Anna answers immediately. Her eyes go back to the stars and she smiles. "Today's been a good day, hasn't it?"
Kristoff chuckles. "Yeah, it really has been. I'm glad Elsa's been able to join us."
Anna nods enthusiastically. "She's really fun to hang out with. At first she was a total ice queen, like not talking or being standoff-ish when she did. I didn't think we would be friends. But now…now she's really nice and funnier than I thought she would be. And a bit on the awkward side, too. I kind of like embarrassing her." The alcohol has loosened her tongue, letting her speak her mind a bit more freely than she normally would.
"She really is something," Kristoff says warmly. He pauses, about to add something more, before shaking his head.
They lapse into silence, just taking in their surroundings. After a few minutes, a question bubbles up inside Anna. "Kristoff, where are your parents right now?" She doesn't quite remember if she's asked recently, even though it's something she tries to keep up with.
Kristoff takes a moment to think about it. "Bolivia," he eventually says, though he sounds unsure. "Or Paraguay. Yeah, I think the last package was from Paraguay."
Anna nods. His parents always tried to keep up with their son, even when they were busy hunting creatures halfway around the world. Kristoff's packages were usually modest; including a few pictures, a letter, maybe a souvenir or two. They even bought things for Anna sometimes.
"You're really lucky, you know," Anna says thoughtfully. She takes another swallow of cider when she feels her eyes starting to burn.
It becomes silent again—both of them know she's not talking about the packages.
"Since when did you become a sad drunk?" Kristoff asks eventually, trying to lighten the mood.
Anna shrugs. "Snow makes me sad sometimes. It's all cold and floaty. Reminds me of things."
Kristoff comes a bit closer, placing a gloved hand on her arm. "Do you want to head back inside?"
"In a bit. I want to be a sad drunk for a while longer."
He nods and plunks down next to her.
They lay like that for what feels like hours, watching their breath dissipate in front of their eyes. When Anna finally feels the snow seeping into her underwear, she sits up. The hair on the back of her head has giant snow clumps in it.
Kristoff appears to be snoozing but when she calls his name, his eyes snap open right away. "Ready?" he asks.
She nods and they head up the stairs, Anna having to lean heavily against him since her balance is shot.
When she opens the door, the only sounds Anna can hear are coming from the television. She peeks into the living room and sees Hiccup and Merida spread out on the floor, asleep. Rapunzel and Flynn are murmuring quietly to one another on the couch. The television is playing one of the original Twilight Zone episodes, the volume low.
When he sees them, Flynn stands up with a smile. "We're going to head out. It was nice meeting you both."
Rapunzel yawns and nods. "Elsa said to tell you she went to sleep," she says to Anna. "And that she was really disappointed you missed 'Never Have I Ever'."
Anna snorts quietly. "I doubt she even played."
Rapunzel bows her head in acknowledgement. "I'll see around, okay?"
The four of them say their goodbyes and the couple head out into the night.
"I'll take care of the others," Kristoff says in a low voice. "You just get some sleep; you look like you're about to gather the empty bottles and use them as pillows."
Anna nods easily—she's dead tired, both her stomach and head heavy with alcohol. "Have a good weekend," she says before shutting herself in her room.
Not bothering to even take off her shoes or jacket, she falls straight onto her bed, curls up, and goes to sleep.
She wakes up to the sound of her pager going haywire. She groans and reaches out to grasp it, only succeeding in pushing it off her nightstand and onto the floor.
By the time she manages to sit upright and swing her legs over her bed, she realizes she's made the ultimate rookie mistake when it comes alcohol—she forgot to rehydrate last night. And now her head is aching, her mouth is dry, and her stomach is crying out for food.
"Stupid goddamn rum," she mutters. Snatching the pager off the floor, she squints at it.
Akaname, 5ft, 30.07°, 82.61°, in bldg
She frowns. "What the hell…" a huge yawn bisects her grumbling, "is an akaname?" Today is not the day to take on a completely unfamiliar creature, especially considering it's in one of the new areas.
Nonetheless, she hauls herself out of bed and heads to the bathroom to get ready. Her lips curl at her reflection; the skin under her eyes is dark and puffy while the rest of her face is paler than usual, making her freckles stand out sharply. Her hair is, as usual, a total bird's nest.
But despite her physical aches and appearance, she doesn't feel nauseous at all. She would hate to go on a monster hunt completely hungover. Being partially hungover will be hard enough.
After exiting the bathroom, she realizes that the living room is surprisingly bereft of both people and alcohol. Actually, it looks like a party never even took place last night. She'll have to remember to buy Kristoff lunch sometime this week.
Though speaking of lunch…she takes a look at the kitchen clock and curses at the time. It's actually a little after one in the afternoon. A horrible thought runs through her mind—just how long was her pager going off before it woke her up? Even if it only started beeping an hour ago, that's an hour lost in hunting, an hour for the creature to move in any direction.
Her routine quickens after that, and soon she's in her hunting clothes with a piece of toast sticking out her mouth. Her finger flip quickly through one of her many bestiaries until she lands on the entry for the akaname. She can't waste too much time with research, but she needs to at least look the creature up.
"Long tongue…filth-eater…territorial…blah blah blah…" she mutters, eyes running across the pages. Overall, the creature doesn't seem like he'll be much of a challenge, even in her less-than-perfect state. She's dealt with far worse things than this and has always come out alive, though maybe a bit worse for wear.
Her nose wrinkles when she reads where they like to reside. "God, this is going to be disgusting."
The fresh powder crunches beneath her feet, the only sound in the otherwise quiet forest. The reflection of the sun on top of the snow feels like it's stabbing into her eyes, making the short hike much more unbearable than usual. She's almost relieved to find the building that matches her assignment's coordinates.
Almost, because the place is an abandoned sauna-slash-bathroom. The wood making up the exterior is musty and the weight of snow on the roof makes it dip slightly. All of the windows are blown out, having not been able to withstand the harsh winter winds. Above the entrance in red, chipped paint is a sign reading Oaken's.
Anna glowers at the name. Whoever the hell this Oaken character is, she hopes he's learned his lesson of creating a business in the middle of nowhere.
She repositions the net gun in her hand and makes sure her knives are all accounted for. As much as she would like to use her bow, the quarters are too close to shoot it accurately. Weapons in hand, she pushes through the door and heads inside.
Despite the windows, it's almost pitch black inside. She leaves the door open behind her, hoping to illuminate the place a bit better. It only helps a little—she can tell she's in the lobby area, though everything that might have made Oaken's personable once is gone. She can see squares on the walls that are a lighter shade than others; evidence that pictures once hung there.
There are only two doors past the lobby: one leading to the sauna and the other to the bathroom. Unfortunately, she's not going in the direction of a relaxing steam bath. Before opening the door to the bathroom, she wraps her scarf tightly around the lower-half of her face, hoping it will protect her from some of the odor she's about to endure.
It doesn't help. Not at all.
The stench of human and animal excrement is enough to make her stomach roll violently even before she takes her first full step into the room. The bathroom has four toilets, each within their own private stalls. At some point all of their pipes had burst, spilling now-frozen sewage across the floor. The porcelain sinks are gaping and cracked, and there's more mirror on the floor than the wall.
This really is the worst post-hangover assignment I could have gotten.
Anna unsheathes one of her knives and makes her way to the stall closest to her, careful not to slip on the muck underneath her. She swings the stall door open but it's clear except for a brown-stained toilet.
Okay, fine. She repeats the procedure to the next toilet. Then the next. And then the last.
"What's going on?" she mutters, confused. The coordinates were right, dammit. This is the only building for miles around and the creature should be here. Is he hiding somewhere in the sauna? It wouldn't make sense to do so unless there's also an abundance of excrement there as well, but it's worth checking out.
Rubbing at her runny nose through her scarf, she turns to leave—and freezes.
On the wall above the door, the akaname cocks his head at her. He makes a strange clicking sound, then another, before he springs off the wall and collides with her.
Anna's feet slip out immediately when his weight hits her, elbows and head hitting the ground before anything else. A gasp of pain forces its way inside her lungs, causing her to inhale the creature's putrid odor.
An uncontrollable urge to vomit overtakes her, and she frantically kicks him off and unravels her scarf just in time for her stomach to empty itself. She pushes away from the mess, hitting the wall behind her hard enough to bruise her shoulders.
Through watering eyes, she sees the creature crawling towards her on all fours. His skin is a dark, rusted color and the his tongue drags along the floor, leaving a slimy trail in its wake. He pauses when he gets close to her vomit, giving it a considering look before taking a swipe at it with his tongue.
Anna's still trying to catch her breath, hands clenched against the urge to get sick again. Her head is pounding and it takes her a moment to realize she dropped her weapons in her struggle to get away from him.
Thankfully, the knife she always sticks in her boot is still there. But before she can even reach for it, the akaname's pale tongue lashes out and wraps around her ankle. A hard yank forces her away from the wall, her head once again making contact with the hard floor. His tongue twitches and she begins to helplessly skid through filth and waste, heading straight towards his mouth. There's nothing to hold onto, nothing that can stop her from reaching him.
But an object on the ground slashes open her palm as she passes it, and she grasps it tightly instead of flinching away from it. When her foot comes dangerously close to the akaname's teeth, she uses her forward momentum to sit up and swipe towards his face.
The mirror shard slices him from cheek to cheek, causing him to howl in a tone that sends goosebumps across Anna's skin. She had hoped the pain would be enough for him to let her go, but if anything his tongue tightens further around her ankle. Holding her leg in place with one clawed hand, he bites down, canines effortlessly puncturing through her jeans before breaking the skin.
Anna cries out in pain, her grip on the glass tightening until she can feel blood dripping past her fingers. This time she uses a downward stabbing motion with the shard, aiming for her favorite target—one of his eyes. She yanks the shard back out, grinning savagely when she sees that his entire eyeball came out with it.
The attack has the desired effect this time; the akaname finally lets go of her, clutching at his ruined face. Anna feels a jolt go through his bite mark, followed by a sudden wave of heat. She shakes the feeling off as best she can—there's not time to check the severity of her injury.
She stands up shakily, using one of the sinks to lean against. Her head swims with the motion, vision going dark for a moment. She adds 'possible concussion' to her list of injuries and focuses instead on her leg. It seems like it can bear weight and so she reaches past the bite to grab her knife. The akaname is still on the other side of the bathroom, assessing his own wounds. Using her free hand, she throws the knife, hoping to hit one of the bulging arteries in his neck.
Without even looking in her direction, his arm comes up inhumanly fast and slaps the weapon away. Snarling, he violently whips his head so he's facing her, the motion causing gore to fly from his wounds. Pushing off the far wall, he charges towards her.
For a moment, Anna can see her own death. The akaname would be on her in a heartbeat, claws slipping between her ribs and puncturing her lungs. As she struggled to breathe, he would open up her torso to feast on whatever her could find in her stomach and intestines. Kristoff wouldn't know she was dead, not until the Guild gave an official notice long after the fact. And Elsa…her roommate would just think she disappeared, never to be seen again.
But the moment is quickly dashed—the akaname's limbs begin to slide wildly below his body, unable to find purchase on the ice. His side slams into her, sending them both crashing against the wall. The damp and rotting wood splinters under their combined weight and they go straight through the building.
In the space of a breath, everything is weightless. Then she slams against the ground, the creature on top of her.
When she wakes up, the sun is setting and she's close to freezing. The akaname is a solid weight on top of her, making it almost impossible to breathe (not that she really wants to breathe in the fumes rolling off his skin).
"Move," she says softly, the tone almost pleading. "Get off."
He doesn't comply, and the stiffness of his body can only mean that he's dead. She twists and squirms, slowly able to push out from under him. When she's finally free, she's too weak to stand. The best she can do is crawl a few feet away from him and take in the first excrement-free inhales since entering the building.
Glancing at the akaname, Anna wonders how he managed to injure himself so severely when she notices a glimmer atop his ribcage. It's a piece of glass, the same one she had used on his eye. When he ran at her, she must have been holding it in her hand and had somehow managed to stab him with it. The move wasn't intentional but she'll take what she can get.
Despite the threat being taken care of, Anna can't summon even an ounce of relief. Her brain feels swollen inside her skull and her leg is starting to heat up again. The hand that held the mirror is a bloody mess—the palm is completely sliced open, as is the skin covering the joints of her fingers.
Her vision is starting to feel murky, making everything around her seem like it's underwater. Once she wraps her scarf around her hand, she attempts to stand up again. This time she makes it a few feet in the general direction of her car before falling over.
Step, step, fall.
Step, step, fall.
The process repeats itself over and over. By the time Anna sees her vehicle, the sky is dark and tears of exhaustion are welling in her eyes. The heat from her bite has steadily been crawling upwards, reaching the middle of her thigh by the time she struggles with the door handle.
She manages a weak smile towards the object in the passenger seat—by sheer chance, she had brought the bestiary with her. Fingers shaking with cold, she reaches for her akaname bookmark and reads what she had neglected to earlier:
'The akaname's sticky tongue is used to ingest grease, excrement, hair, and whatever else he can find in his home. His main method of self-defense comes from injecting his victim with venom from his fangs. The venom is fast acting, leading to fever, nausea, elevated heart rate, and vision problems. If not treated quickly, the venom will cause paralysis and possibly death.'
Anna covers her mouth with a shaky hand. "I'm so stupid," she whispers. Swinging her leg onto the passenger seat, she rolls up her jeans to see the damage.
The bite has imprinted most of the akaname's teeth into her skin, the pattern wrapping nearly all the way around her calf. The wound is oozing blood and pus, and streaky red lines are making their way towards her heart.
"Oh god," she says, panicked. She nearly rips open her glove box, digging through the many first aid supplies crammed into the space.
Her hand lands on a tiny bottle, one that had cost her nearly a month's rent. "It's not a cure all, but it's close," she remembers her supplier saying, his pale blue eyes looking seriously into her own, "If you get bitten, stung by something, this can help your body fight off the toxins. The pain from this will be just as bad as the venom, the only difference being that it won't kill you."
"Very comforting, Jack," she mutters, hand reaching back into the glove box. She comes out with a syringe and quickly fills it with the bottle's thick liquid. She takes a steadying breath, trying to get her heart rate under control.
The needle hovers at her inner elbow, ready to be inserted. This isn't the first time she's had to use an intravenous route for medicine, but the previous times hadn't involved vision distortion or extremely shaky hands.
"Now or never," she says, nodding comfortingly to herself. The needle breaks the skin and slips into a vein. Once the syringe is emptied, she recaps the needle and is about to wrap it up when she blacks out.
"…nna. Anna!" She's propped up against something solid, though her head is lolling down towards her chest. Her eyelids feel impossibly heavy.
"Anna, wake up!"
She groans when she feels fingers grasp her chin and tilt it upwards. She forces her eyes open, squinting against the light of a familiar room and a familiar face.
"Els…" Anna tries to say, and the face becomes clearer. Elsa's kneeling down in front of her, a look of concentrated worry on her face. They're in the front hall of their apartment, right up against the door. "I…" Anna swallows, "I hope I didn't hit anyone." She didn't mean to say that out loud, but her mind is starting to go hazy from the venom, the medicine, and a likely concussion.
Despite her obvious concern, Elsa's eyebrows draw together. "What," she asks carefully, "do you mean?"
I don't know how I got here.
She can't tell Elsa that. It would lead to questions, and she just might answer them truthfully. So she stays silent, wanting Elsa to leave her alone.
But of course she doesn't. She picks up Anna from under her armpits, slinging one of Anna's arms around her shoulders. Anna appreciates the fact that she doesn't instantly recoil due to her odor. "We need to get you to a hospital," Elsa decides. Once she's fully supporting Anna, she begins to open the door.
"No," Anna says against a wave of vertigo. "I'm not going." She already took the antivenom and there's too much risk in going there without being able to warn any Guild doctors ahead of time. Even her head injury can be healed once she's able to move on her own. All she has to do is wait out the side effects.
The exasperation on Elsa's face is almost enough to make her smile. "You're covered in who-knows-what, you have a fever, and you can't even stand on your own," Elsa lists off, ignoring Anna's feeble attempt to block the door with her good leg. "I am taking you whether you want to or not."
Anna squeezes her eyes shut and says very deliberately, "I will not forgive you if you do this. Ever." She doesn't quite regret the words, since she knows they will stop Elsa, but they add a different, deeper kind of hurt to her.
Elsa's grip on her slackens and Anna nearly falls back to the floor. Her roommate quickly readjusts her hold to keep her upright. "Anna," Elsa's voice is shaking and so are her hands, "I'm just trying to help."
Anna sighs tiredly, leaning her head against Elsa's shoulder. "I know. But it has to be this way. Just please…let me stay here, just for the night."
"I don't like this at all," Elsa mumbles against her hair. In a louder voice she says, "Fine. But you should at least be in bed right now."
Anna shakes her head at that too. "The couch is fine." Like it usually is right before she goes on a hunt, her room is a mess of books and weapons.
She feels Elsa stiffen. "My bed, then." She starts off in the direction of her room without waiting for a reply. Anna tries to support herself as best she can, but Elsa ends up carrying her most of the way.
Elsa gently lowers her onto the bed, apparently not even caring that her bed sheets will likely be ruined from Anna's disgusting state. "I'm getting a wet washcloth for you," Elsa says after she's satisfied with Anna's positioning. "Try not to get any more injured while I'm gone."
"No promises," Anna says weakly, watching her leave. She really doesn't deserve such a good friend, especially one who's not in the loop. What the hell is she going to tell her when this is over?
A hot spasm suddenly shoots through Anna's core, signaling the fight between venom and antivenom inside her. She groans, eyes shutting against the sensation. The heat spreads like wildfire, going down to her legs, along her arms, up to her head.
She can't breathe; it's too hot. Her clothes are a constricting weight on her, trapping the warmth between them and her body. By the time Elsa comes back, Anna's out of her jacket and struggling with the collar of her shirt.
"I can't…" she gasps, "I can't take it." Elsa drops the towel to help guide Anna out of the shirt. The only thing underneath is a black bra, and even she has enough sense to know it should probably stay on.
Above her, there's a sharp intake of breath. She feels the damp towel gliding across her ribs and along the sides of her stomach. "What are these from?" Elsa murmurs, mostly to herself. Anna can only imagine what she's looking at—scratches? Bruises? All of the above and more? Anna's just glad she hasn't been paying attention to her injured hand, which is between her and the wall.
"Forest," Anna forces out, wanting to put Elsa at ease as much as she could. "Animal." It's the most accurate thing she can say right now.
But Elsa is already shaking her head, a tight smile on her face. "You're such a bad liar," she says. Her voice cracks in the middle.
Anna huffs, because even if she is the worst liar in the world, she just gave Elsa the truth.
Another wave of heat wracks her body, and her back arches against it, muscles becoming as tight as bow strings. The fire doesn't go away this time but lingers, meanders through her without a care.
The towel is on her face now, but it's not helping. It doesn't even feel cold anymore. A spike of self-loathing goes through her. "My fault," she whispers, leaning her face away from Elsa's ministrations.
She looks up and sees Elsa gazing at her. Feels Elsa's hand close around one of her own. There's silent compassion in her, though Anna doesn't know what she's done to deserve such kindness. All she's done is drag Elsa into another one of her cases. Anger boils up again, spurred on by the fever.
"I-I didn't do my homework," Anna says softly, eyes burning. "All…all I did was skim. I'm so stupid."
Apparently the words are the last thing Elsa expects to hear. Her grip loosens around Anna's hand slightly and she tilts her head. "Homework? Anna, I think you're becoming delir—"
Anna vehemently shakes her head. "I overestimated…myself. I thought it would be easy, but…but I was fighting the hangover and…" she stops, shame marring her features. She's never so royally fucked up a case before. And all because she was too impatient to do the research.
A bolt of heat hits her injured hand, causing her to flinch. The pain is getting to be too much to bear. She can tell that she's sweat her way through Elsa's comforter and all the underlying sheets. Her hair is damp and she feels it sticking to the nape of her neck.
Her mouth works, struggling to form words. "You should…go," Anna says at last. "I'll be…better in the morning." Elsa should get some rest. Hell, she shouldn't even want to be here, friend or not. Anna really wouldn't blame her if she wanted to leave. Her eyelids are getting heavy again—proof that even a raging fever isn't enough to keep her conscious in the light of her crappy day.
Elsa's voice breaks through her mental fog. "I'm not leaving," she says stubbornly. If anything, her grip on Anna's hand becomes even tighter.
Anna simply shakes her head again, too sleepy to protest vocally.
"Anna," Elsa says, voice sounding like it's right next to her, "I'm going to help you." There's a note of determination in the words, like they're a promise Elsa will do anything to fulfill.
Anna finally closes her eyes and she lets out a shaky exhale. The moment she does so, Elsa lets go of her. Elsa's hand ghosts over Anna's arm, her shoulder, across her collarbone, until its cradling the back of her neck. Her other hand sweeps aside her bangs and presses against her cheek, fingers burying themselves in her hair.
Cold.
For the first time since this afternoon, she feels cold.
Anna shifts slightly, though her eyes stay shut. The strange thing is that the sensation seems to be coming from Elsa's hands. The cold makes its way through the rest of her in slow, pulsating movements. The fever is still there, but it's diminished now, mere embers compared to the fire it once was.
Elsa's hands stay on her for an indeterminate amount of time, until the sheen of sweat on her body has dried, until goosebumps finally reappear across her skin. Elsa releases her when Anna shivers, and she pulls out a blanket to cover her half-naked form.
Anna drifts off in a deep, but slightly troubled, sleep.
The next time she opens her eyes, the light coming through the blinds is a dark blue, indicating a cloudy day ahead of her.
She's surprisingly refreshed, though her bad hand is throbbing beneath the scarf. Her head still feels a little stuffy, but it's nothing that can't be cleared up with some medicine. Rubbing her eyes, she sits up, the blanket on her slipping down slightly.
On the floor right next to the bed, Elsa is curled up in a loose ball. She looks exhausted, her features pale and drawn out. One of her hands is outstretched towards the bed, as if reaching for Anna.
Memories from last night surge back, and Anna's heart starts thudding inside her chest.
The cold. It had come from Elsa's hands. There's a possibility that she had been dreaming about Elsa helping her, but she doesn't think it's a very likely one. The memories are too vivid, too real, which means…
Anna holds her head in her palms, trying to make a mental list.
First there was the snow coming out from beneath Elsa's door even though the window was shut.
There's the fact that the apartment's heater didn't start malfunctioning until Elsa moved in.
And then the freak gust of snow that managed to come through Weselton's lecture hall…
Anna carefully turns over to stare fully at the woman on the floor. The one who cared for her, worried over her…the one who may not be entirely human.
Oh crap.
A/N: Oh ho ho…now we're getting somewhere. Credit where credit's due: The idea of Kristoff using Sven to make Anna trip into an Elsanna moment was user Wandering Quill. Thanks, friend! And remember...always do your research before you go hunting.
Glossary
Pakhangba (creature Hiccup loses his foot to)- a mythical hybrid of Indian origins. Resembles a dragon with deer antlers.
Akaname (creature Anna goes against)- Japanese in origin. Parents would scare their children with tales of a goblin-like creature that would inhabit dirty bathrooms, eating the filth within. In some accounts, has a poisonous tongue.