A/N: This chapter is dense as hell, so I hope everyone enjoys it. And another warning for the violence and language at the end of the chapter, as they border on M-rated.
A Shift in Perspective
"Does this look okay?" Elsa asks for what must be the hundredth time. She's talking about the business casual outfit she's wearing—a light blue, collared shirt tucked into slim-fitting beige pants. Her hair, instead of being in its usual braid, is twisted into an elegant updo.
"Yes," Anna says once again, trying not to sound impatient. She wants to go now, but instead Elsa has spent the last twenty minutes agonizing over her appearance. "And you really didn't have to dress up at all, this is just an informal meeting."
Elsa gives her an affronted look, like she can't believe Anna could say something so idiotic. "This is about grad school. I'm not going to wear a hoodie and some jeans."
Anna supposes she shouldn't be surprised by her attitude. She's seen this side of Elsa before, the type-A student. She's completely serious when it comes to schoolwork, not allowing the slightest distraction to make her focus waver (not even that time Anna was trying to show her an awesome doodle she drew in Weselton's class). Despite it not being the true intention of this get together, Anna suddenly hopes that Jack can spare some good advice for Elsa.
"You look as gorgeous as you always do," Anna says, fiddling absentmindedly with the keys in her hand.
Elsa pauses in the middle of putting her peacoat on, half of it dangling off her shoulder. "What did you just say?"
Anna huffs and stalks over to her roommate, grabbing her jacket and practically guiding Elsa's arm through the other sleeve. "Don't let it get to your head," she warns with a slight smile. One of Elsa's many charms is that she somehow doesn't seem to know how good looking she is. Anna swears she's seen a few people do double-takes when Elsa walked by them.
Elsa ignores her last words, still focused on the compliment. "Oh, it's definitely going to my head now," she teases, her own lips quirking upwards. "Anna Theron called me 'gorgeous'. That one's going in the vault."
"Is that what you call your brain? Weirdo," she pretends to grimace in embarrassment. The next thing she knows, Elsa's shoving her towards the door. "Hey, wait! I wanna talk about your vault some more—"
"Let's go!" Elsa orders, failing to sound suitably bossy. She suddenly seems very eager to see Jack, judging by the way she hasn't stopped directing Anna towards her car.
"Alright, alright," Anna says as she unlocks the doors. "Just wait, you and Jack are going to have so much in common."
When they arrive at Bean Me Up, Jack is there, a paper cup in hand. He's sitting on the side of the shop, looking out the window.
She silently points him out to Elsa and is surprised to see her face fall a little. When Anna looks back towards Jack to figure out her reaction, she notices that he's wearing his blue hoodie and some dark jeans. Of course he is.
"I'll be a couple tables over," Anna says quietly. She came prepared with a textbook and highlighter to play the part of 'random student totally not eavesdropping on anyone'. Thankfully the place isn't crowded, so she should be able to hear their conversation well enough.
Once the two of them receive their orders (a medium roast for Anna and a hot chocolate for Elsa), they part ways. Elsa looks back once towards Anna, who gives her an encouraging nod.
When Anna settles in her seat, she sees Jack's eyes flicker towards her and then away in mild amusement. His head soon tilts up towards Elsa, who has slowly made her way over to him. "I'm Jack," he greets her without getting up. "Elsa, I presume?"
She nods, taking in his appearance as she sits down across from him. Seeing the two of them together like this, both with blue eyes, light hair, and pale skin, one could easily assume they're siblings.
Another piece of evidence in my favor, Anna thinks victoriously. Kristoff is about to be twenty dollars poorer.
But her smugness is short-lived when she realizes there's no sound coming from their table. She hones back in on them and finds herself looking at an odd situation. Jack…hasn't stopped staring at Elsa, who's already beginning to look uncomfortable.
Anna can imagine what Elsa is seeing; the first time she met Jack, she was fourteen years old. Something behind his gaze was unnatural and seemingly all-knowing, hinting at his true age. Anna's since gotten used to it, but it took a while to realize he usually preferred to act like a young man rather than a centuries old creature.
"Umm, I'm a junior biology major," Elsa starts uncertainly, probably hoping Jack will respond like a normal person. She takes a quick, nervous sip of her drink and continues, "So far my GPA is 3.8 but I should be able to raise it before applications start. I know the genetics program here is really competitive and—"
Jack cuts her off with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Why are you interested in genetics?" he asks abruptly. He slouches in his seat, trying to look comfortable but failing miserably—his fists are balled up on the table and one of his knees is bobbing up and down, something Anna's never seen him do before.
"Oh, I…" Elsa says, taken off-guard by his rudeness. "I want to study mutations in humans. Specifically compound heterozygosity and the diseases associated with it."
Anna has no idea what that is, but Jack nods in understanding. "Any particular reason why? Perhaps your parents were interested in that field?"
"I'd rather not talk about my parents," Elsa answers with an unexpected hardness in her tone, subtly warning Jack not to continue down that line of questioning.
But Jack has never been the best at understanding social cues. "Surely they have some sort of impact on your studies," he prods, "Perhaps one of them was a scientist as well?"
Elsa now has a frown etched into her face. "Can you tell me about recommendation letters? What should I be asking my professors to put in?"
Jack sighs, disappointed at her lack of forthcoming information. "What your profs think of your performance in labs carries a lot of weight. Make sure they know how badly you'd like to be in the genetics program, and be sure to go to office hours frequently so they know more than just your name and grade."
"Thank you," Elsa says, having been nodding along to his advice. "What extracurriculars do admissions look for?"
Jack's mouth twists, looking like he wanted to ask a question of his own. After taking a sip of his drink, he decides to oblige her with an answer. "Internships look really good, especially if they take place in one of our labs. Then you'd be under the supervision of one of the professors, who could give you a solid recommendation. And there's always clubs and honor societies to add to your résumé."
She opens her mouth again, presumably to ask another question, when Jack cuts her off. "How long have you lived in Arendelle? I don't think I've seen you around before."
"My whole life," she answers stiffly. It seems like anything personal has her going on the defensive, making Jack's fact-finding mission all the more difficult. "What do you think of the faculty in your department?"
"They're fine," Jack says with a shrug, his answer just as forthcoming as her own.
The table is silent for a moment, with both of them starting to become impatient with one another. Elsa throws a glance at Anna, who gives her not-so-confident thumbs up. Maybe setting this up under the guise of an academic meeting was the wrong approach.
Jack apparently agrees. "Moving away from the grad school topic momentarily," he begins, and Anna already feels a sense of foreboding. "Are you currently seeing anyone?"
"Excuse me?" Elsa says flatly, completely taken off guard. "What does that have to do with anything?"
Oh god, Anna thinks in horror, is he trying to turn this into a date? There's no way to tell him to stop whatever the hell he thinks he's doing without catching Elsa's attention. All she can do is hopelessly watch the impending train wreck.
Jack gives a shrug. "You're very good looking, there must be a significant someone in your life."
Elsa once again looks in Anna's direction for a moment, in what Anna can only assume is confusion. She's in agreement—Jack should not be taking this path. Only once has Anna ever directly asked Elsa about her love life and she was met with deafening silence.
"Why is this relevant?" she finally asks, only the barest thread of civility in her voice. "I'm here to talk about AU's grad program, nothing else."
"It's relevant because I'm interested," Jack says, seemingly unaware of Elsa's frustration. "In you," he adds belatedly. The smile he gives Elsa looks almost pained.
Anna chokes on a sip of coffee. Could he be any more of an idiot?
"Just…tell me about the program, please," Elsa grates out. Her paper cup is slowly being crushed in her hand. She releases her death grip on it and sets it down with a thump.
"Only if you agree to go on a date with me," Jack quips, his smile now looking slightly unhinged and not at all sincere. He reaches out for her hand but Elsa jerks away before they touch. The sudden movement causes her hot chocolate to topple off the table and splash across the floor.
Without a word, Elsa slides her chair back and stalks out of the café. Jack looks after her with a bewildered expression, not seeming to realize Anna is now storming over to him.
She slaps her hands down on the table, gaining his attention. "That was a disaster!" Anna hisses, too mad to take Elsa's vacated seat. "What the hell was that pathetic display?"
His eyes flash dangerously, reminding Anna of just who she's talking to. Before she can backtrack, he says, "I wasn't going to get anything out of her at the rate we were going. I thought she would be more amenable to personal questions if this was a date. Not that I would actually want to," he adds with a look of discomfort, as if the idea of going out with Elsa makes him physically ill.
"It showed," Anna retorts, angry on Elsa's behalf. "And when was the last time you were on a date?"
Jack pinches the bridge of his nose. "A long time ago. I had forgotten how to act." For the first time since she's met him, he looks completely unsure of himself.
"I don't know what you'd be like on an actual date, but I bet it wouldn't be pretty," Anna says, not feeling bad enough for Jack to give him a break.
"Like I said, it's been a while," Jack mutters unhappily.
Anna continues, "If it were me, I would've dated the hell out of her!" She blinks in surprise as soon as the exclamation passes her lips.
"Then maybe you should," Jack snaps back. "I've obviously ruined any chance to learn more about her."
"Were you able to get anything from that conversation, anything at all?" Anna presses. She'll have time to think about her weird comments later.
"You're most likely right about her," Jack admits. "She might be at least a little fae. But avoiding the topic of her parents plus the fact that she's interested in gene mutations leads me to ask a different question."
"And what is that?" Anna asks, relieved that Jack seems to be agreeing with her for once.
Jack looks her straight in the eyes and says, "I'm wondering if she knows she's fae."
"That's…possible?" Anna says after a shocked silence. How can you be unaware of what you are?
Jack rests his chin on the palm of his hand, beginning to slip back into his usual competent self. "Sometimes people slip through the cracks. There's a chance her parents, for whatever reason, didn't want to tell her, which could be why I can't find the name 'Norling' anywhere. And unfortunately, I can't exactly give her a pamphlet that says 'Your Ice Powers and You'."
"I suppose not," Anna sighs. "Is there anything I can do?"
"It's a sensitive situation. You should only talk to her about her powers if you actively see her using them. As in, she creates snow in your apartment again or something." When Anna looks at him with a question in her eyes, he quickly says, "And for god's sake, do not try to startle her into using them. Someone might end up getting hurt."
"Fine," Anna says in disappointment. She turns her head towards the door. "I have to go, Elsa's waiting for me. Let me know if you have any more brilliant ideas."
With that, she turns on her heel and heads outside. Her roommate is pacing back and forth in front of her car as she lets her hair out of its restrictive bun. She shakes her head slightly and her hair flows behind her in waves of pale blonde.
Anna slows to a stop and just watches her. Despite living with her, she's rarely seen Elsa with her hair down and she take a moment to lament the fact Elsa doesn't seem to like it loose. Because while Elsa's clearly beautiful no matter what, she's even more striking with her hair cast down around her.
Anna takes a moment to ponder why she's suddenly feeling a bit higher on the Kinsey scale than usual, but it passes when Elsa finally notices her and stops pacing. Here it comes, Anna thinks.
Before Elsa can explode at her, she jumps in with an, "I am so sorry about that. I know you really wanted to learn more about the genetics program—"
Elsa cuts her off with an angry shake of her head. "Did you really think I wanted to meet with some random grad student?" she says, taking a step closer to Anna. "Sure, it would have been nice to hear some advice from him, but I did it for you, Anna. Because you seemed excited for me to see him. Were you in on this—this whole date thing?" She says 'date' like it's the ugliest word she can think of.
"No!" Anna exclaims immediately. "I had no idea he was going to do that. I swear he's actually a good guy most of the time. I guess he just isn't around women all that much." That might very well be true. In all the years she's known him, he's never once seemed the least bit interested in romance. Anna wonders how long it's really been since he was in any sort of relationship.
Elsa still looks a bit suspicious. She blows out a huff of air, her breath crystallizing in front of her. "Fine," she sighs in something close to defeat, as if she's getting tired of forgiving Anna so easily. "But there's…there's something I might as well tell you anyways. So something like this won't happen again." She suddenly bows her head and mutters something at the ground.
Anna closes the distance between them so she can hear Elsa better. "What was that?"
When Elsa looks up at her, her cheeks are bright red. Anna's seen her blush numerous times, but never like this. "I s-said…I don't like…guys. Romantically." Her eyes widen after the words come out but she keeps her eyes locked on Anna, watching her carefully.
"Oh," Anna says blankly. Elsa's…gay. Between this and the fact she just found out she's fae…Anna feels like the most oblivious idiot (and worst friend) on the planet. She continues dumbly, "I mean…uh, yeah."
Alright, now she's freaking Elsa out with her lackluster response. Elsa furrows her brow, looking for, and needing, more of a reaction. Anna takes a steadying breath. "Thanks for telling me," she says, hoping the smile she's giving Elsa looks as genuine as it feels. "And I promise I'm not going to treat you any differently. Why would I? You're still Elsa."
Beautiful, sarcastic, tightly-wound Elsa. An idea comes to Anna, and she excitedly opens the car door for her friend. "We're going to take a detour on the way back home," she says, "as an apology for today."
Anna may not be able to tell her everything about her job or Elsa's own life, but she can at least show her this place.
Once Anna parks the car near the edge of the forest and the two begin to walk, it doesn't take long for the ground beneath their feet to become rocky. They begin a gradual descent, Elsa having to clutch onto Anna's shoulder occasionally as her shoes weren't made for the rough terrain. Soon, they come to the place Anna spent much of her childhood in.
The clearing holds a few gnarled, ancient trees as well as a pond and rock features large enough to climb. Walls of stone form nearly a perfect circle around them, the only break being the narrow entrance they came through.
Anna looks towards Elsa, wondering what she'll make of the place. What she doesn't expect is a barely-suppressed smirk on her pink lips. "What?" Anna asks, trying not to sound too defensive.
"Oh nothing, nothing," Elsa says innocently. When Anna levels a glare at her, she goes on, "This just feels like something out of Twilight, that's all."
"Twilight?" Anna repeats, wrinkling her nose at the book's mention.
Elsa nods and begins to walk over to one of the smaller rocks. "I'm pretty sure the vampire took his victim to some clearing in the woods. You're not going to turn me into a vampire, are you?"
"Dear god, no!" Anna says with what must be a touch too much seriousness, as Elsa's smirk is replaced by a raised eyebrow. But really, vampires are nothing to joke about because they are seriously creepy and there's much to-do when one turns a human.
She continues speaking before Elsa can make another unsavory comparison, "I mean…my mom taught me archery here, as well as other things. This place holds a lot of good memories for me."
Those memories begin to well up behind Anna's eyes without her permission. For a moment, she sees her mom standing where Elsa is, showing her the proper grip to have on a knife. The two of them rolling around in the snow for a few tense minutes until Anna wins her first ever hand-to-hand fight against her mom. An image of them splashing water at each other on a particularly warm day, her mom squealing when Anna manages to scoop up a handful and pour it down the back of her shirt.
"Hey, are you alright?" Elsa asks and the past shatters around her, jolting Anna back to the present. Elsa's gloved hand comes out almost close enough to touch Anna's cheek. She drops it at the last moment, but her teeth worry at her lower lip as she looks at her.
"O-oh," Anna stutters, her voice coming out weaker than she thought it would. Her hand comes up to her face and she wipes away a tear. "Oh god, I'm sorry. I wanted to show you this place because it means a lot to me. I didn't think I would actually cry. That's so pathetic—"
"Hey," Elsa says, and then she's suddenly embracing Anna. Anna tenses for a moment at the unexpected contact. Before she can wrap her arms around Elsa, the other woman pulls away. "This place is beautiful," she says firmly, standing so close Anna can count the individual freckles going across her nose and cheekbones. "I'm glad you brought me here."
Anna releases an unsteady breath. "Y-yeah, I was hoping you would." She takes a seat on a rock so she's facing the pond.
Once she's seated as well, Elsa looks at her with serious eyes. "What happened to her?" she asks quietly.
Anna freezes, not expecting her to ask that question. After a moment of silence, she clears her throat. "She…she passed away. Three years ago, just a few months before I started college." In a smaller voice, she says, "I was there."
The details are less than pretty. Anna is suddenly glad Elsa can't know anything about her job, as she is in no mood right now to relive the event.
She flinches slightly at the unexpected sensation of Elsa's arm wrapping around her again, pulling her in until her head is resting against Elsa's shoulder. Her roommate runs a soothing hand over Anna's hair, causing her to sigh against her neck. "My mom died, too," Elsa murmurs, voice somber and warm in Anna's ear. "I was sixteen when it happened, but she was sick my whole life. It was almost a relief when she passed because it meant she wasn't in pain anymore."
Anna brings her hand around Elsa's waist and grips at her jacket. "I'm sorry," she whispers, because that's the only thing she can think to say. During the few times Elsa spoke of her mom, her tone was always wistful and a little sad. Now she knows why.
Neither of them elaborate any further on their parents, Anna preferring to stare out at the pond and the falling snow.
When she finally looks up at her roommate, Elsa is peering down at her, snowflakes caught in her eyelashes.
Anna gives her a wobbly smile. "I want to tell you again that I don't care whether you're gay or straight," or fae "I care about you no matter what. You're a really great person."
Finally detaching from Anna, she stands stiffly and to Anna's shock, tears begin to well up in her eyes. "Hey," Anna jumps up to wipe one of them away before it has the chance to travel down Elsa's face. "I didn't mean to reduce both of us to watery messes."
"You're…" Elsa sniffles, valiantly trying to hold herself together, "you're a really good person too, even though you frustrate the hell out of me sometimes."
Anna laughs. "Yeah, that's me alright. How about we get out of here and maybe watch a sappy movie or something? We can…come back some other time," she phrases the last part uncertainly. They hadn't exactly spent much time here, and maybe Elsa was only saying she liked the place to spare Anna's feelings.
As if sensing Anna's musings, Elsa gives her the most brilliant smile Anna's ever seen. It positively lights up her face and something inside Anna's chest clenches painfully at the sight. "I want to come back here with you," Elsa says in no uncertain terms. "And I'm glad you've shared something about yourself with me."
"S-sure," Anna says, feeling a little dazed in the afterglow of her smile. And the fact that she can make Elsa so happy just by telling her something about herself…that feels pretty great, too.
"Are you coming?" Elsa asks a few moments later. Anna blinks and realizes the other woman's already a good twenty feet away from her.
"Of course!" Anna hurries to catch up with her. Elsa gives her a questioning smile but Anna just gives her a push in the direction of the car. For the rest of the walk, they're close enough for the backs of their hands to occasionally brush against one another.
On Wednesday, Jack sends her a text right as her last class of the day is about to start. 'I have another theory' is all it says. Anna knows it must be about Elsa and she suppresses the urge to roll her eyes. It seems like grad students are filled with nothing but theories—theories about their theses and dissertations and experiments…and apparently about a certain blonde woman.
Since Dr. Mowgli doesn't tolerate texting in his class, she waits until his lecture is finished until she replies, carefully weaving through the waves of people on campus.
-What's this theory of yours?
Jack responds immediately.
-Only one of her parents is fae, the other probably human. Do u know if they separated?
She feels a sudden flash of guilt. While Jack's been turning over the mystery of Elsa over in his head, she hasn't done anything about his requests for information. Since the botched meeting at the café and the 'mutual sharing and crying' incident as she calls it, she really hasn't seen much of Elsa. She knows the other woman has a few big tests coming up and it feels like Elsa has practically been living at the library for the last few days.
-I don't know yet
-Then find out. If I'm right, she might have been left w/ the human parent. Could be why she doesn't know what she is
Anna stares hard at the screen, bumping into someone before remembering where she is. She mumbles an apology and makes her way to a nearby bench so she can text without hitting anyone else.
Jack's theory is good, as far as theories go, but there's one thing she knows that Jack doesn't.
-Elsa was homeschooled until she was 16. Does that help or hurt your idea?
Jack is silent for so long that Anna's backside starts to go numb from sitting on the cold metal. Wondering if he's suddenly forgotten about her, she stands up and rubs her hands together. There's no reason for her to stay here when she can just as easily text him from the confines of her warm bedroom.
She's crossing the courtyard outside the science library when a strong hand tugs on her shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" a voice demands in her ear.
"Holy shit!" Anna nearly yells at the sudden intrusion. She turns and sees Jack staring daggers at her. "When did 'Hello, Anna' become 'Scare the crap out of Anna'?" She regards him a bit more carefully. Despite the temperature being in the teens, he's only wearing a dark, frayed sweater, no scarf or gloves in sight. "You should put some more clothes on," she advises him out of sheer habit, "at least look like you're suffering with the masses."
He glowers at her in response. "You have time to offer me fashion advice but not to tell me crucial information about Elsa?"
She winces. "It kinda slipped my mind until just now. And what were you doing, stalking me?"
"I saw you from the library!" Jack says, looking offended. "And don't change the subject."
"Fine," Anna says in exasperation. "I'm sorry. Elsa told me this before I even knew she was fae, so yeah, I forgot. Does it really matter?"
"It might," Jack says. He nudges her to continue walking and she does, hoping she can get to her car before hypothermia sets in. "Homeschooling might mean her parents did know what she was, which means she might as well."
God, it feels like Jack is making this so much more confusing than it needs to be. "Look, at this point in time does it really matter what she or her parents know? We know she's fae, and the rest can be figured out when we actually have some fucking proof!" The outburst is completely unintended; it's cold and she's tired, Thanksgiving is nearly here, and while she'll never admit it, she's just as impatient as Jack is about confirming Elsa's fae-ness.
Jack stops walking completely, forcing Anna to do the same. When she turns to look at him, she sucks in a surprised breath. His eyes, normally cerulean in color, have turned dark and stormy. His fists clench and new goosebumps appear on Anna's skin, causing her to shiver involuntarily.
"It matters," Jack says carefully, aware that his anger is physically affecting her, "because she's all I have right now." When Anna opens her mouth to object, he gives her a small, sharp shake of his head. "Don't mistake my meaning. I haven't seen another ice fae in half a century. You have no idea what it's like to be isolated from your own kind for so long, and all because there's barely enough of you in the world to populate a city. So it matters because she's my kin, and I look after my own. I was too eager with her earlier and it scared her. I messed up my chances of talking to her for now, but you still can."
Immediately after he's done talking, Anna feels the air around her become just the slightest bit warmer. His eyes lighten and he looks past her, back towards the library. "I have to head back," he says absently, as if he didn't just freak the hell out of Anna.
Before he leaves, Anna feels a tugging sensation around her head and sees her cream colored beanie (complete with a matching pom) in his hands. He quickly fits it over his hair and walk away.
"Hey, that's mine!" she calls out, the words feeling childish on her tongue.
He does half a spin, walking backwards while he says, "You were the one who told me to look normal. I'm just following your advice." With that, he turns back around.
Anna stares after him in disbelief. "You don't look normal!" she yells in vain, as he's probably ignoring her. "That's clearly a woman's beanie!"
But her annoyance is quick to fade as she continues on to her car and thinks about what Jack said. It now makes sense why he was so quick to doubt her proof about Elsa—he probably didn't want to get his hopes up. Anna had no idea ice fae were so rare, and Jack's brash behavior at the café is now understandable.
For Jack's sake as well as her own, she hopes Elsa will reveal herself soon.
The rest of Anna's suspension passes in a painfully slow manner. Elsa is still rarely at the apartment, saying she's been studying and researching internships at school. Even though she clearly doesn't like him, she's been following all of Jack's advice about getting into the genetics program.
Her absence, combined with having no cases, is slowly making Anna go crazy. On the Friday before break, she takes the time to write out the report her hunting supervisor wanted. When she meets with him on the weekend, it's just as unpleasant as she expected—much of his lecture focuses on how disappointed he is with her and how her actions reflected poorly on him. But in the end, he tells her that mistakes are bound to happen and that he's glad she is doing well.
She feels a sort of persistent hollowness in her after the meeting, an empty ache in her chest where hunting usually took residence. She's been out in the wild, studying and hunting creatures, since childhood nearly nonstop. Now that she has so much free time, she's not exactly sure what to do with it.
"Kristoff," she groans one day after class, "I'm so bored. What the hell do normal people do all day?" They're at his place, Anna hanging off the couch with her hair brushing the floor. Sven is laying right in front of her, and he cocks his head upon seeing her upside down.
"Ask Elsa," Kristoff replies without looking up from his laptop. "Because I sure as hell don't know either."
"I can't ask her; she's out being productive," Anna says, trying not to pout. Getting back on track with her griping, she adds, "I bought coloring books, Kristoff. Children's coloring books. Who does that?" There's now a small stack of them on her desk, half of them already filled in.
"Yes, I did hear that mental patients use those to keep calm," Kristoff says sagely. When she pokes him with her toe, he grabs her ankle and pushes it away from him. With a very undignified squeak, she slides off the couch and almost lands on Sven.
Kristoff looks down at the display and rolls his eyes. "You're almost due to start hunting again, so quit your whining and feel lucky you're missing the full moon."
Anna considers that. It's true that she won't mind hanging back during a full moon, but that means others will have more work to do in her absence—including Kristoff.
"You're right, I'm sorry," she says immediately, head now resting against Sven's back. "I just wish I could do something useful. It's driving me nuts."
"Not everything you do has to have a purpose," Kristoff reminds her. "Just try to relax for the next week while you can. I know both Hiccup and I asked for Thanksgiving break off, so you'll definitely end up with some overtime cases then."
Anna nods, feeling a bit better. Thanksgiving and Christmas were the two most popular times for hunters to request leave. Since others usually used the time off to be with their families, Anna liked to volunteer to work extra shifts—after all, the only thing she'd do on the holidays is mope aimlessly around her apartment.
Kristoff shoots her a thoughtful look over the top of his laptop. "Now don't shoot the messenger for saying this…" he starts, and Anna already feels suspicious. "But the trolls wanted me to double-check that you wouldn't be joining us. They're making some sort of wild mushroom stew they thought you'd be interested in."
Anna gives him a small smile. "That's really nice of them, but my answer is still 'no'. I promise I'll visit them soon, just not now."
Kristoff nods, having expected her response. "I'll let them know. And I promise to bring back some leftovers." His expression brightens. "I'm going to help Bulda bake some sort of sweet potato casserole. It'll be awesome."
Anna hums her agreement, eyes trained on the ceiling. The thing is, she'd love to visit the trolls with Kristoff. But the timing is just…not right for her. Not yet, at least. She doesn't know how long it'll take until Thanksgiving seems like just another day. This will only be the third year, after all. The third anniversary of her being well and truly alone.
She tears her gaze away from the ceiling when it's in danger of becoming blurry in her eyes. "Got a movie we can watch?" she abruptly asks Kristoff, hoping he can come up with a distraction for her. "Preferably something with a copious amount of blood?"
His eyebrows scrunch in thought before he snaps his fingers. "Zombieland!" he answers, proud of his choice. "I'm pretty sure you haven't seen it before."
She shakes her head, only vaguely recalling the title. "Fire it up, then."
As Anna goes to the kitchen and grabs them both a drink, Kristoff clicks a few button on his computer and pulls the movie up. By the time the gory opening credits begin, Anna is curled up next to him and he's placed a warm, comforting arm around her shoulders.
Finally, and after much boredom on her part, Anna's suspension is lifted on the twenty-first. But her joy is short lived when her pager refuses to utter even a single beep over the next few days. She's more than ready to capture or kill all the wayward creatures she can, but there's nothing she can do except spare a glance at the pager every hour. Apparently the monsters of Arendelle are on their best behavior, leaving Anna frustrated and on edge.
Before she's ready to acknowledge it, Thanksgiving is upon her. Anna plans on spending as much time as humanly possible in her room, but the sound of Elsa moving around the apartment around three in the afternoon arouses her curiosity. Stretching, she shuffles into the living room and squints at her. Elsa raises a hand in greeting before self-consciously combing back a few loose strands of hair. She's half dressed, wearing her favorite pair of soft gray sweatpants and a violet, long-sleeved shirt.
"Hey, stranger," Anna says by way of greeting. "You going somewhere?"
Elsa nods as she takes her clothes out of the dryer. "Rapunzel's picking me up in half an hour. I'm staying over at her parents' until Sunday."
"Oh," Anna says, trying to mask her disappointment. Elsa hadn't mentioned anything about visiting her family, but maybe that was the obvious assumption to make. She just didn't realize she would be gone for the rest of the week.
Elsa closes the dryer door and turns to look fully at Anna. "This was kind of a last minute thing," she says, as if reading Anna's mind. "I was just going to be over for dinner tonight, but Rapunzel really wanted me to stay longer."
Anna waves her off, "Yeah, of course. I hope you have a good time." She falls into a chair at the kitchen table and eyes the box of poptarts next to her. Dragging the box across the table until it's right in front of her, she plucks a foil packet out of its depths.
The kitchen is silent as Elsa hurries back to her room and returns with a small duffel. Anna observes her roommate as she carefully places her clean clothes into the bag and zips it up.
"What about you?" Elsa asks as she places the bag on the floor near the door. "What are your plans?"
Anna struggles through a bite of poptart, instantly regretting her decision to not toast it. Once her mouth is clear of food, she replies, "I'm not really sure yet. Maybe I'll make some spaghetti or something."
For the first time since Anna's seen her this morning, Elsa comes to a complete standstill. "What?" she says in confusion. "I don't understand."
Anna sinks a little in her chair, not expecting her to react this way. "There's nothing to really understand," she says, suddenly focusing hard on her breakfast. "I'm staying here for Thanksgiving, it's no big deal."
"What about Kristoff?" Elsa demands. Ignoring the fact that Rapunzel will be coming by in the next fifteen minutes, she slips into the seat across from Anna and waits for her response.
Anna shrugs, mildly amused that Elsa automatically thinks she would be spending the day with him. "He'll be having dinner with his own family." Since turning sixteen, he's probably spent more time with the trolls than his own parents. The trolls consider him one of their own, and he wouldn't have it any other way.
"But…that means you'll be spending Thanksgiving dinner alone," Elsa says slowly, her eyebrows drawing together.
Anna just shrugs again, as if saying 'that's the way it goes'. Elsa's far more invested in the holiday than she would've thought possible. It's actually kinda cute to see her so riled up about something that doesn't involve her safety.
"No one should spend Thanksgiving alone!" Elsa exclaims, forcing an unexpected snort out of Anna. Elsa glares at her.
"I had no idea you thought so highly of the holiday," Anna says teasingly. "But I promise you, I'll survive the day alone. I have for the last two years," she adds, her playfulness fading slightly.
"Two years—" Elsa starts before realization dawns across her face. "Because of your mom, right?" she asks, guilt lacing her question.
Anna gives her a tight smile but doesn't answer. Let Elsa think this has to do with her mom—the real reason is a bit more complex and definitely not a conversation to have right before Elsa leaves.
Elsa gets a worrying gleam in her eyes and says, "You should come—" when there's a knock on the door. "Rapunzel's early," she says with a frown.
"Well, have fun!" Anna hops up from her chair, hoping to make a quick retreat to her room. She knows exactly what Elsa was about to say and she doesn't want to turn down another dinner invitation.
"Anna!" Elsa calls after her, and Anna freezes. "I think you should come with us," she says as she makes her way to the door and opens it. "I'm sure Rapunzel would love that."
"What would Rapunzel love?" the blonde in question cheerfully asks. She steps into the hall and gives Elsa a quick hug.
"If Anna came to eat with us," Elsa replies.
Rapunzel doesn't even hesitate with her answer. "That'd be great! Mom and dad would love to meet a friend of Elsa's. And Flynn's coming too, so the more the merrier!"
Anna glowers at Elsa. It's harder to say 'no' in the light of Rapunzel's smiling face, but the last thing she was planning on doing today was socializing. "That's really sweet, but I'm fine staying here. I wouldn't want to inconvenience your parents."
"Oh, you wouldn't be!" Rapunzel says. "They would be happy to have you."
Elsa comes into the conversation, a devious smile starting to form. "Do you remember all those nights you were out doing mysterious things and I had to eat dinner alone? This would make up for all of that."
"Oh, that's not even fair!" Anna exclaims. "I haven't even gone out lately!" At least her inactivity is finally good for something; a lame excuse not to go to dinner.
"True," Elsa concedes, "but I—we think you should come with us. Just for dinner."
Anna bites her lip, trying to stop herself from frowning. Maybe a dinner with Elsa's family wouldn't be so bad. It might be the only time she'll have to spend with Elsa during break.
Sensing Anna's hesitation, Elsa takes a step closer to her. In a voice low enough for Rapunzel not to hear, she says, "It honestly would mean a lot to me."
Anna shakes her head even as she gives her roommate an exasperated smile. "I can't believe you're guilting me into this," she says with a sigh.
"Yes!" Elsa and Rapunzel cheer in unison. Elsa points towards Anna's room. "Get some clothes on and we'll head out."
After doing what she's told (and hoping her sweater and jeans will be acceptable), she reconvenes with the blondes. Elsa's changed out of her sweatpants and into a pair of black jeans, making Anna feel better about her own wardrobe choices.
Anna opts to take her own car and follow Rapunzel over as there's a chance she might have a case tonight. That alone should have deterred her from agreeing to dinner, but she has a lot to make up for where Elsa's concerned. If dinner would make her happy, Anna will smile and pretend everything's alright.
The driveway Rapunzel steers her car towards leads up to a huge house, complete with a fancy gate and two turrets at either end of the house. Damn, Elsa's family is loaded, is the impressed thought Anna has. Which begs the question of why she lives in an (admittedly tiny) apartment with a (legitimately strange) roommate.
She parks her car behind Rapunzel's and meets the women at the door, trying to tamp down a sudden surge of anxiety. Elsa gives her a gentle smile that eases some of her nerves as Rapunzel unlocks the door.
"Mom, dad!" she yells through the foyer. "We have a surprise guest joining us!"
A man and a woman—whom Anna assumes to be her parents—descend the grand staircase, looking almost regal. Rapunzel bares a startlingly strong resemblance to her mother, the only real difference being the older woman having darker hair. Her father looks stoic, with a carefully maintained, salt-and-pepper beard.
He extends a large hand to Anna, which she shakes firmly. "I'm Brendan and this is my wife Sarah. Welcome to our home…" he pauses, giving Anna a chance to introduce herself.
"Anna. Anna Theron. Good to meet you both," she says with a small smile.
"Oh, Anna!" Sarah says, faint recognition flickering in her blue eyes at the name. "Is this the same Anna—"
Elsa suddenly grabs Anna's wrist and pulls her up the stairs. "Let's see my old room, shall we?" she asks as Rapunzel starts to giggle.
"Am I missing something?" Anna asks, wondering if Rapunzel's parents have heard anything about her.
"No!" Elsa exclaims. "They probably had you mixed up with someone else."
"Sure…" Rapunzel chortles behind them. "They know of so many 'Anna's', don't they?" She's about to add something when a familiar figure rounds the corner of the hall. "Flynn!" she squeals, running towards him at top speed and jumping into his arms.
The man spins Rapunzel around in his arms and puts her back on the ground. "Hey, guys," he says to Anna and Elsa, unable to keep the giant grin off his face from seeing his girlfriend.
Anna raises a hand in greeting and Elsa nods. "Let's seek shelter from an impending makeout session," Elsa stage-whispers to Anna. "It's really gross."
"I take offense to that!" Flynn exclaims as he allows himself to be steered down the hall by an eager Rapunzel.
The blonde throws them a wave over her shoulder. "Get ready to eat dinner an hour from now!"
Elsa looks after them in amusement and points towards a door. "This one was my room."
Anna follows her, curious as to what the space will look like. The room is bigger than both of the ones in their apartment combined, but it's mostly emptied of personal possessions. But the bed has fresh sheets on it and there's a framed picture on the nightstand next to it.
Anna plops down on the floor with her back against the bed. Elsa joins her after shutting the door, stretching her legs out in front of them. "So…" Anna starts, "what have you been up to lately? Unless I'm driving us to class, I feel like I haven't seen you in a while."
"Yeah," Elsa says with a tired sigh, "I've been busy lately, haven't I? But I think I'm on my way to getting an internship with the biology lab. It won't be anything fancy, but I'll get to know the staff better and hopefully learn a lot of new things."
"That's great!" Anna says enthusiastically. "You'll do a kick ass job, I know it."
Elsa pinkens slightly at the praise. "Thanks," she says in an almost shy voice. She nudges Anna's elbow with her own. "And what about you? I notice that you haven't had any new injuries."
Anna chuckles nervously. It's a lot easier to be injury-free when there's been no creatures trying to kill her. "Yeah, it's been a rather uneventful few weeks."
Elsa purses her lips, humor now gone. "You're never going to tell me what you've been up to, are you?"
"What, my injuries can't be from asshole animals who don't appreciate being saved?" Anna asks, wanting to lighten the mood.
"They could be," Elsa admits, "but they're not." She says it with such confidence that Anna can't think of a response. Elsa goes on, "Maybe I wanted to believe you were rescuing animals because the other explanations were too…too unsettling. But you're possibly the world's worst liar. I don't know what you and Kristoff do at night, but I know it's something dangerous. I just…don't want to see you get hurt anymore."
Anna swallows hard. "You know," she says slowly, "I might actually be able to tell you soon." It's as close to an admission of dishonesty about her cover job as she can get. She wishes Elsa could realize that.
The other woman tilts her head back until it rests on her comforter. "I really hope so," she says, though she still sounds unhappy.
Anna grasps at another strand of conversation, as this one isn't exactly fun. "What's this?" she blurts out, reaching for the framed picture near her shoulder.
The picture shows a beautiful blonde woman smiling at whoever's behind the camera. Between the hair, sharp cheekbones, and small nose, it can only be Elsa's mom. "O-oh," Anna stutters out. This conversation might be even worse.
But Elsa simply takes the picture and rubs a contemplative thumb over her mother's face. "Her name was Irene," she says softly. "She really was the most beautiful person I've ever seen. Even through her sickness, she glowed."
Anna stays silent, not wanting to break Elsa out of her reminiscing. "This was taken before I was born, back when she smiled more. She said my dad took it."
"Dad?" Anna echoes, because Elsa's never once mentioned the man.
"Yeah," she says faintly. She lowers the photo and stares at Anna for a hard moment, apparently coming to a decision to say more. "The truth is…I've never met him. Not once. The only reason I even know what he looks like is because my mom had a picture of him." She gives the room a sweeping gaze. "It used to be in here, but it's probably in the attic now.
"I sometimes wonder what parts of him are in me," she continues, staring off towards the corner of the room. "Do I get some of my intelligence from him? How about my height and my freckles? What would he think of me if we met today?" she laughs in a self-depreciating manner. "It kind of sucks, not knowing who your dad is."
"Sometimes it's better not to know," Anna murmurs, mostly to herself.
But now Elsa is staring at her with an unreadable expression. "How could it possibly be better?" she asks stiffly. It sounds like she's refraining from adding a more heated question, wanting to give Anna a fair chance to answer.
Shit, I shouldn't have said anything. But it's too late to stay quiet now. "My father…" she begins, already feeling years-old anger firing through her, "he wasn't…isn't a good man."
This clearly didn't go in the direction Elsa thought it would, if her look of surprise is anything to go by. She gives her a hesitant nod, looking like she wants to know more but is unwilling to pry.
Anna forges on, not wanting to stop now. "When my mom died, my father…he didn't take it well. He was a bit of a womanizer before" and after "he met her, but she was what kept him anchored to a somewhat stable life. When she wasn't there anymore, he kind of…reverted back to his old ways." Anna remembers women entering and leaving the house at strange hours, their heels clicking against the hardwood floor and their giggles reaching her room.
"So when he offered to pay for my first apartment, I gladly accepted. It meant that I wouldn't have to be in the same space as him anymore, because I felt like I slowly suffocating whenever we were together. I started my freshman year promising to visit every weekend if our jobs would allow it. But after my mom died, he started taking a ridiculous amount of hours and we ended up seeing each other just twice during the first part of fall semester."
Anna squeezes her eyes shut, willing herself not to tear up. "He called me a few weeks before Thanksgiving, saying that he doesn't know if we can spend the break together. But I had already decided that we should at least be with each other for the first holiday after mom. I went to our house on Thanksgiving day, hoping to surprise him. When I knocked on the door, a stranger answered."
She brings her knees up to her chest and loops her arms around them. "I came home for Thanksgiving to find another family living in the house I grew up in," she says in a hard voice. "The man who came to the door explained that Alaric Theron had sold him the house almost a month ago. He looked so sad for me that he invited me to join his family for dinner. I…politely declined. As I went back to my apartment, one thought kept repeating itself in my head, like it was on some kind of infinite loop. 'He was never going to tell me. He was never going to tell me he left.'"
Anna moves until she's in front of Elsa so she can reach out for her shoulders. Elsa is trembling slightly under her touch, and her eyes have a watery sheen to them. "It might be good that you don't know who your dad is. Because if he left you and your mom, he's probably an asshole who didn't deserve either of you," she says fiercely. "Both of you deserved someone to support you, not someone who would run away like a coward."
Her last word seems to echo through the room before settling between them. Elsa's staring at her like she's never seen her before, lips parted slightly. Anna yanks her hands away from Elsa like she's been burned, heart hammering in her chest.
Fuck, she overstepped. Big time. She called her dad a coward, practically spit the word in her face. Before she can gather the courage to apologize, there's a knock on the door.
Rapunzel's muffled voice says, "Dinner's almost done, guys! Can you come help us set the table?"
Elsa's silent for a moment too long, her eyes still focused on Anna even as she answers, "We'll be right out."
Anna breaks the gaze first, feeling ashamed of herself. How could she say those things on Thanksgiving? The holiday's already ruined for her, but that doesn't mean she should be trying to screw it up for Elsa too.
She weakly gestures for Elsa to take point, as she doesn't know her way through the house. She stands stiffly and brushes past Anna without a word. Anna silently curses herself out the entire way to the dining room, firmly believing that this will be the most awkward dinner ever.
The dining room is just as fancy as the rest of the house, and Flynn has already set the plates down. Anna hurriedly grabs at the pile of silverware on the table and places all the forks, spoons, and knives down in their proper places.
In the butler's pantry, Rapunzel is whispering excitedly to Elsa, who responds with a slight grimace. When Rapunzel sees Anna looking their way, she smiles innocently at her and pushes a tray of mashed potatoes into Elsa's hands.
The meal is ready to be eaten a few minutes later when Brendan brings a truly glorious looking turkey out of the kitchen. There's some appreciative applause from the table, Rapunzel bobbing up and down in her seat in anticipation of a great meal.
Sarah delicately taps a spoon against her wine glass to gain everyone's attention. "Would our guests like to serve themselves first?"
Flynn nods towards Anna. "Ladies first." Aware of everyone's eyes on her, Anna stands and begins to fill her plate, even though she has next to no appetite. Turkey, potatoes, cranberry sauce, and a bread roll make their way onto her plate.
The rest of the group have their food in front of them and Rapunzel raises her glass. "To family and friends!" she says.
Everyone else raises their glasses and echo her words before digging in. Throughout the meal, Rapunzel's parents are strangely quiet, but Anna soon realizes that they're just people of few words. Flynn fills up the space with easy conversation, which she and Rapunzel keep pace with. Anna restrains herself from looking at Elsa even though she can feel her eyes on her every so often.
Even though the food is delicious, Anna can't help but poke at it. She's a mess of nerves knowing that she and Elsa will eventually have to talk about the things Anna said earlier. It was a mistake to come here, and an even bigger one to bring up her father. It was stupid and selfish and who knows what Elsa is thinking now.
It's almost a relief when her pager goes off, cleanly cutting through her thoughts.
The table falls quiet as Anna fumbles with the device and silences it. She pushes her chair back and it scrapes loudly against the floor. "I-I'm sorry," she says hesitantly. "I'm going to have to leave early, I'm on call tonight."
Sarah nods in understanding. "Would you like to take any leftovers home?"
Anna puts a hand to her stomach. "I'll be fine." Addressing both Sarah and Brendan, she says, "I really appreciate you having me over tonight."
Brendan waves at her good-naturedly. "It was a pleasure. Come by any time."
Anna smiles at them and waves goodbye to Flynn and Rapunzel. Beside her, Elsa stands up. "I'll see you to the door," she says tightly.
The two walk towards the entrance, Anna snagging her coat out of the closet. "I'm sorry about cutting out—"
"Don't leave," Elsa says. There's none of the anger Anna expected in her, just a firm desire for her to stay.
But this is the first case she's had since the akaname. If she stays, she could be suspended again or worse. "It's my job," she says weakly. "I have to leave."
Elsa expels a long breath. "Fine. Whatever. I'll see you on Sunday then, alright?"
"Of course," Anna answers, surprised and a little disappointed Elsa already gave up on convincing her otherwise.
Elsa shuts the door after she leaves, giving Anna the privacy she needs to read her pager.
Kamaitachi, 3ft, 28.79°, 82.01°
Excellent. While kamaitachi were dangerous looking, what with their ability to create whirlwinds and their sickle-like paws, they weren't considered very dangerous to hunters. Once just one of their paws is cut off, the creature dies. Rather anticlimactic, but Anna's sure not complaining.
She fires up her car and heads out, not exactly regretting that she has to leave, but certainly wishing she could have stayed longer. Though she is glad that she'll have the rest of the break to heal in peace, without Elsa having to see any potential injuries.
The forest is eerily quiet, or perhaps it's just been so long since she's been here. Learning from her last case, she's brought a backpack full of weapons and a few emergency healing supplies with her, since her car is about a mile away from the creature's location.
Her weapon of choice tonight is a mean looking, early model Bowie knife. It doesn't differ too much from a butcher's knife, and one clean cut with it should end the fight with the kamaitachi. She's also wearing armguards that come up to her elbows in case the creature tries to use its paws on her.
A shrill, pained cry pierces the night. It's an animal, possibly one being eaten by the kamaitachi. Anna follows the noise, noting that it's taking her in the right direction.
After a few minutes she hears the noise again, this time sounding like it's within thirty feet of her. She steps behind a tree and peers out, scanning the area ahead of her.
She spots the kamaitachi in the middle of it disemboweling its meal. Perfect timing. While it's distracted, Anna inches closer and closer, ducking behind trees whenever it lifts its head. When she's nearly right behind it, she leaps on top of its back.
The creature chokes in surprise, the breath being forced out of it as Anna squeezes its belly. It rears back on its hind legs, trying to buck her off. Anna holds on grimly, one of her hands inching towards a bladed paw.
The paw comes up to meet her, and the blade just misses her eye. On the paw's descent, Anna grabs it and twists, hearing bones splinter. The kamaitachi shrieks out but it's no use; Anna has already reached into the sheath around her thigh. Simultaneously slamming the injured paw into the ground and taking the Bowie out with her free hand, she cuts the paw off in one smooth motion. The kamaitachi cries out again and falls silent as blood oozes out of its new and fatal injury.
It should be over, one of the easiest fights Anna's ever had. She's almost put out that she had to leave Elsa and the others just to take care of this pest.
But then it shifts.
The kamaitachi is no longer. A roc is now beneath her, one of its giant talons slicing towards her. Anna puts her arm up just in time, but the talon slices through her arm guard completely, edging into her skin. She stumbles backwards, landing on her backpack.
The enormous bird of prey flaps its wings, sending a gust of snow towards Anna. When the powder clears, she sees the roc is perched on a tree across from her on its only foot, staring at her with golden eyes.
"Shifter," Anna spits out. Her heart feels like it's about to beat out of her body. She's screwed, she's screwed. Shifters were above her paygrade and experience level. They're too intelligent, too unpredictable for Level Two hunters like her to deal with.
The beast swoops down to stand on its hind legs, feathers melting away to reveal the tanned, naked skin of a woman. "Human," the beast answers back with a savage smile.
The smile is the last thing to disappear when it changes its form again.
The yowie towers in front of her, resembling a gorilla on steroids. A hairy fist comes out of nowhere and slams into her side. Anna feels two of her ribs crack and for a few moments she can't remember how to breathe.
Another shift, this time to a common wolf. It pounces on her, one of its three paws digging into her injured side. Its jaw closes around her arm guard, shaking at it savagely until it comes loose and then, as Anna struggles to get the wolf off, it sinks its teeth into her skin.
As if satisfied when it hears Anna cry out, the wolf releases her arm and backs up until it's no longer on her.
It's playing with me, Anna thinks through a haze of pain. She has to…has to remember its weakness. Taking as much time as possible to get up, she dredges up memories of shifters.
They only possess the physical shell of other creatures—they have none of the supernatural abilities of the species it copies. Injuries transfer regardless of form, which is why the wolf in front of her only has three paws. And the only way to truly kill it is by making it bleed out until there's nothing left.
The wolf morphs back into a woman. "Tired already?" it asks mockingly.
"You're about to lose your other hand, bitch," Anna growls back. She can't stand straight; the stance puts too much stress on her broken ribs. But she still has her knife and she intends to cut into every vulnerable spot she can reach.
The ugly smirk is wiped off the shifter's face and it changes again. Fur melts to feathers melts to scales. Talons to claws to nails. Anna can't keep up with the forms and they begin to blur together.
Eventually she gets a bloody, possibly broken, nose that streams down the front of her face and shirt, and numerous slashes ranging from shallow to dangerously deep. Her face feels swollen and soon she can't see out of her left eye. The small bones in one of her wrists get ground together when the shifter becomes a boar and stomps on it. Her tongue gets in the way of her teeth as she gets slammed to the ground, causing her to bite a piece of it off and filling her mouth with blood.
I can't do this.
The thought is singular and suffocating in its certainty.
It's shifting too fast for Anna to recognize where it's weak points are in each form. The only injuries she's managed to give it are minimal at best, while she's getting closer to unconsciousness with each new shift.
There's only one thing she can do now, and it's not so much a strategy as a last resort. If…if she can suffer just a little longer, the shifter might become too tired to keep shifting. Once it's trapped in a form, Anna can kill it.
The thought is enough to put a red smile on her face.
The shifter tilts its head at her in curiosity a moment before turning into a woman once again. "I do so love the human form," it says as it stalks over to her. It punches her in the jaw, causing her head to jerk violently to the side. The shifter uses its stump to hold Anna's head against a tree as its fingers run along her throat. "It's so easy to hurt you like this."
"Funny," Anna pants, "that's exactly what I was thinking." Her knife flashes in the moonlight as she slices into the shifter's already-injured arm. The blade travels along an artery for a good six inches, splitting it open and spraying blood over both of them.
The shifter jerks back with an ear-piercing scream, unable to stem the flow of bleeding. Each pump of its heart causes more blood to arc out of the wound and the shifter falls to its knees. "I…" Anna says as she slowly begins limping over to it, "I thought you'd last longer. You can't shift any more, can you?"
It bares its teeth at her, recoiling. "Help!" it cries out. "Somebody help me, please!" The shifter continues to back away from her, leaving a crimson trail for Anna to follow. "Help!"
Anna can't stand for much longer and she leans heavily against a tree, staring down at the pitiful creature in front of her. A sense of discomfit passes through her since it looks like a normal, college-aged woman who's slowly bleeding to death. The moment passes and she takes another step forward, intent on slicing the shifter's other wrist wide open.
"Get away from her!" a new voice cuts through the air.
Icy spray slams against her, feeling like it's going straight though her clothing and skin. She gasps at the sensation of it wrapping around her heart when it abruptly fades to nothing. Before she can even absorb what just happened, a freaking icicle pins her to the tree by the hood of her jacket.
For a moment, she thinks another shifter is in front of her. Because there is no way Elsa is here right now.
Anna opens her mouth to speak, but the only thing that comes out is a pathetic gurgling as blood gets caught in her throat. She swallows the mass, ignoring how it makes her stomach churn. If she thought she was screwed before, she definitely is now.
"How…are you here…right now?" Anna struggles to say. She's starting to fade, and her grasp on reality is…less than ideal.
"I followed you," Elsa says shortly. Her hands are still raised and pointed at her, ready to strike again.
A laugh threatens to rip through Anna at the sheer unfairness of this situation, but she keeps it inside despite the pain it causes her ribs. Laughing right now could very well get her killed.
"Kris…" Anna wheezes, trying to find a more comfortable position (like away from the icicle), "owes me twenty bucks." Elsa stares at her like Anna's lost her mind, and so she kindly elaborates, "We had a bet over whether you were fae or not. Clearly I was…very right."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Elsa says, hands not lowering in the slightest. "If this is some kind of distraction—"
"This isn't a distraction," Anna says around the blood still welling in her mouth. "This is my job."
Horrible, horrible realization dawns across Elsa's face. "Oh my god," she says numbly, "All those injuries you've been getting—they're all from your victims fighting back!"
"Well, kinda," Anna hedges, "I mean, you're not wrong."
Apparently that wasn't the right thing to be honest about. A sort of blue tingling erupts from Elsa's fingertips and another icicle forms. "I swear," Anna says against gritted teeth, "I swear to god that this isn't what it looks like." She tries to give Elsa a comforting smile, but blood oozes from between her teeth, gathering on her chin alongside the blood from her nose.
Elsa looks sharply towards the ground, away from the macabre sight. Her eyes land on what looks to be a dying woman, one who's still mumbling for help.
"You have to see what this looks like to me," Elsa whispers.
"I know exactly what this looks like," Anna answers best she can. "But this…this thing is a shifter, not a human. If you can believe that you aren't human, believe that," her head lolls towards the figure on the ground, "isn't human either."
The fucking thing needs to die already. The wound she inflicted was fatal. At this point, the creature is probably living just to spite her. "We have to wait," Anna says as calmly as possible. "When it dies, it'll revert back to its normal form. But until then, it'll look human."
"Why should I trust you?" Elsa hisses. "There's a beaten, bloody person here and you're saying I should wait around until she dies?"
"Just trust me when I say I'm not a god damn murderer, Elsa!" Anna says loudly, startling the other woman. "I'm a hunter. Kristoff and I…we hunt down supernatural creatures. Either we relocate them, o-or…we kill them."
That doesn't comfort Elsa at all. "Does that mean you're going to kill me as well?" she asks, her icicle becoming longer and sharper.
"What, no!" Anna shakes her head emphatically despite the movement making her brain feel like scrambled eggs. "I work for an organization called the Guild. Unless you've maimed or killed someone, I wouldn't have any reason to kill you." Plus, only Level One hunters are supposed to hunt down human-like creatures, she adds silently. That part probably wouldn't help Elsa relax.
Elsa nods uncertainly but her gaze is quickly drawn to the shifter again when it moans. "She's missing a hand. Why is she missing a hand?" Elsa says in horror, staring at the pitiful creature at her feet.
"It uh, came off," Anna answers, trying valiantly not to giggle at the answer. Shit, she needs medicine soon, but it's in her bag and there's no way Elsa would hand that over.
"If it makes you feel better," she adds in what she hopes is a placating tone, pointing out the huge blood spatters on her clothes and skin with her less injured hand, "I think most of this is mine."
Elsa lets out a near hysterical whimper. "I'm calling the police. You need help, Anna." She pulls out her phone but her hand is shaking so much that she drops it.
"Wait! It's dying. It's fucking dying!" Anna crows, "Look at it!"
The shifter twitches in the thick puddle of its blood, letting out one last exhale. The bones of its shapely legs and toned arms twist against one another, shrinking away to nothing. The face is the last to go, collapsing in on itself.
All that's left of the shifter is a black, gaseous shadow floating in the space above where it died.
"Oh god," Elsa murmurs. "Oh my god." She runs over to Anna, fingers slipping against the icicle embedded in Anna's jacket. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Anna." She pulls at the icicle until it comes out, which causes Anna to instantly sink to the ground now that nothing's holding her up.
"Hey," she says blearily, "it's…no big deal."
Before she knows it, Elsa is pulling her in for a tight hug, still uttering apologies under her breath. Anna's unable to stop the startled yelp that comes out of her. "A-as much as I…don't mind being hugged right now, I'm kind of…ahh!…b-broken in a few places."
"Of course!" Elsa says, releasing her immediately. "I can do this…this thing with my hands. I can heal you, at least a little bit—"
"No," Anna says weakly. "It'll drain you too much if you do that now, and you need to get out of here soon. Just get me my bag, please."
Elsa fetches it and dumps the contents out on the ground. Anna sifts through the supplies until she finds a numbing agent. It's in the form of an extremely potent patch, another one of Jack's inventions. She puts it on the inside of her elbow and grabs her phone.
"Creature's gone," she says once Cleanup answers, already feeling a little less pain, "but it wasn't a kamaitachi, it was a shifter…yeah, I know. Which is why I'd appreciate a medic being brought along. Right. See you then."
Throughout all of this, Elsa is staring at her with a dazed expression. Anna snaps her fingers in front of her. "Hey, you have to get going."
Elsa startles back into reality. "Why?"
"Cleanup is coming," she says urgently, "I need to explain about a billion things to you before you decide if you want to become part of the Guild. Just meet me at the apartment, alright? I'll be back in a couple hours at most."
"But—"
"Hey," Anna says, grasping Elsa's hand. "I know this is a lot to take in right now and nothing makes any sense, but I promise I'll have no more secrets from you, not anymore. Go to the apartment and we'll talk then."
Elsa nods shakily. Unexpectedly, a taut smile pulls at her lips. "No more secrets?" she repeats in a small voice, like she doesn't quite believe the words.
"Not a single one," Anna replies with a smile of her own. "And trust me, I'm about to blow your mind."
A/N: Whew, that was a doozy. I don't know if this needs to be explained, but Anna's actions during the confrontation with Elsa were all over the place because she was completely exhausted and a bit delirious. If she were healthy, she would have handled the situation very differently.
Glossary-
Kamaitachi (first creature Anna fights)- a fox-like being that can cause whirlwinds. Has nails that are similar to scythes. I made up the 'fact' that they can be killed by cutting off one of their paws.
Roc (second creature Anna fights)- a huge bird of prey.
Yowie (third creature Anna fights)- a hominid supposedly living in the Australian wilderness. Resembles a gorilla and is reported to be between 6 and 10 feet tall.
Shifter (the actual creature she fights)- I kind of made this one up. Obviously I don't take any responsibility for the idea of a shapeshifter, but all the attributes mentioned in the chapter are 'rules' I made up for it.