Evening was approaching and so Kristoff had decided it was time to stop for the night since there was "No sense in pushing past our limits when we could just go at a relaxed pace in the morning."

Elsa conjured up three more snow sentinels that could have been Marshmallow's brothers to guard them and then sat back to rest. The destruction of her other sentinels had taken something out of her. Not a lot, but enough that she wasn't looking forward to another encounter with one of Anna's shadows no matter how benevolent she meant it to be.

"I suppose that takes care of the night watch, then," said Lord Derek as he watched the three sentinels vanish into the night. A few howls and roars indicated that they were setting about their task with gusto. Lord Derek got up and fetched a couple bags from the back of the sled, then turned and said "I'm going to set up camp for myself over yonder" with a gesturing to a cluster of trees almost out of sight. "I'll see you both at breakfast in the morning. Do try to keep quiet, please. The hills have ears and it would be a shame if someone heard something they shouldn't." Then he turned and marched away, whistling to himself as he walked. He paused a moment and turned back around for a moment.

Kristoff got up and unhooked Sven, set his gear back into the sled and then gave him a rubdown before sharing a carrot with him. He was focused on Sven to the exclusion of all others, making sure that his companion was as comfortable as possible before speaking with Elsa.

"You care about Sven a lot," Elsa said as she watched him go about his task.

Kristoff nodded, his focus still on tending to Sven. "We've been together since we were small. I found him wandering around on his own just after my birth parents died. We cared for each other as best we could, but until Momma Bulda took us in it was pretty much us against the world."

"That must have been hard for you," Elsa said as she relaxed in her seat on the sled.

Kristoff shrugged. "We managed. It got easier once the trolls took us in, although it was a little interesting for the first few years. Big learning curve for everyone."

Elsa laughed. "Such as?"

Kristoff smiled at the memories of his first few weeks with the trolls. "Teaching them what kinds of food we each could eat took a while. They figured out pretty quickly that we couldn't eat what they ate, but Grand Pabbie had to sit for a while before he could think of what kinds of berries and plants and such we could eat without killing ourselves."

"And what kinds of food do they eat?" Asked Elsa. While she'd read about trolls, she'd never met one and none of the stories conveyed much more information about them than approach them with caution and respect.

"Different kinds of minerals. I've been told that each one has its own distinct flavor, but I've never managed to pick anything up form them. I mean, salt's decent but other than that they all taste about the same to me." Kristoff gave Sven a slap on the rump and Sven bounded off into the woods to find something to eat, sure in his safety because of the snow sentinels.

Elsa pulled her knees up to her chest. "What would you say is the biggest difference between trolls and people? Besides food, I mean."

Kristoff bite his lip and sank into the seat on the sled beside her. "I don't know. Most trolls have magic, so there's that. But then again, both you and Anna have potent talents yourselves so maybe I've just met a poor showing of people. No, I think that the biggest difference between trolls and people are their relationships."

"Their relationships?" Elsa knew that Kristoff had different views on what was and wasn't appropriate. It had taken Anna and her a few days before Sven learned that the palace wasn't really meant for reindeer and he and Kristoff had pined for several days after before Elsa gave in and adapted some parts of the castle to be reindeer friendly.

"Yeah. Oh, I, uh, I mean their romantic relationships," said Kristoff with a blush.

"How so?" Asked Elsa. She felt drawn to Kristoff and while her Christian upbringing said that he should be Anna's and Anna's alone, something inside him seemed to assure her that what they felt was also alright.

Kristoff didn't speak for a some time and when he did it was slow and methodical. He'd thought this out. "Most human people have one partner in their life and that's it. Oh sure, they might have family and children they love as well, but when it comes to your forever love, it's just the one"

"And trolls don't have loved ones?" Asked Elsa.

Kristoff chuckled. "Oh sure they do, just not the same way you might. Trolls have lovers and partners for anything and everything. You may have a lover that fulfills a part of who you are, but a couple others to fulfill the rest of yourself. Nothing makes a thing stronger than complementary aspects and since one husband or wife won't always complete you, why not have two or three or four? I think that at one point I had five fathers and three mothers, but that was only for a couple years. Most trolls only had three wives or husbands although they'll often be in multiple families, so trying to map out your entire 'extended family' can get interesting."

"So, say, if a man wanted to marry two sisters, he could?" Asked Elsa.

"Oh sure. Happened all the time at home," said Kristoff, lost in memory. It took him a moment longer to realize what Elsa was suggesting. "Do you think …" He began, and Elsa sighed.

"I don't know. Maybe. It sure would solve our little problem, but I' m not sure what Anna would think. A few days ago I might have known, but now, what with her big change, I just …" Elsa trailed off.

"Yeah," said Kristoff, pulling Elsa closer to him.

Elsa snuggled in. She wasn't cold and wouldn't have been bothered by it anyway, but warmth could be nice as well and Kristoff was very warm. A few moments later and she was asleep, comfy and safe in Kristoff's strong arms.