fandomhighdorms | Dorm Lawn, Tuesday into Wednesday Night

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Dorm Lawn, Tuesday into Wednesday Night

Okay, so the weather on Fandom was slightly less bone-tinglingly cold than the mainland, but that was really all there was to be said for it. One thing it wasn't, for instance, was ideal weather for anyone to stand around in for prolonged periods of time.

Which was why the Powers That Be had decided it was the exact ideal time to have a fire drill. Loud noise rang through the dorms at exactly 2 AM; good morning, students.

Hope you had time to snag a coat.

[[ fire drill post! go go go! ]]

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But wasn't that an answer in and of itself?

Karina considered her options. She wanted to know, but Elsa looked… almost scared… and while Karina would be the first to admit she could be a total bitch, usually when she deliberately wanted to be, she didn't really want to hurt or seriously upset Elsa. She liked Elsa!

That meant if she wanted to know for sure, she'd have to be the first to admit to… something that she suspected they had in common.

"You know," Karina said conversationally, "the only time I've seen you without your gloves was on the weekend, when everyone's powers were all switched around. And you were super, super awkward about the hug at first. I wonder what would happen if I touched you now."

She took a deep breath and then sighed. Here went…

"Except I'm probably the wrong person to test that out," she said, smiling a bit nervously. "Because I don't think I'd notice anything at all."

Edited 2014-01-22 17:37 (UTC)

"You... wouldn't?" Elsa looked up at that, trying desperately not to look as hopeful as she suddenly did. "I don't..."

She took a deep breath as she cut herself off, and then, quietly, tentatively, she ventured, "... Are you used to the cold?"

It wasn't Karina's style to cower, or look down, or hunch her shoulders to pretend she was something she wasn't.

She'd lie, sure, but she'd do it brazenly.

When she told the truth, she told it the same way.

"Let's just say," Karina said, tilting her chin up, a bit defiantly, now that she had to admit it, "that where I'm from, no one is as used to the cold as I am."

That was true! There were no other NEXTs on record who had ice as powerfully as she did.

Well, if that didn't confirm it, Elsa wasn't quite certain what would.

Taking a risk, maybe. Taking a chance? Biting her lip and then pulling one of her gloves off, she opened her shawl just slightly and ran bare fingertips across the inside of it. Where her fingers moved, frost spread, before she let the fabric fall flat across her shoulders again, hiding any evidence at all while she pulled her glove back on almost desperately, and then held her breath.

She looked very much the way she felt, now, ready to turn and run and never look back, if it turned out that she'd just made a terrible, horrible mistake.

Her breathing hitched slightly because that was, that was... actual proof. Not just the words they'd been dancing around. And Karina knew she had to respond in kind or Elsa was going to bolt. It was clearly written on her face.

Karina looked around and angled her body away from the other students (for she had no shawl to hide things in) and held her hand out, palm down, about chest high. She concentrated, not wanting to light up night by using all of her power.

"Yeah," she breathed quietly, "just like that."

Her brown eyes turned a luminous, frosty blue and snowflakes, each perfectly formed, tumbled from her hand.

Then her eyes faded back to brown and she dropped her hand, tucking her arms around her again.

There was a long silence as Elsa looked at Karina, took in the way her eyes had changed, let her gaze follow the falling snow until it came to rest on the ground. She pulled in a slow breath, willed herself to stay calm. She was a princess of Arendelle. She had no business panicking or laughing or bursting into tears or whatever it was she felt a sudden urge to do, clinging at her chest from the inside and threatening to overwhelm her completely. A deep breath.

Calm. Calm. Conceal, don't feel.

And then, tentatively, she held open her shawl a little.

"It's cold," she said, gently. "Nobody should be standing out in the cold without a little more cover than that. Come... warm up?"

Karina hesitated for a long moment, unsure what to make of the offer and wondering what Elsa was thinking.

She wasn't sure what she was thinking, given that she'd used her powers in front of a classmate for the first time since she'd arrived on the island.

"I...," she trailed off, then nodded slowly. "You're right. Thanks. I should have thought to grab something." Silly her for not, right? "If you're sure you don't mind...?"

Carefully, Karina approached, half-sure Elsa would change her mind.

"I'm sure," Elsa replied, giving a firm nod even while she was half certain she was going to turn and run, herself. "N-nobody should be stuck out here trying to keep themselves covered, right?"

Seriously. Come pretend to warm up, Karina, or you'd both have to worry about your covers being blown, here.

"Right," she said slowly, then steeled herself and ducked under Elsa's shawl before she thought better of it.

There. The world... wasn't ending. Or anything. It was fine! They were just cold. Really. And trying to warm up.

And then Elsa was shoulder-to-shoulder with somebody, the two of them under the same shawl, one made to keep cold in more than out.

Elsa held her breath, and then realized that wasn't going to help anything and took a few ragged, shaky ones. Nobody was being hurt, nothing was going terribly wrong. It was just two girls standing out in the cold, barefoot and wearing their nightclothes, and while one of them was certainly shaking a little, now, it wasn't the cold that was causing Elsa's trembling.

Given that the shawl wasn't that large, it was impossible to ignore the fact that Elsa was trembling.

Karina snaked one arm around the other girl's waist because that was more comfortable given the situation.

"Hey," she said softly, "you okay?"

"I'm fine," Elsa replied, turning a mostly unconvinced smile toward Karina. "I mean... I'm fine. I just don't usually... I don't ever..."

This was the second time anyone had put an arm around her in years, and the first time had been Karina's doing, too.

"You don't ever...?"

Karina trailed off as she connected a few dots and looked appalled at the idea she was coming up with.

"With no one?" She hesitated since Karina wasn't really someone who liked listening to other peoples' sob stories.

On the other hand, Elsa had a power really close to hers.

"Did you want to talk about it?"

Talk about it? Elsa hadn't talked about it in years. This wasn't something that was exactly conversation friendly. Elsa didn't talk. Elsa hid.

But maybe Karina would understand that.

"... Not here?"

"No problem," she said easily, glancing around the lawn. "It's not really a private place here, is it? My room, maybe? I don't have a roommate, so I can't see why anyone would come by."

"That would do," Elsa agreed with a little nod of her head. "I... actually do have a roommate, and while he seems pleasant enough..."

She hadn't even talked to the guy, yet. Elsa made a bit of an art form out of keeping to herself while in her own personal space, really.

She glanced at Elsa thoughtfully.

"Some things are better kept unsaid, huh? I get that. Let me know when you want to stop by, okay?"

"I don't have anywhere I need to be today," Elsa murmured. "If there's a time that works best for you, I'll be there."

See, and now she was going to get a half-hug from Karina.

"This afternoon?" she suggested. "I'll have food."

Food was usually good. Also a good way to avoid looking at people when you wanted something else to stare at.

Not that, like, Karina was going to say that.

"This afternoon," Elsa agreed, nodding a little, leaning into the half-hug a little in spite of herself. "After some rest, if this noise ever stops."

Karina laughed despite herself. "It'll stop," she said reassuringly. "It's just a drill to make sure we know what to do in case of an emergency."

Edited 2014-01-22 23:34 (UTC)

"Stand outside and act cold?"

They were figuring that one out!

Yeah, okay, Karina wasn't going to stop giggling any time soon. Part of that was the whole secret thing, and the time, but also Elsa's tone of voice.

"No," she said, "to make sure everyone knows to evacuate. If there's a real fire or something, they need to know that people know what the alarm means. So if you ever hear the alarm, it means get out of the building fast. It's either a drill, or it's the real deal."

"You'd think that would be something they'd warn us about, instead of waiting to see if the commotion gets people up to investigate," Elsa mused, raising an eyebrow at Karina's giggling. "I mean, it worked, I certainly did come out to see what was going on..."

"So it worked," she replied. "And what would be the point of a drill with prior warning?"

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