Dorm Lawn, Tuesday into Wednesday Night

[suitably_heroic]

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! ]]

Comments

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"Crying 'Wolf,'" Elsa replied with a nod. "I didn't even know what it was meant to be. For all I know, perhaps the building just enjoys screaming in the middle of the night for no good reason. It would be no stranger than some of the things I've seen here so far."

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

"I had to go out into the hall to discover what that noise meant," Eleanor allowed with a tiny smile. "I've never had a fire alarm before, either. In Rapture we were more worried about water leaks."

Those could become life-threatening in a hurry, especially when small cracks led to entire rooms caving in.

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"Water leaks?" Well, that had Elsa good and baffled. "Where would water leaks be more dangerous than fires?"

The answer, 'under the ocean?' Not so much with occurring to her. At all.

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

Oh. That would certainly pay her back, for being too much asleep to mind what she was saying.

"It's ... complicated," she said, quickly. But this was Elsa, and Elsa already knew more-or-less that Eleanor had powers, and she'd promised not to think badly of her as a result.

"I haven't mentioned, then, where I'm from," she said tentatively.

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Elsa shook her head, no.

"Not to me, at least," she replied, giving her a small attempt at a reassuring smile. "Though now I have to admit, you have me curious."

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

"It's actually a fascinating story," Eleanor allowed. Because, abstractly, it was. "A decade or so before I was born, a man got tired of rules and government and everything else and decided to start his own colony where he got to be in charge. Most people use a deserted island for that sort of thing, but he decided to build an entire city complex down at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean."

Andrew Ryan had many, many fault, but "aiming small" wasn't one of them.

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"I... oh." Suddenly, Elsa could see very well just how a few leaks could get dangerous, quickly. Her parents had been on the top of the water, and the sea had still swallowed them whole.

She licked her lips, and then swallowed a lump in her throat as her thoughts drifted back to them.

"Then... yes, I can see why a leak would be such a concern."

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

"Leaks never stay small," she explained, unsure of the emotions flickering across the other girl's face. "They compromise the stability of the entire compound. One would think he'd have just picked an island and had done with it."

She frowned slightly before adding, "Are you all right?"

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"I... I'm fine," Elsa replied, pulling in an unsteady breath and forcing a smile. "It's just that talking about how dangerous the ocean is makes me think of the people that I've lost to it."

A month ago, Elsa. You were allowed to be sad.

"I think an island would have made far more sense."

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

"I don't think any of them cared about 'sensible,'" Eleanor said, before adding, in a softer voice, "I'm so sorry. I've ... I lost someone there, too."

Entirely different circumstances; the ocean wasn't what had killed her father. But his body slept under the waves all the same.

She hesitated -- she was so entirely bad with people -- before reaching gingerly as if to place her hand upon Elsa's shoulder. It had ... seemed to help, with Celia, speaking of her mother? Maybe ... it would help, here, too?

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

She meant well. Elsa knew Eleanor meant well. Bodily contact was so often intended to be soothing, after all. She'd seen so many people try to offer it to one another so many times. Her own parents would try to reach for her, until her powers had gotten so wild that she couldn't contain them.

Eleanor's fingers barely had a chance to brush Elsa's shoulder before she shrank away a little, holding her hand up, breath catching a little.

"Please, it's... I'm fine. I'll be fine. Thank you."

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

Eleanor jerked her hand back as if it was on fire. "I'm so sorry," she said, quickly. "I didn't mean to -- presume. I didn't."

She folded her arms tightly, as if to promise the other girl that there would be no more accidental touchings.

Apparently, it wasn't an appropriate time for touching someone after all. She was so bad at this.

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

She was doing perfectly well! Just, not with somebody as neurotic about physical contact as Elsa was.

"Oh, no, I know you didn't mean any harm," Elsa replied, just as quickly, hating that she'd startled the other girl so much. "I'm just not used to... I mean..."

She exhaled, about as frustrated with her own social skills as Eleanor was.

"You did nothing wrong, Eleanor. I promise."

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

Wasn't ... used to?

Eleanor offered a sheepish smile. "I'm not ... good with people," she said, hesitantly. "I don't ... have much experience being around them."

She didn't know how to ask if Elsa had the same problem, herself.

"I'm sorry if I frightened you."