(no subject)

[frozenfractalsallaround]

Who| Elsa & Shepard and an OPEN Prompt
What| Elsa asks Shepard for help | Elsa makes tea
Where| Shepard's room | The kitchens
When| Present
Warnings/Notes| N/A

[Elsa & Shepard]

It isn't exactly with enthusiasm that Elsa has decided to seek Shepard out for additional training. Her previous encounters with the woman were less than stellar, and she found Shepard's personality a bit at odds with her own. But she can't deny that Shepard has experience and the ability to teach it well. After her recent experience in the arena, she thinks the time has come for her to stop running away from her problems and seek a more proactive way of dealing with them.

She's tired of running away from her powers. She's tired of constantly being afraid of hurting people. Elsa's had it hammered into her head several times since getting here that running isn't going to help anyone. As nice and helpful as everyone has been, she also thinks that Shepard is that rough, pushy instructor that she needs to get her ass in gear and make a change. Shepard won't coddle her. That's what she needs, and as intimidating as it's going to be, she's confident that it's the right decision.

So there Elsa is, stopping in front of Shepard's door. She hopes that the woman is in and not busy or anything. She didn't exactly call ahead to make sure it was okay to visit. Either way, she reaches out and gives a few knocks before stepping back to wait, hands clasped in front of her, shoulders straight. It's obvious she's trying a little too hard to look calm and composed, as she mostly looks rigid and cold.]

[OPEN]

[Later on, Elsa can be found in the kitchen, quietly making a cup of the tea that helps with sleeping. Ever since the previous mini arena, she's been dealing with nightmares more frequently. They mostly consist of repeating her death over and over. The painful way she had been crushed to death saving Harley has her really shaken up. She'd went into it thinking she would have died forever, yet she'd woken up all the same. It's been hard to sleep since then.

She also hasn't been out of her room that much, either. It left her shaken up and in need of some alone time, so this might be the first time anyone's seen her out and about since then. Thankfully, the anti-socialness is fading away and she finds it isn't quite so bad to be around people again. She's even humming quietly to herself as she finishes making the cup and moves over to a bar stool, so that she can sit down and sip her tea.]

Comments

[earthborn]

A knock on her door was almost never a good sign. People who knew her tended to just come in, and those who didn't mostly consisted of the kind of people who dressed you up in stupid outfits and led you at gunpoint to fancy parties, or deathmatches. Some days, Shepard couldn't have said which was worse.

And anyway, she didn't spend much time in her room overall, being far too busy with her own self-imposed rounds and duties to make much time for sitting around, aside from the important chore of arena-revue. Nasty business.

Which, incidentally, was what she was doing when Elsa knocked.

It takes her a moment, head up, wary, to cross the distance between bed and door, and even so there is a hesitation before opening. Like a pause to straighten one's hair, to pull on the mask. Paranoia is only unhealthy when it's not founded in reality.

"Elsa?" Not that she doesn't know enough to expect her every now and then— Hans, the now-Victor being present in the D5 suites as often as the rest of them, after all, but... "You need something?"

[frozenfractalsallaround]

When the door is finally opened, Elsa is struck with the realization that she doesn't know what to say. She came here with a goal, but suddenly getting to the goal seems harder than she thought it would be. She has no reason to think Shepard would want to help her, after how icy she's been in the past, she realizes as well. So maybe an apology?

A hand comes up to stroke her braid, a nervous habit she's picked up. "No, not exactly- well, yes," she says quickly, fidgeting with her braid a little more. "I just thought... I should apologize."

She clears her throat, knowing she's better than this. That she could be much calmer. "I haven't been the most open to your help in the past, and I've... probably treated you badly as a result. I'm sorry for that."

[earthborn]

Elsa is very good at holding a calm face— or a little while. But if you introduce a little uncertainty, she cracks like the gunshot-loud fractures of overstressed lake-ice trying to move. It can't, or rather won't, but it tries anyways. Springtime is just as inevitable as winter.

"Apology accepted," Shepard doesn't hold grudges, doesn't pursue vengeance. She's practical before anything else, "Wait, are you offering to actually show up to work?"

Just because she's being relatively gracious, it doesn't follow that it's shared more than a passing nod with the real thing.

[frozenfractalsallaround]

Elsa's eyes close as the little jab, despite the relief she feels at the acceptance of her apology. It's out of shame, if anything. Embarrassment at being called out on it. She tries to hold her dignity together and remain calm, taking in a long and steadying breath.

"Actually, that's the other reason I came to you," she says slowly. "I wanted to ask if the offer still stood on teaching me. I've come to realize that... running away from the idea isn't going to do me any favors. I need to work harder, otherwise I'll just hurt more people."

[pythianjudgment]

Terezi herself doesn't sleep much to begin with, so it's not at all unusual for her to wander into the kitchen at this particular hour of the day. She's on a mission: to find bugs. Not the gross kind that typically infest small, unclean places. She wants edible bugs. The kind you make into a nice warm grubloaf. Crisp and juicy.

What she finds instead is Elsa, making tea. Terezi lingers in the doorway, briefly contemplating the idea of trying to sneak up on her... But ultimately, she decides against it. It's a little too soon after the arena to go about doing that.

"What are you humming?" she asks from her leaning post.

[frozenfractalsallaround]

If Terezi were to sneak up on Elsa, it probably would have lead to burns for both of them. Elsa can be a little jumpy on occasion, and after her arena experiences she's much more prone to startling than normal. Thankfully, it doesn't startle her too much when she hears Terezi's question.

"Hmm?" She twists a little to get a better look, before she recognizes the person speaking. Elsa puts her cup down so she can swivel in the stool and face her properly. "Oh, nothing specific, actually. Was it bothering you?" Always quick to assume, Elsa.

[pythianjudgment]

"Nope! Not at all." Terezi flashes a grin from the doorway, then moves into the kitchen proper. She doesn't waste any time pulling open one of the fridges and rooting through the contents. At one point, she just starts pulling things out and setting them on the counter to deepen her search.

"I didn't know you were a night owl," she says, her head still stuck in the fridge. "A weird night owl. Most humans are either out partying or dead asleep."

[frozenfractalsallaround]

"Oh, that's good." She's a little relieved, since it's not often anyone catches her doing anything musically. To be perfectly honest, a little bit of "Do you wanna build a snowman" might've slipped into her tune. She thinks of Anna so much, it just happened without even realizing it.

"I've never been one for parties," she says with a small shrug, turning once more to her tea when Terezi steps into the kitchen. "And sleep is hard to come by, lately."

A moment later she adds, "Were you looking for anything in particular, by the way?"

[acroodawakening]

Hans' sword lesson had been amicable enough but Guy had been so busy trying to learn that he hadn't really had much of a chance to get to know Elsa and he wanted to. She'd been very polite on the network, asking him questions about his world and way of life instead of making assumptions.

Barring one or two Tributes, most of the Tributes had been that way and it was a relief when compared to ones like that green jerk or mentors like Azula - or worst of all, the Capitolites they had to deal with at parties and the like.

He was, however, somewhat embarrassed to be seen in public, scarred as he was with burn scars. This was partly because it made him look like one of the group that had tried that scheme against the Capitol - whatever it was - and gotten burned when he hadn't been involved and lots of staff at the Training Center were side-eyeing him for it. The other reason was because he was embarrassed at being caught off guard and hurt like that. Azula no doubt had chosen that way to attack specifically because he'd have to go around scarred until he died in the next arena (or died for good.) Or, if he won an arena, he'd have to go around scarred forever.

It was meant to be a lasting display of dominance, of how she would always, always somehow get the upper hand.

That was why he was very shy as he approached Elsa, shyer than he'd been so far, his body language leaving him a little curled in on himself, constantly adjusting his body wrap to try to hide the burn scars on his arm and cheek. It helped to have something to direct his twitchiness at, though. After the mini-arena he felt anxious and out of sorts and was having nightmares as well.

"You having trouble sleeping, too? Usually I sleep like a rock - well, usually I can sleep on rocks, but not so much right now."

[frozenfractalsallaround]

When Elsa turned towards him, immediately his body language become familiar to her. It was the kind she was used to, the kind she usually displayed herself, when she felt weak and exposed and just wanted to get away from everyone. It was easy to feel sympathy towards him. She had the feeling she knew why, with the way he kept fidgeting with his bandages- the scars weren't the prettiest thing, but she didn't recoil or anything like that.

She knew better than to do something like that. It would only make him feel worse, which wasn't something she wanted to do. How or why he'd gotten them, Elsa didn't know. She didn't want to ask, because it meant it would draw attention to them. Would he want that? Elsa wasn't sure, so she decided it was best not to.

Elsa gave him a warm smile, amused at his words. The rock comparison was pretty fitting, she thought, given where he'd come from. "Sleeping on rocks sounds rather uncomfortable, I'm not sure how you ever managed that," she said. "But yes... ever since the last arena, I've had a hard time sleeping. I guess it was bound to happen eventually, but it's still inconvenient."

[acroodawakening]

He appreciated her not calling attention to it.

"Mind some company? We never really got the chance to talk during all the -" He mimed going stabbity stab "- swording. And what is it that you're making?"

There were leaves. She was making some kind of leaf juice.

[medecin]

Madame?

[Joly, having trouble finding his own sleep with no magnets to attach to his bed, and a certainty that it was turned wrong once he'd gotten into it, with no desire to get up and change things NOW, had made his own way to the kitchens, in search of the right herbs to put himself to sleep for a few hours when he'd spotted the lady (a queen, he reminded himself though it seemed quite different from the type of royalty he knew at home) and made his way over to her.]

You find it hard to sleep as well?

[frozenfractalsallaround]

[Elsa turned to face him, not recognizing his voice. She didn't recall meeting him, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be polite. Elsa gave him a small smile, nodding at his question.]

Unfortunately. I've tried not to rely too much on the tea, but it's become necessary ever since last arena.

[medecin]

I can understand that.

[After what he knows happened from all the tapes, well, Joly certainly cannot imagine that himself.]

This last one, the last mass one at least, was my first. It...will be quite a while before I manage the enormity of it, I think.

[alonelikeme]

[Cosette finds it hard to sleep most of the time these days as well. Her inability to be at her husband's side, like a man and wife ought to be, irritates her more than anything.

For some reason, however, she was not expecting someone else to be in the kitchen at this time of night. A silly assumption, she was sure. She paused briefly, clearing her throat lightly to make sure she was aware she wasn't alone, before heading over to make a bit of tea for herself.]

You don't mind a bit of company, do you, mademoiselle?

[frozenfractalsallaround]

Not at all!

[Elsa gives her a small smile, gesturing to the seat next to herself for when Cosette is finished making her tea. To be honest, the silence had become too much, it was nice to have someone around. Without anyone around, it mean she could think about things, and that usually lead to negative feelings.]

It's a bit late, are you having difficulty sleeping as well?

[revvinguptheharley]

[Harley is in the best of moods following the recent visit from her best friend int he world. Bouncing out of her jungle like bedroom she spots Elsa and lets out a happy squeal skipping over to the girl cooing.]

There you are! My hero!

[frozenfractalsallaround]

[Elsa... isn't sure how she feels upon seeing Harley. A part of her is relieved, and thankfully Elsa has avoided looking at the tapes from the mini arena, so she doesn't know all of what went down. It's hard to want to watch, when her own death isn't something she wants to relive.

On the other, seeing Harley kind of brings it all back. So seeing her is a double edged sword, much like the Capitol itself.]

Hi, Harley...

[revvinguptheharley]

Sweetie!

[Once again demonstrating her blatant disregard for personal space, Harley draws Elsa into a hug]

You beautiful dummy. I was supposed to be the one to protect you.

[Her voice chokes a bit when she says these words and her grip tightens possessively.]

[polyturtle]

Not too far away on another bar stool was Donatello. He was also indulging in a late-night drink, contentedly sipping it as heat emanated from it. Albeit, if Elsa got close enough and sniffed, she'd probably come to realize it wasn't tea he was having. It was coffee.

Odd.

"...Oh." It was finishing a sip that Don noticed his district mate sitting nearby. "Hey there."

[frozenfractalsallaround]

The kitchen was fairly large, it was easy to focus on your own thing instead of noticing other people. She'd been wrapped up in her tea that she hadn't thought to say anything to anyone. It was only when Don spoke that she truly noticed him. "Oh, hello. I'm sorry, I was busy making tea."

[polyturtle]

"No worries." Don gave Elsa a reassuring smile. "Its getting late, anyhow. Most people would be sleeping by this time, or at a party. I just...happen to not be one of those people at the moment, same as you."

[halfa_hero]

Danny rooted around the fridge for a slice of leftover pizza, sticking it in his mouth before hunting down a can of soda and a box of leftover chinese.

He did, in fact, have terrible table-manners

[frozenfractalsallaround]

Elsa noticed him, of course she did. But she didn't feel particularly like engaging him- he was showing poor manners, she didn't particularly like chastising him for it, nor did she want to talk to anyone who would probably talk through a load of food in their mouth.

So she sat there, sipping her tea in an almost pointedly dignified manner. The epitome of royal manners.

[halfa_hero]

Danny cocked an eyebrow as he noticed Elsa's reaction to his snack-obtaining methodology. He finished biting into his pizza, swallowed, and balanced it on the box of kung pao.

"...okay, so is there some sort of class on being an older sibling that I never heard about. Because I swear, my sister does the exact same thing."