rediscover | ryslig

'Course! It's not like I'm training for a gladiator fight or anything, after all.

[Anna's gratified that someone seems to want to hear her story. The story of her, and Elsa, and Hans, and Kristoff, and Olaf...

Gods, she misses Olaf.

So she tells Cassandra everything. The whole story, which is hard because she sounds kinda stupid for a lot of it. But by the time she's finished, she's got a fond grin on her face.]

And then I punched him so hard in the face he went sprawling into the fjord!

[Cassandra balked at that, for a moment.]

Uh... Just wondering! That's all.

[Elsa really hadn't said anything about her? She figured it might have been information the sisters would share, or that Elsa would let something slip. But... she hadn't.

And Cassandra knew, already, how wrong that felt in her mind. She'd opened up to a friend, about something so secret she had kept it hidden from the entire world. But that world was far away, and this one was very different.

And basically... now she feels pretty stupid.]

Sorry. It's just that... we had a long talk in my room a while back. She helped me through some stuff.

Edited 2019-07-26 03:00 (UTC)

[Oh, Anna. Don't give Cassandra any ideas. She's going to have to tell you about the Challenge of the Brave someday.

But, right now, she sits back, and quietly listens to Anna's story about... everything. The coronation day, meeting Hans, Elsa's escape, Olaf.

What is with princess and magical creatures?

Cassandra listens thoughtfully, making note of some of the things Anna says. By the end, she's transfixed, and lets out a laugh at the punch.]

Ha! That'll show him for trying to mess with both of you! What happened to him after that?

[Honestly, if Elsa had said anything to Anna, Anna would have been very surprised. That's a very personal thing to share with someone else without Cassandra's express permission, after all, and that would be incredibly unlike Elsa. But as it is, Anna has no clue. So she just shrugs.]

Really? Aww, Cass, it's nice that you went to Elsa for help. I bet she was super nice about it. But you're...everything's okay?

[By the end of it, Anna's just glad that Cassandra is laughing at Hans, and not at her. She grins, and shrugs her shoulders.]

He was arrested, and sent back to the Southern Isles for his family to deal with. But I like to imagine he's somewhere shoveling manure all day, personally. He'd hate that.

[Look, Cass can laugh at a lot of things; she'll laugh at Sven and Kristoff, and at some of the more clumsy antics Anna gets up to, but she will absolutely laugh at a loser like Hans.]

Stuck up guy like that? He'd wish he was just thrown in jail after a few rounds of stable duty. [The thought brought her some joy, honestly.] Seriously, I'm sorry, but guys are the worst.

[She's not very sorry.]

[How fortunate, then, that this proves once more that all of Cassandra's worries are simply in her head. Most of them, anyway.]

I'm... okay. [Truthfully, her whole body seems to lose tension.] Actually, I'm not really one for optimism, but right now I'm feeling better than I have in a long time. Your sister's pretty amazing, you know?

Ha, you're probably right. He really was, just...

[Anna laughs, because Cass has just voiced her exact opinion.]

The worst! Exactly! It's like...they're almost not worth bothering with.

[Anna nods enthusiastically.]

I do know! She's my rock, y'know? I'm glad she could help you out.

[Anna flushes, a little, her gaze darting to the side.]

You don't have to tell me, of course, it's none of my business. But I am curious what you talked about.

Trust me, they're not. More often than not, they're just bad news, and using you for something.

[...Snrk. She had to snicker, as a thought slipped into her mind.]

Like this guy I was "dating." Hubert. He was a piece of work, that's for sure.

Hubert? Everyone in your world has the worst names!

[Like you're anyone to talk, with your Olafs and your Svens and your Gerdas, Anna.]

...Except you, and Rapunzel. Those are both nice names, actually. But what did he do that was so awful?

Hey.

[That's Rapunzel erasure. But then....]

...Fair enough. [She sits back, looking at the dummy again. Boy, if that didn't seem familiar before.] Well, if you want to know, I guess it's okay. Considering everything you just told me...

[And she tells her, everything; the book of Herz Der Sonne, the festival of hearts, how Andrew walked into her life, how Rapunzel fell into the tale, and finally the fight in a hot air balloon.

It's a gripping tale, if shorter than Annas, bit less than half an hour to tell, with no breaks.]

...So I got a medal for my hard work, and that loser Hubert got put behind bars. The end.

Hm, yeah. She's amazing, you're pretty lucky to have her.

[She allows herself a little smile, but it wanes.]

What we talked about was... private, but she helped me come to terms on a few things, and something I've always really known.

[All technically true, although she didn't want to let it slip that all of her feelings were about Rapunzel just yet. The anxiety twisting in her stomach was terrible enough as it was.

Would it always be like this? She wondered. This agonizing over just a few simple words.]

And, look -- I'm bad about opening up about things, but I'd rather just put it out and make sure you heard it from me first than Elsa, or somebody else that...

[I like Rapunzel]

I like women.

We both are.

[After all, as far as Anna's concerned, Cass is part of their family now. Like a bonus sister, or something! Or at the very least, a friend she can rely on. She'll never forget how Cassandra protected her when they first got here, in that weird Cube. She was so cool...like Joan of Arc.

She nods in understanding. She gets it, wanting to control who hears what from whom. It's natural, after all. And somehow, the news that she's hearing from Cassandra isn't as much of a shock as it once would've been. She's met lots of people here who like people of the same gender. Anna's never seen anything weird or wrong with it. So she just gives Cassandra a grin.]

That's great! I'm really happy you trust me enough to tell me, Cass.

[Anna is listening raptly to every detail; she loves stories, and this is a true one! When Cassandra finally finishes, Anna's got her chin propped in both hands, completely captured by the story.]

Wow, you weren't kidding! He was a loser. I hope he stayed there, too!

Yeah, here's hoping. I didn't put months of work behind that to let him get out on good behavior.

[Several months of acting straight took it right out of her.]

But it feels kind of good knowing that's not the only time that sort of thing's happened.

I’m hoping Hans didn’t either...but something tells me his family probably didn’t go too easy on him.

[Anna shrugs and gives Cassandra a grin.] Considering i’m pretty sure we both come from the same world...it’s not too surprising that we’ve both gone through some crazy stuff!

Well, there is a Arendelle in my world, but I've never been to it.

[Something about the royals never opening their doors yet, and no coronations to hear of.]

Although, if I knew you two, I would have tried to visit a long time ago.

[So... a lot of stuff's happened lately. A lot of new information was dropped on poor Anna's head, and while some of it was harmless, some of it is also... stuff that's hard to process. Like the still-healing scars on both sisters, courtesy of a zombified Lorna. A girl who Anna just found out she was married to at some point.

But there'd been something Elsa had been meaning to talk to Anna about for a while. Something that almost came up after their confrontation with Lorna, but with everything else turning into a flurry of panic and worry, it just. Wasn't the time. But maybe now, with everything calming down as much as it could in this land, is a good time to bring it up again.

So today, after dinner and after the residents of Solsikke begin getting ready to turn in for the night, Elsa knocks on her sister's door.]

Anna? Can I come in?

[Anna's already snuggled up in bed, not asleep, but reading. As has become normal for her, the places where her legs and feet are relaxed atop the duvet have begun to camouflage themselves to look like a mass of flowers and vines. She supposes it's some kind of protective instinct, but even when she's asleep in her own bed it's a pretty neat thing her nymph body has learned to do.

At the sound of Elsa's knock, Anna smiles and shuts the heavy book across her lap, setting it aside.]

Of course! Come on in, Els.

[Awkward incoming conversation aside, these casual little moments are things that Elsa, even so long now after her coronation, cherishes. Just... normal things, like entering the other's room without fear over reactions. Not having to push her sister away when something is bothering her.

She's sure they still have a long way to go. But they've made good progress, right?]

I'm not disturbing anything, am I? [There's a smile on her face as she enters her sister's room. Like Anna, Elsa's all prepared for bed, her leafy hair out of its loose ponytail and a light blue robe draped over her nightgown.] I'd hate to pull you away if you're just reaching a good part.

[Anna shakes her head, giving Elsa a bright smile. The book in question, Les Misérables, goes on the nightstand.]

Nope! Boy, I forgot how much Victor Hugo loved describing the most boring things.

[She reaches over and pats the empty spot next to her.] Make yourself cozy!

[Oh boy. At the mention of the author, Elsa cringes.]

Wow, you must really be trying to put yourself to sleep if you're reading his work at this hour.

[It's good work! But boy, how he rambles. Even thinking about how dry those books are makes Elsa yawn a little as she takes a spot next to Anna; not quite hip to hip, but close enough. The kind of close they've finally been able to come to enjoy after so many years apart.]

There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about, for a while now. Not that I'm... scared to talk about it, but the time never seemed right.

[It's sort of true. She's scared to talk about it, but no more than she's scared to talk about any of her other personal issues. She knows Anna will love her no matter what she says or does, it's just.... the act of talking itself is what's difficult.]

But after what happened in the aftermath of the undead attack, I feel like I should finally bring it up.

Okay, I'm just going to put it out there.
You'll both tell me if something weird like this had happened before, right?

uhhh
you're gonna need to be more specific about 'this'
there's a zillion weird things going on at all times!

ryslig | rsdos

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[9/6; Action]

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9/12 during the hybrid event

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