“I owe you an apology.” Stephen’s astral form floated beside Elsa through this winter wonder-wasteland. “When you offered to join me, I was worried that you might not be able to keep up with me, I didn’t know the full extent of your abilities. “ He knew the cold didn’t bother her, and saw her create ice castles and slides, but snow steeds were something entirely different. She looked pretty badass astride the horse, hair wildly whipping in the wind.
Yes, alone Stephen probably could’ve gone farther, and in less time, and wouldn’t have to worry about backtracking to return to campus because all he’d need to do is pull his astral body back to his physical one, which was currently laying comfortably in his bed. But it was really nice to have the company, and they were taking advantage of the time by getting to know one another better.
It was cold.
Yes, that was obvious - but this was a lot different than any standard winter in Arendelle, miles and miles away from the idea of a simple snowstorm that may be filed under ‘inconvenience.’ It was enough that even Elsa felt a slight chill - nothing that would really be bothersome for her, of course (and even in Arendelle’s winters she sometimes felt as if she was still standing in the middle of a furnace, out of place somehow) but she knew that the average person could not come outside when it was so frigid. Not unless they wanted their skin and organs and eyelashes to freeze at first contact with the cruel air.
This world was like what would happen if the seas froze in mid-wave, still rippling. Everything was desolate, open and empty and ice hugging everything. Snow as far as the eye could see was all she could make out now, she was determined to press on - there had to be something her and Stephen could find.
So she’d saddled up, literally - one part of her magic was the ability to create ice constructs that were actually sentient, to a degree; she’d done it with Marshmallow and she did it now with the horse she’d been riding on the wind, gliding along while Stephen’s astral form flew beside her. Occasionally, she’d create ice pillars that shot up - different colors of ice, mind you - to mark their place and their path, as they attempted to map the way. “I’m sure you’ll think of some way to make it up to me,” she responded with a breathless sort of grin tossed in his direction.
“I’m sort of making a mental map too, but - there’s really not much out here so far. We’ll keep heading south?”
It was also the sort of weather that was known for driving men mad, not only from hypothermia, the the afflicted were known to tear the clothes off their body before freezing to death, but bleak stretches of snow covered landscape could trigger feelings of isolation, depression, even hysteria and hallucinations. Stephen, who still struggled from his emotions that came with his recent memory update, was particularly concerned about that later condition. Having somebody to speak to went a long way to help, and he hoped Elsa felt the same.
“I’m sure I would have,” he replied, smiling. “At the very least, I could’ve asked the Cloak of Levitation to carry you. As it is, it’s currently in my bedroom, watching over my material body. If there’s a dire emergency on campus, it would let me know. Speaking of which, how is your phone holding up?” Was it still working in this weather?
Stephen scanned the horizon. “I’ve been doing the same thing. Do you have an eidetic memory, too? I told Natasha there’s not much by way of landmarks, but at least I’ve been keeping track of how far we’ve been traveling from the campus. South? Yeah. Maybe for another hour or so? Before it gets too dark and we’re lost out here at night. Something tells me that as soon as the sun sets, it’s going to get a hell of a lot colder.”
“It’s okay, really - I don’t need rescuing or anyone to carry me,” Elsa promised with a laugh. She could handle herself out here and this was, quite literally, the weather she was made for. If trudging around in the cold and snow helped other people, then so be it. She would do her best.
It was daylight but also blustery - whatever luminescence passed as sunshine did nothing to melt the snow because it was so cold, and at night it would turn even more bitter. Worse than razor blades on your skin - she wanted everyone to be prepared and she hoped, hoped that no one would freeze to death during this week. Which was shaping up to be quite the depressing week, to be certain.
She shifted on her ice horse, using the bridle to turn slightly, closer to Stephen’s astral form after creating another ice column they passed by. “I don’t have an eidetic memory but I’m good at sketching so I can hopefully put landmarks on paper well, if we find any. I also haven’t checked my phone, so - I don’t know what’s happening there,” she admitted. It’s possible the thing could have frozen and snapped into pieces, too overwhelmed by the cold. “I just wonder what else is out here - there has to be something.” Was it a completely dead planet? No life whatsoever?
You definitely don’t,” Stephen remarked, watching how easily she caused the column of ice to spring up, causing snow flakes to flurry around before it settled. “You’re really in your element, no pun intended. Would you say your abilities increase in the cold? Is it possible to decrease temperatures?” The application of that would be really handy on campus.
Once the column was formed, he cast an additional spell upon it, making it glow, so it could be spotted from afar… marking a path to lead them back to campus. “Tomorrow, we’ll start out from here. I’ll open a portal to get you this far, then join you a little bit later. I’d bring us back to campus by portal now, but…” he held up his right hand to show her, “... sling rings don’t work, astrally.”
Turning around, Stephen wanted to accompany her to make sure she returned to campus alright. “The conditions here are inhospitable, but to quote a movie? Life finds a way.”
Elsa nodded. “Alright, sounds good - I guess there’s only so much we can cover in a day, and I want you to rest up before we head out again tomorrow,” she said, since she knew Stephen only had a limited amount of time where he could be separated from his physical body. “I’m not sure if I can decrease temperatures - I know how to thaw and melt what I create, and I did away with Arendelle’s magical winter that was my doing, but. Thawing the whole planet?”
She smiled sheepishly - and while lately, especially at this point in her life, Elsa was far more confident in her abilities she didn’t think she had it in her to do much for the bone-chilling (and organ-freezing) cold that Derleth had put them in now. At least not in terms of melting - but if anyone wanted a pair of ice skates, sure, she had you covered.
“I’ll do my best, anyway. It’s just - “ On the horse, whom she’d turned around as they started to head back, Elsa paused. “...do you hear that?”
It sounded like howling. Something unholy, like a foghorn but - not. She didn’t know what it was. Nothing good.
Rest up? Stephen laughed. “What do you think my body is doing now? I’ll probably be awake all night because my body’s been at rest this whole time. This, “ he gestured to his astral self, “takes as much energy as thinking. Which can sometimes be strenuous, but not right now. Anyway, maybe experimenting with temperatures is something you can try when we get back? Not thawing an entire planet…. I don’t expect you to be able to do that. Not to mention, doing that will have serious ecological repercussions that wouldn’t be worth the seven days we’d be staying. I’m thinking more along the lines of immediate areas. Like your phone, to make sure it works. Or a room, if the power goes out. It’s something you can try.”
Stephen became still, turning his head to scan the horizon. “I heard it too.” A low pitch that couldn’t be mistaken for the wind. “It’s difficult to pinpoint which direction it was coming from, but…” his sentence was interrupted by another howl, this time louder than the one before. Closer.
“How fast can that ice horse of yours run?”
Elsa tsked. Physical rest was just as important as all of the other kinds. “Rest your mind, Stephen - otherwise you’re going to burn a hole in your brain,” she clucked her tongue again. Men, honestly - were they always this stubborn? And she was about to say that she’d do her best with the thawing (but would rather put her focus on procuring supplies so they could weather the storms of this week) when she heard it again.
A mournful howl indeed. A warning, an expression of pain? Elsa felt goosebumps rippled all on her skin, but of course it had nothing to do with the cold. “Come on - “ She dug in and told her ice steed to go faster, a mental link between her and her creation - what she didn’t expect was the sudden appearance of a couple of gigantic...creatures, suddenly stumbling into their path and looking nothing short of ferocious.
White camouflage fur - no wonder they were hard to spot, in all of this expanse. Thick muscle, long arms, and tall with wickedly-clawed paws; one of them swung its arms in an effort to attack, and Elsa dodged just in time on the horse. She reacted quickly, an ice club forming in her hand - something she’d use as a weapon, along with the ice spikes that shot up from the ground in an attempt to slow the creatures in their pursuit. “Oh, these things do not look friendly - “
They reminded her a little of Marshmallow though. But these things probably wanted to eat her, so that was the difference.
Burn a hole in his brain? That really didn’t work like that. In Kamar-Taj, once he figured out how to astral project, Stephen would spend every night pouring over ancient tomes while his body slept, it was no problem at all. He appreciated the concern, however there were more pressing issues at hand.
Stephen followed beside, easily keeping pace while flying, and was equally surprised by the appearance of the monsters, as well as the dangerously sharp icicles that thrust out of the snow to form a barrier between them - another impressive feat by Elsa.
“They can’t hurt me,” he shouted to Stephen, who was already gesturing his hands to form eldritch sigils. “I’ll hold them…get back to the base!” His arms pulled apart sparking with mystic fire forming intricate designs in the air, which grew in size to form a large shield. “The noise may attract more, be careful!” Closing his hand into a fist, the shield enveloped the two creatures like a net.
Normally she wouldn’t want to just leave Stephen here, but his ghostly form seemed to be able to...take a beating? Or not take a beating. Still, Elsa was concerned - she didn’t think it was safe to constantly have your mind going even if your physical body rested; he could slip up, and then get trapped in his own head, or something even worse - but she also had to be careful on her end too. She was one of the few people who could venture out into the cold without automatically freezing to death, and she wouldn’t be of any use to anyone if she was severely injured. Or dead.
“I’m going!” she called back, riding by one of the yetis (they were yetis, right? Something similar, anyway) and swinging her makeshift weapon hard to knock it in the face - the ice hooves of the horse scraped against the trail left in its wake; it was ice against ice as she cleared a space for her to run back the way they came.
Hopefully they would be able to get further tomorrow. And she’d be sure to check on Stephen in his room when she returned to campus.
Stephen looked over his shoulder to make sure Elsa was getting away safely, just in time to watch her strike a creature that seemingly popped out of nowhere. He directed a bolt of mystic energy in that direction, which drew the creature’s attention, and more started to appear. His goal was to make himself the target to distract the monsters from Elsa to give her a better chance.
Not that she couldn’t take care of herself. It was obvious that she was very capable, but if there were more of these creatures she could be outnumbered. Watching her as she sped further and further away, until she could no longer be seen, he remained for a few minutes more. The creatures tried taking swipes at him with their claws, but they breezed right through him and were met with a blast to the face that stunned them. Stephen didn’t want to kill them if he had to, even though he anticipated they could cause trouble for people on campus.