WHAT: Two newcomers bonding - Kate teaches Elsa about her phone and internally fangirls; Mobius does some hover-dading WHERE: Mobius and Loki's New Asgard cottage WHEN: Backdated to January 26th WARNINGS: Nope STATUS: Complete
In the course of only three days, Kate had gone through a lot. She’d popped into an alternate universe unexpectedly - already a big shock. Then, she’d ended up tangling with some toothy, eyeless monster things, one of which gouged her dominant arm and sent her straight to the clinic to get stitches. She wouldn’t be doing any arrow-shooting or sword-wielding properly for a while. The stitches itched and ached, and the wound itself hurt like hell and wouldn’t stop for a while. But she’d learned her lesson about shoving her arm into monsters’ faces. That was one silver lining here.
Now she was forced to sit in her temporary new home - the guest room of Mobius and Loki’s cottage in New Asgard - and catch glimpses of the action on the Outlander Network and Vallo news outlets. She’d adopted a kitten just yesterday, which might be rash, but it gave her both a good distraction from what she was missing and a sense of normalcy she needed. Of course, he still didn’t have a name, and she didn’t want to address him as ‘Cat’ forever, but she was awful at names. Clint was the one who’d given Lucky his name, and she was pretty sure that was just so he could get her to stop calling him Pizza Dog.
Eventually, she’d pick something. Maybe her visitor here would even come up with something good.
And then there was that.
Kate’s day three in Vallo was marked by the arrival of Elsa. Elsa, as in Queen of Arendelle, Fifth Spirit of the Enchanted Forest - the animated lead of the Frozen movies, except very much not animated. Very real and pretty and kind and coming over to hang out. Her gay feelings were very much mixing and meshing with the excited ten-year-old girl inside her who had watched the first Frozen movie hundreds of times, easily.
She managed to cool it just in time for Mobius to open the Timedoor in Morningside’s lobby to usher Elsa into the cottage’s spacious guest room. Kate sat on the bed, one leg dangling off while the kitten followed her tapping hand across the comforter, determined to attack the antagonistic appendage.
“Hey,” she greeted the other woman with a grin as she stepped through the Timedoor, her free hand lifting in a small wave. “Elsa, this is Mobius. Mobius, Elsa. And…” She nodded at the kitten trying to eat the hand attached to her damaged arm. “Cat, obviously.”
“Is its name actually Cat?” Mobius asked, powering down the TemPad and sliding it back into his suit jacket pocket (a navy blue suit - nothing brown, boring, or resembling something a school principal might wear); he’d make sure Elsa got home safely later on but for now he’d leave the two ladies to their devices. “But right, nice to meet you - welcome to Vallo. Sorry it’s so weird now.”
Elsa smiled, smoothing the wrinkles in her outfit - she hadn’t really had time to change yet, thus, was still wearing her tailored coat and double-paneled cape outfit, cool tones which suited her, with snowflake-encrusted shoulders that gave the whole thing a very militaristic look, like how epaulets would appear. The whole ensemble was good for traveling - and, well, she’d traveled. Traveled across universes, apparently, and it was a quick trip over to the cottage too - which she appreciated. “A pleasure,” she chuckled huskily. “Hopefully we can come up with a better name than Cat.”
Mobius left then, and Elsa extended her hand to see if the kitten would be interested in coming to meet her too. “This really is a nice place to live,” she glanced around. “Thanks for inviting me.”
The kitten wasted no time abandoning his quest to destroy Kate’s hand to turn to Elsa. He sniffed her for a moment, but he wasn’t a terribly cautious boy. Barely a second later, he was bumping his head into her palm looking for pets. He was eager for affection in all forms, maybe a side effect of losing his mother in such a traumatizing way. He had curled right up next to Kate’s head last night and had been glued to her ever since. But she didn’t mind him parting ways with her in this case.
“Sure, no problem.” She shrugged. She’d been scrolling through news coverage, and despite her slightly unwilling seclusion, she knew the creatures’ population had jumped - not just in the forest but out in the city, too, where Morningside was. She’d been offered an apartment there but had decided to stick around New Asgard - it seemed largely undisturbed, probably mostly due to Thor.
“It seems to be calm here compared to basically everywhere else right now, anyway. Not everyone wants to jump right into the chaos of creepy fuckers their first day. And there are lots of others out there to do stabby things, even if we don’t.”
She would like to, but she had been in the midst of it all for a while - she knew there was no shortage of volunteers to step up in her place.
“Mobius got me some sweats if you want to change into something more comfortable. We’re about the same height, so they should fit,” she offered, sweeping her eyes over Elsa’s outfit. She recognized that outfit from the end of the second movie; she may not have gotten into the hundreds on that one, being seventeen when it came out and busy with high school, then college things, but she knew it well enough. “Not that you don’t look great, obviously.”
The cat was really sweet and the subsequent purring was really sweet too - intense though, like a train running through the whole room; something amazing from something so small. Elsa dragged her fingers through the soft black fur, scritching behind the kitten’s ears - she had only just gotten acquainted with Bruni (and Nokk, the horse-shaped water spirit) but she already missed an animal presence in her life.
“I think I need a little time to really get my bearings before I jump in to fight...those.” Her smile turned a little sheepish; apparently magic wasn’t all that effectual anyway, unless you were exploding their heads (what a mess) and Elsa wasn’t exactly trained with physical combat. She didn’t want to end up injuring herself two seconds after arriving - that really wouldn’t help matters. It wouldn’t help her get home any quicker either.
Still-unnamed cat headbutted some more, and there went that purr again. Elsa blushed a bit too, candy pink staining her cheeks - she didn’t feel as if she looked great, but that was nice to hear. Even if her cornsilk braid was coming unraveled and she’d been squinting hard to try to decipher the mechanics of the phone. “A change of clothes would be great, if you’re sure you don’t mind - ” She paused, studying the kitten with its tiny claws and tiny mews. Was that a burst of Inspiration, perhaps? “He looks like a Licorice to me, but that may be because I love sweets. Or Tuxedo? I’m not great at this,” was her amused apology - but she’d keep brainstorming.
Kate understood that. Just because she - and it seemed like a whole swathe of the Outlander population - were the ‘jump into trouble immediately’ type, that didn’t mean everyone was or even should be. And on day one, processing all of this was a trip. It was smoother for her because, despite the shift and some technological advances, Vallo wasn’t all that different from her world. And there were familiar faces, even if she didn’t know any of them personally back home. For Elsa, it had to be harder - Arendelle and her universe, if the Disney movies were to be trusted, was nothing like Vallo. Aside from the magic factor, maybe. And her family wasn’t here.
“I like Licorice, actually,” she chuckled. “We can start the list with that. I’m bad at names, too, believe me.” She flashed her a smile before rising from the bed to cross over to the small dresser. Mobius had stocked her up with comfy clothes - nothing too specific to her tastes (because why would he?), but it would do until she could actually afford to go out shopping and be particular. She pulled a pair of gray sweatpants, fluffy rainbow socks, and a light blue sweatshirt (similar in color to what Elsa was wearing now) and carried it back over to the bed to offer to her guest.
“Bathroom’s just down the hall to the right if you want to change,” she explained. “Then we can talk phones and stuff?” She wanted to straight up ask Elsa about Arendelle, since apparently it was really real in some world, but she’d promised to help with tech first and she would. Cross her heart.
“Thank you,” Elsa breathed out, as she took the clothes and held them carefully in a bundle - the fluffy rainbow socks kind of made her laugh a little, but they were cute and she’d sport them proudly. “Phones. Sounds good. I’ll be right back.”
She scooted off down the hall and was quick about changing in the bathroom. The cottage was quite nice - homey, even, and reminded her of something she might see in Arendelle, in the small village scattered below the royal palace. Her kingdom (former kingdom?) was a seafaring one, with emphasis on shipping and trade (imports and exports through that avenue) - but the smaller shacks in New Asgard, composed of bright red slats and meant for storing ice, reminded her of home and also the wood and brick patterns that were vibrant and filled with charm; maybe she’d ask if an empty cottage could be set aside (if that was the proper term) for her too. Being near the ocean didn’t even phase her - she’d managed to ride Nokk over the stormy waves and live to tell the tale.
When she finished, she joined Kate in the bedroom again and placed her former clothing set down on top of the dresser so she’d remember to take it when she left. “Alright - what can you tell me about phones? And other...technology?”
Needless to say, she was a little bit behind.
Kate did her best not to stare, but honestly, how she could possibly be just as attractive, maybe even more so, dressed down was beyond her comprehension. She tried to keep her interest concealed because regardless of how hot Elsa was, now was not the time. There might never be a time for that because - it was weird, right? Or it should be?
She shook her head and set her mind. Yep, she’d worry about that later. Way later. It was time to pretend she was techier than she truly was. Although, compared to Elsa’s complete lack of knowledge, she was practically an expert.
“Sit, I’ll show you,” she invited, patting the bed beside her. The still unnamed kitten (possibly Licorice now, she was liking that) had moved to the head of the bed to take over one of the pillows. They probably had a good few minutes before he decided he required attention again. “But I’ll start off by saying if you’re actually squinting to see things, we can change the text size. That might be a good starting point?”
“Oh - ” Elsa settled on the mattress next to Kate, smoothing her hands over her thighs in an automatic gesture to attend to any potential wrinkles - like she was wearing a skirt (she usually did, save for when she was adventuring) but she wasn’t at the moment. Just sweatpants. It could also be something due to anxiety, since she was a person who always needed something to do with her hands as well. Besides tuck them into long silken gloves that didn’t actually do anything.
She’d moved past needing those to ‘control’ her powers. They didn’t, it was merely psychosomatic, and she knew what did keep her in control. Love.
“That does sound like a good starting point,” she blushed again. Because of course - how could she not have thought of that? Granted, she’d never seen a phone before and thought it was a ‘one size fits all’ kind of situation, but anyway. “I was mainly focused on pressing the letters. I did it slowly - I’m guessing eventually I’ll become faster with it.” At the DOA, she’d seen other people whose thumbs were positively flying over the keys, their heads bowed and attention firmly on the little device. It was a bit unnerving.
“Oh, you will,” Kate reassured her. “It takes some time when you’re new to it, but everyone gets there. I’ve grown up with phones like this practically glued to my hand, so it’s not new, that’s all. Here, go to the little gear wheel icon.”
Slowly, she walked Elsa through the basics, leaning in close and pointing her in the right direction, occasionally guiding her hand with a gentle grip around her wrist. They went through increasing the text to a size she was comfortable with first, then introducing her to the actual phone and texting functions (including the voice-to-text capabilities). After that, it was on to the fancier aspects (the internet and the apps, of course, like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube), which she figured would take a bit more explaining for someone who had no idea what to do with a phone.
“Do you have media in Arendelle at all?” she asked, genuinely curious. Maybe they did and it was just the phone that was new; she couldn’t judge from an animated movie. “Television or film or anything like that?”
That was a long lesson, but informative, and Kate was a good teacher. Elsa relaxed enough to pay attention and committed everything to memory - it also helped that she was able to actually be hands-on with the phone and do what Kate instructed, instead of simply watching. After some time she felt like she had a better handle on what the device could do - how it could be used to communicate. Admittedly, she first was under the impression the message board it connected to was the only thing it could connect to - but the fact that you could use such a small thing to look up a vast amount of information? And you didn’t even have to type, you could just speak the words?
Amazing. Truly.
“Just books, mainly,” she said about the media in Arendelle. “Periodicals, newspapers. My sister and her partner would have game nights with me regularly but they were just - charades, usually. Nothing fancy like what you might play on a phone. It was the year 1846 back home.”
She had always been a quick learner, however. Having been educated by various tutors in the palace growing up, Elsa boasted knowledge of many subjects - history, languages, diplomacy, economics. Technology was new but she wasn’t so antiquated she couldn’t absorb things. “It must have been interesting, growing up with so much information right at your fingertips.”
“I always liked charades,” Kate grinned. She was terrible at it - her acting skills left a lot to be desired - but that wasn’t the point. It was fun, especially among friends and when a little bit drunk. Maybe more when drunk than on your average night because there was so much laughter. She loved a good game of Angry Birds, Candy Crush, or Words With Friends, but there was something very infectious about actually being with a group of people.
“There’s a lot of disconnection with tech like this,” she revealed with a casual shrug. “And a lot of connection, too. You can reach so many other people that aren’t anywhere near you and read news from all around the world, but you can lose connection with people around you if you’re not careful.”
The internet was a strange, multifaceted creature even beyond her comprehension. She had a good grip on the tech of her era, knew how to handle and navigate the things you’d encounter back home on an everyday basis, but it was still a lot. She knew even with all that at your fingertips, as Elsa pointed out, you could still feel lonely and isolated and helpless.
“I’ll have to introduce you to some stuff, but we still have just regular old books, too. Once things calm down out there, we’ll have to check out a library together.” She hadn’t even been able to contemplate going out exploring with what was going on - not that her first inclination would be to go to a library, most likely. But it was at the top of the list now.
The library was a comforting idea. Elsa was comforted by books in general - just being surrounded by them brought her a sense of serenity; maybe because books felt a lot more reliable than people. She’d grown up in isolation, immersed in a solitude which felt like the wrong kind of cage, the wrong kind of medicine - and reading had been one of the few pastimes which brought her joy. Books were her only company.
“I’d like to visit the library when it’s calmer,” she nodded. “I think books will always be kind of stalwart friends to me. So I can see how it’s easy to just become immersed in how inconvenient the internet is - it’s so much different. I guess too much of a good thing really does apply though.”
She was very open to seeing what a library in 2022 actually looked like. It seemed kind of intimidating but also quite exciting. “You’ll have to introduce me to all the new foods and things too,” she grinned. “I smelled so many wonderful things in the city.” Beyond all of the stress and fear and the general aroma of oh no, monsters are attacking again which was nearly palpable.
Kate nodded along - she was right. Too much of a good thing very much applied to the internet. It was something she knew everyone her age had or would struggle with at some point. Technological advancements didn’t equal happiness any more than a lack of it may have. People tended to be lonely. She doubted that changed much from century to century, world to world.
“We can go exploring together,” she agreed, grinning right back. She hadn’t gotten into the city much at all - Mobius had pretty much taken care of food for her since she’d been here (for which she was profusely thankful), and until this insanity died down, it would probably stay that way. But she wanted to go out and see the city in its semblance of normalcy. “I’ve been told there’s a bagel cart run by a minotaur called Glenn that we need to hit up first.”
“A minotaur?” Elsa lifted pale blonde eyebrows. “Interesting. I’ve had bagels before, and I love to bake - so I’m interested to see how his bagels compare.” What she hadn’t ever done was meet a minotaur, not in her life, so that seemed like a whole different kind of adventure. “And you can tell me more about you too, as we explore.”
She was curious about Kate, who was very welcoming and seemed to be proficient with her usual arsenal of weapons - already she reminded Elsa a little bit of Honeymaren, a reindeer herding friend but also a fierce protector of her people. Likely Elsa would begin to miss home more and more, thus it was good for her if she had other things to focus on so she wouldn’t be swallowed by a pit of sadness - especially if it was true that she couldn’t leave until the world shifted off balance and decided it was time.
That thought depressed her. She wanted to return home but she also wouldn’t bemoan her circumstances either - she had done enough wallowing in her life, and was more about taking action these days.
Kate had never met a minotaur either. Normally, she’d have doubted one even existed - but just in the few days she’d been here, she’d realized there was no sense believing anything wasn’t real. Dan had said: anything that could happen would happen here. She didn’t think it was a stretch to say anything that you thought could exist would exist here, too.
So, she was extra eager to see Glenn in person and test out his bagels. She was a New Yorker and bagels were an automatic fave. She was curious to see if Glenn could top that. And hell if she was going to turn down a freebie without access to her trust fund and credit cards. But more than that, she was excited to get to know Elsa. She wanted to know more than what the ten-year-old fangirl living inside her knew inside and out, from an animated movie that, if it was all true, was really only the basis of this very real, beautiful woman sitting beside her.
“Deal,” she earnestly agreed. “As long as that means I get to hear more about you, too.” She smiled, much more softly than before. Her hand twitched at her side, wanting to reach over and take Elsa’s hand, but she thought better of it and instead just gently bumped their shoulders together.
“In the meantime, we have sandwich stuff in the fridge when you get hungry, but maybe I can show you a movie? And give you a cat to snuggle. It’s been a pretty big first day for you, and I think you deserve to chill.”
Chill - was that an ice magic joke? Elsa widened those crystalline eyes a little. “Oh, that’s funny - because I’m already sort of cold?” she quipped, though then she sort of realized that chill could also be some kind of colloquialism? Modern language was hard. Anyway.
“Yes - ” she nodded. “Let’s...chill. And watch a movie.” Those were new to her as well, but she’d seen the ‘welcome’ film put together at the DOA and was eager to watch something full-length right now. “Hopefully your cat won’t mind being a lap cat for a little while.” If he wanted to - Elsa knew that cats were very independent creatures, and sometimes had to make it known that affection was required when they wanted affection (in that way, her and cats were very similar).
There was a knock at the door then, and Mobius came by to see how they were doing. Like any typical hovercopter dad - look, that was just ingrained in his personality, okay. He wanted to think he struck a good balance of space-giving and being near. “Sorry - just wanted to see if you feel like staying for dinner, Elsa?” he asked. “It’s pumpkin gnocchi. Or at least, that’s what we practiced in cooking class last time so I’m doing the homework.”
Elsa’s lips twitched in a smile. “Sure, I’d love to.”
Mobius was adorable. He felt a little like an embarrassing dad in that moment, but luckily, Kate was very much in need of an embarrassing dad. She’d been missing hers for a long time - too long - and her mother’s boyfriend (ex, now, probably) had never really filled that hole in her heart. She’d really just barely started to like him during Christmas, and she still thought there was something shady about him. But that was a concern for another time.
“Pumpkin gnocchi sounds great, Mobius, thanks. We’re gonna watch a movie until then, okay?” She shot him a smile but widened her eyes just a tad in the hopes he would take the cue to move on. He was a good dad who made her miss what she hoped her dad would be these days, but he could poke and prod at them both when dinner came around. For now, she was doing her best to make sure Elsa got some space. (Which was what she’d meant by chill, whoops. Pun unintended this time around.)
“Oh - yeah, of course,” Mobius tilted his head in assent and he definitely got the gist of that look. He imagined Ymir probably gave him that look a lot too, in the future, whenever he was a staple in Mobius’s life (he had to hope that the sands of time continued to fall in a way that meant they would still be on course for such things) and wanting time alone with his friends. Without an embarrassing dad in the room. “You enjoy that.”
He didn’t linger. Popping up like a ghost and then fading away was a skill of his, so he was gone a moment later - leaving the ladies to their devices yet again. Elsa shifted her gaze toward Kate, the cat having decided that it was Attention Time once more and seeking out a scritch or two which she was happy to oblige. “You can pick the movie,” she offered. “Something...funny, maybe?”
If it was too serious or was too much of a blood and gore horrorshow that really didn’t fit the ‘chill’ theme, she thought.
“That’s what I was thinking too.” Kate reached over to share some scritching duties before rising from the bed again. There were cushions and pillows scattered on the floor on the opposite side of the room - casualties of a playtime war with the kitten - and stacked them back up at the head of the bed. She had a TV right here, sitting atop the dresser, but they’d need something comfy to lean back against.
She snagged the remote off the dresser as she passed by, then settled back down on the bed. “Get ready for a true classic,” she declared, thumb expertly directing the cursor across the on-screen keyboard.
Mean Girls.
Elsa got comfortable, toes wiggling in rainbow-socked feet, legs folding beneath her so she could sit all criss-cross applesauce and lean back against the pillows. “A classic,” she grinned, because she was eager to see what actually was considered a classic in this day and age. “I can hardly wait.”
No doubt it would be an enlightening experience, just like so much else in this world. And she’d get to hone her combat experience too - she’d get to do a whole lot of everything and that actually seemed sort of exciting.