Frozen Beyond [gxg]

Muspelheim

Elsa awoke resting her head against a crate, her arms folded under her as a makeshift pillow. Groggily, she shifted and stretched. A kink in her neck had her wincing as she rubbed the tender spot.

They had fallen asleep late last night. Talking about the stars, about memories Keahi no longer had, and teaching bits of sign language which was decidedly more difficult than she had originally thought it would be.

But she liked the idea of speaking without, well, spoken words. She never had much to say, out loud anyway, this felt so much more private than having a vocally spoken conversation.

She knew enough to tell the young girl her name. That was the extent she had gotten to.

Her eyes drifted over the deck, a low fog settled over them and blanketed the ocean. Olaf and the girl were sitting in the middle of the deck, Olaf giggling as they made a small snowman.

Walking over, she folded her hands in front of her and sat down with the two.

"Morning!" Olaf chimed.

Elsa smiled at the honey blonde-haired girl looked at her and tilted her head. She thought for a moment before signing. "My name is Elsa what's yours?"

The girl watched her and shifted to face Elsa. A frown marring her lips and she shook her head. She signed quickly and Elsa didn't know what she was saying.

Instead, Elsa pointed to the ragged little toy bear and held open her hand to see if she would give it to her.

The girl hesitated before cautiously giving it to Elsa.

She waved a hand as blue powder speckled the air as her magic took hold of the small, decrepit bear. The seams turned a light blue and mended, the color of the bear turning a darker shade of blue and snowflake symbols adorned its fur.

The girl leaned over, putting her hands on Elsa's lap as she watched it, mystified. When she was done, Elsa handed it back to her. "There, good as new."

The girl snatched it, excited as she looked it over in amazement. Flashing a wide smile just as a shadow towered over both of them.

They both looked up to see Keahi, she was peeling an apple with her knife. Cutting off chunks as she sat down, watching the two curiously.

"What's going on with the kid?" Keahi asked absently, yawning.

"I tried to see what her name was. And maybe where her parents are?" Elsa edged but sighed, folding her legs as she watched the girl play with the new bear.

"What's your name?" Keahi spoke aloud simultaneously she signed to the girl.

The girl paused, frowning. "I don't have one." She signed.

"Oh, she says she doesn't have one." Keahi murmured, thinking a moment. "She's probably an orphan. It's pretty common in the bigger cities." Keahi offered the girl a slice of the apple and she took it.

Elsa watched the two and she couldn't help but smile at her. When Keahi caught her looking, Keahi looked embarrassed. "What?"

Elsa scowled, crossing her arms. "I never thought you'd be good with children."

"Yeah, well," Keahi frowned, playing with a pebble on the deck before tossing it. "The sea is full of orphans. It's all too common and for the girls...well, they don't have a lot of choices. Luckily for me, I had Crow. Otherwise, orphaned girls have four choices out here; to be a barmaid, a thief, a pirate, or work in a house of ill repute. I didn't really have too much of a choice in what I became."