▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

"Hey, let me ask you." Olaf questions a small group of kids as they pull and tug at his twigs.

The group had all been invited to stay overnight at the Northuldra's camp, and it seemed that some of the younger members took a liking to the snowman.

"How do you guys cope with the ever-increasing complexity of thought that comes with maturity?" He dosnet receive a response as a little girl pulls his nose out of his head, and sticks it in her own.

"Brilliant!" Olaf marvels at her, and grunts as another shoves his arm into his head. He is unfazed as he watches them all with a smile.

"It's so refreshing to talk to the youth of today, our futures in bright hands." The girl pushes his nose into his head while the other two chew and lick at his feet that they pulled off his body.

"Oh! No, no don't chew that!" Olaf warns to the one boy. "You don't know what I've stepped it."

...

Meanwhile, Kristoff walks around the camp with Ryder as Sven trails behind them. "I can't seem to get her attention, or even say the right thing." He sighs out.

Ryder smirks and points to him. "Well, your in luck. I know nothing about women. But I do know that we have the most amazing way of proposing!"

Kristoff watches him with a small smile as the young man tries to help. "If we get started now, we'll be ready by dawn."

"Really?" Kristoff laughs, and Ryder nods with wide eyes. "And the best part, it involves a lot of reindeer."

...

Anna watches her boyfriend trail off into the woods with a small smile, before averting her attention to Mattias, a small cup in each of their hands.

"Hey, back at home, Halima still over at Hudson's Hearth?" He questions, his eyes half lidded as he thinks of the women.

"She is." Anna agrees, and Mattias lights up. "Really? She married?" He takes a sip of his drink and tries to hide his eagerness.

Anna smiles and shakes her head, causing his smile to widen even more. "Oh, wow.." he sighs. "Why didn't that make me feel better?"

The princess takes a small sip of her own drink before turning to the former guard. "What else do you miss?"

Mattias takes a moment before speaking. "My father, he passed long before all this. He was a great man..built us a good life in Arendelle, but taught me to never take the good for granted."

Slowly, Mattias' face relaxes. "He'd say, 'Be prepared! Just when you think you've found your way, life will throw you onto a new path."

Anna looks out towards the camp, and trails her eyes down to wear her brother and (Y/N) sat with the women from earlier, Honeymaren.

She sat to (Y/N)'s left while Espen sat to her right, all chatting away softly with small smiles and a fire to keep them warm. Anna chuckles softly as she watches her brother reach for (Y/N)'a hand and places it in his lap.

"What do you do when it does?" The princess asks, and looks down with a sigh. Mattias falters at the question, but speaks honestly. "Don't give up, take it one step at a time and.." he sighs.

"Just, do the next right thing." Anna finishes for him, and the two smile at eachother. "Yeah.." Mattias nods. "You got it." Anna giggles and shakes her head, before glancing at her brother.

...

Espen sat crossed leg as a small reindeer snuggled against his thigh. (Y/N) leaned against him with her head on his shoulder and watched as Honeymaren turned towards them.

"I wanna show you something. May I?" She glances towards the scarf that laid against the (Y/N) and Espen's laps. They both nod, and watch as Honeymaren gently lifts a corner.

"You know air, earth, Fire and Water." She points to each element stitched onto the material.

"..yes."

"But look." She points to the center of the pattern, where two small diamonds rested. "There's a fifth, and even sixth spirit! Said to be the bridge between us and the magic of nature!" (Y/N) leans her head closer and stares at it with wide eyes.

"Two more spirits?" She breaths out, and grips her boyfriends hand in excitement. Espen smiles in disbelief but dosent say anything as he rests his head on (Y/N)'s shoulder from behind.

"Some say.." Honeymaren continues. "They heard them call out the day the forest fell."

"My father heard it." Espen speaks up, his chin still against his girlfriends shoulder. He wraps an an arm around her stomach from behind and tugs her closer. "Do you think that's whose calling us?"

Honeymaren watches them both with a small smile. "Maybe..alas, only Ahtohallen knows."

(Y/N) breaths out a laugh at the familiar name. "Ahtohallen.." she looks down, and wrinkles her brows. "Dive down deep into her sound.."

Honeymaren and Espen join in, and the king looks down at the small reindeer with a smile. "But not to far, or you'll be drowned.." they finish the small verse as Espen boops the small animals nose, causing it to lick his finger.

The brown haired women scoffs playfully. "Why do lullabies always have to have some terrible warning in them?" The couple chuckle together, and lean more into eachother as the wind blows.

"I wonder that all the time.." (Y/N) laughs out.

They sit in silence for just a few more seconds before gasping as the ground shook heavily. The little reindeer perks up and whimpers as the thudding continues.

"Earth Giants.." Honeymaren rasps out, and they all rush to their feet to help conceal any trace of themselves form the beasts.

Yelena scrunches her brows before snapping her neck to (Y/N) and Espen. "Hide her!" She whispers harshly to the king. "They can sense her magic!" Quickly, Espen pulls his girlfriends arm without question and pushes her against a nearby tree.

(Y/N) gasps at his actions and raises a brow as he hovers over her, trying his hardest to block her from site. "What are you-?"

"(Y/N), I love you with my whole heart, but please stop talking." Espen whispers against her forehead, his cold breath tickling her skin.

...

Olaf rushes behind a boulder as he breaths shakily. He looks down, and smiles as he sees the small fire spirit, the salamander, from earlier staring at him without a care in the world.

It croaks gently, which causes the snowman to try and keep it quiet. He shushes it before yelling as it bursts into flames at the close proximity.

"They're coming!" He tries to blow the flames out, but groans as they only grow in size. Without thinking, Olaf picks the creature up but puts it down as his twigs catch on fire.

He yelps, and waves his arms around to somehow get rid of the flames licking his twigs. The salamander watches him for a moment before jumping onto his head and nuzzling into the cold.

The flames die out as it relaxes, and Olaf sighs in relief. "This is why we don't play with fire."

The critter chitter before relaxing once more, Olaf feels his frown fade into a wide smile. "Oh, I can't stay mad at you, why are you so cute?"

...

The thudding grows nearer as Espen quickly moves his head to peek behind the tree. He gasps as a large silhouette moves into view. The giants weren't human, they were made or rocks and boulders, with black holes where their eyes should have been.

It moves past the camp thankfully, but Espen continues to stare at it in slight shock. (Y/N) grips the material of his coat tightly.

She looks down as she feels her hands begin to feel uncomfortably hot, and whimpers as the orange glow returns.

Espen looks down at her hands and gasps. He grabs them and pulls them against his chest before resting his head in the nook of (Y/N)'s neck.

The giant turns it's head in their direction, and raises a brow as he feels the magic radiating from the women.

The white haired boy hugs his girlfriend close before pressing his mouth to the shell of her ear and mumbling against it. "You're okay, nothing is here. It's just you and me, only us."

(Y/N) sucks in a deep breath before hugging him back, and sighing as she feels her hands return to normal. The orange glow disappears, and the giant shakes it's head before turning around and stomping away.

Espen pulls away slightly from the women, and stares at her for a few more seconds. He brings one of her hands up and kisses it softly before detaching himself completely from her and making his way around the tree to stare at the giant's retreating form.

He dosnet notice as he continues to walk towards it, but gasps as his arm is grabbed. Looking down, he raises a brow as his sister scoffs with a glare. (Y/N) makes her way from behind the tree and watches as the youngest of the two scolds her brother.

"Please tell me you were not about to follow them." Anna crouches down, leading to the two adults following along. Espen sighs before turning his head back to the giant with a wide smile. "What if I can settle them like I did with the wind and fire?"

"Or what if they can crush you before you even get the chance?" (Y/N) silently watches before placing a hand on Anna's shoulder. The princess sighs and takes her friends hand in hers, and squeezes it.

"Remember, the goal is to find the voices, find the truth, and get us home." (Y/N) finally speaks up, and watches as Espen turns towards her with wide eyes. He hadn't expected such a response from her, seeing as she was in the same situation he was in.

He sighs before bumping the side of his head with hers, and nodding with a pout.

"Hey, guys! That was close!" Olaf rushes towards them, the salamander still relaxing on his head.

"I know." (Y/N) says softly. She holds out her hand, and smiles as the critter belly flips onto her palms with a croak. "The giants sensed me, they might come back here..I don't want to put anyone at risk again."

"And you're right, Anna." She continues, and turns towards the princess. "We've got to find the voices, we're going now."

She begins to walk away, Espen nods to his sister with a small smile before jogging after her.

Anna watches them leave before turning and scanning the camp for her boyfriend, or even just his reindeer. She frowns as she dosnet spot them. "Wait. Where are Kristoff and Sven?" She asks aloud.

"Oh yeah, I think they took off with that Ryder guy and a bunch of reindeer." Olaf answers, and watches with a smile as Anna becomes concerned. "They left? Just..left without saying anything?"

Olaf shrugs his shoulders, and walks away with a stoic face. "Who knows the ways of men?"

Anna looks down in disbelief and slight hurt, before turning around and watching as Espen leans down and places a soft kiss against (Y/N)'s lips. The pull away and smile at eachother before turning around and watching Anna expectingly.

The princess sighs softly, and looks out at the camp once more before shaking her head and following after the two.

——