thearena | Brrrrr

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Brrrrr

Who| Elsa and OTA
What| Elsa gains control and builds an ice house
Where| Her ice house somewhere in the arena I don't know
When| Shortly after hellrena starts
Warnings/Notes| N/A

PREFACE
Elsa had just been getting used to it all. She'd met up with Dave, received numerous sponsor gifts and managed to settle down well enough, avoiding danger as best as possible. Dave had seen more trouble during the arena than she had, a fact that she felt bad for. But that seemed like it would change soon. As everything in the arena changed, Elsa felt the heat for only a few moments.

Because as soon as it all started and the fear began gripping her, ice began spreading under her feet. It seemed to compete with the heat, melting and refreezing before fear won out and the ice solidified completely. Why did this have to happen? Why did they have to do this to her, why couldn't for once an arena just be power free? She knew why; for the entertainment value. Maybe things had gotten too boring or they felt the arena needed something more.

Either way, she was beginning to panic. The ice was spreading from beneath her feet. She knew that if she didn't get away, she would hurt anyone in the immediate area- most likely Dave. But just as she moved to run, she heard a voice- Shepard's. In her head. All the times before the arena spent going over and over methods of control. Shepard had sacrificed so much of her time in order to help Elsa learn how to control her powers and fear, and there Elsa was preparing to run. She felt bad for that, as if she was letting Shepard down. She thought of all of the people she would be letting down, if she ran and just gave up.

Anna. Hans. Harley. Shepard. Dave. The names and faces flashed through her mind, and around that time the ice began to melt under her feet. She attributed it to the heat, rather than realizing it was love thawing the ice. That maybe her brief hold on control was allowing the new heat in the arena to melt it. Either way, she seemed to be holding onto control well enough for the moment. Elsa's mind went back to the techniques Shepard taught her to keep herself calm.

Feel. The emotions were a part of her. They were a part of her, they didn't control her. So she allowed herself to feel them, rather than try and push them back. She let the growing anxiety and terror wash over her- the ice flared up again, solidifying and spreading, covering the ground. Snow flurried in the air, unable to melt as her magic kept it going. The ice below her feet began cracking, as jagged edges rose up as the fear ran through her.

But then she stopped it. It wasn't easy, it was a slow process. But acknowledging that it was part of her and allowing herself to feel it gave her the strength to control it rather than the other way around. Shepard had taught her well and Elsa had come a lot way since the day she had approached Shepard to train her. Then, she couldn't put a stop to the fear, but after a lot of work she had learned how to. She still felt it, it hadn't gone completely- but she was the one controlling it now. Once more, the ice stopped. The snow in the air fell to the ground in raindrops.

Elsa broke into a smile. She'd stopped it- she'd really stopped it.. Unable to stop herself, she laughed. She had her powers back and they were under her control! "I did it… I really did it." She still as if she were in disbelief, but there was a happiness in her voice that hadn't been there for a very, very long time.

After a few moments, she allowed herself to look around the area- the fog had lifted, the buildings decayed. But most apparent was the heat- she could already feel the sweat beading on her forehead now that she'd stopped the ice. She reached up, wiping at it with the back of her hand. As she did, her mind wandered to the other people in the arena. How many people would succumb to this heat?

No. She wouldn't let that happen. For the first time, she felt like she was in a situation where she could help people with her powers. Never before had she been in a place where she could do that, but now thanks to Shepard she could do it. She flexed her fingers, looking around slowly for a good spot. It was time to put into practice the rest of Shepard's training.

Elsa settled for a good place, took a deep breath, and then slammed her foot to the ground.

OPEN

A half hour later, Elsa was finished. It wasn't her ice palace- no, not even close. If anything, it resembled the buildings that had crumbled, though on the smaller size, perhaps like a large shack. It took a lot of effort to get it built, a certain amount of attention to detail during the building process to ensure that the heat rising from the ground didn't melt it in places before she could get it done. As she worked, she couldn't help thinking back on her time one the mountain as she built her palace. For the first time since that night, she felt… free, even in this cage of an arena. She was in control of her powers and she was doing something to benefit other people.

With the building finally finished, she stood back to admire it. It wasn't the prettiest, at least to her. But other people might be impressed with a whole building made of ice. By the door of the ice building lay various containers- whatever she could find that would hold water. In them were blocks of ice, melting at a steady pace. She imagined people would need water, and she had every intention of supplying it. After checking the progress of the water, she moved to step into her ice house, placing a hand on it and letting a burst of ice magic flow through it to keep it frozen. After that, she settled down inside and waited.

She only hoped now that people wouldn't be afraid to stop in for a visit.

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Sweat poured down Ruffnut's face as she shuffled down the street in search of shelter.

She had stripped down to only the barest of layers and her extra clothes were tied together and dragging on the ground behind he.

The clothes and her helmet were the only items of worth she had on her, the helmet wasn't worth much either. Clearly she'd cobbled it together from a pipe, a serving fork and a pot and wearing it on her head like she did in all this heat made her look like a foolish child.

When her eyes fell upon the ice building she was sure she must be imagining it.

That did not however stop her from running for it. She scrambled forward, tripping on the curb and stumbling to stay on her feet before she reached the front and slammed into it arms spread. The cold immediately bit at her skin and she sighed happily as steam rose up from the point of contact.

Vikings were hearty and durable people...but they lived in the colder climates. The only heat they were used to was dragon burns.

"Holy crap, Elsa."

Danny was hovering near the ice shack. Actually hovering, several feet above the ground, and slightly glowing to boot.

"Guess you had a better handle on your powers than you thought."

Carlos was stumbling through the heat, panting and unnerved, but not panicking. To be completely honest, the situation was sort of familiar. It reminded him of street-cleaning day, back in Night Vale. He knew he had to get somewhere cool, since these monsters responded to heat and light, but where to go? He'd already tried hiding in a refrigerator, and that had ended terribly.

When he felt the cool blast of air, Carlos would have thought he'd just imagined it if he hadn't been a scientist. But as a scientist, Carlos was not in the habit of doubting the evidence, and the evidence said that there was a cool place up ahead.

He approached the ice-house with confusion and wonder on his face, torn between whether to boldly investigate or run from what could easily be another trap. However, Carlos's nearly superhuman curiosity won out, and he walked right up to the ice blocks, placing a hand on its cool wall.

"It's solid ice," he muttered to himself, amazed. (Talking to himself about the things he observed was something Carlos was not unknown to do.) "Why is there a building made of ice out here? Is it a trap? Or is it something else?"

This had been an interesting day for Kota. The fog had lifted, revealing the ruin of the town they had been thrown into. And most of all, he could feel the Force again. It wasn't as strong as before, no. It was weaker, and seemed to affect mostly him, somehow. But he could do what he had been able to do before losing that battle to Starkiller.

And now there was a building made out of pure ice appearing out of nowhere. He supposed it made perfect that there were other people with powers around, but still, it wasn't something you saw everyday.

He carefully approached the building, keeping an eye out for any threats. As curious as he was, the arena was no place let his guard down.

Elsa had settled inside and was currently putting any finishing touches or repairing any areas that might've been melted- it was surprisingly hard to keep it all from melting, with the heat outside and rising up from the floor. It was perhaps the floor that was hardest to keep from being too slippery, so she was adding extra layers of ice wherever she could. As such, Ruffunt's sudden arrival inside of her ice house was pretty startling. She turned quickly, tensing for a fight only to realize that there wouldn't have to be one. She watched for a moment as the other person enjoyed the chill of her ice, and she couldn't help but smile. "I had hoped someone might find their way here to cool off."

Elsa turned to face him, recognizing the voice almost immediately. What she wasn't prepared for was seeing him flying! It was one of her first times witnessing anyone else with powers. "Oh! You... wow!" She sounded genuinely impressed, though his words registered a moment later. "Ah- yes. I've been practicing with Shepard, it looks like she really knows her stuff."

"Ohhhhh yeah." Ruffnut sighed lewedly as she clung to the ice a moment longer rubbing her face against it. When she was sufficiently soaked and chilled she stepped back wiping water from her face and grinning a crooked grin at Elsa.

She was a gangly girl, all arms and legs like a spider with a squashed face as if she'd been punched there alot. Some bruising around her neck and shoulders indicated she'd been in a fight recently. Her hair was done in some messy braids that were starting to fall out after rough living in the arena and her ridiculous makeshift helmet sat at a jaunty angle. She took it off to wring sweat out of her braids.

"I thought I was dreaming when I saw it! Like I'd gone crazy or something."

Elsa was inside, tending to various ice house things- mainly making sure nothing was starting to melt so much as to make the structure dangerous. Overall, she was pleased with what she had made, even if she did wish she could turn it into a proper palace again.

She couldn't see Carlos approaching, but she heard a voice outside, though she didn't recognize it. The roof had been windy that night, and they hadn't spoken since then. Truth be told, she felt guilty for sending him away like she had. He had been friendly, and deserved better. So when she stepped out to see who it was, her face lit up in a smile.

"It's you!" she said, moving towards him. She noticed he was looking intently at her building, so she felt the need to clarify, "Oh, I made this... My powers came back. You're welcome to stay, if you'd like."

Elsa was just stepping back outside to check and see if she needed to melt more ice for water when she saw him coming. She tensed up, noticing that he was an unfamiliar face. He didn't look particularly bad, but she knew looks could be deceiving.

"Hello?" she called out, half hiding behind the door frame of her house. "Who are you?"

He recognized her, of course; she might not know it, but speaking with Elsa that night had reminded Carlos of how unfair places like the Capitol truly were. It had helped him remember that just because he had developed ways of coping with totalitarian regimes didn't mean the regimes weren't wrong. When she smiles at him, he smiles back: Carlos is glad to see she's okay.

He's also glad to see that her ice powers are both useful and under control; he caught glimpses of what had happened in the last Arena.

"Would you mind?" he asked tiredly. "This Arena has been nothing but disaster after disaster for me, and I could use a few hours to rest." He looked terrible; his hair was mussed, his eyes red-rimmed, his lab coat torn and dirty, and his glasses cracked.

... If there was a way you could look more out of place in an arena of death matches, Kota didn't know it. Hiding behind the door like that, obviously scared, Elsa looked like someone that would be taken out very early in the competition.

Clearly, she had something up her sleeve that let her survive, given that she was all alone.

"I'm Rahm Kota," he said simply. Usually, he wouldn't waste time with introductions in this kind of situation, but given how calm everything around them was, plus the fact that he'd be introducing himself to her once they were out of there anyway, he felt like there was little point in delaying it.

Elsa let out a small chuckle at her reaction, waiting patiently for her to finish up. The lewdness of the sigh made her a little uncomfortable, but she was doing her best to ignore that. She figured it was just the other's nature and that she must've been really hot.

"I'm glad you decided to come over," she said. "I was afraid people might think it was a trap. I've finally learned how to control my powers and I wanted to be able to do something nice for people." She looked around the place proudly. "There's water melting out front if you're thirsty, too," she added, as she moved in to refreeze the area that Ruffnut had thawed out by rubbing herself on with a touch of her hand.

Now that she was closer, she could tell that Carlos looked like he had seen better days. Her expression faltered, changing to one of concern. She gave her head a shake at his question. "Not at all, please do come in!" She hurried over to one of the little tins she had melting. Most of it had melted, but there was a large chunk of ice floating in the middle. She picked it up, moving back over to him. "Here, have some water," she said gently as she handed it to him.

She turned to head back towards the house, "And mind your step- the ice is slippery. More so than usual, since it's constantly melting." Once inside, she made her way over to her little supply stash. She had a bit of food left from her sponsor gifts. She picked out some of the food and stepped back towards him. "Are you hungry?"

The name was strange to Elsa. She'd heard a lot of strange names since arriving here, but his was pretty strange even compared to some of the ones she's heard. Even so, he seemed nice enough. Elsa was still a little guarded, but she stepped out from the doorway and moved closer towards him, still standing closer to the house than not though.

"I'm Elsa," she said. "Do you need water, or a comfortable place to stay?"

"Your powers?" Ruffnut was starting to collect her barrings and turned just in time to watch Elsa start refreezing the melted ice. Her eyes went so wide they looked like they might just pop out of her head.

"How are you doing that?!" She gaped with open mouthed shock. Moving closer she seemed more curious then frightened, then again that could just be her poor sense of self preservation.

"Oh..." Elsa had forgotten that not everyone knew she had powers. So many people had seen her using them last arena that she'd thought it was common knowledge. It hadn't occurred to her that it could be a good idea to hide them. It was too late now, though. She'd already revealed her powers. A spike of fear went through her at the possible ramifications, but she tried to push it back. "Um. I'm not... really sure how it works, truthfully. I think it's magic?" She took a small step back, in case the other decided to attack her. "I won't hurt you, I promise." At least, not if she could help it.

This was new, this was very, very new. At first Sonja had stripped off all of her layers. Using the clothing to help hold her supplies like a sack. Now? Now she was putting them back on as she entered the palace of ice, her pipe at the ready. Was this place a trap? Or perhaps it was a zone of rest. One could not be having their gladiators dying to soon after all. Still the place was bound to attract a lot of attention.

So much so that she readied herself for any eventuality.

Carefully stepping inside, Carlos accepted the water gratefully. He nearly downed it all at once, but stopped himself just in time: he had been out in the heat for hours, and small sips now would pay off in the long run. It felt deliciously cool inside the ice house, and he closed his eyes for a moment as the sheen of sweat on his skin began to perform its proper biological function and evaporate.

"No," he said, waving the food away, "it's all right, I'm fine." Carlos couldn't accept that; besides, he'd been sent food as well, and had rationed it very logically to make it last as long as possible. "Thank you, Elsa. You don't know how grateful I am that this isn't one of the Gamemakers' traps. They've been hounding me, figuratively and literally, for over a week." Carlos noted that there weren't any cameras in the ice house; there couldn't be, since Elsa had put it together herself. It was almost strange, after eighteen months of near-constant surveillance, to realize that no one could hear what he had to say but its intended recipient.

The thought that Elsa might be able to use magic to hurt her hadn't even crossed Ruffnut's mind until that moment. She paused, looked thoughtful and then excited.

"Show me more!" She insisted moving even closer. Personal space was not high on her list of priorities it seemed...and neither was safety.

That question made Kota recheck his water bottle. He still didn't know how on earth it appeared, or why, but he was glad when he found it, along with some other supplies as well. They had made life easier there, that was for sure. His water was almost all gone. If Elsa was offering, then assuming it was safe, he would do well to accept it. "I could use some water, yes." He then looked up at the building behind Elsa. "Did you build that?"

When Elsa turned to greet the newcomer entering her ice house, she gasped at the sight of her holding the pipe. The last thing Elsa needed or wanted was someone causing trouble- she could hopefully stop them, but she just wanted things to be as peaceful as possible. She held her hands up in a surrendering gesture.

"It's okay, no one will hurt you here," she said, trying to keep herself calm. She was afraid that it would come to a fight, but for now she was keeping a decent handle on her emotions. "Please, could you put that down?"

After making sure that he really didn't want it, Elsa gently put the food back down in her pile of supplies as she listened to him speak. When he explained that the Gamemakers had it out for him, she felt a small flicker of nervousness, before pushing it down. She wasn't going to shun him just for being rebellious- heaven knows she would do it if she could, now that Anna was gone. That was painful to think about, but she felt at least a little calmer that Anna no longer had to deal with the arenas.

It didn't occur to her, yet, that they weren't being observed. "You poor thing," she said sadly, frowning as she turned back to him. "Is it because... I mean-" She didn't know how to bring it up, but she was trying to ask if it was because he'd done something against their rules. "Is there a particular reason for it?" she finally managed to get out, hoping it was vague enough.

Personal space wasn't high on Ruffnut's list of priorities, but it was Elsa's. She tensed and took a step back, feeling both nervous and flattered all at once. She reminded Elsa a little of Anna, to be sure. But she was still a stranger, and Elsa couldn't help but be guarded. "Alright, um..."

She bit her lip, before holding her hands together in a ball shape. When she pulled one of her hands away, there was a snowball resting in the palm of her hand.

Elsa wordlessly moved to one of the tins she had for melting the ice. The one she reached for was mostly melted, with a little bit of ice still left inside of it. She stepped forward and held it out to him, before nodding at his question. "I did..." She sounded a little hesitant to admit it, but the evidence was stacked against her, so being truthful was probably the best way to go. "I thought it would be a good way to keep people from overheating. You're welcome inside, if you'd like."

Kota nodded back in appreciation, tipped the the tin enough to slant the water and dipped the opening his bottle, re-filling it. As Elsa finished speaking, he was closing the bottle and putting it back where it was. "That's generous of you. A bit dangerous, but... Generous."

And he meant it. Assuming there were people that would enjoy their situation (and why wouldn't there be, if so many were brought in), then Elsa's creation was a shiny ice target. But then, he supposed that in case of an outside attack, she could easily make it better protection than it currently was. "I think I'll stay for a while, yes." The heat was beginning to bother him, after all.

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