defyingfrigidity | [ryslig IC Inbox]

now i know you wouldnt be trying to avoid me or anything
so just chagirl lup here checking in on you babe

[How ironic is it that for someone who tries so hard to not let anyone read her true emotions, Elsa's failed more and more at it since showing up here.]

Avoiding you?
I haven't been avoiding you.

Everything's been fine, really.

mm sounds fake

really? even with all of the current shenanigans going on? im not digging or anything hun just making sure the people who matter are all good
i know my attentions been elsewhere so im checking in

["the people who matter" mmmmmm]

well
That's not okay, no. I didn't want to make it seem like that isn't a big deal.
But... I'm okay. As far as I can tell, I haven't been affected.

Are you and Barry okay?

[perfect deflecting skills]

[you matter!!!! believe it!!!]

were fine
were always fine. even when the shit hits the fan here we manage
nothing to worry about there
weve been through way worse

but yknow
not to be that pushy asshole of a friend but i kinda know how you deflect shit a lot chickadee

its okay to not be okay
you know that right?

I'll always worry, even a little.
I know it may be silly, because nearly all of the people I know handle things loke this better than I do, but... I just have a hard time not worrying.

... I know.
You helped me a lot with that. When... when Anna disappeared, I mean.
Just talking to me.

But there's nothing important going on with me now. Really.

[Because her feelings aren't important, haha!!!]

[MMMMMMMMM GIRL. Lup is so not completely convinced.]

alright babe i aint gonna push
wanna chill together? whats ur schedule today?

[... Geez, if she says no to this, then it really will be obvious that she's avoiding Lup, won't it? Damn...]

Just work, but it's very slow.
You can stop by now, if you want.
Or if you'd rather wait until I'm out, I'll be closing up the usual time and heading right home.

[got em]

great! ill pop over. could use a few things for later anyway

[aaaaa this is a bad idea a terrible idea and she's not sure if the way her stomach twisting up is because of dread or... just that feeling she always gets when Lup is around. Either way, her nerves have now been set into overdrive, and that means when Elsa isn't working on the baking, she's cleaning. Which isn't really needed, with how clean the cafe usually is, but... she needs something to do with her hands to fight these jitters.

It's during one of these cleaning sprees that Lup will likely arrive; sweeping, wiping the counters or the display case down... Elsa's just constantly moving, and she doesn't immediately notice when her friend arrives.]

[Lup's hard to miss, all long and bristling and so colorful, but she moves silently enough as a snake, slithering over the threshold of the shop without a sound, her mouth curling into her usual grin at the sight of her friend. And sure, the shop is always clean whenever she visits, but Lup's definitely not seen Elsa bustling around to clean with this much enthusiasm before.]

Whoa, hun, slam on the brakes for a sec, you look like you deserve a rest. Come take a break with me.

[Even with the other woman's gentle protests, Lup can tell something is off enough to be tugging at Elsa's anxiety, she's just not entirely certain what yet.]

[Elsa visibly jumps as Lup's voice, and a light crack can be heard as her claws dig into the wood of the broom in her hands.]

Oh, Lup! [I was really hoping you'd change your mind!] I didn't think you'd get here so soon! Um-- if you want to take a break, would you like something to eat, or...?

[Even as she's talking, Elsa doesn't stop moving, instead heading behind the counter to put her broom away, and possibly grab something from the case if Lup wants it...!]

Edited 2018-11-24 02:00 (UTC)

[Oh. Oh yeah. Something is fucking going on and Lup is so going to get to the bottom of it.

While Elsa stumbles over her words, the naga is already slipping into the shop, moving the long length of her body inside so the front door can shut behind her.]

Nope. Nada. I don't need a thing except for you to sit your cute butt down and take a real breather for a sec. No offense, but you look like you're about to be sick. It's chill time now.

[On one hand, Elsa is glad that there are no other people in the cafe right now. It helps her focus on her friend more, and even with all the inner turmoil and frustration she's felt over this whole self-revelation, even if she'd been avoiding Lup before now... now that Lup is here, it's easy enough to focus on her, to make sure that she can take care of anything she needs.

... At the same time, it's easy to see the way Elsa's seems to freeze at the cute comment, and her jaw clenches briefly before she nods, moving back around the counter and taking a seat at the table closest to where Lup is now.]

I promise, I'm not any greener than usual. [She can still joke, see?? She's not that bad off...!] It's just... the changing of the seasons. The weather getting colder. I wasn't here during winter the last time I was in this land, so I'm not sure how it might affect me...

[That's... not completely a lie, at least. She has been feeling weird since the weather started turning, that's just not the cause behind all of this.]

[Elsa's always been so easy to fluster and rile up with her flirting, Lup knows that, but there's just something about the tight clench of her jaw that catches the naga's attention, that strikes her as new. She's seen Elsa flush green, stammer, quickly backtrack around the subject, but she's never observed the woman to hold herself back so much like that.

Huh.

Elsa comes to sit near her and Lup's long tail settles in beneath her, curling and coiling, shifting enough so she can settle and make her own seat. Her hands fall against one of the coils of her tail, clawed fingers tapping idly at bristling scales.

At least the green comment gets a snort out of her. Elsa can't be that bad if she's cracking jokes, right?]

That's fair. To be honest, I'm deffo feelin' the same way. Cold and snakes just don't add up. [Soon she'll have to be stuck inside with her heat lamp, cramped up in the house. It's gonna be awful.]

But - [The elf raises a hand to drop it over Elsa's, friendly and affectionate and meant to guide the younger woman's gaze to her.] We're friends, so like, if anythin' does come up, lemme know. If someone's bullying you or being a little shit, you know I'll set 'em straight.

[If Lup noticed the way Elsa froze up just now, then she'll definitely notice the nymph's hand jumps under her touch. But she doesn't pull away, at least, so that's a good sign.]

Wha- no, of course not! I've never had to deal with anyone like that, thankfully. Aside from humans wary of a monster-run business, but I can't exactly blame them for that.

[... This is the problem with learning how to be open, Elsa thinks. Thanks to Anna, to her friends, and to her time in Ryslig, she's become better at expressing herself, at letting her emotions show even if they're not exactly positive emotions. It's a good thing, of course, but it also makes falling back into that pattern of conceal, don't feel all the harder.

She wants to, but she doesn't want to. She hates the feeling of repressing again, but she has to. If things between her and Lup became awkward because she mentions her growing feelings for the other woman... she doesn't know what she'd do.]

It's just... a personal matter I'm not sure how to deal with. Something very new to me.

[Lup used to be the same, even if she concealed in a completely different way. Before the Starblaster, she kept up her own front for the world, never letting anyone but her twin in close, only sharing her cocky, too tough side to anyone else. She hid anything that made her vulnerable, hid anything that could be used against her.

It took her whole planet being destroyed to force the elf to begin to open up and even then, the process had taken decades.

So she gets it, even if Elsa's brand isn't as familiar to her. But she understands that need to conceal, to hide away true feelings beneath the facade of always being cool and composed and perfect. And maybe that's why they are such good friends. Lup wants to see Elsa let loose and become her true self with the world.

Maybe one day. For now, Lup can always offer friendship.]

Gotcha. I'm just... Y'know. [Her hand drops back down to her coils, the elf's voice dropping down just slightly, to something more intimate. A secret.] Taako's always been my go to, like. Of course I tell Barry shit, but it's - [Her skinny shoulders shrug.] It's different when you have a close sibling. Taako was always that for me an' I'm guessin' Anna's the same for you. I know I don't replace her, but if you need someone to chat at, someone to fill in before she comes back, I got you covered. That's all, babe. Just cuz they popped outta here, doesn't mean we have to spend the time without 'em alone.

[Elsa wants to be open. She wants it so bad. She hates the way her stomach knots up so often with how nervous she gets, she hates the feeling of walking on eggshells around people she shouldn't have to. Elsa was never someone who wanted to put distance between herself and others; she was just as playful and outgoing (though somewhat shyer) a child as her sister was, and deep down, she's still like that.

So Lup's words hurt. Not because she said anything bad, it just... something that slips right between the cracks in the wall she put around herself. So she's quiet for a moment, mulling over her words, before speaking carefully.]

... Thank you, Lup. I... I've talked about it before, but that offer.. it helps. A lot. [But also not because it makes trying to get over this so much harder.] I'm just... dealing with some. Um. Personal feelings? That I'm trying to get over.

[Maybe if she can be vague enough, she can talk about it without cluing Lup in...?]

[It's a true show of how close they are, of how their relationship has evolved that Lup is patient enough to wait while Elsa sorts through her immediate feelings. The elf's always been the kind to never pause, to never waste a single second of her time, no matter who that means leaving behind. But if there's one thing that Ryslig is beginning to force her to understand, it's to slow down a little, to acknowledge that not everyone is as quick to make decisions or find the right words as she is.

And Elsa is exactly one of those people who she knows needs more time to mull over her thoughts. So Lup settles near her and waits as patiently as she can, the end of her tail coiling this way and that beneath her, the only evidence of how much control she's using to wait.]

'Course, hun, s'what friends are for, right? You need a hand an' chagirl is right here to help.

[Personal feelings sure sends off a red flag for Lup - that is so not her area of expertise - but the naga grins either way.] If you want a pal to hear you out, I'm free. Run your shit by me if you want.

[God, why does Lup make it so easy to talk to her? She should be the last person Elsa should be mentioning this to, but... it's different, from when she talked to Marco. He helped a lot, absolutely, and she's very grateful to him. But she's not as... relaxed with him as she is with Lup. Even with this knot of anxiety twisting her up inside, there's a part of her that wants to let it all out as soon as Lup offers.

... Carefully, of course. She can't let Lup find out...]

Have you ever... had feelings for someone you're not supposed to? And you're not sure how to get over them?

[Oh.

Oh.

Suddenly this all makes sense.

The worry creasing between Lup's scaled brows suddenly disappears at that revelation, a twitch at the corner of her mouth revealing her growing amusement at Elsa's current predicament.

What can she say? It's adorable.]

Why the rush to get over those feelings, chickadee?

[Oh god. Oh god was she too obvious?? Did she say something that would clue Lup in? This is terrible this is the worst Elsa why are you so STUPID--

Despite being close to a meltdown on the inside, outwardly the only tell Elsa drops is the fidgeting of her hands. Over and over and over they twist, with only a pause as she presses one thumb into the opposite palm. It's an old nervous habit, one she developed after her coronations and the gates opened once more; without her gloves, there was no barrier, no comforting weight against her hands when she felt her powers were creeping up and out of control. So pressing her hands together like that... it helped. Or at least, it felt like it did.

Even having gone so long without her powers, Elsa's habits are hard to break. So she keeps on fidgeting.]

Because... it's not appropriate. They're not someone I should be having feelings for.

[It's not a tell that Lup is too familiar with from Elsa, but it doesn't take the woman much to clue the elf into just what may be going on. Elsa, as much as she's grown, is still a mess of anxieties and nerves. That kind of thing never fully disappears - Barry's been struggling with it for decades even with all of his new confidence and growth - so Lup thinks she understands.

Which is why she reaches out a friendly hand to place over Elsa's fidgeting ones, surprisingly gentle in her touch.]

Well, why not?

[Lup asks as if it was just that simple.]

[... She's not going to be able to escape this, will she? Either she tries to shut things down (which has always made things worse for her), she starts pushing Lup away, things become awkward... no matter what she says or does, even if she just outright tells Lup, things... things are going to change.

Good job, Elsa.]

Because they're... taken. Married.

[Elsa's not looking at Lup. Not even down at their hands. Where moments ago she was jittering nonstop, now she's just... still, gaze focused somewhere off to the side and shoulders slumped. Defeated.]

[Now that's a posture of Elsa's that Lup feels familiar with. One that absolutely tugs at her heart.]

Guess that makes it a little trickier.

[Lup can't help that she's already going through all of the married monsters that she knows, alright. It just happens, okay! She's nosy and needs to know details like yesterday!]

I have a sneaking suspicion that this is the first time you've felt like this, right?

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, QUEENOFICEOLATION. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 013.11.221.20 * QUEENOFICEOLATION has joined 013.11.221.20 <QUEENOFICEOLATION> I think I've finally gotten the hang of these devices. <QUEENOFICEOLATION> So! <QUEENOFICEOLATION> There's no harm in setting up one of these, yes? <QUEENOFICEOLATION>** (Thanks to those of you who helped me do so and I'm sorry if I frustrated anyone)

[ryslig IC Inbox]

<HotterTwin>

<queenoficeolation>

<HotterTwin>

<queenoficeolation>

<HotterTwin>

<queenoficeolation>

<HotterTwin>

<queenoficeolation>

Re: <queenoficeolation>

Text --> Action

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject