Living on the Edge [Elsa]

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The crackle of the small fire made Aqua jump as she curled her legs closed to her chest. Her arms wrapped tighter around her legs as she tried to keep warm in the chilly air around her. Shadows danced around the flickering orange and yellow flames as her eyes simply gazed in to the makeshift fire pit she had constructed. A sigh escaped her lips as blue hair brushed across her eyes. Her hand moved to clear her sight as she reached around her neck. The young Keyblader withdrew a familiar charm which gave her recourse for a small smile to flicker across her face. "An unbreakable bond...we'll find each other again...I promise." She sat there and simply listened to the world around her. The wildlife murmured and chirped as she listened. Her eyes fell upon her Keyblade which rested at her side. She touched it gently, flinching at the cold metal. Aqua was hesitant to grasp the handle of it, uncertain of whether it would feel like home again or send a signal of pain through her arm. Hesitantly wrapping her hand around the handle, she felt nothing.

A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she dismissed the weapon in a flash of purple light. It blinked out of existence from her hand. Her fingers dropped to the soft dirt ground, tracing a circle at first in it. "Terra...Ven...where are you?" She muttered as she finished drawing in the dirt. In the dim light of her camp fire, she had drawn the charms she had made each of them. Her sky filled eyes stared back at the fire, hoping to find some answer. There was nothing but sparks and the warm glow of the inanimate flames. She wanted to believe she could see some prophecy in the fire, however that wasn't true. Magic was indeed real, but that sort of magic? Well, she certainly didn't have access to it. Reflecting on the past saddened her slightly, but her hope was restored after she contemplated the change of events. She escaped through some strange means back in to another world that wasn't filled with darkness.

"Darkness..." She stared at her trembling hands. Aqua never had felt so scared and alone, even while traversing the Realm of Darkness. She wanted Terra and Ven with her to see their smiling faces. That alone would help reassure her. She couldn't show weakness...she wasn't allowed to. A lump in her throat formed as she let a silent tear fall to her lap. The tear caught her by surprise. "Wh...what? I...I'm crying...heh..." She cupped her hands in her lap, realizing that she had become weak. "No, I can't think like that...what would Ven and Terra think of me? I...I have to be strong." Her hands clutched to form a fist, reaffirming her beliefs and strength. No sooner had she regained her conviction, the campfire flame which was burning strong suddenly died. Smoke filtered in to the air as the world around her turned dim.

An eerie quiet set in as she froze. Her blue hair fluttered around as she checked to see if anyone was around. Nothing. That ear biting quiet nagged at her as she extended an arm. In a flash of purple light, her Keyblade was firmly in her grasp. She steadied herself as she slowly rose from the ground. "Who's there? Show yourself right now!" There was no reply. Her foot side stepped, cracking a twig underneath it. Still there was silence after the echoing twig's sound died down. Her breathing was the only thing she could hear. It was almost becoming deafening. Her reflexes were ready for anything that might have come her way. A rustle of a nearby bush caught her attention. Her head twirled around to focus on it. Eyes squinted, trying to adjust to the lack of light. Something was coming...whether it was friend or foe, she did not know. Her answer was given in an instant.

A shadow sprang from the brushes and darted past her in to a bush opposite of it. Her body twirled in place to face it before she heard more bushes rustle. Another, and another, and another. It seemed like every bush around the small wooded area was alive. Each throwing shadows back and forth to one another. Yellow eyes flickered in the darkness towards her every so often. Aqua's Keyblade flicked around, following as many as she could. The shadows didn't seem to make a move just yet. Her teeth clenched as she pulled the Keyblade close to her. Summoning her magical ability, Aqua pointed the weapon at one of the bushes. A gush of water surged from the tip of her weapon, flushing out one of the shadows and in to the open. Her eyes flickered onward, checking to see if any other shadows dared to make a move. She had made the first move, but she dared not to become reckless and attack when she was outnumbered. A trio of shadows decided to pounce towards her in a triangle like fashion. Aqua twirled around in a circular sweep, catching two of the three. Her eyes widened, realizing she had missed the third. It seemed like slow motion as it came crashing towards her, hands open and ready to claw at her.

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She was like winter, the way she moved, cutting through mazes of tree trunks, only to leave to them raw and barren once she'd passed. Frost fanned out across the underbrush at her every footstep, weaving elaborate webs of icy peril for those foolish enough to follow her. Around her, the very air itself condensed, squeezed into submission by a pocket of subzero temperatures that seemed to followed her as she streaked through the forest, her skirts flying in every direction, her glitter cape billowing in the wind. What little condensation remained in the air was transformed into snowflakes which, with their added weight, drifted slowly to the ground to join the frost.

Frost that turned to ice in a heartbeat.

Because it was her heartbeat they were after.

Elsa hurtled through the trees, ignoring the stabs and pricks at her bare feet as she stumbled over acorns, twigs and stones. They were close behind her. She could hear them. Hear the scrapes of their claws against frozen bark, the low, murmuring growls they made despite not having mouths. She could hear the light pats of their feet on the branches above her head as they flew from tree to tree, dodging the frozen havoc she was sewing into the ground. It seemed no matter how fast she ran, how much frost she threw onto the trees, nor how cold the air got, the creatures remained relentless in their pursuit.

Her heart pounded in her chest. More frost and more ice flared from her heels, flash freezing whole trees.

Heartless, generally, did not give her much trouble. She could take out even a sizeable ground with a few well-placed Snow Pillars and an Ice Shield, but this... she stood no chance against this.

A horde of what must be over a hundred Shadows stalked her through the bare branches of the trees, no doubt attracted to the darkness that had blossomed in her heart long ago. The hammering of their feet on brittle bark sounded like a thunder storm at times, and at others only an eerie whisper on the wind that only fuelled her fear.

And right now, it was the whisper that followed her. Silent. Bloodthirsty. Deadly.

Elsa dug her heel into the earth, wincing as something pierced the bottom of her foot, her glitter cape flying out in front of her at the sudden stop, and without hesitation flew off in a new direction. She could hear the horde fly past where she'd stopped behind her, confused only for a moment before those slightly behind the front lines caught sight of her again. The hunt was on.

Elsa cursed under her breath, fought the panic rising in her chest. Trees turned to ice faster than even she realized -- they were starting to turn before she'd even passed them now. But she didn't pay attention to that -- something else had caught her eye. A campfire, sizeable and dark, stood out even from the blackness of the forest. The little mound was smoking, as if someone -- or something -- had extinguished it only moments ago. She looked past it to find a young woman with blue hair standing, an odd-looking weapon in her hand, facing away from her.

Elsa's heart nearly stopped.

No, no, no, she thought desperately, still flying towards the other woman at top speed .You can't be here, I can't stop this storm, not now! You aren't safe--

Before she could finish her thought, she watched in horror as three Heartless leaped out of the darkness at the woman. The woman cried out and took down two of the three with a clean slash of her weapon, but the move had left her vulnerable to the third, which had escaped destruction and was now hurtling towards the woman's chest, greedy claws primed.

There wasn't time to think. Wasn't time to panic.

Elsa raised a hand. The storm in her chest whirled excitedly.

A Snow Pillar -- a giant spike of ice -- flew from her hand and T-boned the little creature. It gave a surprised gurgle before fading away, back into the darkness from which it came, as the Snow Pillar found its mark in the ground not far away.

Unable to slow down, Elsa sped past the girl, wrenching her neck to the side as she did, her own eyes wide. The horde was still after her.

"Run! Don't look, just run!" she yelled to the other woman.


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ABILITIES USED:

Flurry: Flurry is a playful wisp/stream of snow/line of ice that can be used to make pretty patterns in the air, tickle someone's nose or cover them with snow. Flurry also constitutes her ability to change environmental details and conditions (ie. when ice creeps out of her hands when she's scared and "takes over" the room she's in) and random stuff like being able to change the design of her dress or someone else's clothes. Flurry can have a more semantic purpose as well; it can turn into a raging storm of snow that circles Elsa like a tornado, though it does little more than blow one's hair around. This storm most often appears when Elsa is in drastic situations, feels threatened, sad or otherwise compromised emotionally. It acts much like a dog's bark -- to scare people off, but it doesn't actually do any damage.
Cooldown: None. This isn't even an attack, really, just an intrinsic part of her powers and on the playful side as well.


Snow Pillar: Pillars of snow rise in a variety of heights to create small stepping stones that can be used to reach only slightly out of reach places or, as Anna has demonstrated in the past, just for fun. However, Elsa can turn them to ice with a bit of extra magic and can use them to distract or even attack enemies in battle by sending them flying or rising one at an opportune moment, in an opportune place.
Duration: One post. Cooldown: Two posts.