Curtains Down, Masks Off

[Elsa]

(ooc: September 3rd, during the free period. Only open to Jack and Elsa.)

With no one else in her circle around, Elsa finally felt free enough to just wander the water circle's area. At present, the young woman was walking along the beach with her eyes trained solely on her hands. Those gloves she always wore, the light blue ones that almost clashed with the navy blue of her uniform, were still present. Elsa thought about taking them off since she was alone, but she also remembered what would happen if she did. Someone would surely find out about her powers if she were to take off the gloves now. If they knew, they might dub her a monster... Someone to be feared...

An uncomfortable shudder ran down Elsa's back for a moment at the mere thought of it. It had been bad enough when she was a child, thinking she had nothing to fear, but years had gone by since the incident and all she had felt since then was the crushing fear that came with someone finding out about her powers. ...Powers. Hah. At that point, it might as well have been a curse instead of a gift. Elsa saw little good in what she had been given. Sure she had used it to create snow when she was little, but that was before she had been told to hide it. If only she were still that same little girl... The one who had no fear in spite of her lack of control... Maybe things wouldn't be so bad if she was still unafraid to use her power.

A soft sigh escaped Elsa as she finally decided to stop walking and went down on her knees in the sand. Once there, blue eyes fell on the waters lapping against the shore and she unconsciously began to remove her gloves. Just one night, she decided. There wouldn't be any harm in dropping the act of being that perfect girl for one night. Once the pale blue gloves were off, a soft sigh of relief escaped her and a hint of a smile formed on her face. No one was watching. Now she was free to have just a little fun with her power.

Thinking that no one was looking, Elsa created a small flurrie of snow that danced in the air before her. Little did she know, though, that she may not have been as alone as she liked to believe she was.

[Deleted]

Jack wasn't sure why he had gone to the beaches of the water circle. It was just a feeling he had that something special would happen. He was relieved that classes were over, though the idea of homework was starting to bug him, but he knew he couldn't bail out on this school, at least not yet. He was sure that he would find something out about the school headmaster and if Pitch was behind this.

Glancing up, he noticed the small snow dancing in the air. It was a surprise, he thought he was the only one with ice powers here, his feet picked up speed until he found the source of the snow. A beautiful young girl, the same one from his English class. "Hey." he said calmly. "You're in Mr. Griffin's English class right?"

[Elsa]

For a moment, it felt as though she had been struck by her own power. Blue eyes grew wide when she heard Jack's voice and, after a moment, Elsa fumbled to grab her gloves from the sand. She couldn't get them on fast enough, though, and the flurrie grew a bit less controlled as her heart pounded a bit faster. Then, she realized she recognized the voice. A glance behind her revealed the white-haired boy from English, and her grip on her gloves loosened for a moment. He was in a different circle, yes, but at least Jack was vaguely familiar to her. She'd be safe... Wouldn't she?

At length, a feeble nod was offered in answer to his question.

"Yes... I'm in his class. I remember seeing you there as well," Elsa said. Her little flurrie died down, disipating into harmless flecks of snow falling before her, and a half smile formed on her face. Of course, she was still wary. Jack hadn't said anything about her power yet, but he still could have. It gave her more of a reason to get her gloves from where she'd briefly left them and begin to put them back over her hands. The momentary freedom was fun while it lasted, she supposed. ...Perhaps she should ask.

"You... You didn't see that just now, did you?" Elsa asked, her voice barely above a whisper in spite of the two being alone. Elsa didn't want to risk the whole school finding out about her power just yet. It would likely come out if she was thrown into a fight, which she assumed would happen at some point, but for the moment? Elsa wanted to continue to keep her power secret. The snow fluttering around her didn't exactly make it an easy secret to keep, though. Jack could likely see it plain as day.

[Deleted]

Jack gave her a small smile. "Yeah, yeah i did." he replied calmly. "But, i think that's cool that you have powers like that." he said pushing some of his hair back. "I have them to you know." He looked around the beach. Weird, no one else was here. Oh well, maybe that was a good thing. "Why do you hide them? They make you special you know."

[Elsa]

Fear flashed in her eyes for a moment when Jack confirmed that he had seen her use her powers. Elsa fumbled a bit with her gloves before finally getting them on properly, and she prepared to ask again if he had, but, to her surprise, he said he had powers like hers. Elsa's fear vanished and surprise took its place. All her life, she had been told that her power was something she had been born with. She'd never known that anyone else could have been born with them. Elsa parted her lips to ask if he'd been born with the powers, but she stopped again when Jack asked why she tried to hide her gift.

Blue eyes drifted to the water again and a pained look formed on her face. The accident...

"I hide them because... My parents told me I had to conceal it. I can't control it very well, and I... I don't want to hurt anyone," Elsa explained. She'd have added 'again' if she felt safe enough to reveal what had happened when she was younger, but Elsa didn't know if she could trust Jack with that secret. No one in her circle knew about her powers, and now someone from the air circle knew. What if he tried to use it to his advantage? Elsa had just divulged to him that she couldn't control the power very well. Fear made her little flurrie blow a bit faster around her and she bit her lip gently to try and conceal it.

[Deleted]

Jack's smile slowly became a frown. "That's too bad, I think that your power is really cool. And i am not just saying that because i can do it to." he replied, slowly making a snowflake in his hand, allowing it to slowly dance along his palm before releasing it into the air. He took a seat on the sand, letting it run through his fingers. "You know, when I first got my powers I couldn't control them at all. Took me forever." He laughed. He didn't bother to add that he had three hundred and eighteen years to practice. He didn't want to make her think he was crazy.

[Elsa]

A half smile was offered in thanks, though Elsa didn't really see her powers the same way Jack did. If she had more control over them it would be different, but at that moment? Well, Elsa really didn't like them. Not after what she had accidentally caused to happen when she was a child. A gentle sigh escaped her and she looked at her gloved hands once more. If only she didn't have to hide her powers... If she could just get practice with them, maybe find some way to perfect them, maybe there wouldn't be a risk of her becoming something she didn't want to be. Until that time, she was just that perfect girl that everyone expected to become Queen one day.

"Sometimes, it feels more like a curse than anything else. All my life I've been told to conceal it, and it's been hard. ...Much harder than I make it appear sometimes," Elsa said. But Jack had mentioned having difficulties with his powers too. That much made Elsa turn her head and face him. Curiosity and hope danced in the young woman's eyes. He had powers like hers, and if that was true... Maybe she wasn't so alone. Maybe this boy, the one who liked the book with a character so like her within it, could be the mentor she was looking for. Elsa could only hope so. Otherwise, she'd be doomed to hide her power forever and potentially consumed by it in the end. She had to ask.

"Do you think... Could you help me? I'm afraid that if I don't get control over my power I may end up hurting someone I love. I don't want to risk that. Please..."

[Deleted]

Jack blinked in surprise. He had never been asked to teach people anything. Then again, he hadn't expected anyone to have ice powers. It was kind of an interesting situation. "Uh, sure. I can try." he replied. "I have never taught anyone before so I might not be the best teacher." He replied, twirling his staff around. "Though won't your circle get mad at you for hanging around an Air circle?" He smirked, before remembering that this was the water circle's beach. "I won't mention it to anyone. I like taking some risks besides, i hate to see a girl like you in trouble." His smirk turned gentle. "I'll do my best. I promise. But you have to trust me okay?"

[Elsa]

"Why would they care? The others in my circle haven't bothered to get to know me yet, and... I spend most of my time on my own anyway," Elsa admitted. It was a habit she kept regardless of whether she was in the castle or not. Sure it might be viewed as tabu for her to spend time with a resident of the air circle, but who really cared in the end? They had classes with different circles, and no one else knew about her ice powers, so it would be okay as far as she was concerned. Of course, Elsa was taking a bit risk. Suppose Jack didn't keep his promise to not tell anyone about her powers. It made her stomach knot a bit with concern.

"You just have to promise to not tell anyone about my powers. As long as it's just the two of us, it'll be okay. Besides... You're the only one who would understand. You have powers like mine, and... Foolish of me or not, I trust you," Elsa said. To prove her point, she allowed one glove to slide off and held out her hand for him to take. Somehow, Elsa trusted herself enough not to harm Jack with her ungloved hand. If he truly did have powers like hers, he would be okay.

I trust that you won't use this to your advantage. she added silently. As long as the rest of the air circle didn't find out about her lack of control or her ice powers in general, she would be safe a while longer.

[Deleted]

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." Jack said looking serious. No way he was going to tell anyone else about this. She would show them off when she was ready to. But as she was, there was no way that's going to happen. "If you want we can do it anytime we have a free period, i know we have one after dinner before curfew. I don't want to take the risk of doing it in the morning. You know people might spot us." he was being considerate of her as well. "I'm assuming you don't want that either so anywhere we can meet is fine by me."

[Elsa]

"During free period sounds nice. We'd have to find a place no one goes to, though," Elsa said. That way, there would be no risk of anyone finding out her secret before it was time to come out. She wanted to have control over her power before any kind of big confessions came out around anyone else. The hard part would be finding such a secret location for her to practice in. At present, the young ruler couldn't think of much of anywhere that might work. Maybe Jack had ideas, though. He hadn't been told to conceal his power or isolate himself like she had, so he had more freedom and also likely had more knowledge of the school. At least, that was what Elsa was assuming.

Her ungloved hand gently traced a swirl in the sand, and that swirl was gently frosted over with her power. She hadn't intended for it to happen, but Elsa didn't mind this once. She actually felt a bit more comfortable with Jack around than anyone else. Why that was, though, remained a mystery. Elsa just supposed it was because she was beginning to trust him and felt that he could potentially be a friend. That was, of course, carried on the hope that no one made the pair of them fight against one another. She wouldn't be able to lay a hand against him, much less use her powers against him.

"...Thank you, Jack. I really do appreciate your helping me. Even if we don't know each other that well yet, and even if we only really met tonight," Elsa said. Sure they'd gotten their first glimpses of one another in English class, but this was the first time they'd spoken outside of class. It felt... Nice.

[Deleted]

Jack smiled, trying to hide that his cheeks had turned a very light shade of pink. Maybe it was because this was one of the first females his own age and not to mention species that had gotten to talk to. He didn't think Tooth counted. After all, the fairy wasn't technically a human. "You're welcome Elsa." he said, twirling his staff on the ground, making patterns of ice in the sand. "I am sure we can find a place in this big school to train in secret."

[Elsa]

"I hope so. The sooner I can try and get a better handle on my power, the better," Elsa said. She leaned back a bit and gazed up at the sky for a moment. It really was a nice spot her circle had, now that she thought about it. With it being by the sea, it reminded her of home in a way. ...Not that she got to see the outside of the castle very often, but the point still stood. Elsa still remembered well enough what the outside looked like. Her smile faded after a bit, though, when she began to think about what might happen if she didn't get her power under control. If she were to end up in a fight, and she was forced to use her power, there was a good chance that...

An uncomfortable shudder ran down the young ruler's spine and she shook her head, instinctively reaching for her glove again before something could happen. No... She wasn't going to lose control again. She had Jack to help her in case something went wrong, and he'd promised he'd do his best to help. Nothing would go wrong. She wouldn't bring harm to anyone again. Not on accident, at least, and she hoped not on purpose either.

"...How did you discover your power? If you don't mind my asking," Elsa said. She was rather curious. Elsa had been born with her powers, but what about Jack? When had he figured out he could make use of the same power she could?

[Deleted]

Jack was dreading having to explain this. Might as well explain it right now. "Well, uh, I guess i should ask if you'd believe me if i told you that i was 318?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. "Well, if you do or don't...its true. My powers got discovered when i was brought back to life. I had died saving my sister from an ice-skating trip." His blue eyes saddened a bit. "Before I got my powers i had brown hair, brown eyes. But now, i've got white hair and blue eyes." He tapped his staff on the sand, watching the ice patterns spread around the two. Not sure what else to say, he looked at hands. "Another thing you should know is that I'm Jack Frost. Like the story. Guardian of Fun. At your service." he gave a mock bow. "I'm sorry its not that helpful, but I was a lot like you when i got them. I made a few mistakes, and crashed...a lot."

[Elsa]

"You're a...? But doesn't that mean that you're..."

Technically dead? Elsa wanted to ask, but she was mind blown enough by the fact that when he had said he was Jack Frost, he wasn't kidding. Hard to believe though it was, Elsa had heard stranger things. After all, there were trolls where she was from. It probably didn't get much stranger than that. Eventually, though, her expression softened into one of sympathy when she realized what he had given up for his sister. Jack had made the ultimate sacrifice for his little sister, much like she had sacrificed her being Anna's best friend and older sister to keep her safe. So alike...

Tentatively, Elsa lifted a hand and placed it on Jack's shoulder. She didn't mind his origins, and was admittedly moved to know that he had been so willing to sacrifice himself in the name of his little sister.

"I think I understand what you did before you became a guardian. I would have done the same if it was my sister in trouble. In fact... In a way, I kind of already have given up everything for her," Elsa admitted. Should she tell him about the incident when they were children? How she had to isolate herself from everyone, including her sister, just to keep from hurting anyone with her power? Elsa thought about it, but she wasn't sure if she should.

"I don't know if she understands why I've done what I have, though. We were so close before..."