Are you my mummy? {Elsa}

[Olaf]

Olaf really did love this new place.  Sure, there were strange pale women hiding out in the woods, everything was so overgrown it was an effort to move from one place to the next, his friends were scattered all over the place and this whole 'being human' thing meant that he was being introduced to a brand new world of pain, discomfort and breathlessness - turned out he was incredibly clumsy, something he hadn't really been aware of when he had been made of snow and didn't have a skeleton, or nerve endings, or pain receptors.  But besides all of that, this place was without a doubt the most exciting place Olaf had ever been.  There was so much to discover, and so many new things to find and experience and it was just incredible!

He had spent most of his time since arriving wandering the grounds, struggling through overgrowth, crawling through plants and vines and bushes, and sticking his head around doors to look into buildings and see if his friends were there.  Of course, he had gotten himself distracted in almost every place he had found, so although he had absolutely no sense of time, he had probably been here for hours.  Night was falling, and Olaf decided it was time to find somewhere to sleep - he could resume his search for his friends in the morning.

By a stroke of luck, the next building he found had beds in.  He pushed his way through the doors and into the first room he stumbled upon, climbing into a bed that was covered in dirt, dust and had a large vine growing across the top of it, and snuggling down, pulling the blanket over his head.

He would definitely find his friends in the morning, but right now, this was, without a doubt, the best and most comfortable bed he'd even lain on.

[Elsa]

Elsa mostly traveled alone. It wasn't that the people here weren't friendly... in their own sort of way. It was more that Elsa herself simply didn't want to be around people at the moment, didn't feel quite comfortable with the strangers and being in this strange, new world. Still, she wanted to help, partially for her, and partially for her family. And for Elsa, helping meant freezing large sections of greenery.

Rumor had it that most of the dorms, particularly the female dorms, had already been cleaned. But there were still some stubbornly overgrown sections that could use an icing down. So Elsa waited until most people were busy elsewhere and headed there herself.

And she brought the cold with her.

Snow and ice spread with each step as Elsa covered the castle in a thin layer of frost. Winter crept about, killing vines, curling plants, dying the world in shades of blue and white. Logic led her toward the rooms proper, angling for those that may still have beds. So winter descended upon the sleeping quarters...

...only for Elsa to pause, staring at what was admittedly a rather adorable scene. Bits of snow had already gathered ahead of her, adding to the blanket draped over this rather large student. But he looked peaceful, and strangely familiar to her. Elsa approached, bits of snow and frost still flaking about her as she stopped. Curious, she raised a hand, letting just a few chilled drops spiral down to paint his cheek.

[Olaf]

Ok, so the vine creeping across the middle of the bed made it slightly uncomfortable now he had bones, but still, it definitely the most comfortable bed in the world. Probably.

Olaf snuggled down under the covers, a contented smile on his face as he closed his eyes. This was awesome. Now he wasn't made of snow, Olaf was discovering the joy of snuggling under warm blankets, feeling the cosy feelings of warmth spreading through his extremities. He decided, as he began to drift off to sleep, that this was the best new thing he'd experienced on this crazy, exciting, amazing day.

Wait - it was getting colder. Olaf loved the cold! Sure, warm was good and new and exciting, but nothing beat the cold and the frost and the snow. He opened his eyes as he felt the cold reach his cheek, and quickly brought his hand up to touch it, excitement coursing through him.

Not that it took much to make Olaf excited.

He sat up sharply, looking towards the doorway with a huge grin plastered across his face.

"Mommy!"

[Elsa]

Well, that stopped Elsa's approach cold. She stared at the rather large man, brows furrowing. "Mommy?" she repeated, blinking a few times. Last time she'd checked, she hadn't exactly done what was necessary to produce a child, and she was fairly certain she'd remember having a child long enough ago to be this large. Still, there was something familiar about his voice... and his smile... and his general demeanor.

"Have we... met?" asked Elsa. She was tempted to hold up her hands to stop him from inevitably running toward her and attempting a hug. He looked like the hugging sort, all filled with sunshine and joy and... "Are you... Olaf?"

Because that would be insane, wouldn't it? Did the portal transform living snowman to... whatever this was? And was it awful that part of Elsa was inwardly groaning over how very much fun it was going to be literally raising a snow-man-child while trying to figure out life here.

[Olaf]

Olaf clambered out from under the covers and quickly crawled to the end of the bed, bouncing there while Elsa spoke, and enjoying the new and exciting experiences of bouncy mattress springs and knees. He nodded vigorously as she asked if they'd met, and even more vigorously when she recognised him. Pouncing off the bed he launched himself at her, enveloping her in a huge hug and lifting her off the floor as he did so - he really liked being big enough to do that.

"I found you! I was so worried when you all went running off into that big swirly magic thing and I tried to stay behind and run the kingdom like I knew you'd want but I thought what if something happened to you and you needed a snowman's help, so I told Sven to take over and I left him in charge - don't worry I told him not to have too many carrot fields planted, I just hope someone there understands him without Kristoff to help - and then I came and I jumped into the big swirly magic thing and I landed in a forest and I was a real live person with skin and nails and teeth and everything and look! No flurry! And I met a snow lady although she doesn't think she is a snow lady but we became best friends forever and then I found Anna and I was so happy and then I got tired and came to sleep and then I found you and isn't this just the best day ever?!"

For someone who now had lungs, Olaf was able to talk for an extraordinary amount of time before he needed to take a breath.

[Elsa]

How on earth could Olaf still vomit up that many words? Shouldn't he have actual lungs, and God willing, a human brain? The two put together should stop him from almost passing out from a burst of verbiage like that. Well, at least he proved without a shadow of a doubt that he was Olaf.

"It does seem like a good day," replied Elsa. She paused, mentally sorting through everything Olaf said. He'd met a snow lady... whatever that meant. The lady in the woods was probably Red (and thinking of Red nearly made Elsa turn that color herself). So, yes, the first bit was the most important: "Dear," she bent down to look at him, "you do realize that you weren't i---" she paused, realizing belatedly that perhaps Kristoff had put Olaf "in charge' to keep him from doing anything foolish.

Clearly that had worked.

"I'm quite certain Sven can handle things in our absence," said Elsa, rising up. Or at least the council she'd appointed of trusted nobles and elected officials could... particularly since Elsa intended to mail them information s soon as she could. "You're in the wrong dorm though, silly snowman," Elsa said, turning and gesturing for him to follow. "Come along, we'll get you settled in a proper room."

Clearly someone was taking over the mum position quite nicely.

[Olaf]

Olaf simply beamed at Elsa as she responded to him - he was so pleased to be back with his creator/mommy/queen/best friend. He didn't know how this day could get any better, but it just kept delivering. He wondered briefly if too much brilliantness could adversely affect him now he was a person and not made of snow, but that thought didn't reside long in his brain - there was too much else to do and to take in and to get excited about.

He looked around, slightly confused, as she said he was in the wrong place. "But... everything in here is pink! Pink is my favourite colour! It's the colour of Sven's nose, and flowers, and sunrise, and cupcake icing and love!" He put his hands to his chest and swayed slightly at the mention of the word love. There really was nothing better in the world that love, it was wonderful. Olaf had so much love in him right now he thought he might burst.

"Can't I stay in the pink room?"

[Elsa]

Pink was his... Elsa had to stop and stare at her... at Olaf. Since when was pink his... his reasoning made sense, and he looked about ready to burst into song. Please don't let him have a song about the glories of pink in all its wonder.

"Well, you might," admitted Elsa, frowning and looking around. Did who stayed in what dorm room really matter right now? Part of Elsa thought it almost silly anyway, particularly for Olaf, but also just in general. There was that level of comfort, sure, but who wouldn't be comfortable around Olaf?

"It's just that there are rules about where people are allowed to stay here. So until we can find out whether it's okay for you to be in this section of the dorms, we should probably move you to the other. It's, ah, more blue focused," Elsa pursed her lips, trying to figure out how to word it properly. "See, the boys stay there... and the girls stay... here," she gestured around.

Elsa almost froze then, silently hoping, praying, that she wasn't about to give a lecture in the birds and the bees to her snowman... child.

[Olaf]

Olaf listened intently, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly open, nodding along with everything Elsa said. It seemed reasonable enough, although...

"I like blue too," He mused thoughtfully, "snow goes blue at night, and fingers go blue when it's cold, and..." a frown crossed his face for a second. "Blue is a cold colour, and I love the cold and I love the snow but... pink is so warm and fuzzy and it makes me think of summer and oh I have been waiting for summer for so long and now I don't need my flurry anymore and I won't melt I can sit in the sunshine and I will turn pink too!"

Olaf had lost his train of thought completely. He paused for a minute, trying desperately to remember what it was that had led him on that wonderful tangent. He sat back on the bed, his hands on his knees and leaned forward slightly, looking up at Elsa. "Why do boys and girls stay in different places? Wouldn't it be so much nicer if everyone just lived together like one big happy family? Like us, in Arendelle!" He smiled openly at Elsa, swinging his legs slightly as he waited for her explanation.

[Elsa]

Yes, yes, Elsa was going to have to explain the birds and the bees to the ex-snowman child. Somewhere Fate was laughing at her. She licked her lips, trying to figure out how to go about this. Fortunately, Olaf spent a few seconds rhapsodizing over pink and summer, as he was very much wont to do. The thought of Olaf turning pink had Elsa's lips twitching slightly.

Except that almost made this conversation more awkward. "Well, Olaf, it's simple: boys and girls have... different parts," she said. "And they generally feel more comfortable when they're staying with people who have similar parts. It's like how you and I go together. Or, well, how we used to. You were made of snow, and I created the snowfall over your head. We complimented each other and could be comfortable around each other. So we put boys with boys and girls with girls so that they'll feel comfortable and nobody feels uneasy around each other."

Elsa paused, mentally going over what she said, trying to see if there were any holes. "Which is why I would bet," she pointed at Olaf, "that you could stay wherever you wanted after everyone got to know you. Because they'd see you for the special person that you are, and know that anyone would feel comfortable around you. But they're going to see a human boy first, and they'll feel odd. We've got to let them get to know you first. That's why everyone's comfortable with one another back home, right?"

[Olaf]

This conversation was becoming more confusing by the second. Olaf frowned, looking down at his lap for a moment and thinking, before looking back up to Elsa.

"But.. when I was a snowman, I didn't have any... 'parts'." He stood up and circled for a moment, trying to look at all himself. "I mean, obviously I had arms and legs and a nose and those 4 little hairs and buttons and fingers... what other parts are there?" His mouth gaped open and he stared at Elsa. "And what parts do you have that I don't?" He tilted his head to the side as his gaze slowly began to drift southwards as he tried to work it out.

He sat back down on the bed, his face falling slightly. "But... does that mean we don't go together anymore? Now I'm not snow?" His eyes became watery in an almost cartoon-like way, tears threatening to fall. "But you're like my Mommy, won't we always go together?"

[Elsa]

So much for this being easy.

"Well, ah, you see..." said Elsa. Couldn't she just say that she was his mother and a queen and therefore whatever she said was something that he should just take on faith? That struck her as being a perfectly reasonable way out of this increasingly awkward situation.

"Boys and girls have different parts,' she tried again. Fine, just go with it. "See, if you look down your pants, you'll see that you have something new there that's attached. That's perfectly normal, since you're a boy now,' or a man... how old was Olaf now, exactly? Keep going: "Girls have something else. Our parts are meant to... interlock, I believe..." not that Elsa had any experience in these matters whatsoever.

"See, now you're flesh and blood, though there's probably some snow. We'll always go together, since I'm your... creator. But right now, you'll have to stay and meet other people,' she bent down, smiling. "That way you can make all new friends, which should be fun, right?"

[Olaf]

He listened carefully, his face screwed up in concentration. He really wanted to understand this, his mommy was being so kind explaining it to him so patiently. She was just the best.

He obediently pulled at his waistband and looked down his pants as she instructed. With a horrified expression he quickly let go of his waistband, wincing as it hit him in the gut, and looking up at Elsa. "What. Is. That?" He asked in a shocked hiss. It was... so freaky looking, Olaf didn't know what to think. "That thing is attached to me? What's it for? What do I do with it?" Things were getting confusing now, and Olaf didn't know what to do. He didn't know what he was anymore. He was starting to think things had been much more simple when he was just snow.

The mention of making new friends did perk him a little though. Making new friends was one of the best things in the world, and Olaf wanted to make friends with everyone he met. He nodded, looking into his mommy's face and smiling. "I do like making new friends. As long as I can you and Anna and Kristoff and Sven will still be my bestest friends in the whole wide world. You will, right?"

[Elsa]

"It's your..." Elsa hesitated for a moment, then decided to give an honest answer: "boy parts. You'll be releasing excess water through it, and, uh, it may react to friction and things." Then Elsa smiled, realizing that she had an excellent way out of this. "I actually don't know that much about how boy parts work, since I'm a girl. You'll have to ask Kristoff about it sometime. Or maybe a new friend."

Oh please let her be a fly on the wall for that conversation with Kristoff. The bumbling ice carver probably didn't even know what to do with his own parts. Plus, Elsa could just see the rippling effect there. She couldn't hide her smile, which only spread as Olaf all but beamed at her.

"Sure, we'll always be friends," said Elsa. "Family, actually. You can make all the friends you want, but family takes a lot longer to grow and love," she reached out and ruffled Olaf's hair, much as she used to do. She missed the cold, and hoped her own chilly touch wasn't too unpleasant for him. "I'm sure there will be lots of people eager for your hugs, Olaf. You're far too lovable for them to ignore," and persistent, which would definitely help.

[Olaf]

Excess water... “Is that what that weird feeling I’ve been having down there all day is? The excess water?” That might explain why Olaf had been feeling particularly bouncy all day, less excitement and more needing to pee for the first time in his life, and having absolutely no idea what peeing actually was. He pulled open his waistband again, studying the... thing a little more closely. He reached a hand down his trousers and poked it, giggling at the way it moved when he did. “That thing is so weird...” He looked up and removed his hand, dropping his waistband again. “Ok, I’ll ask Kristoff to explain everything to me.” He said with a broad smile. “Gosh, I’m learning so much today!”

As she reached out and ruffled his hair, he caught her hand and pressed it against his face. It was so wonderfully cold, and as exciting and new as being a person was, he was starting to miss the cold of his snowman self a little. “Your hands are so cold. I miss snow.” He spoke almost to himself. He kept hold of her hand as he looked up at her. “I hope so. I love warm hugs.” He grinned. “You think I’m lovable.” He almost giggled. “I’m lovable.”