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“Anna, come towards the light!”
“I can’t Elsa! It’s dark and I’m cold and so, so tired”
“come on, just a little bit more and we can rest together… and stop whining you big baby, that crawl-way is not even that narrow”
An unmistakable thud of an helmet bashing on rock was followed by a stream of colorful obscenity shortly after two thin arms emerged moving frantically around trying to find purchase and pull the owner out, a drawn out squelching sound accompanied Anna's effort as she finally emerged from the tight rock tunnel.
"what the hell was that sound Elsa?"
"That would be the mud."
"Ewwww"
It all started when Elsa picked up her latest hobby of spelunking.
From then on every weekend, instead of staying at home and snuggle on the couch with her while watching Netflix like the Natural Order of the Universe mandated, she took up her full body suit and harness with weird contraption attached to it and ventured underground in some cave or, as Elsa proudly declared from time to time, 'into the unknown'.
She tried to endure her reduced sister time regime and for a while she succeeded in being the perfect and supporting little sister but after more than a year she could not take it anymore.
“Sis! We need to talk!”
Elsa head shot up like a small forest animal smelling the scent of a predator and she immediately dropped her muddy harness into the water bucket where she was washing it.
“Hey Anna, what do we need to talk about? Is something happening with you? Are you ok?”
Elsa expression changed to one of concern
“you’re not getting married are you? That colleague of yours whatshisname… Hans”
She positively spat out the name before she finished with emphasis
“… he’s not good for you!”
Anna, a little taken aback by the sudden turn in the discussion, managed to stammer out
“what? Married? Me? No… no no no! what the hell Elsa? Where did that come from? Do you think I would marry such a sleazebag? Come on have some faith in me!”
Not one to be distracted by her original purpose she quickly got back to the stuff that really mattered
“No, we need to talk about something way, way more serious than that. I’m experiencing Elsa-withdrawal!”
Elsa looked at her while tilting her head slightly before she covered her mouth with her hand and... started giggling, of all things!
“Oh Anna, I know just the thing, come with me to a cave next weekend!”
While she was still processing what just happened Elsa went right back to washing her stuff while humming contentedly
“I’m so happy, I’m looking forward sharing this with you! You will love it I’m sure!”
After hearing that and seeing the happy expression on her sister face Anna didn’t have the hearth to tell her that it was exactly the opposite of the result she hoped to achieve with that particular discussion.
Finally out of the narrow and muddy crawlway Anna managed to stand back up on her two feet and look around. Suddenly illuminated by her headlamp everything sparkled like a mystical starlit sky.
The magnificent hall was something out of this world, thousands of ivory stalactites hung from the ceiling with some incredibly huge columns that looked like gigantic half-melted candles adorning the sides giving the eerie impression of being in an asymmetrical cathedral of sorts.
She didn't even want to know what kind of forgotten gods would be worshiped in such a place.
The floor looked like an alien landscape of rock pools filled with perfectly still water and stalagmites rising toward the ceiling.
“Wow”
Anna mouth hung open in amazement.
“I know right?”
whispered Elsa from her side.
they stood in silence for a little bit, the only sounds Anna could hear where the contradictory cadences of the water droplets falling and the steady rhythm of her own heart. As her hearing got used to the strange feeling of real silence she gradually becomes aware of a distant rumbling but before she could think of asking about it Elsa broke the silence first
“Now pay attention where you step, we don’t want to mess anything up in here, it’s to beautiful to get all dirty”
With that Anna looked down at her own suit and stared horrified at quantity of mud she had on her
“oh my gosh, I’m a grimy mess!"
she squirmed around trying to get a view of her backside when she felt something on her neck
"Oh no, I think some went into my hair, please tell me there is none in my hair”
Elsa chucked and nudged her nose with her muddy gloves
"don’t worry, you are cute even covered in mud, Piglet”
She gave her sister the stink eye and tried to wipe her face before realizing that her gloves where just as muddy as her sister's.
Elsa started moving carefully along the center of the room and waved her over
“Come on, the others are waiting at the Grumbling Gorge”
with no option left but to follow her crazy sister she asked
“Elsa? I think some water got into my panties, how can you stand all this mud? And the cold, I thought it got warmer underground with the lava, the spiders and the creepers...”
She could hear the smile on her sister face when she answered from upfront
“Anna, Creepers are not real and we’re definitely are not gonna find any lava down here, Caves are dug by water, you will see it for yourself when we get to the ravine.”
About to relax from her sis reassuring words she stopped in her tracks when she went over them in her head
“Wait a minute, I get lava and creepers sound silly but you haven’t said anything about spiders...”
Elsa kept walking ahead seemingly ignoring her
“Elsa, are there SPIDERS down here?”
Elsa turned around and almost blinded her with her headlight
“Come on, the ravine is just around the corner”
and she went on around one of the massive candle-stalagmites.
Nervously looking around Anna picked up her pace to catch up with Elsa
“I bet it’s full of spiders... Elsa wait up! If a spider eats me it’s all your fault!”
The so called Grumbling Gorge turned out to be the canyon of a river.
A frigging underground river!
Anna was too tired to wrap her head around that one, that was for sure.
“Ok, so since it’s your first time we’re just gonna lower you to the bottom of the ravine with the rope, like a sack of potatoes” said Kris gesturing in Anna direction.
“Excuse you?” Anna huffed out shooting daggers at him while Elsa giggled
Olaf the last member of their rag-tag expedition piped up from the complex looking spaghetti of ropes he was messing with “Kristof, there is no way Anna is a sac of potatoes, it’s definitely carrots!”
Elsa just covered her mouth eyes crinkled in a smile.
Anna couldn’t even be mad.
While Olaf and Kristoff descended first Elsa dutifully checked the caving harness on Anna's hip. She was standing close in front of Anna hands flitting all over around her hips tugging at the webbing of the harness with an expression of utmost focus and looking entirely too adorable for it.
"If I knew this was a thing that happened in caves I would have joined much sooner” said Anna with an amused lilt looping her arms around Elsa neck
Finally done Elsa eyes rose surprise coloring her face at the realization she was standing well into Anna personal space, a blush suddenly rose to her pale cheeks.
Anna eyes sparkled with amusement and she stopped the instinctive step back Elsa was about to take by tightening her arms around her neck.
"you know, this is the first time I wear a harness, wouldn't have thought it would be my sister putting it on me… kinky” she finished with a wink.
Elsa sputtered, now a bright tomato red “I have to check, it’s for safety, safety is important!”
Taking pity in her sis, Anna lowered her arms and looked down the nearby chasm
“so what do I have to do?”
“try not to hit your head around too much”
Anna shot her an unimpressed look
Elsa rises her hands up “I’m not joking, try to keep your legs straight and wide otherwise you’ll start rolling and bumping your head all around”
Anna gulped but had no time to reconsider because her sister was done tying her to the rope and in a second she was swinging about above the chasm and beginning her descent.
She lost sight of her sister in seconds and was suddenly hanging all alone in the darkness with her companion’s lights far down below looking like little fireflies.
The adrenaline that was shooting through her veins by virtue of being suspended on a thin rope several meters off solid ground didn't prevent her from finding the sight absolutely beautiful.
The sides of the ravine looked and felt sleek in an almost organic way as she awkwardly took steps backwards to avoid the rocks almost slipping several times on the wet surface.
When she finally got close enough to the bottom to be able to see the guys she spotted Olaf standing on a rock a little way away, Kristoff was occupying another rock to her side and was slowly passing her rope through a weird pulley device.
The rest of the ravine was occupied by water rushing downstream.
“ehm guys? Where am I supposed to land? Its all water”
Kristoff and Olaf just grinned at her
“guys?” Anna was starting to get worried
“gu…AAHHHHHH” she looked in abject horror as Kristoff let the rope go and she felt the sudden pull of gravity dumping her to the bottom of the water stream.
She immediately got up from the freezing cold water wheezing and sputtering
“Are you crazy?!? I could have died!”
Olaf and Kristoff just kept on laughing and Kristoff exclaimed with a cheeky grin “We decided we could get your baptism out of the way"
he shrugged with mock indifference
"Trust me jumping straight in is the best way to get in the water anyways”
With her rightful indignation as fuel she didn't feel the cold as much as she started splashing the two, far to dry, ass-hats she was stuck in this hole with.
Her irritation evaporated when she spotted her sister descending the rope like some sort of gracefully sexy SWAT officer.
Elsa turned around when she was a few meters above them and, as she looked at her sister standing in the water, a sinister smile took over her face.
She winked to a befuddled Anna and before she could process what was about to happen Elsa pushed off the ravine walls and dropped the last few meters splashing down right next to Anna.
Soaked yet again in freezing water Anna spit the water that had entered her mouth right on Elsa chest out of spite.
Elsa just laughed harder.
"Look, you said the mud was icky it's my duty as a responsible big sister to help you wash it out"
Anna shoved her.
They walked downstream for a good few minutes, their chatting drowned by the echoing sound of the water rushing between the canyon walls.
Anna had to admit it was an amazing place to be even in her miserably wet state.
A light at the end of the tunnel and a short climb later and they where standing in the warmth of the summer sun, for once a reprieve instead of an annoyance.
The hike back to the car was lost in an haze of tiredness for Anna. They said their goodbyes to Olaf and Kristoff and went to their car to get changed.
Packing all the sopping wet clothes into a bag Anna couldn’t help but shoot a few glances to her sister while they both changed into comfy clothes for the ride back.
Elsa looked with fondness at her exhausted little sister as she took off toward their apartment
“I know it’s a lot more physically intense that it looks like but don’t worry we will get pizza and rest this evening.”
Anna fiddled with the radio and she perked up when the an unmistakable guitar lick from Sweet Home Alabama comes on.
Reminded of the previous exchange with the harness a devious plan to get some revenge quickly takes form in her mind.
Anna looks over to poor oblivious Elsa focused on the road ahead while her head bobs with the rhythm. She took a moment to relish in her genius and she goes in for the kill
"you know Elsa, if you wanted me all wet and begging for mercy we could have done that without leaving our apartment"
The shocked choking that came out of her sister was entirely worth it
Her sister looks at her with scandalized wide eyes frozen in place for just a second before a furious blush rose to her face until finally her brain puts all the auditory clues together and she rolls her eyes tapping the radio while still looking quite flustered.
"ah ah ah, very funny Anna"
Eager to get a rise out of the big sister Anna went on
"you know, if you get the urge you can go down to my cave anytime sis."
Elsa scoffed
“you are impossible!” but the mirth on Elsa face was unmistakable.