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"Am I supposed to feel this ridiculous?" The question slipped out of Kristoff's mouth with uncertainty. He stood atop two boulders that linked together and formed a heart.

Several reindeers surrounded him in one big circle as they all stared at him with wide and even teasing eyes.

"Oh yeah, definitely." Ryder spoke from the sides where he was gently petting a male reindeer.

Kristoff nods, before looking around at his audience. "Everyone ready?"

The younger man bends down and makes his voice deeper, as he pretends to speak as the reindeer's. "Ready!"

"Uh, I could use a rehearsal!"

"I love love.."

Kristoff breaths out a laugh. "Wait. You talk for them too?" Ryder nods with a smile, but dosnet notice as the reindeer he hung off of tried, with annoyance, to pull its head away. "I do."

"It's like you can actually hear what they're thinking." Kristoff's nervousness easily gets washed away as they talk, realizing that they had more in common than previously thought.

"Yeah!" Ryder agrees. "And then you just, say it."

"And then you just say it." The blonde nods with understanding, happy to have found someone who shared in his interests.

A rustle from up ahead draws their attention. They look and see the silhouette of a women drawing nearer, her face covered by the fog.

"Okay, here she comes." Ryder says eagerly, before opening a small basket of purple butterflies. Sven grunts, and pushes a basket of flowers into the air and allowing them to gracefully glide down.

Kristoff gulps loudly before setting his hands on his hips and speaking. "Princess Anna of Arendelle.." the butterflies flutter around him as the flowers flow down around him beautifully.

"..my feisty, fearless, ginger-sweet love. Will you marry me?" He finishes it off with a big and wide smile, but it all disappears in disappointment as he sees not Anna, but his sister figure's grandmother, Yelena, instead.

The women purses her lips with wide eyes as she stares at him for a second. "Um..no." She picks out a small flower from her hair and folds her arms behind her back. "The princess left with the King and my granddaughter."

"What, wait, what? What?" Kristoff quickly scurries off the boulder and rushes to the older women in disbelief.

Yelena shrugs with boredom. "I wouldn't try to follow, they're long gone."

"Long gone?" The boy stands their in shock, his body have gone slack at the information. They just, left? Just like that? Without saying anything? He would expect (Y/N) to ditch him of all people, but not Espen, and especially not Anna.

"So, yeah.." Yelena finishes as she goes to turn away, but stops and turns her head over her shoulder. "Um, we're heading west, to the Lichen Meadows, you can come with us if you want."

With that, the old women turns away fully and walks away, having said her peace and given the young man some sense of comfort.

Kristoff groans as his shoulders go slack. Ryder walks behind him, slightly cringing. "Hey, um..I'm really sorry that.." he tries to comfort his new friend, but stops as he shakes his head.

"No, it's fine."

"Y-yeah! Yep." He clears his throat to relaxes a bit of tension. "Okay, I better go pack. You coming with?"

Kristoff looks off to the side and refuses to meet his gaze as he feels his cheeks burn in embarrassment. "I'll just..yeah, I'll meet you there."

"Okay, uh, you know where your going, right?"

"Yeah! Yep. I know the woods." Ryder finally leaves, and allows the man to frown and sigh in sadness. He slumps against the boulder as Sven walks up to him with a pout.

The reindeer falls to the ground and groans empathetically, and Kristoff sighs.

"Reindeers are better than people, Sven..why is love so hard?"

His mind goes fuzzy as he imagines his best friend watching him with a smile, the woods around them going blurry with mist.

"You feel what you feel, and those feelings are real..come one Kristoff, let down your guard."

The man double takes at his friend before getting up and walking towards the tree line. With a supportive nod from the reindeer, he walks off and stares at the sunlight beaming down on the ground.

Kristoff presses his back against a tree as he stares up at the sky.

"Again, you're gone, off on a different path than mine."

His eyes were sunken as he furrowed his brows slightly.

"Wondering if I should follow. You had to go.."

Walking past a line of reindeer, Kristoff dosent notice as some watch him with furrowed eyes while others cringe at him.

"And, of course, it's always fine.."

He runs his fingers through his hair and tugs at it slightly before going and singing into an acorn.

"I prob'ly could catch up with you tomorrow.."

...

He pictures himself with his girlfriend, her eyes avoiding his while he admired every aspect of her person.

"But is this what it feels like, to be growing apart?"

Kristoff reaches for her, but looks down as her figure disappears, as if it was that easy for her to leave.

"When did I become the one who's always chasing your heart?"

Sven joins his side, and together, the two turn to eachother with sad eyes.

"Now I turn around and find, I am lost in the woods!"

They look around together, both equally amused and scared at the same time.

"North is south, right is left, when you're gone!"

...

Together, Kristoff and Anna walk, arm in arm through the woods. The women fades just as quickly as the image appeared, leaving Kristoff to watch in distaste.

"I'm the one who sees you home, but now I'm lost in the woods!"

Several paths open up for him, all leading in different directions.

"And I don't know what path you are on.."

...

"I'm lost in the woods."

He walks past the same line of reindeer, who watch him now with sad eyes.

...

Kristoff skips from Rick to Rick by a nearby lake.

"Up till now, the next step was a question of how."

The rocks come to an end, leaving him to stare out at the open water that moves softly.

"I never thought it was a question of whether."

He begins to reminisce on his memories with Anna, form every small moment that counted dearly to him.

"Who am I?"

When they first met at Oaken's trading post, with (Y/N) in between them as she glared harshly at her future brother.

To when they had just fallen off a cliff, where her hand grazed his head with affection.

"If I'm not your guy?"

When his troll family tried to set them up and get married.

"Where am I, if we're not together?"

As he placed his beanie atop her head, trying to rush both her and (Y/N) to the castle to save their frozen hearts.

Finally, to where he kissed her for the first time.

...

Kristoff breaks out of the daydream, and stares up at the sky in longing.

"Forever!!"

...

A small group of reindeer join in on his song in a straight line, their voices strong as they sing.

"Now I know you're my true North, cause I am lost in the woods!

The sun beams down on Kristoff, and allows him to grow more passionate as he sings out his heart.

"Up is down, day is night, when you're not there."

...

A silhouette in the distance makes him stop and stare as the image of Anna comes into view. He faces up the hill, tripping over his feet once or twice to get to her.

"Oh, you're my only landmark, so I'm lost in the woods!"

He slumps down in disappointment as it turns out to only be a stack of rocks piled on top of eachother.

...

The reindeer's from earlier join his side as they sing with him.

"Wondering if you still care.."

They all fade from his view as Kristoff stares forward with determination, his face set in stone as he slowly begins to pick up pace and run.

"But I'll wait.."

He sees Anna in the distance.

"For a sign.."

His voice echos in the forest as the sun begins illuminates his face, making him more determined to reach her.

"That I'm your path, cause you are mine!"

Kristoff feels the reindeer sing behind him, all encouraging him to reach her and tell her how he feels.

"Until then, I'm lost in the woods!"

He hops atop Sven and urges him to run faster, while the rest of the reindeer follow closely at his side.

Anna turns around and her face lights up as she sees him. Kristoff goes to embrace her tightly and cringes as the image of her disappears once again before he could even hold her.

"Im lost in the woods.."

...

The whole image dissolves, and Sven lays his head against his friends thigh with an apologetic groan.

Kristoff smiles slightly at the affection, and reaches down to pet his friends nose. The forest had gone quiet now as all the reindeer left, allowing the man to finally take a moment to himself.

——