Hey Everyone!

This is what I've been doing instead of finishing the next chapter of Just a Crush. I've actually got three chapters done on this fic, and I plan to finish it while I work on Just a Crush.

North was currently having a horrible month.

It was three weeks after Christmas, and he still couldn't relax at all. One of the elves had staged an attempted rebellion, and although it didn't gain many members, the elf had managed to sabotage North's sleigh beyond repair. Then, soon after, a large section of the workshop caught on fire, and repairs were still being made to the damaged section.

And then came the day Tooth flew in, closely followed by Sandy, supporting Jack with a cloud of dreamsand. North had at first thought that Jack had been injured, because Jack normally preferred flying on his own. But it soon became evident that Jack was not injured in any way. The actual reason was much worse.

"Jack, Tooth, Sandy! What brings you three here?" North asked

Jack looked paler than usual, if that was even possible. Tooth, who was clearly out of breath, answered North's question.

"Jack lost his staff!" she whimpered, doubling over from lack of oxygen. Jack snapped out of his lost state just in time to catch Tooth before she sank to the ground.

This surprised North. Jack never let that thing out of his sight, and almost never put it down. One might think that his staff was an extension of his arm.

Jack spoke "I-I was out in the woods near Jamie's school with Tooth, and I put it d-down for a moment, and then Tooth and I went off-" he and Tooth looked at each other and turned away, flushed. "I-we went off to do stuff, and when we came back, it was gone!"

Jack sat himself down on the floor, and looked off into the distance, obviously lost on what to do. His cocky, self-center exterior had been shattered, and without his staff, he had no idea what to do.

"The staff was just a conduit for his power to flow through. Can't he just get another one?" North asked.

Tooth shook her head "We tried to use a different stick, but he just couldn't use it the way he used his staff. We've developed a sort-of theory about what happened. We think that the staff was much too part of Jack in a way, and because he was holding it when he died, it is the only thing his power can flow through. But if it is taken away from him, he can't use his power at all. But, it still has access to Jack himself, so whoever has the staff now, can use it..." Tooth trailed off. She didn't need to say more.

Everyone let that thought sink in for a moment.

"Could Pitch have it?" Jack asked.

North shook his head "Pitch is gone, boy. You saw to that. But it could be, perhaps, someone else..." he shook his head at his own statement. "But that is very unlikely compared to the suggestion that you may have dropped it. Did you look around the area ?"

Jack and Tooth nodded "And when we flagged down Sandy, he did a fly-over. Wherever it may be, it's not in the woods anymore." Tooth explained.

"I'm calling Bunny here," North said, as if it was the most natural thing to do "and then we'll figure out our next move."

"Why don't we just take the sleigh and pick him up at the Warren?" Jack asked.

"The sleigh is... pretty much dead. Elf problem. It's being fixed, but it'll take a while before it's ready to get back in the air. We'll just have to sit tight until then." North sighed. "I'm sorry, Jack. But there's nothing we can do at the moment."

Jack was visibly crushed. His whole purpose of being a guardian was being threatened by someone or something. And all he could do was sit tight and watch the Yetis reconstruct a high-tech sleigh using vague blueprints.

But what else could North do to help him other then offer him hot chocolate and a place to sit and watch?

* * *

Bunny arrived soon. He listened to Jack's story. He sipped his hot chocolate. He thought for a moment. And then he spoke.

"Well, you're in a bit of a rut, aren't ya, Snowflake?"

Jack grinned, despite himself. He and Bunny didn't get along eighty percent of the time, but they still could count each other as comrades.

"You could say that, I guess."

"Well, then we're gonna have to do something about that, eh?" Bunny turned to North "how long until you're sleigh is up and running?"

North shrugged "About a week, give or take."

"That'll have to do, I guess. Are we staying here until that happens?"

"You can if you want. I have no problem with it, but you're free to do whatever you'd like." North turned to Sandy, Jack, and Tooth. "The same goes for you three, if you want to." No one objected. North pulled aside a few Yetis to show the guests to their rooms.
Everyone started following their assigned Yeti out of the large room. North went to oversee the construction of the sleigh. Jack waited a moment for the guardians to become out of earshot, and then pulled Tooth aside before she flew out the door.

"Hey, meet me at the main balcony after dinner tonight, okay?" He whispered in her ear quickly.

Tooth flushed pink "Okay." she whispered back, and then flew off to catch up to her yeti.

Jack stared off in her direction for a moment, and then followed his yeti, too.

Well, If it wasn't overwhelmingly apparent, there is some Frostbite in here :) I hope you enjoy. Please review!