My name is Fenri. How do I know? Because my father told me so. His name is Pitch. Pitch Black. Everyone I know is scared of him. And as far as I know, everyone is scared of me, too.

Why are people scared? Because my dad is evil. And me? I'm just as bad. We revel in the dark, create nightmares, and seek to destroy the Guardians. They've always gotten in the way of my father, but I'm his secret weapon. Nobody knows I exist.

There was a knock on my door.

"Yes, Daddy?"

"Good evening, my little Nightlock. How are you feeling today?"

"I'm still a little sleepy," I said, yawning and rubbing my left eye.

"Do you feel like you're a year older?"

"No. But it's still my birthday, isn't it?"

"Yes. You're still five today."

"Yay!"

"Now get dressed or you'll miss the special birthday party Daddy is throwing you."

I got out of bed and ran to my closet. I changed out of my pajamas into black knee sport socks, a pair of comfy black basketball shorts with tattered bottoms, a dark grey t-shirt, and a forest green hoodie with a half zip.

I opened my eyes to find I'd fallen asleep in my clothes again. An identical outfit as in my dream, but in my current size.

"Wake up, my little Nightlock. The moon is rising."

"Yes, Daddy."

I was trapped in a sixteen year old's body. But I'd really been born several hundred years ago. About three centuries, to be exact.

I opened my door to find my father waiting by the wall, his hands behind his back.

"What?"

He frowned. "Did you really forget? It's your birthday, my little Nightlock."

"Is it? All the days have been blurring together."

"I got you a present."

"What is it?"

He brought one hand out from behind his back. A little bat necklace was in his palm.

"Aww, it's so cute!"

I turned around and he tied the leather cord behind my neck.

"Why do you still have a hand behind you back?"

He brought out his other hand, which held a pair of nunchuks.

"What are these for?"

"Your weapon. It will help you use your powers."

"But how will I figure out how to use them?"

"It'll be natural."

"If you say so," I said, taking the nunchuks and threading them through my belt loop. The weight of them was comforting.

"Now, I made you chocolate chip waffles with whipped cream and caramel syrup on top."

"Woohoo!"

I ran past my father to the kitchen. I gobbled down the delicious waffles, which filled me up perfectly.

"Daddy, why can't I ever go outside? I've been stuck here ever since I can remember, and I can remember things from when I was five!"

"Can you?"

"I remember my fifth birthday."

"Can you remember anything else from that time?"

"Well…"

"It would seem Toothiana wants you to turn to their side. Unfortunately, some happy memories aren't going to be enough, are they, little Nightlock?"

"Of course not Daddy."

"That's my girl. Now, run along. I have some work to take care of."

I slipped into a shadow, reemerging in the courtyard. There was no roof, only walls around me, but they were two stories high, far taller than I could jump. It was relatively empty, except for my training equipment.

I practiced for a couple hours. But, while I was flipping over a hurdle, I noticed a tree above, a little ways from the edge of the opening.

"I wonder…" I murmured to myself.

I entered a shadow and reappeared in the tree's dark limbs. I dropped out, feeling the freedom of leaving home for the first time that I could remember.

"Wow…"

The moon looked particularly beautiful up here, though I didn't know why.

I giggled and ran across the grassy slope. In the distance, snuggled in some trees, I could see lights. I ran faster, towards the lights.

I ran under the first tree and rolled, into and out of a shadow, appearing at the edge of the forest where I'd seen the lights. There were buildings around me, and a few people walked around. Real people.

"Hi…" I said shyly to a little girl walking towards me.

She walked right through me.

"Oh."

I wandered around the little town, hands shoved in my hoodie pocket. I'd heard so much about them from my father. Nobody saw me, or heard my footsteps, or noticed me. I was invisible to them.

"Hey," someone said.

I whirled around, but I didn't see anybody. Was it a human?

"Up here," the same voice called.

I looked to the sky, but there was nothing.

"You're kind of dumb, aren't you? Look on top of the building next to you."

I looked at the building to my left, following it to the roof with my eyes. There, I saw a boy.

"You can see me? And hear me?"

"Yeah. I'm a Guardian. My name is Jack Frost. Who are you?"

"Fenri."

"Aww, come on. You can't tell me your whole name?"

"If I did, this conversation would be over, and one of us would be dead."

The boy looked at me curiously.

"You're pretty strange. But you're smarter than you seemed at first, I guess. At least, that look in your eye seems smart."

"I've never been outside my home before."

"Really? In that case, let me show you around. This is my hometown, after all. Welcome to Burgess."

Jack floated down from the roof and landed next to me. I could see him a lot better now. He had white spiky hair, sparkly blue eyes, and pale skin. he had a nice smile though.

Wait. He said he was a Guardian. What should I do?

As Jack led the way around, pointing out things here and there, and rambling on about humans, I remained silent.

"Hey, are you okay? You've barely said anything."

Jack's concern startled me.

"Um, yeah."

"You sure?" he said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" I said, jerking away.

The blackness faded away from his skin. He stared at his hand in confusion.

"Wha...what are you?"

"Just don't touch me…"

That was stupid. If I'd let him just leave his hand there, I could've killed him. But I didn't. What's wrong with me?

"What would happen...if you touched a human?"

"They would die instantly. My father is the only one who can touch me, but that's because he created me, I suspect. Never having been outside my home, I don't know if anyone else in the world can touch me or not. Obviously, Guardians can't."

"What about your mother?"

"I never knew her."

I smacked a hand to my mouth. Why was I saying such things? Why was I talking to this boy at all?

"I'm sorry. So, you were born this way? To have a curse on your touch?"

"Yes. It's probably why my mother is dead."

"You know she's dead? She didn't just leave?"

"My father told me she is dead."

"Who's your father."

"If I told you, you wouldn't talk to me anymore. We'd probably end up fighting."

"Right. So, your family is an enemy of the Guardians, is that what you're saying?"

"Yes."

"Then why did you warn me about touching you?"

"I don't know."

Jack looked at me curiously again. I doubted he could see much of my face right now, with my hood up and pulled down low, but he smiled again.

"You're not like your family."

"In that, you are wrong."

"Am I?"

I didn't reply.

"Let me see your face."

"No."

"Come, please?"

"No."

He silent for a while.

"Alright, come on."

"Where are we going?"

"To the North Pole. The moon brought you here for a reason. And there must be a reason we need a new Guardian. Pitch is dead, so I don't know what threat there could be, but still."

"I'm not a Guardian."

"You're not?"

"No. I am an enemy of the Guardians. I told you that."

"What are you, to humans?"

"The first physical form of the Grim Reaper. I'm Death itself, Jack."

"How have you never left your house and carried out your job as a mythical being?"

I pushed up my sleeve ad showed him a charm bracelet. It looked mostly normal, except for one small, glowing, orb shaped charm in the center.

"This let's me see what I need to see. Then, I just touch the orb, and the spirit comes to me."

Jack grabbed my arm to look closer at the bracelet, but I yanked my arm away and backed a couple of steps from him. His hand returned to it's normal pale color.

"No touch, remember?"

"Sorry. Could I see it?"

"You have to give it back."

"I will. I'm no thief."

I took it off and dropped it in his palm. He studied it. He handed it back.

"You're surprisingly warm."

"Huh?"

"People say that Death is cold, but your skin is actually very warm."

"Oh. I guess."

"Why do you seem so cold in your personality though?"

"Now what are you talking about?" I asked, exasperated. He was so confusing.

"Ah, so you do have emotions."

I smirked from under my hood as I rolled my sleeve down again, my bracelet secured snugly on my wrist.

"So, always stuck at home, huh? What do you do for fun?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've never had fun?"

"I don't know. What is fun?"

"Like, being happy because of something you're doing. That activity is fun."

"I guess there was a time when I knew how to have fun, but that left me by the time I was ten."

"No way. You don't know how to have fun?"

"Being Death takes a toll. Seeing so many people die… I doubt you would be very fun or happy either."

"I guess not, huh?"

He was quiet for only a moment.

"Looks like it's your lucky day. Grab a hold of my staff."

I looked at the wooden pole that he was carrying around with him.

Slowly, I reached a hand towards it. Ice shot out, and shadows burst from my hand as a self-defense. Shadows always obeyed my command. They were always there for my comfort.

Neither the ice nor the shadows won, but rather the two morphed together, creating ia sculpture like thing. The ice caught the light, reflecting back dark shadows.

"I've only ever seen my ice and another mythical's powers combine like this once. When I was fighting Pitch Black."

I stiffened under my hood.

"You're related to him, aren't you? That's why you an enemy of the Guardians."

"He's...my father."

Jack's shock and scrambling away from me confirmed my theory. He would never speak to me again, even if we didn't fight.

"No wonder you seem so cold, having him for a father… And it makes sense how you could've ended up being the body for Death, too."

"I'm not the body for Death. I am Death. I'm the Grim Reaper now. The essence that used to be in the universe is now in me. I am all there is."

"Were you there, when I died?"

"When did you die?"

"About three hundred years ago. That's how I became who I am."

"I was just a baby. The shadows took care of everything at the time. It wasn't until I was sixteen that I took over the rolls myself, using the shadows when I need some extra hands."

"The shadows?"

I gestured at the sculpture.

"So you don't use black sand and dark energy like your father did?"

"No. Only the shadows."

"What kinds of things can you do with them?"

"They can help me collect souls. I can fight with them, as you can see. They serve as a defense, too. They protect me without my command. I can do a lot of other things, too."

"Show me."

I walked over to the shadow a building nearby cast.

"Watch closely."

I walked into the shadow, and reappeared on the roof in the shade of a tree.

"It's like you just melted into it."

"Yup. And I can travel anywhere like that."

"Think you can keep up with the wind?"

"Easily."

"Then follow me, since you can't touch me or my staff."

The wind carried him into the night. I jumped shadow to shadow, following his form. He was kind of difficult to see because of his blue hoodie and brown pants.

He landed next to a pond. I came out of the shadow of a tree and stood next to him.

"This is where I died. I saved my sister."

"You're easy to talk to," I blurted randomly.

"Am I? Then why are you so quiet?"

"I'm not very good at talking. Or at...other creatures."

"You're just not very social, huh? Well, now were going to have some fun. I'm the Guardian of fun, after all. It's what I do best."

"I'm not a human child."

"No. But we're both young for myths. So, come on."

He stepped onto the water, and it froze beneath him. He ran around the whole edge, and it all froze over.

I stepped cautiously onto the ice. It made the bottoms of my socks wet. I slipped.

"Careful," Jack said as he caught me from behind.

I jumped forwards, pushing away from him. I looked back, seeing him stumble. His face was pained, and I could just imagine his skin under his hoodie as it fought to be normal again.

I used my shadows to catch him and lay him on the ice gently.

"I'm sorry…"

He regained his breath, and managed a painful smile.

"My bad."

"I should go. I should go home. I shouldn't be talking to you in the first place, but I don't want to keep hurting you. You're my first…"

"Friend?" he asked.

"Yeah…"

"Can I see you tomorrow?"

"I doubt it. I might not ever leave home again."

"Please? You're the only mythical I know that's around my age."

"Alright. I'll meet you in Burgess again. It might not be for a couple of nights though."

"Do you have to sleep during the day?"

"Sometimes for a couple of hours, but mostly I just do my job from my room. I only leave my room at night."

"Huh. Oh, by the way, how old are you?"

"I don't know exactly. But I'm trapped in the body of a sixteen year old, the same age I was when I took on the rolls of being Death. So we'll just say I'm sixteen."

"I'm seventeen, then. And what was the occasion for you finally leaving home tonight?'

"It's my birthday. I wanted something different, so I left."

"Happy Birthday."

"Thanks."

On that somewhat awkward note, I slipped into a shadow and returned home, straight into my bedroom. I set about to my work. My father came in to check on me once. He had no idea I'd left.