His Lake
The North Pole's night sky was littered with the glittering speckles of stars winking in and out of existence. The Guardians' eyes struggled to focus on them what with the full moon drawing such attention to its self. Toothiana, North, Bunnymund and Sandman each gazed up at the Man in the Moon's yellow glow waiting for him to declare the new addition of their very exclusive alliance.
Finally their 'boss' bestowed upon them the face of their new comrade.
He wore a deep hooded brown cloak with the material pushed back just far enough for his face to be seen. The features of a young boy on the threshold of manhood greeted their eager eyes with eyes an ice blue that cut through to their souls. His skin was pale with a bluish tinge as though cold and the few wisps of hair that fell free of the hood were the colour of snow. His blue lips were set in a stern line.
Two words were printed under the image: Jack Frost.
And none of them knew who he was.
-x-
It was only a week later that the 'Big Four' were facing down the Boogeyman. They had chased him across the skies and through forest, fighting their way through the swarms of nightmares to get at their master Pitch Black.
He rested on a cloud of his black nightmare sand above a frozen lake, his black lips pulled up in a twisted imitation of a smile as he held his arms out in greeting to the exhausted quartet.
Words were exchanged and the shadow man descended to the cold surface, his sand forming into crazed horse-like beasts that shrieked out at the fresh blood before them.
But before even a step could be taken Pitch suddenly froze and looked down. The Guardians did the same despite the chance of it being a distraction and gasped at the absurd spectacle.
-x-
The cloaked figure growled as two large feet came into contact with his icy haven. They were not those of some human come to have fun and skate on the frozen lake but rather another spirit intruding on his property.
Rising from his cushioned armchair, he gripped his staff in hands of blue tinted skin and swept from the alcove and through his ice labyrinth up to his surface chamber, a vast expanse of empty space covering the entire span of the lake just beneath the ten feet of ice that separated his home from the outside world.
Identifying the intruder's dark figure through his element Jack called to his constant companion the wind. A smooth breeze encircled his body and lifted him to his ceiling and with a dark gleam in his eyes the boy fazed his body through the frozen water and upward till he reached the fresh outdoor air and wrapped his deceivingly thin fingers in a dead ice cold grip around the trespasser's ankles.
He took a moment to enjoy the jolt his actions caused the man, because no woman's would have feet so large, before beginning the slow and painful process of freezing the man alive. He started from the souls of the man's feet and worked his way up from there knowing that every second he prolonged the procedure was a second more spent in inconceivable pain.
He could hear the muffled screams of the man from above but only when his ice had passed the knees did he feel he had left enough of an impression to ensure there would be no swift return to his lake.
Slipping his hands from the ankles he surveyed the shadows he could see above his lake and frowned at four impressions he could make out on the shores.
-x-
Tooth made as though to help Pitch from the grim fate befalling him but Bunnymund held her back not liking the way the ice commanding hands' colour seemed to blend with that of the frozen waters around it. It was almost as though the arms were a part of the ice itself.
It was with a frown that he also realised that it was spring in these regions and not the weather for any body of water to be frozen let alone a lake of this size.
The Pooka watched uneasily as the ice crept slowly up Pitch's legs drawing out screams from the Nightmare King and let out a sigh of relief when the arms eventually retracted and sunk back into the icy depths.
His relief was short lived as moments later a cloaked figure floated easily through the ice to stand on iced surface with feet bare not five feet away from him and the rest of The Guardians on the shore.
Ice blue eyes glinted at them from a snowy complexion and a wicked grin curled blue frost bitten lips.
"Let this be a warning to all. This is my lake. Trespassers will be dealt with... as I see fit."
And with those foreboding words of warning the boy sank back into his domain.
'...Jack Frost...' The Man in the Moon's eerie voice echoed within the Guardians' minds.
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