Snow fell softly over the town of Burgess, Michigan. No noise broke the calm except the occasional hooting of a night owl. The unusually bright full moon gazed upon all in peace. Suddenly, BOOM, the night sky shook! The jangle of bells, the cheerful 'whoop' of a young boy and hearty laughter shattered the silent night! Jack Frost flew ahead of North's sleigh, turning tricks and flinging snow flurries in every direction. Tonight was Christmas Eve, and as had been agreed so many months ago after his becoming a Guardian, Jack was helping North on his rounds tonight, keeping the weather clear and appropriately frosty.
"Jack, take the reins!" cried North, tossing the reins of his sleigh in Jack's direction. Jack caught them, pulling the reindeer back into a slow, low-flying glide over the rooftops as North leapt from sleigh-to-chimney and back again in an instant, delivering his special gifts to all the good children of the town—all of them, in fact. Every now and then Jack would smile when he saw a sign in a child's window sending Season's Greetings and addressed specifically to North and himself (one, the window of young Sophie Bennett, also sent her love to E. Aster Bunnymund). Over each of these—the windows of children who had been a part of their great battle with the Nightmare King some months ago—Jack made sure to cover with his favorite feathery frost. When he was done with his rounds tonight with North, he would also make sure their dreams of a winter wonderland in the morning came true.
Finally, North emerged from the very last house in town.
"Jack, my boy," he said with a sigh as he resumed his seat, "I think we've done it." Jack smiled excitedly.
"You mean we're done?" he asked. North stroked his beard as if in thought, murmuring to himself, gazing up at the moon in mock indecision. Then, smiling, he turned to Jack and nodded. However small a gesture he tried to make it, Jack recognized it as a definite 'yes.'
"Yeah!" he yelled as he leapt off the sleigh and into the wind, ready to whip up a white Christmas like none ever seen before!
"Haha! Go, Jack! Have fun, and Merry Christmas!" yelled North as he flew off, disappearing as quickly as he came through his snow globe portal. Jack laughed and got to work. Using every ounce of lift he could get from the wind he flew far over the town. Flipping and spinning he formed cloud after cloud of snow, and when finally ready, let them loose! Dropping down ahead of the coming snowstorm, alighting on trees, power lines and everything else, Jack covered the town in glistening white. Pipes froze (but not too hard), and the town's several hills were sufficiently snow-laden for hours of sledding and snowball fights tomorrow. Then flying low over a certain neighborhood, he left intricate snowflake drawings all over the windows of the children who believed in him—his own special Christmas greeting. When satisfied with his handiwork, he once more flew up over the town.
"Take me home!" he called out to the wind, which immediately whisked him away and over the woods to his favorite frozen pond. He smiled up at the moon as he flew over the snowy woods.
"Thanks again," he said to the Man in the Moon, "for helping me find my center." The gentle night breeze felt good against his skin, and he rolled over to watch the tress whizz by beneath him. Suddenly, a glimpse of something very black against the white of the snow drew his attention. Curious, he drifted downwards to land on a tree branch. He could hear the thing's clumsy, uneven steps in the snow. Was it an injured deer perhaps? He dropped to the ground to investigate, and as the thing came nearer he could also hear ragged, gasping breaths—not those of a deer. Now very concerned, he started towards the thing, but when he finally saw what it was he froze, and Jack Frost's blood turned ice cold.