Painting Candy

By Uniasus

A/N: Cross posting from A03 cuz people liked it. This is third in the In the Company of Others series, following The Big Three in the Life of Jack Frost and Getting Reacquainted with the Family. While you don't have to have read those to understand this, there are slight mentions of events of them.

This series is complete over on AO3, I'm there under the same username, and for those who are familiar with First There Were Fearlings..., the sequel is in progress over there too. ^_~

Bunny couldn't begrudge Jack's season bumping up against Easter this year. It was pretty early in the year. And because of that, the holiday required more prep time. When it's cold, frosty, and the trees just had buds the hiding spot for eggs was different from warm, green days.

He wasn't surprised to see Jack, but he was surprised at what he was doing. Namely, talking to the inside of a rotting tree trunk in the forests of Washington.

The frost spirit was crouched to look inside it, staff leaning against his shoulders. His hands were free, palms open in a placating gesture and Bunny realized Jack wasn't talking to the tree but rather someone inside of it. As he watched, Jack continued talking in a voice low enough Bunny couldn't hear and making 'come here' gestures. Whoever he was talking to was hesitant to respond if Jack's slumping shoulders were anything to go on.

Jack lightly tossed his staff to the side, out of sight from the trunk's hollow opening. The action alarmed Bunny. Jack may not fear what was in the hollow tree trunk, but Bunny knew from experience that didn't mean anything. And without his staff within reaching distance, anything could attack the youngest Guardian. Jack didn't even seem to have noticed Bunny's presence, and he was only a few yards away. There were other spirits better than Bunny at sneaking up on people and half of them weren't friendly. Hastily, he hopped forward.

It wasn't a quite hop, the Jack's presence had given the snow a frost crust and his hind legs fell through it with a crunch. Jack jumped into the air, zooming on the wind over to his staff, and then whipped it around to point it at Bunny.

Bunny was mildly impressed at Jack's reflexes, but he still shouldn't have tossed his staff aside to begin with. Jack, seeing it was only Bunny, relaxed his arms and lowered his weapon, only to tense up and pull it close to him. "Look, I'm not making it cold on purpose, but it's early March and Belenus-"

The older Guardian held up a paw to stop him. "I know Easter's just early this year."

Jack nodded, leaning against his staff and releasing a little huff. Honestly, Bunny might have jumped to conclusions in the past, but he liked to think in the few years Jack had been a Guardian that the younger spirit would have gotten past all of that. Jack helped with Easter once in awhile now, Bunny knew he wouldn't mess with them on purpose, and to know that Jack jumped to the conclusion that Bunny would blame him stung a bit. Especially since Bunny now knew Jack's powers were less than he had first thought, even with the power boost of being a Guardian. Frost, ice, and fun snowballs. With snow creation a recent thing and even then no where near blizzard levels. That was Old Man Winter's doing.

A growl from the tree caught Jack and Bunny's attention. "What's in there?"

Jack sighed. "A grizzly cub. He came out of hibernation early, before his mom, and figured his fur was thick enough to keep him warm. The Old Man found him and in his typical manner he had to prove that the cub was wrong."

Bunny hopped closer to the trunk and peered inside. All he saw was two pinprick eyes, but he trusted Jack on the fact the animal was a grizzly. "There are bars of ice blocking this trunk."

"Yeah, I wouldn't-" Bunny ignored Jack and reached out to touch them. He may not be Spring, just like Jack wasn't Winter, but he still had powers linked to the season. And the ice was so thin. He could probably melt them just with his body heat and then snap the bars.

Except, when he touched them the ice burned through his paws. With a yelp, Bunny pulled them away and looked mournfully at the clumps of fur left behind.

"Yeah, even I think they're too cold to touch."

"You're Jack Frost!"

"And Old Man Winter made them. He likes showing off. The century I spent with him he never stopped. Ice castles and Ethiopia and flying mammoths. The fact that he could last longer in warm temperatures, create colder fronts than me, and work with ice better were all things he liked to rub in my face."

Jack never talked much about his, well, mentor would be the correct word Bunny supposed. Even if Mother Nature had forced the apprenticeship. Despite being linked with Spring and it's elemental powers, he wasn't actually an elemental since he had been created by the Moon to be a Guardian first and foremost to protect and guard hope. It meant he'd never been forced by Mother Nature to interact with Belenus, Spring's embodiment.

A growl came from the trunk again and Jack moved over to look inside. Like all nature spirits, he understood animals. "Hold on, I'll get you out in a minute."

Jack reached into his pouch and pulled out, of all things, a few tubes of oil paint and a stiff brush.

"You paint?"

"Well, not like you. But the Old Man liked trapping me in ice when I pulled one too many pranks."

Bunny's ears went stiff at the statement. Trapped in ice that cold, cold enough where it even effected another winter spirit, could not have been pleasant.

Jack went on, twisting the caps off the paint tubes, not noticing Bunny's distress. "I used it as a way to practice magic, and Winter encouraged it. And since I couldn't physically touch the ice without leaving skin behind, I was forced to use a conduit."

"Like your staff." That actually made a lot of sense, Bunny supposed. He didn't know of any other spirit who used an object to channel magic. Maybe he'd have to talk to the others and see if they could wean Jack from having to use his staff.

"Yup, except since the Moon gave it to me, it's easy to use. He took it away. I had to use these instead." Jack twisted the tip of the paint brush in first one tube, then another. As Bunny watched, the frost spirit painted two of the ice bars. Despite the paint tubes being a navy blue and a burnt orange, the bars were covered in pastel colors.

Easter colors. Jack was manipulating the pigment of the paint with magic, something he knew wasn't an easy feat. It wasn't linked to any element, and thus required skill for anyone to use it. Bunny didn't even do that, despite how much painting he did to prepare for Easter. Using the pollen dye and dyed water in the Warren was easier. And even for those hand painted eggs, he used different tubes and brushes.

It was a pity Jack froze most of the eggs he touched. Bunny had a feeling his talents were wasted simply weaving baskets.

Jack was careful to paint every inch of the bars and then reached out a hand to snap one. He held out the bar to Bunny and while Bunny examined it cleaned his brush in the snow before recapping the paint tubes.

"Aren't you gonna eat it?"

"Eat it?"

Jack snapped the second painted bar and then stuck it in his mouth. He started sucking on it.

Bunny was a lot more cautious. The bar certainly didn't burn him anymore, in fact it didn't seem to be made of ice any more. Hesitant, he broke a small piece off in his mouth and started sucking on it.

Jack had turned Old Man Winter's ice bars into unicorn lollipops. Bunny raised an eye ridge at the other Guardian, but Jack didn't see it. He was scratching the grizzly cub's neck. The little guy had come to the edge of the trunk and was licking at the bit of candy that had been the ice connecting the bar to the wood.

Bunny had to admit he was impressed. Sure, he made better candy. Jack's had no strong flavor, and was giving him brain-freeze, but it was a result of magic. Bunny rarely used it to make his googies for Easter, it was mostly pure sugar, but here was Jack using magic to not only change the color of paint but to turn something painful into something edible.

Seriously, how had Jack managed to keep this talent hidden? This wasn't first century stuff. North, the Guardian's main magic man, wasn't much better and he had centuries on Jack. Bunny may have to reevaluate his opinion on North's magic. Sure, maybe Jack relied on a conduit more than any other spirit. But he also had more talent with magic than any other. Or just more experience depending on how often Old Man Winter had trapped him in ice.

Maybe he had missed out by not having Mother Nature give him to Belenus.

Bunny snapped the rest of the candy in two, half for his bandoleer to take to North and half for him to suck on.

Jack had picked up the grizzly cub, cradling him in his arms like a human child. Like every time he did something that hinted of adulthood and maturity, Bunny cringed inside. Jack was perpetually stuck at fourteen and never had the opportunity to reach his full potential as a man. At the very least, Bunny and the rest of the Guardians could see that he reached it on this side of life. North could teach him more about magic. And Bunny already knew Jack was learning life lessons interacting with Jamie and his friends. They were coming up to Jack's age quickly.

"I'm going to take him back to his cave." Jack said, the wind lifting him up to float a few inches off the ground.

Bunny nodded. The cub had already drifted off. Jack's cold was not as intense as Old Man Winter's. "When you're done, why don't you come down to the Warren and help?"

Jack nodded. "I'll let you know where I am so you can open a tunnel."

"See you in a bit, mate."

Jack gave a little wave and then rose above the tree tops. Bunny watched him fly off, and then tapped a tunnel to the Pole. He was already standing in snow, what was a bit more? North needed to see Jack's ice bar turned lollipop.