At first , I wasn't sure whether I should post this or not. A couple people keep telling me it's really good, and that I should definitely post it, so I said, "Why not?". So here you go: A story about Jack's wind, formally known as North Wind, before he became North Wind. Review and tell me if I should keep going with this, please! :)

Chapter 1:

It had been a horrible morning. But that's no surprise seeing as most mornings in northern Alaska were pretty bad back then, but that morning had been the worst of my entire life.

It all started with her. I don't know her name, nor do I even know what she looked like. In fact, I know almost nothing about her, but I do know that she was my beginning. The beginning of my story, and the beginning of my life.

However, while she was the one who began the story, she is not the one my story will begin with. That honor goes to Aluki, the wife of an Inuit Chieftain. She had dark, chocolate brown hair, and eyes that one could swear were pitch black. Yet, while one would think such eyes would be cold and void of any emotion, they are probably the warmest, kindest eyes I have ever looked into.

Aluki's morning had started just as badly as mine. About two weeks before that day she had given birth to a small baby girl. It was her first child, and she had been so happy and full of pride. She named her beloved daughter Qannik, which is the Inuit word for snowflake. Aluki cared for Qannik deeply, like any mother would, and watched over her at all times. Her husband would often worry that she would become sick from all the work she did, just to make sure her week old babe was safe and happy.

But no matter how hard she tried and cared for Qannik, there was no way she could save her. A week after Qannik's birth, and already the babe was beginning to show signs of illness. Health back then wasn't like today. If you got sick, all you could do was use the few herbs that you could find and then hope to your Gods that you would get better. You had an even worse chance of survival at infancy. With a low immune system added to the already difficult ways of survival, it was highly doubted that you would survive through the night.

However, Qannik had showed promise. More so than other babes, whose mothers would weep every night of their sickness. Maybe it was because Aluki wasn't one to quit. The moment she learned that Qannik was in danger of death, she did everything in her power to keep her child alive. She never once left Qannik's side, and stayed up all night every night to make sure her daughter didn't pass away while she slept. Maybe it was because of this dedication that Qannik lasted as long as she did. But there was only so much that love and dedication could do.

One day less of two weeks after Qannik's birth. Aluki's husband, wrought with worry over his wife, finally convinced her to sleep. I don't know what would have happened if Aluki had stayed up that night. The other members of the tribe always said that it would have happened whether she had been awake or not, so she shouldn't feel regret about it. But she and I would sometimes wonder, what if? What if Aluki had stayed awake. Would she still have little Qannik, because surely she would never let her babe simply die in the night. She could have done something. Right? But in the end, those sort of thoughts are based on the ideals of miracles, and surely those don't exist. Right?

Then again, that morning was a miracle for me. I should have died. I would have... if it weren't for Qannik's death the night before.

Aluki woke up the next morning, and of course, the first thing she did was check up on her little Qannik. Sadly, instead of being met with the sweet gurgles of a sick babe, Aluki saw the deathly pale, still form of her only child. I don't know what Aluki felt at that moment, because she's never told anyone. But it must have been pretty horrible. She probably didn't believe it at first. I wouldn't have. I probably would have kept imagining the little girl was about to turn over in her sleep. That she was only pale because of how cold it was the night before. That her breaths were just very shallow and that, yes, there was slight movement on her tummy that proved that the child was breathing. But reality always hits people who think like that the hardest.

Tuuq, Aluki's husband and chieftain of the tribe, woke up to find his wife sitting on a blanket on the ground with the body of their dead daughter wrapped in her arms. She was rocking Qannik back and forth, as if soothing her to sleep. It had taken a moment for Tuuq to take in the frozen tear lines on his wife's face and the motionless body of Qannik. But a moment was all he needed. They mourned together, though Tuuq kept a brave pose for his wife and the tribe. The tribe mourned too, for the lost Inuit princess. However, it was also the morning the tribe was supposed to migrate North. The whales of this area had all gone South to give birth and raise young in warmer waters a few days before, while other non-migratory food sources were further North. The tribe had stayed as long as they could on behalf of sick Qannik, but their food supply was bound to run out sooner rather that later. It was time to go, whether Aluki wanted to or not.

Tuuq let Aluki rest, knowing the pains and sorrows she was going through, while he packed up. Their bear skin tent was taken down, and put on the sleigh with all of their other belongings. The domesticated wolves were all ready to go, barking with glee as they were harnessed to their sleighs.

Tuuq had hand picked every single dog in his pack to make sure he had the very best. He prided himself in having such a wonderful team. But his favorite dog had to be Kaskae, the pack leader. He was a very handsome dog, a brown and white coat with black markings here and there. His eyes were a bright gold color- a fierce color. He was the single bravest, smartest dog that Tuuq had ever met, and he treated Kaskae with the greatest respect an owner could ever give to their pet. The two might as well have been best friends with how close they were.

When Tuuq was done packing he called for his wife who quickly readied her own dog team and sleigh. Tuuq looked to the other tribe members, his family and friends. There were around forty members in their tribe, and they were all related to one another either by blood, marriage, or friendship. It was a very calm community. Sweet and based on traditions. There were about ten elders in the tribe, the eldest being the Shaman. They were the other leaders. While he was chief, it was they who made the really important decisions.

"Tuuq..." he heard the quiet voice of his wife call to him. She was ready to go. As was the rest of the tribe. All it took was one phrase, and they were off.

Aluki had been having a hard time. She still felt like she had to care for her child, even though her babe was hours gone. She would have swore that she still heard her baby's gurgling voice, if she didn't think it would make her look crazy. She was thankful that Tuuq was taking care of her. She doubted that she would have moved two inches from her daughter for the rest of eternity, if it hadn't been for him. Now they were on their way North and with each minute the dogs ran against the freezing wind and hard ice and snow, the further away from her daughter Aluki was. She was still a mess, tears escaping whenever they could and an awareness of a mother still looking for her lost babe.

And it's for this, that I am forever thankful.

Somehow, within the yips of dogs barking, their padded feet pounding the earth, and the wails of wind whisking past her ears, she heard it. A cry. My cry. She said no one else heard it. That when she told Tuuq, he told her that it was her imagination. That she was upset, and that she was looking for Qannik. But she knew she heard me. It had been quiet, carried by the wind only slightly. And it's only because she was listening for it, that she heard it.

While the others kept racing forward, she secretly fell to the back before racing off towards the direction she heard my cry come from. It took ten minutes before she heard me again. Louder; closer. It took only five minutes after that before she first saw me.

A single boulder surrounded and covered by snow. And next to it was a small fox skin blanket, wrapped in a bundled fold. She let her lead dog off its harness for protection before coming closer. The dog ran ahead of her to the bundle and began to sniff it. She looked to her master and barked once before lying down next to it. Aluki proceeded closer, half knowing what she would find, yet not wanting to believe it.

But finally, there it was. Two feet from where she stood, a small babe shivered in the cold. The fox skin wasn't the only thing the babe had though. It was covered in all kinds of furs. Bear, fox, hare, etc., etc. It had little gloves and a hat to help keep the cold out, but even with all these furs, the babe surely would have died within the next hour. I would have died within the next hour.

Aluki had found me, a babe abandoned, by a mother I'll never know, for some unknown reason. She said that it took her a minute to come to the realization that she had found an abandoned baby in a frozen forest the morning of her daughter's death. She still mourned for her daughter, of course, but she still wished to have a child to raise and hold.

Once she came back from her shocked state, a warm smile came to her. She bent down and picked me up. I was shivering horribly, so she pressed me close to her and rubbed my back to get the warmth back into my body. She said later that I clutched to her with my tiny hands and that I dug my face into her neck. I had been hiccuping, probably from crying, so she had soothed me to sleep by humming to me. She then called for her dog before heading back to her sleigh. She dug out a baby sling from the sleigh that had been made for Qannik, and instead, used it for me. In the sling I was pressed to her back, and I slept the entire ride back to the tribe.

Tuuq had been upset. One minute they were all on their way North, the next minute his mourning wife was no where to be seen. He had sent some men to go look for her while everyone waited. He was relieved when she finally came back into view. Then, as she came closer he had begun lecturing her, saying he had been worried and that she was never to do something like that ever again. However, he was cut off by the sharp cry of the babe on his wife's back.

When Aluki once again held me in her arms, Tuuq stared in shock. His shock was short lived though as all of the woman of the tribe suddenly swarmed Aluki. They began asking question after question, and she answered as best she could. When she told this story to me later on in my life, she made sure to thank me, because it was right about then that I started crying, which gave her an excuse to run away.

That night, when all the animal skin tents were set up for sleep, Aluki and Tuuq had a talk.

"Do you plan on keeping him?" Tuuq asked as his wife tucked me into my new makeshift bed. When she was done, she turned back to her husband, determination all over her face.

"Yes. I do. Is there a problem with that?" Tuuq sighed. His wife was stubborn, and very rarely liked talking about things if there was a chance that she might lose something.

"No, love. There's no problem. I just worry for you." he said calmly.

"What is there to worry about. He's just a babe." Aluki retorted.

"I know that, love. But..." he took a moment to quickly gather his thoughts. "Aluki. He won't replace Qannik."

"Of course not. Had Qannik... still been alive when I found him, I still would have taken him. Just because she's... gone, doesn't mean I want to replace her." Aluki turned back towards me and absently brushed my short hair out of my face. "He still needed me. And whether you like it or not, I need him. He won't ever replace Qannik, but that doesn't change the fact that right now, I'm a mother. And I'll do whatever I need to do, to make this child my son."

Tuuq sighed again. No one ever gave him simple answers anymore.

"Alright, Aluki. You can keep him, but on one condition." Aluki's face brightened up.

"What condition?" she asked.

"I get to name him." Her face fell, and she began to pout.

"Come now, Aluki. You named Qannik."

"So? I want to name him too. I found him." she pouted.

"Yes, but I'm letting you keep him." Tuuq retorted. With a sigh, Aluki gave a nod of permission. With a victorious grin, Tuuq walked up to his wife and, now, his adopted son. He looked at me for a moment before looking to his wife.

"How did you find him again?" he asked her. She thought a moment.

"The wind carried his cry, and I heard it. Vaguely." she replied. Tuuq smiled at that, remembering something his father had once told him.

"The North Wind is silent, which makes it an expert at carrying someone's voice to another person." he quoted. Aluki smiled, having heard this phrase before. It really wasn't a very "useful" phrase, but it was true. Tuuq smiled back at her, before looking at the sleeping babe. "Kannannaq, for North Wind." he decided.

"That's a long name dear." Aluki replied while smiling sweetly. She actually liked the name, even if it was long.

"Then we'll shorten it to Naq when he's not in trouble." Tuuq finished. Aluki's chuckle was not missed, and soon Tuuq was smiling along with her. They then ate their dinner with the tribe and retired to their beds.

Our morning had started horribly, with death and abandon, but that night was the most peaceful night I have ever experienced in my life. The Northern Lights danced with the stars, and the full moon watched over us as we slept. Using its light to chase away the darkness I had yet to learn to fear.

I don't know her name, and I have no idea what she looks like. However, she was my beginning. She was the one who left me near a snow covered boulder on a cold winter day. She was the mother that left her child's fate in the hands of the winter chill.

And it was the greatest choice she could have ever made.