Chapter 1: Ruffled Feathers
Hello! I'd admittedly never seen the movie Rise of the Guardians before a couple days ago, and after watching it I loved how much potential there was to write about the universe. I dunno how many people read for this, but I'm gonna write it anyway. I've got an outline hot off the press and I'm gonna put out these chapters at a (hopefully) decent pace.
If you enjoy what I'm putting out, PLEASE drop a review and tell me so. If you have any ideas, questions, advice, etc PM me or say so in the reviews. I SWEAR I read every single one. This chapter was a pretty long one, but I'm mostly happy with it so I think I'll strive to stay at this length. Love all you guys! I'm writing chapter 2 as soon as I make myself lunch and run some errands.
So without further ado, I give you... Err... I'll figure out what to name this you just get reading! :)
Toothiana was often recognized by her slim-yet-strong frame, sharp features, and sunny disposition, even for a fairy. Like all fairies she was covered in a thin layer of feathers that filtered through a vibrant spectrum of blue, green, and yellow. The only variation to this were the fanned golden feathers that hid her small pointed ears, and the singular golden plume that pointed skyward from her forehead. Tooth was what her people would refer to as a Sister of Flight, but that was just her name. Beyond that she was something far more important; Toothiana was, quite obviously, the Tooth Fairy.
"Sector 13, Hebei Province, 24 incisors, 21 molars, 17 canines, 14 premolars!" Sunlight dappled through the high windows of the Toothiana's hidden palace. Any other fairy might take a moment to feel the sun's warmth dance along her feathers, but not Tooth. In this place, Toothiana was Queen, and she took that job extremely seriously.
"Sector 2, Vietnam, 27 Incisors, 30 molars, 16 premolars, 18 canines!" The colorful Tooth Fairy Queen darted back and forth between the primary sorting pillar where the bulk of teeth went, and the registration pillar where new children who just lost their first tooth are assigned a tooth capsule. The atmosphere was humming with the usual bustle of never ending activity, her legions of miniature fairies coming and going constantly as business came down from it's peak for the day.
"Sector 7, Taiwan, 18 incisors, 19 molars, 15 canines, 11 premolars!" Vibrant colors danced stunningly throughout the curving pillars and rounded tiers of her high palace, but she was blind to it all, desperately trying to focus on her work. Toothiana was glad to be back to business as usual now that the Pitch incident was over, but truthfully, no matter how hard she tried, the routine just wouldn't settle back in. Nearly a month had passed, and everything had been cleared up for weeks now, but it still felt like just yesterday they were fighting for their lives. More like Jack was fighting for all of our lives.
She kept reciting the counts of teeth aloud as she worked, her sixth sense buzzing off in the back of her mind letting, her know whenever a new child lost a tooth. It wasn't necessary to rattle them off constantly, and the Fairy Queen knew it. Her fairies were after all, inextricably mentally connected to her, and that meant they could feel whenever a child lost a tooth as well. It was an old habit really, and one that she found soothing. A means of helping her focus and a relic of two hundred years in the field when she would spend long hours alone talking to herself.
Jack enjoyed teasing her about the habit from time to time, but she knew it was just him poking his usual fun. Perhaps that was why she couldn't settle back in, she was the utterly unable to get used to Jack being a new Guardian. Six hundred years of hard labor, and never had Toothiana been focused on anything but her work, until Jack had starting slipping into her mind...
Quite uncharacteristically, Tooth fell into silence as she continued to flit back and forth at dizzying speeds doing her work.
She had heard of Jack Frost before of course. A powerful embodiment of the forces of winter doesn't go unnoticed by magical creatures. Especially one that was described as being so dreamy, funny, and carefree. And his TEETH! Tooth refrained from thinking about it, afraid of getting herself worked up.
However, no one had ever really enjoyed his company. From what she had heard, he was a notorious troublemaker who brought a whirlwind of mischief and chaos wherever he went. And while this wasn't necessarily untrue, now that she had met him Tooth knew that there was much more to Jack than this unfair judgement.
To think he spent three hundred years totally and completely alone… At least she had her fairies to keep her company as she worked. A pang of guilt smoldered in her chest, though she had no reason to feel guilty.
Although he was the biggest cause, Jack wasn't the only problem keeping Tooth from settling back in. Since the winter spirit had joined, something had changed between the Guardians. His 'fun' seemed to be contagious. Before Pitch's uprising, it had been over half a century since any of them had left their jobs long enough to even say hi to one another. Tooth had been utterly consumed by her work, and liked it that way. Jack would never allow that now… In spite of herself, a ghost of a smile drifted across the sharp features of the fairy's face.
After Pitch had risen and she had met Jack, Tooth had come to realize how much she missed her friends. She certainly didn't want to go another five decades without seeing them. They were her family. A memory of Jack's half-smile floated through her thoughts. Okay... Well maybe not 'family'... Tooth thought to herself. Oh shut up, you talk too fast and are a workaholic. Even worse, you look like a bird! Jack would never even consider...
The fairy Queen realized she had been hovering stationary for the past few minutes and that some of the other fairies were starting to stare. Blushing, she quickly went back to work minting a new tooth capsule.
Regardless, Toothiana certainly hoped that she'd be seeing her friends soon, and couldn't help but wonder what Jack was up to. This past month somehow felt longer than the past five decades, and she sorely missed them all, especially Jack. He had been dwelling in the Queen's mind ever since she'd finally gotten to meet him.
Behind Tooth, a familiar buzzing became distinct over the resounding chittering hum of the palace. As if the Man in the Moon had been listening to her thoughts, Baby Tooth zipped up to her as she was triple checking her list for the second time. The mini-fairy's voice whispered clearly in her head, sounding like the tinkling of tiny wind chimes. 'Your Highness, North has called the Guardians for a meeting now that everything is settled from the Pitch Black incident. He feels we must explain what being a Guardian entails to Jack.'
A grin broke out of Tooth face and couldn't resist the urge to quickly do a flip to set her blood pumping. No more time for daydreams, it was time to go. For a moment the Tooth Fairy glanced about her shimmering palace. Normally she wouldn't dream of being so anxious to be out of here, then again, she hadn't felt normal for a while now. "Sounds wonderful! Let's get to it then!"
Baby Tooth could not contain her excitement to see Jack either, and a wide smile took over most of her face as she zipped after the leaving Toothiana with a chittering laugh. A trio of fairies on break spotted the pair and could only guess their reasons for leaving the palace. Giggling excitedly at a chance to see THE Jack Frost, they raced along as well.
The tinkling voices of the fairies sounded off behind her as they zipped up alongside her. 'You're going to see Jack right?!' 'I can't believe our luck! What a time for our break!' 'Oh I wanna feel his hair!'
Landscape blurred past below the flock of Tooth Fairies in a pastel of greens and blues, with the occasional glint of yellow sunshine in an inlet or lake. The display looked a bit like the fairies' own colors, and when they passed over the icecaps of the Alps, the greys and whites mixed in with the greens and blues.
Toothiana felt as if she could inhale the bright blue sky, and she wondered once again why she had ever stopped going out into the field. Many a fairy would consider Tooth the bookish sort, and to be fair they were right. However, nothing felt more natural or calming to her than drifting through the open sky and feeling the cool fresh air caress her feathers. A cool wind whispered over Tooth's feathers as they flitted over the Arctic ocean and quickly honed in on North's workshop.
His usual skylight was open as always, and the flock dropped through the opening and settled down in the center of the globe room. North and Sand were greeting Bunnymund, who by the looks of it had arrived moments before. The big man turned about at the sound of chittering wings and spread his arms in greeting.
"Ah! And here is being the lovely lady! Now we waiting only for Jack." Tooth shot him a friendly smile and gave a quick hug. Her small fairy frame barely managed to wrap halfway around the northerner's bulk, but it would have to do. North merely smiled, unable to hug her back due to her fluttering wings.
"Good to see you all again! I can't believe how much I missed you guys." She had barely finished replying when a soft wind snaked through the feathers of her back and sent and not-so-unpleasant chill down her spine. The flock of fairies turned as one to see Jack, staff in hand, shoeless as always, with his usual smirk on that perfect face. Tooth smiled dreamily while her fairies either squealed in excitement or batted their eyelashes. Baby Tooth wasted no time in zipping over and nestling in the crook of Jack's neck. The three others followed and settled along his shoulders and atop his head.
Jack couldn't help but grin even more wickedly than before, though he made sure not to move too abruptly and dislodge any of the fairies. "Uh, hey everyone."
"H-hey Jack." Toothiana was yanked out of her stupor by the embarrassment of how obviously her fairies displayed their feelings. "Get it together girls!" She scolded while quickly pulling herself together as well.
From across the room Bunnymund shouted. "Oi! There's the troublemaker now. I guess that means we can get this show on the road." North nodded before responding in his usual booming voice. "Yes! If everyone will be follow me to the party room, we start the road show."
The towering cossack led their group into the party room. There was a thick wooden table positioned adjacent a roaring hearth surrounded by six squat chairs that look sturdy enough to hold a yeti. Toothiana sat next to Jack, who leaned his staff against his chair and sat down while still covered in fairies. Once they were settled, North took charge of the meeting.
"Now Jack, it has been month since you are to be being a full guardian now yes?" Jack quickly nodded, already looking bored with the formality of this meeting. "Well, we never got to explain exactly what this is meaning. You are already knowing the dangers of children not believing in you, yes?"
The winter spirit nodded again, he could remember only too well. Images of Toothiana's palace crumbling to dust, her feathers being torn from her body, and her wings being too brittle and cracked to carry her played over in his mind. "Yeah… Yeah that part seemed pretty important."
Bunnymund picked up where North left off. "Aye, an' right now you've only got a handful of true believers mate. Sandy's put you in their dreams so they 'ave an inkling of what you are, but until they truly believe mate, your googie's shell's a bit thin."
"So what do I do? I spent three hundred years trying to get them to see me, you think I don't know it isn't just that easy?" Jack's tone got a bit defensive and Tooth felt a pang of sympathy. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder and spoke up before Bunnymund could continue.
"But it is that easy now Jack. You've already got one kid who believes, that's the hardest part. Sandy has made the rest ready to believe in you, just do to them what you did to Jamie." She maintained her calm veneer and gave the boy an encouraging smile. He smiled back and her insides melted a little bit. "Thanks Tooth, I guess you're right. Spring is in full swing now though, I won't have very much room to move around for a while."
It was true, during the Spring and Summer much of the globe got too warm for Jack to hang about. In the past during the Summer he had retreated to the mountains, or the places far enough north or south to have the occasional summer blizzard. This half of the year was a very slow time for Jack.
"It's the off season for us, mate. Tooth an' Sand got year round work, but I'm just helping the flowers grow an' you an' North are in between your work."
"So what does that mean? I just... Sit around like before and herd the occasional snowstorm?" Tooth had been counting off new teeth in her head to avoid thinking too much about Jack, but the tone of his voice made her look up from the swirling wood grain of the table.
There was sadness... Despair. He had clearly been hoping that becoming a Guardian would mean that things would be different. He had been totally alone for three hundred years, and now that he finally had some friends, it was time to go back to being alone. A cool wind plucked at her feathers as Jack tried to contain his disappointment.
Silence lingered about the table and Baby Tooth snuggled up to Jack's neck. Sadness and sympathy flooded outward from Tooth's heart as she gazed concernedly at the man next to her. In the hearth on the opposite side of the table a fire crackled and hissed as if it were mocking him.
North pressed onward. "Once it is to be Fall for the Northern Hemisphere, you and I will get to work on making the children believe. Christmas and Winter go hand in hand, no?" The jolly Eurasian bellowed a great booming laugh, but Tooth kept looking at Jack.
That soft white hair... Those shocking blue eyes... The pale smooth skin... Being away from the palace meant Tooth's mind was free to wander, and as he eyes explored Jack's sharp, pale features her mind did just that.
From here, you might not even believe his skin is as soft as it looks... The small form of Baby Tooth snuggled even closer to his neck, using his hood as a blanket along with several of her sister fairies. The Queen felt a smolder of envy take root in her chest. Why do they get to be so open and obvious, while I have to play the professional? The mini-fairies were connected to Tooth on a subliminal level, giving them her sixth sense for teeth as well as causing a level of emotional empathy with the Queen. Essentially this meant that whatever emotions Toothiana felt, her fairies were likely to feel it as well. In this case, it was her crush on Jack. However, subtlety was a bit beyond them, so they often ended up embarrassing Tooth to no end.
For a moment Toothiana's mind sunk deep into a fantasy. She imagined Jack and her laughing and darting between trees and hills. Settling down on a vast blanket of white. The snow felt soft beneath her, but cool like a breeze or Jack's skin rather than cold. She was a lone point of color in an endless plain of beautiful flawless white. Laying down next to him, her hands roaming over the skin under his hoodie. His cool hands sliding over her feathers like the whisper of a winter breeze. With a sigh she shook her head and wiped the star-struck look from her face.
Oh cut it out. You're so bad. He's... Him. And you're just... Just you. He'd never be into a ball of feathers. You're just a fluffy colorful busybody with an annoying voice. Besides you're barely four and a half feet tall. Her brow furrowed as she grew angry with herself for the umpteenth time over her infatuation with Jack.
Why can't things be like when we were fighting Pitch? When things were too fast to worry about... This... As she drifted through her memories, Tooth recalled their time teeth gathering after the fairies had been kidnapped. When she and Jack had been alone in Jamie's room. The blissful quiet of just being alone together. Things had felt so close for that precious moment. She had been vulnerable, and he had been concerned for her. Being out in the field again had brought her back out of her shell.
Wait... Maybe that's it! The plume on Tooth's head stood up as she as an idea dawned upon her. She could invite Jack to go teeth gathering. That way she had no reason to feel guilty or bad for Jack, and he wouldn't feel so lonely. Don't you get any ideas, this is... This is for a friend. That's all.
"Something wrong Tooth?" Jack had his usual trouble-making smirk and Toothiana realized she had been staring at him this entire time.
She quickly sat up straight and began adjusting stray feathers that weren't there. "Oh! Er- Uh... No nothing at all I was just counting teeth in my head and zoned out a bit. Pardon me!"
The rest of the meeting had flown by while Tooth had been lost in her treacherous daydreams. North clapped his hands with finality and nodded to each of his friends.
"Well that is seeming to be all, so let us be meeting here again in two months, yes? The end of spring!" Everyone agreed that sounded like an excellent idea as they slipped out of their seats. Sandy soon stepped out, a preoccupied look on his face. Was he staring at me for that entire meeting? It's not like Sandy to stare... No he must have been looking at Jack. Bunny and North were busy debating the importance of their respective holidays, per usual. Jack twirled his staff and was lifted on the wind, and he and Tooth flew together toward the open skylight.
The wreath of fairies cuddling around his neck wailed their sorrow as they knew it was time to go. Not quite yet though.
As they cleared the skylight it was quickly apparent that the meeting had lasted longer than they realized, stars glimmered throughout the arctic sky and the sunset was just a whisper of orange on the horizon. "So Jack, I eh... I had an idea I thought I'd run by you." Tooth was usually very good at wearing her usual upbeat attitude, but this was a bit odd for her. Quit being so nervous, you're just making a kind offer to a friend that's all.
"Of course, what is it Tooth?" His usual smile was back, but she could still see the burden in his eyes of having to go back to being alone. He had no doubt figured being a guardian meant he wouldn't have to be alone anymore. Three hundred years of isolation was more than enough for him, but here he was going back once more. The thought pushed her determination in the plan forward.
"Well, I figured that... Seeing as you won't be too busy for the next few months…" The Queen's voice caught in her throat and she tried to mask it by pushing onward. "I mean, I just figured that three hundred years of being alone might have been quite enough for you, and I hadn't realized how much I missed the field... Maybe we could go teeth hunting once a week or so, that way you've got something to do until fall." She looked into those deep crystal eyes expectantly. The fairies around his neck had let go and were frantically flying about Jack's head chirping their desperate encouragement.
The smile on Jack's face suddenly became much more genuine and Tooth's heart fluttered even faster than her wings. "Well, sure that sounds like fun! I'd love to! As long as you promise to talk about more than the blood on the teeth." He laughed, and she did as well.
"Oh! That's great! Awesome! Thank you!-... I mean, um... See you tomorrow night! Come on girls!" Tooth decided the best course of action was to fly away as fast as possible before she made a fool of herself. Jack's laugh chased after her and the wind kissed her face and he flew the other way.
In her head the fairies' voices chimed away. 'Ugh, couldn't we just take him with us?' 'No fair! You mean you're gonna go out hunting with Jack and we'll have to keep on working?' 'I bet Baby Tooth will get to go'.
"Oh hush all of you, it's just so he doesn't feel so lonely." It was a convincing lie, enough so that it even partially fooled her. The crisp blue sky was almost as beautiful as Jack's eyes. Almost. And the air around her seemed to vibrate with her own excitement. The fairies around her were much the same. Doing twirls and flips and giggling together. Tooth barely acknowledged the blur of the world beneath them as they flew toward home. Yes!
Finally she might be able to get some work done without worrying about the next time she'd be seeing any of the other Guardians. Now you can stop being so damn childish. In spite of herself Toothiana couldn't help but grin.
Thanks for reading! Like I said PLEASE do not hesitate to leave a review or PM me if you so have the desire. Constructive criticism welcome. Your input feeds me.