Hallow
my first attempt at fanfiction. be nice criticisms welcome, flames not.
Something had been bugging Jack recently. He would watch his fellow guardians flitting and running about, doing their jobs while all he needed to worry about was bringing the winter and the fun and the snow days. It would seem easy and carefree until he noticed. It was so small. Not really something that should make him curious at all…but it was bothering him.
"Hey, North?" he finally asked, watching the man as he crafted out the plans for his new toys. Jack himself was balanced on top of his staff, staring out the window at the ice and snow around them, "How there aren't any more guardians about my age? Surely there are others, right?" It wasn't a lie, Jack Frost was curious as to why he seemed to be the only guardian or potential guardian his own age. Not meaning three hundred, but childlike.
It wasn't that he disliked or had gotten bored of the children. The snowball fights with Jamie and his friends, and the belief he'd found in kids around the world was plenty to be getting on with, and it was always winter somewhere on the globe so it's not like he was ever at a loss for things to do or places to visit. Never.
But…he did get lonely sometimes. Being the youngest of the guardians wasn't easy, since it meant his older friends were usually too busy to play with him, to really play with him. And Jamie would still eventually grow up…no, not thinking about that. But still, Jack would admit he was a little lonely for someone his own age with some abilities of their own. North looked at him, before setting the toy prototype down and smiling at the winter spirit,
"Oh, Jack. There are many, many spirits of children's joy, memories, happiness, wonder…and other potential guardians are out there. There are others who are no doubt about your age-" North sighed to himself for a moment, "And some we don't talk to for-"
"Like who?" North's tone suddenly became colder, and there was the frightening figure Jack recognised before.
"Hallow."
"Hallow?"
"The Spirit of Halloween, Jack. Not someone you should concern yourself with. She is dangerous girl." Now North's voice had dropped its usual cheer, Jack was left wondering if the room temperature had dropped a few degrees too. It certainly felt that way. "There is good reason we don't speak with Hallow. She is better off asking Tooth about." North looked away. Jack didn't.
"Why? Who is she?"
"Dangerous. Talk to Tooth. She knows her better" North turned back to his toy, effectively finishing the conversation but leaving Jack with more curiosity and questions than he'd arrived with. North rarely talked about people with such a cold tone, but she didn't sound like a bad person. Jack knew how Halloween worked, the festival of spirits having been around even before he became Jack Frost. He knew how much the kids enjoyed going out in the evening and knocking on peoples doors in their costumes, asking for treats. How bad could someone who gave sweets and pumpkins to children be?
Which is how Jack found himself at the tooth palace half an hour later. He loved the tooth palace, the interesting, spiralling structures and the bright colours. It was extremely beautiful. He could hear Tooth calling orders from somewhere deeper in the palace,
"-Incisor and bicuspid in Tennessee, molar at Baker Street, canine in Tok-Jack!" Tooth smiled rightly, immediately flying down to meet him, "Hi! I wasn't expecting you! How are you? What brings you here?" Jack took a step back from the face full of bright violet eyes and feathers and gave a soft chuckle.
"Good, thanks. Hey, Tooth, I was just talking with North about other possible female guardians and-" Tooth's smile had already faded. Her expression one of concern and…worry. From just that one line. Female guardians or even potential guardians must be pretty rare for her to know who he was talking to.
"Jack…please understand, sometimes it's for the best that some people aren't guardians-" Jack already cut of her off, she was acting way too nervous,
"Tooth, what's wrong?" the iridescent fairy's wings sped up their rapid flight, her expression nervous. Around them, her fairies had even stopped their work to watch the two. It was strange. It was only one person. She couldn't even be that strong if Jack had never heard of her before now. Tooth's face was slightly pale,
"Did North tell you abut Hallow?" with the mention of that name, the air suddenly became thick, the fairies around them beginning to chirp and twitter with each other as Tooth herself landed on the floor in front of him, looking nervous. It sounded like one massive vibration that shook through Jack. What was up with everyone and this chick?
"Well, he might've mentioned someone with that name…" The tension in the air was now making Jack feel awkward for asking. But not awkward enough to stop. Curiosity was a weakness in him. Tooth continued to flutter nervously, before looking around the room, murmuring to one of the fairies. The small thing flitted off as Tooth turned back to Jack,
Immediately, she seemed to be on edge, as though judging what she was going to say before she says it, "Hallow's a dangerous person, Jack." The ice guardian sighed. Great, this again,
"Yeah, that's exactly what North said. But he didn't say why" and was it just him or were Tooth's feathers getting ruffled?
"Hallow's…Hallow's not a guardian, we don't know for definite she won't turn out to be like Pitch someday." And the fairies that had stopped to watch them suddenly started moving again, the air practically charged with their energy.
Jack just shrugged, "I wasn't a guardian for years. I turned out okay" he pointed out to her, holding out his arms as a means of motioning to himself. Tooth smiled and took a holder from the fairy she had murmured to before. Frost tried to get a look at the picture, "you have her memories?" Sometimes it was difficult remembering that all of them had had lives before now. Difficult to picture them as anything other than what they were.
Tooth was holding the tooth holder close to her, her eyes downcast, "I'll tell you what I can about her from what I know, but I don't know how much that would be…" she fluttered over to sit on the edge of the platform. Jack floating down next to her. With a deep breath, she began,
"Hallow Eve. That's her full name. She's one of the oldest spirits we know of…older than Sandy, North…all of us. Halloween isn't just a modern day invention, Jack. People, children, have been celebrating this holiday for thousands of years. Right back through the dark age." Her grip on the tooth holder tightened, "I was the first one to meet her. Both 'before' and 'after'. She only looks about your age Jack, she's more powerful and stronger than you could ever believe. Halloween today is all pumpkins and costumes to the children, but there's so much more behind it. So much more than people forget, or don't want to remember."
She looked at him with wide eyes and now, now Jack regretted asking. It was hurting Tooth to remember. He tried to open her mouth, tell her to stop, but she turned away, just continued. "Don't, let me finish. When I first met her Jack, she was a frightening force. And she was changeable. She'd be tricking people, scaring them and playing tricks as soon as she'd be giving out her candy and smiles. That's part of what made her terrifying to us all. We couldn't be sure whose side she was on…and then there was Pitch…" Jack rested a hand on her shoulder,
"Hey…" he gave a small smile, "I'm sorry, I didn't realise how much it hurt to remember. But she doesn't sound that bad at all." Tooth looked up at him as well,
"Talk to Bunny. He suffered the most from her, because he tried to be nice to her." That did surprise the young guardian. This girl hurt Bunny? And frightened Tooth? And made North angry?
He'd only wanted to know if there was another guardian his age. Now he wanted to know who exactly this force was. Who was Hallow Eve?
