Winter-child
by K. Stonham
first released 24th November 2012
His hair is as white as snow. His eyes are the same blue that glows from the heart of icebergs. His skin is as translucent, and he is cool to the touch.
His name is Jack Frost, and he was made by the moon shining on a frozen pond in winter.
His memories of before are patchy, but he holds each one close, a treasure. The Tooth Fairy smiles flirtatiously at him, pleased he knows the value of memories. He and the Easter Bunny have a friendly rivalry - he harasses Bunnymund about his chocolate addiction, and gets snide remarks in turn about snow cones. Jack gets along better with the Sandman; he and Sandy have long mutually admired one another's art.
But Jack's absolute favorite among the other Guardians is Santa Claus. Whether it's the fact that both of them are winter spirits, or the fact that fun and wonder are so closely connected... well, Jack doesn't know, nor does he care. He and Nick share cast-iron stomachs and an adrenaline-junkie wildness that leaves Bunnymund with the dry heaves. Sometimes Jack suspects that Nick thinks of him like the son the other man never had. Sometimes he suspects he's a playmate; they certainly have a grand time ice sculpting new toys together.
But Jack is like the winter wind, and never stays long at the North Pole, or anywhere. He has places to go, streets to freeze, and children to play with.
(He refused the stupid blue boots; what, did the other Guardians think he needed footwear? How's he supposed to grip the ice with something on his feet?)
He drifts here and there, north and south, following the seasons, bringing laughter and beauty everywhere he goes. His cult of true believers is slow to grow, but that's okay; everything has to start somewhere, and winter-child though he is, he knows and remembers enough about mortal life to know that seeds take time to grow.
The moon is always watching over him. He sees Tooth's fairies nightly and always gives them a wave. Sandy's golden dreams are always around, too. Once in a while he drops in on Easter Island to badger the bunny. And he never turns down a ride on Santa's sleigh.
He was a mortal boy once, who drowned in the middle of winter. The Man in the Moon brought him back in honor of his bravery. He knows no fear, because he's already sacrificed himself once, for the child dearest to him. He knows no mercy, in the face of any enemy who would threaten his friends and the children of the world. And he knows no bounds, in his search for beauty and love and trust.
His name is Jack Frost, and he is Winter.