So I got really friggin bored in math class the other day and started writing this. Then I lost the original paper so I had to restart, which is okay because I only had a few paragraphs done anyway. But oh well. And on a random note I really think that the Wind is way lonelier than Jack is. At least he can talk to the other Guardians; the Wind can't even do that. Jack is the only one who talks to it. So thanks and enjoy The Wind.
The Wind
The Wind was a temperamental creature. It went where it pleased and did as it wished. None could contain it, none could master it. It could be as strong as a hurricane or as gentle as a summer breeze, all according to its mood. The Wind was intangible, unseen by all, and friend to none.
No, that last one was a lie. The Wind had a single friend, one as invisible as it. The pale boy of winter was the only one who could detect the conscious mind of the Wind, the only being able to converse with the subtle breeze. But the Wind felt pity for its only friend. Even though the poor boy had physical form, he could never talk with those around him. They either could not see him or did not want to talk. It took years of consideration, and several more of outright arguments with itself, but the Wind finally made a decision: it was going to take on a physical form of its own.
The Wind pleaded with the Moon, explaining everything that it could think of. The boy needed someone to talk to that would talk back; he needed a friend that could carry on a conversation. And, the Wind admitted, it wanted a friend it could talk to as well. It wanted to be able to converse with others instead of breezing past them.
The Moon considered the Wind's request. He knew that the boy of winter had just gained a believer and four new friends recently, but he knew that the Wind had to be desperate if it was willing to talk with him. The Moon also knew that the request was more for the Wind's sake then it was for the boy's; the Wind was just too proud to admit it.
After days of consideration, the Moon agreed to the Wind's request under two conditions: the Wind was to be tied to its location and it must never ask for anything else from the Moon. The Wind was more than delighted to agree. It would finally be able to reach out and talk to others! It would finally have a voice! As the Moon sent down a beam of pure light, it hit the gentle breeze, bursting into a thousand different fragments. And that is where our story begins.
The first thing Jack noticed that day was that there was a distinct lack of wind. It had been about two weeks since he and the other Guardians had defeated Pitch, and Jack was just now getting ready to head back to his pond in Burgess. He had figured that it was time for him to leave the pole and get back to his normal routine. But when Jack tried to fly on the Wind to get back, he found he couldn't. Where was the Wind? Where was his long-time friend?
"You guys," Jack said slowly, grabbing the attention of the now-departing Guardians. "Something's wrong."
"What's wrong?" Tooth asked, zipping over to the winter spirit. "Is it your teeth?! Are they okay?"
Jack batted away her hands –which had been reaching for his mouth –before answering. "No, it's not my teeth. Something's wrong with the Wind. It isn't here."
"Well of course not," North explained. "We are inside. Wind does not fly inside, Jack."
"Not normally," Jack allowed "but the Wind normally listens to me, and it's not responding today."
"Ya talk ta the Wind?" Bunny asked with curiosity plain in his voice.
"Yeah, we've been linked since I became Jack Frost," the boy explained to the Guardian of Hope. "But something's changed. I know it."
"Maybe is just nothing," North mused. "Maybe Wind is feeling tired today and does not feel like carting you around."
"Maybe," Jack mumbled, though he was sure that wasn't it. Something had definitely changed, and he was getting worried.
Meanwhile, at Jack's pond, the Wind was just waking up. It had been knocked out by the Moon the night before after finally getting a reply for its request. Wait a minute, it had gotten a reply! The Wind had been told it could take on a physical form!
Using all its willpower, the Wind pulled itself together. Leaves and snow flew around and around, consolidating into a miniature tornado as the Wind rushed together. Then, just as it was starting to worry that it didn't work, the Wind found it had a body.
The tornado died immediately, revealing what would have been a strange sight if anyone had been around to see it. A girl now stood exactly where the eye of the storm had been. She was maybe seventeen years in appearance, with hair as dark as night and eyes as purple as violets.
The Wind laughed, marveling at the sound. She could laugh! She had a physical form! With a happy cheer, she leapt into the air, enjoying the feeling of actually being able to feel. She played through the air for what seemed like forever before she remembered she was leaving Jack alone, without her help.
"Oh crap!" she yelped, zooming north as fast as she could.
As she flew farther and farther north, she noticed her appearance changing. Her dark hair lightened to the palest blonde, her skin paling to the same shade as the frost on the windows in the morning, and her eyes faded to the icy blue of a frozen lake. Even her clothes changed; she had been wearing a brown blouse and tan leggings, but the colors faded until she was clad in soft blue and grey. A snowflake pattern lined the neck of her shirt instead of the delicate swirls that had been there a few minutes ago.
The Wind was confused, but then she remembered how the Moon had told her she would be tied to her location. Maybe she changed appearance when she changed location? It was as good an explanation as any, she supposed.
It took the Wind almost ten minutes to fly to the pole at top speed, which in and of itself wasn't that bad. She was incredibly fast, not that she liked to brag. Then again, she had never been able to brag before, so maybe she did like to brag. How was she supposed to know? This was all new to her. When the Wind (the North Wind now) finally arrived at the pole, she flew in through the open window and sat atop the huge globe in the center of the room. How long would it take the Guardians to notice she was there?
Jack noticed the change almost immediately. The breeze around him picked up, lifting the winter spirit a few feet into the air. He grinned to himself. His old friend was back!
"Wind!" Jack laughed happily. "Hey you guys, the Wind is okay!"
The other Guardians smiled at the boy. "I am glad Wind is okay," North said kindly. "Maybe you and it could help with deliveries this Christmas, no?"
Jack thought about it. Maybe if he asked nice enough the Wind would help. "Hey Wind, whaddya think? Should we help out?"
A cold breeze surrounded the boy, and he could almost hear what it was trying to tell him. But try as he might, Jack couldn't fully understand what it was trying to say. Why couldn't he figure it out? He hadn't had this problem since he first became Jack Frost.
Sandy was the first one to look up at the globe and see the girl sitting on top of it. She saw he was looking at her and waved cheerfully, putting a finger to her lips in the universal signal of quiet. Sandy chuckled silently, not that he had any other choice. Yeah, tell the guy who literally couldn't speak to be quiet. That wasn't unneeded or anything.
Tooth noticed Sandy laughing at something, so she followed his gaze. When she saw the girl sitting on the globe, she frowned in confusion. Who was that? How had she gotten there without the Guardians knowing? And just how long had she been there?
Bunny was the third to notice the North Wind. He realized that Tooth was being strangely quiet, so he glanced over to see her looking at the globe. When the pooka gazed at the map of the world and its believers, he saw a blonde shelia sitting on the Arctic. Who was she?
North was the forth to see the girl. He saw three of the other Guardians looking at the globe, so he looked over as well. When the Russian saw the girl sitting and waving happily at them, he couldn't help but wonder if she was another winter spirit. She looked an awful lot like Jack.
Jack of course was the last to notice his old friend. He realized with a start that the other Guardians were being really silent, so he decided to figure out why. When he turned around, he saw them all staring at something.
"What are you guys looking at?" he asked, glancing up at the top of the globe.
"Finally!" the North Wind said cheerfully. "I've been waiting for you to see me for a few minutes now." She lightly hopped down to the ground and stood in front of the five Guardians.
"Who are you?" North asked. "How did you get into pole?"
The North Wind grinned at the Russian man. "North! Wow, I've seen you a lot over the years, but I hadn't thought I'd ever be able to see you this close. Hey, do you wear one of those funny hats Santas are always seen wearing or is that just a stupid thing humans think?"
Before North had a chance to answer, the Wind turned her attention to Tooth.
"Tooth! I've helped a bunch of your fairies over the years, but I've never actually seen you in person. You're so much prettier than I thought you'd be. You know how silly the humans make you look sometimes. Do you really have everyone's teeth or do you throw them out as soon as the person dies?" North Wind asked the fairy. But without giving her a second to answer, the Wind faced Sandy.
"Hey little guy! I love watching kids get the dreams you send them, especially when you make dreams where the kid is flying. Isn't flying the best thing ever? I've got a question though: if someone was to give you a hug would they fall asleep? One would assume that since you're made of dreamsand, then if someone touched you they'd fall fast asleep," she explained. Before Sandy could even process what she said, the North Wind had already confronted Bunny.
No one was prepared for her to walk up and slap him.
"OW!" Bunny cried, holding a paw to his wounded cheek. "Wha was that for?!"
"That was for yelling at Jack over the Blizzard of '68," the North Wind explained. "It wasn't his fault. I should know; I'm the one who helped him stop it. You just waited until it was all over and verbally abused him." Bunny unconsciously took a step back from the girl. She was a bit scary, wasn't she?
Finally, the Wind got to Jack. But instead of telling him something she thought about him or asking him a question, she flung herself into his arms. Jack instinctively wrapped his arms around the girl and returning her hug, though a bit warily. After a few seconds the North Wind let him go, stepping back out of the embrace.
"Sorry," she apologized. "It's just I'm so happy I can actually hug you! I've never been able to do that before!"
"Who are you?" Jack asked. Everyone could hear the confusion and nervousness in his voice.
The Wind laughed a bit self-consciously. "Sorry, I guess I'm just a bit flighty. I'm the Wind! The Moon finally gave me a physical form!"
The Guardians were stunned. This was the Wind? Since when was the Wind a spirit? They had always assumed that it was just a force of nature, not an actual being. Jack was the most stunned of all. His long-time friend was actually standing in front of him? He could actually talk to her and she would talk back to him? The Wind was solid?
"How long have you been, um," Jack stopped, unsure how to continue.
The Wind giggled. "How long have I been an actual person?" she tried. Jack nodded; that's exactly what he had been trying to say. "I've only been in a physical body for about an hour. The Moon gave me the opportunity to be an actual person last night, but whatever mojo he used put me to sleep until morning. I would've been here sooner if I could've."
Jack was speechless. He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that the only friend he had had for centuries was standing right in front of him, talking to him. Was he dreaming? If so, this had to be one of the cruelest dreams Sandy had ever given him.
"So . . . should we throw a party for Wind?" North asked. He wouldn't deny that he loved to celebrate.
Jack grinned at the Russian. "Sure! Well, if it's alright with you guys."
Bunny shrugged. "Eh, I wasn't ready ta leave ya all anyway."
"I could ask the mini-fairies if they wouldn't mind taking over for the afternoon," Tooth mused.
Sandy conjured up an image of him stopping his dreamsand trails, which changed to the number one and a clock showing that it was midnight. Everyone eventually understood what he was trying to say: he could go without sending the kids dreams for one night.
The North Wind smiled at the group. "Wow, thanks so much you guys! Group hug!"
Before the Guardians had a chance to protest, North Wind used the air currents to pull them all together before wrapping her slender arms around them. Eventually they all hugged her back. Even Jack was surprised at the girl's strength.
Okay. Now all they had to do was throw a party for a girl they had just met. How hard could that be?
Once the yetis and the elves had baked a cake and cookies, the Guardians gathered in the sleigh. Windy –what Jack had taken to calling the Wind –decided to fly behind so they would see the huge difference in her appearance at once, not over a few minutes. Call it petty, but she really wanted to freak them out now that she could.
North told them that they were headed to Tooth's palace, which Windy was really excited to see. She had only been there for brief periods of time before, so she hadn't been able to look around. When they arrived, Windy swooped down behind them, silent as a summer breeze. She wanted to see if she could shock them.
"Where is she?" Jack wondered aloud when he didn't see Windy land.
"I'm right here!" Windy giggled. Everyone turned around, shocked at what they saw. The girl just laughed again before glancing down to see her new appearance.
Huh. Her hair was a pretty shade of brown, not too light or dark. Her skin was more tan than pale, and her eyes were a vibrant green. Her clothes had changed as well. There were vine-like swirls on her now-pink blouse. Her leggings were a dark brown.
"Wow," she muttered to herself. "I look good."
The five Guardians were stunned. How had she managed to change? Tooth voiced as much, and Windy was happy to reply.
"The Moon told me I'm bound to my location. I guess that means that North, South, East, or West, I look different. When I first got my physical form, I had black hair and purple eyes. Now come on, let's have cake!"
While Bunny, Sandy, and North got the snacks out of the sleigh on Jack and Tooth's insistence, the other two Guardians started chatting with Windy.
"So, what made the Moon decide to give you a physical form?" Tooth asked.
Windy shrugged. "Well, I sort of asked him? And he said yes."
"Why'd you ask him?" Jack wondered aloud.
Now Windy blushed in embarrassment. "Um, see I knew you were really lonely after having no one for three hundred years besides me, and at the time it wasn't like I could actually be there for you, so I asked the Moon to make me real. Well, realer anyway."
Jack was surprised that his long-time friend would do that for him, but he noticed a gleam in her verdant eyes. He knew that gleam. He had seen it several times when he looked in his reflection. It was loneliness. So that's her real reason for asking. She had been lonely.
Jack knew he would've made the same choice if he had been in Windy's situation, so he didn't hold it against her. He just wondered why she hadn't told him the truth. They had never lied to each other before today. And it sort of hurt him to know that she would lie to him now.
All throughout the party, Windy drank in the attention shown to her by the Guardians and the mini fairies. She had never been around so many people that actually knew she was there, that wanted to talk to her! It was amazing to say the least.
As the celebration died down and the food ran out, Windy got a brilliant idea. Bidding goodbye to her newfound friends, she lifted herself and Jack into the air, zipping across the dark skies.
They finally came to a stop somewhere over Tokyo, landing gently atop one of the tallest buildings. Jack turned to look at Windy, who was just relaxing as a gentle breeze –which may or may not have been created by her –blew over them.
"Why are we here?" he asked eventually.
Windy smiled at him. "This has always been one of my favorite places," she admitted. "I've always loved Tokyo."
"I didn't know that."
"How could you? I never really told you any of my likes or dislikes. For example, I absolutely hate getting wet. I hate rainy days, so I'm always glad when you turn them into snow days."
Jack grinned at his friend. "I think we'll get a lot closer now that we can actually carry on a conversation," he mused.
Windy smiled back at him. "A lot closer," she agreed, turning to look out at the cityscape. As she felt Jack take her hand, her smile grew. A lot closer indeed.
Wow, I can't believe I finally finished this! I've been working forever to get this done! On a different note, happy FF b-day to me! Yes, it was one year ago that I joined this amazing website. My writing has really improved, and I love all the amazing people who have reviewed for any of my stories. Thanks so much for reading!
~C