I know I'm still working on Immortal Memories ( and if you're just reading my works, I ask you to please read the others, it means so much to me) but when I saw the original story was up for adoption, I thought 'I have so much to work with on this'. So, here we are. For those of you who read the original, I'll let you know that I tweaked a few details, with permission from the original author.
Remember, reviews are the life blood of any fanfic. writer. So please drop me one and let me know what you think
Jack sat staring out his window, propping his cheek on his fist as he glowered out at the world beyond the glass. He watched his father outside, easily discernible from anyone else in the village by his large stature and long white beard – though he was not an old man by any means, barely into his late thirties, he'd had that beard for as long as Jack remembered, making him look like a grandfather more that a dad. The man was packing supplies for his latest hunting trip along with a handful of the other village men, distributing the supplies into packs for each man. As he watched his father grapple with his friend Aster, somewhat of an uncle to Jack, the teenager's mood soured ever more. He should have been out there with them, joking and having fun and getting ready for a hunt. But no; he was stuck in here. Because his father wouldn't let him go. He grumbled when his father turned to look at him and turned his back to the window.
He'd made it very clear when his request to come along was denied that he was never speaking to the man again. Ever. But still the big man lumbered into Jack's room and plopped down next to where the young boy sat hunched away from him. They sat together for some time, Jack doing his best to ignore his father's existence while the man tried to think of a way to talk to his boy.
"How long do you plan to sulk, my boy?" He questioned voice thick with the Russian accent of his native land. Even after fifteen years in their small settlement of Burgess, Nicholas St. North still couldn't quite kick the accent.
"I'm not sulking," Jack objected, still refusing to turn around.
"No, of course not," Nicholas agreed with a chuckle. They lapsed back into silence.
"I don't understand why I can't come!"
Nicholas sighed. It was an argument they'd had many time since he'd told his son he could not accompany him with the hunting party. Jack had yet to come to terms with his father's decision.
"Jack, we have spoken of this. Hunting is not place for a boy."
"I'm not a little boy anymore, dad!" Jack yelled, finally turning to face the man.
The boy's eyes seethed. Sky blue eyes; Nicholas' eyes. The only feature his son had inherited from him, otherwise, the boy just looked like his mother. Dark brown hair, lightly tanned skin and a slim and lanky body that he'd yet to fully grow into. But Jack's eyes were all from his father. And he knew what kind if temper lurked behind those eyes; it was why the two butted heads so often.
"Yes, this I know," he admitted, dragging his meaty hand across his face.
He sighed and looked at his son. He may not have been a little boy, but he was still so small compared to Nicholas. Still so fragile; so young. They had celebrated his fourteenth birthday not even a moon beforehand. And really, Nicholas didn't think he could ever really stop think of Jack as his little boy. And here he was, asking his father to bring him into the most dangerous situation possible.
"But it is too dangerous," he declared, decision made.
"Then you shouldn't go either!"
"We need this."
"Why? We have plenty of food from the farm. Why do we need anything from a hunt that is too dangerous for me?"
"It is not for us alone but for the village. And until you understand that you will never be ready!" Nicholas shouted, utterly sick of the repeated conversation.
Jack's protest came to a halt, breath leaving in shudder. His father never shouted at him, never even raised his voice, no matter how heated their arguments. Nicholas looked just as shocked, mouth gaping as much as his son's. Jack firmed his quivering bottom lip, jumping to his feet and turning on his heels to stalk away, crossing his arms in a stubborn display. Behind him, his father sighed once more, climbing to his feet.
"I will be back in a fortnight, and we will talk then, yes?" No respond. "I love you, Jack. Very much." Still nothing, and when Nicholas attempted to run a hand through brown locks, Jack shoved him away. Down hearted by the reply, Nicholas stumbled out of the room.
-Line Break – Line Break – Line Break-
Outside, Nicholas' wife, Katherine and their small daughter, Emma waited for him, as did the members of his hunting party. He was still heavy in his heart when he went to them, even when his wife kissed him. She eyed him sympathetically when she pulled away, eyes shining in understanding, as always.
"I'll talk to him, dear," she promised, her voice light with the same accent he carried. She gave the man another kiss, "in the mean time, you watch over yourself out there, Nick."
"Always, Kat," he agreed.
Returning his wife's kiss, he moved to their daughter. Emma clung to his neck when he lifted her, laughing all the while. Like Jack, Emma was the spitting image of their mother. She was a teeny tiny version of Katherine, and Nicholas loved her all the more for it. He placed a kiss on her brow before placing her back on the ground, this time crouching to her level.
"I'll give Jack a good kick," the ten year old swore, crossing her heart. North smiled and held a hand up as Katherine began to reprimand the girl.
"I think your mother can handle that fine. But, you watch boy, yes? You know mischief he gets into."
The girl nodded and promised. Nicholas laughed, gave his daughter another kiss and did the same for his wife. Then he turned back to the house where Jack was still pouting in the window. When he caught his father gaze, he turned away hotly, staring at the opposite wall. Nicholas sighed again, and went to join the rest of the party.
"Hey North. You're boy still mad attcha?" Aster asked. Even though Nicholas had taken the name Overland when he and Katherine came to their new home, his friends still referred to him by his given surname and he himself often went by it.
The grey haired Australian was in his late twenties tanned and well muscled from constant work in the fields. He'd come to Burgess about the same time Nicholas and Katherine did, with Jack just on the way. They had been close ever since. The man sighed and nodded, glancing back at his home once more.
"Don' worry about it. Ya know how teenagers are."
"No, I do not."
"Oh, then yer in fer a rough learnin' patch, mate," Aster informed with a laugh.
North slumped at the thought. Jack had become quite the stubborn teenager in recent years. He honestly didn't know how much more he could take. At the light pat on his thigh North looked down, his gaze meeting the sympathetic golden eyes of the short blonde to his left. Sanderson, or Sandy as he had somehow become known, was one of the oldest settlers in the area. And though he was mute since birth, the man was incredibly well liked in the area. He was as much an uncle to North's children as Aster had become.
"Thank you, my friend," he said, clapping the small man on the back.
"Don' worry, mate. He'll understand one day," Aster assured, placing a hand on the larger man's shoulder.
North looked back to his family, to where Jack still sat at his window.
"I truly hope not," he admitted.
No matter how hard the conflict over Jack's lack of understanding was, he never wanted the boy to understand. He could never put his little boy in the situation he and the other men constantly faced. There was a reason many of them never came back from these trips. No matter how much it tore at their relationship, North could never allow Jack to understand. Turning back to the sympathetic gazes of his friends, he smiled and made his way over to the rest of their company.
"Alright, we move out. With any luck we will be able to bring back really meat to our families." At the collective cheer of agreement, North set off into the trees
Sending one last glance to his family, he disappeared into the darkness of the woods. He truly hoped they would come home with meat. Otherwise it would be very difficult to explain why they always had to be away from home for such long stretches of time.
Yeah, I borrowed Katherine from the books for North's wife. It jumped out at me as I was writing. And while people like to use Pippa for Jack's sister, I prefer Emma or Mary. So yeah.
Remember: Review, life blood. Hope you enjoyed.