Chapter Two

Figuring Things Out

It had been a month after we were first reborn from the pond and we finally figured some stuff out. The hardest was that we were spirits and that no one could see or hear us. We tried for two weeks before we figured that out. We also figured out that the villages' name was Burgess.

And then we figured out that Zima and me have certain… abilities.

It was three weeks after we found out about us being spirits and our emotions were kind of out of it. We were crying and screaming and couldn't get control because we were upset and confused. And that's when we noticed the snow. It was a full on blizzard. And it didn't take long after that that we figured out that our… abilities were tied to our emotions. So we calmed down and the blizzard stopped. We also figured out that we could feel each other's emotions, which came in handy more often than you would think.

A couple days after I wanted to see if I could fly again, and Zima was very reluctant. But, after some reassuring she eventually agreed. So I grabbed my staff and headed out of our root cave- which kind of became our home. It took a few hours, but I finally got the hang of flying and landing with and without Zima.

The next day we spent all of our time practicing bringing snow and ice and frost. And we got pretty good if I do say so myself. It was so much fun practicing and figuring stuff out with Zima, that I almost forgot about our… predicament. Almost.

We spent the next few days discovering more of our abilities. Like, we could talk using telepathy and Zima could heal injuries with her frost. Which, surprisingly (at the time), became very useful.

Because the next week something big happened. It was probably the coolest and worst thing that ever happened to us.

As you know, Zima was reborn with the ears and the teeth of a wolf. But she also has the hearing, the smelling, and other senses of a wolf. And as you might know, wolves are very protective of their mates. Which is what I am to Zima.

Well, one day I was lounging around on a tree branch a few yards away from our cave while Zima was taking a nap. I got bored and started to head to this clearing in the woods a few miles west of our cave. I knew I would be back in time before Zima got scared so I went to practice some more.

I got there and made a light snow fall and froze the nearby trees to make a sort of arena. And I practiced for a good few hours, when I felt the wind shift a little. Now me and the wind are very close friends- she helps me fly and spread the snow. But I've never felt this kind of pull in her before. So I turned around and asked her what was going on.

"Hey, wind, is everything alright?" I asked but before she could answer there was another pull- bigger this time- and the sound of feet in the snow. I turned around and saw a man with flaming red hair and tan skin. He wore a red lace-up shirt, orange dress pants, and black shoes. As he got closer I realized his eyes were as yellow as the sun. I noticed that where he walked, my snow melted. I got kind of upset. Why would someone melt my snow?

I figured he was just going to walk past, since no one can see us. But then he spoke.

"You Jack Frost?" he asked in an angry voice. I slowly nodded my head, shocked that he could see me, but scared because his voice was so angry. "Good," he continued. "I've been looking for you." I got kind of confused then. Why would he be looking for me? Then he walked straight up to me and punched me in the face so hard I fell to the ground. I looked up shocked and in pain because it had burned where his skin met mine.

"I'm going to teach you a lesson Frost. And you're going to listen real good." he said as he kicked me hard in the ribs. I felt them shift around and I had to hold in a scream.

"What… are you… talking… about…?" I wheezed out.

"I'm Blaze, the spirit of Summer and I hate you. I just want to teach you a lesson before you make the mistake of trying to ruin my season with your disgusting, vile snow and ice. I'm here to make sure that you… never… try… to ruin… my… season…" he said as he kicked me in between the last few words. On the last one he kicked me in the ribs again and this time I heard a loud CRACK! And I couldn't help but scream that time.

"Please… I won't mess with your… season… I promise." I tried to tell him. But he just ignored me and picked me up by the throat. And when he did it felt like my neck was being touched by fire and I screamed. He threw me down and just kept stomping on me in all places, throwing around insults like "You're worthless," and "Man in Moon must have been drunk off his ass when he made you, you're nothing but a mistake."

And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, he pulled out a knife. My eyes widened and I tried to get up but he held my wrists above my head and stomped on my ankles so I couldn't go anywhere and everything burned and I screamed again. He was about to bring the knife down when he was suddenly knocked to the side.

Dazed by pain, I slowly looked to where he was knocked over and saw a white wolf clawing and biting at him. He was screaming and shouting but it wouldn't stop. He managed to get away and fly up into the air out of reach.

"You're lucky your puppy was here to save you Frost. But mark my words, the minute it's not here to protect you, I'll be there. And that lesson will be 10 times worse than this one. Count on it." and with that he flew away.

I rolled my head back so I was looking at the sky because looking to the side was hurting the burn on my neck. Suddenly, I felt a lick on my cheek and looked to find the wolf looking deep in my eyes with concern. Having a closer look at the wolf, I noticed that it had a lot of grey in its fur, but was still very white. I also noticed the shade of blue its' eyes were and immediately knew who it was.

"Zima?" I asked kind of weakly. I had to be sure, the mind can play tricks on you when you're in pain, you know. The wolf nodded and suddenly started to shift back to a human form. And there on her knees leaning over me, was in fact Zima (she still had her wolf ears and teeth though). She burst into tears and clung to me. I had to hold back a grunt when she did so because I knew she was already concerned and worried, didn't need to add guilt to that pile of emotions.

"Oh, Jack! I thought I was gonna lose you! When I felt that you were scared and then heard your scream I got here as fast as I could!" she cried out on my shoulder as we laid there on the snow covered ground. Ignoring my pain, I forced myself into a sitting position and pulled her into my lap, holding her close.

"It's ok, it's alright. I'm okay. I'm right here. You're not gonna lose me, not ever. I'm always gonna be here." I soothed. And she gradually calmed down. I looked down at her and smiled. Then something crossed my mind. "Zima!" She jumped at my outburst and looked up at me quizzically.

Which was adorable, mind you.

"You turned into a wolf! That's so cool!" I said excitedly while laughing. She broke into a smile and started laughing with me.

"How did you do that anyway?" I asked as soon as our laughter died down.

"I don't know," she answered truthfully. "I just knew you were in trouble and I had to help you. It was like your screams tore through me and it felt like my heart was being ripped apart, knowing you were in pain, but not knowing why. It scared me to no end when I saw him with th-that k-kn-knife… Oh, Jack! What happened? Why did he attack you?" she asked after she explained.

"He said something about me messing with his season… and other things…" I muttered the last part but with her good hearing she picked it up anyway.

"What else did he say Jack?" she asked, angry but also concerned. I went on to tell her about everything the spirit of Summer had said. And by the end Zima was clinging to me again.

"Jack, you know you're not worthless, right? And that you mean the world to me and I don't know what I'd do without you and you're not a mistake- not to me and you'll never be and I just don-" I cut her off by kissing her. She kissed back after she got over the shock of the surprise. She laughed quietly when we pulled back.

"Thanks." she said quietly, blushing a little and looking down.

"No," I said, taking her chin and bringing her head up so she was looking at me. "Thank you."

"For what?" she asked innocently, already starting to frost over my injuries.

"For caring, for being here even though no one else is. Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without you here." I said pulling her close again. She smiled before she replied.

"Your welcome, Jack."