Chapter 2

"Just what exactly did happen in Scotland?" Tooth asked the other Guardians as they all sat around a warm, stone hearth at the North Pole. After working hard for several weeks after their last victory, the Guardians had decided to spend a night in one another's company. They were even able to convince Pitch, the newest Guardian, to join them, even though social gatherings were not his cup of tea. They had been disappointed when Jack hadn't shown up, but quickly forgot about the negative feeling when Tooth brought up that particular question. It had been a question of great debate over the decades, and an even more popular subject when they had actually gotten to know Jack Frost. "I mean I only know a tiny bit," Tooth admitted, shrugging a little and brushing back some of her feathers.

"How much?" Bunnymund asked. "I mean rumor has it that it was in Scotland but is was acutely closer to Norway. It was an island named Berk, I had been there a couple of times, and I saw some wild stuff."

"Ah!" Pitch laughed. "I was a regular on that miserable little spit of rock. I know exactly what happened there."

"Why do you worry about it anyway Tooth?" North asked, bumping her arm slightly with his large hand. "You know Jack goes all googly eyes when he looks at you."

Tooth flushed a little. "Yes North, thank you, but I am still curious. You see I was collecting a little kids tooth at the time that saw Jack. The poor kiddo had been punched by some boisterous twins, hence why I was called to the scene."

"Ah yes, and I was there for their version of Christmas the one time, and I could have sworn Jack was there," North commented.

"So let's all take a step back shall we?" Bunny suggested. "And tell our stories in order one at a time. Together we can answer to time honored question of what actually happened. You start Tooth."

Tooth floated up into the air so the others could see her, folding her hand. "Well...like I said, it happened when I went to collect a tooth, I was running behind schedule at the time. But I was in luck because the father of the boy had taken his son out fishing early that morning, so I was able to snag it in broad daylight. But it was on my way back that I saw Jack..."

***Ten year old Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III made his way through the woods of Berk. His father Stoik had taken him out for some father and son time, but Hiccup's mind had begun to wander. He was a runt, tiny for a Viking child, but Stoik was still holding onto the hope that he would grow into a big, strong warrior like the others by the time he was a teenager. Maybe it was because the idea of fishing bored Hiccup, or maybe it was the stress of having to listen to his father talk relentlessly about how he needed to work to become big and strong. In any event, the little boy had slipped away and was now making his way further up the river. He huffed and puffed happily as he looked around the pin trees with the morning mist surrounding them and how the steamy like air floated silently off the water beside him. He came to a stop, tripping slightly and looking ahead to where a tiny wooden bridge stretched over the river. He gasped, slowly starting to smile. "Trolls," he breathed. Hiccup fumbled a little reaching into his pocket, taking out his tiny dagger. Approaching cautiously, he stepped up on the bridge, stomping three times. There was silence, the water babbling from bellow the wooden planks he was standing on.

"You know if you're looking for trolls..." Jack said, floating down and landing behind him. "You might want to get some billy goats."

Hiccup gasped, turning around, dropping his dagger. He relaxed a little when he saw Jack, seeing that he wasn't actually a troll and not even scary. "Oh!" he said, dusting his fur coat. "Well I uh...though that they might come up."

Jack leaned forward, frowning. "You see me don't you?"

"Uh...yeah," Hiccup said. "I'm not blind."

"Well um," Jack said, trying to process this. "Well I mean…do you know who I am?"

Hiccup frowned, bending down and picking up his dagger. "A local?"

Jack deflated. So close. He was that close to have somebody really and truly believe in him. This little tyke saw him alright, but he thought he was just a local. H laughed softly, ducking a shaking his head. "No, no I'm not a local. I'm Jack Frost."

Hiccup stared at him, slowly nodding. "Good for you…" he said hesitantly, and then lifted the knife."Wait minute, you're not actually a troll are you?"

"What? No!" Jack said scoffing with a grin. "I'm the guy who makes it snow."

There was an uncomfortable silence as Hiccup starred at him. He stuffed his dagger away, pointing up at him as he walked off the bridge. "Then I hate you," he said.

"What?!" Jack said. "Hey!" he floated down, walking next to him. "What for? Haven't you ever had a fun day playing in the snow?"

Hiccup thought back to what having snowball fights with Snotlout and the Thorstin twins was like. He twisted his lips to one side, shaking his head. "Nope." with that he ran ahead. "Dad!" he called.

"Son! Where did you go running off to?" Stoik called from the tree line. "You missed me catching a whopper, where were ya?"

"I was looking for trolls!" Hiccup called, disappearing into the mist.

Jack let his head rest against his staff, heaving a sigh. "Cute kid," he murmured before floating up into the trees.

***"Last I heard after that Jack visited the boy on and off over the next few months. Apparently Hiccup was still moody knowing that Jack made so much snow, but at least they were able to talk with each other without being bullied." Tooth finished, kneeling back down.

Pitch rubbed his chin. "Just how did you get so much information from an obscure place like Berk?" he asked.

"Do you know how fast people loose teeth there?" Tooth countered and Pitch shrugged.

"That makes sense,"

"But Jack is only 300 years old, how was he around back then?" North said.

Sandy raised his hand, various images appearing over his head. None of them really understood what he was saying, but Bunnymund did recognize one image. "Oi, that's Ombric's place. Jack must have used the Time Machine. One can only dwell in the past for so long before Ombric has to set things straight again."

"Yes, yes, very fascinating," Pitch said. "But now," he leaned forward. "It's time for me to tell my story. You see, I was there when the boy was a teenager."

"So was I," Bunny reminded him and Pitch waved him away.

"Yes but I get the first part. Now, like I said, I was a regular at Berk. Normally I contented myself scarring the bejebers out of the town's folk. But the last time I dropped by was different, very different..."