Hey there everyone!, i really got to writing this one, so its almost twice as long as the first two. . . oh well hope ya like it.

xoxoxoxox

When Jack woke up that next morning, he groaned as pain shot through his head and seemingly his entire body. The remnants of the nightmares where still ingrained into his head, and even though they had caused him so much pain, he found the thoughts oddly soothing and welcoming. Standing at the side of the Nightmare King did not even seem that bad. On one side Jack felt that he would appreciate the acceptance, but he also knew that deep down that Pitch was evil and would only use him. Even with this fact, he knew that Pitch held respect for his capabilities, and he was not afraid to accept Jack like the guardians seemed to be. He was never meant to be a guardian anyway.

His thoughts then shifted from this to Surrel and all his grief quickly returned. He did not want to try to search for her again, even if he were a spirit and he did not easily get worn out, he was emotionally exhausted and he would not put himself through that pain again. He slowly sat up, nearly jumping in surprise when he felt something shift next to him. He was not ready to get his hopes up, but when he looked and saw Surrel curled next to him in a peaceful sleep his heart swelled with joy. He could not bear to lose her. He gently curled his hand around her so he could stroke her side with his thumb. The little spirit shifted and her eyes opened, hazy and childlike in almost confusion.

"Hey there Surrel", he whispered as she slowly woke, "I thought I had lost you."

She nuzzled his hand to comfort him, "I am so sorry Jack, I had fallen out of your pocket and got caught up. I am here now, do not worry."

He smiled at her mothering voice that she tried to use. She was much older than most spirits, but she still was more of a child like Jack. She could understand everything that he was going through, as well as Jack could understand the pain she held from her past. Still, Surrel managed to find joy with him and they had sworn to protect each other. They had seen each other at their lowest and had saved each other many times. Surrel and He had met in disaster.

Ouo ouo Past ouo ouo

Jack lay underneath the large, ancient catalpa, half asleep and having a relatively good day. The warmth from the sun spotted over him and he enjoyed it as he relaxed, glad to not have any blizzards to make or lakes to freeze. It was odd that he had seen many other winter elementals, but none of them seemed to have any jobs like he did. He decided not to concern himself with it at the moment and just rest. It was strange for him to have such peace about him and he was not going to question it. He hummed and sang random bits of songs, watching the clouds that passed overhead to pick out different shapes and creatures. He was contemplating going for a flight to see what spirits he could find and maybe actually make a friend with before he solemnly realized that they all were strangely afraid of him, even other ice spirits.

He sighed . . . fifty and a half years since his birth as a spirit had passed and still he was an outcast to the world he had been thrown into. He had met several spirits, a leprechaun, a sylph and some dryad who got mad at him for landing in her tree. All of them had either chased him off or ran off themselves. He had given up after the fourth attempt of trying to talk to creatures who would disappear in fear as soon as they saw him. He did not know what kind of stigma he held, but at this point he had given up on trying to figure it all out. At least he could make children happy with snow and ice skating.

With these thoughts he was about to drift off to sleep when a perturbing sound hit his ears, and he shot up. Jack looked around for the source of the noise, a small terrified scream. He jumped to his feet and listened again, only to be greeted by silence. He kept listening, rewarded with another shriek and he took off in the direction that the cry for help was coming from. He thought and slowed down as he reached the source of the noise. He could not just dive head first into this.

He stopped; crouching on a branch over a clearing where the scene was taking place, the first thing he saw was a large huntsman, who was definitely not human. His skin was inlaid with stones and vines to act as armor and branch like horns extended from the top of his small head. A heavy smell of rotting moss hit Jack's nose, causing him to recoil slightly. He noticed that the huntsman was cursed, as large vines slowly tried to crawl up his legs as he stood still. He had clearly tangled with many spirits that he should not have. On his scarred face he had a sort of triumphant look as he peered through the mass of vines that hung in his eyes. He was a lumbering creature and clearly strong, with a large sack slung easily over his shoulder and many other odds and ends that hung from it. He had his eyes focused greedily on something, most likely the source of the screaming, but Jack had a hard time finding what he saw.

Backed up against the wall, with some sort of liquid covering it, a small doe trembled in fear. She seemed to be made of wood and her size was so incredibly small that Jack felt the huntsman would easily crush her. She held one of her legs up, as if it was in pain, and she had no way to escape from the hunter. If she were not so injured and disgruntled, Jack felt that she would be a gorgeous creature. Even through all of this commotion, he felt some kind of pull or connection towards her, and he knew that she was not in a place to defend herself at the moment.

He stood up and shouted, "Hey! What do you think you're doing!?"

The huntsman lethargically swung around, almost tripping over the vines around his legs. He pulled himself from them angrily, "Mind your own business, Frosty! This one's mine!"

Jack figured that the behemoth thought that he was after his "catch", making him shudder in disgust, "She's not anyone's!"

He jumped down from the tree, and only then did he realize how much this monster truly towered over him. He did not back down though, he knew he was probably stronger than this lump. He examined the huntsman and smirk cockily, who suddenly seemed unnerved by his poise, 'Who do you think you are?"

"Jack Frost" was all it took for the other spirit to completely lose his confidence. He shook it off with a grunt along with the vines that had taken ahold again. He feigned disinterest and began to walk away. Jack did not bother to chase him, instead turning his attention to the tiny spirit, who was starting to sneak away. He crouched down to her level, "Hey there."

She stopped and looked up at him, still shaken up and filthy she did not say anything. He pursed his lips, "I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise."

She nodded slightly walked closer to him. He scooped her up into his hands gently, trying to ignore the warm slimy feel of the material covering her. She winced as he jostled he leg, causing him to apologize profusely, she just shook her head and let him carry her to a nearby stream, "I'm sorry little deer, I don't know what to do for your leg but I can at least clean you up."

At the stream, he set her on a warm rock and then began to dig through the cool water of the stream to pull rocks together into a tall ring, stilling the water that was trapped in it. He turned and cupped his hands around her yet again, setting her in the circle where she could rest on a rock below the water. Carefully, he began to wash the fluid from her, making sure though to avoid her injured leg. She hummed quietly and he felt a strange happiness wash over him. As she did this, she studied him, seemingly happy with something mysterious.

"What's your name?" He asked quietly as he stroked a thumb over her head.

She appeared to contemplate for a moment before answering, "You may call me Surrel."

"That's a nice name."

"Jack Frost is as well."

He looked away a bit, almost ashamed of his identity, "Yes, I suppose it is, also reacts as a repellant for some reason."

"It suits you."

Jack realized then that this little creature was not afraid of him in the slightest. He could not help but smile, and he gently picked her up out of the water, "Maybe you should stay with me until your leg heals?"

She seemed to think for a moment before she nodded, "I would like that, thank you."

Ouo ouo present ouo ouo

Jack did not tell Surrel of his dark dreams and thoughts at that time. He knew that she would have easily pulled him back from that ledge he was quickly approaching without breaks, but he also knew that she would understand any actions that he took. She could always see how much he suffered with the guardians, and she wanted to tell them to help, but only Bunny now knew of her existence. Even so, E. Aster Bunnymund did not know the extent of their relationship. As she laid next to him, she could feel his conflict, and she wanted nothing more than to help him.

"What do you think Jamie is up to today?" Jack asked her in a dazed voice.

She tilted her head, "He is most likely in class today."

He just nodded before drifting back into his thoughts, his thumb absentmindedly stroking her. He had been very quiet for the whole day since she had returned from the Warren. Something had happened to him while she was away, but he would not tell her, which was strange since he would share anything else with her easily. On top of it all, there was an unfamiliar air surrounding him that put Surrel on edge. She sighed and dropped her head onto the couch and let herself slowly drift off to sleep. She wished they could play again soon.

Jack sighed quietly and closed his eyes, he needed to get out of the cabin, and he was beginning to feel feverish. He looked down at Surrel and saw that she was fast asleep. He sighed and whispered a small goodbye before slowly standing up and making his way to the door.

Ouo ouo ouo ouo

Nicholas St. North stood before the window in his private office, staring out over the white expanse that made up the North Pole and surrounded his workshop. From where he stood he could hear the yetis and elves working tirelessly on the many toys that he needed for the upcoming Christmas. Behind him, on many different shelves, his newest designs for toys where placed, made of ice and brought to life by his magic. His mind was not on Christmas though, or toy designing, or even cookies for that fact. Instead, he was more focused on the thoughts of one Jack Frost, who he had not seen in several months. He had contacted Toothiana and Sanderson, but neither of them had seen the frosty guardian. He did not even bother to ask Aster seeing as the two usually made sure to avoid one another.

The boy had a tendency to disappear for long periods of time, but last time North had seen him, Jack had been acting kind of off. He tried to make the boy feel welcome, yet he was still uncomfortable staying at the pole or even Tooth's palace for long periods of time. He was courteous to them all, and held a lot of care for the children he protected, but did not seem to give any of the sentiment to him or the other guardians. North knew he should not find this odd though, seeing as Jack had only been with them for ten years and was still growing into them.

At any rate, he hoped that Jack was alright.

xoxoxoxoxo

Okay hope you liked it, i will update soon. Also please review if you'd like to it helps to keep me writing if i know people like what im doing! i also update faster then.

Also a catalpa tree is a large flowering tree which makes large bean like pods, they are common in the northeast region of america, the flowers kind of look like an orchid mixed with a violet.