Jack landed on the wooden fence around Widow Tweed's farm as Tod was let out of the house once last time before the sun set. He sat on the wooden railing with his staff propped against his shoulder and watched the fox running around eagerly in the fresh snow.

When Tod spotted Jack, he ran toward him, barking. Jack watched as the fox tried to climb on the fence to reach him. The winter spirit chuckled and picked him up.

"Hey, Tod," he greeted the cub, who licked him before sitting in Jack's lap. "Someone's happy to see me." The winter spirit smirked as he added, "You won't believe what happened the other day..."

Tod noticed the boy was in a good mood, grinning and looking pretty proud of himself. He sat in the boy's lap and listened intently as he talked excitedly. Tod honestly didn't understand a word, but he smiled anyway. And then he heard "Copper".

Wait, what?

Tod listened carefully, and "Copper" came up a few more times, along with "Chief". "You've met Copper?" he asked, surprised. "And Chief? When? Where?" It had been a while since Tod had last seen neither of them... But Jack didn't understand what the fox was asking, and Tod couldn't understand what the boy was saying.

But the excitement was clear. Jack was waving his hands wildly as he spoke cheerfully, and Tod guessed whatever had happened when Jack met Copper, it must have been fun. It made him wish that he'd been there.

"I'll go back in a few days," he went on, calming down. "I had thought about going to Burgess soon since it's my home, but this is more interesting."

Nobody in Burgess could see him anyway, so it wasn't like he would be missed or anything... Even it's just Tod and Copper, he thought with a sad smile, I'm glad they can see me.

Tod noticed the sudden change in the air as the snow began to fall again. Widow Tweed would often get upset and cry a little when she looked at old, faded pictures, and Tod would try to cheer her up by playing around and taking her attention away from those pictures. He was used to that mood occuring every once in a while in Widow Tweed's home, but it was odd for this cheerful, playful boy to suddenly be so upset. Tod wondered why.

He rubbed his head against the boy's chin, and the boy laughed. Are you feeling better now? Tod wanted to ask him, but he knew it wouldn't be answered. He wished he could help, but this was the best he could do.

Widow Tweed stepped out onto the porch and started calling for Tod. The fox was so startled that he fell out of the boy's lap, who had suddenly stood up on the fence. Jack laughed as Tod shook some snow off of himself and grumbled.

"Tod!" Widow Tweed called again, shivering as she pulled her coat tightly around herself. "Come inside!"

Tod made a face but obeyed. He stepped onto the porch and looked over his shoulder at the boy, who smiled and waved goodbye.

"See you tomorrow, Tod!" Jack shouted, and Tod smiled before he walked inside. He didn't understand the words, but it wasn't too hard to guess what he meant.

The door was closed, and Jack sighed quietly. He started walking on the railing, whistling softly.

As he passed near a tree, Jack noticed an owl sleeping quietly in it. He flew over and saw a bunch of leaves and snow piled in the owl's home. Carefully, he removed the snow but left the leaves to (hopefully) keep her warm. "There you go," he said, smiling slightly. The owl seemed to sigh, but Jack wondered if owls could sigh. He shook his head as the sun started to go down.

Once it had gotten dark, Jack flew to a small town nearby. There were still some kids up, and they were ice skating on a lake. Jack tapped the ice with his staff and made sure it was thick before looking at the kids. They were all having so much fun, and Jack thought about joining them. But after a while the kids were sent home, so Jack went to see more of the little town.

The winter spirit landed on a street lamp and watched parents buying Christmas presents. One child was being stubborn and refused to go home yet. Jack moved closer to the young boy looking at a toy soldier in the window of a shop, begging his mom to get it for him.

"Honey, if you don't behave, Santa won't give it to you," his mother warned him, and Jack couldn't help smiling when the boy threw an even worse fit about it.

Jack made a snowflake and let it go, watching as it landed on the boy's nose. The boy blinked and slowly began to calm down.

A few minutes later, the little boy and his mom were walking home, and the boy was kicking up snow and laughing as if nothing had happened. His mom laughed too, and Jack thought he heard the boy singing cheerfully. He shook his head and left to visit another small town.

The rest of his night was a little more lonely as the children and even the adults were to sleep. It wasn't until the dreamsand appeared that Jack's good mood finally returned. He grinned at a stream of dreamsand near him and touched it. A fox and a hound were playing together like old friends and chased each other.

It took Jack a moment to realize who they were. The fox bit Jack's shirt and tugged, and the dog barked at them, his tail wagging. Jack laughed, shaking his head. After a while, the fox and the hound went to find a sleeping child to entertain.

As the sun was rising the next morning, Jack went back to the widow's farm and wandered into the barn, where a few chickens and a cow were sleeping. I wonder what she'd say if these guys were already taken care of before she got here. Jack had just finished feeding the animals and giving them water when Widow Tweed entered to check on them.

"Oh, my," she gasped, awed as looking around. "What happened here?"

"I thought you would want some help," Jack told her, grinning. "You're welcome." She didn't hear him, and the winter spirit sighed and walked out quietly.

Jack found Tod pouncing on a pile of snow and growling. "What are you doing this early in the morning?" the teen asked curiously.

Tod looked up when he heard the boy's voice and grinned. "You're here!" He ran at the boy and jumped into his arms, catching the boy off guard. It wasn't every day that someone didn't go through him. He tried not to think about the day Tod would. Hopefully that would never happen.

"Whoa! Careful," Jack told the fox, who licked his cheek. The teen smiled. "Thanks for the warm welcome."

It was odd to see the boy back so soon, and Tod wondered how long he would stay this time.

But his worries went away when Jack dropped a snowball on his head. Tod shook it off and leaped out of the boy's hold. He grinned at the boy and raced away.

Jack smirked and froze the snow underneath Tod's feet with the end of his staff. The fox yelped and slipped, then fell forward. He sat up after a moment and rubbed his sore nose with a paw. He turned to glare at Jack, who chuckled. "That wasn't funny!"

But then Tod realized that the snow had turned to ice the last time and only seemed to do that when the boy was around. Is it him? Is that why he's so cold too? Tod thought about asking Big Mama about it, but then he remembered that she couldn't see the boy. The fox sighed in frustration. He was never going to have his questions answered.

-crossover-

Really short chapter, but I guess it's better than nothing, right? :)

Thanks to everyone who's favorited/following this story! :)

To MysteryGirl7Freak - I'm glad you liked it. :)