AN: Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. The response I got for that last chapter was so exciting, I'm glad you all liked it. Art33mis, this is the Sandy and Jack bonding scene that I promised. Queenlaur, thank you for your comments, all I'm trying to go for is authenticity. You are right, as much as everyone is itching to know what happened to Jack, I have to build up to it when Jack is comfortable with sharing. Guest, your idea about the seasonals helping Jack would be interesting but in my mind, I don't believe that the seasonals would be kind to him. I think they would actually make the situation worse, not that I won't put them in anyways. Sorry for the long intro. I do no own Rise of the Guardians.
Summary: Sandy is having a little trouble with the dream spreading and employs the winter spirit to help. (aka bonding time)
About two weeks after Jack had come to stay at the Pole, the winter spirit and Sandy found themselves flying in together. The golden spirit gave a little wave, smiling broadly. He was given back a timid wave and the cautious upward glance of those sky blue orbs.
It was still evening, although after dinner time and the light filtering though the windows was both pale and filled with colours. The red glow of the sunset bathed the rooms in the crimson light.
"Sandy, Jack," a voice boomed. The frost child flinched back slightly at the sudden noise, taking a step backwards. The dream maker waved, spewing forth a surge of symbols. North nodded, arms crossed as he deciphered the message.
"Hmm," North hummed. "You say children still a little resistant to dreams? Is it fear?"
As the two conversed, Jack listened in, glancing carefully between the two. They were wrong, fear was not the only reason that children would not dream. He had watched those after an exhausted day who would not begin sleep with dreams as they were too tired. Fear could prevent dreams from taking hold firmly and it would often appear to be a dreamless sleep.
The content of the conversation wasn't the only thing the winter spirit was observing. He carefully noted Sandy's symbols, trying to decipher the ones used most often as well as discern the meanings for himself. He also noted their body language, watching their interaction. The relationship between the two seemed so easy, carefree and casual. Would he ever be like that with them? He seriously doubted it.
"Vell, vhat usually helps with children resistant to dreams?" North questioned.
There was the glimmering symbol of a brain, a child, a dream and a thumbs up.
"Vell, how do ve know vhat each child likes. We haven't observed many children." North paused, "At least not during day," he conceded. The two stood, looking past one another, deep in thought. Jack could only see the Russian's eyes as they were seemingly focused on a point far away. However, they quickly sharpened and turned right towards him.
"You have observed children, no Jack?"
The winter spirit took an almost imperceptible step back at the sudden attention. He nodded slightly, averting his gaze. He could feel the gaze trained on him, but fought the urge to look up. Meeting someone's gaze never ended well. However, he could still see the telltale glimmer of dreamsand out of the corner of his eye.
"Sandy vants to know if you vould be able to tell him some of the children's likes."
Jack nodded quickly, no use for hesitation when given a directive.
"There you go, Sandy, problem solved," North exclaimed, beaming. He turned away, wishing them luck on their dream spreading.
The golden spirit then turned towards the frost child, beckoning him to follow as he flew away. The two flew together, Jack slightly behind as he let Sandy lead. Their silent flight came to an abrupt stop over a house, somewhere near Washington if the winter spirit's sense of geography was to be trusted.
They peaked into the room, quiet and still in the night. A small boy slept in the bed, dark blue dinosaur comforter clenched tightly in his small hand.
Sandy turned towards Jack, forming a question mark and then an arrow towards the boy.
Jack quickly glanced around the room, pulling together the facts he knew about this child. However, he hesitated, biting his lip. Was he allowed to just talk about children? It was something Pitch had forbidden him from speaking about as he apparently hated the 'little creatures'. Sandy, however, waved him onwards. "He loves dinosaurs, trains and dogs," Jack began softly. "I also saw him tell his mom about a story he wrote about a wizard who made up a magic spell to change the colours of objects."
Sandy nodded, smiling happily at the wealth of information. His golden eyes gleamed with excitement as he pulled together a dream following the boy's story. Then, he released the dream sand, blowing it gently over the child. Almost immediately, the dream sprang up, wizard brandishing his wand as he muttered an incantation. Instantly, the walls around him changed colour. The dream spirit giggled, admiring his work before gesturing for them to keep moving.
As they flew, Jack clenched his teeth together, holding back a yawn. His day of spreading snow had been exhausting.
They arrived shortly at another house, this one of a little girl. Sandy gave another question mark, directing his steady gaze towards the winter spirit. This time, there was less hesitation as the boy started, "She loves drawing, always creating pictures in the frost. She also enjoys skating and I've often seen her reading."
Once again, the golden man grinned, already forming the dream about creating pictures on the ice by skating across it. As they flew out of the room, Sandy could have sworn he saw a smile across the winter spirit's face. However, it disappeared before he could be completely certain.
This time, there was a farther distance to travel and the dream spirit tried to strike up a conversation. How was your snow delivery today? he spelled out.
"Very good thank you. And how was your dream delivery?"
The sandman gave a double thumbs up. Better now that we are solving this problem. The message took a while to spell out, but it was important. How do you like being a Guardian?
Jack paused, teeth biting into his lip. His eyes went down to his toes as he thought about the proper response to that question. Was he supposed to be enjoying it? Was he supposed to say it is a welcome change? Was he supposed to say he hated Pitch? "Um … it's nice," he said finally and lamely. Then, he flinched back at that entire response. He wasn't supposed to say 'um', or be that inarticulate.
Despite his internal monologue of worry, Sandy just nodded, smiling up at him. Jack took a deep breath, calming his jangling nerves. Why was it so hard to be around these people? It felt like everything was backwards. He had no idea what to expect, what their reactions would be, what they expected from him. With Pitch, that would have been the most dangerous thing. However, with the Guardians, nothing bad had happened yet. They had been nice … to him. He couldn't even remember the last time that had happened. What had he done to deserve this? Yet, he was sure that it could not last, nothing good ever did.
They arrived at their next destination, ripping Jack out of his spiraling thoughts. The climate was a little warmer than his usual, making the winter spirit feel even more tired than before. He didn't recognize the city, or the house in which they landed. The sleeping child on the bed was unfamiliar as well. When the inevitable golden question mark was formed, Jack shook his head sadly. "I don't know," he murmured, bowing his head. He was definitely in for it now.
After a moment, when there was no strike, the winter spirit almost relaxed, until he felt a hand touch his arm. However, it was warm and gentle, almost as soft as the wind's caress. Sandy was looking at him kindly, smiling slightly with both his mouth and his eyes. He put his thumb and index finger together, other three sticking up in the universal 'ok' sign.
The dream spirit swirled his hands together, glancing around the room for inspiration. The Barbie on the floor was immediately incorporated into the dream that was soon glowing over the child. She smiled happily in her sleep as she rolled over. Sandy gave Jack a smile, no hint of disappointment or anger in his eyes.
This time, during their flight, Sandy's trademark smile was dimmed, glowing at about ten watts instead of the normal 50. He abruptly turned towards Jack, quickly spelling out a message. You know I would never hurt you, right?
Jack's eyes widened and he nodded quickly as it seemed the correct response. Despite the fast replying gesture, Sandy continued to stare at him. The winter spirit was about to bow his head and move away when he accidentally met the dream maker's eyes. They were clear and honest, conveying the message he couldn't utter. They promised only gentleness and kindness. For once, Jack found himself believing in his own safety, if only for a moment.
Finally, they landed at the Pole, having given dreams to about 20 children in all. Most Jack had been able to pinpoint habits, likes and dislikes although two he had never met before. Sandy quickly spelled out a Thank you.
The winter spirit nodded back, unsure of the appropriate response.
However, the dream spirit was not finished. He signed an arrow towards Jack, then a yawning person with a question mark. He emphasized his message with a ball of dream sand.
Seeing the sand, the frost child backed away, wide-eyed. Those cerulean orbs flashed with fear as the emotion jolted through his body. His heart jumped in his chest as he shook his head adamantly. Sandy nodded, putting away the ball of sand.
Jack nodded nervously in the older spirit's direction, leaving him standing by the window. If he had looked back, he would have seen Sandy's look of confusion and sadness at that show of fear.
