4/8/14


The Darkest Night Hides the Purest Light


Chapter Eight: Extended Family? Please Don't Bite Me!


Living with Firefly was far different than surviving on his own, Jack mused as he absently pulled out several books. Settling in the library, surprised that he had already been living with the Fae for three weeks already, he opened the learning books out, pulling his practice papers and sheets over to continue his lessons. The older spirit hadn't done anything to make him feel trapped, had even gone beyond to make him feel welcome to come and go as he pleased, the balcony in his room was an obvious indication. Before he had wandered outside of the tree, however, he had been given a ring, a pretty silver ring with delicate runes, soft sapphires, and a snowflake etched into the largest one. Inside, written in neat letters, was his name. The ring was attuned to the wards, Firefly had explained, enabling him to find and enter the glade and tree whenever he wanted.

Exploring the glade, to her amusement, he found himself admiring the crisp Spring weather, just chilly enough that he was comfortable. The glade was surrounded in dark woods, making the Willow stand out like a silver beacon, the moonflowers and lilies glittering brightly against the darkened shrouds. The pond was cute, and barely frosted over when he had landed on it, melting once he had left it, to shimmer softly in the natural light. He could see the bottom through the clear waters, marveling at the smooth and shiny stones, and even spotting a couple gems buried in the silvery sand. Brightly colored fish, frogs, turtles, water birds, and insects lived harmoniously in the pond, and even played with him occasionally, showing an uncommon friendliness. The woods, while dark, were soothing and calm, emanating ancient wisdom. He could understand why Firefly chose this spot to make her home, only to find out later, that she had hand grown the Willow, that she had walked the woods enough that the trees trusted her, and the pond had slowly formed on its own, growing until the Willow had towered over it, one side leaning over the clear waters, as its roots formed natural perches dipping into the life-sustaining element.

When he had flown around, he had found a cliff to the west, bare of the trees, which would be a great place for people to view the sunset. It overlooked a forested valley, the gentle hills covered in more of the trees surrounding the Willow. He didn't recognize where they were however, but he could feel the tingling sensation of magic spread out like a comforting blanket.

Firefly didn't expect him to do anything at the Willow, merely keep his room straight, and allowed him to wander around, play with her supplies for crafts, or sit in the library. When she had found out that he couldn't read, he never really got the chance to learn since becoming Jack Frost and most people were illiterate during his time period, she had shown him various books and brought home several workbooks for him to practice in. After teaching him the basics, she had simply let him work at his own pace. Usually while he practiced, she would be working on carving her delicate fireflies, but sometimes she joined him and simply read with him.

During one of their quiet reading times, Jack had decided to ask her about a niche in the library he had found. It wasn't hidden, but it wasn't out in the open either. A small dark alcove with runes edged along the outside of it. It was just large enough to keep the rolled up scroll inside it, set on a tiny golden stand. When he had gone to touch it, his fingers had met what felt like glass, despite him not seeing any.

"That scroll is, special," Firefly hesitated, looking thoughtful. "It's for the most grievous of emergencies,"

"What do you mean?" he wondered. She hesitated for several long moments, before pulling a piece of paper and pen over.

"If you ever hear me say this, then the scroll will be unlocked," she wrote out a phrase, passing it over to him. 'Faith is broken and belief is shattered.'

"So what kinda scroll is it then?" he wondered.

"A contingency plan," she smiled sadly. "My center is Belief, well, that encompasses everything everyone believes in. A lot of people believe that the worst will happen, and thus, form contingency plans, while others believe the best will always happen. I have to embody both sides, and that, is my contingency plan. If something were to happen to me, that scroll will unlock my stored firebugs, until Manny and Sera find another Firefly."

"Those storerooms," he wondered, eyes widening, "They have your fireflies?"

"That's right," she settled back, picking her book up.

"Why do I get such bad feelings from those rooms though? I mean, I looked in them before, and I saw hundreds of shelves covered in jars, but why did I feel like I shouldn't be there?"

"Hmm? Oh, that's probably because of Wilma and the others," Firefly turned a page, unconcerned as she propped her head up with one hand.

"Wilma?"

"They guard my firebugs, when they're sleeping. Don't worry, they won't hurt you."

"Dare I ask what they are?" he wondered wryly, thinking of North's helpers, and not particularly surprised that she also had some helpers.

"Hmm," she turned another page, "Wilma and her brood are Recluse, Frankie and her brood are Brown Widows, and Dorothy and her brood are Black Widows,"

"Oh, okay," he continued writing down the vocabulary words for several moments before his pencil froze. "Wait a minute,"

"Hmm?"

"Recluse and Widows?"

"Yes, that's what I said, hon,"

"Aren't those spiders?"

"Uh huh, some of the most venomous and dangerous, actually,"

"You have poisonous spiders, guarding your fireflies?"

"That's right," He could only stare at her, at how nonchalant she was about it, and wondered how she could keep reading her book as he questioned her. Tilting his head, he blinked as he tried to read the title, only to realize it was in a foreign language.

"Sorry, but, won't they, I don't know, EAT them?" She looked up at him then, amused.

"Firstly, they're in jars, secondly, they're glass, and thirdly, the guards have plenty of food to eat around here, they don't need to resort to gnawing on my bugs," she barely suppressed the laughter at the look on his face. "We have a deal, they guard and watch over my firebugs, and they get to live in the safety of my Willow, and the fact that they keep any and all pests away is a bonus to me."

"They won't attack us?"

"Nope,"

"So does this mean I don't get to step on or kill any of them?" She blinked for several moments, staring at him in bemusement, before letting her laughter bubble out. It took several long minutes before she could calm herself down, but when she did, she closed her book before standing, gesturing him up.

"Apparently you didn't see them, just felt them, right?" she asked, still chuckling. As he followed her up to the levels, he couldn't help but feel an uneasy feeling forming. They stopped at the first of the three storage levels, Firefly walking into the darkened rooms without hesitation. Jack heard several scurrying sounds as he followed her in, blinking when she lifted one of the glass orbs up, making it slowly brighten, to reveal hundreds of aisles that twisted around and around, branching off into each other like a labyrinth. The thousands of shelves, each containing hundreds of jars, were filled, as she had claimed, with delicate crystal and glass beads. When the orb stopped brightening, she specifically looked up, letting loose a series of clicks. Looking up, Jack felt his undead heart stop.

The rooms also had the open-rafter design found throughout Firefly's home, but the rafters were barely seen due to the winding tunnels and webs overhead. What frightened him, were just how BIG those tunnels were. He had little doubt the two of them could have easily walked through the tunnels, with their arms spread out, and still wouldn't touch the sides. What made it worse, besides seeing the smaller spiders running around in tinier tunnels, were the larger ones, busily working away. His jaw dropped, when one came at her call, one of the largest he'd guess, which made a Great Dane look like a runt from a Chihuahua litter. He could only watch as the long-legged arachnid lowered itself, revealing the typical Widow-body-type, shiny black fur glittering in the orb's light, the bright red hourglass flashing into view before it settled on the ground, rubbing up against Firefly like an overgrown cat.

"How's my little Buttercup?" he stared as she gave the nearly purring spider a complete rubdown, scratching the top of its middle and making it nearly melt into a pile of goo. "This is Buttercup, Jack, she's one of Dorothy's first brood. Come say hi,"

"Um, hi, Buttercup," he hesitantly reached forward, containing the flinch when the spider leaned forward, rubbing against his hand. It shivered for a moment, feeling his lower temperature, before pushing more insistently against him. Before he knew it, he was scratching and rubbing, as Buttercup nearly knocked him over, from leaning against him so hard.

"The Black Widows are the least venomous, but they can send messengers to the others faster, they're the first defense in case someone or something infiltrated the Willow." Firefly was taking advantage of him distracting the spider, since she was gently examining Buttercup's legs and abdomen, humming softly in thought.

"I see," They spent several more moments, playing with Buttercup, before she reluctantly climbed back up, returning to her work.

"Next is Frankie's, the Brown Widows are a bit more temperamental, and the Recluse are territorial, so I wouldn't recommend spending a lot of time with them." She led him up to the next level, which contained Frankie's brood, the Brown Widow who came was named Dusty, aptly named since the brown silky fur had dusty bars. It took several minutes of crooning and petting before Dusty allowed Jack to pet her, and she remained aloof and not as receptive to his touches, although she did lean against him, she wasn't as eager as Buttercup had been. The Recluses, Wilma's brood, were on the last floor, and Jack had barely stepped into the room when several of them nearly swarmed him. At least three the size of cats, two that were larger than Buttercup, more than ten that were of various sizes in between them, and one huge one he swore was larger than a house. All of them allowed Firefly to pet them, their stronger, thicker legs curling around her nearly threateningly, but the largest, Wilma, had settled on the ground and folded her legs up, allowing Firefly to climb up on top of her, to recline comfortably on her thorax. Wilma had poked and prodded him curiously, hissing at her children when they bristled at him, before yanking him close, her huge fangs lifting up as she sniffed him. A series of clicks and hisses later, he was sitting by her side, the younger Recluses darting away frantically. "Wilma likes you, despite you being a male," Firefly giggled.

"Despite being a male?" he repeated, eyes widening.

"They all eat their males, after they've mated," she explained simply, "But don't worry, they know you're considered family now, and no eating family,"

"Thanks, I think," Wilma nuzzled her face into his lap, her mandibles carefully covering her fangs, to prevent him getting hurt. "And I thought the spiders in Burgess were huge," he joked weakly. Wilma let out a short hissing purr, her eight eyes blinking at him in a row, the shared looks between Firefly and the Recluse Matriarch making Jack feel like he'd missed an inside joke. "What am I missing now?"

"Jack, they're normal sized spiders," Firefly smiled at the deadpan look on his face, "We're the ones who have shrunk,"

"I don't understand,"

"The Willow has specific spells on the entranceways, so we shrink when we enter, it's why all the rooms are so big, why I'm constantly expanding and creating new rooms. Right now, we're barely taking up a foot of room inside the Willow," she explained, amusedly.

"You're joking, but then how…" he was thinking about the balcony in his room, and how far it was from the ground.

"When ya the size of an ant, a foot looks like several stories," she grinned, easily knowing what he was thinking. The balcony was his favorite spot to relax, and she'd often carried him back to his nest to tuck him in. After spending some more time with Wilma, the two bid her goodnight before leaving, the orb dimming once Firefly put it back in its holder. "Questions?"

"I thought, I mean, wow, I just figured you had those expansion spell things on the Willow, that's why you have all the room,"

"I'm not that strong, Jack," she smirked lightly as they flew down to the workroom, "I have a couple of bags, and my pouches, that have those spells, but I can't do that for the Willow." She looked thoughtful after a moment however, as they headed over to a large table, scraps of cloth and rolls of fabric nearby. "If I stored a bit of magic into a foci or anchor stones, then perhaps, but it would take years to build up enough stored energies, especially since the Revel and summer is coming up."

"Oh, right," he looked sheepish at that, setting his staff to the side as he returned to his previous project. Taking the pile of papers she passed over, he tapped on the paper, watching as snowflakes and frost patterns spread, before melting and wetting the paper. It was a neat trick that they had thought of randomly, and it was quickly becoming a favorite project. He would create the individual snowflakes, practicing his control of his power, let them melt, then drip some ink into the wet areas, creating artful renditions of his element. Firefly had hung up several of the snowflakes in his room, leaving some as pictures on the walls, and cutting out others to spin leisurely from the rafters. It was almost as though it was snowing now, and he loved the effect, especially after he found the glitter. Firefly had been both amused and horrified after that, and gave him a quick rundown on properly containing it. He was still tracking glitter all over the Willow, despite their attempts to clean it up.

"Are you going to make the decorations?" she asked, sewing several pieces of fabric together. From the colors, he guessed she was making more pillows for his nest/bed, especially after he saw the carefully embroidered snowflakes and frost ferns. His bed had quickly been filled up with pillows and a thick comforter, all made by her, with snowflakes dancing across the blues of the fabrics. They were simple, not at all extravagant, but were made just for him. Every day she was gifting him with more and more items, most of which were set in his room for him to admire.

"Can I?"

"Of course," she giggled softly, making him scowl.

"Not funny,"

"Yes it was,"

"So I can't cook! Big deal!" he pouted, making her lean over and ruffle his hair. Before he could lean away, she darted in, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead.

"Don't worry, hon, I think I have the perfect food for you to make for me," she smiled affectionately, "But it'll have to wait until after I fix the kitchen."

"Sure, okay," he winced, remembering the incident. They were lucky the Willow was alive, since the small fire had easily been contained. He had the feeling that Firefly wasn't going to let him live that down, however, and she did order him not to try and cook without her there. She was still scrubbing the ash and airing out the huge kitchen even a week later. He really didn't know that she also kept weird ingredients, not meant for cooking, in one of the pantries in the kitchen, and of course he wouldn't know that some of those ingredients, when mixed and cooked together over a hot fire, would produce a sickly noxious smoke that would linger for weeks. He was a winter sprite! Cooking would be a hard task for him to work on, not a skill that would be easily mastered.

"I'm sure you'll learn, Jack, your stubbornness is almost as strong as Kozzy's," she reassured, returning to her sewing. He huffed quietly, but smiled back. He wondered when he would meet her friend, Kozzy, since she talked about him occasionally. He had found that the third bedroom on their floor belonged to him, but he hadn't been able to peek into the room. Firefly had asked him not to, when she'd seen his curiosity, and he would honor her request. She had done so much for him, it was the least he could do, after all. He still wondered who this Kozzy was though. A trilling, tweeting sound had both of them looking up, recognizing the language. Jack eagerly held out his hand, Baby Tooth flitting over to sit on his finger, as Firefly leaned over.

"Hey, Baby Tooth, what's up?" A series of tweets, chirps, and trills, and Firefly was looking concerned.

"That's strange, really?" looking thoughtful, the older Guardian turned away briefly.

"What, what did she say?" Jack could usually understand the fairies, but only really through body language. He could tell she was worried about something, and obviously it was bad news, by watching Firefly dig around several drawers.

"A lot of spirits have suddenly come forth," she started explaining, pulling out a couple vials and pouches. "Someone's been stealing from them, no one knows why though," She examined each item, muttering the properties of each as she concentrated.

"Stealing?"

"Yeah, the Seven each had a small amount of their Sin stolen, the Leprechaun had a bit of luck stolen, the Groundhog had some of his fur…"

"Wait, why would someone steal some of Phil's fur?" he interrupted, amused. His smirk dropped at the serious look on her face.

"His fur has small amounts of his power Jack, don't you know? He's a bit of a Seer, he can see glimpses of the future, which is why he can tell when Winter lingers or Spring comes early,"

"Huh, didn't know that. But Phil's still an ass," he muttered.

"I wouldn't disagree," he looked up at her in shock. He had never heard her speak badly of someone, but from the stiffness and the pain in her eyes, he realized that she had her own past with the Groundhog, and most likely not a pleasant one.

"So, why would someone steal all those things?"

"I don't know," she stole one of his papers, scribbling notes as she thought about each item. "They're all in such small amounts, that unless they were combined, they wouldn't do much of anything," she muttered, frustrated, "But simply combining all of them would render all or most of them useless. The Sins would create a powerful poison for sure, but adding Luck and Future-reading? That would negate the poison, unless they were combined with other ingredients," He and Baby Tooth watched as she circled words, scribbling notes attached to those words, and in general making a mess of the paper. Neither could understand half of what she had written, using strange words they had never heard of, like Cosmotic Chaos Theory, Stellar Formation Theorem, and Dark Refraction. After several moments, she sighed and shoved it away, glowering at it. "There's still too few ingredients to make anything, that I can see at least," She reached out, stroking one finger down Baby Tooth's head, making her trill happily, before ushering them both downstairs. "Time to eat! Let's ignore this for a bit, then look at it later. Not like we can do anything right now anyway,"


Chap's done! ^^….. I sincerely apologize for anyone with arachnophobia, and hope you do not have nightmares about this chapter. But look! A bit of a plot is forming! Muahahaha! Can you see it?.. If not then oh well, it'll be expanded on soon. Um, I found myself with a blank mind, trying to remember all mythic characters from the childhood. Mother Goose is on the Moon, but she was the only one I could remember immediately, and I know that the Groundhog's name is Phil, but yeah… So if anyone could help me remember childhood figures I'd be very appreciative!

These are the ones I know of: Leprechaun (I'm Irish, so I'm always thinking of them, ;p), Cupid, Groundhog, the Seven Deadly Sins, Angel.


Review Replies:

PhoenixTears589: I like making her different, she's not what you'd expect from a Guardian, being so mild and such. Even when she was arguing with Pitch, she didn't really react like most would. She could have been pissed, but she wasn't, just upset. There's a reason for this of course, and it's similar to Seraphina, who will make an appearance next chapter by the way, although not to her extreme. Firefly's past is gonna be revealed, piece by piece, and a plot is forming! Besides smut, but a semblance of a plot makes it a bit more interesting. As for her taking Jack in, it's also part of her nature, not her center, but her inner self. Jack is still considered a child, especially considering how old she is. She's like Sandy, though not exactly, with having lived millennia before she crashed and died, but that will be coming up soon. Also, taking in Jack was automatic, she considers him a child, and in her past, she was always taking care of someone, whether they were children, or ahem, someone else. Hint, hint. :P..


So, due to work either loving/hating me, I will probably be changing my updates to every Monday, instead of Sunday, since this is the second time I've passed out after work without updating. I sincerely apologize to all the readers, but I am making an effort to keep regular updates. Thanks for reading!

Happy Mother's Day, to any moms out there! Even if its a day late...

Have fun, write free!