A/N: Ergh, I've been sick since Christmas Eve, and haven't had the ability to sit down and give Raven the writing she deserves. I know it's been more than a week, and I feel really bad about that. Hopefully my updates will return to a more normal schedule now that I'm feeling better... Or at least there won't be another week between my updates.
This is shorter than a few previous chapters, but that's because this is slightly filler. Explaining what's happening in different areas, foreshadowing for future chapters, etc. etc.
/x/x/x/
Raven looks around the room she's told is her room for as long as she stays at the North Pole. She has been given flannel pajamas to replace her flimsy pajama pants and tank top, and feeling has returned to her hands and feet. The room is fancier than anything she has seen before. She turns to Sandy with an uncomfortable look.
"Are you sure it's alright that I stay here?"
Sandy nods, smiling gently as he floats over to the bed while keeping his eyes on Raven. He motions for her to lay down, miming that it's late and she deserves to reclaim her lost sleep. Raven smirks, crossing and rubbing her arms.
"You really think I can get to sleep after all this, Sandy?"
Sandy smirks at her, pointing to himself. He's the Sandman. She'll be able to sleep comfortably with his help, but only if she wants to sleep. Raven sighs, running a hand through her hair.
"You're not going to leave me alone until I agree, are you?"
The woman doesn't wait for Sandy's reply, walking over to the bed and climbing into it hesitantly. It's much too large for one person, but the sheets are warm and soft while the pillows feel like clouds beneath her head. Blue eyes find Sandy's golden eyes seconds before he begins working his magic. Raven's eyes close without her permission, and she's sound asleep within a few minutes.
Sandy nods in satisfaction, pulling the sheets under Raven's chin before he turns and floats out of the room. He motions to a nearby Yeti, telling him to keep watch over the woman and if anything seems amiss to alert the Guardians at once. When the Yeti agrees, Sandy leaves to re-join his fellow Guardians in the Globe room.
/x/x/x/
"So what are we supposed to do about Pitch?" Toothiana asks in worry, fluttering just above the Globe of Belief, her eyes never straying from the lights littering the surface.
"It seems Pitch is targeting older believers. Why he is doing so, I cannot say. It would be easier to target younger believers." North muses, stroking his beard.
Bunnymund huffs in annoyance. "I don' care whetha' he's targetin' the younga' or olda' believers, he's targetin' believers. We needta find a way ta protect 'em!"
Sandy listens in silence, his eyes training on their youngest member. Jack has been less than cheerful since Raven's return to Burgess. The boy is leaning against the wall, hugging his staff to his body, eyes over-shadowed by his hoodie.
The Sandman floats over to Jack, ducking in height just enough to catch the boy's eye. Jack smiles at Sandy, though the older Guardian can tell it's not a true smile. Pictures begin appearing above his head, the images cycling slowly so Jack can understand Sandy.
"What do you mean I'm not acting like myself, Sandy?"
Jack tries to brush off his strange behavior, but the Sandman is having none of his excuses. With a reprimanding look, Sandy repeats the cycle of images, causing Jack to grunt in frustration.
"She's been gone for years, Sandy, and when she finally comes back, she doesn't even remember us."
Sandy shakes his head. All children normally grow out of their belief of the Guardians. It's part of the cycle. Children will grow up and have their own children. They will tell the stories of the Guardians to their children, making them believe. That is how the cycle has lasted for as long as the Guardians have existed...
Until Jack joined the Guardians.
Jack laughs quietly, intently watching the sand images of Jamie and Sophie above Sandy's head.
"Those two aren't normal by any means. They faced down the Boogeyman and won."
Sandy nods, smiling in encouragement as a picture of Raven appears above his head followed closely by a picture of Raven and Jack hugging and smiling. Jack stares at the image, a look close to that of pained disbelief causing his normally happy features to somber.
"I don't know if that can happen, Sandy. I mean, what if she doesn't recall what happened... What if she doesn't remember anything about her time in Burgess before her move?"
Sandy waves Jack's worries away, telling the younger spirit that she'll remember. When Raven does remember, Jack will have to be able to approach her and address the argument all those years ago.
"I'll keep it in mind, Sandy. Just don't hold your breath that's ever going to happen." Jack pats Sandy on the shoulder before removing his hood with a smile. The two spirits join the other three Guardians in front of the Globe, attempting to catch up on the planning to find and defeat Pitch before he can cause more damage.
/x/x/x/
Raven's dreams consist of memories of happier times... Times the woman has long since forgotten due to her uncle's actions while she was still a young child. As she dreams, she remembers. The memories are painful. They remind her what her life was like before meeting her aunt and uncle, before being forced into the experiments and treatments her uncle insisted upon when her childish beliefs were not disappearing fast enough.
Though Sandy's dreams for Raven are pure and good, as they should be, they will bring Raven much grief upon awakening.
/x/x/x/
Pitch storms around the Globe of Belief in his lair, eyes glaring at the ground. His hand shifts to his aching side where the human female punched him in their meeting. He scowls. Nothing like that has ever happened to the Boogeyman before, and it infuriates him. He doesn't understand why Raven attacked him, even when he could literally taste her fear on his tongue.
She will need to be trapped the next time Pitch attempts to frighten her, or he will have to be a safe distance away from the woman. The Nightmare King refuses to put himself in the position to be hurt again. A Nightmare whinnies at him softly in question. Pitch growls at it. The horse shies away from its livid master, the clopping of its hooves echoing around the great room.
Pitch stops his pacing, turning his yellow gaze to the Globe. There are now three lights where once there wasn't any. The Boogeyman bares his sharp teeth in an evil grin, laughter filling the once quiet realm.
"The next time we meet, it will not end nicely."
/x/x/x/
"How're you feeling, Sophie?"
The look of worry on her brother's face has Sophie feeling guilty. She had woken him up over a bad dream like she was still five-years-old.
"I'm okay... Sorry about all this, Jamie."
Jamie shakes his head while ruffling his younger sister's hair. "Pitch isn't someone you want to play around with, Sophie. Don't be ashamed at having woken me up. Adults can be scared of the Boogeyman just like children."
Sophie stares at her brother through her tousled hair. "Are you scared of him, Jamie?" The question is asked softly, as if the blonde is afraid the spirit in question will hear her.
Jamie averts his eyes to the darkest corner of his room, a thoughtful look on his face. Finally, the brunette nods as he turns his gaze back to his sister.
"Yes. I'm scared of him, Sophie. I'm scared of what he can do to us. He's been in exile or whatever since we were little. You probably don't even remember when you first saw him, you were so tiny." Jamie smiles fondly at his sister, who sticks her tongue out at him.
"His own fear was his downfall then, but I think he's had the time to come to terms with that fear. He won't be so easily defeated this time around... He's never had the opportunity to frighten older believers like us, either."
Sophie frowns, drawing her knees to her chest. "So there's no way of knowing what he'll do at all?"
Jamie shakes his head, sighing as he falls back into his pillow. Staring up at his ceiling, Jamie can't shake the sense that things were about to quickly move beyond their control.
/x/x/x/
Jack sighs in frustration as he leans against his staff. The Guardians' planning is going nowhere but headfirst into an argument between Bunnymund and North. The ice elf decides to sneak away from the impromptu meeting, putting his finger over his mouth as a couple of little elves begin jingling in excitement at his approach.
They follow him like lost puppies as he exits the Globe room, tension disappearing as soon as he's out of earshot of the raised voices in the previous room. Jack watches the elves dance around his feet, chuckling when one of them knocks another over in its excitement.
Jack squats down, motioning for the elves to move closer. They do so eagerly, as they are always willing to help.
"Do you know which room Sandy put Raven in? The human woman I brought with me earlier?"
The elves share a look, chattering in the gibberish that only they and somehow North understood, before grinning widely at Jack. They began tugging on his hoodie sleeves, almost pulling him over with their surprising strength.
"Alright, alright, already! I'll follow you guys, no need to knock me over and carry me to her!" Jack laughs, standing up to follow the little helpers carefully so as not to trod on them by accident. North wasn't kidding whenever he complained the little oddballs were always underfoot.
Though to Jack's amazement, the little elves are silent as they push open the door to Raven's room, even holding their fingers over their lips to shush Jack before allowing him to enter. They waddle in, climbing up the sides of the bed to look over the sleeping Raven. The watching Yeti grunts at them in warning, but doesn't move when he sees they don't mean any harm.
Jack's footsteps are non-existent as he approaches Raven's sleeping form. He smiles to himself upon noticing Sandy's dreamsand hovering above her head. The little images show a group of children playing in the snow. Jack can easily pick out Raven and Jamie. A miniature of himself then fades into the scene, picking up Jamie and dropping him in a snowdrift.
Jack smiles softly. He remembers that day. It was the first day of winter after their defeat of Pitch. Jack had been worried his young believers would have stopped believing in him after a year of not seeing him, but their belief held true then just as strongly as it does now.
So the memories are still there in Raven's mind. Then why has she forgotten all of them but Sandy? Why does she still act as if she doesn't recall the times she had shared with the Guardians?
Jack nods to the Yeti as he passes by the creature, taking up residence on the windowsill. The Yeti grumbles his annoyance at having his personal space invaded by both Jack Frost and the little elves who have snuggled against Raven's side and arm, but allows them to stay in the room as long as they behave. Sandy had given the Yeti a job, and the creature is going to see it through, even if that means throwing Jack out of the workshop.
Through all the activity, Raven sleeps and dreams.
/x/x/x/