Hey everyone! Happy Halloween eve! Sorry that this oneshot isn't related to Halloween, but I couldn't think of anything x_x sorry DX
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Jack knew that every type of seasonal spirit category usually had a common ability: Summer sprites and the Summer spirit could control fire as an extension of their abilities with heat. Fall sprites, the Fall spirit, Spring sprites and the Spring spirit could hear the voices of plants and stone, being so intune with nature as they were.
And then there was Jack.
He had been the only Winter seasonal for a long while now. There used to be others, Jack had heard about them through stories, but they'd slowly disappeared as time passed, and now Jack was the only one left, bringing Winter to the world all on his own.
But he still knew that the Winter spirits and sprites that had come before him all had a common ability, just like the other seasonals.
Those who controlled the cold could see souls.
Jack supposed this was because of Winter's close connection with death, but he couldn't say for sure.
Because he didn't have that ability.
Despite shepherding the cold winds and bitter chill of Winter, Jack couldn't see souls. He looked at people, mortal and immortal alike, and only saw their faces. No glowing orbs at their chests that thrummed in time with their heart, no faint mist leaving their mouths as their last breath left them, just...Nothing!
Instead, Jack found himself with the oddest power, the ability to heal.
He'd never heard of another spirit who could do such a thing. No seasonal, no holiday spirit, not even the occasional mythical creature! And this made Jack both curious...And afraid.
So afraid that he never healed even his own wounds, too afraid that the others of the immortal world would shun him even more than they already did. That wasn't worth getting rid of a little pain...
And for centuries, after he had first learned of his secondary ability, Jack didn't use it. He never had much of a reason too, anyways, never getting anything worse than the occasional broken finger.
But after three-hundred years, Jack finally had a reason.
He and the other Guardians had been fighting off a few rogue Nightmares around a small town in Japan. Jack had been dispatching the last few when one managed t get free and took off...In Bunny's direction.
The Pooka, so off guard, had barely lifted a boomerang before grainy, porous teeth had torn through fur and flesh, taking a good sized chunk from the rabbit's arm.
Bunny, grabbing at the wound, yelled at the others to make sure the creature of fear didn't escape, but while the other three had run off to ensure this, Jack had hurried forward.
Aster frowned as Jack knelt beside him, the boy's bright blue eyes wide as his hands hovered over the paw that Bunny had over his bleeding wound.
Oh how Bunny hated that look, so vulnerable and child-like that his instincts screamed at him to cuddle the kit until he was happy once more.
"Relax, Frostbite, I'm fine. Go help th' others."
The Pooka winced when the teen sent him a glare, lips curled down in a frown.
"They'll be fine." Jack snapped. "You're the one who needs help, idiot! Look at you, you're bleeding everywhere! Your fur used to be grey, y'know!"
Aster couldn't help but chuckle, despite the pain ripping through his upper arm.
"It's still grey, mate. Under a few layers o' blood."
The joke didn't coax a laugh from the boy, and Aster found himself instead on the receiving end of another glare.
"That isn't funny!"
Bunny blinked, taken aback by the serious expression and harsh tone.
"I...Uh...Sorry..?"
Jack only shook his head to himself, gaze turning to the bleeding wound on the Pooka's arm.
Long pale fingers reached forward, gently curling around the paw over the injury and pulling it away with such gentle delicacy that Bunny never knew the teen was capable of. The boy winced sympathetically as the gaping wound came into full view.
"Oh jeez..."
"'S not bad as it looks." Bunny tried to assure, but it didn't appear to work as the teen only stared at the injury, fingers brushing against the skin just outside the wound. The boy's skin was cold, and the chill lessened the sting of the bite. Like a walking ice pack, Bunny absently mused.
Big blue eyes turned to Aster's face once more, looking so sad and apologetic...
Bunnymund squirmed uncomfortably.
"Stop givin' me tha' look." He demanded gruffly. "Ya look like a kit beggin' fer sweets..."
Jack rolled his eyes before focusing on the injury, grimacing when Bunny flinched as pale fingers feathered over the wound.
"I...I think I can...I think I can patch this up..."
Bunny frowned, confused.
"What-"
"Just hold still." Jack interjected, settling on his haunches. Aster jumped when the boy's hands cupped around the bite in his arm.
"Frostbite, what're you-"
An annoyed flick of sapphire orbs.
"I can't do this if you aren't quiet."
The Pooka wanted to ask 'do what?', but decided to shut up and just observe. Would the boy ice his wound over to stem the blood flow? Or maybe-
Aster tensed up when a blue-white glow suddenly emanated from under Jack's hands, the light soft and dim, like a moonbeam captured by Jack's nimble fingers. A small tickling sensation flickered over Bunny's wound, and he turned a startled gaze onto the young Winter spirit.
The boy's eyes glowed the same blue-white of the light peeking through his fingers, the moonlight casting down on them from the night sky above seeming to reflect off of the teen's snow colored locks and highlighting the pale, ice cold skin that belonged only to Jack himself.
Bunny had rarely seen such a look of concentration on Jack's face, and it was both surprising and concerning to the Pookan warrior. Just how much power was this taking? How much of the young immortal's strength was this sapping away?
After a still, silent moment, Jack slowly pulled his hands away, leaning closer to better see his handiwork. Aster's eyesight, sharp as ever, easily cut through the night's darkness as he too looked at his arm.
Where torn flesh and muscle had been, there was only bloodstained fur. No injury, no pain...
Nothing.
Shocked emerald eyes turned to Jack, and the Winter spirit smiled shakily.
"Glad I remembered how to do that, its...its been awhile." The boy looked away, cheeks frosting slightly in embarrassment as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I've never tried it on someone else, so if it feels weird, then I can try to fix it, but I don't really know how and-"
As the teen rambled, Bunny's gaze flickered away from the boy's face and instead to his porcelain hands.
The skin that looked was so soft, so frail, was stained crimson with blood. The blood was proof wound hadn't been imaginary, it had really been there, and the boy had healed it.
Aster's eyes returned to Jack's face.
"You...You're a healer..!"
The awed whisper made Jack's rambling come to a halt, the boy blinking owlishly at his Pookan friend.
"Well, uh...Yeah? I guess you could put it that way?"
Bunny looked between Jack and his hands.
"Strewth, Frostbite, Jack, this...Do ya know how rare th' ability t' heal is?"
Jack frowned, confused.
"I just...Figured I was the only one. Y'know," A shrug. "Just part of being the oddball in the spirit world-"
A bark of incredulous laughter left the Pooka, making the teen jump slightly.
"Jus' part of- No! Jack, there's others who can heal, but only th' most powerful spirits can, like Motha' Nature. Th' fact ya can heal..."
The Pooka ran a paw over his head, pushing his ears down momentarily before they slipped free again. Jack shifted uncomfortably, standing.
"Well, I'm different, I'm not powerful like her. I just freeze water pipes and mess with your egg hunts." He took hold of one of Bunny's arms, helping him to his feet. "C'mon, we need to go find the others and head back home."
The boy started to walk away, but Bunny grabbed him by the hood.
"Oh no ya don't, we ain' done talkin' 'bout this, not on yer nelly!"
Jack groaned, head lolling back.
"Bunnyyyyy..." He whined, making sure to hit the exact pitch that made the Pooka's skin crawl.
"Don'cha 'Bunny' me! Why didn' ya tell any of us ya could heal?!"
With a heavy sigh, Jack crossed his arms.
"Because its no big deal, Bunny. If I go spreading the news around that I can heal, then who knows what'll happen. With my luck I'd get kidnapped by a spirit who's accident prone and needs a personal doctor!" Aster frowned at that. "And like I said, It's not that I'm powerful or anything, I'm just a weird Winter spirit who's secondary power got backwards, y'know? I don't see death, I-"
"See an' nurture life."
Jack pursed his lips, nodding once.
"...Yeah."
Bunny shook his head to himself.
"Jack, ya jus' don' get it, do ya? Frostbite," He bent down to be eye-level with Jack, paws taking the teen's shoulders and giving him a small shake as though it would knock sense into him. "You. Can. Heal. That ain' somethin' jus' any spirit can pull off! It takes a giant amoun' of power an' energy, th' fact yer still standin' after fixin' me up is amazin'!"
Jack looked unsure, eyes flickering away momentarily. Bunny frowned.
"Jack, it ain' a bad thing! Its a good thing, an amazin' thing!"
Jack scowled, glaring at his feet.
"No, its not. Its weird. I'm a Winter spirit, I'm supposed to bring snow and ice and..." A slight waver to his voice, and the boy had to take a split-second to steel his resolve. "And pain. Death."
A strange mix of sadness and shock passed over Aster's face for a moment, then the Pooka's expression hardened. Jack gave a start when the grip on his shoulders tightened.
"No, Jack, jus'...jus' no. That's not Winter, an' it most definitely ain' you. I-"
He was cut off when the shadow of North's sleigh cut through the light from the moon above, the giant beast of an invention landing nearby, North calling out to Jack and Bunny jovially and gesturing for them to climb into the sleigh. Bunny sighed, whiskers twitching in irritation as he turned back to Jack, pointing at him.
"This conversation ain' over, Frostbite. We're talkin' 'bout this when we get back t' th' Warren."
Jack only groaned.
"Fiiiiine..."
Satisfied, Bunny lead the way towards the sleigh.
Jack watched from where he sat in a kitchen chair while Bunny paced, the Pooka's face contemplative.
Finally, the Guardian of Hope turned to the young winter spirit who stared up at him.
"Alrigh', we'll talk this all ova' one thing at a time." He moved forward, crouching in front of Jack. With the boy in the chair, Bunny was shorter than him for once and could stare up rather than down at the teen. Comfortably settled on his haunches, the Pooka rested is elbows on his knees, gaze so determined that Jack knew there was no way out of this conversation.
And so Jack only nodded. Satisfied, Aster started.
"Now, as fer what ya said b'fore we had t' go, about yer season bein' 'bout nothin' but ice an' death." Jack winced, but Bunny continued. "I can tell ya that yer wrong. So, so wrong, Frostbite. Ev'ry season has its place, but Winter's place ain' that."
Jack frowned, glaring at him defiantly.
"Well tell that to Sol Arflare."
Bunny frowned, whiskers twitching.
"So that's who ya got th' idea from? That pompous blow-hard?" Jack shrugged, and Bunny huffed. "That's th' last person ya should listen to!"
Jack crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well in this case he's right! I'm not like Spring or Summer, I can't help things grow, and I'm not like Fall, I can't make people smile with colorful leaves-"
Bunny took hold of the boy's shoulders, making his spiel come to a halt, big blue eyes turning to the Pooka's face in surprise. The furred fingers on his shoulders tightened.
"Winter isn't 'bout death, Frostbite. Look..." Aster searched his mind for a good way to explain things to Jack. Finding one, he stood, pulling Jack up as well and going to the nearby hole that served as a window. "My plants. What helps them grow?"
Jack raised a brow, looking from the garden outside to Bunny.
"Uh...Dirt?"
This earned him a flat look, and the Pooka's ears flattened while Jack smirked.
"Not what they grow in, what helps them grow."
Jack frowned thoughtfully, turning to peer outside once more.
"Uh...Water..?"
The Winter spirit jumped when Bunny pointed at him suddenly.
"Exactly. If th' soil's too dry an' hard, then plants can't grow. Winter brings snow, an' snow's water. When it melts, th' soil b'comes perfect fer planting."
A deadpan look from Jack.
"So my season's a giant sprinkler."
He yelped as he was swatted over the back of the head.
"Ow!"
"Let me finish, ya gumby!"
Jack frowned up at Aster, rubbing the back of his head but remaining silent all the same. Satisfied, Bunny continued.
"Winter's like cleanin' a slate. It takes care o' all the dead plants an' preps the soil. It balances th' cycle of th' year. Winter's not 'bout death, Jack." Spring green eyes turned down to meet Jack's. "Winter's jus' as much 'bout life as any other season." He leaned down to eye level, gripping the boy's shoulders. "An' Jack...You can heal. Mendin' bone and skin, tha' takes an amazin' amount of power an' energy. No wonder yer th' only Winter elemental 'round, ya have 'nough power to handle the season all by yourself."
Jack looked at his feet, unsure. If this was anyone else telling him this, he would be laughing, finding it a hilarious joke. But this was Bunny. Bunny almost never joked, and he never lied. Not to Jack, at least.
So he was being honest about this.
And that scared Jack.
He'd always been scared of his power, of what he could do, what he was capable of. He always kept his staff close, the conduit keeping a tight leash on his powers, and whenever he got more than seven feet away from it, when he would lose it, those moments it took to retrieve it were always the most terrifying in his life. The idea of losing control, of hurting someone, maybe even killing someone...It would make him feel like when he drowned: the sky baring down, a pressure building in his chest and he couldn't breathe-
"Jack? Jack!" The boy gave a start when he was shaken. "Frostbite, look at me!"
Bright blue orbs turned to Bunny, who looked relieved that the young spirit had snapped out of what ever reverie he had been going through.
"Ya alrigh'?"
"I...Y...No."
Aster frowned, straightening up.
"What? What's wrong?"
Jack shook his head, shrugging off the hands on his shoulders and going to the table where his staff waited, his pale fingers quickly wrapping around the aged wood as he stood it up and leaned against it, cheek pressed to the frosted bark.
"Its nothing, don't worry. I'll be fine."
Bunny crossed his arms, frown deepening and brow furrowing.
"Jack-"
The boy scowled, turning to the Pookan warrior.
"Look, I don't feel like talking about it, okay? It just...the idea of being...y'know..." His nose wrinkled. "'Powerful'."
Bunny tilted his head, confusion flitting across his face.
"What? Why would-..."
The Pooka paused, sharp eyes taking in Jack's tense form, the way his long, shaking fingers gripped the aged, frosted staff...
"Ya...You're scared, aren' you..? Scared o' bein' powerful..."
Jack frowned, squirming uncomfortably, fingers dancing over the wood in his hands.
"What? No, that- that's stupid, I'm not-"
"Frostbite, yer hands 're shakin'."
Jack blinked owlishly, looking down to find that the older Guardian was right. The Winter spirit glared at his hands for betraying him.
Bunny moved forward, gently placing his paws over the callused hands, stilling them.
"'S alrigh' t' be nervous, Jack." Bunny reassured quietly, his rumbling voice warm and oddly soothing. "But bein' strong...That isn't bad, kit."
Jack dipped his head, eyes hiding behind snowy locks, ashamed.
"I know, but...I mean...its just kind of scary. I already had enough trouble controlling my powers, but now? With me getting believers?"
Bunny winced. He remembered how crazy things had been back wen he, too, had first become a Guardian and gotten believers. It made it hard to control his abilities, and with Jack being an elemental? Elements were already hard to control for a normal spirit, but to not only be likely the youngest person in the entire immortal world and be armed with amazing power from the very start, and having that power expand? It had to be insane...
"I get that, Frostbite, I really do." Bunny placed a paw under the boy's chin, tilting his head up to make the teen look at him. "But ya ain' on yer own anymore. You've got Tooth, North, Sandy...and me."
Jack looked unsure, his face so...so vulnerable.
Just like a child.
Like a kit.
Bunny managed a smile (one that he hoped was comforting, though he wasn't sure).
"We're not gonna leave ya t' figure this all out on yer own, Jack. Yer not alone. Not anymore."
Big blue eyes seemed to light up, and the Pooka could sense the younger spirit's hope skyrocket. It was only a split-second later that Bunny found gangly arms wrapped around him and a mess of white hair buried in his middle.
Aster blinked, staring down at the younger Guardian for a long moment, both surprised and confused. Jack was picky about physical contact, and hugs were usually off the table.
The words he said meant...they meant that much?
Hesitantly, Bunny rested a paw on the teen's frosted locks, a smile gracing his lips.
"...Thanks, 'Roo..."
The boy's words were muffled by Bunny's fur, but the Pookan warrior could fear the pure gratefullness in his voice. His smile widened.
"No need t' thank me, kit." A grey-furred cheek resting atop Jack's head. "No need fer thanks."