Disclaimer: I don't own ROTG.
Ch10: No Good Dreams Left.
Bunnymund, North and Sandy jumped after Pitch, unfortunately the nightmare king had already disappeared into the shadows when they landed on the ground. "He's gone." North grimly stated the obvious.
Aster grunted putting his boomerangs back in their holsters. "Alright I admit it," the pooka told North, his ears flattening. "you were right about Pitch."
"This is one time I wish I was wrong." North replied putting his swords away.
The Cossack and the Easter Bunny both enjoyed their mock arguments, even though their last one was years ago. Their arguments, usually pointless, were amusing because they could go on for hours, neither of the two willing to admit they're wrong. Bunny saying North was right would have been a great feat if his wife hadn't needed to suffer for it. "But he will pay." North said nodding.
Jack didn't pay the three male guardians any attention. The boy, who had winter poured into him flew down to the ground where Tooth was on her knees in the grass clutching an empty teeth container to her test.
The fairy had her eyes clenched shut so she didn't notice Jack crouching down beside her un till the winter spirit spoke up. "I'm sorry about the fairies."
With a silent gasp Tooth turned to Jack, her little prince who didn't even recognize her. The strong, warrior queen didn't even try to smile. "You should have seen them." She said, no longer her bubbly self, defeat leaving her with a bitter taste in her mouth. "They put up such a fight." Tooth said eyes drifting back to the teeth container now in her lap.
"Why would Pitch take the teeth?" Jack asked glancing at Baby Tooth who sat on the broken remains of a teeth container.
Because Pitch wants to hurt us! You're my baby and don't remember! You needed your baby teeth to watch your memories! Because I'm useless without my fairies, I can't guard my own child and now I failed all the children! "It's not the teeth he wants Sweet-..y" Tooth answered knowing she couldn't tell Jack. She had seen some of Jack's memories and she knows there is no way he'd believe them if they tell him the truth.
300 years on his own had damaged her baby and there's nothing the mother can do about it. Jack would think they were telling a lie.
A horrible, despicable lie.
Because everyone always lies.
Dear moon, that's how Jack thinks now isn't it?
Even while she felt like she was slowly dying on the inside Tooth managed to keep her voice steady as she started her explanation. "It's the memories inside." At Jack's puzzled look Tooth got up and led Jack to her mural.
When she flew above her undeep pond Tooth hesitated, Jack drowned! Sweet Tooth should hate water! Just when she's about to fly over to him Jack follows her the water freezing under his feet with every step he took.
Even that he didn't remember... And for a moment Tooth is relieved, her relief is lost when she realized they would also be forcing him to re- to relive his death.
"That's why we collect the teeth, Jack." Tooth continued once she found her voice again. "They hold the most important memories of childhood. My fairies and I watch over them and when someone needs to remember what's important, we help them." But they hadn't. Not with Jack.
Jack unaware of Tooth's troubled thoughts, took a moment to admire the artwork on the mural. That's when Tooth said the words that surprised him so.
"We had everyone's here. Yours to."
"My memories?" Jack asks turning back to Tooth. His head is tilted to the side showing both confusion and curiosity.
Already prepared for the question Toothiana had her answer ready. "From before you became Jack Frost." Because she would not lie to him. Not now, not after so long... Just no.
For a moment Jack just stared at her, face scrunched up as he tried to make sense of her words. "But... I wasn't anyone before I was Jack Frost...?" He didn't mean to make it sound like a question, but it somehow does anyway.
'Yes you were!' And all Tooth wants is wrap her boy in her arms and go back home. Let Pitch have his victory. She can't though. Pitch has Jack's teeth. All the teeth and her fairies.
The queen has an oath to keep. "Of course you were Sweet-..y" Again the same mistake. "We were all someone before we were chosen."
Everyone is quiet, the other male guardians now to have their eyes on Jack as the youth tries to process the information.
"You should have seen Bunny!" North suddenly laughed. A fake laugh in attempt to distract Jack.
"Hey, I told you never to mention that!" Bunny cried holding his fist threatened at North. Bunny is in on it though. Aster before becoming a guardian was the same Pooka that he is now, he didn't change appearance like Jack.
But god knew the kid enjoyed humor at Bunny's expense, so Bunny played along with North's playful jibe.
Their well-meant attempt did nothing.
Jack still looked immensely confused and almost terrified too. Everything he thought he knew now seemed wrong. He was just the boy from the pond right...? "That night at the pond...I just, I assumed...Are you saying I had a life before that? With a home? And a family?"
Using his control of the wind Jack flew back to the land where he immediately started pacing. "All these years, and the answers were right here. If I find my memories, then I'll know why I'm here." 'What I'm missing...' Jack doesn't say it, but he wonders if he'll remember the song that at the same time is gone and at the same time is still here. "If I remember I-"
Suddenly Tooth is in front of him, her hands gripping his shoulders, creating wrinkles in his blue hoodie. "Jack, listen to me." And Jack does, because defying her for some reason doesn't seem like an option. "Jack I promise you that we will get your memories back. It will be alright." She smiled at him to give him courage and just as she lets go of his shoulders a patch of her feathers fall from her body
Jack gasped looking at the feathers that slowly floated down to land on the grass. Glancing up behind Tooth, the winter spirit can see the mural begin to disintegrate, the painted picture of Toothiana and her helpers slowly turning black.
"The children..." Tooth whispered watching her beautiful mural turn into something dark. "I-It's too late."
"No!" North cried refusing the mere thought of the belief in his angel to be dying out. "No! No such thing as too late!" The large Russian pulled out his sabers and started pacing. There had to be another way- "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Idea! HAHH" North cried aiming his sword way too close to Bunny for the pooka's liking.
Sandy, Bunny and Jack watch the gleeful guardian. Obviously he had lost his mind right?
"We will collect the teeth!"
Obviously.
"What?" Tooth asked mind racing as she considered her husband's absurd idea.
Nicolas St. North would not be put down. "We get teeth! Children keep believing in you!"
"We're talking seven continents! Millions of kids!"
Too stubborn and kind to accept help. That's how he fell in love with her. "Give me break! You know how many toys I deliver in one night?"
"And eggs I hide in one day?" Bunny added smirking.
Buzzing with excitement Tooth looked at Sandy, her old friend gives an enthusiastic thumbs up. The queen then looked at Jack who smirked.
"I'm in."
-ROTG-
He was traveling by chimney and it wasn't Christmas. The once king of bandits laughed loudly as he used his breaking and entering skills to travel across the rooftops of Shanghai. "Quickly! Quickly!"
"Hop to it rabbit, I'm five teeth ahead!" Jack called out flying along the rooftop where Bunnymund was running on.
In reply Bunny sent him a teasing smirk. "Yeah right, look, I'd tell you to stay outta my way, but really what's the point, because you won't be able to keep up anyway."
Jack paused and then a huge grin overtook his face. "Is that a challenge cottontail?"
It was most definitely their Jack, still searching for ways to bug, tease and basically annoy Aster. And boy did the pooka love having it back. "Oh, you don't wanna race a rabbit, mate." Let's see if the powers gave Jack an actual chance in for once beating the rabbit.
Probably not.
"A race?" North repeated voice filled with excitement. "Is it a race?" North jumped into one chimney, then shot out of another across the way. "This is going to be-" He disappeared down yet another chimney and then emerged with a bang out the top of another.
"EPIC!"
Tooth was just as- No more excited to be out in the field than anyone else.
She's in what Bunny once called 'hummingbird overdrive' something which makes hyperactive four-year olds on sugar rush look calm. "Four bicuspids over there! An incisor two blocks east! Is that a molar? They're EVERYWHERE!" She's so overwhelmed that she flies right-face first- against a toothpaste billboard.
"Ow!"
Jack jumped onto the billboard doing an amazing job at not laughing at the fairy. "You okay?"
"Fine" Tooth answered her voice filled with indigence as she rubbed her reddening nose. "sorry," She then sent Jack an apologetic smile. "it's been a really long time since I've been out in the field."
"How long is a long time?"
"Ah, three hundred and fourteen years... Give or take." Tooth answered rubbing her arm in slight embarrassment. The fairy then jerked to attention, suddenly she has tunnel like vision and her eyes land on a tiny glow under a little girl's pillow marking a freshly planted tooth.
The sound she makes is a mix of a gasp and shriek of delight, and just like that the fairy flew towards the room.
Chuckling, because for some reason this is way more funny than it should be, Jack looks at Baby Tooth who shrugged as if saying 'It's going to be a looong night'
-ROTG-
After collecting many teeth, with more than a little cheating on North, Bunny, Sandy and Jack's part, and then leaving gifts because... Yeah whoops they actually forget leaving coins behind for the kids, after all that Jack and Tooth ended in the room of a boy Jack already knew.
"Left central incisor, knocked out in a freak sledding accident." Tooth analyzed from the little tooth she had in between her fingers. "I wonder how that could have happened, hm Jack?" She tilted her head sending Jack a 'look'.
Jack chuckled. He's kneeling on top of Jamie's dressing, near the wall watching a drawing Jamie had made of the epic sleigh ride Jack gave the boy the other day. In retrospect, compared to North's sleigh ride, the sleigh ride he had given Jamie seemed pretty tame. "Kids huh?"
He watched as Tooth place a coin underneath Jamie's pillow. She hovered over Jamie when he stirred, a far away smile formed on her face as she gazed down at the sleeping boy. The queen is reminded of a smaller boy who slept in a similar position... A similar, but different head with messy brown hair. "I miss this." Tooth whispered hugging herself.
Assuming she's talking about field work Jack said "It's a little different up close huh?"
Tooth didn't reply.
Luckily she didn't have to. There was a sudden commotion outside and Jack and Tooth turned to the window and saw North struggle to get inside carrying his large red sack. After the Cossack is inside Sandy easily flies in through the large window.
"Here you are!"
"Shhhs!" Tooth hissed holding one finger to her lips while gesturing to the still sleeping Jamie Bennet.
"How you feeling Angel moy?" North asked brushing Tooth's hiss aside and moving out of the way so Sandy could enter.
Tooth smiled flying up a bit higher. "Believed in." With a small laugh the fairy flew to North resting her hands on his shoulders. For a moment the couple just looked each other in the eyes.
Amethyst eyes stared into big blue eyes exchanging more than the pair had done in the past 300 years.
"Nicolas," Toothiana whispered, surprised at how overwhelming those eyes still are. "I-"
"Oh I see how it is..." A rabbit hole opened on the wooden floorboards and Bunnymund stepped out of it. "All working together to make sure the rabbit gets last place."
"Shhhs!" North and Tooth hissed at the pooka, Sandy shut the pooka an annoyed look.
Grinning Jack reached for a middle-sized red sack he had left on Jamie's dresser. "You think I need help to beat a bunny? Check it out, Peter Cottontail." He said proudly showing of the bag.
Bunny gave Jack an unimpressed look. "Ya call that a bag of choppers?" He asked lifting up his own larger sack filled with teeth. "Naw that's a bag of choppers."
Chuckling North stepped up between Jack and Bunny. "Gentlemen! Gentlemen! This is about Tooth. It's not a competition! But if it was..." North held up his own sack, the same sack that on Christmas eve would be filled with toys now was filled with teeth. "I win. YEEEEEHAAAH-"
North's victory dance was cut short when a light is suddenly pointed at him.
The guardians now have a flashlight pointed at them like they are some sort of wanted criminals.
Sitting up on his bed, wide awake Jamie whispers "Santa Clause..." Clearly shocked. It's to be expected. The plan had been to stay awake so he see the Tooth fairy.
"The Easter Bunny?...Sandman..." Jamie whispered moving his flashlight to each of the guardians as he addressed them. Bunny smiled- grimaced in greeting while Sandy waved. "The Tooth Fairy! I knew you'd come!" Jamie cried when he finally saw the feathered woman.
"Surprise!" Tooth giggled. This was new even for her, not once before had she ever been caught. "We came!"
Jack stared at Jamie, eyes wide. "He can see us?"
Ears lowering Bunny glanced at Jack. "Most of us." He answered confusing Jamie, the little boy wondering who the Easter Bunny was talking to.
"Guys, he's still awake." Tooth whispered her voice urgent, none of the guardians really knew how to act with a child to get him to sleep now.
"Sandy! Knock 'im out!" Bunny ordered.
Face setting in a determined hard look Sandy stepped forward slamming his fist against his palm.
"With the dreamsand, ya gumby!" Aster hissed barely not palming his forehead. His loud hiss gained unwanted attention and suddenly Bunny found himself nose to nose with Jamie's greyhound.
"No, stop that's the Easter Bunny." Jamie protested pulling on his dog's red collar trying to get her to calm down. "What are you doing, Abbey? Down!"
Swallowing Aster waved his paw at the others. "Alright, nobody panic." He said despite being the only one suppressing an upcoming panic attack.
The Easter kangaroo afraid of a dog? Smirking Jack tilted his head and looked at the dog. "But that's a um, that's a greyhound. Do you know what greyhounds do to rabbits?" Oh he loved this! Bunny actually tensed up.
"I think it's a pretty safe bet he's never met a rabbit like me," Bunny said, his eyes didn't leave the dog so he didn't see Sandy forming a ball of dreamsand or Jack looking at the alarm clock on Jamie's nightstand a growing grin on his pale face. "Six-foot one, nerves of steel, master of tai-chi and the ancient art of-"
The winter spirit just couldn't resist. He reached for the alarm clock and with one flick of his staff Jack set the alarm of.
"Crikey."
Bunny was off like a shot, the greyhound right on his tail, running laps in the small room, barking like crazy.
Amused Sandy made a dreamsand baseball. He could not stop the grin on his face. All his stories had definitely done their job and turned Jack in a master prankster. Something the Sandman plans on taking full credit for and advantage off once everything is settled.
Tooth tried to turn the alarm of getting more and more annoyed with North and Jack who both laughed loudly at Bunny's expense. Sandy prepared to throw his ball of dreamsand at Abbey to get the dog to calm down, that's when Abbey jumped passed North knocking the Russian back who in turn knocked the ball of dreamsand from Sandy's hands.
"Guys!" Tooth cried fed up with everyone laughing, this was a bad situation. "This not proper Tooth fairy behavior!"
The dreamsand ball flew towards North who ducked away, the ball sailed past him and hit Tooth right in the face exploding into multiple streams of dreamsand. Tooth fell to the floor golden teeth taking shape above her head.
Aster was still running for his life. "Ah, this thing's rabid! Get this dingo off me!" A whiff of dreamsand landed on his face. Carrots of dreamsand were already taking shape above his head. "Aw no." Bunnymund muttered trying to fight of the sleep. To no avail, with loud thud the pooka smacked onto the ground fast asleep. Abbey fell asleep besides him.
North tries to scramble out of the way from a trail of dreamsand, but there's no escape in the tiny room. "Candy canes." Santa Claus smiled sleepily at the golden candy canes that appeared above him, then he fellforward, landing on the end of Jamie's bed, which send Jamie catapulting through the air.
"Whooa!" Jamie cried laughing with excitement when he landed safely in Sandy's arms where a fistful of dreamsand was thrown in his face sending him straight of to dreamland.
Jack and Sandy both breathe a sigh in relief when Jamie's finally asleep. Then they looked around, realizing there's a heap of sleeping, snoring bodies on the floor.
Jack smiled innocently when Sandy shot him a half amused half annoyed look. "Whoops."
In his sleep Bunny snuggled closer to North's leg. One of the carrots above Aster's head came to life and grabbed one of the candy canes from North's dream and started dancing.
Giggling Jack jumped of the dresser were had gotten on to avoid being hit by flying dreamsand. He bit his fingers trying to stop his unmanly giggles. "Oh I really wish I had a camera right now." He told Sandy who smiled in return.
Suddenly Sandy's eyes widdened. Seeing the sudden change in his friend's expression Jack turned around gasping when he saw a nightmare staring at him through the window. The black sand made horse screeched and ran away when she realized she had been discovered. Without hesitation Jack jumped out of the window to chase the horse.
"Sandy, c'mon! We can find Pitch." Jack's voice echoed from outside when the Sandman didn't follow immediately.
He really should wake the others... Jack probably wasn't experienced in combat... On the other hand Jack was right, they should hurry before they lose the trail. Sandy nodded to himself before floating out of the window, the unsure look still on his face.
Had Sandy and Jack known more about teeth than they would have known that the golden teeth floating above Tooth's head were lateral incisors. If they did then they would have woken the queen.
She's in a forest, not the same forest as in her nightmares, no this time queen Toothiana found herself in the forest near the Burgess pond. Everything is snow-covered, a blizzard is going on, strong and powerful. In the far distance she can hear a voice.
"Can anyone hear me?!"
Tooth knew that voice.
"Please! Someone! I don't want to be alone anymore!"
'Jack!' Tooth tried to call out, "Sweet Tooth I'm here!" but she had no voice. She wasn't in this memory so she was forced to listen to her child's cries while the boy's distress, his pain fuelled the storm. High up in the sky Jack, two years in his immortality cried, tears streaming down his cheeks freezing against them.
"Jack!" Tooth woke with a start. Waking up just a second after a magical portal closed behind her. "Jack." She whispered realizing that hadn't been an ordinary dream.
Never had she touched a tooth with so many years of memories. Jack's incisor would be influencing her dreams for a long, long time.
Still shaking the feathered woman crawled over to her husband. "Nick." Tooth whispered to not wake Jamie up. "Nicolas wake up!"
-ROTG-
The one nightmare Jack followed had turned into two. Not that Jack minded. The winter child cheered and laughed running across the rooftops following the black horses. The boy parkoured from one rooftop to another laughing when Sandy used a golden sand made whip to attack one of the nightmares.
Hot on the heels of the Nightmare, Jack flew through town. It made a sharp turn down an alleyway and Jack was quick to follow. The nightmare then veered up the wall of the alley and onto a rooftop. Jack whipped a blast from his staff and to his ultimate delight, hit the nightmare before it disappeared from the winter spirit's field of view.
"I got it!" Jack bounced on the balls of his feet. Whooping in excitement Jack flew up the roof where there lies a frozen pile of blacksand. "Sandy! Sandy, did you see that?! Look at this thing!" Suddenly Jack can feel eyes on his back.
Despite not knowing who he was, over the past three centuries Jack's made quite a few enemies of his own, Jack blasted a wave of ice at the boogieman who easily dodged the blast, disappearing into the shadows and re-appearing behind Jack on the adjoining roof.
"You know, for a 'neutral party' you spend an awful lot of time with those weirdos." Pitch observed, voice not quite mocking but close to it. "This isn't your fight, Jack."
Glaring icy daggers at Pitch, Jack holds his staff close to his body ready to strike and ready to defend at the same time. "You made it my fight when you stole those teeth!"
At that Pitch smirked. 'Fighting for mommy dearest aren't you?'
"Why do you care Jack?" Pitch practical purred. "You've never cared about the lot of them and their 'responsibilities' before." Pitch said making quoting marks with his fingers at the word 'responsibilities. "And neither have they Jack. Left you alone... 300 years Jack. Not one guardian to guard you..." Oh the boogeyman grinned when he saw his words take effect.
Jack's fighting stance slowly dropped, his eyes on the ground.
"You see Jack they don't-" Before Pitch can finish a dreamsand whip streams towards him forcing him to duck and dodge Sandy's sudden attack.
"Whoa!" Jack breathed watching as Sandy calmly attacked the boogeyman. Pitch didn't stand a chance.
Forming a huge black sickle out of black sand Pitch swung it towards the sandman who just lowered his head a bit to avoid being hit. Sandy then quickly grabbed Pitch with one of his whips yanked him off his feet followed by slamming him repeatedly against the tops of the buildings around them until finally throwing him off the rooftop.
Dusting of his hands Sandy smiled at a very astonished looking Jack as he floated down the rooftop.
Small but deadly, Jack decided nodding to himself with a small grin on his face. "Remind me not to get on your bad side."
On the ground Pitch was trying to shake of his not so friendly crash landing. When he saw a pair of golden feet land in front of him the nightmare king hurriedly scrambled to his feet. "Okay, easy! You can't blame me for trying, Sandy." Pitch cowered holding his hands up and waving them to calm the approaching Sandman.
"You don't know what it's like to be weak and hated. It was stupid of me to mess with your dreams. So I'll tell you what-" Suddenly Pitch's whole demeanor changed. He straightened up, his expression dark and his voice turns low. "You can have 'em back."
Before Jack or Sandy can react, a nightmare shoots up through a storm drain and several other nightmares appear from the alley behind him. More and more nightmares came from every which possible direction and soon Jack and Sandy found themselves surrounded.
Okay... So maybe taking off while the others were still asleep had not been such a great idea... Jack eyed the hundreds of nightmares warily. More than a bit worried Jack looked at Sandy "You take the ones on the left, I'll take the ones on the right?"
As a reply Sandy send Jack a half-hearted shrug and a grimace that was supposed to be a smile.
Underneath Pitch, the man's favorite nightmare appeared. The mare reeled up snarling on its hind legs. Leaning forward Pitch whispered one thing, one thing he would always be associated with.
"Boo"
Which apparently also counted as 'Nightmares attack' nice code word. The nightmares charged, that's when they all heard the distant sound of sleigh bells ringing.
Looking up Jack spotted the sleigh high up in the sky. Still looking up Jack gasps when Sandy propels the two of them into the air with a stream of dreamsand and launched them away from the Nightmares. Jack quickly oriented himself and knocks an oncoming Nightmare with his staff.
In the air Jack had it far easier aiming blasts of ice at all the upcoming nightmares. Just when a swarm of nightmares got too big for his liking Tooth suddenly flew through the swarm of Nightmares, slicing them apart with her wings, causing them combust into black sand. "You alright Jack?"
Mentally reminding himself that this is a different kind of fight from what he's used to Jack slowly nodded before flying up higher, he stays close to the sleigh to help vent the nightmares off.
On the ground Pitch commanded Onyx to fly him up. Closer and closer to where Sanderson is high up in the clouds, floating on his own golden dream cloud and using his whips trying to fend off the mass of nightmares.
The little man isn't even aware of the nightmare king in the air behind him. Pitch stretched his arms as an arrow nightmare sand forms in his hands.
Sandy might not be aware of the upcoming danger but his fellow guardians and Jack can see that the amount of nightmares are overwhelming him.
"We gotta help Sandy!" Jack cried panic working its way in his voice.
The sleigh flew towards Sandy but it could only go so fast and there were too many nightmares blocking its' way. They could do nothing but watch in horror as Pitch shot a black arrow at the guardian of dreams, hitting Sandy in his back the where the black slowly started to corrupt him.
Jack had always been alone, and on nights when the moon didn't shine Jack always found comfort in watching the golden streams of dreamsand light up the night sky. The winter child could not handle losing that.
So that's why Jack leaped of the sleigh and flew straight towards Sandy screaming "Nooo!" completely ignoring North's yell of "Moy mal'ch'ik please wait!"
Above them Pitch relished his moment of triumph, watching as Sandy fell to his knees, the patch of blackness on his back spreading through his small body. "Don't try to fight it little man." Pitch cackled, his voice then went softer. "I'd say sweet dreams, but there aren't any left."
At those words Sandy got back to his feet. He would not give Pitch the satisfaction of watching him suffer. No, Sandy did not want to die and yes, he had regrets, but Sandy would go down a fighter and not try to outrun fate.
Tortuously slow are Sandy and his golden dream cloud consumed by the writhing blackness of the nightmare sand. Nothing of the beautiful dreamsand remained.
And Pitch is far beyond delighted. Laughing, cackling and all but jumping. His plan actually worked! Pitch then noticed Jack flying towards him. The winter spirit is clenching his staff which is glowing bright blue with energy. Powerful energy fueled by the child's emotions.
Raising a hand Pitch sent a massive tidal wave of nightmare sand towards Jack who hovered in the air for a moment realizing that he's in way over his head. He couldn't go back, all the nightmares that had previously been attacking the sleigh and stopping the guardians from reaching Sandy were now all running towards Jack.
The black sand and nightmares began to overtake him and Jack disappeared in the mass of darkness. For a moment there was nothing but darkness and silence. Silence followed by a loud battle cry.
A gust of freezing wind emitted from the black mass that entrapped Jack, followed by a massive wave of ice and frost that rockets back up the stream of nightmare sand going straight back up to its source. Right back towards Pith where it explodes in a sea of ice and snow, the force of the explosion blowing the boogieman miles and miles away.
The nightmare sand now gone Jack fell from the sky, his staff still in his hand but Wind couldn't carry the unconscious child or give any form of assistance during the frightening free fall.
Wind didn't have to. A blur of green jetted through the air to Jack's rescue.
"Please, please, please be okay" Tooth chanted over and over again flying Jack back to the sleigh. The fairy is hyperventilating as she puts her son down on the sleigh.
Tooth almost couldn't breath- because- Oh dear moon and the stars above not again! Please not again! "J-Jack?!" She shrieked shaking Jack's shoulder to wake him up. "Jack wake up!"
She slumped against North shoulder when the boy's eyes open.