Chapter 8

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"A blizzard? Where?" North said curiously. Bunny sighed and brushed some melting snow off his fur.

"Dunno...down south somewhere..." he said, shuddering because of the cold. Man, he hated snow. "Someone's gotta tell Frostbite to calm down a bit..."

Tooth looked from Bunny's wet fur to his face, which held a worried look.

"Was it really that bad?" she asked and Bunny nodded.

There was silence for a while, apart from the distant yells of yeti further in the workshop. All guardians were thinking about their youngest member, but trying not to admit it.

It was North, as always, which spoke up first.

"Has anyone noticed that Jack has been very..." he said and paused, thinking of a word rather that 'tired' or 'quiet'- because even without Jack in the room, those words seemed wrong to describe him with.

"I know what ya mean, mate..." Bunny said, also not being able to say the words, "yeah- I have."

Tooth nodded.

"He hasn't been smiling much lately..." Tooth said.

"He's not been himself." Sandy signed with his symbols, "Less energy. Less laughter."

Bunny sighed and sat on his favourite chair. (closest to the fire.)

Silence again.

"He hasn't visited my palace for ages." Tooth said, breaking the silence. She wanted to see if this was the same for the others, or if it was just her.

"Hasn't visited my warren, either."

"Or my workshop."

Sandy thought hard about when he last saw Jack...well...more Jack like.

"How long has it been since you spotted this?" he asked them all. North tapped his foot on the wooden floor.

"I would say..." North said, humming a little, "since the day after he got in late...two and a bit weeks ago."

"Same here." Tooth said confidently. Bunny was the last to say something.

"I guess I only noticed properly when I told 'im tha' Pitch was back...he looked like a nervous wreck."

"So you found him?" Sandy 'said'. Bunny looked at him suspiciously.

"Yeah...why?"

"I looked for Jack whenever I could, to tell him the news, but I couldn't find him." Sandy signed back.

Tooth sat down (finally), realising that she was still hovering. She had a habit of hovering when she was thinking.

"What made him change so suddenly?" Tooth said after a while; it was a question on all of their minds.

"Overwork, maybe?" North suggested. Bunny thought of when he last saw Jack, remembering the state he was in.

"I think it's a bit more than tha', mate." Bunny said, thinking of how Jack looked when he turned to face him. The lifeless eyes that Jack looked at him with.

"I agree with Aster," Sandy signed, "overwork may be part of the reason why, but I can't help but think that there is something more to it."

-#!-#!-#!-#!-#!-#!

Jack saw the northern lights in the sky a while ago, however, he didn't respond to their call. Thoughts buzzed through his mind and would not leave him alone.

When exactly did Pitch return?, they screamed over and over, is it my fault?

Jack let out a small whimper, and looked up at the sky again. He would have to go.

It is my fault, he thought.

The guardians will never forgive you.

"No..." he muttered and took off into the sky.

-#!-#!-#!-#!-#!-#!

North turned the page, looking for any help. He had suggested to look in the guardians book (the one given by man in moon himself) for any answers.

Luckily, Jack still hadn't shown up for the meeting, so they could look at that moment, rather than later.

"Nothing..." Tooth sighed, peeking over North's shoulder. Bunny and Sandy were in front of North, looking at the book from upside down.

"There's gotta be somethin'...this is the section on winter spirits..." Bunny muttered quietly, listening out for any signs that Jack was approaching.

North flicked through some more pages desperately.

"It must be something else..." he muttered and at moment, Jack walked into the room.

Bunny shuffled towards the fire as quick as he could without being suspicious.

Tooth quickly started talking to a baby tooth which was hovering next to her.

Sandy looked away and pretended he wasn't looking at the book in the first place.

North stifled a yell and slammed the book shut with a snap; it was so loud that a few elves around him fell over.

Usually, Jack would complain about all the suspicious action, but at the moment he was too tired too. Plus, he didn't want to draw attention to himself.

However, he still noticed the fact that Bunny didn't complain about him being late, and the fact that everybody was looking at him.

Even the elves were looking at him.

Do I really look that bad?, he thought as he made his way to the chair furthest away from the fire that was burning in the middle of the room.

They know.

Jack shook his head a little and looked up.

When he did this, the guardians looked away.

Yep. They were watching him.

But, thought Jack, if they knew, they would be trying to find Pitch right now.

"Jack!" North said suddenly, making the spirit jump. "Glad you came!"

Jack smiled a little in return, not feeling the same inside.

You can't tell them anything.

You will kill them.

Jack curled up slowly, avoiding the guardian's attention, and clutched his staff, causing it to glow slightly. He was aware of the guardians starting to speak, but he zoned out, too tired to concentrate.

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