A/N: I simply loved writing this chapter, as you can probably tell by the length. This chapter apparently happens to be my longest submitted chapter for this story to date! I would like to not so formally thank SummerAngelz for their comments on the story. I changed the few mistakes that I made while writing earlier chapters, and your enthusiasm with the story made me want to continue it all the more! I would also like to thank the other reviewers that have stuck around for so long, you guys are great!
Anyways, the theme song for the story, "Welcome Home", by Radical Face, sounds absolutely brilliant after reading this chapter, so I would once again recommend it while reading it, or after you finish it up.
Enjoy!
Before Gloria even entered the dining hall she picked up the delicious aroma of a well cooked dinner. Her nose twitching slightly, she made out the scents of honey glazed ham, meatloaf with tomato paste, roasted potatoes, turkey stuffing, and so much more. Although it was obvious on her tongue that there were a few platters of greens in the mix, it was scent of home cooked meats that made her mouth water and her hunger flare up within her. Her run to the North had been a long one, despite the large breakfast she had made earlier that morning, and as she finally entered the hall with the others, all thought of her awkwardness with Jack was tossed aside in favor of her more carnal desires. The girl barely noticed when Jack chose a seat directly next to her, but she couldn't help but grin quickly in embarrassment and pleasure as North declared that she would sit to his right as the guest of honor.
"It has been too long since you have come to visit my workshop at pole, Wolf Pup, so you get special seat, " he said as his way of an explanation, and Gloria couldn't help but given in to his grandfatherly grin. Bunnymund took up a seat directly left to North, who was of course at the head of the table, and Sandy fell in next to him, and Tooth next to Sandy. Baby Tooth had her own special seat next to Jack on the table, who was quickly appearing to be the little fairy's favorite amongst the group.
As soon as North announced that it was time to dig in, the group took up their plates and began filling them full of foods of their choice. Gloria watched as Bunnymund, Toothinana, and Baby Tooth went for salads and fruits, while Sandy seemed content with a simple broth. Jack and North took a helping of almost everything on the table, but it took a nudge from Frost for Gloria to start taking some samples of her own.
As dinner progressed and Gloria partook in the best dinner of her life, the immortals talked about themselves and their domains. Through a succession of pictures and a few comments on North's behalf, Gloria learned that the Sandman had his own island made out of the remnants of a fallen star, with tendrils of golden sand spread out over the water from the central dune where he took his rest. Toothiana, on the other hand, lived in a glorious palace in the sky somewhere in the east, where her fairies lived and stored teeth all day, teeth that contained the memories of every child on earth from past to present. At the mentioning of this, Gloria stopped eating and perked up.
If the teeth really contained the memories of every child, would there not be a set for her that had all of her memories as well? Before Gloria could voice this thought aloud, Jack spoke up before her, showing that he had been on the same page as her when the topic was brought up, "Tooth, I was able to get back most of my memories when I needed them because of my teeth. Do you think that Gloria might be able to look at hers as well?"
Gloria looked at him gratefully, and then back at the fairy queen, feeling nervous.
"Of course!" Toothiana spoke happily, smiling towards Gloria as if they had known each other for ages rather than an hour or so, "Not only are the teeth collected, but they are always on hand for whenever the children need them in their darkest hours. If it's you memories you want, I can more than allow you to take a peek at your personal collection of baby teeth!"
A smile worked its way onto the girls face, and she glanced at Jack, excitement bubbling underneath her skin. She never would have thought it possible for her to fully regain all of her past, but if what Tooth said was true…
"Wolf Pup, you never told me that you had not remembered yourself from your past life. Why not visit and tell me? I would have gotten sleigh and we would have been to Toothiana's palace in no time!" North's words made Gloria glance away, an embarrassed frown replacing her previous smile.
"I always thought that they would return on their own, and besides," she spoke, admitting carefully. "I always thought that you would be busy with the approaching winter season, so…" "You never thought to visit!" North said, looking aghast, "Wolf Pup, winter is very busy time of the year for me and yetis, but you can always drop by and say hello whenever it pleases you." The girl looked up at North with a look of amazement. Feeling surprised at this, she spoke up in astonishment, "Really?"
"Of course!" A smile enveloped the old man's face, and he stood up from his chair for emphasis, "Fellow Guardians are like family, and you, Wolf Pup, are part of family now as well!"
Gloria looked from him to around the table, and saw that all of the other immortals were looking at her with similar welcome grins. Although she was by far nowhere near the important status of these immortal Guardians of Childhood, they had welcomed her so easily with open arms, and now North was saying that she was a part of the family? Something inside of her made a knot form in her throat, but weakly she was able to speak aloud in equal parts sadness, and happiness, "Thanks guys."
"Ah, now enough with all of the mush; let's get back to the grub, shall we? " Bunnymund spoke up, and Gloria nodded gratefully as they complied. She looked down at her plate, finding that her appetite was mostly lost, and still feeling emotional as ever. By her side, Jack saw how glossy eyed his friend has become, and quickly remedied the situation by sticking his fork into a piece of the ham on her plate and stealing it away.
"Hey!" Gloria protested, her head shooting up as she tried to grab hold of Jack's arm and take back what was rightfully hers.
"Hey, what? Can't to reach high enough?" Jack teased, holding the morsel away from her. As they wrestled, Bunnymund smirked and spoke up.
"Hey Frosty, stop fighting with the Mrs's before I steal away your food as well," the rabbit spoke up, thoroughly enjoying the looks that the two sent him in response. Jack growled, letting up on his teasing long enough for Gloria to take his fork away from him and pop the meat between her sharp canines, reddening as she did so. Bunnymund chuckled to himself, still smirking as Jack stood up and leaned over the table threateningly. Terrorizing the two young immortals was quickly becoming his favorite pastime.
The dinner eventually came to an end, long into the night, and with its end came time to say goodbye. All of the immortals were more than welcomes by North to stay then night and rest, but it was more than understood by the group when Sandy took to the skies to resume his duties as the bringer of sleep and good dreams, and Tooth chose to fly back to her palace in the sky. Before she left, she turned to Gloria and Jack and said that they were more than welcome to swing by the palace whenever Gloria was ready to receive her dormant memories. Gloria was prepared to wave as she left, but entirely unprepared for the hug that the fairy gave to instead. Despite their differences, Gloria being a darker figure of the wood and Tooth being the bright and bubbly figure head of the tooth fairies, the wolf girl had found herself quickly becoming attached to the feathered woman, and she hugged her back.
Baby Tooth had been a little jittery during the dinner, choosing to stick to hovering over the food and remaining by Jack or Tooth while she was present, but slowly she had come to realize that there was nothing to fear when it came to the girl with the wicked grin, and she had warmed up to as well. Gloria gave her a little wave as she flew away with Tooth, and the little fairy smiled and gave her own, hurrying to catch up with her queen as she departed.
Bunnymund would stay for a little while longer to speak to North on the matter of the Guardians and other similar matters, but he said good night as Gloria and Jack were given a couple of rooms of their own to stay in for the night.
Jack had nothing immediate to attend for the time being, and although he wouldn't admit it with anything other than a yawn, he was exhausted himself.
Gloria knew that she could probably make it back to her home near Burgess if she tried, but the thought of curling up in the warm folds of the blankets that graced the bed in her bedroom was too much to resist. Yet after North gave her a big bear hug and left with Bunnymund, she found herself to be oddly still very awake, and instead of going to bed, she wandered the shop until she found the perfect window seat to rest on while she looked out into the snowy landscape of the north.
Her thoughts were alive, and the possibilities of what she would discover about herself seemed endless, and yet she was oddly calm. Gloria guessed that the reality of the situation just hadn't quite hit her yet, or maybe she was too tired, but she couldn't find see jumping around with joy. There was also the fact that what little she remembered of her past wasn't exactly full of butterflies and rainbows. She could remember bits of a family she once knew, but she could also remember the remnants of a fire that could have stolen them away from her, all those years ago. Gloria wanted her memories back more than anything, but she was also scared of what she would find within them.
So deep in her thoughts, Gloria failed to notice Jack make her way to her, before suddenly her senses picked up his familiar scent, and she found herself turning her head slowly. In the dim light cast by the window, his white hair and pale skin glowed faintly, and she could see his icy gaze land on her as he approached. Gloria moved her feet automatically, and he slid onto the spot across from her on the window seat and watched her, his staff held loosely under his arm as he rest his head upon it. "What's with all of the gloom, "Wolf Pup"?"
Gloria looked at him briefly, rolling her eyes before looking back outside, "I think I liked Glo better." The spirit laughed gently, and after he tapped his bare foot against hers she couldn't help but feel a slight smile come to her face.
"What's up, Glo? I thought that you would be happy after finding out that you would be getting your memories back."
"I am," Gloria began, her eyes finding their way back to looing over the artic. "Over the past three hundred years or so find a way to get my memories back has been a big deal to me. But what little I already remember about my past from dreams and whatever has mostly always been rather…dark." She looked at him as she spoke the last word, her golden eyes without shine.
"Jack, I'm… afraid of what I might l learn about myself. If all I can mostly remember is see a house being burned to the ground in front of me, and possibly losing my family in that very same fire, what else do I have to look forward to? I mean, when I woke up, I had to crawl up out the ground and one of the first things I saw was the smoldering ruins of that place."
Gloria had spoken honestly and openly, and without her having to say so Jack could see the fear in her eyes. She looked a little desperate, desperate to pick all of the pieces of whom and what she once was, but at the same time she looked as though she wanted to turn tail and run away from it all. Instead of trying to tell her not to be afraid, Jack came up with another solution.
"What about all of the good memories?" He spoke to her clearly, sounding urging for her to smile and look on the brighter side of the whole matter, "Yeah, you'll remember what happened, but you'll also remember your family, and all of your friends, as well. Heck, you might even remember me!"
She smiled a little at this, unsurprised by Jack reminding her of the possibility that they could have once been friends, but a thought came to her then, "That's the thing. Before you told me that you accessed your teeth in order to remember who you are. So why then don't you remember me already Jack, if we possibly did live in the same town together?" This thought had come to her a few times during their run up to the north, but she had pushed it aside in favor of focusing on meeting and reuniting with the Guardians.
A frown appeared on Jack's face, and Gloria knew that she had stumped him for the moment. "I'm not entirely sure. Toothiana says that whenever a child is down and out, the fairies have them connect with their teeth, and they are shown happy memories in order to, well, make them happy again. Well, I think that when Baby Tooth opened the cylinder that held my teeth, I was only shown the memories at the time that I really needed. I saw my sister; I was her Guardian and I rescued her! I know that I had a family, and that Burgess was my home, but I think that there may be some latent memories in my teeth that I was not entirely shown."
Gloria looked at him a little doubtfully, but she didn't speak her thoughts aloud. If what Jack said was true, then there was still some possibility that he would remember her, and possibly her him whenever they chose to visit Toothiana's palace. Still, it was a long shot, and Gloria couldn't help but wonder if there was a specific reason why Jack couldn't remember her.
"Anyways, I was in a bit of a hurry, so there are some things I probably missed," Jack spoke up, his regular grin returning. "But about those happy memories: isn't there at least some that you can already recall by now? It couldn't have been all doom and gloom, especially with me in the picture."
The girl ignored his enthusiasm, and enthusiasm that was so like him, and instead she admitted that she had remembered some things. "There were some things, little things. Like the smell of freshly baked bread and the image of a dog resting by the hearth of someone's home."
Jack watched as a calm look fell upon her, and she looked away from him, out the window as warmth came to her eyes, "I can remember, just barely, the feel of a man's stubble on my forehead, and sometimes when I concentrate, the sound of a small voice calling my name from across a field of gold…" Gloria trailed off, her thoughts being lost to the will of the memories she could barely recall. And still Jack watched her, both unaware of the boyishness that left his face, and the peaceful look of something else that was left in its wake.
A/N: The fluff, the fluff! It's choking me! Ha, I kid, I kid, I wouldn't call this chapter fluffy. But I do have something pretty big for those two planned in either the next chapter, or the one after that, so stick around!