Whoo! No picture today (that I can use), so it's a bonus chapter today! And we're at 25 chapters, over 13,000 words, 2100 hits! The Life and Times of Jackson Overland Frost is officially my second-most popular story! Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing! Special shoutouts to Serami Nerafa and Heartbreak Ninja, both of whom have reviewed this story multiple times, and almost always have something to say or point out!
I've got something special planned for October 27th (In that I'm going to do something special. I have no idea what, yet.) so be on the lookout for that! In the meantime, today's chapter. As usual, I do not own RoTG or GoC.
It's nearly nightfall, and the night is warm. Warm enough for storms, and Jack can see Emily Jane's clouds ready to sweep in and make a ruckus.
Some nights, he would laugh and sing and play, and join in on the fun. Some nights, if she's not up for talking, he'll fly away to make his fun elsewhere.
But tonight, tonight he's thought up a great game to play.
So he whoops and hollers, and sends the children running indoors, a spark of fun on their faces, pestered by leaf and what moonbeams might dare to plunge to earth and play.
He rattles windowpanes and doorknobs, until parents call for their children, and then he's off, rattling and chattering.
He wants to make another round, make sure that every child is safe and snug and happy, but Twinetender gently chides him, pointing out the streams of dreamsand winding about. Peace, Jack. His old friend sighs. There will be time for games tomorrow. And you did not want to miss this one.
Jack nearly pouts, because scraping at the windows is great fun. But then the leaves join in with Twinetender, singing cheerfully as the winds pick up. Time for stories, time for games! Not time for frosting windowframes!
And they laugh, and pull him along, until the wind leads them back to the Oak of Sorrows.
The old Oak is smiling down at Jack, and the Nod are all a-clustered in its branches. So Jack laughs, and dives into his hollow, chased by a thousand leaves, just as Emily Jane lets loose, and rain and hail start plunging from the sky.
Curled up nice and Small in the Oak in his nest of leaves, Jack peers about, picking some overeager ones out of his hair.
Bedtime stories, and bed time songs! He sings to everyone silently, in a voice he rarely uses. Who's got a good one?
Some of the mice take front stage, peering out from their nests and down at Jack. They cheep in small voices, clamouring for the attention.
Jack nods, and the tallest of the mice steps forward, wrapping herself up in a bit of red ribbon so everyone can see.
"Needle nip, tuck and sew
Little dresses in a row.
Ever mindful of the clock
Hear it, hickory, dickory dock!"
Everyone claps, and she bows politely, moving back. Other mice step forward, with other fare. Some of their poems are longer, others are shorter. All are pleasant and enjoyable.
Twinetender chimes in next, sharing various myths and legends that he's listened in on with Jack over the years. Everyone laughs at B'rer Rabbit, or the foolhardy Raven stealing the moon. The staff is a good storyteller, and weaves the tales effortlessly, as he has done so many times.
After the staff has finished speaking, the Nod talk amongst themselves, before Winken shoves one particularly brash young warrior (Jack can never remember his name) forward.
The poor fellow looks like he's got stagefright for a moment, then launches into some bizarre tale about evil mandrakes (though everyone knows that), daisy queens, and a girl who's nearly Tall shrinking down rather past Small. Jack can't quite bring himself to believe it, no matter how much the Nod insists it really happened.
Soon after the leaves have had their turn (Boys climb high, chase leaves of green, seeking things they've never seen. Hello, hello, echoes loud, Hello, hello! Returning proud. Wrapped in branches, tricks to play. Games to guess and songs to say!) Jack shifts. It's his turn.
He laughs, thrumming to the birds in their nests, and the mice in their dens. Whispers songs he doesn't quite know the words to, but isn't sure that are real.
And when everything is curled up, nice and neat and fast asleep, Jack listens as the old Oak is singing songs of Moonbeams.
Some of the references or cameos in this chapter: Ms. Frisby (the mouse in the ribbon) Epic (The fellow whose name Jack can't remember is Nod.), Wee Willy Winkie (Some of the opening beats of the chapter, Jack's thrumming. (If you want to read some neat imagery, I'd recommend checking Wikipedia. They have the original poem in both Scots and English, and some of the lines there have gorgeous imagery - The cat's singing grey thrums to the sleeping hen.)) and other nursery rhymes (I wanted to put more in, but wasn't sure if that would make it count as a songfic (I hope not.) So an original poem instead.). Enjoy!