A/N Hello my beauties!! I KNOW!! ITS BEEN TOO LONG!! AND I'M NOT DEAD!! I am sorry about my loooooong absence, but I lost my writing passion for a while and I went through a lot of stress and crap, but I'm doing better! I told you Icy Drabbles had a long life, and though it had a long wait, I'm back and hopefully much more regularly now!

Thank you for all the favorites and follows! Each notification brought a smile to my face you guys and what made me know in my heart I would be back.

Sorry if the format is a little weird or different. Did this on modile, lol.

Rescue

"Ugh, Howie you're getting too big for this."

This did nothing to disturb the snowy wolf as he stretched out even more across the winter spirits lap, licking his face in the process, much to Jack's dismay.

"C'mon Howie.." Jack practically whined. "You know I hate when you lick me. It freezes to my face."

Howie only seemed to grin wider at that, as if he knew exactly the discomfort and annoyance he caused the teen. Jack couldn't help but smile. He could never resist Howie's lopsided grin. Jack ruffled the wolfs fur, and Howie leaned into Jack further in return, Jack groaning in protest but not pushing the large canine away either. Howie simply believed he was a lap wolf, and there wasn't convincing him otherwise.

"You really should teach him to sit somewhere other than your lap mate."

The other Guardians had been watching the exchange from their usual sitting spots in the Gathering room. Jack and Howie were where they usually were too, on the large couch, furthest from the fire place. There wasn't a meeting going on, or anything business like. No, they were all just hanging out together. Like a family. The group cherished the time they could spend together, because it wasn't too often that at least one of them wasn't overwhelmed with duties and personal business. So when they could just be in each others company, they were.

Earlier, they had all been outside, Howie included, occupied with a thrilling snowball fight. It was Jack's idea of course, and the kid lived up to his role as Guardian of Fun. It was a blast for all of them, even the grumpy Pooka, who didn't once complain about his freezing paws. Jack couldn't let it just be any ordinary snowball fight. Along with never ending ammunition, the winter spirit conjured forts and obstacles to hide behind and climb atop. Bunny even contributed by opening up some tunnels for them to crawl through. It was technically an all for one game, but secret alliances formed among the group. One had even been between Sandy and Howie for a round, which the other four hadn't managed to wrap their heads around how it had happened, but the two had annihilated all the rest.

It was a laughed filled day they were topping off with some relaxation. Except for Howie, who was causing a little trouble by being an oversized lap pup.

"Go ahead and try to teach him Kangaroo." Jack respond, sounding almost winded from the large weight crushing his small frame. "He's more stubborn than..."

Jack's sentenced trailed off, his eyes drifting off to stare into space.

Bunny smirked. "Can't think of a witty remark Snowflake?"

But Jack didn't answer. He just kept staring, his expression becoming more and more worrisome.

"I got to go." He said suddenly, his eyes still far away as he started to push a protesting Howie off of him.

The other four exchanged glances. Jack seemed rushed and a little panicked as he finally managed to lift Howie off of him.

"Jack, what's wrong?" Tooth asked, concerned for the spirit who had become something akin to a son to her.

"I, uh, I just have something to take care of." Jack said, scrambling for his staff which stood propped against the wall nearby.

"Yes my boy, but you seemed bothered by something." North chimed in, moving close and placing a beefy, comforting hand on the smaller spirits shoulder.

"And if it something we can help with," Bunny said, also moving in closer along with Tooth and Sandy. "Then you know we'd like to." Sandy and Tooth nodded in agreement.

Jack looked up at his family and saw how sincere they looked. They truly did want to help, but he was unsure whether or not it would be safe for them to do so. He pondered over it for a moment, biting his lip, and finally decided to at least tell them what was going on.

"Okay." He breathed, dropping the tension he hadn't realized he was holding. The other four did the same, relived Jack was letting then in a little bit.

"So, long story short, one of my snow creatures alerted me to my pack. Some pups are in danger. Ones that aren't even two months old I dont think. They were playing, but the snow has been melting some where they are and some rain has made it muddy, and they slipped into a pit. They're stuck and I have to go get them out because the adults can't get to them."

Jack heaved a breath. That all came out rushed because he was bouncing and impatient with worry and concern for the pups needing his help.

The other four looked between themselves. They all knew about Jack's pack, but they had never met the group...

"I'm not sure if it's safe to bring you guys along actually." Jack said, as if he'd read their minds.

But Bunny already had a solution for that.

"Mate, we'd like to go if only to make sure you'll be alright. We can watch at a distance. On one of Sandy's clouds."

Sandy nodded in firm agreement, creating an image of the four veteran Guardians floating above a pack of wolves.

Jack smiled in a hurried manner, really only agreeing so they could get a move on. And...in all truth, Bunny knew that he and the other three really weren't likely to be needed for this escapade, but the four older Guardians had been curious about Jack's pack for a while now, and none of them really wanted to miss an opportunity to see Jack interact with them.

North pulled out a snowglobe and handed it over to Jack. The winter spirit tapped into the eyes of his winter helper and saw where he needed to go, envisioning it in his mind and transferring the image to the snowglobe. Smashing it on the ground, a portal appeared and Jack rushed through it trailed by the other four Guardians on Sandy's dreamsand cloud.

They emerged in the sky. Some 15-20 feet above the ground, and below them, was a pack of artic wolves standing around a large pit. In the pit, four small pups were visible, whining in distress and coated in mud. Desperately, they were trying to climb up the slick slope but were unsuccessful and too uncoordinated to make it up much further than a small leap. Around the muddy pit, many of the adult wolves were circling the edges, looking for a path down. They too were whining, but none more so than a female with dark patches on her back and head, assumed to be the mother.

"Stay here." Jack said, flying down to the scene without glancing back.

Bunny noticed that one of the predominantly dark furred wolves saw Jack approaching from the air and let out a long distinctive howl. As he did, all the adult wolves turned to the sky and howled the same tune. Jack, to Bunny's suprise, also let out a howl. A different one, but convincing enough that if Bunny hadn't seen Jack do it, he would've mistaken if for one of the wolves.

The young spirit landed among the pack, who had quickly moved in to circle around him. Jack stroked the head of the mother who's pups were stuck in the pit. The she wolf licked Jack's chin, and Jack was off to work.

One by one, Jack rescued each of the four pups. He held their small, muddy bodies close to himself, each pup wiggling in excitement as Jack saved them which caked the boy in mud. However, Jack didn't seem to mind as he worked, finally placing the last pup at its mother's side. Many of the wolves began to howl in what could only be celebration as they jumped around, nearly all of them trying to get to Jack and smother him in affection. A low bark silenced the celebration and large wolf stepped into the center of the circle to where Jack, the mother and pups had been surrounded. The other wolves backed up, and Bunny watched in amazement as the alpha approached the little group, sniffing the young and then turning to Jack. The alpha and Jack touched heads, holding the position for a moment before the alpha pulled away and brushed his head up against Jack's, nuzzling one another.

Bunny had no words for what he saw, and glancing at the other three, they clearly didn't either. For minutes they watched as Jack made his way through the group, patting and greetings all the members. The mother of tbe muddy pups had already successfully cleaned two of them by the time Jack had circled back. An older wolf yipped at Jack, somehow managing to look stern. Jack seemed to complain about something, but the Guardians couldn't quite make out what he was saying. However, they quickly figured out what it was when Jack grudgingly lost, sitting down in front of the older wolf and allowing her to groom him.

Bunny turned as Tooth giggled. "Jack has a lot of mothers." She said.

Bunny grinned, and for a while longer the Guardians watch Jack and his pack before North decided it was time to leave and let the boy be. He was clearly content where he was.

Bunny caught Jack's eye, and they all waved goodbye as North opened a portal back to the pole, all of them with a similar thought passing through their minds...

What next would they learn about their youngest member?