A/N: AGmegan101 is awesome. Just sayin'.
June 13th
Leader
The five of them stood in stony silence as moonlight shone on the floor in front of them. Bunny's ear was twitching. It was odd to not hear Tooth's voice constantly giving orders.
Jack shuffled his feet, watching as shadowy figures appeared. He recognized some - Krampus and a couple of Kappas - but most were unfamiliar. Judging by the expressions on the other's faces though, it wasn't good.
"But why now?" North questioned quietly, voicing the thought they all were thinking.
The light flickered for a moment, before another shadow appeared on the ground. Jack let his mouth fall open, raising his eyebrows.
"Okay, there is no way this is my fault!" He complained, glaring at his outline on the floor. Bunny glanced up at him, a contemplative expression on his face.
"No," the Pooka said suddenly, startling Tooth and Sandy, "It's not your fault. It's ours."
Now, Jack was just plain confused.
Apparently Tooth was as well, "What do you mean, Bunny? We don't even know what's going on yet."
"Oh yes we do." Aster contradicted, "Don'tcha remember what happened when Ol' Man Winter got put on the seasonal council?"
Tooth's eyes widened and her mouth formed an 'o'. Sandy and North had similar reactions. Jack was still confused.
"What are you talking about?" He asked, irritated. Sometimes he really, really, wished he was more up to date on the lives of other spirits.
North sighed and turned away from the emblem. Placing his hands behind his back, he started to pace, mumbling quietly under his breath. Jack could feel himself tense up, prepared for the worst.
There was no dramatic music, no sudden quiet in the workshop that indicated that something was wrong. In a way, the Winter Spirit felt cheated, because this was definitely one of the most intense moments of his life.
Two counts, two heartbeats, and then the Cossack spoke, "Jack, they are coming for you."
The immortal teen could feel four pairs of eyes focus on him as he digested this information.
Well, at least that's cleared up, he thought sarcastically, wishing the Guardians would realize just how behind he was on things. Just like when he was training with North, they expected more out of him than he could give. Well, he'd just have to pretend that he knew what was going on, as usual.
With the ease of centuries of practice, he slid a cocky smirk onto his face, "Eh, I'll be able to take 'em."
That was not the answer the others were expecting. Perhaps more questions, a declaration of how crazy this was, or even just stony silence - but this?
North stared at Jack, his blue eyes trying to analyze the boy in front of him. Everything about him - stiffened shoulders, feet ready to flee, smirk just a little too convincing - conveyed that the boy was scared.
If only the man had realized the extent of Jack's fear. Then maybe things would have turned out differently.
