So I went for my usual eye checkup today. Just to give y'all a short history, I've had glasses since fifth grade. Currently, both my eyes were at -5.75. My eyes are pretty messed up, is basically what they told me. One eye prescription went down to -5.50 but it developed a stigmatism. One eye got worse to a -6.25. And on top of that I need reading glasses. Basically I had to accept the disappointing realization that even when I get laser eye surgery, I will still need glasses...poop.
And a few people have asked about the puppy: She is getting along well with our two other dogs. We have a crazy, ugly, and very stupid skinny Pug named Bella (She's walleyed because she poked one eye out with a stick when she was a puppy and had to have an emergency puppy eye doctor come and see her and they stitched a pig bladder onto her eye to make a new working eye) and our 8 month old white retriever named Aida. She loves the water. When she has her bowl, she splashed it on herself with her paws. Our pool is open and she is periodically throwing herself into it. When my dad turns the hose on she will either chase the water or sit on where it connects to the house in a puddle of mud. She dosen't get the concept of a half opened door- ie, it needs to be opened all the way for her to understand that she can walk inside. When you open the door she's rather cat like and weaves around your legs, although it's like a bear cub weaving around your legs, so she often causes people to trip over her.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed: Livia Toric, Lord Edric, Cassy, Steadymouth. Wildmind, lovinglovexx, Breezy2319, emilyparrish, SMr. Freeze, Nekogami Bastet, watchmockavis, guestguest, and norientje1
guestguest: I like to be unpredictable :) And soon your wish will be granted
norientje1: If you actually did guess it...good job
FROZEN
Azura stayed on, rising among the ranks to a star teacher and great organizer. Jack had never been great at all the papers and such that came with a school, usually he trudged through them when he really had to, and they were half-hearted attempts. Elsa had always dealt with pesky paperwork in their kingdom, or Heimdall.
Azura, though, was amazingly resourceful and within a month had created an office with a intricate and pristine filing system that Jack was under no circumstances allowed to touch without her in the room. It was for the best, really.
Fall came and Jaime was 18. Jack felt it was safe and reasonable to whisk him away to see his house now, because there would be little complications as far as he could see compared to stealing a child under his mother's roof. Jamie took care of all the background stuff, explaining it was a apprenticeship for a science major and study.
He wasn't technically lying. Jamie had always been interested in science, and over the years had become fascinated with Jack's family line and his relatives with the white hair, and the other season powers that grew from other sprouts on his tree. He was going to study and test and try to unravel the mysterious of their genetic powers, how it worked in their bodies, and ect. The earth powers made a nice place for him, thankfully not made out of ice like his first room. Besides, Azura now occupied that space.
Jamie was furiously studying every day, talking with students, taking tests, computing numbers...Jack didn't get it, but Lila was quite interested. The first time they met, they had that look about each other...which Jack stopped quickly.
"Okay, so...no." He said firmly, putting his arm's length in between the two, "Look at it this way- if we cut out all the middle lines, technically Jamie is my nephew and you're my daughter so you two are cousins. I don't know if you're first cousins, but knowing your ancestors so closely, it's really creepy and that can't happen."
Luckily this revelation disgusted the two enough so that those looks didn't continue to anything more. In fact, Jamie was quite popular with some of the season students, and Jack felt proud like a father watching little Jamie parade around with a gaggle of girls following him. Jamie was so intrigued though, that soon perhaps he'd have a child of his own to study. Then Jack shook his head; he often forgot how times had changed and 18-year-olds didn't settle down and marry.
It was quite the life. The Man in the Mood seemed more comfortable about letting Jack handle his school since now there were half-spirits everywhere filling gaps in the winter department, and even helping the other seasons. He had a feeling that in fact the Man in the Moon was quite impressed with his training and such, but would never admit it to Jack.
It was near December, and Jack was having a little field-trip down to Pabbie's with some students and Jamie, who was like a kid in a candy shop, asking questions, picking up trolls, scribbling his notes.
Pabbie approached Jack.
"I need to speak with you." He said.
"Sure, Pabs? What's up?" Jack asked.
"Can we go somewhere quiet? Alone?" He questioned. Jack looked at Jamie and Azura, and called them over. He instructed his nephew and daughter to watch the students and, when if i was time to go and Jack was still talking, take them back to the castle and continue. He'd be back soon.
Jack sat on the usual rock that he'd sat on many times before, as he pulled up his legs to sit crossed.
"Azura looks well...since the last time I saw her." Jack was not here often. Perhaps twice a month, just to stay within a contact to a very powerful deity, but it was the first time Azura had followed.
"Since you made her like me?" Jack corrected, with a still hard edge. Azura had taken to one of the boys in the class, but Jack foresaw the exact same thing happening to them as what happened to Elsa and himself. He didn't know how to stop his daughter from loving, when perhaps this was the only chance she'd have. People like him were doomed for misery.
"If you chose to be so negative about it Jack, then yes." Pabbie was growing tired of Jack's spiteful comments.
"What do you want to speak about?"
"It's..." Pabbie paused, "The moon. There has been a disturbance."
"A disturbance?" Jack echoed, "Of what kind? How do you know?" Pabbie glanced in the direction of Arendelle.
"Do you know what makes waves, Jack? On seas and such?" He asked, as if diverting the conversation but Jack knew the two were connected.
"The moon. Duh."
Pabbie gave Jack a most incredulous look, "I'm educated Pabbie. The etiquette teacher made quite sure of that." He remembered with a rueful smile. To become a true 'king' there had been so many boring, tedious things to recall that Jack didn't find quite so useful at all. He had to remember what fork was the salad fork and and which was the dinner fork (Most people only had one fork, he thought it was ostentatious to need more than that!), how to ballroom dance (Which was useful so he didn't step on Elsa's feet too much), how to wave to a crowd (because no you couldn't just 'wave' you had to WAVE- yes there was a difference), or a detailed instruction and command that YES he had to wear all the layers of his garments and that wearing the top coat over a white shirt was not acceptable (Which, once again, he thought to be ostentatious and un-needed). That brought a smile to his face the more he thought about it.
He had laughed when Elsa had told him he needed proper teaching; how to be a king, and lessons on english, geography, math, and science. Of course Jack Overland had never had those types of things, he was from a rural and undeveloped society where when he got older, all he had to look forward to was marrying at the end of that winter (He had been engaged when he died, although he couldn't remember her face or name at all now) to have a multitude of children and go and work on a farm or hunt for the remainder of his days. As a spirit, who needed schooling?
Elsa said it was unacceptable and sent him off to that huge library everyday. He found the lessons on academic materials most interesting, but the etiquette he could do without any day. In fact, he had taken the latter so un-seriously that Elsa was reprimanded by the teacher that he was not fit to be king, he saw how much it meant to Elsa and was the perfect student from there on.
Not much of the etiquette came in handy these days; it was all too formal for his tastes. The royal education though...well that was quite good, although there was so much more to learn. He had rediscovered a thirst for knowledge and reading that had developed in the castle, and there had been too many books in the library to read in one life-time. Lila had been sneaking him all the ones he didn't have time then to read, plus some new ones so he was never too out of date on the going ons of this new world.
Getting back to the point, he knew very well that The Man in the Moon controlled the tides.
"Good." Pabbie brushed away his offended tone, "Yes. The tides have been rising higher and higher. The night air is different, and those who can speak to him have all felt the tremors."
"What is he sick?" Jack asked, stupefied.
"No...there's just been...movement." Pabbie was clearly just as without answers as Jack was.
"What does this mean? Another guardian?" Jack frowned, his lips turning sour. He liked his group of five. He loved them all, and really, he didn't want the intrusion of a pesky spirit that he'd have to play nice with.
"No." Jack let out a sigh of relief, "He would have just come out and told us such if that were the case. You'd already know." Pabbie gave a long shake of his head, "I...I do not know."
"Then why tell me?"
"I just thought that perhaps it is something you should be aware of. The last time I felt like this, was when the old St. Patrick's Leprechaun died." Pabbie said, patting his back, and indicating that that was all he had to say, "It never hurt to be prepared for...whatever is coming."
"I suppose." Jack replied tensely, "It's high time to be getting back to the school. Things to learn, water to freeze, lessons to be taught to drooling students...you know." Jack was leaving hastily, because Pabbie's words wedged something deep into his heart.
Back at the castle, he sat on the porch, and stared at the moon. The fizzier had vanished, and he felt silly for reacting so strongly. The moon looked fine and Jack was quite sure Pabbie had been over-reacting or was not quite as wise as he'd once been (100 years was a long time, even for trolls) and that it was all just an over-exaggeration.
