Well, hellooooo, guess who's back for chapter 2 whole day early! OK, so this one is a little longer (No idea how many words coz I use a reaaallly old version of word that doesn't have word count). I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it, I think it started off as a good idea then kind of strayed from there XD I'm also going to try and do shout-outs for each chapter so here goes!
sparklehannah: Thanks! Haha, Sandy's definitely a good egg, that's for sure! Yay, everyone loves Jack XD
RainbowDash732: I can sure try! I'll write it down and try to get it uploaded at some point. Thanks for the request!
Summary: When Jack doesn't show up for the monthly Guardian meeting, the other Guardians decided to go and look for him. Bunny finds him safe and sound creating something that makes him realise just how lonely the winter Guardian was for three hundred years.
Chapter2: Ice Family
"Alright, North, it's been an hour and Frosty's still not here. What do ya want to do?"
Bunny had been becoming increasingly annoyed and impatient during the hour after which the monthly Guardian meeting was meant to begin. The newly acquainted fifth member of the Guardians had never missed a meeting since the Pitch Black fiasco 6 months ago. Until now. Jack Frost was no one in sight.
"Oh dear. What if something's happened to him?! What if he's in trouble and we just don't know about it?! What are we going to do?!" Tooth had started hovering
in the air, twisting her fingers together in nervous tension.
"Calm down, Toothy! Jack is very busy and I am sure he has simply forgotten! We shall find him and so Guardian meeting can begin!" North announced confidently. However, as time ticked away, the Guardian of Wonder had started to become slightly concerned. All had been reasonably quiet in the past few months and Jack had settled into the Guardian's little group well.
But, then again, thought North, would this not be perfect time for certain Nightmare king to make a reappearance. Just when things are starting to settle down again…
"Well, I think we should go and find him. Just in case. And to, you know, remind him not to miss another meeting." Tooth declared.
"Alrigh' then, let's say we go and try to find the little troublemaker. Where are we even gonna look? He could be anywhere around the world!" Bunny's train of thought had, unknowingly to him, taken a similar turn to the other Guardians as his worry for the young winter spirit had started to escalate. However, that wasn't going to stop him from thinking rationally of where Jack could actually be.
Sandy, who had been in quiet thought throughout the other Guardians discussion, suddenly shot his hand up into the air and floated up so he was in even eye line with the little group.
"You know where he is, Sandy?" North questioned.
Sandy shook his head sadly before his golden face brightened into a smile and he pointed both hands up to the image of dream sand above his head. The image that showed a certain winter spirit high up on a branch of a dream sand tree right next to a golden yellow lake.
North chuckled, "Ahh, indeed, it is worth try. Shall we all go or just one of us?"
0o0o0o0
Jack Frost was balanced precariously on his favourite branch overlooking the frozen expanse of his lake. It was the middle of winter and all of Burgess was an icy wasteland, courtesy of the young seasonal spirit who currently looked to be in deep concentration. He was fiddling with a small object in his hands which sparkled slightly in the sun's light.
"Ah, stupid wing." Jack muttered under his breath as he continued to perfect the delicate ice sculpture of his fellow Guardian, Toothiana.
"So, whatcha doin', Frosty?" Jack startled so violently at the familiar Australian accent that the ice figurine flew out of his hands and thudded into the snow below his branch.
"Bunny! Wha-what are you doing here?" Jack tried his very best to act as casual as possible, hoping that the Guardian of Hope hadn't seen the small object drop to the ground. No such luck as Bunny smirked up at the shocked winter spirit and darted across to where he saw the mystery object land. As soon as he saw the Pooka in motion, Jack grabbed his staff (which had been resting across his lap whilst he was working) and dived down in a desperate attempt to get the figurine before Bunny got to it first. Once again, the universe seemed to hate him as Bunny stood up triumphantly with ice Toothiana in his paws.
"Should I be telling Tooth that she has a secret admirer?" Bunny teased with a grin as wide as a Cheshire cat's. However, he was rewarded with Jack flying up to him and snatching the sculpture out of his paw.
"What?! No way! But it's none of your business, anyway so shoo, unless you actually want to tell me why you came here in the first place." Jack held protectively onto the figure and just hoped his cheeks weren't burning in his embarrassment.
Still chuckling at Jack's obvious uncomfortable state, Bunny broke the news, "Well, you missed the monthly Guardian meeting, if that's want you wanna hear."
Jack froze, his eyes widened in realisation. "Oops"
"Yeah, oops. The rest of us agreed we needed to come an' look for ya, make sure you're not in some kind of trouble."
"Great, and you pulled the short straw, did you, Cottontail?" Jack frowned as he flew back up to the branch he was previously occupying and gently placed ice Toothiana down on it.
"Actually, I volunteered." Bunny corrected, folding his arms across his chest, "And since you're not in any kinda trouble, you gonna tell me why you're making a Tooth ice sculpture?"
Jack had landed back on the ground, his bare feet sinking into the powdery snow. "Because why not? Everyone needs a hobby." He would have seemed perfectly happy if they had changed the subject right there and then but Bunny, being the insistent sort, wouldn't let the matter drop so easily.
"Soooo, you wouldn't mind if I just, ya know, have a look?" And before Jack could so much as flinch, Bunny sprinted to the tree so the branch was above his head and sprang upwards to grab the figurine from off of it.
"Hey! Damn rabbit!" Jack yelled to the giant Pooka.
"Tooth would be impressed! You should show her, she'd love it" Bunny pointed out, admiring Jack's handy work.
"Nah ah, not going to happen, now give it back." Jack made to swipe it out of Bunny's paws again but this time the rabbit was too quick so the winter spirit just grasped empty air.
Bunny continued to inspect the ice sculpture like Jack hadn't even tried to snatch it back. "Seriously, kid, it's pretty good, how long does it take ya to make them?"
"Depends on how much detail needs putting in, some take longer than others. Can I have it back now?"
Bunny smirked and finally looked at his fellow Guardian in front of him. "Ah, so you've made others?"
Jack realized what he just said and he finally stopped trying to grab back the figurine, "Um, did I say there's others? I meant, it took me a couple of hours…"
"You can't trick me, Frostbite" The Pooka said smugly, finally handing the ice figure back to the teen, where he promptly snatched it out of Bunny paws and started inspecting it for damage.
"I can try." Jack said stubbornly.
Bunny crossed his arms and chuckled, "Sooo, are ya going to show me the others?"
Jack sighed, let his hands fall to his sides and looked up at the Guardian of Hope. "You're not going to leave me alone until I do, are you?"
"Nope." Bunny smirked.
Jack glared at the Pooka for a second longer before he turned and flew up into the tree, a few branches higher than he'd been previously occupying.
Bunny watched for a few moments as the teen disappeared inside the tree's leaves before he emerged again with a small makeshift bag. He floated down to the base of the tree and immediately sank down to sit with his legs crossed, the bag set on the floor in front of him. Bunny took that as his cue so he hopped over to the winter spirit and sat down across from him.
Jack glanced up at his companion before he started untying the string that was holding the bag closed. He then unfolded the four corners of the material to reveal the contents. Inside there were four mini ice sculptures, excluding the Tooth figurine which Jack now put with the others. Five sculptures, one of each of the Guardians.
"Crikey, Frostbite, you made all these?" Bunny asked, surprised but clearly impressed.
Jack shrugged, "I guess so, yeah."
"When did you start making them?" Bunny questioned.
"Well, the mini-me I made about two hundred years ago so it might be a little scratched," Bunny carefully picked up the ice sculpture of Jack and turned it over in his paw. The winter spirit from two centuries ago looked no different than modern Jack with the ever-present staff in his right hand except, instead of the blue hoodie, an ice cloak spread around his shoulders. In spite of what Jack said, not a scratch marred the perfection of the figure.
"The others I started making about six months ago, I think…" Jack continued
The time frame felt familiar to Bunny, "Six months? That's right after the Pitch Black fiasco."
Jack nodded, "Yup, just after…" He averted his gaze and started twiddling his thumbs awkwardly.
"Sooo, why the two hundred year gap?" Bunny prodded. He had a feeling that Jack was thinking something he was unwilling to share out loud.
"Dunno, I just didn't have anything else to make, I guess." The young spirit had now found something incredible interesting to stare at in the woods to the right of them.
Bunny instantly knew that that was a lie, Jack's favourite place was surrounded with inspiration and, knowing Jack's creativity, he would have found something worth making an ice sculpture of. But then again, the new Guardian didn't seem to be lying when he implied these were the only ones he'd made.
Bunny smiled and placed ice Jack back with the other Guardians, right were he belonged.
"You started making these after you became a Guardian, didn't ya?"
"Maaybe…" Jack drew out the syllables, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, "Of course, that's just a complete coincidence."
"Uh huh," Bunny said knowingly, "Sure it is. OK, Frost, out with it."
Jack finally looked directly at the Guardian of Hope, a very confused look on his face, "Out with what?"
"What's the real reason why ya started making these?" The Easter Guardian was now positive Jack was hiding something so, therefore, Bunny dedicated himself to find out exactly what it was.
"There isn't a real reason! I just, you know, decided to." Jack tried desperately to shut down the argument before it really got on a roll.
However, Bunny refused to back down, "I may not have known ya that long, Frostbite, but I know when ya lyin'"
"I am not!" Jack's voice rose in volume and he sprang up to float a metre or so off the ground.
"Woah! Frosty, calm down! Fine, OK then! If you don't wanna tell me then you don't have to." Bunny put his paws out in front of him in a calming gesture. Sure, he wanted to know what was going on with the ice works but that didn't mean he was willing to stress out the winter spirit to find out.
Jack slowly drifted back down to the ground and resumed his position cross-legged across from Bunny. He took a deep breath and carefully picked up the mini ice Jack. He stayed silent for a minute or two, apparently deep in thought. Bunny was just about to suggest that they head back to the pole when Jack suddenly broke the silence.
"I made them because I wasn't on my own anymore. For three hundred years, I was alone and, I guess, ice Jack represented that. I didn't make another sculpture for two hundred years because nothing I made would have felt meaningful. When I became a Guardian, suddenly, there was someone else there; it wasn't just me and the Wind anymore. I- I had people that cared about what happened to me, who looked at me as part of their team and not a hindrance or a troublemaker. Mini Jack isn't alone anymore because, well, because I'm not alone now. I have my own weird, amazing family now."
Jack's voice got quieter the longer he talked, until he uttered that long-awaited final sentence and silence fell once again. He stared intently at ice Jack as he turned it over and over in his hands, sending delicate frost patterns across its small surface.
Bunny could never have guessed that that was the truth behind a simple ice figurine. The newest and youngest Guardian had felt more alone for three hundred years than any of them could have even imagined. But now that Jack had joined the Guardians, he looked at his fellows as a family.
Bunny scooted round so he was sat next to the winter spirit; the Pooka glanced at Jack before staring straight ahead again. Jack sat unmoving with his head down, the ice figure in his hands now still. They stayed like this for several moments before Bunny broke the silence, "Crikey, kid, come 'ere." And with that, he grabbed the winter with one arm around the shoulders and pulled him into a hug. Jack jumped slightly at the sudden contact but didn't pull away. It only lasted a couple of seconds before Bunny dropped his arm and folded them both across his chest.
"If you tell the others about that, I'll find ya and kill ya with your own ice, got it?" The Pooka threatened.
Jack face broke into a grin and he laughed wickedly, "Of course not. We wouldn't want the others thinking that the feared Easter bunny is getting soft now, would we?"
Bunny tried in vain to hide a smile, instead he elbowed the winter spirit not-so-harshly in the arm. "Shuddup, Frost."
Jack laughed again before putting the ice figure back with the others and folding the material back into a bag. "Well, we better get back before the others start to think we've both been eaten by ice-crunchin', bunny-munchin' monster. Plus, you never actually told them I wasn't in some sort of trouble, sooo."
Bunny realized the kid was right, "Good point, let's go."
"Hang on," Jack had a last minute thought, "You're not going to tell the others about these, are you?" He held the bag of ice up to demonstrate.
"Nah, course not." Bunny smiled.
"Good, because if you did, I may just send them your way for a bunny hug." Jack knew the perfect way to keep the Pooka quiet.
"You wouldn't…" Bunny stared in horror at the grinning winter spirit.
"Maybe I would, maybe I wouldn't. Let's not find out, shall we?" Jack struck a deal.
After Jack got a mumble of agreement from Bunny, he flew up to hide his figurines back in the tree. Not long after, both Guardians headed back to the Pole via Bunny's tunnels (Jack complained about how far away the Pole was when he had to fly and that Bunny would get there before him. Plus he secretly loved travelling through the earth nearly as much as flying above it.)
Phew, that was a workout! XD So, if you made it this far, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you to anyone who has read/reviewed/followed/favourited!
Until next time!