:) I love writing, I just over think it so it takes me literal weeks/months to complete them, haha! This one includes GoddessOfTechnology's request from chapter 2 :)
Arkinstone: That's a great idea, I have quite a few half written stories that I could incorporate that into! Thanks!
The Music Woman 4 Life: I hope you had a great Easter this time too, haha!
Summary: When Jack overworks himself one particular winter, the Guardians decide to take action.
Chapter 7-Strange Spaces
Only a few individuals around the world missed out on the scorching hot summer that had baked so many countries one particular year. Temperatures and morale soared as the good weather spread. Not a day went by that beaches around the world weren't covered in towels and sun hats; parasols and picnic baskets decorated the otherwise monotonous dun with splashes of summer colour.
However, like all things within nature, balance must be restored. The beaches emptied and the heat was replaced with chills. The sun very rarely made an appearance from behind grey clouds and rain battered many countries throughout Europe. Summer had left and winter had arrived. As the months grew colder, the rain turned to snow and ice. The water droplets that adorned trees froze into delicate icicles. Throughout the winter months, this deep freeze made a home over the land, refusing to budge for weeks on end.
Of course, the bringer of such weather couldn't have been having more fun. Hundreds of miles that he could keep frozen solid just so he could keep the schools closed for the children and play pranks on the adults. Though his laughter was unheard by many, it rang true to those participating in the snowball fights he so loved to start. Hours at a time were spent building snowmen and drawing frost patterns onto trees. Days were full of leaping from town to town, burying houses in layers of snow. For weeks this playful spirit spread fun and laughter across miles of landscape. However, just like summer, the fun had to end at some point.
Even though winter was far from over, Jack Frost was crashing. The energy spent creating the blizzards and snow storms combined with the non-stop activity of playing with the kids meant the winter spirit quickly tired. A few hours every couple of weeks, Jack would retire to the North Pole to see his fellow Guardians. The tedious conclusion of each meeting resulted in him finding the nearest out-of-the-way place where he would promise himself to only rest for half an hour or so before inevitably falling into a deep slumber. More than once had the other Guardians found the young spirit fast asleep in rather unconventional places.
This began when Tooth was wandering the Globe room one day and just happened to glance upwards. At the very arc of roof, balanced precariously on the wooden rafters, was a blue clad shape laying full length along the beam. Tooth being the curious fairy that she was, couldn't just fly on and pretend she hadn't seen anything. On exploring this strange shape, she found an exhausted winter teen sleeping peacefully, one arm wrapped protectively over the staff that lay across his chest while the other doubled as a pillow for the dishevelled white head. Worry that he could tumble from such a height caused her to consider waking him but she couldn't bring herself to disturb him. So she smiled fondly, placing a small hand on his shoulder, before flitting away, leaving the teen to his rest.
0o0o0
North was next to stumble across the sleeping seasonal. Finding a person curled into a corner of a darkened storage room gave the old Russian quite a scare until he realised just who it was. He stood indecisive for a moment before he wandered over to the teen.
"Jack. Wake up." The Guardian of Wonder shook the youth's shoulder gently, slightly concerned that the odd place Jack had ended up meant his welfare had been compromised and he was trying to hide away from the Guardians. "Jack! Are you alright?" He asked as pale, tired eyes stared back at him.
"What? North, I'm fine. Just fell asleep, that's all. What are you doing here?" Jack scrambled to his feet, struggling to see in the dim light. Was it this dark when he came in here? Huh.
North chuckled, "I live here."
"Like on a shelf? Or maybe in a box? Kinda claustrophobic, don't you think?" Mischief shone from the crooked grin on his face.
"And dusty." North agreed seriously.
0o0o0
Having recently invaded the Pole's kitchen and successfully cleared it of most of the eggnog, Sandy had taken to perching on a railing of one of the many balconies that decorated the magnificent building. A slight breeze added to the already chilly air as a glaring light beamed down on an endless expanse of white. Not a sound interrupted the perfect silence. That was, until after about ten minutes of calm peacefulness, when a rather loud thump coming from above him made Sandy almost spill his precious drink. After a moment of sitting absolutely still, straining his ears for any other thumps and half thinking if he best move in case something was to come tumbling off the roof and knock him off his precarious perch, he placed the cup on the railing and glanced up. Nothing was leaning over the edge to stare back at him and so he floated slowly upwards, staying hidden under the roof's eave. Spiked hair and a pair of hazel eyes peaked over the edge to discover that the source of Sandy's eggnog spilling scare was an unconscious Jack Frost. Confusion set a slight frown upon the Sand Spinner's face but he wasted no time in gliding across to the winter spirit's side. With the frost teen being the danger magnet that he was, Sandy instantly feared the worse but his confusion deepened when there appeared no sign of injury on the sleeping spirit. After a moment of thought, Sandy gently shook the teen with a hand on his shoulder.
"Oh, hey, Sandy." Jack carelessly threw an arm over his eyes as the winter light momentarily blinded him. After a moment of waiting for him to move again, Sandy suspected the spirit had fallen back asleep. With a raised eyebrow he gently took hold of Jack's wrist and lifted his arm away revealing a confused and tired set of blue eyes, "You called?"
The Guardian of Dreams signed his pictures which Jack translated as "You do know you're on the roof, right? What are doing up here? Are you alright?"
Jack smiled, stretched his arms out briefly before thumping one back over his face, "I'm perfectly fine, thank you very much, although I would be much better if you sent me right back to the wonderful world of sleep."
And so, with a fond roll of his eyes, Sandy tossed a sprinkle of dreamsand over the winter spirit before gliding back to his railing perch.
0o0o0
Bunny was wandering through the Globe room one day searching for a certain pesky snow Guardian he'd been told was roaming the halls. "Frostbiiiite." His usually low patience was already wearing thin and having to search for Jack on a packed full schedule wasn't helping matters.
"Jaaack, ya better not be hiding from me or I'll throw ya to the elves." He strolled around the Globe of Belief where he spotted Jack on a window seat with his face pressed up against the glass, hood pulled up over silver hair.
"Oi, kid, did you not hear me yelling for ya?" When Jack didn't respond, the Guardian of Hope frowned and hopped forward. Realisation dawned on him when he saw the winter spirit unconscious, breathing even and posture relaxed. He turned slightly, prepared to leave the kid snoozing before stopping short. A conniving smile turned him back around, after all, he had come to find Jack and lo and behold, here he was. Bunny took a seat opposite the younger Guardian and slowly reached for the blue strings of Jack's hood. The others had said to find him and that apparently meant to wake him up… and Bunny was sure they wouldn't mind how he woke the kid up. He'd just got a good grip on the strings and was about to give a sharp tug when a blast of ice shot towards his ears. He'd just managed to duck in time to avoid frozen ears but he'd looked back up to wide awake winter spirit.
"I certainly did hear you yelling for me, Kangaroo, you're the one that woke me up,"
0o0o0
Each sleeping Guardian of Fun discovery happened after several meetings until one day the rest of the team decided to do something about it. After the necessary ramblings of yet another mind-deadening conference, a plan was formed and the victim targeted.
White hair brushed the wooden floor between a pair of pale hands as the teenage Guardian observed the upside-down world from his spot in the armchair. Brown-clad legs swung absent-mindedly over the back of the cushions as his arms flopped to the floor by his head, occasionally tracing a frozen pattern along the floorboards. The more time past, the more the silence enveloped the room and the more bone-weary Jack grew. The muscles in his arms had long ago grown numb so they hung limp and dead like that of a puppet's. The thought of surely-someone-must-have-walked-into-the-room-by-now occasionally drifted across his mind but he couldn't fight the tiredness to be able to pull the thought back.
He must have fallen into a doze because a light voice interrupted the quiet. Jack opened his eyes with the feeling of not quite knowing where he was and that time had somehow escaped him.
"Jack?" Tooth called again. She hovered a few feet in front of him, head tilted to the side in an attempt to see him the right way up.
"Hey, Tooth, what's up?" Jack made no move to sit upright, if she was only going to ask him a question he didn't want to waste the energy and he was sure Tooth wouldn't mind.
She smiled fondly, "Apparently, not you. Sleeping upside down can't really be comfortable, can it? You know you can use one of the bedrooms here, or even at the Tooth palace, and get a proper nights sleep."
"I was not sleeping… I was resting my eyes. My spidey senses were activated." Jack smiled sleepily, not noticing her confused expression. "No, thanks. I'm good. Chairs are good too. Comfy chairs. Gotta go soon anyway, lots to do."
"Surely winter can wait for a night or two, you're going to exhaust yourself, Jack!" Tooth tried to reason with the winter spirit, instead of jumping straight to their plan.
"I'm fine! Now if you'll excuse me, I've got stuff to do." An unusual coating of ice crept into his voice as he finally swung his legs down and sat properly in the chair.
"Ok, ok. Oh! Before you go, can I show you something? It won't take long, I promise." Action was needed.
Jack stooped to pick up his staff which had been left within arms reach. He hadn't meant to sound so impatient with the fairy and so he gave Tooth a lopsided smile, "Sure."
Tooth buzzed while Jack dragged his feet across the workshop floor. The fairy tugged him further into the building of wonder, along corridors and hallways, passing yetis and piles of toys. Just as the Guardian of Fun started questioning himself whether or not he would actually make it to their destination without slumping into sleep, they ran into the ever-present glow of Sandy. After a brief exchange of conversation (or pictures, in Sandy's case), it was decided by Tooth (as Jack had no idea what was going on) that the Sand Spinner should join them on their adventure.
Eventually, they came to halt in front of a white-painted wooden door. Jack's brain had completely tuned out as Tooth chattered on about teeth and cavities. Sandy floated up and turned the rounded silver handle.
Tooth pulled Jack past a chest of drawers and a single bed tucked into the corner over to the ceiling high window at the far side of the room, "Jack, look riiight into the distance, just over there. Sandy says I'm the only one that can see it. It's like a wiggly line reaching upwards." Tooth pointed towards the horizon and Jack squinted to make out what she could possibly be talking about. "A little to the left, and a little higher up there!" Tooth had moved back slightly so she hovered at Jack's shoulder as he pressed his nose against the glass.
"You know, Tooth, we could just fly there, and you could… show me… in person..." Jack suddenly felt every muscle in his body deaden as if the tiredness he'd been holding off for weeks had decided to attack all at once. He was vaguely aware of an arm wrapped around his shoulder as the grey coloured ceiling sprang into view.
"Don't worry, Sweet Tooth, I got you."
0o0o0
Moments after Tooth and Sandy had settled a now fast asleep Jack on the small bed in the corner, they heard a quiet knock on the open door.
"Did plan work?" North's question was a harsh whisper.
"Whether it worked or not, we got a good outcome. Kid didn't suspect a thing, eh?" Bunny joined the other Guardians in the room.
"Nope, poor sweet was pretty much sleep walking by the time we got here." Tooth gazed fondly over at the dozing figure.
Bunny frowned, "I still don't know why we couldn't have just knocked him out where he was and carried him here. Would've saved ya the workshop tour, Tooth."
North answered, "Ah, but like Toothy said, lad was almost asleep when they got here, much easier for sneak attack. Good job, Sandy."
Sandy beamed and tipped the rim of a golden bowler hat.
"Ok, so we agree to activate plan sooner next time, if there is next time?" The Guardian of Wonder asked.
Bunny snorted, "Of course they'll be a next time, it's Frost we're talking about here."
0o0o0
Until next time!