Night had well fallen and Tooth remained in her perch from earlier. She'd moved very little all day, which normally would have her twitching and fidgety, eager to be up and doing something, even if just hovering in place. Enough so that her wings could hum, burning off her normally excessive stores of energy.

It was probably that silence from Tooth herself that made Baby Tooth think of it. As the moon rose up and looked down upon The Tooth Palace the small fairy, very delicately retrieved her mother's greatest treasure. A small box, almost identical to the ones they kept the children's teeth in, though far older. It bore delicate engravings and was inlaid with precious rubies.

The baby teeth of Toothiana herself.

The Fairy Queen, in her darkest times, would seek comfort in them. Now, as she sat glued to her perch, mind unraveling in her grief Baby Tooth hoped it would help her once more.

Baby Tooth was slow to approach, though mostly because as she got closer to her mother her mind began to fog over, melding with the wandering thoughts of the other. Hands gripping the precious box tighter Baby Tooth shook her head clear, coming to rest on her mother's lap.

Tooth startled at the contact, her mind returning sharply to the moment. She looked around herself and was surprised to find she was bathed in moonlight and not the gentle orange of the setting sun. She couldn't help but cast her gaze upwards at the moon, at MiM. He was a comforting sight despite the pang of guilt that rippled through her.

When her gaze finally fell to Baby Tooth in her lap her eyes grew wide. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead, with slow movement, she traced over the box in her lap with her fingertips.

Carved by her parents and the final gift she had ever gotten from them. Her oldest treasure. She looked at Baby Tooth but neither of them needed to speak. Tooth understood, and Baby Tooth could feel the relief that already seemed to slowly come over her. Taking a small breath Tooth closed her eyes and cupped the box in her hands.

V*V*V

A soft smile rested on Tooth's face as an embracing warmth came over her.

In her memories she was greeted happily by the faces of her parents as they reached out to hug her. Her mother's gentle look as she taught a younger Toothiana the languages of the animals. Her father's kind eyes that shone with an unending love as Toothiana showed off her mother's lessons, negating the tracking he'd be trying to show her.

She made friends easily with the children of the village nearby, playing all sorts of games with them. When her wings grew in she was swift in using them. She could make the children so happy now by fluttering about, reaching the highest places with the best fruit.

She recalled her parents final moments with her. Gifting her the box before fighting savagely to protect her. They bore no fear. Determined, strong, and ever fierce in their love for her.

Wiping a tear from her eye Tooth let out a shaky breath. She felt…better. Not entirely but…she felt more centered now then she had in a while. It was a unique feeling that only came from the dearest of memories.

Looking down at the box again, this time with a small frown. They were her most precious, but…they were also from a life far removed from her own now. Her mortal life. She had far outlived those times and had scores and scores of new memories. Ones she cherished just as much.

There was no box for them though. They existed in her mind beside all the others. Good and bad mixed together, side by side and even interwoven at times. That was just how memories worked. You couldn't have the good ones without the bad.

You couldn't just, block out the bad ones and hope there would be enough left to keep you whole.

Swallowing hard and nodding her head with firm decision Tooth looked to the small fairy still waiting in her lap with a new determination.

"Thank you Baby Tooth. I…I needed that." She started with softly before her voice drew up to match her expression, "I need to go to the Pole."

Baby Tooth looked surprised for a moment before nodding firmly. She would keep the collections and search going while Tooth was away. With a still somewhat fragile smile Tooth leaned down and placed a small kiss on the mini fairies head.

V*V*V*V*V*V*V

Phil sighed heavily as he closed the door to the meeting room. It was to be one of North's harder days it seemed. The man had managed to drag himself from his bed, but that seemed to have taken a great deal out of him. He'd tried to do some work, looking over the gathered weather map and scouted information the other Yeti had been compiling. While it was a struggle he seemed like he was going to manage pushing through it.

Up until he sat down.

He'd needed to get off his feet and the moment he'd not been pacing as he read he just…deflated. He'd been staring at that particular map for almost thirty minutes, though Phil doubted the man registered a single detail at the moment. His eyes had gone distant and his body slumped down in his seat.

Best to give him a moment.

Phil was about to call out for one of the others nearby to bring food and drink up for North when a familiar sound of wings met his ears. With the factory noises no longer filling the room it wasn't hard for him to pick up on and in a moment he caught sight of the Fairy Queen. Her wings were still dulled, he could tell, and seemed no better than the day she'd left the Pole. Flying was task oriented and the moment she was able to she landed, panting from the exertion of just reaching the Pole itself.

Making his way over he offered her a greeting. She was the first of the others to return to the Pole since that day. She didn't look panicked and bore no new injuries so he could assume that she had, like them, not been able to locate Jack yet.

She barely finished her returned greeting before she was moving to walk around him.

"Sorry, but I- I need to-" She stammered a few times before pulling herself back together, her voice more firm than she'd started with, "I need to see Jack's room."

Phil paused with palpable confusion. Jack's room? He had assumed she would be here to speak with North, perhaps check in on him. But, what would be in Jack's room that she would travel so suddenly all this way to see it without so much as a word to North? And with such a determined walk too.

Aside from patching the punctured wall all residents of the Pole had been avoiding Jack's room. Not counting the one Yeti who was determined to keep it clean for when Jack returned that is. It was…too painful and for some, to traumatizing to enter. Phil couldn't help but absently scratch at his arm, fur still dingy and tarnished looking despite having scrubbed it many times. He hadn't returned to Jack's room more then once since.

Tooth stalked forwards without hesitation, Yeti and elf both stepping out of her way. Her wings twitched but otherwise remained low on her back. Phil followed her despite his nervousness. If there was something there that could help, or if Tooth herself needed any while there, he wanted to be there to assist.

He waved to another Yeti, Zutes, and motioned for him to mind the floor. It wasn't usually needed as the other tended to have his back in that regard. But seeing as he had just been breaking up an elf fight as Tooth and he passed it was best to ensure he was aware of this task. By the time Phil's gaze returned to Tooth she was much further ahead of him. He had to almost jog to catch back up to her.

"What happened here?" She asked once he was back beside her.

Her tone was as firm as before, though now a bit concerned as her gaze passed over one of the now abandoned boxing tables. A small toy train rested still half packaged on it surface. Her pace didn't slow as she waited for an answer, eyes flickering back up to the doorway that would lead out of the central room.

It took Phil a moment to reply, but he didn't hold back in his explanation of favoring the search for Jack over the stockpiling of toys. She listened with a nod though her pace and forward attention never wavered. However, from the tilt of her head Phil could tell she was paying attention, taking it in and mulling it over. He was relieved to see her ability to do so wasn't as disrupted as North's was at the moment.

"How far south have you scouted so far?" Tooth asked pointedly, "Have you had anyone check around Antarctica? He's mentioned going there before, he might make use of it now. My fairies have tried, but its too cold for them to stay long."

Phil stared at her a moment before he answered. They'd sent a few scouting parties, but they hadn't been able to cover as much as they'd wanted. The Winter Court resided there and the Yeti, being sided with North and living outside of the Courts rule, were not exactly welcome. They were treated neutrally for the most part, but they couldn't risk encroaching too far.

"My girls have covered just about every inch of the southern hemisphere that currently has snow. I'll have a few of them station here so we can share what we have." She stated decidedly before muttering to herself, "I should have done that sooner."

Phil was going to say something but Tooth went on, her feathers fluffing for a moment before she instinctively patted them back down.

"We've focused on where there has been more recent snowfall, but we shouldn't neglect other places. If he's- If he's trying to distract us then we need to prepare for that chance."

She was speaking rapidly now, hesitating only the once before pressing on with other factors they should have been taking into account. With how warm and cheery Tooth naturally tended to be it was often hard to recall she was, in fact, a well seasoned strategist and warrior in her own right. He listened intently as she spoke, taking in all he could before she fell silent.

Ahead of them lay Jack's room. The door was repaired and closed but Phil felt himself hesitate. Tooth had come to a stop herself and just stared ahead. They both remained this way for almost a minute before Tooth turned to him. She drew herself up into a confident poise, but her eyes gave away her anxiousness. Still, when she spoke her words were steady and commanding.

"I might be here for some time. Alone." She informed him, her wings flickering a moment at her back, "Let North know I'll speak with him as soon as I'm finished here. We can start planning things together."

Phil hadn't exactly stated North's current condition to her just yet, and as she turned away from him he knew it was something that would have to wait. Whatever she was aiming to do would most likely need all of her focus. It would give him time to inform North and to prepare him as best he could for Tooth's company.

Even as she reached the door Phil voiced his compliance with her wishes, waiting until she was within the room itself before turning to leave. He'd be sure to send someone down to wait for her.

V*V*V*V*V*V

Tooth stood in Jack's room by the door for a good minute just taking in a few deep breaths. Already her wings stung at the memory of her last time being in said room, they twitched at the remembered pain. While it had dulled over time they had yet to really recover.

When she managed to convince herself to look up into the room proper she was relived. The gaping hole was gone. Repaired with freshly cut wood, the pine smell giving an almost relaxing feeling to the room. There was a new window as well and despite the cold outside it was left just slightly ajar.

A sign of hope that their lost one would come home.

Tooth shook her head. She needed to focus. Walking further into the room she trained her eyes on the bed. Newly rebuilt, fresh made and… empty. Flickers of memory came back to her which by habit she'd almost pushed away again.

Clenching her fists she drew in a slow deep breath. Once…twice…

She brought a hand up to rest over her chest. Keeping her breathing even she closed her eyes, taking in the feel of the room as she tried to draw up the last few times she'd been inside.

In truth she didn't know what she was looking for, but…something was stuck in her mind somewhere. Something that, even at the worst of it had caught her attention. It had been tucked away in the moment and now lay buried in a corner of her mind she didn't wish to retrieve it from. But she had to. Denying and pushing away bad memories wouldn't make them not have happened. It would take time to come to terms with them. To sort out her feelings on…on all of it, of this she was certain. But not now. For now she just needed to find whatever it was that was reaching out to her. Prickling at her from within the waves of unpleasant memories.

V*V*V*V*V

North stared into the mug in his hand, the cocoa having gone cold some time ago. He didn't even remember if he'd drank any. He was barely even aware of it in his grip, his gaze lingering on the shimmering surface of the murky liquid. So lost in his thoughts was he that he didn't notice he wasn't alone until a large furry hand placed itself on his shoulder.

Looking up he was met with Phil's concerned face. North tried to pull on at least a thin smile, but it didn't make it far.

"I am alright. Just…just thinking." He replied as he finally set down the cold drink, "Is there something-"

Phil cut him off before he could ask further.

Tooth was at the Pole.

At the Pole and had gone down to Jack's room. North's brow furrowed at this and he pushed himself to feet.

"Why would she go there?" He asked aloud, though more questions ran through his head.

Phil answered only that she had seemed determined to be there. She'd asked Phil to tell him that she would come see him once she was done apparently. While he was curious as to what she was up to he…he was also tired. Looking down at himself he could see how rough he appeared. Now that he cared to notice. While he'd managed to pull himself from his bed he hadn't exactly made effort to dress more than was necessary.

Normally, even at his most casual, he was dressed in a way that surprise guests would be no problem. As of right now, though, he was sporting only his long johns and a night robe. Something usually only reserved for his week just after Christmas. It was at least not as bad as just being in naught but his night clothes, rushing around the pole as a fresh idea pulled him from sleep. Plenty of Yeti and elves had been treated to that sight over the years.

Shaking his head from his wandering thoughts North sighed as ran a hand down his beard. It was getting scraggly as he'd been failing to brush it lately. This was certainly no state of dress to be greeting others in. Certainly not one of his fellow Guardians…

Phil seemed to be already a step ahead of him as he offered to fetch him something else to wear. While he appreciated it North shook his head.

"No. I think…I think it best I fetch them myself." North replied as he tried to stand a bit taller now, "If Tooth finishes before I return let her know I will be back shortly."

He couldn't let her see him like this. Any of them. He was their leader after all. He should be more held together then this in times of need. Especially when there was such important work to be done. He was a man of action after all.

A man of action…

A bold, untamable man of action…

Who was so very, very tired.

Taking in a deep breath North shook his head firmly. There was a time for grief and rest and now was not it. His wound had healed and if Tooth was returning, flying on her own, then that was a good step forward. They could get back to looking for Jack properly. Once he and Tooth talked they would set out to see how the others were doing, how their recovery was going. The sooner they could all gather once more the better their odds would be. With any luck they would each be well enough to resume their mission.

V*V*V*V*V*V*V

A cold wind picked up giving two mini fairies quite the chill as they darted quickly over a small town in Argentina. They were the last in their scouting troupe in the area and had fallen behind due to the sudden onset of wind and flurries. It was a bit early in the season for a third snowstorm but that didn't deter the clouds above them from darkening the already dim night sky. The moon was enshrouded within minutes and soon little Flori and Rida were left with little light to travel by that wasn't from the town itself.

The pair were not as accustomed to flying in the cold air as most of their sisters, usually stationed to collect teeth in the warmer central areas. But it wasn't the chilled air nor storm above that had them hastily dashing through the sky with fright.

They had found something.

It had been mostly an accident, but now it had them fluttering for all they were worth back to their sisters. Back home before-

A large gust of frigid air blasts the two little fairies, freezing their wings further and knocking them from the sky. They don't fall far before they collide with something rather solid. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't a soft landing either. Neither was the chuckle that filled the air causing the two to cling to each other as they looked up in unison.

"Hey there, ladies." A flash of pearly white teeth grinned down at them.