Author's Note: It's December fourth, so here's the fourth chapter of "That Time of Year!" I hope you guys enjoy it! =D
Chapter Four: Wondrous Creations
December Fourth
Jack dived into the bustling Workshop and landed lightly on his feet. He weaved his way through the hustle and bustle, looking for North. Jack bumped into a yeti who was carrying a tray of robot parts. Jack quickly helped balance the tray before its contents spilled across the floor.
"Sorry," said Jack with a sheepish smile. The yeti grumbled something in yetish and walked away, leaving Jack to continue his search for Nicholas St. North. Jack knew that the man who was known by the rest of the world as Santa Claus was extremely busy now that Christmas was around the corner, and Jack wanted to help him in any way he could. North had done so much for the winter spirit. He explained what a center was and if it weren't for North, Jack probably never would have discovered his center: fun. He also helped him climb out of the state of guilt when Pitch attacked Sandy. Jack wanted to return the kind gesture by helping North with whatever he needed assistance with.
Jack's ears picked up the sound of jingling bells and he looked down just in time to see a group of elves carrying one of North's favorite ice picks. Jack tapped his staff against the ground, causing a slippery layer of ice to appear under the elves' feet. The pointy-eared creatures slipped on Jack's ice and dropped the ice pick. They looked up at Jack with innocent expressions and the winter spirit frowned disapprovingly.
"Come on, you guys. North is working really hard, and you chose now to steal his stuff?" said Jack. The winter spirit picked up the ice pick and said, "I won't tell him what you were doing with this if you promise to be on your best behavior for the next few weeks."
The elves nodded vehemently, and Jack gave them a satisfied smile. The winter spirit tucked the ice pick in his pocket and decided to check North's study. The ex-Cossack was spending a lot of time inside of his office, Jack realized, and it seemed very likely that North would be there. Jack walked down the hallway and stopped in front of North's office. He knocked to the tune of "Carol of the Bells" and he heard North's voice from inside say, "Come in!"
Jack pushed the door open and he walked inside. "Hey, North!" he greeted cheerfully.
"Jack!" said North happily. He pulled the winter spirit up in a hug. "Iz nice to see you! It feels like it has been ages!"
Jack laughed and patted North's back. "Yeah. Now, can you please put me down? I'm running low on oxygen here…"
North laughed heartily and placed Jack down. The winter spirit gasped for air and North gave the white-haired teen a pat on the shoulder. "Vhat brings you here?"
Jack shuffled on his feet and he ran a hand through his hair. "Well...since you're so busy I came to see if you need any extra help."
North nodded. "I could use extra pair of hands, but I do not vant to take you away from your winter duties."
Jack shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. "It's okay. I just really wanna help you out."
North smiled softly. He was touched by Jack's offer of help. He knew that the winter spirit was trying to say thank you for everything that he had done for him. North laid a hand on Jack's slender shoulder and said, "Okay, Jack. There are a lot of things you can help me vith, but I think I vill give you this task."
"What task is that?" asked Jack.
North gestured to his desk with a flourish. "Ice sculpting!"
Jack smiled. North's ice sculptures were one of the most amazing things Jack had ever seen, and helping North create them sounded like something that he would take pleasure in. The winter spirit was connected to ice after all, and he often restocked North's supply of ice blocks when he was running low. Jack suddenly remembered the ice pick that he had caught the elves sneaking around with and pulled it out of his pocket.
"Da! My ice pick!" North said happily as he took it out of Jack's hands. "I've been looking for this all day! Vhere did you find it, moy mal'chik?"
"On a table in the Workshop," replied Jack. He knew that if he told North about the elves messing with his things that it would add on to the pressure that the ex-Cossack was already going through. Jack followed North to his desk and the Russian handed Jack another ice pick and asked, "Do you know how to sculpt?"
"Uhh...kind of?" said Jack. He scratched his head. "I mean...I think I do." The winter spirit had created several ice sculptures in his 300 years alone, but they weren't as meticulously detailed as North's were. Jack could create a small, detailed figurine of something just using his mind and his ice magic, but that took intense concentration and lots of time. Jack usually used sharp rocks to add shape and detail to his small ice creations, but they still weren't as intricate.
North chuckled lightly and gave Jack a pat on the back. "Don't vorry. I vill teach you."
Jack smiled and watched as North took a seat. The winter spirit sat beside him and watched attentively as North pulled out an ice block and set it on the table.
"Now, first, you need plan," said North. "Makes things much easier." North pulled out a large folder that was filled with different toy designs. He pulled out the design of a toy rocket ship...with train wheels and a funnel.
"Wow, that looks interesting," remarked Jack. North was very creative when it came to his toys. While not all of his designs were made final (just a few months ago, North created a robot with party cannons, which caused a lot of chaos in Santoff Claussen when it malfunctioned and got on the loose), but this rocket-train seemed pretty safe.
North nodded. "This iz what ve are going to make."
Jack turned to North. "But I don't know how to ice sculpt. What if it comes out wrong? I don't want to mess this up for you."
North squeezed Jack's shoulder. "You vill do fine! I vill help you."
Jack smiled, reassured by that. North then told Jack to step away as he pulled out his large chainsaw. Jack's eyes widened at the sight of it, and the winter spirit began to bounce on his heels.
"Will I get to use that?" asked Jack, his cerulean eyes sparkling. "Will I?"
North laughed at Jack's slightly childish behavior and said, "Nyet. Iz too dangerous. You are still only seventeen."
"317," Jack corrected. "I can handle it!"
North shook his head. "For now, only I vill use it."
Jack pouted but watched as North turned on the chainsaw and began to slice the ice block into smaller pieces. When he was done, North put the chainsaw away. Jack then took his seat next to the ex-Cossack once again. North handed Jack an ice pick and a small block of ice in front of him.
"Ice sculpting takes lots of practice, so do not be upset if sculpture does not come out way you vant," said North.
Jack nodded and started to chip away at the ice. The winter spirit found it rather difficult to get the shaping to the rocket train right. Jack's brow furrowed in concentration as his eyes darted from the toy's design and the actual sculpture in front of him. Once the shaping was done, Jack moved on to adding details. The winter spirit was about to start pecking at the ice again, but North stopped him.
"Your hands are not in proper positioning. Here," North's large, warm hands guided Jack's pale cold ones so that they were in a better position to add detailing to the ice figurine. Jack was a little surprised by the touch, as he wasn't quite used to physical contact yet, but Jack found that North's hands were gentle, even though they were so big. Jack thanked North when he finished positioning his hands and then continued to peck away at the ice. Jack stuck his tongue out in deep concentration, and North had to keep in a small laugh. It was clear that Jack was trying his hardest to make the ice creation perfect, even though it probably wouldn't come out as flawless as he would like it to.
After a while, Jack finally finished and he let out a sigh. The ice figurine was misshapen and not as neat as North's, but it didn't look too bad. Jack smiled, proud of his work and he held it up for North to see.
"Good job, Jack," said North with a proud smile. "It looks great for first try."
"Thanks, North," said Jack. The winter spirit looked at the folder of toy designs and asked, "So, should we get working on the rest of those ice sculptures?"
North smiled and he and Jack got to work on the ice sculptures. The ice sculpting session was peaceful, and Jack found that he really enjoyed creating ice figurines or full-on sculptures with North. The ex-Cossack was kind and patient whenever Jack accidentally broke a figurine he was working on, and North guided the winter spirit's hands whenever he was having trouble shaping the ice or adding detail. Jack managed to make a few figurines while North worked on the more advanced sculptures like robots, castles, and dollhouses.
Jack finished his figure of a regular train and set it to the side along with his other creations. North had just added the finishing touches to the robot sculpture he was working on and turned to Jack.
"Vhat do you think?" asked North. The winter spirit looked over North's ice sculpture and smiled.
"It looks great. Way better than mine," said Jack.
North gave Jack a pat on the shoulder. "You did vell. Now ve just have to deliver these to yetis so they can make them into toys."
"All of them?" asked Jack.
"All of them," replied North. "I told you ve are making these together, and ve did. So, all of them vill be made into real toys."
Jack looked back at his ice creations and said, "But...mine aren't as good as yours. Don't you want something a little more detailed and perfect?"
North waved his hand dismissively. "That does not matter. Yetis can make anything out of anything." The Russian laid a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Your sculptures are wonderful, my boy. And once they are created into toys, children are going to love them."
Jack looked up at North and smiled. "Okay, then. Let's bring these to the yetis."
…
North and Jack delivered the ice sculptures that they had created so they yetis could use them as models and make them into toys. North let Jack follow him around the bustling Workshop as he examined toy production. Jack proved to be a great help. The winter spirit managed to get the elves out of the way and distracted them with his frost creations. Frost images of snowflakes, yetis, and cookies floated in the air and the elves stared at them with wide eyes. Jack laughed and continued to keep the elves out of the way while North went around and told a few yetis to make corrections to some of the toys.
"I don't like it paint it red!" North bellowed to a yeti who was painted several dollhouses pink. The tan yeti sighed and walked off to find a can of red paint.
"Vhy are stuffed animals and race cars all sitting on one table? These need to be organized!" North said to the two yetis who were placing the toys on the table. The two furry creatures nodded and began to move the race cars to a different table.
Jack watched North as he walked around and managed to keep the Workshop from exploding into chaos. Whenever an argument between two yetis broke out, North would quickly step in and end the quarrel. Whenever the yetis lost the list of toys that were to be made, North would be ready with a new list. Whenever the elves irritated the yetis, North would send them to the kitchen to make Christmas cookies.
He really is the Guardian of Wonder, thought Jack as he watched as the yetis created the toys with North leading them. After North finished in the Workshop, he took Jack to the kitsch to grab a snack. The elves had actually made Christmas cookies, so the ex-Cossack and winter spirit snacked on a fresh plate of cookies with a cool cup of milk for a beverage. Jack swallowed and watched as the elves shoved another tray of cookies into the oven.
"Have you ever run out of Christmas cookies?" asked Jack.
North shook his head. "Never. Ve actually have too many. Elves keep making more."
The group of elves in the kitchen nodded and then ran off to find something else to do. Once North and Jack finished the plate of Christmas cookies, the two returned to the Workshop to wrap things up. Toys had to be wrapped, small mistakes had to be fixed, and the tables had to be cleaned up. Jack placed the last of leftover toy parts on a tray and handed it to a nearby yeti, who took it to storage. The winter spirit slapped his hands together and picked up his staff. A long day of hard work was coming to an end.
"Hey, North! I finished picking up the toy parts," said Jack.
"That iz great, Jack!" North said from above. Jack flew up to the floor where North was standing and smiled.
"So, is that everything?" asked Jack. "Do you need help with anything else?"
North smiled. "There iz one more thing," he said. Jack's blue eyes watched as North magically pulled out a light blue wrapped gift from behind him. Snowflakes were printed on the shiny wrapping paper, and the bow was the same cerulean color as Jack's eyes. The winter spirit blinked in surprise.
"Is…is that for me?" asked Jack.
North nodded. "Think of it as thank you for helping me today."
Jack shook his head. "North, you don't have to give me this. Besides, it's not even Christmas yet…"
North pushed the gift in Jack's direction. "Take it. You deserve it."
Jack set his staff aside and gently took the present out of North's hands. The box was light, meaning that whatever was inside didn't weigh much. Jack brushed his pale hand over the smooth wrapping and began to slowly open the present. The winter spirit wanted to savor this moment: the opening of his first Christmas present in 300 years.
Jack neatly tore off the wrapping, which revealed a white box. Jack pulled off the top and slipped his hand inside, then pulled out a light blue Christmas hat. It had small, silver snowflake patterns and swirls weaved into it, and there was a large, fluffy ball at the tip of it, which reminded Jack a little of the elves' hats.
"North…" Jack started. The hat was as soft as the Wind's touch, and Jack wanted to hug it to his chest and savor its softness, but he restrained himself.
"I asked Phil to make it. I designed the patterns. Yetis are quite good at sewing," said North. "Do you like it?"
Jack grinned, his smile sparkling like moonlight. "I love it. Thank you."
North smiled softly and patted the Guardian of Fun's shoulder. "I thought it vould look nice with shoes too. Maybe you can try both some time."
Jack shook his head with a small smile. There was no way he was going to wear those shoes. The winter spirit popped the hat onto his head and walked with North to the library and the two spent the rest of the day reading and talking to each other. And Jack made a mental note to stop by Santoff Claussen every day to see what he could do to help North next.
Author's Note: The father/son relationship between Jack and North is just so, so sweet! =) I hope you guys enjoyed chapter four!
Until the next chapter!
-BeyondTheMoon1203
