Jack was quiet and nearly motionless in the sleigh. He could feel some of the others staring at him, which made him want to act out, but his mind was too fuzzy right now. He hadn't been able to rest because the events of the past few days had circled his mind for hours.
They were on their way to Tooth Palace, which wasn't far from where they needed to go. Tatum lived in their own little pocket of the world, like how most of them did. However, knowing where to look could put you there easily.
Jack hoped Tatum wouldn't mind the visit. How many years had it been? Well, compared to everyone else, Jack saw Tatum more often with how the seasons overlapped. A casual word was exchanged, sometimes a mutual race in the wind above a forest. He didn't think a visit would be an inconvenience-
"Earth to Frosty, hello?"
Jack blinked and found himself staring into Clover's dark green eyes. He jerked back in his seat, frowning as he heard Julius snicker at him. He'd been so distracted he hadn't even noticed their landing at Tooth Palace, not even when Tooth had apparently called his name. Clover stuck out her tongue at him and hurried around to enter the sleigh.
"You look like you're thinking hard." She said as she squeezed herself between him and Julius. "Did you have a fun sleepover without me?"
"Eh, we didn't do much. Next time let's all hang out at my place!" Julius replied. Jack continued to look back at the scenery.
"Jack, can you tell me again the name of the area?" North asked. Jack fought back a sigh and tried to sound neutral.
"Sandhya, the evening forest."
North repeated the name into the snowglobe, but not before sharing a concerned look with the others on board.
Jack paid no attention to the eggshell atmosphere, despite how much he hated it. He instead focused on the world surrounding them as the colors morphed from the gold-leaf stone walls of Tooth's abode to a stretch of dusk-colored sky. Beneath them was a sea of treetops, in yellow and orange and red.
"This place is beautiful…" he heard Tooth say.
"And it's so still…like nothin's here." Bunny peered cautiously over the edge of the sleigh. Only the trees shifted with the breeze of their flyover.
"Um, I think...yeah, right there!" Clover stretched over Jack and pointed down at the ground. Jack leaned back to give her space. He felt a poke in his arm and looked to see Jay smirking at him. Jack rolled his eyes and blew a good-natured razz.
"Land in that clearing?" North began to turn the sleigh toward the open area. The ground was covered in leaves, and the trees immediately surrounding it were all bare. The reindeer hooves were muffled on their landing.
"I guess we have to walk further this time, too?" Bunny asked. Apart from themselves, not another living thing resided in the clearing.
"Yeah, Tates lives down that path." Jack pointed toward the edge of the clearing. There, two trees were spaced out a bit farther from each other, but their branches were intertwined in a natural arch. Through the space, the group could see a path leading deeper into the wood, though unlike the winding trail to Hallow's home, this path was wide and mostly straight.
"I bet Tatum will be happy to chat!" Clover said. She nudged Jack a couple times before hopping out of the sleigh. Julius did the same, though after landing in the shuffling bed of fallen leaves, he stretched out his hand to Jack. He helped him down off the sleigh while the remaining Guardians looked for words to say.
It came down to Sandy making a picture of Jack followed by a question mark. Jack looked down at him and shrugged.
"I'm fine. Just thinking about stuff." He twirled his staff in his hands and managed a smile. "C'mon, Tates has a really cool home!"
He set off toward the path. Julius and Clover rushed alongside him, trying to chat about random things.
"When we got to the workshop last night," North said. "Jack was silent. By the time I finished putting away reindeer, he was laughing and eating snacks with Julius."
"I reckon he knows 'im better," Bunny huffed and folded his arms.
"Clover told me this morning that she met Jack about a hundred years ago, and they've been friends ever since," Tooth said. "And that...well, it's not really my place to say."
"Hm, say what?" Bunny asked.
"...just things about their lives from before."
Not wanting to lose sight of the younger three, the Guardians held their thoughts and started for the path.
Sorry for the short chapter. I'm getting short on time because of a new side job; I was also in a bit of a writing rut. I've got a lot of story ideas that I want to write...