Author's Note: Heyooooo, everyone and welcome back to "Delirious!" =D I had a little trouble coming up with what Jack would do during Sandy's visit, so this chapter is a bit of a shorter one. I still think it's pretty great, so I hope you guys enjoy it as well. =)
Chapter Four: A Plenitude of Questions
With his dreamsand sent off to the children, Sandy got up to go and check on Jack. The Sandman had finished sending of the rest of his dreams, and he didn't need to send out any more until later, so Sandy wasn't at all bothered that he was being pulled away from his job. Before leaving the library, Sandy picked up the new bottle of medicine that Bunny had retrieved earlier, and he waved to the other Guardians before making his way out of the library and toward the infirmary.
Frankly, Sandy didn't know what to expect from the young winter spirit when he arrived. All of his previous actions hadn't harmed him in any way, which Sandy found relieving that Jack hadn't further hurt himself. The Guardian of Dreams was actually looking forward to seeing Jack, and he hoped that this may be the last time Jack would wake up delirious. He missed his normal self like the other Guardians of Childhood. However, Sandy didn't know that for sure, but he didn't mind looking after a delirious Jack either, unlike Bunnymund who seemed rather irked by Jack's behavior.
Sandy floated through the halls of Santoff Claussen, taking in everything with his golden eyes. It had been a while since he had visited the Place of Wonder, so it was pleasant to once again see the Workshop at full speed. The yetis seemed to be the only one diligently working, but Sandy could spot a couple of elves sweeping up cookie crumbs from under the table…and eating them. Sandy cringed. Well, at least the crumbs weren't going to waste, right?
Suddenly, a small group of elves suddenly dashed past the golden little man. Sandy whirled around and spotted a troupe of elves carrying a box of what seemed to be newly made toys. They were giggling incessantly, bells ringing just as constantly as they quickly ran down the hallway, avoiding yetis who were trying to get their large hands on the box of toys. Sandy frowned, and he stretched his hands, sending sparkling streams of dreamsand out toward the elves, each one of them hitting each elf. They collapsed to the ground immediately, snoring loudly as dreamsnad swirled and coiled over their heads. The yetis sent Sandy grateful garbling, and they walked over to the dozing elves, who all were sharing the same dream of cookies.
The Sandman continued his way toward the infirmary, and he eventually arrived at Jack's door. Sandy opened it, an exclamation point bursting over his head when he found that Jack was, surprisingly, awake!
Upon hearing the sound of glittering sand, Jack turned around, eyes brighter than the moon and a smile as white as snow on his face. The winter spirit looked so much like a child, that Sandy's surprise quickly faded at the sight of it.
"Hi, Sandy!" said Jack cheerfully. He tried to get out of bed, but Sandy shook his head, pointing a golden arrow toward the winter spirit's bed, silently telling him that he had to stay put. Jack understood, but he pouted momentarily before sitting back down.
"How long do I have to stay here?" Jack asked as Sandy floated up to him. The Sandman pointed to Jack's head, a golden check mark poofing over his spikey hair at the same time. Jack cocked his head in confusion.
"I have to wait until my head turns into a check mark?" he asked. Sandy laughed in amusement and he shook his head, using his sand images to explain how Jack had hit his head back at the Warren, and took a few doses of medicine in order for his delirium to fade away faster. Once dreamsand stopped flashing over Sandy's head, Jack nodded in partial understatement.
"But if I hit my head…wouldn't hitting it again make me feel better?" Jack pondered out loud. Sandy shrugged, but he didn't think that would work. "Can't you guys just use some magic spell to heal my head?"
Sandy shook his head, producing the image of a bed and a clock. "You have to heal normally. With bedrest and time."
Jack frowned. "But I don't wanna stay in bed all day. Isn't there some sort of spell out there that can heal me in an instant? And if there is, it should be used more often…Have you ever used one?"
Sandy shook his head, realizing that Jack was asking quite the amount of questions.
"How is sitting in bed going to help me anyway? Lying down is boring," said Jack. He blew his bangs out of his eyes. "Can I go outside?"
Sandy shook his head once again, pointing at Jack's bed. "You have to stay in bed."
Jack groaned, and he flopped onto his back dramatically, icy blue gaze transfixed on the ceiling above him, flickering with boredom. Sandy felt bad for the winter spirit; Jack loved to be on the move whether he was flying, walking, or running. The Guardians would spot him flying throughout the North Pole, race with the elves or yetis, or even do a backflip or two. Jack never liked staying in one place; he felt confined. Jailed. Trapped. He loved to go and do things. Being stuck in bed because of a head injury that he didn't fully understand or remember must have been driving him crazy.
"If there's a North Pole and a South Pole," said Jack, drawing Sandy out of his thoughts. The Guardian of Dreams turned his attention toward the winter spirit. "Shouldn't there be a West Pole and East Pole too?"
Geography, unfortunately, didn't work like that. Although Sandy had to admit that that did make sense.
"Do Sandmen ever hit their heads?" asked Jack. "I mean, they're made of sand, so it seems impossible for them to get injured."
Sandy could recount dozens of times that he had fallen off of his dream cloud or got knocked out of the sky, but he had never hit the ground (thank Manny!), and he wasn't planning on ever hitting the asphalt or dirt any time soon. If he did, Sandy didn't know what would happen. At least Jack would have his question answered then!
Sandy floated over to the medical tray and picked up the medicine and spoon, ready to give Jack his next dosage. As he did so, questions flooded from Jack like a tidal wave, each one becoming more and more strange than the last.
"Why's the sky blue in the day and black in the night?"
"How come the yetis and elves never get along?"
"Does Tooth eat candy? If she does, I should be allowed to eat them too."
"Is the Wind really invisible?"
"Do toys come alive while we're sleeping?"
"Why doesn't Pitch have any eyebrows?"
Sandy turned around, surprised and somewhat amused by that question. The Sandman couldn't help but let out a small snicker; he didn't know why Pitch didn't have any eyebrows…and he wasn't planning on finding out why any time soon. Jack looked up at the short little man, waiting for a response. Dreamsand formed over Sandy's head in the shape of a question mark.
Jack sighed. "Aw…I really wanted to know what happened to them. Maybe someone took them. Or Pitch had an accident that caused him to lose his eyebrows." Jack held his fingers up to his forehead, placing them over his own brows. "I wonder if my eyebrows would fall off if I lived in a dark, shadowy place all the time. Actually, I think they'd be invisible since they're pretty dark."
Sandy flew up to Jack's bedside, holding up the spoon with the medicine on it. The time had come for Jack to take it, but the winter spirit scrunched his nose at the sight of it, which Sandy had been expecting since Jack refused to take the medicine all of the other previous times as well.
"Why do I have to drink that?" asked Jack. "Is it really going to help me? It looks more like barf stew."
Sandy sighs, and he points to the spoon, dreamsand images of Jack, an arrow pointing to his head, and a sick face turning into a smile. "The medicine will help you feel better."
"Will it? Will it really?" prodded Jack. Sandy nodded, producing the image of a clock turning backward, the medicine, and a check mark. "It worked before."
Jack tapped his chin. "Well…if it worked before…" The Guardian of Fun's eyes suddenly lit up. "What if it doesn't work now? What then?"
Sandy shook his head exasperatedly. At first, Jack's multiple questions weren't so irritating. Jack was only being inquisitive, and Sandy didn't mind that at all. Jack's questions were rather amusing, and the Sandman had never seen Jack so curious. Well, Jack was curious, just not to the point where he asked questions as frequently as a person breathed.
The Sandman reassured that the medicine would work just fine, but the winter spirit still remained skeptic. Sandy held up the spoon again, silently asking Jack to drink it, but he shook his head once again.
"I'm not taking it!" said Jack adamantly.
Suddenly, an idea came into Sandy's mind. An impish grin spread across his face as he put up the image of a question mark.
"Why?" Jack translated. "Well, it doesn't look good."
Sandy put up another question mark.
"I don't know. I didn't make it," replied Jack.
Sandy created another question mark.
"I…I don't know how to make medicine!" exclaimed Jack. "Why are you asking me all of this—MMPH!"
Sandy shoved the spoon into Jack's mouth, silently thanking both Jack and Bunnymund for inspiring his little plan. Jack made a noise of disgust as Sandy slipped out the spoon, and the winter spirit sent Sandy a glare that surely would've frozen an elf.
"I said I didn't want to take the medicine!" said Jack. "Why did you give it to me if you knew I didn't want it? Why should I have to take it anyway when I can just 'heal normally' like you said? Why…"
Jack trailed off as a yawn escaped his mouth. The winter spirit blinked his eyes and rubbed them in an attempt to keep them open.
"What…what's going on? Why do I feel so tired all of a sudden…?" asked Jack, sleep laced in his voice. Sandy only smiled and pulled the covers over the winter teen, giving him a light sparkle of his dreamsand so he could have a pleasant, entertaining dream while he slept. Jack yawned.
"I guess I'll close my eyes," said Jack drowsily. "But I still want to know why Pitch doesn't have any eyebrows."
And Sandy chuckled, silently telling Jack that he would tell him why when he awoke.
Author's Note: ...I can't be the only one wondering why Pitch doesn't have any eyebrows, right? I didn't notice until my sister pointed it out during the, like, fifth or sixth time we watched ROTG, haha. XD
But seriously...WHERE ARE YOUR EYEBROWS, PITCH? IT'S KINDA WEIRD AND HILLARIOUS AT THE SAME TIME THAT YOU DON'T HAVE ANY. MOSTLY WEIRD BUT...STILL.
I'd love to see what you guys think. XD I hope you guys enjoyed, and I'll see you all in the next chapter! =D
Until the next chapter!
~BeyondTheMoon1203
