Hey, guys! Welcome back to RFL 2: Into the Dark! Finally, didn't miss an update! Yay! Well, since I've got nothing else to say, let's get right to the reviews!
Thanks so much to WinterCrystal1009 (Best part is, he bought it for the sole purpose of teasing Jack XD And yes, Simon has the soul of a child XD) and Loftcat27 for reviewing!
With that, on with the chapter!
Chapter 11: The Cure for Timidity
Common Snow Sprite Afflictions and Treatments (Beginners' Edition)
By Mallory Kurall
"Summer Snow"
The sprite affliction commonly referred to as "Summer Snow" bears much resemblance to the common cold frequently suffered by humans. For instance, both illnesses involve congestion, sore throat, headaches, malaise, and other similar symptoms, and neither of them possess one definitive "cure;" only methods of easing the symptoms exist in current knowledge.
However, there are a few key differences that set Summer Snow apart from the typical human cold. Most notably, Summer Snow has only ever been known to affect snow sprite children in the average age range of four to twelve years old, and an individual will usually not suffer the illness more than once in a lifetime. In addition, the malady is characterized by the child's sudden inability to contain their magic, causing a layer of frost to cover their bodies throughout the entirety of the time in which they are infected. Said lack of control may also lead to sudden, uncontrollable magic spasms, most often taking the form of small ice blasts shooting off in various directions as projectiles.
The most effective treatment for Summer Snow is to create a mixture composed of three crushed ice lily leaves and the juice of two freezeberries and have the child drink it before bed. This should usually be repeated for five to six days, at which point symptoms should begin to fade. If the illness persists, consult a doctor for possible diagnosis of a more severe-
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"Simon, if you read one more passage from that book aloud, I swear to all things holy I will freeze your other arm off," Jack grumbled, rolling onto his side and pulling his pillow over his head to cover his elfin ears.
The archer in question merely chuckled lightly in amusement at the sprite's irritation. "Well, that's a bit harsh," he commented as he shut the medical textbook. "I hadn't even finished reading that section."
"You don't need to," Jack retorted dully. "Why are you even bothering with that book anyway? I didn't take you as one to be interested in the medical field, especially that not even pertaining to your own kind."
Simon shrugged and put the book to the side. "I was only trying to keep myself entertained. There's not much else to do in an infirmary, unless you'd like me to start experimenting with medicine, which I'm sure would end well for no one."
The boy shot him an annoyed look. "You could have at least 'entertained yourself' silently," he pointed out. "No need to bore me with lackluster descriptions of childhood illnesses. I was having more fun pretending to rest, which is saying something."
Simon grinned. "Well, it was amusing to me."
Jack's expression went dull. "...I miss the days when you were actually the serious one," he muttered under his breath.
"Grumble all you want, but I know it's just the heat exhaustion talking," Simon replied with a chuckle. "I've seen your immature side several times before, don't act like it's not there."
"At least I know not to bother people when they're still recovering from almost dying," Jack retorted. "I'd have thought that at least would be common sense."
"Alright, fine, fine," Simon finally relented, holding up his hand in a peaceable gesture. "I'll stop."
"Thank you," Jack sighed, returning his pillow to the spot beneath his head where it belonged.
A beat of silence passed.
"...so...have you ever had this 'Summer Snow' thing?"
"Simon I swear to-"
"Yeah, yeah." Simon rolled his eyes and waved him off. "Freezing my remaining arm off and all that. But I'm not trying to annoy you; I'm actually curious this time."
After a moment's pause, Jack heaved a deep exhale and rolled over onto his side to look across the room to where Simon sat, resigning himself to conversation rather than rest. "If you must know," he began, eyes dull and half-lidded. "Yes, I have, when I was seven. Most snow sprite children get it at some point...or did your precious book not tell you that?"
"The sass isn't necessary," Simon deadpanned. "What, did that book about you suddenly cause you to harbor a vendetta against the written word in general?"
"No, only against the combination of the written word and yourself," Jack responded, not missing a beat.
The archer merely shook his head, mockingly holding his hand to his chest. "I'm hurt, Jack, truly."
"Good. Now you know how I feel."
Simon gave a light scoff, unperturbed by Jack's somewhat snappish contributions to their banter. "Well, perhaps you can distract yourself from your intense pain by answering a question of mine?"
"If I can summon the will to do so," Jack replied, though his irritation was not completely sincere. He illustrated as such by adding, "What's the question?"
"That part about 'uncontrollable magic spasms,'" the archer began, drumming his fingertips on the cover of the book in his lap. "'Ice blasts shooting off in various directions as projectiles'...what is that like? It sounds...rather dangerous, and I'm sure my left arm could attest."
"Such a thing is actually not that bad in a village full of snow sprites," Jack answered, forming a small snowflake on the tip of his finger. "We are immune to the effects of the cold, and any structures were built to sustain even the harshest of blizzards. The spasms really only hurt the child suffering the illness, and even then, none of the pain was ever permanent."
Simon arched an eyebrow. "Your own magic can hurt you?" he asked curiously.
Jack nodded. "All magic aside from the brewing of potions requires a certain level of energy to perform, which is why you might see a mage pass out after a large-scale conjuration. With sprites, however, unlike naturally non-magical races such as humans like yourself, the magic we use is woven into our blood and souls themselves. We can learn more general forms of magic, just as anyone else can, but our ice magic is a part of us. Some say it is even tied to our life force, which is why over-exertion could be seen as life-threatening. In the case of Summer Snow, it is often the first time a sprite child uses significant amounts of magic-or rather, has it forced out of them-so, while the amount of expelled magic is not a danger to their lives, it does put a certain amount of fatigue on their bodies."
"Hm...interesting," Simon mused. "I never knew that. I, ah...never really looked into magic much, admittedly. But now that you say it, it does make sense." He paused momentarily. "That illness must certainly have been rough, then…"
The young sprite merely shrugged in response. "Well, it wasn't exactly my idea of fun," he conceded. "Though it wasn't all bad either. For one thing, it actually proved that I did possess magic…"
His red-haired companion now seemed confused. "What do you mean?" he asked, head slightly tilted to the side. "Why would you suspect otherwise?"
"Well...I was terrible at magic when I was younger," Jack explained, running a hand through his hair. "Granted, I still emanated coldness, and I could fly better than anyone else my age, but...I couldn't even summon a flurry until I was eight, when most can do that by the age of five. A lot of people thought that I might have had some sort of birth defect, at least until my magic finally revealed itself at seven." A frown came to his pale face. "Even after that, I could still barely use any magic on command. I could do minor things, such as conjure up a light snow or freeze small objects, but I could only use stronger magic based on strong emotions or adrenaline spikes, and I could rarely ever control what I did."
Simon frowned and glanced down at the empty sleeve where his left arm had once been. "Well...that certainly explains a lot…" he commented.
Jack nodded grimly. "Yes...it led to several...unfortunate situations," he agreed. "It lasted most of my life, too...I only achieved full control five months ago, during the battle with the Nightmare King."
He hoped Simon hadn't noticed the way his eyes flicked uneasily around the uncomfortably underground room upon recalling that particular battle.
"Since then," he continued, forcing himself to shake off his discomfort. "I've been able to use magic normally, thankfully. Though...I'll admit that I still wonder what caused the inability in the first place. I don't believe I ever actually discovered the reason for it…"
"Mhm...it's certainly strange…" Simon said with a slight nod. "I can't pretend I have an answer for you, though...perhaps the doctor would know? Or maybe-"
"E-Excuse me…" a soft voice suddenly sounded from the direction of the doorway.
The two young men blinked in surprise and turned to look. Upon doing so, they were greeted with the sight of Dr. Fletcher's shy daughter, Cynthia, standing at the door and holding a small tray made from ice with a few vials of pale blue liquid upon it.
A silence fell over the room as the young girl timidly entered, lowering her head to avoid meeting Jack or Simon's eyes. She quietly made her way over to Jack's bedside and placed the tray on the small table beside him. "Here…" she said softly, picking up one of the vials. "M-My...my father told me to...t-to give this to you...i-it's medicine...i-it should help you sleep a-and r-recover your strength…"
Jack's expression softed, and he nodded kindly at her. "Thank you," he said politely, accepting the vial.
She reminds me so much of Livi… he acknowledged silently, memories of his late younger sister surfacing within his mind. Or rather, of how she was once I found her again...after the Nightmare King stole her magic...she was so timid and scared, as Cynthia appears to be...it seems that even the children that managed to escape Pitch Black's clutches were still affected by the results of his misdeeds…
"U-Um…" Cynthia suddenly murmured, jolting Jack out of his thoughts. "W-What you were talking about before, it...i-it sounded like IMR...i-involuntary magical repression…"
Jack frowned slightly. "Involuntary magical repression…?" he echoed, raising a dark eyebrow questioningly. "I don't think I've heard of that before…"
The girl nodded timidly. "I-It's fairly rare…" she admitted quietly. "B-But sometimes, a sprite's b-body might lock its own magic away inside...i-it can be for a few different reasons...the m-most common is simply a lack of s-self-confidence on the sprite's part...b-but...it can also be b-because the sprite's magic is too p-powerful when compared to the strength of th-their body a-and force of will combined…"
"I see…" Jack's expression became thoughtful as he silently considered the girl's words. I don't ever remember harboring a lack of self-confidence when it came to my magic… he mused. In fact, I would say I was all too eager to learn how to use it, and I never gave up once...though I suppose when I went on the run, it halted any progress I might have made, but that's beside the point. Perhaps, then...somehow, it really was too powerful for me to handle...it would explain my lack of control whenever I could reach my magic...hell, I froze Simon's arm off without meaning to at all, as well as the limbs of several others...I...I even killed a man by accident...and I was younger then, and certainly not immortal...I suppose it would be reasonable to assume that my magic was simply too strong for me to control...
Let me see...I first truly gained control of my magic during the battle with the Nightmare King. My physical strength had increased somewhat due to the Guardians' training by that point, but what really pushed things over the edge must have been the discovery of my Center...Fun...for the first time, I knew who I was and what I was supposed to be. I was a Guardian. Perhaps that was strengthened my "force of will," as Cynthia called it...that would certainly explain quite a bit.
Jack gave a slight exhale, finally saying, "Thank you for telling me, Cynthia...this has been something I've wondered about for a long time."
The girl dipped her head in response. "Y-You're welcome…" she replied softly. "I-I've heard my father m-mention it...I-I overheard you two t-talking, and...f-figured I sh-should tell you…" For a moment, it seemed as though she wanted to say more, but, apparently thinking better of it, she bit her lip and looked away.
Jack arched an eyebrow in slight confusion. "Was there...something else you wanted to tell me…?" he asked gently. "Or a question you wanted to ask, or anything…?
Cynthia hesitated, fiddling with the silver chain of the necklace she wore as she considered his words. "U-Um…" she reluctantly began at last. "Is...i-is it true, w-what I heard the council say…? A-Are...are you a...a G-Guardian of Childhood…?" She finally looked up at him with wide eyes, anxiously anticipating his reply.
Jack couldn't help but smile.
"Well...yes," he told her. "I am."
If possible, her cerulean eyes grew even wider in wonder.
"And if you don't believe him," Simon suddenly cut in from across the room. "I've got the perfect book to prove-"
"Not now, Simon," Jack deadpanned, giving him a dull look.
Just as the archer smirked and opened his mouth to speak again, to both young men's shock, the shy Cynthia gave a slight giggle at their expense. When Jack looked back to her in surprise, however, the girl was quick to apologize.
"I-I'm sorry!" she stammered. "I-I just...got c-caught up in the m-moment...but...w-wow, I...y-you're really a Guardian!?"
The boy gave a slight chuckle and nodded. "As I said, yes, I am. I take it you've heard the stories of the others, then?"
"Of course!" Cynthia replied, the waver in her voice gradually beginning to fade. "E-Everyone knows those stories! The...the adults here don't like the Guardians much a-anymore, since they didn't exactly...help us, but…" She smiled for the first time. "U-Us younger sprites...we still remember why we loved them!"
Jack did not hesitate to return the smile. "I'm glad to hear it," he said warmly. He then paused for a moment, a thought coming to mind. "Hey, Cynthia…" he began slowly. "If I promise to tell you stories about the other four Guardians...could you maybe show Simon and I around the city a bit? Don't worry, I'll rest first, but...I haven't gotten to see more than a few rooms, and I'd really like to take a look around at the rest of this place. Do you think you could do that for me…?"
The girl paused a moment, thinking his words over. Then, she smiled once more and nodded. "I-I'll have to ask my father first," she told him. "B-But...I think I could do that!"
The young Guardian grinned. "Thank you very much, Cynthia," he said. "I'll certainly look forward to it."
That's all for now! Hope you guys enjoyed, and don't forget to leave a review to tell me what you think! I'll see you next time for Chapter 11!
'Til then, Sapphire316, out.