Chapter 7

Somewhere To Stay

It had been such a long time since Jack had flown, and he savoured every second of it, as he threw himself around in the sky above Burgess. He watched Jamie and his friends, they had gotten new sleds for Christmas, and were busy piling snow to make the perfect ramp. Snow hadn't fallen quite hard enough the night before, so it was difficult to pick up snow without picking up dirt and gravel as well. The children shrugged and played on the small pile they had managed to build up. Maybe ten minutes later, snow began to fall overhead, and pattered down onto the ground gently. Jack sat on top of a small fountain nearby, and watched the children's smiles broaden as they noticed the new snow. Jack stood up and scooped up a handful of freshly fallen snow. It rolled itself into a ball as Jack raised his hand and let the snowball fly; hitting the back of a larger girl's head. The girl spun around, and looked at the others. They shook their heads, worried what was coming but, like last time, she began throwing snowballs with a grin on her face. It didn't take long for the snowball fight to become a full war, with other children joining in, some Jack didn't recognise. Jack floated above the fighting children, his face spread into a wide smile, and he laughed. It felt so good to laugh, and to see the children play. Jack watched the fight for a little longer, then threw himself into the wind and shot off from Burgess, following the wind to where he wanted to go.

The wind liked the little family Jack had found, and eagerly carried him to the small house on the island. The wind dropped Jack off outside the house, where the family was playing. The young girl was playing in the snow, while her Mother and a man sat on a wooden bench outside the home. Jack's eyes widened when he saw that the adults were holding hands; the Dad! Jack leant against the house, next to the bench, and watched on. The girl was busy making a snow bunny, obviously trying to recreate Hoppers. She was bundled up in full gear for the weather and the site of it made jack's heart flutter; she was wearing a little beanie, earmuffs and some gloves. What caught Jack's eye was the bright purple coat she was wearing. It fit her perfectly, and Jack could tell she was incredibly warm in it. The wooden house was warm against Jack's back, and he smiled at the sensation. It had been almost two weeks since Christmas and he had missed them, but gosh flying again was fun. He had taken off almost instantly after North had given him the new staff. It may not have been a good idea to run off immediately but the wind had been calling to him for so long and he was finally able to answer it. Jack left the family, satisfied they were well, and flew off again. He threw himself high and higher, laughing as the wind caught him each time. He threw himself through clouds and flew alongside a flock of birds that had no idea he was there. The wind dropped Jack, making sure to ease his fall as he dropped into the open skylight in the roof of the North Pole. The drop had taken Jack by surprise; he ahd meant to fly overhead, to see what was happening. Jack landed on his feet, turning at the last second, and caught his staff in his hands. The warmth of the large building was the first thing that Jack noticed; the smell of sweets and paint was nest. Jack loved being in the North Pole, he had tried to break in for a long time, now he was welcomed. He hoped so, anyway, it was too late now.

Jack turned where he stood, taking in just how beautiful the North Pole was, when he noticed Phil walking towards him. It was too late now to run, Phil had seen him, and was quickly moving towards Jack. Jack wasn't expecting Phil to pick him up in a hug, and he certainly wasn't expecting a laugh from North as the older Guardian walked into the room. Phil put Jack back onto the floor and walked away, ruffling the boy's white hair as he walked by. Jack ran a hand through his own hair, laughing at the yeti. Perhaps Phil had missed him after all.

"Jack!" North shouted excitedly, placing a hand onto Jack's shoulder. 'Is good to see!"

"Y-yeah, sorry for running off."Jack was unsure how to feel about North' hand; he didn't dislike it, but didn't feel he deserved the friendly touch.

"Is okay! Bunny worry you upset but I told Bunny you want to fly!" North raised his hands high above his head, as if to show Jack flying. He looked at Jack holding the staff, and smiled even wider.

"Ah, you like staff? Is good!"

"Yeah it feels…different bu-"

"Different, why so?"

"Good different!" Jack was quick to assure North. "It just feels… heavier? I can't explain it, my other staff virtually had no weight to it. This one actually has a feel to it, I can feel the teture of the wood. It's strange." Jack had noticed straight away the difference in his staffs; he loved his original, and would never getrid of it but this one just felt…different, in a nice way.

"What's he doing here?!" Bunny shouted from behind North, hand held open towards Jack. Jack shrunk back.

"He dropping by!" North said, laughing at his own joke; he had seen Jack fall in. Bunny shook his head and walked off with a huff and a flick of his ears. North chuckled and followed after Bunny, heading down a hallway that Jack had only seen once or twice. It lead to North's bedroom; he didn't know if it went anywhere else.

"All guardians have somewhere to stay at North Pole; even if not use it." North explained, pointing to the other doors in the hall. Each one was a darkly polished wood, with a small name plaque in the center. There was Tooth's, with her name carved into the tooth shaped plaque, and Bunny's; who had a carrot plaque instead. Sandy's was a cloud, but the letters of his name had been filled with a golden paint. Jack smiled weakly at the doors, then saw that North had stopped into front of one near the end of the hallway.

"Why don't they sta-" Jack's words were cut off, not by North, but by him choking on his breath when he saw the door North had stopped at. The door matched the others, but looked newer. It had a silver doorknob, and in the centre of the door was a newly made plaque. It was a snowflake that had been carved from a sheet of white wood. Jack's name had been carved into the centreof the snowflake, and had been filled with blue glittering paint. It was the same blue as his hood.

"All Guardians now have a place to stay; Bunny only just did finishing touches, was worried you had already seen it. You have newest room; hope you like." North said, patting Jack on the shoulder, walking back down where they had come from. Jack's hands shook as he twisted the knob and opened the door. He stepped into the room and his eyes widened; he stared in awe at the room in front of him. The room wasn't large, but it was a decent size, so Jack wouldn't feel cramped. The floor was a brilliantly dark polished wood and the walls had been covered in wallpaper. The wallpaper was a brilliant sdark blue at the top, which faded into a soft white; silver stars dotted the dark blue around the room, and spread onto the ceiling which matched the blue of the wallpaper. There was a fireplace roaring in the corner; Jack loved the look of fireplaces, but the heat made him uncortmable. The room was still cold, the fireplace gave off no heat, instead serving as an aesthetic piece. There was a chest of drawers in one corner of the room; made from the same white wood as the plaque, and a bed sat in the opposite corner, to the left of the door. The bed was larger than a single, but didn't dominate the room. It was made from the same white wood, with details of silver metal added to the frame. Jack rested his new staff against the bed,and smiled at how at home it looked. He took in the rest of the room, and saw it, hanging above the place. The two ends had been mounted, crossing one another like a pair of swords, sitting on a set of silver hooks. Jack stood in front of the fireplace and stared at his old staff, which looked down at him.

'I'm sorry." He whispered, unsure why he had said the words.

"What for mate?' Bunny asked from the doorway.

Jack spun to face Bunny; wishing he was holding his staff. He was still expecting a fight from Bunny.

"You didn't break it; why're you apologisin'?" Bunny continued, leaning against the door frame. Jack turned away, looking at his old staff again. He shrugged; he didn't have an answer for Bunny.

"Mate we, we can't fix it." Bunny said, his voice wavering. "What happened I mean. We can't take it back. As much as I'd love to take back what I said, it'd be wrong. That is truly, at the time, what I felt. We all did. Saying sorry won't fix it but, we'll do better from now on." Bunny turned to hop away, not wanting to bother the kid anymore than he had to, when he heard him speak.

"What did you do, in the room?" Jack hadn't turned around yet.

"North built it all, I painted and Tooth did something with the bed I think, she was being a bit secretive, even for her." Bunny said, then left. He didn't see Jack's smile as he shut the door, or as he laid down in his bed. His bed. His brand new, just for him bed. Jack pulled the covers over himself as he relaxing into the soft mattress. It was all brilliantly soft; the only issue was the pillow. Jack tried but if Toothiana asked, he'd have to lie about how comofrtable the pillow was. He tossedand turned, but something beneath the, what should be truly very soft pillow, dug into his head. Jack finally sat up beneath his blanket and pulled the pillow up, desperate to know what was wrong with it. The golden box stared a him from the white covers, and he gasped. Jack picked the memory box up with shaking hands and laid back down in the bed. The pillow truly was soft; everything in the bed, in the room, was perfect for him. Jack held the memory box to his chest, cradling it tightly in both arms, and fell asleep.