Chapter Twenty-Seven

A Friendly Face

Jack Frost prided himself on being able to adapt; he'd adapted to having no memory of who he was, and he had adapted to his three hundred years of solitude. He had even somewhat adapted to the Guardians, and having them nearby, which hadn't been as hard as he had imagined. He told himself he could adapt again, to whatever was happening right now, he could adjust himself to match the situation.

Which was him standing in the middle of a gigantic field, that looked half dead apart from the...dozens of pumpkins sitting amongst the patches of dry grass that covered the field. He let himself look around, taking in wherever it was that he had ended up; it was a massive field of grey dirt and almost dead grass, dotted with dozens of pumpkins that grew from thick, thorny vines that ran along the ground.

The sky was grey but not from clouds, that was just...the colour of the sky. It was bright without there being any sun he could see...though the place seemed to have some sort of...grey tone applied to it, making everything feel old and like the place should be cold even though it wasn't. It was...not warm but not cold, sort of stuck in the middle of the two.

"Where...are we?" Jack asked finally, breaking the silence. A crow off in the distance gave a shout before flapping it's huge wings and flying off into the distance, disappearing past a clump of dead trees. There was a scarecrow in the same direction as the crow had been. Its pumpkin head was carved into a mischievous grin, and the body was hanging up on a T shaped frame made of old sticks. Jack didn't dislike scarecrows but this one felt...different, so he decided he'd stay a little further away than he might normally.

"We're in a pumpkin patch." She called out. She'd already started walking through the field; Jack had to run a short distance to catch up to her, before falling into a walk beside her.

"Okay but I could have figured that out for myself." Jack said.

"It's...I mean I don't really know where it is. Some places don't really...exist in the world, as an actual location you can walk to, they're just sort of...there. Makes them hard to get to."

Jack's mind wandered to the science fiction movies he'd often seen while watching people's houses, or on the screens in front of an electronics store. Gateways to other dimensions, where the adventurers are eventually torn apart or vaporised by the gateway. He had never really imagined that was how he'd go, vaporised by a portal to another dimension.

He looked around again and glared at the scarecrow; he could've sworn they'd walked further from it than this. She must be walking on an angle, for them to pass it so closely.

They kept walking and Jack kept seeing the scarecrow, always just off to the side; on the left or the right, it kept changing.

"Okay, I think I'm going crazy." Jack said finally, stopping dead in his tracks.

"It can happen to anyone." A voice nearby said; it was deep but almost high pitched at the same time, almost...joyful. "Can I ask...what are you doing in my pumpkin patch?"

The question was more a growl and the nearby Scarecrow began to move, pulling itself uneasily from it's wooden frame, which creaked from the movement. Jack's feet automatically readjusted to his fighting stance, though his upper body felt more like it was ready to run. His back was facing her; he had adjusted his body to face the scarecrow, as if he was going to fight it.

She had brought him here.

She had brought him here, where there was no way for him to get his staff. He had no weapon. Was he going to be killed by a scarecrow? Pitch Black would be-

"Sammy!" She scolded, hands on her hips, glaring at the scarecrow who was now standing at full height. He was...incredibly tall. "Stop that!"

The towering, thin pumpkin man stood over them for a minute, before his face broke into a grin and he laughed. Jack stared at the man in...shock? Confusion? Bewilderment?

Bewilderment worked.

"I didn't recognise you! Not with all the...pink. I like it, it suits you!" The scarecrow said cheerfully, holding his straw stuffed arms up beside his face. It wasn't the scary face Jack imagined a sentient, pumpkin headed man to have; it was a friendly face.

"I'm hoping Eros can help get it out of my coat." She said, grumbling.

"What about your hair?" The scarecrow asked; his eyebrows would have raised, if he had any.

"My hair?"

"...Well, it's pink."

Judging by her facial expression, she hadn't been aware of this.

"Frost!" She shouted, adjusting herself to glare at him. His sheepish grin was an automatic response, which didn't help. "You didn't tell me my hair was pink! I thought it...it should be grey!"

"The...powder must cover it up?" Jack offered, grinning still. "I thought you knew!"

"...Frost?" The scarecrow asked, cocking his head to the side. "You're-"

"Jack Frost." Jack said. "Um, hi?"

"...Well, normally I'd ask how you got here but I have my suspicions. What's the reason for the visit? Not that I mind! Love seeing new faces. Though you're less..." the scarecrow sort of waved his arms about, gesturing around Jack, who didn't follow what the man was saying. Man, scarecrow, whatever he was.

Spirits were so confusing sometimes.

"Sammy..." She warned, arching an eyebrow.

"I mean, I thought you were, you know, old."

"I mean...I am? Technically, I suppose."

"...How about not technically?"

"Sammy!"

"I'm just askin'!"

"I'm...not sure, actually."

"Huh." He said. "Well, alright then. Nothing like a good mystery, I suppose. Sometimes we can be our our own mystery! Those tend to be the best ones."

Jack was surprised but pleased he didn't press the subject.

"So, what're you kids doing here anyway?"

"...I've got no idea, she dragged me along."

"You didn't know who Sammy was! I was coming for a visit anyway, figured you should come along."

"Why the sudden visit? Been awhile."

"I wanted to ask you for something." She said, hands tucked into her pockets, looking at the scarecrow with a grin.

"And what would that be?"

"Pumpkin seeds."

There was a pause; silence as the scarecrow looked at her, considering what she had said.

"I don't think Bunnymund would appreciate-"

"Not Bunnymund. Not yet...I'm curious as to how you knew."

"Bunnymund has used the powder before, on Groundhog. Why the seeds then? Who are you playing a trick on this time?"

Despite her pink hair and pastel coloured clothes, her eyes were still swirling with black liquid which Jack still found off-putting to look at; eyes weren't meant to look like that. Her grin was...it was like Pitch Black, mischievous and scheming. It didn't suit her while at the same time, it looked at home on her face.

"Dawn."