I had no idea where this chapter was going to go when I started writing it, but this was not what I'd expected. Oh well.

This is kinda a combination of two requests, since they were similar. Shamangirl1 wanted some Jack & May/Ceres bonding and Cag asked for one where Ceres is in trouble and Jack is the only one who can help. I'll probably end up doing another chapter for May.

No wolves were harmed in the writing of this chapter.

Disclaimer: IDORotG

...

Swallowing Pride

...

It was rare for Jack to spend any time at all away from Antarctica during autumn, but now that it was less likely for him to get chewed out for being there, he figured it was the perfect opportunity to admire the many colours of the season before it all bleached to white when winter arrived. He just had to make sure he didn't accidentally freeze anything and get continuous updates from the woodland sprites of Ceres' location so he could continue to avoid her.

He was just about to sit down under one of the trees around his pond when a leaf riddled wind swept over him, mingling its contents with the snowflakes that danced in his own which sprang up to meet it.

"Wind?" he frowned. The chilly breeze ruffled his hair in response. "No, I meant the other wind. Ceres' wind. What are you doing here? Ceres isn't here is she?"

The less biting wind wrapped itself around him, beckoning him upwards. But it wasn't his wind; it couldn't carry him.

"What's wrong?" Jack tried again, despite knowing the air current couldn't communicate in words. The wind continued to tug at him relentlessly until he sighed and conceded to letting his colder wind carry him where its autumn counterpart wanted him to go.

There were many possible explanations that he had considered during the brief journey, but what he saw upon being deposited on the leaf-strewn ground was not one of them.

"Ceres?" he blinked owlishly, taking in the scene. He couldn't see her face from where he was standing, but he would recognise that orange and brown outfit anywhere.

"Jack," came the reply, and he could have sworn there was a groan mixed in with the word.

"Um…" honestly he had no idea what to say. If it had been anyone other than Ceres he probably would have laughed. As it was, he held his tongue and cautiously made his way over to where the autumn spirit was lying.

"I suppose I should be grateful that someone came, even if it is you," Ceres continued, ignorant of Jack's internal musing. "But considering you're just standing there…"

"Oh, right, sorry," Jack apologised, trying to figure out the best way to deal with the situation. "How did you end up under a tree branch, anyway?"

"It fell on me, how else?" she snapped. "Now are you going to help me or not?"

Jack stuck his hands under the branch half-crushing Ceres and heaved with all the strength he could muster. "It won't budge," he ground out, slackening his hold.

"Wonderful," Ceres drawled.

"I could go get help," Jack suggested, turning his gaze northwards; the yetis would no doubt be able to lift the offending limb with ease. "But it might take a while."

"…It's getting dark and there are wolves in this forest," she muttered. Which was the equivalent of saying she was anxious and didn't want to be left alone.

She wasn't wrong, though. The sun was starting to set and there was no way he'd be able to make it to the Pole and come back with the yetis before night fell completely. If he were in her position he would have been feeling the same thing. Besides, he knew all about how it felt to be alone.

"Is there anyone close by that could help?" he asked after a moment.

"Apparently you; I sent the wind to find someone and you're the only one who's turned up."

"Oh," Jack sighed, moving towards her head and sitting under the tree the branch had fallen from. "Then it looks like we'll just have to wait until morning."

Ceres groaned, letting her head fall onto the ground.

"Maybe I could dig you out."

"It's worth a try I suppose. But if you freeze any part of me–"

"Yes, yes, you'll threaten me with something you can't accomplish while stuck under there," Jack rolled his eyes, shifting closer. He didn't have a shovel or anything to dig with (and like hell he was going to make anything out of ice), so he was left with no choice but to use his hands. Placing his staff beside him, he got to work, scraping at the hard, nearly-frozen dirt. This was going to take a while.

...

...

Progress was slow and he'd been at it for at least two hours with very little to show for it when a howl split the chilled air.

"Did you hear that?" Jack whispered, halting his digging and scanning the darkness.

"I wish I hadn't," Ceres replied, voice equally hushed.

Another howl killed the silence, this time closer. Jack slowly rose to his feet, grabbing his staff in worn fingers and turning around in place as he kept his senses open for any hint of a threat. The wolves held the advantage, what with their night vision and larger numbers; especially since Jack wasn't just protecting himself. Ceres couldn't very well fight when she couldn't move, after all.

No other sounds pierced the night but Jack wasn't going to let his guard down for a second. Ceres was straining her eyes, turning her head as far as she could from her prone position.

"Can you see anything?" she asked.

"No," Jack frowned, not looking at her.

A low growl preceded the snarling of sharp teeth as several shadowy forms launched themselves from the trees all around them. Jack quickly jumped back so the tree trunk was to his back with Ceres directly in front of him so he could be sure nothing could creep up on either of them.

The wolves slunk forwards, teeth bared and eyes flashing. Jack held his staff out in front of him defensively, launching a blast of ice at the closest figure. There was a high pitched cry, alerting him to the fact that he'd hit his target.

The other wolves hesitated, before seemingly coming to a decision and increasing the speed of their approach.

"Yell at me later," Jack called out before swinging his staff in one sweeping motion, creating a wall of ice around them. "That should buy us a little time," he said, darting over to the autumn spirit and continuing his attempt to dig her out, futile as it was. He didn't know how long he could fight off the wolves and there was certainly no way he could do it without ruining autumn for the area, not that that was really a priority right at that moment.

Ceres was watching the wolves with wide eyes, not even mentioning the ice. Jack scraped at the ground feverishly, desperate to get her out before the ice either melted or the wolves figured out they could go around it.

"It's not working," he growled, glaring at the beasts starting to move along the wall. It would only be a matter of moments before they were upon them again. Jack snatched up his staff, completely encircling them in a wall of ice. "Wait here," he smirked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Where are you going?!"

"I'm gonna see if I can chase them off."

Deciding it would be safer to stay airborne, Jack hovered just high enough that the wolves wouldn't be able to jump up and grab him but not so high that he lost sight of them in the dark. Each blast of ice he shot was aimed to hit close to the wolves but not strike them directly. With each near thing they jumped backwards, sometimes sliding around a bit when their paws stepped on slick patches. It took a little while but eventually they finally grew tired of being antagonised and ran off back into the dark cover of the trees.

Jack stayed in the air for a few more moments to be absolutely certain they'd gone before dropping back down beside Ceres.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"As okay as anyone can be when they've got a thick piece of tree crushing their upper body," she huffed.

"Well, at least the wolves are gone. For now, at least," he knelt down and started digging again, slower this time now that he didn't have to worry about being mauled. "Now let's see about getting you out of here."

"Stop it!"

"Huh?" Jack raised a brow, not ceasing his digging. Man, Bunny would have been really useful right then.

"Stop digging, damn it!"

"What? Why?" Jack asked incredulously, finally listening to her.

"Look at your hands!"

Jack turned his attention to the appendages in question. It was hard to see in the dark, but he was sure they were well worn and bleeding a little from the prolonged scraping of hard ground. "…What about them?"

"What ab–" Ceres cut herself off, sounding like she was on the verge of screaming at him. "Are you as dense as all that ice you spread? Or are you just blind? Stop digging before you completely destroy them; it's not working anyway."

Jack stared at her, lost for words. He didn't want to tell her that ice wasn't really all that dense. "So you'd rather I just leave you under there, then?"

"No, but I don't want you to cripple yourself in the process, idiot!"

"…Since when do you even care?" She'd helped him out more than once, and even though her excuses at the time had been poor and thinly veiled lies, she'd at least had excuses that could be believed if you didn't look too deeply into things. But there was no excuse this time. She was openly showing concern for him (despite the insults).

Ceres turned away with a sour expression. "Mother would not be happy if you were unable to undertake your duties because you'd worn your hands to the bone."

It was a poor explanation and the way she'd said it made it clear to both of them that it wasn't the truth but Jack let it slide, allowing the older woman to keep her pride.

"What do you want me to do, then?" he asked after a moment.

"I don't know. Just… just stop digging."

...

...

Hardly any words passed between them throughout the rest of the night, but the silence wasn't completely awkward. Both kept their ears open for sounds of wolves or other predators getting close, but they weren't bothered again. By the time the sun peaked once more over the horizon they were both tired; in body and mind.

"Will you be okay for a while?" Jack asked, watching the beautiful stretch of colours painted on the sky. "I don't think the ice will melt for a few hours at least, and I doubt the wolves will be coming back anytime soon."

"Yes," Ceres murmured, seeming likewise mesmerised by the sunrise.

"Okay," Jack pushed himself to his feet, staff in hand. "I'll be back soon."

The opening of a portal announced Jack's return, three yetis in tow.

"Do your best to cover your face," Jack called to Ceres, who could vaguely be seen on the other side of the now partially thawed ice. "Okay, you guys," he turned to the yetis. "We'll probably have to break this down."

The yetis garbled something and raised the pickaxes they'd brought with them. A few well placed blows was all it took to make an opening and they wasted no time in stepping forward and heaving up the branch with all the ease in the world. Jack offered Ceres his hand, helping her out of the way so the yetis could drop the branch back down.

"You okay?" he asked her, noticing the way she was slightly hunched over and had an arm wrapped around her chest.

"A bit sore, but nothing that won't heal," she replied, pulling her hand away. "Thank you, Jack."

"You're welcome."

The yetis called out to get his attention, gesturing to the portal they had just opened.

"Coming, Phil!" he replied. "You sure you'll be okay?"

"Yes! I'm countless centuries older than you; I can take care of myself!" And the snappish attitude was back.

"Alright then," Jack headed over to the yetis who had already passed through the portal. "Guess I won't be seeing you."

"You'd better not!"

Jack grinned to himself, letting the portal close behind him.

Guest Review Responses:

Guest:Honestly, I don't know. It was the username of one of the other reviewers... Wish there was XD Thank you so much 3 Naaaaw yeah. Little fluffy bits are always cute (and I don't mind you over-reading things XD) I don't see why they would be enemies, except maybe for the whole 'chocolate is bad for your teeth' thing, but Tooth does that more in a disapproving mother way than an angry way.

Alliprince:(And I'm too lazy to go find you and PM the response XD) Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed :3

WEast:Feels are so good and yet so bad. Yesterday I found out Jack's theme is called 'Alone in the World' and then proceeded to spend hour feeling miserable while listening to it ^^; That's a really interesting way of looking at it, actually. I doubt he'd have quite as many quirks, at the very least.

Shamangirl1:Really? I don't think I've come across any of those (maybe I'm just not reading enough sick!Jack fics XD) Yeah, it's nice to see some variation between fics, otherwise it all gets a bit repetitive, hey?