Surprise! (Although considering I told you yesterday I'd be posting today it's not really a surprise...)

Happy birthday to the lovely Seryyth. May yours be a day of memories, wonder, hopes and dreams, and, of course, a little bit of fun :3

Berlin, your bloopers are still coming despite this ;)

Disclaimer: I disclaim

...

Meet the Family

...

Jack was late. Again. It was an often enough occurrence, especially when the meeting had been pre-planned so they wouldn't have to put out the lights. Jack had a habit of being forgetful when the only way to tell one day from another was the passing of the sun. And it was even more frequent when said meeting was held in the middle of his off-season, a time when they weren't all that sure where he went. But that didn't mean it didn't annoy them (well, Bunny, anyway).

When waiting another hour for him to show up proved futile, the Guardians decided they'd better go find him.

"Let's think about this logically," Tooth said as they stared at the large Globe of Belief. "Where would be cold enough for him to go at this time of year?"

"I do not understand why he does not stay here," North said with a small frown. "Where better place for a winter spirit than somewhere it is always cold?"

"I think you've got a point there, mate," Bunny looked up at the Cossack. "But if he's not here what other place is it always cold?" he asked in a suggestive tone.

"The South Pole!" the others cried in unison.

Sandy created an image of a lumpy, but empty plane, a quizzical expression on his face.

"Sandy's right," Tooth told them. "There's nothing down there but snow and ice. Surely Jack would get bored being there for months on end."

"Well, there is only one way to find out!" North bellowed. "To the sleigh!"

Bunny groaned but conceded to following the others to the death trap. Rabbit holes would be less effective for a wide scale search, after all.

...

...

Jack looked up at the overcast sky as something large, red and familiar shot through the air towards him.

"North's sleigh?" he said in confusion, exchanging a look with the penguin closest to him. The bird chirped something in reply before both their gazes returned to the sky to watch the sleigh make a rather bumpy landing on the compact ice.

The colony of penguins to one look at the large, muscular and heavily breathing reindeer and quickly formed a tight circle around their winter spirit, watching the newcomers with suspicious glints in their eyes. Jack struggled to see over the tops of their heads from where he was sitting but could just make out the forms of all of the Guardians exiting the sleigh, Bunny considerably quicker than the rest.

"Must be a big deal if they're all here," he muttered.

The Guardians were looking at the colony cautiously, scanning for Jack, no doubt; they'd probably seen him from overhead. Figuring he might as well spare them the trouble, Jack raised his staff above the birds' heads and waved it around a bit.

"Hey guys," he called out. "What brings you here?"

"You never showed up for the meeting," Bunny called back, looking like he was torn between being angry and very, very confused.

"Oh. That was today? Sorry, it's hard to keep track of time when a day lasts six months down here." He tried to get to his feet but several beaks gripped the hem of his hoodie and pulled him back down. "Well, if you're not going to let me up, the least you could do is get out of the way a bit so I can see them," he told them flatly. The penguins shuffled around but only a little bit. It was enough for the Guardians to properly see him, at least.

"Um, Jack?" Tooth hedged.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you surrounded by penguins?"

In response to this question one penguin, considerably chubbier than the rest, broke free of the group and made its slow waddling way over to her. Raising its head, its eyes locked with hers and let out a loud string of chirps and calls. Jack promptly burst into laughter.

Tooth looked between the penguin and Jack and asked hesitantly, "What did he say?"

"I have no idea," Jack grinned, wiping a tear from his eye. "Your face though!"

The chubby penguin fluffed its feathers in irritation.

"Would you care to explain what's going on, mate?" Bunny asked, looking increasingly frustrated.

"Oh, right, sorry," Jack said sheepishly, and this time when he got to his feet the penguins didn't stop him, instead pressing closer to his legs so he couldn't really move. "Guys, these are the Guardians," he told the birds. "Guardians, these are the penguins."

The penguins called out collectively in salutation. Or, at least, that's what Jack suspected it was.

"That… didn't really explain anything," North said after a moment.

"Well, one time when I was down here in the off season – this was before the Pitch thing – I suddenly found myself surrounded by them and I've come back to visit them ever since. I'm pretty sure they think I'm one of them."

One of the larger birds looked up at let out a string of strange noises. Jack looked down at it and copied the calls.

Apparently no longer considering the Guardians a threat, the colony began to disperse a bit, some of the more bold and curious of the flock going over to investigate the strange newcomers. Tooth took one look at their beaks and seemed to give a whole-body shudder.

"They… they have no teeth… no teeth…" she muttered quietly, eyes wide and haunted as she slowly made her way back to the sleigh to curl up in the back. The others watched her go with raised brows. Some of the younger penguins followed her, clambering up into the sleigh after her (but giving the reindeer a wide berth).

"Come on, it's freezing out here and we've got a meeting to get to," Bunny grumbled.

Sandy frowned, having been enjoying stroking one of the few of the birds that was shorter than him, but joined the Pooka back to the sleigh nonetheless. He would have to come back another time.

"Yeah, alright," Jack sighed, gently scooping the penguins trying to smother Tooth out and back onto the ice. "I have to go now but I'll be back later!" he called to them.

They called out sadly but seemed to accept it – he was a free spirit, they knew, and he often went off to do who knows what, but he always, always came back again. And so, to a chorus of bird calls, the sleigh took off from Antarctica to begin the journey back to the other end of the world.

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Guest:XD How could I resist?