Sorry this is so late, guys! Thankfully, the stuff that was causing it to be late is moooostly resolved now, so hopefully it won't happen so frequently in future.

This one is the combined requests of WinterCrystal1009, popadoop, and TeddyBear98. I hope you enjoy!

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The Adlet

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"Damnit, damnit," Jack cursed under his breath, limping heavily as he meandered through the trees towards Burgess. This really was not how he'd intended this day to go. He wasn't sure how much longer he could run, either; they'd followed him this far, he didn't doubt they'd find a way to hunt him down regardless of where he went. He glanced back over his shoulder, but couldn't find any sign of them. Had he lost them? Not likely. They were scent predators. It would only be a matter of time before they caught up to him.

I suppose, he thought, I could just stay away from America for a few decades. They'd probably forget all about it by then. But that wasn't really an option; his job demanded free access, and he wasn't about to just up and abandon his home – and the people who lived there – especially not for years at a time. But the alternative was fighting back, and given that he was the one at fault, he really didn't want to resort to that.

He'd finally reached the road. But if he followed it, wouldn't it just put the townspeople in danger? He had no idea if his pursuers would attack them – or if they could even be seen, for that matter – but he did know that no amount of mingling with the scents of the town would do anything to mask his own. It wouldn't even slow them down.

"Damnit," he repeated, louder this time. Maybe it was time to just give up and fly elsewhere. Maybe if he made himself scarce for a few months they'd let it go, and he could just avoid that one patch of Canada for the rest of his life.

Yeah, that was a good idea, he decided. In the meantime, maybe he'd go dump some more snow over China.

The bright flare of headlights appeared from around a corner, and Jack winced even as he brought up an arm to shield his eyes. The rumble of a car's engine drew closer, but instead of continuing past and taking its painful light with it, it slowed to a stop just in front of him.

Jack lowered his arm, blinking away the afterimage. Despite himself, he half expected to see his hunters in the driver's seat. Instead, it was Mrs Bennett, watching him with a strange look on her face as she rolled down the passenger-side window.

"Jack?"

"Mrs B?"

"What on earth are you doing out here?" she asked.

"Uh…" he shot another look over his shoulder. Still nothing.

Mrs Bennett rolled her eyes in fond exasperation and leaned across to open the door. "Come on," she said. "Get in."

Well, if nothing else it would probably confuse his scent and buy him some time. With a mental shrug, he did as she asked and slipped into the vehicle. When was the last time he'd been in a car?

The drive back to the Bennett house was made in silence. Jack couldn't quite tell if it was uncomfortable or not, but he couldn't think of anything to say. Mrs Bennett was still wearing her work uniform, so it was likely she was on her way home from a late shift. A glance at the car's radio told him it was nearing eleven pm, so the kids would already be in bed. Still, once she'd pulled up in the driveway, he followed her inside regardless.

They'd barely stepped over the threshold before she pointed him in the direction of the living room and ordered, "Sit." Her tone left no room for arguments, and, slightly intimidated, he obeyed even as she disappeared down the hall.

But his pent-up nervous energy refused to ease even in this house, where he'd always felt safe. He sat on the very edge of the couch, and couldn't help but glance at the window every few seconds, as if he would see his pursuers even through the curtains.

Mrs Bennett appeared in the doorway a moment later, a first aid kit clutched in one hand. She paused, eyeing him carefully, and Jack made a conscious effort to look less jittery. Judging from her expression, it didn't work.

"What have you gotten yourself into?" she asked, moving to take a seat beside him.

"…What makes you think I've gotten myself into anything?" he replied slowly.

Mrs Bennett raised a pointed brow that said more than any words ever could. She grabbed his right leg just below the knee and brought it up to rest across her lap. A protest instinctively formed on the tip of Jack's tongue, but it died when he finally realised what she had no doubt already noticed: there was a large gash across the side of his lower leg, smeared with blood. His pants had been stained with it. He was not looking forward to explaining that to the washroom yetis.

"If you don't want to tell me," she began, rummaging around in the first aid kit for some swabs, "I won't force you to. But if you're in trouble and you need help, I'm here for you. You can come to me anytime."

She pressed a dampened swab against the cut and any heartfelt reply Jack could think to give was replaced with a sharp hiss. Mrs Bennett uttered a quiet apology, but continued cleaning the wound no more gently.

It wasn't really that he didn't want to tell her, he decided. It was more that he just wasn't used to it; he'd grown accustomed to dealing with everything himself, and even now, despite having been a Guardian for several years, it still wasn't easy to just tell the others when he was in trouble, or even just to tell them the aftermath. They had his back – he knew that – and he knew that they would want him to tell them… but old habits died hard, he supposed. More than that, though, in this case there was nothing Mrs Bennett could possibly do. Telling her would only cause her to worry.

He sighed. He couldn't tell her nothing, either. "Let's just say I unintentionally got into a fight." He paused, shrinking under her piercing gaze. "Okay, well, not a fight. It's more like… I kinda ticked off some… people, and they're not interested in talking it out?" It came out sounding like a question, but thankfully if Mrs Bennett didn't believe him she didn't press for details.

"What am I going to do with you?" she asked, entirely exasperated. Jack didn't really feel like that was warranted, but she currently had his wounded leg at her mercy and he wisely decided to keep his mouth shut.

"Alright," she said, several minutes later, "that should just about do it. But make sure you change the bandage every day, and… actually, come back here and let me check it. It might get infected if you're not careful."

Jack swung his now-bandaged leg off her lap and sat up properly. It seemed like a severe overreaction, in his opinion. "It'll probably heal in a few days. Quicker if I shove it in some snow."

"A few days?" she gaped, pausing in her repacking of the first aid kit. "That quickly?"

"Well there's gotta be some benefits to being a spirit, right?"

Mrs Bennett hummed as she stood, kit held loosely in one hand. "Have you eaten?"

"I'm not hungry." He'd had something at North's place about a week ago. He'd be good for a while longer.

"Then it's bedtime. Upstairs with you."

She'd gone a little mother-hen on him after she'd learned that he did, in fact, exist and wasn't just her son's imaginary friend. It had only gotten worse after Jamie and Sophie had told her they were related. The guestroom had been completely revamped into his room, regardless of any protests on Jack's part – and whenever he came she insisted that he stay the night, at the very least. It was touching, but a little bit overwhelming sometimes. It was like someone had combined North and Tooth into one fierce, motherly entity. If Pitch ever decided to go after the kids again, they wouldn't even need the Guardians. Mrs Bennett would probably glare him into submission.

"I'm 300 years old," he whined anyway, even as he let her usher him up to his room. "I don't have a bedtime!"

"You do now," was all she said. And, damn, he couldn't really argue with that.

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Jack's eyes snapped open. He had no idea what time it was, but it was still dark. The moon and the streetlights cast long shadows in his room, and set him on edge. What had woken him?

There! A distant cry, like the howling of a wolf. Except it wasn't a wolf. Several more joined the chorus, and Jack eased himself upright, muscles tense. They'd found him.

This is bad, he flung himself from the bed. They'd chased him all the way here, and they weren't going to stop just because he was inside a human dwelling. They'd go through the Bennetts if they had to. And that was one thing Jack absolutely would not allow. He had to get out, and get away.

No, he paused, hands already reaching for the window's latch. If he left, they would still come. They were following his scent, and this house probably reeked of it. He had to lead them away before he could put any distance between them. Which meant it was time for a confrontation.

In one fluid movement he shoved open the window and flipped up onto the roof. He could see a short ways into the woods behind the house from his vantage point, but there was no obvious movement beyond the leaves' gentle rustling.

"Where are you?" he muttered, narrowing his eyes.

A weight slammed into him from behind, throwing him off balance and sending him tumbling to the snowbanks below. His attacker followed him, keeping him pinned on his stomach. Jack strained against their hold, and managed to tilt his head just enough to catch a glimpse of them.

A leering face hovered over him. "Right here."

The sound of crunching snow from all directions was enough to know the rest of the pack was with them.

"You guys," Jack said, face smooshed into the snow, "are surprisingly sneaky."

"We're Adlet. We are mighty hunters."

Well, he probably should have expected that. The Adlet were dog people – half human, half dog. And dogs were pack predators.

"And for your transgressions," the Adlet continued, so close Jack could feel their breath against his ear, "you will pay."

"Can't we just talk about this?" Jack asked. "I said I was sorry, and it's not like I did it deliberately! Look, let me go and I'll help fix it!"

"Apologies are but words, and we would sooner abandon our sacred lands than let you touch them again."

Jack sighed. Looks like running's still Plan A then.

The Adlet pinning him jolted, their head suddenly jerking to the side as something struck them.

"Let him go!" a new, very familiar, voice yelled.

Jack seized the opportunity, kicking the Adlet off him and springing back to his feet. Jamie stood in the back doorway, backlit by the kitchen light, with a boot in one hand and a fierce expression on his face. A glance back at his would-be attacker found a second boot lying in the snow. Good old, brave, reliable, stupid Jamie.

"Jamie, get inside!" Jack called. "Lock the door!"

The Adlet were already starting to close in on him, human faces twisted into canine snarls. Jamie's glare lapsed into fear, and he dove to the side just in time to avoid falling prey to the nearest Adlet as they leapt at him. But the movement sent him further from the house, and the other Adlet were quick to block off any route of escape.

Plan A immediately fell away, and took Plans B through D with it. It was time for Plan E. Jack's grip on his staff tightened, and the wind blew a fierce gale through the yard as his anger completely overwhelmed anything else. No one messed with his family.

"I wanted to resolve this without a fight," he said quietly. "But it looks like you've left me no choice."

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Something was wrong. Mrs Bennett sat up slowly in her bed, a deep sense of unease in her gut. Her alarm clock told her it was just past three in the morning. By all rights, she should have been sound asleep. But she wasn't. And something was wrong.

Deciding to trust her instincts, Mrs Bennett stood and, snatching her dressing gown from where she'd left it sprawled at the foot of her bed, crept out into the hallway. It wasn't as dark as it should have been. There was a light coming from downstairs. Had one of the kids gotten up for a drink of water?

She passed Sophie's room first, but a quick check confirmed her daughter was still in bed, asleep. Mrs Bennett moved on. Jack's door was still shut, but Jamie's was wide open. Feeling like she already knew what she was going to find (or, rather, not find), she cleared the distance and peered inside. As she'd suspected, Jamie's bed was empty, and the covers thrown back. Her mind immediately jumped back to the stories Jamie had told what felt so long ago now about the Boogieman and the role he'd played in stopping him.

Oh, please be just getting a glass of water, she silently begged.

Mrs Bennett headed for the stairs, her mind already conjuring all the possible things her son could have gotten himself entangled in. A year ago, the worst she could think of had been him sneaking out in the middle of the night and getting himself into trouble. But now, with the endless possibilities of a spirit world at her disposal…

She paused at Jack's door. He was a light sleeper, she'd learned, but surely it would be fine to just take a quick look. If he was still in bed, then that was likely good news for Jamie. But what if he wasn't? Her hand hesitated on the doorknob. Knowing somehow felt as anxiety inducing as ignorance.

Just do it, she told herself. And before she could lose her nerve, she twisted the handle.

Jack's room was as dark as the rest of the house, but the window was open. She had been certain it had been closed when Jack had gone to bed. It was possible he had opened it – he had some kind of connection with the wind, she knew – but something told her that wasn't it. Almost stiffly, she turned her eyes to the bed.

Empty.

"They both went downstairs for a drink," she whispered. "I'll go make sure they're okay and then send them both back to bed."

The kitchen was empty too. The backdoor was open. Snow was starting to pile up on the step. Her unease grew as she crossed the space towards it.

She wasn't sure what she had been expecting. Jack and Jamie were both in the yard, Jack still in his usual outfit despite the pyjamas she'd bought him, and Jamie in his PJs but barefoot and one boot clutched to his chest. Jamie was scowling like he did when he was afraid but didn't want to show it. Jack just looked pissed.

"I wanted to resolve this without a fight," she heard him say, "but it looks like you've left me no choice."

Mrs Bennett could feel the temperature drop. The wind picked up until it was harsh enough that it sliced through her plush dressing gown like it was thin cotton. She watched, mesmerised, as Jack shot forwards, swing his staff at nothing. Jagged spires of ice sprang into existence in his wake, nothing like the playful snow she'd seen him make. In seconds, Jamie was surrounded by a ring of icicles, but despite her own fears, her son seemed more at ease now than he had before.

"Jamie!"

Before she even realised it, she was sprinting towards him. The snow burned her bare feet. She did her best to ignore it.

Jamie's wide-eyed gaze snapped over to her. "Mom?!"

The ice prevented her from getting closer, but she leaned over it as far as she was able, eyes scanning Jamie for any visible injuries. "Jamie! Are you okay? What's going on?"

Another gale pressed against her, temporarily blinding her with snow. She clutched her dressing gown tighter around her and turned. Jack was on the other side of the yard, his back to them. She'd never seen him like this.

"Jack!" she called, but if he heard her he did not turn.

"I don't know what they are," Jamie said, and she turned back to him. "But they're like… human on top and… and dog or something on the bottom. They attacked Jack."

Mrs Bennett returned her attention to Jack. She still didn't really understand the whole believing-is-seeing thing, but she knew Jamie wouldn't lie about something like this, and she knew that even something she would have thought absurd five seconds ago could be real. Still, for several long seconds she forgot how to breathe when she finally saw the whole picture.

As Jamie had said, there were 'dog people'. A lot of them. At least a dozen. They were entirely focused on Jack now, but no doubt they had set their sights on Jamie not moments before. She'd been confused before, and a little frightened, she wasn't afraid to admit. Being able to see it all should have helped to ease her mind. Instead, it only increased her nerves.

It wasn't so much the dog people that caused it – though they were a concern. It was Jack. Every wave of his staff sent shards of ice at his adversaries. The wind howled at his command. And every glimpse she could snatch of his face revealed an expression sharper than any attack he could produce. This was not Jack, the strange boy who had befriended her kids. This was not Jack, the strange boy she had somehow come to think of as a second son to her. This was not Jack, the uncle she'd never known she'd had. This wasn't even Jack, Guardian of Fun.

This was Jack Frost, the three-hundred year old winter spirit.

It hadn't clicked until that moment, she realised. Not completely anyway. Her image of him had always been that of a boy – a child – albeit one with powers she could barely comprehend. This was a side of him she'd never even thought to imagine. And if she was honest with herself, she was a little scared of this Jack.

The dog people were relentless. It didn't seem to matter how many times Jack knocked them back or cut them with his ice; they just kept getting back up. Mrs Bennett steeled her nerves. Jack Frost might be an alarmingly powerful winter spirit, and more than capable of dealing with these intruders on his own, but she'd be damned if she was going to let anyone touch one of her kids. Not even mythical creatures.

With Jamie's confused call following her, she raced back into the kitchen. It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for. She had already yanked out the pin before she'd even made it back outside.

"Get out of my yard!" she ordered, hefting up the fire extinguisher, aiming it at the closest dog person, and letting loose.

It certainly caught their attention. For one long second, no one moved, all equally stunned. Jack was the first to recover. Using his staff as leverage, he spun and kicked his heel right into the gut of the now foam-covered dog person. The point of impact froze instantly, before spreading until the creature's entire torso was encased in ice and solid foam.

The dog people's attention divided, with roughly half swarming towards her. But before she even had a chance to worry, Jack jumped in front of her and blew them back.

"Reckon you could do that again?" he smirked.

Mrs Bennett lifted her fire extinguisher menacingly. "With pleasure."

They made… a surprisingly good team. She was almost disappointed when, after the fifth one had fallen victim to their tag-team, they started to retreat. But it was just as well; she had a feeling she was almost out of foam.

"Man, and I thought Sandy was scary," Jack commented lightly as he watched the dog people scatter back towards the woods. "I'd sooner get on his bad side than yours."

Just like that it was like a switch had been flipped; he was the same old Jack she knew, and she marvelled at how she ever could have been scared of him. "I know I said I wouldn't force you to tell me," she said, letting the extinguisher fall to her side, "but I've changed my mind."

"Mom!" Jamie gaped at them, still trapped in his ice corral. "That was awesome!"

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"They're called the Adlet," Jack explained, nursing his mug of lukewarm chocolate. Mrs Bennett had had half a mind to send him and Jamie both back to bed, but she had a feeling she wouldn't be able to sleep without an explanation. Hell, she didn't think she'd sleep even after she'd heard one. "They're from Inuit legends. Those guys live in Canada, and they normally avoid interaction with outsiders – territorial and all that. I was up there managing a storm, and… well, it ended up covering one of their sacred sites. They didn't take it well."

Mrs Bennett sighed into her own, significantly hotter, drink. Jack was many things, and unfortunately trouble prone was one of them.

"You should be more careful," Jamie frowned. "It's a lot harder to repair something sacred than, like, a house or something."

Jack winced. "I really didn't mean to. If I'd known it was sacred I would have stayed away entirely. Anyway, they figured out it was my fault pretty quick. I ran, but not before they got my leg." He stuck his bandaged leg out as evidence. "I was gonna just stay out of their way until they cooled off, but they caught up, and then Jamie got involved…"

Jamie smiled sheepishly.

"What's done is done," Jack shrugged. "I'll call in a favour and get Mom – uh, Mother Nature – to help them fix it."

"And you'd better give them a proper apology," Mrs Bennett said sternly.

"I tried, but they weren't really interested." He paused, then, "Hey maybe I could give them like… a roast meat gift basket or something. Dogs and people like meat, right? So Dog People must really like it."

Mrs Bennett could already see she'd be helping him with that. She had only added to the problem, after all. And from the sounds of things Jamie wasn't entirely without fault either. Sophie was going to be mad when she found out she'd missed all the action.

"Alright," she said. "Hurry up so you can get back to bed. It's well past your bedtime and we can finish discussing this at a more reasonable hour."

"Aw, mom," Jamie whined. But he looked as tired as she felt, and ultimately didn't put up much of a protest.

She followed both boys back upstairs, and fondly wished them both goodnight as they disappeared into their rooms. There was still a lot she didn't know – both about Jack and the world he lived in – but she'd learn. Even if she had to spend the rest of her life reading up on mythology and folk stories, she'd learn. For Jack. Because that's what it meant to be a mother.

Guest Review Responses:

PBJ: He'd probably be a real pain in real life, but oh well haha

Guest: (Ch.128:) Took me by surprise too, tbh

Guest: (Ch.128:) Thank you!

Guest: (Ch.124:) Awww thank you! I have at least one fic in my head I'd like to write involving them (superhero AU haha)

Pax: (Ch.30:) So far not really, unfortunately (Ch.120:) Thank you! (Ch.123:) Heh thanks! Gotta love molten spaghetti ;)

Abby6666: Aww bless

Guest: (Ch.128:) XD Thank you!

Iloveanimals: I'm so mean to him...