When North said that they were going on a walk this is not what he thought was going to happen. He was getting a tour of the whole place, where they made the toys, the whole thing. He had been trying to break in for years, he had wanted to see if the rumors were true. He had been told that Santa's Workshop was one of the coolest places to exist, but North had one of the best security systems that existed, the yetis always seemed to know when he was coming. He did expect North to try and convince him to stay and be a guardian and true to character the lecture started early in the walk.
He understood where the guardians were coming from, they didn't get to choose who the new guardian was, but he kept trying to tell them, he wasn't made to be a guardian. He didn't know the first thing about being responsible, at least not in the major way that was needed to be a guardian. He took care of winter, made sure he didn't kill anyone with his storms, and went on his way, and even then, he barely cared about the deadlines that he was given. He often pushed the limit, making storms well past when he was supposed to stop according to the groundhog. He needed the guardians to understand that he knew that he was chosen but he couldn't be what they needed him to be, but all North said was that time would tell.
He was calming down now that he was away from the bunny and all the noise that had accompanied his kidnapping, and was fascinated by the factory, and the fact that the yetis were apparently more than just security, and that they were the ones making the toys, not the elves like he had always thought, but when he and North ran across some elves making toys, he quickly understood why, they were little menaces. He wondered where North was taking him, glancing around in confusion, not quite able to follow the layout of the large factory. The paths seemed to wind together and there were stairs everywhere, things flying, and it was all so colorful. He was used to grays and whites that usually accompanied a snowstorm. This whole day was a bit overwhelming. North seemed to have a destination in mind, as he expertly led the way.
North opened a door and he looked around in awe. The room was iced over, and it was cold, which was his preferred temperature. He wouldn't tell any of the guardians but being inside a brightly lit and warm factory was taking its toll on him slowly. He felt weak and tired in warmer places and he wasn't used to staying in them for as long as he'd been in the workshop. There were designs made of ice scattered everywhere and it was exciting to see that the cold and ice that he was most well-known for was capable of creating beauty and not just something scary. Ice had always been beautiful to him, the things that you could make out of ice were endless and he didn't understand why everyone held such a fear of the cold and ice. He did understand that it could be dangerous, but he always tried to make his storms as free of danger as he could.
He was getting too caught up in his thoughts and refused North's offer of fruitcake, and he was too caught up in his thoughts to immediately recognized the change in facial expression of the jolly man. He went from happy and relaxed to angry and demanding. He was struggling to understand the words that the man had said when he heard the door slam behind him. He whirled around and narrowed his eyes at the now locked door before turning around to challenge North. He wasn't expecting North to be that close, or to have such a dangerous look in his eyes. It scared him and his eyes widened in fear and he backed up until his back hit the door. He was lost in his thoughts again. This type of situation had happened to him before. The other seasonal spirits weren't the nicest, and he had been attacked and beaten to within an inch of his life before. He never expected to be attacked by the jolly man himself, but he was known for his bad judgement.
He did know that there usually wasn't this much discussion when he was about to be beaten, but when North pushed a finger against his chest, it wasn't rough, just pushy. North wanted to know what his center was, but what kind of question was that, he barely knew how to use his powers. North told him that if Man in Moon chose him, then he had to be special. He had to have something that the other guardians didn't. He didn't know what that could be, but he did know that he didn't like how closely North was looking at him. North was looking at him, trying to dissect who he was, and he was uncomfortable. He wasn't used to talking to people and he wasn't used to people trying to understand him. The spirits who he had run across were usually content to hit first and ask questions later.
He couldn't help the sigh of relief that flew out of his mouth when North walked away and grabbed something from the shelf. The guardians didn't seem to have the best sense of personal space, but he had always valued his space, he liked being alone at this point. North showed him the nesting doll and the first doll was intimidating, which was exactly how he saw North. He couldn't help the flinch when North shoved the doll into his hands. He gently placed his staff against the desk to his left, away from North and close enough to grab if North suddenly attacked. He didn't know if this was some elaborate way to distract him, but he wasn't going to be too careful. He didn't trust the guardians like all the other spirits did.
He opened the doll and the next one was jolly. He could see that, the man seemed very happy all the time, from what he had seen. He kept opening the doll, each one a piece of North's personality and identity until he got to the final one. North asked him what he saw and when he responded that the tiny baby North had big eyes, the man suddenly yelled, making him flinch again. He had to get his flinching under control. If he kept flinching at every loud noise and angry expression, the guardians were bound to notice and if they started questioning him, he didn't know how he was going to explain it. North grabbed him by the shoulders and he almost whimpered from the sudden forceful contact, but he held it back and changed the grimace into a smile as he watched the man walk around his work area. North looked happy with the toy ideas flying around and then the man asked him what his center was again. He didn't know but he knew that it wasn't anything as beautiful as wonder or hope or whatever the rest of the guardians had. He wasn't too keen on figuring it out either, he didn't like to look too deep into himself, knowing that he would have to deal with every bad thing that had happened to him to figure out who he was at the center of it all.
He was saved from answering when the rabbit showed up at the door saying there was trouble at Tooth's palace. He just wanted to go home, all the questions that everyone was asking him were making him think about the things he had gone through and who he was and who he wanted to be, and his mind was going to a dark place. He hoped that he could sneak out when everyone went to help Tooth. He was good at slipping away, good at being ignored.