Hey y'all! So sorry for the late update, I was hit with a major writers block as well as an issue with trying to fit in a new aspect into the story and I think I figured it out. I was also on vacation to celebrate my 21st birthday, yay finally legal, in Vegas and I just got back. I will try to update sooner but the chapters may be a bit shorter if I update sooner.
Also I will be having a contest, details will be in the end notes. Good Luck!
Warning: references to sex.
On with the story!
After a few hours, Aster and Jack both woke up at the same time and as both tried to get up, they gave out simultaneous groans and collapsed. Now that their adrenaline was fully gone, every hurt that they had acquired during the battle were letting themselves known. Loudly.
"Bloody Hell! I haven't felt this sore since my first training day back when I was an ankelbitter." Aster groaned out getting up to stretch, knowing that staying still would just make it worst.
"Yeah, I haven't felt this bad since my first training with Tooth. Plus, I think the extra scraps I got on my back were bleeding during our nap cause I feel the back of my shirt sticking. Can you check?" Jack asked also getting up.
"Sure love." Aster told him moving toward him with stiff steps. Once he was close he had Jack turn around and slowly lifted up his shirt. He could feel the fabric stick to his skin but with a light tug, he was able to pull it free and check on the scraps. The scrapes were already healing up fine, they were scabbed over with some dried blood on the shirt though as well as some dark bruising.
"Hows it look?" Jack asked repressing a shiver at the feel of Asters fingers.
"Not bad, love. Already healing though you may be sore for a while. Those bruises are pretty bad. You want me to try and heal them, or ask Tooth to do it?" Aster asked putting his shirt back down.
"No thanks, I don't want to waste energy on something so superficial. I mean we're not going to get in another battle right? So whats the point, they'll heal on their own, I always heal fast." Jack answered turning around to give Aster a kiss.
"That's true. So, what shall we do with the remaining time? We do have, I believe, 2 more hours till we arrive at Greenland." Aster smirked wrapping his arms around Jack's thin waist. Jack gave out a laugh and leaned up to give Aster a deep kiss.
"While I love that you are seducing me. I don't think we should. I am much too sore and don't want to be even more by the time we dock." Jack sighed out with a wicked smile.
"Sure I cant persuade you love?" Aster purred, drawing him in for another deep kiss when a loud knock rang through the cabin.
"Yo love birds, they have some food in the mess hall. You coming?" Porc's voice rang out though the door.
"Rrrg. Bloody groundhog." Aster growled out. Jack just laughed and stepped away.
"We'll be right there Porc." Jack responded with a giggle.
"Alright, I'll tell the others your on your way. Also I have your bird." Porc told them following the sound of Baby Tooth giving out a caw.
"Well, guess we better get going. I cant believe I didn't realize Baby wasn't with us." Jack said moving to the door, before he was stopped by an arm around his waist.
"Now hang on a minute mate. Ya ain't leaving me without another one of your sweet kisses." Aster told him as he drew him into another kiss as he laughed.
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Soon enough, Aster and Jack left their room and went down to the mess hall, where everyone was already sitting down and eating.
"Glad to see you guys join us? Have too much fun?" Tiana commented as she saw Jack sit down with a wince. Jack's faced turned red at what Tiana was hinting at.
"No! I'm sore from hitting a wall yesterday. My back is all scrapped up and bruised." Jack stated still trying to fight his blush while Aster just grinned at his embarrassment.
"I know how you feel. My face hurts from a punch. Which gave me a black eye." Abdima commented glaring at Porc. His left eye was bruised and a small scrape was on his cheekbone, it appeared Porc hit him really hard.
"You were trying to kill the others, it was the only way to distract you. Besides, you got me back." Porc responded tenderly touching his nose, which was swollen and bruised.
"And I loved every minute of it." Abdima retorted.
"Well I'm lucky I don't have any injuries. Well other than the ones from when we fell off the cliff." Tiana stated with a smug grin.
"Well, of course you wouldn't have any additional injuries. You were under the creatures control. Though I wonder why it put you under? I understand the reason for getting Abdima, it used him to attack us, so why did it want you?" Tooth pointed out. The others paused in their eating and took a minute to think about what Tooth had just stated. It was true that the Kraken controlled Abdima to get him to attack the rest of them and it controlled Volgud to get control over the town. So it didn't seem to have any advantage or gain in controlling Tiana.
"That's true. Maybe it just wanted to show off?" Aster suggested trying to think of some other reason.
"What like show us what it could do? That it could control us with ease?" Tooth asked.
"Seems likely. As well as to show us that it could scare us." Abdima said.
"What do ya mean scare us?" Aster asked.
"Well, Tiana described the experience as drowning in fear. And that it was all slimy and cold. It wasn't the same for me. I felt that everything was burning and hot. I was burning in fear. I think that thing was using our fears. I'm scared of getting burned again because of all the accidents I've had and this past war made it worse because of the things I had seen. I got new scars from it, both physically and mentally, and that thing just brought it back to the surface." Abdima explained with a dark shadow in his eyes.
"I felt the drowning because I almost drowned during that war. I was in an aircraft as an engineer, we were shot down. We fell into the ocean. I remember hearing the screams of people and the screech of metal and the heat of the flames, then ice cold as the water surrounded us. The sea was terrible, it was stormy and I was being hit by these waves. I couldn't breathe. I really thought that I was going to die. I should have died in the crash. Then I was saved by a passing ship, they pulled me out and told me I was the only survivor. That was the worst thing to happen to me during the war. When I was under its control, that's what it reminded me of, the time I felt the most scared." Tiana stated with a quiet voice, not looking anyone in the eye. Porc stayed quiet,since other than Jack, Aster, and Tooth, he had heard the stories before and was not surprised that it still haunted them, because he was still haunted by his own experiences.
"Tiana, I had no idea that you had gone through something so traumatic. You too Abdima, neither of you mentioned anything." Tooth said placing a hand on Tiana's arm getting a small smile.
"Have the others also had similar experiences?" Jack asked quietly.
"Yeah, and none of us mentioned it because its not really polite to say in company. Especially since it hasn't really been that long since the war ended." Porc answered with a dark look in his eyes.
"What war?" Tooth asked as Aster remembered what De Luna had told them.
"We had a World War and it started a few months after we left Atlantis. It lasted about 4 years. It was called the Great War. It involved many different countries and it was a bloody war. A lot of people died and we all saw things that will probably stick with us for the rest of our lives." Abdima answered not looking Tooth in the eye.
Aster closed his eyes and bowed his head, mourning for the lives that were lost and for what the others had to face. Jack was shocked that such a large war had occurred in the surface world and yet from what he had so far seen, there was no real indication that a war had happened. Which just showed the strength of the humans of the surface world.
"I am very sorry for what you have all gone through, I can never say that I know exactly what it is like to go through a traumatic experience, because they are your own experiences but I have gone through some trauma and battle, should you want to talk. Tooth has even been through a war and she may know more about what you have all gone through, should you want to perhaps speak with someone that has had similar experiences." Jack offered not sure if they would even consider the offer.
"Thank you Jack. We appreciate your offer and should we need to talk, you both would be the first." Abdima replied with a soft smile. Jack smiled back. After that, the group changed the subject to lighthearted fun, mostly Jack, Aster, and Tooth catching the others up on what had happened in Atlantis after they had left.
"I'm not kidding, Aster just loves spoiling Baby. Every since she was born, he's treated her like his baby." Jack laughed as Aster's face became red with a blush.
"No I don't, ya bastard." Aster protested.
"He really does, its pretty adorable." Tooth added with a grin. Just as aster was going to refute the claim, Baby Tooth flew into the room and landed on Asters shoulder. She gave out a croon and rubbed her head against Aster's cheek, making everyone laugh.
"Yeah you really don't spoil her, rabbit." Tiana stated with a giggle.
"Hey, by the way, why did you name her Baby Tooth?" Abdima asked once everyone had stopped laughing.
"She reminded me of Tiana." Jack simply stated.
"What? But why call her Baby Tooth and not like Baby Tiana or Tia?" Tiana asked confused.
"You remind me of Tooth and that was kind of my nickname to you, and then when baby was born and really developed her own personality. Well she reminded me of both of you so she was named after your nickname, Baby Tooth." Jack explained running a finger down Baby's plumage with a smile.
"Huh, well I'm honored. Thank you Jack." Tiana said after a moment.
"Attention, We will be reaching the port in less than 5 minutes." A voice announced through the speakers.
"Guess we're here. We better go get our stuff. Lets meet up top once we're ready." Aster told them getting up to head to his and Jack's cabin.
"Gotcha, see you guys in a bit." Tiana said also heading off to her cabin.
Aster and Jack soon got to their cabin and made sure that they had everything inside the chest as well as making sure that the black sand was secure. Once they double checked everything, they headed up top to meet up with the others. They were the last ones to join the others, and they arrived as the ship began to dock. Jack looked around in wonder as he was finally able to see the world without any fog.
They had arrived at a small village in Greenland and the surrounding area was filled with crystal clear blue waters, mountains that were covered in ice and snow, and though the country was called Greenland, there wasn't really any green, just more snow and ice.
"Its beautiful!" Jack cried out, awed by the beauty that surrounded him.
"Yeah, it really is." Aster stated in awe.
"It all seems very isolated. Why would Mr. De Luna live here?" Tooth asked as she watched the sailors finish tying off the boat to the dock.
"He loves the ice and snow. Says that he loves being able to see how the moonlight reflects off the ice and snow." Porc answered leaning against the railing next to Tooth.
"I bet you don't even need any light to see outside when its a full moon." Tiana told them.
"Yeah, I agree. So De Luna said that a car would be waiting for us to take us to his house. Apparently he lives a bit into the mountains, so we have a half hour of driving ahead of us." Abdima stated as the the captain told them that they were able to get off the boat.
Once they were off the boat they saw that there was a car waiting for them. And the driver was a man that Aster remembered from when he first met De Luna. Mr. Nachtlicht, was his name if he remembered correctly.
"Hello Night! Good to see you again!" Abdima cried out as he shook the man's hand. The man nodded his head in greeting and gave the group a large warm smile as he opened the back for them to put their luggage in and opened the passenger doors. Once all the luggage was put in the boot, and everyone was situated in the car, Nachtlicht started the car and they were off. While the others caught up with Nachtlicht, Aster and the two Atlanteens looked out the windows to see the surrounding. It was breathtaking to watch and made the car trip go by in a flash. Aster tried once more to explain to the two Atlantians how a car worked, they still haven't really gotten the aspect of it and were soon ignoring him to watch the scenery.
"Night says that you should be able to see De Luna's house soon." Abdima informed the rest of the group. Aster, Jack, and Tooth looked out to try and get a glimpse of De Luna's house and they were shocked by what they saw.
De Luna's house was no ordinary house, it couldn't even be called a house. It was a Manor. The home had a strange color scheme. Instead of it being one single color it looked as if the whole Manor was a mural. The background was a dark blue, like the night sky, and constellations were scattered around the manor along with some planets that looked a bit strange. There were strange creatures also spotted on the walls. Some moths, mice, and robots were along the boarder of the manor, like a pattern.
As the car got closer to the manor, Aster was able to see some more details of the creatures scattered on the main front wall. There was a feathered looking being reaching a hand down to some small children and surrounding them were some small birds. Next to them was a small looking figure that was golden and was directing some gold streamer-looking across the front of the house. The next figure was more easier to decipher, it was a man surrounded by some large white furred creatures, he was wearing a red coat and had black facial hair. The next figure was also easy to decipher, it was a large rabbit. A strange looking one too. They were crouched and had gray fur with some black markings that for some reason looked familiar.
Above him was the silhouette of a young looking man and going by the ladder leaned against the wall and the paint cans on the ground, it was a new addition and not yet finished. The final thing that made the manor striking was the front door that was in the shape of the moon, with a gold looking wing on one side of it and some gold sail looking on the front. It looked like the airship that De Luna made him ride when they first met. As the car came to a stop, the door opened and out came De Luna with a large smile. Everyone stepped out of the car and went to say hello to Mr. De Luna.
"Hello everyone. I hope that the trip was pleasant, and I apologize for the drive. There aren't too many people living here and I do enjoy how private the whole area is." De Luna told them giving them all a smile. "Now I'm sure that sitting in a car for so long must have been uncomfortable so let us retire to the living room, much more comfortable I assure you." He invited them in, informing them that Mr. Nachtlicht will bring the bags in. As the group followed De Luna in, Aster paused to get a good look at the feathered being that he had seen earlier and was shocked to recognize the face. It was Tooth's face, and the more he looked the more it looked like Tooth was blended with one of her birds, and the little birds that were around her were miniature versions of her. Then he looked at the other figures and they all looked familiar. The little gold figure looked like Sandy, the man that was surrounded by creatures, looked like a young North, and the silhouette of the young man seemed to be Jack. He would recognize the shape of his face anywhere.
"Now why are their faces on De Luna's house?" Aster murmured as he stared at the rabbit. Just as he realized why the markings on the rabbit were familiar, Jack called out to him. He shook his head and headed in, the last thought he had was, why are my tattoos on a rabbit?
Aster moved into the house and saw that the inside of the house was just as strange as the outside. The walls were the same background as the outside but it didn't appear dark because there were colorful galaxies and bright colorful planets as well as other moons and for some reason ships. He followed the sound of the others voices and saw that they were in a room that looked like it was in the middle of a autumn forest. He could have sworn he could hear the rustling of leaves as he walked into the room.
He saw that the room had one long dark red couch in the middle of the room and two love seats off at an angle from the couch and were a dark gold color. There were also two armchairs that were at an angle like the two love seats but the armchairs were a dark red like the couch. Tooth was sitting on the long couch with Tiana and Abdima. Porc was sitting on one of the armchairs and Jack was flitting around the room, looking out the window and looking at the books that filled the bookcases that lined the walls of the room. De Luna was sitting in one of the armchairs and watched Jack with amusement. Aster just shook his head with a laugh at Jack's behavior and moved to take a seat which was when he saw that the furniture was built to look like it was natural, even the fireplace looked like it was a tree that was hollowed out.
"So now that we are all here. How was it dealing with the Kraken? If it was a Kraken." De Luna asked with a friendly smile.
"Terrible. Damn thing nearly killed us when it controlled Abdima. Luckily I was able to snap him out of it." Porc stated with a grunt.
"Yes, with a punch to the face, as you can see." Abdima grumbled throwing Porc a glare.
"Yes, I can see that you got him back for that punch." De Luna replied with amusement.
"Yeah, well they're both idiots, but the good news is that no more boats will be destroyed and the village is safe. Especially since the man that may have caused the death of some villagers is now gone as well." Tiana told him.
"What do you mean?" De Luna asked confused. Tiana explained what Inger had told them about Volgud and what the villagers had witness when the Kraken was destroyed and how they had both turned to black sand.
"Do you have any of this black sand?" De Luna asked with a frown.
"Yeah, Inger gave it to us. Said that one of the villagers had placed what remained of Volgud in a jar. She figured we would wanted. I examined it as best as I could but without a microscope I cant really say what it is. From what I saw, its not regular sand. Its spiky and just doesn't seem natural." Aster told him.
"Well, we can examine it here at the house, I have a laboratory in the basement. It should have all the equipment you need." De Luna told him with a wave of his hand.
"You have a laboratory in the basement? Why- never-mind, of course you do." Aster began to ask before changing his mind.
"No do you believe that the Kraken, could have been a magical creature?" De Luna asked.
"Cant really say, since we don't have a body to examine and all we have is that a really old man that should have died a long time ago turned to some strange black sand like the Kraken. And the villagers say he made a deal with the devil in exchange for the souls of some villagers, which we cant prove. Though we did have an experience that was strange to say the least." Abdima answered.
"Well, since we have no other physical proof, other than the sand. We will have to just examine that. Perhaps we can even ask Miss Tooth and his Majesty whether they believe that the creature was magical and they may provide some insight." De Luna suggested.
"We would be honored to provide any insight into the creature. Yet if I am honest, I do not believe that the creature was magical on its own. It may have been created at some point and perhaps allowed to mature, for lack of a better word, on its own. But it was not a natural born creature like many others that were around when Atlantis was a part of the surface world. I don't believe that Jack will have much to add. Right Jack?" Tooth explained before turning to ask Jack of his opinion but saw that he was gone.
"Jack?!" Aster cried out as he looked around the room, he could have sworn that Jack had sat down behind him on the windowsill. But he was really gone, how he left the room without any of them seeing or hearing him was unbelievable. Its times like this that would remind Aster that his love was a highly trained warrior and not to be underestimated.
"Jacksonkadash! Where are you?! Stubborn curious boy! When I find you, your dead!" Tiana cried out rushing out of the room as if she had wings, leaving everyone in shock.
"Well, that was a surprise. Didn't expect her to freak out like that." Porc stated staring at the doorway Tooth flew through.
"She's used to having Jack in her eyesight at all time. Shes just worried about him, especially because they're on the surface and in place that she hasn't determined is safe yet. No offense Mr. De Luna." Tiana explained.
"That's alright, I understand her worry over the young King, though I do wonder how he was able to leave the room without any of us noticing." De Luna replied.
"He's one of his kingdoms top warrior and has spent most of his life training so hes very good at being stealthy even though he makes you forget about that." Aster stated getting up.
"Where are you going?" Abdima asked seeing Aster look out the window before heading out of the room.
"To find Jack. He doesn't like being in any enclosed places for very long, unless he's mediating, so I'm guessing he left the room by the window and explored outside for a bit, then if hes not outside he went inside through another window." Aster answered.
"Why didn't Tooth think of that?" Porc asked.
"She's too worried to really think straight and being in a new place has her a bit rattled, so its not a big surprise. We'll be back in a minute, and we'll make sure that Jack doesn't cause any damage Mr. De Luna." Aster replied and assured De Luna. De Luna, though, surprised him and got up asking Aster to accompany him for a minute.
"Aster, I must tell you that it would be best that you find Jack as quickly as he can." De Luna told him once they were out of the groups eyesight.
"Whys that Mr. De Luna. If you're worried that he may do something, don't worry I was just kidding." Aster asked confused with how serious the man seemed.
"Its not that. It is just that many of the rooms are painted with murals that are representative of many people that I know or have known in my life and there is one particular room that I feel may cause some harm to Jack." De Luna answered.
"What do you mean cause him harm?" Aster asked in concern.
"One of the rooms has a painting of Kozmotis and the whole room is, for lack of a better word, dedicated to his memory. I realize that he was not the best person but I still remember him as the man he was before the military changed him. If Jack finds that room, it may cause him harm by reminding him of the man that killed his father and tried to kill his people." De Luna explained.
"Bloody hell. I need to find Jack. I'll be back." Aster growled barely suppressing the urge to punch a wall and settled for clenching his fists. He turned his back on De Luna and rushed to exit the house, hoping Jack was still outside. Once he was outside, he headed toward the back of the house. As he did he could hear Tooth's voice filter out of the house through the various open windows. From what he could hear, she still hasn't found Jack so it was a good chance he could still be outside. As he went around the side of the manor, he noticed that the walls were just as strangely painted as the front and had more strange figures that looked like the people he had met before.
Once Aster made it to the backyard, he was shocked by how large it was. The plot of land the manor sat on was much larger than he had first thought. The back of the manor was covered in trees. The trees were covered in snow and sparkling icicles that were slowly melting as the sun got higher in the sky. It was beautiful and just the sort of place that Jack would love to be in. And as Aster observed the snow he could see Jack's footprints heading into the forest. So Aster started to follow, shivering as the cold started to seep into him.
"Jack! Come on, Tooth is freaking out and probably tearing Mr. De Luna's house apart. Also I'm freezing out here! Lets go inside, we can explore tomorrow." Aster called out, straining to hear Jack. But if Jack really wanted to he could be as quiet as a snowflake. Then a sudden shower of snow dropped on top of Aster. He gave of a cry of shock as some of the snow slid down his cover causing him to jerk around in a circle as he tried to remove the snow. Once he was sure that he had gotten all of the snow out of his shirt, he stood up straight and shot a glare at the tree tops as he heard Jack's laughter spiral from somewhere above. But the tree tops were too tightly packed to make out where Jack was hiding so Aster decided to use his new power to draw Jack out. He tapped his foot and jumped down into the newly opened tunnel, closing up the tunnel once he was in. He then popped out of another tunnel a few feet away and crouched down on the ground so that Jack didn't see him.
He waited for a few minutes, knowing that Jack's curiosity will make him come down from whatever tree he was hiding in and investigate the area. And he was proven right when Jack suddenly dropped down, landing in a crouch with his head tilted, staring at the ground. While Jack was studying the ground, Aster was placing a hand onto the ground and trying to coax some of the tree's roots to leave the warmth of the ground and wrap around Jack.
Luckily the roots decide to listen and slowly pulled out of the ground behind Jack, once enough of them were out, they shot forward and wrapped around the shocked Jack. Preventing him from moving his arms and legs as they lifted him up into the air. Jack started to struggle and growl as he tried to free himself, even his crystal started to glow as frost began to spread onto the roots. That was Aster's cue to step out from behind the tree and calm Jack down before he accidentally killed the roots. He asked the roots to drop Jack into his arms and once they did, they snaked back into the ground. Once Jack was in Aster's arms, he stopped struggling and stared at Aster in shock.
"Well, look what the roots dragged in." Aster commented with a grin.
"Very funny. Why are you out here? And why did you ask the roots to grab me?" Jack asked with a roll of his eyes, though he did put his arms around Aster's neck to give him a hug.
"The roots were revenge for the snow you dropped on me. And you also disappeared from our debriefing. No one even saw you leave so Tooth freaked out and I figured you would be outside. I know you don't like being indoors for too long." Aster explained as they walked out of the forest to get back to the manor.
"I have no idea what you are talking about." Jack stated with a grin.
"Yeah, sure you don't mate." Aster replied with a roll of his eyes, though he couldn't keep the grin off his face.
"Did you notice all of the strange paintings on the Manor's outside walls?" Jack asked as they were few feet from the back of the Manor, which gave Aster a chance to admire the painting on the wall that he didn't get a chance to see earlier.
The back wall was similar to the front, except the back was dedicated to what looked like a family portrait. There were two adults, possibly the parents, they were standing behind a bassinet looking piece of furniture that was a bright gold with dark red satin cushions and within it was a young child. Standing next to the bassinet was a thin pale looking young man with silver hair and a soft smile as they stared down at the young child with love.
"I didn't see this one earlier because I was looking for you but I did see the other ones from the front and the right side. It certainly a unique home." Aster answered walking toward the front of the house.
"I like it. They tell a story and a lot of the figures look like people we know. One looks like a humanoid Groundhog but they have the gear that Porc wears so that must represent him in Manny's eyes. Then there is a figure that looks like they're covered in flames as well as shooting out flames, they look like Abdima. If his face was made out of coals." Jack stated as well as pointing out said paintings as they passed them.
"Manny has an active imagination. He even did one of Tooth and Sandy. And I think he even started one of you." Aster told him as he set him down in front of the painting that showed the large rabbit and incomplete painting.
"How can you even tell that's me? Its not even painted in." Jack asked as he studied the two paintings.
"I recognize the facial structure, mate. I do see you all the time love." Aster answered nonchalantly.
"And you draw and paint me." He murmured with a smirk.
"How do you know about that? Have you been going through my sketchbooks again?" Aster asked with a blush.
"I was actually kidding Aster. I didn't know you drew me." Jack answered with an even wider grin.
"Dammit." Aster swore blushing even harder and trying not to look Jack in the eyes.
"Its okay Bunny. I think its sweet." Jack told him pressing a kiss on his cheek.
"Ya really think so love?" He asked bring Jack into a hug.
"Yes. I think its adorable and very loving." He answered snuggling into Aster's chest. They stood there for a few seconds, just enjoying each others company when Jack suddenly had to ruin it. "You are also very adorable as a large bunny."
"What?!" Aster bristled moving back to look down at his love's cheeky grin.
"The large rabbit on the wall. I think Manny painted that to represent you since it has your tattoos. He even made you look a bit like a Kangaroo. See, even Manny sees it." Jack stated silently moving toward the front door.
"I don't look like a bloody roo!" Aster cried out with a clench of his fists.
"Then why is there a Kangaroo on the wall?" He asked getting closer to the doors.
"Its a rabbit." He growled.
"So you are a rabbit." Jack stated before he turned around and burst through the doors as Aster gave out a growl and called him back. Jack laughed as he dodged Aster's attempt to catch him. Though he tried to get to the second floor, Aster prevented him from going up. So Jack decided to rush down one of the many hallways that littered the Manor.
"Give it up Bunny! You'll never catch m-" Jack began to state before he came to a sudden stop, due to him crashing into someone.
"Are you alright your Majesty?" The person he had run into asked. Jack looked up from his sprawled form on the floor. Once he focused his eyes, he gave a large sheepish grin once he recognized who it was.
"Hi Tooth." Jack stated as Aster finally caught up with him. Though as soon as he saw the tension within Tooth's form, he knew it would be better that he left them alone.
"Well, I'm going to head over to the dinning hall, I believe dinner will be served soon. So once you both have talked, just head over there." Aster told them pressing a kiss to Jack's forehead as he passed, Jack gave him a quick smile and nod, while Tooth just gave him a sharp nod.
"So, surprising to run into you here. Where have you been?" Jack asked trying not to look her in the eye.
"I believe the better question is where have you been? Did you know I have been searching for you ever sense you disappeared from the sitting room?"
"Well I-"
"And, did you know that we were asked to give our opinions on something that could affect our Kingdom and when we turned to ask you about what you thought, you were gone. You vanished. You vanished and we had no idea where you were."
"But I was fine. I wasn't hurt, I just wanted to explore." Jack tried to explain while Tooth just looked at him with a blank face though she couldn't hide the worry and anger in her eyes.
"You don't know this land Jack. You could have been hurt or worse. You don't know what kind of magic exists in this world or what kind of creatures could exist here that may not be seen by normal mortals. You can not be this irresponsible Jack. You're no longer a prince, you're a King who has a kingdom depending on them."
"I wasn't trying to be irresponsible Tooth. I know that the kingdom depends on me but, this may be the last time that I can truly explore the surrounding land and be free. Back home I wasn't in any danger and I was never alone. I was always being watched, and here I'm not. I made sure I didn't go far and I knew that either you or Aster would find me. By the time you guys had realized that I was missing, I was already heading back, so I'm sorry for worrying you Tooth but I was being careful. Don't forget I'm a warrior, one of the best ones, so please do not dismiss all my training, which you were a part of. Don't insult me by saying I was being irresponsible. So if you'll excuse me, I will be heading to the dining hall to meet up with Aster." Jack explained moving around Tooth to head in the direction that Aster was headed leaving Tooth behind.
After a few wrong turns, he finally arrived at the dinning hall and like the outside of the house, it had a planet and stars theme. The table was a beautiful white and gold marble surrounded by dark walnut chairs. The table was already set with plates and crystal glasses as well as a centerpiece. The centerpiece was a beautiful solid gold vase that was filled with pink carnations, blue iris' and strangely enough some snowdrops. The combination looked strange but oddly beautiful and vibrant. He saw that Aster was sitting down on the windowsill of the large bay window looking out at the snow dotted landscape as well as the snowflakes that were slowly drifting down.
"So how did the talk with Tooth go?" Aster asked without turning his head as Jack moved toward him.
"About as good as it could be. I know that she worries about me, but really I can take care of myself. She was the one that trained me, she should trust in my abilities." Jack answered sitting down next to him.
"Well love, I think I know why she may be acting like this." Aster offered grabbing Jack's hand to hold.
"You do?" He asked.
"Yes, love. See from what you both have told me, Tooth basically raised you after your mother was chosen and Atlantis was sent to below the sea. So to her, your not just a warrior, you are basically her child. She may not have given birth to you but she still sees you as her son. She knows she cant replace your mother and she doesn't want to do that. But she will always see you as the child she raised even though you are fully capable of taking care of yourself. So don't take what she said to heart. She just loves you." Aster explained stroking his thumb across Jack's knuckles.
Jack took a moment to think about what Aster told him and he could see the truth in his statements. He knows that he has always seen Tooth as a close friend and a big sister, yet did he see her as a mother? He searched deep within himself and he knew that he did see her as a mother. He cant really remember his birth mother and though he feels like he is betraying her memory by think of Tooth as his mother, he knows that his mother would want him to be cared for and loved. If she had to pick someone to be a mother to Jack, he knows in his soul that she would choose Tooth.
"Your right Aster. I'll talk to her later, after dinner. That way we both have some space." Jack said giving Aster a hug.
"Alright love. Well, food should almost be done and you know, Phil is actually here. So is Cupcake." Aster told him pulling back from the hug.
"Really? Phil was the large man that cooked for you during your journey to the city, correct?"
"Yeah, love. That's him."
"And Cupcake was the woman that was your communicator?" He recalled trying to remember what the woman looked like.
"Yeah, she was. Smoked like a chimney as well. She's in De Luna's radio room, from what Tiana had told me. And Phil is De Luna's head cook, so that's why he's here." Aster told him moving them to sit at the table.
"Where is North? Is he here as well?" Jack asked, curious about the large doctor.
"No, he isn't here. Abdima told me that he was visiting his old mentor and village. He apparently missed home." Aster answered just as the doors that Jack assumed lead to the kitchen opened and the others came flooding out with sounds of laughter.
"Jack! Your here? We wondered where you ran off to. Still cant believe you were able to get out of the room without anyone seeing you. Though seeing Tooth freak out was a treat." Tiana commented as she sat across from Jack and Aster.
"I don't reveal my secrets. Though I do apologize if cause any of you worry as well as leaving an important meeting." Jack apologized looking down as Tooth entered the room and sat between Abdima and Tiana.
"It is all right Jack. This is a new land to you and you are a very curious person so it was no issue. Though I do wonder what you all have planned to do now." De Luna told him as he sat next to Jack.
"Well, we don't really know what to do next. We may just go back home." Aster said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Well that wont do. Why don't you all see the world? See what the surface world has to offer, perhaps you could learn something that could be useful to your kingdom." De Luna expressed. While De Luna began to tell Jack and Aster about what they could see, Phil came out of the kitchen and began to serve everyone some familiar food and drinks.
"Phil. Is this the same food from the expedition?" Abdima asked as he looked at his plate with revulsion. The food looked even more disgusting that before, if that was possible.
"Course not. But since we have been reunited with Aster, I figured that we should have a reminder of the food that we ate. Is that a problem?" Phil answered raising an eyebrow at the scarred man.
"No, Phil. Of course not. We loved your cooking, cant wait to dig in." Tiana interrupted before Abdima could say anything. She really did not want to eat the disgusting food, but she also didn't want to insult Phil. So she will force herself to swallow it down. Or give it to Porc, who she saw out of the corner of her eye devouring it. She also saw Tooth lift a forkful of the food to smell and study. After a few seconds of studying it, she took a small bite and Tiana could picture her back shiver in revulsion as she straightened in her seat. Tiana stifled a laugh as Tooth tried to swallow more of the repulsive food.
She looked around the table and saw that Abdima was talking to Phil about something while Porc seemed to be feeding Baby Tooth something. She had wondered where the bird had gone as she had flown off as soon as they had arrived at the manor. She assumed that Baby Tooth had explored the property. She also saw that De Luna was talking to Jack and Aster about the different locations they could visit but she saw that Jack was looking at Tooth out of the corner of his eye. She wondered what had happened between the two.
Just as she was going to ask Tooth what had happened, Cupcake burst into the room with a trail of smoke following her along with the smell of cigarettes. She was also wearing her headphones.
"Hello. I have news." She announced though everyone was to busy talking to hear her, so Tiana tapped her spoon against her crystal glass a few times, silencing everyone with the sound of the glass breaking because of how hard she hit the glass.
"Whoops. Sorry. Um, Cupcake just said she had some news." Tiana apologized with a sheepish grin.
"That's alright Tiana. What news do you have Cupcake?" De Luna reassured with a smile before turning his full attention to Cupcake.
"Its from North. He says that there is some trouble going on at his village." Cupcake told them with a blank face.
"What kind of trouble?" Abdima asked with a frown.
"Didn't say. The message cut out after he asked for some help. There was a lot of interference and commotion on his side. I've tried to call him back but no answer." Cupcake answered taking a drag from her cigarette.
"Hm, I wonder what happened." Tiana wondered, worried about North's safety.
"I believe that you should go and provide him with some help. Aster, I realize that I only asked you to come to take care of the Kraken so I do not expect for you three to help and I will be happy to pay for any plane fare if you want to travel." De Luna stated. Aster and Jack shared a look, silently agreeing that they will go to help North and that their travels could wait.
"Actually, Mr. De Luna. Jack and I would like to go and help North. He's our friend and he asked for help so we'll provide it." Aster said holding Jack hand.
"I will be going as well. I will not be letting you both out of my sight to have your own adventures. Who knows, perhaps we will run into another magical creature." Tooth stated with a small smile that Jack returned, though he had a small frown on his face.
"That's great. Thank you." De Luna replied with a grateful smile.
"Well, I will be staying behind this time. I want to help De Luna study the sand that we got from Krakenstad. You better be careful Tiana." Abdima told the group.
"I will Dima. Besides I'll have some warriors with me. I'll be fine." Tiana replied with a grin.
"Well, now that we are agreed. I will prepare your travel plans for tomorrow morning. I suggest you all get some rest. Mr. Nachtlicht will lead you to your rooms. Goodnight everyone." De Luna stated before he left to presumably prepare what they would need for tomorrow. Everyone said goodnight and left the room to follow Mr. Nachtlicht who had entered the room as soon as De Luna left.
Mr. Nachtlicht lead each of them to their room and told them that he would make sure to wake them in the morning. Aster and Jack were lead to a large bedroom that was painted with a Winter and Spring theme, blended together beautifully. Within the room was a large four poster bed that had dark green covers and dark blue pillows decorated in frost designs. As Aster took in the room, Jack had moved to sit on the windowsill of the large window across from the bed, quietly looking out the window with a pensive look on his young face. Aster noticed and moved toward him, wondering what was troubling the man now. He didn't believe it had anything to do with Tooth because he had seen his love hug Tooth and whisper something into her ear making her smile and her eyes shine as she opened her room.
"You know, I bet the scenery would look even more beautiful with the snow melted." He said trying to provoke Jack, knowing he loved to tell him that the snow was the most beautiful season. Yet Jack didn't do anything but give him a quick glance. "Whats wrong love? I know its not about Tooth." He asked sitting next to him.
"Its something that Tooth said. She said that we may see some other magical creatures and at first I was excited but then I thought about the Kraken. We thought that that creature was an Atlantian war machine. And I know that there may be some deactivated war machines out there in the world. So what if they become activated? What kind of chaos can they cause? How many lives can they destroy? Maybe my father was right about the Heart. Its too powerful and maybe it should be sealed once more." Jack answered wrapping an arm around one of his legs.
"Jack, we may not know about the other machines but can you really put you people back into darkness? They gained so much from the Heart. Can you, with good conscience, condemn them to the dark? It doesn't matter what your father thought, its your opinion that matters. Whatever your decision is I will support you, but I will also let you know the other side." Aster stated drawing him onto his lap.
"Thank you Aster. Your right, I cant in good conscience condemn them to the dark. I fought too hard to give them light to take it away now." Jack replied pressing a kiss to Aster's cheek.
"Your welcome love. Now lets get some sleep, we have to go save North's ass tomorrow." Aster said with a grin as Jack gave out shocked yelp as Aster stood up, carrying him to the bed and laying him down.
"You didn't have to do that." Jack muttered though he couldn't keep the grin off his face.
"Maybe not but I wanted to." Aster replied taking off Jack's jacket.
"You just wanted to undress me." He commented though he did starting taking off his pants.
"Maybe." Aster teased. Once they were both down to their undergarments, they ducked under the covers and cuddled. Too tired to really do anything and they just wanted to enjoy each other. Within a few minutes, they fell into a dreamless sleep.
00000000000
Knock! Knock!
Aster furrowed his brow as the knocking interrupted his dream. As he struggled to throw off the grip that sleep had on him, he tried to remember his dream but couldn't, so he gave up and opened his eyes. He got up and went to the door as he yawned and scratched his stomach. He cracked opened the door and saw that the person that had been knocking was Tooth.
"Morning Tooth. Whats going on?" He asked, his mind still foggy.
"Did you forget that we were leaving to go help North? Wake up Jack, we're leaving in 5 minutes. Meet us downstairs." Tooth smirked before leaving with Baby Tooth on her shoulder who gave off a hoot at the sight of Aster. He had wondered where she had gone.
Aster closed the door and went off to wake up Jack, though he himself was still half asleep. Jack was laying on his stomach with the sheets half down his back and as much as he hated to wake up Jack from being so peaceful, he knew that Tooth would just come up here and drag them out in their underwear so he began to wake him up.
"Come on Snowflake. Time to go save North." He said shaking Jack's shoulder. Jack gave out a groan and tried to bury his head under the pillow.
"Love, if you don't get up Tooth is just going to come up and drag you out in front of everyone." Aster told him knowing that should wake him up. And he was proven right when Jack instantly got up and started to get dressed. Aster just started to laugh and begin getting dressed as well. Jack had told Aster many stories about being dragged out of bed by Tooth through many different techniques. Either she dragged him out by a body part or she would dump something on him to shock him awake. Aster hasn't witnessed any of this happen and he secretly wanted to see that but at this time they simply did not have time.
"Ready to go love?" Aster asked standing by the door. Jack took a look around the room before he nodded.
"Yeah I'm ready. Lets head down." Jack answered with a smile. They rushed downstairs, actually passing Tooth, and saw that everyone else was waiting at the door.
"Well now that everyone is here, I can explain the mission a bit more." De Luna stated looking everyone in the eye. "From what we could infer from Nicholas's call, there was some trouble in his home village. We don't know the exact details but we should guess that it could be something severe given that Nicholas rarely asks for help, especially for his village."
"Why does he rarely ask for help for his village?" Tooth asked.
"His village is very private and doesn't have many outsiders unless they're injured or seeking help. They are also pretty isolated and from what North told me, they had a trained bear guarding the village." Tiana answered.
"A trained bear?" Aster asked with a raised eyebrow. Tiana just nodded with a grin.
"Well back on topic. Since we are unsure as to what the situation is, I warn you all to be careful. Nicholas's village is isolated and in a part of the world that isn't completely explored and so strange things could be there. So be careful. And remember, nothing is as it seems." De Luna warned them.
"Where exactly is his village anyway?" Porc asked as the group exchanged looks of concern.
"Norway."
So I hope y'all liked this chapter and I did drop a few hints into the future of the gang and I hope y'all like my next chapter because I will be introducing a character that I really love and I hope I do them justice.
Reviews:
Bearbert: Thank you for reviewing and I'm so sorry for the late update and I really hope you like this new chapter!
Ngel Azul: Thank you so much for reviewing and I understand, I've been busy as well and your English is pretty good. I really hope that you like this new chapter!
As I mentioned in the beginning notes, I will be hosting a contest here and on AO3. The first person to guess what character will be introduced in the next chapter will win a one shot from me. It can be about anything, romance, tragedy, aus, anything. You can leave your guess in the reviews or message me. So good luck, till next time! Bye!