I don't own rotg.

Enjoy!

Pain.

It was the first thing he was aware of as his eyes cracked open hours later. It seemed to seep through his whole body, and every bruise, cut and sprain let itself be known. The pain had shocked him out of his sleep quicker than he would've liked.

Cold.

A odd feeling was also taking hold of him. Jack ignored the stabs of pain and focused on it, trying to figure it out. He had never felt it before. With a jolt, he realised he must be cold. But why? But the numbness began to fade slightly as his attention was returned to the pain.

Questions. Doubt. Fear. Pain.

Reality crashed down upon the winter spirit like a tidal wave. Jack shifted his glazed eyes away from the darkening sky, past the trees and onto the ground around him.

Pain.

Jack let out a cry, breath hitching, as he turned his head slowly, gathering his surroundings. The coldness returned and questions crossed with fear pushed their way into his mind. He shut his eyes. His breathing slowed to a more rhythmic pace before opening them again and he ignored the questions that had surfaced. As another bout of pain shot through his body, the scattered events of a few hours ago came back to his mind.

He was ambushed…

And he fell.

And now he was here, lying in agony. So much for finding that 'lair'. The nightmares must've spotted him from the air as he was flying. Looking back, Jack saw that the decision to fly there was pretty stupid, but what else could he do?

He couldn't walk, because that would take too long. He would only have to take a couple of steps before getting ambushed again.

Jack closed his eyes again, the pain making him feel sick. The cold was definitely more known now, inching its way through his limbs. The feeling forced the spirit to open his eyes again, wondering how this was happening when there was almost no snow on the ground, thanks to the trees that towered above him.

But his mind was growing foggy, and what little sense he could create out of the situation was instantly forgotten. A few more minutes of sleep couldn't hurt…

—

Jack cracked open his eyelids. The sky was almost black, with white stars scattered across its surface. The spirit guessed that it was either the early hours of a new day or the late hours of the night.

The pain came back, but now it was just a dull ache- that was, until he decided to move his arm; a sharp jab made him wince and lower the limb.

He wasn't cold anymore.

The numbness had left him completely and shivers stopped passing through his body. Jack smiled and lifted his arm again, trying to see what kind of state it was in. With the movement, a odd cracking sound echoed across the clearing.

I can't have broken it that bad, could I? Jack thought alarmingly. He raised his arm higher, noticing that it was heavier than usual. However, it didn't hurt like a broken arm- the spirit had experienced enough of those after numerous tree-climbing accidents.

Finally, after what seemed like an age, his arm was fully raised above his head.

What he saw made him gasp.

On each of the injuries that were littered across his arm, a glowing, thick sheet of frost was covering them. Where the frost had cracked, a new sheet was already being created.

That's why I've been cold. Jack realised. All of my energy has been used up on healing myself.

Despite his limbs complaints, the spirit heaved himself into a sitting position. Now he could see that the frost had covered almost all of his body, busily healing the wounds. He watched for a while, fascinated.

"I never knew I could do that…" he murmured. He ran a finger across some of the ice on his face, and noticed that it seemed to be melting. Beneath, Jack could feel a slight bump where the cut had been, but nothing else. "Cool…"

A high pitched whining suddenly echoed through the trees, making Jack shiver. Gripping his sword, the spirit narrowed his eyes over to the source of the noise, and could make out a shape of a nightmare through the trees, wincing at its snorts. It seemed to be tracking him, but hadn't found him yet.

Jack stood up slowly, his cloak concealing all noise as he crept forward, making barely any movement, eyes staring unblinking at the target. He raised his sword higher, ready to plunge, when the line nightmare unexpectedly turned towards him. It seemed just surprised as him, however, as it just stood there for awhile. Jack stared back into its red eyes, unflinching.

The horse struck first, aiming to snap its jaws across his neck. Jack, familiar with this move, dodged by ducking into the floor; he then managed to scratch the nightmare's underbelly with his sword before having to retreat again to avoid getting trampled on. The horse shrieked and head butted the spirit backwards- an attack like this would usually leave the opponent stunned, but the armour only caused the attack to cause slight discomfort.

The fighting pair circled around each other, eyes narrowed and chests heaving.

"My turn." Jack muttered and shot forward like a bullet, leaping onto the horse's back. The horse shrieked, tearing up on its hind legs, but the spirit clung on, discarding his sword. Instead he created the ice-claws, and dug them deep into the horse's back.

The nightmare immediately began to glow blue, and Jack cursed in surprise.

"What the?!" He yelled and was suddenly bucked off the nightmare, which now had disappeared into a blue light. The spirit shielded his eyes.

Slowly, the light faded. When he was sure it was safe, Jack removed his a away from his eyes and looked at the spot the nightmare once had been.

In its place stood a horse, almost completely covered in ice, with a pair of shining blue eyes. Jack looked closer and saw that, in between the ice, there was a few grains of nightmare sand.

"Was that…the nightmare?" Jack stood up and cautiously raised a hand towards the horse's muzzle. Snorting softly, the horse stared at the outstretched hand for a second, but then pushed its head into his palm, closing its eyes lazily. Jack laughed softly.

"I can't…I can't believe it!" He whispered, and stroked the horse along the mane. "This is…" he trailed off, unable to describe his happiness and shock in words.

The horse nuzzled closer to him affectionately, realising that he was its new master.

"Could I…ride you?" Jack asked nervously. The horse knelt down immediately, shaking its mane. Jack smiled and swung his leg on the horse's back gently, grabbing his sword as he did so. The horse slowly stood upright again, giving out a pleased neigh.

"What should I call you?" Jack muttered. The nameless horse turned to him, watching curiously. Jack stroked its black mane again- the nightmare sand mixed with the ice still made it look black. The spirit suddenly gasped.

"What about Raven Wing?" He said. "Raven for short." Raven neighed and stamped on the ground excitedly. Jack smiled.

"I'm glad I've got someone to keep me company now." He whispered.