Hey guys, and welcome back to Running for Life!

You know the drill by now! Thanks so much to TreeOfLife1997, SilverSkies1524 (Well, once I had the initial idea of what I wanted to do [aka, a fantasy-esque ROTG AU], I began thinking of some specific events that I wanted to happen, or specific scenes, and began looking for ways to piece them together into a plot. Here's a tip: despite how insane it might make you look to someone else, acting out the scenes you know you want can really help with inspiration. Even if you're literally just standing alone in a room, technically talking to yourself, actually "roleplaying" your own story is more effective than just sitting around and wondering, "What should I do?" In fact, that's the exact method I used in order to come up with the tavern scene in Chapter One! Hope this helps, and good luck with your idea! :D), AFandomLostInTheEcho, Brenne (Well, you'll see!), Aekidna (You have no idea how much that means to me. Thank you so much! :D), justsomeone, and Serami Nefera (Sandy was always the understanding one. ;)!

With that done, on with the chapter!

Chapter 8: A Distinct Lack of Answers

Two years had passed since the fire. He was now thirteen years old, though his small size made him look far younger.

However, the storm in his eyes did not indicate a child's innocence.

He only had two possessions; his oversized cloak, which hid him from the people who feared his kind, and his staff, which he had salvaged from the ruins of his village. It had once belonged to his father. He couldn't think of his parents without crying.

He had tried looking for his sister, but to no avail. All he could do was assume the worst. It seemed that he was the only survivor from his village. He feared that similar events had occurred in other towns.

Now he knelt, shaking slightly, as he stared emotionlessly down at the cracked ground before him. His hood hung low over his eyes, hiding them from the crowd that had gathered.

"This boy has refused to pay for the items he has stolen!" called the man standing behind him, whip held high above his head. "He will be taught a lesson, in the hope that he will realize the error of his ways, and refrain from repeating his crimes!"

The crowd was silent, grimly watching as he squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth. This was not the first time he had been caught, but he hoped that it would be the last.

"Because of his youth, only three lashes will be required," the man continued. "Let us pray that it will be enough to turn him from the fate he seems to have chosen."

He tightened his pale hands into fists as the whip cracked down onto his back. He did not cry out after the first hit, nor the second, nor the third. It was best if he didn't make a sound.

The man picked him up by the crook of his arm and helped him stand. "Now son," he said. "I hope this experience will teach you that thievery is not the answer. Run along, now." Without waiting for him to respond, the man left, along with the rest of the crowd.

He remained standing in that spot for an eternity.

Then, he slipped the man's bronze pocket watch into the folds of his cloak.

"I'm sorry, sir," he said to no one. "But 'tis the only answer for someone like me."

In moments, he was gone, off to find his horse again, so they could quickly leave the town.

()()()()

Jack barely had enough time to leap backwards before a golden whip cracked inches away from his face. Suppressing a yelp, he gritted his teeth as he stumbled backwards, trying to get a bit of distance between him and his opponent. The sprite held up his staff in a defensive position, hoping that he would be ready for when the next blow ca-

CRACK!

This time, Jack couldn't stop the "Ah!" that escaped his lips as he rapidly brought up his staff to block. The whip wrapped itself around the wooden surface and Sandy pulled on it forcefully, attempting to disarm the boy.

In a split-second decision that Jack would look back on and wonder how he came up with it, the teenager let go of his weapon. An exclamation point had only half-formed above the Sand-Spinner's head before the staff collided with him, the force causing him to falter just long enough for Jack to dash forward and retrieve that which had been taken from him. He threw a smirk Sandy's way and ran to a spot that he hoped was out of the whips' range.

It wasn't.

"Whoa!" He jumped up to avoid the sand whip snaking towards his ankle. When he landed, his foot made contact with it, instantly freezing the whole weapon solid. Jack blinked momentarily, then grinned as if he had planned this action all along. He quickly bent down and grabbed the whip, its now-slippery surface making it easy to pull from the little golden man's grasp. Smiling at Sandy's shocked expression, Jack cast the weapon off to the side.

However, Sandy wasn't finished. He was still in possession of another whip, which he cracked threateningly as he charged towards the boy. Jack braced himself to run, but suddenly the whip was wrapped around his waist, obstructing his movements and preventing his escape. "Oh no," he muttered as the Guardian prepared a dreamsand ball to hit him with. He closed his eyes and waited for his consciousness to fade yet again.

Except it didn't. Cracking open one eye revealed that Sandy had stopped his hand just inches from Jack's face. The swirling ball of magical sand was so close, in fact, that just breathing was enough to cause Jack to start feeling uncontrollably drowsy.

Eyelids drooping, Jack was able to bark out a short laugh. "Okay, little man," he said in a far more casual manner than before. "I think you won."

Sandy blinked, then smiled. He pulled his hand back and Jack found his alertness returning. He cleared his throat and stood. "I, ah...I've got a lot to learn, haven't I?" he asked, slinging his staff over his shoulder. "Sorry about your whip, by the way." He actually meant it.

The immortal just shook his head and waved it off, forming a new one in his hand and winking. Jack gave a genuine smile, an occurrence he realized was slightly more frequent around the Sand-Spinner. With a jolt, he recalled his earlier thoughts about getting too attached.

Damn it, they're brainwashing me already, he thought frantically. I need to get out of here, and fast.

"Right, well," Jack awkwardly mumbled, quickly dropping his smile as he slipped back into his emotionless, somewhat cold, formal dialect. "We...we should return to Tooth, yes? She might've awoken by now..."

A disappointed look crossed Sandy's face, followed by a nod of his golden head. Within minutes, they had returned to the room where Jack had received his new clothing. Upon arrival, a certain multi-colored fairy hovered in the doorway, arms crossed sternly.

"And just where have you two been?" she asked, having already shaken the sleep from her voice. Jack opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Sandy was already dragging him past the irate Sister of Flight and into the room. Jack, speechless, could only watch as the Sand-Spinner outright ignored his fellow Guardian in favor of rummaging through a nearby wooden dresser.

Toothiana's magenta eyes widened as she whirled around to face them again, and, taken aback, she spluttered, "N-Now you wait just a second! I want you to explain why you-"

A borderline deadly glare from Sandy nearly silenced her. After a moment of dumbstruck quiet, however, she narrowed her eyes as the feathers on the crown of her head ruffled angrily. "Sanderson Mansnoozie, you tell me where you took him this instant!" she demanded.

Sandy let out a long, silent sigh before finally flashing up a picture of the courtyard above his head.

"And why were you there?"

There formed the same symbol Sandy had used for "duel" earlier.

"There," Tooth said, suddenly much calmer than before, despite her still-ruffled feathers. "Now was that so hard?"

What the hell is going on here? was all Jack could think.

Sandy visibly rolled his eyes before pulling a small brown bottle out of the dresser. He flashed a few images Jack's way, which the sprite took to mean something along the lines of, Here is the hair dye we mentioned earlier. We'll help you put it in.

"Hooray," Jack muttered to himself.

()()()()

A moderately short amount of time later, Jack found himself face to face with someone he had never seen before. This person was brunette, with wide blue eyes and pale skin. This person wore old brown pants beneath what seemed like a rather expensive blue tunic, complete with a belt with a silver crescent moon buckle. This person wore no shoes yet, but sitting by his feet were a pair of tall, dark blue boots.

This person was also known as a mirror.

After a long, long moment, all Jack could say was, "Wow. Just...wow."

What he didn't say was how uncomfortable he felt. He didn't look like himself, didn't feel like himself. He supposed that, to many people, this would be considered a good thing, but it did little more than unnerve Jack.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Toothiana was saying excitedly. "I barely even recognize you, and I watched the dye go in!" She put a hand to her chin in thought, head tilting slightly to the side as she examined him carefully. "Hmm, there's still the matter of your ears, though…" she murmured to herself.

Self-consciously, Jack lifted a hand to touch one of his elfin ears. He hadn't exactly realized before, but they were a dead giveaway that he wasn't quite human. Maybe I'll have to wear my hood after all, he thought. In that case, though, the dye sort of seems like a waste.

Sandy, however, had other ideas. He reached into a concealed pocket in his robes and produced a small vial. The short Sand-Spinner gestured for the snow sprite to kneel down to his level.

As Jack hesitantly complied, Tooth raised her eyebrows and said, "Oh, did Aster give you that?"

Sandy merely nodded in response. He uncorked the vial and poured a drop on the tip of Jack's left ear. The boy yelped slightly as a burning sensation made its way across the skin the liquid touched, though it faded away relatively quickly. When he gazed back into the mirror in front of him, Jack realized with a start that the ear was no longer pointed; it looked exactly like that of a human.

"Um..." he started to say, nervously reaching up to the side of his head. He fell silent the moment his hand came into contact with skin that didn't seem to be there. Jack blinked in confusion. His ear felt the way it should, but when he looked in the mirror…

He turned to Sandy. "'Tis an illusion," the sprite said, a hint of realization in his tone. "It only appears to have changed." Sandy grinned and nodded.

"How clever," Toothiana mused. "This way, someone would have to touch him in order to tell the difference." She glanced at Jack. "You won't let that happen, right?"

"I won't," Jack responded, eyes trained on the reflective glass. Sandy was now pouring another drop onto the teenager's right ear, causing it to sting as well. Suppressing a wince, Jack willed himself to speak without letting any strain seep into his voice. "How long will this last?" he asked, only partially succeeding.

A golden sand sun appeared over the little man's head, which then moved and faded, making way for a golden moon. After this, the cycle repeated twice, making for a total of three suns and three moons.

"Three days?" Jack guessed. Yet another nod from Sandy told him that he was correct. "Got it."

Jack knelt in silence, sapphire eyes meeting those of his reflection. They and his skin tone were the only things about him that had not been changed, save for the pants he had been allowed to keep. This…'tis nothing more than insane, he thought mournfully. Maybe I'm no longer at risk of being noticed, but now that I'm already captured, what's the point?

"Are you alright?" Tooth asked softly, causing him to finally tear his gaze away from the stranger in the mirror.

As if you really care. "I'm fine," he said out loud, forcing a smile.

Tooth didn't seem to buy it. "It's alright to be scared, you know," she continued. "I know I would be."

Okay, no more bonding, Jack thought bitterly as he tugged the tall boots onto his feet and stood up. Outwardly, he still wore a smile as he told her, "Really, I'm fine. We should get back to North and Aster, right? I'm sure they would like to see my new disguise." He turned swiftly, intending to exit the room.

"Jack, wait," Tooth called, stopping him in his tracks.

He turned back around, dark eyebrows traveling up into his now-chocolate brown bangs. "Yes?"

To his surprise, the fairy sighed and looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry about all this," she said, causing Jack to frown deeply. "We were told several years ago that snow sprites were demons, trained to hate everyone else and kill at any moment." She met his eyes. "Now I'm starting to think that was wrong."

Jack looked at her for a long moment. Then, his gaze shifted to Sandy. He could tell by the look in the little man's eyes that he agreed with the words his colleague spoke. The sprite eventually looked back up at the only female Guardian, then turned and began to walk out the door.

"Isn't that nice," he said.

()()()()

"What do ya know, mate, ya actually look like a normal person now," Aster sneered, looking the boy up and down.

"'Normal', says the shape-shifting kangaroo," Jack deadpanned, not missing a beat. He frowned. "Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen you in your humanoid form since we arrived here. Is there a reason for that?"

Aster scoffed, as if answering the sprite's question caused him some kind of great pain. "I only really decide ta look like that around humans in places outside of Motoraus and Soluna City," he answered anyway. "Iskald, especially. Easier to go undercover that way, considerin' people around that area ain't really used ta seein' Pookas, so it'll look like somethin's up if I show my face."

"Hm. Makes sense," Jack commented indifferently. He then smirked and proceeded to mimic the Pooka's earlier words. "What do you know, Cottontail, you actually sound like an intelligent person now."

"Ah, rack off, ya gumby," the Guardian mumbled irritably. Jack couldn't help but grin.

Meanwhile, he overheard North say to Tooth and Sandy, "You two did very good job! He is almost unrecognizable now!"

Tooth smiled. "Thanks, North," she replied for both of them. "Did you and Aster get supplies from the guards?"

"Yes," the man replied, a wide grin on his face. "They were very generous; we now have everything we need for road ahead!"

Fantastic, Jack thought with a roll of his eyes. I'm running out of time...maybe I can slip away once we start to leave? Agh, still, I can't let them know I'm still planning on leaving. I have to act as if I'm interested in this whole "Guardian" business.

Still hellbent on his approaching escape attempt, Jack left Aster and sauntered up to North, just as Toothiana and Sanderson left to take stock of the equipment the other two had obtained. "Might I ask a question, North?" he asked, as offhandedly as he could muster.

The Guardian let out a hearty laugh and replied, "Of course boy, ask away!"

"I was just wondering, what exactly does being a Guardian entail?" He plucked at the stitching at the edge of his cloak as he continued to speak. "Full details of the position were never exactly made clear to me."

North put a hand to his chin in thought. "Is true, we never really discussed this, did we?" he asked. North grinned at Jack, and, much to the boy's irritation, placed a hand on his small shoulder. "Well Jack, as you already know, we protect the children of Soluna, fight for the kingdom when we are needed, and-"

"And capture individuals that you then force to join your little clan?" Jack couldn't help but add. He felt a strange sense of satisfaction as the look on the taller man's face instantly dropped in favor of a mixture of shame and discomfort. He then raised both eyebrows as a thought struck him. "If you'd allow me, I'd like to revoke my earlier question in favor of a different one," Jack continued. He looked up at North pointedly, waiting for permission to continue.

North sighed. "Go on."

"Why is it that snow sprites are so hated?" he asked. "What did we do to deserve the kind of treatment we are given?"

Nicholas St. North was silent for a long time. Despite his growing impatience, Jack matched his silence, calm gaze never faltering as his blue eyes locked with the older man's. No matter what, the young snow sprite knew that he could not let this matter drop. He wanted to know. He needed to know.

"Jack," North said slowly. "If you don't know already, I am not sure I should be one to tell you…"

Jack crossed his arms. "And that means…?"

The man subconsciously removed one of his gloves, only to pull it back onto his hand a few seconds later. "Look, Jack," he said awkwardly. "Despite everything, you seem like nice boy, so...ah…"

"I'm waiting," Jack said sharply after a moment had passed.

North let out a great sigh as he started to walk away. "Another time, boy," he said. "Maybe on road I will tell you.

"W-Wait," Jack stuttered in surprise, lurching forward with a hand outstretched. "You can't just-"

The Guardian did not respond, leaving Jack standing there, wide-eyed and arm raised. He slowly lowered his hand as he watched North go, almost in disbelief at having the chance to learn a piece of information he had coveted for years slip right out of his fingers. Suddenly, his azure eyes narrowed into slits.

That's the ace up his sleeve, he realized. He knows that if he keeps me wondering, I'll be more inclined to stick around…

He tugged at his bangs, cursing under his breath. Did I honestly believe they wouldn't think I'd try to escape again? he thought angrily. They're the damn Guardians of Childhood, they wouldn't be that naive. They realize that I want to know why snow sprites are considered demons more than anything else. I just need to decide what I want more; answers or freedom.

Jack had never felt more conflicted.

Welp, that's all for today's update! Hope you guys enjoyed, and I'll see you next week for the next chapter!

For now, Sapphire316, out.