Jack squeaked, yes squeaked, in surprise and tried to jump off, but Sandy caught him, pulling him back to a sitting position beside him. Jack continued to argue as they continued to speed through the sky, but Sandy ignored him. After a while Jack finally gave up and sat quietly as they flew. though he only lasted a moment before he looked for a way to entertain himself. Finally he settled on making a snowflake and seeing how long he could dance it through his fingers before it flew away. He was laughing to himself when they finally came to a stop. Jack looked up and smiled when he found himself hundreds of feet up, just below the Lights. "ok little man, i give, why did you bring me out here?" He asked with a smile. A smile that, should Sandy not had known better, would have been convincive in making him believe his young friend was ok. Instead, Sandy sighed and took a seat so he was facing him. Jack copied him with a smile, trying to mask his nervousness.
'whats going on really?' he signed, carefully studying him. Jack shook his head and gave Sandy a smile.
"Nothing is wrong. Just like i was telling the others, i've just got a lot of work to do. Its not like i can take a day off and make up for it the next. Mother Nature hates it if i don't keep on schedule. Weather is a fickle business", he said calmly and casually, but he had said just the thing to confirm Sandy's fears. Sandy Was one of the eldest spirits, and as such he knew most every spirit, Mother Nature especially. He knew that she always wanted her "children's" well being before a perfect storm. She was always happy to take over for a couple hours so they could rest. Sandy smiled at Jack and shook his head.
'Nice try. I'm neither young or stupid. what is going on?' he signed, large golden eyes seemingly swimming with care and comfort. Almost like the light of the Moon. Jack stammered for a second, trying to think of any one of the excuses he had come up with for a situation like this, but under Sandy's Ancient loving gaze, he couldn't. Finally he sighed.
"This stays between us right?" he asked, blue eyes looking at him carefully from under white bangs. Sandy nodded, eyes only portraying complete honesty. "And you promise to not freak out?" Again a nod. Another sigh. "Even when i didn't have my memories, i would get flashs. blasts of fear that i now know was from when i died. Between that and the bad memories of the other spirits, i would get Nightmares", he said softly, giving a minute shrug, "So after awhile, i just stopped sleeping. Seemed like the best idea at the time. After i became a Guardian, i tried again, but is was Way worse than before, so i went back to bad habits." Sandy listened, being very careful to keep his expression in check. He gave Jack a small reassuring smile when he really wanted to scream. To rant and curse the Moon for what he had done to this poor boy, but there was something he needed to clarify first.
'What happened with the other spirits?' he asked once Jack looked up at him. Jack grimaced.
"I wasn't the best spirit. Especially not at the beginning. I did bad things. Ruined holidays. Caused natural disasters because i didn't know or got upset. Some of the other spirits didn't like it, or me. So they would punish me. Said they were "teaching me" to be a better Jack Frost", he said softly. Sandy bit his lip, torn between crying and hugging his friend and shooting off to hunt them down. Family first. Hunt later, he finally decided. He leaned forward and put a hand on Jack's knee to get his attention.
'you are not alone anymore. you never will be again. you are an amazing spirit and even better Guardian who deserves a rest now and then. Will you let me help you?' Sandy signed, eyes locked on his. Jack swallowed hard, looking unsure.
"I dont want to be a bother. You have such an important job-" but Sandy tapped him, cutting him off.
'Do you trust me?' he asked instead. Jack nodded without hesitation. Sandy smiled, eyes bright with just a spark of mischief. 'Goodnight.' Jack looked at him, confused. In an instant he caught on and went to stop him, shaking his head, but it was too late. Sandy brought a hand up and blew on it like he was blowing a kiss. Dream sand flew into his face, collecting in his eyes. Jack's eyes began to shut as he gave a small groan, falling backward onto the now bigger cloud. Sandy floated over and ran a hand through his silver hair.
"No bad dreams?" Jack asked softly, fighting hard to stay awake. Sandy smiled and shook his head. Jack would never have another bad dream if he had anything to do with it. Jack smiled and nodded. He trusted Sandy. Of anyone he trusted Sandy. Finally he let his eyes drift shut. Sandy waved a hand and two golden dolphins leapt up to play above his head. Sandy clapped jumping up and down excitedly. then Sandy quickly grabbed one of the two, pulling it from its orbit around Jack's head. With a wave and twist of the hands it shrunk and froze, falling to hang from a chain of dream sand. He smiled at it and slipped it over the boy's head. It was a neat little trick that only worked for special spirits like Jack. Child Spirits. He had given one to each one over the centuries, but apparently he had missed one. With that done he sat down, his cloud beginning to move. He was going to take Jack back to the pole for a good night's sleep, then he had some spirits to track down. Above them, the Moon lit up a little brighter, lighting their way back Home.