Chapter 14: Target Practise
Jack woke up a little disoriented. For the briefest of seconds, he did not recognize the room he was in. A few blinks later and a good rub of his eyes, and it all came flying back to him.
He was at home.
Like, his childhood home, in his old bed.
Warmth blossomed in his chest as he swung his legs over the bed, his bare feet hitting the stone floor. He inhaled deeply; his exhale satisfied. There was nothing like the cold that shot through your feet when you hit stone floor first thing in the morning!
He yawned, stretching his back as he wandered over to his washroom. He flicked the light on, blinking briefly before his eyes adjusted. It was brighter than he recalled. The shower curtain would have to go, he thought, as he turned his attention to the mirrors above the sink. There was a large one in front of him, about the same length as the counter. The wall by the door also had a mirror, so he could see his sides. Not to mention, the mirror on the wall opposite him above the sink-less counter. To see the back of his head, of course. It made for a very trippy effect where he could see a tunnel of Jacks stretching on into the distance in the mirrors.
Tunnels of Jacks that all had a full head of messy, brown, not freeze-dried hair.
"I'm sorry, WHAT?" he said out loud, nearly climbing the counter to get as close a view as possible of the back of his head. Sure enough, the frost that had settled there yesterday had melted overnight! His hair was messy and flat once again.
"And the pillow is probably damp! Disgusting," Jack said out loud, running his fingers through his hair, willing his frosty magic to do something…but nothing happened. It stayed brown, and only looked mussed now—no volume.
With a sigh, Jack continued on with his morning routine. The night before had been late, and very disappointing. He and Jacqueline had poured through as many volumes as possible, speaking only in their minds as they found points of interest and made possible suggestions to one another, getting absolutely nowhere. They had combed through all the relevant material before Jack finally gave up, his sister's suggestion of trying the library downstairs making him want to lay flat on the floor and just take a sprite sleep then and there.
He had no idea how much longer she had stayed up, but he hoped that if she had stayed up, she had maybe, just maybe, found something helpful. Because quite frankly, Jack was tired of feeling so worthless and useless, and the welcome frozen hair had disappeared overnight and he had no idea how it had even happened in the first place, and it would've been nice if it had just stuck! Then maybe he wouldn't feel so absolutely hopeless. He couldn't even fix the dome for frost's sake! And it was the one part of his job he had always, always, made sure to do properly and keep up with. Even when his anti-conscious suggested otherwise!
A loud thunk startled Jack as he finished buttoning up his dress shirt. The door hit the stopper on the wall, a pajama clad Jacqueline walking right on into his room.
"I sense negativity," she said, throwing herself on one of the leather couches.
"We really ought to have a proper talk about privacy, Jacqueline. I'm beginning to get concerned. You know what that is, right?"
"Concern? Yes, that's why I'm in here. Your negativity was ruining my doze and coze."
"Privacy, Jacqueline! And you know that's what I meant," he added, glancing over to her as he straightened out his cuffs. She was wearing a set of pajamas that were very familiar to him, the white bottoms almost floods and the tank top slightly revealing her stomach whenever she moved her shoulders, the faintest flash of blue making him look away shamefully.
Jacqueline rolled her eyes. "Come on, it's just my stomach—oh. Right," she said, glancing down and seeing the light scar. "You know, you can look, Jack. They're not going to hurt you. They're just scars," she said with a soft smile.
Jack glanced over again. It was very faint, but there. A pale, round scar with a slight blue tint to it a few centimeters away from her belly button.
"But they hurt you. When they were…fresh."
"But they aren't fresh anymore. They've healed! They're just scars," she said, stretching forwards and hugging her legs. "And scars fade. I mean, these still feel a bit different, but they've mostly faded."
"Feel different?"
"Yeah, sometimes they feel a bit tingly? It's weird. I think it's residual magic from the Springs, or something like that. I dunno." She shrugged, and, frowning, surveyed her brother. "You know, sleet happens, Jack."
"Jacqueline. That is not sleet happening, Jack," he said in a very bad falsetto. "You were stabbed. By me! Not once, not twice, but three times. There are two other matching scars! That's not sleet happening. That's…" his voice nearly dropped to a whisper. "Really bad."
"Jack," she said, sitting up straighter. "Yes, it was bad. What you did was bad. Yeah, it hurt, both physically and emotionally. But if I sat here and dwelled on it forever, where would that get me? I'd become like, incredibly bitter."
Jack couldn't help the grin that threatened to slip out and the little quirk of his eyebrow.
"Hey. I'm not that bitter!"
"Well, you could've fooled me," he said, the grin escaping.
Jacqueline gave her brother a dirty look, with maybe the ghost of a ghost of a smile trying to break through. "Let's focus, yeah?" she said, a little high on the yeah. She cleared her throat, her serious face back. "It happened. We can't just ignore that or pretend it didn't happen. It happened. And it hurt, a lot! It sucked! And so did the fallout! But eventually, I came to terms with what had happened, and processed it, and after throwing a lot of snowballs, I've begun to heal. And I think that you should really start allowing yourself to do that, too. Who knows? Aside from helping you process and adjust, maybe it'll help us get to the bottom of the freezer burn."
Jack perked up. "You really think that could be causing it?"
"Well, I'm no therapist. Nor am I an expert in how brains work. But, I came across something last night after you went off to bed that got me thinking." She hopped off of the couch and headed out the door, "and I think I may have figured it out! I almost came to tell you right away but man, you were out. Come on!"
She breezed out into the hallway, Jack speed walking a bit just to catch up. He followed her into her sitting room, and stopped short, blinking. The contrast from his room to hers was…incredible.
The sitting room was much lighter than his in colour, a powder blue similar to the blue parlour downstairs. A chilly breeze blew in through the open windows, the sheer white curtains billowing in the breeze, being loosely tied away from the windows. There were two soft white couches in an L shape in the middle of the room, blankets thrown over the backs and throw pillows messily piled on top of each other on one side of the couch across from the door.
Bookshelves lined the wall between the sitting room and the bedroom, packed tightly with what Jack realized were actually journals, not books. The ones at the very top of the shelf looked ancient, and like they belonged behind glass in a temperate, controlled room in a museum somewhere, and not on the top shelf of a well-built Elfkea bookcase. They gradually went from leather bound tomes to spiral notebooks, the shift from old to new speaking for itself. If he had to guess, the journals must've spanned nearly eight hundred years!
He let out a low whistle, turning to take in the rest of the space. Family photos were on the small end tables, a few novels on the couches and floor. Some odds and ends were on shelves on the opposite end of the room, Jack almost missing the door into his library, it blended in so well with the paint. Your eyes went right past it and landed on the ancient writing desk in the right corner of the room. The wooden floor had a very large, soft, fluffy white carpet on it, somehow managing to tie together the messy space.
"You can come in, you know," Jacqueline's voice said, deep in her room. "I have a walk-in closet for a reason."
Jack peered into the doorway, stepping over some books that had slid off of a pile by the door and onto the floor. The sitting room had been cluttered, but in a cozy way. He had expected the room to be similar, and was surprised to see that it was almost messy.
Directly across from the door in the right corner was a large round bed, piled high with pillows and blankets, of course. A hand stitched canopy of snowflakes hung just above the headboard, what looked to be small twinkle lights entwined around the posts and the canopy. The room was light blue, just like the sitting room, the pine hardwood floor covered in mismatched cozy looking rugs. Snow fell from the ceiling, never quite reaching the floor. It was soft in her room, if Jack had to pick a word. But that wasn't what gave the room the messy feel, fuzzy socks on the floor aside.
Her room was filled with mementos!
He walked into the room, taking it in fully. One wall was covered in portraits and pictures and that was it. No furniture up against it or anything! Just rows of portraits and photos. He walked down it, picking out Jacqueline in every painting—was that a princess she was with? He studied the old photographs, laughing out loud when he noticed one of Jacqueline and Winter in flapper dresses leaning against several kegs of what Jack knew for sure was moonshine. Moonshine he was pretty sure he had served when he briefly ran his own speakeasy, come to think of it!
As the portraits turned into photos, Jack could tell that his sister had made her way home sometime during the nineteenth century. He recognized pictures of her with the twins now, or with the family, and one or two with what Jack vaguely recognized as some of the Legates, primarily Sandman's boy and Cupid's kid. There was a picture of all the Legates as well, which Jack found oddly sweet of his sister to have on her wall. He scrutinized that one quite a bit—majority of the Legates that had been just kids when they became Legates had grown up! He could barely recognize some of them! The closer he got to the other end of the wall, the newer the photos got. Black and white had become sepia, sepia became soft colour, and when that high-definition hit, it hit. The newest photos were glossy, and were mainly photos of her and Elle.
"You went blonde?" Jack said, unable to say anything else. His sister had lived…quite the life. He'd missed so much, and kept being painfully reminded of it all with each new nook and cranny of the house he encountered.
"Dite dared me to," Jacqueline said, walking backwards out of her closet and kicking some coins—coins? back into it. "Well. It wasn't so much a dare as it was a suggestion that I took as a dare. I may have been freeze dried while keeping an eye on the kid when I ran into her for real. I panicked a bit, Dite said I could pass it off as blonde…" Jacqueline reached down, picking up the coins and throwing them into the closet when they refused to kick in easily. "Something was said about blondes having more fun," she shrugged. "It's kinda fuzzy, in all honesty."
"I'm sorry, were those gold coins?"
"Not CSR coinage. Pieces of eight, mostly. Maybe some doubloons? Pesos? A bit of everything, really. Pirate loot," she said with a grin. "When I got back from the Caribbean I kinda just, tossed it in there and forgot all about it," she said, turning into the bathroom, door clicking shut behind her.
Jack made a face, peeking into her closet. It was similar to his in design, though different (vastly different) in content. The far rack to his left held a bunch of old dresses; somewhere in the middle Jack noticed several white dresses that looked very similar to her everyday formal wear. One of them was her usual dress, still frozen.
The medieval dresses gradually transitioned to Renaissance wear, Jack noticing a pile of parasols and hats and gloves antique collectors would die for sitting on the shelf above the hangers. He saw the flapper dress from the pictures, along with some others, and grinned when he noticed some suits between the flapper dresses he recognized from the photos. The clothes went from dresses to shirts and tees, a few skirts hanging up as well. Jeans were piled on top of a chair on the right under the rack, shirts folded on the top shelf. A coat rack just inside the closet held a light blue pea coat, a faux leather jacket, and what looked like a warm multi-season parka missing the lining.
And, sure enough, under the shelves were different boxes and crates and chests, decently full of coins, jewels, and all sorts of riches.
"You have lived quite the life, sister dear," Jack said when he heard the bathroom door open up again, taking in the rest of her room from the closet. The seats by the window, an old trunk doubling as a table, the modern desk…and little personal touches on top of the free surfaces.
Cozy. It was cozy.
"I guess I have," Jacqueline said, leaning on the doorframe of the bathroom. "I mean, living for a very long time gets boring after a while, don't you think? I mean, I think it would've, if I had stayed home," she said, scratching the back of her neck with a frown.
"Is that why you left?"
Jacqueline shrugged, shoving her hands in the front pocket of her long, light blue sweater, pulling it farther down over her white leggings. "Sort of. I stayed at home for a while, admittedly. Then the twins arrived and that was exciting. But I felt kind of, listless, I guess. I didn't really know...well, lots of things. I just kind of wanted a change, and one of Father Time's Keepers suggested I travel. Lots of young magibeans were doing it, you know. That's why we were such a hot topic in literature at the time!"
Jack laughed. "Ah, yes, the Middle Ages. Is that when you met the princess?"
Jacqueline flushed. "Um, yes, but like. Not right away? Um. Maybe a century or so after I got out there. She was really sweet. Yeah. Her brother was a prick though, and wasn't down with the magic or the fact that his sister was dating a lady."
Jack scoffed. "Middle Ages, am I right?"
"You don't know the half of it. Do you know how many times I almost got burnt at the stake for witchcraft? Two too many, if you ask me. Then it was the Renaissance and Piracy and a two- or three-year hideout in the Azores before rejoining society. I made great friends with a Mrs. Claus, ironically enough!"
"Ou, which one?"
"Beatrice Clifton?"
"Oh! Beatrice! She used to give me the worst lectures! Now I know why," Jack said, gesturing to a portrait of Jacqueline with a couple of other ladies, including the aforementioned Mrs. Claus. "She had you for comparison."
"How the tables turn," Jacqueline said, before she could stop herself. Her eyes widened, and she flushed a bit.
"The real reason you left home, hmm?"
She sighed, and nodded. "It always felt like I had this great big shadow looming above me that everyone expected me to live up to, and I didn't like that. It felt like everyone assumed I'd end up like you did, you know? But honestly? Not everyone thought that." She sighed again, turning away from the portraits and looking at her brother. "You are your own worst enemy, after all. It only took me like, 800 years away from home to figure THAT ONE out!"
"Better than fourteen hundred years and a curse though, eh? Not that it's, y'know, a who has it worse contest or anything—"
"I know Jack, chill out! I got the whole lighten the mood vibe. It's alright." She paused for a second, frowning in thought. "You know, for the guy who invented chill, you've been very un-chill since we got home. Dare I say, toasty?"
"Jacqueline, it hasn't even been a day, can you blame me? And a lot has happened!" he added, watching as Jacqueline started rummaging through the blankets on her bed.
"And hasn't happened. You and mom are being so weird."
"Don't remind me," Jack mumbled under his breath, making his way back to the top of the room as Jacqueline successfully pulled a recognizable ancient leather-bound book out from under the duvet. "That's one of the Winter Warlock's journals, isn't it?"
"Yep!" Jacqueline said, yanking it out of Jack's reach as he went to grab it.
"How did we miss it?"
"I left it downstairs, probably about a decade or so ago. Totally forgot about it until I was scouring the stacks in the library," she said, pulling it away from his reach yet again, pivoting around him and heading out to the sitting room. Jack frowned.
"Do you mind?"
"Do you?"
"Yes," Jack said, trying to grab it again.
"Give me a second, would you! I'm trying to give some really great exposition and you're making it really hard."
Jack put his hands up, relenting.
"Thank you! Okay, so, get this. According to his journal, the Winter Warlock had a freezer burn too."
"He did?" Jack said, the surprise shocking the annoyance away.
"Yes! He used to be an evil warlock, blocking up the wintery mountains out by where the Kringle elves used to live, being a general nuisance to anyone who went by. Until, of course, he met Kris Kringle. Kris was kind to him, and became his friend, and this led to the other Kringle Elves being friends with him, and suddenly he had all this new found companionship and felt," Jacqueline cleared her throat, putting on a bad British accent and trying to sound like an old man, "as though spring time had come early, all of me melted and blooming with all of these wonderful, new, happy feelings."
Jack was laughing. "Oh, that was the worst old man impersonation I have EVER heard."
"I'm sure you can do better," Jacqueline smirked, tossing the book his way and sitting on the top of the couch. "Being an old man yourself."
"That was below the belt, Jacqueline," Jack said, pointing with the book. He whooshed his blazer behind him before taking a seat at the small, spindly, white writing desk, reading the entry himself.
"As he made friends with Kris and his caretakers, Winter noticed that his powers had begun to fade, until they were all but gone. No ice, no snow, no nothing. Just the magic he had studied to become the warlock he was, and his new found friends in the mountains. Can you imagine that?" Jacqueline asked, spinning around to face Jack, her legs dangling off the back of the couch. "Having this huge, sudden, literal change of heart and as you adjust to that, you start to lose something that was so integral to your you?"
"Of course I can!"
Jacqueline smirked. "I know that. I just wanted to see if you did," she said, winking.
"So what did he do? I mean, obviously he wasn't powerless forever," Jack said, flipping through the journal.
"It's the last few entries," Jacqueline said. "He met a woman named Bianca, more famously known as the Snow Queen. And they fell in love! And shortly after he realizes that, and y'know, accepted it, his powers came back like BAM!", Jacqueline said, snapping her fingers.
"You mean, like that like that?" Jack asked, placing the book down and snapping his fingers.
"Yes!" Jacqueline replied, snapping her fingers again while saying, "Like that! Just BAM! All at once! Not as gradual as when he had lost them."
"It was a gradual loss?"
Jacqueline nodded, sitting back down on the bed. "Mhmm. Why? Was yours too?"
Jack nodded. "It was almost unnoticeable to everyone else, until earlier this month." He got up and headed out to the hallway, reading the entries after the Warlock's powers came back. Jacqueline followed him out quietly, waiting.
"He fell in love..." Jack said, frowning. "Does this mean I have to fall in love?" He spun back around, facing his sister.
"Jack, you blizzard brain," Jacqueline replied, crossing her arms. "Don't you see? The answer's like, right there."
"Okay well, if you could give me a little bit more to work with, that'd be great."
"Stop focusing on the love story bit," Jacqueline said, grabbing the journal out of Jack's hand. "Or at least, not the what, but the why. Focus on the why."
"Alright, fine," Jack said, holding his hands up in surrender. "So, the question then is why did his powers start working after he realized he had fallen in love?" Jack frowned, beginning to pace.
"It was kind of like a trigger moment, you know? He realized how far he'd come, and I think he put two and two together and found the right spark deep in his core to use his powers again."
"Oh!" Jack shouted, stopping his pacing, Jacqueline nearly crashing into him. "That's it! Cores!"
Jacqueline grinned, catching herself on the banister and hopping onto it. "Yeah! Every magibean has a core, right? It's a little piece of the source of all magic that we're born or made or whatever with, that lets us use all the crazy insane magic we use."
"Right, given to us by the Goddess of the Springs, or whatever," he said, sitting down on one of the armchairs in the hall. "I know basic magic biology, Jacqueline."
"Okay, then prove it."
"Cores are a manifestation of our magic, given to us by the goddess, yada yada, powered by our essences—" and then something clicked, and Jack sat up, pointing at his sister. "Oh! Essences!"
Jacqueline shot up off the banister. "Yes! Essences! The things about us that make us who we are and fuel our powers!"
"When Winter lived in the mountains and blocked the Kringles from the rest of society, he was all sorts of nasty! But then Kris showed him friendship."
"Yes!" Jacqueline said, nearly falling over the banister. "He was evil because nobody was kind to him; he was lonely, and that's what drove him. It became his essence, the feelings he used to fuel his powers. And when he was shown kindness, and friendship, well, it changed his worldview completely!
"Once Kris Kringle showed him kindness, he melted and he was no longer lonely—so no longer could he fuel his core, because he didn't know who he was, or what he wanted! Which meant, he wouldn't have known what his essence was now! Oh! That makes so much sense," Jack said, sitting back down.
"Exactly! Then he met the Snow Queen, and they fell in love, and…" Jacqueline said, drawing out the word, grinning.
"His love for the Snow Queen must have been his new essence of course, now I get it! When I thawed, I must have lost whatever powered my core before. But that's...exceedingly simple, are you sure, Jacqueline?"
"Positive! I mean, think about it, Jack. Doesn't it make sense for your situation too? Doesn't it match? The gradual loss of powers as you made better friends with Santa, and the elves, and whoever else was there? You were evil, angry, jealous—especially jealous. It's what drove you. Once you thawed and became actual proper friends with everyone up North, you had no way to power your core anymore; your essence was no longer jealousy. Now, you need to find your new centre," Jacqueline said, jabbing his chest.
"Very on the nose, eh, Jacqueline? And a little personal too, don't you think?"
"Dude, you've been an open book all year." Jacqueline crossed her arms. "And you're bad at keeping spoilers to yourself."
"Says the sprite who seeks out spoilers on purpose."
"I like knowing things," she replied, chipper. "And even better is theorizing about things before learning if you're right or not! Like your centre, for instance. What do you think it is now, post freeze? It could be literally anything! Oh man, this is going to be fun," she said, rubbing her hands together.
Jack laughed. "Really? You think it'll be fun?"
"Well, yeah! It could be ANYTHING, Jack! Anything. The finding out part's going to be the best. Maybe it'll be joy, like me! Or love, like Winter, the Warlock, maybe even the Snow Queen. Maybe it'll just be happiness? Maybe you'll have to learn to love yourself and that'll be your centre! Or maybe something totally crazy and out there, like…like…oh I don't know, but that's the fun part! And that's what we gotta do now! We just gotta find your new centre and you're frosty again!"
"Like that?" Jack asked, snapping his fingers and smirking.
Jacqueline laughed. "Yes! Like that!" She said with a snap. "Well, when we get there," she added, rubbing the back of her neck. "It sounds like it's going to take time. We can't force it, according to Double W. But we have seen some progress since reuniting!"
"The hair, and the frosty comforter..."
"Yes, exactly!" Jacqueline took a seat on the floor, across from Jack's chair. She leant against the railing of the staircase, looking thoughtful. "That's why I think one of the first steps here is you processing everything that happened, and coming to terms with it at the least, if not forgiving yourself. And I think you're making very good progress! You've already made up with Dad, and the Twins ADORE you."
"Really?"
"Fino had a list of questions, and he doesn't just question anyone! Fiera also doesn't just slap anyone."
Jack rubbed his cheek. "I think it's still stinging, today! That little spitfire packs a punch!"
Jacqueline laughed. "I'll say. And I'm sure in time you'll work things out with Mom." She frowned, as though she were trying really hard to not say something.
"Come on now, little flurry. Out with it."
"You really know what's up with her?"
"I have a guesstimate that probably isn't too far off the mark," he said, recrossing his legs and flicking imaginary dust off of his thigh.
"And you really can't tell me now? Maybe I could help!"
"I appreciate the offer, Jacqueline. Really, I do. I just think that this is something I have to do on my own. You know, like how I made up with Dad on my own, and introduced myself to our siblings on my own, and took that slap like a champ, on my own," he said, rubbing his cheek.
Jacqueline sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll stop bugging you about it."
"No you won't."
"But for now I will! Sprite's honour," she said, one hand on her chest, the other hand raised.
"Good. Now then. Back on topic," he said with a clap, uncrossing his legs and leaning forward in his seat. "That's something I need to do on my own, you know, part of your whole hero's journey thing you've got going on there with the whole, accepting the past and forgiving oneself."
"I mean, I didn't necessarily say hero's journey."
"Am I not a dashing young hero, going forth on an incredible journey to find his powers and save the world?"
"Eh, dashing's a stretch. And young? That's a big oof if there ever was one."
"You are so lucky I can't make a decent snowball right now." Jack sighed. "Who knows when that'll happen. I'm tired of being powerless. I was hoping that this whole thing might be, y'know. Faster."
"Well, do I have good news for you," Jacqueline said, springing up and sliding back into her room. There was a couple of loud thunks, a metal clang, and what sounded like a trip and a swear before Jacqueline came back out again with the thickest old book Jack had seen so far.
"Where did you find that?"
"In Dad's office," Jacqueline said, sitting on the floor and placing the large book in front of her. It was at least the size of her torso, with large metal clasps keeping it shut.
"What is it?"
"Options!" Jacqueline said, opening the clasps, and gently opening the book, carefully going through several sections before opening it to the dead middle. "Have a seat!"
"I'm already sitting, and I'm not going on the floor."
"Okay, right, cool. Close your eyes."
"Close my eyes?"
Jacqueline nodded. "Close your eyes and just feel," she added, closing her own eyes.
Jack shifted forwards, staring at his sister; he slid back in his seat. "Really? This is what you want to do right now?"
"Yes! Just trust me, Jack," she said, one eye peeking open.
"Alright," he said, adjusting his blazer and closing his eyes.
"Perfect. Close your eyes, and feel your surroundings. The chill, the magic in the air, and not just around us. Really feel it. Try to feel how deep the magic runs through the Springs, all the way from the source, and coats the entire continent in a big warm blanket."
Jack slowed his breathing, trying to focus on the magic around them. It wasn't hard; like Jacqueline had said, the magic was all around them. He thought back to how he had felt the onslaught of magic when they had arrived yesterday evening. It was warm, and as he sought it out, it seemed to hug him.
"Now, this next part is going to sound silly, but it's the best way I can think of to explain it. I need you to zoom in on the magic. Maybe zone in? pick apart the details, what kinds of magic are in the air…"
Funnily enough, Jack had already begun to do that. In the heavy layers of magic, he could pick out threads. He could feel the generic magic everyone used; he could feel a very hot magic that was a bit uncomfortable—a lot of it, too. A little colder would be nice, he thought.
The magic seemed to hear him; as he thought cold, he was able to pick out a familiar chill that was just as prominent as the warm stuff.
It was Winter magic. The kind he and his sister used, surrounding the two of them as they sat in the hallway. And if he focused a little more, he could feel his magic reaching out, almost as though it were trying to meet up with the magic around them.
"You may not be able to use your core well enough right now, but what you can do in the meantime is supplement your inner magic with outer magic. You can draw from the ether!"
The source gave off basic magic in waves. That was the blanket that coated the entirety of Crystal Springs. It was officially called the ether; it was made of multiple threads of all sorts of magic, all linked together in one big, magical, blanket. Even the specialized magic that sprites like he and his sister used were within the ether.
The catch, of course, was that specialized magic was slightly rarer. It tended to coalesce in one area, where there was a high concentration of users of that magic, or where there was a concentration of said magic. Jack frowned, eyes snapping open.
"But for specialized magic? That's a bit of a challenge. It certainly wouldn't be a permanent solution."
"No, of course not," Jacqueline replied, opening her eyes now as well. "We can't have you using the ether permanently. Otherwise, you'd only be able to work here, or on the mountaintops, or in the North Pole or Canada. Not quite your usual range. But! For the time being it'll get you back on your feet. Especially here, at home, where two people who use the same kind of magic live—one of which is not just a sprite, but one of the actual seasons."
"A very high concentration of winter magic."
"Exactly! Now, we just need to make sure it works," Jacqueline said, smoothing out the page in the book.
"If I want my powers back at all, drawing from the ether is really the only choice."
"Yep! So what do you say?"
"Here goes nothing," he said, and, closing his eyes again, he adjusted his blazer and wiggled in his seat, once again taking those deep, long breaths, focusing only on the magic.
It didn't take long for him to get back to the point he had been at moments before. His magic was practically begging for him to dip into the ether! It wasn't long before he felt it outside himself, too, the winter magic gathering around him, the chill coming closer and closer. He drew it all in, and he could feel his magic! His magic! Beginning to gather at his fingertips! It shot up through him, until every fibre of his being was alight with his familiar frosty magic. Immediately, he ran his fingers through his hair, feeling the ice and snow coat it, the familiar spikes returned! No more flat, plain hair! He didn't even have to do the same to his suit; the magic clung to him, turning his suit back to the dark yet vibrant blue, the well-placed frost settling in where it used to sit.
He inhaled once again; his exhale frosty. It felt good to be back!
"Look at you Jack! Holy snowballs!"
He opened his eyes, his sister grinning, her hair back to it's usual snowy white, the wavy curls pulled back into a ponytail. She clapped her hands together, a thin sheet of ice appearing between her palms as she pulled them apart. She turned it around, the reflective ice confirming that yes, Jack was back to his usual frosty self!
"I'm me again!" He said, grabbing the impromptu mirror and checking the back of his head.
"Jack, you were always you. Just a little slushy," she said with a wink. "And look at that!" she added, pointing to his flushed cheeks. "You're still warm," she said fondly, a soft smile on her face.
"That's sweet of you to say," Jack said.
"It's true," she replied, Jack confirming as he scrutinized his eyes. Despite the frosty exterior, they were still soft. And even through the icy bits of his face, he could still see the flushed cheeks, like he had just come inside from a walk on a cold, snowy day. Thawed indeed.
"Now, there may be a couple of side effects, according to this page. It can be draining to pull from the ether, especially when you need to actually wield magic. Remember, it's going to come from outside, for now. Not the inside. You also want to make sure you don't burn yourself out, or put ripples in the blanket," she added, gently getting up, both arms supporting the delicate tome. "I'll leave the book out for you to look at at your leisure. We'll get a cradle for it from the library."
"Right, got it. Side effects," he said, tapping the side of his head as he got up, gently taking the book from Jacqueline. "Gently, gently…there we go. Nice and safe."
"Perfect! Now, there's just one thing left to do," Jacqueline said, dusting some red rot off of her sleeves.
"And what's that?"
"Practise!" she said. "What were you saying about making a decent snowball earlier?"
Jack grinned. Time for a good old fashioned snowball fight!
But first, breakfast, they realized, as they headed down the stairs and were nasally assaulted with the delicious smell of pancakes, stomachs grumbling as the smell of bacon wafted down the hall.
The siblings barely had time to say anything when they neared the kitchen, as Fiera loudly gasped upon their approach.
"Oh my GODDESS you look so COOL, JACK!" She shouted, Fino pulling her off of the table.
Needless to say, Jack appearing frosty again did not elicit the same reaction from their parents. Attention grabbed by Fiera's shout, and Fino's following good-natured chiding about not standing on the table, both parents glanced over at the doorway. Winter fumbled the spatula, catching the flat of it between her palms; Blaise almost dropped the coffee pot!
"It's fine! It's fine, he's not frozen frozen!" Jacqueline clarified.
"But I do look very cool, you're right there Fiera."
"I should get a suit," Fiera said.
"And what, fire dry it?"
"YES FINO! That's not a bad idea!"
"Fiera, that's just burning your clothes."
"No no no! I think I could do it without burning it. Or maybe I'd have flame accents. Literal flame accents."
"Now that would look cool," Jack said. "Sorry for the fright, Mother."
"It's quite alright. You certainly look much better."
"Powers back already then, son?"
"Not quite," Jack said, leaning against the island and folding his arms. "But we made some progress!"
"You mean I did," Jacqueline said, snatching the coffee pot from Blaise and bringing it to the table, breathing in the scent.
"Jacqueline found a temporary solution," Jack said.
"Flaming cufflinks," Fiera said out loud.
"No, drawing from the ether," Jacqueline replied.
"I was talking about my thing," Fiera replied.
"Well now it's my turn to talk about my thing," Jacqueline replied.
Fiera stuck her tongue out. Jacqueline replied in kind.
"Well, progress is progress," Winter said, spatula righted and pancakes flipped. "You look much better Jack dear. Much happier and more…yourself."
"Thanks," Jack said, his voice cracking. Winter smiled, turning her attention back to the pancakes.
"And the thawed look suits you, Jack."
"I'm beginning to warm up to it," Jack smirked, waiting for the realization to hit. He was not disappointed when Blaise choked on his coffee with a loud guffaw and Jacqueline let out a loud groan, letting her head hit the table with a loud SMACK.
Blaise settled in to his spot at the head of the table, clearing his throat and grabbing a napkin. "I think those sausages are done," he said without looking, cleaning up the coffee that he had spilt. Fiera sat on his right, Fino beside his twin, a skewer with several sausages just above the fire that served as Fino's hair. Fiera pulled them out, squishing them gently.
"They aren't burnt enough."
"They look just right to me," Fino said.
"Fine," Fiera pouted, sticking almost all the sausages on the bacon plate. She kept three on the skewer, her hair suddenly lighting up as she placed the skewer in her own fiery blaze.
Across from Fiera, Winter took her seat at Blaise's left, placing the pancakes down and gently tapping Jacqueline's shoulder. She lifted her head up, grinning as Winter sat down beside her and slid the pancakes closer with a wink.
This left the other end of the table open, the chair sitting empty in front of a clean plate. Jack slowly walked over, sitting down and watching everyone dig in. Blaise stared at him, gesturing to the spread in front of them.
"Well go on Jack, have some breakfast."
Jack blinked, briefly confused. Blaise waved his hand, some of the food magically moving towards Jack.
"Seriously, tuck in. It won't last long, trust me."
And, noticing Jacqueline gently nudging the stack of pancakes that had shifted closer to him, and Fino and Fiera already laying claim to the tiny sausages, Jack filled his plate.
"Are we playing elemental ball today, Jacqueline?" Fiera asked, bits of sausage flying out of her mouth.
"Fiera, don't talk with your mouth full."
"Sorry Mom." Fiera gulped, staring at her sister excitedly. "You're wearing your work clothes!"
"Yup."
"So are we gonna play elemental ball?" Fino asked.
"Oh! Or snow fort destruction?!"
"Run from the ice-people?"
"We can later if you two want," Jacqueline said, cutting off the twins. "But first, Jack and I are hitting the field after breakfast. We're going to go see if it's just his appearance that's back, or if his appearance and powers are both back. For the time being, that is."
"Well, that's all well and good, but I will need all hands on deck today," Winter said, pouring syrup on her pancake.
"Why?" All four kids asked at the same time.
Winter blinked, taken aback.
"Looks like we've got surround sound," Blaise said over his coffee mug, glancing at his wife.
"So it would seem," she replied, clearing her throat. "Your aunts called yesterday."
"All three?" Jacqueline asked.
"At once," Winter replied.
"What's the occasion?" Jack asked.
"They are, regrettably, coming over for dinner tonight. They'd heard you were home, Jack dear."
"What?" Jack asked, sausage falling off of his fork. "Who told them? Who invited them?"
"They invited themselves," Winter said, icily. "As if you two weren't tired enough and everything going on wasn't enough, Spring fancied herself needed in the present situation."
Jacqueline scoffed. "Of course it was Aunt Spring."
"And she rallied Autumn and Summer?"
"Called them first, actually. They both said they had done their best to bring her down a notch, but you know how she is," Winter said, sipping her coffee with a frown.
Both Jack and Jacqueline groaned.
"What's so bad about the aunts?" Fino asked.
"Aunt Summer plays hide and explode with us!" Fiera said. "And Aunt Autumn makes the best pies."
"And Aunt Spring is so lovely," Fino added.
"Lovely? Try saying that when her season comes directly after yours!" Jacqueline said.
"You should all be nicer to Spring," Blaise said. "She's just concerned, is all."
"Oh please, Blaise. She always goes over the top with everything and can be so clingy sometimes. Look at our kitchen! She's practically moved her plants into here! Not to mention how she thinks spring should arrive right after Groundhog Day! And don't get me started on the nonsense she pulls when we're in the opposite hemisphere. As if compromising with Autumn over November and December isn't enough, Spring isn't even open to compromise! She's so—" Winter huffed.
"She cares," Blaise said. "And you kids should be nicer to her, too. She's your aunt. And your co-worker, Jacqueline."
"I think that just makes it worse, to be honest," she said, pouring some chocolate milk mix in her mug.
"You're awfully quiet, Jack," Fino said. "I thought you'd be first in line to sass Aunt Spring since you have to deal with her in the field at the end of winter, too."
"I haven't actually had to see her in a while. Any of the aunts, really. And I'm sure I've done my fair share of disrupting things during their seasons. They, ah, may not be very happy with me."
"Great goddess of the Springs, I didn't even think of that!" Jacqueline said. "And we just got you looking all frosty again!"
"And if Grandmother specified I was thawed, I'm not sure if this look will...appease them." Jack said, finally stabbing the sausage once more. "Especially Spring."
"Oh, please. It's clearly evident to any sprite that you've thawed, Jack, let alone a season."
"Are you sure about that, mother? I mean, this is Spring we're talking about," Jack added, his turn now to hit his head on the table with a loud thunk. He had just gotten the icy blue back, too!
"Your Mother's right," Blaise interjected. "I'm no season, but I can see that flush from a mile away!"
"Spring is many things, but superficial is not one of them. She'll be able to see that your thaw is genuine, and if not, I'll make her see," Winter said, angrily stirring sugar into her coffee.
Jack smiled into his arms. His Mother's concern was nice, even though it spurred from her irritableness with her elder sister.
"You can always wear not blue tonight, if you're so concerned about appearance," Jacqueline said. After all, she thought at him, we both know that some sprites are known to be a little superficial.
Jack turned in his arms to level a glare directly at his smirking sister.
"Chin up, Jack! I'm sure it'll be fine," she said, patting his arm. "Probably."
"Your confidence is astounding, Jacqueline," he said, lifting his head up. "So helpful. I just feel so relieved," he finished, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair with a huff.
"So, are we doing this, or what?" Jacqueline asked later that afternoon. She and Jack stood out in the snowy backyard, ready to practise after a speed run of national clean the house day, during which Jack spent the entire time fussing about the aunts coming and how he should present himself. It had been very annoying and Jacqueline was more than ready to lobe a few snowballs at his head.
Sitting on the deck, Fino and Fiera's feet dangled above the ground, arms over the middle rail, watching their siblings face off. Fiera slurped a juice box; Fino munched on some grapes off of a fruit platter he had stolen from the kitchen before they had headed out back.
Jack's fingers twitched. "Sure you want to do this, little flurry?"
Jacqueline smirked, cracking her knuckles. "I think you'll find I'm more of a little storm these days."
"Oh, look at that! She's got trash talk, too! I thought you only spoke sass and sarcasm."
"I'm well versed in trash talk, of course. And smack talk! Which is great because I certainly have some snowy smacks to spare."
"Ready when you are," Jack said with a smirk.
"ON OUR COUNT!" Fiera shouted, waving her juice box around. Fino woofed down his grapes and stood up beside his twin.
"3...2...1...GO!" they shouted, and the game was on!
Both winter sprites had perfectly formed snowballs in their palms in a flash. Jack grinned, glad to see they were solid and not melty, and even happier to throw them right at Jacqueline—only to notice her snowballs already headed his way!
Quickly, he inhaled and let out a frosty breath, stopping the snowballs and freezing them solid, the now icy projectiles falling into the snow with a dull thud mere centimeters away from his toes. It had been a little too close for his liking; his reaction time was definitely a bit slower as he pulled from the wintery threads in the air. He'd have to work on that.
"Is that all you got?" he covered, arms crossed. "I was told to expect a storm!"
"Mister tough guy thinks he's all that now that he's got the frost back, hmm?" Jacqueline said, grinning.
"I've seen flurries with more oomph than you have."
Jacqueline looked offended. "Well now you've done it," she said. The snow around her began to rumble; she brought her arms up, and more snowballs than Jack expected shot up from the snowy ground, floating around his sister. The wind began to pick up, and the onslaught began!
"Now that's more like it!" Jack said, running headfirst into the wind. He dodged and ducked as he went, summoning ice out of the snow with a wave of his hands. Snowballs hit the ice, splattering on the makeshift shield. There was a large crack, and the shield split in half, the two pieces now on either side of Jack as he stopped each and every one that his sister sent his way.
"Oooo," the Twins coursed, watching as Jack emerged on the other side of the snowball ambush without so much as a snowflake on his suit. The two icy shields landed behind him with a shink! Jack gave his hands a little shake, and the ice shattered into snowy dust, Jacqueline's winds blowing them away.
"That was baby stuff!" Jack said, straightening his jacket with a snap. "I was expecting more, Slushy."
"Baby stuff?" Jacqueline asked, landing on one of the thicker tree branches after one too many airborne somersaults, definitely showing off. "Well then, it's perfect for you, isn't it?"
"I think it's time to give you a little taste of your own medicine," Jack smirked, and, lifting his hands, launched his own snowball barrage.
Jacqueline nearly fell in her effort to dodge the first few snowballs. She caught herself on the backs of her knees, hanging off from the tree she had landed in. "I didn't even know I could do that!" she said out loud, swinging herself back and forth until she was sitting on the branch, which was harder to do while simultaneously attempting to shoo away snowballs. She just missed most of Jack's onslaught as she hopped onto the next branch closest to her, trying to outrun the snowy projectiles.
Jack's aim was flawless; it always had been. Thankfully, Jacqueline had speed on her side, and the backyard had ancient trees with thick branches that could easily hold her weight. When the last snowball finally fell, Jacqueline smirked, leaning on the trunk with one hand, the other on her hip. "You missed me!" she taunted, pulling a face and blowing a raspberry.
"Not for long," Jack said, smirking. With a wave of his hand, the snow in front of him turned to ice, a long trail heading right towards the tree. Sliding across the ice, Jack slid right into the tree hand first, mirroring Jacqueline's own pose. The moment he touched the trunk, with a little bit of concentration, a spiral of frost spread from his fingers, thickening into a thick, slippery sheet of ice and freezing the tree. Jacqueline lifted her hand off the tree, stepping back and slipping, landing right into the shrubbery.
Jack yawned, forming a snowball in his hand. "What was that about missing you?" he said as he made his way over to where Jacqueline should've landed. "Because it just so happens, I have a snowball that has a date with your face, right here—and you are not here."
The shrubs held no sign of being squashed by a falling sprite. All they had was a very thick pile of snow on them.
That was some crap trash talk, Jacqueline said mentally.
"Ah," Jack said. "Turning into snow? Really? Now that's just messy. Horrible presentation," Jack added, watching the snow carefully. Jacqueline laughed in his head, as the snowy pile from the bushes shifted, blending into the snow on the ground. If he squinted, he could just make out movement.
"Wait, Jacqueline can turn into snow?" Fino said.
"Do you think we can turn into fire?" Fiera asked.
Fino stabbed the straw into his juice box, carefully considering Fiera's thought. "Well, it's hard to say. It could be a sprite thing, but it could also be a season thing so maybe, no? Or it's a Legendary thing so maybe, not yet? But then again, we aren't taking over any seasons any time soon so it's hard to say. We'd have to ask Dad for his exper—oof!"
"LOOK! Jacqueline reappeared!" Fiera said, pushing Fino in her excitement. "Ou, she's gonna get the drop on him! I betchya one copper she'll do it."
"You're on," Fino wheezed.
Jack kept watching the snow, but unfortunately, lost sight of her. "Clever trick, ma sœur," Jack said, listening very intently, eyes peeled, hoping he could hear her reappear. There was the slightest shift in the magic around him; Jack spun around as his sister rematerialized, a cold snowball nailing him right in the shoulder.
"Dang," said Fino (nearly drowned out by Fiera's victory whoop), digging a copper out of his pocket and flipping it Fiera's way.
"Merci, mon frère," She replied, fully materialized. One hand was shoved deep into the pocket on her sweater; in the other hand, she balanced a snowball on her knuckles, smirking.
"I dare you," said Jack.
Jacqueline threw the snowball up into the air, caught it in her hand, wound up and launched it at Jack. He whipped his hand up just as fast, a trail of frost solidifying into an icy ramp, redirecting the snowball. It slid away from his face and went flying, only gaining more speed, heading right towards the Twins. Fino widened his eyes, ducking just in time as the snowball flew over him, nailing Fiera right in the head.
"Ha! Consider that payback for the slap!" Jack shouted as realization hit. He straightened up, face falling. "Uh-oh."
"No, don't worry," Jacqueline said, gesturing a stop with her hand. "Just watch."
Fiera's hair briefly flickered out, then came back. She blinked, her juice box forgotten as the sizzle of water hitting heat rang out, the drippy remnants of the snowball trickling down her back.
Fino's explosion of laughter broke the very brief silence.
"You think that was funny?" Fiera asked.
"Yes!" Fino wheezed, holding his stomach. "You should see your face!"
"I'd love to!" Fiera replied, throwing her own snowball at her twin.
At such close proximity and with such force, Fino fell right off the deck upon impact, losing his balance and landing right in the snow. The smoulder on his head extinguished, a puddle slowly forming around him. He looked so bewildered as the snow melted, that Fiera and Jacqueline both lost it, and dissolved into a fit of laughter.
"You're right, Fino!" Fiera said between giggles. "That face is funny!"
"What," Jack said, both equal parts relieved and confused, "just happened. I thought for sure I was on death's door. How does someone so small have that much strength?"
"That's Fiera for you," Jacqueline said. "And that whole thing was my essence at work. Winter's fun, Jack. It's the most fun season, in fact! Can you throw harmless projectiles at people in summer? Can you build forts out of the precipitation in the spring? Sure, autumn chills are nice, but nothing beats the crispy-ness of a winter breeze." Jacqueline had joined her brother's side now, both hands in the front pocket of her sweater. "I know that a lot of the time, when you were frozen, you looked at all this and all you could see was runny noses and... dead citrus, I think it was?"
"That sounds about right," Jack replied, feeling heat rising in his cheeks as he thought back to his anti-winter rants.
"Well, look around you!" She said, one hand out of her pocket, gesturing to the twins. "Look at the two of them! Aren't they having fun? Yeah, their noses are runny, but look at how much fun they're having! Isn't it nice? It brings them together. It brings everyone together. It's beautiful, Jack."
"Your core is cornier than I expected," Jack replied.
"Oh wow, Jacqueline! You make such a good point!" Jacqueline replied, in an over the top (but good, Jack would begrudgingly admit) impersonation of her brother. "I know Jack! I'm full of such wisdom and good points!"
Jack snorted. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, sister dear," he said, mussing up her hair.
"Ah! Hey! My ponytail!"
Jack laughed, the kind of laugh that's soft and ends in a breathy, content exhale.
"You're gonna pay for that," Jacqueline said with a grin as she fussed with her hair, redoing the ponytail.
"I think I can confidently say that whatever you've got to throw at me, I can throw right back at you."
"We'll see about that," she replied, her grin positively impish now as she revealed two identical snowballs in the palms of her hands. She threw them, the two projectiles soaring through the air until each one met with the twin it was meant for.
At some point between Jacqueline launching her attack, and Fiera knocking her twin off the porch, Fino had pulled Fiera off the porch and thrown her into the snow. The two kids were drenched, play fighting in what was now slush, which made for an easy bullseye on Jacqueline's part.
Both Twins stopped immediately upon impact, laughter dying out almost instantly. They looked at each other, then up at their siblings, confused.
"Jack did it," Jacqueline said, pointing.
"What? No I didn't!"
But alas, it was too late! The Twins squealed, beelining towards Jack. They scooped up snow while in pursuit, making their own snowballs and, with a loud battle cry, LAUNCHED their well packed snowballs right at Jack's face.
Jack whipped up his hands, fast, an icy shield popping into existence in front of him just in time for the two snowballs to land with very heavy thunks. The heat from the Twins had made the snowballs extra-packed; thank goodness his reaction time was still pretty fast. Otherwise, he'd be on the floor and Jacqueline would be laughing even harder than she currently was!
"You think this is funny?"
"Hilarious!" she gasped between laughter, holding her sides. "I knew you couldn't handle everything I had to throw at you," she said with a smirk.
"Weaponizing the Twins was against the rules!" Jack said, nailing his sister in the face. She only laughed harder as the snow melted down her face.
"Sounds like you can't handle the heat, Jack!" Fino said with a smirk, throwing his own snowball.
"It's EVERY SPRITE FOR THEMELVES, JACK!" Fiera yelled, cradling a small pile of snowballs in her left arm, her right arm winding up for the pitch!
"Oh ho ho, it's on!" Jack said, and suddenly, what Jacqueline had been saying before didn't seem corny at all.
It wasn't long before the four of them found themselves in a very giggly, very fun, and incredibly intense snowball fight. Jack ran through the backyard, not a single surface stopping him as he fended off hoards of snowballs from all three siblings with his little ice shield, redirecting the ones that missed the shield to assail their creators. Jacqueline had the high ground; she was using the wind to her advantage, hurling as many snowballs as she could at all three grounded sprites, while making sure she didn't slip out of the branches, propelling herself with icy ramps when she had no foliage.
It wasn't long before Fino and Fiera hijacked the ramps, sliding down them as Fino shot the snowballs rapidly, hitting Jacqueline in the oddest of places, while Fiera covered his back and made sure to nail Jack when Fino didn't. They were screaming and giggling something fierce (good thing they didn't really have neighbours!), and there was no shortage of trash talk from Fino, surprisingly enough! The kid was witty, Jack thought, and between the trash talk and screams of delight and laughter, Jack soon found himself laughing as well as he dove behind a tree, trying to catch his breath.
Goddess of the Springs, it felt so good to be able to use his powers again! But it was tiring; every time he made a snowball, or made an icy shield, he could feel the magic around him shift and draw itself in, and it was, quite frankly, exhausting (he'd have to take a look at those side effects that big old book had mentioned, see if he could do anything to negate them).
Jacqueline dropped down beside him, covered in new snowball splotches and giggling as she waved them off. "It's not so corny once you actually participate, eh?"
Jack chuckled, lazily waving his hand. A small stream of snow piled up right on the very top of Jacqueline's head. She laughed, waving it off.
"I can't remember the last time I had this much fun, let alone the last time I had a no rules, every sprite for themselves, snowball fight," Jack said.
"Probably because you never have," Jacqueline joked, squeezing water out of her half-thawed hair.
"I have so! If I recall correctly, someone was an endless pit of energy as a kid. I may be old but my memory isn't going just yet!"
"Awwh, Jack. Look at you, getting all slushy on me," she said, throwing slush at his arm. A twig snapped; both winter sprites snapped to attention, glancing behind them as carefully as they could.
Fiera grinned, her hair lighting up, as she launched four or five snowballs their way; Jack and Jacqueline dove back behind the shrubbery, the snowballs just missing them.
"I FOUND THEM! THEY'RE OVER HERE, FINO!"
"Did they just team up?" Jacqueline asked. "DID YOU TWO TEAM UP?"
"NOBODY SAID ALLIANCES WEREN'T ALLOWED!" Fino shouted
"Well, if they're doing it, I think we should show them who's large and in charge round here," Jack said. "Truce?"
Jacqueline glanced around the tree, as the two flaming blurs got far too close to the wintery pair for comfort. "Truce. Let's show them who really can't handle the heat."
With a battle cry that had made Amazonian warriors proud, Jacqueline got down on all fours, hands lighting up as she froze the ground around the tree. A sheet of ice shot forward, the Twins slipping and sliding, their snowballs falling right out of their hands (or in Fiera's case, arms). With a smirk, Jack got up, lifting his arms high above his head. A large wall of snow shot up from the ground. Pushing his arms forwards, the snow followed, leaving a Jack sized hole as it passed over him.
The Twins had gotten their bearings, and tried so hard to slide through the Jack shaped hole! But he was much too quick for them. The snow engulfed the outline, once more solidifying just before Fiera smacked right into the wall with a soft thunk.
"FIERA!"
"REMEMBER ME AS I WAS FINO!"
"TIME FOR A STRATEGIC RETREAT!"
"Ah, ah, ah! I don't think so!" Jack said with a clap. The snow folded around Fino, surrounding him with a blanket of white that suddenly dropped down. The snow slid on the ice, making a soft pile that two orange heads eventually popped out of, Fiera spitting out snow and Fino brushing it out of his hair.
"Now who was it that couldn't take the heat?" Jack asked with a smirk.
"You've made a tactical error, Jack," Fiera said with a grin, the tips of her hair sparking before roaring to life again. "FREE AMMO!"
"ATTACK!" Fino yelled, already throwing projectiles he had made while Fiera distracted him.
"CHARGE!" Jacqueline yelled back, sliding across the ice with a trail of snowballs behind her and throwing them right at the Twins. It was just the distraction Jack needed to get his ice shield back up and block the ones he hadn't slid past.
Soon enough, Jack found himself playing defence to Jacqueline's offence. He was surprised he wasn't getting dizzy with all the switching around the two of them had done. Fino and Fiera were very good at being almost everywhere at once, and while he was low on energy, Jacqueline had the experience with the two firecrackers. She was able to reduce the casualties that the two of them may have suffered, pelting the twins with as much snow as she could, while he fended off their snowballs.
The fight continued for some time, the tables turning when Jacqueline decked Fiera and declared that Fino had done it. It was once more every sprite for themselves.
The fight raged on, Jack grateful when the twins momentarily forgot about attacking him and pelted Jacqueline, who had flung a branch of snow at them. Their hair was now a normal, bright red, flat on their heads and wet in some places. Once he had caught his breath, Jack joined the two little ones, also pelting Jacqueline while he had the opportunity.
Snowballs came at Jacqueline every which way, all more or less dodged expertly. One of Jack's snowballs was headed right to her face; she ducked fairly fast, the projectile whooshing past her and headed right for the deck—or would have been, had Blaise not walked right into the line of fire.
It was a ceasefire to end all ceasefires.
Jacqueline's icy ramps dissipated, Fiera falling off of one and into the snow. Fino dropped all his snowballs and hid his hands behind his back, whistling and looking anywhere but his father. Jack stared at Blaise, watching the snow melt and fall down his face, not bothering to drop his outstretched hand or second snowball he had primed and ready.
You see, Blaise and Winter had enjoyed a fairly relaxed early afternoon at the market, grabbing the supplies for dinner they lacked at home. It had given Winter the opportunity to complain, complain, complain about her sisters (mostly Spring, she'd happily admit. She could be so meddlesome and Winter was almost certain it had to do with her status as Legate to Mother Nature).
Grievances aired; conversation had turned towards Jack's return as they made their way home. The parents had been discussing how well it had been going—well, for the most part. Winter was still having a hard time adjusting, but Blaise had expected that and was listening to her as they came down.
Of course, Jack conversation had never been good between the two parents; it was always about something he had done that had gotten him into trouble. The positive Jack-versation was new turf for them. So naturally, when they arrived on their street and could hear the louder than usual shouts coming from the backyard from down the street, they had assumed that something had happened—was it Jack? Was it Jacqueline? Were those blackouts she wrote about but didn't mention coming back? Or, worse—had the twins succeeded in burning down the house?!
The laughter became clearer the closer they got and, as they made their way to the back, both parents were convinced the twins had once again started fires they couldn't put out.
Of course, as soon as they turned the corner onto the deck in the backyard, Winter sensed the snowball and ducked before it could hit her. Blaise, however, being a fire sprite, did not have snowball sense, and. Well. It was too late for him.
The silence stretched on; Winter began to giggle, covering her mouth in an attempt to muffle them. She wasn't entirely sure Blaise's pride could handle it!
"Alright, who did it?" Blaise said, using both hands to wipe the snow off of his face very dramatically.
Jack grimaced, carefully hiding the second snowball behind his back.
"I'm not mad. I just want to know—"
"JACK DID IT!" Fiera shouted, pointing at her older brother.
"You little tattle tale," Jack said, throwing the hidden snowball at Fiera.
Blaise sniffed, hopping off of the deck and heading towards Jack, his face steely. The younger siblings all glanced at each other, wisely taking two or three steps back.
"Blaise! Hello! How was the market? You know, your hair...your hair looks very bright today. Did you—did you do something different?" he laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as Blaise crouched down and grabbed a huge wad of snow. He stopped directly in front of Jack and dumped the huge snowball right on his head.
"Can't say I did, Jack. But wow, that new slushy look you're wearing is really becoming of you." Blaise turned to the other three. "Now, I don't know who started this whole thing, but I have one thing to say to the rest of you."
He crouched down, scooping up more snow. He stood up, grinning, now sufficiently loaded up on ammo. "It's on."
The Twins cheered, rushing Blaise and tossing snow his way. Jack darted around Blaise, pivoting behind him and launching an assault from there; Jacqueline soon joined him, and Blaise found himself being pelted with snowballs from all angles!
The battlefield heated up, as it were. A lot more puddles were appearing, freezing over fairly fast as the fight continued. The backyard was fast becoming an ice rink. Snowballs from the forsty duo fast turned to blasts of snow, slush flying everywhere.
Winter watched them from the deck, leaning on the railing with a soft smile, loosing herself in the moment. This was nice, wasn't it? How lovely to see the love of her life getting absolutely destroyed by their terrifying children! It did her heart good to see the five of them having fun together. But a part of her heart hurt a little bit. Just a tad, mind you! Nothing too serious. It was just…it looked so nice and felt homey, but a piece was still missing.
In her mind, she could envision the two orange threads that tethered her to the Twins, and the light blue one that connected her to Jacqueline. Beside it, a dark blue thread hanging limp. She picked it up, trying to feel anything from the other end—but there wasn't even a spark; it was frayed and tattered and even though it was a mental thing, it was bothering her so much because it just didn't feel right!
She sighed, taking a deep breath in and eating snow. Eating snow?
Ah. A snowball.
Locked in combat with Jack while Winter was deep in thought, Blaise had gotten a little too cocky and slipped on some ice, the slushy ball meant for his eldest flying high and hitting Winter right as she inhaled, causing her to absolutely eat it, as it were. She blinked, the snow hurrying off of her face in a rush, mortified that it had landed directly on the season's face!
Blaise got up, dropping his snowballs like hot cakes, a very concerned look on his face—more for himself than for his wife. If you thought a snowball fight with Jack Frost was a fruitless endeavourer, then you never considered a snowball fight with the Winter season herself, the ramifications of which could be deadly. Blaise, of course, knew this first hand. So did the kids, unfortunately. And they really, really, really loved to rub it in.
"Oooohhhhh," The Twins coursed, backing up already.
"You just made Winter eat it, dad. WINTER!"
"You're in so much trouble," Jack said, unable to keep the glee out of his tone.
"Hush you four, don't make me ground you," Blaise threatened, as Winter turned her gaze to Blaise. If looks could freeze, Blaise would've been stopped then and there.
She lifted her chin, and the snow below her rose up and over the deck, lifting her up and placing her on the ground. She walked forwards, nose high and sights set on Blaise, the snow behind her jumping around in excitement, making for a terrifying picture of a very scary woman being followed by a miniature blizzard at her back.
The Twins grabbed Jacqueline, puling her back as she grabbed Jack and pulled him back with them. This wasn't their first rodeo, after all. They knew that whatever was coming Blaise's way was not going to be pretty and was not going to be limited to him—Winter's specialty was area of effect, after all.
Blaise's hair went out. He took a step back as Winter approached. It was kinda funny, actually, given their height difference. There was no way this big bear of a man was afraid of this tiny woman.
But let me make it very clear for you all: Blaise was terrified. He cleared his throat. "Winter dear, have I told you how lovely you look today?"
"You tell me everyday," she said, a mischievous smile threatening to break through her cool exterior.
"But today especially, you…you're glowing. You look radiant!"
Winter smiled. "Well thank you, dear. I do look radiant today, don't I?" She said as, with the slightest twitch of her hand, the snow behind her began to rise up and up and up, towering over her and Blaise.
"Stunning," Blaise said, as Winter shoved her hand back in her muff, and the very large, gigantic, HUGE snow pile flew forwards, engulfing Blaise completely.
Winter laughed, pulling her hand back out of her muff. Shoving it up her arm, she held her skirt above the snow, making her way over to the fast melting pile as Blaise popped his head out of it, spitting out snow and trying (and failing) to ignite his hair.
"As always, your beauty STUNS me," Blaise said, freeing an arm to hold Winter's hand. He went in to kiss it—and did, of course—but he lingered; looking up at her with a grin that she had seen many times before.
"Blaise, don't you dare."
"I would never," he said, pulling her down into the snow with him, Winter squealing as she fell. The couple stared at each other before both of them started to laugh softly.
"FROST PILE!" Fiera yelled, letting go of her brothers and launching herself at the pair. Fino followed close behind; Jacqueline laughed, then charged at the pile, slipping on purpose to slide right between their parents, who were both squashed by the twins.
"Am I the only sophisticated one here?" Jack said, a little way away.
Fino popped up. "Come join our frost pile," he said, offering a hand. "Please?"
"You'd have to make me, and I'm certain you wouldn't be able to do that, Fino."
"Oh live a little, Jack," Winter said, and, before Jack could protest, he found himself unceremoniously flung into the frost pile via giant snow hand, courtesy of his own Mother. Betrayed by those closest to him! Unbelievable! He sat up and made sure to glare at the hand. It gave a cheery little wave before it collapsed back onto the ground, the Twins immediately throwing themselves on top of him.
"We've gotchya now!" Fiera grinned, her twin laughing.
Jack looked at the two kids, laughing as they tried their very best to pin him down. He couldn't help but snort at the notion—these two potato sacks thinking they had gotten him pinned!
Of course, Jacqueline had to prove him wrong immediately by throwing herself on top of the two of them. Now it would be a little harder to shake them off.
"Alright, alright! You guys win. You got me," he surrendered, uncrossing his arms and raising his hands.
It took a moment for the family to untangle themselves and sit or stand upright. Jack rubbed his legs, hopping that it'd help the pins and needles sensation to disappear. His knees were a little sodden—so were the elbows of his jacket. But the clothes themselves were still nice and frozen. That was promising!
The others dusted off clothes, refreezing hair and reigniting tips semi-successfully. Rosy cheeked and smiling, Winter surveyed the backyard, taking in the damage the snowball fight had done.
"The four of you really caused quite a mess."
The perfect snow had been melted in odd places, the muddy ground making a mess of the yard. Icy ramps sat half melted, puddles all over the yard and frozen into slippery sheets of ice in some places.
"It's not that bad," Jack said, as a loud pop rang out in the distance. A thick branch snapped off of one of the trees, landing on the ground with a crack.
"Oops," Fiera said, scratching her head. "My bad."
Winter raised an eyebrow, giving Jack a quizzical look.
"Okay it's…it's a little bad."
"I think I've seen worse," Jacqueline said.
"Well in that case, the four of you can take care of this mess. Ah ah ah, no groans. You all made the mess, you can clean it. You too, Jack, since it seems your core is in working order for the time being. Unless you'd all rather help in the kitchen?"
The silence spoke for itself.
"That's what I thought. Now then! We have much to do so let's get moving, shall we? I'm sure your aunts will come earlier than I asked them to, so Fino, Fiera, let's melt those ramps, please. Jack, Jacqueline, fix up this muddy mess. I want the backyard blanketed in snow. Sparkling and crisp, if you please. Not a single blade of grass peeking through. Spring will never let us live it down."
"Can do," Jacqueline said, cracking her knuckles as she began to shift the snow around them. Fino had started to melt the ramps while Fiera attempted to drag the branch towards the woodpile just before the forest line.
"Afterwards, I think the four of you could use a hose down," Blaise said, straightening his tie as his hair reignited no problem (though it was more of a simmer than a roaring flame).
"Excuse me?" Jack asked, a little offended. Why, he was the cleanest of them all! Sure his frozen hair was a little bit droopy. And yes, his suit was soaked, but that wasn't really an issue; he'd just freeze it and add it to the pile on his ensemble. There was, of course, mud in some spots that he'd have to clean before the aunts arrived, but aside from that? He was pristine!
Jacqueline was a little worse off—her hair was half melted, half frozen, the curls more of a wave, a messy mix of brown and white. Her leggings were soaked, her sweater splotchy with wet spots and mud, snow sticking to her in odd places.
"Have you seen your siblings?" Blaise asked, pointing towards the Twins with his chin
"We're not that messy," Fiera pouted, branch flying through the air and landing on top of the wood.
"You are that messy," Blaise said. "I think you're both more mud than sprite!"
They really were, Jack noted, looking over his shoulder at the pair. Mud was all over their clothing, and their hair was very damp, nearly glued to their heads. Fiera tried to push it off of her cheek, smearing mud right across and into her damp hair. Both heads were starting to steam a little, hair too damp to ignite.
"There are sprites there? I thought those were two mud monsters that had made off with my babies," Winter said.
"We're not babies!" Fino protested, as Fiera yelled "MUD MONSTER!" and jumped on him, throwing him back down into the muddy snow.
Winter giggled. "Come on now you two, don't make the mess worse than it already is. I think you all have your work cut out for you as is."
"I don't envy them, that's for sure," Blaise mumbled.
"That means us, too." Winter replied. "We've got a lot to do inside, still, and that includes you, sir. We have a date in the kitchen," Winter finished, grabbing his tie and pulling him closer to her.
"I was really hoping you'd say we need to get cooking."
"You had several lines ready for that, right?"
"Primed, even!"
"I know," Winter said, pecking his cheek. "That's why I didn't say it," she said with a wink.
"I'm sorry, didn't we have work to do?" Jacqueline teased.
"Quite right," Blaise said, clearing his throat. "We're off to prep and season! If those two don't clean themselves up, let me know. I'll get the hose," he said seriously, following Winter to the kitchen, their groceries floating behind them.
"Not if I get them FIRST!" Jack said, shouting over his shoulder and feigning a chase. The Twins squealed and ran off, mud flying behind them. He laughed as they sped off, leaving a trail of mud and melted snow in their wake.
"You're not going to chase them, are you," Jacqueline said, frowning beside him.
"Nope," Jack replied with a smirk.
Jacqueline groaned. "You make my life so hard," she said, shaking out her arms and trekking behind the twins, covering their melty tracks with freshly conjured snow as she went.
Jack chuckled to himself, folding his jacket over his arms and surveying the yard. The branch fell off of the woodpile, taking several other chunks with it.
With a sigh, he placed his jacket on the railing and rolled up his sleeves. The sooner things were put back to rights, the sooner they could head in and get ready for the night; and, quite frankly, Jack could use all the time he could get.
A/N: Me in 2017: I'm finally happy with where this chapter is! Yay Frost family shenanigans!
Me in March 2022: I am going to COMMIT CRIME please take this DOUBLED IN LENGTH CHAPTER while I SCREAM INTO THE ABYSS AND CONTEMPLATE THROWING MYSELF IN SOME ICE COLD WATER, WHY TF DID I DECIDE TO GO BACK AND RE-EDIT? I had almost finished this chapter in December. You know where I left it? AT BLAISE SAYING YOU ARE THAT MESSY! THAT'S LIKE 10 MORE LINES! I'M GONNA RIOT
I still love this chapter. Lots of lore and descriptions, so I'm glad you've made it this far! :) Do review if you'd like. They're nice to read and sometimes you just gotta scream into a void, you know? The review box makes a great void! The latter half felt a bit choppy, but I THINK I've fixed it.
Next ones are doozies, oof. LOTS of tweaks to make amongst the sisters and Jack and Winter. Should be smooth sailing after that, though! All this because I didn't like the way I had written Jacqueline's blackouts. What a time to be alive. Anyway, stay safe, yadda yadda, read and review, be gay do crimes, whatever (i'm very tired)
