Author's Note: Hello everyone and welcome back to "The Winter Child!" =D I don't really have much to say at the moment, so I hope you all enjoy this new chap. ^u^

~ XLII ~

First Flight

For the first time ever

He would fly

Without the assistance

Of the Guardians nearby

He was beyond excited

To finally spread his wings

And the Wind was looking forward

To have him fly on her breeze

...

For the first time, Jack was going to fly without the assistance of Sandy or Tooth. When he was six years old, he began to develop a friendship with the Wind. And it wasn't long until he discovered that he could fly on her gales. Of course, being young at the time, Jack wasn't allowed to fly on his own. But now that he was much older, and twelve, the Guardians thought it was time to see what Jack could do on his own.

He had practiced a lot since then. Tooth and Sandy, the only other two of the Guardians who could fly, had given him lessons as he progressed in age. Jack had improved a lot since his younger years, and with the new staff that North and the Guardians had gifted him, he found that it was much easier to guide the Wind's breezes to his liking.

Though he would be flying on his own, Tooth and Sandy would still be nearby to make sure he didn't fall. Outside in front of North's house, Jack bounced on his heels, waiting impatiently for Tooth and Sandy to finish going through the rules with him before they took off. North and Aster stood nearby; the ex-Cossack was worried about Jack. He knew that he wouldn't fall with Sandy and Tooth being there, but he still couldn't help but think what if.

"He'll be fine, mate," said Aster, reading North's expression. "All that practice wasn't for nothing."

"I know," said North. "But still…he's going to be several feet in the air on his own. What if he falls?"

"He won't," reassured Aster, although to be frank, he was a little anxious himself. The two watched as Tooth and Sandy finished going over the rules. At this point, Jack was bouncing with excitement.

"Can we fly now?" he asked impatiently. The Wind, who was feeling equally restless, rustled around Jack's feet.

Tooth nodded. "We can take off now," she said. Her wings fluttered and Sandy floated off the ground. "We're going to start slow and do three laps around the village. After that, we'll see if we can speed up a little."

"Be careful up there," said North.

Jack smiled reassuringly. "I will!"

Jack twirled his staff in his hand and whispered, "Ready to go, Wind?"

The Wind whistled cheerfully, ruffling Jack's hair. The boy shifted on his feet and let out a breath. Tooth and Sandy recommended taking off slowly, so he guided the Wind to fill his cloak like a sail, and lifted a few feet off the ground, joining Tooth and Sandy in the air.

"Great job!" Tooth cheered. "Now let's start moving around."

Jack waved the Aster and North before flying off with Sandy and Tooth. As aforementioned, they started slowly, going about the average speed a person walked. Jack held his staff in hand, using it to guide the Wind's gales to balance him. It was a cool evening, and Jack enjoyed the nipping atmosphere. The flight was smooth, not too fast, and not too slow. Jack looked down at Santoff Claussen; the buildings and homes looked like toys from up there.

The Wind whipped against his face, eliciting a laugh from the young snow sprite. He did a barrel roll, just for the fun of it. He felt so alive and so free up there in the air. Jack only wished they could go faster.

"Be careful," reminded Tooth. "You don't want to lose balance."

"Oh, right. Sorry," apologized Jack. He straightened his posture and continued forth with the Tooth Fairy and Sandman. They reached Big Root and circled the tree, completing lap number one. Lap two went just the same. When they circled around to start lap three, Jack began to grow antsy.

They had stuck to the same pace, the same speed for two laps already. And Jack yearned to go faster.

"Could we go faster?" he asked.

"We can pick up the pace a little," said Tooth kindly. She and Sandy flew a bit faster, and Jack kept up with the heightened pace, but it still wasn't enough for him.

"Maybe a little faster than this?" Jack said.

"We can't go too fast to the point where you're no longer in control," Sandy said through his dreamsand. "This is as fast as we can go for now."

Jack sighed. "I wish we could go faster…" he murmured.

The Wind heard her winter boy and misinterpreted this as a request. Her gales increased and strength, and suddenly, Jack was shot forth like a bullet. Snowflakes spiraled from behind him. Jack screamed in surprise, but his shouts soon turned into laughter as the Wind rushed against him. She flipped and rolled him. Twirled and looped him through the air. Jack's laughter rang on the breeze like a distant bell as he grew further and further away from Tooth and Sandy.

"Jack!" Tooth cried, but he was too far away to hear her. Jack whooped and spun in the air, exhilaration pumping through his veins. The Wind whistled happily, and Jack did another spin, cherishing the exhilaration he felt on the ride.

Unfortunately, it's rather difficult to steer when one is flying so fast. Jack's eyes widened when Big Root suddenly came into view.

"WIND!" he shouted. And the Wind hurriedly yanked him out of the direction of the large tree. But the force of her pull sent Jack tumbling down to Earth, and he couldn't call for the Wind's gales in the panic he was in. Jack barreled to the ground and crashed near the woods. Tooth and Sandy were the first to reach him. North and Aster arrived quickly soon after.

"Jack, are you alright?!" Tooth cried, buzzing over him like a bee. "Are you hurt anywhere? Are your teeth still sparkly?!"

Jack untangled himself from his cloak and sat up. Then, he began to laugh. The four Guardians stared at him in surprise.

"That…was so fun," Jack remarked. The Wind ruffled his hair, relieved that her winter child was okay. Jack grinned.

"What you did was dangerous, moy mal'chik," North chided. His heart had nearly skipped a beat when Jack seemed to go supersonic. Aster would never admit he had done so, but he did squawk in shock when Jack sped off. "You should've stayed with Tooth and Sandy. You need to be careful when you're in the air."

Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah…I know," he said. Tooth helped him out of the dirt and the boy lifted his staff. "I'll be more careful next time."

"You did keep a steady form and had good control during our flight," said Tooth. "Well…until you sped off that is. Sandy and I think you did a good job, but we're going to have to work on speeding up, slowing down—"

Sandy created the image of a parachute landing on the ground. "And landing methods."

Jack smiled sheepishly. "That's better than failing, I guess."

Sure, he had sped off, but the Guardians were still proud of him. After double-checking that Jack was without injuries, they headed back to North's place to share a meal together.

Author's Note: Ah, Jackeh's first flight. I had a lot of fun writing this little chapter. X)

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you in the next one! =D

Until the next chapter!

~BeyondTheMoon1203