Ice Cubes
Summary: Jack is good at doing many things and the guardians figure out why. The perfection in Jack's every talent and action speaks of three centuries worth of loneliness. There's only so much a spirit who is unseen, unheard, and unloved could do.
Jesters of the Moon (the first reviewer of the tenth chapter): Jack has been alone for quite some time. In that span of time, he must have tried to keep his mind off of loneliness somehow, right? So maybe in his 300 years alone, he has developed a skill due to being able to practice all the time. Maybe he could be an excellent singer or sculptor, etc. and the guardians can catch him in the act; lots of angst to ensue with them realizing the reason why he's so good at it.
Frosted Perfection
Painting
Past…
The first time Jack holds a brush he is enamored.
He has been frosting for over sixty-six thousand, seven hundred and ninety-five days and marvels over one person painting at the landscape of snow before him. Jack floats above, watching as the other shivers and sneezes at the natural cold the winter sprite brings with him wherever he goes.
The frost Jack creates as he walks, flies, and gently ices windows and rocks with his staff is nothing short of an art. But over the course of one hundred eighty three years, he often runs across other spirits who calls him a destroyer, a harbinger of death.
And as Jack leans forward and watches the painter patiently, observing as he mixes colors and smiles at his work, Jack thinks, it is not his fault if this time he wishes to create rather than destroy.
Present…
Jack remembers the first time he ever tried his hand at painting. He laughs as he remembers the frosted brush, the days when the paint would freeze over when he finally got the brush to thaw from his frosted touch. The nights he spent by the lake of Burgess painting on rocks, knowing they would be gone in the morning from all the melted snow.
Jack remembers the boy that so wanted to create something so beautiful, to be seen, to be told and praised for creating rather than destroying this time.
The youngest guardians purses his lips as he pays attention to detail, expertly painting leftover googies that ran away and got lost when Bunny was making his preparations for Easter. Over hundreds of them had gathered in front of him- or rather their tiny little legs frozen in place so that they would not escape as Jack makes his masterpiece.
Jack is the harbinger of winter, the death of the seasons, he is a destroyer and he makes a mess wherever he goes.
"It's finally done!" Jack shouts as he jumps up in the air and whoops loudly, waving the egg in his hand. Below him the eggs looked up as Jack carefully floats back down and places the last egg on the pile before icing it.
"I hope Cottontail likes it." He whispers to himself, his happy and confident expression being replaced by nervousness for once. He shakes his head and pulls his hoodie up before turning away. "I should leave before he comes back, he- he won't like seeing me in his Warren."
And just like that, Jack is gone.
Bunnymund comes back after a long day. Pleased at seeing the happy faces of the kids and even more pleased that no unwanted blizzards happened. In the back of his mind he was worried, he remembered being slightly hard on Jack a few days before, firmly telling him to keep away, but he pushes these worries at the back of his mind as he finally entered his home.
The sentinels greeted him as always with their frozen happy faces. Some were even doing happy jiggly dances with their legs and the old pooka raised an eyebrow at that until-
A whiff of fresh snow, a shiver down his spine. A pink nose twitched and the old warrior's long ears shifted as he looked around with narrowed green eyes, but it wasn't one of anger or annoyance.
"Frost?" Bunny called as he hopped along the path where he saw melted frost on the grass, creating a unique path of dewdrops. At the name of the winter sprite, the sentinels shifted excitedly again but Bunny wasn't paying attention to them as he walked. "Frostbite? Jack, are ya' here, mate?"
No answer and Bunny's ears swiveled in discomfort as he frowned. He turned to his guardian stones and asks, "He's not here anymore, is he?"
The sentinels shook side to side, telling their guardian that no, Jack left moments ago. The old guardian sighed as he continued to hop along the path, one or two sentinels following him as he made his way across to the Warren, still following the strong scent of the snow and wondering what Jack had been doing.
"I swear, if it's another prank, I ain't gonna forgive him." Bunny muttered, his good mood ruined by the fact that Jack left so quickly before even talking to him. He continued to hop until he caught sight of a little googie walking depressingly across the grass, a strange but fine blue shade across his shell.
Aster stoops down and extends a paw as the googie climbs onto it and he gave it a good once over, the strange blue painted part of the egg only on one side, the rest in white. Strangely the blue reminded him of Jack's hood and the pale white was the googie's natural color but it was also the tone of Jack's skin.
Curious, the guardian of Hope let the egg go. "Show me where ya' came from." He said and the googie wobbled away from him and into a slightly uneven ground of the warren that shaped it into a small cliff. Bunny followed after it and gently pushed branches and bushes out of the way as he headed to the edge of the cliff, looking down at a cool and hidden glade of the Warren.
The Pooka quickly followed after the egg when it jumped off the cliff but stopped before he fell, making him call out, "Oi!" But the guardian's call out was cut off when he looked down at the glade and his green eyes widened.
Right in front of him, hundreds of his hidden googies were sitting on the cool glade, forming a group of different colors. But it wasn't the gathering of the eggs that left him speechless, no, it was the painting they formed when they were grouped together.
"Blimey…" Bunny took a step forward in awe, taking a better look.
The eggs were painted beautifully and evenly. Blue in different variations from midnight to celeste, white and silver combinations, green the color of life and newly sprouted plants, grey the color of Aster's fur and dark grey the color of his markings.
The googies formed a gigantic painting, only seen above the small cliff Bunny was on. It was the picture of a winter sprite, knees hugged to his chest, surrounded by snow and white and midnight blue, hood up, eyes covered by hair as white as the snow he controls. He had a hand held out and in front of him was no doubt a taller being, a rabbit with sleek and soft looking fur, a paw extended as though to pull the other up, green eyes determined, full of hope…
…and kind.
Bunny choked and almost fell but instead he collapsed into a stunned silence, awkwardly sitting down on the edge of the uneven ground looking at the amazing picture that could only by a person who had been there the whole time.
Someone who was not Aster.
It could only be the earlier intruder in Bunny's Warren.
Flashback…
"Can't you do anything besides make a mess?" Bunny accused the Winter sprite, poking him on the chest with his paint brush when the youngest guardian succeeded on pulling another prank on him.
Jack laughed an easy laugh at him, hands held up in mock surrender, one hand on his shepherd's staff. Maybe if he'd look closer he'd see the white knuckled grip the other had on it. "Hey, I'm a talented person. I know a lot of things. I'd even dare say I'm multi-talented."
Bunny raised a disbelieving eyebrow at that statement. "Doesn't seem like that to me. Besides, where'd you find the time to be talented?" And he turned away, grumbling in annoyance.
His long ears twitched as he heard a soft mumble coming from the other. "Trust me, Cottontail. Three hundred years… it's a long time to practice a lot of things." A bitter tone whispered tiredly.
End of Flashback…
Bunny buries his face in his paws, unable to look at the picture anymore. A picture filled with hope and longing asking for forgiveness from the rabbit that was supposed to represent Hope and Life himself…
Jack wasn't supposed to be the one asking forgiveness, this Bunny knows.
This time, it was Bunnymund who actually owes the other an apology.
And the Pooka couldn't feel worse than he already did,
Ice Sculpting
Past…
Jack remembers the calluses, the scratches, and the bleeding of his pale and small hands when he first tried ice sculpting. Thinking that he'd be an immediate professional with ice sculpting was wrong. It did not mean that by being Winter incarnate and the creator of Ice that he was immediately going to be good at it.
Good was very, very far from it.
"Ouch!" Jack, barely five years old since being born from is lake, winces as he tries to fashion a small house with the ice he created from his staff. He frowns at the imperfect creation and sighs, deciding to do it again. He had all the time in the world, true, but he really wanted to finish this quickly.
The wind curls around him, ruffling his hair gently and questioningly as Jack winces again from the sharp tools he uses as he fashioned the house.
"Oh? This?" He says cheerfully, grinning. "I'm making this for a little girl from the village. She keeps going to my lake and she seems pretty sad so I wanted to make this for her."
The wind blew harder and Jack laughs as it tries to help him by pushing on his tools or else delaying the melting of the ice, which was unnecessary since Jack was like a human snowman with cold hands that would make the ice freeze rather than melt.
Jack grins and looks down at his creation and smiles gently, "Thank you. I'll do my best."
It took Jack fifty-five years to finally make a decent ice sculpture and everyday he goes and talks to the girl by his lake, telling her to wait a little more because he was almost finished. He notices her getting older but thinks it was just a strange human thing, maybe shape shifting or something like the dryads did, and he thinks nothing more of the wrinkles on her face or the faraway look in her eyes that gets dimmer every time he sees her.
Yeah- when he sees her.
Because obviously, she cannot see him.
Like everybody else.
But Jack doesn't mind. She visits his lake, even though doesn't visit him- he heard her brother died in his lake, and Jack is sorry he could not have saved him at the time before his birth- he still appreciates the scraps of company.
The day Jack finishes the sculpture he flies eagerly to the lake and sits on the center, eager for the lady to come by and see the small sculpture of her house he placed at the side of his lake earlier. A few people came and pass, wearing black clothes that stood out in the white of the snow but Jack ignores them and his curiosity for the first time, opting to stay and wait.
It was only three days later that Jack thinks that maybe the lady wasn't coming today.
Jack worries, takes the sculpture and flies to the house of the lady he has known for years. He finds it and is shocked to see at how run down it was, no longer the warm little house he used to peek through during Christmas so many years ago. It looked abandoned, old, and sad.
"I can't believe Pippa Overland really is gone." A middle-aged lady whispers and Jack catches it as he turns abruptly. Pippa was the name of the girl or lady that visits- visited him! Where was she? And what do they mean by gone?
"I heard she's buried by the forest, near the lake her brother died in. Is that true?" Another whispers and Jack was off even before they whisper the last question, flying towards the forest in excitement.
Jack finds not the old lady that used to sit by the side of the lake, talking to someone- Jack presumes to be her brother's spirit long gone. Instead he finds a stone with similar symbols of the girl's name she wrote so long ago on the snow.
R.I.P.
Pippa Overland
A wonderful, caring, and loving grandmother, mother, daughter, and sister.
As soon go kindle fire with snow, as seek to quench the fire of love with words.
Jack could not read the other words, but he traces and recognizes the name on the headstone and he feels his heart clench, his eyes widen and burn with a strange sensation. He does not know what the stone stands for, he does not know where the lady is. But he feels- knows that he will not see her anymore.
And that strikes something in Jack and for the first time in his life he feels cold. He shudders and places the carefully made gift in front of the gravestone and stands up, his legs feel like lead as he walks away and swings his staff rather meaninglessly.
Jack does not know yet what death is at the time but he assumes enough to know that he does not like it. But with his limited knowledge of the world he draws one conclusion, though:
Death was the permanent way of taking something or someone precious to Jack.
Present…
North notices that Jack has been in personal study for several hours. He left the boy there after he had to attend to several redesigning of his toys which was hours ago. The teen sprite had a deep look of concentration on his face, as though he was trying to remember something very important, but what, North did not know.
So he comes back, after hours and hours of pouring over blue prints and redesigning of toys, to his office only to find Jack still there. But he wasn't thinking anymore, no, rather Jack seemed to be doing something very important. He had the same look of concentration on his face and North notices the tools for ice sculpting on the other's hands.
"Ah, you are sculpting something, Jack?" North asks in a low voice because he does not want to startle the poor boy and cause him to create a mistake.
But Jack doesn't even flinch. He lets out a mild hum of confirmation as he continued what he was doing and North watches in wonder as long fingers do their jobs expertly, ice picks and die grinders used naturally with utmost safety as Jack does his work.
The techniques were something to be expected from the maker of Ice himself. It was as though he knew which bits of the ice were in danger of breaking off with too much force and which parts of the ice were perfect for a certain curvature. It was like the ice was a part of Jack himself- and North wouldn't be shocked if it was so.
Although the old Santa could not see what the other was doing, he had no doubt in his mind that it was a perfect little piece of something what with the utmost care and precision Jack handled it.
"Done." Jack says a few minutes later as he takes off the goggles he used to protect his eyes from as he chipped and carved perfection from ice. North was eager to see what the young boy had created but before he could ask, Jack tosses him the goggles and grins.
"Thanks for letting me use your tools North. I'll see you at the meeting tomorrow, okay?" The guardian of Fun says with a wave as he grabs his staff and jumps towards the nearest window to free fall before the wind catches him expertly.
North braces himself for the cold gust before sighing at the abrupt departure. Maybe he could ask Jack about his secrets for ice sculpting next time.
However, just as the guardian of Wonder turns to leave, he notices a small and familiar blue doll. It seems like the youngest guardian forgot his matryoshka!
He could've given it tomorrow when they met again, but North was eager to find an excuse to talk to the other about his skills, so instead he grabs his coat and two spare snow globes. He pockets the other and takes the other one to shake, "Burgess' lake." He whispers and throws.
North does not see Jack when he steps out of the portal. It takes him a few minutes of wandering around before he sees a small clearing in the forest.
Despite his size, North was able to walk stealthily to that spot of the forest- he is Santa Claus after all- without being seen. He sees a familiar blue hooded spirit and was about to call out happily but then he shifted his eyes and freezes.
Jack seems to be kneeling, head bowed in front of a headstone.
"Jack?" North whispers instead but the sprite had begun to talk.
"Hey there Pippa, I finally remembered who you really are." Jack says in a breathless voice that seemed winded but also so sad that it breaks North's heart. "I haven't got all of my memories back, but Tooth says that it just takes time to regain everything so I have to wait a bit- but- but I remember you."
Silence and North kneels down behind a tree, staring at the frost sprite whose shoulders were shaking slightly, staff still standing tall as the other leans against it for support.
"You're my sister." He said in that same breathless voice. "My sister. I don't remember everything about us, but I at least remember that. I remember how important you were to me and how much fun I had everyday with you and mum."
Jack chokes a bit and North digs his hand on the tree bark in front of him, wanting to reach out but he knows the other would run away if he ever realizes the old Santa was there.
"I'm- I'm happy you came to visit me at the lake everyday." Jack reaches up an arm to rub at his eyes. "Even- even though you couldn't see me, I was happy. Thank you."
There was silence and the quiet atmosphere of the forest was only broken by the hiccups coming from Jack, reminding North of how young Jack really was. An immortal teenager. Forever frozen in that body that barely hit puberty. Sometimes, North wondered why Manny chose to turn a boy so young.
"So, I-I made you this anyway. Today is a special day for you and- and I remembered making one a few centuries back for you but I wasn't able to give it to you on time back then, so… sorry." Jack said as he took deep breaths and took out the sculpture he made at North's. "Here. I was able to make it on time today. I guess, years of doing this finally paid off." He said quietly as he placed it carefully in front of the gravestone.
Jack stared at it for a few seconds before he stood up, rubbed his eyes, and brushed off the snow on his pants and hoodie. He turned away, exhaling loudly as though trying to get himself back together.
"Happy birthday and death anniversary, P-Pippa." Jack's voice breaks at the name and he bites his lips as he swings his staff and the wind comes strong and carries him away in a flurry of snowflakes.
North stands at his hiding place for a few more minutes before he steps out courageously and approaches the grave hidden in the forest.
He kneels down in front of the stone and stares at the centuries old grave mark. The writing was no longer distinguishable and the stone was crumbling to pieces at the side, looking like some old artifact. The older guardian wonders how come no scientist has come to take this away yet for history research, but he guesses Jack has something to do with it.
He looks down the grave and finally his eyes see what he is looking for.
There are several broken pieces and left over ice surrounding it, proof that there used to be more sculptures but they were either melted by the sun or else were broken because of wandering animals. The rough texture and uneven tone of the ground spoke of hundreds of sculptures placed before, and North feels his heart clench again.
He reaches out and very carefully takes the lone sculpture Jack placed recently.
It was a small sculpture of four people, a family.
There was a mother, a father, a little sister, and of course Jack. The parents had their arms around their children and the children held unto the hands of their parents. They were standing together, their faces in an eternal smile, showing off a past happiness that Jack yearned for so much.
The great big hands shake a bit as a tear slides down the old Cossack's eyes and unto the perfect sculpture. The perfect crevices, the perfect carving of the faces from a three hundred year old memory spoke volumes of Jack's years when he was left alone, forgotten, and walked through.
The skill speaks of years of perfection with no other occupation to be done. Talent crafted and persevered because no one could give Jack the time of day he craved, wanted, and needed.
And it takes North an entire hour to stare at the piece of perfection before he finally puts it down in front of Pippa's grave and rises to go back to his home, to the North Pole.
He forgets the blue little doll he was supposed to give to Jack, he forgets the question he wished to ask Jack with regards to his ice sculpting abilities. North forgets and does not bother to remember as he takes out a globe and throws it rather meaninglessly.
The portal appears before him and he stares at it and sighs, feeling older than before. He does not know what to do… what action is there to be done towards a sin that has already been committed? What do you do to take away the three centuries of loneliness you enforced on a winter sprite you owe everything to?
North does not know the answer to that, but he vows he will find an answer for that soon.
And with new determination, the guardian of Wonder steps through the portal and to home.
He vows to make things right.
Information: Yes, Jack's sister is really named Pippa Overland. This was announced a long time ago by an ROTG fan whose father had a job in dreamworks studios so yeah, you can't change my mind about this.
As soon go kindle fire with snow, as seek to quench the fire of love with words. William Shakespeare
Notes: And here is the new chapter, I think this will expand to at least two or three chapters. The next one is of Tooth and Sandy and then the whole guardians. I hope you guys enjoy this, the information regarding the ice sculpting tools was found in google :D
To Jesters of the Moon, I hope I did your prompt justice my friend!
Review Replies:
Magiccatprinces Oh, thank you for saying so! I'm honored and I hope you enjoy this chapter too :D
JayaEmera: What if I told you I made a one shot for that a long time ago, but I never posted it here because I let my sister read it and she was like: No. XDD Ahaha, I didn't think it was too horrible though but she told me not to post it XD
PippaFrost: Yes, I will keep writing, worry not about that. With regards to Krampus, I'll keep him out of my sight for awhile until I finish the requests of the others. But I hope you enjoy this chapter anyway :D
Night-Fury1: Oh, thanks I love you too XD
Alternateapocalypse: Yes, he is somewhat like the guardian of rainfall in chapter five XD
Book girl fan: Wow, its cold there? Man I'm jealous its so hot here in our country XD And thanks for the review :D
dizappearingirl: Thank you but I'm focusing first on the prompts of the first three reviewers of the tenth chapter and I'm sure one of them requested the next chapter of Hibernation so it won't be long now :D Thanks for reviewing every chapter so far :D
XMidnightAuroraX: Your sister sounds adorable, thank you for the review and I'm happy you enjoyed!
TheVictoryAngleofStrife: I wish I had time to edit the title chapters maybe later when my head stops aching! Thank you for the support and another wonderful title.
beanie-art1: Oh! BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Oh my gosh that's such a wonderful present!
DaisukethePenguin: Yes, there will be a second part to Rain! Thanks for enjoying :D
Ihearthorses6000: Thank you very much, I will do my best and keep writing to make everyone as happy (or as sad seeing since most of the fics are angst) as I can with my updates!
So yeah that is all guys! I hope you enjoy the update :D
Please review and I hope you enjoy!