The threatening moonlight glimmered and glinted off the slowly churning waves, illuminating the endless black sea in pools of rippling silver.
Zuko leaned against the steel ships railing, gold eyes scanning the empty scene around him. Although his shoulders were hunched and his fists clenched tightly onto the mist freckled metal, he was internally a peace. He knew what he should be doing, yelling impossible orders to his already drained crew and crying out with frustration. He shouldn't be pausing in his fruitless search, basking in the reviving glow of the full moon.
His Father was waiting for him, expecting him to redeem himself for the sake of their nation. There wasn't any room for dillydallying, no daydreaming or enjoyment until he captures the ever elusive Avatar.
Yet he was, and for a moment Zuko was free.
Aang burst through the trees, comically sliding to a stop when his gray eyes locked on his panting friends.
Fire navy bodies littered the ground, and the air hung in cold tendrils low to the ground, something only an air bender could sense. Sokka and Hiccup worked to tie up the many soldiers, and Katara and Rapunzel treated the injured. Merida lay passed out amongst the fallen foliage, a halo of red hair framing her gray face. Jack lay collapsed and surrounded by many, dripping bodies, his face dangerously flushed.
Guilt washed over Aang as he took in the scene, realizing he was of no help to his friends. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, words failing him. His irresponsible actions proved him to be a disappointment to his friends, he endangered them in his futile attempt to save them.
A soft voice broke the still air, Sokka's muttering ceasing as the enchanting glow of Rapunzel's golden locks lit the forest. It had taken some time, but Rapunzel had wrapped Merida's many injuries with her hair, harnessing the absorbed power of the sun with her voice.
The timid fire bender had explained it to them once, and it still amazed Aang. Fire benders get their energy from the sun, it's how they predict the behavior of their element, and control it. Rapunzel had a stronger connection with the sun than normal, and by exposing herself to it daily she could absorb it's pure energy. The sunlight is stored in her hair, and by singing a specific song she could release it at will. When she was trapped in the fire navy ship, she received no sun exposure, the fact of which left her energy reserves almost empty. She recuperated that fact by saving that energy, letting herself become sickly and malnourished to preserve her power.
Her song ended, the glow faded, and with slow, precise movements Rapunzel removed her wound locks, Merida's injuries had healed and the color returned to her cheeks. Her unsteady breathing evened, and Aang let out an unknown held breath.
Katara, noticing his arrival, stood and made her way over to him, a tired yet concerned smile lining her face. "Aang, I'm so glad you're alright. We thought you might've been taken." Her braid slid down from her shoulder, swaying gently behind her blue adorned form.
He smiled softly at her, before looking back around at the scene in awe. "I ran into some firebenders, and I tried to warn you but I didn't get here in time-I'm sorry, I don't know what i'm saying, they'r-"
"It's okay Aang, we know you wouldn't abandon us."
Sokka groaned, heaving as he dragged a bound soldier over to the others. "What do they feed these guys?" He muttered, dropping him against another passed out man and frowning. To his right, Hiccup nearly collapsed under the weight of his soldier, yelping as he dodged a flying limp arm. "Hic, I'm beginning to think this is pointless." The green eyed teen dropped his captive, hands on his hips. "You think?! This was your idea!"
"I just wanted to make a statement…Dont Mess With The Avatar, Or Else!"
Hiccup visibly stifled his frustration, crossing his arms to steady himself. "Or else what?"
Sokka paused, then rubbed his chin as he pondered his question, eyebrows furrowed. He looked about him, at the scorched marks on the ground, and the few piled men who had yet to awake. He then shrugged. "Or else you'll lose."
Aang rolled his gray eyes at their antics, tuning out their argument and following Katara to Rapunzel's side. The blonde had left Merida to rest, and began inspecting Jack, checking him for injuries.
His blue eyes were tightly shut, perspiration glinting on his heated forehead and breaths labored. Occasionally he would whimper, a shiver shooting through him. The green-eyed girl looked up to Katara, the fellow healer, for aid, a question in her gaze. "He seems ill, but I don't understand how, he didn't get injured in the fight." The water bender settled down unto her knees, tanned hands feeling his heated cheeks. Her blue eyes shone with worry, and she winced at his flushed face. "That's hot for a human, let alone someone as cold as he." Her left hand opened her water pouch, the right guiding the liquid into his parted lips.
Jack struggled to regain consciousness, his vision swimming through indecipherable patterns of darkness and light. He couldn't ever remember feeling this way, this vulnerable, this emotional. His steady foundation of spiritual indifference and pride had been shattered, leaving him lost and broken. Faces and sounds circled his thoughts, each one sending a sharp spike of feeling within Jack.
The echoing lullaby sung by Rapunzel illuminated him, and he felt a strong surge of fluttering happiness, her words sinking lightly like the mist around him. Albeit her stern, cold expression appeared and he felt his joy wash away, leaving bitter confusion and sadness.
The darkness lapsed, and Aang's smile and laughter made him feel joyful and light, like the air itself. He rode alongside him with the wind, and Jack was surprised to find underneath anger and resentment that clouded dwindling hope. When he questioned the reasoning behind his feelings, a silver disc appeared before him, massive and luminous, blinding his cowering form with its might. Seeing it made him resist the urge to scream and cry and plead for reasons his semi-conscious form couldn't understand.
The moon faded to black, and suddenly iridescent eyes broke the still air, the shadows peeling taunt and serving as eyelids. Jack was initially startled, frightened, then rage beyond the scope of his comprehension erupted and he roared, sitting up and blindly striking at the faces of his worried friends.
"Jack! Calm down!" A stern but worried voice said, the normal warmth of kindness and understanding strained as he was forced back down. He could barely comprehend the words, his vision blurring and clearing in a confusing kaleidoscope that made his head throb in pain. He tried to squint, to see and make sense of the world but the agony took hold of his every fiber. Where it hurt he didn't know, only that it kept strumming alongside the growing ache in his chest.
A familiar, annoyed voice cried out, panic evident. "Katara what did you do!?" The feeling in his chest was worsened, and where the sounds were disorienting before they now faded, drowned out by the ringing static. His thoughts slowed, his pain faded, his chest constricting as he attempted to claw at it. He was forgetting something...a way to fix this.
"Someone stop him!"
"His face! It's turning purple!" He felt a pressure on his chest, and his arms wild swinging and grabbing ceased, fists loosely grasping at the air.
The pressure on his chest was gone, which only brought to attention how the pressure within was about to bust. He was so tired..and the ringing seemed so far away…
"He's not breathing!"
And then there it was, the forgotten solution. Air came into his lungs through his mouth and his body reacted instinctively by shocking awareness back into Jack and sending him reeling. The white haired teen sat up, sputtering and coughing, drawing in deep ragged breaths of wonderful air. He still couldn't see, and his reason for being here had gone. The pain came back, albeit lessened, and he groaned, falling back to the ground and into darkness.
He dreamt of a strange and foreign land, one whose complex buildings were carved of ice.
With hesitant steps he wondered the intricate city, ignoring the screams of pain and war cries that surrounded him. Fire light flickered from the corner of his vision, reflecting off the frozen buildings and roads and bridges.
The goings around him didn't matter, nor did his location or the purpose of his being there. No, the only thing that mattered was the horrible feeling creeping both inside and out.
It constricted his chest and sent violent shivers through his body, forcing him to pull his limbs close. His fingers hurt, a prickling stinging pain that slowed their movements and left them limp. His bare feet fared no better, numb and thick, he felt as though they weren't his own, and every so often he would look down to ensure he even had feet. They were red and swollen, the tips of the toes blackened through violet hues. His teeth chattered so forcefully he held his tongue back, worried he would bite it and cause himself more pain. Flying spittle froze on his lips, and the falling snow stung his exposed skin, landing softly on his reddened collar bone, knuckles, calves and face.
Finally the feeling grew to be too much, and he fell to his knees, face burning as it unwillingly buried itself in the snow.
He couldn't move save for curling into a tight ball, blue lips trembling and pink eyelids fluttering shut.
Jack Frost, Spirit of Winter, bringer of biting frost and callous winds, was cold.
Weird chapter I'll admit, but most definitely needed. Sorry for the late update, but I'm not going to waste time making excuses. For those that are still reading this story which I thank you from the depths of my heart, what do you think is going on with Jack?
Also, there are a lot of characters in this story, and if you feel I'm neglecting any and want to see more from a certain character's perspective, ask. Or else I'll just keep doing what I'm doing.