Jack leaned in closer as Phil's voice grew softer. The others yetis surrounding him did the same. The deep resonating growls echoed through the halls of the workshop. Elves sat still as they listened to the story continue. Toys were left unfinished as the hero of the tale climbed the final steps to victory.
Everyone was focused on Phil as he described the battle that was going on in the story. The deep blue eyes of the winter spirit widened with wonder as he listened, he could clearly see the tale in his mind. Jack was amazed by how the story enthralled him. He knew it would still be a great story if it was told in English...but there was something about telling a tale in it's original language, like something gets lost when its translated. Jack was glad he could understand it easily enough. Yetish, when spoken correctly, was an amazing language. Jack also discovered that it was good for story telling. The deep tones that were used so often made the desperation, the dangers, the horrors more intense. The battles seemed fiercer, the heroic acts more victorious.
Nothing could ruin this moment. Anyone passing would surely join in listening. That was what had happened with the other yetis. It was, at first, just Jack who was being told the story. He had wanted to hear a legend that originated from the Yetis. He had heard plenty of other old tales from around the world, but when Phil offered to tell this one, Jack couldn't wait to hear it. The elves were the first to join in and settle down, surprisingly. They had all gathered and sat next to/on Jack near the beginning of the story. Over the course of the tale, yetis slowed or stopped in their work to hear the legend. They all knew it, but it was always fun to hear one more time. And Phil had such a magical story-teller's voice.
Phil was the most favorite narrator of the yetis. He spoke with full emotions, yet made sure they didn't take away from the story too much. it was a perfect balance.
A few yetis mumbled excitedly to themselves as Phil continued. It seemed their favorite part was coming up. Jack couldn't wait to find out what it was. This was probably the best day so far. He held his breath and grinned-
"What is everyone doing?"
North's voice broke through the entrancing spell that Phil had created. Jack blinked and turned to find the Russian at the entrance of the room. With story time interrupted, the elves immediately began to run around and returned to their normal energetic selves. The yetis turned and gave North apologetic looks, and returned to their stations, all of them except Phil, who stood by Jack. North walked up to group that was gradually shrinking as everyone returned to work. His eyes widened a bit when he saw Jack, and his smile grew.
"Ah! Jack Frost! Is good to be seeing you." He grabbed the winter spirit and brought him into a brutal hug. Jack gasped at the sudden lack of air, and tried to push away before he was crushed further. His small frame was no match against North's, so he only achieved freedom when the Russian chose to let him go a few moments later. "What are you doing with yetis?" He gave the winter spirit a look. "You are not messing up schedule, are you?" North had a smile in his eyes as he said that. He had recently discovered that Jack enjoyed playing pranks on the different yetis, but the winter spirit made sure they didn't get too out of hand to mess up their deadlines.
"Hey, North. Nah, I was just listening to Phil tell-
"Jack! What are you doing here?"
An excited voice cam from behind North. Jack leaned around the big man and saw Tooth hurtling towards him. He was brought into another hug, but thankfully he could breathe in this one. It ended quicker, but, like all times when she saw Jack, Tooth pried open his mouth to check on his 'sparkling little whites'.
"Oh, Jack. You do so well keeping your teeth clean! Ah, its really quite amazing. North should really follow your example. He eats treats all the time, coating his teeth with so much sugar. He should be cleaning them at least 4 times a day, so as not to get permanent damage, but he never does. He also barely flosses."
North gave a laugh when she started to go about his own teeth. They were fine, she was just being overprotective of them. The two of them continued to bicker, but Jack turned his attention back to Phil.
"So, now that the whole moment has been ruined..."
Phil nodded in understanding at the winter spirit's disappointment. That was one of the worst moments in the story to stop. It was right in the middle of one of Phil's personal favorite parts, so he always made sure to tell it really good. It seems like the other yetis realized this and soon found that it became their favorite part as well.
He placed a paw on the boy's shoulder, making sure not to put too much weight on his small frame, and promised they would get the chance to finish it soon.
Jack replied with a roll of his eyes and a sigh. "I guess... I was just-"
"Ah Jack! I remember!"
Jack looked back at the Guardian of Wonder. "Remembered wha-!" His arm was grabbed by North, and the three Guardians headed back to... where ever the first two had been.
Jack looked back at the yeti. Phil's eyes spoke of the laughter that his lips failed to release. The winter spirit gave an apologetic smile to his friend as he was continued to be dragged away. Phil just waved it off, and gave Jack a look saying they'd figure out when to continue their story later.
North stopped for a moment, and called back to the yeti. "Phil! Bring snacks!"
Both Jack and Phil smiled as they realized 'later' was going to be much sooner.
::
"So... did I do something wrong?" Jack asked as he sat on one of the couches. All the Guardians were there, and they turned to stare at him as he asked his question.
"Ha! What makes you think that?" North smiled.
That made Jack shift uncomfortably. He hated it when they asked him question like that. After he answered, the mood was always started out hesitantly. "Well... I don't usually get called by other spirits unless they are going to yell at me for something I did..."
Immediately it happened. That light cheerful air that surrounded them was almost all but gone. They always seem to forget those 300 years they left him alone...
North cleared his throat to try and get rid of the heavy air that came upon them. "Yes... well I have idea that will help you feel welcome. I will give you..." He paused for a more dramatic effect. It resulted in an eye roll from Bunny and Jack, though neither noticed each other had done it. "A tour of workshop!" He spread his arms out wide at his announcement.
Jack's face fell. He was dying to have one... but Phil was going to be the one doing it. He'd been in there enough times since Easter, but he still wanted to get an official tour, where everything would be explained. How the process goes and the details like that.
The other Guardians noticed his expression, and Tooth fluttered over to him. "Do you not like that idea, Jack? We all thought you'd love it." Her voice was soft and she had a worried air about her.
"No, no.. Its great. I've been wanting one for awhile now... I just-" He was cut off when the doors opened and two yeti's walked in with drinks and cookies. Neither of them were Phil. Jack was about to ask where he was when North beat him to it.
"Ah, thank you. Phil get distracted by elves?" he gave a wink to the two of the yetis. They knew how the elves always preferred to cause havoc for Phil then any other yeti in the workshop.
They nodded and saw Jack. The yetis walked around North and asked the boy if Phil had mentioned when he was going to finish the legend, because they wanted to hear the ending, yet they didn't want to do it if they had work to do. They then asked Jack if he could have the head yeti finish the story tonight, after all the work is done?
Jack laughed. "Yeah, alright. I'll ask him, but you have to be in charge of the refreshments for tonight. They better be good."
Both of them nodded and agreed to Jack's terms, then headed back out. They gave a final farewell to North and the other Guardians. When the door shut, Jack turned and found four pairs of eyes staring at him. He shrank back a bit. Why were they staring at him like that?
His question was answered when North asked his own.
"You know yeti language?" The Russian was bewildered with this discovery of their newest Guardian. Not many other people took the time to learn it. Not even the other Guardians knew it... maybe Sandy did, but he wasn't positive. Even if Jack knew it, where did he learn it? Most yetis were here at the North Pole.
"Well... yeah." Jack said uncomfortably, shifting from one foot to another. "Don't all you?" He directed the question at the rest of the Guardians. Why wouldn't they? They work with North all the time, wouldn't it be good to learn the language of his workers? Obviously not, because Tooth and Bunny shook their heads. Sandy gave a small nod, so Jack guessed that he knew. That was predictable. Sandy was the one who was least heard among the Guardians, but he was the one most willing to listen. How could he listen if he didn't understand?
"No, Jack. None of us do except for North." Tooth said. Oh, so they didn't know Sandy knew? Jack glanced at the dream Guardian and saw a bit of steam sand come off him. Obviously he had tried to tell them before, but sometimes they missed his symbols, or couldn't understand them well enough. Jack could understand how Sandy felt. Before he had learned yetish, he was mostly guessing what Phil was saying, and often times Jack felt that Phil couldn't express himself fully because he would go misunderstood.
"How did ya' learn it, Mate?" Bunny came forwards.
Jack gave Bunny smirk. "Well, I started with basic stuff. 'Hello', 'good-bye', you know... Then I moved on to more advanced words. I learned the Christmas language pretty fast, since it sees to be a big part of a yeti's life, so that's understandable." Jack knew he was just going to irritate the pooka, but he couldn't help it. The remark just popped out.
North gained a twinkle in his eyes at the mention of Christmas. He knew he was missing something from this. "Ah, I remember you say you have been trying to get in workshop for long time, no? This is when you learned, Yes?" That made sense, Jack probably picked it up from what he overheard from the yetis, and now that Jack could spend more time here, he learned the language more easily.
"Yeah, I mean, it took awhile, but so does every other language."
Tooth squealed as a thought came to her. "Oh! Can I hear you speak some yetish? I've always wondered what it would sound like from someone besides a yeti." She heard North nearly choke on his drink, and he grew embarrassed. Jack, meanwhile, had collapsed to the ground in a fit of laughter.
"Wha's wrong with them?" The Guardian of Hope asked as he came to stand by her.
Sandy cut into the conversation. His sand symbols came quickly, though slow enough that they all understood his question. What was Jack going say about the workshop tour? When North spoke of how Jack was trying to break in, it reminded Sandy that the winter spirit had been trying to say something about it before the other yetis came in.
"Oh! That's right! What were you going to say, Jack?" The fairy queen fluttered excitedly close to him.
Jack looked taken back, and stood up from the ground. He shifted from one foot to another. "I was just already promised one from the yetis..."
North gave a jolly laugh. "That is no big deal! I understand." He was thankful for the change of topic. He never liked bringing up how he sounded in Yetish. He knew his workers found it humorous. He briefly wondered what Jack had been laughing so hard about, but it left his mind as he continued on about the Workshop tour, and how they could all go on it together, at a later point when the yeti's weren't busy.
Jack gave a grateful sigh. That was one of the first promises Phil made to Jack when they became friends. If Jack was ever allowed in by North, then he would get a special VIP tour. Throughout the years, Jack never thought it was going to actually happen, but now... he couldn't wait!
"So! Instead... We give you tour of Bunny's home!"
"WHAT?!" Bunny yelled out. "There is no way I'm letting him in my home. He'd freeze it solid!"
"But, Bunny. He did not last time, no?"
"Yeah, but last time..." Bunny's words died off. It was an emergency last time. He didn't often let other people into the warren... but when he turned to see Jack's eyes widen at the thought of a Warren tour, he let out a sigh.
"Alright, we'll show Frostbite around..." He said in a defeated tone.
Jack let out a whoop of joy at that, and Bunny hoped he wouldn't regret this.
"Don't worry, Bunny. We do Tooth and Sandy's home too."
::
Evening came and all the Guardians stood and waited for the other yetis and elves to gather. Jack was surprised to find the other Guardians standing by Phil as he prepared to finish his story. It seems that North had told the others what the first two yeti had asked Jack and now they were interested in hearing the tale as well.
Phil decided, that since there were so many new people joining in, he'd start over from the beginning. Jack didn't mind at all. In fact, he couldn't wait. Sandy was going to be creating different effects with his Dreamsand, and that would be the only source of light. He would do particles, or bright flashes, or what ever fit the mood. Jack couldn't wait till they got to the great battles. He knew that with both Phil and Sandy working together, it would be incredible!
Magic filled the air as the two of them started. Phil's voice was low and deep as he began the introduction. There was no light. Jack could only hear the growls of the yeti. One by one, the room began to slowly light up as the tale continued on its way.
Jack leaned against who ever was sitting next to him. When he felt fur, he assumed it was another yeti. He sighed as he felt the warmth that came from it. He actually enjoyed the heat if it came from blankets, or fur. He just found the natural summer heat draining. He hoped whoever was behind him didn't mind, it's not like he weighed that much.
::
Bunny shifted and tried to get comfortable. With all the yetis in the room, it was getting pretty stuffy. No one else seemed to mind it, but Bunny, with all his extra fur, found it discomforting. He didn't know why the yetis weren't bothered by it... He had just gotten in an okay position when Jack, who was sitting in front of him, leaned back against his fur. The pooka's eyes widened and he was about to shake the kid off him when, suddenly, he felt a cold wave come from the winter spirit. It cooled him down nicely and he decided he would deal with the little bugga' for a little while... at least till the story is over.
He rearranged himself again so that Jack wouldn't have to lean in such an odd angle, and so that Bunny got the most cold feeling hitting him. As they both settled in to listen, the Guardian of Hope couldn't help but smirk at the kid.
There came a point in the story when Phil's voice grew quite... Most of Sandy's dream sand faded away so there was only a slight whisper in the dark. When a bright flash of light came and Phil let out a loud cry, Bunny almost jumped. He noticed that a few yetis actually did. Tooth had been so startled, she leaned into North's shoulder.
Bunny winched when he felt small hands grip his fur tightly. He looked at Jack and saw that he had been startled as well. Bunny suppressed a shiver when his legs (where Jack had gripped) got small icicles on them. Jack let out breath as the tale continued. Bunny watched and had to stop himself from laughing as the winter spirit snuggled into his fur.
:::
When the story ended, Jack smiled up at Phil. That was definitely worth the wait. It was made even better with Sandy there, and everyone else enjoying it with him. One of the yetis stood up and turned on the lights. Jack stretched a bit, but he froze when he heard a familiar Australian voice coming from the yeti that was supposedly behind him.
"Enjoy the story, mate?"
Jack swiftly turned and felt his eyes bulge and jaw drop at the sight of Bunny. He was smirking at him. He drew in a breath and tried to say something... It hadn't been Bunny the whole time... It couldn't have been.. Jack could have sworn that it was a yeti.
"B-but... you, t-the yeti... it was..." He flailed his arms around, trying get his words straight. "Y-you were a yeti!" He finally cried out, refusing to believe he had snuggled against the rabbit the entire time.
Bunny shook his head with a smirk. "Nah, Frostbite. How many times we gotta' go over this? I'm not a kangaroo, and I'm definitely not a yeti." He leaned in closer to the winter spirit's face. "I'm a bunny."
Jack let out what could only be called a whine. He felt his face start heating up, and he turned away so Bunny wouldn't see the color rising to his cheeks.
"Jack! Oh, Jack, that was such a wonderful story." Tooth came up besides the two of them. "I'm so glad we all got to hear it together. I think my favorite part was near the ending when- Wait... Jack? Are you blushing?" She hovered close to Jack, trying to get a good look at his darkening cheeks.
"No!" He cried out immediately. He attempted to get out of their reach, but Bunny got a hold of him.
"Ah, come on, mate. Wha' are ya so scared of? Wha's the difference between me and one a' those big lugs?" He had a big smirk on his face as he pointed over his shoulder at a yeti. It was Phil coming up with Sandy towards the rest of the Guardians.
"How did you two even listen to the story? You said you didn't understand yetish." Jack tried to get off the subject of his choice of a pillow during the story.
Tooth flashed a smile at North. "Don't worry, Jack. North was right beside me giving me a rough translation. Sandy's dream sand also helped." She waved at Sandy as he came up to them.
He beamed at them. He was glad that they like his work so much. After a series of quick symbols to Phil, he said they'd finish their chat later. Phil nodded and growled out a goodbye to the little man. He gave a wave to Jack and turned to help the others clean up the room.
"Yes, the sand was good touch to story. I enjoyed it." North said as he joined in the conversation. He noticed Jack's flushed face. "What is wrong?"
"N-nothing! Its just stuffy in here." Jack stammered out.
Bunny snorted at that comment.
They continued to talk about the story and their thoughts on it for awhile. They each shared their favorite moments, or parts they thought were weird. Tooth and Bunny had a few questions about some portions of the story, but Sandy, North and Jack cleared up any confusions they had. At one point Tooth said she would be interested in learning yetish, and also offered to teach the others how to understand her little mini-faeries. Bunny stated that he'd be fine without knowing the languages.
Jack smirked. "I think you're just jealous that we all have another language for our jobs, yet you don't. North has yetish, Tooth has her little faeries, Sandy has his sand, and I can talk to the wind."
Bunny turned to glare at Jack. "I have a language that I use. The egg golums speak using their own tongue."
"Rock doesn't count." Jack cut in.
"Oh! And wind does?"
"Yeah. Even normal people can hear it, they just don't understand."
"Humans can hear the earth, they're just too busy to pay attention!"
North, Tooth and Sandy watched the two continue to bicker with each other. They shared a smile between the three of them, and left the room. Its best to let those two just fight it out, rather than try and stop them.
