May not post next Wednesday due to Christmas. Also, I apologize for nothing. :)

6) The Desert: The Tea Party – Samsara

"Never stop just because you feel defeated. The journey to the other side is attainable only after great suffering."
― Santosh Kalwar

"Soooooooo, I spy with my little eye, something that is big, sandy and dry!" Jack forced a grin, but his companions could tell by the tone of his voice alone that any cheer he displayed was a lie. "Yeah, I guess that joke wasn't any funnier than the last time..." Smile faltering, Jack groaned, frustrated. Of course it was a desert; the one thing that could kill him just by existing in the same space that Jack was occupying. Back on Earth, Jack had just been reaching a point where with his belief base steadily growing, he could cross a desert without breaking too much of a sweat, both literally and figuratively. Here, without the extra boost from his believers, he didn't have a hope in Hades. The vast stretch of sand seemed endless and the sun blazed overhead, hot enough to begin to make Jack uncomfortable just standing still. If this landscape held true to the others, Jack was willing to bet that the sun would be stuck at high noon permanently, which meant that burying himself in the sand and sleeping during the day so as to travel in the coolness of the night would be impossible. Using his ice to 'skate' across wouldn't work, either, as he was still feeling slightly worn from his previous encounters, and with the humidity level non-existent, Jack would be forced to use his own moisture to summon ice. Considering how worn down he already was he'd get about 100 feet before he collapsed of dehydration. Which in his case, meant he'd likely evaporate into nothing or something else equally undesirable. Totally not how he wanted to spend his last minutes on earth, thankyouverymuch. Despite his fear of cheating, Jack found himself calling to the wind for a lift almost on reflex. No wind answered the call however, which didn't actually surprise him. Only certain, cooler winds, like the North Wind on Earth, would answer the summons of a winter elemental. The hotter desert winds spoke a different language entirely, and Jack would have easier luck counting the grains of sand beneath his feet than getting a desert wind to carry him. Resigned, Jack made to continue on foot, waving off Baby's concerned tweeting. He knew the risks, but the reality was there was only one way forward, and he said as much to the concerned mother hen clucking away by his left ear. Baby twittered again, and Jack was sure he heard her mumble something about 'stubborn idiots' before she took to the sky, flying so high that she was nearly invisible in the glare of the sun. She stayed up for a long time, before descending to tell Jack and Noddwyn that she was unable to see an end, in any direction save of course they one they'd just come from. Jack nodded, not surprised in the slightest. Given how long it had taken to cross the other landscapes, they would be several days in the desert, which meant that the edge could in fact be beyond sight. Steeling himself, Jack made to pick up the pace, when Noddwyn began squirming and grating in a clear indication that he wanted to be let down. Jack obliged, setting the small creature down onto the sand. Noddwyn swayed for a second, struggling to keep his balance on the shifting surface. Jack reached to steady him, but the Rockling pushed his hands away, falling deliberating to his knees, tiny fingerless hands going out to steady himself. Jack made to help the little guy up, but Noddyn began nodding slowly. He shifted, hands sinking deeper; then what passed as his shoulders started to roll, making a rhythmic scraping noise. After a few seconds of churning, Noddwyn stopped and carefully pushed himself to his feet, allowing Jack to lift him back to his perch. One comfortably situated, he pointed one hand in south-westerly direction. Well, south-westerly if you assumed that the rocky landscape was north and they'd been moving due south all along. Jack blinked, turning the information over in his head.

"You know it's that way? For sure?" Noddwyn nodded furiously, making the same scraping noise he'd made while sitting in the sand. "But, how? Did the sand tell you or something? OW!" Jack flinched as Baby landed on his other shoulder, pecking his ear in irritation as she did.

'Was sand not rock once, Jack?' She said, in the same lilting voice Jack was still astonished by. Jack thought about it for a minute, and then frosted in embarrassment.

"Sorry Nodd, I should have thought of that. I guess the sand really did tell you, huh?" Noddwyn kept nodding, the scraping settling into the happier 'purring' noise. Laughing, Jack set forth again, feeling cheered. Oh sure, the sun was relentless, he was already uncomfortable in the heat, even with his hood pulled up to protect his head and face. On top of that, he was still sore and tender between his shoulder blades and was covered in his own dried blood, but he had his friends with him and a direction to walk, things could always be worse.

Only, it didn't take long before Jack started to realize that things couldn't actually get any worse. They'd been in the desert less than a day, and Jack was already feeling his strength beginning to flag. It had started in small ways; first, he'd stopped talking, reserving his energy to keep moving forward. Then, he'd begun to slow a little, step by step. He was less striding and more plodding now and he knew the others had noticed. Baby hadn't said anything yet, but was hovering closer and closer, and he could practically feel the worry radiating off of Noddwyn, who'd stopped nodding and purring a while back, his silence and stillness telling. Jack winced as another step onto the burning sands scalded his feet further, and he wished he'd been clever enough to hold on to the tattered sleeves he'd used as bandages. Finally giving in, Jack stopped, letting Noddwyn down to check their trajectory and ensure they hadn't drifted in the wrong direction. While the Rockling was communing with the desert, Jack tore the bottom six inches off of his hoodie. Splitting it at the seams into two pieces, he was able to awkwardly fashion them into bindings to protect his feet. The sleeves would have been better, but considering they'd been left in the last landscape, he'd work with what he had. Pushing away his discomfort at the small strip of pale skin that now showed above the waistband of his pants whenever he moved, Jack kept on.

The sun was merciless, baking everything beneath it golden and crispy, and Jack found himself wishing more and more for the magical glow of Sandy's dreamsand, versus the dusty shimmer of the sand beneath his feet. He was feeling drier and drier by the minute, and he knew he wasn't the only one. Baby didn't seem to be suffering overtly, but she was used to hotter temperatures, even if the humidity was much more prominent where she called home. Noddwyn however seemed to be feeling the heat too, sitting rigidly still on Jack's shoulder, uncomfortably warm to the touch from the hot sunshine. Jack wondered, worriedly, if the heat was dangerous to him somehow. You might not think it, being made of rock, but really, what did Jack know about his new friends physiology save for what little he'd figured out as they went? Jack resolved to keep an eye on both his companions for any signs of strain from the heat, even if there would be ultimately nothing he could do for either of them should they begin to suffer from heatstroke. There wasn't much choice in the matter though; the three of them we stuck there together, they would just have to carry on. Bunny was waiting for him, somewhere, somehow, and Jack was resolved to find the Oracle and set everything right. Jack felt a touch of a smile come to his lips just thinking about his friend, feeling a rush of fondness mixed with his grief. Okay, he had this; it was just mind over matter, right? He'd beat this desert like a rented drum, or something else easily beaten like that. Maybe he should leave the analogies to North; he was better at them, or at least more amusing. Jack was suddenly struck by a wave of homesickness. Bunny he'd been missing since his death, of course, but Jack also felt keenly the absence of the rest of his friends. He was grateful to have pieces of them with him, in the obsidian knife still tucked safely in his belt, the colourful cloak swathing his shoulders, and the crystal that stubbornly remained unbroken in his pocket despite Jack being tossed around like a bouncy ball. The thought of his friends waiting for him on the other side spurred him onward, giving him a bit of a boost to his slowing pace. He tromped ever forward, focused so intently on the far-off horizon that he almost missed it when Noddwyn began to make a grinding noise on his shoulder; it was the subtle vibrations from the Rockling's body more than the sound that finally caught Jack' attention.

"What is it buddy, are we headed the wrong way?" Noddwyn's head did not move but the grinding got deeper, until suddenly it evolved in a high-pitched chatter, the small body trembling with great force, and Jack realized the warning just a second too late for proper evasion. Jack flung himself sideways as a searing, violent rush of heat streaked past him. It didn't make direct contact, but the grazing touch was more than enough at such a high temperature and he stumbled back, burnt and reeling from the pain. Noddwyn tumbled from his shoulder into the sand with a muffled thud. He didn't appear to be injured thankfully, but he was chattering so loud Jack wondered that his small body hadn't shaken itself apart. Baby chirped in alarm, launching a counterattack against the encroaching enemy, but she herself was driven back by a sudden gout of heat and light. Jack steadied himself, thankful once again for the cloak that had taken the worst of the damage, although it had definitely seen better days. By his feet, Noddwyn righted himself, appearing unharmed although terrified if the unending chattering was any indication. Baby returned to Jack's side, hovering above his left flank, facing the enemy head on. Slowly, the heat-shimmer coalesced into the vague shape of a person. Or, more accurately, a tall, genderless, person-shaped crackling bonfire with two sickly-glowing yellow eyes currently staring daggers at the trio. Jack cursed long and low under his breath, knowing that he couldn't hide his fear from Noddwyn and Baby anymore than they could hide their fear from him. After all, the only thing more dangerous than an angry Winter Elemental was an angry and apparently territorial Fire Elemental.

"Don't like the fireplace, kid? You always sit on the other side of the room." Jack looked over his shoulder, smiling at Bunny as the Pooka moved to sit beside him on one of North's overstuffed monstrosities of a couch. It was Christmas day, and the Guardians had gathered to meet North after he awoke from his much-needed nap. It was a new tradition, started the Christmas after the fateful Easter that Jack had became a Guardian. Now, after both Christmas and Easter, the rest journeyed to either the Warren or the Pole, and when the distributor of either gifts or eggs finally woke up after crashing hard, often for nearly twelve hours straight, they'd all have a small, private party before leaving Bunny or North to relax properly for the next few days. It was nice, not to mention a good excuse to see everyone, and Jack knew that for Bunny at least, it went a long way toward making him feel appreciated for his hard work. Grinning at his companion, Jack shrugged, sipping at his once-hot-but-now-more-comfortably-chilled chocolate.

"Naw, fire and ice, y'know? Don't really mix well. Best to keep a distance." Bunny nodded in agreement, as Jack continued. "I like a bit of the warmth; from this distance it's... Nice. Nostalgic actually, I mean, back in my human days the fireplace was our 'central heating.' But, fire is a sort of primal fear for all us pretty little snowflakes. Heat and Light don't mean quite the same thing to you as they do to the winter sprite born at midnight." Jack's smile has turned a little angular, rueful about the circumstances of his birth as always, but Bunny shrugs it off like usual. They all have their demons, and Jack's story and associated insecurities are old news by now, and neither one of them would benefit from a rehashing at the moment. "It's a bit different than ambient heat, like in the Warren or visiting Tooth at home. Ambient heat usually had an associated humidity index, so I can draw moisture from the air, or frost my skin to stay cooler. It's... placid, passive. Fire consumes, it has a natural energy that is the antithesis to snow and cold. At the same time, snow can smother flame, and when heated melts into water, which is even more deadly to fire, so the sense of danger goes both ways. S'why you'll never see us frost spirits making nice with fire spirits, we just don't gel on an intrinsic level." Raising his head with a playful lilt to his lips, Jack continues slyly, tone lofty. "Like you with the groundhog, Bunny. Surely you understand." Bunny scoffs but ruffles Jack's hair affectionately anyways. He settles deeper into the couch cushions then, tucking his legs up to sit Indian-style, so close to Jack that they're thighs brush and Jack can feel the heat of him even through ancient wool trousers and fur. Like the fire raging in the grate, this too is soothing, comfortable. Jack smiles, taking another sip of his beverage as he easily coaxes Bunny into a friendly chat while they wait for North to wake.

Jack stares down the fire spirit, feeling his danger sense scream on high alert, like a klaxon in the back of his mind. Shivers of adrenaline run up and down his spine, gearing him for fight-or-flight, but Jack knows that flight isn't really an option right now. Not only is he very literally grounded, but he wouldn't have the energy to get far anyways, even if there had been a sympathetic wind. The option of skating is off the table too, he doubts he has enough energy to even cool the scalding hot sands to the freezing point, much less ice them over. No, there is certainly no way he could make good on an escape right now, and definitely no way to travel far enough to outdistance the fire spirit the way he had the cumbersome rock monster. Right now, he's down to fight, and fight alone a far as options are concerned. He'll have to fight smart though; with any luck, the Fire spirit will make a mistake or leave some kind of opening to exploit. At least, Jack is praying to all manner of gods that the fire elemental will, or else things were about to get very very toasty for Team Frost. Brandishing his staff in what he hoped was a confident manner, Jack put himself between Noddwyn and the fire spirit, catching Baby's eye from the corner of his own. It was likely down to them in this; the Rockling wasn't very manoeuvrable in the sand and with nothing to throw he couldn't even serve confidently as a distraction. It would be up to Jack to be his most nimble and Baby to be at the top of her game to get this done.

The fire spirit launched at Jack again, seemingly dismissing the other two as non-threatening. Jack ducked and dodged his way in a slow circle, leading the fire spirit away from Noddwyn but keeping him backed against Baby, who was doing her best to herd him towards Jack. While the flanking strategy worked to pin him down and keep him on him toes, it wasn't effective at all considering the creature was made entirely of flames, and therefore Baby couldn't get within a foot and a half without getting singed. Likewise, Jack was even more susceptible to heat damage; and to make things worse his only weapon save himself, while having the necessary reach to close to their enemy was also highly flammable. Jack's thoughts drifted briefly to the knife and the crystal, but he quickly dismissed both as useless to him currently. The only one of them that might be able to physically hit the fire spirit was Noddwyn, and even then Jack wasn't counting on the Rockling not being somehow injured by the high heat, either. Besides, with his small size and limited manoeuvrability, Jack would have to resort to throwing the Rockling at the fire spirit, and that was just... no. Jack cursed and danced beyond another blow, thankful suddenly for all the times Bunny had roped him into sparring. Jack was nowhere near as good hand-to-hand as the Pooka had been, but he was no slouch either. The Fire spirit though was wicked fast, and was so hot that even dodging a blow by a narrow enough margin could result in a burn. Jack tried to huddle into the cloak for protection, but it was impossible to do so and fight, so gritting his teeth, he resigned himself to the pain of first and second degree burns on his arms and legs, at least. The stalemate continued, dragging out longer and longer, neither side able to gain foothold enough to turn the tide. It was only a matter of time though Jack knew, before the fire elemental would win simply because Jack and Baby would wear themselves out and be left defenceless. Truth be told the trio was stuck, fighting a war of attrition and knowing they were going to lose. Baby was already looking singed around the edges, Jack was quickly tiring and they still had no idea if the fire spirit had a weakness, much less managing to land a single blow. Jack groped inside him for his frost, feeling it thin and small within him. He was too tired, too hot, and had been pushed too far and injured too much in the days previous; any reserves he had were already depleted, and rapidly shrinking with every moment he stayed on his feet. He'd get one shot at the thing, and that would be it. He'd have to make sure it counted.

Without warning, the fire spirit withdrew momentarily, head cocked to the side as if evaluating his opponent. Jack paused, leaning on his staff and gulping air that was so warm is felt like lead weight in his lungs, realizing that he'd stopped 'sweating' frost at some point during the bout. That really wasn't good, it meant that he was at critically low levels of moisture; much lower and he'd be consuming parts of himself for the necessary water, like a starving human body would eat itself for energy only much faster. This had to end soon, Jack knew, or he'd be out of commission, permanently. Which was exactly the cue for the dune beside the fire spirit to rear up and smack the creature in the back. The fire spirit stumbled forward, or as close as you could get when you were sort of hovering a couple inches above the ground. Appearing for all intents to be somewhat dazed and confused, the creature quickly spun around to retaliate, only to get smacked in the face this time. Jack watched, open-mouthed with awe, as the dune shifted like a sand-serpent, alternately jabbing and slapping at the fire spirit, driving him in small tight circles. The fire spirit let out a crackly roar, trying to hit back, but the sand appeared unfazed and kept coming, instead. Jack couldn't stop the surprised bark of laughter, stunned at this turn of events. He cast his gaze around, looking for their rescuer, when over the din of the battle he heard a familiar scraping noise. He turned, and there was Noddwyn right where he'd been left; shoulder-deep in the sand and fixated eerily on the fire spirit, his usually intense unblinking gaze made even more so by the narrowness of his focus. Jack was unable to prevent the nearly manic grin that spread at that moment, caused in equal parts by pride in his friend, and sheer amusement at the fire spirit quite literally getting bitch-slapped by the desert itself. Above him, Baby twittered her own laughter, obviously enjoying the show as much as Jack.

They only had another couple seconds of hilarity though, before, with a mighty screech, the fire spirit hit the sand with a blast of heat so hot Jack felt it from where he was standing. The sand arm flash-burned into an oddly-shaped glass pillar, halting dead in its tracks. Noddwyn didn't pause a moment with the scraping noises, even as Baby and Jack gaped. There was immediately a second arm, coming at the fire spirit from behind, but no sooner had it made contact then it too was turned to glass. A third, then a fourth arm met the same fate. Jack felt his heart plummet, his hope for victory shrivelling in his chest. Noddwyn's scraping began to stutter, become more broken as he tried to keep summoning more and more sand arms, but the fire spirit was destroying them as soon as they appeared. Even worse, whatever magic Noddwyn was working to manipulate them was obviously running out, if the broken, arrhythmic noises he was now making were any indication. Jack tensed, half-turning to Noddwyn, preparing to grab the Rockling and run, hoping against hope he could somehow miraculously get them away from the futility of this battle, when Noddwyn finally faltered to a stop. With no new sand arms to focus on, the fire spirit turned, slipping easily out from the among the gleaming glass spires it had just inadvertently created. It had barely cleared the last one when it took aim and flared up directly towards Baby, who was currently the closest and therefore easiest target. Getting knocked around by the arms, while promising at first, seemed to have only made the creature madder, for it moved with a speed and hostility that it hadn't yet displayed. Jack cried out in alarm, already feeling his body moving to help intercept. Baby ducked the first swing, narrowly missed the second, but the third brushed so close she shrieked, and Jack could see her tiny, delicate feathers melting under the searing heat. Jack screamed her name mindlessly in panic, hearing Noddwyn behind him chattering like mad, as he rushed forward.

The tableau before him was terrible; Baby was hurt, tumbling down to the sand, the fire spirit standing nearby, smug and gloating. It knew it had won, that this little fairy was down, that one more hit would be the end. Jack saw it all, could feel the heavy weight of it, staring at the humanoid column of flame with more rage then he'd felt since the day Bunny had fallen. In that moment, everything crystallized into perfect clarity, and Jack finally understood what emotional force had driven Bunny to do what he'd done. Truthfully, it was more instinct and rage; an unstoppable desire to PROTECT HIS FRIEND and to END THIS more than anything else that had him changing direction at the last moment, spinning away from where Baby had fallen toward the fire spirit. Wrath and Love drove Jack those last few feet straight into the being of flame, the curve of his staff coming up hard to hit the creature right in centre mass, hooking around the very heart of him and holding him in place. Jack stepped in close, feeling the intense heat blister the skin on his face and all down his front, his hands blackening and burnt fingers curling into involuntary claws as close as they were to the thing's body, but he didn't release his grip. Despite the agony, despite the heat, despite every survival instinct urging Jack to run and LIVE, he held true, moving right into the fire spirit's face so he could look it in its glowing eyes as he discharged everything he had, directly into the middle of its fiery body. Jack's swan song, the final dregs of his power exploded forth from the charred curve of his staff, tearing through what amounted to the ribcage of the creature, frost instantly vaporizing into steam and dousing flame as it went. It wasn't enough though, the creature was shrieking a high, unholy sound, squirming and flailing like a worm on a hook, each frantic attack opening up more bloody, oozing heat blisters on Jack's skin. Jack world narrowed, tunnelled down to the being he was killing; slowly, terribly, with no remorse or pity. Knowing this was it, the death rattle for them both, Jack pushed harder; letting everything he was flow into the remnants of his staff, pouring his very being into that one, last strike. Jack had known from the commencement that he'd only have one hit, one shot at the win, so he'd damn well made sure it was a good one.

Abruptly, the fire spirit fizzled out of existence, heat and light finally quenched by cold and snow. Like all good reciprocities however, this one did not come without its cost. The last thing Jack was aware of was Baby's panicked shrieks and Noddwyn's high distressed whine, as the residual heat took its toll. What was left of his body finished evaporating into nothing but steam, dispersing into the dry air until all that remained of Jack Frost was a burnt scrap of a colourful cloak, an obsidian dagger, a scorched but intact crystal, and the ashes of a once-beloved shepherd's crook scattered grey across the golden sand.

"Do you ever think about how you might die?" They were reclined on the soft, dewy grass of the Warren, just enjoying the mild evening air. There were no stars here, not like aboveground, but it was no less relaxing to Jack and Bunny, even if they couldn't kill time picking out constellations. Lying off to his right, Jack caught Bunny's nose wrinkle from the corner of his eye as the other responded.

"That's a mite morbid, dontcha think snowflake?" Jack shrugged, knowing the other would catch the movement.

"Maybe. It's just... The anniversary of my death it coming soon and the memories are... kind of fresher than usual, now that I've been digging through them with Tooth. I was thinking, about what it would be like, to die again. Y'know, maybe it's different as a spirit, than as a human. Do you think so?" Bunny let out a heavy breath, remaining silent for a long, long moment. Jack let him be, knowing that sometimes it took time for all those big thoughts to arrange themselves rightly in Bunny's head, and he'd gotten used to exercising his patience.

"I think Jack, the difference would be more in the how. Different means of execution would results in different experiences, all puns intended." Jack huffed a soft laugh, accepting the joke as a means of lightening the subject matter, and most certainly not on any sort of dismissal of the seriousness of it. Jack was hardly one to talk about inappropriate humour being used to break the tension, after all.

"Probably true, Bunny. In that case, I hope I go out with a bang. Drowning was... unpleasant. Also far too quiet. Next time, I want to fail at defusing a bomb, or something. You know, have it be memorable." Jack could practically feel the force of Bunny's eye-roll from here, no looking required.

"Let it be known Jack Frost that any death you have will most certainly be memorable to the rest of us." Bunny's tone was teasing, but Jack didn't miss the implication that 'memorable' meant 'we would always miss you.' Swallowing back a sudden lump in this throat, Jack basked in the affection from his friend for a moment longer before speaking again, teasingly.

"Seriously though, blaze of glory or nothing, that's the only way." Jack gave Bunny his very best innocent grin then, but the Pooka wasn't buying it for a second, giving Jack the eyeball of doom until he relented, sobering enough to discuss what was really bothering him. "Bunny, do you think... Where do you think we go, when we die? Us immortals, I mean, do we go to the same place as our families from before? Would I see my sister again? Or do we go somewhere else? With the other immortals that went before us?" Jack trailed off, shifting uncomfortably. For his part Bunny appeared unsettled as well as he responded.

"I don't know, Kiddo. Hadn't thought about it. Haven't wanted to, either. I have family I want to see again someday too." Jack nodded, he knew all about the family that Bunny had long since lost to the Fearlings. "Maybe, if we're lucky, it's all the same place, and everything will be apples." Bunny offered a tentative grin, and Jack accepted it for what it was, allowing the other to carefully change the subject to something less sensitive. Besides, there was no point in troubling himself about it just now. Immortal may not mean totally unable to die, but it did mean that they had eons before they likely had to worry about it, anyways. And you know Jack, never one to worry when he didn't have to. Relaxing and having fun was so much more his style.

"A journey is a fragment of Hell."
― Bruce Chatwin