yeah! Here I am, still alive! I've you seen my new RS fanfic, a mermaid AU. If you wish, go check it out!
Now, let's go on with the story :D Read and review...
- What can take so long? Why didn't she return already? – this was starting to make him crazy!
The Winter Spirit paced from one side of the platform to the other, impatiently. Many minifairies had already come to him, offering anything he wished for, anything that would help calming him down.
But there was nothing they could do to make the only thing he wished for right now come true. He could hardly wait for Tooth to see what he had prepared for her, but it looked like the Fairy Queen was testing his patience.
And while he was there, walking around, he missed how the atmosphere suddenly got … heavier, as if something terrible was about to happen.
He felt a slight breeze touch his face, and then he noticed.
In that whisper that only he could hear, he sensed a distant yell, like the wind was calling him, alerting the Winter Spirit that something was wrong.
He frowned, doing his best to listen to what his old friend was trying to say.
And then, making his heart stop mid-beat and start going into over cardiac all in the same second, a high winch pierced the air, reaching Jack's acute ears, making his head hurt and every muscle in his body stiffen.
Every single minifairy in the palace seemed to suddenly fall in their stance, and Jack desperately tried to catch the ones near him. But right before any of them could hit the ground, they came to life again, wings beating strongly, and the cave was filled with the deafening chirping of thousands of minifairies discussing what had just succeed.
They all felt it, that sudden cold black out in their mind, abruptly losing their mental link with each other. They were unable of communicating as they used to, just by telepathy. Their only choice was to tweet to each other, what caused a maddening noise that was driving Jack absolutely crazy.
Recovering from the shock of thousands of minifairies helplessly falling towards the ground, the boy tried to cover his ears, shouting to the mass of beings hovering in the air.
- B-baby Tooth! Baby Tooth, where are you?
It took a while, but suddenly, an overactive fairy was hovering just before his nose. The look in her eyes showed that she was frightened as well, and restlessly flew from one side to the other, Jack's eyes almost unable of keeping up.
- Please calm down and tell me what happened!
The fairy stopped for a second to think, and them quickly pointed to herself, opening her arms widely next. The boy tilted his head, trying to understand.
- You... big... – he said slowly, and as the words left his lips, Jack jumped in the air, blue irises as wide as they could be. – Tooth!
...
..
.
A strange burning feeling was starting to spread itself through her rarely exposed skin, as the ice and snow managed to penetrate her body feathers, accumulating under them, biting cold hurting her sensitive skin. The violently flying flakes gathered in her lashes, the strong wind forcing her eyes to remain firmly closed.
Clenching her teeth, the fairy brought her slim arm to her eyes, making it block some of the blizzard that insisted in collide with her face. Taking the opportunity, she peeked slightly through one eye, in order to orient herself in the middle of the ranging storm.
In her back, the winds would beat furiously, trying their best to pierce the violent snowstorm. But every meter she moved forward, the wind would push her back twice the distance. The Guardian was starting to grow tired, and in this constant battle, the wind was a strong opponent, not at all ready to give up.
The main problem was the snow that managed to cling to some parts of her wings, the snow that wouldn't be immediately brushed off by the constant flutter. Due to her high metabolism and high body temperature, it would melt and engulf her skin, freezing right after with the unforgivable winds in the form of pure ice. And that ice was starting to reach a point of accretion that was simply too much for her to handle.
The Fairy Queen gasped when a sudden blow dragged her aggressively, and she fought to gain her balance again.
- Oh Jack, if you are the one causing this, you'll hear from me when I find you!
It was getting harder to flap her fragile winds, her cheeks completely white from the snow that continuously clung there. Well, she was sure that right now, all of her being was probably entirely white, bright feathers covered in gelid snow.
A part of her told her to give up, that there were certain limits, and that she was endangering herself and the children all over the world because of a lonely hellion. But then her heart beat strongly, spreading a warm wave that soothed all her pain and all her doubts.
- He is a child too! And I ought to guarantee the happiness of every single child!
And with that, her wings flickered strongly, a new confidence propelling her in this arduous flight. Or at least, it was harder than anything she had experienced in the last few centuries.
But apparently, the wind had other plans for her. So with a strong blow, it tossed her light body downwards, obligated to take desperate measures with the stubborn little fairy.
So with a shocked scream, Toothiana was sent falling, faster than any body would naturally fall, the wind giving gravity a little help.
And feeling like there was a vacuum inside her core, the Guardian of Memories immediately lost her conscience.
...
..
.
The Winter Spirit crossed the skies as fast as the wind could carry him. A part of him was surprised about the speeds he was reaching, as if the wind was hurrying the boy, giving him an extra push. But his mind was mostly drowned in the thoughts of a certain Guardian, and the worries to them associated.
The expectation he had been building in the last few hours and the impatience from there derived, were abruptly shattered by the minifairies blackout.
All this was absolutely too much stress for a carefree spirit to handle!
Back there, on the palace, Jack almost took of flying instantly, if a sudden thought hadn't strike his mind in that precise moment: he had no idea where the Tooth Fairy was.
So he frantically turned back to Baby Tooth, pleading for more information.
- Do you know where she went? – the Winter Spirit inquired, earning only a sad no from the little fairy. But then, Toothiana's most trusty copy seemed to enthuse, as if a light bulb had turned on in her head. She started chirping intensely, flying from one spot to the other, pointing at the Winter Spirit himself.
Jack brought his hand up, gesturing for the fairy to calm down.
- W-wait! Baby Tooth! You know I can't understand anything you say like that!
The said fairy huffed, frustrated, hovering quieter in front of the boy. Next, she started her sings again:
She pointed to herself and opened her arms again, their established sign for Tooth. Then she pointed to her disproportionate head, tapping twice with her small finger.
- Tooth... thought... – the boy began to mutter, trying to calm himself enough to play charades. But when the fairy's small finger stretched in his direction the boy was taken aback. He blinked his eyes, eyebrows high under his white bangs.
- T-Tooth thought in... me? It was her last thought? – Baby Tooth nodded, smiling brightly, happy that the boy had understood.
She lost no time, and continued gesturing. Extending her arm, she pointed to the blue sky outside the palace, the same sky Toothiana had flew into earlier that day. Then, with her two fingers open in a 'V' form, she pointed to both her eyes and then to the space around them. She finished with her finger stretched in Jacks direction, and the boy frowned.
- Are you saying that she went looking for me?
The fairy nodded avidly, clapping her tiny hands. Jack's head turned to look at the sky outside the palace, still somewhat shocked that the fairy had too wished to share the Christmas Night with him.
And the wind carried him away without second thoughts, but not before he had assured the minifairies could handle the Teeth Collecting on their own.
Now, crossing the skies with extreme swiftness, the boy urged himself towards the other side of the world, back to the darkness of the night, where an entire continent slept quietly. And getting closer to the snow-covered forests of Burgess, the Winter Spirit was shocked with the major blizzard that dwelt below.
He dove towards the grey mass, where the wind played violently with snowflakes and ice. He knew he was save among them. But what about her...
...
..
.
Tooth woke up to a feeling of piece and quietness, her surroundings surprisingly cozy.
She blinked one of her violet irises open lazily. The fairy was amazed to verify that she could still move her facial muscles, as her entire body felt numb. To say the truth, she could say she had been totally anesthetized.
A soft groan left her lips, together with a puff of warm air, forming a thick cloud that immediately dissipated in the frigid air.
Looking around, Toothiana was surprised to see herself surrounded in white. But that didn't seem to scare her, tough... She was too numb to worry about where she was at the moment. The important thing was that she was at peace.
A word came to her mind... Heaven... but she quickly dismissed it.
Focusing in something just ahead, Tooth resignedly opened both eyes.
There were dark pillars all around her, the ground uneven and white.
Her mind was suddenly filled with memories of something, something remarkably powerful pushing against her, hurting her wings, making her lose control. A feeling of emptiness in her guts. Then, darkness...
Oh right, the storm...
Then something inside her triggered the feeling of anxiety, and her muscles, as frozen as they were, seemed to stiffen.
Maybe I really died!
With rapid heartbeat, the fairy's eyes absorbed her surroundings more avidly, trying to figure out where she was then.
She felt... cold. It was when she realized that the whiteness around her was snow, and the black columns a dark forest.
The female Guardian looked up, the treetops almost concealing the sky, still tumultuously revolving in a heavy blizzard.
How did she manage to survive the fall? It was impossible not to have hit any branch on her way down. And still, here she was, alive and unharmed. Well, the unharmed part was left to check... With her body insensitive like that, it was difficult to verify any further injury.
The thick layer of snow maybe prevented any damage from the impact. But that didn't explain how she avoided the trees. Toothiana caught herself thinking that maybe the wind took care of her fall...
She tried to move her arms. It was a strange feeling, seeing your limp right there in front of you and not being able to move it. Incredibly frustrating.
Tooth huffed, exasperated, gazing her tiny pale hand. Her previously cerulean feathers were covered in a white layer snow, camouflaging her with the soft ground below. Toothiana had never been so colorless. Even the blood had drained from her exposed skin, living a palely-ill tone.
Being exposed to so low temperatures wasn't normal to her. She was born in the warm Asian Southeast, and even if her feathers protected her from the cold she might endure in her long nights, being literally engulfed in ice was too much for her organism to deal with.
Some snow was wonderful, a little bit of cold even refreshing. But she was half hummingbird, for the Moon's sake. Even her human side wouldn't survive this easily.
The energy was rapidly draining from her being, eyelids growing heavier by the second. The urge to sleep overwhelmed the Fairy Queen once more.
She knew she needed to hurry. Time was precious, so was her liveliness. Masked as she was, she was aware that the guardians wouldn't find her soon enough. But what could she do?
Toothiana thought, and thought, in some way of signaling her presence, when suddenly her eyes widened.
That's the only way...
So, with a last painful in breath, the Tooth Fairy focused in her core. Her body feathers began to ruffle, as if gaining a life of their one. Tooth was aware of the risks she was taking, making a leap of faith as this one. There would hardly be any life left. Just the amount necessary to keep her vital organs working for a while.
A golden one, she thought, that should call their attentions...
Suddenly, Toothiana released one last puffy breath, and her feathers stopped fluttering.
There, in the snow surrounding her fell one single golden feather, detached from the fairy's chest.
The plume began to tremble, and a strange process began, one that the Tooth Fairy didn't do for a long time now.
There, in that petit feather, life grew. The last hope of her freezing mother...