Oh my, I'm so sorry! Forgive me for the long wait! I'll apologize again in the end.
V
- Hey, Tooth...
A gentle tug was felt and she blinked her eyes lazily, shooing the tiredness away. During their travel through the frigid skies, the little fairy had tried to refuge herself in the folds of the boy's hoodie. Apparently, the little heat she was able to keep, thanks to the bluish fabric, had dozed her off into a brief nap, all the exhaustion finally taking over.
And when the daze had finally unfogged her pinkish irises, the little Guardian took in her surroundings, trying to distinguish shapes in the darkness of the moonlit night.
Between frost-covered bushes and the snow sparkled floor, there was a small hole that lead to somewhere underneath, deep inside the ground. It was the entrance of a lair of some kind, tucked up in front of them, in the slope of a humble hill.
Toothiana only stared at the Winter Spirit quizzically, wondering why on the Moon would they disturb some peacefully hibernating animal. But if the other noticed the look she gave him, he chose to ignore it. Instead, the shrunken fairy saw as he kept a stern face, only sighing once, lip trembling slightly as he did.
Oh, Tooth felt so bad for putting the Guardian of Fun in such a nerve-racking situation! He wasn't fit for such sway of emotions!
Still, a shameless part of her, a passionate voice that the Fairy fought so hard to cut down, felt all giddy and proud that she had such effect on the Winter Prince. And that was not proper Tooth Fairy behavior!
The older Guardian was brought back from her wonderings as the boy stepped forward, gracefully ducking his head so he could enter the dark tunnel, as if he had got through this dug space at least a hundredth times.
Tooth unconsciously nestled further against Jack's neck, trying to come out of the shadows reach, and started to understand why Baby Tooth found it such a wonderful spot to rest. It was as if nothing could hurt her here.
She saw as the boy maneuvered through the widening tunnel, careful so her lifeless body wouldn't hit the snow made walls. Suddenly her eyes caught the change in the surrounding coloration, as the walls morphed from frozen white to dark-brown soil.
There was almost no light now, the path ahead pitch-black, and was with a widening of her star-filled orbs that the Tooth Fairy realized they were going deeper and deeper inside the hill.
On the other hand, the howling of the wind was left outside, and she pleasantly felt the air around them warm up a little bit with each step given.
Jack then came to a sudden curve, lowering even more, so he was almost crawling, with the Guardian of Memories' body held dearly to his chest. Shrunken Tooth, with her tiny body trembling in anticipation, felt her own pupils shrink as the space before them was now properly lit in a bluish aura.
It was... wonderful.
The rounded space dug in the earth was small and comfy, with a bunch of tree roots emerging from the ceiling or from the walls, entranced in such a way, that it formed some kind of net in which one could lay on. Nothing very comfortable, in everything disparate from her upholstered nest back in the Palace. This mess of a bed was more properly fit for an animal, instead of a human boy. But still, it was lovely in its simplicity.
Parts of the cove were covered in reflexive walls of ice, in which lonely moonbeams - that somehow penetrated through one single hole in the ceiling - fell upon, creating an amazing spectacle of light and color. The refraction of the pale-blue rays adorned the entire space in sparkling reflexes of violet, blue and purple, making the little hidden burrow acquire the magical properties of some holy place.
The fairy was absolutely astonished, and only the bemused laughter of the boy, bouncing in the concave walls, seemed to bring her back from her bewildered daze. She felt her form rise and then lower again, and Tooth realized the Guardian had just shrugged his shoulders dismissively.
- Just a small base I have in the area... – she heard him calmly state.
As Tooth would come to know, the newly chosen Guardian had a bunch of places just like this one, spread around the highest latitudes of the globe. Temporary habitations were he could rest when needed, but mainly they were just a place he could call his own. And that was something hugely underrated: a certain level of comfort or a place he could return to, were all that was needed to keep a forever lonely spirit sane.
He then started moving forward, steady steps easily carrying both of their weight, towards a bed-like pile of straw, carelessly placed among the tangled tree roots.
The boy seemed to hesitate before laying a precious cargo, like the Guardian of Memories was, on such a messy nest. By the look of it, or Jack didn't paid too much attention to tidiness and he could sleep well whatever the bed was, or he hasn't been here for quite some time. Tooth though briefly that both might apply.
The fairy touched his cheek with a reassuring tiny palm, and Jack deposited her body with a shaky breath. Poor little spirit... He really was on the edge. And it made the Guardian's heart ache from putting a child through such a messy Christmas-Eve. After all, it was her duty to keep him happy too.
Then she heard his voice, murmuring as if to himself, bringing her back from her thoughts:
- Such a shame I can only make you colder... – he gave a humorless chuckle, foggy eyes staring at her lifeless form, laid on the straw-made bed.
But those words, uttered in such a heartbreaking way, made Tooth's core crack. She only wished she was big again, so she could cover his face in reassuringly warm kisses, shooing such gloomy thoughts away from the lonely spirit, with her love as her only weapon.
Instead she hovered in front of him, chirping angrily, scolding the boy for even dare to think such things!
She wanted to tell him he was perfect just as he was, and that his beautiful teeth weren't the only thing about him which she was fascinated about. Toothiana desperately wanted to voice that yes, he may radiate coolness, but there was not a single person on Earth that made her as warm on the inside as he made her feel.
Tooth wanted to say... to say she, she...
But she couldn't.
It was not the time, nor the situation.
Therefore she opted to try and make him focused again. The sooner she was gifted with the power of speaking, the sooner she would be able of telling the Winter Spirit a certain truth. And of course, resume her duties as Guardian.
Seeing the tiny fairy in such a state of impatience surely lightened the gloomy boy's mood. Tooth even saw as his chest was shook by a barely restrained chuckle, and a hint of a smirk stretched his lips.
With a satisfied smile, the mini Queen placed both her hands on the feather-covered hips, and giving one assuring nod, she swiftly reasoned.
Now, there was no sun. And MiM had his own limitations in what concerns heating power.
So the conclusion was obvious.
They needed fire.
Ok, this was curious. It ended with the same word from a chapter from my RS mermaid!AU...
Again, sorry for the delay, but creativity and free time don't usually meet... Almost 3 months! I'm so embarrassed..
Either way, I know it's short, but hey, I illustrated it! So, if you wanna check out the drawing for this chapter, just go here
Please don't forget to review. I hope after all I've done you at least liked it..
Until next time, hopefully not an entire trimester...