GRRR I AM SO MAD AT MYSELF.

Mainly because I don't feel I'm making this story (or have made) it good enough. So I'm doing a little re-thinking and it may take a little more time. And as I've got hundreds of other stuff bothering me, I feel that Updates will be even longer.

So, I decided to get this chapter done to make up for future waits :(

BTW Those who haven't read 'Spirit of the Thaw' 'Nightmare Dust and the Silver Sands' and 'A Blackened Memory' WILL BE CONFUSED.

Please review :)

Chapter 2: Nightmares and Snow Bunnies

There's a moment on everyday when there's a soft, odd little silence before a big event, be it a dangerous one or just a little not-so notable one. It was like the calm before the storm, the breath before the run. And here it was.

Pity Ayver did not recognize it.

A small, decidedly fluffy form hopped dejectedly through the snow that challenged the height of his ears, every hop taking a large amount of effort. The tiny rabbit, not bigger than a palm of a human's hand, had the undeniable look of frustration upon his features.

Ayver, the Spirit of the Thaw, did not like the snow. Of course,being that his job was to get rid of the stuff. Spring was long overdue- and for a few weeks now he'd been trying to get a certain someone to sop hammering this town with snow already.

"SNOW DAY!"

One moment Ayver was hopping through the snow, the next he was soaring through the air and slamming against a small snow-fort. Upside down., no less. Ayver's ears flopped in front of his eyes and he huffed, struggling back onto his hind legs to stare after the skating youth dressed in a blue hoody.

Jack Frost. Naive of winter, bringing of snow- and a gigantic pain in the-

"Hey, Avie, How's it going?" With all the quickness of a road runner, Jack had doubled back towards the glowing bunny and proceeded to skate around him in circles, all the while gathering up a lot of ice. Ayver's frown deepened as he tried to keep his eyes level with the spinning imp.

Jack seemed to be in a good mood today, Lord knows why- Ayver didn't really know why he was acting all jumpy. He was about to hop forward to somehow confront him when the answer to his question came in the form of a snowball.

It almost hit him- in fact, it grazed his ear and before he knew it he'd dived under the small snow fort as a cluster of human children invaded, through snowballs about with glee. Jack watched, laughing along with them. Then, he stopped when he noticed the absence of a certain rabbit.

Grinning a little, Jack hopped onto the snow fort and bent down to look underneath the small hole between the base and the ground, peaking in to see the rabbit shivering.

"Oh come on, everyone else is having fun!"

"..."

Jack huffed almost irritably, and reached into the whole. Ayver protested furiously, batting at him like a cat before he was easily plucked out into Jack hands.

Jack smiled happily at him as he held the rabbit up to eye level, though a sort of cheek hovered behind his eyes. Ayver glared at him bluntly.

"Alright, your mad 'cause of the snow." He admitted with a shrug, but he was not at all deterred. He was, however, determined to show this sourpuss what fun was.

"Look, it's not the end of the world if it's a little colder. Look, it can be fun." Ayver did not like Jack's definition of 'fun' at all. But, before he could do anything, Ayver was slipped into Jack's hood and the sprite had jumped into action.

One of the boys, holding a large sled, was walking nearby a noticable slope. Ayver's eyes widened as he stared over Jack's shoulder.

Oh, No-

"Little slippery!"

With a slick wave of his stick, the snow beneath Jamie's feet hardened and became smooth. Jamie was a regular snowfighter that Jack had seen- a boy that he felt he almost knew. Maybe it was because the kid was so interested in things out of the norm- like bigfoot, Easter Bunny...but not himself.

Jack ignored that though, and he decided to give the kid a good taste of winter fun. So, he hopped along the wind as Jamie slipped down the slope with a yelp of alarm, his friend calling out frantically about the street being too close.

Ayver's eyes couldn't possible be any wider as the trio slid around the corner and in between traffic, wind whistling in the ears. Jamie looked terrified, the rabbit more so- and Jack looked like he was enjoying a carnival ride.

Also, Ayver couldn't help but notice they were being chased by some furniture from that truck the sprite had just crashed.

Jack flipped around in the air, making sure to dodge the cars nad carry Jamie's path behind him. As they tripped up an unsuspecting passer-by, Jamie laughed, and Jack grinned in triumph. Fun Times win again-

BEEP BEEP!

Jack didn't need Ayver's frantic squeak to tell him a large vehicle was coming their way. So, he turned- and Jamie went flying through the air.

Time seemed to slow, Jamie looking ecstatic as he flew towards the town monument, his friends watching as he went by, Jack grinning and Ayver's jaw dropping...then, Jamie slammed into the snow.

"Yeh-eah!" Jack whooped in sheer triumph, crouching not unlike a monkey om the town monument. Ayver stayed where he was in his hood, shivering as if frozen.

Jamie's friends gathered as the boy stood, and as Ayver hopped from Jack's hood to stand angrily beside him, he heard them talking.

"Did you see that? I turned and- and I-"

THUNK.

Jack ignored Ayver's second jaw-drop and cringed a little as a plush couch slammed into the brown-haired boy below. Aw, well, no harm besides that done.

At least they seemed happy. Heck, it was nice to get a little... recognition now and again.

"Whoops."

But, his happy satisfaction was short lived, for as Jamie stood up again, with him he brought something white and glinting.

"Cool, A tooth!"

Jack's smile faded, and the sudden change in the youth brought a concerned blink to Ayver's eyes. Bemused, he watched as the children's attention turned away from the snow- and completely onto the Tooth Fairy. His ears drooped just a little as Jack jumped from beside him to follow.

Oh.

Jack tried to make them hear. Really, had they just...forgotten everything they'd just done? "That was fun, wasn't it?" He protested as he stood in front of them, arms outstretched as if to stop them- when the walked right through him.

Jack stiffened, and his breath left him as that horrible sensation took over him again. He panted, his arms dropping and shoulders sagging. Ayver watched him with wide-eyed uncertainty, ears drooped sympathetically. Jack's happy exterior was simply..gone. And despite himself, Ayver found himself missing it.

So, as Jack stood there, looking very much alone, he hopped down from the monument and over to him,prodding his ankle to get his attention.

Jack didn't look at him, though. Ayver's head lowered and he sighed. Then, Jack murmured something very quiet that even Ayver strained to hear.

"They didn't even..."

And that was it. Jack walked away, and Ayver wondered. As the youth walked away, he wondered...did he really know this other Jack that had suddenly appeared in the cheery youth's place? He honestly didn't know...

Perhaps he'll be back to normal soon. After all, lots of us get like that... especially the ones no-one cares about.

Ayver sighed, and hopped away, leaving no evidence either of them had been there.

The Night was clear and tranquil, thin, misty clouds scattered peacefuly across the starry sky above. The Moon was full, cascading a cool, watchful light upon the world below. The air was chilly, the ground coated with early spring frosts. As if the grass hadn't realized spring had come.

The night was still; barely a light flickered over the two. Calm, peaceful silent absorbed the air, and in the simmering mysterious night, a silvery figure wandered gracefully along the rooftops.

The Moonlight seemed to flicker for a moment, brightening its beam before settling back into its calm, collected glow. The luminous silvery figure was staring up at the skies, a small trail of glittering sand falling behind him only to vanish after hitting the ground.

The small figure was that of a boy who looked not a day over eleven. Silver, straight hair sat neatly over his head, a parted fringe dangling just a little past his eyes. Pale, sharp features and a small nose. The smallest trace of freckles lingered on his cheeks- and his silver suit was the exact colour of his hair and the silvery glitter that followed him. The only thing that stood out against his pale, tranquil form, was a pair of hazel-brown eyes that told a different story than his young features did.

The Guardian of Believe slowed his walk, eyes still set skyward as he stepped slowly and carefully along, arms hanging down loosely. Bare feet tingled again the frost, face neutral. Then, he stopped and lowered his head.

He waited for a while. Then, with a slight frown. the boy glanced over his shoulder to see if the one he waited for had arrived in the distance. They did not.

With a single, soft sigh, he sat himself down on the edge of the rooftop, legs dangling over the side and leaning back a little to stare at the sky again. His back was to the moon.

He usually waited for Sandman here. After all, his job was easier if they worked together.

Maybe I should find different ways to keep the fires of believe going. Dreams are ideal for children...but for adults I have to move around their heads and sprinkle it on them like it was salt. Even then it sometimes doesn't work...

A soft wind coaxed him out of his thoughts- a single, runaway breeze in the still night. It was almost like an introduction, for not a moment later a familiar golden light flickered behind him.

A smile spread across Jo's face as he stood and turned, directing his sight to a large, golden cloud shimmering above. He hopped, and the wind seemed to catch him as he rose into the air with all the experience of a grasshopper.

Sandman spotted him the second he was level with the sand-cloud, and a sleepy yet friendly smile came to his round face. Jo landed lightly on the cloud, the sand around his feet quickly turning silver under his touch. It did not spread, however, and remained around his toes and ankles. Sandman took no notice, however.

With all the grace of a silent compser, Sandman moved his arms around in the air and the sand drifted around in steady streams, moving down below. Jo gave a bright thumbs up and hopped from the cloud, gliding down along the streams. Here and there, he would tap the sand with a fingetip and a small silver thread would be conjured inside, intertinged in the golden strands.

Jo smiled a little as he watched them go, peeking into the windows of other children to see the dreams appear above their heads in the form of little sand figures. He watched quietly, his face almost blank as he watched the small shimmers of his own sand move around through gold.

As Sandman went ahead with his task, Jo tossed out handfuls of silver sand towards the beams like a farmer scattering seeds.

Before he knew it, their work was done. Sandman, along with his conforting light, moved along in his way. Unlike the Dream Bringer, Jo's work was not always a nightly thing. Fires didn't need to be fed ever single second after all...

So, he hopped along the rooftops, stepping quietly, glancing in the windows were the golden sand remained above the heads of children.

Then, as he was passing a decidedly pink room, he stopped. Then, everything stilled and the clouds seemed to linger over the moon. He frowned.

He could've sworn he'd seen something out of-

His heart almost halted in an eerily familiar way. Jo's posture stiffened as he stared into the room from across the street.

Something, or someone, was standing in the room, a black figure against the warm pink light. A lean, omnious figure that Jo had only seen in his Nightmares since the day he'd vanished.

Pitch.

And he was standing in the room.

Jo honestly didn't know how his legs had moved; The rest of his body felt too numb in alarm, in utter shock to be capable anymore. But, he found himself slipping to the side of he window, peeking around the side with all the dare he could muster.

The familiar grey face was staring down upon the dreamsand- which had taken the form of a large unicorn with a girl mounted on its back, the very girl who rested in bed at the very same time. Jo's lips parted incredulously.

Pitch was here. He was looking at him.

Already he could feel something was wrong.

"What an adorable dream." Soft, almost adoring words rolled smoothly off the Boogeyman's lips as he watched the dream move around in the air. Jo's brow furrowed uneasily.

"And look at her!" The near exclamation almost had a sinister tone lurking beneath, and Jo tensed, yet did not move. He felt an urge to burst into the room and confront him- yet something was holding him back. Pitch smiled again, no malice present just yet.

"So full of hope, and wonder...but something's missing." The tone darkened, and the lights in the room seemed to dim. Jo blinked, clenching his fists as he leaned further around the side of the window to see.

"Ah yes...a touch of fear."

Jo tried to say something, to do something- but all he could manage in his alarm was a sharp breath and a hand outstretched as Pitch placed a fingertip on the sand- and like ink into crystal water, it spread and the girl cringed in her slumber. Jo grimaced, cursing himself for not acting sooner. Yet, he was still frozen on the spot.

He wasn't afraid. Pitch couldn't do anything-

The sand twisted and swirled like a whirwind, before taking the shape of a small albeit sinister mare. Jo's eyes widened in horror.

"What a pretty little nightmare." Soft, sinister words followed, and Pitch leaned back to admire his handiwork for only a second. Then, he sent it off with an eery calm to his face, a malicious glint in his eyes. Now Jo knew what was unsettling him so much about Pitch on this night- when the last time he'd seen the Boogeyman he had been more...neutral. And even before that...the look in his eyes wasn't as...unsettled.

Not this time.

This time, something dangerous was lurking in his eyes. And it terrified Jo to the core.

Then, in a single, precarious heartbeat and as Jo stared at him, a half-smile came upon the Nightmare King's face as his head swiveled around, and his sharp eyes met his.

Jo froze, and slipped back in fright from the window and almost fell from the roof. Inside, Pitch's smile widened and he stepped back, vanishing into the shadows just as Jo tumbled down and landed stiffly on the ground below, the snow coating his fall. His vision dazed, and his eyes slipped shut. All he could see were those familiar, golden eyes.

Then, he opened his eyes again and stared at the sky. His vision moved like fog around him, out-of-focus. What? What had happened...

His vision seemed to mask over like a drawing on a window. Outlines of grey, trees and withered branches above, transparent against the buildings behind them. It was like...seeing two things at once or closing your eyes after staring into the light, leaving a faded silhouette against your eyelids.

Trees...a forest?

And golden eyes...

Then, his eyes slipped shut.

Just as they did, the Moonlight shone through- and seemed to tense and waver.

MiM's gonna go all 'Guardians unite' on Pitch XD

Please Review.