Hey, sorry guys for taking a week to finally post this chapter. I've been done with it for a while, but my computer went haywire and zonked out on me so I couldn't access it until now. Almost all better. Will be in and for about a week, so please bear with me. Not the grizzly kind, though. The cute black bears that eat the berries. Anyhow, I made this one extra long so you can enjoy it for a little longer. Once again, sorry!
"How did you do this to yerself?" Bunny asked, aghast at the deep wound in Jack's arm and the clean break in his leg. Jack lay on the bed and let Bunny and North fuss over him. He had flown there, but that had taken most of his energy and he did not have any more left to argue with Bunny, let alone answer any questions.
"Jack, we will let you rest when leg is set, but we need to know what happened when you are feeling up to speaking, yes?" Jack Frost stared at North and gave him the slightest of nods, to which North nodded back, knowing that he was being heard clearly.
"Now, hold North's hand for this part. It's gonna hurt." Bunny warned, and Jack let North's hand slip into his own as Bunny swiftly moved Jack's bones into place in his leg and tied a splint around it. Jack let out a small whine and let go of North's hand as soon as the pain had receded.
"Now," Bunny began as he wrapped gauze around Jack's leg to hold it firmly in place, "You can't walk on it no matter what. Flying, okay, but no walking, running, hopping, sprinting, anything. Understood?" Jack nodded slowly, exhaustion sweeping over him. Bunny noticed his slow change in demeanor and knew Jack wasn't going to be conscious for much longer.
"We'll be here when you wake up. Don't move, just ring this bell and one of us will be right there, understood?" Bunny said as he placed a small silver bell on the night stand next to Jack's bed. Jack nodded again and let his eyes flutter shut.
"You know, North, I feel like we might as well be the kid's legal guardians with as much as we look after him. Kid's always getting into some kinda trouble…"
"We'll see what he thi…" Jack listened as they walked out of the room and around the corner.
"I guess it will be my turn next." Brulant said as Frost drifted into sleep.
Jack Brulant took in a deep, slow breath of the hot desert air and opened his eyes to the shining sun. He stared at it for a minute before deciding to get up.
"Ah, remember, the leg." Frost warned in the back of his mind. Brulant sighed and sat up slowly, careful not to move his broken leg.
"I suppose we are stuck with each other as long as the other is unconscious, right?" Brulant said as he lifted himself up, careful not to use his broken leg for support.
"Yeah, I suppose so." Frost then became silent and Brulant was glad for the small moment of peace. The past few hours, or however long it has been, had been hectic and stressful, and Jack did not know how much more of it he could take. He handled being a spirit just fine, he understood what it meant to be a guardian of childhood, and he could handle a good thunderstorm and a fight with a tree spirit, but this was out of his control. As of late, everything was out of his control.
"You seem to have some pretty deep thoughts in there." Frost stated, and Brulant grunted a reply as he dragged himself through the dry land to a trail that would lead him to the cave he left his staff in a hundred or so feet up. "I mean, all of these feelings of hate and loneliness… reminds me of… me."
"Yeah, I could say the same thing. I think we are from pretty much the same background. Just opposite for some reason. How did you die?"
"Seems a little personal, don't you think?"
"Well, technically we are the same person. And if you don't want to tell me I could just peak into your memories there…"
"Fine. I'll tell you. Just… don't look into my memories. I'm sure you'll be able to tell that I'm telling the truth."
"Yeah, sure, go for it. This should be good."
"I was killed saving my little sister. We were playing by the pond in what's now Burgess and it started to thunderstorm, then lightening hit a tree and it was going to fall on my sister, but I pushed her out of the way in time. I was killed instead. I don't remember much else, though. The Man in the Moon didn't leave me with any memories after he gave me life and told me my name."
"And how did you learn about your powers?"
"How about we play it fair and you tell me how you died?"
"Fine. Ice skating on the pond in Burgess with my sister. The ice was thin and she was going to go under unless I could get her to safer ground, so I played a game with her and I got her to the other side, but I was still on the thin ice and I fell through and drowned. The same happened with Manny. It seems he's a pretty horrible person no matter what universe. Okay, so now tell me how you learned about your powers. Actually, you said you were a guardian. Or did you? I can't remember, but I know you are, so what are you a guardian of?"
"I'm the guardian of fun, the best part of childhood."
"No way! Me too!"
"Yeah. Kids love muddy puddles and staring at the clouds. It makes perfect sense that I would be the guardian of fun. What about you?"
"Same. Guardian of fun and all that. As far as I can see, we're the same besides the opposite powers thing. I think it's because of the season we were in when we died that decided what our powers were going to be."
"Or maybe luck that they needed a spot filled." Brulant grunted as he lifted himself up a small ledge, then turned around to see the ground about seventy feet below him. He hefted himself onto the flat surface then pushed himself from the ground and moved onto the next ledge.
"What do you mean?" Frost asked, genuinely confused.
"Oh, you didn't figure it out yet? They were filling a spot. With me, the spirit of summer wanted to retire. He was replaced when I oh so conveniently was killed by a falling tree that was struck by lightning. I mean, what are the chances of that?" Brulant scoffed, then dragged himself around a few boulders and into the cave.
"I do admit those are some pretty slim chances. But, I highly doubt that you were murdered for the purpose. I mean, that's just cruel. I've met Mother Nature. She's pretty cool. I couldn't imagine her-"
"You haven't seen this Mother Nature. My Mother Nature, in my world. And I'm not about to show you." Brulant let himself collapse to the ground next to his staff and leaned back against the cave wall, breathing in the stale air emanating from the back of the cave.
"You know what's strange? When something happens to one of us in one world, the same happens in the other. If that's so, then how come I'm not melting?" Frost pondered, but Brulant had a good idea formulating in the back of his mind already.
"I think it's because of the way our bodies react to the surrounding temperature. When I broke my leg, your leg broke as well. That's because a broken leg is something blunt and physical that I cannot regulate. The air around me that I am comfortable with and that my body is accustomed to will not affect you because my body is fine with it, so you are as well."
"So if I were to jump into a pile of snow, you wouldn't burn out. That sort of thing?"
"Yeah. Lucky for you."
"It is. I've never seen the desert during the day before. It's beautiful." Frost breathed, taking in the sensations and sights around him, from what he could see and feel through Brulant's own eyes and body.
"You know," Frost started after a few minutes of silence, "I think I could really like it in here. It's not lonely. I mean, I would never admit that to anyone, but since I'm talking to myself-"
"No no, I get it. I have generally the same thoughts as you. And I can read into your mind just as easily as you can to me. I can be, like, your secret spy or something. Not like I can leave your body or anything, but I'm sure we can benefit from this somehow, although it's very dangerous."
"We're stuck like this for a while anyways, so might as well get used to it." Frost sighed. "You think North can do it?"
"Yeah. He's a wizard or something. He has to be able to do it. To separate us again so we can live our own lives."
"Good. In the meantime, wanna tell me about those spirits that are messing with you?" Frost asked.
"I told you not to read into my thoughts!" Brulant yelled, feeling violated.
"You know, we have to get the whole communication through thoughts thing down so people don't think we're crazy. And I can't help but read your thoughts. They feel like they're mine, and I notice that sometimes my thoughts get jumbled up with yours and I can't tell the difference and I don't think you can either."
"Yeah. I've wondered about that… or maybe it was you who wondered about that. But, still, personal space."
"You want to talk to me about personal space? We're. The. Same. Person. Dead person. Whatever!"
"Fine, but I will not tell anyone else. Lucky for me you can't talk in my world anyhow. Just annoying thoughts in the back of my mind."
"Look who's talking." Frost grumbled, becoming aggravated with himself.
"Do you want me to tell you or not? I'm sure I can shut you off from my mind if I tried hard enough."
"I'm sure you could, but I would much rather know how a few nature spirits could beat you up like that."
"They were sent by Mother Nature." Brulant started, leaning his head back against the cave wall and shutting his eyes. "She doesn't like me. She never has. Manny created me, so I'm not under her jurisdiction. She thought she could control me when I was still new at my job, but she was dead wrong, and I pay for it every day. Or every other day. Sometimes I get a break from the abuse."
"Why don't you tell the Guardians?" Frost asked, sympathy replacing his aggravation. Brulant laughed, but there was no humor in it.
"Yeah right. You think that they care? They turned a blind eye to it for three hundred years. What makes you think that they would suddenly give me their time of day.
"I understand where you're coming from, but-"
'No, I don't think you do! You don't know anything about me!"
"Believe it or not, I'm in the exact same position. The summer spirits hate me and I have been dealing with that and being utterly ignored for over three hundred years, but I have to deal with it, at least for the kids. I'm a Guardian of Childhood, and I don't know what that means to you, but it means a hell of a lot to me."
Brulant became silent and thought about what Frost had said, still trying his best to deny everything, but knowing that he was right. He needed to fight back or something. He needed to find a new winter spirit, and he was going to find one. Himself.
"Oh no. That's a bad idea. First of all, you can't control winter weather. It would kill you."
"No, but you can."
"You don't seem to understand. Your body cannot control winter. You will die."
"But you are missing the point. If I can find a way to bring you over, for you to be in my world, in this world, with me, then just think of the power we can achieve! Together we will have control over the seasons! No one will ever bully me again! I won't be the laughing stock of the seasonal spirits. I need this, Frost. Don't you see?"
"I wish I could, but I think you just need to rest for a bit. Your mind is confused. You need to calm down and think straight. Think about what you are saying. You don't want that power. I know you don't. I can feel your emotions and I know that this is not what you want. You want to get back at Mother Nature, but not by ruling. And anyhow, it's impossible." Frost sighed and relaxed his mind. "How about you sleep for a bit? I'll take over." Frost suggested just as Brulant let his mind drift into a light sleep.