Welcome to chapter 2. I am so happy that so many people like the story so far and are favorited and reviewing it. So to all of you who reviewed, favorited, and followed thank you. Also to answer a question a few people have asked me via PM, the guardians do not know Jack is a Pooka yet. They don't even know Jack's a girl.

The Injured Spirit And The Awesomely Hot Carrots

"Where is that bloody Frostbite? He's missed the last two meetings and is now an hour late!" A very annoyed sounding Bunnymund shouted. Though if you knew him well enough like the other guardians did then you could hear a bit of worry hidden in his voice.

For the past year or so since Pitch's attack the guardians have been having monthly meetings to check up on one another and make sure there were no threats like Pitch coming around again. And Jack had been doing good with showing up, with the exception of almost always being late, to the meeting until about two months ago.

The guardians had assumed he had just forgotten that time and let it slide. Then the second month came and he didn't show up so they sent out the northern lights hoping that would get him to come.

But still he didn't show.

So now this is the third month he hasn't shown up and the guardians are all beginning to get increasingly worried.

"I don't know old friend. But chin up. I'm sure Jack is fine and will be showing up any minute. Remember the meetings he showed up before? He was always an hour or two late. If he is not here in next hour, we look for him." North told the rabbit.

Bunny was about to say something, but a faint tapping on the window stopped him. They all looked up to see Jack Frost floating outside smiling down at them.

"See Bunny, what do I tell you?" North chuckled as Sandy floated up and opened the window for Jack.

"Oh my moon Jack! What happened!?" Tooth asked once Jack was fully in the room and they could all see him better.

He was thinner than before, as if he hadn't eaten in the two or so months he'd been gone. The clothes were torn and caked with dry mud in some spots and he had dark rings under his eyes. Not the mention the bandage around his foot that was clearly still bleeding.

"Well a couple months ago I was running around playing in a forest," Jack started purposely leaving out which forest, "and an old rusted bear trap closed around my foot. When I fell I dropped my staff and couldn't use it to free myself because it was too far away. I just managed to get free a few hours ago and realized I had missed meetings and there was one tonight. So after applying the sp- err I mean bandages and such to my foot I rushed over here." Jack finished awkwardly.

"Ah well you are here now. So let me get yeti to do better bandaging on foot and get you some food, ja?" North asked with a large smile. Jack smiled back and nodded as he sat down in a chair next to the large round table they used for meetings.

About an hour later Jack had been cleaned up, rebadged, and now a yeti was in asking what he wanted to eat.

"Anything but meat. Preferably carrots." He told the yeti who nodded and ran off.

"No meat?" North asked shocked. "But meat it good for you no? Come now, eat some!"

"No I'm vegetarian thanks." Jack replied.

"Ok but why carrots?" Tooth asked.

"Because carrots are awesome." Jack said simply. At this Bunny bursts out laughing.

"Finally someone who gets it!" He shouts. North, Tooth, and Sandy all roll their eyes at this, Bunny had been trying to convince everyone for years that carrots were the best food ever. Jack, the only one who didn't roll their eyes, just looked at Bunny with a smile that could almost be considered shy and a light blush on his cheeks. Though he quickly turned his gaze away when he realized he was staring because he didn't want anyone else to see and as why he was looking at Bunny that way.

Soon enough a yeti came in with several different carrot based dishes for Jack, some of which Bunny stole a carrot or two from as they were carried in, and Jack happily chowed down.

"So Jack, why were you running in forest anyway? It's summer so there's no way you go to bring snow." North asked now that he knew for sure Jack would be fine.

"Well I was running around there about two, or was it three months ago. So when I had gone there although it was mainly spring time there were still hints of winter in the world so I was just finishing my job there. Or trying to anyway." Jack said with a mouthful of sweet boiled carrots, though mouthful aside the way he said it almost sounded rehearsed. Like he was planning for that sort of question and answer.

And Bunny picked up on it.

Not only did he pick up on that, but he also noticed Jack, the winter spirit, the being that brought COLD to the world, was eating boiled carrots and many other HOT foods.

'Had it not been for the way he answered the question North asked, and he was just eating hot foods then I might just think he's sick. But there has to be something else going on besides that. What really happened while Frostbite was missing? What's he hiding from us?' Bunny thought…