Zach gaped at the sights and sounds around him as the sleigh pulled into the ice tunnel, and Ashley could not stop smirking at the boy's ridiculous face, not even to be afraid of dying when they were flying. They came to stop, and Ashley hopped out before holding her arms out to catch him. Zach was still in awe, and after a minute or two, she rolled her eyes.
"Come on, Z," She told him, "I haven't got all day."
The boy jerked like he had forgotten her, and looked down at her. "Ash... This place... It's so-"
"-This ain't even half, little bud," Jack told him. "And North can show ya the rest, if you get down..."
North perked up from the front of the sleigh and beamed. "Yes! Ve vill have wonderful time! There is much to show you! Ve vill give you the 'grand tour,' as they say!"
The boy jumped out of the sleigh and into Ashley's arms faster than anyone could believe. Bunnymund did the same, and straightened up as he cleared his throat, trying to act like he hadn't just been frozen in fear.
Zach gave his sister a puppy dog look, silently asking-begging-to be allowed to go on the tour with North. The girl rolled her eyes, but nuzzled the top of his head before setting him on the ground and handing him his crutches. She didn't really want to let him go-she had missed him-but she also didn't want to smother him... and, well, she wanted to explore a little too. And that exploring might or might not involve getting into things she wasn't supposed to, and she didn't want to get Zach in trouble on his first day.
"I guess. Just don't break anything," She told him before looking at North. "You take care of the little bugger. Make sure he doesn't get into anything he shouldn't. I'm trusting you with my baby, North... Don't make me regret it, or you will."
North gave a fond smile, and bowed slightly. "Of course, Ashvey... You entrust me vith your leetle vone-I vill keep him safe."
She still didn't like letting Zach go. She had just gotten him back, after all... But the boy was growing up, and she knew that she forgot that, sometimes. As they walked away, the massive man and the young boy side by side, she looked over at the reindeer.
Three yetis were trying to get one of the reindeer in the back to calm down. And not just any reindeer...
Aleksei.
She jogged over and motioned for the huge shih-tzu looking creatures to back up. "Woah, hang on guys! I got this!"
One of them, a particularly large dark gray one with green eyes, turned and gave the woman a bewildered look before asking in a rough, almost unintelligible voice, "Are ya crazy?! This un'll squash ya like a bug!" he started to say more, but Aleksei kicked him, as well as the other two, back.
Wincing, she ran over and raised her arms to the raging beast, ignoring the protests of various yetis, Bunnymund, and Jack.
One piercing eye caught sight of her, and the beast almost fell over itself in it's attempt to avoid hitting her. It landed on the floor heavily, and snorted before turning his massive head and leaning down so that his head was right in front of hers.
The girl grinned and leaned her forehead against his, cooing quietly. "Hey there, bud. You causing trouble...?" She lightly stroked his muzzle, and Aleksei all but purred, deep in his throat as he nuzzled her face a bit.
"Wha?!" One of the yetis gasped, "That thing is a brute! Why's he... How's she... What?!"
She smirked back at the yeti, pulling off all the ropes they had been using in their attempt to move the reindeer but one. She used the one rope-the thinnest one-and tied a loose knot around Aleksei's neck. She glanced over at the one yeti that had tried to stop her, and gestured to the caribou.
"Where does he go?" She asked, completely at ease as she ran her fingers through his mane. The yeti, mouth wide open, faintly pointed behind her, in the stall behind her. She nodded and very gently pulled the rope. "Come on, bud. It's time to take a little break. Eat, drink some water, relax-I'll come see you in a bit, okay?"
He snorted, and didn't seem to really want to go, but he followed her anyways. Once he was in the stall, she untied the rope and patted his massive shoulder. "Thanks, Aleksei." She hummed before walking out of the stall and locking the door with no trouble or complaint from the huge beast.
Jack Frost chuckled as he inspected Ashley's trident. "Wow, Phil... I've never seen you so surprised before."
The yeti, supposedly 'Phil,' turned to the white-haired teen and scowled. "Shush, ya rapscallion! Tha' beast'll squash ya as soon as 'e looks at ya! I have e'ery right ta be surprised!"
"Aleksei?" Ashley asked, laughing despite her attempts to quell them, "He's a sweetheart!"
Phil turned to her and violently gestured to the reindeer. "Tha' creature broke damn near e'ery one of a fellow's ribs, with a single kick!"
She furrowed an eyebrow. "What..? But... no, you're shittin' me."
Phil raised a furry brow. "I wish I was. Wha' makes ya so special? Who are ya...?"
"I'm Ashley," She said as she walked over to Jack and snatched her trident out of the delinquent's hand before continuing, "I'm the spirit of courage... That's what people say, anyways..."
The teen gave Ashley a confused look. "Who are you talking to...?"
"Phil," She told him slowly, pointing back to the dark gray yeti. "The yeti that you were just talking to..."
Jack and Bunnymund shared a look, before Bunny took a step closer. "Uh... No one can rightly understand the yetis except North..."
She raised an eyebrow and gestured back to the yetis. "What...? How can you not understand them? They're only speaking plain English. I mean, the accent is a little weird and hard to understand, sometimes-"
"Hey!" One of the yetis protested, insulted.
"-But it isn't all that hard." She finished.
"Ah," Bunnymund nodded, walking up and patting her shoulder. "Right... I keep forgettin', you're the spirit of courage. Vergil could understand the yetis, too."
Ashley perked up. "You knew the guy?"
Bunnymund nodded and ruffled the girl's hair. "You bet'cha. Courage an' hope go hand in hand." The giant rabbit paused thoughtfully and looked down at the girl. "Maybe that's why you an' I were always so tight..."
"But I'm not courageous!" She protested, beginning to get tired of having to explain it to every freaking person she meets.
"You might not think ya are," Bunnymund explained to her patiently, "And maybe you're right. Maybe, in most cases, you're a bloody coward-"
"-Gee, thanks," She said dryly, "That's really reassuring."
Bunnymund chuckled and lightly flicked her nose. "Because I wasn't done yet. I was gonna add that when push comes to shove, you don't disappoint. When people need ya, even if you're scared, you do what ya know you've gotta."
That caught her by surprise. She froze for a brief second before looking up at Bunnymund. The rabbit smiled fondly at the young girl before walking off.
She stared after him, eyebrows raised, before shaking her head vigorously as though that would clear her head. Looking around, she realized that Jack, as well as most of the yetis were gone. Eros had gone and disappeared on her, too. Tooth wasn't there, but she already knew that. The fairy had gone and went to get some dude called 'Sandy'. Which was, most likely, the Sand Man. It was just a guess, but she was pretty confident that she was right...
It was then that she decided it was time to explore. She had time. Not a lot, but still-time is time. And she sure as hell wasn't missing out on this opportunity. She set her trident against Aleksei's stall before rolling up her imaginary sleeves.
"It's go time."
Ashley had decided that if she was gonna do this, she was going to do it right. She was barrel rolling, she was ducking under tables, she was peeking over walls, and she was crawling through air ducts.
Did she need to?
No.
But was it extremely fun?
Yes.
But, Ashley was also feeling pretty tired, so when she fell out of one of the air ducts and on the hard, stone ground... She decided that she was done playing. So, ignoring the odd looks from the yetis around her, she got up and limped back to the ice cave.
Aleksei caught sight of her the second she walked through the wooden door, and his ears perked up as he pawed at the door. Ashley smiled as she picked up her pace to get to the excited reindeer.
"Hey, buddy!" She greeted as she unlocked the padlock and swung open the door. Aleksei rushed out and reared up, like he was stretching. He turned to her and seemed to smile at her as he snorted and put his massive head on top of hers. Laughing, she reached up and pat his fluffy neck.
They stayed like that for a while, just standing around. Ashley ran her fingers through the beast's thick fur, and Aleksei would nuzzle her occasionally with a purr. He kind of reminded her of a puppy...
A giant puppy with thick cords of muscle which rippled every time he shifted, huge, pointed antlers, and a scarred face.
After a while, she decided that she wanted to try something. Something really dumb...
She decided that she wanted to see if she could ride Aleksei. Because, well... She may or may not have had an epic dream about riding an armored Aleksei into battle, during that nap she'd had.
"Okay, bud," She breathed as she moved over to his side after grabbing her trident. "I'm gonna try something... I'm not trying to hurt you, okay? I promise you that. I would never, ever try to hurt you, you remind me too much of my dog-the one that died when I was ten. Just trust me, alright?"
Aleksei gave her a rather unsure look, but didn't move away from her.
Silently praying that he wouldn't go crazy and break her insides, she grabbed a fistful of fur and scrambled up his side, only almost falling twice. Aleksei shifted a bit, but he didn't seem to mind.
When she was seated well enough, she stopped to breathe, and check for any damage he may or may not have done to her. And, holy crap, she was okay! And so was Aleksei! He was cool with it, and that was way more than she had hoped for!
Ashley got a big grin on her face, and Aleksei turned his head to look at her from the corner of his eye. She felt like she was four again, when her dad had convinced her to get on that fucking giant horse. She felt really small, just like when she was four, but this time she had the benefit of trust. She wasn't on a random giant horse that had no clue who she was.
Leaning forward, she patted his massive neck. "Hey, Aleksei," She said slowly, "Do you wanna go for a quick run?"
He seemed to grin at her, and snorted as he lifted and lowered his head in a nod, quite similarly to a how a horse would.
A thought hit her, and she cocked her head to the side. "Do you... Do you, uh... You know how to get out of here without flying?"
He looked back at her. Taking that as a 'yes,' she nodded and gestured for him to go. "Well then, I'll let you get to it. Just try not break anything, okay...?"
Aleksei snorted and pawed at the ground before charging at the door, making it bust open. Ashley yelped and tightened her hold on his mane when she almost fell off. Nearby yetis gaped at the sight.
Making sure that she wouldn't fall off, he glanced back at her for confirmation. When she nodded, he grunted and started galloping through North's workshop.
It was chaos. Yetis scrambled away as the huge beast dodged, ducked, and leaped over anything that was in the way. Ashley heard several protests, and she was pretty sure that she heard North yell somewhere in all the noise. But she still couldn't stop the huge grin on her face as the air smacked her in the face, and made her hair fly wildly behind her.
She whooped and gained enough confidence to hold on with one hand, raising her trident in the air with laugh. Adrenaline pulsed through her veins as Aleksei made a sharp turn, and began racing towards a large, opened window. He leaped out of the window, and crashed onto the snow, sending the stuff into the air as he ran through snow drifts.
As Aleksei and Ashley ran through the snow, with her cheering and laughing the whole time, North, Zach, Bunnymund, Jack Frost, Eros (who had disappeared to god knows where until that very moment), and a large amount of yetis ran to window-half expecting Ashley to be a bloody heap in the snow.
But she wasn't.
North had never seen Aleksei so... friendly. Even with North himself, the beast seemed to have a strained relationship that, at times, seemed awfully one-sided. Aleksei was the largest of the reindeer, and definitely the strongest without question. But he was also the meanest, and tended to have random as well as frequent bursts of violent anger when close to any living creature. Which, in extent, meant that he was also the loneliest. There was not a single yeti that didn't shy away from the unpredictable bull.
The huge man didn't know why Aleksei was taking such a liking to the new spirit of courage. And the man usually didn't like not knowing things, but in this case, he would let it go. The beast had finally found someone, someone who could tame him, if just a bit, and could manage him. She didn't shy away in fear from Aleksei, and Aleksei almost fell over in his rush to avoid hurting her. He had never done that before...
"That is something," North hummed, stroking his beard as he watched the girl and the beast. "I have never seen Aleksei so... happy. Nor have I seen anyone so relaxed around Aleksei..."
Zach grinned up at North. "That's just Ashley. She makes friends with people that you wouldn't believe. There was this one guy in our neighborhood, people said he would murder you if you just looked at him. But she made friends with him. She could run up to him and punch him in the arm, and he would just smile. No one had ever even seen him smile before, until she got to him."
North looked down at the young boy and smiled fondly as he patted his head. "Yes, it vould appear so." The large man turned to the yetis. "Vhat are ve standing around for? Christmas is around corner! Get back to vork!"
One of the yetis went to a table with hundreds of toy trains that were all painted red. The yeti picked up one of the trains and started to put the finishing touches of red, just as North walked over.
"I don't like it!" North told him, "Make it blue!"
The yeti's jaw dropped as North lead Zach away to finish the tour. The yeti made various hand motions and gasping, choking noises (like he was trying to protest but couldn't find the words) before pushing all of the trains off the table with a frustrated yell. He slammed his head down on the table as Jack grinned at the poor yeti.
"I would hate to be you..." Jack chuckled. The yeti grumbled under it's breath angrily. Turning his attention back to Bunnymund, he stopped short.
Bunnymund was looking out the window with a undeniably proud, but also weary look on his face. The winter spirit looked over as well, trying to see what was making the old Pooka look so... old.
Aleksei had stopped running. Now, Ashley and Aleksei were looking over the ice canyons as she talked quietly to the reindeer, running her fingers through his mane. With the way the sun was positioned behind them, and the serene look on her face as she looked over the ice and snow, Jack could actually believe that she was what she was for the first time since he'd met her. He could see her as a powerful ally and friend, and as a dangerous enemy to any foes she might meet.
It made the teen's stomach feel kind of funny... And Eros kept giving the teen this weird smile. It kind of unnerved him. And his stomach would not stop jumping around...
Maybe he'd drunk some bad milk...
Unfortunately, North and Phil the yeti made Ashley and Aleksei come inside after a while... Even worse, Phil made her bring Aleksei back to the ice cave, even though she hated confining her friend to that small box. After she said goodbye, she had a thought. She looked back at the reindeer, and they looked back at her.
North, she realized, was going to take these guys against The Nightmare King. Unprotected.What kind of crap is that?! They were certainly strong enough to have some form of armor while they pulled the sleigh... They weren't any ordinary reindeer, after all... Maybe North was too busy to do it...?
Ashley perked up as an imaginary light bulb went on above her head. She could do it! She couldn't stitch worth a damn, but hell-she had taken a metal-working class (it had sounded cooler than a woodworking class) in high school! And maybe, just maybe, she could see if North had a few yetis to spare. She could do this!
She gave a laugh that bordered on being manic, before running out the doors, nearly poking a yeti in the arse in her rush. Yelling back an apology, she continued on her way. She was running for a bit, before she realized that, oh yeah, she had no idea where North was. Skidding to a stop, she asked the nearest yeti where Santa was. He cocked his head to the side, but gruffly told her he was in the Globe Room. She got directions before continuing on her merry way, dodging yetis and flying toys.
Yeah... When she finally got up all those stairs, she was... she was pretty out of breath. Like, she had to stop and compose herself before going out into the globe room. It made her realize... She was either really out of shape, or hungry.
As her stomach took the time to roar and curse at her, Ashley decided that she was probably just hungry. How long had it been since she last ate...?
Her jaw dropped as it hit her. She might've been a bit off, but it had been around three days since she had last eaten anything! How was she still alive?!She normally couldn't function without any food, but here she was! Alive and well! If you don't count the hungry part as being unwell, of course, but still!
Ashley started to head back to search for some food, but stopped herself. No, she couldn't go and get food because if she did, she'd forget about the armor thing! Damnit... oh well.
She'd live.
Maybe...
She walked into the 'Globe Room' only to drop her trident. "Woah..." She breathed.
Huge and highly detailed columns ran from the ceiling to the floor. Confetti was all over the place (North must like the stuff) in the air. The coolest little round lights floated through the air at a leisurely pace. Tapestries hung from the ceilings. There was a freaking huge fireplace, and another tapestry above it, with a picture of North fighting a black bear. And the ceiling, man, it seemed to be never ending! The whole place was just magical. She was seeing and doing more in a day than she used to in a year...
As awed as she was, she had forgotten about what she had come there in the first place. North raised an eyebrow and looked around for a minute, waiting for her to respond. When she didn't, he cleared his throat as Zach giggled at her face.
Ashley shook her head like it would clear her thoughts and looked up at the bearded man. "Right, right, I was doing something," She muttered quickly, clearing her throat. "So, uh... I was thinking."
"That's a precarious pastime, Ashley," Zach teased lightly. "You know you shouldn't do that."
She narrowed her eyes at the boy and pounded her fist into her open palm playfully before turning back to North. "I noticed that your reindeer are awfully... bare, to be going up against the big boss. Have you ever considered... having armor made for them...?"
North raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Armor... for reindeer?" He paused and scratched his head. "Vell... Yes. Yes, I have considered it. But I have no time-"
"-I could do it!" Ashley quickly told him. "I took a metal-working class! Heck, I even designed some horse armor for the main project! And I got an A! Horses and reindeer aren't all that different, I could do it-easy peasy."
The large man hummed as he stroked his beard. "I am not sure..."
"Come on," She reasoned, "I won't put so much junk on them that they won't be able to walk. Just some more protection. Hell-I-I mean heck, I'll even put original designs on every set! Come on... I don't like not doing anything, I like to keep my hands busy. I'm doing it for free. All I ask is a yeti or two, measurements of each of the reindeer, a place to do my thing, and some metal to work with."
He studied her for a few seconds before nodding. "I suppose I could spare two yetis, and I have forge in lowest part or vorkshop. It vould not hurt to have you try."
Ashley grinned and fist pumped to herself as North walked past her to the yetis that were standing guard. He picked out two yetis and spoke to them quietly, gesturing back to her occasionally. The yetis nodded and walked back over with North.
"These two vill help you."
She looked them over. One of them, she recognized. It was Phil. Cool. The other one was smaller, and quite different than the usual yeti's she had seen so far. He was considerably smaller, and his shih-tzu style mustache was a lot shorter than she had seen on any yetis. His hair was too short to keep in a ponytail, so it was just kind spiked up. His eyes were a deep brown, his fur was a golden brown color, and had what kind of looked like war paint on his face. Like he had dipped his four fingers in red paint and drew it across his face.
"I'm Fitz." The yeti told her. Even his voice was a little different. It wasn't quite as deep or accented as all the other yetis, and a little less rough.
Ashley nodded and held out her hand to shake. His whole hand engulfed hers when he shook her hand. "Ashley."
He nodded and Phil stepped forwards. "Righ'. Good ta see ya again, lass. I'll lead ya to th' forge."
The odd group went and moved through the workshop, down a hell of a lot of stairs. They got down the stairs (after what felt like hours) to the lowest floor, and walked up to heavy double doors. Phil and Fitz grunted a they pulled the doors open, and a blast of horridly hot air hit Ashley in the face. There was a reddish orange light in the room, and she could see the glint of tools hanging on the wall.
Phil looked at her and gestured in the room. "Well, go on in."
She made a displeased face and held up a finger, telling them to wait a moment. She undid the straps on her shoulder guard and let it fall to the floor before working on the leather cuirass. That fell to the floor, too, as she unstrapped her belt and knee guards. Her shield left, and so did the leather straps and cloth that was wrapped around her left arm.
Once in nothing but a red tank top, jeans, and her combat boots, she heaved a sigh before walking into the hot-ass room.
It was kind of like being in an oven. Except, it was worse. It was loud, the air was thick, and to be anywhere that was ten feet away from the raging forge was just asking to stub your toe due to it being the only light source in the room.
Joy.
Ashley glanced over, only to frown and jog over. "What are you doing?!" She shouted over the roaring fire, "You gotta temper the steel, Phil!"
He looked over and raised a furry brow. "Why?" He asked loudly, "I's jus' a big waste a' time, lass! It'll take less time to jus' ta skip it!"
She grunted and shook her head, motioning for him to move. She put on some thick, leather gloves before taking the large pliers and motioned back to Fitz. "This isn't about doing it quick, it's about doing it right!" She wiped sweat from her eyes before continuing. "Just go help Fitz with the chain mail! I got this!"
The yeti just shrugged and walked over to the smaller. As she watched him walk away, she groaned. Why was it that Fitz and Phil seemed so unaffected by the heat...? It wasn't fair!
She growled a curse under her breath before getting back to it. She moved the sheet of metal back into the fire. She waited until it was bright red before taking it out and pounding it with a hammer, shaping it to fit the first reindeer. When it matched up to the measurements Fitz had given her and she was happy with it, she placed it in water, which hissed and spat as it cooled the metal. The steam went into her face, making her even more hot.
Idly singing under her breath, she placed the metal onto the anvil before walking back and getting the small blowtorch, as well as a welding mask. She slipped on the welding mask and tightened it before slipping it down before beginning to add to the chanfron.
She welded a three inch spike to the center where the forehead would be and placed the metal piece into the water one more time before lifting it in the air with a victorious cry, pride in her voice as she showed off her masterpiece. "Yes,I'm finished!"
"Now you just need six or seven more pieces to make!" Fitz told her.
Her smile turned into a face of horror as her arms fell to her sides. "No, I still need to finish this set and then do eight more! And I need to put designs on them!"
Fitz and Phil laughed as Ashley cursed and spat and kicked the ground.
Ashley was exhausted when she was finally done. She didn't even know how much time had passed since she went in there. She was tired and she was hella hot... But she still felt her heart lift with pride as she dragged herself up the many steps. She had done good on her little project, and she couldn't wait to see her pride and joy in action. She'd had her doubts, but she'd done it, and put custom designs on the armor. Every. Single. Piece.
About half way up the steps, she couldn't keep going anymore. She sat on the side of one step, until Fitz came up. He leaned down and raised a furry brow.
"Do ya need some help...?"
"Please...?"
Fitz nodded and smiled at her before lifting her and setting her down on one of his wide shoulders. She exhaled and cracked her neck as the two yetis and human made their way up the steps.
"Thanks, Fitz," She breathed as sweat trickled down her arms and face. "I've never been this hot in my entire life..."
Phil laughed from behind them. "Boy, you humans sure are sens'tive..."
She scoffed and kept facing forward. "I'm sorry, I was standing right in front of that forge for how long...? While you two were in the back of the room, right in front of the vent, hogging all the fresh air...?"
Phil didn't respond, but Ashley heard him mutter a few curses while Fitz laughed.
She turned and glanced back down the staircase. "Wait, I forgot my armor and my trident..."
Fitz shrugged his other massive shoulder. "We'll get some elves to get it, no worries."
"Thanks."
Fitz looked up at her and smiled. "No prob,' Ash. Thank you for gettin' me away from my job for a bit. I love it, but I like ta do other things, too."
She cocked her head to the side. "What do you do...?"
"Oh, I make sure all the guitars work," He replied offhandedly. "It's fun, but I like to take a break ev'ry once in awhile..."
Ashley perked up. "Oh, guitar, eh? Do you have Spanish guitar?"
Fitz scoffed, like he was insulted. "Of course I do. And I'm damn good with it, too."
She grinned. "Hey, man, you wanna collaborate with me?"
He hummed and idly scratched his chest. "I dunno... What for?"
"For fun," She answered, "And so I can maybe try to record it for my little bro. He's always liked it when I sing him a Spanish lullaby before bed." She shrugged. "I have no idea why he likes it in Spanish better. He can't understand a word of Spanish... And I only understand half of what I sing to him, but..."
He laughed and reached up to pat her leg. "Sure, we could do that. I'll see if I can find you somethin' to record with, and then we could come up with somethin' together."
She smiled gratefully. "Hey, thanks, Fitz. If I weren't so freaking hot, and you weren't so freaking hot, I'd hug you."
The yeti grinned up at her. "I should be thankin' you. Most of the other yetis don't like jamming with each other. And the ones that do, well... They don't really like doin' it with me very often. They think I'm too young to be out here workin', but I'm still makin' my way, eh?"
"Yeah... And you're doing a pretty damn good at that, too." She told him.
They continued up the stairs until they got up to the Globe Room, where North, Bunny, Jack, Tooth, Eros, Zach, and some other really short dude she had never met before were. Fitz set her down and patted her back before walking off, and Phil walked past her to talk to North while she staggered forward.
She was still horribly hot, man, and she really wanted to find a freezer to stick herself in, but she was also sore and lazy. And tired...
As she neared them, she caught eyes with a certain winter spirit, and she got an idea. Why go find a freezer or a window to jump out of into snow, when she had a freezer right in front of her...?
Ashley took a large step closer before suddenly wrapping her arms around the shorter teen in a bear hug, much to his surprise.
It felt orgasmic...
... Well, maybe not quite that good. But still, it was damn close. She rested one side of her face against his cold shoulder. "Oh my God, this is amazing," She breathed, letting out a quiet chuckle. "It's like jumping in a freezer, except colder."
She heard Jack stutter and Zach snicker, but man, she didn't care. Exhaling heavily, she turned her head to cool down the other side.
Jack was, as you can imagine, really surprised. But he really didn't mind it. At all. Because, holy Man in the Moon, she was warm, and the winter spirit craved warmth. If you were to ask, he would deny it, but it was true. And once he got over his shock, he realized with a start that she was hugging him.
And, well... Three hundred years with minimal amounts of contact and no affection what-so-freaking-ever had done it's toll on the poor kid. When he got hugs, man, he savored them. And this was one hug that he knew, from experience, would never grow cold. You'd better believe he wasn't going to look this gift horse in the mouth!
The usually mischievous spirit wrapped his arms around her as well before resting his chin on top of her head with a content sigh. At least, he did, until he noticed Sandy raise a brow at him as a heart formed over his head, then a question mark, as Eros gave the teen a smirk. His face twisted into a look of bewilderment and embarrassment as he had a sudden change of heart, quickly trying to get Ashley off of him.
"Nooo," She groaned tiredly, tightening her hold on the winter spirit, "You feel good, man. Don't make me let go..."
Jack gestured between her and everyone else. "But-but I, but you, but they-"
"Forget them," She grunted. "I'm 'bout to have a freaking heatstroke, here. What kind of crap would that be...? The spirit of courage dying from a heatstroke. And it would be your fault. All because you wouldn't let me hold you. And besides... you know you love it."
"B-but Sandy's here," The teen protested weakly, face flushing a bit as North raised an eyebrow at the teen. "Don't you want to meet him...?"
She muttered obscenities under her breath before straightening. She let the teen go long enough to yawn before picking him up again despite his protests, like he was a large teddy bear, and walked over to the tiny, yellow man while carrying Jack. "Hey," She said, stifling another yawn before looking down at the Guardian. "I'm Ashley. Spirit of Courage. I'm new to the job, and I've gotta go against this dude, Pitch...? I'm told you guys have heard of him and stuff..."
She looked down closer at the little man. His whole body was just different shades of orange and gold. His hair stuck up in a wacky way, and he looked about as tired as her. If not, even more. She gave drowsy smile.
"Dude... You look cool. You're supposed to be the Sandman, right?"
The man smiled and nodded, giving a thumbs up as various pictures formed above his head. There was a smiley face, then a bed, and then a question mark. She cocked her head to the side before asking slowly with uncertainty, "Are you asking me if I'm... tired...?"
His eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously with a big smile.
"Oh.In that case, then, yes." She answered, "Yes I am. I'm also hungry."
Sandy cocked his head to the side as a bombardment of pictures flashed until coming to a stop at a question mark. She had caught a miniature her, a hamburger, a fire, and a... heart...?
She blinked and looked from Sandy to Bunnymund, who just shrugged unhelpfully. Looking back at Sandy, she cocked her head to the side. "Uh... I... I didn't quite catch that... Sorry...?"
Sandy got a rather annoyed look on his face, puffing out his cheeks and looking at the ground in impatience before waving her off. He gave her a silent 'it's okay'.
"I'm pretty sure this counts as harassment," Jack voiced meekly.
Rolling her eyes, Ashley let go of Jack. He started to move away, but paused once the heat left him, and his lips tugged down.
Ashley saw this, and rolled her eyes as she threw her arm over his shoulders. "Look, just stick around for a bit more, okay? It won't kill you, and it would make me feel a lot better. Just chill... be cool, man."
The teen scoffed and lightly elbowed her side. "I'm the king of cool."
She snorted. "You're awfully short to be a king, Frosty." She retorted with a smirk. Bunnymund snickered and covered a laugh with a cough.
"Hey, it's not my fault I didn't finish growing!" He protested, insulted. "And I'll have you know that I was considered to be really tall in my time!"
Rolling her eyes, she shot Zach a mischievous look before turning back to the teen. "Mm-hmm..." She hummed condescendingly. "Yeah, I'll bet you were..."
"I was!"
"Sure, Frost." She turned back to North. "By the way, me and the yetis finished the armor. All of it. You can go look at 'em whenever you want." She couldn't help but puff up her chest a bit in pride. "We did pretty good, if I do say so myself."
"I bet it sucks..." Jack muttered.
Ashley froze before pulling a Stewie Griffin, and turning her head slowly to face him. She narrowed her eyes, partially playing, partially not. "Do you wanna take this outside...? Because we can. I'm down for it, Frost."
He smirked and gestured to himself. "Oh, I don't think you handle all this."
"Ohoho, clever... Quoting me like you just did... That must have taken all night for you to come up with..." She said before leaning closer, narrowing her eyes playfully. "Try me." She rumbled. Zach, thank Slendy for him, limped forwards and grabbed Ashley by the arm.
"Maybe," The young boy said slowly, "Maybe you shouldn't do this."
She looked down at her brother and gave him a disbelieving look. "What?! But-but he's begging for it!"
"I know, I know," He told her as a grin crossed his face, "But if you two fight, I... I won't know who to root for. And it's not fun to watch you fight someone unless I can make a bet."
Ashley gave him a mortified, insulted look. "What?! You won't know who to root for?!" She lightly pushed Jack away before picking up the boy, crutches and all. "You! You! You!You traitor! Why would you vote for anyone that isn't me-I kick donkey booty!"
Zach laughed and wrapped his arms around her neck. "Well, Jack is the spirit of winter. He could just freeze you to the ground."
She groaned dramatically as she waved an arm around in exasperation. "But-you-I-what-I'd just break out of the ice! I'm a freaking mobile heater, kiddo! It'd melt quick enough!"
"You don't know that," The boy giggled at her antics. "Maybe Jack Frost is the one person who can match up to you..."
She shot her head to said teen. "Do you see what you do?! You turn my own baby against me!" She made a noise of false disgust and put the boy on the ground, turning to face one of the columns with her arms crossed as she fumed and pouted to herself silently.
Zach laughed and put his crutches down before jumping on her back, wrapping his arms around her neck. "Don't pout..."
"I'm not pouting." She grumbled, hunching her shoulders more as the boy nuzzled her neck.
"Yes you are," Zach told her with a smile, "You know I was kidding... You're the best."
Ashley gave in and chuckled as she straightened up. "Yeah, I know... I just still like to hear you say it every once in awhile," She admitted playfully as she hoisted him up better and wrapped her arms around his legs. "It makes me feel like a special snowflake."
North gave a hearty laugh and hit Bunnymund on the back, who winced, one eye twitching as his ears folded back. "I alvays love having guests! They make things more... exciting."
Ashley grinned. "You bet, North! I'm the life of the freakin' party!"
Zach rolled his eyes. "Yeah, she kinda is," He agreed, "She knows how to keep things moving, that's for sure."
She reached up and ruffled her baby's hair. Man, she couldn't believe just how much better she felt, being able to talk and touch the kid...
She was so fuckin' whipped, man...
But to be honest, she didn't really mind it.
"You found me bongos."
"Yup."
Ashley looked up at the Yeti and sighed contentedly. "You're awesome, Fitz. You know that?"
Fitz chuckled as he tuned his guitar. "Yup."
She hopped on an empty spot on the table, and messed around on the drums until Fitz was done tuning. When he was done, he cleared his throat and looked over at the girl.
"Alright, so we got the beat. Where's Phil?" The yeti asked curiously. "He said he'd meet us here..."
"Ah'm righ' 'ere, Fitz."
Both Fitz and Ashley jumped up with a yelp.
"When did you even get here?!" Ashley asked bewilderedly as she clutched her racing heart. "Shit, was that completely necessary?!"
Phil smirked at the girl. "Ye'h. It kinda was. And I've been 'ere quite a while, actually."
She scowled and playfully moved her hands like she was going to choke him, only to stop and drop her hands back to the bongos. "What did you want, anyways?"
The yeti gave a smile, a real one this time, and held up a light blue electric guitar. "I heard ya two talkin', and I'd like ta jam wit' ya, if you'll let me."
Ashley looked over at Fitz, who was more or less, beaming like a kid in a candy shop. Meh...If he was cool with it, so was she. "Okay, sure," She told Phil, "I don't mind if Fitz doesn't."
"You better believe I don't mind it!" The young yeti squeaked in his excitement.
Phil chuckled and nodded. "Alrigh'y then. I heard ya two goin' over what ya were plannin' ta do. I was thinkin', and I'm pretty sure that I can keep up, without a problem."
She nodded. "Alright. We ready?"
They nodded, and Ashley pressed the record button on the nearby radio while Fitz began plucking at the chords. Phil joined in, and the two played together before Ashley joined in with the bongos. A group quickly began forming around the odd group, including all the guardians, Eros, and Zach pushed their way to the front. Nervousness bubbled in her stomach. She'd never sang for more than three people at a time...
Ashley shook her head vigorously. Being nervous was for squares. She wasn't a square, man, she was an oval!
Solo tu sufristes nadie mas
sera asi? tan mal la oscuridad
Ya que piensas, quedas tan perdido?
This is just a part of what I've given
Paz adonde vaz
Ya que no estas aqui
Al lado mio
Dejame Quisas
You'll say it's O.K.
It's O.K.
Here is the end
And only your eyes
Can make everything alright
Here is the end
And nothing that I can say
What I want?
Nothing more
Than you to live again
Llegua Y no te vas
Me gritas mas
Por que
Estoy perdido
Eres lo mejor
Y yo me voy
Por que me quedo frio
Lo que me duele mas
Es que lla nunca bailas
Here is the end
And only your eyes
Can make everything alright
Here is the end
And nothing that I can say
What I want?
Nothing more
Than you to live again
At that point, Phil and Fitz had their little guitar solo, and Ashley went and had her fun with her bongos. Like, full-out drum solo. Not a single one of them had planned to do so, but they just kind of attuned to each other and knew what was going to happen. It worked out well enough, anyways...
Here is the end
And only your eyes
Can make everything alright
Make it alright...
Here is the end
And nothing that I can say
What I want?
Nothing more
Than you to live again...
It drew to a close, and Fitz pushed to record button again to stop it before Ashley broke out into a laugh, jumping up on the table and making up a random, happy beat.
"Yeah, baby!" She grinned. "That's how we do!" Jumping down on the table, she put the drums on the table before walking forward and lifting Zach in a hug, spinning him around a couple of times. "How was that?"
The boy beamed and nuzzled her neck. "Awesome," He told her, voice muffled. "It was awesome."
"And I got it recorded," She informed him happily, cheeks warming at the praise. "So you won't have to suffer Frost's poor attempt at a Spanish lullaby when I'm not around."
Zach leaned back a bit and gave her that look. The one that was filed to the brim with admiration and adoration, the one that made her feel all fuzzy inside. "I love you."
Ashley nuzzled the top of his head. "I love ya, too, kiddo. You're my best bud, and don't you forget it..." She glanced over the boy's head at the Guardians. Sandy gave her a big smile and two thumbs ups while a rose made of sand formed above his head and flew to her feet.
She grinned sheepishly and shrugged. "I can't play anything, but I can sure pound some percussion, huh?" Walking over to Jack, she jabbed her finger in his chest. "That is how you sing a Spanish lullaby, Frost."
The teen scoffed and rubbed the spot on his chest where she had jabbed him. "Who are you kidding? That was weak..."
Bunnymund hopped over and cuffed the spirit of winter in the back of the head. "Don't listen to him, Ash. Bloody clacker don't know a thing..."
Santa beamed at the woman and nodded. "Vas very good, Ashvey! You must sing for us as entertainment, no?"
She chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of her neck. "Uh, no... I'm not much of a singer. You could get Fitz or Phil to do it, though..."
North made a noise of disappointment as Zach let out a long yawn. Ashley raised an eyebrow and swooped the boy into her arms, despite his quiet, half-hearted protests.
"I think it's high-time for the little guy to get some sleep," Ashley said quietly. "There's been a lot going on, and I know he couldn't have been gettin' too much sleep, lately. North, do you have somewhere for the bugger to sleep?" The man nodded, and Jack stepped forward.
"I come over and visit sometimes," Jack informed her. "I can show you where the rooms are."
She shrugged and nodded. "Alright, cool. Grab his crutches and the radio for me, will ya?"
As Ashley pulled the covers over the exhausted boy, Zach tried to stop her.
"No Ashley, I don't wanna go to sleep," He protested weakly. She rolled her eyes and ruffled his hair.
"Kiddo, even a blind man could tell that you're tired." She told him gently. "Just go to sleep, alright?"
Fear flashed in his eyes, and he shook his head. "I don't want to!" Oh. Oh yeah, the fearlings...
Ashley's lips tugged down and she leaned closer. "You're afraid you're going to get nightmares, aren't ya?" The boy nodded, and she sighed. "You're safe here, Little Z, don't you worry 'bout a thing."
He averted her eyes and stared at the blanket. "I... How do you know that...?"
She scoffed. "Because if they do bother you, I'll kick their arses so hard they'll walk backwards." He didn't look very reassured, so she rolled her eyes before saying gently. "Me and Fitz talked some. He said he'll come and check on ya when I'm not here. Fitz'll take care of you, little buddy."
Zach shrugged one shoulder and looked up at her, almost shy as he asked meekly. "Will... Will you lay here with me until I fall asleep...?"
She gave an unladylike snort and nodded. "Shoot yeah I will. Why are you asking me like I'll say no? You know I won't..." She jumped on the bed besides the boy and threw her arm over his shoulder. "I gotcha, babe. Ain't no monsters coming to get you tonight, or any other night... Not while I'm here."
"Promise...?"
"Promise." She confirmed softly. Zach sighed quietly and snuggled into her side.
Jack Frost gave her a look from his spot, leaning against the wall. Ashley saw it, and her face warmed up as she silently threatened him. She cut her finger across her neck then pointed at him violently.
Man, sometimes... Sometimes Ashley hated kids. Kids make her all... squishy.
Author's Note~
Wow, this one was long... And Ashley still hasn't made Jack his hot chocolate yet :C But anyways, this one was... kind of a filler. It was the moment of calm before the storm begins. After this, SHIT GETS REAL, YO.
Ahem, so uh... Thanks to everyone that's favorited, followed, reviewed, and read. I really do appreciate it :) I stillget all excited when I get just one email in my inbox.
As always, tell me if I made any mistakes in here. As long as it is, I honestly doubt that I didn't make a mistake in here somewhere. I hope you got a few laughs out of my goofy little story! Oh, and the song was Estoy Perdido by Ill Nino.
,BlueAsh666