She was in an alley in Arizona. How he managed to find her he considered to be from divine intervention. He had decided to stay within the US, seeing as that was the country they were in to begin with. And after a thorough search of Burgess and the surrounding towns, he summoned the Western and Southern winds to fly through the lands and find her out in the warmer areas he rarely ventured. It took him and the Eastern winds all day to look through New England, not even stopping when children shrieked with joy at the sight of their Guardian. Once through with Indiana, a blast of warm air returned, blowing around his face with urgency. Jack then headed deeper into the southwest without a second thought. Following the wind's direction, it wasn't long before he spotted her.
The heat of the desert climate hit him in the face upon his descent. He could feel his temperature instantly warming, the effects very gradual but there all the same. His lungs were heavy, as if he had to push against the humidity to breath. Heading down the dead end space between two buildings, Jack quickened his pace.
"No. No no nonononono, Venia!" He shouted, landing on his knees by her limp body. "Venia, get up. Come on, dude, get up!"
He slid a hand under her head, lifting it from the dirt. His other hand wrapped around to her shoulder opposite of him, grunting as he tried to lift her into his lap. Not thinking, he grabbed her wrist, right on her pale skin, and yanked up and over onto his shoulder as far as his long arm could. The pain pricked his skin at the contact, beginning as tiny needles and growing the longer he held on. He dropped her wrist with a hiss as the pain turned to knives, Venia falling back into her flat position on his legs.
His hands awkwardly flailed above her, his mind spinning at trying to figure out how to touch her. "Dang it, Venia, how am I supposed to get you back?!"
He looked her over, checking for injuries. Leaning his ear down to her nose, he sighed with relief at hearing her inhale. She was still alive, thank God. Her skin was still a ghostly pale, and he then realized how much cold radiated from her unconscious form. "Strange," he muttered, leaning down a second time to hear a breath. Jack gently rolled her to the ground again, being careful to keep his hand on the barrier of the material of her clothes. He stood up, turning around in half circles as he debated on what to do. His fingers yanked through his hair.
Gloves. He needed gloves. A smile grew at the idea, and he took off to the sky. Flying above the town, he spotted a small clothing store with "Half Price Off!" signs covering the windows. It wasn't long before he was pushing open the door.
The cashier sat in his chair with a paper spread over his face, munching on a candy bar. At the sound of the bell at the door, he gave a mumbled greeting, not even looking up. "Welcome. It's slow today so let me know if ya need anything."
Jack chuckled before turning to the aisles, scanning through the categorized signs for the gloves and mittens section. He knew the man probably couldn't see him, much less hear him. Opportunity came knocking at the teens door, and he let it right on in. Grabbing a coat from its hanger as he walked past it without even stopping, he gave it a fling.
The rustle of papers indicated the cashier's startled state. "Hey! What's the big idea? I'm trying to read, keep it... Quiet." A coat lay unsuspectingly on the floor of an empty store. The cashier paused, swallowing some thick spit. Then he fluffed out his papers, grumbling something about his ridiculous superstitions.
Jack chuckled, picking up a pair of shoes and hurling them at the wall as hard as he could, barely missing the cashier's bald head. The man jumped at the noise, standing from his seat and clutching the register with wide eyes. "Who's there?"
"Ah, no one, Skipper. Just a 324 year old frozen teen in need of a pair of gloves," Jack replied, regardless of knowing he wouldn't be heard. He finally made it to the gloves department and grabbed two pairs. Turning around, he deliberately knocked his staff into the shelves, showering underwear packages onto the floor.
"Show yourself!" The man shouted, visibly shaking from his position behind the counter. "I know you're in here!"
Jack smirked, wrapping a bright red scarf around his neck. The cashier's eyes glazed in horror as he watched the scarf pick itself up and wrap around an invisible object. Clearly disgusted with the attire, Jack suddenly began yanking it, trying to get the hot, stuffy thing off his neck. The cashier looked as if he'd fall over, meekly sinking to his chair and watching the scarf rip off and float to the ground. His eyes never left it as Jack jammed his hand into his small pants pocket, pulling out a couple coins.
"I found them on the street, so here you go. Take them so I'm not stealing these," a few pairs of gloves waved back and forth in the air as money was suddenly planted onto the counter. "Have a nice day."
The cashier stared after the door that had opened by itself, ringing the blasted bell as if to prove that he wasn't sleeping and that something was definitely going through it. He exhaled long and deep, reminding himself how thankful he was that he didn't have the night shift.
With the gloves, Jack headed back for the alley. Dang, it was hot. The temperature was too warm for the liking, his frozen body rising to a level he hadn't felt for a long time. The thickness in his chest grew, making him take some extra deep breaths for air before he suddenly dropped a few feet. "Wha? What in the-whoa! Ahhh!"
His teeth bared as he fought to stay up, the wind continually ignoring him as it rushed under his feet. "Hello! Little help here?" But the southern/western winds had more of a wild side than the northern. They had a will of their own at times, and hardly being around the area made Jack more of a nuisance to them than a commander of power. Frustrated, he was dumped off in the alley.
"Frickin' heat," he growled, kneeling beside Venia. "Okay, girl, I got this now. I'm gonna get you out of here." He slipped the thin material over his fingers, pulling them under the cuffs of his blue sweatshirt. A drop of sweat slid down his forehead, catching in his brow. "Phew, it's hot."
With ease he scooped her up into his arms, marveling at how easy it was. He remembered the last time he held someone, Sophie, crawling into her bed and ripping her arms from his neck to lay her down. Although he would never admit it, he loved the feeling of having a dependent soul in his arms. He looked down at Venia, her eyes closed in a peaceful sleep, unaware of the danger the heat was posing to both her and Jack. Lodging his stick inconveniently under his arm, he took off at the fastest trot he could manage.
Jack exited the city and entered straight into a valley of desert. The sand squished inbetween his toes, appearing to be hard and constant, but treacherously sliding and moving with every step. The sides of clay rocks jeered at him as he passed, huffing and puffing as the sweat beaded his forehead. His stomach felt hollow and warm, its nonexistent contents threatening to pitch themselves out of his mouth. He threw his head back, pausing in his quickened stride. "Oh boy. Man.. This isn't good. This can't be good. Why is it so hot?"
Desperate to take his mind off of the dry feeling that leaked into his bones, he gazed down at the girl in his arms. Her skin was not as pale now, the color pink lightly painting her cheeks. Her blonde streaked hair was mysteriously wet at the roots, a thick foam bubbling at the collar of her shirt. His eyes wandered past the edge of the green material...
Jack shook his head, disgusted with himself. "Focus on the heat, you jerk. The dry, horrible, killing heat."
His mind took him back to hundreds of years ago. It was bright and very hot that one summer. He and his sister, only a toddler at the time, were kicking their feet around in the pond that Pa had showed them in the woods. He had told them not to swim unless he or Ma was around, but Jack had figured that a little wading wouldn't do much harm.
"Jump jump!" She had squealed, gaining Jack's interest as he stood.
"Yeah, lets jump! Pa won't mind!" The little Jack laughed. "It isn't swimming."
The joyful squeals of his baby sister were immediately silenced as the dark water engulfed his body. He panicked, the helplessness of never having swam on his own taking root. He didn't expect the complete drop off from the water's edge, he only wanted his feet to meet the squishy goo of the pond's bottom. He held his breath, forcing his eyes to look around in the mirky water. The urge to reach up overpowered his senses, causing his arm to grasp up and then shoot down through the water. The motion propelled him up somewhat, hope flooding his heart as he tried it again with his other arm. Jack's feet gave a sweeping kick, gaining him more speed to the surface. A brighter tone of the water suddenly hit his face, and before he knew it, he had shot up from the water, gasping the sweet air.
"Jack!" he heard her tiny scream, confusion thick in her voice.
He kicked his feet and moved them around, his arms working simultaneously. Amazingly, his head remained above the water. "I'm fine!" he joked it off, diving back into the water to see if he could do it again. Sure enough, he met the surface. "This is so cool! I'm swimming! Without Pa's help!"
"Now you're gonna get a whoopin', WITH your Pa's help," he heard a deep voice rumble behind him, humor laced in its tone. Before he could turn to see the man, he felt a strong hand grab the scruff of his shirt collar.
Jack chuckled to himself, shaking away the memory. But the rumbling from the voice in his past never stopped. It only grew deeper. Jack halted, looking in all directions for the source of the noise, his jaw dropping as he looked ahead. A billowing veil of brown and yellow was sweeping its way right towards him, the wind howling in his ears with enraged force. It rose like a tidal wave, curling and crashing as the wind swept its billows into each other, thundering from the impact. "Sand storm."
He heaved Venia further up his arms, tightening his grip on her all the more, his legs sprinting into the same direction he had come from. Sand pricked his eyes, burrowing into the crooks of his skin and collecting in his hair. He yelled up at the wind, ordering it to pick him up and carry him to safer ground, but the wind ignored him. Screaming curses, he bit his lip and put his head down against it, putting his whole energy into running.
He barely made it to the more narrower parts of the red clay mountains, their close proximity providing blocking barrier from the sand for a brief moment, allowing Jack's keen eye to spot the black gaping opening to the right of them. His body pulsed with pain as he stumbled into the dark cave, almost dropping Venia in the process. He didn't stop though as he ventured deeper through the dark, his heart beating into his throat from the adrenaline. The darkness hid the rock from his heightened attention, sending him sprawling face-first onto the cave's jagged floor. He yelped and held his arms in as hard as he could, preventing Venia from flying from his grasp. He landed on his stomach with his elbows propped up.
"Oooo... Gosh dang it! AH! Owww..." He moaned, his lungs suddenly constricted from the force of the fall. He lay his face in the dirt, puffing and biting back urges to scream. "Oo.. Venia? Venia!" He pulled himself painfully up, wincing at the weight grinding his raw elbows against the sweatshirt material. When he saw that she was unhurt and still breathing, he let himself fall limp in relief. He was so tired. His head throbbed with every beat of his heart, the bruises from Pitch yesterday knotting his stomach. All the excitement from the events suddenly bled from his body, slowly dragging his eyelids to a close.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*G*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Jack! Jack, get up! Come one, don't go out on me, please!"
Jack's lips formed a hazy smile, his brain coming to the realization that Venia was shaking him. "I'm not dead, doofus."
She sighed heavily. "Oh gosh, I honestly didn't know if you were going to wake up. Frost, you're so hot."
He chuckled very weakly. He was surprised at how hoarse his voice sounded. "Well, typically I'd be okay with that kind of a compliment, but coming from you, it's just a little weird." He couldn't see her face, for it was very dark in there, the only sound being the blowing sand that echoed from the mouth of the cave.
Venia's lips made a fine line. "Knock it off, Jack, I'm serious."
Blinking sand from his eyes, Jack pondered her comment. He was... 'so hot'? Jack Frost had never felt hot in his life... This life. All he felt was cold. Icy, frozen, numbing cold. Something wasn't right here. "What do you mean, I'm hot?"
Venia grabbed his sweatshirt and gently rolled him onto his back. A painful cry escaped his lips before he could stop it, making Venia wince. "Sorry babe! I didn't know-"
Jack grunted down the pain. "It's okay, Venia. Don't worry about it." His whole trunk hurt like heck. It felt like someone had kicked the crap out of him. Then the pitch blackness of the cave reminded him... Oh yeah. Someone did yesterday.
"Man, we need to get some light in here," he heard Venia say. "This darkness is about to drive me up the wall. Why are we in here anyway? Where are we?"
Jack shifted ever so slightly, trying to move into a more comfortable position. "There was a sandstorm. I ran until I could find shelter, and this was the first place I found."
"A sandstorm?!"
"Yes," his voice wavered, stifling a cry. "We uh.. We were out in a desert. The wind wouldn't carry us back." Jack paused, a thought suddenly hitting him. "Yo, where were you?! You were just walking on the ice, a car hits you, you disappear, I go to find you, and you end up in an alley in Arizona! What the heck happened?!"
He felt her hand rest on his sweatshirt. "I don't know myself, Jack. I saw the car and then everything went black. I opened my eyes to peer through the darkness of a cave with you passed out beside me."
"Hm.. That's curious indeed," Jack mulled, gently touching a soft spot on his head. "I wonder, like, what all had caused that. You moving instantly from one place to another."
"I dunno." She sighed. Jack's eyes closed as he felt her breath kiss his face. "But Jack, you are very warm, and we need to do something. You say we're in Arizona?"
"Yes. Which is very far from anywhere cold, especially in a sandstorm."
"Anywhere cold? So you have to stay somewhere cold?"
"Apparently. Long ago I ventured into hotter parts of the world, and still do if I'm feeling really spunky. But it always takes a toll on me. I'm not made for the heat. I was frozen in a pond, I'm supposed to stay cold." Gosh, his chest hurt.
"Makes sense," Venia concluded. "How long did the storm last? Do you know?" Her fingers moved about his thin form, checking for any obvious injuries underneath the material.
"No, it had just started when I threw us into the cave." He closed his eyes, relishing the tender motion of this caring being. "If you listen you can still hear the wind howling. It's probably still going."
"Dang it," she breathed, lightly patting his chest in frustration.
Remembering the gloves, Jack reached up a hand onto what he assumed was her shoulder. He gasped when he felt the wet seep through the cotton material. "Venia! You're soaked!"
She chuckled weakly, "You should feel yourself. But yes, apparently we're both a little hot."
Jack's thumb wiped back and forth, using his glove to try and soak up as much of the sweat that he could. His hand curved around the base of, not her shoulder, but her neck. Feeling the long thinness of her neck instead of the roundness of a shoulder, he swallowed, his hand recoiling. "Sorry! I didn't know, I thought I had your shoulder."
Venia shook her head and playfully swatted his hand. "No biggy, dude."
He heard her shuffle to her feet, taking a few steps away into the cave. His chest tightened at the thought of her leaving him. "Where're you going?"
"To see if I could find some pieces of wood or something. We need some light in here."
Jack leaned up on his scraped elbows, forcing his voice to remain steady. "I'll help."
"Frost, you stay right there. You are a mess, I can find something just fine."
"Four grappling hands is better than two," Jack smirked in the darkness, leaning his weight heavily on his staff to bring himself up.
Venia sighed, shuffling over to Jack. She linked her arm with his free one, lifting his weight up from his feet a little more. "Okay then. But if you feel bad, tell me and we'll stop. I don't want you passing out on top of me." She chuckled.
Jack tilted his head at an idea. "You know, what we need is some water. There might not be any wood in a cave, but there can be water."
"In a desert cave?"
"Sure. The deeper the cave, the deeper into the earth it goes. Springs flow in the heart of the earth." He smiled at the thought. Finding a spring would solve most of their problems.
Venia stopped them. "But what if we go deeper in? Will we ever be able to go back out?"
Jack hummed in thought as he shifted his weight to his other foot. "Probably not the same way. But if we find a spring, we can cool down, wash off, and follow it until we hit daylight. There, problems solved." He lead them on to continue walking.
"Since when do you know so much about caves?" She pulled playfully on his hoodie.
"I've lived to see many moons, Venia, and have explored many areas of the world. Most things about nature that's found in today's school textbooks is common knowledge to me." He chuckled to himself, the cockiness in his tone a tad bit overdone.
"So explain how you create ice and snow." She cocked her head back at him, smirking.
He gripped his staff harder. "Ahh well, that I don't know. I just do it. It comes naturally to me, I guess."
"Do you need your staff to do it?"
He shrugged. "Mostly. I can create some with my hands, but it costs a lot of energy. My staff makes the power easier to transfer and direct."
"Huh," she hummed curiously. Jack stumbled on something, causing him to lose his balance and fumble weakly forward. She caught him around the stomach, pulling his thin frame erect again. "Ya alright?"
Jack sighed, looking away from her. It was friggin' embarrassing to be unable to hold his weakness. "Yeah." It was then that a glitter in the dark caught his eye. "Venia, stop."
They froze, peering into the darkness at the twinkling light coming from that side of the cave. Jack leaned in close to Venia and whispered, "Come on, lets check it out."
Venia clutched his sleeve. "No! What if it's something that wants to eat us?!" She whispered loudly.
"Well, if it was, he already heard you," Jack chuckled.
"Jack, no! Lets keep going this way."
"No, I want to find out what it is." He pulled himself from off of her, hobbling towards the twinkle.
The walls of the cave became more narrow, allowing only one person to pass through a passage. Jack kept his free hand to the wall, letting it guide his steps as it slid along the rock. He heard Venia's soft padding right behind him, her hand sliding along the rocks as well. The air suddenly became cooler, Jack's eyes rolling to the back of his head at the sensation. His breathing became less labored, the pain in his muscles shrinking as he absorbed the dropping temperatures. Venia laughed with joy behind him.
"Haha! Boy, that feels good!"
Jack smiled, his mind clearing at the sound of her laugh. "Beats the heat anyday!"
Her tone dulled with her expression. "You're a horrible joker. Just sayin'."
He laughed. "I know."
Suddenly, the walls opened up to a vast room. The walls were spread out as far as they could be, glittering with stones of all colors. The ceiling was high above them, Venia almost mistaking it for the sky because of the intricate pattern of jewels dotting it. Jack pointed excitedly to a large pool at the bottom of the drop off, the water full of white fish. He looked down and saw Venia's wide grey eyes, jumping as they beheld the beauty of the area. Jack blinked, realizing that he could finally see in the cave. The light was a neon blue, beaming in every direction it managed to reach. He brought his attention back to the light, it shining in long, vertical tubes from the stalactites. Some gooey substance fell from the bottom of one, the tube now moving upward on the stalactite. He grinned from ear to ear. "Glowworms!"
*~*~*~*~*~*G*~*~*~*~*
How he managed to find the guts to be in this predicament, he knew not. But the sand riding up his hide was bugging him, and he earnestly needed a cool down. So, with Venia's back turned to him from the side of the pool (on pain of DEATH, he warned), Jack dove into the water wearing absolutely nothing.
"Now, would you please dust off my clothes so I have something dry and as less-sandy as possible to get into when I'm done?" Upset with another bout of giggles, Venia managed to squeak out a 'yes'. Jack rolled his eyes, leaning his white locks backwards into the water. "Girls."
"Um, don't be too bitter about it. You'll be in the same position I am when you get out of there," she stated over her shoulder.
"Maybe. Except, I don't giggle." Jack squirted water out through his teeth. The water was cold, the fish lightly brushing against his skin as they swam away from him. He sighed as he felt his temperature drop lower and lower.
Venia giggled again, picking up his pants and giving them a shake to flatten them out. "Boy, you sure are a tall thing."
"Just a wee bit taller than you, mind you," he interrupted, splashing water into his face.
"However," she continued," your pants are too short. And skinny jeans, Frost? Really?"
He stood upright in the water, it lapping against his bare chest. "Hey, I grew up in the pioneer days of America. We didn't have half as many clothes as people do today, and so consequently, we ended up wearing them until they basically fell apart. Meaning, my pants were outgrown."
"Pioneer days, huh? Is that why you have no affiliation with shoes whatsoever?" She held a finger out.
"Yup. We didn't have the money. And when I would get shoes, I never wore them, except in the winter when I had to get up and milk the cows." He kicked back his feet, floating around on his back.
"Interesting. And I suppose the lack of having a shirt and only a sweatshirt means you got rid of your previous one?"
Jack's jaw clenched at a memory. "Nevermind the previous shirt. I lost it in a fight once."
Venia perked up in further interest, almost turning around but catchimg herself. "A fight?"
"Yeah," he grazed on, hoping she wouldn't be too probing. "It was a long time ago. No biggy."
She finished folding the clothes, plopping them in a pile on the ground. "Everything was a long time ago for you, Jack."
He slithered through the water to the edge of the pool. "I know." He leaned his arms up out of the water on the edge of the rock. Laying his chin on his forearms, he looked up at her.
"Mind telling me about that fight?" Venia asked softly, turning her head slightly to look down at the winter spirit.
Jack's eyes lingered on hers a moment, debating on how much of himself he should give away or not. He still didn't know that much about her, not that he thought she wouldn't be a trustworthy person. But the weariness of the day lulled his mind, making his aching heart unwilling to talk about it. "I will... Someday." He smiled weakly up to her.
Her eyes grew worried, blinking slowly as she turned her head again for his privacy. "Okay."
Jack sighed softly, deflated at her simple agreement. "I will, I promise."
Venia shrugged. "It's okay, Frost. Everyone has secrets."
He sat there a moment, watching her back. Her feminine curves seeped into his mind, making him think of how her hands would feel in his white tuffs of hair. He grumbled, remembering again that he couldn't touch her.
The water streamed in rows down his legs as he hopped out of the pool, his white locks sopping wet against his face. He shook of the excess water, using his sweatshirt to wipe his face. He gave a refreshed sigh, slipping his drawers on. "So, I suppose you're going to get in now?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he heard a scream and a splash. Zipping around, he almost jumped back into the water. "Venia!" She laughed, coming to the surface and splashing water up at him. Jack laughed, blocking the water with his still bare arm. "You still have your clothes on, Doofus."
"You think I'm gonna undress with you around?! In your dreams, Frost."
Jack snickered, pulling his sweatshirt over his head. Crazy lady, she would most likely be wet for the rest of the night. Although she constantly emanated cold like he did, it probably wouldn't be a problem. In fact, it might help her stay cold. The friction from his sweatshirt raking his hair caused it to stick up every which way on end. The explosion of laughter from the water made him scowl, grabbing his staff from the ground, and pointing it straight at Venia.
"I will use this."
*~*~*~*~*~*G*~*~*~*~*~*
"Jack, what's eatin' you?"
Jack peaked from behind the barrier his hoodie served him. "What do you mean?"
Venia shrugged, curling up more into herself. The blue light cast eerie shadows about the cave, making her eyes appear hollowed and brighter grey. They leaned up against a stalactite, each their own, their eyes drooping from the toll of the day.
"You're really quiet right now. It's.. Kinda not normal. Even though I've only known you personally for like, 2 days." Venia's eyes were sincere and concerned. Jack felt the first of the protective barriers on his heart snap apart.
"Nah, I'm just tired. It's been quite a long week." He closed his eyes, scooting down to the floor and laying flat on his back. It wasn't all a lie. A good chunk of his deflated cheery attitude was indeed due to the tired ache that suddenly occupied his age-old bones.
Her eyes lowered with her tone. "Is... Is it because of me?"
Jack eyes blinked open. "No," he reassured her, putting his hands behind his head as a pillow. "I've just had a lot of other stuff going on."
Venia sighed softly, looking over the view of the cave. The glowworms occasionally squirted and moved, giving the comfort of life being present in this dark hole in the ground. She closed her eyes, something obviously bothering her. "Jack, you can tell me anything. And I'd like to know if I were the cause of it all."
The boy bit his lip, his eyes reaching up to see hers staring down at him, grief in her own eyes. He blinked. "No, Venia. You are just fine."
"You're always saying that!" She huffed, her hands rising i to the air. Jack frowned and looked straight up at the cave ceiling, biting back any snarky comments.
"Perhaps I say that because I don't want anyone to know what's going on."
"And why not? What's the harm in it?"
Her question made the second layers in his heart be hammered down. He raised a brow, "It's more complicated than physical harm."
She shrugged. "Not necessarily. Sometimes it's more harmful not to tell a person something than it is to keep it all bottled up."
"Tell me, were you going to major in psychology?" Jack snorted.
Venia was unenthused. "Ya know what? I'm just trying to help you. If you don't want it, then fine. I'll shut up."
Jack sat up slowly, his abdomen screaming in pain. "Ow! I simply just- ow!"
"Jack, lay down."
He exhaled sharply, flailing his arms in the air. "Venia, I'm trying to talk to you."
"I thought you didn't want to." Her face was ice cold hard. "So, lie down. You're not helping your body heal any."
Glaring at her, he reluctantly succumbed to the pain. Resuming his position, he sighed, softening his voice. "Venia, I'm sorry. I-... I'm not good with speaking. I pretty much lived in silence for three hundred years."
Venia turned to him, that concerned look again painting her young features. "Three hundred years? Jack..." She trailed off, a look of release on her face passing over.
Upon the silence that ensued, Jack turned his head expectantly toward her. "What?"
"Jack..." Her voice came slow, and very soft. He sensed that she was venturing onto sensitive territory. "How did you become a Guardian?"
Jack pondered the question, swirling the spit in his mouth along as his thoughts. He hadn't openly discussed this topic. He gave random comments to the other Guardians, figuring that they were smart enough to pick up the pieces and put the story together. But to openly just divulge into it... Was as foreign as an Arabian desert.
"Of course," came her cautious voice again, " if you don't want to tell me, I can understand." It was her tone that struck a cord.
There was something about this moment that made it magical. Jack noticed it, his heart filling to the brim with emotion. In the blue glow of a cave in the middle of a sandstorm, he was sitting alone with a person he barely knew. Yet she cared about him. She didn't know a thing about him, aside from his obvious mischievousness, but she was worried if he was alright, and was genuinely interested in how he became the Jack Frost he was today. An old familiar glimpse of hope flickered in his sorrowful, guilty heart..
"I had a sister." He heard his voice speak, as if he was a bystander watching the two converse. "She was adorable.. Cute, funny, had brown hair and brown eyes just like me."
Venia chuckled softly, amazed at the image of frosty Jack being a chocolate brown.
"We went ice skating one day, and we ventured onto some thin ice." Venia's hands went to her mouth in the horror of what was to happen. "She was so scared." Jack's voice cracked, the idea of his baby sister feeling too frightened to even move.
"So I distracted her, making the hop to thicker ice kinda like a game. She fell right for it, even laughing while the ice cracked under our feet. Once she was within the reach of my shepherd's staff, I hooked her with the crook and swung as hard as I could. I knew how critical that moment was, that if I failed," his eyes glossed over. "If I failed, one slip up on the thin ice would send her into the water. Which proved to be true only moments later." He looked up at Venia, his heart stopping at the sight of a tear rolling down her face. He hesitated. "Want me to stop?"
Venia sniffed, wiping her nose with her green wet sleeve. "No, keep-.. Keep going."
Jack paused a moment for assurance, settling down again. "The thrust sent her over to the thick ice, and me over to the thin. But we just sat there for a brief moment. Nothing happened, and we thought for that one moment that it would all be okay. Perhaps I misjudged the ice's durability, I certainly had that afternoon. The look of joy on her face at being safe warmed my heart. I laughed a little to break up the tension of the situation, taking a step forward. My weight shifting was enough to do the last bit. I remember yelling something-probably nothing sensible- as I went down, my sister screaming my name."
Jack squeezed his eyes shut, a few tears falling. He sniffed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he held back the sobs. Venia placed a hand on his arm, making him weakly laugh. "I'm a baby, aren't I?"
Venia shook her head firmly. "No. Not at all."
Jack wiped his eyes, sniffing again. "Well, I think I am. Anyway.. I woke up with white hair and magical powers. The moon only whispered my name, which is the only thing he has ever told me to this day. But that's okay." He stared into her eyes, his heart finding the depths of her soul and pinning them there. "Because I believe it."
Venia's chin quivered. She covered her face with her hands, turning away from him. Jack was stung. "Hey hey hey, what's wrong? I would have stopped if you wanted me to." He rose to his knees, scooting closer beside her. Briefly confused at what to do, he yanked out the two pairs of gloves he had shoved in his pocket. "Look."
Venia wiped the tears from her eyes to look down at Jack's hands. He had the same cobalt blue cotton gloves on from before when he pitched them in his clothes pile before bathing. And in these he held a rich, emerald green pair. She gave a short winded giggle. "Gloves?"
He nodded, grinning from ear to ear. "Gloves. Here." He gestured for her to stick out her hand. After gently pulling them over her pale fingers, he clapped his own together with a muffled sound. "There. Now we don't have to worry about any white light explosions while we wear these."
Venia laughed, cutting it short by putting her hands over her mouth. Jack's grin didn't falter. He noticed the way her cheeks very lightly blushed from embarrassment. She nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Thank you, Jack."
The boy shrugged, waving a hand. "It was just a quick trip to the clothing store, no biggy."
Venia slowly blinked. "No no, I mean for saving me. You looked around the US for me, found me, and ran till you literally passed out in the middle of a sandstorm! I don't know why it all happened or how it came to be, but.. You still saved me."
Jack swallowed. He was getting this new feeling in the pit of his stomach that festered and set all of his nerves on fire. He fingers ached to move, ached to touch something-to touch her. But he held his hand back, not willing to break the trust that was now forming between them. Venia's eyes were practically glowing, the blue light bouncing off the shine of her tears and illuminating the grey color. He didn't even notice his face inching closer to hers.
Venia's eyes closed, the feeling of being on air enveloping her senses. She put a hand on Jack's frozen cheek, slowly pulling him closer.
Jack opened his eyes for a moment, his lips parting as they almost were placed on Venia's. But he stopped. "Venia," he whispered, his voice strangely husky and strained .
"Hm?" She asked, slowly opening her eyes.
Tears pricked his eyes as he shook his head, the white locks bouncing slightly. "We can't."
Venia looked him in the eyes, her understanding brimming from them. She placed her other hand on his cheek as well, gently tilting his head down to place a kiss on his forehead. The contact immediately shot pain through both of them, making them jump at the sudden spark. Venia rubbed her lips, and Jack his forehead. The two resumed their positions, Jack staring at the ceiling in slight disappointment.
He was so close. He wasn't quite sure what he was close to, but he was close.. But the pain uttered between them kept them apart. He sighed, feeling his eyelids fall. Ah well, no biggy..
He didn't deserve anything pleasurable or nice anyway.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*G*~*~*~*~*~*~*
(i don't own anything, DUH)
So I heard from my favorite author ever in this section of fandom, and was encouraged. Consequently, I don't care and am just gonna have fun with this.
A HUGE LONG shout out to 3 particular reviewers. :) You guys rock.
And thanks to anyone who has taken the time to read my weird little tale. Please review? :)