Jack hefted himself up and followed Hiccup out into the open, the cool air embracing Jack and whispering through his hair. Hiccup was currently trying to tug a wire cage from under a thorny bush and let out a groan of frustration as he realized it was no use. Jack walked over and placed his hands on top of Hiccup's, tugging the cage from a knotted gnarl of thorns. Hiccup muttered his thanks and Jack nodded, his eyes glancing up as Hiccup walked away to the pond.

Jack aimlessly looked around the clearing, confused at what to do; his heart clenched when Jack's mind went straight to reasons as to why Hiccup didn't really talk to him. It might've been shock - no one really sees a legendary spirit of winter - or even resentment, fore Jack had kept it secret.

Jack's eyes latched on the burning light deep within the pond; Hiccup hadn't noticed it yet. He might've had to believe in that, too, and Jack had yet to mention his misson here. Did he even want to now?

That was a dumb question; of course, he wanted to. He wanted to help the Guardians. He wanted to help Hiccup and the others he had yet to cross paths with. He didn't want to leave them all with a sense of diminshing hope that he would come to their rescue. He didn't want to leave him the way he had his sister.

Hiccup threw the cage into the water and sat down on his bent knees, awkwardly glancing back to see Jack standing off to the corner. Was he really ...? Hiccup watched as Jack ran a hand through his hair and Hiccup's eyes widened, his gaze retreating back to the pond and task at hand. His eyes found Jack again, however, and stuck there, watching him as stooped down and picked up the last of the ashy sludge that had fallen from the heavens.

Hiccup watched as Jack blew into the sludge, watched as it frosted with ice and he molded it in his hands until it was a sphere of cold and ash; Jack looked up and pulled his arm back before chucking it across the clearing to the cave in which Toothless had tried to come out of. Toothless let out a roar as ice sprayed him and Jack grinned and gave an apologetic wave, "Sorry!"

Hiccup laughed slightly; Jack turned and met his gaze, his smile crinkling near his blue eyes. He hopped over and took a seat near Hiccup, peering eagerly at his freckled face. The two of them faced the pond, Hiccup's hand tight around the trigger on the cage, the two boys' hands mere inched apart. Water lapped against Jack's toes and the two watched the thin intricate artwork come to life until Hiccup said, "So ... All along, I've been laying next to a freaking god?"

Jack laughed, shaking his head, his hair bouncing with the movement. "No," Jack shrugged, "I don't know, I don't really consider myself a god. Back where I'm from, I'm more of a, well ... a spirit."

Hiccup turned to him. "A spirit? Like ... you're ...?"

"Dead? Yeah," Jack kept his eyes to the pond and the ice he was creating.

"We Vikings, we have this belief," Hiccup began, "that all men have a spirit that protects them, guards them from harm." The two were silent, listening to the cracking of the ice and the fish swimming through the pond.

"I'm a Guardian," Jack said just as Hiccup had begun to continue by saying, "We call them Guardian Spirits." The two looked at one another, blue eyes meeting green.

Jack nervously looked away and Hiccup followed suit. "Back home, I'm a Guardian. Or, I was. It's complicated but ... I basically protect children."

Hiccup's heart sunk a bit. "I'm not a kid."

Jack's eyebrows furrowed. "No, no, I didn't mean-"

"Protect them from what?" Hiccup interuptted.

Jack took a deep breath. "You won't believe me."

"I'll always believe you, Jack," Hiccup countered.

Jack's lips parted at that and he sighed. "We protect them from The Boogeyman."

Hiccup remembered times of dark and cold when he used to sleep with his mother in fear; his father always said that being afraid was a one-way trip to exile but his mother seemed to understand and she always was there for Hiccup, telling him there was nothing fear - not dragons, not Bogeys, not the dark. She always told Hiccup he was her brave little warrior - which, in truth, he had been. That didn't stop his mind from pointing out his internal and external flaws to a hyphened extreme.

Jack was silent, waiting for Hiccup's reply of how he never wanted to see Jack again or how he was insane and sick. Instead, Hiccup said, "He's real?"

The fear in Hiccup's voice was evident and Jack had to rememeber that Hiccup was only fifteen. He was only fifteen and Jack was expecting him to come along with him on a giant mission against a childhood fear and he expected them to win.

"Yeah. He's real."

Hiccup looked out at the pond, suddenly sick with anxiety. His knuckles had turned white around the cording attached to the cage.

"I-I'm here on a mission," Jack began, his voice faltering, "and this'll sound insane, but it's true. I'm on a mission from The Man in the Moon and I'm looking for three other heroes - the Defenders - and we're going to stop him from hurting anyone else."

Hiccup glanced at Jack, trying to process the information. Jack immeaditly regretted it and his shoulders tensed, awaiting Hiccup's response. "I-I believe you, Jack," Hiccup started, "but ... It sounds crazy."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, it does."

"Who's this Defender you're looking for?" Hiccup asked, "Maybe I can help you find whoever it is."

Jack bit the inside of his suddenly throbbing cheek.

"Could you be anymore thick? It's you, Hiccup!" Jack and Hiccup jumped as Astrid walked over, rolling her eyes. Her braid slapped against her back and she hopped over a log to get to them.

"You heard all of that, didn't you?" Hiccup asked and she shurgged, saying, "I already knew some; came here, halfway through the rant and now I'm filled in."

She pinched Jack on his good cheek. "So, thanks, Frosti." He rubbed his cheek and muttered under his breath at her as she sat down between the two, smirking at them both. "May I ask why you two are out here, all alone, in breeding season?"

Hiccup was blushing so hard he couldn't even make himself correct her and explain to her that it was not breeding season at that moment in time and they hadn't been doing anything and they were friends and Jack was a god and Hiccup was a kid and-

"You're just jealous," Jack countered, wiggling his eyebrows, "that Hiccup and I would make exceptional love in the snow." Jack laughed with Astrid at the way Hiccup's face blew red like a fuse.

In order to keep the atmosphere light, Jack added, "It's a joke, Hiccup." Hiccup nodded, faking a tug on his cage and directing his attention to it so the two wouldn't pester him further.

Jack glanced at Astrid. "How long have you known?"

"Since your brawl with that insane dragon," Astrid's voice trailed away. "What was that thing, anyway?"

"One of Pitch's minions," Jack sighed.

The two were silent, watching Hiccup struggle with the cage and the fish and trip into the water and spit curses.

"He's serious, isn't he? This Pitch guy?"

"It's the belief that gets him, I think," Jack shrugged. "I would've done anything for belief. For memories."

Astrid stared at him. "Memories?"

Jack nodded. "Memories are what make or break you and I couldn't remember a thing."

...

Peter was having a very different time, however, as he stared through the bars of his cage. He glared at the sleek back of his captor; as of nigh, he could remember mostly everything that had happened in his life. He wanted to be home and out of this cage and in his tree, playing with redskins and retelling the same adventure over and over to the mermaids. Instead, he watched the shadows dance along the walls and ceiling, teasing him with memories of innocence, when thimbles were kisses and pain was distrust and not the shed of blood and tears and the bubbling fear within him.

" ... You don't need to be afraid," Pitch tried, his hands tight behind his back.

Peter shrugged. "I thought that was what Bogeys did. Wanted fear."

Pitch shook his head. "No. We never want fear; it just helps to have it. What we do want, however, is belief." Pitch moved away from his position of staring at his own black globe, covered in golden blips of light that were even now lighting up with more hope, more belief, more wishing and dreaming and magic.

"Those lights are disgusting," Hibernus muttered, entering from the shadows. "You might want to get a skylight for that hole above, it's a bit flashy-"

"I don't need your advice, Winter," Pitch snapped. "Espcially on interior design."

"Just because I have such a polarizing exterior doesn't mean I can't make this place look lavish," Winter grumbled, facing the shadow cages. "When will we do this, eh?"

"Soon. Have you heard anything from the mole?"

"Not yet but soon enough," Old Man Winter shrugged. "We've got the upper hand, defiantly."

this was almost late and not long at all omfg but hi guys i missed you all~

it will be longer next time I'm sorry