Alaia Skyhawk: Nope, I'm not dead. Just had a writing funk this past month. I'll post stuff as an when I get inspiration.

Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians, the Guardians of Childhood, or any related characters etc. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes.

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Chapter 67: Family, Old and New

For two weeks, here at the trailing end of autumn, frost had gilded the morning leaves among the forests and land around the Great Lakes in America. Two weeks that hinted at the season about to begin, which for a reason no weatherman or scientist had been able to figure, always arrived with a snowfall over certain areas... Even if no snow fell anywhere else... That day was approaching, it was mid-November, and by now the people of a certain town were watching the skies waiting for those first white flakes of the arrival of winter.

Jack skimmed among the scattered clouds overhead, watching as a light dusting of snow, little more than frozen drizzle, descended upon the region north of Burgess. Some years he deliberately caused a snowfall over the town on a particular day, but others he'd find that the normal winter weather patterns would do it for him. This particular weather system would reach and drop snow on the town in two days, the coming Friday, meaning a Saturday Festival of First Snow. Weekends really were the best days for it, since more people would be able to attend.

But one matter lingered in his mind, having nothing to do with his now familiar Northern Winter routine. Winter had arrived around the Great Lakes, and there was now a Nature Immortal with territory in that zone. It was time for Kiyiya to return to his village and face the next step in adjusting to being an immortal.

Jack sighed to himself and slipped through a mirror into his Hall of Mirrors. Activating them all, calling the worlds winds, it took barely five minutes before those wisps of air had informed him that the new immortal he sought was still at the Lunar Lamadary. It was an ideal place for a Winter Spirit, seeing as the snow around the place never melted, or at least only very rarely. Yuki had taken him there two months ago, and the guess now would be that he'd spent it learning about the group he was now one of.

And whatever he'd learnt by now, would have to be enough. He'd certainly had a better start at his new life than most other immortals had managed.

With another, almost wistful sigh, Jack slipped through a mirror again and emerged within sight of the Lamadary. As unlikely as it was given it's location among the frigid peaks of the Himalayas, he'd never actually visited the place in all his three-hundred and twenty years. Sure, he'd flown over it plenty of times, but it had never felt right to intrude upon the place.

Flying towards it, Jack mused to himself the reasons for that. Like many immortals who bothered to pay attention to the goings on of the world, he'd heard numerous stories about the Lunar Lamas. About how then tended to be uninterested and bland with anyone but a few select individuals who they revered; namely Tsar Lunar and Nightlight. The original four Guardians were likely included as well, but as for Jack himself...

Prior to the Easter fiasco, it would have been a fair bet that if he'd entered the place with his reputation, they'd have sent him packing sharpish. Or the local resident yetis would have. But now?

Jack arrived above the peak and made a downward plunge, streaking out of the sky to land in a puff of wind-scattered snowflakes in the centre of the Lamadary's front courtyard. He then stood there, trying not to seem awkward, as he waited politely for someone to give him what he hoped would be a welcome. Kiyiya was new, so sympathy for his situation would have eased his way into the place. But as for the Spirit of Winter?

Barely a minute after his sudden arrival, the main doors opened and the Lunar Lamas walked out arrayed in formation behind the Grand High Lama. A very daunting sight if you knew their reputation, despite their moon-round faces and pleasant expressions. And yet at this point any and all expectations Jack may have had, were shoved aside by shock when the stately pace of advancement by the fellows, became a darting and ecstatic eager charge. One that left him surrounded by awestruck little priest-men proverbially singing his praises.

"It is the Guardian of Fun!"

"He has come to us!"

"He who brought defeat upon the Nightmare King!"

"He who banishes Fearlings!"

"And keeps their Touch away from the children of the world!"

As they crowded round him, Jack flushed with embarrassment at their reaction to his visit. Whatever he'd expected, it was not this.

His mouth worked silently for several moments, until he cleared his throat awkwardly and did his best to ignore the fawning.

"Um, I... I'm here to see Kiyiya. It's time for him to head back to his territory, and as the Spirit of Winter I thought I should give him an escort. For moral support."

The Lamas all nodded, completely in agreement with such reasoning.

"That is good."

"We will show you to him."

"He is in the library."

"Reading."

Jack did his best not to stare, trying to figure if stating the obvious was something these men did deliberately or if it were simply a quirk of theirs.

"Ah, I think one guide will be enough. I wouldn't want to think I was keeping the rest of you, from whatever tasks my visit has interrupted."

"You are gracious."

"And quite correct."

"We should return to our tasks."

"And so we wish you a good day."

All of them except their leader, glided away through the doors... still in formation. That fellow then tilted his head and smiled kindly at Jack.

"Follow me."

He waved with with the hand which was not caught up in holding his crescent-moon-tipped staff, and set off at a relatively brisk pace through the doors. Jack followed, opting to glide an inch above the floor rather than risk tripping over his his startled frame-of-mind. He felt self-conscious enough right now, without suffering that kind of embarrassment.

It didn't take long to reach the library, and only an additional moment to thank the Lunar Lama and insist that the rest could be managed alone. It was only after watching the fellow leave, that Jack pushed open the library door and went in. The place wasn't all that large, although there were still thousands of books upon its shelves, and the person he was here for was sat at the sole table in the centre of the room. Flipping through the pages of a book, with his back to the door.

Kiyiya was obviously used to the Lamas making frequent checks on him, for he called out without turning to look.

"I'm fine for now, and I don't need anything to eat. Thank you for coming to ask, though."

Jack remained where he was, starting to grin, and then he remarked in reply.

"Well I never knew I was in the business of delivering takeaways, but I suppose I'd be an ace Ice-cream Truck Driver. I wouldn't even need a truck with a freezer."

Kiyiya lurched up out of his chair and spun to face him in shock. Blinking at Jack for several seconds in surprise before speaking.

"Jack Frost... I... What are you doing here?"

Jack leaned on his staff, still smiling. Although this time it was less mischievous and more kindly.

"Winter has arrived at the Great Lakes, and your home village... I'm here to accompany you home."

Kiyiya went utterly still, stood as he was in the new clothing he'd been given for his new role. Ombric had made him a whole set of traditional Native American clothing; ranging from moccasins, up through to an embroidered leather headband decorated with a couple of eagle feathers and hanging strings of beads. Kiyiya was wearing buckskin leggings, with a dagger and hatchet hung on his beaded belt. And while he wore no shirt, as had been traditional for his tribe in the old days, in keeping with his winter role he also had a wolf-pelt mantle around his shoulders to 'ward off the cold'. Capping off the whole look, the top half of his long hair was tied back in a horsetail, while the rest either hung loose or had been put into fine braids decorated with yet more feathers and beads.

All in all, he looked the part... if you ignored his present nervous expression.

Jack remained quiet, waiting patiently, until it became obvious he wasn't going to move or do anything until the new immortal answered.

Kiyiya averted his gaze uncertainly.

"You didn't need to interrupt your work for me. I'll head home when I'm ready."

Jack rolled his eyes at that, shaking his head.

"And if I leave you to 'go when you're ready', you'll not budge from here for several years. Don't tell me otherwise, because I know you'd be lying. I can tell by the look in your eyes." He walked over, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. "Trust me, don't drag it out. You've had a few months to settle, but don't use that as an excuse to stay away from your family's village. You still have a job to do, remember?"

Kiyiya looked at him again, startled.

"What job? I thought I was just a 'Winter Spirit'?"

Jack clapped him on the shoulder again.

"I'm going to let you herald and bring winter into place around the Great Lakes. Taking your cue from me every year, obviously. The Great Lakes used to have a herald, Peboan, but he chose to fade away a little over a century ago. I think he'd be pleased if he knew another had taken up his mantle."

Kiyiya stiffened, before he then let out an awed breath of realisation.

"Peboan... He was real too?" He stared to frown. "Wait, and immortals can die?" When Jack nodded, Kiyiya sighed. "I guess I still have a lot more to learn."

Jack took this chance to begin steering him towards the window.

"Well you've got plenty of time to learn it. There's no rush. I'd been doing the Spirit of Winter stuff for a decade before I felt like I'd really gotten the hang of it."

He opened the window, summoning a gust of wind to pick Kiyiya up and haul him outside. Once the window was shut, he then began to tow the man eastwards. From here, it was a shorter distance heading east than west, to reach America. Not by a lot, but enough to decide the direction. Jack decided against using a mirror, since Kiyiya's belated struggle against this 'abduction' was going to require some time to calm down from.

Although it was a little half-hearted. It seemed Kiyiya had developed enough awe of Jack's rank, that he was nervous about possibly injuring him if he tried too hard to break free of the pale and slender hand gripping his wrist. Jack waited until the man had stopped protesting and resisting completely, by which time two hours had passed and they were nearing the west coast of Northern America, before informing him of a certain fact.

"Your family. They already know you're an immortal."

Kiyiya, now flying under his own power, almost dropped from the air in surprise.

"What? But- How?"

Jack shrugged, glancing back at him.

"If they'd kept mourning you, I knew it would make it hard for you to get used to this life, so I sorted it out. Your people's traditions make speaking to them, even if they can't see me, very easy if a touch of extra frostdust is involved. I spoke to your grandfather, and told him you'd been selected to work for Mother Earth. Which is what your people call Mother Nature, in case you're wondering. She has hundreds of names, but Mother Nature is the main one she uses since it's the title from the old Golden Age that those of her role would use."

Kiyiya's expression not became a mixture of concern and dread.

"So my family know I'm not dead?"

Jack finally let go of his fellow immortal, judging now to be the best time, and answered supportively.

"They know. Whether or not they accept or truly believe it, I can't say. You'll find that out when you get back to your village. But I'll be there with you, and I have experience of this. Trust me when I say that everything will work out, sooner or later. This is why you need to go back now. Winter has arrived, snow has fallen on your village, and they will be waiting for your return. If you don't show, then all the belief in you that I've sown will crumble."

Kiyiya's pace began to slow, only to be bolstered by a bit of wind that Jack summoned. There was a glint of fear in his eyes now.

"But what if none of them believe?"

That small surge of Unnatural Fear made Jack flick a special snowflake at him. Worrying about it, while understandable, was an irrational response best dealt with. It was fine to be nervous, but for Kiyiya to work himself up into terror would make the impending event fail. At best he'd manage to be seen by none of the village children or adults, at worst his fear would draw in any of the nearby starved Fearlings that might be about. The fear of immortals always held a greater draw for them than the fear of mortals. Jack would rather avoid having to drive any of them away in sight of Kiyiya.

Jack waited for the mild amount of power in the snowflake to take effect, watching as the overall tension drained from the young man following him. Only then did he answer.

"I highly doubt you'll have that trouble with me there, but even if you did then you just try again on another day. Some immortals don't manage to get their first believer for years after being chosen. It's not unheard of, and yet every immortal alive today has had or still has at least a small number of them. Besides a few of us who refuse to 'update' our legends, or who are Nature Immortals and don't bother with believers, there's only one immortal out there who has zero believers despite wanting oh so much to be believed in by everyone."

Kiyiya, distracted by that teasing titbit of info, picked up his pace again and came up alongside.

"Who?"

Jack grinned.

"The Boogeyman." When Kiyiya blinked then burst out laughing, Jack nudged him with an elbow. "I'm serious, he's a real immortal. He's the one who caused the Easter fiasco a few months ago, and got his ass handed to him by the Guardians. The chances of you ever meeting him are just about nil." Jack's grin became wry. "But to put it in perspective, even the Boogeyman has had believers. If he can manage it, I think you can."

Jack was, of course, omitting a lot of things about Pitch that Kiyiya didn't need to know right now. But the reputation associated with the name 'Boogeyman', the childish stories that had been told the world over about there being no such thing as him, had the desired effect. Kiyiya started to smile, properly this time, and began to look more confident.

He then sighed.

"So, concentrate on the kids? Right?"

Jack nodded.

"They'll be the ones who will see you, although it's possible some of the adults might as well given the way things are recently. And since all the kids in your village know you, expect hugs from the youngest ones if you're visible to them."

Kiyiya took a deep, shuddering breath.

"Ok... I'll give it my best shot."

They'd passed over the coast now, and were flying inland. They were less than an hour away from the Great Lakes, and Jack chose to remain quiet now. The closer they got to Kiyiya's village, the further back Jack allowed himself to drift. Until by the time the village was in sight, he was a short way behind.

Kiyiya hesitated only for a moment, to glance back at and get a nod of reassurance from Jack, before descending upon the snow-dusted settlement. The Spirit of Winter followed, yet remained tactfully out of sight. The village was close enough in region to Burgess, that the children here may have begun to believe enough to see him. Especially if Kiyiya's grandfather had emphasised the previous visit from Jack. He didn't want to be a distraction, and didn't want to risk hurting his fellow immortal should the children see him first.

Kiyiya hesitated again when he saw Jack land in a tree and conceal himself, but then forced himself to continue downwards. The largest open space in the village was the area around the totem pole and small shrine beside it, and that was where he landed. And that was when he saw the new 'totem' stood in the central place of honour in that shine... A statue of him, dressed as he was now, carved from a chunk of jasper almost a foot tall. It took little to guess where it had probably come from.

Kiyiya turned to look towards Jack's hiding place, where the Spirit of Winter peered out of cover just long enough to wave and grin cheekily. That was all the time he had to do, before a gasp sounded off to his left.

He glanced towards the noise, coming face-to-face with a young boy, and that's child's eyes were wide with recognition.

"Kiyiya?"

The query drew the attention of other nearby youngsters, all of them under ten years old, and they too gasped. And then one-by-one they inched closer, as unsure as the immortal was, until they were clustered within arm's reach of him. It was then that the first boy reached out, and Kiyiya responded by clasping that outstretched hand in his own.

At the feel of undeniably solid yet cool fingers, the boy broke out into a wide smile.

"Kiyiya's here! Kiyiya's come back!"

The other children shouted it out as well, half of them racing away towards either end of the village. Nearby adults heard them, hastening to the square where the youngsters had begun to hug something that could not be seen. In fact Kiyiya was so distracted and overwhelmed by the welcome from the children, who he knew and who knew him, that he barely noticed the adults until one heart-rendingly familiar voice called out.

"Kiyiya, is that really you?"

The young immortal turned to face his grandfather, breath catching in his throat. No words could pass his lips for several seconds, until at last he murmured quietly.

"It is. I..."

He paused in surprise as a veil of blue-white dust settled over the gathered people, and at that moment Jack slipped down out of nowhere and landed behind the old man to speak close to his ear.

"Kiyiya is feeling a bit self-conscious right now, even if only the children can see him."

Kiyiya's grandfather, Chetan, turned his head slightly towards the sound. Recognising the voice, even if he could not see the speaker.

"Spirit of Winter, you are here as well?"

At the mention of him, several of the children looked in his direction. He felt their belief click into place, and smiled as two of them came over. One of them tugging on his hoodie in confusion.

"Why are you dressed like that?"

Ignoring the confused and unnerved adults all around them, Jack ruffled the girl's hair and chuckled.

"It was a Christmas present from my family. Just like Kiyiya, I have mortal relatives too. And I visit them, just as he'll be able to come here and visit his and all of you."

As the children responded with delight at that explanation, several of the adults began to mutter sceptically. After all, they couldn't see or hear either of the supposed 'spirits' that were present.

"Chetan, we all hope that it is true Kiyiya has returned to us. Yet how can we be sure, when we have nothing but the word of children to say he's here?"

Kiyiya frowned at that, recognising the man for someone he'd rather disliked in his previous life. The man had always labelled him as being an underachiever, no matter how hard he'd worked around the village. But before he could respond, Jack did it for him.

The ball of snow that appeared from thin air, and was then flung into the face of the man, was sizeable. Certainly large enough to account for why it knocked the man over backwards when it hit him. And then in the startled silence that followed, Chetan remarked with irony.

"I would believe the Spirit of Winter has answered that."

Jack cracked his knuckles, smirking to himself as the man scrambled to pick himself up off the ground, and then glanced at Kiyiya.

"I'll leave you to it. You don't need me now. But if you want to talk to me later, I'll be sat on the riverbank down the hill."

He slipped past the two children and over to his fellow immortal, pausing in passing to murmur quietly.

"To conjure a snowball, swirl air from your surroundings through a cupped hand and freeze the moisture in your grasp as the air passes. They're very useful for dealing with sceptics, and they'll be visible to everyone as well. Have fun."

With a little grin he flew away, glancing back only once in time to see Kiyiya try the trick and hand the resulting snowball to one of the children. Several dolled-out balls later, and a brief snowball fight started. It was enough to 'break the ice', pardoning the pun, and several of the adults joined Chetan in gathering around Kiyiya and asking the children to tell them what he was saying.

Jack sighed to himself contentedly as he landed on the riverbank, feeling a little up-welling of 'warm fuzzies' as Laura called them. Helping Kiyiya be reunited with his family, was a reminder of the moment when he'd kindled the belief of Emily in himself. That moment she'd clung to him in joy, and he to her. A moment he would cherish forever.

A single frozen tear pattered to the ground, and Jack sighed again. His mind wandering. His earlier mention of Pitch sent his thoughts towards concerns for Mother Nature. She'd been in his lair for months now, with no word coming from her at all. And yet somehow he knew she was ok, despite his worries. All he had to do was continue keeping the Fearlings weakened. So long as they were weak, she had a chance to succeed. He just had to keep believing in her.

The sun was setting by the time Kiyiya emerged from among the trees, walking towards the Spirit of Winter with contented smile much like the one Jack had been wearing. He then sat down on the rock beside him, gazing likewise up at the golden sky.

"My grandfather can see me now, and my brother." Tears of joy welled up in his eyes. "And my mother, and some of the other adults too. You did that, didn't you? With your power."

Jack sighed.

"My power doesn't make them believe enough to see, but it helps them find the part of themselves they forgot when they grew up. It's more your culture of believing in the spirits of nature, that's made it possible for you. If I'd tried this back when I was new, in my home village... They'd have had the priest over from Kirktown to exorcise the houses."

At Jack's wry tone, Kiyiya glanced at him and saw the equally wry smile the Spirit of Winter wore. It made him chuckle, before his gaze went once more to the sky.

"But still, you helped. You made that totem, didn't you? And you told them about me, so they'd know I wasn't dead. If not for you... Thank you. And I promise I will repay my debt to you."

Jack jolted, surprised.

"You don't need to repay me. I wanted to help, and you don't owe me anything."

Kiyiya smiled, giving him a playful thump on the shoulder.

"And if you know my people's culture so well, you know we always repay our debts. Honour requires it. I'll not give up until I've done something for you in return, so you'd best start thinking of something I can do."

Silence fell as Jack mused over it. There wasn't anything he particularly needed, so short of a random 'pitfall' there weren't going to be any chances for Kiyiya to return the favour of assistance. Yet by the stubborn glint in the young man's eyes, Jack knew he had to think of something. And when it came down to it, it was the oldest of his two jobs that gave him the far from disagreeable solution.

He stood up and stepped away from the rock, idly unhooking his staff from his back, before he turned to regard the new immortal.

"If you really feel that way, there's one thing I can think of. And it's more a promise of friendship than anything else."

Kiyiya stood up as well, regarding him solemnly.

"So what would you ask of me?"

Jack reached out with the crook of his staff, touching it to the young man's shoulder, and the corner of his mouth turned up in a small smile.

"I'd ask you, Ezhno Kiyiya, if you would serve me in friendship as a Lieutenant of Winter... And join my rather mixed bag of a 'family'. You already know Yuki really well, so I know you'll get along with the others too." His smile widened. "So, what do you say?"

Kiyiya's eyes had widened in surprise at the request, before a smile as radiant as the setting sun lit up his face. He then firmly grasped a hand around the crook of the staff at his shoulder, and nodded.

"I'd say that I would be honoured, and that I swear to stand at your side as brother and comrade for as long as you need me."

With a feeling of triumph as well as contentment, Jack threaded a strand of the Power of Winter into the young man before him.

"Then I accept your vow, and name you a Lieutenant of Winter... Welcome to the family."

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Alaia Skyhawk: Definitely lots of fuzzies in that one. I hope you guys enjoyed it :)