* By the way, I was thinking of adding two OC's to future one-shots. They won't be the entire center of attention, there won't be any romance, and they'd also be magical figures. I just want to get your opinion on that before moving forward with something like that.
I'm also still taking ideas for how Jack should get his revenge on Jamie. As well as separate requests.
Requested by: Myardna
The Incident
"Dude," Jamie exclaimed with a tap on Pippa's shoulder. "Look!"
The girl raised an eyebrow and turned towards the window. She shortly gazed at the autumn leaves dancing in the breeze outside. "Okay," she shrugged. "What am I looking at?"
"What do you mean?" Jamie's voice squeaked incredulously. "It was just there."
"Jamie, Pippa," The kids straightened up at the sound of their teacher's voice. "Do you have something to share with the class?"
"No, ma'am," Pippa said, grabbing a pencil in attention. She turned back to her friend who was still staring curiously out the window. "Hey," she whispered to Jamie. "I don't know what it is you saw-"
"It was right there," Jamie repeated, slowly taking out his notebook. "And it was huge!"
"How come I didn't see it?"
The bell for recess rung less than an hour later and everyone shot out of school to play. Most kids raced to be first on the swing sets and slides, some took solace on the blacktop, and the rest jumped in as many leaf piles as they could find.
"Ah, the Autumnal Equinox," Monty sighed, adjusting his glasses. Only a light puff of air responded.
"First day of autumn," Jamie translated, flopping onto a pile of gold and red leaves. A collective 'ah' was exchanged followed by a 'nerd' remark from Cupcake.
Claude exhaled. "Can't wait 'till winter."
"I'll say. Just don't let any fall spirits hear that." Jamie smiled jokingly.
"No way, Jamie," Caleb shook his head. "You get to see Jack Frost, like, every day."
"Yeah," Jamie sat up. "But the weather outside his own season makes him uncomfortable. He's in higher spirits when winter hits."
"I can't believe you bonded with him," Pippa said, sitting next to him. "If Jack can feel your emotions then what else can you guys do?" She paused. "Jamie what's wrong?"
Jamie's mouth hung open and the color drained from his face. A deep growl resonated in his ears, and his volition left him as he got to his feet. The growl faded into a dry cough. His friends' questions became nothing more but echoes in his mind. Finally, when Cupcake roughly jerked the boy's shoulder, his head was clearing up. Jamie stuttered robotically and pointed a finger a couple feet off, between where Claude and Caleb stood. Jamie's friends glanced at each other as if he'd gone mad.
What's wrong with them? Jamie swallowed hard, taking a cautious step back. It's right there. Why can't they- Jamie suddenly found his voice and produced a fearful yelp before tripping over the leaf pile and running in the opposite direction.
The gang just stood and watched. Aside from a boisterous gust of wind that seemed to shove them out of the way, the only thing out of the ordinary was Jamie's sudden departure.
"If he ran that fast in Phys. Ed.," Caleb pursed his lips as the leaves settled. "The gym teacher would need therapy."
"Lucky," Claude crossed his arms as Jamie raced into the woods. "He's best friends with Jack Frost and gets to skip school."
Jamie fell over the air and cried out as his legs tumbled in front of him. He ran a delicate thumb over his throbbing ankle before a steamy puff of air brushed the hair from his forehead. With an exaggerated gulp, Jamie finally tilted his head up to meet the steely grey eyes. The animal opened its jaws. The child hastily scooted back and asked a silent "Really?!" when his back met a tree. The creature huffed impatiently and padded closer to the boy.
Jamie was terrified, but completely awestricken. The wolf stood at a towering height as tall as a doorway and its fur held the color of the autumn leaves. Excluding its massive jagged teeth, what struck him the most was the creature's lashing, three tails.
Trying to think and not be hypnotized by the wolf's gaze, Jamie grabbed a stick and held it in front of him like a sword. The mongrel stopped, narrowed its eyes, and exposed its fangs with a long hungry snarl. Jamie soon realized that the rather wimpy stick in his fist began to quake, followed by the rest of his lanky body. The boy jumped sharply as bushes and leaves rustled from behind.
"L-leave me alone," Jamie whimpered, but the plea fell on deaf ears as more wolves weaved out of the shadows. A bout of measured coughing resounded and Jamie realized the wolf standing directly in front of him wasn't coughing, but laughing. Or at least it sounded like it.
As this certain wolf had the strongest build out of all the pack members and was the only one with multiple tails, Jamie had to guess this was their leader. Jamie exhaled and held the stick with more determination. Noting the attempt at confidence, the wolf snarled sharply and parted its jaws. Its lips twitched until teeth and gums were exposed, and the other wolves hung several yards back. Yep, definitely the Alpha.
Despite the Alpha's gnash of warning, Jamie slowly rose to his feet. The wolves circled closer, and in a last-ditch effort the boy threw his pitiful weapon at the mongrel's eyes. At the sound of the degraded yap, Jamie turned heel and bolted around the tree. He didn't get far when his ankle protested at the weight and forced his body to the ground.
All of sudden, the nape of his shirt collar jerked and the ground left him. Jamie blinked as the forest whirled passed as if they were flying. He gazed up into the eyes of his captor and tried to jerk free of the wolf's jaws. Growing tired of the human nuisance, the Alpha shook his head wildly, whipping Jamie around until the boy could only dangle flaccidly in a daze.
In his delirium, Jamie still tried to shake himself loose, trying to reach for the ground or even going so far as to kick and swipe at the wolf's face. Trying to land a kick to the chest, Jamie abruptly felt his feet tangle around the wolf's front leg. They both yelped in surprise as they flung themselves forward. Jamie's thud was muffled by the sound of the Alpha's heavy wham against the ground.
The child let out a frustrated sigh as a heavy paw pressed down on his back before he could even consider standing. Other members of the pack gathered around the boy and curiously smelled the air. A few wolves huddled close, sniffing at his body. Jamie hoped they would understand how skinny he was and realize he wasn't worth eating.
He knew this was a total pipe dream when a younger wolf prodded his nose against Jamie's injured ankle. Out of pure reflex, Jamie's leg flicked out at the wolf's snout, causing it to whine in surprise. The wolf that held him down howled furiously before bringing its fangs around the child's neck. Jamie would've been done for if a familiar bark hadn't stopped everyone.
The Alpha rose to its feet. Pressure abated, but the teeth never left Jamie's throat. Agonizingly slow in pace, the Alpha stalked forward and trapped Jamie's stare. Even when the wolf that had him pinned trotted away, he still found himself unable to move, caught in the spell of the grey orbs that stared him down. A chill slithered over his spine when the Alpha flashed its tongue across pearly teeth.
And in his possibly last, humorless moments, Jamie briefly thought of how the Tooth Fairy would've been impressed by the creature.
Right before the wolf lunged a freezing flash of light exploded in its path. The other wolves scattered away in shock before turning and snapping their jaws at the intruder. Growling suspiciously, the Alpha wolf stood its ground.
A scrawny, blue figure scattered the leaves on the ground as the wind carried it to a stop in front of the child. Jamie managed a sigh of relief when his friend looked over his shoulder to give the boy a once-over. A loud snarl ripped the silence and Jack flicked a glare to the attacker.
"What? Did I ruin your lunch?" The winter spirit said icily. He blinked and briefly looked back at Jamie. "Er, light snack," he corrected.
"Thanks, Jack," Jamie muttered.
The wolf clapped its fangs aggressively and began circling. Before Jamie could blink, Jack already had the child hoisted into his arms. As the beast rounded them with proud strides, the Guardian angled himself awkwardly so Jamie was situated safely behind him, but not exactly piggyback either.
The Alpha bunched its shoulders to jump before Jack rolled his eyes and produced a burst of energy from his staff. The wolf leapt out of the way – Jack never really intended his powers to make contact – and its snarl lowered wearily in volume.
"Keep," Jack kept his voice a notch louder than the growls. "away from him."
The wolf chuffed in aggravation then tipped its nose to the air, and Jamie thought he saw the Alpha's shoulders sag. Jack tightened his hold around the child. The wolf stared back at the two and to Jamie's surprise it stopped growling.
The Alpha tilted its head and used a single paw to shred leaves on the ground, tails lashing anxiously.
"No," Jack said evenly. "You can't have him." The wolf's head cocked further as if analyzing Jack's every word and slowly lowered its snout.
Jamie gasped and ducked his face to Jack's neck as the Alpha crouched and lunged, sailing right over their heads and landing gracefully near his comrades. The wolf barked orders to the rest of the pack, and for a moment none of them moved. The Alpha's ears pricked as if astonished, and the one wolf – the wolf that had sniffed Jamie's ankle – stepped closer, baring its fangs.
Jamie cringed when the Alpha dove and bit at the wolf. It yelped and kneeled to swipe a paw furiously at its nicked ear. The Alpha snarled questioningly at the others before the pack hesitantly obeyed and started their leave. Huffing, the Alpha didn't even look back as he followed suit.
"Are you okay," Jack asked. "How does your ankle feel?"
Jamie nodded. "I'm fi – Wait. How did you know about my ankle?"
Jack cocked his head to where the wolf pack had stood. "The younger wolf told me."
"You speak wolf?" Jamie asked with wide eyes.
"I can make mass amounts of blizzards in a single week, but you ask if I can talk to wolves." Jack grinned. "Well, for a long time I couldn't exactly rely on human companionship," Jack said and Jamie noticed his friend's distant face.
"So," Jack said as he sat them down under a tree. "I ran with a few wolf packs on my downtime." He shrugged as it if was no big deal. "I even lead one or two at some point."
"You were an Alpha?!"
"Why do you think that wolf backed down as soon as I came," Jack chuckled, ruffling the child's hair. "I figure he must've been a newly appointed leader. Did you see how confused his pack was before they left?"
"They didn't know which of you to follow," Jamie breathed. "But why were they after me? Why couldn't my friends see him?"
"Those wolves have magic in them," Jack said listlessly, angling his arm to recline Jamie in his embrace. He reached forward to pull one of Jamie's socks down. "I mean, how often do you see a three-tailed wolf, let alone wolves that huge. And the wolf probably didn't want your friends to see him." Jamie hissed when Jack pressed his chilly fingertips against his ankle. He rubbed the kid's arm apologetically. "You sprained it pretty good," Jack commented.
"But the wolves smelled you, smelled your magical potential," Jack continued as he hovered a hand over Jamie's ankle. "Therefore, they saw you as a threat to their territory and thought only of disposing you." The spirit pressed his lips together in both mild anger and concentration. "As soon I learned of this, I rushed to Burgess." He gave a lighthearted, but scolding grin. "Because you can't seem to stay out of danger for a single day."
Jamie shifted as his foot started to feel chilly. "I thought you were sensing my fear though."
Jack shook his head. "The wolves were blocking my link to you. They could sense we're bonded."
"First Pitch, now the wolves." Out of impulse, Jamie tried to flex his injured limb, but it wouldn't budge. He craned his neck to see his ankle wrapped in a band of clear, solid, ice. Jamie ran a light finger over the brace and Jack explained that the ice was strong enough not to shatter. The boy commented on how icy it felt.
"It won't damage your nerves," Jack shifted Jamie so they sat side by side. "From what North told me, you should be able to withstand some freezing temperatures a lot better than before you bonded."
"Am I even human anymore?"
Jack smiled and hooked an arm around the younger boy. "You're still human, as is Sophie. You won't ever reach immortal status unless the Man in the Moon wants you to. The only difference is that – and this has never really been deeply looked into before – you and your sister may have a couple added years to your life and may age slower, at least that's what North says."
"No way," Jamie groaned. "So, what? I'm going to stay this short until I'm twenty or something?"
Jack's laugh echoed around the clearing. "We're just," Jack breathed to calm himself. "going to have to wait and see."
Jamie's smile disappeared as the bay of the Alpha wolf echoed in the distant woods. The child suddenly had a thought. Jamie cupped his hands in front of his face and Jack resisted the urge to cover his ears at the shrill, unpracticed howl. Jack mussed the boy's hair as disappointment rolled off the child. Jamie was about to ask further questions, until he got a response. This time, the entire pack had joined the howling.
"Wow," Jamie smiled.
"Being that you're bonded with me, a previous Alpha to a pack," Jack explained. "In a nutshell, they view you as royalty. If you ever meet them again they'll probably keep a respectful distance from you whether I'm here or not. Who knows," Jack shrugged. "They may even help you out if and when you get yourself in more danger."
"Cool," Jack smirked at the glint in the kid's eyes. "So," Jamie began. "If you couldn't even feel my emotions, then how did you know I needed help?"
"A spirit of autumn told me," Jack said and continued at the tilt of Jamie's head. "The seasons don't exactly get along with each other, but we do care about children. The spirit of autumn would've saved you himself, but he had another town to visit. So, he contacted me."
"Does everybody know we bonded?"
"I don't think the spirit did," Jack shook his head. "But he does know that Burgess is my home and that I would want to defend it."
"How did he contact you? What does he look like?"
Jack smiled crookedly. "Questions, questions," he said. "I never saw him; I don't know what he looks like." Hugging Jamie closer, he tapped the child's temple. "The seasons are capable of exchanging short telepathic messages. You and I will be able to do the same someday."
The winter spirit lightly knocked Jamie's ankle with his staff and the ice band melted. Jamie flexed the limb and smiled. Just like magic, it didn't hurt anymore.
* I know I said in a previous chapter that Jack wasn't sure if the other seasons were actual beings. I think it's safe to assume that, over the course of time, the other seasons would gradually make themselves a little more known.