"Oi, Frostbite, Blazer, get yer arses out here!"
A groan arose from the mountain of blankets, causing the whole pile to shudder. After visiting Finland for an early winter dusting, all Jack wanted to do was stay passed out in his blanket fort. There had been nothing but lessons, errands, weather reading, more lessons, and a Wendigo problem in Northern Canada. When Jack asked Ju why General Winter didn't take care of the Wendigos as usual, the Chinese spirit calmly explained that, since Jack was now the Season of Winter, he took over all the functions of the court. Unfortunately, that also included the taking down annoying spirits causing mayhem. Geez, he hadn't even been a Season for that long and all of these responsibilities were being piled on him. Then again, Aria did hint that this could be part of his punishment for the incident at the ball.
What this all led to was Jack feeling especially rebellious and uncooperative. So instead of doing what he was told, Jack did the exact opposite and buried himself deeper into his sheets.
As Jack attempted to ignore the world beyond the blankets, something felt strangely off. Why did it feel like the soft bed was getting farther away? And why was there a draft? Jack dared to crack one eye open.
The view before him was not splendid by any means. Fortunately, it only lasted a second. Unfortunately, the wooden floor was now in his face with a solid THUD!
"OW! What the hell, Ochieng!" Jack cursed, turning over onto his back to look at the Summer Spirit staring down at him. The dark-skinned teen stood at the door all dressed up in sportswear with his hands in his pockets next to an irritated Pooka.
"Nice ta see yer finally up, Frostbite," Aster commented, his foot minutely thumping against the floor. Jack switched his glare to the giant alien, raising an eyebrow in silent question. "Get some brekkies and meet me in the Warren in half an hour." With that, Aster did two big taps to the floor before hopping down the hole that appeared, leaving some flower behind.
Ochieng stepped forward to offer Jack hand in getting off the floor. "Sorry, Jack, but Aster requested I test my control over the elements. I deduced that fire would not be a wise choice, an earthquake would have been dangerous for everyone else, and chipping icicles off of you would have delayed today's lessons further," the summer spirit explained. Jack accepted Ochieng's help and started dusting himself off while his friend quickly fixed his bed for him.
"Alright, so maybe wind was the best," Jack grudgingly admitted. "But did you seriously have to be that rough? Couldn't you have at least let me land on a pillow or something?" Jack left his room with Ochieng at a casual pace and headed towards the kitchen.
"I'm sorry, Jack, but I do not have enough control over the wind yet to be able to do that just yet. Besides, I do not believe that would have helped wake you up," Ochieng chuckled. The boys continued their banter, reaching the kitchen laughing.
Grabbing whatever they could eat on the go, the boys started making their way to the designated tunnel area. They passed Aria on the way, who was muttering something about annoying sprites who refused to pay attention to the Seasonal Boundary. Reaching the thinned ice below North's palace, they got to work. The ice melted before them and split the earth open beneath their feet.
"Should I be nervous about you with that flame, Frost?" Ochieng asked, glancing at the little ball that was dancing in Jack's hand. The frost imp offered to provide the light, since the summer sprite was better at making sure their tunnel-bubble didn't collapse.
"Nah, it's about as worrisome as you using the wind to wake me up," Jack responded, looking at the rocks all around them. More than a few didn't look very flame-friendly. "If you're worried about me melting, I wouldn't. Us higher ups aren't so weak to heat."
"Ah, so if that applies to the other seasons, then that must be why..." Ochieng trailed off as if finishing up his conclusions in his head. Jack glanced at his companion and something clicked inside his head, something that caused him to smirk.
"Ya know, earth seems to be pretty easy for you. Are you a natural at it? Or are you just a natural at getting Ju to give you extra lessons between kisses on your dates?" One could have heard a water drop hit a stone. Ochieng's dark skin gained a slight red tinge, as did the tips of his ears.
"J-Jack!" The summer spirit's voice cracked, although he would deny it later. The frost imp could not stop cackling while Ochieng desperately tried to explain himself. "We do not- it is not- we have not even-"
"Dude, Ochieng, please tell me you guys have at least kissed," Jack gasped between laughs. The look on his warmer counterpart's face was absolutely priceless.
Ochieng's blush turned a deeper shade in response. "C'mon, you guys have been going out, for what, two months? Please tell me you at least peck cheeks!"
Ochieng's eyes shifted away from the snow elf, his face still burning. "I am not at liberty to say, nor am I required to share that information with you if I were," the summer season stated with a tone making it clear he was done with the topic. Naturally, Jack pushed on.
"What, are you telling me that you two have done more than that?" Jack grinned, continuing down the tunnel. Best not to keep the grumpy Kangaroo waiting.
"I-I never said that," Ochieng stuttered as his entire face flushed.
"True, you never said that. But you never said you didn't either," Jack pointed out. Ochieng's reactions continued to amuse him.
"That is none of your business, Frost!" Ochieng snapped. The fire in Jack's hand flared up with the warmer season's temper.
"Woah, watch it!" Jack complained, flailing a bit. The flame calmed down and shrank back into a size Jack could control. "You seriously are worked up about this."
"You would feel the same if you had someone you liked, Frost!" Ochieng shot back, too annoyed with the elf to think clearly about what he was saying.
In an instant, Jack went rigid, purple-ish frost coating his cheeks. His mouth clamped shut, not wishing to give the summer spirit anything he could use as ammo.
Ochieng paused and looked at his companion. "Huh, so Frosty does have a crush on someone?" the summer spirit teased. Jack tensed even more, fighting to keep his frosty blush from spreading. "Who could it be? Tooth, perhaps? She is sweet to you. Maybe Aria, since you both are close," Ochieng drawled, fishing for answers.
"No, it's not either of those two. It's no one," Jack denied, shifting his eyes to the wall of rocks. Surely they must be at the Warren by now.
"It is not 'no one' if she has caught your attention, Jack," the summer spirit pointed out.
"It's not important. Can we just drop it, please?"
"I am only trying to help," Ochieng responded with a grin only 90% sincere.
"As much as I like that you two are trying ta help each other, do it on yer own time, not when ya're late for training," a deep Australian voice called out. Jack jolted, feeling like his heart was trying to commit jailbreak. The snow imp could not prevent the frost on his cheeks from thickening, too distracted by the sudden appearance of the Pooka.
"Ah, I deeply apologize, Aster," Ochieng responded, oblivious to his companion attempting to calm himself. "We must have lost track of time on the way here."
"Make sure it doesn't happen again, Kiangazi," Aster huffed, looking the two boys up and down. Jack managed to compose himself enough to meet the Aster's gaze, holding it for a few seconds before it moved on.
"Gear up, boys, we're going to be doing some sparring."
Lin: Well, that was a short chapter. It could have been worse.
Rey: It could have been. But in this chapter, we get mentions of Jack's feelings towards a certain someone. Oh well, enjoy this short chapter!