Ombric and North had left early that morning, before even the sky started to brighten up. They had gone alone, only bringing with them some food, a few weapons, and the Djinni.

They had left so early so as not to feel the guilt of leaving behind young Katherine for her own safety. To make sure that she would not follow so recklessly. Katherine had woken up tired from crying the night before, instantly taking note of how quiet the old tree was without Ombric's distracted humming or North's laughter at casting a new spell that she had become so accustomed to over the months.

Katherine sighed, taking note of the small box with a note on it. Curiously, she picked it up, wondering what was inside. Just before she opened the note or the box, a mug of what she assumed was hot chocolate levitated towards her. She blinked at it once before picking it up. It was still very warm. Too warm to have been left sitting around waiting for her to wake up.

Tentatively she took a sip, pursing her lips before she stared at the mug in confusion. It was hot chocolate as she suspected. But it was a little different to what Ombric or North would brew. Ombric always made it with a little bit less chocolate than North did- North always put in just a little more than necessary. But this brew… was nothing like she'd ever tasted before.

She swirled the mug in her hands just a bit as she watched the brown liquid stir and swirl around. It was strange. For where Ombric and North made hot chocolate as a drink, this one was more of a dessert! There was a layer of whipped cream on top and as she had drank she had chewed on something soft and fluffy- marshmallows, she assumed.

She actually quite liked this brew. And so she downed the whole thing in one go before her eyes landed on the small box again. She suspected it was from North as Ombric would have wrapped it up at least.

A small smile tugged at her face as she started to open the box. She reasoned with herself that this was their way of saying they'll miss her and an apology for upsetting her the night before. She didn't feel as angry at them for not including her in their adventure anymore but she was starting to realise this was their way of trying to keep her safe.

Inside the box was a small round device. It was gold and weighty like a clock with one hand and no numbers and on the tip of the hand was one letter. N. She blinked at the device then frowned before turning to open the letter left behind for her.

Dear Katherine,

If there is trouble, you can always find me.

The arrow will point the way.

Yours,

N.

Smiling at the small show of trust which she knew was a test of her own willingness to follow orders, she huffed and strung the compass's chain through her buttonhole and admired it once more before getting out of bed. She was going to stay with Petrov and the Bear and keep an eye out for any signs of trouble. Still she couldn't help but wish there was a small smidgen of trouble today just so she could go after the two wizards.

That's when a loud clattering sounded all across Big Root that made the young girl jump and rush out to see what it was. It took her a moment to find where the noise came from, but eventually she found herself in the kitchen staring at a very amusing situation.

In front of her, sitting down in a heap of pans and pots with an annoyed expression was the astral boy. He had his arms crossed glaring at something at the end of the dining table with bacon and eggs on top of his head.

"What's going on?" She wondered out loud, making the boy of light turn to face her, his face turning a bright shade of blue at the embarrassing situation as he pouted.

Her eyes scanned the room, from the way he was acting, Katherine had relaxed slightly, reasoning with herself that the boy of light wouldn't be so nonchalant if there truly was danger about. That's when she saw him. The stout golden man, flailing around in silent laughter as he floated in midair.

Katherine's eyebrow rose at the sight. She had never seen this man before and yet here he was having a laugh at the predicament of the astral child. Then she realised he too was giving off a faint glow, only his was gold instead of the boy's otherworldly light blues and white. He also seemed more corporeal than the misty boy.

Annoyed, FrostLight huffed and blew a strand of his hair out of his face as he got up and started to clean up the mess he had accidentally made when Sandy had decided to stop by for a visit, accidentally startling the poor boy who was so focused on making bacon and eggs that he didn't notice the Sandman until he had spun around and came millimetres with each other's face.

"Uh… hello…?" Katherine hesitantly asked, unconsciously slipping closer to the astral boy to feel more safe. Sandy had started to calm his breathing, a hand to his chest as he wiped away a stray tear of joy from his eyes before giving Katherine a smile, forming a bowler hat with his sand and tipping it in greeting.

"Ignore him, Katherine." FrostLight grumbled in that strange way he communicates without opening his mouth to speak, making the young girl blink.

"I think it rude to ignore a guest…" She absently mumbled.

"Not when he deliberately causes someone who's been working very hard to cook some food to lose all their progress…" FrostLight grumbled again, rolling his eyes then shooting another playful glare towards the Sandman who only laughed silently again before he floated over and gave the astral boy a pat on the shoulder.

:Go get yourself cleaned up, I'll take care of breakfast. But right after I must go spread dreams to the night of the world.:

FrostLight let out a groan before crossing his arms in disdain. "It's going to take forever to clean my armour…" he muttered out this time. "But fine." He conceded before handing the spatula over to the stout golden man.

"Uh… what was that?" Katherine asked, having watched the entire conversation, having gotten lost all together when the man of sand started using his sand symbols.

"Sandy," FrostLight gestured. "Offered to make breakfast while I go clean up, but he also said he couldn't stay long."

Katherine slowly nodded silently before hesitantly taking hold of FrostLight's hand and leading him towards one of the guest rooms they had in Big Root. "There should be a shower in there… I'll go get you some spare clothes and a towel." FrostLight nodded, watching as Katherine started to go around the room in search of some clothes and towels.

Smiling, the boy started to unbuckle his armour. Starting with his gauntlets, then his vambraces, then his pauldrons, followed after by his poleyns, cuisses, greaves, and sabatons. The last part he removed was his chestplate, being the largest piece of his armour. By the time all his armour was off, he noticed Katherine just staring at him, clothes and towel in hand.

"You're so much thinner than I expected." She stated bluntly, making FrostLight blink in confusion before looking down at himself and frowning. He was wearing a skintight suit with the old Lunanoff emblem drawn onto the front like a logo though it was obvious to anyone who looked that it was worse-for-wear. He realised then that she had a point. He was way skinnier as Nightlight then he was as Jack Frost. Then again, that could just be attributed to his race. From what stories he remembered of the other Nightlights, they too were as skinny as him.

Shrugging, he walked over to take the clothes from Katherine who smiled at him and offered him the clothes before fidgeting with the hem of her sleeves. "They might be a bit too loose…"

FrostLight let out a soft chuckle before shaking his head. "I'll manage, don't worry." And with that he disappeared to take a shower and remove the grease from his hair.

It didn't take long for Katherine to head back to the kitchen, finding everything clean and tidy with two plates of breakfast layed out fresh for herself and the astral boy but no sign of the strange golden man. She decided not to think about it as she ate her breakfast being joined by the boy of light not fifteen minutes later, looking refreshed with a fitting change of wardrobe.

They were silent for a while as they ate, not wanting to break table manners in front of the other. "What chores are there to do today?" FrostLight eventually asked, having finished his food rather quickly.

"Huh?" Katherine wondered, looking up to face the boy.

"I asked, what chores are there to do today?" Katherine blinked then hummed in thought, cocking her head from side to side as she ran her course for the day in her head.

FrostLight already knew the pattern of her chores. He had been watching the village since the very first day. He knew they were going to feed the horse, sweep the front of the tree, accompany the bear for a while then head back to feed the owls before tidying up the library.

It didn't take them long to head out to the stable where Petrov was kept. They enjoyed feeding the horse, with Katherine even offering that they brush the stallion. FrostLight then proceeded to braid the horse's mane to make Katherine smile. It worked wonders to the point that she even joined in.

The two children then went off to sweep the front of Big Root, often times getting distracted by a sudden game of tag before Katherine offered to clean up his armour together.

After that, they decided to take Petrov out on a ride through the village. FrostLight was nervous, evident by the fleeting glances he would take before perching on the horse's rump behind Katherine whenever they neared people. A few of the children and adults saw the spectral boy, the children all laughed and waved while the adults would stare in bafflement, making him curl up and try to hide in his hands.

Taking pity on the boy, Katherine laughed and directed the horse to the edge of the village, riding hard and fast to the point that the astral boy had to leap off of the horse and follow in the air right next to them. A few times did the bear come to report to Katherine, reminding her of her current situation before easily being distracted again by the astral boy. Truly, it wasn't a dull day when the astral boy was around.

It was on their final lap that evening back towards Big Root that something significant and unfortunate happened. Petrov had tripped over the gash where Pitch had disappeared months ago. Fortunately, Petrov only seemed to have sprained and ankle and was limping badly. They wouldn't be able to go riding for at least a few days…

Thankfully, Katherine hadn't gotten hurt from the fall thanks to a certain astral boy who had instantly caught her before setting her down with a frown. The two children then took their time returning the horse back to his stable, frowns of concern growing on their faces. "Just rest, Petrov." Katherine soothed, gently petting the horse.

"Thank you for catching me earlier…" the girl spoke, quiet yet sincere.

"It's what I do. I couldn't just let you get hurt!" He smiled at her kindly as he too petted the resting horse.

Katherine giggled, glad to have such a friend as the spectral boy. "Then will you keep me safe from other things too?" She wondered in a half joking manner.

"Of course!" Katherine couldn't help but smile at that as she headed inside.

FrostLight frowned slightly as he watched Katherine go inside. He liked Petrov. He was a good horse. A smart and fun one too. He was worried for him, but he was also worried for Katherine, knowing it was almost time for their plans to begin.

He stayed outside for a little while before dashing off to where they had left his armour to dry. He wasn't going to be wearing the proper Lunanoff uniform for a while, but his current clothes, although baggy, would do just fine as an under suit for now.

Quickly he got himself dressed in the armour, tugging and tucking where necessary before he hefted his spear, twirling it around for a while and performing the various activities he would have done just before a training session as Nightlight, ensuring full mobility of his armour. Once satisfied, FrostLight headed into the woods in search of the reindeers.