Secret of Frost and Moon

Familial Joy

Alaia Skyhawk: Time for some more fun and fluff :)

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.

~(-)~

Chapter 14: Familial Joy

He glided over the surface of the pond, leaving a trail of ripples on the water's surface as he passed. Birdsong echoed through the surrounding forest, and the winds were warm.

Jack sighed, keeping his powers reigned in tight so as not to freeze anything or coat it with frost. As a consequence even the frost on his clothing had thawed, resulting in only his white hair, pale complexion, and the hint of frost on his staff marking him as the Spirit of Winter. And the reason he was taking the effort to be restrained?

It was two weeks until Southern Winter was due to start, meaning he was still hanging around near the village when for that region it was two weeks until summer was due to start. Ariko had been bad enough to deal with the past few weeks, but Achieng would be a complete nightmare by comparison if he was still here when she did her preliminary flyover a week before she brought Northern Summer.

Jack smirked to himself at that, knowing he wasn't going to be hanging around more than another day or so... It was just the waiting that was getting to him right now.

His thoughts were disrupted by an errant gust of wind, one that carried the unmistakable scent of flowers. And with that, Jack sighed and turned to face where the Spirit of Spring had landed on the shore of the pond.

He greeted her in a pleasant tone, as if she'd not confronted him almost every other day for the past month.

"Greetings, Ariko, Spirit of Spring. What can I do to help you this fine day?"

Jack suppressed a new smirk. Ok, so maybe his pleasant tone had also held a note of considerable sarcasm.

Ariko rose up into the air, her long black hair and the folds of her kimono, fluttering in the breeze. She then came over in such as way as to give the impression she'd stomped over instead of gliding gracefully, before jabbing a finger at his face so quickly as to almost make him lean back away from it.

He didn't, he'd gotten used to this now, and so ignored the fingertip that was being held an inch from his nose as she yelled at him in her rather dainty way.

"You need to leave, Frost, now. You're not supposed to be here at this time of year."

Jack smiled sweetly, before drifting backwards to sit on the rock in the middle of the pond. Once there, he then splashed his bare feet in the water.

"Why not? It isn't against the rules for me to enjoy some warmer weather for a change, and it's not like I've frozen anything either. I've made sure not to." He let his false smile fade, now rather sick of her persistence and also in no mood to deal with her anymore. "Besides... This is my pond, my home, and I don't have to leave here until a week before winter is due in the South. So I'd appreciate it if you would mind your own business!"

Ariko pointed towards the village, glaring at him.

"And what about them? With their little shrine to 'Jack Frost' in the middle of the village square!"

Jack scowled, picturing the little peak-roofed niche that had been built at the base of the storm-pole. It wasn't even that fancy, just a box with two sloped boards on top. It contained a little clay plaque that Emily had made, with a rough drawing of a cloaked figure with a shepherd's-crook staff on it.

He pushed his irritation aside, and kept his voice composed and indifferent.

"So? I like to play with the village children during winter, and they happened to mention my name to their parents. When the children started telling stories about how I made sure they were safe when they played in the woods, and that when ice appeared to hang down the pole, it was a warning about a bad blizzard coming, they came to the rest of the conclusions on their own. Although, admittedly, my sister gave things a nudge. She may be seventeen now, but she still believes in me and can still see me."