Secret of Frost and Moon

First Impressions of Santa

Alaia Skyhawk: I'm just going to mention again, that there will be no OCs paired with any canon characters in this. So as cute as Jack/Yuki might have been, she's not going to be anything more than his Lieutenant and sort-of like a little sister (even if she's WAY older than him). Sorry if that disappoints anyone, but it was never something I planned to do :)

And yep, the title of this one says exactly who is going to appear in this. On a small side-note, North's sleigh at this point isn't the fancy one he uses in the film. It's the basic one that you catch a glimpse of during Pitch's "Dark Ages" speech in the film :)

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 21: First Impressions of Santa

There was a sort of contented quiet in the Ice Palace's library, which had three more reading chairs, two more tables, and two more sets of as-yet empty shelves than had been in there a few months previous. The change was due to the room getting more use, most specifically as a classroom for reading lessons. As for who had received those lessons, from the Spirit of Winter himself, it was Yuki. The much-changed Lieutenant of Winter, who was presently seated in one of the new chairs, reading a book while several Winter Sprites snuggled around her bare feet.

Jack glanced at her, smiling at that. She took her role as Caretaker of the Winter Sprites, very seriously, and it was rare for her to be anywhere without at least one or two of them following her around. However, she was only assertive when it came to them, and only showed any real confidence whenever he or Cernunnos were around. Yuki had a long way to go to build up her confidence, but she was moving in the right direction.

Jack re-settled himself in his chair, closing the book he'd been reading. It was the fifth of December, and he'd been back here for a couple of days for a short break. That wasn't to say he'd not been to the village, in fact he'd spent most of the past two months there, but at the same time he now had a reason to come back to the Winter Sanctuary during Northern Winter. For the company of his Lieutenants, who had quickly become his good friends. For their company, which was an entirely different kind than that which he shared with his family, and with the village children.

It was turning out to be a learning experience for all three of them, for none of them were used to spending large amounts of time with other immortals. And as part of that learning experience, Jack had asked to accompany Cernunnos on the most important day of his December rounds.

Speaking of the Gifting Stag, he now walked into the library. All the doors in the Ice Palace had been enlarged to accommodate his height and his antlers, allowing him to go anywhere within the complex except for the Hall of Mirrors, since the walls around the door into there were covered with said Ice Mirrors. There was no room to make that door bigger.

Jack got up out of his chair, approaching Cernunnos who had also received a gift of attire in his new role as a Lieutenant. He now wore a harness of blue-leather straps, decorated with clear crystals and white and grey fur trim. At his shoulders the harness held a saddle-shaped piece in place which matched Jack's cloak, and where the Spirit of Winter could sit whenever the two of them are out working together. Far from being a mark of subservience to Jack, Cernunnos asked for it because it was more comfortable for him whenever he chose to carry Jack around. That and it made Jack and him both look good, like true work-partners instead of a scruffy vagabond and an oddly oversized white stag.

Jack smiled as he got closer, slinging his staff casually against his shoulder.

"Time to set off, then?"