Secret of Frost and Moon

Family, Old and New

Alaia Skyhawk: Nope, I'm not dead. Just had a writing funk this past month. I'll post stuff as an when I get inspiration.

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 67: Family, Old and New

For two weeks, here at the trailing end of autumn, frost had gilded the morning leaves among the forests and land around the Great Lakes in America. Two weeks that hinted at the season about to begin, which for a reason no weatherman or scientist had been able to figure, always arrived with a snowfall over certain areas... Even if no snow fell anywhere else... That day was approaching, it was mid-November, and by now the people of a certain town were watching the skies waiting for those first white flakes of the arrival of winter.

Jack skimmed among the scattered clouds overhead, watching as a light dusting of snow, little more than frozen drizzle, descended upon the region north of Burgess. Some years he deliberately caused a snowfall over the town on a particular day, but others he'd find that the normal winter weather patterns would do it for him. This particular weather system would reach and drop snow on the town in two days, the coming Friday, meaning a Saturday Festival of First Snow. Weekends really were the best days for it, since more people would be able to attend.

But one matter lingered in his mind, having nothing to do with his now familiar Northern Winter routine. Winter had arrived around the Great Lakes, and there was now a Nature Immortal with territory in that zone. It was time for Kiyiya to return to his village and face the next step in adjusting to being an immortal.

Jack sighed to himself and slipped through a mirror into his Hall of Mirrors. Activating them all, calling the worlds winds, it took barely five minutes before those wisps of air had informed him that the new immortal he sought was still at the Lunar Lamadary. It was an ideal place for a Winter Spirit, seeing as the snow around the place never melted, or at least only very rarely. Yuki had taken him there two months ago, and the guess now would be that he'd spent it learning about the group he was now one of.

And whatever he'd learnt by now, would have to be enough. He'd certainly had a better start at his new life than most other immortals had managed.

With another, almost wistful sigh, Jack slipped through a mirror again and emerged within sight of the Lamadary. As unlikely as it was given it's location among the frigid peaks of the Himalayas, he'd never actually visited the place in all his three-hundred and twenty years. Sure, he'd flown over it plenty of times, but it had never felt right to intrude upon the place.

Flying towards it, Jack mused to himself the reasons for that. Like many immortals who bothered to pay attention to the goings on of the world, he'd heard numerous stories about the Lunar Lamas. About how then tended to be uninterested and bland with anyone but a few select individuals who they revered; namely Tsar Lunar and Nightlight. The original four Guardians were likely included as well, but as for Jack himself...

Prior to the Easter fiasco, it would have been a fair bet that if he'd entered the place with his reputation, they'd have sent him packing sharpish. Or the local resident yetis would have. But now?

Jack arrived above the peak and made a downward plunge, streaking out of the sky to land in a puff of wind-scattered snowflakes in the centre of the Lamadary's front courtyard. He then stood there, trying not to seem awkward, as he waited politely for someone to give him what he hoped would be a welcome. Kiyiya was new, so sympathy for his situation would have eased his way into the place. But as for the Spirit of Winter?

Barely a minute after his sudden arrival, the main doors opened and the Lunar Lamas walked out arrayed in formation behind the Grand High Lama. A very daunting sight if you knew their reputation, despite their moon-round faces and pleasant expressions. And yet at this point any and all expectations Jack may have had, were shoved aside by shock when the stately pace of advancement by the fellows, became a darting and ecstatic eager charge. One that left him surrounded by awestruck little priest-men proverbially singing his praises.