Chapter 1
Jack Frost, the spirit of winter. The Guardian of Fun. Working together with the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, Sandman and Santa Claus, he helps bring joy and wonder and fun to children around the world who believe.
But to each other, they are known as Jack, Tooth, Bunnymund, Sandy and North. Throughout the year, they keep the children happy, and keep them believing.
But an enemy rises. Faster than expected, Pitch Black rises again. A new Guardian is chosen to help defeat him. But this time, things are a little bit different. It’s understood if she wouldn’t want to join the Guardians to help them. But what happens if Pitch gets to her first?
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Deep in the forest, where wild animals roam and rivers run swift and free, there is but a single arrow piercing the heart of a tree, the arrow’s head itself the shape of a heart.
As a Guardian, Jack knows that there’s more to the immortal life than just messing around. But as a Guardian of Fun, that’s exactly what he does every day of winter. Right now, he flies above cities and towns, big and small, bringing icy windows and snowy streets to children. Laughing and freezing everything without a care. Children wake up from their restful dreams to see delicate snowflakes falling. Some children know more than others about the mysterious creator of the winter wonderland.
Suddenly, something black and cold rushes past him, stopping him in his tracks. His face twists into an expression of confusion. Then he flies after it, seeing flashes of darkness in the corners of his eyes. After flying for a few minutes, he finds himself back at the forest, where Pitch’s lair was. There’s no bed over an entrance anymore, but something is off about the place.
“Pitch?” Jack asks out loud to nobody, looking around quickly. The dark tendrils continue to dance in the edges of his vision. When he would turn to see it clearly, it would retreat again. He couldn’t see it clearly. Then it spoke, a raspy soft voice coming from nowhere and yet everywhere.
“Why yes, Jack. But I am not the Pitch you remember. Go home, little snow man, and tell the other Guardians about the danger you shall face. All of you,” the raspy voice tells him. Jack backs up a few steps, but smiles cockily.
“In danger? What, of you? Don’t make me laugh. You aren’t even real enough to show yourself,” Jack laughs at the bare trees. “ I’m not scared of you.”
The raspy voice laughs coldly, the trees scratching at the sky. “Well, yes, it is me you should be afraid of. But Jack, beware. I will strike when you least expect it. And soon, all your precious children will stop believing again.”
Jack laughs loudly at the voice, making the darkness retreat a little farther back. He turns and jumps into the air, catching a breeze and flying away. The dark tendrils stay in the forest, Jack leaving them behind. As he flies back to the city, he shakes his head, smiling.
Pitch was defeated five years ago. He wasn’t coming back anytime soon.
Still smiling and getting back into his element, Jack lands in front of a school, where the snow hadn’t been quite deep enough and it had still been open. The bell was sure to ring in only a few minutes, but a girl was sitting on the steps already. Jack looks up at the school’s sign.
“Middle school?” Jack asks quietly to himself, taking a closer look at the girl. She looks about the same age as Jack looks, 14 or 15 at the most. Her ashy blonde hair flows down past her waist, spreading out over the concrete steps. She leans against the side of the rails on the sides of the steps, reading a book. Jack takes a step closer, and the girl’s head snaps up.
Her eyes dart around, seeming to take in every inch of Jack’s face. He recoils, the girl’s sea blue eyes giving him a scary feeling. The girl shows a small smile and goes back to her book. Jack feels an eternity pass before the school bell rings, bringing him out of his trance and making the girl stand up. She snaps her book closed and walks over to a nearby tree. Jack notices as she walks that her feet don’t sink into the snow, but instead slide over it like ice.
Just then the school doors burst open with happy kids, jumping and yelling with joy about the snow and anything else that had gone on during the school day. The girl stands to the side, watching the scenes unfold. She doesn’t seem to actually want to talk to anyone around there. She seems content with watching. Jack, against his will and his better judgement, he approaches the girl, half-expecting her to walk through him. When he gets within about 5 feet of her, she suddenly disappears, flitting out of his sight. Jack spins around, searching feverishly for her.
“Looking for me, Jack Frost?” a soft, calming, slightly British and proper voice asks from behind. Jack spins again to come face to face with the mysterious girl. He blinks a couple of times, making sure she isn’t a dream or a vision. Her sea blue eyes seem to actually be a portal to the ocean, waves crashing against the shore. Jack feels himself slipping into a trance again, but her voice brings him out of it.
“You are Jack Frost, right?” the girl asks, brushing a strand of hair from her face. Jack just nods his head, unable to speak clearly. Her eyes stare straight into his soul. But then they shift away from him, just slightly and he feels like something lifts, like a curse was raised from him. “Sorry, Jack, I didn’t mean to,” the girl says, looking down at the ground.
“N-no problem,” Jack stutters, “um... what’s your name?” Jack starts to walk backwards but the girl looks up again, freezing him in place again.
“Jack? Jack, is that you?” A familiar voice calls out from the steps of the school. The girl flies out of Jack’s vision again, perching in a tree. Jack spins around once more to see a very familiar brown-haired boy running up to him, followed by a redheaded girl. Jack forgets all about the mysterious girl for a moment, running towards the two.
“Jamie?” Jack calls out, bursting with joy. Jamie stops a few feet from Jack, Pippa stopping right behind him. Jamie looks closely at Jack’s face, his smile growing with every second.
“It is you, Jack!” Jamie cries, jumping and clapping his hands. Pippa comes towards him also, walking around him, laughing. “I can’t believe it Jack, what are you doing here?” Jamie asks the winter spirit. Jack laughs and floats up, making the wind pick up.
“What do you think I’m doing? I’m just doing what I do!” Jack says, picking up a handful of snow and throwing it across the yard, watching as the school kids start a snowball fight. Landing, Jamie gives him a quick hug, surprising Jack.
“Jamie, be careful. We’re going to get looks,” Pippa whispers loudly, pulling Jamie back. Jack gets a hurt look, but recovers quickly. “Jamie, we have to go. Sophie’s going to get worried if we don’t get her,” Pippa says.
Jamie looks down, crestfallen. Jack looks up at the tree, seeing the girl watching the scene with wide eyes. Jack looks back at Jamie, putting a hand on his shoulder. He looks up at the cold spirit with wide eyes.
“I have to go too, Jamie, but I have a feeling we’ll be meeting again soon,” Jack calls out, jumping up on a breeze and flying over to the tree where the girl had been perched.
But the girl is gone.
Chapter 2
“North!” Jack calls out, landing lightly on North’s giant globe. Then he looks around and realizes that the other Guardians were gathered as well. “Bunny? Tooth?” Jack asks, confused, jumping down with a gust of wind that blows back Bunny’s ears and Tooth’s wings.
“What’s going on?” Jack asks softly, walking towards North whose back was to Jack. Tooth looks around Jack, her face expressing concern. Jack becomes even more confused and concerned.
Then North turns around to look back Jack and instead gaze at the globe. He pushes past Jack, almost as if he wasn’t there. Tooth flies past him also, lost in her frantic thoughts. Jack looks desperately at Bunny, praying for some sort of answer. Bunny walks past Jack too, but not before quietly muttering something under his breath.
“Pitch is back, mate. A Nightmare was here,” Bunny says, slightly sad and angry in equal parts. He walks past Jack to look at the globe along with the others. Jack spins around to look at the others. They seemed so tired out and quiet, not at all the Guardians he was used to.
“Hey guys, what’s the big deal? Why are you all so upset?” Jack asks, flying up again to sit on the top of the globe. He gazes down at their faces, and realizes something.
“Wait, where’s Sandy?” Jack asks, fearing what might of happened. Tooth looks up, and smiles at Jack sadly.
“We don’t know, Jack. He’s running late, from what we can tell,” Tooth says, her small smile fading from her face. Bunny looks up at Jack, a small grin forming on his face as well.
“Knowing him, he’s probably asleep still, the gumby,” Bunny says, slightly lifting the spirits of the other Guardians. Jack smiles, slowly levitating down once more.
“Anyway, Jack, where were you? I sent out a call for all of the Guardians long before you showed up,” North asks the winter spirit, smiling knowingly. Jack smirks at the others, shrugging off their stares.
“Hey, I was just doing my job as a Guardian, North. Nothing more,” Bunny’s ears turn towards Jack, his mouth twisting into a smug smile.
“Yeah right. More like freezing over every single water pipe in your hometown, am I right?” Bunny asks, nudging Jack with a paw. Jack smiles a guilty smile, raising his shoulder to ward off the bunny.
“Alright, alright. But what do you expect?” Bunny rolls his eyes.
“I don’t know, maybe you actually do your job?” Bunny says, laughing and turning away from Jack, leaving him smiling. Then Tooth’s cry snaps him out of it.
“Sandy!” Tooth says, flying up to the open ceiling. The Sandman floats down, smiling and tipping a sand hat to his fellows.
“Sandy, where were you?” North asks the mute. Sandy forms a few Z’s above his head, indicating that he was indeed sleeping. North just laughs and turns to the circle that the other Guardians had formed. North takes a deep breath and starts a real explanation.
“Now that we have everybody here, I can explain this. I saw Pitch’s Nightmares. They... they were attacking one of my yetis outside. They ran off when I got close to it.” Bunny shakes his head, turning away.
“It’s just so unlikely, mate. After only five years, Pitch comes back?” Bunny says, twirling a boomerang around in his paw. Jack thinks about his very recent occurrence with the Nightmare King, but doesn’t mention anything.
“I agree. Pitch took forever last time to regain his strength. I just don’t believe it,” Tooth says, flitting around like always. Bunny and Sandman nod at that thought, but Jack and North exchange glances, looking up towards the moon.
“Why don’t we ask Man in Moon?” North says, turning the other Guardians heads. Jack nods, agreeing. North looks up at the moon, calling out.
“Manny, what is going on? What should we do?” North asks the bright moon. Jack looks with wide eyes as the beam casts a shadow on the floor. The dark shadows resemble the tendrils of shadows that Jack saw in the forest. His icy blue eyes widen at something rises from the floor.
“What?” Bunny cries out loudly, completely surprised. Tooth flits around again, her wings sending small rainbows dancing across the walls.
“Wait, what? What’s happening?” Jack asks, looking specifically at North. North’s eyes are as wide as dinner plates, gazing at the large crystal that had risen from the ground. North’s eyes constantly shift from the moon to the crystal, where the vision of a person starts to form.
“But that’s... that’s impossible...” Bunny mumbles. All of the Guardian’s eyes are on the crystal, save for Jack. He continuously searches their faces for some sort of clue as to what is going on.
“Jack,” North says, making him turn. North’s eyes finally move away from the crystal, where the figure was taking a long time to form. “Manny is choosing a new Guardian,” North says, looking back at the crystal.
Jack’s eyes widen as he takes in what North just told him. Then his head snaps toward the moon, suddenly filled with rage.
“What, I’m not good enough?” Jack yells towards the sky, letting loose the anger. Tooth flies over to Jack, laying a small hand on his shoulder.
“I’m sure that’s not it, Jack. Something’s off. The crystal never takes this long to form an image,” Tooth tells him, making Jack turn around. A figure was now finally starting to actually come together, and what Jack saw made him gasp.
The image in the crystal wore a long, flowing light purple cape that practically glowed with moonlight and soft, slipper-like shoes on her feet. His eyes moved up to her face, and he gasps once again for air. The image of the girl had long flowing hair that seemed to hide any flaws she may have. And her eyes, though it was just an image, seemed to stare straight into Jack’s soul.
Bunny, Tooth, and Sandy all look to North, trying to understand what was happening. For once, North looked confused and almost defeated.
“North? Who is that?” Tooth asks, flying up in front of North. North’s wide eyes lower to the floor.
“I don’t know, Tooth,” North tells her and the other Guardians. Bunny backs up a few steps, unable to comprehend what North had said.
“Who is she, then?” Jack asks, breaking the silence. Bunny looks over at Jack, realizing something about Jack’s behavior.
“I don’t know, Jack,” Bunny says, hopping over to come face to face with Jack, “why don’t we ask you that question?” Bunny says, getting very close to Jack’s face. Jack backs up a step, stumbling back into North.
“Is true, Jack. Why did you gasp so loudly? Do you know this girl?” North asks, motioning to the crystal, where the girl was now clearly formed by the beams.
Jack tries to back away guiltily, but the other Guardians close in on him, trapping him in a circle. Jack pursues his lips, his eyes darting around, unable to decide what to say. “I...I don’t know her, really. I...I just...” Jack cuts off, flying up out of the circle and landing a few feet away. All of the Guardians turn to look at him, giving him glances that made him feel extremely guilty. Jack turns away and jumps away from them, onto the globe.
“Jack,” Tooth flies up next to Jack, levitating by his side, “do you know that girl or not?” Tooth asks, for once being completely calm and serious. Jack sighs, deciding to tell the what he could.
“I don’t know her, like I said. But... I think I just met her today. I don’t even know her name, or what her powers might even be,” Jack confesses. Tooth recoils, lowering herself to the floor, surprised at how strange Jack sounds. He had his head towards the sky, his eyes glazed over. North cocks his head, looking up at Jack.
“Jack, are you alright?” North asks, concerned for him. Jack takes a few moments, and then he shakes his head and comes out of a trance. His eyes clear and he jumps down, walking past the Guardians.
“Where you going, mate?” Bunny asks as Jack passes him. Jack stops cold, almost like he’s trying to decide what he was doing. Then he almost imperceptibly nods his head, deciding on something. He turns around, his ice blue eyes on fire with determination.
“That girl,” Jack uses his staff to point at the crystal that had just began to sink back into the ground, “was chosen to be a Guardian. But we don’t even know her name. So,” Jack leans against his staff, a cocky smile taking over his face, “I’m going to find out who she is,” Jack smiles one last time at his fellow Guardians before turning quickly, bouncing on his toes and flying off into the cloudless sky, back to his hometown where he would hope to find the mysterious girl.
Chapter 3
The next day, Jack finds himself flying an a trance, his instincts keeping him from crashing. His mind was flying in a whole different universe, thinking about the strange girl that, within the course of a few hours, stole his complete attention span. He couldn’t stop thinking about all the coincidences that had lead up to the moment where he was flying numbly towards his hometown to find a girl that he didn’t know anything about, except that her eyes always captured his when they caught his gaze.
Glowing golden eyes stare as the winter spirit passes their various hiding places in alleyways and on windowsills. A pulsating tendril of dark sand darts in and out of the sight of sight of Jack’s glazed over eyes, searching around for something. It twists and turns, trying to keep up with the wind.
The dark snake coils itself, unnoticed, around Jack’s ankle, steadily slowing down the spirit’s flight, until Jack is just hovering. The snake continues its way up around Jack’s body, constricting him, pinning his arms to his body and finally making him snap out of his trance.
“Hey!” Jack cries out, breaking out of the tendril’s grip, only to be attacked by several more, drawn by the Jack’s cry. He continues just swatting through the thin snakes with his staff, smiling in contempt when they would burst into dust, sprinkling the streets below. Nightmare after Nightmare comes flying towards Jack, only to explode into hissing grains of sand.
Jack looks around towards the dark corners of the sky and the buildings below. He realizes how far he had come in the time that he had been entranced, and that he was very close to his goal. Jack smiles cockily at the dark crevices. “You know, Pitch, this is not that hard,” Jack says while swatting another dark snake, “I would have thought you would come up with something better,” As Jack continues taunting, he lessens the attention he gives to the dark sand, and suddenly he feels his staff being ripped out of his hands, thrown down to the street below. Small icy sparks glint as it twirls on its downward spiral. Jack gazes at his hand, not understanding or believing what had happened. His head snaps up, his eyes shifting upward to the thing that had stolen his staff.
A snake as tall as Jack and as thick as a tree trunk coils itself in circles, its head raised and looking down onto Jack. Its tail inches out from behind the coils and in a flash, Jack feels himself being constricted in coils and coils of the snake. The head of it weaves in and out of his reach, flicking a forked tongue at Jack here and there. The snake coils once around his neck and squeezes, making it hard for him to breathe.
The snake hears something in the distance, a call from its fellow Nightmares. It uncoils itself from Jack, and rushes off, snapping its tail and leaving the white-haired spirit falling hard, rocketing towards the ground and landing hard on his back. As an immortal, Jack doesn’t feel pain like this, but he does get the wind knocked out of him. As he sits there panting, waiting for the feeling to fade, he slowly turns his head, taking in his surroundings. The small alleyway was far enough from the street, not being lit up by the dim street lights. As his eyes adjust to the orange glow cast by the lights far off, he feverishly looks around for his staff that had landed in this alley.
A shadow flits into the alley, moving swiftly and surely towards Jack. The shadow shifts as it moves, something shrinking from its back. Jack looks up at the shape, helpless without his staff, just hoping it doesn’t notice him in the very dim light.
The shadow stops a few yards from Jack, interested in the ground in front of it. A hand reaches out and grabs something that had been lying there. As the shadow lifts the object up, Jack can’t help but to quietly gasp in frustration and anger. “My staff!” Jack whispers, furious. Then he gathers his courage and calls out loudly, standing up. “Hey, you, that’s my staff!” The thing’s head snaps toward Jack, two golden eyes glowing in the night. Instead of walking towards him, it takes a step back, shifts again, and flits away.
Jack runs toward the street, intending to catch a glimpse of the thief. But he sees nothing. Gazing around in a combination of fear, anger, and awe, he looks for any sign of either the thing that took his staff or the girl he had come for.
But to no avail. Shrugging in defeat, Jack turns towards the direction of the school, just as the sun starts coming up. A beautiful orange sunrise outlines Jack’s face, streams of sunlight glinting off his hair and twinkling in his ice blue eyes.
The sunlight also outlines a small piece of paper floating down from the sky, from seemingly nobody. It flutters down onto the street, unnoticed by Jack or anybody else. The light breeze continuously blows it away from him until it lands against the side of the building, where it stays put long enough for the ruined message to be read.
O_LY TH_ B_E_IN__NG
Chapter 4
“Find him”
A dark, billowing shadow crosses the street, untouched by the orange light of the street lights. The shape shifts and changes as it moves, never a solid shape for long. As it passes an alleyway, it stops, turning towards the other dark shape inside, outlined by the pale, dim light of the lamps. It takes a few steps towards the shape, intending on helping them. The shape twists and lifts its head, blue eyes shining in the dark. The billowing shape stares at the blue-eyed creature with golden eyes, staring into their soul.
Breaking the contest, the shadow looks down with its golden eyes, spotting a curved stick on the ground. The voice inside its head speaks again.
“Bring it to me”
The shadow cocks its head, confused.
“But why, master?”
“It shall cripple my worst enemy, the only one who can kill me. You must grab it and break it. I will reward you.”
“But...but...”
The shadow shakes the growing cobwebs out of its mind, clearing its head. As the shadow’s mind comes back into control, it looks down to see a hooked staff in its hands.
“Hey!”
The shadow looks up with interest and fear in its golden eyes, staring at the blue-eyed creature who had called to it. Shifting and changing as it backs out of the alley and away from the ice-blue eyed creature, it suddenly flies away from that place, carrying the hooked stick.
As the shadow flies away, it finally recovers its true memory and not the fake things the darkness had grown instead. The shadow looks down to look at their find while they were under the darkness’s influence. A strange stick, like a shepherd's staff is held by their slender hands. As it watches it, the frost that had been on it slowly fades away. Its mind suddenly thinks of the name of the blue-eyed creature.
Jack Frost.
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Later in the day, when the sun is beating down on the crystalline snow that had accumulated over the past few days, Jack finds his way to the school where he had met the girl. His mind was still spinning with thoughts about her and the attack he had gone through that had resulted in the loss of his staff. His thoughts focus on the entity that had stolen the one object that Jack couldn’t function without. The thing didn’t seem to be a Nightmare because of how it moved, but those eyes...
“Hey, Jack?” calls a feminine voice from behind Jack, making the spirit whirl around. Since the morning he had been extremely jumpy and his senses were heightened, on the lookout for Nightmares and the girl. But instead of the girl he was looking for, he came face to face with a beautiful redheaded girl with chocolate eyes and a tan hat.
“Pippa?” Jack asks, truly looking at her for the first time. Her red hair was shining and looked soft as silk, her eyes the complete opposite of the mystery girl’s; warm, comforting, and fun-loving. Pippa holds herself high and straight, obviously proud of who she is and what she stands for. Pippa clears her throat, bringing Jack’s attention back to her face.
“Yes. And I have something to ask of you, and I need to make it quick,” Pippa states calmly but hurriedly. She casts a quick look over her shoulder before continuing with her thought. “Listen, Jack, I think you need to avoid coming around here for a while. Jamie wouldn’t shut up about it yesterday and I’m afraid of what it might do to him,” Pippa finishes, casting another look before looking Jack straight into his icy eyes, which had become almost watery with each word from Pippa’s mouth. She stares at him, expecting some sort of answer.
“What do you mean, do to him?” is the only thing Jack can think to say. His voice sounds very accusing and Pippa takes a step back.
“Jack, think about it. After the whole ‘battling-our-worst-nightmares’ thing and you leaving, Jamie was seriously depressed. He couldn’t stop talking about you with our friends and other people at school. Only this year did he actually learn to keep his mouth shut about that stuff. Don’t get me wrong, all of our friends still believe, but... we keep quiet about it. There are some people that love to tease him about it still. I’m just afraid that he’ll make a fool of himself if he talks about you,” Pippa explains, constantly watching for people that would see her talking to air. Jack sags, understanding Pippa’s explanation but not liking it.
“So, I can’t ever talk to him, is that what you want?” Jack asks, still accusing Pippa. She loses some of her cool when she replies to him.
“Yes, Jack, I guess so, because then what? Soon enough you would have to leave for another five years, and it would start the cycle all over again. Jamie’s my best friend, and I don’t want to see him hurt like that again,” Pippa says, finally turning away from Jack and walking into the school, leaving the winter spirit sad and lonely.
Just then, Jack notices something drifting down from above him in the tree branches. Holding his hand out, he gazes at a fine golden dust, almost like sand running through his fingers. Looking up in time to get an eyeful sprayed in his face, the spirit throws his head down, rubbing his eyes feverishly to remove the sand. But then, all of a sudden, every grain of it disappears from his eye and his hands and hair.
Jack looks up into the tree branch to see the girl, lying on her stomach along the branch, her long ashy hair waving in the breeze and her finger stirring the air like it was water. Using the same finger, without words, she points towards the school, where the last kids were filing in. It’s also where Jack notices a very familiar stick leaning up against the school wall.
“My staff!” Jack cries, rushing towards it and grabbing it from its resting place. Instantly, the frost that had melted and faded away the night before grew again, reaching for the tips of the staff with long, fragile, icy fingers. Smiling, Jack waves his staff around, making the wind pick up. He turns back to the girl in the tree, to thank her, but she wasn’t there.
Jack blinks a few times, trying to understand. She was there, right? She wasn’t an illusion made by Jack’s mind? No, she was real. The dust was real.
Jack gazes down at his staff again, wondering for the first time how it came to be here, of all places. Why would a Nightmare bring it here? Wouldn’t Pitch want it?
Was it all a tease, a plan to trick Jack into letting his guard down? Maybe, but the attack by the Nightmares had done nothing of the sort. Instead, Jack hadn’t let his guard down this entire morning...
“Jack?” another voice from behind Jack makes him jump, pointing the staff at the mystery person. The girl stands there, looking at the staff’s end with mild interest, but mostly a bored, unimpressed look. As soon as Jack knows who it is, he lowers his staff slowly, cautiously. The girl just smiles faintly at his actions. When she speaks again, her voice casts a spell over Jack, making his muscles stop working and his arms fall down to his side.
“Listen, I don’t know why you are here now, or what relationship you have with that boy and the girl, but... Why do you keep coming around here?” She asks, all the while staring at him intently with her eyes, keeping the spell on him. Then she averts her eyes, releasing him to speak with her. Jack stutters as he speaks, something about the girl making him nervous.
“I... I came here because... because of you,” Jack admits, his pale face gaining a faint pink tint. The girl’s head snaps up, her eyes on him once more. Somehow, Jack didn’t feel the spell descend on him like every other time. The girl’s ocean blue eyes fade into a very light shade of hazel, two sparkling emeralds surrounded by her ashy hair, a surprised look clouding them over. Then it fades as quickly as it came, and she lowers her head again slightly.
“What do you mean, because of me? Nobody cares about me...” the girl mumbles to the ground, Jack only catching the first part. Her eyes fill with tears unseen by Jack, who continues his thought, first quiet and embarrassed, but he gains confidence and energy as he speaks.
“Well, at first I just landed here, and saw you. I was... curious. I mean, you should be in school right now,” Jack says, finishing with a playful, accusing voice. The joke goes right over the girl’s head and she continues to stare at the ground, even more tears pricking her eyes.
“But, then, you looked up, and you could see me! But then you disappeared, and reappeared behind me and-”
“Shut UP!” the girl yells, flitting out of Jack’s sight. Jack spins around a couple of times, there always being something in the corner of his vision to make him spin once more. Then he looks up towards the tree to see the girl sitting on the branch again, her legs swinging and her eyes a blazing red.
“What? What did I do?” Jack asks, confused. The girl turns her head, looking off into the distance. Her hair flows over the back of her clothes, which seemed to be shifting and changing as she sat there, changing into the robes the crystal had depicted.
“What did you do? Jack, that’s an interesting question,” The girl says after a few moments of silence. Jack looks up at her with surprise. Finally, he notices a single tear glistening in her eye, a tiny crystal in front of the ruby. “You didn’t do anything, Jack.”
The girl’s shoulders sag, as if she let everything fall down on her at once. Her blazing red eyes fade, in front of Jack’s own eyes, into a deep, depressing, hopeless and endless black.
“It’s what I did.”
Chapter 5
The girl shifts on the tree branch, her silky robes fluttering in the winter breeze. She slowly twists and jumps down, landing as light as a cat. She brushes her way past a speechless Jack, her hair tickling his nose as the breeze blows it his way. Jack’s ice blue eyes are on her as she looks up to the sky, closing her deep black eyes and sighing.
Then her eyes snap open and she seems to become a whole other person. She flits out of Jack’s sight, appearing again at the bottom of the school’s steps. Then she walks into the school, disappearing from his sight as the door closes behind her. His mind debates the pros and cons of following her until the school bell rings and kids pour out of the doors.
“School’s out already?” Jack asks out loud, confused. Then he sees the girl, maneuvering her way through the crowd of kids. Jack sees her flit in and out of his sight and wonders what she’s doing.
“You coming, Jack?” the girl asks, as she had just appeared in front of him. Jack jumps, still not used to her and her powers. Not giving him time for a yes or no, she runs over back towards the school’s stairs, where a girl and a very red-faced boy were talking. The mysterious girl walks towards them, obviously excited about something. Jack raises an eyebrow at her behavior.
“Is this the same girl I was talking to five minutes ago?” Jack asks himself, smirking.
The girl reaches the two kids on the steps and touches the boy’s shoulder. He jerks forward, almost yelling something at the girl in front of him. The girl steps back, putting a hand on her chest in surprise. Then her mouth shifts into a smile and she throws herself at the boy in a hug, the boy acting surprised at first but then he relaxes into it.
The mysterious girl flits back a few steps, observing the scene. Some of the boy’s friends come up to the red faced boy and his face turns even redder. The girl’s friends rush up to her and chat excitedly, one of them even jumping for joy.
Jack walks a few steps towards the mystery girl, but she just flits back to Jack’s side.
“I love it when I can see this. They always look so happy, it’s amazing,” the girl says, a happy tear now forming in her eyes, which had returned to a bright ocean blue. Jack looks over at the girl, amazed at how happy and carefree she seemed to be.
“What... what did you do? I mean, what happened over there?” Jack managed to get out, stuttering a little. The girl smiles, still keeping her eyes on the group on the stairs.
“That boy was trying to ask the girl out, but he was too afraid. Of rejection, of his own failure. But, with a little burst of courage, he was able to ask the girl of his dreams to go out with him, and you know what? She said yes. That beautiful girl, who he thought was way out of his league, said yes. Do you know how heartwarming that is to me, Jack?” the girl says, smiling genuinely for once. Jack just stares at her as she keeps her eyes on the school.
Then, the girl comes out of the trance and fades back into the mysterious person Jack had first met. She moves forward a step, about to take off and leave.
“Wait!” Jack cries out, stopping the girl. She turns towards him, her eyes piercing him. “Where are you going?” he asks, reaching out a hand. The girl steps back, her eyes turning a sad gray.
“Nowhere.” she says, turning away once more. But Jack wasn’t going to give up on her yet.
“Well, then, if you don’t have somewhere to go, why don’t you come with me?” Jack blurts out. The girl turns back to him, a surprised look growing in her eyes. Jack continues talking, trying to persuade her. “The other Guardians really want to meet you.”
“Meet me? Why?” the girl asks, her voice cracking with emotion. Her eyes gain a bit of color as Jack talks.
“I told them about you, and they’re curious,” Jack makes up, regretting making a small lie to the girl. “You should feel lucky I didn’t let North do it his way,” Jack mumbles, making a faint smile play on the girl’s lips.
“Yes, I know what you mean. But why would he use drastic measures like that if he only wanted to meet me?” The girl asks, raising an eyebrow at Jack as he smirks back at her.
“Well, North is just crazy like that,” Jack says, pausing a little after his last word, like he’s missing something.
“Alright, well, if you want me to meet the other Guardians, then I guess I can spare a few minutes,” the girl says, smiling. Jack smiles back, takes the girl’s hand before she can change her mind and catches the wind, flying off towards the pole.
______________________________________________________________________________
“Jack? Have you brought the girl?” North asks as Jack lands lightly down in front of the Guardians. Jack smiles and nods, turning and holding his hand out with a flourish, revealing the girl to the other Guardians. North’s eyes widen and Bunny’s ears lift with interest.
The girl’s ocean blue eyes seem to shift like actual waves are inside them, flowing and crashing against the shore of her iris. As the girl walks, her eyes and her hair and her beautiful face are all the Guardians have eyes for. Even Tooth can’t help but gaze at her magnificent blue eyes.
The girl walks to Jack’s side, unsure of the Guardians behavior. Her eyes shift to the ground and the Guardians can move and speak again. Bunny and North relax, for they had been standing completely still and stiff. Tooth flutters her wings and hovers a few feet from the ground, looking to North to break the silence.
“So, this is her, Jack? This is the girl who-” North starts, but Jack cuts him off with a swift hand motion swiping across his throat.
“Yes, this is the girl I told you about, North,” Jack finished the unfinished sentence Jack sends the Guardians, especially North, a look that tells them to go along with it. The girl looks up, curious, at Jack, and he quickly smirks at her to cover up his motions. The girl steps away from Jack’s side and goes up to North, examining him with her piercing blue eyes. North feels very stiff and unable to move as her eyes examine his tattoos on his arms and his round face.
“Um, excuse me, but can you tell us who you are?” Bunny asks impatiently. The girl’s eyes shift over to him for a split second, then she ignores Bunny completely, turning back towards Jack and the door. Her ashy hair flies out behind her, seeming to reach for Bunny and the others.
“Listen to me, Bunny, North, Tooth. I am not someone you want to associate yourself with if you want to keep children happy, which I know you do. Though I haven’t been alive long, I am... not a good choice. And you, Jack,” the girl says, talking to the door until she turns to Jack, freezing him with her eyes. “You should stop looking for me. I am not someone who you want to become friends with.”
With that said, the girl turns back to the door and walks towards it, leaving the Guardians. Before she can open the door, Jack calls out to her.
“Wait. Why can’t I be your friend? Why are you not a good choice?” Jack asks, confused and hurt. The girl looks at Jack with sad gray eyes.
“I would like to let my name speak for myself, if you truly want to know,” the girl says, sighing slightly. All of the Guardians nod.
“What’s your name?” Jack asks the girl almost soothingly, making her sigh once again, her eyes fading into black.
“Jinx.”
Chapter 6
Only the sound of the large door swinging shut can be heard in the silence of the room. All of the Guardians stand completely still, starstruck at the girl, who they now knew as Jinx. Then, Tooth breaks the silence by fluttering her wings, sending a soft hum through the room and breaking the spell that had fallen on the Guardians.
Jack is the second to move and break the spell cast on him. He relaxes him muscles and takes a breath, shaking off the last of the spell’s tendrils. He flies over to the door, intent on following the girl.
“Jack, stop,” North calls, stopping Jack in his tracks, his hand still on the doorknob. North as well as Bunny and Tooth are shaking their heads slightly, unable to get rid of the spell’s feeling. “Do not follow her yet. We need to make plan,” North says, waving Jack over. Jack looks to the side, debating. Bunny and Tooth look over expectantly at Jack, making him crumble and walk back to the other Guardians.
“Well, that didn’t work,” Bunny says, summing it up. Jack nods, as well as the others. North gives Jack a curious look, seeing the glazed look in the icy eyes of the winter spirit.
“What was that, Jack? Why did you stop me from talking to her?” North accuses the white-haired spirit, whose words seem to go right over his head. North raises a large, bushy eyebrow at Jack’s behavior. North places his hand on Jack’s shoulder, making him shake out of the trance.
“What?” Jack asks, almost sleepily. Bunny rolls his eyes as North repeats himself. Jack lowers his eyes to the floor, unable to sum it up.
“North, I didn’t want a repeat of what happened with me, alright? I want to be the one to tell her, and I want her to trust me before I do,” Jack says, his eyes still on the floor. North clenches his fists, frustrated.
“But Jack, Pitch is out there and he could strike anytime. That girl, Jinx, might be our only chance,” Tooth says, flitting over to Jack and laying a small hand on his shoulder. Jack looks up at her, a fiery determination in his eyes.
“But then again, if we tell her right away, it will be me all over again! Except this time... Pitch will make sure... every kid... stops believing... no matter what,” Jack starts out, confident and strong, but as he continues his voice becomes softer and more muffled.
Bunny’s ears prick up, signifying a thought in his head. “Anyways, what was with her whole act, you know, about her name?”
Jack looks over to Bunny. “I don’t know. But she... she seemed so sad...” Jack says quietly, his eyes lowering to the floor again.
North and Bunny share a look, then look at Jack.
“Go, Jack,” North says, making the spirit’s snap up to look at the Guardians. He cocks his head, a look of confusion on his face. North’s mouth curves into a smile, making Jack’s mouth twitch also.
“You’re the best bet of getting that girl back here, Jack. Go get her,” Bunny says, making Jack mouth curve into a wide smile as well. He raises his staff, making a cold breeze blow through the room. As it dies down, he rushes out of the room, intent on finding the girl that had, in only two days, become the center of his problems and his life.
Jinx
_______________________________
So many time since that first day had Jack dreamed of and thought of the girl he now knew as Jinx. The mysterious aura she gives off is like light to a moth; completely mesmerizing. She became the center of his life, his past, present, and future.
Jack shakes his head, clearing all of the mushy thoughts that had clouded it. He smirks sheepishly and a look of embarrassment grows on his face, a faint pink tint growing as well.
“What am I thinking? I just met her!” Jack says out loud, scolding himself with a smile on his face. Though he tries to forget about those thoughts and just focus on finding her, he can’t help but drift off into the sleep-like trance that had become so familiar to him.
Jack starts thinking out several places that Jinx could actually be. She loved seeing the drama that went on daily at a middle school. But it was unlikely that she would be there, especially since she had warned him to stay away from her.
Then, just like that, Jack gets an urge to go somewhere where he knew she wouldn’t be, and yet... he changes his course to speed towards the bare, wooden hands scratching endlessly at the sky.
________________________
Darkness
Forever... Darkness
It is my world
I cannot escape
the darkness clouds my head
my eyes, my ears
with falseness
...
...
...
I must serve.
Chapter 7
Jack takes a deep breath before letting the wind let go of him, touching down on the soft dirt. His bare feet spread small tendrils of ice along the slightly damp mud, making it become a frozen mess. Jack looks around, certain that Jinx wouldn’t be here but having a strange feeling that she would all the same. It was such a bizarre feeling that Jack doubts his own mind for a second. He feels dark snakes taking a stab at his mind, seeping all of the happiness and joy from it and leaving nothing but negativity. The snakes aren’t real, but the bites that Jack can feel certainly make him believe they are. Several small indentations appear on his arm, as well as on the back of his neck. Pressing against the skin, stretching it out.
Blood
Suddenly, the skin bursts in a fantastic show of crimson drops staining the ground. The fluid flows into the ground, nurturing it. Jack can almost see how the blood... his blood... feeds the ground, fertilizing it. His hands fly to the back of his neck but slide off, slick with...
Nothing
Jack’s hands slide off of the back of his neck by his own account, surprised to feel no pain or blood there or anywhere else anymore. It had gone as quick as it had come. He raises his hands to his face, gazing at the perfect, snow-white skin. Not a scratch or a drop of blood on them.
“What just happened?” Jack asks himself, obviously shaken up and confused. He looks around, trying to find the attacker hidden somewhere, but nothing except the bare trees were visible to him. Jack’s ice blue eyes scan his surroundings, failing to find anything out of the ordinary. Suddenly frightened, he quickly leaves the woods, hoping to find Jinx quickly.
A single pair of glowing golden eyes follow the spirit’s path across the sky until he disappears from view.
_________
Jack touches down on the top of a building back in his hometown, visibly shaking with nerves. He takes a deep breath and tries to calm himself down, thinking through what had happened.
Something had made him think that he was being hurt, the pain was so real. His neck... his arms... they had been burning, on fire. Jack raises his arms once again to his face, gazing at the places where he had felt the punctures. And once again, only the smooth, snow white skin shone in Jack’s eyes. He saw no wounds or blood of any kind there.
As Jack stands up, he continues to try and puzzle it out. He’s so lost in thought about the mysterious attack that his mind almost forgets all about Jinx. The new Guardian, the mysterious girl with powers that nobody knew what they were, was close to being lost from Jack’s mind. As the Guardian sent to find her, it was strange that he was the one taken to the attack.
“Wait, taken? Where did that come from?” Jack asks himself, furrowing his eyebrows in concentration. When he thinks about it though, the word makes complete sense for the situation. Something had possessed Jack, only for a short second, but it was enough to convince his mind that the forest would be the right place to look. His priorities had been altered by another force. Something that wasn’t him.
Jack puts one hand on his knee, shaking as he slowly gets to his feet. His knees wobble as he bounces on his toes, jumping into the air and letting the wind carry him for a while. Light as a snowflake, the wind blows him around above the town. Jack lays on his stomach in midair, watching as the town goes about its everyday business. Controlling the winds, he touches down at the edge of town, near a pond. His bare feet freeze the water over with the slightest touch, letting him walk on the cold surface. Icy tendrils reach out from underneath him, as the water becomes ice.
Jack looks around, energized but at the same time, he feels an ominous feeling blowing with the winter winds. The tree branches scratch at the sky and the evergreen arms reach for the blue. In this place, he feels overwhelmed with emotions, good and bad. Fright, anticipation, anxiety, courage. They all flood over Jack, drowning him, making him go mad. Jack shakes it off the best he can and heads deeper into the trees, intent on finding the source.
____________________________
The first thing that Jack notices as he walks through the woods is the lack of sound. There are no birds or bugs chirping and singing, instead, the only sound is the wind whistling through the empty tree branches. Even though it was still cool out, the flashes of spring weather should have invited some birds to the trees and some bugs to the ground. Nothing except the soft sounds of the wind...
Until a sweet bell-like sound hits his ears. Like an angelic choir, the sound captivates Jack’s attention fully, and for the second time in the last day, he finds himself going towards an unknown force that had full control over him.
This time, even his mind is under the influence. He can’t think straight. His only goal now was to find the source of the beautiful sounds.
As Jack continues through the trees, the sounds become notes, the notes become a melody, and finally Jack can make out words coming from the source. As he comes closer, somehow one word makes its way to the surface of his controlled mind.
Siren
Something had brought the word to the forefront of his mind, letting him absorb it. But the definition didn’t come until a few moments later.
A siren, a creature that becomes something that is most attractive to their prey to lure it to it’s death. Sometimes, they also use song to capture their prey.
As those thoughts work their way through Jack’s slowed brain, his heart rate starts to increase as his feet continue towards the singer. Was he becoming prey to a singing Siren?
Then, Jack’s feet stop moving. The singing is clear as day, coming from less than ten feet away from him, but he doesn’t move forward. The song continues to cast a spell on him, but now it seems like it just wants him to listen. Jack’s mind is slowly released and the song’s lyrics ring clearly in his ears. Quickly he realizes that the song isn’t in his language.
Itsumo hitori de aruiteta Furikaeru to minna wa tooku
Sore demo atashi wa aruita Sore ga tsuyosa datta
Mou nani mo kowaku nai Sou tsubuyaite miseru
Itsuka hito ha hitori ni natte Omoide no naka ni ikiteku dake
Kodoku sae Aishi waratterareru you ni Atashi ha tatakau n da
Namida nante misenai n da
Itsumo hitori de aruiteta Iku saki ni ha gake ga matteta
Sore demo atashi ha aruita Tsuyosa no shoumei no tame
Fukitsukeru tsuyoi kaze Ase de SHATSU ga haritsuku
Itsuka wasurete shimaeru nara Ikiru koto sore ha tayasui mono
Bougyaku no kanata he to ochite iku nara Sore ha nigeru koto darou
As Jack listens to the song, he finds himself paying attention to the melody rather than the words themselves. The sweet, sad song fills him with a million different emotions. The song may be a love song for all Jack would know, but the way it was being sung... it sounds hopeless and lonely.
Suddenly, he realizes that he can move his feet with his own free will again. He doesn’t know exactly when it happened, but the singer had released the spell.
Jack turns on his toes, intending on getting out of the trees as fast as he can before the singer decides to cast another spell, but this time his curiosity wins out over fear. Jack finds himself creeping closer to the source of the music. He lifts up a branch of a bush and almost gasps aloud with shock.
Sitting in a small clearing, with her feet soaking in a cold pond, was none other than the girl Jack had been looking for. Her ashy hair brushes as the grass that had begun to grow. Her back is to Jack, and she’s facing the dark trees across from him.
Suddenly, Jinx stops singing altogether, startled by something. Jack retreats slightly, trying to hide deeper in the brush. Jinx stands up, hardly making a sound as she moves. She slowly scans the treeline around her, her ocean blue eyes not missing a single movement. Jack holds his breath when her eyes pass over him, continue on ahead, then flick back to his position. Jack tries to hold himself as still as possible, but he was sure Jinx could hear his heart racing.
Then her eyes move on and Jack silently sighs with relief. The feeling doesn’t last, however, as Jack sees movement behind Jinx. Her head snaps immediately towards the movement and slight scuffling noises. Her blue eyes look indifferent as she waits for whatever lurks in the bushes to come to her.
Jack almost jumps out of his hiding place when he sees a huge gray and white blur jump out of the bushes, on the path to crush Jinx. Jack catches a flash of claws and wicked sharp teeth before the monster is on her.
Chapter 8
The gray monster snarls and snaps in Jinx’s direction and something shifts inside Jack. For a moment, time seems to slow down, and he spends an eternity trying to move his limbs. They feel like lead, unable to move fast enough to do anything. But suddenly, time bursts into full speed with a flurry of colors and sounds as Jack springs out of the bushes, knocking Jinx out of the way of the snarling monster’s path. Jack hears a small yelp as he lands hard on the ground, his eyes scrunched closed.
A few moments later, Jack opens his eyes blearily, unable to comprehend what had just happened. But as he sits up achingly, he sees Jinx had already stood up and had her back facing him, her hand only inches over the monster’s muzzle.
Jack cranes his neck, looking around Jinx to get a good look at the ‘monster’ that had attacked her. Its white fur is streaked with gray and small gray rings surround its golden, honey-colored eyes. Its furry tail slowly swishes back and forth, its teeth bared menacingly.
‘A wolf? What’s that doing here?’ Jack thinks to himself as he watches Jinx circle around it. The golden eyes follow her and eventually she gets the large wolf into a position where it isn’t facing Jack. The wolf’s golden eyes pierce Jinx’s, as hers do the wolf. Jinx holds the stare with the large dog long enough to snake her hand behind her back and grab something from a back pocket.
Bringing her hand out again, palm up, she lets the large wolf sniff whatever is in her palm. Then, with a quick flick of her wrist, she flings it up into the air. The wolf’s muzzle snaps it up, crunching on it loudly. The wolf looks up at Jinx when it finishes.
Jinx’s eyes give away a small amount of amusement as she kneels down and puts her hand on its muzzle. The wolf nuzzles her, bringing its tongue out to give Jinx a slobbery kiss on the cheek. A smile threatens to shine through as the corners of her mouth twitch. She scratches the top of the wolfs head as its tail wags in enjoyment.
Suddenly, Jinx remembers what had just happened and her head snaps up, her eyes immediately freezing Jack in place. He tries to move his limbs but they feel like lead once again. Jinx stands up slowly, keeping her eyes on Jack. His eyes also follow hers, as he’s unable to move them of his own free will. As Jinx starts to walk over to Jack, the wolf snuffles and snarls, following her like a dog does his master.
Jinx quickly reaches Jack, and doesn’t say anything as she averts her gaze, letting Jack’s limbs move freely again. Her bell-like voice rings clear, reminding Jack of only a minute ago where she was singing so beautifully.
“Jack, why are you here?” Jinx asks, averting her gaze slightly to let Jack loose. Those few words, said with no emotion at all, would be enough to kill Jack if he weren’t a spirit. The lack of emotion told him that she was furious on the inside. His thought was confirmed by the wolf. Sensing its master’s agitation towards Jack, it stalks towards him, baring its teeth and snarling horribly. Jinx looks down at the wolf slowly making its way towards Jack, and crosses her arms. The look on her face shifts into one of distaste and displeasure. Jack shrinks back from her, pushing himself deeper into the bushes he had landed in.
Jinx sighs deeply and calls the wolf away from Jack. “Okami, come here,” she says in a clear voice. The wolf gives Jack one last look at its razor sharp teeth and backs away, turning to go to its master’s side. Jinx reaches down with one hand, petting the large animal. She speaks to Jack without lifting her eyes from the ground, as he gets up shakily.
“Listen. I don’t know why you are here, but I want you to leave. Now.” Jinx tells him, emphasizing the last word. Jack steps back into the brush behind him, trying to hide. Jinx rolls her ocean blue eyes, annoyed at the fact that he wasn’t talking.
“I...I... Sorry!” Jack sputters, spitting out the words while eyeing the wolf. Being in Jinx’s presence made him nervous and he couldn’t think clearly.
Jinx turns away, walking back to the small pond where she had been before. She whistles shrilly with her teeth, making the wolf follow her and keeping it away from Jack.
Jack takes a step towards Jinx, his arm outstretched, trying to form words to explain, but all he can think of it, “You have a pet wolf?”
As soon as he said it, Jinx’s head snaps up, looking far off into the distance. The wolf, however, turns around and snarls once again at Jack. The wolf seemed to be very protective of Jinx and didn’t want Jack to get any closer.
“Okami, calm down,” Jinx says, absently putting a hand on the creature’s back. Jack blinks, tilting his head, wondering what had set it off. Jinx quickly answers his question.
“Okami isn’t a pet to me. She’s not someone that can just be told to do something and she’ll do it. Okami is... my best friend,” Jinx turns around, kneeling down next to the gray wolf and gazing at it. “I don’t know what it is, but I have a connection with her. Isn’t that right?” Jinx asks the wolf. Jack furrows his eyebrows. Jinx actually expects the wolf to talk back!
There are a few moments of silence, then she stands up again, gazing at a spot right beside Jack so she doesn’t freeze him. “Now that we’ve had this whole cozy reunion...” Jinx says in an accusing tone, “I want to know why you’re here.”
Jack had had plenty of time to organize his story, but as soon as he started talking, he just rambled on and on.
“I... I heard you singing. It.. put me under some kind of spell. I had no choice but to come here, Jinx. It’s not my fault, it’s...” Jack’s voice fades as Okami starts growling at him. She seemed to know what he was going to say, and didn’t like it. Jack steps away from her as he continues his story. “Anyways...” Jack tries to continue, but is stopped by Jinx. She holds the back of her hand up, gesturing for him to stop talking.
“Alright, I get it. But now...” Jinx turns around, looking directly at Jack, “I want you to leave here. NOW!” Jinx yells, closing her eyes. Jack jumps, runs forward to grab his staff, and flies away in a brief gust of cold icy wind. Jinx opens her blazing red eyes to see him disappear into the horizon. Jinx takes a deep breath and her eyes fade into a beautiful hazel color. She gazes almost longingly at the horizon. Okami comes to her side, sniffing at her hand, seeing if there was anything else in it.
Okami brings Jinx out of her trance, and a trace of a smile forms on her lips. She looks down at her. Okami looks back with her intelligent golden eyes.
“Oh, Okami,” Jinx says airily with a sigh, looking off into the distance again. “What should I do? I can’t even control it anymore. It can happen anytime. What if...” Jinx’s voice fades away as she closes her eyes, letting a warm breeze blow the stray hairs off her shoulders.
The beams from the sun shine down on her face, lighting her face with golden rays of light. She lifts her chin towards the break in the clouds, closing her eyes and letting the warmth wash over her.
Slowly, the clouds continue on their way across the sky. Sluggishly they crawl, covering up blue and gold. The rays weaken and thin out, fading away from the trees. A single beam breaks away from the clouds longer than the rest, illuminating Jinx’s ashy hair and flawless, creamy skin.
Jinx opens her hazel eyes, the sunlight reflecting off of them like mirrors, rebounding its beautiful light back to the blue sky. The beam grows smaller still, until only a thin, fragile strand remains, growing smaller until only her eyes are lit up.
Then, in a single second, the sunlight retracts like a giant hand letting go of her, and in the same moment, a dark, cold feeling settles upon her. Okami whimpers, lowering her tail and curling in slightly on herself.
Jinx turns, her eyes freezing the large animal in place. A horrible power grows in her eyes, taking them over. She reaches out a slender hand, lightly touching Okami on her head.
Okami lets out a loud, painful cry, made even louder with the cries of frustration that come from her inability to move away from the pain. Okami’s golden eyes cloud with dark strands, like black spider threads. As Jinx lifts her hand away from Okami’s head and averts her eyes, the threads break with a snap, hanging off of her pale hand like vines. Okami looks up at Jinx with scared, begging eyes. Jinx laughs cruelly, causing the wolf shrink even farther back. She lets out a small whimper, making Jinx smirk in amusement.
“Oh, Okami. Okami, Okami, Okami. I don’t understand why I even speak to you. You can’t understand me. You’re just a stupid animal, incapable of thinking for yourself.”
Okami growls, baring her teeth at Jinx, showing her understanding of her scary tone. She bunches up her leg muscles, ready to pounce. At the sight of it, Jinx bursts out laughing, a maniacal sound Jinx had never made before. Okami attack her, biting her arm with sharp pointed teeth. Jinx lets out a choked gasp of pain, falling to the ground. Okami quickly lets go as she sees the shadows retreat from Jinx’s eyes. She chokes out a few words before she falls on the ground, exhausted.
“You stupid animal...” Jinx collapses on her knees, breathing hard, like she had just run a marathon. Okami nuzzles her face with her muzzle, whimpering in pain for her friend. Jinx lifts her head a tiny bit, enough to see the gratitude that Jinx felt for the wolf.
“I’m so sorry, Okami,” Jinx says, extending her bitten arm to pat Okami on her head. The wolf accepts the apology and licks Jinx’s wound, making her wince. “I didn’t mean that. I hope you understand,” Jinx mutters, her eyelashes fluttering. Using the last of her strength, she gets herself into a comfortable position leaning up against a large rock before she passes out.
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