Chapter 7: First Immortal

"That's going to take some getting used to..." Bunny looked a little ill as he tried not to focus on the fact that they were rather high up off the ground.

"Look! What's that?" North pointed to an odd golden glow on the horizon.

Jack smiled as he recognized the memory. Sandy grinned, too.

"Hm? Wind, what'dya think that is?" Frost tilted his head as he listened to his friend. "You think we should go see? All right!" He laughed as the wind threw him around, towards the odd glow.

He saw a cloud of the golden sand, and atop it was a small golden man. "Woah! Who're you?!" He wondered aloud, not expecting any sort of answer. The Guardians could clearly see the shock written all over his face when the Sanderson's head turned in his direction and looked at him. Frost was so shocked that he lost his balance and crash landed into a snowdrift.

"Were you okay?!" Tooth fretted.

"Relax, Tooth. I was perfectly fine. It's not like that was my first crash-landing." Jack rolled his eyes.

Sanderson, however, was equally surprised by the winter spirit's call, and flew down to make sure he was okay.

"H-hello. Can... can you see me?" The Guardians winced at the question, the young girl from the previous memory echoed in their minds. Sanderson nodded.

"You can?! Really?!" Frost's smile was as bright as sunlight reflecting off the snow, and Tooth held up about as well as can be expected. "My name's Jack! Jack Frost! And I'm the Spirit of Winter! Who're you?"

Sanderson smiled as he spelled his name out in sand above his head. So this was the new spirit everybody was talking about. He was so young. He looked just like a child.

"Sandy? The sandman? Oh! I've heard of you! The kids talk about you all the time! So you give people dreams? That's so cool! Hey! Umm... Can you..." Frost fidgeted, as his earlier enthusiasm faded, worrying the Guardians. "Can you tell me what I am? Why people can't see me?"

"Guardians..." MiM's voice made them jump. "Jack is 35 in this memory."

"Wait, you were thirty-five, and you still didn't know what you were?" Bunny asked in disbelief.

"Well, it's not like there's a welcoming committee handing out brochures with an introduction to the Spirit World or anything." Jack crossed his arms.

Sanderson sighed and gestured for Frost to climb aboard his Dreamcloud.

He tilted his head, but did as told. "Can't you talk?" Sanderson shook his head, and held his finger up to his lips. "Oh, you're mute?" He nodded.

Sanderson spent the next hour explaining as best he could that they were immortal spirits and that they could only be seen by children who believed. He was pleasantly surprised that the winter spirit was adept at deciphering his symbols, and treated it like a game.

"So what do I have to do to be believed in?" Frost asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"You were so excited." North observed.

"Well, yeah. Aside from Wind, and a few dying people, this was my first conversation. Ever." Jack informed the horrified group. Sandy just smiled sadly. He'd expected as such.

Sanderson smiled sadly and shook his head. "You don't know?" He sighed, dejected. Sanderson frowned for a moment, before he waved to get Jack's attention. He then started explaining his idea to the boy. "Y-you'd really do that?! For me?" Frost grinned. "Do you think it'll work? Giving kids dreams about me? Do ya think that'll make them see me?!" He lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. It pained the Guardians, who knew it would be nearly three centuries before his wish would come true.

Sanderson nodded with a hopeful smile. It was the only thing he could think of, and he prayed that it would work. He couldn't bear to see that hope crushed.

Bunny could feel the hope rolling off the memory spirit in waves. It made him feel sick, because he knew it would be crushed brutally.

The memory shifted once more, showing Frost sitting dejectedly by his frozen lake. He heaved a heavy sigh, and while the snow was melting all around him, he seemed to neither notice nor care.

"Nobody sees me... I guess it didn't work, then." He sighed again, idly flicking a rock across the ice.

"Ugh. So you're the new sprite." A girl said, stepping out from behind a tree. Her light blonde hair matched her bright blue eyes, and she wore a very pretty green dress.

"Y-you can see me, too?! Are you another spirit?" Frost asked, startled.

"Yeah. I'm a spring spirit. And guess what? It's Spring. Which means you should be leaving now. Buh bye." She made a shooing motion with her hands, and directed a few rays of sunlight towards the lake to start melting the ice.

"W-wait! That's my lake, though." Frost protested looking confused. "This is where I live."

"Not my problem. Live somewhere else until winter comes back around." She proceeded to ignore him and melted a nearby snow bank.

"I'm sorry... I'm still new to everything."

"You're, what? Forty?"

"I'm thirty-five."

"Whatever. Look, Frosty," She stopped to glare at Frost. "Nobody likes you. You're winter. You bring death and destruction. Starvation and discomfort. There's nothing for anybody to like about you. You're only here out of necessity. I'm a nice girl, so I'll give you a warning. Stay away from the other sprites. If you stay past your season, you'll be punished. And Mother have mercy on you if you ever stay late enough to come across a summer sprite."

"What'dya mean?"

"You don't know? They'll kill you. If you're interfering with the seasons and throwing them outta whack, like your presence is doing right now, then you'll be in big trouble. I know the last winter sprite got a little over his head, and some summer sprite burned him to death." She shrugged as if the information didn't bother her.

"Look, I'm just sayin." She continued. "If I was you, I'd run and hide and spread my season as quietly as I could, because nobody likes you. Your season is hated. People will try to kill you. You're young, yeah? I'm sure you didn't know what this job entailed when Mother first asked you, but—"

"When who asked me?" Frost cut in, looking lost.

"Mother? Mother Nature? The one who made you what you are?" She looked at the white-haired boy like he was nuts.

"But Mother Nature didn't make me, Man in Moon did. He created me and gave me my name." Frost explained.

"Look, that moon guy doesn't interfere with seasons. If what you're saying is true, then he must've struck some kind of deal with her. Either way, you're annoying me, and not my problem."

"Why I never!" Tooth growled.

"But I still have questions!" Frost protested, but she vanished in a swirl of flower petals.

Frost left his lake soon after, heading out to explore some different parts of the world that still needed snow.

"Wind, remind me to stay away from Spring Spirits... They're very rude." Frost muttered as he flew off into the sky, allowing the memory to fade away.

A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry it's been so long (though I've had other stories wait longer). Quick little head's up. I've started my own novel, recently, so updates will not be frequent. Rest assured, I'm not going to abandon this story, nor am I going to go a year without updating (again... sorry!). I've also recently found a full-time job, so that'll cut into my time, too, when I start.

At any rate, this was a bit more of a light-hearted chapter as opposed to the sort of darker atmosphere of the previous one.

A little about me as an author, since I've seen a few of you who are scared I'll abandon this story. I don't write for reviews, though they are nice, and can sometimes give my motivation the kick in the butt it sometimes needs. I write for fun, and mostly for myself. But I POST my works because I want to share the way I view things with others.

Everybody sees the world with different eyes. I see a different world than anybody else, because I'm unique, just as you do. I want to share that world with the people around me, and others around the world! People like you. And not just how I see the world, but I want to share emotions with you. I want to share my happiness and joy, as well as my sorrow and pain. I write for fun, and I also write to vent.

The emotions portrayed in my stories are real. When my characters are going through hard times, it's because I've been there, too. I draw off of my personal experiences to make my writing authentic. I feel it gives my stories soul.

I know a lot of my readers are young. A lot of you are still in school (I'm 23, if you were wondering), and some of you are going through hard times. I want to take a moment and tell you that it's okay to hurt. It's okay to cry, or feel alone. And I know you've heard the 'you're not alone' spiel before. But let me say this. I may be a perfect stranger, but I care. And perhaps because I'm a perfect stranger, you may feel more comfortable reaching out to me than some stupid hotline or even family or a friend.

I've been there. I've been depressed; suicidal; self-harm. I may not understand your pain, but I understand pain. If you need an ear, I'm here for you.

You can reach out to me through PM, e-mail, or Telegram (Same username). If I don't reply immediately, I'm probably at work, but I'll reply as soon as I'm able. I'm not telling you to do or not to do anything. I'm just saying that I care. Because we're all in this life together, for whatever unknown reason, we're here. And that sort of makes us a team, right?

And since I know some people leave messages like this and people who need them see it years later... What I say now... still stands. No matter when you're reading this. 2019, or 2035. If you need someone, I'm here. Even if it's just to vent.

Words: 1,218

Pages: 3

Posted: 01/13/2019