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English
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Part 24 of Bye Bye Birdy
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Published:
2014-03-07
Completed:
2014-03-17
Words:
3,541
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5/5
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98
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Jack be nimble

Summary:

If Santa Claus can make ice toys that move and fly without being a Winter Spirit, then why can't Jack since he is? Ice is his LIFE you know, should be easy! Too easy.

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

“CATCH it Hollow, don’t let it get away!”

“I’m trying! You didn’t have to make it so damned slippery!”

“It’s a FERRET, they were MADE slippery!”

“There it goes! After it!”

Thing 1 and Thing 2 chased the small, translucent animal down the hallway. Jack jumped over another animal, a slumbering dog that had the same faint glow blue to its ghostlike body, and tried to tackle the weasel.

Nope.

Hollow had a little more luck, slamming his plastic candy bucket over the hell beast before it could get much further.

“I TOLD you not to do it!”

“Nuh uh! You said not to make a ferret AND a rabbit cause it’d kill it!”

“Same thing!”

“Is not!”

Jack ducked as a pale blue owl floated over his head with a silent sweep of wings.

“Pitch is going to –murder you-.”

“He will not, this is good magic practice and he always said I should work on my powers!”

“You made his home into a zoo, he is going to murder you slowly and painfully and then he’s going to murder -me- and I’m going to haunt you for the rest of your life.”

“…how can you haunt me if I’m dead?”

“-I will find a way-.”

Boy stared at boy for a long moment before they dissolved into giggles. Jack, keeping an eye out for any more birds, knelt down and capped the plastic bucket with ice to keep the little creature inside as it was lifted.

“I can’t just kill it…”

“It’s not alive, it’s just ice. Frozen water. You wouldn’t be killing it you’d be... uhh...”

“Killing it.”

“You have a better idea? Thank the moon you didn’t make the rabbits, we’d be knee deep in them by now.”

“Think ice-creatures can breed?”

“Why not?”

“Think Pitch will let me keep the rest if they’re quiet and not murder-minded furry worms?”

Jack shook the bucket a little and listened to the creature inside scrabble around. He didn’t want to kill it but making a weasel out of ice? Not the best of ideas. He wasn’t even sure if he COULD kill it. Other than smashing it against a rock and that was just too wrong.

Jack squinted at the mad hell beast through the lid and concentrated hard on reclaiming the power he’d crammed into the ice. …it was a lot easier than he thought it’d be, and now he had a perfect weasel replica in a bucket.

“Huh. Thought it’d be harder than that. Here, have a souvenir.”

“So… what about the others?”

“Oh come on, everyone has minions these days! It’s just a couple animals...

“You made a dog, an owl, a fox, a stag, a handful of sparrows that I bet the owl is trying to stalk right now, a bat (actually, if you want to get rid of anything, can I have that one? I love bats), there’s a fish in the bathroom, penguins in the kitchen, and you stashed the kittens in the library and Pitch really is going to murder you if they ruin his books.”

“Exactly, only a few animals.”

“I think I hear my mother calling me, let me know when Pitch releases you from your prison. Especially when he finds out you made HER,” and Hollow pointed at the last piece of the crime.

A little girl made of the same translucent, faintly blue glowing ice sat on the edge of the chair, petting the fox on her lap.

“Ahh… okay that might be a problem. “

“See you in about ten years Jack.”

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

The kittens were the first to be lost, Jack finding little puddles of water in front of the giant fireplace.

The Stag was next, the glossy animal trying to follow a Nightmare through a wall and shattering into a million little shards.

The fox had found a way outside, and though the air was cool and crisp enough to not melt the animal, the first time it tried to kill a rabbit left it in pieces too.

Ice, Jack was finding out, was a really fragile material.

He never did find out where the sparrows had gone.

He felt the worst about the bat. He’d taken it to his Antarctica bedroom in hopes that there perhaps it would be safe. Antarctica was cold, lacked predators to hunt the bat, lacked prey for the bat to hunt. What it did have was a truly vicious cousin of Wind that shredded the poor creature.

Soon the only construct left was the Owl, a great big barn owl with spooky eyes and silent wings. Jack had no idea what he’d done different with the owl but it was clever enough to not run into the walls and stay away from the fire, nor did he make too many attempts in trying to eat the random cave creatures.

Did you know owls swallowed their prey hole?

Do you know how creepy it is to have an owl clear as glass with a salamander sitting in it’s stomach?

Yeah.

Pitch had not made much a fuss over all the animals, much to the surprise of... everyone.

“Your magic, your creatures. YOU will keep track of them, protect them, and protect others from them. Any trouble they cause will of course be laid at your feet, so be careful.”

Jack had a feeling this was supposed to be a lesson for something.

All of this was making Jack –very- paranoid about Jill.

She was not a construct, she was his friend! His.. little sister! Though Hollow insisted on calling Jack ‘the mommy’.

“There. See? Put enough padding on, nothing can break!”

The little ice girl, about six?, was wrapped up in a thick winter coat. There was a soft scarf and matching hat and mittens. Under the winter gear she was wearing a sweater and leggings and Jack had even put her long icy hair into a braid that wrapped around her head under the fluffy hat.

Sharp table corners would have to work hard to make it through so many layers!

She could tumble down any hill she wanted without coming to harm.

Get it?

Jack and Jill!

Pitch had just rolled his eyes but he just didn’t appreciate good literature.

It was Hollow that finally brought it up, two weeks later.

"She's not that good at conversation is she?"

"She's shy, she'll get around to it."

"She doesn't do very much..."

Jack blinked up at his best friend. "She has to be cautious, the wrong move could shatter her into a million pieces."

Hollow tugged on the ear of his devil mask. "She can't go out in the sun because she'll melt, can't do anything fun because she'll break, YOU don't go do anything fun because you worry about what will happen while you're gone. Are you going to do this FOREVER for a doll?"

"Jill is NOT a doll, she's a little girl!"

"She doesn't speak, follows you around like a baby duck, and doesn't do anything else unless you tell her to do it. If you aren't around then she stands or sits there staring into space. For hours. She's a doll.”

“She is not!”

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

“What’s wrong with her?”

Pitch had been wondering when Jack would come to him with questions. And though it looked like he had been ignoring the shenanigans, he’d actually been thinking hard and researching. He set aside the heavy, leather bound tome to focus all his attention on Jack fidgeting in front of him, blocking the light from the small fire.

“Was that Hollow I heard shouting just now?”

“Hollow went home. What’s wrong with Jill? She doesn’t ACT right!”

Pitch had considered and discarded a couple ways of taking this conversation. Best to start off simple.

“When you are outside and making it snow, what happens when you are happy?”

When Jack frowned and looked as though to argue... “Bear with me here. What happens?”

“It snows?”

“Well yes. But how is it different from the snow that falls when you are upset?”

Still frowning, “when I’m upset it snows harder. And the wind is... rougher? And a lot more ice though I don’t try to HURT anyone it’s just... stormier.”

“So intention is very key in working with your magic. When you brought the admirably well-made owl to life, what were you thinking about?”

Jack looked like he was starting to get the idea now, saying slowly “that owls are looked on as very wise, that they give advice to other people and can be a little creepy because you never know when they’re flying nearby…”

“And I assume the stag was to be very much like my Nightmares, for you to use as a mount and companion?”

“And he broke when playing with the Nightmares cause he thought he could go through walls too.”

Pitch was very gentle as he then asked “…and Jill?”

“I thought I’d like someone small and sweet to be my little sister. I could teach her things and she’d follow me around and listen to me…” Jack’s shoulders drooped, head hanging low.

Pitch tugged on his arm and drew the lanky boy onto his lap, wrapping his arms around the slender body for a hug. “You did nothing wrong, I’m amazed in fact at how well you went about things. Not everyone can do so; it’s quite rare actually and seen as a mark of a truly powerful being. And you not only managed to bring your creations to life, you gave them intelligence and personality.”

….to a point. Just not the right sort of intelligence and personality in some cases. But Jack was just a boy, he’d learn.

“So Jill is just a doll, like Hollow said. She’s not anything at all but something for me to chatter at and dress up. “

“True intelligence, to the level you and I possess, is hard Jack. You have to be very clear in what you want, you have to be sure that it IS what you want, and it takes an extreme amount of power. You,” tapping Jack between the eyes, “must have been wanted very much by the Man in the Moon. He not only gave you intelligence, but free will and that complicates everything even more so. For what purpose we may not know, but he wanted you to exist. And troublesome, annoying little headache that you are, I am glad you do.”

Jack was willing to cuddle for a moment, laying his head against Pitch’s shoulder as he digested all this information. He might never know why Manny wanted him so much… But Jack had Pitch. And he’d never trade one for the other.

“…so what do I do with Jill?”

Chapter 4

Chapter Text

Jack knew he was only going to get one chance at this and he had to be quick or lose her attention.

“I’m sorry for whatever it is I did that made you mad at me and I promise to try not to do it again though you’d have to tell me what it was first but I have a favor to ask and it’s pretty big but really important to me so I hope whatever I did won’t make you say no because you’re mad at me.”

All in one breathe that whooshed out of him at warp speed, hands clasped tightly under his chin as he stared up at her.

Mother Nature was not an easy person to track down, he was going to owe –everyone- a small favor by this point but if she’d just listen to him and not eat him and use his skin for slippers than everything would be okay!

…Jack found Mother Nature to be very intimidating, especially as she only stared at him with narrowed eyes and not saying a word. A flick of her fingers he took as a suggestion to get on with it.

He found his arms waving themselves around with no connection to his brain as he spewed forth all his thoughts.

“I’ve always wanted a little sister because they’re so cute and sweet and friendly and look up to you as a hero because you’re bigger and smarter and take care of them right? And a little sister is better than a little brother because boys like to pretend they’re big and strong while being so tiny and weak and a sister is just easier to be protectful of even if they try to hit you over it. So I tried to make a little sister when I was fooling around with my ice magic and making animals but she isn’t RIGHT and doesn’t DO anything really and Pitch says that’s because she’s not really a person yet and only very, very powerful people can do that and you’re the most powerful person I know but you’re mad at me and gunna say no aren’t you?”

His arms slowly dropped to hang limply by his sides as he trailed off, because she just really didn’t like him and it wasn’t –fair-. He hadn’t done anything! Eyes dropping from the woman to the ground, Jack sighed.

He’d had to ask anyways.

“Little brothers pretend they’re so big and strong while being so tiny and weak, huh?”

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Pitch was, for all that it made Jack howl like a hyena, sleeping under one of his beds. It was comfy dammit, the shadows deep and dark and perfect.

“Pitch? Piiiiiitch. Pitch! Pitch Pitch Pitch Pitch Pitch Pitch Pitch.”

And no longer as peaceful as it once was. Pitch didn’t leave his cozy, dark nest; he just grabbed the thin arm waving under the bed and hauled Jack in too.

“Hey! No! I have things to do! I aint got time for this! Piiiiiiiiiitch!”

The last whine got Pitch to finally crack an eye open, not that Jack could see it as he flailed around in the inky blackness.

“You disturbed my slumber, so suffer.”

“I have to tell you something!”

“Couldn’t it wait?”

“Uh, no. Because she might eat me if I don’t tell you as soon as possible.”

“You’re too stringy to be eaten, no flesh on your bones at all.”

“.......”

“What is it Jack?”

“Mother Nature said to tell you she’s still mad at you but she’ll be here on Sunday for a family dinner and you get to explain why she’s family and mad at you.”

Pitch’s turn to be silent, as Jack snickered.

“…you are too happy about this. I thought you were afraid of Ser- Mother Nature?”

“She helped me save Jill; I’m willing to give her a second chance and worship at her feet. Though if she keeps calling me her tiny little brother, I might kick her in the shins.”

Pitch groaned, and shoved Jack out from under the bed.

Chapter 5

Chapter Text

Jack stared up at the ceiling suspiciously. He could not actually see the ceiling but he was sure it was up there somewhere in the blackness. And he was also sure there was something else in there hiding in the tall, tall shadows but he couldn’t quite catch it. And he did not want to use Wind to go looking. Nuh uh. Never.

“I hate this room.”

“It’s a dining room Jack, there’s nothing to hate about it.”

It had the large table and a full dozen high-backed chairs. While it looked like it all had been carved from black stone, Jack knew it was just really old wood.

Can tables petrify?

Whatever.

“No, this room is perfectly able to be hated. Because I do. Why do we have to eat here and not in the library where we eat any other time? It’s warm, comfortable, and not being stalked by strange things high above our head.” That might not actually exist; Pitch never said one way or another.

“Because when there is a formal dinner, you eat in the formal dining room.” Pitch swiped a finger over the tabletop and frowned at the dirt he displaced. “If you would…?”

Jack sulked as he gestured a hand towards the table. Wind, waiting like a good patient little gale, swooped by and scoured the furniture of dust and dirt. Sure, the tables and chairs shifted about and Pitch had to go around resettling things, but they were clean now.

That was the important part.

“What are we going to have anyways?”

“Jack, why don’t you go visit Toothiana, harass her fairies for a while. This is going to be long and boring and I’m going to end up throwing you out eventually. Go do… something. Go play.”

“I can see when I’m not wanted…” Sulking harder than ever, he missed the movement and squawked in surprise as he was picked up off the ground.

It was too rough to be considered a REAL hug, pale arms flailing about as Pitch held him up from behind, but it made Jack grin. “Softie.”

“Get out.”

 

----------------------------------------------

 

“Alright, so if you’re Pitch’s daughter and he’s –ancient- and you’re almost as old AND you’re Mother Nature, do I have any cool cousins to play with?”

Jack’s grasp on familial relations were as shaky as his grasp on things you never ever talk about.

Pitch choked on his bite of salad (and seriously, vegetables should not grow after being chopped up!) and couldn’t speak for a few moments in an attempt to side-track the topic.

Nature, Jack was just not able to call her by her first name that was –weird- and calling her Mother was out of the question, stared at Jack for a long moment.

“Excuse me?”

“Well, you’ve had a long time to be Mother Nature right? Always around and dealing with growing things? So I wanted to know if you ever got married or had a fling and had some kids I would wanna know about. Or if I already know them. Is Hollow one of your kids? I don’t want to be a cousin to my Best Frenemy; it’s a lot harder to hate family.”

You could have heard a pin drop in the dead silence of the room. Or, the soft snort of a Nightmare lurking in one of the few shadows left under the many, many lamps.

Pitch covered his eyes with one hand, slowly laying his fork down on the table.

Nature seemed at an equal loss of what to say, but cast her eyes upwards instead of down. And then squinted at the deep, deep darkness that lasted outside of the lamplight. “What is…”

“DON’T SAY IT! YOU’LL MAKE IT REAL!”

Jack cowered down in his seat, shaking his head violently as he stuck his fingers in his ears. Nothing up there, nope nope nope, la la la can’t hear you!

Pitch leaned forward to put his other hand over his eyes now, leaning on his elbows as Nature stared at Jack like he’d grown another head.

In fact, she seemed to be regretting that she’d bothered to make herself known as Jack’s family, his older sister.

Jack Frost was -insane-.

 

----------------------------------------------------

 

Jack sighed happily.
REAL food! Not some mess of plants that tried to sprout roots and walk away.

Someone had to show Jill the delight that was pizza after all, and after the first few protests the three large pizzas had been demolished by the flock of Swan Maidens who also had never had the fortune to meet the cheesy, greasy food.

Feathers were a good look for Jill.

Even if she couldn’t be JACK’s little sister, she was alive and real and Mother Nature had been so -clever- to tweak Jack’s fledgling magic and bits of her own and then the magic cloak…

“I never did catch why you had an extra cloak anyways. Isn’t it bad to have magic stuff like that just laying around?”

Delphine was braiding a new set of long white feathers into Jack’s shaggy mane while her sisters licked their fingers clean and mourned how pizza couldn’t grow on trees. “Melisande found her Prince Charming and left the flock. It happens every few decades you know, the oldest and prettiest girl gets caught by a handsome man and they get married.”

“We WERE going to ask if you wanted to be the first Swan Lad,” pouted Maeva. “But Mother Nature said it wouldn’t work to go against the traditional stories.”

Jack thought that over.

“…nah. I couldn’t leave Pitch all alone anyways. The Nightmares would let the throne get covered in dust and Pitch would never be able to find his books since I messed his system up.”

Neat idea! But wouldn’t have worked. He LIKED living with Pitch! And yet…

Wistfully watching Jill play with the second and third youngest swan, “perhaps I could be an Honorary Swan Lad? I visit a lot and I fly and wear feathers…”

Delphine hugged him from behind. “Of course you can be. Jack Frost, Winter Spirit and Swan Lad. Adorable menace to society at large, be warned and beware of his adorableness.”

Jack thought he should protest that, he was NOT adorable!, yet held his tongue. He liked the idea. Jack Frost and his thirteen sisters. Some crazier than others, but all pretty okay.

“…can you give me a Mohawk? I’m visiting North later and he makes funny faces.”

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