Chapter Text
Jackson Overland.
It felt like a blanket over frigid skin. Warmth that spread over his body and released any sense of tightness in his muscles, caressing him gently from where he hovered over a sandy shore. His eyes opened slowly, welcoming a soft breeze and gorgeous sight of sunrise.
Jackson Overland, the voice from the sun repeated again. Its rays carried him like a gentle parent to the comfort of his own bed, laying him down carefully as he brought himself awake. The sand was warm, just enough to ease him further into wake, but not too hot so it burnt.
Jackson Overland, it spoke to him again, find your way. He pushed himself up slowly, finding himself being pulled towards the horizon where the sun began to fully peek. He squinted and was forced to turn away as the light grew too bright. He took the time to observe his surroundings. He pulled a handful of sand as he got to his feet, allowing the grains to trickle out between his fingers. His eyes followed them as they fell, trailing down to his clothes. He searched back up his body, taking in the blue hoodie he wore over his torso. His hands found their way into its pockets, finding his own fingertips before ending his short search of himself.
With a simple step backwards he stumbled, the air leaving his lungs as his heel slid on an object and out from underneath his body, causing him to fall right back down onto the shore. He shook off the sand and confusion before reaching out for the offending item. A strange wooden staff found its way into his hands almost immediately. Jackson couldn't explain it, but he felt as though it was where the object belonged. There was seemingly nothing special about it, and yet his grip tightened in a way that told him he should never let go again.
He used it to get to his feet before spinning around, searching for literally anything interesting.
"Hello?" he called out towards nothing, turning left and right for some sign of life. "Hello?" Nothing. Jackson looked back out towards the sun, but couldn't bear to look for more than a second. It was, however, the only thing to have spoken to him thus far, so it was all he had. "Hello? Where am I?" A small gust of wind circled his body softly before leaving just as fast as it appeared, pulling the strands of his hoodie towards the tree line behind him. Jackson's gaze followed the invisible trail before he turned back towards the warmth and familiarity he knew. "Do I go there then?" He had to hope the lack of response meant yes because he really didn't have any other option. He glanced back towards the trees before his eyes dropped to the ground, thinking about what he should do. Eventually, he shrugged and took off in a hasty jog towards the woods.
There wasn't really anything interesting there either. Jackson found himself simply observing, hands touching each tree he passed as his eyes darted around for some sign of something. He felt beyond strange. There was some sort of lingering thrum underneath his skin- like energy waiting and wanting desperately to burst out of him. He found himself picking up his pace on multiple occasions in an attempt to satiate it, but the feeling would not go away.
He also couldn't understand… anything really. He didn't know where he was or what he was meant to be doing. He didn't know a single thing about his life or this world, and yet his couldn't find it in himself to be afraid by any means. It was the opposite, in fact. Giggles escaped him with each sudden turn he made. One tree with a particularly low branch practically begged him to climb it as laughs echoed in the leaves. Even hanging upside down, his world felt right side up. Between the trees, he noticed something glistening. He tried his hardest to focus on it, but it was just too far out for him to really know what he was seeing. He hooked his staff on the branch and lowered himself down like he had done it before.
He walked cautiously towards the sight, becoming more and more aware of the fact that this shiny thing was a scaly fish, and it was moving. And that there were more creatures out there.
The trees grew sparse as he grew closer and closer to what seemed to be a stream. He watched as two small, reptilian creatures fought over the food, tugging back and forth before the fish was ripped in half and eaten greedily by both animals. They turned back to the water and stared, probably searching for more.
Jackson giggled, startling the two of them as they squawked and leapt backwards. One, who was smaller, blue and green, with darting yellow eyes, fell into the water from its surprise. The other took off, small wings giving it flight as it escaped across the water into the trees. Jackson ran forward to see the animal struggling and reaching for shore just out of its grasps. His instinct was to go in after it, but his heart began to inexplicably race at the thought. Instead, he offered the animal one end of his staff. It shot a small wave of fire out at him, squawking again angrily.
"I'm trying to help!" he reasoned. The animal ignored him and continued to flail about, its head even dipping under the water for a moment. Jackson groaned as he used the hook of his staff to yank the creature up against his will. It coughed and took two steps forward before collapsing from the exhaustion of its fight. "See?" he teased softly, crouching down but not getting closer. "I'm sorry I scared you." It didn't seem convinced, using what little energy it had to cough up another shot of heat; which immediately burnt out from all of the water it likely swallowed.
Jackson's eyes drifted back towards the water, unease still weighing heavy inside of him. He noted all of the fish flying by under the reflective surface. He looked back at the pathetic creature taking in the sight. His own amber eyes stared back at him once he was facing the river again. Jackson readied himself and stared hard into the water, watching as fish after fish zipped by in front of him. He tried to time it right, scooping the hook end in and pulling it out swiftly. Nothing came up, so he tried again. And again. And again. Frankly he was beginning to look like the pathetic one.
Finally, after much effort, a small fish was forced onto land directly in front of the creature. It looked between the meal and Jackson before taking hesitant steps forward.
In turn, Jackson took a step backwards, crouching own with a smile still plastered on his face. "Go on," he beckoned softly, nodding towards the fish as it flopped around. The little animal opened its mouth and slowly clamped it down around the fish, eyes still permanently glued to Jackson. Once the fish was in its mouth, it began ripping it apart and eating the pieces feverishly as if it hadn't eaten in days. But it had- Jackson knew- because he just saw it eat a moment ago.
The sound it made was different this time. Notably curious, even. A soft, high pitched gurgle crooned out of the animal as it took another tentative step towards Jackson, head tilted as if a question was being asked.
Jackson laughed nervously, "you wouldn't happen to speak… the language I'm speaking? Would you?" It repeated its same sound and took another step forward. Jackson rocked himself back so that he was sitting. "My name is Jackson Overland," he said surely, dropping his head to whisper the I think to no one but himself. "Do you know where I am?"
The animal was directly in front of him now, more than close enough to touch if Jackson could be that brave. And he was- but he was equal parts clueless as to what he was supposed to be doing. Other than 'finding his way' or whatever that could possibly mean. In fact, the reality of the whole situation was beginning to process through Jackson's mind. Where exactly was he? Waking up on some shore with only his name and a gentle nudge into the unknown? Now talking to a creature he'd never seen before. But how could he even know if he's seen it before if he doesn't remember anything at all?
He was forced out of his thoughts by gentle scales pushing themselves against his hand resting in the grass. He couldn't bite back the chuckle that escaped him as he raised his hand slowly, just enough for the animal to walk under it and get a proper pet in. It felt… interesting. Jackson couldn't describe it. The scales on the creature were cold, but he could still feel an immense heat radiating beneath them.
Before he could think about it further, a loud squawk startled the both of them. Jackson jumped up and backwards as the second animal from before came in flying hot, shooting a small stream of fire directly at the boy. The friendlier of the two squawked back, flying up to put itself between the aggressor and Jackson.
Jackson put his hands up, walking backwards as he laughed, "I'll just go. I promise I wasn't hurting your friend." The two animals landed, the angry one huffing triumphantly as Jackson retreated. The other one looked between the two of them before deciding its time would be best spent tackling the defensive dragon. Jackson giggled at the sight of them rough housing. They were like little kids, really.
He looked back towards the stream, that heavy feeling instantly returning to his chest. It was just too wide for him to jump across. And he wasn't sure that he would even if he could. Every fiber of his being told him to stay as far away from the water as possible. But then again, he didn't know anything really.
Jackson began to walk downstream in search of… something. He noted the general lack of wildlife in the forest. Besides the fish in the water and those two little creatures, there seemed to really be nothing around. No birds chirped or bugs flew by. The silence was eerie, even. So when he finally heard something he felt inexplicably drawn to it.
Metal on metal, loud chatting, wood cracking. People. Jackson could even see smoke from a fire off in the distance. Across the thinned creek.
Jackson swallowed hard as he weighed his options. But truly, he was desperate. For interaction. For explanation. For conversation.
He placed his staff firmly in the water, halfway to the other side. It was deep enough that the hook of the staff was the only thing above water once it touched the bottom. Jackson pulled it back, blinking hard as he processed the information. He shook his head hard and bounced on his bare feet, working up the courage to make the leap.
"Come on, Jackson," he whispered to himself, bouncing back and forth. He took a few steps back before running towards the water, leaping at the last moment and flying across. It was familiar. In some weird and almost painful way.
He hit the ground hard, tumbling in the grass and doing everything in his power to keep his staff in his hand. With a thud he was forced into a stop as his body collided with something strange. He opened his eyes slowly, looking up at the man before him. A smile grew wide on his face as the man looked down at him, bewildered by the sight.
"Who the Hel are you?" he asked incredulously. His accent was heavy and much different from the boy's own. The man looked out towards the stream for a moment before turning his head back down towards Jackson. "And where did you come from?"
The boy scrambled to his feet, "oh uh," he laughed, "I'm Jackson." He held a hand out expectantly, but nothing happened. The man gave him a strange, pressing look. "I… came from over there," Jackson added, pointing to the water with his staff.
"And before that?" the man asked, irritation bubbling in his tone.
"Uh," Jackson thought, eyes traveling upstream where he walked from. "Over… there?" he muttered, pointing in the new direction. "Could you tell me where I am?" The man was quiet for a moment, as if weighing his options.
He looked at Jackson expectantly, "do you know anything?"
Jackson laughed, "oh man, you have no idea how little I know." The man turned around, towards the smoke in the sky before facing Jackson again.
"I could use some extra hands. We're on a mission out here and its taking more than we thought it would. I could pay you in information if you help out." Jackson spun around on his heels as if taking the world in all at once before facing the man again.
"Yeah, okay!" he leaned against his staff and looked the man up and down. He was dressed very differently from Jackson, but the boy had no way of knowing who the weird one was between them. He had a guess of course. "Can I know your name?"
The man walked around to Jackson's side, patting his back and urging him to walk with him towards the smoke, "that will be part of your payment after the job is finished."
"And what is the job?" Jackson asked as they walked. They could see a clearing up ahead where more people moved around. There were tents and large cages scattered around almost in a circle. At the center was a large fire.
"Hunting." This seemed like a lot for a normal hunt. The cages were the weirdest part. If they were hunting for food, why would they need a cage? Are they keeping the animals alive? Are they relocating them?
"Hunting what?" Jackson asked as the man pushed him lightly towards a set of boxes. There were axes, crossbows, arrows, and leather armor. Jackson didn't know what to make of any of it. He had no real intention of harming another thing. Not that he was against something as simple as eating meat, just that he didn't know if he wanted any part of such a large operation for it.
"Dragons."
"What's that?" Jackson asked, eyes still stuck on the items before him as he allowed his fingers to run over the leather. He moved on to the axes before becoming aware of the painful silence. When he turned back to the man, he was staring at him in disbelief. "What?"
"You don't know what a dragon is?" The boy averted his gaze, suddenly ashamed of himself for some reason. Maybe he was just stupid and that was the problem in all of this. Maybe he was just a fool who didn't know the simple things, wandering around and giggling at random nonsense. It made more sense than the alternative that he had been believing this whole time. That he somehow lost his memory despite having no pain in his head. No- he was probably an idiot. "Right, you know nothing," the man added helpfully. "A dragon is a beast. A monster that wants nothing but to see all humans be put under. They hunt us, and we hunt them. They are incredibly violent creatures."
Jackson scoffed, "and you want my help to… what? Kill one?"
The man shook his head, "we've been tracking a specific dragon. Its killed many men. We plan to set live traps to capture it and bring it back to Vig- uhm. To our base. I need you to gear up and keep the base protected. The more men we have, the less likely a dragon is to attack." Jackson nodded. He supposed it made sense, but he didn't understand why they would want to transport such a dangerous animal live. If it was going on a killing spree as he said, wouldn't it be better to kill it? Or relocate it far away rather than take it to their base? The boy supposed it was part of the information he would be owed at the end of this mission- and maybe he wasn't even supposed to know all of that yet. So asking further questions could make things worse.
"Got it."
"Good." The man patted Jackson's back harshly, walking past him. "Gear up and just hang out. We'll have men coming in and out with their captures from the day. Tonight is when the big one arrives." Jackson wished he could've asked more, but the man was gone by the time he turned around.
Something sat uneasy in him. The air itself was uncomfortable as he scanned his surroundings again. The energy each person put off was… off. Everything was off. Jackson had no idea what to think of it all. Being expected to hang around and do nothing all day may have been the worst part of it all. Or maybe Jackson was just dramatic to think that.
Then there was still the problem of how to gear up. Jackson thumbed through what he could tell was meant to be armor, but had no idea which piece would go where or if it was meant to go over the clothes he was already wearing. If it was, its too hot for it and he wasn't going to put himself through that no matter what anyone said.
He settled for simply grabbing an ax and walking in circles around the treeline. The sun had risen to near its peak as the boy finished his second lap. No one stopped him, but many people shot him sideways glaces. He felt awkward and out of place, holding an ax in his left hand and staff in his right. The way people stared, he wished he could be invisible. He looked up to the sun for a moment, pleadingly for some sort of communication or sign that he was in the right place, but was forced to look away.
A familiar squawking drew his attention to the other side of the camp, his feet moving before his mind could process it.
A man carrying a small, green cage made his way towards the rest of the cages around. In his arms were the two creatures from earlier. One screeched and squabbled, but the other froze silent when it saw Jackson. It hesitated, head tilting from side to side as he neared, before crouching and growling once Jackson was too close for comfort.
"Whatchya got there?" Jackson asked the man, a false smile plastered on his face. The man looked him up and down before giving him a disgusted stare.
"What do you care?" he asked, continuing on towards the rest of the cages.
The boy shrugged, "just curious. I'm new to all this."
"To," the man hesitated, seemingly confused, "what?"
"Well," Jackson started, leaning on his staff and sparing a glance to the angry animals as they were dropped roughly next to another cage. "I was told we were here to catch one ruthless dragon, right?"
The man laughed loudly- so much so that Jackson couldn't help but laugh too. Once the man collected himself, he spoke again.
"Ulf is still on that nonsense is he?" Jackson didn't know what an Ulf was, but the sight of the two creatures being tossed around and falling on one another made it easy to not care. "We're here to hunt dragons, not fairytales."
"And those," Jackson gestured towards the two small animals, "are dragons?"
The man laughed again, "well what else would they be? Birds?"
Jackson laughed with him, "I don't know. They just made it seem like dragons were all these bloodthirsty monsters not…" He didn't know how to describe the animals before him, so all he could do was gesture.
"Believe me," the man began, patting Jackson's shoulder roughly, "when Terrible Terrors have a full sized pack, they are a force to be reckoned with. Lucky for us, and unlucky for them, we've already put down the rest of their lot on the island. These are the last two." It left a horrible taste in Jackson's mouth that he was forced to swallow down. A series of questions flooded his mind as he took in his surroundings in this new light.
Who are these people?
For the first time since Jackson woke up on the shore, he knew what he had to do. He mimicked the man's actions, smiling wide and offering a small chuckle.
"How do these cages work then?" he asked innocently, tossing his staff lightly to hold it closer to the hook.
The man gave him a strange look, "with a lock and key?"
Jackson laughed, gesturing to the creatures.
"No, I mean how does it keep them in there? Can't dragons spit fire? Melt the bars?" The man's eyes followed Jackson's ax towards the creatures at his feet. Jackson took the opportunity to hook his staff around the keys dangling obviously from the man's waist.
The man laughed, kicking the cage a few feet away. The sound of dragons clanging against metal as it rolled provided the perfect cover for Jackson to yank the keys back, shoving them in his hoodie pocket rapidly.
"Dragon proof metal, obviously."
Jackson made a sound like it should've been obvious to him, smiling while he leaned back on his staff.
"Does everyone have a key to the cages? Or would I have to come and find you if I managed to find a dragon?"
The man smiled crazily, stepping towards Jackson, "you've got a wild edge to you. I like it- but there's no shot you capture a dragon any time soon. It takes years of training and practice. If you did, around half of us carry these keys-" he reached down to his side, fumbling for a moment before backing up and looking at the loop he would keep his keys.
Jackson put on his best confused face as the man gave himself a pat down, following it with a loud groan.
"That idiot," he muttered to himself. "Someone likes to nick the keys as a prank. I've got to go find my set. Keep up the crazy, kid," he offered, patting Jackson's shoulder one more time before moving off towards a set of tents.
"Will do!" he called out, watching as the man went out of sight. Jackson turned back to the crate with the two small dragons, crammed in together and incredibly angry. He looked around wildly, making sure no one was watching, and rushed to their side to move the crate upright. As his fingers wrapped around the bars, the angrier of the two lunged out to bite. He barely pulled back in time, but made no effort to stop what he was doing. He crouched down to their level, "I promise I will get you guys out of here, alright? I just need some time." He rushed to his feet, backing away before anyone could spot him.
Okay, he thought as he began to circle the camp again. Obviously this is an incredibly bad crowd of people and terrible group to be around. And obviously I have to get those dragons- Terrible Terrors or whatever- out of here. He danced on his feet lightly, using each spin to get a glance at the people around him. Everyone was practically glaring daggers into him. They stared at him like he was the strangest thing in all of existence. It would make it nearly impossible to sneak around and free those two. Unless, he thought. Unless I wait until everyone leaves to hunt the 'big one' to free them. But Jackson knew he couldn't count on that. Not when it seemed like the others around camp maybe weren't so on board with the idea.
A fairytale.
He would wait, he decided, until it got close to sunset. Hopefully everyone would head out to set or check the traps and he would be able to sneak the two free. If they don't, he'll have to simply open the cage and make a run for it.
He danced around the edge of the campsite for the next few hours, only stopping at one point to grab a bowl of stew being offered. He thought about what he knew of the area- of where he could run once he got the chance. The sound of waves to the east told him he wasn't far from the beach. He could run farther into the forest and hope he loses the men in the trees. Actually, that seemed like his only option.
"Let's go men!" the man from the start shouted over the camp. Most of the people around let out a loud cheer, joining their fellow hunter. A few stayed behind, seemingly annoyed over the situation. It was maybe ten minutes until sunset. Once it got dark, Jackson hoped he would be easy to lose. But the daylight was still needed to make his way out of camp.
Jackson moved towards the cages as the man doing rounds nearby began to check the tents and fire area. When he approached the dragons, they hissed and growled and squawked at him loudly.
"Shh," he begged. "I'm helping- I'm helping." The one he fed went silent, but the other wouldn't stop growling. Jackson had to ignore it, pulling the key out of his pocket and unlocking it as fast as he could. The moment the cage was open, the angrier one launched forward, placing a harsh bite on the boy's forearm. He refused to make a sound despite the pain, instead scanning his surroundings. One of the men perked up at the sound of metal and screeching, noticing Jackson and the two free Terrible Terrors almost immediately. "Time to go!" he shouted, getting up and running as fast as he could into the woods.
Metal clanging and men shouting followed close behind him as he made it to the tree line, ax and staff still in his hands. He didn't really know what he would do with either, but he knew it was better to have them than to not.
The two dragons flew close behind, one even attempting to land on his shoulder at one point. He pushed hard, heels digging into dirt with no knowledge of where he was going or could possibly be running to. He didn't hesitate this time when he found himself at the small river, jumping across as if he could fly. The Terrible Terror on his shoulder flapped its wings hard, giving them a slight amount of air time to aid in the crossing. Three bells rang loudly ahead, a white image fluttering behind trees like a bag in the wind. Jackson didn't care what it was, only that it was away from the camp and not one of the men.
He found a small clearing, a dragon wailing in the middle. Three traps grabbed it at different points. One trap on each wing and one on a foot. This one was much larger than the Terrible Terrors. All white and incredibly angry. It thrashed around, shooting purple light from its mouth at the bells. It tried to fly, but that only made the pain from the traps worse. Jackson could hear the men gaining, but knew he couldn't leave this dragon like this either.
He rushed towards it, barely managing to duck into a slide as it shot a blast directly at him. He slammed his ax down onto the first trap, freeing one of its wings which it immediately began to use to try and hit him. It growled and jumped wildly as Jackson rolled underneath it, freeing its leg before rolling out from the other side. With more room to move, it jumped back and reared its head, a harsh growl erupting from its mouth that dripped with purple light. The Terrible Terror on his shoulder leapt forward, growling and shooting tiny streams of fire at the massive creature.
Jackson wouldn't be surprised if this was the monster the men had spoken about. It exuded an energy of great fear and anger. Like it wanted nothing more than to blow Jackson to smithereens. If it weren't for the little dragon in front of him, clearly fighting a losing battle, he would already be dead. He crept around, trying to get to the other trap. He raised the ax slowly, but it was shot out of his hands right before he could bring it down. The creature heaved, shooting another small blast in the boy's direction that he had to dodge. He grabbed the ax, moving back towards the animal as men swarmed into the clearing. The creature prepped to fire another shot at him, but the second Terrible Terror floated in front of its face, screeching in a way that made it swallow its fire in confusion.
"Get that dragon!" a man shouted, drawing everyone's attention over. Jackson took his last opportunity to throw the ax, freeing the beast finally. It took off into the sky in an instant, wobbly as it flapped in pain into the air with the two Terrible Terrors following it closely. Jackson made brief eye contact with the man who first brought him to camp before turning and running as fast as he could.
He ran and ran and ran, hearing them right on his heels. As he pushed through a bush he reached the shoreline, watching as the sun set along the horizon. He turned around, knowing he had no where to go.
The men poured out in less than a second, not slowing down for a moment as they ran forward and through him.
Through him.
Jack looked down at his pale hands, turning to watch as the men fanned out to search for him. Somehow, he found the moon immediately, as if he were being drawn to it.
Jack Frost.