Jack perched on the back of the sleigh, watching as his pond faded into the distance. North had decided to fly far enough away that the children wouldn't see him open a portal before he used the snowglobes, rather than give more of them ideas and to keep them somewhat secret.
Besides, the kids expected them to fly off in the sleigh when it showed up. North may not have interacted with the kids in a long time, but Jack had already learned the famous spirit had a definite flare for the dramatic.
He glanced back over his shoulder and gave a soft smile, knowing they couldn't see him, as he watched Bunny nuzzling at the side of Sandy's head. Tooth fluttered from her perch on the side of the sleigh to drape an arm around Sandy and snuggle close, neither Guardian likely to let the smallest of them out of their sight – or arm's reach – for some time.
Jack couldn't blame them – if there was room, he'd like to be down there with them. For the moment, though, he kept himself to the top riser of the sleigh. He may have taken the oath, but it had been something of an impulse decision, and he still wasn't sure he could really call himself one of them. Not yet, at least. Maybe in time, he'd really be a Guardian, but for now, despite the oath and the knowledge of why he was chosen, the position still felt tenuous.
"So, where to?" North asked from the front of the sleigh. "The Pole?"
"Zzzzzz?!" Sandy 'said', the letters appearing above his head almost immediately as he beamed.
Bunny chuckled. "You said it, Sandy. I'm bleeding exhausted."
"I want some rest too, but...my girls," Tooth said, wings fluttering, "and the teeth. I can feel my girls again, and they're with the teeth and used them to get the kids believing again, but...they can't get them all home, not in their boxes. I..."
"Cannot rest until all are safe and home, yes? Where do you think Pitch left them?" North said over his shoulder.
Baby Tooth chirped encouragingly from her perch in Jack's hood and he shifted uneasily, unable to keep his silence about finding the baby teeth when Tooth was so worried about them, but unsure how they would take his knowledge.
"I saw them," he said quietly, shrinking a little into his hood involuntarily as eyes shifted to him before making himself straighten up, though he didn't lower the hood he'd unconsciously pulled up.
"When was that, Frostbite?" Bunny asked, ears tilting towards Jack, who shifted uncomfortably, unwilling to answer while still perking up at the nickname. He wasn't sure he liked it – frostbite was one of the few things he disliked about his main season – but still.
"Well...I'm not sure how to get to them now, the entrance closed," he said instead, avoiding the question. "But I saw them, earlier. Maybe Baby Tooth can lead us there."
Sandy twisted until he could face Jack, looking between him and the other Guardians with concern written plainly across his face.
"...Jack...was this...before we saw you this morning?" Tooth said hesitantly. "When you saw my fairies? In...in Pitch's lair?" she guessed, piecing together a few things from that morning and not quite sure what to make of the shape it was forming.
Jack ducked his head, unwilling to look at her, fiddling with his hood.
"Why were you down there?" Bunny asked, Jack's silence telling them it had been in Pitch's lair, wordless confirmation that yes, he had been with Pitch while they'd been attacked by Nightmares.
