Whumptober 2024

Day 24:deconditioning - Jack

It's a new day as a Guardian and Jack is still having a hard time learning that he now has people to rely on when he has problems. When he has meetings with the guardians he barely talks to them he just tells them everything is fine and that everything is normal. But today is a day to hopefully to try to change that winter is about to start and Jack is getting ready to go to a meeting before he starts winter, but he goes he gets a visit from the people he sees the same time, every year, the Fall Spirits. "Well if it isn't my old friends. What brings you here so early in the day Russel, Amber, Scarlet,and Nippy?"  Russel answers. "We want you to leave our season alone." "See I'd love to but that's not how nature works and you know that." Russel glares at him and says. If you make it snow anywhere, we will come and give you the same treatment as last time." Russel and the others leave, leaving a nervous Jack trying to weigh his options. But then he sees the northern lights as a sign to go to the meeting, so he flys to the North Pole and try to ignore the pain he feels in his guts. All through the meeting Jack has been distracted by what he should do risk the delay of winter or go on schedule and risk the pain he was going to feel for a few months, it was very painful with what they did they were kicking and punching and poking him with hot metal but the pain of delaying was also painful and the fear of having a big snowstorm and having 9 feet of snow afterward, so his opinions were very painful. "Jack!" North yelled to get him out of his thoughts. "What? What did you say?" Tooth asks. "Are you alright Jack you've been distracted the whole meeting?" "Yeah, I'm fine just little busy with winter coming you know?" North looks at him and says. "Jack if something is wrong you know you can tell us right? You have friends you don't have to do things alone." "Yeah I know that." "Alright. Now to other business." North just went on and on about other stuff and how busy he is, Jack is looking down and is not paying attention. Bunny is watching Jack and is seeing his reaction, he looks scared and nervous, whatever has Jack so distracted is not nothing. After the meeting was over Jack was the first one to leave and Bunny talked to everyone else. "Hey does anyone else think Jack was a little tense throughout the whole meeting?" Tooth answers and says. "Yeah, but Jack says it's nothing." "Did he act like it was nothing?" North and the others thought to each other then decided to go see what was wrong with Jack. Jack went to New Zealand to start winter there first and after about an hour he had about 2 towns done before he was hit in the head with a rock. Because of the force of the hit he falls in a alley, he gets up and he sees Russel and the others with fire and pokers. "I warned you Jack. Now you will pay the consequences." Jack put up his staff to make sure he was ready for whatever he had to face. But then Scarlet got knocked out by a boomerang, they look up and see North's sleigh with all the Guardians in it. Bunny catches his boomerang while climbing out of the sleigh and says, "I'd leave him alone if I were you." "And why is that?" Nippy asks. "Because if you mess with him." "You mess with all of us." North finishes his sentence with everyone next to him standing next to Jack. The Fall spirits see that they were out numbered and all out skilled so Russel says. "You won this time Jack but next time you won't be so lucky." They left and Jack turns around. "Thank you for that." North looks at Jack and tells him. "Jack why didn't you tell us that someone was going to attack you? We would have helped." "It's hard it's not only been a year since I've been a guardian, been scene by kids, and had people to rely on. It's not easy." Bunny looks at him with his paw on Jack's shoulder and says. "Jack I know it will be tough trust me it was tough for me too. But it's ok to ask for help, it's hard to have friends for the first time and believe me it's hard for us to try to talk to you sometimes because we don't know you as we should. But if we all try to work hard we all work this out." "Ok." Jack smiles and they all walk back to the sleigh so they can enjoy some fun time together to get to know each other and hopefully learn to be better friends together.