Sunshine and Frost

9. The North Pole

There's a drop in my stomach, like the feeling of going down a large roller coaster. I feel my body twist in a spiraling motion, but the feeling ends as sudden as it started.

We land in ankle deep snow on top of what looks like a glacier, "I'm surprised Sunni, first timers normally lose their lunch after they land." Jamie laughs.

I drop to my knees as the terrain still swims in my vision. "Yeah you might have...spoken too soon." I groan, trying to keep my stomach from emptying itself.

A cry is let out from above us, it's the spirit from before but she's less bright. I can see now that her fiery form is a Fox, she writhes in the sky from a pain that I can't see. There are flecks of blue in her coat, but for the most part her fur burns like normal fire.

"Okay so we made it, now what genius?" Sophie asks catching up to us.

"Well you see, um..." He hesitates, "I didn't really think that far ahead, but at least now she can't burn anything down." Jamie points out.

Not even a second later the fire fox releases a huge blast of fire that hits the side of the mountain. A rumble starts shaking the ground we stand on as snow tumbles down toward us.

"So you thought to send the new spirit, who we just met, to the North Pole without a plan? Now she's gonna blow up the entire freaking mountain with fire powers, great thinking Jamie!" Sophie shouts hitting her brother in the arm.

"Alright I'll admit it, this might not have been my best idea." He says, narrowly avoiding a stray blast of fire.

"Ya think?!"

The siblings pick me up by my arms, sprinting as fast as they can from the nearing avalanche. I start to move my legs with them, but they're still basically useless.

Soon we find ourselves with no room left to run, "What now Jamie?" I ask softly still trying to fight off my nausea.

The boy looks around for options, "Okay, maybe if—" but he is cut off by another bast from the fox in the sky.

It sends all of us flying off the edge and into the air above the gorge. We all fall silently for a moment, each of us to shocked to scream or yell. I feel something wrap around my waist, pulling me out of the air on to a mysterious flying craft.

I look around and it appears to be something that resembles a sled with metal framework. There are four rows of benches filled with my two friends and two other creatures. A feathered figure stands over Jamie, their hands busy themselves with checking his face.

"Are you okay? Does anything hurt? How are your teeth? Any missing?" The bird-like creature asks him. Her voice is surprisingly light, clear, and sweet like a bell.

Her feathers are a mixture of blue, green, and yellow that cover her whole body except her hands and face. They gather in a crown-like formation on top of her head, and fan out in a sort of cape at her waist. Several iridescent insect-looking wings are attached to her back as they help her hover in the air like a hummingbird.

"Tooth I'm fine, I swear, and my teeth are fine too." Jamie responds with a slight annoyance in his voice.

"You alright there Sheila?" Asks the creature that is holding Sophie with a heavy Australian accent.

A seven foot tall, humanoid rabbit cradles Sophie in the crook of his arm effortlessly. His fur is gray with grayish-blue markings, his eyes are a vibrant shade of dark green, and his foot long ears are in an alert position. A single leather strap crosses over his chest with a holster for what looks to be boomerangs. His forearms are reinforced with leather guards decorated by a simple sun design.

A hand touches my shoulder, I jump and turn to the person behind me. A small, golden man smiles kindly as he floats a few inches off of the floor. I am at a loss for words as I look at his wide, golden face.

"North!" Yells the oversized rabbit, "We got them all, turn the sleigh around!"

The man at the helm of the vehicle lets out a bellowing laugh, "Excellent! Now to take care of problem in sky!" He hollers in a thick Russian accent.

North takes a sharp turn around the chasm, I let out a scream as I'm thrown to the side of the sleigh. I fly off the edge form the force, I hang off the side taking in the view of how high we are flying.

Light glistens on the ice covered mountains, making it look like a collection of diamonds. There is a building that looks similar to a ski loge built into the mountain. Small lights are scattered all over the cliff, and roofs of smaller buildings pop up throughout the ice.

The scene is breathtaking causing me to forget the danger of my situation. "Here, I got you!" Jamie shouts. He grabs the back of my jacket, pulling me back to safety with his sister's help.

"Don't worry, you're okay." Sophie whispers. I'm confused by her words until I notice I'm shaking uncontrollably. My body trembles as the siblings rub my shoulders and back in attempts to comfort me.

"Is she alright?" The hummingbird woman asks.

"Yeah Tooth she's fine, just a little shaken that's all." Jamie answers as he and Sophie help me to stand again.

The bird woman comes to hover in front of us with concern and excitement on her face. "Yes you've gotta be more careful around here. You don't want to damage those pretty little teeth of yours!" She warns us quickly.

Her hands find their way into my mouth, prying it open with an unexpected force, and throwing me off gaurd. I feel her fingers test a few of my teeth before she removes them, seemingly satisfied. "Just as perfect as they were before." She sighs in relief, "I must say Nicola, you still take such good care of your teeth. They really are quite stunning!" She complements smiling widely.

"My teeth?" I mutter still stunned.

Jamie looks at me in confusion, "Wait, your name is Nicola? But you said—" A blast of fire hits the side of the sleigh, rocking it again with its force.

"Buckle up!" North shouts from the front.

"That still isn't funny old man!" The large rabbit yells back.

"Have a little fun Bunny!" North laughs.

More fire attacks come our way, making the man named North move in more evasive patterns. "Guys! What's the plan?" Tooth yells.

The smaller man suddenly has signs appear above his head, changing rapidly and made of a golden sand. I'm able to catch a few of the images, a fox, the sleigh, a cage?

I don't have a clue of what he's saying, but Bunny seems to. "North! Sandy says to get closer! He's gonna try and trap her!"

The large man lets out a bellowing laugh, "Excellent thinking Sandy!" He yells, whipping the reindeer. He steers the animals in a wide turn around the mountain, getting as close as he can to the fire fox that is still wailing in pain in the sky.

The golden man jumps out of the vehicle floating in the air by himself. He brings his hands together, like he's charging up for an attack, and raising them to the sky above him. A wave of golden sand erupts from his palms, forming into a sphere like shape.

"Is this really gonna work?" Jamie asks as we keep a distance from the pair.

Sandy spreads his arms, splitting the sphere in two before sending it towards the fox. She doesn't notice the trap until it's too late, but the cage makes her panic even more. Her fur suddenly turns to a shade of azure, shimmering with the light of the snow behind her.

She is ensnared so quickly and expertly even with her protests she is unable to escape. Fire erupts from her mouth, frantically spreading the blue blaze in every direction. Her struggles start to lessen, the blue color starts to revert back to its original orange. Finally she turns back into her human form, she lays at the bottom of the golden cage fast asleep.

We all stay there for a moment gazing at the girl, "What now?" I ask breaking the silence.

"To the pole!" North hollers, spurring his reindeer.