Gale of Memories

Chapter 8: North's Workshop

Chapter 8: North's Workshop

The scene opened up to show Frost flying over a desolate snowy region. "I heard it was somewhere up here..." Frost muttered to himself.

"Guardians... Jack is 50 here." MiM informed the Guardians.

"What are you looking for?" North tilted his head. The area around them seemed oddly familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

"Oh, you'll see." Jack smirked. This was a good memory. He liked this one.

A small pinprick of light shone out from the darkness around them, and Frost gave a whoop of excitement as he flew faster. It wasn't long before the Guardians could make out the familiar silhouette of North's Workshop.

Frost flew around for a bit, before landing on what he figured was he front steps. "I hear that Santa's a spirit, too! Like Sandman! So, maybe he'll see me?" The wind blew, as if saying something to Frost. "I know, but... I want to try. Maybe... I mean, he is Santa... Perhaps he'll let me spend the night? And I'd love to try some cookies~! I hear they're amazing!" He grinned as he knocked on the door and politely waited.

"You'd never had cookies?!" North's eyes widened.

"Nope. I didn't really need to eat, you know, being a spirit and all. But I did still get hungry. Luckily, as the 21st century came around, people became more wasteful with their food, and I was able to just snatch what I wanted out of garbage cans." Jack explained nonchalantly, as if it was normal for spirits to rummage in rubbish bins for their meals.

"Jack! You may not be able to die from starvation, but you need to eat!" Tooth admonished with no small amount of horror.

"Wha?!" Jack was taken aback, even as Frost knocked again, growing impatient.

"But Tooth, what was I supposed to do?! Not like I know how to cook or anything, and I couldn't just walk into a McDonald's and order a Big Mac." Jack crossed his arms, and Tooth looked down.

"He's right, Sheila." Bunny spoke up. "And we weren't there for 'im when he needed us."

"I mean... He's Santa... he's supposed to be good to all nice kids, right?" Frost idly questioned to himself. A flash of a child dying in a blizzard was seen as Frost cried, devastated that he was unable to do anything but kill this child who didn't look much older than four or five. "Then again..." The brief flashback faded to show Frost still standing before North's front door. "I'm not nice... am I?"

The wind blew again, and he smiled bitterly. "It is my fault, Wind."

"It ain't your fault, kid." Bunny spoke up, cutting off Tooth before she had the chance to start.

"It is my fault. But I know now that it's a necessary part of my job. Guardian or not, Winter Kills. It always has, and it always will. It's what I do. I kill so you" Jack poked Bunny's chest, "can bring new life in the springtime. I kill crops so the ground can rest and restore lost nutrients. I kill animals as nature's way of controlling the population. I kill humans who are either too stupid to dress warmly, or too poor to survive. I kill children that they will not suffer in life. I make those deaths as quick as I can." Jack sighed. "And I remember... every single child... every adult..."

"Even adults?" Tooth spoke up. "They could see you, too?"

"Yeah. When dying, anyone can see a spirit, so long as they're connected to whatever's killing them. Just like my dad could see Pitch. But since I'm winter, they see me as they're fading. I help any adults I come across just like I do kids, ya know? I mean, they're all just humans." He smiled. "And even the adults are kids compared to us."