Dreams of Frost Jiskastya X Promise

Across the city, as children blearily got up and peered out of their window, their eyes widened in surprise and delight at the coating of snow on the ground. They galloped off downstairs, crowing happily, certain that no school in their right mind would insist on having them come to school today.

Their parents confirmed the hastily asked question of 'snow day?' and the children raced away again, followed only by the echo of their parent's voice, telling them to make sure they put on coat, hat, and gloves before they went out. Outside they collapsed laughing into the downy piles of cold snow, piled almost three feet high. They laughed and threw a snowball, and, within seconds, it seemed that the whole neighborhood was embroiled in a massive snowball fight.

Boys and girls scrambled around, laughing, face flushed from exertion and cold.

High above, drifting on a breeze, a teenage boy with white hair and laughing blue eyes, looked down at the children, a soft smile on his face. "You're welcome," he whispered softly. He then suddenly dropped from the sky, falling with a laugh, crooked staff clutched tightly in one hand. The wind caught him inches from the ground, and he shot off along the streets. People shrieked in laughter as the cold wind raced by them. and then continued with their snowball fight.

Jack landed lightly on the ground, running a few steps, then sliding to a halt on bare feet. He twirled a little, arms flung wide, enjoying the feel of the sunlight on his face. Then he took off again, floating high, and looking around the town.

Off in the distance he saw a teenage boy and his little sister heading to the frozen lake, several miles from the edge of town. He felt a sudden pang, but couldn't quite pin down why, so slowly, curiously, he drifted his way over. He would watch for a bit. And make sure that lake was frozen perfectly solid.

"....Well you rushed out of the house before I could even make sure Cara was wrapped up!" "Well...I didn't want to be out of the house by the time the lake was liquid again, Mum" large dark eyes looked up at her brother as he talked on the phone with their mother. "Nate...I want to go ice skating" she said tugging his sleeve, Nate nodded at the little girl and put a finger to his lips. "Mum she is wrapped up in more layers than I am, she could get mistaken for a bear's cub she's so round right now- ow! Cara!" He yelped as the 'bear cub' kicked him in the shin. "What happened?!" The panicked voice came over the phone, "We're still fine, Mum! Calm down, Dad has taken me this way so many times, I'll make sure the ice is safe and make sure she is safe...see you later! We love you!" Nate snapped the phone shut and pocketed it.

The older brother looked down at the wide eyed, innocent looking, shin-kicking demon beside him. "Now, kick me again and I'll test the ice by throwing you on it, okay?" Her cheeky grin dropped at this idea and the little girl gave a joke salute. "Yes, sir!" She had lost one upper front incisor so her S came out as Th, its partner was looking wobbly today. "Don't mess with that tooth, the tooth fairy won't be able to get it if its stuck in the snow some where" now his eyes made her gasp and her expression turned to shock. "No money?" She asked, totally under his command now "Nope" he answered knowing he had her hook line and sinker.

"Come on" Nate said with a laugh and took Cara's right hand, the wind picked up and took hold of her long dark hair, swishing it before her face. Her double mittened free hand had a little trouble brushing it from her face. Nate's own matching dark, but short hair was ruffled by the breeze, he didn't have a hat on like his sister, his was in his pocket.
Nate shivered and without thinking pulled his hat from the pocket it was stashed away in. Neither of them heard the phone get flung free from the pocket and hit the snow behind them.

It took a reasonable amount of time for them to reach the lake, they had started early so it was a bit before noon when they caught sight of the frozen water. Cara shrieked with excitement and ran through the snow they had both only just been trudging through. "Cara! Don't do too close!" Nate shouted after her. He acted nonchalant around her, but he did take it to heart when his Mother and Father told him to look after the little brat, he loved that shin-kicker, though he'd never say it.

Nate dropped the pack he and been carrying and opened it, he pulled out a blanket and some sandwiches, as well as two pairs of ice skates. He kept one eye on his sister as she started throwing stones, small pebbles in truth, onto the ice, the hollow 'thonk' sound brought back memories and made him smile. He lay out the blanket and sat down, "Cara have something to eat first!" He shouted to her, the bundle of energy turned to him with an excited grin and bounded over, throwing her self next to him.
"We have...." He looked through the sandwiches and groaned "oh Cara, I'm sorry, I didn't pack the ones you like!" He complained, Cara blinked at him, then her eyes narrowed, "I reminded you about the tuna" she said seeing through the lie. Nate smirked and threw her one of the packets, "of course you did, egg-cup" he flinched as his remark earned him an elbow to the ribs.

"What can I say?" He exclaimed looking at her, "you are round with this clothing! Ow! Quit it!" He finished with pushing her elbowing and giggling form onto her side, it only made her laugh further as they started to eat.

Jack watched the two quietly from on high, lauging to himself at their antics. Then, with a whoop, he dove down, sliding to a stop across the lake. He set the butt of his staff down gently on te frozen lake, and watched as the tendrils of ice slid out, creating an intricate pattern on the underside.

The lake was well frozen, he had done his job well with that storm. None the less, he played around a little on the ice, creating large intricate loops that were almost as fun to look at as they were to make. However, Jack soon returned to stillness, watching the two on the shore. He smiled as he watched the little girl. She was so young, so innocent, so happy, and Jack wished with all his might that she coudl see him, that they could spend time together and play in his winter wonderland.

With a frustrated sigh, he took off again, flipping back to the edge of the lake where he landed lightly in the branches of a tree. They iced up underneath his touch, but its smoothness didn't bother him. One leg swung down and hung there lazily, but his eyes were still trained on the two on the other side of the lake. He may as well stay and watch for a bit.

Cara looked up as Nate fell quiet, she looked at the lake then back to her brother. "What are you looking at?" He blinked and turned to look at her, his face lit up in the boyish grin she was so used to seeing, "nothing you need to worry about, come on, eat up and we can go on the ice" Cara was confused but she didn't question. The little girl looked at the lake with a small frown and munched her tuna sandwiches, her father and brother sometimes went quiet around Christmas time....but that was still a week or two away. "Did Santa come early?" Nate snorted at her question, "what makes you think that?" He asked, clearly ready to poke more fun at his sister. Cara shrugged and ate the last bite of tuna sandwich, "you and Dad go quiet at Christmas" Nate gave her an odd look, a mix between hope, expectancy and sadness. Cara didn't see the look, she was too busy looking at a branch which had dropped its snow across the lake.

"What are you looking at?" Nate asked as he cleared up the cling film the sandwiches had been wrapped in. "I think a bird hit that branch over there" she pointed at a tree across the lake, only a little snow had fallen off, it couldn't have been something heavier. Nate followed her finger and blinked at the sight, "nothing there silly, now, before the sun drives Jack Frost's art away, lets get on the lake" he tugged at one of her laces before getting on with his own.
Cara stayed quiet as she undid the knots her laces had turned into, from the careful bows they had been. Her ice-skates were brand new, Nate's were older, well used, he had been here many times in the past with their father. Cara was slower at putting her skates on, Nate had time to pull out a tube from the pack, the little girl knew was it was as soon as she saw it.

"You brought the kite?" Nate looked at her and grinned in answer to her question, "the wind seems goon enough, I'll wait till after I've taught you to skate, don't worry" he put the tub aside and stood slowly. Nate reached down to the now ready Cara and helped her struggle to her feet.
They walked together to the edge of the lake, they had come to the less bramble filled bank so it was nearly a case of walking onto the ice. Nate helped his sister onto the ice and made sure she was balanced properly then began to pull her. He showed her how to push with be foot and slide with the other, then proceeded to show off and do several spins on his own. While he slid over the lake, Cara looked down at the ice and focused on balancing, she wasn't going to be falling over so soon, at least that was what she intended to avoid.

Cara started off slowly, while her brother spun around the edge of the lake, which was too small for lots of people to be interested in, but perfect for this pair. The little girl had several moments she almost fell over, but as she started to get going, she began to see more of the pattern on the lake. Her eyes were glued to the ice, keeping an watch on where she placed her feet and the direction she was going. 'Jack Frost's art' Nate had said, "who's Jack Frost?" She asked him as he zipped by, she watched as her question made him stumble and fall over. Nate fell face down in a bank of snow, Cara couldn't help throwing her head back laughing at the accident she had caused.

The youth got up onto his knees and stood slowly, he had a look of shock on his face then started laughing himself. Just for a moment he looked at the branch Cara had pointed at earlier and corrected his balance. "Remember that film we watched last Christmas? The one with the snowman? That was called Jack Frost" Nate slid up beside his sister who was still giggling. Cara raised her eyebrows at her brother, "so...patterns in snow?" She asked "And ice" Nate added with a shrug, "it's not so much a him as in the snow and frost it self, given the name Jack Frost."
Before he could be questioned by Cara further he took her hand and pulled her along with him, they slid across the ice and as he did a spin he let her go, sending her across the ice. Cara barely managed to stay upright as she slid to a stop at the other side of the lake, her eyes were bright with excitement and joy, her questions about Jack Frost were completely forgotten.

Jack was happily vacant, staring at the sky, and listening with a half ear to the pair across the lake. But he shot up suddenly when he heard his name floating across on the breeze. What had that been? Jack Frost's art?

He stood up, balancing on the thin branch, and peering at the two across the lake. Suddenly, he would have sworn that the older boy was looking right at him. But, that couldn't be. There were very few teenagers who held their belief in even the big four, let alone a nobody like him who no one saw.

He forced himself to dismiss the idea, and settle back on the branch, Resuming his nonchalant position from before.

But he was once more drawn into sharp focus when he heard his name again, this time from the little girl. The boy fell over at the question, and then got back to his feet. And this time, Jack was certain, he looked right at him. This time he shot up off the branch, flipping out onto the lake as the two siblings skated back across the lake. He landed lightly right at the edge, staring at the boy intently, and then took a hesitant step out, bare toes touching down lightly on the ice.

"Can you see me?" he whispered, hardly daring to even dream it. There was no way that the boy would be able to hear him all the way across the lake, but still, somehow, he expected something. Some flicker, a head turn, maybe. He took another hesitant step, making sure that he was fully visible on the edge of the lake.

Nate stopped and looked towards the blanket and the pack, there wasn't only fun stuff in that pack. The youth looked at his sister who was now circling the centre of the lake, "you keep at that, I'm going to get the kite out, k?" Cara paused her skating and looked at her brother, she frowned at him and turned her head slightly. "What?" She shouted across the iced water, "I'm getting the kite, you keep going!" Nate shouted so she could hear, she nodded and continued to have fun.

The youth kept his head to the ground as she skated to the edge of the lake and carefully walked to the blanket. Whether it was chance or in fact conscious choice, Nate's path took him past rather than through the sprite in his path. As he sat down on the blanket he looked up at the sky with a sigh then just for a moment his eyes seemed to focus on something his sister couldn't see.

He shook his head as if to clear it then removed a little orange container from a small pocket of his backpack, it was a prescription bottle. The pills inside were small and a clinical white colour that gave no indication to what they actually did. Nate took two of these and pulled a bottle of water from his pack too, with a swig and a swallow he threw his head back to take the pills. A sigh of clear relief left his lips and he sat a few moments, fiddling with the kite, untangling parts and attaching others. Once done, Nate changed his skates for his shoes and he stood, he then looked around with a far more relaxed look on his face.

"Three hours" he muttered to himself as he hoisted up the unfolded kite, now full sized it was shown to be covered in snowflake patterns. It was a large enough kite, it would need a reasonable wind to get it in the air properly.
Cara circled the lake, watching as her brother tried to catch the wind with his kite.

Yes, he was sure now. The boy had looked right at him, had avoided him on his way back to the pack. Jack felt elation rising within him. Finally, a chance to actually interact, to be a part of the world and the people within it. He began to move forward, at first hesitantly, but then he broke into a jog, then an almost full out run.

He slid to a stop before the teenage boy, but his gaze did not return to Jack. Instead he worked with the kite, and then changed back into shoes. jack waited, but when the boy looked around, he did not look at Jack.

"Please," he heard himself whisper, reaching out a gentle hand to touch the boy's shoulder. It fell right through, and all the elation Jack had felt turned suddenly into rage. He wasn't mad at the boy, not really, he was mad at himself. But rage at the boy, for leading him on, for looking at him and avoiding him, for not being able to see him, was enough for right now. The wind began to stir around him, and as the boy began to try and get the kite to fly, Jack allowed hismelf to scream, a scream of rage, frustration, and complete sorrow. The wind flared up, ripping at the kite and throwing it wildly up.

Cara stopped dead in her tracks as something gripped her chest, she took a breath to try and clear it, a deeper breath dislodged the odd feeling. "Whoa" Nate watched the kite get ripped from his grasp, the short string he'd had held onto wasn't enough for the wind which caught the toy and sent it up into the air. Cara felt the wind and turned to her brother, she watched the kite go up and up, finally it began to spiral down. It landed in the tree Cara had pointed at earlier, the little girl grinned at the funny coincidence. Looking at her brother though she frowned, he looked a little annoyed...and just a tiny bit concerned.

"I can get it!" She shouted, already she was skating for the bank to get to the blanket, out her shoes on and climb the tree to get the kite back. "No, it's too high, Cara, I'll get it!" Her brother shouted in reply, the little girl pouted in disappointment but still walked through the snow to get to the blanket. Nate was already on his way, walking around the edge of the lake to get to the tree before his sister could start climbing. Cara tried to do her laces up quickly on her boots, but kept managing to get them tangled and had to restart.

Nate stepped up to the tree and looked at the kite high up in its branches. There was a strong branch that was low enough for him to climb onto and start getting closer. It looked as though ice had set into this rather bare tree, he had ice grips on his boots though, his hands could get a good grip on the smaller branches and so he didn't think he would slip.

Nate started climbing just as he heard little footsteps running up behind him, "stay at the bottom, Cara, its too slippery" he warned as he climbed higher. The little girl pouted again and watched carefully. The grips Nate had on his shoes were old, well used, the elastic holding them in place on the shoe were in less than perfect condition.
The little girl didn't see, what she did see however was her brother high up, she watched his reach for a weaker branch and saw it snap. Elastic broke on his left shoe's ice grip, his free hand couldn't find purchase on the larger branches.

Cara heard the break and the scream of agony as her brother hit the ground.

Moment of temper over, Jack took a deep breath, trying to fight the disappointment in his chest. It hurt, it hurt so bad, that he was still invisible, still nothing more than the random chances of atmospheric pressure. For a moment he watched the kite flutter away, absurdly pleased with himself. But then it landed in the tree, and Jack turned to go, tired of this lake, tired of the boy, and tired of this endless fight to be seen and heard.

He let the wind pick him up gently and began to drift away, but he was suddenly forced to a halt as he heard a desperate and pained scream. He preformed a midair flip, and hurtled back towards the lake, seeing from on high the boy laying on the ground, body oddly twisted. He dropped, fallin straight down, landing heavily on the snow. He raced over to the two, not knowing what he could do, but knowing that he couldn't just leave them.

It was his fault that this had happened. His temper that had hurtled the kite into the tree, him that had iced the branch that had sent the boy plunging to the ground far below. What had he been thinking? How could he have been so selfish?

He knelt down, not sure what he could do. He could not offer warmth, only cold, only death. He couldn't even try and fix any wound the boy may have. He was perfectly and utterly useless.

The little girl stood there, frozen with shock, she may as well have been an ice model she was so still. Nate couldn't stop the tears that welled up in his eyes, part of him wanted to scream in pain, scream for his mother, part wanted to calm his sister, tell her it would be alright.
The rest of him never wanted to have come here.

Taking a gasp of air, the youth looked down at his leg, the left was at an odd angle and was going numb from the knee down. This brought his attention to how his leg was bent, his knee wasn't where it was bent, the numbness had now spread up to his hip. "Cara, I...oh God...Cara, I need your help...g-get me under the tree, leaning....leaning against it..." If he could just get upright, maybe he could get the phone out, maybe he could think clearly and plan what to do.
His little sister wasn't moving, his attempts to shift himself were met with seizing up muscles. Slowly he began to realise why he want feeling the pain, why its was numbing to this point, the medication was dulling it. Or maybe it was just dulling his brain to the point he couldn't recognise the pain.

"Cara, I need you to help me" he gasped out, he managed to sit up slightly, he looked at the child, he needed her help and she wasn't moving. "Oh God....I caused it...Cara, I'm sorry but I really need you to help" his vision was fading. As he felt his self dropping he felt tiny hands grab him under the shoulders, just the same way their father would trying to pick them up.
Nate jerked awake and helped move himself, his legs weren't helping, he couldn't see how his right was damaged, his left was useless though.

It took several minutes to get him to the tree and leaning against it, the distance they had had to move was only a few inches. "We...need to call...Mum and Dad" he wheezed, he reached for his pocket but as his searching fingers found nothing he began to panic. Nate ripped off his glove and threw it away, he reached into his pocket again but still found nothing. No phone, his hat was on his head, his pain dulled brain managed to click with what had happened, he'd removed his hat and the phone was gone from his pocket.

"Cara...I need you to go back and get help..." His vision was fading again, how long had they been here? Had they decided a time their parents would start looking for them? No he'd rushed out of the cabin before their mother could sort that out. Emotions were surfacing in the little girl's eyes, Nate looked at her, he felt stupid, so stupid for climbing the tree. The kite was worth nothing, now he may have lost his legs because of it.

"They'll find us...don't worry" Nate knew she didn't know the way back, here she was last without him, and there was no way he could move. But their father wouldn't expect them back till late, he knew that, he'd wait for a phone call to tell him there was a problem.
They we too far from town for him to send his sister to try and find someone, as much as the medications as dulling the pain, he'd really like a hallucination to make him feel better. Nate raised an arm and beckoned Cara to him, without hesitation she snuggled under this arm.

"They'll find us" his whispered, his vision was darkened and spreading up, he couldn't stay awake. He didn't know his head was bleeding, Cara was too busy staring out across the lake which had only minutes ago been the focus of the say for her.
Cara looked at the snow on the ground and thought of her brother's words, she was a gullible little thing at times, quick to believe in something. But right now she really needed something to believe in, "please" she whispered to the air, "help them find us, Jack Frost" she curled up to her unconscious brother's form, her many layers kept her warm in the snow.