He stared coldly at the spirit before him, a hideous woman who had been luring humans into her grasp. She had a mouth of jagged teeth, and her hands were scaled, almost as if they were gloved. Her upper body was armored, while from her waist there was a serpent's tail, which was as long as he was tall.

Her name didn't matter. She was strong, and breathed fire. She liked to eat humans - not just children, but adults as well. So did the rest of her tribe. He only found them because this particular spirit had gotten careless recently.

She blew a huge gust of flame. Jack had already created spikes and walls of ice, trying to defend himself, and he ducked behind one as she roared. His pulse was calm, because he knew he couldn't die.

Fighting was easy when there was no way to lose.

As soon as the flames faded, he rolled out the other side, staff already shooting a stream of frost. The spirit screeched, waving her tail wildly to disperse the cold. She smashed the ground angrily, making it shake.

Jack was already darting behind her. He slammed his staff into the ground, aiming his power at her soft underbelly. The spikes flew across the ground, tearing into her skin. She screeched again and roared, twisting violently as she set everything in sight on fire.

He crouched behind a thick tree and watched as his icy creations started to melt. They were thick, sure, but no match for the heat the spirit gave off.

So he did the logical thing - when the spirit paused for breath, he leapt out at her and sealed her mouth shut. Her eyes widened as she clawed at him, catching him on the shoulder. Jack grunted as he skipped out of range, and he watched as the spirit attempted to pry the frozen gag off.

It must hurt, he knew. She and her tribe must have wandered far to end up in such a wintry climate, and though they'd managed to find a cave for themselves, the cold was not their friend. It probably burned to have her lips utterly frozen.

Jack hesitated, and her tail whipped around, slamming him into one of the rocks. Gasping, he scrambled out of reach before she could try hit him again. Her body was writhing now, and her efforts to tear away the ice were frantic. Jack stumbled to his feet, brushing off his pants.

He blasted her with power, freezing her solid with one hit. Blinking once, he looked around to see if he could pick up any tracks.

The battlefield was torn to pieces though, and the likelihood of that was low. He took to air, riding the wind high. There weren't any obvious caves, but there was a mountain nearby. "Take me to their cave," he murmured to the wind. Jack was dropped down nearby, holding his staff at the ready.

He found himself facing a large, gaping hole. A ledge jutted out above it, protecting it from the snowfall. Warmth came from it's depths, so he thought there was a good chance he was in the right place.

After thanking the wind, he crept in quietly.

There were large rocks littering the tunnel as he walked, and he made full use of the cover they provided as a soft glow began to illuminate his surroundings. Jack breathed as silently as possible as he hugged the wall, seeing the spirits gathered around a campfire. Many of them huddled close to the heat, breathing on it once in a while to stoke the flames.

They were clearly comfortable, the women and men wearing light clothing. He saw armor stacked against the wall, and the remains of their food against another wall. None were left alive, and it was clear to see what they'd been eating.

Jack felt uncomfortably warm. He shifted his weight and assessed the situation. There were only a few - the tribe was very small, containing at least five spirits. There was a sort of shelter constructed in the corner, and he briefly wondered how many were inside.

Then he dismissed it. It could only hold two, perhaps three at the most if they squeezed. Who knew what it was for, but it didn't increase the threat. He gripped his staff in determination and concentrated his power on the campfire.

A blast of snow stifled the flames, putting out the light. The spirits roared in alarm, their bouts of flame making it easy for Jack to spot them. He fired off a few shards of ice, hearing them strike their hard, scaly body. Some seemed to find their way into the spirits fleshy upper body, as there were a few screeches of pain.

He quickly iced the floor as well, hoping to throw them off balance. Before he could finish doing so, one of the spirits loomed out of the dark. The snake man's face was contorted with anger as he blew an inferno directly in Jack's face, burning him.

Coughing, he ducked under the spirit's claws as they swiped at him, darting backwards.

Jack could feel his lungs seizing up. Ignoring the feeling, he fired attacks in quick succession, freezing the spirit to the ground. Before it could free itself, he froze the spirit's upper torso, causing it to collapse the ground.

Two more slithered around their frozen comrade, their hateful gazes fixed on Jack. He moved to cover his face as they opened their mouths, but instead of breathing fire they merely hissed. Taking advantage, he leveled his staff and prepared to freeze them both.

Claws grabbed his arms and wrenched them back, squeezing painfully. Jack cried out as the spirit who'd snuck up behind him sank her teeth into his shoulder, digging through his hoodie to break the skin. She squeezed his arms harder, trying to get him to drop his staff.

He pulled out of her grasp and pressed his back to the wall, watching as she spat out his arm in disgust. Blood dripped from where his left arm used to be, but he iced it over in a second.

The three snake women stared at him, and he stared back. He counted them mentally and wondered where the fifth spirit was. He slammed his staff into the ground, releasing a biting cold into the air. Spikes of ice shot out around him, the equivalent of saying, do you really wanna continue?

They hesitated, then as one reared up as high as the tunnel ceiling would allow. They roared, blasting him with a torrent of fire.

Jack charged forward, whacking one of the snake ladies across the face with his staff. Her head was encased in ice, and muffled screams came from her as her fire was cut off. One snake lady tried to claw him, but he ducked behind the third and froze her entire tail to the ground.

He couldn't summon up enough energy to freeze them in one go, considering how spent he already was, coupled with the heat left over from the spirits' campfire.

He leapt to the ground, just avoiding the snake lady's tail as she attempted to flatten him.

Breathing carefully, Jack blasted the first, covering her in ice to the waist. Her claws were stuck in midair, caught in the act of trying to break the ice around her head. The snake lady thrashed once, twice, then she hit the floor and didn't move. He dodged as one spirit blew fire in his direction.

Both snake ladies were clearly tired. The spirit with her tail frozen to the ground was trying to melt the ice, so he sealed her mouth shut.

Just one left.

But where was the fifth?

Jack backed up as the spirit advanced, worn out and moving slowly. He glimpsed the shelter in the shadows of the cave, but was quickly forced to pay attention to the snake lady as she spat a stream of fire at him. Then she lunged, claws pinning him to the ground.

He twisted, getting behind her. He bound her with ropes of ice and leaned back, allowing himself to sigh. His pulse had raced a little somewhere in the middle of that, and he was tired.

A hiss brought him back to his senses. Holding his staff tightly, Jack crept into the main cavern. The shelter seemed to be made of a canvas hung on thick branches, with a curtain of the material for a door. Bracing himself, Jack used his staff to shove aside the cloth.

One spirit hissed angrily, positioned defensively in front of another lying on the ground. He thrashed his tail angrily, but didn't move away from the snake lady, who groaned.

She was pregnant.

"Oh no you don't," Jack growled. He'd seen what happened when spirits who ate humans had children. The young didn't know any better. Sometimes the spirits destroyed an entire town simply to feed their babies and keep them safe. It happened less often nowadays, but it still happened.

He swung his staff in a circle, shooting off icicles. The snake man blocked the ones that came close to the snake lady, while the rest ripped through the shelter walls. Jack narrowed his eyes, wondering why it wasn't breathing fire.

Then it clicked.

They were good with heat, but direct flames? It must not want to set the shelter on fire. It could hurt the snake lady. Jack blasted the two of them with waves of snow and frost, then coated the snake man's face with ice.

To his surprise, it smashed the ice immediately, letting the fragments fall to the ground. He was either too weak to form proper ice anymore, or this spirit was stronger than the others. Neither option was good. Jack crouched down, his eyes flicking around for an opportunity.

However, the spirit roared and charged, claws outstretched. Jack rolled to the side, but the snake man swept his tail through the air, smashing Jack into the cave wall. He groaned, catching himself before he fell on his face.

Now that Jack was against the cave wall and away from the flammable cloth and snake lady, the spirit apparently had no qualms about breathing a torrent of fire at him. It was strong as well, since the snake man was fresh and not worn out by battling.

Jack lifted his staff, deflecting as much of the heat as possible. He twirled his staff as the flames subsided.

As the snake man inhaled for another roar, he formed small shards of ice, shooting them into the spirit's soft mouth. The snake man choked, as the shards had razor sharp edges. Thrashing, the spirit nearly hit the snake lady, who cried out in pain and fear.

Dancing around the convulsing spirit, Jack aimed his staff. He could not freeze her entire body, but he concentrated on her belly, pushing the cold deep into her womb. Layer upon layer of ice formed inside and out, causing the snake lady to shriek.

Before the spirits could recover, he stole out into the winter air. The wind embraced him as it carried him into the sky, far above the snowing clouds. Jack allowed himself to relax as he balanced on the breeze, letting it ruffle his hair. Then it brushed against the stump of his left shoulder.

He looked at it with regret. He hadn't had time to get his arm, and it wasn't safe to now. If he'd been able to, he could have iced the limb back onto his body, and it would've healed in a week or so. As it was, he'd have to get used to having one hand for quite a while.

At least he hadn't lost his dominant hand. He twirled his staff absently as he flew, until another thought struck him. The Guardians would want to know what had happened.

Jack frowned. They'd be nosy, too, and might not appreciate how he killed off the spirit's unborn children. It was harsh and ruthless, true, but better in the long run. If that tribe remained weakened, perhaps they'd move away. They didn't eat only humans. They just ate meat.

And humans happened to be the easiest prey around.

Humans were a little more important in his book. Jack hoped the Guardians would understand. Actually, what he really hoped for was that the next meeting would be far, far away, and that he'd never have to bring the subject up at all.

Bunny wasn't too fond of winter.

He was on better terms with Jack of course, and he didn't particularly hate the season anymore. It was just that it meant his feet froze everytime he stepped outside, and his eggs had to be painted quickly before Easter came along.

They were magical, yes.

But they were still perishables.

And so many of them ended up spoiling, it was a miracle he had any by the time Easter came around. He painted like crazy the month before spring, and sometimes spring wasn't there on Easter Sunday.

Sometimes all that came was snow.

Who wanted to search out eggs in the snow? Sure, plenty of kids still want to anyway, but it wasn't comfortable and Bunny just hated the complications of hiding eggs in snow.

So, no, he wasn't too fond of winter.

But he was always outvoted on the meeting place, so whenever there was a Guardian's meeting, they always went to North's workshop. At the North Pole. In eternal snow. There wasn't a smidgen of warmth, not even in summer! Just cold, cold, and cold. Don't even get him started on the elves.

He set down the egg he'd been working on and stretched. His paws were cramping - he'd been painting eggs for a few days now, but he couldn't stop. He dipped his brush in the river and picked up a fresh egg, giving it a basic coat of green. Once that dried, he could add the designs.

Just the basic coats for the first half of the month. Then proper painting the second half. The extras would be painting themselves in the meantime, using the various flowers and rivers that had preset designs.

Maybe by now he should just send all of them through that process, but he didn't want to end up like Tooth, who rarely did hands-on work anymore, or North, who spent his days secluded in his workshop. Bunny enjoyed getting out and being inspired by nature for new designs. He liked holding the brush in his paws. He liked knowing a child was going to find that egg and it was going to make their day.

So call him old-fashioned. He did enjoy the personal touch Jack brought into their lives, even if he couldn't stand the kid at first. He finished up the coat of paint, letting the egg down on the ground.

A few eggs scampered up to him, hopping up and down frantically. "What is it?" he asked. The eggs shook their little heads and hopped a few more times.

An aurora? Huh. He wondered what the emergency was for North to call them together. He thumped his paw, diving down into the tunnel that opened up. As he raced along, he remembered the time he'd raced through this tunnel only to be told there was a new Guardian.

Boy, had that not been fun. He'd been dead set against it, and why not? They'd been fine for centuries, longer even. It came as a further surprise that it had been Jack.

Thank god it wasn't the groundhog. At one point he would've preferred it the other way around, but not anymore.

His nose twitched as the smell of snow filtered through the tunnel. It was always sunlit and warm in his Warren, but his tunnels were affected by what was above. As it sloped upwards, he tried to ready himself for the cold.

He landed in the snow and shivered. "Blimey, it's freezing!"

Taking off, he grumbled to himself about how his ears and paws were freezing. He couldn't even feel his feet! Why couldn't North have his workshop somewhere nice and warm, like a beach? Or a desert. Alright, maybe not a desert, that was a little too hot even for his tastes. But still.

He made his way into the main hall and darted over to the fire, sighing in relief as feeling returned to his paws. And nose. And just about everything else, really.

"Eggnog?" North asked, offering a cup.

"Er, no," Bunny declined, knowing full well what was in that eggnog. "What's the trouble this time, North? I'm freezing my tail off in this weather, and I've got eggs to paint!"

North said solemnly, "Would not call you here if was not important, no? But first, let us wait for the others! Then we will talk!" He patted Bunny on the back, almost sending the Guardian of Hope into the flames, before walking away, calling for more cookies and eggnog.

Those words would probably be more convincing if North hadn't once used the aurora to ask the Guardians whether red or orange looked better on a stuffed dinosaur. Tooth had chewed him out bad for that one, and though North hadn't done it again, you just never knew. Rolling his eyes at North's craziness, Bunny sat down at the table.

He wished he'd thought to bring an egg and a paintbrush. He could've gotten some painting done while he waited. As fast as Tooth and Sandy were, it would probably still take them a bit.

And Jack - he was tumbling through the window, landing easily on the backside of a chair. "Hey, Bunny!" the youth greeted him cheerfully.

Bunny meant to respond, but his eyes were drawn to Jack's left sleeve. Or the lack of it. He also seemed to be missing the arm accompanying that side. "What happened to you?" he said, alarmed.

Jack looked a little worried, but he tried to brush it off. "You know, I got in a fight. Lost my arm," he said. He seemed about to say more, but Bunny glared fiercely at him. "You don't just lose an arm, mate. Someone ripped it off. Who?"

"I don't know who."

"What do you mean, you don't know who?! It's a freaking arm, you'd think you'd have noticed when you lost it!"

"I meant," Jack said testily, "I don't know who they were. I'm not an expert on which spirits are which, and I don't know many of them personally. I don't make a habit of hanging out with spirits who rip my arm off anyway!"

Bunny tried to calm down. "Sorry. I'm just worried about you."

"Right." Jack stood and watched as Tooth and Sandy came in, along with North. "It's okay," the youth muttered under his breath. Bunny's sensitive ears twitched as Jack added, "I'm pretty sure they're going to be worse."

The three Guardians were chatting, but as soon as Tooth saw Jack's arm she flew to his side, almost too fast to see. Her wings buzzed in agitation as she asked, "Are you alright? What happened? Did someone hurt you? Of course they hurt you, your arm's missing! Why's your arm missing? Did you get into a fight? Who did it?"

"Whoa, slow down, Tooth," Jack said, backing off slightly.

North frowned, and Sandy looked worried as they came closer. "Is true. Jack, who hurt you?"

"I don't think that's important right now," Jack pointed out. "It happened a while ago. There's an emergency going on right now. What's the emergency, North?"

"Ah, right." North looked at Bunny and Jack before saying, "As I was telling Sandy and Tooth, a tribe of naga that settled in the northern region recently. They've been attacking nearby villages. One of the yetis found them and informed me about them just yesterday."

"Why did you wait to tell us today?" Bunny asked.

North frowned. "Well, the yeti reported that they were very small, very weak. They even looked injured, as if they'd been attacked only a short while ago. I was hesitant to report threat immediately. Besides," his face turned sheepish, "yetis invented new cookie recipe. Could not resist."

With a roll of his eyes, Sandy formed a small clock ticking. North shrugged. "Was not serious! They had not taken in a moon. Unusual, very strange."

The four Guardians looked at each other blankly, uncertain of what to think. The naga were largely carnivorous, and for them to live nearby villages without preying upon them for a moon? Especially after having done so in the past?

Jack watched the silent questions pass between them and sighed. Resigning himself to his fate, he raised his right hand as if he were in school. "Um, sorry? I think that's my fault."

Four pairs of eyes looked his way. "Your fault?" Tooth echoed, her face curious.

He shifted slightly, sitting down on the back of the chair and pressing his feet against it for balance. He used his right hand to balance his staff across his lap as he nodded. "Yeah. I kinda suppressed them recently. A month or so ago." He smiled brightly, watching as different emotions flashed across the Guardians' faces.

Bunny was the first to speak.

"A month ago?!" he shouted, pointing a boomerang at him. "Why didn't you ask for help?! Naga are bloody and dangerous, and you could've gotten hurt!"

North patted him on the shoulder. "Is brave, no? Good Guardian. But, Jack, he is right. You shouldn't have attacked them on your own." He pointed to Jack's missing arm. "You lost your arm."

"Oh, sweetie," Tooth said gently. She fluttered her wings. "You know you can always ask us for help."

Sandy nodded in agreement.

Jack held in a sigh. He knew he could ask them for help. But they didn't seem to get it. He was strong. He was incredibly strong and fast. If they were really talking about who was helping who, wouldn't he be the one who was helping? Wasn't he the one who had to join their fight?

He picked up his staff, resting it on his shoulder. "I appreciate it, guys. So, North, could you get me a new hoodie? This one's really worn out."

The Russian laughed. "Of course!" he proclaimed. He called over one of the yeti and gave him instructions. Meanwhile, Bunny went back to the fire, letting the heat sink into his fur. He just couldn't believe it - did the kid seriously pick a fight with a tribe of naga? And lose only an arm?

Immediately a pang of regret shot through him. Why didn't the kid ask for help? Even one extra Guardian would've been good, and then he wouldn't have lost his arm. Heck, it probably would've been a walk in the park with how Jack had handled the tribe on his own.

"Sorry for yelling at you."

Bunny jumped and turned to see Jack standing a few feet behind him. He smiled awkwardly. "It's fine. Besides, I was the first to yell anyways." He rubbed behind his ears, uncertain how to word his next words.

Then he gave up. He was a front-and-center kind of Guardian. Tact just wasn't his style.

"Why didn't you ask for help?" he asked bluntly.

"Because I could handle it."

"So could any of us," Bunny said. He glanced over at the other Guardians, who were immersed in discussing something. "I could. Tooth could. North could. Heck, Sandy would probably wipe them out quickly. But it's not easy for us, either, even if it's within our abilities."

Jack shifted uncomfortably. "So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying we'd ask for help too." Bunny shrugged. "I guess you don't have to if you don't want to." He paused as a yeti approached, a new hoodie in hand.

Jack perked up. "Hey, thanks!" He grabbed the hoodie and immediately wiggled out of his own, leaving him only in a thin shirt. Faded burns covered his body, and silvery scars crisscrossed his skin. It took everything Bunny had to not react. Instead he massaged his foot as Jack pulled on the new hoodie.

"You'd help me, though, if I needed it, right?" Bunny asked.

Jack looked shocked. "Of course! But why would you need my help?"

"You were the showpo - er, power horse in our battle against Pitch." Bunny made eye contact with Jack. "You're real powerful. Just don't leave us on our own, alright?"

Jack blinked rapidly, then nodded.