He's walking down the street, tossing a pinecone up in the air, when he feels his sister tugging at his arm.

"Jack! Jack!"

"What?"

"Food's ready!" He turns around and breaks into a run, heading straight for home. He dodges the pastor's wife coming in the other direction with a chicken in her arms, and narrowly avoids Farmer Perkin's pig, sitting contentedly and munching on grass.

He's almost home, but as he jumps over the fence of the pig yard his toes barely skim the top of the rail. It's hardly anything, but it's enough, and he falls face-first in the mud. Behind him, his little sister stands with her hands over her mouth in fear, but as he pops his head up she bursts out laughing.

"You look like a pig!" He crinkles his nose into a shape like a snout, and she doubles over, giggling uncontrollably. Looking down, he can't help but grin too – his best clothes are filthy, and wiping his face feels like sticking his hands in a cowpie. Not that he would know what that feels like, of course.

They troop into the house and his mother's expression morphs from serenely cheerful to an all-out war between furious and amused. Amused wins out eventually, and she sends him off to make himself decent before dinner.

At the table, when it's time to say grace, she thanks God for mud. After all, she reminds him, he's lucky he didn't break his nose.

"Or", pipes up his sister, "your neck!"

Jack's snowball hits the Easter Bunny in the back of the head at a hundred paces, and North bursts out laughing. The next second, something wet is trickling down the back of Jack's neck, and a high-pitched giggle sounds in his ear.

"Gotcha!"

"Tooth!" Airborne, she makes a difficult target, but Jack isn't called Frost for nothing. A perfectly formed projectile curves in a graceful arc to land –

- on the Sandman's head. Jack winces.

"Sorry!"

"Every man for himself!" shouts North, and he is rewarded with a faceful of slush. At least Jack didn't miss that time.

Admittedly, it would be a bit difficult for anyone to miss at a distance of two feet, but that's beside the point.

Jack leaps into the air, spinning slowly as he surveys the battle. North's coat is more white than red, and the Easter Bunny's whiskers shimmer as if they're coated in tiny icicles. Jack grins.

"Yo, Tooth!" She whirls, coming to a halt in midair facing him. Splat. "Gotcha!"

"You little…" He sticks out his tongue at her.

"Catch me if you can!" He spins around and rockets off, dipping low to the ground and trailing his staff along in the snow. He's so busy watching Tooth struggle to wipe snow off her feathers that he doesn't notice the yeti behind him.

"Oof!" He smacks into the thing's belly and tumbles to the ground.

"Ah," someone says behind him, "dinner must be ready!" The yeti nods, and Jack jumps to his feet, brushing wet fur off his sweatshirt. The yeti yelps when Jack tries to go inside, and North laughs.

"Phil says you need to clean up before you eat." Jack grimaces, but inside he's smiling.

"You sound like my mom!" Tooth catches his eye and winks. He smiles.

"Thanks."