This is an ask blog for the Leafman Jack AU being written by Eastofthemoon, LadyDouji, and Isabeau25. Feel free to ask any of the characters from this series a question. They will be happy to talk to you. (Please note, we will not be accepting and NSFW or pornographic material.) Our icon is by 1998hawaii2010
So, I got around to doing some sketches. First one is of Jack after he's forced to wear more fancy clothes.
The others are a just some random sketches of the other characters. First one is of Jack and Nod having a good time, next one is Jasmine/Baby Tooth, then it's Finn and Tooth (be warned there's going to be a bit of Finn/Tooth hinting in these fics. Why? Cause we thought it would be cute) then finally a leafman version of Bunny/Aster. His hairstyle was the trickiest to figure out.
Pitch slipped through the shadows of Moonhaven. It was not often he came to the city of the Leafman and forest people. It held too much light and too little fear, but recently there was a growing fear among the people. Fear that called to him. It was intriguing. Visiting the fearful, sleeping residents, Pitch was even more intrigued to find that their fear centered around ice and frost. If it had been winter or even late fall Pitch wouldn’t have been surprised, but they were in the height of spring.
Continuing his investigation into this new fear of Moonhaven Pitch sensed someone with a stronger fear, one touched with self doubt and a bit of self hatred. Pitch followed that trail of fear to a small apartment. The first bedroom held a girl sleeping peacefully. Pitch sneered at the girl, paused to sprinkle a bit of his nightmare sand onto her eyes. As weak as the Queen’s magic and the light of Moonhaven made him, he could still give unpleasant dreams, no-one should sleep well in his presence.
The second room held a sleeping woman, Pitch studied her for a moment. Even in sleep her brow was furrowed in worry. Pitch buried himself in her fears, testing them. They were nothing special, just a normal motherly fears regarding her children, are they safe, how can she protect them? She was more worried about her older child though, something had happened to him. Something she feared would put him in danger. Pitch decided to moved on.
It was when he saw the occupant of the third room that Pitch knew he had found what he was looking for. A teenager with white hair almost glowing in the dark room, murmuring uneasily in his sleep. Pitch could feel the Moon’s magic humming beneath the skin of the boy.
“So you’ve chosen another to receive your blessing have you?” Pitch whispered, remembering the last recipient of the moon’s blessing whose glowing light had hurt his eyes and burned his skin, “But what does he have to fear?”
Spreading his dark sand over the boy Pitch stood back and watched his fears take shape. Pitch smiled as he watch the boy use the moon’s magic to spread ice and frost. The power quickly spun out of the boy’s control, hurting those around him. The people of Moonhaven then turned on the boy, driving him out and casting him into darkness.
Pitch’s grin grew wide and wicked. He had found the cause of Moonhaven’s unseasonal fear of ice and cold. The Moon himself had even created him, created someone perfectly suited to be by Pitch’s side.
“You might as well have gift-wrapped him for me.” Pitch said, glancing out the window to the sliver of the moon visible.
He reached down to grab the boy, cursing as his hands passed through. Even with the unusually strong fear pervading the place, he was still too weak in Moonhaven to physically interact with its residents. He needed the boy to be somewhere darkness was stronger if he wanted to capture him, to corrupt him. Stepping away Pitch began to plot. It would be sometime before the residents of Moonhaven allowed the Moon Blessed out of their realm. Perhaps the Boggans would be willing to capture the boy for him, for the right price.
Summary: Nod decides Jack’s been gloom and doom long enough, and he has a plan of getting Jack to be his oldself again.
Author: Eastofthemoon
Nod knocked at the door as he glanced around the area Jack’s family had been moved to. As Ronin said, it was more secured and private than Jack’s old place, but he imagined his family still missed it like crazy.
The door slowly opened with a creak, but he heard a sigh a relief as Jack’s mother greeted. “Oh, Nod, it’s you.” She laughed. “Sorry, I was worried it was more people trying to see Jack.”
Nod gave a smile. He really had to hand it to Jack’s mother, she was taking the whole ‘My son has gain frost powers things’ surprisingly well. Then again, he suppose after losing Jack’s father a few years ago, anything else was small in comparison.
“Is Jack in?”
“In his room,” she replied as she gestured for Nod to enter. “It’s been his favorite hiding place after the blueberry bush.”
Nod gave a knowing half smile as a small head peeked up from a chair. “Nod!”
“Hey, Blossom!” Nod greeted as he ruffled her hair. “What’s up?”
Blossom sighed. “It’s hot,” she whined as she fell back on the chair. “And Jack refuses to go swimming with me.”
Nod winced. Until they got Jack’s frost powers under control, it was probably better he avoided swimming until they were certain he wouldn’t freeze the whole pond.
“Nod,” Blossom whined. “Make Jack play with me,” she frowned. “He’s been all grumpy lately.”
Nod laughed and leaned on the chair. “Give me ten minutes, and I’ll see what I can do.”
Blossom tilted her head curiously at him as he head to Jack’s room, and knocked on his door. “Bro, it’s me!” he called.
He heard a sighed, but Jack came to the door. “Thought you had flying practice today?”
“We did,” Nod said as he replied. “But North cut it short since the birds were getting too exhausted from the heat.” He shrugged. “So, figured we were overdue to hang out.”
Jack gave a bitter laugh. “Well, it’s going to be a boring day since I’m not leaving this house.”
Nod rolled his eyes. “Come on, Jack. You got to admit people have calm down about the whole thing.”
“Doesn’t help I still get stared at,” Jack grumbled as he sat on his bed. “I want my old life back.”
Nod sat next to him. “I know, but we can’t change back the clock, so you’re going to have to adjust.”
Jack rolled his eyes. “Yes, and what a great new life it is too.” He lay on his bed. “I went from being potential rookie Leafman to frost freakshow overnight.” Jack lazily shook a fist in the air and said with little enthusiasm “Yahoo.”
Nod looked at Jack silently, and then clapped his hands. “Okay,” he said as he tugged on Jack’s arm. “Get up! You are officially not allowed any more mopping! It’s so not you.”
Jack glared as he yanked his arm free. “What else do you expect me to do?” He held his hands up. “This new ‘blessing’ is so useless, except for freezing things and people.”
“Jack, Jack,” Nod said as he wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “You’re so busy complaining and sulking, you haven’t even notice the potential for fun we have at your literal fingertips.”
“Potential for fun?” Jack asked with a raised eyebrow. “There’s nothing fun with being able to make snow and frost.”
Nod grinned. “It is when it’s the middle of summer and we’ve been stuck in this heatweave for the last three days.”
Jack stared, but then his eyes widened as he seem to clue in what Nod was hinting at. “You’re not suggesting-”
“I am.”
For the first time in weeks, Jack’s bright smile grew on his face. “Commander Aster and General Ronin will be mad.”
“Oh, probably,” Nod replied as he grinned. “But the expression on their faces will be worth it.”
Jack grinned madly, and he poked his head out of his room. “Blossom! You want to play a game?”
Blossom stared upside down from the chair she was perched. “Yeah, but it’s too hot.”
“It won’t be for what we have plan,” Nod replied.
“Huh?”
“You’ll see,” Jack grinned as he scooped her up. “Come on, let’s go!”
080808080808080808080808080808080808080
Ronin wiped the sweat off his forehead as he, Aster and Finn left his office. “So, no word what the Boggans are up to?”
“A couple have been spotted near the border,” Finn said. “But that’s about it.”
“I’m rather surprised they haven’t tried an attack since the night of the Moon’s Blessin’,” Aster retorted. “Figured they would have pulled somethin’ by now.”
“They’re probably trying to wait and see how much information they can gather on Jack’s new frost power,” Ronin replied and sighed. The Boggans were being too quiet to his liking, but he much prefered this rather than the Boggans outright attacking.
Finn rubbed his neck. “Well, I don’t know about you two, but I need a cold drink.”
Aster nodded in agreement. “Sounds, real good about right-”
A squeak was heard as a small body collided into him. The men turned to time to see the girl blushing brightly. “Whoops! Sorry, Commander!”
Ronin arched an eyebrow. “Jasmine? What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be helping Tooth?”
Jasmine, who many nicknamed as Baby Tooth since she looked identical to her older sister, shrugged. “We finished fine tuning the glide wings early, Sir. So, she said we could take the day off.”
Ronin nodded, he couldn’t deny it was hard to get any work done in this heat. Finn, however, stared at Jasmine curiously, and pointed to the object in her hands. “What are you doing with those skates?”
Jasmine blinked, and paled as if she only remembered then what she was carrying. “Oh! These old things!” She gave a forced laugh as she tucked them behind her back, and started to walk backwards away from them. “Just…thought I get them sharpened for next winter.”
“Rather early to be doing that isn’t?” Ronin asked suspiciously.
“Well, you know what they say, better to get these things early!” Jasmine said as she headed to turn the corner. “So…bye!” She then raced off before the men could ask anything more.
“Is it just me,” Aster asked. “Or was that suspicious?”
“Very,” Ronin admitted. “But even if it was, what good are skates in the middle of summer?”
Finn cleared his throat. “I imagine they are very useful,” he looked to them with an amused expression. “Since one of the local teens have recently acquired the power to create ice.”
A silence hung in the air until Ronin spoke. “He wouldn’t.”
“Yes, he would,” Aster said slowly. “And double yes, if Nod’s with him.”
“Oh, for Moon’s sake,” Ronin replied as the men headed to where Jasmine had vanished. At first they didn’t know where she went, but soon it became clear as they followed the sounds delighted yells.
The found the source in the clearing that was normally used for target practice, but instead was now a large skating rink. A dozen kids were laughing as they skated, and fell on the ice with glee. Ronin noted quite a few teenagers, a lot of them from Jack and Nod’s unit, were getting into a snowball fight on the sidelines.
“Well,” Finn muttered as he looked the scene over. “You have to admit it feels a lot cooler-”
“Sandy?” Aster gasped surprised.
The short healer skated by the men, but paused to wave at them. Ronin shook his head. Of course the adults were getting into this.
“Sandy, where’s Jack?”
Sandy grinned, and pointed to the other end where the men saw Jack and Nod were busy tossing snowballs at each other. He also spotted Jasmine was currently skating alongside Jack’s little sister.
“Jack!” Ronin barked as he marched over.
The boys dropped their snowballs, but Jack grinned. “Hey, General Ronin! Bout time you showed up!”
Nod folded his arms. “If you had shown up an hour earlier, I would have won the bet.”
Ronin kept his frown as he folded his arms. “Alright, who’s bright idea was this?”
“Well, the ice rink was mine and Nod’s,” Jack admitted.
“No surprise there,” Aster muttered.
“But to be fair,” Nod replied. “The snowball fights were North’s idea.”
“North?” Ronin asked as he looked around for the man. “I don’t see him-”
Suddenly, Ronin and Aster’s faces were both greeted by a wet snowball.
“Ha!” North declared as he peeked over the pile of snow. “That should be two points for me!”
“Were we keeping score?” Nod whispered to Jack.
“If you were,” Finn snickered. “Should be five points for hitting Ronin.”
Ronin grumbled as he and Aster wiped the snow off. “North, you’re as bad as the boys! You know that?!”
North shrugged as he went back to helping a few kids build a snowman.
Aster growled as he looked to the boys. “You two can’t just create a skating rink, this place is for military-”
“We got permission from the Queen!” Nod pleaded as he reached into his pocket. “She said to show you this if you didn’t believe us.”
Ronin took the document and read it over. “It has the royal seal,” Ronin replied and tucked it into his pocket. He sighed. “Alright, but you two,” he pointed to Jack and Nod. “I’m holding you responsible if this place isn’t put to the back the way it was when this is over. Got that?”
“Yes, Sir!” Jack said with a salute, and then tossed a snowball at Nod while he had his back turned.
“Hey, that’s cheating!” Nod protested with a laugh.
Aster shook his head. “Suppose this was bound to happen eventually.”
Finn nodded. “But, you got to admit, this is the happiest I’ve seen Jack since he received the blessing.”
Aster paused as looked at Jack as his sister came to tackle him into the snow. “That’s true,” he replied. He was glad to see the boy acting more of his carefree self.
“I don’t know about you two,” Finn said as he walked away. “But I’m getting a drink and coming back here to sit and cool off.”
Aster looked to Ronin who smirked and gave a laugh. “That does sound like a good idea. I need a break from this heat.”
Aster chuckled. “Yeah, and better to watch Jack to make sure he doesn’t get the bright idea to start an avalanche.”
“Oh!” North said. “That would be-”
“No!” Ronin and Aster said in unison and were suddenly both very glad it wasn’t North that had received the Moon’s Blessing.
Summary: Jack learns he has more than just his new frost powers to deal with
Author: Ladydouji
Jack sat on a branch, hidden behind a few leaves relaxing in his first bit of solitude all day. So far he had spent his morning avoiding would-be worshipers and hours getting fitted for horrendously fancy outfits. Jack frowned at the memory.
Walking into Queen Tara’s gardens Jack had expected another day of “Frost this.” and “Completely freeze that.” to teach him to control the Moon’s Blessing. He had been partly correct. Once he made his greetings to Tara, she had handed him a small leaf crown and told him to ice it over solid. He did, and the crown glittered in the light of the garden. Offering it back to Tara he asked, “Pretty crown. What’s it for? Doesn’t seem like your style.”
Tara didn’t take the crown, she just smiled, “It’s for you Jack. For formal dinners and other occasions.”
Jack froze looking down at the crown with growing horror. Then he saw bolts of fine spider silk cloth behind the queen and a few people standing to the side with measuring tools. Jack tossed the crown to the side as he turned to run.
“Just remembered something very important! Gotta go!”
He hadn’t gone two steps before Tara’s vines wrapped around his legs nearly tripping him, but more came to keep him from falling. A part of Jack wanted to ice the vines, break them and keep running, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t strike at Tara.
“Oh come on! I don’t need any new clothes Your Highness! My leafman uniform is fine.”
“Jack there’s no need to be so dramatic. It’s just a few outfits.” Tara said with a smile as she stepped closer, reaching to pat his shoulder.
Jack squirmed in the vines frowning, “It’s not just the outfits, or the crown. It’s everything! Everyone treating me like I’m some sort of of noble or minor god. Just because the Moon decided to be kooky and give me frost magic. It’s stupid. I just want to be a normal leafman.”
“Jack I’m not sure if you understand what the Moon means to us,” Tara chided Jack, ruffling his hair. “The Moon has always been a beneficial spirit to this forest. It is by the Moon’s light that the power of the forest is passed from the ruler to the heir. We owe a great deal to the Moon even if we don’t understand him. So it’s hardly a wonder or surprise that someone with the Moon’s Blessing will be honored as royalty with all the duty and obligations that entails.”
“But…” Jack struggled to think of objections to Tara’s statement.
“No buts Jack.” Tara stated. “I know you didn’t want this power, but you do have it. Now we all just have to learn to handle it.”
“Maybe, but do I really need fancy outfits? I could always just add frost to my regular and dress uniforms.” Jack offered.
Shaking her head Tara answered, “I’m sorry, but when you appear with me it won’t be as a Leafman and so your normal uniform won’t be appropriate. So please let the tailors do their job. I have some honeyed crackle cake for tea when they’re done.”
Jack chewed his lip for a moment, “Can I also have a say in the designs?”
“Of course Jack,” Tara smiled. Stepping back, she unwound her vines from Jack’s limbs, and the tailors stepped forward.
Jack rubbed his temples to ease the headache forming. The meeting with the tailors had taken hours. First there was taking his measurements, then came the arguments about the designs. One of the outfits they suggested consisted of seven layers of differently colored and embroidered robes. Queen Tara had shot that one down while he was still staring in shock. They had finally managed to settle on three designs of varying formality, and then he and Tara had sat down for tea. He barely tasted any of it, not even the promised honey crackle cake.
Now all he wanted was to go home and see his mother and little sister, but there was a group of people gathered outside his door. Glaring at the throng from his hiding spot, he debated sending ice down to scatter the crown. But he still remembered the whispers and stares from the people convinced he was a danger to Moonhaven. His internal debate was cut off when a voice called to him.
“Jack? Ya hiding out up there?”
Turning around Jack hurried to give a proper salute to Aster, grateful for one little piece of normalcy, “Commander Aster.”
Aster smiled returning Jack’s salute, “Bit of a crowd outside your old place.”
Jack sighed, “Yeah. Hope they’re not bothering Mom and Blossom.” Jack paused a moment then frowned, “Wait what do you mean my ‘old place’?”
Aster’s expression grew more serious, “General Ronin sent me to tell you. You’re being moved into a different apartment that’s a bit more secure and private.”
Jack froze, “W-what? You have got to be kidding me Commander! I spent all morning getting fitted for stupid formal outfits and now I’m getting kicked out of my home!”
Aster winced at Jack’s outburst, “Now Jack, settle down. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Not that big of a deal!?” Jack started pacing. Now he really wanted to ice something, or break something. “The Moon decides to give me ice powers and everyone starts freaking out!. I saw people bowing to me the other day. BOWING! And if they’re not doing that they’re running scared, or whispering when they think I can’t hear them. I hear them whispering how useless my so called blessing is. Or I hear them talking about what a danger I am. That I should be sent away from Moonhaven before I freeze everything. And now you come to tell me I’m getting moved out of my family home. So tell me how is this not a big deal?”
Aster watched the stressed and fuming young leafman, remembering how social and carefree he normally was. Now he was tense and withdrawn, Aster decided he’d need to have a talk with Ronin and Tara about that, as well as those fearful whispers. People had a tendency to be stupid when they got scared. First things first though, he had to deal with this outburst. For a moment Aster pondered which part of Jack’s rant to deal with first.
“Ya powers aren’t useless Jack.” Aster stated as Jack continued pacing, holding back a chuckle at the look of utter disbelief and exasperation Jack gave him.
“How are my powers not useless? No-one likes frost and ice, it just makes plants wilt.” Jack whined, no doubt repeating some of the whispered taunts he’d heard.
“Ya saved Nod with these powers didn’t ya?” Aster countered. “If you want useless you should ask Nim about the last guy who got the Moon’s blessing. Apparently all he did was glow like a star and float around.”
“Maybe,” Jack conceded sitting back down the branch, looking deflated. “but at least he wasn’t a danger either.”
“And neither are ya.” Aster crouched down beside Jack patting his shoulder, “People are just overreacting because your gift is something new, and sadly new is scary to a lot of folks. Give it time and people will see you’re harmless and your power can be a great help to everyone.”
“How can frost and ice be helpful? It’s as deadly as a boggan’s rot sometimes.” Jack asked, still unconvinced.
“Be great for the rose hip harvests. The’re always sweetest after a little frost. Be nice to have them that sweet all spring, summer and fall,” Aster commented, “And dependin’ how connected and aware you are of the natural weather you might be able to tell when the first frost is gonna hit. That’ll be right useful, we’ve lost harvests before because frost hit sooner than expected.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Jack conceded rubbing the back of his head. Looking at the small crowd, “Still wish people would leave me alone about it.”
“They will, once everyone gets used to it. Then you can go back to being a Leafman, albeit with a few extra duties.” Aster said reassuringly, gripping Jack’s arm and hauling him up. “Now come on. If I don’t get ya to your new place to help with unpacking your Ma will probably skin me.”
“Mom and Blossom are there?” Jack asked, a small smile tugging at his lips.
“Ya think they would have just let ya go off and live on ya own?” Aster grinned. “Not a chance.”
Jack finally let a smile slip free as Aster guided him out of his hiding spot. Looking back at his old home, he already felt a wave of homesickness and longing, but was grateful he wasn’t going to be alone.
Summary: Nod talks to Jack after recieves the Moon’s Blessing
Author: Eastofthemoon
Jack was safe. No one was going to find him here! Yup, the blue berry bush would become his new sanctuary. Jack sighed as he leaned back on the branch.
It was not the life he had in mind, but it would be quiet. No one to bother him. No one to scream or fuss over his new frost powers. Nope! He was going to spend the rest of his life here and no one would ever find him-
"Jack!" Nod’s voice cried out. "I know you’re up there!"
Jack cringed and wished his had a pillow to bury his face into. “Jack’s not here! Go away!”
"Can’t do that!" Nod said as Jack heard him climb up. The leaves rustled as Nod’s head poked over the branch. "The Queen asked me specifically to find you."
"Why?" Jack scoffed. "So, Ronin wouldn’t send the army out to bring back the ice freak?"
Nod arched an eyebrow. “More like she figured I had a better chance of knowing where you went.” Nod hopped onto the branch to join him. “Come on, Bro. You can’t stay out of here forever.”
"Oh, yes I can," Jack said as he pointed to an upper branch. "Figure I build an apartment there, and eat blue berries for the rest of my life."
"Jack, be serious."
"I am," Jack replied as he sulked. "You saw how they all looked at me at when the Queen announced what happened!" He hated it. Half of them looked terrified when Jack did a demonstration of his frost by having his frost cover a daisy.
The other half stared in awe, which would have been fine if almost all of them hadn’t started bowing to him. Some even asked what they should call him like he was some kind of noble lord.
All the eyes looking at him, terrified and looking him like he was some kind of mutant. Jack did the only thing the popped into his head. He ran and didn’t stop running until he found the blueberry bush.
"Half of Moonhaven is terrified of me and the other half want to worship me like I’m some kind of frost spirit!" Jack was certain he heard someone ask about doing offerings as he ran out of the room.
Nod tilted his head and gave a mocking grin. “Well, if any of them start making temples, think of the offerings you can get?”
Jack glared. “It’s not funny, Nod!”
"I don’t know, you haven’t seen Ronin’s expression about this whole thing yet."
"Nod!"
"Alright, alright," Nod replied as he sat down to him. "Things are crazy, but everyone will calm down eventually." He patted his arm. "And not everyone is scared of you. Ronin, Finn and Aster aren’t." Nod started to count on his fingers. "Neither is Tara, Sandy, your family, Tooth, North, need I go on?"
"And what about you?" Jack asked.
Nod gave a smirk. “Yeah, no, be a long time before I start worshiping you-“
"But aren’t you scared of me?" Jack asked. "Nod, I froze a Boggan!" He buried his face into his hands. "Frankly, I wouldn’t blame you."
Nod went quiet and he patted Jack’s shoulder. “You’re my best friend and you saved my life. I would never be scared of you.”
That helped. Nod wouldn’t lie, not about this. Deep down, Jack had known Nod wasn’t scared, but he didn’t realize how much better it felt to hear those words leave Nod’s mouth. “I just don’t get it though. Frost? Why would the Moon’s blessing be frost?” Jack stared at his hands. “And why ME of all people?”
Nod thoughtfully poked at Jack’s hair. “Maybe cause you look the best with white hair?”
"Not helping, Nod."
"I don’t know, Jack," Nod said, with a sigh. "Although, from what Nim has told us I don’t think the Moon is all there if you get my drift."
Jack tugged at his now very white hair. Man, he really missed it being brown. “I have to agree with you.”
Nod tugged on Jack’s arm. “Come on, let’s go. Tara, Ronin and Aster want to talk with you about learning to deal with this ‘blessing’.”
Jack sighed, but let Nod pulled him up to his feet. “Fine, but if she thinks I’m wearing some kind of tight, overly ruffled robe I’m running again.”
Nod laughed as they started to climb down. “Bro, I would tie you down cause I would SO pay to see that.”
Jack gave a smile, thankful he at least still had his friend.
Summary: Ronin reads over a report of who was chosen to recieve the Moon’s Blessing
Author: Eastofthemoon
Ronin drummed his fingers on the desk as he read over the report and felt a migraine emerge from every sentence he read. He lifted his gaze up to Aster, who carried the same sour expression Ronin had, and Finn who stood calmly.
“Let me see if I am understanding this,” Ronin said as he set the report down. “The Moon’s Blessing, an event that happens only once in a thousand years in which the moon grants one person with a ‘gift’.”
Ronin rose, but Aster and Finn remained quiet as he started to pace. “The event in which why we sent every Leafman we had to guard the pond to ensure a Boggan wouldn’t receive it,” he paused to look at Finn. “Cause you know that’s the last thing we need to worry about.”
He resumed pacing. “And you’re telling me the Moon chose Jack?” He froze and looked to Aster. “Trouble making, pain in the rear, will cause us to have an early death, Jack?”
Aster sucked in air to recompose himself. “That about sums it up, Mate.”
Ronin pinched the bridge of his nose. “Oh, Sweet Moon, we would have been better off with a Boggan.”
Finn chuckled. “You know, I think you’re both over reacting.” He gave a shrug. “It could have a lot worse.”
“Worse?” Aster spat as he threw his arms up in the air. “How could it have been worse?”
Finn turned to Ronin and cleared his throat. “The Moon could have chosen Jack AND Nod.”
Horror spread across Ronin and Aster’s faces, but Finn continued. “Nod was with Jack when he was chosen, and according to Nim, two people have been chosen in the past before.”
“Thank you, Finn,” Ronin said bitterly as he marched back to his desk. “I’ll be having nightmares for the next week now.”
Finn smirked as Ronin sat back down. “Where are the boys now?”
“Getting a check up after that fight they had with the Boggan that attack them once Jack received the blessin’,” Aster explained.
Ronin frowned. “Boggan? Nod, never mentioned that, what happened to it?”
Aster scoffed. “Ya clearly didn’t finished readin’ the report.”
Ronin raised an eyebrow as he turned the page. “Jack froze the Boggan?”
“We would have brought back here for questioning,” Finn explained, but the other Boggans swooped in and carried him away.
“Right,” Ronin said as he rose and picked up his sword. “I’m going to fill in the Queen on what happened.”
“If she hasn’t already heard about it,” Aster remarked. “North’s been tellin’ everyone so half of Moon Haven probably knows by now.”
Ronin shook his head and wondered how big this migraine was going to get.
Summary: It is the night of the Moon’s Blessing and all the Leafman, including Jack and Nod, are waiting on guard to see who receives it.
Author: Eastofthemoon
It was a warm night. The moon was bright and full, and shone brightly down on the pond below where several units of leafman were standing on guard.
Over in a bush near the pond’s edge, Nod gave a yawn as he slouched. “I am so bored.”
“Me too,” Jack replied as he adjust his helmet. “We’ve been here for wait? Three hours?”
“Yeah,” Nod said as he pointed to the moon. “How long does it take for that thing to pick a person?”
Jack sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. “If you ask me this whole thing Moon Blessing thing is crazy.” Jack cleared his throat and suddenly grabbed some broken twigs to pretend they were extra arms. He waved them around as he tried to imitate Nim. “Tonight’s the night a person will be chosen to receive the Moon’s Blessing. It only happens once every thousand years so we need to be ready!”
Nod laughed as Jack waved a twig at him. “Alright, alright, knock off with the comedy act.” Nod grimly looked over the pond as Jack tossed the twigs aside. “Do you think there is a chance a Boggan is going to be chosen?”
Jack frowned as he looked up at the bright moon. “Hope not. A Boggan with powers? Wouldn’t that be fun?”
Nod nodded. When Ronin had heard the news, Nod didn’t have to be a mind reader to know the Boggans were the first thing that sprang into his mind. According to Nim a couple of Boogans had been chosen in the past, so it wasn’t that hard to believe.
With all the trouble Mandrake had been giving them, him gaining a Boggan with a power made them all cringe. Worse yet, what if it was Mandrake himself that was chosen? Nod shivered at the thought. Ronin be cursing for a good number of days if that happened.
He looked over across the pond where Ronin should be guarding Queen Tara. Ronin had tried to persuade her to wait at Moonhaven, but she had insisted on being here. There were times Nod didn’t know who was more stubborn, Ronin or the Queen.
He then gazed out to where Aster and Finn were suppose to be and took out his telescope. “Still no signal from either of them. I bet those people the Queen chose to receive the blessing are getting impatent, eh?”
Nod looked back, expecting Jack to return with the same grin but he didn’t. Jack was staring at the moon with no expression on his face. The blank expression creeped Nod out, it was like Jack’s mind had been turned off. “Bro, you okay?”
Suddenly, a bright beam of moonlight shot straight out of the moon and landed in the lake not far from Nod and Jack’s position.
“Hey, something’s happening,” Nod looked to Jack who was still gazing at the moon. Then Jack rose, removed his helmet while keeping the blank look on his face as he walked forward to the pond.
“Jack, what are you doing?” Nod hissed as he grabbed his arm. “Commander Aster will have a fit if you move from position.”
Jack didn’t listen and instead shook off Nod’s hold and continued to head towards the pond. Nod stared dumbly until his brain put the pieces together. The Moon was choosing Jack!
Jack’s mind was very muddled but he felt calm and at peace. He heard Nod called his name, but it sounded distant. The Moon was beckoning him. A soft warm voice called him in his mind. Jack felt like he was being welcomed by an old grandfather.
He didn’t bother wondering why he could suddenly walk on the water’s surface without sinking, he only continued to march forward. Then the Moon told him to stop and he did. His body felt light as invisible hands lifted him into the air and bathed him into the moonlight.
A tingle washed over his body, and he could feel every fibre of his being soaking in the moonlight, but it didn’t hurt. Jack almost thought he was going to fall asleep until the invisible hands lowered him back onto the water.
Jack felt daze as the invisible hands gently guided him back to the edge of the pond. He didn’t stop and fully wake up until Nod grabbed him by his arms and shook him.
“Jack! Jack! Wake up!”
Jack blinked. Wait, what did he just do? His eyes widened as it dawned on him what had happened. “D-did I just get lifted into the air?” It was then Jack noticed his now white silver bangs of hair dangling over his eyes. “What happened to my hair?!”
Nod opened his mouth to respond but was cut off as a screech was heard. A Boggan charged at them with a sword in hand.
“Look out!” Nod acted quickly as he shoved Jack out of the way and blocked the Boggan’s attack with his sword. However, the Boggan kicked at Nod’s stomach and knocked him over.
Nod tried to get back up, but the Boggan was faster as he pinned Nod looked ready to stab him with his sword.
“Nod!” Jack cried as he raced towards. He had to stop this! He had to do something! In his panic, Jack charged and he didn’t notice his hands sparkling. Jack jumped and punched the Boggan off of Nod seconds before the Bogga was going to slice Nod’s head off.
Nod scrambled to his feet and both boys got their swords ready as they waited for the Boggan to strike back.
But he didn’t.
The Boggan shook his head and suddenly screamed in fear. From the spot where Jack had punched him, ice began to form over the Boggan. The creature tried to scrape it off, but it didn’t work and it quickly spread to his legs. The Boggan shook his angry sword at Jack as the ice grew and covered over his head and the rest of his body becoming an ice statue.
Nod and Jack lowered their swords in shock. “Nod, did I just freeze a Boggan?”
“Yeah, Bro,” Nod replied as he dared to poke at the statue with his sword. “I think you did.”
Jack suddenly felt tired and lost all strength he had in his legs. He collapsed, but Nod managed to catch him before he hit the ground.
“Don’t worry, Bro,” Nod said gently as he held him. “I got ya.”
Jack could only give a half smile, as he shut his eyes and went to sleep.
Nod debated on what he should do as he lifted the sleeping Jack up into his arms, when he heard several feet approach him. Aster, and Finn raced out of the bushes.
“Nod, Jack!” Finn cried. “We saw the moonlight and-” He trailed off as the men stared at the sleeping Jack in Nod’s arms.
Aster seemed to put the pieces together quickly as he stared wide eyed at at the boys. “Nod, don’t tell me-”
“That the Moon chose Jack to receive the blessing?” Nod replied as he carried Jack to them. “Okay, I won’t tell you, but then I have no explanation for the frozen Boggan.”
Aster moaned and rubbed his eyes, while Nod wondered how Ronin was going to take the news that one of the biggest pranksters in Moonhaven has now gotten ice powers.
Summary: Little Jack and Nod wander too far from home and find that the shadows aren’t very friendly.
Author: Isabeau25
“Jack, we need to head back,” Nod said in exasperation, “it’s almost dark.”
“You’re not afraid of the dark, are you?” Jack flashed a toothy grin at his best friend, “anyway, we can’t go back. We’re lost.”
He said it with all the glee a ten year old could muster, as if being lost would excuse all the trouble they would get into if they got caught out after dark. Nod was not impressed.
“You’re lost,” Nod folded his arms over his chest, “I know how to get home.”
“No you don’t,” Jack stuck his tongue out at him, “you’re just saying that.”
“The river is that way,” Nod pointed, “we’re a mile downstream from Moonhaven, and if we don’t head in soon we’ll have to find somewhere to spend the night, because we won’t be able to find our way in the dark.”
“We could stay out the night,” Jack bounced with excitement, “it would be fun!”
“Not when we got home, it wouldn’t,” Nod grumbled.
Nod was usually more enthusiastic about adventures and rule breaking, but he hadn’t been very interested in fun since his father had been killed a few months ago. Jack knew Nod was really sad, and he just wanted to cheer him up. Nod really loved being out in the forest, so Jack had decided an adventure was in order. Nod had actually seemed to be having fun up until it started to get dark, even if he hadn’t been as enthusiastic about the undertaking as usual.
“Ronin is on night patrol, right?” Jack shrugged, “he won’t notice we’re gone as long as we’re back before he is.”
“Your parents will notice,” Nod huffed.
“Dad is on patrol too, and mom is busy with the baby,” Jack shook his head, “no one will notice. Come on, it will be fine.”
Nod scowled at him for a moment, then relented, “fine. Where do you want to go?”
“There’s all this cool moss growing near where the cranberry shrubs are,” Jack grinned, “it glows in the dark and everything.”
“The cranberries are near the marshes though,” Nod protested, “there are boggans down there.”
“I’m not afraid of boggans,” Jack proclaimed.
Nod gave him a doubtful look, “have you ever met a boggan?”
Jack started to answer confidently, then stopped. He had actually never even seen a boggan. He wasn’t sure he really wanted to, but he did want to go explore the cranberry shrubs and look for glowing moss.
“No, but they won’t be there,” Jack said with authority, “the cranberries aren’t ripe yet. Why would they bother?”
“I guess,” Nod shrugged uncertainly, although glowing moss did sound cool, “it would probably be alright.”
“It will be fun,” Jack grabbed his wrist and started tugging him along.
“The cranberries are in the other direction,” Nod objected, even as he let himself be pulled along.
“No they’re not,” Jack rolled his eyes.
It took Jack another forty-five minutes to admit that the cranberries probably had been in the other direction, and now he really had no idea where they were, and the sun was almost down.
“You know where we are, don’t you?” Jack glanced at Nod.
“I… I’m not sure anymore,” Nod faltered, eyeing the growing shadows around them.
“But you always know where we are,” Jack insisted.
“I told you the cranberries were in the other direction,” Nod scowled at him.
“Then why did you let me go this way?” Jack snapped.
“You didn’t listen!” Nod yelled back.
“You…”
Something crackled loudly in the dense underbrush and both boys jumped, instinctively moving closer to each other. They stepped back from the dark shadows, hearts pounding. Everything was still, and the night air felt unfriendly. They stayed motionless for several minutes, straining to hear any noise at all. When no sound came, they relaxed slightly.
“It was probably just…” Jack started.
Something crashed in the darkness behind them, and Jack grabbed Nod’s hand and ran. Jack’s legs were longer, but Nod was used to keeping up with him. It took a few moments for Nod’s terror to subside enough to realize running was a bad idea.
“Jack stop!” Nod tugged hard, digging his heels in, “we have to stop.”
Jack’s momentum almost sent both of them tumbling to the ground, but they managed to stay upright.
“Nod, we have to keep going,” Jack tried to pull him along.
“No,” Nod refused to move, “it will only get us more lost. We need to get to high ground, up in the trees. That’s where it’s safer.”
Jack tipped his head back, looking doubtfully at the dark, shadowy branches above them.
“It doesn’t look safer,” he shook his head.
“Jack, the shadows are moving,” Nod grabbed onto Jack’s arm, his grip painfully tight.
Jack jerked his gaze down. The shadows where shifting around them, growing longer then shorter, seeming to stretch out towards them. The underbrush crackled and snapped.
“It’s okay,” Jack hedged Nod behind him, heart hammering in his chest, “it’s just the wind. We’re okay.”
“There isn’t any wind,” Nod whispered.
The shadows swarmed in on them, and Jack spun, doing his best to shield Nod. The air felt too heavy to breath, and there was pressure against their ears, like screaming without any sound.
“Nod! Jack!”
Jack lifted his head in time to see Ronin vault off his bird and run to them. The heavy shadows were gone, leaving the clearing full of bright, clear moonlight.
“Ronin!” Nod let go of Jack and flung himself at the general, wrapping his arms around his waist and pressing his face into his armor.
“Are you hurt?” Ronin asked, arm dropping to secure Nod against him and voice tight with worry.
He held a hand out to Jack who darted over to him, tucking himself under his arm.
“We’re okay,” Jack said shakily.
“Nod?” Ronin stroked the trembling boy’s hair.
Nod shook his head, face still buried against Ronin’s armor.
“What are you doing out here?” Ronin demanded, anger replacing his initial fear, “you know you’re not supposed to be out by yourselves, especially at night. Your parents are worried sick Jack.”
“We got lost,” Jack said just a little too quickly.
Ronin narrowed his eyes at both of them, and Nod didn’t need to lift his head to know he was glaring.
“We were going to come home,” Jack tried again, “we were just taking the long way.”
“Ronin, the shadows were moving and making noise,” Nod finally looked up.
Ronin’s head snapped up, his grip tightening around the boys. He scanned the underbrush around them suspiciously.
“Come on,” he ushered them towards his mount, “we’re going home.”
Jack’s dad was waiting for them in the rookery. He hauled Jack off Ronin’s bird as soon as it landed, hugging him hard, then scolding him. He was still chiding him as he led him home by the hand. There was the very real possibility of a grounding in Jack’s near future.
Ronin dismounted and lifted Nod off his bird, setting him on the ground.
“Sorry,” Nod looked down at his feet, hands fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.
“You can’t just wander off like that,” Ronin huffed irritably, “you know better.”
“I’m sorry,” Nod repeated, the beginnings of tears in his voice; he didn’t want Ronin to be mad at him.
Ronin frowned down at the top of Nod’s head, then dropped to one knee, putting himself at the child’s eye level.
“The forest is dangerous Nod,” Ronin lifted his chin, “you and Jack could have been hurt. Do you understand?”
The boy nodded, hands still twisting in the material of his shirt.
“You can’t go there alone,” Ronin pressed.
“But I like the forest,” Nod’s head snapped up.
“I know,” Ronin smoothed back his hair, “but you have to have an adult with you when you go.”
“You never want to come,” Nod glared at him, “you’re always too busy.”
Ronin rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly, “that doesn’t mean you can go on your own.”
Ronin was busy. There was no way around that. He couldn’t drop what he was doing to take Nod out every time he wanted to go, and Nod was too young to be out on his own, whether he thought so or not.
“It’s not fair,” Nod muttered, scowling at the ground.
“I know,” Ronin pressed a kiss to his hair, “it never is.”
Nod continued to glare at the ground, and Ronin stood with a sigh. The boy was as stubborn as his father had ever been.
“Come on,” Ronin held his hand out, “it’s way past your bed time.”
Nod hesitated, then slid his hand into Ronin’s, “can I stay with you tonight?”
“Of course,” Ronin squeezed his hand.
Nod slumped against Ronin’s side in relief, “can we get wagashi on the way home?”
“No,” Ronin rolled his eyes.
Nod grumbled, but only a little, mostly just happy to be going home with Ronin. Ronin was bigger than the shadows, and he would keep everyone safe.
Frosted Forest - A Rise of the Guardians / Epic Crossover
Eastofthemoon, LadyDouji and I (Isabeau25) have been working on an AU crossover between Epic and Rise of the Guardians.We had been calling it the Leafman Jack AU, but we decided with the launch of this ask blog to rename it Frosted Forest.
In this AU Jack is a Leafman who is given a 'blessing' by the Moon which gives him the ability to control ice and snow. We've posted some of the material on our tumblrs, and we also have an AO3 series page. We'll be posting more stories and snippets as they come to us.
Feel free to ask questions to any of the characters from this AU, and they will get back to you as soon as they can.
theartofmadeline
stormborns
izzy806