[OPEN] All a settlement of snow...

[wintershepherd]

Characters: Jack Frost & OPEN
Date: Catch-all for December threads
Location: Keeliai and Landfall at Bresilyk
Situation: General prompts are in the post, prior discussed starters to be set up shortly! Message me if you want me to add a specific starter for your character or just tag in with any scene.
Special Note: Jack will have Baby Tooth with him unless noted otherwise and her visibility follows the UPDATED!! belief guidelines as Jack's do.
Warnings/Rating: TBA in threads if needed.


[ A. LANDFALL LINKS ]
→ Snow Glitter Shenanigans
→ Chilling on the pier with bitty at Aihsohlow

[ B. WELCOME CENTER ]
As officially announced at the beginning of the month, Jack's commenced running a small welcome center located in central Keeliai for Foreigners arriving into the city. Today he can be found sitting cross-legged on the floor, sorting a pile of donated books from various vendors around the city. They're in various languages and the ones that are in kedanese are of a beginner level so that the basics of the language can be attempted. Baby Tooth is flitting nearby, checking a list of supplies that they'd compiled, thinking they'd need.

"I'm glad we got so many volunteers," Jack was in the middle of saying to the faerie. "Between here and the fishing store, it's going to be really busy." Baby Tooth fixed him with a dry, droll look as though to remind him which of the two of them was used to working 24/7 and he laughed. "Right, right... can you imagine if Tooth were here?"

[ C. DOWNTIME ]
When he does manage to find some free time, he surprisingly spends it... doing nothing. Or rather, soundly sleeping in a snowy bough of a park tree, feet propped up against the trunk, staff balanced lightly across his stomach, seemingly without a care in the world and utterly unbothered by the cold.

Comments

[alphatar]

"I think most the foreigners are still sleeping when I’m here. Only a couple of kedan, but they were just curious what the new building was for. Jim came by to bring me breakfast that day." Korra folded her arms onto the desk and leaned forward.

"Jim Kirk." Clarification just in case, though Korra’s pretty sure the Captain knew just about everyone on the turtle.

[wintershepherd]

Jack's shoulders draw inward a little at Jim's name, though he nods to show he knows exactly who she means. "That sounds good," he said carefully. "We might not see too much activity until more new arrivals start coming in."

[alphatar]

"We'll have more. Eshai always manages to pull in a flood of them when we least expect it. But those pamphlets will last at least one wave of newcomers."

She didn't miss the subtle change in Jack's posture, and when he spoke she was reminded again of how they sounded similar.

"You know, the clinic wasn't the only time." she added quietly as she brought her hand up to rest on her shoulder.

[wintershepherd]

"I... sorry?" Jack momentarily lost the conversation when that remark seemed to have no context.

[alphatar]

"It wasn’t the only time I lost control."

Korra lowered her chin onto her arms. "After the Emperor let me see my future, I almost killed Jim." That was some guilt that plunged to the bottom of her stomach if she thought about it too much. "I didn’t mean to…"

[wintershepherd]

That was very unexpected and it takes Jack a moment to process that. "What happened?"

[alphatar]

"Promise not to tell anyone." She knew Jack wouldn’t, which was why she didn’t wait for a verbal confirmation.

"I was showing Jim a proper demonstration of bending, but I guess everything about what I saw at the palace just got to me." Tilting her head so she could look at Jack, albeit sideways, Korra considered him for a moment before continuing.

"I entered the Avatar State…while in emotional turmoil." Korra had been told of it happening to Aang, but that didn’t make it any easier for her to accept it actually happened to her. Not when she’d been in control of it.

"That’s when the Avatar channels the knowledge, experiences, and powers of all their previous incarnations. If the Avatar isn’t emotionally stable or in extreme danger, it will take over and act instead." Now that she thought of it, it would have been her past lives and Raava that had been in control of her.

"Jim tried to stop me, something the Avatar State doesn’t really like."

[wintershepherd]

"It sounds like a lot to handle," Jack said solemnly. In some ways it sounded very much like the core of Winter he had within himself, and how that could so easily get out of control if he wasn't aware.

"Then what happened?"

[alphatar]

Korra could only nod, albeit sideways at the statement and how true it was.

"Then, Jim managed to get me out of it; let me know it was okay…and I believe him."

Despite how much she did like her role, Korra never told anyone about how heavy the weight of being the Avatar really was until recently. Now she was starting to see that Jack was really suffering from the same problem.

[wintershepherd]

"I'm glad neither of you were hurt," Jack said with a nod. "Seems like Jim makes kind of a habit of doing that..."

[alphatar]

"Well, his car kind of got hurt. A little." She couldn’t help being honest.

"But yeah, he’s usually right. Afterwards, we talked for a bit and I just didn’t let that stop me from being the Avatar." As comfortable as she looked, Korra was looking at Jack intently.

[wintershepherd]

Jack could be obscure on a great number of things but even he wasn't slow enough to miss that heavy handed analogy. Unfortunately, rather than draw him out it made him feel pressured, to which he shook his head at her.

"It's not that easy, Korra."

[alphatar]

Unblinking, Korra rose and sat up straight. "You think that was easy?" It wasn't angry, retaliatory, or even offended in the slightest.

It was almost scared.

[wintershepherd]

Jack drew a breath and released it; in contrast to he didn't actually breathe regularly, the gesture seemed to focus him.

"Maybe a bad choice of words, sorry. I just meant, what works for one person doesn't always work for another."

[alphatar]

"No, I guess it doesn't."

Seeing Jack actually breathe has always been a rare instance for Korra and she knew right then that she was pushing too hard. Like she had done with both Jim and Kyle.

Which reminded her "I spoke to Kyle after I talked to you." then she breathed a guff of laughter through her nose. "More like yelled at him."

[wintershepherd]

"Oh," Jack said, sounding like she'd just announced twelve extra summer months. "Great. I'll probably be hearing from him before too long, then."

[alphatar]

"At least you won't be surprised." Though she doubted he would be considering they've both had their share of getting lectured by the Lantern.

She shifted into a more relaxed position and put her hand on her leg, letting her turn to see him properly. "Remember when I asked you about meditating with me? I was thinking that might help us both out."

After not having a huge blowout with Kyle, she decided to act on his nudging her to help him learn about his abilities.

[wintershepherd]

Jack gave her a funny look. "What... here? Now?"

[alphatar]

"No, I was thinking twice a week or something." Right now didn't feel right, and the Welcome Center was hardly the right spot.

[wintershepherd]

"Oh. All right then," Jack breathed a silent sigh of relief, settling back. That made more sense, he reflected. It was only a gut reaction which had prompted him to wonder otherwise.

[alphatar]

Pleased at his agreement, Korra leaned comfortably back into the chair. "I’ll set up my meditation room then." Now that she could actually meditate with little difficulty, it was about she did so anyway.

"I think you gave Dick Grayson the time of his life. We went sledding in the snow; the track I made is still there."

Beat.

"Well, I haven’t had that kind of fun since before I got here." Even though her memory of Jack taking her away from the compound when she was thirteen for a day of play in the snow was false, it was nice to pretend.

[wintershepherd]

"I'm sure he would have had fun like that regardless," the spirit demurs. "He seems like a pretty lighthearted guy all the time."

[alphatar]

"And I'm not?" That didn't come out right, and completely wasn't what she was going for; so Korra quickly amended it.

"Lighthearted I mean. Obviously I'm not a guy."

[wintershepherd]

"I'd noticed," Jack replied with a laugh. "And yeah, you are. Neither of you needed my snow to have fun, that's all."

[alphatar]

She could help but laugh when he did. They were both being silly at this point. "I'll take your snow any day Jack."