tushanshu_logs | [OPEN] Crave for quilt and the Sun

Characters: Jack Frost & ANY
Date: Assorted dates in April
Location: Anywhere
Situation: Catch all log for ~~first half of~~ ALL OF April, for both Keeliai and during landfall if needed. A couple of general prompts, ping me for specific starters!
Warnings/Rating: Will add as needed!

KEELIAI; NIGHTTIME
Jack still goes out to paint frost on the windows at night, but the temperature hasn't been anywhere near freezing in over two months and it's now gotten to the point where even with the magic laced into the ice it won't stay, rivulets of melted water destroying the intricate patterns he takes such pride in. He gets frustrated and scrubs them off, starting again and again because he has little else to fill his nights and despite his love of adventure, he is a creature of habit. He's restless and fidgety and anxious, darting from building to building on tenuous gravity and an equally flighty wind.

KEELIAI; DAYTIME
He still has a few deliveries to do during the day, a few kedan who give over their wares to be shuttled around the various Sectors, but it's a fraction of what he normally does, laced with grudging. Jack delivers them just the same, saying nothing about the occasionally withheld payments, hopeful to show that it's the work he appreciates more than the juulan.

But between those sporadic tasks he finds himself drawn to the playgrounds where in past months he'd taken to stopping by. With the increased tensions between the kedan and the foreigners, the children were ushered to and from their schooling with no stops, and their public play spaces were left lonely.

Jack sits in one of the empty swings, dragging bare feet through the sand, telling himself that if he waited, perhaps at least some of the kids would come by...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Jack laughed a little at her remark, because honestly it had been a little less than thrilling.

"I promise there's no fancy words with it," he said, rising from his lazy crouch and holding his hand out over the wood.

"It's... hard to explain, what it feels like."

He didn't need to; the moment his fingers came into contact with the staff once more, she felt...something. He was right; it was hard to explain.

She just knew it would work this time.

Sure enough, the moment she tilted the staff downward once more, a burst of energy emitted from the tip. The magic backlash was almost enough to get her to let go, but she held on tight, even as the strong gust of wind blew at her face and hair. When it was over, the entire roof was covered in a thin layer of snow and ice. The temperature suddenly well below freezing. She could even see her breath as she exhaled softly at the sight.

"That's more like it." She grinned, looking back to see his reaction.

Jack looked around the rooftop with awe, mouth parting in admiration. "How did you--? Wow. If we ever need a Winter Princess, I know who to call!"

He let go of the staff, sinking to one knee as though to examine the snowfall, them promptly flopped down in it, as though it were a sunlit patch of grass. "Ahh...."

It wasn't that this had been beyond his own capability, he thought as he closed his eyes for a moment, cheek resting on the ice. He had whipped up a city-wide blizzard overnight in March, after all. It was the sheer effortlessness of the act, fueled by Zatanna's own magic, that made this such a delight -- that was something he hadn't felt in all the months he'd been on the turtle.

Winter Princess? she mouthed, but Jack was already on the ground, literally rolling in the snow.

Smiling, she knelt down, running her free hand lightly over the ice. A thin layer of water could be felt. Not 100% Frozen after all. From the moment he'd let go, she felt that rush start to fade away. It made sense; twice the people casting any spell would equate to twice the power. When they parted, it was like breaking a Circle. The spell would run out. She'd read all about it in her studies. This was the first time she'd ever actually done it, though.

"Cool," she agreed with a smirk. He was having so much fun, she didn't have the heart to break it to him just yet that the temperature around them was already starting to rise. In a minute or two, the snow and ice would melt. "You'd think you'd never seen snow before."

Eyes still closed, Jack spread his hands out flat on the ice and pale flowers of frost spread out from his fingers, hardening the ice in a circular radius around them even as the rest of the rooftop was already turning slushy.

"This is good snow," he proclaimed. "Each type has a different feel to me."

"It's frozen water, Jack," she half-laughed, placing her hands over her knees. "Magic or no, how can it feel that different?"

Jack stilled on the ground, before he opened his eyes and gave Zatanna a wan smile as he pushed himself back into a sitting position. But his complexion had improved, no longer as dull and the dark half-moons under his eyes were lightened.

"You're right," he answered, as the whorls of ice started to melt again, no longer protected under his touch. "It is just frozen water. I just get excited over the little things, that's all."

The change didn't go unnoticed, and for the first time, she stopped to wonder what had caused it in the first place. Maybe there was something different about his particular snowfall.

"You suddenly look a lot better."

Jack sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, glancing at his hand as he did so. The joints around his knuckles and fingers were pale again and they didn't hurt as much as before.

"I guess the weather lately hasn't been agreeing with me."

Why wouldn't the weather--

...

...oh.

"Jack..." she asked hesitantly, "What happens to you when it gets warm out?"

"Everyone keeps asking me that," Jack said, giving a laugh that fell very flat. "I really couldn't tell you, Zatanna. I don't know, I've never not been able to go where winter is supposed to be. So it's a little bit of an adventure for everyone but hey, adventures are fun."

"It's a legitimate question." That flat laugh wasn't helping things, either. "You're not going to melt on me or something, are you?"

"Being legitimate doesn't mean I know that answer," he shrugged. "And I don't think so, I'm not made of snow -- bad news for you, I know how bad you wanted my sweatshirt," he smirked.

She actually laughed.

"You caught me. The only reason we're still friends is because I secretly want your wardrobe."

"I've always known," Jack said airily. "I was just playing along."

He scuffs his bare foot across the rooftop, but the ice is only dampness now and he looks a little disappointed.

She noticed. It caused a faint twinge of pain in her heart, seeing that look on his face.

"We can try again, if you want. Make more snow?"

He looked up at her with a smile, wanting to say yes and yet not wanting to put any more importance on it than there already had been. He didn't want her, or anyone, to worry.

"Maybe another night," he answered instead. "I think I might head back to the treehouse. I bought some books from Mr Henry and I was going to start one of them. It's about a cursed diamond, he said."

She nodded, deciding not to push the issue this time.

"If you're sure. You know where to find me when you want to, alright?"

"Of course I do," he gives her a quiet smile, letting her know that he appreciated her unspoken worry, as much as the way she didn't press too much on his transparent evasion.

"I would hope so."

Smiling, she gave him one last look-over to make sure he would be alright on his own...then stepped forward and placed the lightest of kisses against his cheek.

"Take care of yourself, Frosty. I'll see you later."

For someone whose blood did not circulate, Jack's cheeks turned a surprisingly bright shade of plum in a very short amount of time. "O-Okay..."

[OPEN] Crave for quilt and the Sun

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