My fist presses against my mouth as I cover a yawn. Birds chirp and there is a faint sound of crickets in the air as I step out of Father Time's portal. My yawn quickly transforms into a frown as I glance around the small forest leading into Mother Nature's Garden.
Vita and Mortem were right.
Even at the crack of dawn, I can feel the immense heat that will follow the higher the sun goes into the sky. I rub my hands on my pants and bite my lip. Maybe I should have held off on putting on my sweatshirt and boots. I'm sure I have regular sneakers lying around somewhere in the many rooms of my house.
My shoulders tense as a warm hand lands on my shoulder and I look up at Cato. The keeper smiles down at me.
"We best be going if we want to try to stop this heatwave before Ela starts her work."
Nodding, I allow Cato to gently push on my back before starting to walk. There is a light breeze that is bustling the trees and the faint scent of flowers and corn drift upon it. Reaching up, my lips twitch as the eastern wind dances around my fingers before hurrying off to continue their job. Shaking my head, I lower my hand, just thankful that there is some wind to help keep me cool for right now.
The moment we leave the trees, however, I realize that I might be in a spot of trouble. Within the shade of the trees, I was feeling just fine even with the warmth that the Garden is giving off. But now? With no cover and the morning sun already quite warm? I'm not so sure how long I will be able to be here. I can already tell that, while not as warm as the Void was yesterday, the Garden is already reaching past mid-sixties and any higher, I will risk a reaction very similar to the one I had yesterday.
Another presence steps up to my other side and I glance up at Ake.
"You doing all right, Snowflake?" Ake asks quietly even though it is only the four of us right now. "Not too warm for you?"
I shrug, swallowing my small amount of discomfort while forcing a small smile.
"I'm all right for now."
"Let us know if we need to leave, Frostbite," Father Time states, his gaze hard as he peeks around the keeper. "We don't want a repeat of yesterday. So no heroics. If you can't bring down the temperature, that's fine, Ela will survive. You harming yourself to try isn't worth it."
Frost burns across my cheeks as the three older entities glare down at me. Not trusting my voice, I merely nod trying not to sigh.
Seriously. Why do all of them act like I'm going to break from a small amount of heat? I was overworked yesterday by the time we went to the Void, high strung with emotions and stress from working all day and then dealing with the thoughts that I had killed the very fox I was trying to help. I didn't, thankfully, but the mind is a fickle thing sometimes.
The dirt path we have been following fades into a more cobblestone one and the grass becomes greener and denser, almost candy-like as it sways with each pass of the eastern wind. The wind's breeze does certainly help to cool my warming body as we move and I tickle the streams of air as thanks.
A small white picket fence comes into view and a modest-size cottage comes into view. Plants are overflowing within the confines of the fence, only a small preview of what the rest of the Garden looks like, but I can see that quite a few of the plants are starting to wilt and are becoming quite sick from the excess heat beating down on them.
Father Time reaches out and unlatches the gate, ushering everyone inside before he enters as well, securing the gate behind him.
My frown deeps as I take in sunflowers, roses, peonies, and some cabbage all starting to wilt and their leaves are starting to yellow.
Carefully, I reach out for a sunflower's leaf and gently stroke it, causing it to shiver slightly at my touch, but it straightened just a little, looking a little more healthy.
"When was the last time it rained here?" I ask, moving onto another wilting sunflower, gently coating the leaf in a very light layer of frost, just enough that when it melts the sunflower will get some water from it.
Ake shrugs as he glances at our other two companions as they think.
"Not sure, you'll have to ask Ela. She would know better than any of us. Although, I'm not sure why that would matter. Ela is pretty much the ultimate gardener, she doesn't need a little rain to help water her plants."
I frown at the moon entity.
"That's not why I asked. I know she has no issues with watering everyone here. I'm asking because the rain would bring clouds, which would block the sun and allow the plants time to cool down and not be constantly beaten down by the sun's harsh rays. Even a slightly over-casted sky would help." I gesture toward the plants. "Can't you see that their leaves are getting burned by the rays of the sun? The sun certainly helps them grow, but too much of a good thing can start to cause problems. It's why you should never over-water a plant. They need the water, yeah, but it can also drown them."
"Spoken like a true gardener," a voice states from around the corner.
LMy shoulders jump up to my ears as I turn and smile sheepishly at Mother Nature as she steps out from around her home, her usual attire freshly pressed and swirling around her even without the eastern wind's help. Her warm eyes land on me as she smiles, plucking some dirty gardening gloves off of her fingers.
"At least I know you paid attention in that short seminar that I held back in the early 1600s."
My lips quirk up as I toe the dirt, shrugging.
"It was interesting. And the first time I got to hold some actual plants from your garden."
Mother Nature's face softens as she glides up to me. I hesitantly look up as she cups my cheeks and bends down to kiss my forehead.
"If I had known you liked it so much, I would have made you a little spot in the Garden for you to visit." She leans back, studying me, her eyes shifting from green to violet. "I still can if you would like. When it gets a little cooler." Mother Nature scowls up at the sky, her eyes flashing red, then orange, then back to green as she looks back at me. "But only if you want."
My eyes widen.
"R-Really?"
A place here in the Garden that I can claim as my own? With green things and living plants and ones that aren't hibernating? I bite my lip as Mother Nature chuckles and pats my cheek.
"Of course, Frost, Darling. You and Haru seem to be the only ones interested in how my plants like to grow and prosper." Mother Nature smooths down my bangs before she finally looks behind me. "Oh, Cato, Zaman, Ake, I didn't see the three of you there."
Mother Nature's face hardens a little as she addresses the other entities causing a spike of confusion to course through me. I quickly tug on her sleeve regaining her attention and the hardness fades from around her eyes.
"Yes, Frost, Darling?"
My nose twitches as I bashfully smile at Mother Nature.
"Uh, the-the four of us came to talk with you and I wanted to see if I could also help with cooling down the Garden to a bit to more manageable levels."
Mother Nature rubs her thumb on my cheek, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
"Talk to me about what?"
Cato steps forward, wringing their hands in front of them.
"We will discuss that later, we would first like to see if Frost can possibly cool the Garden down before it gets too hot for him and he gets sick like he did yesterday."
Mother Nature starts at that news, her gaze snapping to my face as her eyes shift from orange to red back to orange.
"Sick? What do you mean 'sick'?" Her eyes narrow as I merely shrug. "Jack Evergreen Frost, what does Cato mean by 'sick'?"
I resist the urge to glare at the keeper over my shoulder as I nibble on the inside of my lip.
"I wouldn't really say 'sick', per se, I was merely overheated a little from visiting the Void with them yesterday."
Alarm dances across the garden entity and her hands fly to my forehead.
"The Void?! Are the three of you nuts?" Mother Nature snaps over my head. "You know how warm it gets this time of year there! Why on Earth would you lot bring him there?"
Embarrassment and shame gnaw at my gut as my three companions splutter and talk over themselves. Ignoring everything they are saying, I reach up and tap Mother Nature's warm hand causing her crimson red eyes to shift a more magenta.
"We were there for a good reason, honest, and I'm all better now," I say quietly. "But I really want to try and help all of your plants by cooling things down, if you'll let me? And then we can tell you why we went to the Void. Please?"
I add the last part as I widen my eyes a little and bite my lip. Mother Nature's eyes flicker all over my face, searching for just how sincere I am with all of this.
I know better than to lie to one of the older protectors, especially Mother Nature. She and Mortem just have a way of knowing when someone is lying, no matter how good of an actor they might be. I hope to someday learn a skill similar to that. I don't suspect that everyone is completely honest with me when they say they are worried about my health. I turn and look at my companions.
"Right?"
Cato quickly nods as they step forward.
"Of course, Ela, Dear. There is much we need to tell you, but Frost was so hoping to see if he could help you out. And after, whether or not it works, we will tell you everything we told Vita and Mortem yesterday."
"Did something happen?"
Ake steps up next to Cato, shrugging with a lopsided smile.
"Let's just say, Snowball had one heck of a day yesterday, didn't ya, Kiddo?"
Mother Nature tugs me a little closer to her as the moon entity approaches, her face darkening. My stomach flips at the sudden change in Mother Nature's posture, a much more guarded and protective stance compared to the more relaxed and open stance she had when we first arrived. My mind races for a way to clear the dark look in her red eyes. I swallow thickly.
"I-I did have q-q-quite the day yesterday," I agree, regaining Mother Nature's gaze. I mentally wince as I steel myself for a possible bad reaction. "A-And I really want to tell you about it, b-b-but it's gettin' kinda warm and-and if I wait any longer, I might not be able to keep things cool for your plants and kick-start the cooler temperatures for you."
I fight the urge to flinch as Mother Nature's hand returns to my forehead, concern overshadowing the dark look. Honestly, I'll take her concern over that harsh look any day. I sometimes forget just how scary Mother Nature can be when she is riled up like that. I keep my face open as she studies me and I feel a small bead of sweat roll down the side of my face. My hands flex against the urge to swipe at it, but I allow it to fall in order to help my argument along. It works as Mother Nature's eyes fade to orange when she spots it before shifting to green as we make eye contact.
"All right, all right," she sighs. "You win. You may try to cool the Garden down for me, Frost, Darling. But if it starts getting too taxing then you're stopping even if you only drop the temperature by one degree. Got it?" I open my mouth only for me to shut it with Mother Nature's hard stare. "Got. It?"
I quickly nod earning myself a pat on the cheek and a kiss to the forehead.
"Good. Now, let's see what we can do about this heat and then I want to hear about everything that happened yesterday." Mother Nature's eyes flicker to the group of three behind me. "And I do mean EVERYTHING."
I quickly nod, confident that my companions are doing so as well. With a stiff nod of her own, Mother Nature drops her hands from my face, wiping the bead of sweat as she goes and gestures around her.
"All right, Frost, Darling. Do your stuff. Just nothing too extreme, please, Dear? I haven't harvested everything yet."
Nodding again, I take a few steps away from the group, accessing my surroundings. Okay, so no big snowstorm or snowfall. So, maybe more of a dusting? A sharp breeze that brings in some nice grey clouds that nips the nose and stings the ears if outside for too long?
I tilt my head back and forth.
The sharp breeze might work. I'm sure Mother Nature has a heavier jacket in the cottage somewhere that she can put on to finish picking. And maybe she'll even let me help! I wonder is she has any apples like the one Vita gave me yesterday. I daydream for a split second about eating another apple before shaking my head and lifting my hands out in front of me.
Closing my eyes, I point my palms outward as I allow my natural chill to course through my veins. The eastern wind dances between my fingers, asking if they can assist in some way. Smiling, I open my eyes and produce a few small snowflakes.
"If you could keep these cold for me and just kinda chase them around the Garden, I think it will help start to cool things down. Just try not to drop them, okay? Mother Nature said no snow just yet. We are just trying to cool things down."
The eastern wind twirls around the snowflakes excitedly before taking off with them, the change in their breeze instant as they drop their core temperature to keep the snowflakes from melting.
Grinning, I close my eyes and focus on gathering a chill back to my hands. Spreading my fingers out once the chill returns to my palms, I press my palms together to form a small spinning ball of tiny snowflakes.
Opening my eyes, I smile at the dancing blues and whites before throwing it straight up as hard as I can. The ball hits one of the single white fluffy clouds that is drifting overhead, instantly changing the white to a mixture of different greys. The eastern wind blows by the cloud, bringing even more clouds along behind them. Those clouds also start turning grey the moment they touch the single cloud.
Lips twisting up, I flick my wrist to help spread the chill throughout the clouds as more start to gather and block out the sun. Squatting down, I launch myself upwards, grinning as the eastern wind zooms past me, and I wave my hand adding two more snowflakes for the wind to chase. They whistle excitedly before dipping down and zooming through the Garden.
"You know, that wouldn't be such a bad idea," I mutter as I follow the eastern wind's path at a much slower pace.
Gently, I reach down for the grass and just barely graze the blades with my fingertips. A very light dusting of frost forms, but I make sure to keep it from reaching any of the vital places in the Garden, only fully covering the walkways and some of the fountains that Mother Nature has sculpted over the years.
I pause at a statue of a large wolf and a young woman in braids, a quiet smile gracing her lips as points at something directly in front of her. Which happens to be me at the moment.
Wetting my lips as a knot forms in my throat, a tender smile tugs at the corners of my mouth as I reach out and allow some fern-like patterns of frost to cover the statue. Not enough to block out any of the features, but enough to look like someone just took a brush and painted them on. My fingers hover over her nameplate and I cause a thicker layer of ice to trace the letters.
I-C-E A-G-E.
My hand twitches before I take off once more and continue my trek around the Garden.
After dusting the rest of the pathways and the statues, I return to my spot near Mother Nature as I scan my handiwork, chest heaving from the excitement and energy. The entire sky is now overcast with grey clouds and the plants' leaves shiver a little as the eastern wind zooms by. Reaching out, I silently call for the wind to come to me, which they do instantly.
"Okay, I think that should be good," I mutter, tickling my fingers in the wind's breeze. "Thank you for your help. Now it's time to see if this will hold on its own or if I need to strengthen the clouds."
The eastern wind tussles my hair in agreement, lowering the now six snowflakes back into my hand before zooming off. I smile over my shoulder.
"Now it's time to see if it worked." I pause and my eyebrows furrow. "Are you all right?"
Father Time and Ake have their hands in their armpits as they stare around at the Garden with wide amused eyes. Cato has their hands on their hips, beaming with pride while Mother Nature looks around the Garden, her eyes misty as she leans over to me and plucks a snowflake from my grasp, just barely holding it so that it won't melt just yet in her grasp.
"Oh, Frost, Sweetheart, that was amazing," Mother Nature states, leaning over to hug me. I fidget in her embrace, embarrassment creeping into my chest.
"W-Well, we don't know if it will hold just yet, ya know?" I stammer out, fiddling with my sweatshirt as Mother Nature pulls back. Her eyes, a bright and vibrant purple, shine with unshed tears as she nods.
"Yes, of course, Darling, but I can tell you that I can feel the difference already. Look at how my plants are responding." Mother Nature gestures excitedly toward the plants. I follow her sweeping gesture.
Many of the plants are no longer wilting, many reaching out and trying to brush the frost I left on the path.
"W-Whoa," I stammer out, hurrying to stop them. "Don't touch that. You'll burn your leaves."
Mother Nature catches my elbow as I barely take two steps.
"They are much harder than they look, Frost, dear. I did raise them after all. So, they're not like other ordinary plants that you will see among humans. They can withstand quite a bit."
"And it looks like Frost was just the 'quite a bit' that they needed," Cato comments, stepping closer as they hand Mother Nature a handkerchief which she takes happily and dabs at her eyes. Cato cups my cheeks as I try to duck my head. "You did wonderfully, my dear! And not even a hair out of place. I say, that you must have dropped it by at least 26 degrees if not more."
Mother Nature stretches.
"And this is what this time of year should feel like. So, thank you, Frost, sweetheart. I do say that this will help my plants immensely."
I toe at the ground.
"Glad-Glad I could be of some help."
"And not too soon, Snowflake," Ake states, rubbing his hands together. "I thought my hands were gonna fall off."
"Well, maybe if you and Zaman didn't try to touch Eastern's snowflakes your hands wouldn't be so cold," Cato states with a sniff. My eyes widen.
"You-You tried to touch the snowflakes?! But why? I made them so that they were below freezing to help cool Eastern Wind down! You can't just go around touching those. They could seriously burn your skin."
Panic bubbles in my chest as my eyes flicker from the entities' faces to their hands and back again. Oh no. What do I do? My thoughts grind to a screeching halt as I'm pulled flush against Mother Nature. Her hand starts carding through my hair.
"Frost, Sweetheart, just breathe, it's all right. They didn't actually manage to touch the snowflakes. There now, just breathe."
My eyes blink as I realize that my chest is moving too fast and my breathes are far too shallow. I feel Mother Nature breathe in deeply before releasing it slowly and I move to follow mimic her movements. In. Then out. In. Then out. I worry my bottom lip.
"But, their hands?"
Father Time strides forward and kneels in front of me. He quickly holds his hands out for me to examine.
"Don't worry, Frostbite, they're merely cold. Eastern Wind gave us quite the nip for trying to steal their snowflakes. But nothing too serious, honest."
"And nothing a warm cup of tea or hot chocolate can't fix," Cato chirps happily as they glance around. "Frost, Dear, it looks like your solution will hold for at least today."
I follow the keeper's gaze and am happy to find that none of the frost has started to melt and the clouds are as thick as ever, not a single ray of sun shining through. Relief washes over me and I slump against Mother Nature as she hugs me tighter.
"Thank you, Frost," she says, kissing the top of my head. "You did wonderfully. Now, may I please hear all about your escapades from yesterday?"
Nodding, I chance one more glance at Father Time's hands, cautiously reaching out for them to look them over before shifting away from Mother Nature to check Ake's hands. He smiles impishly at me as he pulls out his hands and holds them palm up for me to check. Like Father Time's, Ake's hands are bright red and a little chapped but otherwise no worse for wear.
I sigh. That had been way too scary.
"Awe, was our little snowflake worried about us?" Ake coos, his eyes sparkling with mirth. I cross my arms, frowning.
"Of course I was," I mutter as Cato leads us into Mother Nature's cottage. "My powers can hurt people, ya know."
Ake softens at my tone and reaches out for me.
"Awe, Snowflake, it's okay. You didn't hurt anyone. If anything, it would have been on Z and me. We know better than to touch one of your special snowflakes but we still tried. We didn't mean to upset you."
I swallow down a snort as I feel Mother Nature tug on my elbow. Well, they may not have meant to, but they did.
"Yes, well, as the two of you can see, you did," Mother Nature snaps, holding me close. "Now, I want all of the details about what happened yesterday, including about the Void and why the three of you brought a WINTER sprite into an area that is well over a hundred degrees right now."
My eyebrows shoot toward my hairline.
Wait, what? Was it really that warm in the Void yesterday? My hand lifts to clutch my sweatshirt. I actually managed to stand in a place in hundred-degree weather and not instantly melt?
I bury my chin in my sweatshirt to hide my smile.
I can't believe it. I actually visited a place in hundred-degree weather and was there for more than two minutes. I just can't believe it! I wiggle happily as I'm lead over to the kitchen table.
The interior of the cottage is much larger than the outside would have one believe. The hardwood floors are polished and gleam in the artificial and natural light that gives the entire space a soft golden glow. The foyer of the cottage leads directly into a large living room area with comfortable rustic sofas, sitting chairs and a coffee table reside. The coffee table and end tables all have small blooming plants on them, a few I think are orchids and some cacti. The plants straighten and wiggle happily as Mother Nature enters the space, running her finger over the leaves and soil to check, for what, I'm not sure. Directly to the right of the living room is a semi-hidden staircase that leads to the upper levels. Next to the staircase is a basement door that I know Mother Nature uses to contact the other protectors when she doesn't want to leave the Garden. To the left of the living room sits a rather spacious kitchen with cream and tan tiling along the walls. A large rectangle table rests in the middle of the kitchen, one that I know can lengthen if Mother Nature needs it too. It certainly has been a very long time since I have last visited Mother Nature and gone inside her cottage.
Mother Nature guides me over to the table and pushes me toward a chair as she starts bustling around with the tea kettle and mugs. Father Time and Cato take a seat on either of me while Ake chooses the seat across from me.
"Am I the only person who didn't realize Snowflake could have warm beverages?" Ake ask as Mother Nature starts handing out mugs, providing me with some sweet Earl Grey tea.
Mother Nature scoffs.
"Well, if you would have just asked instead of assumed, you would have known sooner."
Ake squints up at Mother Nature, a frown tugging on his lips at her terse tone. I smile behind my mug as I frost the outside.
"It's all right," I say. "I understand why you'd think I wouldn't. As long as I don't have too many cups in a row I'm fine."
Ake glances at me, his frown melting into a slight smile and he nods as his lids droop a little.
"That's good to know, Snowflake. Thank you."
Nodding, I quickly drop my gaze as I quickly spread more frost across more of my mug. I really want to drink some of this right now. Bringing the drink to my lips, I inhale the scent and allow some of the steam to wash over me. Tea two days in a row. I hum happily as I sip the overly warm liquid, but not really caring as I feel it go all the way down.
Pulling back, I stare down at the brown liquid, smiling. Maybe Mother Nature will throw in some tea leaves for me after I ask for supplies. And if she asks why I can always say it's for when I have guests over since I had five yesterday and had nothing to offer them.
My smile slides a little when I realize that the room is silent. Glancing up, my shoulders tense and hitch up toward my ears. Frost spreads across my cheeks as I take in everyone's staring and I quickly drop my gaze.
"What?" I grumble, fingers flexing as I fight to keep from frosting more of my mug. I don't want to drink cold tea.
Mother Nature smiles behind her mug and shakes her head.
"Oh, it's nothing, Dearest. Now, the lot of you have some explaining to do. No, Frost, Dear," Mother Nature interrupts as I open my mouth. "You've done quite enough today. Just drink your tea. These three can fill me in. If you need more, just ask." Mother Nature smiles as I nod before turning a steely gaze upon our companions.
"Now then," She says stiffly. "Start. Talking."