thecapitol | speaking with a friend.

Entry tags:

speaking with a friend.

Who| Jack Frost and YOU!
What| So is he a Guardian or not? Jack doesn't know anymore.
Where| At night, on the rooftops.
When| Now!
Warnings/Notes| n/a

Jack wandered on the rooftops during the night, looking up to the moon. Ever since finding himself here, he didn't really know what to think of himself, or anything anymore. Lately it had been one change after the next and after the next. He was used to 300 years of the same things, basically. Suddenly being thrust into a time where things was constantly changing was confusing. He felt like things were stuck in his head, and he didn't know where to turn.

The answers didn't come easy here; for Jack Frost, they never seemed to anyway.

He wandered in his bare feet, oblivious to the cold. Even as a human, the cold didn't bother him. If anything, seeing his breath in the middle of the night was a comfort. With no staff to lean on, or a wire to get him a little closer to the night sky, he felt…empty. His arms wrapped themselves around his middle as he shook his head.

"I don't know what's going on anymore." Jack sighed, looking down to his feet. "I just…I don't know what to think.

For 300-some years, I didn't know why I was here. I just thought I was a spirt named Jack Frost who made things cold and snowy. But then I realized I had a sister, and a family…and that I was a Guardian. You made me a Guardian. And it felt really good."

He started to pace. "Then all of a sudden I'm brought here where people are supposed to kill each other. And I just can't understand why. I can't understand any of this!" Jack didn't want to rant to Man in Moon, but it was starting to become that way, wasn't it?

"Why am I here? Why am I here right after learning that I was a Guardian? I'm not supposed to be here! How am I a Guardian if I'm supposed to kill, or be killed myself? What good will I do? There's no center in me anymore if I can't do what I want to. I just don't…" Jack's voice slowly faded as his anger grew, running his hands through his white hair.

"…I don't think you did this. I really don't. I just don't know what to do. Even when I'm not fighting for my life, I don't feel like a Guardian anymore." The last part is a whisper. "And that hurts."

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"Who are you talking to?"

Clementine stood in the doorway of the training centre rooftop, her skinny arms folded across her chest. The expression on her face is uncertain because it looks like Jack is talking to himself and people who talked to themselves were usually one's to watch out for. It meant they'd gone crazy, like really crazy. More dangerous than the Walker's kind of crazy.

So why has she decided to talk to him? Probably because he looks younger than most of the others she's seen and maybe he'll be willing to talk to her. More importantly, maybe he'll talk to her straight.

That voice made Jack jump right out of his shoes. If he was even wearing any shoes.

He turned around…to see a kid. It made him happy, it made him sad. It made something bubble up in his stomach, and made it hurt. This was something he didn't want to see. To know that a kid was living in the same building, where the rest of the tributes were…that hurt. It hurt knowing that he might not be able to do the thing he was meant to do.

This wasn't the time to think about that though. Jack looked up, and gave her a smile. "The Man in the Moon. That's who."

"The Man in the Moon?" Clem echoes by way of reply. Her eyes flicker up to the moon and then quickly back down, dismissive of Jack's indication that there was any such thing.

Still, Clementine comes further out onto the roof and closer to Jack, though not too close. She's still on the fence about him being crazy, that answer to her first question certainly didn't help. "You don't have to be embarassed if you were just talking to yourself, you know."

"No no, I wasn't." That's right. Some people didn't believe in the Man in the Moon, right? Or maybe they did. She should, at least. Or so he thought?

Everything was so confusing anymore.

Jack smiled, and looked up to the moon. "There's someone who really lives up there. He's almost as old as time itself."

Edited 2014-04-07 17:02 (UTC)

"That's impossible." The words are out of her mouth before she stops to think about them, a reflex. "Well... I thought it was. Maybe not."

Impossible like the dead rising or being torn into a whole different world? Clementine's suddenly not so sure about what is and isn't possible anymore -- so she asks, "How do you know?"

"Not to me it isn't." It was tricky trying to find the words to this. Was there a way to say 'no because i'm talking to him now' without sounding like…well, a jerk? Jack could think of this stuff easy, yeah. But it was different to think it, and then try to make it come out of your mouth. And then think about how it would affect the person you were talking to.

Maybe he was thinking into things too much.

"Well, 300-some years ago, I was a kid." He looked up to the moon, and smiled. "I had a family of my own and everything. One day, my sister and I wanted to go ice skating outside. I saved my sister from falling through the ice, but…I didn't make it, I guess you could say.

"When I woke up, the Man in the Moon was telling me my name. He called me Jack Frost." He looked down to her, and smiled. "That's how I know."

"Jack Frost." she repeats that because the name sounds familiar, like something she's heard before. Clementine folds her arms across her narrow chest, still sceptical. "How do I know you're not just crazy?"

Because a man in the moon, Jack being alive three hundred years ago (and dead, did he say he was--) sounds like something only a crazy person could come up with.

Maybe a couple years ago she could have been caught up in the wonder of that idea, that's Jack's odd appearance (his white hair, his bare feet) spoke of something more than ordinary but now... Clem hasn't believed in anything like that for a long time.

He could tell she didn't believe. But then again, who would in a place like this?

This was a challenge he would have to face as long as he stayed here. Jack had to learn that someone would have troubles believing in any of the Guardians. Which shouldn't be too hard. He wandered around for 300 years without anyone believing in him, so this was nothing.

"I so wish I could show you my powers." Jack mumbled, before kneeling down to face her. "Well, ah, I'm the guy who made it snow! And I can freeze flowers, and make snow days!" He smiled. "That's me. Jack Frost."

"I don't think I ever had a snow day." she replies, looking down slightly to keep his gaze as he lowers himself. "I'm from Georgia, it never really snowed much there. I was heading north though before I got brought here."

There's something about his smile that's infectious and makes her want to smile too, Clementine shakes her head though. "Being able to make it snow would probably be really handy right now."

She still doesn't believe him, really.

"300 years?"

Albert had come up to the roof for a smoke and inadvertently overheard the entirety of the white-haired boy's tirade. Well, perhaps not a boy; he's older even than Albert, but he still looks like a teenager and sounds about as confused as one. He takes a drag of his cigarette and blows the smoke away from them both to curl into the chilly night air.

"I don't mean to pry, but it was a little difficult not to overhear." He smiles just a little. "If it makes us even, I'm roughly 100 myself."

A voice from behind made Jack slowly turn, only to find another person standing there, smoke winding away. They were just standing there…apparently not at all concerned by the fact that Jack had basically been talking to himself. Except he wasn't.

He listened quietly to what the stranger had to say…and was taken by surprise. Was this guy seriously 100 years old? So he wasn't the only one in this kind of situation, then. Maybe this guy knew a little bit about watching time literally fly by your face. And if Jack was really lucky, he'd know about the littler details, too.

"Really? You look pretty good." He grinned.

Edited 2014-04-07 17:04 (UTC)

"So do you. For 300 you look positively youthful." The taller man drops his cigarette and grinds it under his heel, walking over to offer his hand to the boy. "I'm Albert Heinrich. What's your name?"

"Well, hey. Comes with the job." Jack looks at his hand for a minute, and offers a shake or two. "Jack Frost." Did this guy feel anything? Were his hands cold, or was that completely lost too? "Nice to meetcha, even if this place isn't…the best."

To put things a little simply!

If he does feel cold, Albert says nothing of it, shaking hands and then dropping his to his side again. "And that job is... Guardian? Again, it was difficult not to overhear."

Jack Frost... first he's told of Norse gods once having been here, and now a figure of mythology. This just keeps getting more confusing all the time, but Albert won't let it show on his face. Instead he remains calm, though his expression grows drawn at Jack's estimation of Panum. "And no, it isn't, given what we're supposed to do."

What he has no intention of doing.

"Yeah, a Guardian." Jack's trying not to be embarrassed. What was there to be embarrassed about, anyway? "I protect kids." Well, he did.

The little reminder of what this place wanted him to do brought his mood all the way down back to the bottom. Jack sighed, crossing his arms before looking back up to the moon. "This isn't supposed to happen." He muttered. "How is this part of the future? I just don't..." His voice trailed off. "I don't understand it."

"A noble cause." Albert smiles a bit but it turns down again at Jack's confusion. "I'm not sure it's the future. There are people from other worlds here, other universes potentially. It's entirely possible it's some kind of alternate reality from ours."

If indeed he and Jack are from the same one. He's never heard of a Guardian as an actual position so they could be from separate realities as well. It's all very confusing, but it makes him feel a little better thinking that in his own reality things may have turned out differently. Granted, they're probably worse given what he came from, but he doesn't know for sure and would prefer to hope.

Since finding himself without access to his powers, Jet found himself coming up to the roof whenever he found himself with spare time and nothing else to do; it was the closest to flying he could get here.

He hadn't meant to listen in, but he was tucked away in a corner near the edge of the roof and he doubted the guy had seen him before he started talking...and then it just sort of felt wrong to interrupt. He knew that sometimes what was needed was a rant and, at least for Jet, if he didn't get it out then and there, it wasn't going to for a long time if not ever. He didn't want to do that to this kid.

Well, not a kid if he wasn't lying about his age, which there hardly seemed to be a reason for that. Jet waited until it seemed his little speech were over before speaking up. "What's a 'Guardian?'"

"A-ah, a what?" Jack's heart suddenly flipped in his chest as another person approached, walking beside him like there was nothing going on at all. Nah, he wasn't just talking to the Moon right now.

He took a moment to make sure that this guy was actually talking to him, before looking back up to the moon. And, as usual, it was quiet as always. Was it normal for the Man in the Moon to be so quiet? Or maybe he just didn't know what to say right now. Which was pretty understandable.

Jack looked down to his feet. "A Guardian protects the little things that matter most in children." He started. "We protect wonder, hope, dreams. I'm supposed to be the Guardian of fun."

Supposed to be.

"I'm supposed to make sure children have fun. And if they aren't, I help them have it. But…" He looked down to his bare feet. "Seems kinda hard in a place like this. To have fun."

Jet leaned up against the barrier that stopped people from falling off the edge and regarded the guy. He was obviously down and while Jet was in no way obligated to a stranger, he really hated seeing people so down in the dumps. It was just harder to do his usual 'cheering up' gig when their situation was what it was.

"Well, I don't think you have to worry about the children of the capitol, their lives are made here.There's a couple kids that got reaped, though." And if anyone needed fun and light-heartedness, it was them.

"I know this whole thing sucks, but I like to think finding some kind of fun isn't impossible." He'd been doing alright with it for the most part, although it wasn't always easy. Especially when trying to keep his spirits up so that others would too.

Jack liked to think that fun wasn't impossible. Because if it was, what was he doing here? How was he a Guardian at all? He knew this guy was trying to help; even if he wasn't saying anything, it was appreciated. At least someone here believed that fun could be had even if it didn't seem right. That in itself made him feel a little better.

"How do you have fun in a place like this? He wondered out loud, looking out to the city. "With everything that's gonna happen, I don't…"

As a recent arrival, it's only natural that a person would seek out places they're familiar with. For Dave, it's the rooftop. He'd wandered around the tower long enough, but as he struggles to fall asleep in the weird ass assigned rooms and the unfamiliar commons, another wander around the tower seems like a good idea. Only this time? He's going straight on up to the top so he can take a look at the roof. The view has gotta be something in a tower like this, right?

What he doesn't expect to see is another person out there, what's weirder is that it looks like they're.. talking to themselves? Dave sidles up cautiously, listening in to what he can before he feels shifty enough to stop eavesdropping and actually speak up.

"I know the feels, broseph." He announces, making himself a little more visible by stepping forward. "So are you, uh, talking to yourself or have you got a one man show going on up here? If that's the case it was remarkably well rehearsed."

Jack jumped, turning back to his visitor. "I, umm…"

Answer, Jack. Really!

"I'm just talking to the Man in the Moon." Well, that's who he was talking to, after all. Being not noticed by anyone for a good 300 years, and then being seen by anyone made things kind of awkward for him here. Either it was him just ignoring people, or something like this…it was different. And a little hard to get used to. "I've been talking to him for a while, now."

He's not crazy.

Dave can’t help letting out a soft snort at the grunt, though it’s hard to see whether he’s genuinely amused through those shades. Yes, sunglasses at night on a roof, definitely a good idea. What interests him is that Jack really was getting into that conversation, as if someone was actually there. Dave glances around him before Jack tells him exactly who it is he’s speaking to. His eyebrows are just going to raise slowly, standard ‘this guy is nuts’ reaction forthcoming.

But he’s seen and heard weirder things by now, really. He doesn’t have the heart or the energy to belittle him for coping methods. Mostly. “Yeah?” He’s a little curious to hear the story behind that one. “Think he might know a way out of here? He’s gotta be wise right. Everyone from the moon is all holy and condescending.” He glances at him from the side of his shades. “No offense.”

"It's beautiful up here, isn't it?"

Hanji dropped down next to Jack without so much as a by your leave, gangly limbs and all. She glanced up at the moon with a grin, then down at the lights of the city spread out below them. She was used to being able to see the stars, so the sheer amount of light that came off of the city was a bit different. And pretty in its own way. She shot Jack a grin.

"But a little lonely. It makes you feel small."

The new voice behind him startled Jack. The embarrassment of being caught basically talking to himself (but he wasn't talking to himself, though…), but she didn't seem to mind. She just sat down, and started to wonder. That embarrassment sooner than later started to die, and he sat down right beside her. "Yeah, it is." He looked down to his feet, and sighed. "Especially in a place like this."

"I know what you mean," Hanji replied, voice still filled with a sense of wonder and excitement, "Despite everything that they do here, it's amazing that there's still beauty in it."

She glances at Jack with a shrug, "I guess that just goes to show you that humans can be terrible and still do wonderful things."

There was beauty here, wasn't it? Jack could see.

It was futurely pretty; it felt weird though. Jack had seen things evolve over the years. Things transformed from small log cabins to skyscrapers. But he missed all of this. It was like he blinked, and the entire world had transformed. It was strange, and weird, but at the same time, beautiful.

"Least these guys can do something right." He muttered, looking over to her and offering a smile. "I don't think it'll get better than that, though."

"They're very good at making things look atractive," Hanji laughed, "Even if they aren't..."

After a moment, she offered Jack her hand, "I'm Hanji - what brings you up here, anyway?"

"I don't think talking to yourself is going to make that feel better," Terezi chimes from behind the poor human. At least, Terezi thinks he might be a human. He smells like one, except there's something just a little... off about it. Maybe it's the weird hair. Who knows?

As such, she doesn't care much in the way of what he is so much as what he does. And right now he's sounding kinda crazy talking to the empty air out here on the roof. She tosses a small ball back and forth in her hands as she continues:

"You're new here, aren't you? If you're not going for the crazy train route, you might want to reign it in a little. Chatting up your imaginary friends in public doesn't net you a lot of fans."

Okay, he shouldn't be so offended by this. He had spent how many years having no one to talk to but the Man in the Moon. And now that he was visible, anyone could see this. He also shouldn't be so embarrassed, because this was a hard thing for him to remember, and there really wasn't a private place around here. At least so he thought.

"I'm not talking to myself." Jack looked up to Man in Moon, and sighed. "I'm just talking to a friend."

"Uh-huh." Terezi clearly does not sound at all like she believes him. "Well, it doesn't sound like your friend is listening. Maybe he's deaf. That would be unfortunate."

She actually has no idea who Jack is referring to, considering he seems to be just looking up at the sky. But he apparently thinks he's talking to someone. Maybe it's an angel. That would be creepy as hell.

"So, where did they put you? I want to congratulate the poor losers who got stuck with you."

"He's not." Jack said, ignoring how snippy it sounded. That was something he almost thought about once; the Man in the Moon would always tell him these little things, but whenever he wanted more details, there were none to be had. He was starting to think that was Man in Moon's idea all along. Maybe he was just speechless? Or he didn't know what advice to give.

Or maybe the Man in the Moon just...couldn't hear him here. Maybe he was?

He looked over to the girl, and failed to repress a glare. "District 3. What's it matter?"

That glare only earns him a wider grin, though Terezi tries to repress it with a feigned expression of horror.

"Oh jegus, I'm one of those losers. This is tragic." She continues her mockery by actually talking to herself, changing her voice to assert that she is clearly being two different people at this moment. Two very tragically sympathetic people. "I'm so sorry for you, Terezi. It must be hard. I know, I know. Thank you for your concern, I appreciate it in this difficult time."

She laughs a bit and tosses the small ball she's been playing with over to the boy. "Here, catch."

Even mortal, Bunny could move quietly enough, and bound from rooftop to rooftop (the ones that were close by, at least). It hadn't been hard for him to catch up with Jack - or even assume where he might look to find the (former?) frost spirit.

What he overheard of Jack's wonderings saddened him, but in a way that reminded him of the promises he'd made to himself. That he'd keep his friend well stocked in hope, no matter how hard the job was.

"I don't think that's our Moon," Bunny put in, his tone unusually gentle. "I can't get in touch with any of the Earth spirits who should be listening, either." He nodded at the moon. "Whoever that is up there, it wasn't Manny that brought us here."

"SUPPOSE A MOTHERFUCKER AIN'T HUMAN THEN? Got tell done unto he. HUMANS AIN'T LIVE SO LONG."

His voice comes from shadows of the Tribute Tower rooftop, fluctuating tones grinding out and sounding almost painful, going soft, and then grinding again like a blade on stone. The Initiate steps out, youthful-faced but towering and very much alien. His long hair is pulled into it's usually braid, tall waving goat horns growing from his head, face done up in paint. His eyes glow in the dark.

"For answer unto that latter, brother, the motherfuckers here get all to really liking snatching our lot all from before something got all to be ours. OR JUST IN THINE MOTHERFUCKING AFTERS," He says. "They want at to tease and taunt. TO SHOW WHAT ALL THEY CAN UP AND DO. And to make show what all they think one can't all have."

He doesn't question Jack for talking to the moon or nothing at all. Speaking upward is the natural thing, ain't it? To ask the skies for what gods looks down and here the lowly and humble below.

"THE VOICES WHAT ALL YOU WISH TO SEEK," He says, "What all you wish make permeation of the hearkening few. A MOTHERFUCKER MAY FIND THEM OBSCURED, HERE. A motherfucker may find them all to be distant where not they are at all. IT ONLY MEANS TO SPEAK UP IS ALL."

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