JackFrost

---

The day Jack hatched had been a difficult one for the Clan of the Northern Star. Polaris, the Clan Matriarch, had taken ill after laying that particular clutch a week prior and it was all she could do to keep watch over her nest. Polarlicht would have gladly assisted, but he was busy with another crisis. A blizzard was approaching. While they normally would have been prepared for this kind of storm, this storm had approached far faster than they had predicted. This, in addition to the Clan's leader being sick, had left Polarlicht scrambling to ensure that everyone stayed safe. By the time he had done so, it was too late for him to get back to where his mate and unhatched clutch were waiting. The blizzard had hit with full force; it was a white-out. There was nothing he could do, save hope his mate and clutch were alright.

As soon as she heard the wind pick up, Polaris knew that her mate wasn't going to make it back before the storm arrived. She laid her body down on the ground in hopes that the cool stone floor of the cave would ease her searingly high fever. It didn't. Fear started to creep into her mind as she began to feel a fog blur her thoughts; if she passed out now the clutch might not make it. She needed to make sure that her nest could endure the blizzard. Polaris strained to stand, weakly wandering the cave for things that she could use to insulate and protect the nest. As soon as she completed her task she laid down again, this time laying her head down on the ground as well.

A few moments later, Polaris could have sworn she'd seen one of the eggs move. She was ready to chalk it up to a fever induced hallucination when she saw a small beak crack through an egg from the inside. A Skydancer's beak. The little one worked quickly to free himself, almost faster than any of her other hatchlings had. It took only a moment longer before the little one had shaken itself dry and was toddling over towards Polaris with curious eyes.

"No, stay away," she said with as much force as she could manage. "You'll get sick... I can't let you get sick."

The little one stopped and tilted its head as though it was looking at a puzzle. Polaris closed her eyes, thinking it would stay away for the time being. After a moment though, the hatchling's eyes lit up and it resumed its march forward with a new determination, quickly closing the distance between them. Ever so gently, it placed its forehead against Polaris'. There was a flash of soft blue light, and suddenly Polaris felt... cool. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, contented just to enjoy the relief. After a moment she opened her eyes, which obviously thrilled the hatchling.

It started to make happy chirping noises, which caused Polaris' eyes went wide. As the little one tweeted and chirped, the silvery blue gem on its head glowed brighter. Snow simply appeared out of nowhere, falling over them in a gentle flurry. At the same time, the blizzard which they had expected to last for days was dissipating quickly. It was, without a better word for it... magical, and Polaris knew that this youngling was special indeed.

---

And now, for arts! :D

Thank you DeviBrigard for the wonderful birthday art!