Chapter 8...finally. I've deleted the Authors note previous so the story runs more smoothly. All it was was an apology for being so lame with updates.

Chapter 8: Understanding

Jack was sat upright in bed, staring at Augustus dumbfounded, while trying to cover his bare chest with the signature blue sheets of North's infirmary. Augustus stood at the end of his bed, dressed in his usual "oh-so-modest" suit with his long, white hair tied back. He had his hands clasped behind his back and looked apologetically toward Jack, trying to avoid looking at the lump at the end of the bed that was the cast of ice that surrounded the broken leg that Jack had been forced to make himself using almost all of his power.

"I'm sorry?" Jack asked, not quite believing what Augustus had said.

"I'm apologising on behalf of Aura." Augustus began, "She thinks herself above any situation to apologise herself."

"What is she apologising for?" Jack couldn't quite understand. He had been in the infirmary for 48 hours and there had been no sign of Aura. Maybe she's apologising for not visiting?

"For the stunt she pulled here. For getting you severely injured. For almost killing you. I have made her aware of the trouble she has caused but she has refused to listen to me and that is why I am here. I am apologising on her behalf."

What? Aura saved him. Without her he would have surely died. If she hadn't pulled Eclipse off of him he was sure he would have come away with much worse than a broken leg. Then another thought came into Jacks head. She had been punished for it. Punished for saving his life.

"What did you say to her?" Jack spoke through gritted teeth, unable to look Augustus in the eye.

"That she was reckless and that she supposed herself more powerful than she could ever hope to be. That she was naive and I underestimated her abilities."

"Aura saved me." Jack spat locking his eyes on Augustus's.

"If she had stayed in wind form Eclipse might be dead by now-"

"-And then so would I. Aura changed into her human form to warn me. If she hadn't I would be dead. Don't try and deny it."

Augustus was taken aback by Jack's hostility. Jack had known this girl for maybe four days in total. Why was he so protective of her? Why was he defending her against her own leader?

"It was not my intention to upset you Frost. Forgive me. You have been through a great stress. I'll leave you to rest."

Jack noticed something in the tone of Augustus's voice. He was picking his words wisely. He knew what he wanted to say but he said it in a way that came off as polite and elegant. Jack saw through the words disguise. He saw them as sly and cunning. Jack didn't like the south wind and he wasn't sure he ever would.

*-*-ROTG-*-*

Aura sat on a window ledge in one of the workshop rooms, knees up to her chest, her head resting against the windowpane. She brought her finger to the glass where her breath had caused it to mist over and she drew a very crude snowflake shape. It had been two days since Jack had returned to Santoff Clausen with his injury. Two days since Aura had had the courage to talk to the boy. Two days of self induced solitude from Augustus and the other spirits. In those two days she felt a loneliness and desperation that she had never felt before. Sure, she was used to not being acknowledged or seen, but she was never truly alone. Jack had been there as he always had. Not now though. Despite the fact that this isolation was self inflicted she still felt painfully abandoned. She didn't know what she expected. Did she expect the Guardians to accept her as they had accepted Jack? No. Did she expect Augustus to come running and apologise to her for what he had said? Definitely not. The only person who she could talk to and be accepted by was Jack Frost and at that moment Jack Frost was confided to a bed in the infirmary.

Aura sighed, bringing her palm to the windowpane and wiping away the image she had created on the glass. Time to take action Aura. Time to visit Jack Frost.

*-*-ROTG-*-*

She made her way slowly through the vast corridors of North's workshop. It surprised her how a building so large could feel so like home. The walls were a warm red colour with borders of holly and greenery. It was cosy in every sense of the word and even in comparison to how small she was to the building, she didn't once feel intimidated by it's size. This truly was the home of Nicholas St North.

North was apparently used to guests or at least used to yetis getting lost as there were signs on every door and at the end of each corridor instructing were to go and what someone would find if they turned left or right. It was this way, and only this way that Aura found herself at North's infirmary. Travel down two twisting staircases then make three lefts and a right. That's when you'll get to the medical wing.

She knew where Jacks room was before seeing it. She just followed the crisp chill.

She found herself facing a brown oak door with a golden handle and a sign that read ward no.7. She grasped the handle, took a deep, long breath, and walked into the room.

"WHY DON'T YOU PEOPLE KNOCK!?" yelled jack as he failed to cover himself up in his bed sheets.

Aura quickly averted her gaze to her shoes. She stayed silent and stunned for all of four seconds before erupting into a ridiculously loud and out of control laugh. She grasped her stomach and her knees were bent slightly as the laugh coursed through her body.

Jack on the other hand looked completely mortified. He was sitting upright on the bed now with his bed sheet covering his whole body up to just under his chin.

Aura looked up slowly, tears in her eyes and hand covering up her mouth, as she tried and failed to stifle her laugh.

"It's not funny," Jack pouted, a blue hue appearing on his cheeks,"I could have been sleeping and wouldn't have known you were here."

"So *gasp* you normally just *gasp* lie around naked?" Aura asked, trying desperately to steady her breathing with a large grin plastered on her face.

"It's how Mother Nature intended. I'm a free spirit Aura. Sometimes clothes cut of my freedom." Jack said all this in a deadly serious tone causing Aura to lose it again.

She made her way to jacks bed, still bent over with laughter, and pushed herself up onto the end of it.

Instinctively Jack pulled the blanket closer to himself, encasing his body even more so than it was.

"Will you relax Jack. It's nothing I haven't seen before."

Oh Manny. That thought hadn't occurred to Jack. Aura had literally always been with him. Every time he changed or washed she would have seen.

Jack pulled the blanket over his head in embarrassment. "Was that supposed to make me feel better?" Jack groaned.

Aura didn't hear what Jack had said due to her desperately trying to calm her laughing fit. After about two minutes she could breathe normally again but she still couldn't wipe the smile from her face.

"How's the leg?" she asked eventually after feeling Jacks embarrassment decrease.

"S'alright." Jack answered, revealing his face from under the bed sheet. "After some time in it's magic casing it should be good as new."

"Well I'm glad you're alright. Everyone was rushing around so worried about you. Bunny was practically hysterical when he found you. You probably don't remember it. You were so out of it from all the blood you lost. It's weird to see people fussing over you. I'm so used to seeing you deal with stuff on your own. I guess they don't understand how much you can deal with without help. I knew you'd be fine but I thought I better not get in peoples way."

"It's nice in a way." Jack spoke thoughtfully. "Sometimes it's annoying when they don't give me credit for what I'm capable of dealing with on my own but it is nice to get help and to be cared for y'know."

"I wouldn't know." Aura didn't mean to make herself sound like she was full of self pity but it was true. She didn't know how it felt to be cared for. Not truly.

"Augustus not really the caring sort." This wasn't a question. Jack knew for a fact that he wasn't.

"You could say that."

"He came in here earlier you know, said he was apologising on your behalf. Obviously I said you had nothing to apologise for and that, if anything, I should be thanking you but he just kept saying how you almost got me killed."

Aura was furious. She could take criticism when she knew it was deserved but she could not take it when she knew she had done nothing wrong. She looked straight ahead and clenched her fists. She didn't reply to Jack's statement, not trusting her voice not to tremble.

Jack and herself sat like this for several minutes and when Jack noticed tears begin to trickle down Auras cheek he pulled her into a tight embrace. Aura rested her left cheek on Jack's chest and he began stroking her head as she started sobbing harder. They stayed like that for several hours until Aura couldn't cry any more. Until Jack realised that he had never cared for anyone more.

Jack and Aura are still just friends for now. Jack cares about her in a friendly sort of way. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing and following this story and I promise chapters will be more regular from now on.

Stay chill gang.