Miles To Go Before I Sleep

Temper Tantrums

"What about trees?" he asked her. "If there's enough of them it should stop the land from falling away."

"I've tried that, but this isn't a regular flood."

Jack's brow furrowed as he tried to figure out what she meant by that. May bit her lip and looked away guiltily, understanding exactly what he was thinking.

"I… may have… gotten into a fight with some water nymphs…" she admitted.

Jack stared at her. "I'm sorry, you what?"

"Well, they were refusing to let me melt the snow around their river but I have to, it's part of my job, and I guess… they didn't take it very well."

Jack shook his head. "Only you, May," he muttered. "Only you."

The expression on her face turned to a mix of indignation and what appeared to be her attempt to hold back a lecture on the importance of seasonal duties.

"What I don't understand," Jack continued, cutting off the rant before it could begin, "is why cause a flood? Of all the ways they could have reacted, it just doesn't make sense. What do they have to gain by destroying the land?"

"It's not the land they're after," May said sadly. "It's my garden."

Oh. Oh that was not good. She had said that that garden was her pride and joy. Jack had never seen it, but he had no doubt it would be spectacular and a great crime for it (and her house) to get washed away just because of a few angry water spirits.

"Okay, I have an idea," he told her. "You go and try to redirect the flow of water. I've got some ladies to visit."

...

...

It was a simple matter of following the flooding river to find the nymphs responsible. It certainly didn't hurt that they were cackling maliciously as they surveyed their handy work, either. They spotted him approaching from above fairly quickly, not that he'd expected a subtle entrance. But, interestingly, they didn't seem displeased to see him.

"Jack Frost!" the one with short cropped dark blue hair gasped. "Hello, Jack Frost~"

Her sisters followed her gaze, smiling themselves as they noticed him.

"Welcome, Jack Frost~" the shortest with long sea-green hair waved.

"Oh how lovely to see you~" the last, tallest one beamed, flicking her curly aqua hair out of her face.

"Hi, ladies," Jack greeted awkwardly, stopping to hover in front of them. This wasn't the first time he'd spoken to them but he wasn't used to such a friendly welcome. Well, he supposed, nymphs were rather fickle creatures.

"What brings you here?" the short one asked.

"I'm actually here to ask you to call off your rampage," he admitted, pointing his staff at the water flowing underneath them.

"Oooooh~" the sisters crowed in disappointment.

"But Jaaaack!" the dark blue haired one whined.

"She started it!" the shortest added.

"By melting all the snow we were playing in!" the aqua haired one finished.