Despite deciding to try and encounter the spirit of Summer, Jack was unable to track her down, mostly due to the ridiculously hot temperatures that she seemed to constantly reside in. After an unsuccessful excursion into the Sahara, Jack retreated north until he reached a nice cluster of mountains that had some snow on their peaks.
He sighed, rubbing some snow on his face to cool himself down and resolved to meet Alsayf on the Equinox when he made his way to the island for the gathering. In the meantime, the Northern Hemisphere was well enough into autumn to allow his spreading of snow and frost and perhaps this would be enough for a human to see him for once.
He was relaxing in Iceland after adding a new layer of ice to a number of glaciers and flying up and down their length to see just how far they stretched when a large oak leaf gently descended in front of him. He rose to catch it, wondering how it had gotten all the way out here. There weren't any oak trees in the vicinity. He was on a glacier for heaven's sake. But it didn't seem like an ordinary leaf. It shimmered gold at its edges and when it caught the light, and it seemed to radiate warmth. As he held it up to his face to examine it closer, an image abruptly appeared on its surface of a small forested island in the middle of the ocean and he realised it had to be the Equinox. The leaf then proceeded to show him exactly how to get there and with a whoop of excitement, he took to the air, racing south to the meeting of the seasons. His excitement grew the closer her got and it almost reached breaking point when he sighted the island and circled above it, spotting a clearing at its centre where he came in to land.
"Jack Frost!"
Mabon abruptly materialised out of the air, looking exactly the same as he had when they first met.
"Wonderful to see you again! How have you been? Did you meet Chūntiān and Alsayf? Also, I love what you've done with Moscow; it looks amazing under all that snow and the fern patterns! I wish I could paint as well as that. Absolutely stunning. Just don't waste all that talent this early in the year, though. Winter is still yet to come. Apple?"
His tirade of excited chattering stopped as he offered the fruit to Jack who grinned and accepted, relishing its taste. He really should get around to eating more often.
"So this is the infamous Jack Frost," came a new voice in an accent that Jack hadn't encountered before. Riding on a wave of blisteringly hot air was a female spirit whom Jack immediately identified as Alsayf, the Spirit of Summer. She radiated heat, and it appeared that the hems of her trousers were smouldering slightly, a fact that she appeared not to care about.
"Infamous?" he asked, "What makes you say that?"
"Don't mind her," Mabon advised him, "She's a little... hot-headed. Get it!" he cracked up laughing at his own joke while Jack smirked at her annoyed frown.
"Don't you start," she muttered, landing and sizing up Jack. "The other guy was taller."
"Sorry to disappoint," he replied, "If you like, I can give us all a nice blanket of snow to make up for it."
He didn't know why, but there was something about her that was grating on his nerves. Perhaps it was her attitude towards him, perhaps the irritating waves of heat she was giving off but he couldn't help poking back at her.
"As if a little snow could stand against me," she laughed, waving her staff which Jack only now realised was actually on fire at the end. He quickly backed off out of instinct, before retaliating with a strong gust of winter wind, making the flame die down a bit.
"Stop it!" she demanded, making the flame rise up again with her own warmer wind.
"I will when you do," he retorted and the two glared daggers at each other.
"Now now, children," Chūntiān reprimanded them, appearing in a flurry of cherry blossoms, "I do not think either of you are giving good first impressions."
"I'd prefer to reserve judgement once I get to see what he's made of," Alsayf muttered.
"A wise outlook."
All four turned to see a woman appear in an explosion of leaves which formed a dress around her. She radiated such power that Jack quickly fell to his knees in awe and a large amount of fear. Thankfully, the other three did the same, bowing their heads, intoning, "Greetings, Mother."
Jack quickly repeated the words but froze when he felt her gaze upon him.
"You do not call me that."
He forced himself to raise his head to stare at the spirit before him. She radiated ancient power that seemed to be both familiar and foreign, much like his own but also different at the same time.
"I am not your mother, spirit," she continued without malice or, any emotion at all. "You are not my creation but you have filled a role left empty by you predecessor."
"Yes, Ma'am," he breathed, transfixed by her gaze.
She nodded and beckoned for him to stand which he quickly obeyed. There was no way he would dare anger her.
"Even though you are not my creation, you do have great power, as much as if you were my own. This is interesting. And yet there is something else within you that is not within my children. Something beyond the realms of the seasons. It seems your destiny is tied elsewhere as well as within Winter."
"What is it?" he blurted out before he could stop himself. He quickly shut his mouth as she raised an eyebrow at him and said, "It is not for me to say. The Moon may have more answers but I doubt he will share these with you. You also have a different energy about you and I sense you were not created in the same way as my spirits were, yet your past is clouded."
"My past?" he breathed, "What do you mean?"
"I... am uncertain. You are an enigma. I assume the Moon has a plan for you but as to its details, I am unsure. You will have to figure this out for yourself."
Jack suppressed his frustration. She was more helpful than the Moon in that she actually spoke to him, but at the same time offered no real answers other than what he already knew as his role as Spirit of Winter.
"You are unsatisfied with this answer."
He shrugged and said, "I just want to know why I'm here. The earliest memory I have is of rising from a lake and the moon telling me I was Jack Frost. I want to know where I came from and what I'm supposed to be doing, more than just being the Spirit of Winter."
"Why should there be more?"
He refrained from saying anything else lest he annoy her but simply nodded and bowed his head again. Her attention turned to the other three and requested to hear any news that they might have gathered over the past few months. Jack listened intently to their reports of their seasons and the weather and resisted the urge to rise to his feet and confront Alsayf when she announced his early presence in the Northern Hemisphere just when Autumn was starting.
"You must not interfere with the other seasons, Jack," Mother Nature informed him, "It will bring the earth out of balance."
He nodded silently and listened as the reports ceased and the meeting came to a close. The others rose to their feet and Jack did the same as, with a final look, Mother Nature vanished the same way she had appeared. He released a pent up breath and turned to the others.
"That was terrifying," he joked nervously and Mabon nodded in agreement.
"She does that to you," he said, "But I think you had it worse than we ever have. I've never seen her so... thoughtful."
"What's the deal with your past?" Alsayf demanded, frowning at him. "You're the Spirit of Winter. Isn't that all?"
Jack shrugged and said, "I don't know. I can't remember and the Moon refuses to talk to me. Honestly, you're the first people I've actually been able to talk to in decades."
Alsayf gagged slightly and said, "No thanks. I'd prefer it if you stayed far away."
"What's the matter?" Jack demanded, "Afraid of a little ice?"
He sent her a small puff of winter air at her and she growled in annoyance. Chūntiān stepped between them before an actual fight could occur and said, "Calm yourselves, friends. We should be celebrating Jack's addition to our family. Mabon? Alsayf? I presume you brought food?"
With much grumbling from Alsayf, the two produced a pile of food from their satchels and all sat around it partaking in the feast of summer and autumn fruits and for the first time in many long years, despite his blossoming rivalry with Alsayf, Jack felt a semblance of contentment. For the time being, he was not alone.