My Rival, My Friend, My Brother
Yaaayyy! My very first Rise of the Guardians fanfic! :D
This took a bit longer than I thought to write, but where it was originally planned as a one shot, it just kept getting longer and longer, and now is going to be about three chapters ...oh well, it'll be my first three-shot! XD
I actually have the rest of the draft story written out, and I'm hoping it won't take me too long to edit the other chapters.
Despite great temptation and abuse from the fangirl in me ;D...this isn't really a yaoi fanfic...rather, a friendship/family one. (darn! XD)
Fair warning, whilst I've tried to keep the characters as in character as possible, I've never had to try and write with an accent before, so apologies if North and Bunny don't sound right...I tried! XD...
Anyway, hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of it's characters, only this fanfiction.
"FROST!"
The roar echoed around the entire workshop, leaving all present aware of what was coming, but unable to brace for it.
A yelp escaped Tooth as a freezing gust struck her from behind. She fluttered around just in time to see ice breeze over the floors and walls, whilst a large, dark figure moving swiftly behind its creator.
Yetis lumbered around and elves scattered as the racing figures weaved around them without pause.
"Chill out cotton tail, I said it was an accident!" Jack yelled as he twisted around in the air.
He glared at his at his chaser, and landed on the railing of the spiral stair case running down the centre of the workshop.
"Yeah, tell me another ya frosty brat!" Bunnymund yelled as he climbed onto the railing around the work level he was on.
Without a second thought, he sprang at the staircase, almost squashing Jack, had the boy not been quick enough to move.
Jack almost snarled as he swiped out with his staff, sending a burst of ice straight at Bunny. The guardian of hope dodged it, and ran after the boy as he flew down the stair case.
Glaring over his shoulder, Jack tapped the railing in front of himself with his staff, watching as ice smoothly formed over it. He slid down the ice easily, whilst behind him, Bunny slipped over as the frost spread to the actual stairs themselves. Growling, he sprang back from the stairs to the railing around the workshop, then barely getting a grip, he jumped down to a lower level of the stairs, just as Jack came sliding around.
"OOF!"
The two tumbled over each other despite the small width of the stairs, and exchanged furious looks. Jack yanked his arm free and knocked Aster over the head with his staff, stunning the pooka just long enough to pull himself free and fly up into the air.
Still not prepared to let him get away, Bunnymund quickly recovered, and jumped through the air again.
Jack whipped around, ready to send an icy blast his way, whilst Aster in return threw an egg bomb.
The result was a loud blast, followed by a shower of ice and bright paint.
The scuffling guardians were both knocked back, Jack into the stair case, Bunny against the workshop railing.
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!?"
The short but eruptive fuss was halted as the North Pole's head honcho stormed in in all his intimidating glory. He took one look around his workshop, and his rosy cheeks turned a not so jolly shade of red.
"Jack! Bunny! Explain!"
"The little sniffle froze up my warren again, and this time it was the tunnels!" Bunny growled as he climbed back over the railing, his fur glimmering with melted ice flakes.
"Yeah, an AC-CI-DENT! Get it through your head, eggs for brains!" Jack yelled back furiously, half his face and hoodie brightened by orange paint.
"I bought that trash the first time Frost, this is the third time! You really expect me to believe that again?"
Jack suddenly snorted.
"Well the first two tunnels WERE accidents, the last one was for yelling at me!"
"Jack!" Tooth half scolded, her heart not fully in it since she was shocked by the boy's anger.
"It's fine, it's still no winter wonderland or anything," Jack grumbled.
"Jack! Come down here now!" North ordered.
"No way, I'm not getting anywhere near the crazy rabbit!" Jack flew up to where the globe sat at the top of the stairs.
North sighed heavily, shaking his head.
"Sandy?"
Jack didn't have time to react as a gold whip shot out from behind North, and snared around his ankle. He was pulled down to the work area and groaned loudly as he sat up from the rough landing. A frown was the only response he was able to give the guilty looking sandman as he drifted into view, before a large hand pulled him to his feet.
"This fighting has been going long enough. You two must sort out problems!" North growled in controlled anger.
"I didn't have any problems before the brat showed up in my warren, even though I banned him after he froze the egg totems the last time!"
"And this time around I came to apologise! Shouldn't have wasted my time," Jack glared right back at Bunny, not worried about his proximity to the angry pooka despite his earlier words.
The two looked far from ready to finish this, but exhaustion from days of listening to the quarrelling had worn thin North's patience.
Baby Tooth gave a shrill sound as the Guardian of wonder grabbed the back of their heads, and slammed them against each other.
"I give permission to spend time here, even though Christmas is next month, and all you two do, is fight? Just look at the pole!"
Dazed from the blow, the duo just stumbled apart, anger draining slightly.
They both knew the stress the entire team of the North Pole went through this close to Christmas. Despite their friendship, the guardians rarely bothered each other without reason. However, after the fight against Pitch Black back at Easter, they'd made more of an effort to spend time together where they could. North had opened up the pole to them, so they could come and go as they pleased.
As they took in the mess they'd created, Bunny and Jack realised they'd been abusing this privilege. Their arguments lately had never been intentionally begun, but both were far too stubborn to back down once started, and despite wherever a fight began, it somehow always ended at the pole.
"Sorry," Jack finally sighed, his gaze barely flickering to North before it returned to the ground.
"Likewise," Bunny apologised, crossing his arms as he looked away.
North looked between the two in frustration. He gave them a moment in hopes they'd apologise to each other as well, but not to his surprise, they refused to even hint at looking at one another.
Disagreements between them were common even though they no longer hated each other, but this was getting beyond ridiculous.
His eyes lingered upon the younger guardian almost curiously. Aggression from Bunny was fairly normal, but Jack usually dressed his anger in sarcasm and a cocky attitude. Blunt rage was uncommon from him.
It was then North noticed the dark rings marking the usually snow pale skin. His eyes were an aching red, whilst frustrated tears lingered upon the edges…
…Jack was definitely NOT the type to cry from frustration.
The pair would not get off lightly for causing more work for the North Pole team, but now was not the time for causing more hostility.
"This will be sorted out later," He spoke with no option for disagreement, "For now, Bunny, return to warren."
"Happy to Mate," The guardian grumbled, walking only a short distance before he opened one of his tunnels and dropped through.
A couple of elves looked to the flower that was left behind as North turned to the remaining trouble maker.
"Jack…"
"Yeah yeah, I'll head home to…"
"No. You will remain."
A puzzled expression greeted him. In a way, the boy almost looked insulted that he'd just been told he couldn't go home…almost…
"How hard have you been working?" North spoke now calmer, but still firm.
Christmas was basically around the corner, but the snow season had also begun, and whilst he hadn't spoken of it, the guardians were well aware of how hard Jack had been working to make the arriving snow powerful but not over bearing. He didn't act it, but they could see he was taking the duty of being a guardian very seriously.
"Working? Tsk, creating and re directing a couple of snow storms is hardly work," The playful smirk returned as the boy scratched the back of his head.
North didn't miss the heavy sigh he tried to conceal by turning his back.
"But Jack, when was the last time you rested?" Tooth asked, seeing what North did.
Guardians could go a lot longer without rest than mortals, but even they needed time to recover.
"Don't worry about me; I get rest when I need it."
"Try looking at me and say that," North challenged lightly when the winter spirit kept his back to them.
He expected the guardian of fun to get a little defensive, but not as much as he did.
"I said I'm fine!" Jack barked, swinging around to face them.
He was as taken back by his outburst as they were. He shrunk back, his gaze darting everywhere but at another face. He looked like he still wanted to argue his point, but knew he was already toeing the line.
Worried the situation would spring out of hand, Sandy nudged North, juggling a ball of his sleep sand as he indicated to Jack.
"Oh no, don't even try it sandman." Jack warned, raising his staff.
He didn't do so in means of a threat, but he wouldn't take kindly to being forced to sleep…so to speak…
"No Sandy," North waved him off gently, raising a playful eyebrow at Jack, "Jack says he is ok, then he is ok."
Jack stood tall, though didn't dare speak, not sure what the Christmas guardian was up to.
"Very well Jack, you say you don't need rest? Then I have perfect job for you."
"Defrost everything I froze?" Jack dared to reply, his playful sarcasm not willing to back down.
But North only smirked behind his mass of white beard.
"Ha! You wish!"
'Don't let the cotton tail walk in…don't let the cotton tail walk in…'
Bunnymund would've had a field day if he could've seen his rival right now.
"What? So the reindeer that pull the sleigh and everything aren't considered a bit more important than this?"
The reindeer's barn house was in a state that didn't in anyway glorify the brilliant beasts that lived there.
At this time of year, any yeti who could be spared was pulled away to help with last minute presents and tasks, whilst jobs like cleaning the pens were taken care of only when time presented itself. Sure it showed signs of quick spruces here and there, and he was certain in its best state it would actually be quite grand. But right now, it looked like it hadn't received a descent clean in weeks.
"Guardian of fun cleaning out a dirty stable…huh, now what seems odd in this picture?"
His own sarcasm served little to entertain him, but he continued on with the boring task, knowing full well he'd earned it. Besides, it still beat cleaning the main hall, where all the workers looked like they might throttle him for the mess he'd helped make.
It took forever, but he was certain to do it properly; he really didn't want to hear about it from North later if he cut corners.
He almost grinned when he remembered North opening the barn doors earlier, and how he'd almost literally been knocked off his feet by the stench. It had been anything but funny then, but now without the terrible smell, he could've laughed at himself…
…except that the work however, had left him feeling drained. He'd happily keep arguing that he was ok, but his eyes felt as heavy as they looked. A head ache was pounding through his skull, demanding that he just stop.
"Ok ok…fine…" He muttered, his face scrunching up as his head gave a particularly painful thump.
Head in one hand, he used his spare to feel for the side of the sleigh, which sat in the middle of the barn. He carefully pulled himself up over the edge, and laid back against the step-like seats.
'Just take a break for a while, don't fall asleep, please don't fall asleep…'
But his own encouragement was in vain, as his eye lids sunk shut, his body relaxing into the awkward but suddenly comfortable resting place.
"Jack, Jack…wake up!"
He could hear and feel that his breathing was rather rapid, and his body felt stiff to the point he feared the pain that would surely come with moving.
Groaning loudly, he turned his head and slowly blinked his eyes open. A short gasp left him as he found a fierce face staring down at him, but he quickly recognised who it was.
"Jack…" North repeated, this time with a sigh of relief, "What are you doing in here?"
Wincing as his body objected, Jack raised up just enough to look around. He recognised the inside of the sleigh, although he could barely remember getting in.
"Ah…ah! The Barn!"
His body almost screamed at him as he sat up quickly, remembering why he was even in the barn in the first place.
"Jack," North grabbed his shoulder, "Barn is fine, But you on the other hand…"
"What? I'm fine," Jack shrugged him off, turning to climb out the other side.
"No Jack," North spoke firmly, holding the boy tight until he looked back around, "You were restless before I came in, and clearly you have not been sleeping well prior to now…"
The blue eyed boy just shook his head and glanced away, but North wasn't going to let him take his point lightly.
"Look at eyes! So red and puffy…not once, but three times, you accidently freeze parts of the warren…and you fight with Bunny to the point of actually trying to hurt each other! You're supposed to be friends."
"You always called us rivals," Jack muttered dully.
"Friendly rivals," North quickly corrected, "Rivals who may sometimes feel like hitting one another, but would never do it for real because they value their friendship more than their egos. Your attitude lately has been unacceptable, but even more so, it has not been like you. This lack of sleep is disrupting everything else. Jack, what is cause of this?"
The younger guardian just shrugged, but again North wouldn't accept that response.
Jack shrunk back as the guardian forced him around.
"…have you been having nightmares?"
"What! No, I haven't," Jack tried to pull away.
"Jack…"
"I'm serious!" Jack yelled.
He then realised how it must have looked from his friend's point of view. It wasn't as if the chance of nightmares behind it hadn't crossed his mind before, even if he'd quickly dismissed the thought.
He forced himself to stop and think about it, but just as his breathing began to slow, he shook his head.
"I haven't…I can't remember. I know that dreams…bad or good… fade pretty quickly once you wake up, but I'd still know if I'd been having them…"
He raised his gaze to meet the older guardians, and the head of the North Pole could see the pleading in his eyes.
North sighed heavily, and allowed Jack to stand.
"Very well, but nightmare or not, you have still not been resting,"
"North…"
"No Questions! You and Bunny may not always meet eye to eye, but Jack, do you really want to keep fighting the way you have been?"
The young guardian felt himself take a shaky breath. Yes he and Bunny still acted like rivals, and sometimes disagreements turned to full arguments. But he was too aware of his behaviour lately, and it wasn't fair to ANYONE else.
North watched the boy's shoulders slump in a way that meant he was swallowing his pride.
"Ok…" Came the defeated whisper.
North gave a soft smile and patted him lightly on the back…just firm enough to make him nearly stumble over the side of the sleigh.
The warren was always so tranquil. Soft light showered over the paint
rivers and flowers, whilst the giant egg totems made a gentle pounding as
they lumbered along.
Bunnymund watched with an affectionate smile as small clusters of eggs
toddled along through the grass. Easter was still months away, but there
were always a few eggs wandering around no matter what time of year it was.
The guardian of Easter may have been a proud, stubborn and tough spirit,
but this serene place never ceased to calm him. It had only taken minutes
upon his return to the warren for his rage to dissipate.
That was hours ago now, in fact he had no idea just how long he'd been
here…most of the day at least…
He sighed and glanced up to the tunnels, casually glancing to the symbols
of the corresponding countries over each one, even though he didn't need
them to know; it had been a long time since he did.
His frown returned a bit at seeing three of them still lined with ice. The
warm air was slowly melting it away of course, but frost from the guardian
of fun…though his pride hated to admit it…couldn't be underestimated.
Grumbling, he hopped down to the tunnel worst affected…the one Jack had
admitted to freezing intentionally…and ran his paw over the ice; A thin
layer for sure, but surprisingly sturdy. It would take forever to get rid
of the whole lot; the light of the warren could only reach a few metres in
after all.
He'd already tried boomerangs, but they were a bit awkward in the confined space, and as brilliantly made as the tunnels were, he couldn't risk them caving in by using egg bombs.
"Bloody larrikin," He grumbled, remembering when he'd seen Jack here earlier.
It was still early as Bunnymund rested in the shade of one of his favourite
spots of the warren. The air had a pleasantly cool ting today that he didn't consider until his ears perked up at a familiar sound, followed by what he could've sworn was quiet cursing.
"Oh that better not be…" Bunnymund growled under his breath.
He took off fast, and quickly found the source of the noise.
Jack Frost was crouching on the ground near the egg tunnels. His back was
turned as he shook his head, and stumbled to his feet.
"Frost!" Bunny roared, his ears lowered furiously.
Jack twisted around quickly, causing himself to stumble sideways again.
Bunnymund might have taken more notice of the winter spirits unusually
clumsy movement, if he wasn't so focused on the ice sheets covering two of
the tunnel entrances.
"Wait, Bunny, this isn't…I didn't mean…" Jack stuttered, raising his hands
defensively.
He was forced to duck as both of the Easter spirits boomerangs were sent flying at the tunnels. They easily smashed through the thin coverings, though Aster only growled more to see the inside walls layered as well.
Jack looked nervously to him, like a child caught in the act.
So he should really, a large cliff face and a couple of egg totems were still half frozen from his previous visits.
"I thought I told you to stay away from here!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I just came here to…" Jack started, shoving his hand into the pocket on the front of his hoodie.
"To cause me more trouble, that's what! Look mate, just because it's not Easter, doesn't mean I'm not busy."
This time Jack frowned.
"I said it was an accident, will you just listen to me?"
"I'm over your excuses Frost, I can believe this being an accident once or twice, but not this time!"
Jack's expression showed anger growing by every moment, but before it came, he stepped back and looked down, sighing heavily. However, his anger far from disappeared…
…no, as he looked back up, his eyes hardened in a way that normally only happened when someone struck one of his most sensitive nerves.
"Fine…" He whispered, his hand slipping carelessly from his pocket, "…believe what you want…"
His hand shifted over his staff almost casually, until he lifted it and slammed it back down.
A stream of ice shot along the ground directly at the tunnel to Africa; one of the ones that remained untouched.
"What're you doing!?" Bunny shouted in shock as the entrance froze over, clearly much thicker than any of the others.
He turned as he heard something smash. Jack glared right back at him as next to him swirled one of the portals created by North's snow globes.
Well that explained how he'd even been getting here…
Holding the front of his jacket, Jack jumped backwards through the portal, which closed after him.
"Oh no ya ratbag…don't think I don't know exactly where you're heading…" Bunny growled, and tapped his foot on the ground, opening a new tunnel.
That already seemed ages ago.
Aster gave a grumble. He knew he should've given Jack the chance to explain; if the trouble maker had really meant it, it would've been mischief, not panic that had adorned his face.
The Easter spirit shook his head, trying to shake the thought as he turned, but wasn't able to as something caught his eye.
After so many centuries of being a guardian, he could easily tell the difference between eggs he himself had hand painted , those decorated by the flowers and rivers, and those that didn't belong to either option.
He bounded over to the small group of eggs huddled in the grass beneath a small hill. Each one was a mix of blue and white, with strange markings around them, rather unlike the ones he made.
He picked one up, looking over it in confusion. It was definitely amateurish against his own work, but still he liked it as much as any of the eggs.
The markings were strange though, he had to look over the rest of them before he found one with a clear enough picture.
It was a snowflake.
He remembered then, the second time Jack had come around, he'd asked if he could try his hand at decorating the eggs.
Still a fair way from Easter, Bunnymund had agreed; if nothing else it sounded like a good way to keep the rascal out of trouble.
Now that he remembered the expression the boy had worn, and the honesty in his voice when he'd asked, Bunny had to wonder if that had been Jacks intention all along.
The pooka grumbled heavily, his ears flopping around his head. He'd still ended up with frozen egg totems, and in his anger he'd banned Jack from the warren…well, once he'd chased him around the place. He'd eventually caught the agile spirit with one of his tunnels when the boy dared to try and land, and the chase had continued all the way to the north pole.
Banning him was one thing, but Aster knew he wasn't reacting any better than Jack had when he'd frozen the pookas tail the other day after they'd been separated from a tussle by a couple of yetis.
Hurt his pride as it might, Aster knew he was supposed to be the more mature of the two, and thus a role model for Jack…whether or not the boy would actually follow anyone's example.
"I'm never going to hear the end of this…" He grumbled, putting the egg down, and tapping the ground lightly.
The north pole work shop was hectic, but the rushed atmosphere was a familiar rhythm to the workers. They knew how things ran, and so despite the chaos, this was much more relaxing than when something out of the ordinary happened.
Speaking of which…
A Yeti gave a surprised yell as both it and an elf suddenly fell through the floor.
"Sorry mate," Bunny apologised to the yeti as he hopped out into view, carrying the elf in his paw.
As the yeti groaned and crawled out of the pit, sandy floated down from the level above to see what the commotion was.
"G'day Sandy," Bunny greeted, dropping the elf, "The frostbite still hanging around?"
Sandy looked understandably worried by the request, but none the less, he pointed upstairs whilst little z's floated above his head, his finger resting against his lips.
"Sleeping upstairs? Heh, not for long," Bunny replied, and turned to walk off.
Sandy drifted in front of him, waving his arms whilst an image of North appeared above him.
"Don't worry about the big man, I didn't come here to start world war three," Bunny shrugged him off and walked passed, "I'm just gonna talk to the larrikin for a moment…and I do mean talk," He added when he heard the anxious chime behind him.
Sandy rolled his eyes and gave up. He'd give it ten minutes before another commotion rocked the work shop.
"Alright, now where would that troublemaker be tucked away?" Bunny muttered as he scanned the doors along the hallway.
The north pole was a large place, easy to get lost around if one wasn't familiar with the layout.
Thankfully, Bunny knew the small section used as guest quarters. It was generally only used when one of the guardians needed to stay for some reason, and though he hadn't actually done so himself…no thanks to the chilly weather…it was still a peaceful area to retreat to.
He flinched and raised his foot when something cold nipped at it. Looking closely, he could see frost trickling out from the crack under the door next to him.
"Bingo."
He reached for the door handle, when he stiffened.
His ears and nose twitched in warning. He could faintly hear Jacks voice through the thick wood, but not enough to catch one coherent word, until…
"Bu…Bunny?...Bunny…"
'Huh, the troublemaker must've heard me.'
"Yeah, it's me frostbite," He answered bluntly, walking in.
He was met by sharp, gold eyes, before a cloud of darkness flew straight over him, knocking the pooka off his feet. He swiped out at the fog, and found his hand came back feeling…gritty…
"It can't be…"
He peered through the dark cloud as he realised his opponent hadn't left the room. The strange creature didn't have a definite shape, but there was no question what it was.
"Bloody nightmare, what the heck are you doing here?" He growled in shock, trying to push away the separate nightmare sand.
The main nightmare was hovering above a small bed, where Jack was sleeping, though it was anything but peacefully. Frost had spread from the restless boy all over the bed, walls and floor.
He shifted and whimpered as the creature lowered its face slowly over his.
"So You're the reason he's been more of a pest than usual," Bunnymund yelled as he finally managed to jump to his feet.
The dark creature glared around to him as he drew his boomerang. Jack gripped the blanket and gave a shaky gasp as the weapon was thrown at his attacker.
The separate bit of sand quickly shot forward to act as a shield, but the main nightmare still got the message that it was time to go.
Whilst Aster was busy with the other cloud, it turned its attention back to Jack, the boy arching up slightly at whatever was plaguing his dreams. It opened its mouth, a hollow sort of sound resonating from its throat as it drew a deep breath.
"Jack!" Aster watched in horror as Jack's face screwed up.
The bad dream must've peaked at that moment, because Jack gave a loud cry, whilst from his forehead rose a tiny orb of what appeared to be dark energy.
It swirled around in a never fully fixed form, before the nightmare closed its mouth around the energy. A dark shimmer trailed over the length of its body, before it suddenly grew, and its form finally took on that of a horse; still not as solid as the old ones, but enough to see what it was meant to be.
It turned and dashed out the window, and after making sure Bunnymund couldn't follow quickly enough, the cloud took after it.
"Damn it!" He cursed, bounding over to the window.
He raised his boomerang, but forced himself to stop, knowing he couldn't follow the creature from here.
"Ugh."
He whipped around fast. Jack was moving again. His breathing was still rapid, whilst a cold sweat was forming on the boy's chilly skin, frosting up almost instantly.
"Frostbite? Can you hear me? Open your eyes now!"
Jack twitched, but it took a while for his eyes to peek open. His breathing began to steady as he finally turned towards the voice.
"B…Bunny? What are you…?"
"You alright mate? You had a bloody nightmare attacking ya," Bunny explained, and raised his fist in which he held a pile of the nightmare sand.
Jack flinched away, raising a hand like a shield. Aster could only look confused by the reaction. Fear was evident in the blue eyes for a moment, before the boy just looked confused and lowered his arm.
"Nightmare…tsk…why are both you and North talking about nightmares?" He stood up, shaking a bit as he searched for his staff.
"Because you just had one eyeing ya like a hungry croc. Whatever it made you see had you fidgeting like you were in pain."
"Then why don't I remember it?" Jack asked seriously, holding his staff over his shoulder.
"You mean you don't?"
"No, I don't," Jack turned to face him, "I fell asleep in the sleigh before, and North said the same thing, except he didn't claim to see some nightmare."
"I'm not claiming, I know what I saw. I fought the bloody thing, just look," Bunny held his paw out.
The sand was clear to see, but it was almost as if Jack didn't see it as he shoved Bunny's paw away.
"Just leave me alone…"
"What?"
Jack was leaning heavily on his staff suddenly, like that one rejection had zapped whatever strength he had. Still, he managed another furious glare, and this time, even Aster himself was shocked by it.
"I said leave me alone! I'll admit that North was right about me being tired, but it doesn't exactly help having a rabbit chew you out over nothing!"
"Hang on, I had every right to defend my warren. As far as I could tell, you were just up to your usual trouble. How was I supposed to know some nightmare was the cause of this?"
"You tell me not to avoid the blame, so stop doing it yourself! The nightmares went down with Pitch…"
"Yeah, so I thought as well. I'm literally holding the evidence right here mate, I'd have actually thought you of all people would've taken this a bit more seriously,"
"Ha, you're putting me and 'serious' in the same sentence? Maybe you should be the one laying down…"
"Fine. Tell me how I'm supposed to make you believe me about this?"
"Start by telling me just why I should believe anything you say."
This time the boy's anger actually felt like a sharp jab. Bunny stared into the angry gaze, for a moment wondering if it was really Jack he was talking to.
However, his patience was the shortest of any of the guardians, and having already swallowed his own pride just to come back here, that small amount of patience had already been stretched.
"Fine…FINE! Do as you want brat, just don't expect me to come save your scrawny hide the next time you get attacked in your sleep!"
"I don't recall ever asking you to!"
Jack stormed across to the window.
"You run now, you'll have North on your case,"
"Why? You gonna tatter tale…cotton tail?"
Jack slammed the end of his staff on the ground. Ice shot towards Bunnymund, and covered his feet. The Easter spirit swayed, trying to balance as he was frozen to the ground.
Where Jack would've normally laughed at his rival, he only gave an annoyed 'humph' sound, before leaping out the window. He free fell for a few seconds, before the wind obediently swept him up, and carried him away.
Bunny struggled against the ice until it finally gave out. It had only been thick enough to hold him for a short while. Gasping a few times, he tried to ignore the cold biting his feet as he hopped over to the window. He couldn't see the fifth guardian anywhere; he thought he caught a glimmer of blue rising above the mist, but that was about the best he could get from the white landscape.
"Bloody dill's gonna just get himself in trouble again," He grumbled, and turned away, "Let 'im sort out his own mistakes then."
He stopped and glanced down lazily as something shifted beneath his feet. Black sand clung to his fur weakly, until he shook it off.
The older guardian looked to that which he still held in his paw. He growled quietly and brushed it away, setting his attention back to the doorway.
However, his feet didn't move, and eventually, his ears lowered as he glanced over his shoulder to the window.
The fear he recalled on Jacks face when the boy was asleep…the fear he wasn't even aware of…
Bunny's ears shot up then. The nightmare…that dark orb it had sucked free of the boy before it escaped…
"Strewth…could that be it…? But that's insane…"
His ear twitched and he glanced sharply to the door. Voices were drawing closer from down the hallway.
"No rest! No rest for anyone!" North boomed furiously, "Why is peace so much to ask for!?"
He stormed into the room, pushing the door fully open.
"Bunny!"
His rage was cut short when he found the room vacant; No Easter bunny, or winter spirit to be found.
"North!" Tooth gasped as she caught up, and peered over his shoulder.
Sandy slid in around the large man, and observed the uneventful view with them.
"Now what are they up to? I separate them to cool off, and now they both vanish,"
"No, look," Tooth pointed to the ground, where a small red flower had seemingly grown out of the wood itself.
North crouched to inspect it with her, but as Sandy floated into the room, it was something else upon the ground that caught his attention, something that belonged there even less than the flower.
AAANNNDDD BREAK!
Lol, well, please be honest, how was it?
Hmm...still not entirely sure if the title was right for this story, but heck...*shrugs*
Also, as I say in any of my fanfics...please excuse my terrible grammar and spelling :P
Hope you enjoyed it, hopefully the next chapter will be up in just a few days...fingers crossed.
Thanks for reading, reviews are loved! (but don't feel obligated, lol, I'll be happy is others read this :D)