A/N: Just a quick one shot that I've been wanting to try out for awhile now. I have a bit of writers block for His Favorite Moments... Plenty of ideas, they just don't want to come out. This happens before the movie, during Jack's 300 years alone.
You do have to know Bunny's back story a bit to fully understand this.
(I feel like there will be some confusion for some people. If anything doesn't make sense, make sure you read the A/N at the bottom before you send in reviews with questions and concerns.)
Bunny suppressed a shiver when a cool wind hit him. He had just left the warmth of his warren to search out good places to hide his eggs for Easter. It was quickly coming up and he wanted to make it a great year... but he'd rather just stay home then have to go through some of the snow covered countries... The air was still a bit too cold for his liking, it didn't help that he was currently checking up on Burgess. A small town really, but it seemed to be a favorite spot for a certain winter spirit.
Jack Frost. Bunny hadn't seen much of him. He didn't like him, didn't hate him, didn't know him. He didn't care to either. In Bunny's eyes, he was just another seasonal spirit, often causing trouble for Spring and Fall.
An egglette rubbed against Bunny's fur, trying to get warm, and it brought the Pooka back to his job. He might as well get this over with, then his little googies can get somewhere warm. A few of them had come with him, to make sure that they liked their hiding places, and that they would fit easily.
He sighed and decided to just get it over with. He came to an open forest. It was actually a perfect place for his Easter eggs to hide. There were enough trees that it was fun for the kids to run around, but they weren't too dense, and plenty of light could reach underneath the canopy of leaves.
He started on his way, looking for hiding places for children of all ages. There was a little bit of snow, but Bunny felt that it would be gone by the time Easter got around. It was only in a few days, but the snow was already melting underneath his feet.
He was almost done in this area, when he suddenly heard some egglettes cry out. He immediately stiffened and bounded across the forest in the direction of where he heard it come from. He came across a lake, and saw that three of the five egglettes that had come with him had gotten just a bit too close to the edge of the lake. They had slipped and gotten themselves stuck in middle of the lake. He had no idea how sturdy it was, and didn't feel safe going on it himself. It was basically spring. It should be partially melted by now. Bunny tried to coax the little guys to come back, but they were shivering in fright and didn't move.
"Shh.. Come on now, It's alrigh'. I'll be righ' back. Don't worry." After the eggs nodded, he turned around and headed back into the woods to find something that would help him. His eyes scanned the trees and the ground, searching for a stick, or branch, or-... Shepard's crook?
He caught sight of it in the shadows of some trees. It looked like it was ready to snap in two at any moment, but would be perfect to use to get his googies away from danger. For a brief moment, he thought it looked familiar...
"Alrigh', lets get us back home." He mumbled to himself as he grabbed it and ran back to the lake.
When he cast his eyes own the lake he he could have smacked himself. He should have been watching the other egglettes... "Wha' are ya doing out there?!"
The other two eggs had tried to get their friends back on their own, so now they were stuck on the lake as well. They looked at Pooka and gave him an apologetic look. If anyone else saw them they wouldn't understand the look they were giving, but Bunny knew what they were trying to do. He brushed them off. "Eh, I'll get ya' all back here and home soon."
He went to the edge of the lake, and leaned over as far as he dared. With the crook in hand, he held onto the very end of it and tried to hook around the egglettes. They tried to move closer, but their feet had no traction, and they just slipped. Bunny reached forwards just a bit more... Almost... got it...
His feet slipped on the snow beneath him. "Crikey!" He exclaimed as he fell towards the ice. He shut his eyes tightly.
With a large THUD, Bunny was flat on his stomach on the lake. He winched when he first hit, sure that the lake would crack with his fall. Nothing happened. It was completely solid ice all the way down.
He opened his eyes and let out a sigh. He then tried to move, but the ice underneath him made it difficult. He ended up slipping again, and slid farther away from the edge of the lake. Now, he was in the same situation as his egglettes...
They scurried around him, and seemed to have gotten their balance. Now as he tried to move, they would circle around him... almost laughing at him when he failed to get up once again.
"Hey, hey, ya' didn't see me laughin' at ya' when you got stuck out here."
They just jumped and continued to skate around.
Bunny sighed. "If I'd known you'd get yer balance so quickly, I wouldn' have tried ta save ya..." He grumbled. He prepared himself to try once again to stand. This time, he used the staff that had fallen with him. He grabbed it and used it to help him up. When he was finally on two feet, the egglettes cheered.
"All right, ya little googies, lets go." He turned to get off the lake, but they shook their heads and went to the very center of the ice. He looked at them, and gestured to the trees. "Come on."
Another shake of their head.
Bunny brought the staff around. He turned it over so the hooked end was near the ice and swung it at them, trying to push them towards the land, but they jumped out of range. He narrowed his eyes, and took another swipe at them. He missed, and almost lost his balance. After a couple moments where he thought he'd slip again, he stopped himself from falling. He turned his head to glare at the eggs and he could have sworn they were snickering at him.
"Oh, so ya wanna play it that way, huh..." He smirked.
He crouched down, then shot forwards, using his powerful legs to boost him towards the egglettes. They jumped in surprise and barely got out of his reach. Bunny brought the staff around and slammed it into the ice, then he used it to make a sharp turn to make another go at his targets.
He chuckled, and swung the staff at one egg who just wasn't fast enough. It was pushed towards a snow drift near the edge of the lake. It flew into it with a PLOP. When it got itself unburied, it jumped up and went back onto the ice again.
Bunny was skating gracefully across the lake. He quickly caught sight of another egglette that would be easy enough to get. He moved his legs, and speedily caught up to the little guy. It suddenly jumped onto Bunny. He let out a cry of surprise. When another one of the egglettes jumped on him, he tried to keep his legs steady as their little feet started to tickle him
"Come on, ya lit'le bugga's, lemme go. Ah! Stop, it mate!" He tried to hold in the laughs that came but with his distraction, he lost his balance, and couldn't turn in time to dodge the snowbank on the edge of the lake.
"AHHH!" He shouted. He became instantly buried in the snow. The little eggs quickly got out and ran away before Bunny could get out and grab them. They were already back on the ice skating around by the time the Pooka dug himself out of the pile.
He shook off the snow that stayed on him, and let out a shiver. It was cold, but, hey... This was kind of fun. He let out a playful growl, and watched as the egglettes all turned to look at him. When he pounced back onto the lake, they jumped and slid away from his reach.
"Oh, ya' better run, ya' lit'le googies." He said, his voice low as he brought the staff still grasped in his hands around to make a grab at them once more.
As they scurried off, he smirked once more, and tried to cut off a few of them. One came up behind him and tried to jump on him again. He noticed this, and quickly turned to the side, dodging the little guy. "Ha! Yer' not getting me again." He said, looking back on the egg. He failed to notice another coming to tackle him from the front. He barely had time to dodge it when he face forwards again.
"Whoa!" He lost his balance for a moment, and almost fell. He caught himself quickly enough, but by then all the egglettes were chasing him.
"Crikey!" He laughed as he turned to flee from them. They kept jumping at him, but he made sure that none of them got him. After doing a quick U-turn, Bunny snatched one of the eggs from the air. "Got'cha!" He grinned. It trembled, and let out a squeal when Bunny tossed it into the snowbank by the side of the lake.
He glanced at the other little critters, and they quickly changed their course to run away again. Now... he was on the offensive once more.
Three of the egglettes ran for their life as Bunny put his sights on them. He got in a couple swings with the staff, but none of them hit their mark. One of the other two slipped in Bunny's path, and was almost crushed by his feet. The pooka immediately tried to change his course. It ended with him getting his feet tangled and him fallen face first into the ice.
"Ugh..." Bunny moaned. He sat up and rubbed his head. The egglettes came near him, and scurried about. They had a worried air around them.
"I'm fine, don' worry 'bout me." He said. He was about to say more, but he paused as his ears twitched. He lean down against the lake's ice, and listened for a few moments.
There...
He heard it, underneath the ice.
The earth wanted to live. It had been so long since it had been free, but now that spring was coming, it wanted to grow and flourish. The land around it often got a break, with either a few days without snow, or it was only softly covered with a light coat. The lake, though... It had been frozen solid for months, and hadn't had a chance to breathe freely. Bunny thought for a moment, and looked around at the melting snow. He nodded to himself. "Ya, I could do it a lit'le early."
:::
The wind howled through the trees as Jack frantically searched another bush. It had only been a few minutes, an hour tops, that he had put it down... Yet it had suddenly gone missing. He had made sure it was in an area where humans wouldn't see it. Hardly any of them came out this far in the winter, and it was nearing evening when they would be returning home.
"Come on! Where is it?!" He shouted.
The wind tried to comfort him, but it didn't feet the same as when he had his staff in hand.
He looked around again, double checking to make sure he didn't get the wrong area. He'd only wanted to walk around the woods a bit... It was nice to fly around and all, but sometimes just feeling the earth beneath his bare feet felt nice. It was nice and quiet, and walks like that helped calm his mind when he was feeling especially off.
Jack ran through the trees, closer to the lake. He hadn't thought he'd hid it this close, but maybe he just remembered it wrong. He heard a voice out on the lake, and he panicked. He hadn't strengthened the ice yet. What if it broke? What if someone fell?! A tightness in his chest overcame him, and he hurried to reach the water.
When he broke through the trees, he froze. There near the lake, standing at the edge of the ice, was the Easter Bunny. He was standing tall, his back to Jack. He was mumbling something, but Jack had no clue what... Whatever he was doing, it gave off a wave of... of life. That was the only way he could explain it. The ice closest to Bunny cracked and broke apart. It slowly started to spread towards the middle. The snow at the edges of the lake became soft and turned into water, revealing the grass below.
Jack's eyes widened as he realized what was happening. He was melting the lake! He didn't know why, but that thought scared him. It wasn't time for it to melt yet! It needed to be solid until spring, maybe a little later, but not now! It was too early. The ice would be too thin!
Jack couldn't move. He wanted to stop the rabbit from hurting his home, but without his staff, there wasn't much, except... maybe talk to him, but Jack wasn't even sure why he felt that it needed to be either solid, or completely liquid. He couldn't explain it, and he knew Bunnymund wouldn't like that too much. He hadn't had much experience with the Guardian, but the few times he did weren't good ones. Not all of them were bad, mostly he was just ignored...
Bunny turned slightly, and the first thing the winter spirit noticed was what was gripped in his furry paws.
His staff.
His only connection to the wind.
Anger boiled through Jack. Not only was Bunnymund destroying his home, but he had taken his staff too?!
"What are you doing?!" He yelled out, running towards the immortal. Frost sprouted forth from his feet, and branched out in harsh patterns, reflecting Jack's anger.
Bunny quickly turned at the sound of a new voice. His eyes widened when he saw Jack Frost running straight at him. He opened his mouth to say something, but he felt ice stab at his feet. He looked down to see frost shards coming at him. Bunny jumped up and out of their reach. His feet pounded on the lake and he winched when he heard a sharp crack! With a glare at Jack, he started yelling as well. "Wha's wrong with ya', Frost?"
When Jack got close enough, he jumped and reached for his staff. Bunny didn't let go of it so easily, though. They both fell onto the ice, and were splashed with a bit of water from when Bunny had been melting it earlier. The two of them struggled with each other for a few moments, before Bunny let go of the staff. It sent the winter spirit tumbling away, and gave a chance for the Guardian to stand up and arm himself.
When Jack stood up, though. He slammed his staff into the ground to harden up the ice again. A cold came and stung Bunny's feet. He looked down to discover that they were frozen to the top of the lake. It gave him frostbite, and he winched as he tried to pry them free.
"Don't mess with my stuff." Jack said, his eyes burning bright with anger.
Bunny gave him a glare as he got his feet out. "I didn't know it was yer' staff, alrigh'?" He strode up to the winter spirit. "Wha' are ya' still doing here, anyways. Spring is here now. Yer' not needed."
"This is my home." Jack stated defiantly. "You can't melt it." It would not be taken away from him. This was the last place he could come. He couldn't go there anymore... He hadn't been there in months. Although it pained Jack to not talk with him in so long... He wasn't sure what to do about it. This was his lake. Bunny would not take it away from him!
"This is not yer' home. What yer' doing here is killing the land, keepin' it frozen for so long." Bunny saw Jack's eyes shift slightly, almost turning away, but instead, it just got colder. His fur, already damp from the water, stung as the winds bit into him.
"Ya' need to leave. Now! Winter is over. Go somewhere where yer actually wanted, ya bloody show pony." Bunny turned to leave when he heard Jack respond.
"You're the one not wanted here. This is my lake, and I say-"
Bunny whipped around and grabbed the winter spirit by the front of his hoodie. "This is a small body of water, next to a city full of people. People who don't believe in ya', people who don't even know ya' exist. You have no claim over this place. This Is Not Your Home." He spat out each word, then dropped Jack on the ice. Bunny then pounded twice on the ground, and jumped through to return to his home.
When he reached it, he let out a deep breath. He could have been a bit gentler to the kid, but it had hurt him to feel the earth there crying out for a release, to almost give it, yet have it frozen right back up again. He just hoped Jack would let it breathe eventually. He couldn't claim that place as his home. It wasn't made for year-long winters.
Bunny laid down on the grass for a minute. It wasn't long before he realized that he still had things to prepare. With a sigh, he got back to work.
:::
Easter Day came quickly. Too quickly in Bunny's opinion. He had wanted to make this year special. Today was not only the day to bring hope to the children, but this year, it shared the same day as an anniversary. He would make today even better, in honor of his fallen brothers and sisters who had died so many ages ago. For this was the day that he became the last Pooka...
He rushed about, trying to get everything ready. Had he slowed down a bit, he may have noticed a slight chill in the air...
When he finally got everything how he wanted, he led the way to the surface to share his hope with everyone else. Even his keen hearing couldn't hear the mumbled voice that spoke after the Warren was deserted.
"You mess with my home, I mess with yours..."
:::
Something wasn't right... Bunny felt it. He couldn't understand why, though. Everything was going smoothly. He was on schedule, even a bit ahead... yet he had this nagging feeling that it would all change.
When he finished his job, and was ready to return home, he still had that feeling. "Wha' could go wrong now? I'm finished..." He mumbled as he headed through his tunnels to the Warren.
Light flooded his vision when he exited the tunnel. When his eyes adjusted, he could barely breathe.
White.
It was a brilliant white.
Everywhere...
Snow raged around in the harsh winds. A full blown blizzard continued on around him. Every blade of grass was covered. Some of his dye rivers were frozen solid. Flowers died in the intense cold.
Although he was surrounded by white snow, his mind only saw it as black sand. It was everywhere, and it was deadly. All life was being snuffed out, and Bunny couldn't stop it. The wind howled and he could almost hear the cries of his people in it. Nearby rivers thundered through the storm, but all he heard were the hooves of Nightmares, racing forwards and attacking any who they came across. The snow struck him, and he flinched. He tried to see any sign of his warren not affected, but nothing went untouched. He sprang forwards and shot through the pathways. His eyes strained to see anything besides the white. Anything besides that void. There had to be something! Someone! Memories of that day flashed through his head. Often times, he saw a fleeting figure in the storm, yet it vanished away before it became something tangible. He tried to ignore them, to not let them draw him into those moments, yet he couldn't stop them from coming. Cries of terror sounded in his ears. He tried to flatten them, to get rid of that sound, yet it still rang. He cried out, yelling at it to stop. His pounding heart wouldn't slow. He ran blindly through the snow, wanting to get away from it all.
There!
He saw a flash of something. Something not white... but blue.
On top of hill stood Jack Frost. Bunny couldn't see his face, but he didn't want to. He didn't want to turn and see Jack Frost the same way he saw Pitch on that day.
The winter spirit gave a wave of his staff, and the storm started to die off. He then left without a word.
Bunny didn't try to chase after him. Instead, he turned and followed one of his paths, though completely covered with snow. Suddenly he stopped, and bent down. He frantically pushed aside the snow and called to the earth, willing it to grow, to show its beauty.
It couldn't do it.
It was too cold.
Panic started coming to him, but he pushed it down. His planet died from that attack... but this was just a bit of snow, his Warren would live. This wasn't the same. He stood up and bounded across the land to another area. There he tried the same thing. Anything at all. A single blade of grass... Please... PLEASE!
Again, his call went unanswered.
Harsh breaths came to him, and he collapsed on the ground. His eyes jumped everywhere. It was all empty. White, black... it didn't matter which one it was now. There was nothing... He yelled out, needing to fill this void that had come to his home. The sound died off far to soon. He stared at the Warren with dead eyes. He had failed them... again He was the last. He couldn't stop it... It didn't matter how strong he was now. He hadn't been strong enough. He hadn't been fast enough. He had let them down...
Despair took hold of him. The loss of his people, the feelings he felt then... they all came back. He couldn't stop it from grabbing him, and pulling him down. He sank to the earth and exhaustion overcame him. Darkness came, and he fell into a world of Nightmares.
:::
Jack lay on his lake, unconsciously freezing anything that he didn't get earlier. His eyes were wet and he gripped his staff tightly.
Frost circled him and Bunny's words from earlier came to mind.
"This is not yer' home. What yer' doing here is killing the land, keepin' it frozen for so long!"
"I'm sorry... I'm not trying to hurt it... I'll let it melt, but not yet. Not till spring is fully here. Not till I know that it will completely be melted, and no one will fall in." He mumbled to the air. He couldn't let this lake be anywhere in between. The lake needed to be frozen, or thawed... This deep feeling in him made him cringe. It hurt and he had no idea why. Why was he so drawn to this place? This question led to his many others. Why he was alone, what his purpose was... All the questions he had, and they all went unanswered.
The moon shone down on him, its light trying to comfort him, but he didn't want it. He wanted a solid person to be there with him, to tell him it was alright.. to just hold him. He hadn't meant it to got that far. The blizzard... He was just mad... Mad at Bunny for hurting his home, mad at the moon for leaving him along, mad at the other immortals for ignoring him, mad at the people and their non-belief, mad at Ph- no...
Jack wasn't mad at him... He was mad at himself.
He looked towards the north and debated whether or not he should go. He shook his head slightly. He wasn't sure.
These past few months have been hard for him... Not even making snowball fights or helping kids have fun in his snow gave him the usual break from his loneliness... He had been at the end of his patience to begin with... he had needed a way to release his anger, and Bunny just happen to get in the way.
Jack glanced at where Bunny had disappeared down his tunnel. A single flower stood tall. It was fully in bloom, while most of the others were still growing. He shook his head, disappointed at himself for doing that to to the Warren. He couldn't stand feeling like this, feeling... abandoned. He made a silent promise to himself. Next month, Jack would go and talk. He'll explain what happened, apologize for staying away... He'll do anything to get it back. Jack would make sure this didn't happen again.
:::
When Bunny awoke, he found dried tears on his fur. His heart ached and he felt tight. He didn't dare open his eyes. He would still see that emptiness, see his fallen people and the remains of the battle. He was alone...
His ears twitch as he heard something. A groan of the earth. It seemed to release a weight and suddenly Bunny found himself buried under a bit of snow.
Snow?
His eyes snapped open and he realized that he was in his Warren... on earth. He had just finished Easter once again. It had been ages since that battle... He released a deep breath of relief as he thought back on yesterday, separating what had really happened and what his mind had added.
Jack Frost had made a blizzard in his warren. That was it. It had just brought back bad memories... really bad ones.
He let out a relieved laugh as he realized what had happened. He let the sun just beat down on him, and the hope and belief of the children fill him. He let the awful memories fade away. Not forgotten, but he would not dwell on them. Instead, he took a look around him and the mess that had been made last night. His gaze went across the warren. It wasn't that bad actually. The natural air here was warm and the snow had already started to melt. It would be back to normal in a week at most.
He stood up and walked the different paths, double checking everything. He scowled at all the work he would have to do, and cursed the winter spirit. Sure, it was a bit his fault for getting the kid mad, but he didn't have to do all this!
As he bounded through his home, he knew that no matter how many years passed, it would be a long time before he would forget that Easter morning and the blizzard of '68.
A/N: So, before any questions are asked. This directly ties into "His Favorite Moments", Chapter 11 'A misunderstanding, A Letter, A Cookie." You don't have to read it to make sense, but you can understand more why Jack was upset.
I know in the first chapter of His Favorite moments, I said it happens after the Blizzard of '68, but that was before this little idea came, and it tied in so well, I had to make it happen during those 8 months alone for Jack. So now, I've changed it so my longer fic starts before the blizzard, and it happens in the middle.
Hope you all enjoyed this, and I can't wait to hear/read your thoughts. Any questions I missed, feel free to ask... I think I got all the major big ones.