I own nothing but the story.
"It was a cold and windy night, hardly different than it is now..."
A brisk breeze swept over four small heads, ruffling their hair and kissing their cheeks.
"There was snow on the ground, about as deep as your ankles, and it continued to fall."
Snowflakes the size of small coins began to fall over the group of children. Giggles erupted from the smallest child. From the living room hallway, Bunnymund felt a smile slip over his features.
"My mother," said Jack Frost, miming actions in the air with his hands, "was so cold," he pressed his hands against his arms and gave a shiver, "She threatened her toes would fall off if I didn't get some wood in the fireplace. So she says to me," he held up his pointer finger and raised his voice to a higher pitch, "'Jack, go out to the woods and collect some firewood.'"
Young Jamie smirked at the tone. Bunny too, felt a chuckle rise within him, but he stifled it to keep from making his presence known.
"So I grab my coat and I grab my shoes, and off I go into the dark and desolate forest," Jack walked over towards one of Jamie's friends, "I managed to collect some firewood easy enough, but you know what I found on my way back?"
"What?" one of the twins bent forward in anticipation.
A smirk Bunny was all too familiar with spread over Jack's features. Placing his hand on the room's windowpane so that frost covered its surface, he began to draw little figures onto it. A moment later, Jack cupped his hands around the drawings and pulled them from the glass. Bunny felt his eyes widen in amazement as six tiny frost creatures ran over the heads of the children, who echoed his wonder with various, 'woahs, and wows.'
"On my path home, what should I find but wolves!" Jack cried, his voice deepening with a dramatic edge, "Yes indeed, children, six of these creatures blocked my path—their eyes were wide and their sides were skinny—I knew they were hungry."
Bunny glanced at a nearby wall clock, growing aware at the amount of time he was wasting. The Guardians had wanted both of them to be at the Pole as soon as possible, but Bunny found himself too wrapped up in the story to dare interrupt it.
"I tried scaring them off," Jack placed a hand over his heart, "I threw the wood at them, waved my arms, screamed like a banshee!"
Sophie added her own little scream before breaking off into a fit of giggles.
"But none of it worked," Jack smiled as he continued to regale his audience, "the leader lunged forward, his teeth long and yellow, I thought for sure he was going for the neck, so I did the only thing I could think of..."
"What was that?" asked Jamie, his eyes wide.
"Well," Jack reached over and grabbed his staff, which until this point had been leaning harmlessly against the wall, "Nearby was a long slab of wood that had fallen from the highest part of a sycamore tree. In those few seconds it it took for the wolf to reach me, I grabbed it and swung it with all my might!"
He whirled the staff above his head and swept through one of the frost wolves. It exploded into a flurry of snowflakes, which Bunny made sure to avoid as a few floated his way.
"Sent the dog flying straight into a tree," said Jack, "Knocked him out in an instant."
Bunny felt the urge to snort. He doubted Jack had the ability to knock out a full grown wolf, but he just shook his head and listened further.
"I was shocked at what I'd done," said Jack, "but I didn't have time to think about it, because two more came at me!"
"Uh-oh," Sophie clapped her hands and held on to her brother's arm.
"What'd you do then?" asked a twin, grinning.
"I went for the legs," said Jack, "but I mostly hit the snout—I didn't want to fight them, but my mother needed her firewood, for God's sake, so I swung, and I hit, and I yelled at the top of my lungs."
He swiped his staff through the air a few more times, causing two more frost wolves to burst into flakes. The children laughed and tried to catch the snowflakes on their tongues.
"At this point, the other wolves seemed to take a hint that I wasn't messin' around," Jack grinned and waved his hand. The frost wolves suddenly moved from the circle above the children's heads and raced towards the window, disappearing into it.
"The other three ran off," Jack gazed at the window with a fond look on his face, "and I'm certain the three I beat followed once they came to their senses."
Now Bunny was extremely doubtful. One wolf was already a stretch, but three? That was near impossible. Then again, he had managed to take on Pitch's army of Nightmares, though that was after three hundred years of developing his skills. Bunny shook his head and stole another glance at the clock.
"I went on home and delivered the firewood to Momma," Jack continued, "and as for this baby," Jack placed his staff in front of him with a sharp tap, "I took that piece of wood and carved the end of it into a crook; and that is the story of how I got my staff."
The children burst into enthusiastic applause, which Bunny joined in on as he took his cue to step into the room.
"Nice story, mate," he said.
All five heads turned to face him, and the children's faces lit up with delight.
"Bunny, bunny, bunny!" Sophie squirmed from her brother's grip and ran over to meet the Pooka, who took her into his arms.
"How ya doin', little ankle-biter?" Bunny chuckled.
"What're you doing here?" Jamie asked, "Are you going to stay?"
"Oh, no, unfortunately," he placed Sophie back onto the floor and looked up with a more serious expression, "I'm here for you, Jack."
Jack gave a dramatic inhale, "You came all this way to see me? I'm touched."
Bunny let the remark slip past as he informed Jack of the monthly meeting at the Pole that both of them stood late to. Jack's expression turned sheepish.
"Was that today?"
"Indeed, Frostbite. Now are ya comin' or what?"
"Hmmm," Jack swung his staff over his shoulder and put a finger to his lips in mock thought, "...what."
"C'mon ya gumby," Bunny opened up a tunnel at his feet and jumped down, knowing Jack wouldn't follow, but certain that he would make his way to the Pole, nevertheless. As he bounded away he heard the sound of the children laughing.
"Hey, was that story of yours true?" Bunny asked several long and painful hours later.
"Hm?" Jack looked over from one of North's large windows.
"The story," said Bunny, gesturing to the staff, "Of how ya got that...is it true?"
A devilish grin appeared on Jack's face, "What reason would I have to lie?"
Bunny's eyebrows rose. How this boy managed to look so dastardly was beyond him, and that certainly didn't seem to answer his question, but to avoid starting another one of their usual word brawls, he chose to take the answer.
"Alright then," he said. He turned and left, desperate to get back to the warm temperatures of the Warren.
He forgets the reason he was at the Pole the following week, or even why Jack was there, but he did of all things remember the story.
And boy, what a story it was.
"May I see it?" North asked the crouched spirit, gesturing to the staff.
For a second, Bunny thought he caught a look of bashfulness cross Jack's face, but it was gone before he could blink. Without a word, Jack placed the skinny slab of wood into North's fantastically large hands, and drew back into a sitting position.
"Ah, remarkable!" North looked at the staff with the utmost care and wonder in his eyes. He turned it over and ran his fingers down it with all the love of the craftsman he was, saying, "Tell me, child, how did you come to own this?"
Bunny had felt the need to chime in; after all, he knew the story of Jack's staff, but Jack had beaten him to the punch, rightfully so, but what he said made Bunny nearly drop the egg he'd been painting.
"I won it from Old Man Winter."
"Vhat?" North spoke at the same time Bunny let out a small choking sound.
Jack smiled, all innocence, and said, "Yup, it was an early morning in November, the sun was bright and the snow was up to your knees."
Bunny's paintbrush remained frozen in the air, hovering just above the surface of his egg. He didn't dare look at Jack. He didn't want the rascal seeing him so flabbergasted. He wondered, what was the boy playing at?
"I was outside playing with our dog when I looked up and saw an old man carrying that very staff in an old sycamore tree."
"Really?" said North, "Old Man Vinter himself, eh? I've known of many vinter spirits in the past, but I can't say I know him."
Jack grinned and Bunny rolled his eyes. How could North be so bold? Jack could say whatever he wished, now.
"Well, it was him all right," Jack said, excitement creeping into his voice, "He was six feet tall and had long white hair that went down his back and his chest. His skin was blue, his eyes were wrinkled like the crow's feet, and he had long, gnarled hands that looked like the branches of the oak trees, you know, the kind that seem to reach out towards you?"
"I do know," North smiled and sat down, looking hardly any different than the children Jack had duped the week before. Bunny shook his head.
"Well, me being, me," Jack snickered and Bunny scoffed in agreement, "I decided to throw a snowball at him. Nailed him right in the face!"
Bunny furiously smeared red paint all over his beautiful patterns. He could hardly believe what he was hearing.
"And so the Old Man jumps down to me and says, 'You dare challenge Old Man Winter?' to which I responded with," Jack made his voice an octave deeper than it already was, "I certainly do, Old Man, I challenge you to a snowball fight! He told me I would lose, and that he would run me into the ground, but I was confident. There's no one alive on this earth that can beat me in a snowball fight."
Bunny had to smirk at that, and he found himself relaxing ever so slightly as Jack continued his story.
"We begin to fight, and long story short, by mid afternoon he was begging me to show some mercy, to give him a chance, to end it all," Jack smiled, "Being the kind person that I am, I relented. I was about to make my way home when he says to me, 'My boy, You have completed the impossible. Please, take this staff as a spoil for you to gloat over some day.' Then he hands me the staff, and walks away. Never saw him again."
North clapped his hands together, "That vas marvelous! We'll have to refrain from engaging in a snowball fight vith you, eh?"
Jack laughed, "I'll cut you guys some slack. But that's how I got my staff."
"Amazing," North remarked, "Is it not, Bunny?"
Both heads turned towards Bunny, who returned their stares with one of his own. Bunny watched Jack's face, looking for fear, or worry. Instead he found that smug cockiness he always seemed to find when looking at Jack, and that got him angry all over again.
"That would be amazing," he said, "If it were true!"
North's eyebrows flew up his face while Jack's furrowed.
"Vhat?" said North.
"Yeah..." Bunny pressed on, giving Jack a glare, "He's pullin' yer leg, North. He told the children last week that he got it from defeating a bunch of wolves, and givin' that it would be impossible for him to do that with those stick arms of his, I don't think that one's true, either!"
"But—" North tried to speak, but Jack cut him off.
"What reason would I have to lie?" Jack echoed the words he said before, only this time he said it differently. He sounded disappointed, which only made Bunny more confused. Why would he be disappointed in him? It was supposed to be the other way around.
Shaking his head, Jack swept up his staff with a flourish and said, "That is how I got my staff you know," and left the room.
Bunny took a moment to exchange looks with North before following after the winter spirit, leaving North scratching his head.
"Hey!" Bunny called to Jack, who was marching up the hallway that led to the round window they always left open for him.
Jack slowed, but didn't stop until Bunny reached his side. The look he gave Bunny unsettled him.
"Are ya' mad?" Bunny asked, unsure of what else to say.
"Kind of," said Jack, "You missed the point."
"The point?" Bunny's brows furrowed, "What is the point of lying about how you got your staff to North—to children, for that matter?"
Jack threw up his hands and began walking away, "You're still missing the point!"
He flew out the window without bothering to close it, and Bunny found himself more confused than ever.
He didn't see Jack again until the next monthly meet up occurred, and this time, it was Tooth who asked the magic question.
"How did you get your staff, Jack?" she said once the meeting was done and they were swarming the snacks.
Bunny felt a groan coming on and North said, "It's a wonderful story, he told it to me a few veeks ago!"
"Really?" Tooth flashed Jack a wide smile, which he returned.
"Yes, it sure is," he said, "But it's a little long, so you might want to sit down."
Tooth obliged, and was joined by both Sandy and North. Bunny stayed where he was, near the spot of the floor he always made his exit. While he wanted to go, he wanted to see what Jack had to say this time, which story he'd choose to say.
Jack inhaled and held out his hands in a vague outline of a frame, "Picture it...the year is 1706, the day is warm and bright, and springtime had just settled over the land."
At the same time North let out a confused noise, Bunny finally got it. A strange sensation enveloped him as he understood what Jack had said before. It wouldn't matter how many times you asked Jack how he got his staff, the story would be different every time. He would treat you with the same grin and same excuse, but the story would never be the same. Perhaps that was why he was so disappointed in Bunny last time; Jack was playing this game of his, and Bunny hadn't played along.
Bunny shook his head and let out a laugh, causing the others to stare at him. Quieting down but refusing to let the smile slip from his face, he locked eyes with Jack and saw the flash of understanding pass through the other pair. Jack gave him a wide grin filled with childlike glee, and he launched into his story with a new enthusiasm.
Afterwards, Bunny walked up to the spirit and said, "So that's how ya got yer staff, huh?"
Jack arched an eyebrow and smirked, "What reason would I have to lie?"
Bunny chuckled, and Jack's smirk turned into a fond smile, which Bunny returned.
"Well," he said next, "I'm heading back to the Warren," he tapped his foot against the stone floors. Before he jumped down, he said, "I must say, I can't wait to see what the story is next time someone asks."
As he left, he heard Jack's laughter, and his heart felt warm.
Thank you for reading. Have a wonderful day. Take care, and God bless.