Disclaimer: I wish I was a Guardian...or could talk with one, but no, I own nothing but this plot line and a couple characters...
Summary: Rabbits are quick, agile, hardy, and can be very temperamental. Getting them to hold still is just about impossible, tell that to Bunnymund when it comes to a matter of life or death.
Chapter One
Start
xxx 12/26/2012
Jack yawned in faked exhaustion as he lounged on a railing in North's command room, the Borealis had been sent out hours ago and for once Jack wasn't the last one to the Pole.
Bunnymund still hadn't showed, and Tooth and Sandy were getting antsy, they had work to do. North sighed heavily, a hand running over his beard before the grunted and tossed his hands into the air.
"Enough! We discuss later when Bunny finds it good to show up."
The Russian walked off in a huff, probably still tired and stressed from his big delivery and cleaning up from the previous year. Tooth and Sandy merely shrugged, waving a farewell to the Winter spirit before leaving for their own duties.
Jack Frost sat up, watching the workshop's workers move around in complete ease, even with the idiotic elves underfoot everywhere. Shifting as if a little too warm, Jack shoved the thought that something was wrong out of his mind, wandering over to a window before leaping out into the strong winds, sailing over mountains to go wreak havoc over the Himalayas.
Time for some snow.
xxx
Gasping at the wet cloth suddenly thrust at his face, he shifted just enough to see the tiny egglets pacing in front of his nose. He couldn't move, racing from one end of the globe to the Pole in a dimly lit and slightly chilled Warren had been a terrible idea. Jack didn't touch his Warren, but winter did for a few days to refresh the magical plants, that meant frost and ice.
And ways to trip and fall.
He curled as tightly as he could, his ruffled fur...whether from the frost or the accident..he had no idea...clung to him and made his shaking worse. The egglets tried, they really did, bringing tufts of grass to tuck around him.
It was no use, he was too weak, closing his eyes he shuddered heavily, yelping as the movement jarred the one part of him he never wanted to move again.
All he could do was hope death was quick as sleep overtook him.
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Jack lazily drifted from his powerful, strong North Wind, the harborer of cold and most of the spirit's antics, to the soft, spring like East wind. This one he teased in March to send out final frosts or for some areas one last snow day for the kids. Bunnymund's Warren was always kept at a comfortable (for the Pooka at least) temperature by the East Wind. The four winds loved Jack, thriving off his attention, South was the most uncontrollable though, bringing in warm air when it wasn't supposed to.
The teen Guardian let the East wind float him over Australia, their December was the beginning of Summer, the land thriving in the sun.
Except for a lone briar rose, the trademark flower when Bunnymund closed a tunnel in his original land.
The flower was dying.
xxx
Jack slowly walked through the Warren tunnels, finding only a handful of egglets hiding in corners, Bunny was nowhere to be found.
"Hey Kangaroo! Where are you?"
No response
Jack jumped up, drifting onto a breeze, a Northeast strain, it looped him through the main cavern of the Warren before carefully pushing him into a tunnel that led from the Southern edge of the Earth to the Pole. Jack began taking control, using his lightweight form to move faster than the breeze itself, flowing through the tunnels until he came up to a bend that would have placed him about under the Swiss alps.
The bend was covered in frost and ice, this area of the tunnels cooler than the others due to its location.
Jack dove out of the breeze as he came to the source of the breeze's distress, with egglets huddled around the shivering form and breathing weak and shallow, something was seriously wrong with Bunnymund.
...
"Bunny? Can you hear me?"
The voice made it to his ears in a haze, much like how his eyes focused when he was able to open them when a cold hand touched his shoulder.
"nnngh...yeah...can hear ya Frostbite."
The Pooka shifted a little, arms huddling to his chest to stay warm as he tried to sit up.
Jack winced as the Pooka yelped in pain upon shifting his body, face contorting into an agony filled grimace as he collapsed back onto his side.
"What happened?"
"Tripped on da bloody ice, think I messed up somethin' important..."
Jack eased an arm around the Easter bunny's shoulders, helping him sit up and allowing him to lean his fevered head against Jack's own chilled torso.
"Need ta get ta North, 's gotta 'firm...ry...at-t the Pole..."
The Winter Spirit nodded, slowly standing and supporting the bunny until he was upright, moving away as Bunnymund shifted to stand alone, albeit hunched over and tried to move.
With a sharp cry the bunny collapsed again, nearly in tears at the pain as Jack caught him, the teen's own panic summoning enough wind to support the two of them.
"Which way to the Pole?"
Bunnymund groaned, before gesturing to the right, "That away mate..."
That was the only response he received, Bunnymund passed out soon after Jack started moving.
The teen was running out of time.
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Bunnymund awoke in the guest room designed for him at North's workshop, the room was kept at a very warm temperature, meaning the Pooka only had a light blanket around him to ensure his faint fever didn't start up again. His torso was sore and his upper body was propped up to help his slightly strained breathing. He could feel the last dregs of a cold already vanishing as the warm air filled his lungs, North sure knew how to make one comfortable.
Shifting a little to maintain his relaxed state, the bunny saw Jack sprawled on a sofa, his staff held loosely in one hand as he slept, his face was a little flushed from the heat, but the spirit wasn't in any danger, the advantage of spring was its tendency to have days a bit chillier while still nice.
Moving a bit more, Bunnymund managed to sit up in time to glance out the window, seeing North send out the Borealis for Tooth and Sandy, probably to check on the bunny, and to catch him up on what he missed when he tripped and ended up stuck in bed.
Ten minutes later, Tooth lightly knocked on the door as she peeked in, smiling brightly when Bunny nodded as he relaxed back against the pillows while the other three Guardians entered the room.
"Good to see you awake." The Russian said softly while Tooth woke Jack up carefully, the teen wasn't one to take kindly to wake ups and wasn't much of a morning person.
"How long 've been out?"
Sandy turned a bit of sand into the number two above his head before floating over and an image of a spine formed, then the muscles bulged and stretched oddly before retreating and seemed to throb.
"You strained muscle, be on bed rest to let back heal, no?"
Translation: The trip and fall had thrown the bunny's back out, he was stuck on bed rest until he could move without being in agony.
Bunnymund groaned even louder, flopping back on the bed in frustration when he unsuccessfully tried to sit up, he hated holding still.
Tooth fluttered over in a hurry, "Oh come on Bunny, its not that bad, there's still plenty of time between now and Easter-"
North and Sandy couldn't move fast enough to shut her up, Bunny's expression of frustrated acceptance morphed into horrified paranoia as he tried to get up.
"Easter! It's only four months away! I've still got three continents ta take care of and the Warren's still bloody half frozen! I don't have time ta stick ta bed rest I gotta-"
The bunny only succeeded in getting off the bed, managing to collapse onto the soft floor with a muffled thud as his furry and aching backside connected first.
"...ow..."
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The mare rushed across the plains; long, powerful legs driving thundering hooves to connect with the ground for the briefest of seconds, barely kicking up dust. The long, thick mane and tail billowed within the wind that carried the horse over the land as she raced sunlight itself.
A laugh made it to her fine ears, catching her attention as someone else thrived within the wind, this was high and sweet, like a songbird. This figure lowered until they raced across the surface of the ground to race the faster than sound mare.
A faint trickle was ignored as they slowed to pause at a brook, both should have been heaving for air but neither shifted their breathing as they stared into the clear water. Tall trees lining the isolated water source turned the shining water into a myriad of flashes of sun and streaks of shadows.
Neither saw the danger in shadows, half of their lives was within the shadows, but this wasn't normal darkness where light didn't reach...
This was black.
First try at a ROTG fic, just a warning, I have a tendency to start a story then lose hope...please review AND pm me to keep me going, the more response and bugging I get the more I write!