A/N: For those of you from The Cat Returns fandom, you will be well acquainted with myself and my Christmas Specials. For those of you who reside mostly in The Rise of the Guardians, I suppose an introduction and explanation is in order.
I am Catsafari and for the past three years – with varying success – I have written a Christmas Special for The Cat Returns. I have never written for The Rise of the Guardians, but I have loved it since its creation and I hope to keep the characters as true as possible. I have also researched the books, so some RotG elements don't come straight from the film. And, as usual, the normal "rules" apply.
Firstly, each chapter will be set on its respective day... more or less (so today's chapter occurs on 1st December) and I will be posting a chapter a day, over a period of 25 chapters. So think of this as an advent calendar of sorts (except you're opening a webpage instead of a window and you don't get chocolate... Am I really selling this?)
Anyway, enough blathering – on with the story! I now present the first Christmas Special Crossover, 2014, The Cat Returns meets The Rise of the Guardians: The Dreamers!
Merry Christmas,
Cat.
ooOoo
Nightlight, bright light,
Sweet dreams I bestow.
Sleep tight, all night,
Forever I will glow.
x
Monday 1st December 2014
Kasumi Tomoko awoke to the sound of something scuffling across her bedroom floor. It was the kind of scuffle that was trying not to scuffle at all, but was perfectly audible in the silent house.
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse... all except for the scuffling.
Kasumi shifted and the bed squeaked. The scuffling noise stopped and suddenly her shallow breathing was the only sound her pounding ears could hear. She should have kept her nightlight; so what if she was six-and-three-quarters and the other girls had laughed at her? While she was, in her own opinion, grown up and well on her way to adulthood, it didn't stop the monsters from coming.
She curled further into her bed and pointedly tucked her wayward feet back under the covers.
The scuffling changed to a slithering and Kasumi's breath hitched. Light from the streetlamps outside cut through the gap between curtain and wall, and thin rays of light slit through the room.
The light flickered and a shadow shifted.
Kasumi gasped, and the shadow moved. Something indistinct was outlined by the weak tendrils of light and now it turned to her. Bright red eyes fixed on her and the shape twisted closer. She pushed herself away.
Long, spindly fingers brushed against her cheek.
Kasumi recoiled and her short arms reached blindly for her bedside table. Her hand scrambled over the surface and scrabbled for her light. Instead, her fingers found her clock and they slammed down on the alarm button.
The clock blared into life, beeping its little electric heart out and shattering the midnight silence. The shadow flinched away and then turned back towards the child. The eyes still glowed, but now white teeth also smiled through the darkness. The grin widened and long, fang-like incisors hissed a narrow breath onto Kasumi's tiny face.
The bedroom door slammed open and the hallway light flooded in. A woman stood in the opening, iron fireplace poker gripped between hands and idly tapping against the carpet. Her gaze passed over the shadow and a definite grimace set itself across her features.
"Oh, not again..."
The poker swung through the air and smacked sharply into the creature's side. It gave an inhuman, eerie cry and withdrew. The woman slammed her makeshift weapon into it again and it scrambled away. Its long fingers reached for the window and slipped between the tiny gap in the framing.
Haru Yoshioka tucked the fire poker under her arm and brushed the remnant soot from her palms. "Yeah, run; see how much you like it when the roles are reversed," she growled. She turned back to her charge and smiled. "I think I'm getting quicker. Five seconds from the lounge to here – that's got to be a personal best."
Kasumi crawled out from beneath her blankets and craned her head towards the window. "Is it gone?"
"For now." Haru took a perch on the edge of the girl's bed and finally switched the bedside lamp on. The room flickered into sharp relief and all evidence of the shadow was gone; Kasumi might have even thought it to be all a dream if her godmother hadn't still had the fire poker under one arm.
Haru gently smiled down at her babysitting charge with overt affection and ruffled Kasumi's dark locks. "You can sleep now, kiddo. I'll be right outside if it comes back." She picked up a thin blanket where it had dropped from the bed and carefully covered the lamp's light. The room faded into gentle gloom, dropping its colour into soft black-and-white outlines. "Remember, they can't hurt you."
"I know," Kasumi whispered, "but they still scare me..."
Haru kissed her goddaughter's head. "That's all they can do, sweetheart. They're just bad dreams."
ooOoo
"So how were the kids?" Hiromi Tomoko swung into the house, one orange polka-dotted umbrella swung over her shoulder to ward off the bitterly cold sleet and an equally-blindly suitcase dragging behind. "Did they behave?"
Her husband, Tsuge Tomoko followed after, a much larger and wind-resistant umbrella spread above him. He shook the worst of the rain off and snapped it closed. "Did Kasumi sleep?" he asked instead.
"More nightmares, I'm afraid," Haru answered.
"Did she start ranting about monsters again?" Hiromi sighed.
Her friend merely gave a non-committal shrug.
"We've been trying to tell her that there aren't any, but she's adamant something's there." Hiromi groaned and ran a stressed hand through her hair. Her fingers dug into the light locks and the woman pulled her head back in an exhausted sigh. "We do room checks, to try to make her feel better, but she still keeps on screaming the place down. Chika said that her kid has stopped sleeping properly too..."
"A lot of children seem to be struggling at the moment," Haru agreed.
"Do you think it's some sort of illness?" her friend asked, paling. "A virus or bug or something? They had their vaccines last month – perhaps it's some sort of side-effect–"
"I doubt it," the other woman answered flatly before her friend could break down into a round of dramatic paranoia. "Look, Hiromi, it's probably just the time of year. It's dark, it's cold, and some kids just get tired from a term at school after several months of summer. I wouldn't worry."
"You work with kids, Haru," Tsuge said. "What would you suggest we do?"
"Put her nightlight back in–"
"She said she didn't want it."
"I have a feeling she'll want it now. Perhaps let Missy sleep with her – some kids sleep better with a pet. It makes them feel safer. Listen, I know Kasumi's nightmares might seem small, but they're real to her. She needs all the comforting she can get."
"And Michi?" Hiromi asked, referring to her three-year-old son. "Was he okay?"
"He was fine. Why?" Haru frowned. "Has he been waking up too?"
"He's been sleeping but... roughly."
Haru made a mental note to check on the youngest Tomoko next time she called round. She pulled on her jacket and slung her bag over one shoulder. Her old school friend caught her.
"Hey, Haru... are you leaving so soon? We might at least offer a drink before you go. Tea? Coffee?"
"Can't, I'm sorry."
"I thought today was a bank holiday or teacher training day or something?" Hiromi cut in, frowning. "You don't have to work today, surely?"
"No, but I need to meet up with a couple of friends this morning. Another time."
"Actually, we were also hoping to bribe you into another babysitting job," Tsuge admitted with a guilty chuckle. "We're going to be out-of-town on Wednesday night and need someone to look after the kids until Thursday morning."
"Sure, I can do that." Haru grinned and slipped into her shoes. "You don't need to bribe me for that. Anything to spend a night looking after the cutest Tomokos around."
Hiromi pouted. "I thought I was the cutest Tomoko."
The other woman rolled her eyes. "You're adorable, Hiromi. Happy?"
"Not really."
Haru hugged her friend and started out. "I haven't got the time to fan your ego, Hiromi. Ask Tsuge instead." She winked and disappeared into the sleeting rain. She pulled her hood over her head and pushed on to the Crossroads. The plaza was busy with the bustle of stalls already preparing for the Christmas season, even with the chill of winter rain sleeting across the air. She moved through the crowds, head down until she passed clear through the square.
The rain intensified, and Haru pulled her hood further over her head. She moved more on instinctive habit along the road and down a side path, edging along the side to gleam what little protection she could from the alley walls. Even so, as she reached her destination, the rain had been more than thorough and the cold ran through her.
She stepped past a stone archway and the weather cleared. She sighed and pushed back her hood. Her short brunette hair now stuck at odd angles, the rain running down her face and curving along her cheeks. She shivered and ran a hand quickly through her hair, shaking out the worst of the rain.
The weather hadn't been the only thing to change when she moved through the archway – although the sleeting weather could still be seen beyond – for upon entering, magic had seeped into her bones and shrunk her down to a mere foot in height. Far too small for ordinary life, but the perfect size for the miniature houses that surrounded the cobbled courtyard. A tiny collection of houses circled out from where the archway opened up, centred by a stone pillar topped with a gargoyle crow.
As if right at home in the strange little world tucked away on the edge of the human city, Haru swept the pooling rain off her jacket and entered one of the miniature buildings. A little smaller than all the rest, it was white-washed with green trimmings and marked by a double door. But if the world was strange, its occupants were even stranger.
"Good morning, Haru."
"Morning."
The owner of the house turned to the brunette as she entered. His green eyes moved over the soaked form of the young woman as she collapsed into an armchair, sighing and teasing out the remaining drips of water hanging into her dark hair. He finished with the kettle and brought a cup to her. "You look like you could do with some tea."
"Do I really look that bad?"
"You look like a drowned rat, Chicky." A large white cat, taking up most of the sofa, grinned at the newcomer. "Is it raining outside, perhaps?"
"You think you're so clever, Muta." Haru made a face at the cat and took the tea from the other occupant. "Thanks, Baron."
"You're welcome." Baron – his full name being Baron Humbert von Gikkingen – was undeniably the strangest occupant of the Refuge. Originally a wooden, half-feline figurine, his artisan had brought him to life many, many years ago upon creating him. Haru had never asked the finer points of this– but it was hard to contest this when Baron was only a foot high, orange-furred, and impeccably dressed.
The cat Creation took the other armchair, his own cup of tea balanced between his gloves. "Are you sure I can't interest you in a drink, Muta?"
The fat white cat – Renaldo Moon, but Muta to anyone who knew him – snorted and leant further back into the sofa. The furniture groaned under his weight and sagged further. "Nah. You're not getting me near that boiled grass."
"You should know by now, Baron, that the fatso will never appreciate something as sophisticated as tea." The final occupant of the Bureau landed on the balcony railings and peered down at the inhabitants through beady eyes. Like Baron, he was a Creation, but as a stone crow in his original form, and took far too much delight out of mocking the fatter feline there.
"At least I don't eat worms!"
Haru passed a tired hand over her face and glanced to Baron. "They've got to get new insults," she sighed. "I wouldn't mind it if they had something new to throw at each other once in a while."
"Something that didn't include the Bureau plant pots," Baron agreed. In the background, Toto and Muta's argument rose in volume and old insults rose anew.
"Or the good tea set."
"Or second-best tea set."
"Although I wasn't expecting the kettle to bounce quite like that..." Haru mused.
"I was impressed with the speed at which you ducked." He smiled and, with a quick sip of his own blend of tea, moved the conversation on. "So what brings you here under such dire weather conditions? If you don't mind me saying so, it looks like you've walked through a small tsunami to reach us."
"Close enough." As Haru self-consciously tried to right the wrong that the storm had wrecked upon her hair, she sobered. "And I came here because I looked after Hiromi's kids last night." The hand running through her short hair slowed and then tightened its grip around the dark locks. "The fearlings are getting stronger."
Baron steadily met Haru's gaze and then slowly lowered his cup and saucer. "Are you sure?"
"Well, I don't know about stronger," Haru admitted, "but they're certainly more confident now. This one was nearly close enough to touch Kasumi – I thought you said they just scared kids," she added, a tad accusingly.
"Fearlings merely feed on the fear of children–"
"You say merely," she muttered.
"–and so they have no reason to cause any real harm to them," Baron finished, smoothly ignoring Haru's side comment.
"You didn't see it, Baron."
"No."
"I did." Haru hesitated. "I did... Why can I see them? As far as I can tell, only the kids can."
"In most circumstances, only children are able to see fearlings," Baron confirmed, "but due to your time with us, you are now able to see what most adults cannot. However, fearlings have a preference for feeding off the nightmares of children, and so you are unlikely to see such creatures in your own home." The half-feline paused and picked up his tea again. "However, if you are right and the fearlings are becoming bolder..."
"Yes?" Haru prompted. "Then what?"
He looked to her. "I don't know."
"Funnily enough, that doesn't fill me with confidence. What if the fearlings are becoming dangerous? What if one does go for Kasumi or Michi?"
"That won't happen."
"How can you be so sure?"
"There are guardians out there to keep the darkness at bay."
ooOoo
A/N: With the Christmas spirit well underway, I'm sure many of you would love to see some seasonal HaruxBaron fluff and... well, this story will probably have more plotline and less fluff.
If you are looking for some HaruxBaron sweetness, then I'd suggest looking up the Tumblr accounts of creatxn and haruxyoshioka who roleplay as Baron and Haru respectively. (Merry Christmas, guys!) They're always on the lookout for other roleplayers (I'm sure they'd love a Muta or Toto) and they're uncannily good!
Seriously, if you're on Tumblr and you need more TCR on your dash to brighten your day, follow them. They have different 'verses (AUs), including a HP one (v:barons and broomsticks), a dark!Baron verse (v:blight), as well as more canon verses, so you're sure to find one to your liking. (I, myself, am obviously a veritable sucker for the dark!Baron verse...)
Until tomorrow.
Cat.