The summer was always the most boring time of year for Jack. Sure, there were all those fun things like BBQs and days at the beach but unfortunately being in the class of seasonal elements meant that long lazy days in the sun was a definite no-no.
Therefore, he opted for long lazy days indoors. Which, while excruciatingly boring, proved to be a lot less hazardous to his health. The fact that he was waiting out the summer at North's home also made things a little more bearable. Nevertheless, even with all the snow and ice surrounding them for miles upon miles he was still very surprised at how warm the place could get.
Not that there was enough heat to bother him here. No, the thing that was bothering him now more then ever was the mind numbing boredom that accompanied the warm rays of summer. There was just nothing for a winter spirit to do.
Humming tunelessly, he replaced the book he had been staring at for the past hour in exchange for one that hopefully promised to be a little more exciting.
Normally he would have been far too busy or just plain uninterested in the masterful library North kept hidden within his wonderland of a home. There was always something more fun to do then read books and the urge to delve into the depths of North's amazing collection of literature had never been strong within him.
Even now as he pulled another thick volume from the dusty shelf, the urge to actually sit down and read it was very weak. The last book had been so boring and uninteresting he wasted nearly twenty minutes reading the same three lines before he realised the story wasn't going anywhere.
Hopefully the one he had just picked blindly off the shelf would prove to be more to his taste. Jack laughed at the very idea. There was more chance of Bunny sprouting wings then him finding anything interesting in this prison of paper.
Still he was, if anything, persistent and desperate enough at this point to try anything to kill the hours.
Reluctantly gripping the book between his fingers he trudged back slowly across the room. He did not bother to read the title of the book he had picked. Why should he? He was only going to put it back in about five minutes anyway and he could do with a little surprise. Groaning at his pathetic state he threw himself back into the soft comfortable chair he had claimed hours earlier, opened the book to a random page, and tried his best to get the words to make sense.
"Ah there you are Jack." The unmistakable voice of North boomed from the doorway, filling the room with his cheery tone. "We were wondering where you had gone. Having fun?"
Jack pulled his eyes gladly away from the sentence he was trying to read and slumped back in his seat. "Oh yeah I'm having a blast. There should be a law against having this much fun."
"Sarcasm at its finest" North chuckled, taking a seat opposite him. "So what is book you are reading?"
Jack shrugged his shoulders and for the first time took a quick peek at the cover. "Alternative therapies and medicines? Man I really must be desperate." He groaned loudly and threw his arms over the sides of the chair, finally ready to admit defeat against the books. North chuckle again, making Jack smile at his light-hearted and amused tone. He had always liked it when North laughed, even if it was at him. He always made everything seem funnier then what they really were.
"It's not funny North" He did his best to keep the smile off his face as he scowled at the older man, but was failing miserably. "Look at me. I'm supposed to be out there making snow days and building an army of snowmen. Instead I'm stuck in here reading about boring things like aromatherapy and that voodoo stuff"
"Voodoo?" North stared at the child with a raised brow.
"Yeah voodoo. You know the Chinese thing where you stick needles in people."
North stared at the youngster in front of him silently as he allowed what he just heard to sink in. once his brain finally managed to digest the words he all but collapsed in a fit of side splitting laughter.
"My dear boy that is acupuncture you are describing. Has nothing to do with voodoo at all" He bellowed, wiping tears form his eyes. "Maybe reading more books is not bad thing for you."
"But it's so boring!" He pouted like a small child. "Look at this stuff," Quickly flipping through pages he stopped on a page somewhere in the middle of the book and skimmed over a small paragraph. "Like this bit right here. It says here that they use to use hypnotism in operations instead of knocking them out. What kind of rubbish is that? You cannot hypnotise someone. It's all fake."
"Ah Jack, so young and misinformed. Of course you can hypnotise someone. People have been using hypnotherapy for years and not just on humans. You can hypnotise animals too."
Now that sounded a lot more interesting then anything he would find some dusty old book. Slamming the book shut and tossing it over his shoulder, Jack shuffled forward in his seat with the look of a curious puppy.
"What kind of animals?"
North thought for a moment, trying to remember all the animals he had heard of that could be lulled into a trance. "Well let me think, I know you can hypnotise cows and chickens by drawing a white line in front of them"
Jack snorted, clearly not buying his explanation.
North ignored him and continued. "You can also put Sharks and lizards into trance by turning them on their backs and gently stroking their bellies."
Jack snorted again, more forcefully this time.
"You don't believe me?"
The boy shook his head and tried his hardest to suppress a mocking laugh building in the back of his throat. "It's not that I don't believe you it's just so… weird. You turn a shark on its back and it's magically hypnotised? I don't buy it. The thing would bite your hand off."
North shook his head and smiled fondly at the child in front of him. Of course, back in his day things like hypnotism were widely passed off as some cheap gimmick used by con artists to impress a crowd and make some quick cash. Nowadays the art of inducing this tranquil state was taken a little more seriously and for some people, had been turned into a successful profession
Hypnotising humans and animals were done for completely different reasons however. For many, hypnotising a person was a way to help them in some why or another by delving deep into their subconscious mind and inducing their body into a relaxed peaceful state. Hypnotising animals on the other hand was mainly done for fits and giggles. Though it did have it's uses regarding a few certain species.
He had saved the best example for last and it was one he knew Jack would like very much.
"There is a way I could prove to you that hypnotism works to a certain extent." He said this slyly, as if he was offering Jack the opportunity to learn the secrets of the universe. Jack raised an eyebrow at him and asked in a voice that was both suspicious yet curious.
"How can you do that then?"
North grinned menacingly and leaned forward in his seat. Jack found himself also coming closer, his growing curiosity making him feel like a small child about to hear he greatest secret ever told.
Being a natural showman and having a love for the dramatic North whispered in a hush suspenseful voice. "I know how to hypnotize a rabbit."
Jack watched and waited for a few moments, expecting a bit more from the Guardian other then just that one sentence. However, North just sat there smiling at him cheerfully and waited for the confusion on the youngsters face to change.
He did not have to wait long. A few seconds later, the look of confusion and slight judgement of his sanity was slowly replaced by mischievous delight and excitement.
"Will you show me?" He asked, barely able to contain his enthusiasm and childlike wonder as he waited for North to give him the answer he knew was bound to come.
"Of course I will"
What do you think? should i continue? Keep in mind this probably won't turn out to be a very long fic or really that deep. just a bit of fluff between my two favourite boys 3 I have an idea where i'm taking this story (if people are interested enough to want another chapter) but for the most I'm just going with the flow and seeing where it takes me.
If you actually got through all that then thank you very much for reading ^_^ (also for anyone familiar with my other Guardian stories let me just say that 'Season's greetings' is on Hiatus (it's not abandoned!) and 'Intrusion of the modern world' is currently being worked on)