My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark
Chapter 1: Be Careful Making Wishes
A/N: Well, this is my new RotG story. I've had this idea since spring, but I just never really got around to writing it. I'm not very good at writing Rise of the Guardians, especially Jack and Bunny interaction, and as this story will feature quite a bit, I'm understandably nervous about this project. I'm hoping, of course, that this story will be liked by a few people, and that I won't completely mangle the characters, but unfortunately, I've done that quite a few times. Well, whether I have or I haven't, please review :) I'm open to feedback, whether positive or negative, but flames will be ignored. Reviews are definitely appreciated.
It was amazing, really, how two simple yet fateful words sent everybody within earshot in the North Pole into complete panic. The Guardian meeting of the week had just ended, and, seeing as it was fall, Jack had no work to do as of yet, and Bunny had no eggs to paint. North had disappeared into his work room only ten minutes before, and Tooth and Sandy, of course, having the most demanding jobs of all, had had to leave almost immediately.
And before Bunny could disappear into his Warren, as he would have liked to do, Jack uttered the words. "I'm bored."
Bunny gave a horrified gasp. The last time Jack had said he was bored, he had visited the Warren, frozen the Lake of Dye, killed over eighty flowers (on accident, he claimed), and annoyed Bunny endlessly for at least five hours, until the heat started getting to him and, thank the moon, he'd had to leave. And the time before that, he had frozen the elves to the ceiling and pelted the yetis with frozen water balloons. The time before that, he had sneaked up on North while he was sleeping and hacked off half his beard. The time before that, he had accidentally knocked a vodka bottle into sugar cookie dough. The time before that…well….
Bunny tried not to think about that one. But one thing was for sure: if a bored Jack Frost was left to his own devices, something horrible was going to happen in the North Pole. Or, even worse, the kid was going to come to his Warren sooner or later. And if he caused trouble in the Pole, North would come to Bunny with increasingly desperate pleas for help until the rabbit relented.
A day with the winter spirit was the very last thing that Bunny wanted, but he knew it was going to happen to him either way. Maybe if he stuck around, there'd be less chaos. But he hesitated before saying anything. What if the kid thought he actually liked hanging around him? He couldn't have him thinking that. The winter spirit still annoyed the heck out of him, even on a good day.
So, to be sure that his intentions were perfectly clear, Bunny said, "Well, I think North has some games in one of the upstairs closets. I'll help you find one. But don't talk too much, Frostbite."
Jack floated into the air on a gust of wind that blew through the window, surprisingly cool for early autumn. He flipped upside down in midair as he spoke, so the hem of his hoodie drooped a bit. "What kind of games?" he inquired.
"I dunno, mate," Bunny shrugged in response, beginning to walk up the nearest flight of stairs. "We'll have to look and see, won't we?"
The wind deposited Jack gently back onto the floor and Bunny shuddered, looking at the winter spirit. The kid seemed perfectly fine, but the rabbit couldn't imagine being that at ease with finding himself suddenly ten feet off the ground. Call him old-fashioned, but he quite liked keeping both paws firmly on the ground.
"Wait, I've got an idea!" Jack announced brightly, his blue eyes sparkling at the thought of the reckless games to come.
"No," Bunny said sharply, stomping resolutely up the stairwell. "C'mon, mate, let's just find a board game. I think North wants a quiet day."
Normally, mentioning North brought Jack down to earth faster than anything. Bunny was pretty thoroughly convinced that there were only two things in the world that the kid took seriously, and these were his Guardian duties and pleasing North. Not that he needed to worry about that last one, the rabbit reminded himself. He practically walked on water, as far as North was concerned. The Christmas spirit sang his praises day and night, and even the hacking of the beard incident had been forgotten pretty quickly.
When Bunny heard no response from the winter spirit, he pressed on, "This is around the time that stores start advertising Christmas and stuff – the holiday season is almost here, and North probably needs his yetis to be working as much and as hard as they can."
Again, no response, but this time it made Bunny feel strangely uneasy. He looked behind him, and saw that the kid was not right behind him, as he had assumed him. There was a trail of ice leading up the stairs; somehow, Frostbite had blown past him completely while he'd been talking, and the rabbit could only imagine the kind of chaos he was wreaking right now. He ran up the last few stairs, looking around the landing for the winter spirit, and felt it was almost too good to be true when he saw the kid sitting at the top of the banister, sizing up the track like a runner in a marathon.
Bunny recognized that look on his face: the look of somebody getting ready to do something dangerous and stupid for the sake of fun. He let out a small groan, massaging his temple. He should stop the kid, he knew that. North would take his furry head off at the shoulders if anything happened to his precious winter spirit, and Tooth would owe him countless quarters for all the teeth she would knock out. And, even if he was loathe to admit it to himself, the rabbit really was worried. Who knew what could happen to the winter spirit if he wasn't there to look out for him?
"Frostbite," he began slowly, taking a step closer to the banister. "I don't think this is a good idea."
"Hi, 'Roo," Jack greeted cheerfully, swinging his legs over the side of the banister, and leaning precariously out over the gap leading to the first floor, easily two hundred feet below. "This is gonna be fun, huh?"
"Don't do that!" Bunny roughly yanked the boy back into relative safety upon the banister once more, glaring at him. "What do you think you're doing? If you get hurt, North and Tooth will kill me."
"I'll take the blame," Jack promised.
"Frostbite, wait no—
But Jack had already launched himself down, speeding down the banister so fast he was nearly a blur.
E. Aster Bunnymund, the supposedly fearless warrior Pooka, did something he was not very proud of then. He let out a very high shriek as he dashed down several staircases, trying his hardest to reach the first floor before Jack. He didn't really know what he was thinking. He wouldn't be able to catch Jack, not if the kid was going at that speed. He heard a sickening thump a little ways off, spurring him on, but when he finally reached the area, everything was silent and still. To the right, there were Christmas lights and garland and evergreen trees, and to the left was darkness. Straight ahead was a broom closet, the door thrown wide open. A mop had been knocked over, its bucket tilted on its side. With a gasp of pure horror, Bunny plunged into the closet, peeling up cleaning supplies and calling Jack's name. It took him approximately three seconds to realize that Jack, whether he had landed in here or not, was no longer here. Bunny left the broom closet once more, looking from the right to the left. He peeked into the right corridor and breathed a sigh of relief. No crumpled, white-haired, blue-hoodied form. Just several yetis working in studious, obedient silence.
Bunny turned back to the dark corridor, and the back of his neck prickled oddly. His gray fur stood on end as the sweet whispers reached his ears, terrifying yet alluring. He took a deep breath. This was a war that had been fought before Jack had joined up. The kid wouldn't know to avoid this place. He could be walking towards certain death, even now.
So, mustering all his courage, the pooka ventured cautiously down the dark corridor, where the whispers grew ever louder, attacking his ears. It sensed that he'd come back. It sensed that it was tempting him, in the very same way that it was probably tempting Jack. Bunny shut his ears to the alluring voices, concentrating solely on his one goal: finding Jack. The kid could be in danger.
Though he knew it wasn't wise, the rabbit opened his mouth and began calling again. "Frostbite! C'mon, Frostbite, don't go down here!"
There was no response, and he couldn't possibly see the winter spirit through the pressing darkness.
"Frostbite?" he called tentatively, hoping to the moon and back that the kid was alright.
A flash of white in his peripheral vision…
Bunny shot towards the white with what probably would have been classified as unnecessary violence. Tackling the kid to the ground, he stared down into the pale face. His blue eyes were unfocused, and his head was cocked slightly, like he was listening to a song he had never heard before, but he sincerely wanted to hear the rest.
The rabbit cast a slightly scared look at the darkness and hefted the boy up in his arms, almost sprinting back to the lit corridors. When they reached the bottom of the staircase again, Jack seemed to come back to himself, putting a hand to his head. "What's down in that corridor?"
"Nothing," Bunny replied gruffly; he didn't like talking about this battle, if he could help it.
"No, Bunny, I'm serious, what's down there?"
Registering the use of his real name, Bunny looked up in surprise. Jack hadn't called him a demeaning nickname. Whatever he'd heard down in that corridor must have seriously scared him.
"Just some stuff that North put in there to keep outta the way," the rabbit hedged. "Really, it's nothin'. C'mon, mate, let's find one of those games we were talking about." He patted Jack a little roughly on the shoulder as he rose to his feet, starting up the staircase again. He looked back only once, to see the winter spirit hesitating on the bottom stair, looking back at the dark corridor. An unmistakable longing glittered in the blue eyes.
"Jack." Bunny's voice was sharp. "C'mon."