Jack smirked as he strolled into the Warren. There wasn't much to do right now; he'd already brought winter to the places it was supposed to go, and North was too busy for his taste, so what more reason did he need to bug Bunnymund?
The Warren was as bright and warm as ever, filled with greenery and sunlight. It was a bit too warm than Jack preferred, but it would worth the effort to see Bunny's face when he froze his ears or tail, or whatever was open for attack.
As he was strolled along a dirt path, he noticed something; the strange absence of eggs. Normally they were all over the place, basking in the sun, playing in the dye, or, much like North's elves, scampering under foot and nearly getting stepped on, which resulted in a rather long and exaggerated speech about being careful from Bunny. Honestly, Jack hadn't meant to nearly squash the thing, it had run in his path as he was taking a simple stroll, and only a quick yank from Bunny on Jack's hoodie had saved it.
But now though, there were none in sight; sure, Easter was done and over, but even then there were usually a few left to help with the Warren's care taking. So where were they?
As Jack was pondering this, his foot came down on something warm and sticky. For a panicked second he thought he'd crushed an egg, but didn't see any shell pieces. He lifted his foot, and was filled with even more alarm when he saw what he'd really stepped in; blood.
"Bunny…?" he murmured, before looking around the area, and noticing a small trail of blood leading away.
"Bunny, can ya hear me?!"
He took to the air and flew around the area in search of the Pooka, his dread growing when he couldn't find anything, and he hadn't seen any more blood. Where was he? Was he hurt badly? Had Pitch somehow gotten in? Where was Bunny-?!
'There!' he thought.
A few feet ahead, there was the large cluster of eggs that had been missing, and they were all gathered in front of a large cave entrance. Jack recognized it, as he had snuck in before; it lead to Bunny's inner sanctum, where the Pooka usually went for peace and quiet.
The eggs turned, and then parted when Jack landed beside them. They squeaked softly as he passed, and he glanced down at them, before nervously ducking into the tunnel. After some walking, he finally arrived in the large den, which was decorated with various patches of thick grass, and had a wooden table with matching chairs that Bunny kept for anyone lucky enough to get invited in.
It was on one of the thicker patches of grass that Jack saw the Pooka he'd been looking for. His relief was short lived though, when he saw the condition Bunny was in. The large grey rabbit was curled up in pain on his side, eyes tightly shut and his breathing shallow, and shivering, despite the fact it was rather warm in the den, even with Jack in it. It was his leg though, that really caught Jack's attention.
Latched onto the middle of his leg was a metal bear trap, and Jack could see the dark blood soaked into the fur around the wound.
"Bunny…?"
His voice startled Bunny out of the oblivious state he was in, and the rabbit's eyes snapped open to see Jack.
"Ja…wha…doin' here…?" he panted.
Jack hastily crouched beside him, eyeing the trap on Bunny's leg worriedly.
"I was gonna pull a prank or something, but I couldn't find you and…what happened, Bunny?!"
"Was…topside…walkin' and…didn't see…"
"Why do you still have it on?"
"Couldn't…get off…hurts too much…"
"Well, let me try."
"No wait-"
Jack attempted to pry the trap open, but had to stop after only a couple seconds of Bunny's screaming. Outside the den, the eggs squeaked and shuffled around nervously, worrying for their master.
"Okay, okay, forget that plan; plan B, go to the Pole." Jack stated.
"Nooo…I'll never hear the end of it from North…"
"Well we can't just let that thing stay on! You could lose your leg or…get that green gang thing they talk about!"
"Gang Green ya mean?"
"Whatever; we're going to the Pole."
"Mate, I don't think…I can make it all the way there…"
"Well that's what snow globes are for." Jack stated, pulling out a snow globe from the pocket of his hoodie.
"Aw man…does North know you have that?"
Jack paused for a second, before shrugging with a smirk.
"Meh, not really; but that's not important right now. So let's go, North Pole."
The snow in the glass orb swirled, showing the workshop, and Jack tossed it in the air. A vortex opened, and with some help from Jack, Bunny was able to get to his feet, albeit wincing as pressure was put on his leg. With some work, Jack got the limping Bunny into the portal.
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North was discussing some new toy designs with a few yetis when the vortex opened in the center of the room. Jack came out first, landing unsteadily on his feet.
"So, that is where snow globe went." North stated as he crossed his arms.
Jack gave a nervous grin, before another form fell out of the vortex. Bunny hit the floor with a pained grunt, and Jack quickly crouched beside him.
"Sorry Bunny, I thought I was holding on tight enough."
"I'm gonna get you for this Frostbite…I swear it…!" Bunny hissed.
"Bunny, what happened?" North inquired worriedly.
His eyes widened when he saw the trap on his leg, and immediately knelt down beside Bunny.
"What happened?"
"Bunny was walking around and stepped in a bear trap." Jack replied.
Bunny hissed with pain as North inspected his leg, lightly brushing over the fur.
"Seems a bit clumsy for you, Bunny." He remarked.
"Shut it, North…" the Pooka growled, eyes clenched shut in pain.
"This requires immediate medical attention; Jack, go find Phil and tell him to meet me in medical bay!"
Jack nodded, before taking to the air and flying off in search of the yeti in question.
"Alright, this might hurt a little." North announced.
"Aw don't carry me-!"
He was cut off when the burly Russian man carefully scooped him up, causing him to hiss in pain. North then turned around, and started walking through the workshop. Yetis were quick to get out of the way, while Bunny was grumbling furiously.
"OW- put me down North this is embarrassing-OW!"
"Quit fidgeting, you make it worse!" North ordered.
Bunny glowered, but remained as still as he could, grumbling under his breath the whole way. They finally reached the medic bay, and North carefully set Bunny down on one of the large beds, and a few seconds later, Jack walked in with a yeti in tow.
"Alright, Phil, go get everything we will need. Jack, you help him."
The twosome nodded, and started rummaging around the cabinets and drawers. North turned back to Bunny and examined his leg again.
"Alright Bunny," he sighed, "I am going to remove trap; will probably hurt a lot."
Bunny looked nervous, but nodded a little. North nodded as well, before carefully gripping the jaws of the trap. Bunny was gripping the edges of the bed, breathing heavily as he mentally prepared himself.
"On three; one…two…three…!"
The room was filled with yelling as North started prying open the trap. Bunny was gripping the bed tightly, his back arching from the pain. Jack and Phil flinched at the sound, glancing back at the Pooka worriedly. The trap finally snapped open, and Bunny fell back to the bed, panting and exhausted. The trap had left a few bleeding holes where the teeth of the trap had sunk in. North tossed the now broken trap into a nearby bin, and patted his arm in a comforting gesture.
"It is alright my friend, the painful part is over."
Bunny merely nodded in response. Jack and Phil came over with various medical supplies in hand.
"Alright, first I need rag and cleaning alcohol!"
Phil quickly handed off the mentioned items, and North set to work. He soaked the rag in alcohol, and then pressed it to the wounds. Bunny let out another hiss of pain, and his teeth were gritted tightly as he clenched the bed sheet in his hands. North glanced up at him sympathetically, before focusing back on the task at hand. Jack winced, before taking the lightly bloodied rag as North handed it to him. Phil then handed North a roll of gauze and what looked like a tube of toothpaste.
"Alright, you two will need to help with this one."
"Why?" Jack asked.
"Because this is going to sting worse than alcohol."
"Wait, wait, what? I thought you said the painful part was over?" Bunny asked.
"Will help with keeping out infection, but must go directly in wound. Now then, Phil, you hold him, Jack, you hold leg, but avoid wound."
The duo nodded uneasily, but did as they were told as North went to wash his hands. Jack carefully grabbed Bunny's leg just above and just below the injuries with both hands, and held tightly despite the Pooka's weak struggling. North returned with a few cotton swabs in hand. Squeezing some of the transparent paste out of the tube, he set it down, and gently pulled one of the wounds open a little, prompting a hiss of pain from Bunny. He glanced at the others, who gave nods, and nodded as well, before sticking the cotton swab into the wound.
Bunny let out a yelp, but couldn't do much else, as Phil was holding down his upper body, Jack was keeping hold of his bad leg, and North had managed to pin down the other with his elbow. After he was finished, North put the swab aside, and grabbed another one.
"Five more, my friend."
"Five too many!" Bunny hissed.
About ten minutes of yelping and struggling later, North threw the last swab away, grabbed the gauze, and wrapped a couple layers tightly around Bunny's leg.
"Alright, we are done everyone." He announced.
Jack and Phil released their hold on Bunny, who let out an exhausted sigh.
"You can rest now my friend." North stated.
Bunny gave him a tired glare, before his head fell back to the pillow. North chuckled, giving his arm a pat, and started helping Phil clean up.
"Should be able to move around in couple days. Now then, I must go check on productivity," North stated, "Jack, you stay with Bunny and keep company."
Jack frowned a little, and flopped back in a chair.
"Yay…"
North chuckled again, and he and Phil left the room.
"So, how do you feel?" Jack asked.
"Like I stuck ma leg in a wood chipper…" Bunny muttered.
"Well, you were pretty close."
Bunny snickered a little, before glancing at the winter spirit.
"Hey Frostbite…thanks for helpin' me…I woulda been too stubborn to come here on my own…"
"You wouldn't have been able to get here on your own anyway; but…you're welcome."
Bunny gave a weak smile, before slowly slipping into slumber.
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Where do these one-shots keep coming from?! I could just somehow picture poor Bunny getting stuck in a trap of some sort, and so of course I had to pick the more deadly one. Oh well, hope you enjoyed!