The New Tribe
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Rise of the Guardians.
Author's note: This first chapter feels a little rough to me. Warning: hints of child abuse. A bit of inspiration came from Before the Next Sunset by Earth Star.
Chapter 1: The Storyteller
"Beware of the Pooka, mom whispered," A young boy enchanted his audience as he acted out his bedtime story. "If you call for them, they will come and take you away." A thrill went down the backs of young undernourished listeners. The children's faces held caution, not sure what it meant. "When unwanted, a terrible guardian will call." More orphans suddenly paid attention to the white-haired story teller, "To a child in need, they shall feed. For each greed, will they weed." Several of the parentless children looked slightly wistful, a few looking at their empty stomachs. "The Pooka, great and mighty indeed, kindest of the fae will heed."
"Jack, are they real?" The story teller's sister asked,
"Real? Of course their real, Emma! They are real, one of our ancestors called and was taken away." Jackson Overland confirmed to the 10 children in front of him.
"What do they look like?" Another child by the name of Claude asked, leaning forward.
"Hmm. I asked mom that and all she said were amazing warriors with muscle hidden under fur."
"Maybe a tiger?" Caleb, Claude's twin brother asked.
"Or a wolf?" Thaddeus, a boy a little older than Jack guessed, smiling.
"Or a bear?" the rest of the kids dissolved into an argument
"No a yeti!"
"No a jaguar!"
"No a cheetah!"
"Well I think it could be a panther!"
Jack's eye was caught by something out the window, "Everyone Alert!" he hissed. The noise stopped abruptly and the older children gulped as they saw their 'caretaker' coming back to the orphanage. Despite being equally scared, Jack started whispering again to distract the others, "I think I've seen a Pooka before," drawing everyone's attention again, "It was the week before Easter. He was taller than most adults when he stood on his hind legs and he had greyish blue fur. He was armed with boomerangs and a paintbrush."
"A paintbrush?" Little lady Lana asked, scrunching her nose.
Jack nodded, "A warrior and artist." A door banged open, the kids jumped and scurried to their bedsides, struggling to look attentive. Little Lana began to hyperventilate as footsteps came up the stairs. "Lana!" Jack breathed, "Look at me! Breathe in, breathe out. That's it, breathe in, breathe out..."
There was the click of the door unlocking, the handle turning, the metal hinges creaking. The children took in a shuddering breath and then the door slammed against the wall, a tall man with the tiniest of noses and crooked ears stalked into the room, dark brown eyes scanning the posture of the children in front of him. The man had a mean pet rat sitting on his shoulders. They were more or less able to hide their trembling. The somewhat drunk adult's frown grew as his eyes met the white-haired boy's brown defiant eyes.
"Hmm..." Mr. Spot (or as Jack secretly called him, Mr. Spoot) inspected each of the children thoughtfully, "There is a... gathering being put together soon. Maybe even one of you might be lucky enough to be 'adopted'... Albino!" Jack stiffened warily, "You have chores to do. And," a drunken smile grew, "No dinner." Jack flinched, he had already gone without food for two days and the hunger panes hurt almost as much as the whipping or bruising he knew was coming. "Well, the food will be given out once you leave Albino. Get going." Jack quickly and quietly hurried out of the room.
Normally, a meal consisted of a half of a piece of bread and half of a fruit or vegetable. Dread curdled in the older children's stomachs. For some reason, each child received twice that tonight. Even so, the other children, Thaddeus, Claude, Caleb, Tyke, Josh, Kristopher, Helen, Willow, Emma, and even little Lana dared not save even a crumb for Jack or the future. Mr. Spot's tiny terrier always found any evidence of food and then the children knew that not only the child being 'punished' would have a longer and harder penalty, but the child who dared save a morsel would suffer the same. Only Jack had so far managed once to save food for Willow when she was sick from a 'punishment'.
Jack moved as quickly as he could from chore to chore, not wanting to be separated from the others for long. Late at night, Jack was pushed back into the 'orphan room' so stiff from all the bruises that Jack could hardly even limp to his bed. Who knew a bar of soap could cause so much pain? Thaddeus and Emma were the only ones still awake.
"Mr. Spoot is getting a little jittery about the police, more so than normal. Promise me that you'll call for the Pooka if you all feel uneasy or in danger." Jack begged the two.
"But how do you know the Pooka will even want us?" Emma whispered frightened,
"In nearly all the tales the fae appreciate children because it's hard for them to have them, but the Pooka dearly loved children. And the one I saw... he saved my life."
"So that's how you know." Thaddeus marveled.
"Actually I know about the stories from my mom. She heard the stories from her mother over in Ireland. Grandmother was really old and the great-great-great-granddaughter of someone who was taken and raised by the Pooka. Apparently those with Pooka blood live a bit longer, but have trouble having more than one or two children. The pooka I saw was a bit gruff, but you could tell that he didn't want me to be hurt. I think I was around Claude and Clyde's age at the time. He was really cool and fast!"
"What did he look like?" Thaddeus pounced.
Jack's brown eyes twinkled with mischief, "Can't tell you that, that would mess up the fun. You'll just have to wait and see." The other two groaned disappointed.
After a moment Emma spoke up "Jack? Why don't we call the Pooka tonight?"
Jack sighed, attempting to sit up, but wincing instead, "In order to call for the pooka, you either have to be in immediate danger or call on behalf of someone else. Also as much as I'd love to come with you, I made a promise to Pippa to rescue her, remember? I need to spread the story of the Pooka to the underground anyway."
"I want to help you Jack." Thaddeus's hazel eyes stared into Jack's chestnut colored ones.
"You are. By watching over the others. I'm trusting you to keep my sister and our friends safe." Jack guided Emma's hand into Thaddeus's hand.
"Be safe Jack." Emma whispered.
"As safe as I can be. Look."
"How?!" the other two gasped as Jack revealed not one but two bruised apples.
"I'm good with tricks remember? There's an over grown apple branch in the yard. These were behind the half dug dog hole.
"You need to eat them." Thaddeus pushed them back towards Jack, "We already had twice our normal meal."
Jack's brown eyes widened in concern, "I think you're not going to see me for a while. Mr. Spoot is coming for me in the morning. Muttered something about being gone for a couple of days."
"A couple of days! Last time that happened one of the kids got sick and another disappeared." Thaddeus panicked.
"Thaddeus! It's okay, I will find my way back to all of you. And you and the other can escape now." Jack soothed his tired 'brother' and sister, "I'm the fastest here remember? I'll escape Mr. Spoot and his pet rat. It'll be alright." Jack yawned, "Promise me you'll call the Pooka."
"Promise."
"Promise." The other two echoed, smiling slightly as they went back to bed.