A/N: Hello again, this is just a quick update because I've already had this chapter up on Deviantart, so I thought not to hold the suspense and just lay it all out. Deviantart literature is kinda difficult, it doesn't let me do what I'd like to do in here. Oh well, I hope you guys don't mind and will enjoy this. Again, happy holidays to you all!
When Bunny had once told Jack to never challenge a rabbit in a race, he wasn't kidding with the prankster. Unless he wanted to miss a lot of windows and give the winter brat the advantage, he kept his pace much slower. But at that moment, Bunny was flying through the tunnels to get to his intended destination with the wind barely catching up to his haste.
A Pooka, the yetis told him, had been found.
An actual giant rabbit, with somewhat human features, was slumbering somewhere in North's place.
When he had first heard these words, he had been in denial.
He remembered the complete annihilation of his fellow race and kin. Everything decimated and nothing left but himself, he being the only reminder of a long dead civilization. And he remembered searching for anyone who he had thought had survived, calling out and leaving signals only other Pooka knew. It went on for almost a century until he finally gave in and accepted that he was indeed the last of his kind in the world.
To hear that there was another did not bring joy or celebration to his heart. It brought anger, frustration, and hurt. Why did they hide themselves for this long? Why did they not come to him soon and spared him the loneliness from the past centuries? It had taken a long time to get over that pain, years to not react when someone said something about his kind. And then this happens...
The yetis had let him be, returning from whence they came when they no longer wanted to be in the company of an aggressive Guardian. The little eggs were wise to do the same thing. So for a long time, Bunny sat alone on a hill, his emotions raging wave after wave.
He didn't owe that scum anything. He could just go ahead and die for all he cared!
Angry, spiteful, and furious as the fire from below, the steam began to lessen as time went by and something tugged at Bunny.
The need to face this... this other Pooka.
To finally look at another giant rabbit rather than having to go find a mirror. It was only in dark days that Bunny did such a thing, dark and lonely times when he wished there was someone else.
Reluctant thoughts came over him then, his feet twitching to move and see the new comer that North said was resting at his home. Little by little, Bunny moved his way towards a tunnel before he stopped a few feet at the opening tunnel that would lead up to North's homeland.
And there he went, racing through the tunnels to finally meet this other Pooka that had practically disappeared off the face of the earth and left him to his lonesomeness.
There would be no happy greetings, no smiles or hugs from Bunny. The second he saw that bugger, he was going to give him pure hell...
"An' a good slug in the face oughtta go along with that, too!" Bunny added as he jumped up through a specific hole and landed feet first in the snow.
Good Moon Almighty, it was still bloody cold! With a shudder, Bunny raced through the snow and up towards North's home.
The first thing he noticed when he opened his eyes, was that the room was dark. Not dark like some black hole, but rather like someone just turned off the lights in a bedroom.
Which was also the second thing he noticed when he looked around. He was in a bedroom.
Slowly, he stood up from the bed he had occupied, removing the covers—
"Whoa!" the newly awoken occupant let out a startled yelp as he stared down at his feet. His really big, furry feet.
He quickly stumbled off the bed, his dark pelted fur distracting him as he wobbled around the room for a mirror. Finding one, he stepped in front of the reflection and nearly fell back in amazement from what was looking back at him with wide chocolate eyes.
There stood a 7''0 giant rabbit with dark gray pelt covering most of his body with some darker patches spotted here and there, but his underbelly remained completely white. Black freckles littered from both sides of his furry cheeks, the top of his head, to the tip of his elongated ears, and to the corners of his knees and elbows.
"This is just too weird..." he muttered to himself, coughing a little from how cracked his voice sounded.
Turning away from the mirror, he looked around the room and saw various items, mostly toys. Quirking a dark brow at the toys littering the room, he awkwardly walked along the walls and fingering the wooden carvings that designed the room.
"... Where am I?"
Seeing that this room wasn't going to answer any of his questions, the giant rabbit was quick to find the door and let himself out.
The second the door opened, the rabbit winced from the blast of bright lights and loud noise that should only belong to some factory. Squinting his eyes to adjust to the lighting, he slowly opened them to only, once again, find himself dumbstruck.
Giant, round, furry creatures were found scattered in the giant dome, all working with various projects of what the rabbit could guess were toys. This only made the picture of beasts working on toys much more bizarre moments after he had awoken.
"What is this?" he muttered to himself with a slight hint of frustration, narrowing his eyes as he peeked over the wooden rail to get a better look.
"This is the Pole." someone said from behind him.
"WHOA!" the large rabbit gave a startled jump, and he nearly fell over the rail. Thankfully, something grabbed him from the back of his furry neck and yanked him to safety.
Still, when someone was pulling hairs, that just hurt.
"OWW~!" the large rabbit cried out before he whirled to face the owner of the voice. "If yer gonna say something, at least do it when I ain't standin' at the edge!"
Finishing his small rant, the rabbit paused to take in the sight of the person. It was a teenage boy. Somewhere around the age of seventeen or eighteen with unnatural pale skin, too blue eyes, and unruly snow white hair. He was dressed in a blue hoodie with flecks of snow over his shoulders, tattered khaki pants, and completely barefoot.
And he was holding a wooden shepherd stick.
"I'd say I'm sorry but then I'd be lying if I didn't enjoy seeing the priceless look on your face." the teen said smugly.
The rabbit blinked a few times before the words registered. The tall creature felt his hackles rise in anger. He was moments away from falling to his death and that jerk just found it funny?! Momentarily forgetting that he was looking for answers, the rabbit was ready to pounce the brat and strangle him for that big scare.
"You—"
"Jack!" another voice interrupted, stopping in the unknowingly impending violence that was about to transpire.
Suddenly, the rabbit was met with bright, big violet eyes that peered at him so curiously and so close... He shouted when his mouth was suddenly yanked wide open, he nearly chocked when he felt something moving around in his mouth. He was about to snap his mouth shut and bite the intruder, but they were quick to remove themselves and he found himself face-to-face with a green human-like bird. Or woman. It was just confusing.
"As to expect from a Pooka, you keep your teeth neat and tidy white!" she gushed so excitedly, still invading his space.
"Lady..." he slowly said as he stared at her. "What in all that is Holy are you?"
She stared blankly at him for a few short seconds before she burst out in quick laughter, wiping away a small tear from the corner of her eye.
"Sorry, sorry! I'm just so excited because this the first time I've met another Pooka, outside of Bunny of course, and I've always wanted to see if other Pooka's—"
"Tooth." the boy, standing of the side and seemingly forgotten between the rabbit and the hummingbird woman, gave her a withering look.
"Oh, right, sorry!" she coughed slightly and turned back to the bewildered rabbit. "I'm Toothiana, otherwise known as the Tooth Fairy!"
The rabbit just stared at her with a blank face of his own.
Jack gave a small huff under his breath and spared poor Tooth a look. The fairy continued to smile.
"The Tooth Fairy?" he deadpanned.
"Uh-huh!" she nodded enthusiastically, completely immune of the disbelieving look he was giving her.
Jack stood straight from leaning against his staff, giving their mysterious guest a wary look when saw the look on the giant rabbit's face. It was the same look he'd seen on people when they were skeptical about the existence of certain holiday, fable, and mythical figures.
"Lady, I think there's something seriously wrong with you, and him," the rabbit pointed at Jack and their whole surroundings. "And everything else!"
"What?" Tooth blinked out of her sunny smile and stared back at the rabbit with wide eyes and a small frown.
"Seriously, how are you flyin'?" the rabbit squinted his eyes and waved an arm over and below her.
"I have these wings..." she pointed at the furiously flapping wings on her back and the rabbit gave them a quick scan.
"Am I dreamin'...? This is way too freaky to be real." he said, mostly to himself, but loud enough for the others to hear.
"If you were, then Sandy would have his dream sand floating over your head," Tooth tried to, and unsuccessfully, joke around the Pooka, but he was having none of it.
"Sandy...? So now it's the Sandman?!" the rabbit took a step away from her and shook his head. "Please, just stop talkin'. I've heard enough."
"Hey, look..." Jack, becoming a bit irked from the rabbit's irritated dismissal of Tooth, stepped forward to help her but a large paw that stopped inches from his face stopped him.
"No! You look!" the rabbit snapped at him. "I don't know what kind of crazy that runs around in here, and frankly I don't wanna know, but I'm not stickin' around to be pulled along with this!"
With that said, the dark freckled rabbit turned away from the two and began his trek to find a way out of the strange toy factory. Jack and Tooth shared a look and went after the confused Pooka.
"Ah! Bunny, kak dela?" North greeted his friend with welcoming arms.
The larger than life Guardian stared down at the Pooka and his jolly smile slowly lost itself when he saw the unhidden anger on his face. And it did not take much to understand what was going on within the Guardian of Hope's head, given to what the yetis had relayed to him when they returned, alone. Whatever news he wanted to share with Bunny, it would only give more fire to the ferocious flames.
"Bunny," North began but was cut off by the other.
"Where is he?" came Bunny's low, acid demand. His emerald eyes snapping back and forth, intent on finding the other Pooka.
"Listen Bunny," North threw his niceties out the window and narrowed his cold blue eyes at the rabbit. "Whatever anger you have now, leave them behind! You will not harm anyone in my domain while I am here."
Bunny only glared heatedly at the bearded man. North returned the gesture.
"I will step in, Bunny," North said solemnly. "Even if I have to draw my blades at you."
"You have no right—" Bunny growled at North, standing to his full height and tilting his ears back to show his fury.
"You will not attack him in my OWN HOME!" North roared.
Few yetis and many elves stopped what they were doing to see what the commotion was all about. It wasn't unusual when Nicholas St. North was shouting, but the tone was either from irritation or joy. This was out of anger, and it alarmed the workers and servants of the North Pole.
After what seemed forever with the two holiday figures glaring at each other with equal fervor, a familiar brush of gold caused them to break away and look at the owner of the bright sand.
"Sandy?"
The Sandman, or Sandy as he is known to his friends, floated a few feet away from them, a nervous and exasperated look on his face that he pulled when friends were fighting amongst each other. Seeing that he caught their attention, he went to work on forming a message.
Above his head, the sand formed figures that the two Guardians watched transform into three blobs. It took seconds to realize what Sandy was saying.
"Ah, the Pooka is awake." North said with good humor, his personality giving a 180 that it almost shocked Bunny. "Looks like he's giving Tooth and Jack trouble, da?"
Sandy only nodded with a big smile on his face, but morphed into surprise when he looked past North. The big man whipped around and stared at the spot where Bunny should have been standing.
"BUNNY!"