After about an hour of swinging upside down from the wooden beam, freezing a couple of elves and throwing snowballs at Yeti's, Jack joined his fellow Guardians as Sandy arrived.
"What's the problem Mate?" Bunny asked, hopping over to join the circle with Tooth, Sandy and North. Jack stood leaning on his staff, just outside the huddle.
"It's not Pitch, is it?" A panicked Tooth queried, her eyes full of a sudden worry. Next to her, Babytooth squeaked and flew under her feathers at the sound of his name.
"No, it is not Pitch. Do not worry Tooth!" North's strong Russian accent echoed around the Grand Workshop.
"Well then what is it? It better be good, 'cause I've got bloody eggs to decorate!" Bunny snapped.
Sandy started to create images in golden sand above his head. Sleeping Children. Dreams. Night. A calender.
"Sandy's right, me and Sandy have to work every night, every year. We have quite a busy schedule North." chimed Tooth.
"Ok, Ok, I get to point. Man In Moon spoke to me."
Jack's head snapped up from where he had been making a tower out of ice-cubes. Once he had lost concentration, the tower tumbled to the floor and shattered causing everyone to look at the source of the noise, but Jack didn't care.
"W-what?" He stuttered "Like, properly spoke to you?"
North looked at Jack's serious face, something that was very rare for the mischievous spirit. "Not really 'spoke', just images, a couple words whispered. But it was important. The children are in danger."
Tooth covered her mouth with her delicate hand to stifle a gasp, whilst Bunny's ear dropped slightly and Sandy donned a frown. Jack walked slowly towards North and the others.
"What kind of trouble?" Bunny asked.
"There is new enemy, new threat. But ..." North stopped, sighing and looking at the ground. His shoulders dropped and he brought a ginormous hand to slide across his forehead, showing signs of stress. Sandy tinkled slightly as three full stops appeared over him. Everything was quiet, the atmosphere was tense.
"But he did not tell me what threat was." North reluctantly brought his gaze to meet the others, his face showing traces of shame that he could not provide any more information or be of any more help. "We do not know who or what we are up against. What to expect, what to prepare, how the threat is to children." He finished with his head dropping to face the floor again. Tooth planted a comforting hand on the big-mans clenched fist, making hers look minuscule in comparison.
"We are the Guardians. We have to try." She shot North a reassuring smile.
"Yeah! Mate, we brought down Pitch Black, we can bring down another Nelly any day! Nothing gets past this Bunny." The fiesty Guardian instinctively twizzled a boomarang between his paws. Sandy's high-pitched and slightly muted chuckle was followed by a thumbs-up.
Jack looked between his friends. In a way, he felt privileged to be among a group of such brave spirits, even though the Kangaroo sometimes tested his nerves. None the less, he took a deep breath and conjured up a snowball. Juggling it is his hand, his lips curled into a cheeky grin as he said "Let's bring 'em down"
And with that, they headed to the Sleigh, with Bunny protesting the whole way.
Authors Note:
I just couldn't wait. I really hope you are all enjoying it so far. I'm still building up the story a bit at the moment so hang on, there's action and drama heading it's way. I'm gonna hop off to bed but please review. I'd love to hear what you think of it. Hopefully, I should be posting the next chapter tomorrow, maybe more if I'm in the creative mood! Until then, sweet dreams - Ellie x