D'aaaaw you guys are sooo sweet! ^-^ Honestly, I wasn't very happy with the first two chapters, but I'm trying really hard to improve! If anyone has a suggestion for me, I'd be super grateful to hear it. You rock (yes, you!)
Disclaimer: I must declare that I do not own Rise of the Guardians or its characters, dear sir (or ma'am).
Loud snores erupted from beneath thick red blankets. North turned over. He'd been in bed all day and he still had a headache. Though, there was really no one to blame but himself, he'd drank way too much wine (but really, it was a holiday, so it was totally okay). He'd woken up at six A.M. on the couch, and could barely guide himself to his room in his haze. Since then he'd been either sleeping or drinking cup after cup of water.
Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door, making North's ears ring. In burst a yeti without waiting for any sort of reply whatsoever.
"What?! What is it?!" North bellowed. He wasn't trying to be rude, by any means, but at the moment he felt sick and disgruntled. The yeti recoiled a bit before explaining his reasoning for waking his boss.
Loosely translated, the yeti had said, "Jack and Aster are here, sir. I told them you weren't available, but apparently it's an emergency. Aster says Jack is hurt. Gee, I just thought Jack was sleeping, I didn't know there was something really wrong with him. I told him that you really couldn't be bothered, but Aster growled at me! Boss, I think was gonna bite me!"
"Bunny does not bite", North grumbled. "And if he said Jack was sick, you should've come to me without any argument." He pulled on his big red coat. "Now take me to them."
The yeti complied and took North to the globe room. There Bunnymund was still cradling Jack, who had passed out on the trip to the pole. The Pooka glared at the yeti.
"What happened?" North demanded. He was no longer in a hung over daze, now he was wide awake and ready to take action. He reached over as if to take Jack into his own arms, but Bunny tightened his hold around the boy protectively.
"Jack said Pitch came to his home last night and injected something into him. He was burning up, so I gave him some fever medicine, but he started coughing up blood." The Pooka explained.
"Hmmm", North said. "Come, bunny. We will take him to the sick bay." He ushered them quickly to the infirmary where they laid Jack on the closest beds and got to work.
Jack was given x-rays and was hooked up to an IV. At about that time he woke up, though he didn't say anything. He merely glanced around, glassy-eyed and shaking slightly. Bunny noticed the trembling. 'He's gotten worse' he thought. Quickly the winter spirit was given some pain medicine and a cup of cold water. Bunny tipped the cup up as Jack downed the pill, murmuring encouragements when the boy began to cough once again. He ran his paw over the trembling back and nuzzled the boy's damp cheek.
"'S alright, Snowflake, calm down. North's gonna be back with the x-rays in a second, kay? Then we'll fix ya up, yeah?" Jack gave a weak nod in response, but inside he thought, 'He's only doing this because I'm hurt and he feels like he has to. He would rather not bother with me.' Still, he let his head rest against Bunny's chest as he fell asleep.
It was at that moment that North stormed with a grim look on his face. He approached Aster and gently laid Jack down, then led Bunny out of the room.
"What's wrong, North?" The Pooka shifted in the thick tension of the air.
"I don't know how this is possible", he said. "But Jack has nightmares inside him, trying to tear him from the inside out."
*Sigh* Still not as long as I wanted, but I was really leaning toward a cliff hanger... Hope you all enjoyed despite its length! 'Till next time!