N.A 3
New chapter! Wooo! xD So, um, you have to thank Poxy Kirkman for this chapter even being up. If it weren't for her lovely persistence I would've never had this chapter posted up as soon, or not exactly soon, as it is now :P
Check out her RotG fanfiction, The End of Summer, it's pure gold :3 Seriously.
She was sitting by the lake near the burrow. The air was crisp and cool, sun beams shining through the dark clouds hanging overhead. The wind breezed past the colorful Autumn leaves and gently ruffled her black fur. She grinned as she closed her dark colored eyes, enjoying the cold. She loved winter, her mother preferred summer but Joyce loved the unique little snow flakes that fell from the sky, the almost silent crunch of snow beneath the pads of her feet, the quiet that winter brought. She loved the icicles in the trees and the way the lake would freeze over. Winter made the woods magical, it made everything seem beautiful with its intricate frost patterns on the tree bark, a blanket of pure white covering the forest floor. She truly loved Winter the best.
Her mother didn't agree with her though. Too cold she says. You'll get a cold she says. Stay in the burrow she says. Don't skate on the ice she says. It's dangerous she says. Her mother preferred summer over winter. Flowers came in summer, the air was warm, the water in the lake was warm, the leaves were a bright green that matched the grassy forest floor. In summer the garden flourished with vegetables and fruits, how can you like winter so much she says. Joyce huffed, her previous smile gone as a frown marred her face. Her mother would never understand the pure beauty of winter.
Not even the humans enjoyed the winter months. Crops shriveled and dried against the cold. Humans were forced to bundle up and seek shelter in their homes. Food was scarce. Humans cursed the winter months, they didn't see the beauty that could come from the cold that winter brought.
Joyce paused. No. Not all humans were like that. She knew one in particular that loved the winter as much as he did. She stared up at the grey clouds hovering ominously above. She closed her eyes, imagining sparkling chocolate brown eyes and matching tussled brown hair.
A laugh, sweet and as rich as sugar filled the air. A body collided with her own, sending the both of them to the ground. Joyce blinked up as the same eyes she was thinking about appeared in her vision. He was sitting on her chest, legs on either side of her body, a pleased grin on his face and his arms crossed in front of him.
"Gotcha Joy! You didn't see me did'ja?" She focused on the freckles on his tanned skin as he laughed his charming little laugh. The once small human, now a thirteen year old boy, she had befriended seven years ago continued to laugh as she grinned.
She rolled them over, now straddling the human boy as her paws trailed up his sides, eliciting laughs as he struggle to get away. She tickled him, their laughter mixing in the cold air. Not all humans hated winter. This particular boy loved winter as much as she did. He wasn't like the other humans at all. Rare, unique, he was one in a lifetime.
They lay next to each other, gazing at the dark sky with smiles on their faces. Puffs of air filled the cold air, his face was flushed red from laughing and her fur was ruffled from the previous tickle war. His hand tentatively reached her paw, his gaze kept firmly on the sky as she gazed at him curiously. When her paw was interlaced with his hand, he turned his head towards her own with a serious look on his boyish, thirteen year old face.
"Will you ever leave me?" His question caught her off guard before a soft smile settled on her face and she leaned forward, furry lips brushing against his forehead. His squeak of surprise brought another round of laughter from her. They settled once again, content as snowflakes fell slowly from the sky, whitening the area around them in mere minutes.
"No. I don't think I'll ever be able to leave you."
Dazed dark green eyes stared up at the blue sky that seemed to be mocking her. 'It's what you get for being nice!' The sky seemed to taunt. Joyce stared up at the little girl sitting happily on her chest. Joyce found it a little odd, sure I mean the little rascal had been crying just mere minutes ago, full out sobbing. As such Joyce had not been expecting the little girl to bulldoze her over. She'd actually been expecting the child to cry some more, terrified by the rabbit like creature. Joyce had in no way seen the possibility of the miserable kid to suddenly brighten up enough to knock her on the floor, yelling something about hopping and Easter. What that meant Joyce had no clue whatsoever.
She took the time to look at the child, curious as she felt little hands play with the fur on her chest. The little girl's hair was a bright blonde, messily cut and hanging in front of her face. She had shining light brown eyes, half hidden by her long hair. Her skin was slightly tanned, telling of days spent playing outside. She wore a pink shirt with a crudely drawn unicorn on it and white, now covered in dirt, pants. She also had little sparkly pink sandals that were currently digging into Joyce's sides and most likely leaving residue sparkles on her normally pristine fur.
"Bunny! Hop, hop hop!" The air was knocked out of her lungs as the child began jumping up and down on her chest, a happy smile on her face as she calmed herself enough to put on an uncharacteristically serious face on. Joyce's dark green eyes met bright brown as little hands held her furry face gently. "Hop hop?"
How all this lead to Joyce giving the little human a piggy back ride around the forest, she would never know. And if anyone brought the child's puppy dog eyes to attention, Joyce would deny that a human's watery eyes could have so much power over her.
"Hop hop?" Joyce sat in front of the human kit. She shook her head sternly.
"No more hop hop until you tell me you're name little Sheila." The child frowned slightly before brightening up, Joyce stared at the little pinky thrust in front of her face. She turned her gaze to the small child who stomped her foot impatiently.
"Pinky promise?" Joyce blinked once more before extending her paw out, entwining her pinky with the much smaller one. Human concepts were so weird.
She didn't expect the small arms that wrapped around her waist as the child launched herself into the Pooka's arms. Dark green eyes met light brown. "Sophie! Name is Sophie!" The small arms tightened around Joyce's waist and before she knew it the child wrapped her arms around Joyce's neck. "Name?" Sophie asked expectantly and Joyce chuckled.
"Joyce. My name's Joyce." She held the child, Sophie, in her arms for a while. How long had it been since she held someone? A human no less? Years, centuries. Forever really. She tightened her grip on the child who looked up at her questioningly. "Now Sophie, I think it's time for you to go home. Where's your home?" Joyce shook the memories away as she stood up, ignoring how she kept her grip on Sophie or how the child clinging to her brought so many memories Joyce had strived to bury over the years.
Sophie clutched the fur on her chest tightly and frowned. "Joy leave Sophie?" Joyce paused before sighing. She shook her head.
"No. I'll stay with you for a while."
"Hop hop?"
"Yeah. We'll play hop hop."
"Will Joy ever leave?"
Pause.
"No. I don't think I'll ever be able to leave you." Joyce sighed when Sophie tucked her head underneath the Pooka's chin. That sealed the deal. The scent glands underneath her chin rubbed against the young child's head and Joyce closed her eyes in frustration. With a sigh of defeat Joyce followed the scent trail the young child had left behind when she first entered the woods.
She'd never marked someone before. Pooka's marked their property or family. Joyce had never marked anyone. Not even her mother or Aunt Molly. She'd never even marked her first human friend. How this little slip of girl had managed to get marked by Joyce, she would never know.
The child's house wasn't far from the woods and the fence surrounding it explained how the girl had managed to get lost in the forest in the first place. A few of the boards were loose and the perfect size for children to sneak in and out of.
Sophie jumped out of her arms. "Home, home, home!" The little girl jumped up and down in excitement before grabbing onto Joyce's paw, dragging the surprised Pooka through the hole in the fence.
Sophie's home was ordinary, in human standards. The roof was a dark brown and the walls were a bright white. Two floors if Joyce had to guess. The back porch had a comfortable, old couch on it. Papers and crayons were thrown about here and there. On either side of the steps leading onto the porch was a little garden enclosed by small rocks. A few flowers grew there and a pink plastic flamingo was hanging around there as well.
The backyard was fairly large, on one end was a small swing set with two swings and a small sand pit near it, plastic toys messily thrown in. On the other side was a small plastic table with matching chairs nearby. A plastic teaser was on top of the table. Toys were strewn about the grass as well and it was clear children played there often.
With a sigh, Joyce crouched down in front of the little girl that had easily snuck her way into the Pooka's heart.
"Alright midget. I'm sure your parents were worried about you, why don't you inside and tell them your okay." She spoke softly, warily eyeing the closed back door. She didn't want the girls parents to see their daughter with a seemingly giant rabbit. Wouldn't do any good to have panicked humans trying to kill her and her mother.
"Joy leaving Sophie?" Oh no. Little chocolate colored eyes began watering and Joyce looked around wildly, she did not do good with crying. With a deafened sigh, she leaned in.
"What about this midget, tomorrow, if you want, I'll come back and we'll play 'hop, hop' all you want? Okay?" She didn't expect the little arms clinging to her neck. She didn't expect the excited giggles coming from the small child. She did not expect to return the hug and she definitely did not expect the kiss on her furry cheek.
"Bye bye Joy!" With that the little girl ran inside her house, leaving Joyce gobsmacked in the back yard. She did not expect to make a new friend.
"Jamie, Jamie!" Sophie ran as fast as she could up to her brother's room. Her parents weren't home at the moment, both having busy jobs that kept them away from home far more than she would like. The babysitter they had left hadn't even noticed she had left in the first place, too busy on her phone chatting with her friends to notice the little girl she was supposed to be babysitting had been missing for the last two hours.
Sophie didn't let this bother her. Only her big brother mattered. She paused on the top step, wondering if she should speak to her brother. Would he be mad she left? It wasn't her fault. She'd just been so upset that Bunny hasn't visited her today like he had promised. He pinky swore! She'd been waiting for him all day, having planned a tea party and everything, only for Jamie to tell her he was too busy and wouldn't be coming.
She had run after that, extremely upset at having her play date ruined. It was even worse when the babysitter just frowned at her, telling her there was no such thing as the Easter Bunny. But that couldn't be true because Bunny was real and so was Jack and so was Santa and the pretty fairy Tooth and Sandy!
"Sophie!" She paused and before she knew it Her brother began pulling her to his room. He looked extremely worried as he shut the door behind him. "Where were you? I was so worried when I couldn't find you and Jack isn't coming until tomorrow so I couldn't ask him to help find you and the babysitter wouldn't listen and and-" Sophie giggled, wrapping her arms around her brother's waist.
"Friend! Sophie has a new friend! Joy! Joy big bunny! Like Easter Bunny!" Jamie stared down at his happy little sister in confusion. A bunny like Bunny? He frowned. Jack had told him that Bunny was the last of his kind, surely his little sister was mistaken. Maybe she had a new imaginary friend? She had been so upset when Bunny hasn't shown up to play with her, she must've made a friend to play with her instead.
"That's cool Soph" He'd play along, but something told him his little sister's new imaginary friend wouldn't be as imaginary as he thought. He laughed along with his sister as she explained to him all the fun she had with her new friend. He'd definitely have to talk to Jack about this tomorrow.
Ta da! What'd you guys think? Did I write Sophie's character out well enough? What about Jamie?
In this story Sophie is four, meaning she was three when the movie took place. Jamie and his friends are nine at the moment, having been eight when they first met Jack and the rest of the Guardians.
I don't know if this is true or not but for the sake of this story that's how it's gonna be.
HerHiddenSecret~~