Ice Curse 2: Pookan Bane

Chapter 3

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"This is all we found in the library." Bunnymund said to his mother, Dahlia, at the Pooka encampment. His mother and Bergamot looked over the notes that he had made yesterday.

"Lies." Bergamot spat out. He had become the chief since Bunny was unable to take the job.

"We don't know that, dear." Dahlia sighed. "There's so much we don't know. It's quite frustrating."

"We were… thinking of meeting the other tribes." Bunny knew he would get shocked looks from his family when he said that.

"It would be good to have their support." Jack decided to break his silence. "They might know some things that you don't about Pookan history."

"Jack, would you be going with my son?" Dahlia asked, concerned for the human.

"I know if we find them they might not like me too much…" Jack looked at his husband. "But this is important to both of us, and I want to show that humans and Pookas can coexist."

"Good onya, love." Bunny took the prince's hand. "Well, whaddaya say, Mother, Mottie?"

"I do believe that the time to reunite is long overdue." Dahlia said. "I just hope we can meet in peace."

"I agree." Bergamot's ears straightened. "And don't call me 'Mottie'! It's 'Chief' to you!" They all just laughed.

"We'll head north first, since there're problems to the east." Bunny recalled the king talking about the disappearances in that direction.

"Make sure to tell them that they are welcome here." Dahlia smiled.

"Yeah, and good luck to you two." Bergamot did his secret handshake with his brother. They all said goodbye before Bunnymund made a tunnel with the amulet, the husbands heading towards their next adventure with hope in their hearts.

:::

"Whoa." Jack said as they exited the tunnel, coming face-to-face with a wall made of giant wooden logs. "Is this the right place?"

"I'm pretty sure, mate." Bunny checked the coordinates on the map, finding this to be the location of the mysterious town in the northern forest above the border. "Let's just keep followin' the wall till we see an entrance."

"And what a wall." The prince started following Bunny. "What do they want to keep out?"

"From the looks of it…" The Pooka observed the wall: the logs were thick and tall coniferous trees, the bark shaved off and the tops carved into angry points covered in barbed wire. They were buried deep in the ground and tied with the strongest rope. There were absolutely no gaps or peepholes to see the other side. "Everything."

"Look!" Jack whisper-shouted. After walking around the circular wall, they saw two watchtowers atop it with an armed and cloaked guard in each one. Below them was a large drawbridge with two more guards standing at each side.

"Maybe we shouldn't just sneak up on them." The rabbit whispered, putting a hand on his mate's shoulder. "Let's go through the woods this way and…"

"Oi, who goes there?!" One of the guards shouted. The watchtower guards pointed their rifles in the intruders' direction. The other two started running towards them.

"What?" Jack held his hook staff up in defense. "How could they have heard us? They're too far away!"

"Don't start a fight yet, mate." Bunnymund held his paws up in surrender as the guards approached; however, they stopped suddenly in their tracks. The watchtower men lowered their weapons, seeming confused. The two outsiders noticed their strange behavior. "Please, we didn't mean to be sneaky. We simply ask for help. Do ya know of any creatures that look like me, and if so, can ya point us in their direction?"

"You… look for Pookas?" One of the soldiers asked.

"Yes, that's right!" Bunny smiled. "Do ya know where…?" Just then, the wind changed and Bunny caught a familiar scent. It was the scent of his kind… and it was coming from the guards. "Wait… are you…?"

Bunny and Jack gasped as they took off their hoods and huge ears popped out from under them. Where Bunnymund and the rest of his tribe had large sideburns, these Pookas had streamlined furry faces and a slightly different floral symbol on their foreheads. "Yes Brother, we are Pookas." Their accents were nearly the same, too.

"So you're the ones that live behind this wall?" Jack asked.

"Yes…" The guard scrutinized the human. "And who might you be?"

"This is Prince Jackson of Santoff Claussen." Bunny said as the prince brandished the royal seal on his cape. "And I'm his knight, E. Aster Bunnymund. I come from the southwestern tribe of Pookas."

"So you're the one we heard about." The other guard said. The travelers looked surprised that he was that famous. "Why have you come here?"

"I… believe it is time for our tribes to come together again." Bunnymund replied as his ears drooped, not really having thought of what to say once he found his brethren. "And… we have so many questions about our past… we hoped your tribe could enlighten us."

"You've come to the right place for knowledge, mate." The first guard said. "Our chief will be eager to meet you." He turned to his partner. "Go notify the chief!"

"Right." The second guard created a tunnel with his foot and leaped down it, much to Bunny's surprise.

"You have stones like this?" Bunny showed his.

"Aye, all our soldiers and travelers have them." The guard took his from under his cape. "Didn't think the other tribes still had them."

"This is the only one we have." Bunny cradled it in his hand. "Do ya know where the other tribe is, by chance?"

"Not personally, but our chief can tell you. He knows just 'bout everything." They heard some gears crank and turned to see the drawbridge opening, the guard from before standing at the gate.

"Chief Jarli will see you two, now!" He shouted, beginning to lead the way for the prince and his knight. "Right this way, then!"

When Bunny and Jack entered the village, they gasped in amazement. It was… an actual village, with three-story wooden townhouses and small shops that sold food placed here and there. There were paved streets and hardly any grass or trees; there were some flowers growing from pots on windowsills, but that was about it. Pookas with streamlined faces, thicker fur and wispy tattoos walked these streets and children played happily in them as well. There were no humans to be found. "This place is… very advanced." Bunny was a little upset that there were hardly any plants, but at the same time impressed by the civilization.

"Come, the Chief's home is straight ahead." They all walked down the street, naturally getting stares from Pookas they crossed.

"I understand how you feel, now." Jack whispered to his husband, definitely feeling like a fish out of water, just like Bunny does at the palace.

"No need to worry love, I don't sense any danger." Bunny nudged his mate with his elbow.

"Who says I'm worried?!" The young man's cheeks turned red. As Bunnymund laughed he met eyes with two young female Pookas across the street. They giggled and let their ears droop coyly as they waved to him. Jack caught this transaction and saw his husband give a nervous smile to the ladies. His stomach churned, feeling awfully strange about what just happened. Bunny looked down at his mate, but Jack huffed and averted his gaze, focusing ahead. The Pooka knew not to say anything, at least not right now.

They arrived at what looked to be the biggest building in the city. A tall, tan-colored Pooka stood before it, dressed in a green, patterned robe and round glasses. He held a gold staff in his hand with a green, egg-shaped jewel adorning the top. Even his posture was perfect, his ears stood straight as his staff and his eyes were shrouded, he had a warm smile. "Presenting the ruler of the Wakgala Tribe, Chief Jarli." A guard gestured to the dressed Pooka. Bunnymund bowed respectfully, and Jack decided to do the same.

"E. Aster Bunnymund and Prince Jackson." Jarli stepped up to them. "I'm so excited to meet the two of you. In fact, I was hoping you would come to this place one day."

"You have?" Bunny asked.

"Of course. To hear of a Pooka living openly in Santoff Claussen and saving and wedding a human prince is astounding." Jarli's nose twitched in excitement.

"Well, I didn't really… do much…" Bunny's ears pressed to his head.

"No matter what we heard happened in the battle between you and the evil wizard, the fact that you were brave enough to enter the kingdom and admit your love of the prince is incredible on its own." Jarli smiled knowingly at Bunny's surprised expression.

"That's what I keep telling him." Jack smirked.

"Your Highness…" Jarli bowed to him. "I greatly appreciate you and your family's open-mindedness. The king's law and your marriage are great strides in the equality of our species. Thank you."

"You're welcome, but…" Jack looked down. "Our people still have a ways to go."

"We must always have patience for such things." The chief shook his head. "Where are my manners? Please, come in and make yourselves at home." They came into the building, a lounge and fireplace greeted them after coming through a small foyer. The prince was surprised by its simplicity; after seeing the size of the building he expected a larger living space. There was already tea and finger sandwiches ready for them at the table. "Now, I understand you wish to learn about your heritage, as it seemed to be forgotten after many years."

"I'm ashamed to admit." Bunny said as he and Jack sat down. "I have so many questions; I don't know where to start."

"Mr. Bunnymund, you have come to the right place." Jarli sat at the other end of the table and took his glasses off, his gold eyes gleaming. "Our tribe makes a living on knowledge. We travel, and exchange information with places all over the world. The entire city holds tomes about everything you can imagine and more. My home holds the most; in fact, it is more of a library than a home." He smiled. "And the way we choose the chief is not based on lineage, but rather intelligence. In other words, whoever has the highest IQ and/or has a photographic memory becomes the chief." There was a pause so the two guests could absorb all that.

"That's… amazing." Bunny couldn't believe how lucky they were in finding this place. "So, you…"

"I remember everything I have ever seen, read, and heard." Jarli confirmed.

"We really did come to the right place." Jack smiled.

"I've even asked my helper to receive the book of the history of our species." The chief said. "We will have the answers for you in no time."

"Bonza." Bunny smiled brightly. Jack thought he looked like a little kid. "Thank you so much." The Pooka was finally going to get the answers he always wanted.

:::

A/N: Once again, sorry for being late. I guess I have Writer's Block or something; it's not like I'm busy. Also, my router exploded cuz of a thunderstorm, so I didn't have the internet for a few days. I was also bummed from the whole JackRabbit Week on tumblr incident AND getting my story deleted from FF all at once. BTW, all my stuff is on AO3 (Archive of Our Own) now, so check it out! My name there is fieryhotaru. As I said, when future chapters of this include sex I'm going to post it to AO3 only and let my FF fans know with a notice. What a waste of time, huh? If only you could post sex on FF without getting your stuff deleted! Oh the fuck well! Anyway, on a lighter note, here's some Q&A, which I'm still doing so ask me things!

insanity-AlphaBeta: Yay! im glad you're back! I read your first book in about 2-3 days only cuz I kept getting interrupted. Had i not been interrupted I would have had it finished in a day. Your writing style is amazing, almost as good as rick riordan's. And he is like my favorite author ever! Anyway, what do ya do when you're not reading manga, watching anime, or writing fanfiction? Who is your favorite character, from anywhere? Thank you for your writing and the stories you give us! *gives 1000 cookies* here! xD

Answer: OMG thank you! I never read anything by Rick Riordan, but if you say I'm as good that's great! As for what I do… I play video games too! Lol I honestly don't do much of anything, now. I've been unemployed for almost a year now, and my day literally involves sleeping, sitting at the computer, and watching TV with my parents, and now that it's summer we go swimming in the backyard too. I want to be a voice actor and work from home, but I still need another job so I can pay for equipment and subscriptions for voiceover websites (how stupid is that?) Anyway, fave character… I like eccentric or evil characters, mostly. Can't choose just one: the Genie is my favorite Disney character, I love Grell from Black Butler and Chichiri from Fushigi Yuugi, all the One Piece characters, and obviously the rotg characters, especially Jack Frost. Thanks for the cookies! *ravenously eats them*