Thank you, thank you to all who reviewed and favorited and followed! I love you guys so much, and all of those things make me really happy :) Here's another chapter! I hope you like it!
Oh, and on a random note, I've upped the rating to T, mostly because this will not be a really happy, cheerful fic. There will be creepy parts, there will be some blood as is expected when you're fighting a wolf.
Happy December 1st, by the way!
"December 27th," Tyra muttered to herself as she walked along a clothes line. For some reason, the line seemed to be frozen. Probably from that insanely cold day yesterday, Tyra thought. Keeping her balance wasn't something to worry about, luckily for her. As she stepped over a few stray coats that were still hanging there, the ice melted. "Four days until the New Year." Almost without thinking, Tyra let a firework bloom on the snow below. It wasn't actually there-merely a beautiful illusion, but it still made those few children who passed it ooh and aah.
Tyra moved her gaze from the ground up to the sky, where the waning moon hung as if suspended by puppet strings. She smiled a little, letting the peace that the moon had brought her for the past few hundred years wash over her.
"Hello, old friend," She whispered. The moon was her only company. That thought brought a sad mood with it. She was alone-absolutely, completely alone. No one could see her, no one believed in the spirit of the New Year. But at least she could still show the humans things, right?
A small firework lit in Tyra's hand, sparking blue and silver. She let it stay in her hand for a moment, the sparks twining around her fingers. She knew the firework's temperature was high, but so was hers. She barely noticed how warm she constantly was anymore. Tyra tossed the firework high up into the air, the colors shifting to violet and gold as it grew in the sky. The firework exploded in front of the moon, lighting up the night. Tyra stepped off of the clothes line, onto another roof. She sat down on the edge of that rooftop her feet dangling over the edge. All was quiet, all was peaceful.
Then, from behind her, came a voice.
"Ah, there you are. It took me long enough to find you," The dark, smooth sound came. Tyra stiffened, unwilling to turn around. "So I don't get a greeting? Oh, Tyra, you wound me."
"Go away, Wolf. You don't deserve any greetings, believe me," Tyra said quietly. A gloved hand stroked one of her brightly colored wings, making her shiver and jerk away.
"But I don't want to, little girl," Wolf purred, his hot breath brushing her ear.
"Get off of me," Tyra said, her voice louder. "Or I'll-"
"You'll do what? Shoot a firework at me? I'm terrified," The wolf's hand moved from her wings to her hair. Tyra pulled away again, trying desperately to pry his hands off of her. His grip only tightened on her hair, though. He yanked backwards, making Tyra inhale sharply.
"No one can hear you, sweetheart, so don't even try to scream. No one can see you, for that matter," Wolf sounded almost thoughtful. His claws broke through his gloves as he held Tyra's head back with one hand, and her wrists with the other. Tyra's skin began to burn the wolf, her fire powers activating. Wolf let go of her wrists with barely a sound of pain, and examined his scorched palm-part of the glove had been burnt off. Wolf growled deep within his throat, yanking her head up so her eyes met his. His were cold and dark, hers were angry and bright.
"Are you afraid of the big bad wolf, Tyra?" The wolf asked, raising a gray eyebrow.
Tyra clenched her teeth, shaking her head as best she could. "No."
Wolf leaned closed to her, their skin almost touching. "You should be," He whispered. Then, he shoved Tyra forward.
She fell towards the ground, nearly crashing into the asphalt. She caught herself mid-fall with her wings. Tyra hovered there for a moment, breathing a quiet sigh of relief. Her gaze snapped upward to the roof she had just been on.
The wolf was gone. For then, at least.
Back at the Pole, the five Guardians had assembled.
"North, why'd you call us here? You have really bad timing, mate. I still have a few million eggs to paint," Bunny said, crossing his arms.
North chuckled. "You have four months, Bunny. Stop worrying so much."
"This ain't arguing, it's stating facts," Bunny retorted.
"Really?" North gave Bunny an amused look. "You have strange way of stating facts."
"Now, now, ladies. You're both pretty," Jack said from his perch atop his staff. He grinned over at the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus, who gave him twin glares.
"So why did you call us this time?" Tooth asked, flitting down from the top of the globe.
North immediately sobered. "The Wolf if back."
"What?" Bunny's eyes were immediately dubious. "North, how much eggnog did you drink last night?"
"Only a few cups," North said defensively. Even Sandy looked doubtful at that. "Fine. Maybe more than few cups. But the wolf was here! I swear it!" North exclaimed, slamming a fist down on the table.
"Whoa, wait. Hold up," Jack cut in. He jumped off of his staff, picking it up and leaning it on his shoulder. "Who's this wolf you're talking about?"
"He's our worst enemy, Jack," Tooth answered him, her violet eyes looking almost afraid. "The wolf is a killer-while Pitch only frightened the children, the Wolf murders them."
"He kills the kids? Why?" Jack's gaze hardened. If this guy was a killer, he had to be stopped, as soon as possible.
"We don't know why," Tooth said sadly. "And if he's back-" She cast a glance back at North. "Then we're in for a lot of trouble."
Suddenly, a bright light illuminated the room, catching their attention. The fire looked up at the space in the ceiling where the moon's light was shining in.
"Oh, Man in Moon!" North gave Bunny a smug look. "What you need to tell us?"
The light directed itself onto the square in the middle of the room, creating a shadow. The silhouette of a wolf appeared, before shifting, melting into the form of a colorless boy with a smirk on his face.
"The Wolf," Tooth whispered, her hands going to her mouth. She looked up at the moon, then down at the silhouette again. "He is back…"
"Hey, Tooth, it'll be okay. We can take him, right?" Jack glanced around at his friends. "I mean, we're the Guardians."
"The last time the Wolf came here, all of us nearly died," Bunny said, his voice cold.
Then, the light shifted. The circle in the center opened, shining as the silver crystal came rising up.
"He's choosing new Guardian," North whispered. Sandy floated up next to the crystal, surveying it.
"Wonder who it'll be this time," Jack remarked, taking a step towards the crystal.
"If it's Cupid, I'm going to break something," Bunny muttered. A gold picture of a groundhog appeared above Sandy's head, the little man grinning at the rabbit. Bunny made a face. "Well… Anything but the groundhog."
"Maybe it'll be the Fairy Godmother this time! It'd be nice to have another girl on the team," Tooth chimed in.
The crystal's light formed into a person, revealing the new Guardian. It was a girl, one that seemed rather small for her apparent age. She had dark silver eyes, and a slight smile on her face. She was dressed simply, in a pair of tattered jeans, black ankle boots, and long sleeved purple shirt with embroidered sparks. A black choker with a firework charm hung around her neck. What was really striking about her, though, was her hair. The base color was silver, with dozens of other colors streaking it-gold and green and purple and red and blue, to name a few. It was braided over her shoulder, and her head was angled so it looked as if she was glancing to see if anyone was following her.
Jack squinted at the girl. "Well, looks like there's another girl to keep you company, Tooth. Who is she?"
"Her name's Tyra Hopewell," Bunny answered. "Spirit of the New Year. Right, Sandy?"
The little man nodded, a firework appearing over his head. He landed on the ground, folding his arms as he looked at the crystal.
"Better than the groundhog, Bunny?" North said with a grin.
"Anyone's better than the groundhog, North," Bunny informed the Russian.
"You didn't think that 30 years ago," Jack said in a sing-song voice.
"Well, who's going to go get her?" Tooth asked.
"Maybe more than one of us should go this time. No sacks," Jack said, running a hand through his snow white hair.
"Sandy, Bunny, and I stay here and watch for Wolf. Tooth, Jack, you go find Tyra," North suggested.
"Sounds good to me! Come on, Jack!" Tooth exclaimed, sounding very excited. Jack chuckled, before rising into the air.
"See you guys soon," He called down to the three who were staying behind, before following Tooth out of the shop.
The crystal sank back into the ground, leaving Bunny, North, and Sandy to exchange worried glances.
"If the wolf is back, even with six of us, we still might not be able to beat 'im," Bunny said. He didn't like saying it, but it was the truth.
"I know, Bunny," North set a hand on the rabbit's shoulder. "We can only do our best, though."
Sandy floated up to their level, a picture of a little boy floating above his head.
"Exactly, Sandy. We must do what we can for the children," North said, nodding.
"And if our best ain't good enough, what then?" Bunny said, green eyes hard.
"Then no one will be able to say we did not try."
