Author's Notes:
Here's Chapter 4! Sorry this took so long- -thanks in no small part to writer's block- -but here it is! Please read, review, and enjoy...
Bunnymund sat inside the Honeycomb, surrounded by a large group of awed rabbits. He had converted himself back into his "cute" rabbit form, much to Jack's amusement, so he could fit into the burrows without ruining them. Jack remained outside with the rabbit kittens- -nine including Pipkin- -to play with them while Bunny and the adults discussed the situation, to watch for Pitch, and to keep from freezing the burrows. Plus, Bunny and Fiver knew the kittens would be safe with the teen: although immature, he was very protective of the young ones.
A light gray rabbit named Holly looked to Hazel. "Shall we start the meeting?" he inquired.
Hazel nodded. "Yes, Holly." He turned to Bunny. "I understand you came here to help us, El-ahrairah?"
Before the Guardian could reply, a medium gray buck named Hawkbit spoke up. "I for one do not believe that this is El-ahrairah," he said with disdain. "He smells of eggs, carries strange wooden objects, and speaks strangely."
There were several murmurs of agreement from the crowd.
Bigwig forcefully stamped one of his hind legs against the ground several times. "Silence, all of you!" he ordered.
"Thank you, Bigwig," Hazel said gratefully once the rabbits were silent once more. He looked back at Bunnymund. "Sorry for the outburst," he apologized. "I'm afraid some of us don't yet know how to hold their tongues," he added with a meaningful glance at Hawkbit. Hawkbit shrank back a little bit, though all of the rabbits knew that he was still going to act out again.
"It's alright, mite," El-ahrairah replied. "You all have a right to believe that I'm not who I say I am. But the truth is I am El-ahrairah. I'm just not the same as I used to be."
"That's obvious enough," Hawkbit muttered.
Hazel shot another warning glance at his annoying friend before inquiring Bunnymund, "Might I ask what you mean by that?"
Bunny swallowed hard. He was not sure of how to explain himself in a way that the rabbits would understand. After a brief moment of hesitation, he began.
"Well, after I was killed by elil, Frith gave me another chance at life- -this time as a Pooka, a rabbit that stands six to seven feet tall and lives in Australia. Eventually the entire species was wiped out, including myself. I was resurrected by the Man in the Moon, and earned the role of the Easter Bunny, the Guardian of Hope. Since then, I have been workin' to give hope and happiness to the children of the world."
At first, by the bewildered faces of the audience, E. Aster was afraid that he had lost them. His fears, however, were quickly replaced by irritation as Hawkbit spoke up once more. "What are you giving stupid humans hope for when you should be helping your own people?" he inquired angrily.
"I'm here to help now, am I not?" Bunny countered irritably.
"Well, you could've come sooner!" Hawkbit spat. "Like when Woundwort came here last summer to kill us!"
Bigwig let out a loud, angered growl. "For Frith's sake, Hawkbit: shut up! Is this the way you repay the rabbit who is responsible for the fact that rabbits still exist today?"
"The Pookas don't exist anymore, do they?" Hawkbit retorted. "Besides, this joker is not El-ahrairah, and you have no right to tell me what to do!"
The large Owsla officer was about to hurl himself onto the troublesome rabbit when a chill entered the warren, causing everyone to shiver and forget the conflict. Little flakes of frost touched their noses, and they were all suddenly laughing joyously. Only Fiver, Hyzenthlay, Hazel and the Guardian of Hope heard a voice call out, "Sounded like it was getting hot in there, so I figured I'd cool it down for ya!"
Despite not normally approving of his fellow Guardian's ideas, Bunny could not help but grin with relief at the knowledge that his friend had just stopped a fight. "Thanks, Jack!" he called back.
The other rabbits stopped laughing and looked at him quizzically. "Who's Jack?" one of them asked.
"Jack Frost is a winter spirit, Blackberry," Bunny replied. "He's the Guardian of Fun."
"Is he... responsible for the death of Acorn this winter?" a black doe asked sadly.
El-ahrairah shook his head solemnly. "No, Clover, he's not. That was another winter spirit's doing. Jack only uses his powers for givin' fun to himself and others. He uses 'em to fend off Pitch Black, the man who attacked you all last night, but he never uses 'em to kill, nor can they be used as such."
"How did you know our names?" Clover asked quizzically.
Bunny grinned harmlessly at her. "I'm El-ahrairah, that's how. I've been keepin' an eye on ya since you were little mites."
"How do you plan to help us, El-ahrairah?" Hazel inquired.
"I plan to help ya set up defenses against Pitch," Bunny said gravely.
"Pardon me for questioning you, Lord," Bigwig said in confusion, "but why set up defenses? I thought you'd have a trick in store for him."
The Prince of Rabbits stopped and looked down solemnly. "Last time I pulled a trick, one of my friends was killed, others wounded. I don't do tricks anymore."
"Not true!" Jack's voice, now audible to all of the rabbits, pointed out. "You were pulling plenty of tricks on us last year when we were helping Tooth collect teeth!"
"But that was different!" Bunny protested. "We were tricking one another for fun. Why use a trick on an enemy?"
"You used to," a rabbit named Dandelion pointed out. "And we've pulled plenty last year!"
"And we're still alive," Fiver added. "It's because of tricks that rabbits are still alive."
Bunny was lost for words for a moment. "I... I'm afraid I can't help you, then."
"Of course you can help!" Fiver assured him. "I think all you need is to remember how to use tricks effectively against our enemies. We'll help you with that part, and I'm certain Jack Frost will help as well."
"Yeah!" Jack atoned. "That's what I came along for, remember?"
After a moment of considering what he heard, Bunny slowly grinned. "Yes, I remember." Maybe Jack coming along is a blessing, after all, he thought. "Thank you, all of you. I will do my best." He paused for a moment, then added, "Although setting up defenses for the time being wouldn't be a bad idea."
Holly nodded. "We already got one set up before you came, Lord."
"Good. May Frith be with us."
"And Man in Moon," the Guardian of Fun added.
"Yeah, Manny too," Bunny agreed.
"And may the odds be ever in our favor," Jack stated in a different accent.
Bunny nodded. "Exactly. Wait- -" He suddenly became enraged. "What have I told you about quoting The Hunger Games?"
Yeah, this was a fairly mellow chapter- -with the exception of the arguments with Hawkbit. You may be wondering, "Why did Bunny not act the way he did when Jack pranked him earlier while collecting the teeth?" I believe it is because he did not have a nightmare about the rabbits being in trouble, which disturbed him greatly, and responded to Jack the way he did. As for the quote from The Hunger Games, I hear it a lot and like the saying okay and I thought the film was good, but I'm not crazy about the plot (I hate the idea of kids killing each other to satisfy the entertainment needs of their government), which explains why I have no wish to read the books and why Bunny is not crazy about it either.
Please leave a review below so I know how I'm doing! You don't have to, but I'd appreciate it if you did.
Have a good day! :)
