So, as an apology for taking so long, I managed to write up another oneshot! I'm so happy! XD
I hope you all enjoy this one! And as always, feel free to share ideas!
Disclaimer is on my profile!
Enjoy!
Jack never went anywhere without his hoodie. The precious piece of clothing was like a security blanket, like an old friend who had always been there for him. It had always been there to hide and protect injuries from the outside world, had always held items securely on a long journey, and even now provided many uses.
And so he was dismayed when he found a large gaping hole in its side. Now what could he do? North would surely have a new one made for him, but he couldn't just travel around with a giant hole in his hoodie...
The teen looked up when he felt the Wind blow past, ruffling his hair in an almost playful way. It pulled at his clothing, seeming to try and direct him South. Jack's eyes lit up joyfully when he realized what the Wind was trying to convey.
He'd seen Bunny once stitching up one of the spare quilts in his den (Bunny had at first been mortified before Jack displayed awe at the skill). Maybe the Pooka could patch up his hoodie?
With a grin, Jack hopped up. The Wind swirled around him, seeming excited.
"Wind!" He crowed happily. "Take me to the Warren!"
And as always, the Wind complied, lifting the boy easily. Jack sped along, dancing about air currents like the snowflakes he made. His joyful laughter filled the sky, scaring a few birds who had been drifting along nearby.
It took very little time to reach the Warren, though that could be partially because Jack now knew where some of the entrances to the underground world were hidden now that he lived in the Warren (it was still strange knowing he had a safe place to go in the warmer seasons, though the idea was not at all unpleasant). He quickly sailed through the tunnel, and his smile widened as he came to a stop in the large, sunlit land known as the Warren.
He gently dropped from the air, landing easily on the grassy ground. He looked around, bright eyes sweeping across the terrain.
"Now where's Bunny...?" He muttered, slinging his staff over a shoulder and walking forward.
Jack yelped, jumping back when he nearly stepped on an egg. The tiny thing tilted up, seeming to look at the Winter spirit, and the teen grinned sheepishly.
"Sorry, didn't see ya there." He apologized, crouching down. He gently patted the egg with a finger, careful to not freeze it. "You wouldn't happen to know where Bunny is, would'ja?"
He chuckled when the egg hopped up and down before beginning to teeter off. Jack straightened, following the little egg without hesitation (the eggs always knew where Aster was, so he wasn't about to question them).
The egg led him to one of the dye rivers and there, underneath a shady tree, was Bunny. The Pooka was painting an egg, and several others waited beside him, tripping over one another as they clamored around.
At the familiar chill that made a shiver race through him, Aster looked up, seeming surprised.
"Frostbite! What're ya doing here? I though' ya were takin' snow int' Colorado? Ya said ya wouldn' be comin' back fer at least a week."
Jack smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yeah, I wasn't going to, but...I kinda have a problem."
Bunny set aside the egg he held, raising a brow.
"Oh?"
Jack nodded. He then turned, showing the Pooka the large, gaping hole in the side of his hoodie.
"Could...Could'ja fix this up for me?"
Aster blinked owlishly, surprised at the request. He looked at the teen's face to determine if the boy was serious (Jack was an open book, especially with his expressive face). He saw nothing but earnest hope in Jack's eyes, and Bunny decided that, yes, the Winter sprite was being honest.
And dang it, he couldn't say no to Jack when he wore such an expression, looking like a little child.
With a sigh, the Pooka set aside his paintbrush and stood, stretching his arms upward.
"Alrigh', Frost. C'mon, I'll fix it back at th' den."
Jack beamed, nodding eagerly as he turned, sprinting towards the ancient tree that stood at the Warren's center. Shaking his head in amusement, Aster followed.
When they reached the Den, Jack sat on the counter, legs folded and staff propped up against the nearby kitchen table. The teen watched Bunny as the Pooka searched for the necessary supplies needed to fix a hoodie. Finding what he needed, Bunny went to the table and glanced at Jack.
"Go 'head an' strip yer hoodie off, I'm not 'bout t' stitch it while yer still wearin' it."
Jack blushed embarrassedly (he wasn't exactly giant and muscled like Bunny, but was rather more like a twig) but did as told, hopping off the counter and stumbling a bit as he tried to wrestle his hoodie off. After a few colorful words directed at the hoodie and running into Bunny (who had promptly steadied the teen), Jack finally managed to get it off. Maybe he should've waited until his frosted skin had thawed off, Jack mused, as he turned and held out the blue article of clothing to Bunny.
The Pooka went to accept it, but then froze, his eyes widening in shock.
There were two very big, obvious problems. The first was the fact that the Winter spirit was painfully thin, ribs barely hiding beneath lean muscle, and his arms looked as though they could easily be snapped. The second problem was what concerned Bunny far more though.
Scars. Big, horrid scars. The marks were a dark greyish-blue that stood out against the teen's pale skin. Some looked like jagged knife marks, while others were blast marks from another spirit's element. Some of the terrible marks were old and faded, but many others were fresh and painfully new. The scars thread over him like a terrible pattern of frost, so like yet so unlike the teen's own designs he left on windows.
Jack frowned at the Pooka's horrified expression, looking down at himself, then back up.
"Bunny? Kangaroo, what's with you? Hello? Helllooooooo~?"
Aster's gaze suddenly snapped back up to Jack's eyes, making the youth jump slightly in surprise.
"Uh...Bunny, you're kinda...Freaking me out."
"Sit down."
Jack blinked, confused.
"H-huh?"
"I said sit down. Now."
The fierce tone in the Pooka's voice had Jack in a chair without any protest, the teen staring at Aster with confusion and slight worry.
"What's wrong?" Jack asked, honestly concerned about his friend.
Bunny was silent for a moment, taking the hoodie from Jack's hands and placing it on the table before settling in a crouch so that he was more level with the teen. The Pooka slowly reached forward, a paw running over a large, jagged scar over Jack's right side. The Winter sprite tensed immediately (300 years without contact left him very nervous about any physical contact with anyone). A sorrowful, bitter emotion reflected in Bunny's eyes, leaving Jack all the more confused.
"Bunny? You're making me nervous here, what's wrong?"
The voice drew Aster's attention back to Jack's face. The Pooka's eyes were sharp, dangerous.
"Where did ya get these?"
Jack's brow furrowed.
"What do you mean?"
"These." The warrior pointed at one of the scars. Jack winced when he realized that was what Bunny was asking about.
"Just...Here and there. Y'know me, I'm always getting into some sorta trouble."
A growl rumbled low in Aster's throat.
"Don'cha lie t' me, Frostbite! Some, most, o' these ain' from accidents! Tha' one's obviously from a blade, which means ya were attacked."
Jack flinched, averting his gaze.
"It's nothing, Bunny, just drop it."
Aster scowled. If the teen thought he was going to let this be, he was dead wrong. Reaching forward, Bunny grabbed Jack's chin and made the teen look at him.
"Not on yer nelly, mate. Some o' these 're new. Some'ne's been hurtin' ya, I wanna know who, an' right now."
Jack fidgeted, wanting the Pooka to release his chin, but he had a feeling Bunny wasn't about to let him look away until he answered.
"It...Bunny, just leave it alone. Please."
The plead and vulnerable look upon the young Guardian's face was painful for Aster to see, but knew that this was a situation that had to be handled, so he stayed strong and fixed Jack with a stern look.
"Frost... Jack. Trus' me, I wouldn' ask if it wasn' important." He let go of the boy's chin once sure he wouldn't look away again. "C'mon, I need ya t' believe 'n me, alrigh'? I wanna help."
Jack shifted uncomfortably, looking at his torso.
"Can...Can you at least work on fixing my hoodie?"
The teen was nervous with someone looking at his scars, Aster could understand that, and so he nodded.
"Alrigh'. You tell me 'bout yer scars, an' I'll fix yer hoodie. Deal?"
Jack nodded eagerly, watching as the Pooka grabbed up a needle and thread as well as the ripped hoodie from the table. While Bunny began to stitch up the rip, Jack began to talk (or perhaps babble was a better word for it, with how quickly he spoke). He started with the one's that were accidents in a desperate attempt to lighten the mood: He'd run into an electric fence once, another time he'd hit a tree while flying. Jack even managed to coax a laugh when he revealed the story behind several small scars: he'd tripped over a baseball and landed in a rose bush.
But then he finally had to talk about the jagged marks of knives, the blasts of elements and powers, and others that didn't look at all normal.
"A...A lot of other seasonal spirits aren't too fond of me. Some of Spring and Summer's helpers like to gang up on me. They're not strong, but since they can control warmth...Yeah. That's what lots of these," He gestured to the blast marks. "Are from. Summer's sprites also tend to carry knives as weapons, so that's what the blade scars are from."
A low growl from Bunny made Jack look up, but the Pooka's gaze remained on the hoodie like he had promised. Judging by how Aster was scowling, though, he wasn't happy.
"Got any o' there names?"
Jack shrugged.
"Too many to talk about right now, don't have that kinda time before I gotta go back up top."
"I'll be askin' later."
Jack huffed, shifting so that his knees were folded close to his chest and his arms were folded atop.
"I know."
Nodding in acceptance, Bunny gestured for him to continue. Jack's hand went to a scar that was like a large pin-prick.
"This was when I broke my leg. The...The bone managed to break through a bit..."
Bunny winced at that. It sounded horribly painful, and Aster didn't want to even think of how the boy had patched up the injury. He was relieved when he finished the final stitch in the hoodie, because if they kept on with this subject, Bunny would likely end up going and strangling some seasonal sprites.
"'Ere we go, good as new." The Pooka stated proudly, holding up the article of clothing for Jack's inspection. The boy beamed, seeming just as relieved to change subjects.
"Oh man, Kangaroo, you're the best!"
Aster frowned at the nickname while Jack snatched the hoodie from his paws and pulled it on. The teen seemed to relish in the protection of the fabric, smile continuously bright and joyous.
"Now, let's take care o' those scars."
Jack froze, looking up in alarm at the Pooka.
"W...What?"
Bunny stood, stretching.
"Ya heard me, Frostbite. Ya ain' th' only one who's got some marks from ol' scuffles. I've got some ointment that'll help clear up th' newer ones."
"No, it's fine, really, I should get going-"
"I'm not takin' no fer an answer." Bunny replied simply, grabbing the boy's staff and heading down a hall, grinning when Jack ran after him to try and grab his weapon back.
"Hey! Not fair! Bunny, c'mon!"
With the Winter spirit following him, the warrior led him to the medical room of the Den. It was a medium sized room with many cabinets filled with medical supplies.
"This stuff'll do an ace job o' healin' ya up." He told Jack, setting the staff up high where the boy couldn't reach. He then went over to one of the many cabinets and rummaged through it. He quickly found what he was looking for, a large jar filled with a pale yellow paste.
Triumphant, the Pooka moved over to Jack, crouching down. Jack yelped when Aster shoved up his hoodie.
"Hol' this." Bunny said simply, ignoring how the teen sputtered, embarrassed with his hoodie bunched up under his arms.
The Pookan warrior dipped a paw into the jar, ignoring how it made his fur clump up and slathering it over one of the newer scars on the boy's torso. Jack winced slightly at the contact, but otherwise allowed Aster to apply the ointment. The Pooka was quick to treat the other new scars the same way, until blotches of yellow were all over the young Guardian's torso.
"Are you done embarrassing me yet?"
Bunny chuckled, straightening and twisting the lid back onto the jar.
"Fer now. When ya get back next week, we'll put some more on an' see if tha' clears up those newer scars."
Jack pouted with a huff, shoving his hoodie back down.
"Then gimmie my staff back! That was totally unfair, snatching it away!"
Bunny rolled his eyes as he returned the jar to its proper place and grabbed the staff.
"Oh shut it, ya gumby." He muttered, holding the staff to Jack. But when the teen reached for it, Bunny pulled it back and leaned down to meet Jack's eyes evenly. "Ya get attacked 'gain, ya come straight t' me, got it?"
Jack hesitated, but then nodded.
"I will."
Nodding in approval, Bunny handed the shepards crook to Jack.
"Alrigh'. Go on then, get goin'. Th' ankle bitahs in Colorado need some snow, if I ain' mistaken."
Jack grinned, a small laugh leaving him as the Wind lifted him.
"No kidding, see ya around, 'Roo!" He laughed before vanishing in a strong gust.
Aster sighed, shaking his head with a smile. The expression then faced into a frown. If he ever found out who hurt Jack, they were in for a world of pain. Jack was too good and innocent, too full of hope, wonder, dreams and now had memories returning to him, he had already suffered enough not remembering his past and being alone. He didn't deserve those horrid scars, he was a child, both in body and soul. He was the one child the Guardians had failed to protect.
But from now on, Bunny wasn't going to let that be the case. Not any more.
