A/N: Well, here it is. The 3000-word-long Feral!Jack fic that shouldn't exist but...does, now. Do you believe me when I say I wrote this by accident? Cuz it's true.
...And yes, I promise the next chapter will be Sol 3. Cross my center, hope to fly, stick a...um, what's connected to RotG?...Argh...I'm out of ideas...
Well, you get the point. The next chapter will be Sol 3. Unless there's, like, another 3000-word long fic which randomly pops out of nowhere, demanding to be written, in which case...well, what can I do?
Hope you like!
Disclaimer: I don't own RotG.
He was horribly injured, blackened burns marring his pale skin, warping and cracking the flesh until the breaks leaked clear fluid. He bled profusely from a knife-wound in his left shoulder, his hoodie soaking up the dark red blood thirstily as the liquid dribbled down his arm, and his right leg was twisted awkwardly at the knee, bent almost completely backward and forcing him to cling onto tree branches for support.
Damn the summer sprites. Damn their prejudice. Damn his stupidity in allowing them to take his staff away and toss it MiM knew where…
Wincing painfully, he limped pathetically through the forest, his progress painfully slow as he slipped and stumbled on loose leaves and tree roots. He gritted his teeth as his broken leg jarred agonizingly with every move he made, and once again cursed both the summer sprites and his own simple-minded idiocy.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of stabbing pain, he blundered upon a small cave nestled snugly among the trees. He practically crawled the last few steps, dragging himself across the muddy ground on all fours, bits of dirt and debris gathering on his person as he clambered into the cavern.
It was thankfully empty, with no traces of an already-present inhabitant. Sighing in relief, he inched his way into the cave and the blissful coolness he found there, moving as far away from the entrance as he could before finally collapsing, panting from the effort as he closed his eyes. He knew he should at least try to fix his many wounds, especially his leg, but he simply felt too tired to do so.
He would rest here awhile, he decided. Rest here until he felt better, then find his staff, and then go and give those summer sprites hell.
With that thought in mind, he soon fell into a feverish sleep.
The Guardians were...well, worried, most of all. It was three days since any of them had last seen their youngest member, which was highly unusual. Jack was a loner first and foremost, but he often showed up to visit one of them,never allowing a gap of more than two days between visits.
The problem was, their newest member,who so often needed to be found, always hated being followed. Hence why they had lingered, undecided, unsure whether to look for him or not.
When three days grew into four, and then into five, they swiftly changed their tune.
Bunny tracked him down, leading the three other Guardians on a winding trail down to one of the many redwood forests that grew on the coast of northern California. Wisps of fog clung to the trees as the four walked briskly through the forest, leaves crunching under their feet as they followed the stray teen's footsteps.
Their worry grew when footsteps were mixed with dripping blood, when steady, even footprints turned to scrabbling marks that looked like a toddler's drawing. Bloody hand marks stained every tree on their path, showing where Jack had hung onto them in order to keep his balance, and once or twice there was a place where twigs and bushes were crushed, revealing where he'd tumbled and fallen before dragging himself back upright.
It was nerve-wracking, but finally they reached the end of their journey, a small cave huddled in the ground, small and homely. A macabre trail of splattered blood led to the entrance, and, nervously, they ducked one by one into the grotto.
Even before their eyes grew accustomed to the newfound darkness, they noticed a huddled, shadowy figure in the back of the cave, shaded except for the blaze of two shiny blue eyes, glittering maniacally with stray light from the entrance, that glared at them with a delirious malevolence. Relieved, they lurched towards their found companion, but were stopped in their tracks when an unnatural, feral growl echoed within the cave, warning them not to come any nearer.
It was a few moments before one of them moved, the fairy taking a step towards the teen, a question on her lips. Her words died away before they were spoken, as she was startled into silence by a second, more desperate growl.
Biting her lip, uncertain how to handle the situation, she stepped forward once more. This time, a savage snarl ripped the air, the winter spirit's pristine white teeth flashing menacingly in the dim light as he ferociously snapped his teeth. He shied away from her, scurrying away like a frightened mouse, a strained whimper escaping him when he jostled his clearly injured leg. Hands raised in a pacifying gesture, Tooth drew back, ducking her head in a submissive manner to show that she meant no harm.
Jack eyed her with a harshly suspicious glare, his fever-addled mind seeing danger where there was none. Instead of his coworkers, he saw four intruders that had entered his territory, four beings who were more powerful than he, and who had come while he was damaged and helpless. As one of them moved slightly towards him again, he bared his teeth in a threatening manner, telling them sternly to stay away from him or else.
Now out of ideas, the four sane Guardians shared a glance, debating what to do next. As much as they didn't like to admit it, this situation was out of their hands. There was no way to help Jack without making matters worse.
Finally fed up, Sandy huffed silently before marching towards his wounded friend, disregarding the snarls that accompanied his actions. Before any of them could blink, Sandy was standing in front of a frightened winter spirit who was fearfully trying to scuttle away. Letting loose a quiet sigh, the Sandman crouched in front of Jack, making himself appear as small and unassuming as possible. He kneeled, patient and unmoving, doing his best to look innocent and harmless as Jack scrutinized him distrustfully.
At last, after a long silence, Jack relaxed slightly, bunched-up muscles loosening as he accepted the presence of this bizarre, yet seemingly innocuous trespasser. Even from a foot away, Sandy could feel the heat of the fever radiating off of the younger spirit. They had to help him, and soon, but Jack still had too much adrenaline in his system to sleep, and to throw a dream-sand ball now would only aggravate him. They'd have to find a way to get Jack to cooperate, to take him to one of their homes so he could recover.
Carefully, the Sandman reached out slowly for the spirit's unhurt arm, pausing briefly at Jack's growl before continuing the motion. Timidly, he laid his pudgy hand on the thin arm, breathing halted as he waited for Jack's reaction. The mentally imbalanced frost spirit watched him levelly, and Sandy evenly met the cold blue stare with his own golden-brown one. They stood like that for a moment, each daring the other to make the next move.
At length, Jack looked down and away, his gaze downcast in a submissive gesture. If this invader indeed chose to attack him, he was in no position to fight. It would be better to give in now, before a battle broke out, so that he could escape with as few lacerations as possible.
Sandy, on the other hand, was overjoyed. He had made progress, progress that would hopefully allow Jack to work with them instead of against them. While dream-sand was still not an option, he could at least try to lead Jack to a place where he could be helped.
Still, he needed to take it slowly. Jack may have surrendered, but he was still scared, and one wrong move would bring them back to square zero with little hope of recovery.
Slowly, ever so slowly, the Sandman gently grasped Jack's arm, delicately standing as he drew the spirit to his feet. He waited for Jack to adjust his position, the teen's cold fingers winding around his golden shoulder, before laboriously beginning to guide him outside the cave, motioning to his fellow Guardians to stand aside.
Once outside, Jack hissed and shrunk back slightly, eyes unused to the harsh glare of light. He still looked frenzied, eyes shining with ferality as he took in his surroundings, on the alert for potential danger, occasionally growling at Bunny, North, or Tooth. Sandy shared a glance with North, and the Cossack spoke while keeping his distance. "To Workshop?"
Despite North's attempts to be as quiet as possible, Jack still winced at the rumbling voice, upper lip curling slightly. Sandy shook his head: the Workshop was too noisy, too busy, and it would only terrify Jack further. Instead, he created a pictogram of a tree and an egg.
"Warren?"
Again, Jack flinched, and Sandy nodded frantically. Frowning, the Guardian of Wonder nevertheless complied, drawing out a snowglobe and smashing it against the ground, voice rumbling in a command of "To Warren!"
The combination of shout and splintering crash startled Jack, but the sudden appearance of a colorful portal sealed the deal. He turned back, snarling, trying to escape, but Sandy would have none of it, a sand rope wrapping around the teen's waist before tossing him unceremoniously through the portal.
Then, shrugging at his companions' shocked faces, the Sandman bounded through the portal, leaving them to follow him.
On the other side of the portal, he found a confused and anxious Jack, who gazed at his new surroundings with hopeless bewilderment. Comfortingly, Sandy took the winter spirit by the arm and escorted him, hobbling, through the Warren, until they reached what appeared to be an entrance of a cave. It was, in fact, the entrance to Bunny's living quarters, which contained several guest bedrooms as well as the Pooka's own, and Sandy was quick to direct Jack to the closest one.
Inside, a next lay on the ground, soft and inviting. Jack took to it like a duck to water, curling up miserably in the blankets, whining softly every time he bumped his broken leg. Little by little, he calmed down, the epinephrine gradually leaving his system.
Without ceremony, Sandy promptly knocked Jack out with dreamsand.
When he awoke, it was stiffly and reluctantly, body aching and mind whirling. He was still in a cave, he could see that, but not in his cave, not in his temporary sanctuary. Instead, he seemed to be somewhere in Bunnymund's home, in one of the guest bedrooms.
How did he get here?
He remembered fire, pain, hurt coming from every direction as he tried and failed to fight back against the surprise attack. He recalled heat, powers draining, agony, his staff slipping from his numb fingers…
Wait.
The staff!
He jerked upright, which promptly ignited his wounds anew and caused him to give a weak cry of distress. Although his outburst was neither loud nor long, it triggered a flurry of sounds from outside the room, before four spirits hurried inside.
He recoiled from the concerned looks, unused to receiving so much attention. "Um, hi?"
He shied away when Tooth darted towards him, voice shrill with relief as she squeezed him in a hug. "Oh, Jack, you're alright!"
He blinked, blue eyes horribly confused. "...Of course I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"
It was clear he didn't remember much. For a moment, Tooth debated telling him what had occurred, informing him about his moments of demented ferality, but when Sandy shook his head warningly, she changed her mind. She may never know exactly what had occurred in the cave, or why Jack acted the way he did, but none of those things were important. All that mattered was that Jack was now alive and well, and that he would recover.
Her purple gaze soft and motherly, the Tooth Fairy hugged Jack close. "No reason, Jack. We were just worried, is all."
He eyed her sceptically, before shrugging. "If you say so."
"I do. "
Two weeks later, and he was as good as new, free to wander across the globe as he normally did. At first, Bunny had attempted to hold him hostage at the Warren until he'd revealed who had hurt him, but when it was clear he wasn't going to explain beyond "it was a couple of summer sprites, that's it, can I leave now", he'd been reluctantly released. It also hadn't taken long for Tooth to find his lost staff, having wandered about until she found it in a crevice and brought it back.
Now, he was at liberty to fly wherever he pleased, and he intended to take full advantage of that. Flitting about like an excited tern, he dashed all around the globe, spreading snow and fun behind him.
It was over Romania, however, when he suddenly felt a shiver go up his spine, some sixth sense telling him that he was being followed. Without a moment's hesitation, he suddenly dived, crashing through the dense canopy of the forest below before landing gracefully on the ground. As he recovered form the landing, his sharp ears caught a muffled curse from behind him, followed by the sound of four small thuds.
He grinned. He'd been waiting for these four to show up. Muffled, but still audible, he heard frantic whispers coming from the undergrowth.
"Don't shove, Flint-"
"Let go of my arm-"
"Look out, look out, I think he heard us-"
"Shut up, you three-"
"Idiots. Honestly, it's a wonder you're still alive-"
"Oh, shut the hell up, Shula-"
His eyes took on an evil glint. With a noticeable swagger to his gait, he strode over to where the voices were coming from, and shoved a branch that was blocking his view out of the way.
In front of him, frozen, stood four summer sprites, the very ones who had attacked him. Three male, one female, all staring at him with a startled expression in their wide, blood-red eyes, the only sound being the buzzing of their dragonfly-like wings. Still smiling dangerously, Jack leaned casually against his staff. "Looking for someone?"
Shula, the only female of the group, was the first to speak, annoyingly high-pitched voice quavering slightly in fear. "Um...no?"
"Oh, really? Than care to explain why you've been following me since Sibiu?"
She cringed. "No...reason?"
One of the males, Flint, stared at her. "What? Shula, weren't we just saying that we were going to kick him from here to next Tuesday-"
His complaint ended in a shrill yelp when Shula kicked him sharply in the shins. Jack raised one dark eyebrow, but decided not to comment. "Well, if that's the case, then I suppose you four wouldn't mind stopping?"
Shula nodded frantically. "Yes, Mister Frost, sir. Sorry to have bothered you, sir. Won't happen again, sir." She turned to her companions. "Let's go, guys."
Grumbling, two of them moved to follow her, but one of them, a raven-haired lad named Aedus, stubbornly stood his ground. "I ain't movin'."
"Come on, Aedus, it's not worth it-"
"I ain't movin', Shula. Not until Frosty here is nothin' more than a bloody pulp."
Jack's eyelid twitched at the nickname and at the threat, as he subconsciously braced himself for an upcoming fight. Sensing danger, Shula quickly grabbed her friend by the arm.
"Don't be stupid, Aedus. You don't stand a snowball's chance in hell against a winter spirit, especially not the Spirit of Winter."
"We won last time."
"Last time was an ambush!" By now, Shula looked almost frantic. "It was a completely different situation! Now come on, let's go-"
"No."
"Aedus-"
Without warning, finally fed up, Aedus turned and struck out at the winter spirit. The blow never reached its conclusion, a bright blue blast of winter magic cutting it off and freezing Aedus's left arm and wing, frost exploding outwards and chilling all in its path. With a screech, Aedus hastily backtracked, and the sprites froze.
There was a terrible, ghastly silence. A feral gleam now in his eyes, Jack spoke, nonchalantly twirling his staff between his fingers. "Anyone up for Round Two?"
Four pairs of terrified red eyes stared up at him, their owners petrified. Upper lip curling in the beginnings of a snarl, Jack took a step forward, a low growl making itself heard as his eyes danced with wicked glee.
By the time the four sprites finally stopped running, they were several miles away, the last traces of a barking, savage laughter still echoing menacingly in their ears.
Several weeks later, by the light of the moon, a fox sat at the banks of a frozen lake, staring up into the starlit sky.
It was clearly waiting for something, yet exactly what was still unclear. It had stayed there so long that the gently falling snow had accumulated in its rich red pelt, forming a thick blanket that covered it from head to toe. Its gaze did not stray from the sky, however, though it surely must have been half-frozen by now.
At last, its pointed ears perked up, and it stood, shaking the snow off as it did so. The creature that caught its attention, a white-haired teen, had finally appeared, soaring through the air before alighting on the icy surface of the lake. At last, the fox's long vigil was over.
It barked a welcome, and was not disappointed when the teen yipped a response. Though the child may be different in shape and form, though he may be fur-less and walk upon two legs instead of four, he was still the fox's brother in all but blood, and would understand its speech perfectly.
It whined, and jumped up, catching the sleeve of the child's hoodie playfully between its teeth. It was so long since the two had last hunted together, and the fox was growing impatient. The child, in turn, laughed the wild, barking laugh of the fox and of generations upon generations of its ancestors, and motioned to the fox to lead the way.
Quietly, in the pale moonlight, the two walked companionably side by side, both as wild as wild could be, and never to be tamed.
A/N: Feral!Jack is awesome. As well as Sandy.
Sibiu is a city in Romania.
Epinephrine is just another word for adrenaline.
It actually takes anything from a few days to a few weeks (depending on the severity of the injury) before a bone will begin to heal, so theoretically, you could wait a few days before going to the doctor to get it set. Naturally, I don't recommend this course of action in the slightest: if you DO end up with a broken bone, go to the doctor as soon as humanely possible, and don't take medical advice from people's fanfictions.
Also, I'm not misspelling "spirits" (don't you know me better than that?). "Sprite" is another word for an entity such as a pixie, fairy, or elf.
Questions? PM me.
Techie out.