Not really much to say this time, cept review please :) love you guys x

"He's given me nightmares for months," Mary said quietly, sat cross legged on her bed while Eleanor sat at the end, mirroring her sister. "Ever since the war started. I'd have bad dreams that... that you would all die. And he'd be stood there laughing at me while I cried. I thought yesterday was a bad dream too, because the sirens were going and he was there, and then when you ran up I thought you were going to die like in my other dreams. But you saw him, and you never see him in the others, so I knew it was real life, and not just in my head..."

"Honey, we're not going to die," Eleanor said softly, reaching over to her sister and taking her hand.

"I know that, and I know it's just a bad dream, but yesterday was the worst when you saw him too. It means he's really real, doesn't it? It means he's not just in my head."

"No, he's real... but you need to concentrate on good things. The Sandman will bring you good dreams soon, don't you worry about it."

"You think so?" Mary asked, looking up with a slight glint of hope in her eye.

"I know so, just ask him nicely," Eleanor replied with a grin, stroking her sisters hair back and winking. But the smile melted from her face after a moment and she opened her mouth to ask the one question that was niggling in the back of her mind. "Mary, what is his name?"

She's wondered what he was called, the man with golden eyes that seemed so inquisitive, so careful around her, but in his own way so sinister. Aster had looked furious at him being there, probably because it was more than the Guardian could handle, as bombs were dropping too, but he had attacked the other man, and that was something she'd never seen him do. He had a short temper, sure, but he was never openly hostile.

"He's called Pitch... I think. I don't know, but he's definitely more than just the boogeyman mum told us about."

"Definitely," Eleanor repeated grimly.

It was night time, and she looked out of the window to see stars shining on above them, the moon full and bright. There was no sign of bombers silhouetted against the moon, nor had the sirens rung out into the night as they so often did nowadays. It was terrifying, but she knew not to be scared. She was stronger than letting this Pitch character get to her.

"It's bed time now, Mary. Sleep tight."

She bent over and kissed her sister atop her head before tucking the duvet around her and smoothing it out, making sure the girl closed her eyes with a smile on her face before she left the room. But as she reached the door and went to flick off the light, a small voice stopped her, and she looked back.

"What if he comes back for me?" the child whispered. "What if he makes it dark?"

There was a silence pass between them both, and Eleanor held her finger up to the younger girl to indicate she'd only be a moment before turning and rushing into her room, grabbing a candle holder and a long thin candle she stowed under her bed so she could read at night without her parents knowing, and if they happened to open her door it would be easy enough to blow out. Going back into Mary's room she set it up on her bedside table, lighting it quickly and making sure it was safe.

"You can use this as a night light Mary, and it should work against Pitch too," she said gently, smiling at her sister while the small flame cast a warm orange glow over the younger child's face. "But if by chance it doesn't, and there's no good dreams to guide you back from nightmares... I'll follow you into the dark. I'll protect you."

The small look of thanks upon her sisters' face was enough to warm her heart, and she left the room then confident that something would work. For now though, she wanted to see Bunnymund, and the only way she could think of doing that was by finding her fifteenth birthday present from him, something she'd never had to use before.

Entering her room again she knelt down on the floor beside her bed and reached under for a small but beautiful wooden box. The gift Aster had given her was a small wooden whistle, and she could blow it any time she really needed it, as from what he'd been told by a certain winter spirit she went running about the woods in a state more times than he'd like to think about. The item was long and thin, looking like a thick twig to the untrained eye, but Aster had sat down with her and explained exactly where she was to place her fingers for it to make the right sound, and where to place her lips to blow. She didn't know if he would be able to get into the house, so she crept down the stairs, glad her parents were in the living room for a change rather than the kitchen, and she snook out into the garden remembering to shut the door behind her quietly.

She lifted the small whistle to her lips, and blew one short puff of air into it. She heard nothing, but in moments the earth before her opened up and Aster came climbing out of it, looking tired but happy to see her.

"I thought you were never going to use that, sunflower," he said, sitting beside her and rubbing his head and ears with his hand, looking very stressed out.

"You should calm down a little, Aster, you'll go grey," she joked, and he rolled his eyes before grinning at her.

"Oh, ha-ha, make fun of the colour of my fur then, ya blobhead," he scoffed, but she heard the tender note in his voice and she knew he was only joking. "So what's up?" he asked, sitting beside her on the steps and stretching his long legs out.

"I want to know who Pitch is," she said quietly, deciding to get right to the point. Aster didn't move, didn't make a sound, and Eleanor added, "the man from the woods..."

"Yeah, I know he was the man in the woods, I saw him too..." Aster said quietly. His brow was furrowed and he looked troubled, so she knew this Pitch couldn't be anything good, even if he hadn't done anything malicious to her yesterday. In fact, he'd stopped her falling from a tree and hurting herself, that seemed like more helpful behaviour than nasty. "Pitch... Pitch Black... he's the Nightmare King. He takes peoples fears and twists them, makes them scared of everything, makes them jump at little movements and makes them afraid of shadows in the night. He's nothing more than a flea-bitten coward that hides in corners and scares little children-"

"Like Mary..." Eleanor said quietly, and Aster nodded his agreement.

"Like Mary. I don't know what it is about you two, you and your sister, but you seem to be the only two that can see us... well, us Guardians and the other spirits."

"I can't see Jack Frost," Nora corrected him, and he looked fairly shocked. "I can't hear him either... sometimes I think he whispers things to me, and the wind brings it, but I can't see or hear him directly."

"You can't?" the rabbit asked, looking mildly surprised, "but I thought you could... he led you to me that first time, you and your dog, and he was leading you away from that Dingle kid last year..."

"Yes, but it was... it was more like I could feel him. He's very cold you know," she smiled at him, and he nodded knowingly.

"He's a pain in my rear though," Aster muttered, and she nodded, smiling. She knew he didn't like Jack, even if she did have a fondness for the ice he spread and the joy she felt at the snow. What pleased her though, that she never told Aster, was that Spring was turning into summer. Though there was snow on the ground she could see the trees budding with flowers, fighting the cold. She knew that eventually the snow would melt and the flowers would burst through, but then the cool climate would change to a hot one, and she could spend hours running through the forest in the summer heat, with the sun on her back and her sister chasing her. She would age another year and would grow more. She'd grow the flowers her name took after, look up at them when they reached up taller than her, and she would be happy that she had the chance relax some, enjoy the warmth, kick back, have fun, do all the things you were meant to. As much as she loved Spring, it had nothing on her warmer months.

"Promise me one thing, sunflower," Aster said slowly, his voice husky.

"Sure, anything," she replied, pulling herself from her fantasies and looking at him.

"Promise me you'll stay away from Pitch... keep that whistle on you. You see or hear him, call for me. Doesn't matter when, just do it."

There was a silence, and he looked up from the ground and his green eyes met her brown ones. She saw how focused he was, how serious he was behind those shining orbs and she knew to take him seriously, and she nodded her consent.

"Okay, I promise."

He smiled at her, and pulled her into a one armed hug, and she nuzzled into his fur. She hadn't realised how cold it really was, and how exposed she always seemed to leave herself to these weather conditions. She embraced him back, stealing his warmth and closing her eyes for just a moment, allowing herself to enjoy a moment of peace in the madness. Aster seemed to be in the same state of mind, resting his head atop hers gently and sighing slightly. It wasn't a tired one, though, it seemed more one of contentment. After a good few minutes, he shifted, untangled himself from her arms and stood up looking rather miserable.

"I need to go now," he said gently, and she nodded at him, her eyes fixed on his. She couldn't help but see how sad he was, how tired he looked compared to his normally raring-to-go self. She wanted so much to reach out and hug him again, try to cheer him up, but he had to go, and she didn't want to keep him from important duties.

She watched as he tapped the ground with his foot, and then magically it opened up into a tunnel. He cast her one last half smile, then jumped down, and she took that as her cue to go inside.