Chapter 19

Sunflower Yellow Cravat

You would think that a brightly feathered woman with wings and pink eyes would draw many stares from anyone who saw her. Especially if she was part of the most respected and elite team of spirits known as The Guardians of Childhood; or simply The Guardians to most.

Well, you would be right.

However, on this particular day, Toothiana noticed even more whispers and pointed fingers than usual as she zoomed through her social hotspot, and her absolute favorite shopping center.

The Pot of Gold.

There were shops selling anything you can possibly imagine and even more things that you can't. Restaurants and treat bars and exotic grocery stands were scattered everywhere as well, and the mixture of aromas always made her giddy.

She treated herself to a visit here at least every other month, but more often than that if her fairies were able to manage on their own. The establishments that she frequented knew her unique persona by sight, and by now they knew exactly what kind of products she fancied.

This is exactly why she was so concerned by the extra attention. After looking herself over in no less than three mirrors and checking her scent and her breath more times than she bothered to remember, she gave up her pleasure window-shopping and sped to her only necessary stop, refusing to make eye-contact with anyone. Finally reaching the top office reception room and being able to close the door behind her was a relief.

"Queen Toothiana! What brings you to the Pot of Gold today?" asked one of Chaun Patricks´ assistants. Tooth smoothed her feathers and fluttered to the desk.

"Hello, Victoria. . . do I look alright?" whispered Tooth.

Victoria looked confused.

"Of course you do!"

Tooth´s cheeks pinkened and she took a deep breath.

"Well that´s a relief!"

Victoria patted her hand.

"You look lovely, just like you always do. Now, what can I help you with?"

"I´m here to ask Chaun for an extra order of metal box parts," said Tooth. "And just to chat for a bit if he has the time. Is he here by any chance?"

Victoria smiled and shook her head. "He is here, but he´s very busy helping Mr. Easter Bunnymund at the moment. I would be happy to help you, though!"

"Easter Bunnymund? That's strange, I didn´t know there was another spirit with that name," said Tooth. "Are they new?"

Victoria shook her head and smiled. "Oh, no! It´s your Mr. Bunnymund! The Easter Bunny, your guardian friend," she said.

Tooth's jaw dropped. "What? Aster Bunnymund?! What on earth is he doing here?" she exclaimed. The shocked tone of her voice drew the attention of the rest of the staff, and she laughed lightly in embarrassment until they all went back to their work.

Turning back to Victoria, she fluttered closer and lowered her voice.

"Bunny? The guardian? He´s talking to Chaun right now?" she whispered with wide pink eyes.

Victoria nodded, leaning closer.

"Yes! We were shocked too! You should´ve seen Mr. Patrick´s face, I´ve never seen him so surprised before. Of course, he cancelled all of this morning´s appointments and they´ve been in the office for the last hour! I´ve only ever heard of the Easter Bunny from you, Tammora, Time, and North before, but this is the first time any of us have ever seen him in person. You never told me how tall he is! I thought he was just-" she made a watermelon-sized space with her hands "—a normal rabbit! Or at least a smallish animal, like Tamm! I nearly had a heart attack when he came in, I thought he was a werewolf or something!" she said with a wide-eyed whisper.

Tooth´s wings slowed and she lowered herself to her feet, her surprise melting quickly to concern.

"I suppose his appearance can be a little surprising if you don't know him," she admitted hesitantly, "But he's certainly no one to be afraid of."

Victoria nodded as Tooth's expression softened and her feathers deflated slightly.

"Did he look alright? Was he angry or upset?" she asked.

Victoria looked thoughtful. "No, I don´t think so. But then, I´ve never talked to a giant rabbit before, so I don't know what to compare him to. Why do you ask? Is he unwell?"

Tooth shook her head slowly.

"No, but last week there was a bit of a. . ." she glanced at the door "a, um. . . oh never mind. I´m sure he´s fine," she lied with a smile.

Victoria glanced at her boss's office door and lowered her voice.

"I suppose he was very serious. He was polite, sure, but I couldn't get a smile out of him."

Tooth chuckled.

"That's Aster Bunnymund for you,"she said.

She smoothed her feathers again as she mulled the information over. Victoria, meanwhile, offered a handful of sunflower seeds that she had hidden in her desk drawer with a wink. The distraction was enough to bring Tooth´s mind out of the past.

"This is so strange, Vicky. He never leaves his warren unless it´s Easter, or he´s working on Guardian business with us. . ."

Victoria smiled.

"Yes, it is strange. Especially when you consider that Mr. Nicholas North was here for his regular visit too, just an hour or so before Mr. Bunnymund showed up."

Tooth giggled.

"Well that explains the strange looks," she said. "North, Bunny and me all here in one day? No wonder people were whispering!"

Victoria laughed back.

"Yes, it is good gossip," she said. "And as much as I love a juicy conversation, I'm sure that's not what you came to talk about." She glanced at the door, and back at her customer. "How about you tell me more about the order of metal boxes that you mentioned before?"

"Oh! Right, the boxes."

"Is there a rush?"

"Um, no, but I need them before next week."

Victoria smiled. "Rush, then. Would you like them delivered, as usual?"

Just then the large office door opened, and the Saint´s deep voice called out.

"Shirley, Victoria, I need you to check a few things with some of our vendors. Would you both come in here, please."

The door swung open further, revealing The Leprechaun in all his curly, red-haired glory. Victoria winked at Tooth before scampering in along with another assistant.

Tooth couldn´t help floating over, hoping to catch Chaun off-guard. Despite her regular visits to the Pot, her social calls with Chaun were fairly rare, especially from Halloween until the beginning of summer. As she got closer, she noticed the customer her ginger friend was trying to accommodate.

Sure enough, there was Bunny. He was wearing a bowler hat, vest, and a jacket, all in earthy tones along with a sunflower yellow cravat that was neatly pressed down with a bottle-green pin at the center. He sat in the chair opposite Chaun´s large desk and appeared to be pouring over a stack of papers with his green, egg-shaped glasses perched on his nose.

The Leprechaun looked up from his desk.

"Ah! Toothiana! What a pleasure to have you here, it´s been too long!" said the sturdy man. He stood up quickly and beckoned her in with a quick hand just as the assistants made their way out, clutching folders.

Bunny´s head jerked to look at her when her name was mentioned, but he remained silently seated as she floated in to greet her friend.

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Thank you for the reviews!

Guest: I love reading your reviews. I also dislike fics that make Bunny the bad guy just because he doesn´t put up with crap. This whole story is really just my attempt to show the truth. Self-righteous? Maybe a little. Oh well. Justice for Bunnymund! Anyway. . . I love your story about how Bunny became a guardian! And let me tell you, I absolutely despise spoilers, so your summary was PERFECT! I´m even more excited to read the books now! I had already drafted my version of his "conversion" before I saw your summary, and I´m quite proud of some of the similarities. I can´t wait to see what you think about it when it´s posted. :D I´m very grateful for your input on this story, and I hope you have a great week! Also, good luck on your finals too if you haven´t taken them yet. Thank you for your responses!

What do you think?

1. Any guesses as to why Bunny is at the Pot?

2. The meeting happened a week earlier. If you were Bunny, would that be enough time for you to cool off?

3. Tooth´s favorite hotspot is The Pot of Gold. What´s yours, and why?