Song) Painting Grays by Emmit Fenn
Baker Yeti led me through all the twists and turns of the North Pole. I did my best to get a grasp of the layout. Who could say if I'd need to know that information one day? Certainly could've used it when I got here the first time. It seemed that the design of this underground section was very logical. All the hallways ran parallel to one another, and met with one lone perpendicular hallway on one end. An open elevator sat in the middle of this perpendicular hallway. A sign next to the elevator marked this floor as Toy Design Archive 1600-1650 AD. I guess that explained why the rooms were so empty. I'd imagine that Christmas gifts in the 17th century weren't as complicated as they are now. The cardboard boxes in my little room probably had some gift designs in it. Maybe a small rocking horse or something like that. The rooms from more recent decades were likely much more exciting. I could feel my eyes flare at the thought. Baker Yeti's hand squeezed a little tighter and I contained myself better.
In the elevator I saw other floors whir by. 'Twas a very fast elevator. Whatever order was so meticulously preserved in the lower floors was abandoned one we reached the surface. Two lefts, a right, straight, another left, and suddenly I was back in the room with the giant globe in it. Tooth Fairy was hovering over a massive fireplace, rapidly whispering to a revolving door of smaller fairies. Bunnymund was sitting with his back to the fire, working on an egg, with a paintbrush. I squinted at his paws, trying to see how he held the brush, but the backlighting was too dark to tell. Sandman was asleep on a coach, and Nicholas St. North was working at the big console I'd seen him use when he sent up the Northern Lights. Frost was missing. My eyes flicked around the massive room and found him in the rafters, his shock of white hair a give away in the dark wooded architecture. Yetis swarmed around carrying toy planes and robots and other things. Elves were underfoot doing goodness know what.
Baker Yeti announced our presence to the room and everyone's eyes flashed over to me. Emotions were still running high. I could feel the pressure already. I had to block it out. I had to stay in control.
"Good morning, Mimic." North's voice bellowed into what had quickly become a quiet room.
"Is it morning?" I responded lightly, "hard to tell around here. Haven't had the chance to look." This earned me a grin from Frost, albeit a barely noticeable one. More noticeable to me because he flashed a jovial yellow, just for a second. Bunnymund did not.
"A'right Mimic. Are we gonna 'ave a problem?"
"Are we?" I kept my tone level. Looking around at them all I was mildly accusatory. I may have used my powers, but they attacked first. North let out a breath and room seemed to collectively exhale along with him.
"No, I'd rather we do not, Mimic" he said.
"That makes two of us" I pasted on a grin, small but hopefully convincing. Didn't wanna overdo it. Baker Yeti let go of my shoulder and North gestured towards one of the couches near the fireplace. Sitting down would put me at a tactical disadvantage. But it would be a show of good faith. I sat down gingerly on the edge of the couch, the balls of my feet pressed just enough into the floor. The guardians all hovered around me, in Toothiana's case literally. I was in the presence of legends.
"Did you honestly break into the North Pole just to read?" North started off.
"Yes, but breaking in was an accident." I responded, emphasizing on the word 'accident.'
"An accident?" North sounded dumbstruck. As if someone could stumble past all of his security measures, by accident. Bunny seemed to get a bit of a laugh out of this, as did Jack. I looked towards Toothiana, eyes likely turning a baby pink as I silently asked for her forgiveness.
"I did go to your Palace intentionally though. I picked up the snowglobe out of curiosity and then dropped it when you found me. That's how I got in here."
"So why did you go to my Palace?"
"I was looking for information."
"What kind of information?"
"Any information."
This caught their attention. A few moments of silence followed. The silence was broken by Jack who tapped his staff on the ground lightly, sending a swirl of frost across the wood. He looked at me and he looked at me as if he was asking me for something, but what I didn't know.
"Did the moon tell you anything?"
"No…"
"Not even your name?" his eyes were boring into me. Still asking, but not asking the question. Asking something else.
"I chose my own name-" I said, but I recalled where I'd chosen it from, "-maybe with a little help."
In that moment, I understood the question he was really asking. I felt it, using my special sense, that he was asking if I was like him. I didn't know anything about him, but he wanted to have something in common with me. It was worth giving some thought to later. A new question took my thoughts.
"Why didn't you ask?" Toothiana looked at me, confused as to her should have been an obvious alternative to breaking and entering, well technically trespassing there were no locks.
"Would you have said yes to a stranger?" I asked back. Her brow, as well as those of the others furrowed as they considered this. If they had a report on me, which is never good, then I think we had all stumbled onto the same answer.
"Not to mention, how was I going to ask. It was hard enough to find a place, let alone one of you. Sandman would have been first choice."
"But?" Bunny caught the tail end of my thought.
"BUT, my chances of finding a migrating island without help were miniscule. And I didn't want to tip off someone who could potentially warn the rest of you, IF you decided to not like me then and there."
My candor struck them. But I thought it was in a good way. Sandy looked downright hurt, that I thought he'd choose to dislike someone right off of meeting them. I shrugged at him. "You guys have a reputation."
"Oh?" Jack leaned forward, "says who?" Clever boy. Now that was a piece of information I was going to keep to myself. I only knew that Pitch didn't like them. I was still unsure whether or not he even liked me. But I wasn't going to go making him hate me. I still needed him to at least tolerate me.
"Says me." I shot back. "After a bunch of years with no one to talk to."
He wasn't impressed. "A bunch? Try 300 years and then talk to me." he smiled, flashing his perfect pearly whites, dripping in charm. But he slipped. 300 years? I could work with that. He was older than he looked and now I knew just how old. I knew what there was to know about the others. He was still a blank page. But it was slowly getting filled in.
"I apologize for being where I shouldn't've been." I said, making sure to sound very sincere.
"Based on what you've told us, I suppose is excusable...this time." North said with his arms crossed over his barrel chest, displaying the NAUGHTY and NICE on each forearm. His arms were the thickness of my legs.
"Give me a way to call you and it won't happen again." I tossed in the question as if it were the simplest thing in the world. But North laughed.
"Perhaps, but you are still stranger to us Miss Mimic."
"Hardly. At this point, you know about as much as I do." I sweetly shared, getting off the couch. If any of them were leaning casually, they now straightened up. I put my hands in my pockets and avoided rolling my eyes. They were bad at masking their nerves. I was the one who was outnumbered in foreign territory. Bunny moved right up in front of me.
"So you don' wanna tell us about yer lil' explosion back there?"
My eyes darkened to a serious brown. I made sure I was radiating how serious I was. I didn't want there to be any mistake. I thought carefully. Should I risk exposing how much I didn't know? "I would if I could. All I've got is my best guess. About everything. Sorry if anyone got hurt. I didn't want that."
It didn't seem to satisfy him. But it placated him enough to get out of my space. I felt someone grab at my fingers. I looked down to see Sandman who flashed a series of fast symbols over his head. I processed.
"Hmm, um, I don't really do anything, at least not yet? Not like Santa and Christmas or anything."
"HA! Told you more famous." North said to Bunny. Bunny groaned, "it was a coin toss, mate!"
I looked up and met Jack's eyes. Once again with that feeling of sharing, of commonality. Not sure how
or why though. He has a job. Even Pitch has a job. He says I've got one too. If only I could figure out what.
Throughout the course of conversation, I'd managed to maneuver myself towards a window. One good jump with a happiness boost and I'd be out. Jack was watching me. I wouldn't put it passed him to have caused this blizzard outside. He could probably make it bad enough that I wouldn't make it a half mile and end up in some semi-frozen sea. He knew my train of thought. I could tell. I didn't think I was radiating emotion anymore. I'd have to tighten down. I broke eye contact.
"Can I go?" I asked. Might as well cut to the chase.
"Do you know what it is that we do, Mimic?" Toothiana asked.
"Protect children."
"Right. Don't give us a reason…" she trailed off, giving me a pointed look. I smiled.
"I've got no intentions of trouble."
She winked at me. "Good."
North brought out a snow globe from a pocket of his circus tent of a coat. He put it into my hands. I looked at all the assembled Guardians. As first impressions go, it was far from ideal. I'd just met my childhood heroes. I felt wonderstruck. Over the moon. But all of that was dampened down by the weight of confusion. How could I enjoy this, when I didn't know what any of it was?
