Authors Note: Yay I'm not dead! Thanks for the reviews! To be honest my plot bunny for this story moved to another country and isn't planning on visiting me again anytime soon. Still, I haven't abandoned it yet.
The bunny kids darted between the snow burdened bushes out of the corner of Jack's eye, his ears tracking them constantly. The forestry was a little thicker the further downhill they went, and the sky was a unified gray above. When the weaving trail of straight- placed sticks stopped (the berries gone long ago, and Jack's stomach was complainingly stiff and full) Jack hesitated just past the last stick, hind feet deep in the snow. One of the kits popped out from the bushes a lot closer than Jack thought; they were on all fours with head, ears, and shoulders clear from the short snowy evergreen bush. Inching out slowly, the kit's fur was a dark gray with little white paws and light gray stripes along it's back watched Jack carefully and spoke softly, "Hi, I don't know if you can understand me but I think you got a really pretty white coat." Jack was surprised the girl didn't have an accent like Bunnymund.
Jack grinned as his ears flicked forward and his fluffy tail wagged in happiness, "Thanks, can I ask where're you leading me?"
Jack was really relieved that he could actually talk to people. It was an unconscious stress that was lifted off his shoulders. It would have been his luck if he was alive again and could be seen but not heard, like if everyone talked in some strange alien language now that he wasn't a spirit. Spirits communicated through the intent of words and not the actual words themselves. Languages weren't something that was a problem in the spirit world unless someone didn't want to understand or someone didn't want to be understood. The other Guardians always made a effort to listen to Jack after that ceremony on the ice with Jamie and the kids, and now they were gone and Jack was alone again when he got here. It was a relief to talk to someone again.
The white patched gray kit looked astonished and her jaw dropped open, "wait you can talk?!" The noise drew the second kit from hiding. "Uh, yeah why wouldn't I talk?" Jack asked glancing down at himself to see if there was any obvious tells, I mean I'm actually walking now compared to when I first got here. He had tried to keep his fur clean from sticks, evergreen needles, and frozen river bank mud from his stint in the wilderness. It was a lot harder to stay clean when you were physically alive. The kids glanced at each other with nose twitches and the oldest kit spoke a little sheepishly, "oh, I guess that makes sense, of course an Icedweller can talk."
Jack was well accustomed to kids just tilted his head with one ear bent, curious about the word 'ice dweller'.
"The last snow pooka went over the mountains, like a really long time ago. Granpapa said there's an endless blizzard and cracking glaciers over there and that nobody who ain't a icedweller can live there." The older kit stroked her younger brothers shoulder (he really looks like a large bunched up bunny in the snow) while sitting on her haunches, tracing the same patterning that she shares with her brother. "Nobody has seen them in forever and I was just trying to get you closer to the warren." She looks up quickly, her brown eyes on her white muzzled face wide, "Nobody believed me when I told them yesterday about a white pooka."
"Well, how about we tell each other our names and we can head to your warren together and show them?" The girl stood up on her hind legs briefly and introduced herself with a pat on the chest, "oh! My name is Daisy Bluebell and this is my brother Dexter." Dexter gave a shy wave with a quiet, "Hi." Jack waved back with a smile, "My name is Jack Frost."
"Cool!" Daisy stood up to grab Jacks paw. She was leaning forward a bit; Jack noticed that she was putting heavy pressure on his hand to walk upright. "Granpapa is going to be so surprised when I show him! He said all the white pooka were gone!" She looks at Jack with an excited smile, "you're going to love the Warren, it's huge with lots of people and trees and cool gardens-" Daisy pauses when Jack stops to look at Dexter who has ceased hopping a little ways behind them. "Dexter?" Jack can spot an unhappy child a mile away. "What's up bud?"
Dexter huffs a couple of times building some courage to speak and thumps his foot in the snow grumpily, "My feet are cold and we've been walking all morning. Can't we just tunnel home?" Daisy ducks her head in embarrassment, "I can't create my own tunnels yet, only connect to existing ones. I don't think the Bulls will be happy if I just bring someone straight home." She mumbles.
"Bulls?" Jack asked.
Daisy eyed him a little, "Yeah the Bulls are basically a bunch of old dudes with some really strong magic. They protect the Warren and all the families inside." Jack nods thoughtfully as he looks at the despairing bunny in the snow, Dexter looking as if he's about to throw a fit. "Maybe you can show me the way and I can carry Dexter." Daisy blinks as she lets go of Jacks paw and plops onto all fours in the snow again," okay, I can show you the main entrance. It's where I was leading you to anyway." Jack crouches and holds out his arms to a watchful Dexter, "Sound like a good plan?" Dexter nods slowly as he inches forward to Jack. "Yeah," he says quietly as he reaches Jack and curls into Jacks thick fur along his chest. "Wow, you're really warm," Dexter mumbled in quiet surprise. Jack swore his new heartbeat skipped when Dex snuggled tiredly into his white fur. It never got old, hugging kids.
Jack turned to Daisy with Dexter in his arms, "Come on, let's get you guys home."
Authors Note: Things are picking up finally! Leave a Review!