Chapter 8
Close the Doors
"So, how often do you play dress-up, Cotton-tail, and why were you all sweaty?" probed Jack when the guardian came in ten minutes later. He was wearing a white cotton shirt under a grey vest now, and his fur was damp and sticking up at odd angles. His ankle braces could be easily seen, but his wrist ones weren´t present. The lemon towel he had grabbed was now damp and slung limply over one of his shoulders.
They were in a separate room inside the same grey stone mound as before. This room was a few stories up, accessed by a spiral ramp instead of stairs, much to North´s joy. The hallway leading to it had had many bright, multi-hued doors, a few of them open and giving the guests a brief glance of old bookshelves, paint bottles, or stacks of large colorful pottery pots and other unrecognizable supplies. I say brief, because Edgar went to great lengths to shut the doors before his charges had the chance to take a good look inside, much to their concern.
Predictably, Jack had been curious, but North, though not visibly surprised by the minion's actions, seemed very put out by the time they reached their destination. Sandy just observed with sadspicious eyes.
The current room they were in had peg-board walls lined systematically with small contraptions, tools, and odds and ends of every size. The room also contained a large, scratched wooden table with a long bench, a sink, soap, and spare sheets of metal propped carefully against the only bare wall, organized by size.
Sandy had settled onto the bench, which was right next to North´s broken leg. North´s eyes were searching every object in the room, concern apparently forgotten, and Jack was standing on the windowsill admiring the view. Charlie and Edgar posted themselves at the doorway, waiting for their boss to show up.
"Very funny, Frostbite, and I was charging the Warren, not that it's any of your business," muttered Bunny as he lifted Charlie´s suitcase and notebook from the ground and set them on the table (none too gently), before opening them both up.
"That sounds interesting, especially since it made you so late for a very important date, White Rabbit" needled Jack, but Bunny ignored him completely, until North joined in.
"What is this charging the Warren? You have never told me how you keep so much plant life alive with no sunlight down here," he asked with genuine curiosity.
Bunnymund's left ear twitched as he took a deep breath and set out a few of the medical things.
"With sufficient velocity, friction, space, and a few other things, kinetic energy can be converted into synthetic solar energy," he answered flatly, his attention still on the medical supplies.
He didn´t seem intent on giving more information, so North pushed.
"And what is your process for this?"
Bunny moved over to the sink and began lathering his hands with soapy water before answering.
"It´s none of your affair, so I don´t know why you ask. But, since you insist, I have a circular tunnel that runs along the perimeter of the Warren. If I run through it with enough speed, I can send ripples of energy through the soil, from the outer ring to the center of the Warren." He glanced at North with a raised brow.
"Is that enough to satisfy your bottomless curiosity?"
North smiled. "Yes, it is for now," he said brightly.
"Moving on then. I see you´ve disregarded my instructions. . . Again," lectured Bunny as he gestured to North´s tank-chair with a wet hand. "I told you not to cheat," he added menacingly.
North laughed in a quick, highish way. "I did stay in bed as I made plans. . ." he offered with an innocent smile.
Bunnymund raised an eyebrow and glared hard at North's good leg, effectively giving North a shiver up his spine.
"Besides, vas good bonding moment with our new guardian!" enthused North, unconsciously turning the chair so that his broken limb blocked his threatened one from the doctor as he nodded towards Jack, who grinned back.
Bunny only hummed curtly in response as he dried his hands on the towel and turned to sift through the suitcase again. He paused, and let out a frustrated sigh.
"Charlie," he exhaled.
The green egg was soundlessly by his master´s side in a jiffy.
"Run to the charge prep room and bring my satchel, would you? It should be on the table by my med box."
Jack watched Charlie scamper away, giving him an idea.
"Hey Bunny, have you ever tried sitting on one of your minion guys as they run around?"
"No." answered the doctor as he hopped spryly over and pressed the back of one of his wet ears against North´s neck, his threat apparently forgotten. "And I´ll give you a good walloping if you try. They´re legs are far too delicate to carry much, especially now. . . North, roll up your sleeve."
Jack wondered again why Bunny did that with his ears as he busied himself with freezing some of the vine flowers. Bunny turned to the table to retrieve a blood pressure pump with one hand as he leafed through the leather book with the other. Finding the last marked page, he skimmed it quickly, nodded and muttered something to himself, and placed the book back onto the table, pages down.
"You´ve got to lay off the cookies, mate," said Bunnymund as he walked back over to his patient.
North smiled grimly and muttered "Here we go."
This caught Jack´s attention, so he flew over to sit next to Sandy, who had a better view, and an amused smile on his face.
"Bunny, I have told you this many times. I am immortal, and I can handle carbs. I exercise and drink a lots of water. There is no problem with extra sweets," said the Russian.
"Eggnog is not water, and don´t think I didn´t notice how weak and heavy you became during the Pitch fiasco," answered Bunny curtly. He wrapped the cuff around North's upper arm. "Open and close your fist a few times."
"Like this?"
"Yes. You need to be well enough to handle yourself even without your powers when something like that happens again," said the doctor.
Jack was now crouching next to Sandy on his bench as a thinnish egg with an orange and pink body with the name Socrates flourished across its chest waddled in, balancing a large ceramic tray of fruits and veggies with his two upper hands. He had a beautiful gallon-sized mug of peppermint tea held with his lower hands, which he placed on the table next to Sandy, along with the tray. Then he turned and left as Sandy sent him a thank you wave and began gleefully snacking.
Something about the refreshments was off, and it took a few glances for Jack to realize that their colors were all mixed up, making them look not unlike Easter eggs. The tomatoes were goldy-red, the snap peas were purporange, and all of the other fruits and vegetables were participating in the confused rainbow. Jack´s nose wrinkled as he eyed the food with distaste, but Sandy´s delighted expression soon convinced him that maybe it wasn´t as bad as it looked.
After trying a tangy turquoise tangerine, he agreed. Soon, both of their heads were darting back and forth between Bunny and North; much like an audience at a tennis game, or children eating popcorn while watching their favorite film.
"Do they always argue like this?" whispered Jack.
Sandy nodded with a gleeful smile as he pushed another slice of pink kiwi into his own mouth.
"Ha! Says pint-size cotton ball. You were more affected by Easter than any of us!" retorted North.
"Sshh" ordered Doctor Bunnymund as he pushed his ear to North's wrist, his eyes watching the pressure dial intently. Half a minute later he straightened up, released the pressure valve and removed the cuff.
"I was able to hold you in my hand!" said North, raising his right hand to emphasize after Bunnymund went back to the table.
The doctor scribbled something in the notebook after looking it over for a few seconds, then came back and pressed his ear against North's forehead, closing his eyes again.
"That was from something else, and you know it." He replied thirty seconds later.
Jack´s eyebrows furrowed.
"Besides, we´re talking about your health, not mine. What have you felt in your leg since last time I saw you? Numbness, aches, tingling?"
"Little aches, but nothing more. Is much better than last time."
"That´s because you actually let me set it early on, unlike last time."
"You were nicer this time," said North with a wave of his hand.
"My humor has nothing to do with my effectiveness as your doctor. Last time you waited for over an hour, and then writhed like a burning snake to make it worse before you let me near. Can you feel this?" Bunny pinched North´s bare big toe, and the large man nodded.
"If you hadn´t been trying to stab me, I wouldn´t have had to move!" countered North.
"I was trying to numb the area, as I informed you multiple times. Push against my hand with your toe. Does it hurt?"
"No."
"Good."
"You stabbed giant needle in my thigh! You left bruise the size of my fist that last for months! Bad bedside manner, Bunny! Very bad!"
"Does this hurt?"
"No."
"Tik iee"
"Ah, Charlie. Thank you," said Bunny as he turned to his small minion.
The doctor took the satchel he had worn while they fought Pitch days earlier from Charlie´s hands and fished through it. North crossed his arms, looking vengeful as Bunny pulled out the same round stone as before and laid the satchel next to the medical case. Sandy and Jack waited patiently for the show to continue.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In response to the chapter 7 reviews:
Guest, I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this chapter. Hopefully Bunny will seem less hospitable than in the last chapter. Also, I think I should confess that I actually have not read the Guardians of Childhood books. I've been living in a country that is not my own for the last year and a half, which made me see Bunny's situation in a completely different light as I try to fit in unsuccessfully where I now live. Anyway, I have every intention of reading the books once I get back to the U. S., but until then, I have only fan lore to give me hints to the character's pasts. Which is why I decided to make this story about Bunnymund, since so many fics disagree about him, or show him in an unfavorable light, which I hate.
Go Outside, thank you for the review, despite the civil unrest in your area. Keep safe, ok? Also, thanks for sharing your hockey story. I couldn't help laughing a little as I read it; I admire your determination.
Questions to inspire reviews:
If you were in North's position, would you choose Bunny as your doctor, or someone else?
Have any of your questions been answered from this new chapter?
Do you find it entertaining when your friends bicker, or does it make you uncomfortable? Example?