Chapter 24
Except For That Rabbit
Jack tried to wipe away the smile that was sticking to his face as he settled himself onto a mound of grass. Now that he knew his purpose in immortality, he felt perfectly at home with all of Mother Nature´s season spirits for the first time in 3 centuries.
But that wasn´t the only change!
He straightened up and grinned as another spirit, a summer one this time, glanced at him and nodded his head respectfully. Jack returned the gesture and tried to act casual, leaning back against the tree to his left for emphasis.
For one so young (comparatively), fame was a lot to adjust to. That´s not to say that he didn´t graciously soak up the attention; but he had a seed of new empathy for Bunnymund´s chosen solitude. Heck, even the other three seemed happy to keep to themselves most days, and they were quite the social penguins once you got to know them.
He had realized a week earlier why the guardians hadn´t sought him out for so long, despite his efforts to buddy-up with Bunny a few decades ago. Of course, he'd only done that after hearing that the moon had made him immortal too. Looking around now, he wagered it would only be a matter of time before he would also prefer to avoid most public gatherings.
He smirked.
But not yet! The awed stares and the hushed gossip were better than hot chocolate popsicles to him.
In fact, he probably wouldn´t consider avoiding the attention at all for another five decades at least.
Nah, not five. Probably more like fifteen or sixteen.
There were a few more whispers and shy waves from two spirits settling down to his left, and he did his best to nod back and look bored.
Now that they were fifteen minutes into the meeting, it wasn´t as hard as he thought.
This was, after all, just another seasonal gathering, despite the extra attention.
A two-hour one, at that.
Luckily, he had a handful of sweets in his pocket to keep him awake, curtesy of Phil.
He smirked again.
Not that Phil even knew how generous he was. The pile of snow that Jack had left in the candy jar would surely make him aware of it though!
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Simultaneously, at the North Pole
North hobbled his way to the medical supply closet, taking extra care to go slowly. He couldn´t help checking over his shoulder periodically to see if Doctor Dictator had arrived yet. If Bunny was really as busy as he'd claimed then there was no reason to rush, but it didn't hurt to be cautious.
A smile crept from his lips as he thought back to his interaction with Charlie only five minutes ago.
Smart little robot. Who would have known?
An image of Charlie´s eyes on him after the Rainbowie elf had arrived flashed in his head as he finally reached his destination.
North didn´t know why, but his belly had been disturbed ever since that moment. He'd thought about it on a loop as he'd been hobbling down the hallways, but he'd yet to decipher it.
Oh well. Belly would tell him when he needed to know.
Opening the closet door, he shuffled gingerly inside and turned on the light. Everything was in order, and he would know, being the closet´s main patron in his attempts to keep his more minor injuries from reaching a certain two enormous furry ears. The stale smell of rubber, cotton and disinfectant settled around him.
Finding the shelf he needed, his hand had barely made contact with the medical tape when his belly did a flop as his eyes passed over to the neighbor supplies.
Furrowing his brows, he looked closer at the shelf.
That is very strange. . .
The typical six rows of four stacked bandages, right next to the tape, stared back at him.
Belly nudged his liver.
He looked closer.
Each bandage had been cleaned and neatly rolled after the abuse they had received from the elves two weeks earlier.
Belly whispered to him.
"Something is off.
"It doesn´t look quite right.
"Is almost as if. . ."
Upon closer inspection, his brain realized what it was.
There were three rows of 6, and one row of 5.
His eyebrows pushed together as he sifted through his memory to recall if he had recently seen anyone with a bandaged limb.
No one came to mind.
North's mind continued to whirl in circles as he grabbed some tape and used it.
As far as he knew there hadn't been any accidents or unexpected explosions in the workshop.
He used up the whole roll, grabbing another one just to give himself as much time as possible.
Apart from the elves´ short-lived obsession, no one else had been at all connected with the bandages. . .
He finished, adding as much tape as he thought he could get away with and setting the half-empty roll back into its place.
No. No one else had had anything at all to do with the bandages-
"Unless. . ."
His chest expanded with a gasp.
His eyes drilled into the bandages once more as his fingers began to squeeze the handles of his crutches.
His belly quieted.
". . .Mikhail Glinka. . ."
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Three minutes later, several yetis frowned at each other and rushed to the side as their boss made his three-legged way past them, taking big, hard steps as he went. His eyes didn´t glance over the toy tables as they usually did, and his face wasn´t scrunched up with glee.
In fact, it was quite the opposite. It wasn't until he reached his office door that he slowed his bull-dozer pace and turned his stiff neck toward them.
"I will receive no visitors-except for that rabbit," he seethed through his teeth. "No one else is to touch this door or bother me at all-not even the other guardians."
The workers all nodded numbly, their eyes nailed to him and their jaws loose.
Their boss´s nostrils flared as he took a slow, deep breath.
There was murder in his eyes.
"And, I will not be disturbed by any Christmas business until I come out of this room. Is this very clear?" he demanded, red-faced.
His workers nodded again in shock and glanced at each other to confirm that they were not hearing things.
Santa Claus turned with a scowl, wrenching the door open and slamming it behind him like a gunshot in the night.
The lock rammed into place with a BAM!
The next four hours were thick with whispers from yetis and elves alike as they passed the word along.
And yet, the door to North´s office stayed locked shut.
No cookies were delivered in.
No music was playing.
No toy designs came out.
No shadows were seen.
No footsteps were heard.
No sound or sign from Jolly Saint Nick.
Even Rainbowie the elf was confused.
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Alright everyone, why do you think North is angry? He has no information that you have not read, so the clues are all there for you. :D
Also, Mikhail Glinka is a composer, and a very good one at that. My favorite song of his is called The Lark on the piano. Y'all should youtube it.
Be sure to leave a review with your suspicions! We're going to hang out with Jack for chapter 25, but we'll jump back to North for 26, so you have plenty of time to come up with some theories.
I can't wait to read what you guys come up with!
Guest: I'm so excited to hear what you think about this chapter! These first chapters have moved a little too slow for my liking, but I feel like the ball is finally rolling now! Anyway, yes, Charlie is strangely sentient. He's been with Aster for a very long time, so he does care for him more than he cares for anyone. But we'll see more of that later. You asked if North is going to make jokes when he is with Bunny. Well, had he not made this recent discovery, I think he would. However, based on what he's found out he's not going to be in any kind of mood to be making jokes.
Also, you said that you'd like to see a bonding scene with Bunny and the others talking about Primula. Don't worry. There will be bonding. So much bonding! But not for a while. Aster is a tough egg to crack, after all.
What do you think?
What has North discovered? Why is he so angry?
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT! I CANT WAIT TO HEAR WHAT YOU THINK!
Thanks for your support!