I broke out of my mini funk, I'm writing again :)

Also, in a week I'm going to Spain! Yay me!

Anthem, n.
- A hymn or song written for a special occasion.

"You know, if you'd agreed to help us from the get go then I reckon we'd have nipped this whole Pitch thing in the bud before he got going," Bunny mused, looking around the Pole as they all helped pick papers and toys up from the floor. It seemed Pitch had visited here too and caused some havoc before he went to Burgess and got his ass whooped.

"He was with us the whole time Bunny!" Tooth cried, but she grinned a little anyway. She knew the Pooka was only teasing the teen. "He helped us a lot."

"Yeah," Jack agreed, brushing his snowy hair from his face and casting his icy eyes up to the rabbit. "Besides, it's not really my fault I didn't say yes in the first place."

"Really? Then whose fault is it?" bunny chuckled, looking up from the stack of paper he'd collected, passing it to one of the yeti who thanked him gruffly.

"Well, yours of course, all of you," Jack said matter of factly, and the other Guardians stopped in what they were doing and stared at the boy in shock.

"Ours?!" Bunny cried, feeling his temper rise again, his fists clenching. "Listen mate, I know you might have helped a heap, but don't go blaming us cos you're a hard head."

Jack merely smirked, so North stepped in before Bunny could knock his teeth out.

"What do you mean, 'our fault'? Is it because we are – how you say – cooped up, bribing kids?"

The Russian crossed his arms, looking very similar to how Bunny looked at that moment, while Sandy stood to the side awkwardly and Tooth hovered in the air looking positively crestfallen.

"No, no that's not it," Jack shrugged, stooping to pick up another paper, but North reached out and grabbed his shoulder and stopped him, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the white haired teen.

"Then what?"

Jack glanced about at all the Guardians looking at him, a small smile creeping across his face.

"I thought after so long of being Guardians you might have thought that Mani would pick another at some point. You should have put words to the fanfare, it would've made a good song."

There was a pause, and North was the first to burst out laughing.

"You said no because there were no words?!" he cried, doubling over as his stomach hurt.

"You said no because there were no words?" Bunny repeated, although he sounded considerably less pleased, his brows furrowing and his fists clenching again. Tooth and Sandy looked confused.

"I... I don't understand," the woman said eventually, landing beside them all and rubbing her neck lightly. "Because there weren't any words?"

"Yeah, you know, like lyrics. Everyone loves a good song, I figured over the years you could have at least made a chorus or hook or something."

"To trumpets?" North chuckled, wiping a stray tear from his eye.

"Probably would've needed some work, but you had ages to figure it out," Jack reasoned, and Bunny walked away shaking his head.

"We didn't dodge the bullet," he muttered as he passed Sandy, who was still staring at the boy, confused. Jack shrugged them off, turning to the small group of elves who had gathered around his feet, and he grinned at them all.

"What do you say? Would it have been better with words?" he asked them, and they all nodded enthusiastically. At this North seemed to calm very quickly, and shook his head at Jack, raising his hands in warning.

"Jack don't-" he started, but his words fell on deaf ears, and Jack continued talking to the elves.

"Reckon you can sing something?" he asked them, and all at once their tiny mouths opened and the most horrendous din emanated from them. It sounded like cats screeching, like fingernails clawing down a white board. In fact, it sounded worse and instantly the group of Guardians clamped their hands over their ears for the few moments it took them to get the elves to shut up.

And when they dispersed, Jack looked up in shock at North.

"I didn't think it'd be that bad," he said quietly, his eyes round as dinner plates, looking horrified at the noise that had come out of the little beings.

"Yes well... that's why there are no words."