Chapter Twenty-Five

Caught Pink Handed

It took roughly another full day to track the boy down. She found him in a cemetery, of all places, sitting on the ground leaning against an old tree with his eyes closed. He was still wearing his brown pants but he was wearing a sort of off-white t shirt, instead of his hoodie, that was tattered along the lower hem.

"You know, you look freezing." She said, walking towards him. Jack sat upright at the voice and turned his head to face who had spoken; his eyes were wide but slowly, ever so slowly, returned to normal when he realised who it was. He still looked unsure of her though he wouldn't say it.

"...I always look cold." Jack told her nervously as she approached and stopped beside him.

"Well, it makes me feel cold which is terrible. Lucky I brought your hoodie with me, and if you're nice I might even give it back." She said, sitting down beside him and leaning back against the tree as well. "I didn't know you owned a normal shirt. I never really thought about it before."

She placed the handkerchief on the ground and unfolded it so that the cookies were sitting out in the open.

"You can have one." She said after a minute of silence, when he didn't move to take one of the cookies. "I left plenty for Eros and took some for us, I ate mine on the way here-"

"Why did they go to you for help?" Jack asked, cutting her off. "They don't...um."

"They aren't my biggest fans, I know. They went to Eros for help actually, I just happened to be there. I was using his kitchen."

"...To make cookies."

"That was basically it, yeah."

"...Why did they go to Eros?"

"He can track things, like animals and stuff usually, sometimes people. He...used to be a hunter. He's still pretty good."

"Oh...what did he say?"

"Well...he said it's hard to track things that can fly and I mentioned you need the staff to fly. Which...they found it, left it near the pond I think, wherever you had left it."

Jack slowly picked up a cookie but held it with the tips of his fingers; pulling it apart into crumbs, rather than eating it. She decided not to comment on it, at least he'd taken one.

"...So, why are you in a graveyard?" She asked.

"I just kind of...ended up here, got sick of walking."

"Few hours of walking to get here from Burgess, I'd guess. You're a few towns over."

"I just didn't want to be there anymore, okay? It's not really any of your business, I don't even think you like the others so why are you helpi-" His outburst didn't seem to bother her, she was smiling when she cut him off.

"Relax Snowball, I'm not gonna tell em where you are. It's not their business, or mine, I suppose. I just came to check on you."

"W-why not?" Jack asked in a whisper; he'd tried so hard not to cry since he left the North Pole but he could feel it starting up again; the wetness around his eyes. It had been different, crying on that frozen island when he'd been on his own forever ago. He couldn't cry in front of someone else.

"It's none of their business." She said, shrugging. "Maybe if they weren't such jerks I'd let them know but you're not doing anything wrong by getting some space so I don't see why I need to."

"Oh...okay, thanks-"

"I might tell Eros though, so he can keep an eye on you as well." She told him as she stood up and dusted off her coat. "He won't tattle either. So...the hoodie-"

"Can you...look after it? Just...for a bit."

"Sure thing Frosty, I'll leave it with Eros. See ya round, be good. Alright?" She asked with a smirk, glancing down at Jack before he blinked and she, as always, was gone. One day he'd blink and she'd be there in front of him still and he'll actually have a heart attack, he could just see it happening.

Jack spent the rest of the day, and the next six days, hanging out around the small cemetery. He read the names on the gravestones, explored the small pathways that circled back together and decided he rather liked sitting up in the large central tree. It was old and strong, and when it was windy it stood as still as a rock. It felt solid and safe which he decided was exactly what he needed.

North made sure the North Pole was always well lit and that all entrances were open and clear in case Jack returned late at night. Bunnymund made sure there was a clean, comfortable room in the Warren in case Jack stopped by, while Tooth made sure the fairies kept all eyes and ears open for any signs of the boy but time passed, days into weeks and there were no signs of the boy anywhere they looked. During the fifth week after Jack had gone, Dawn was around the North Pole more often, as well as visiting Bunny in the Warren; the team were polite but distant. They really had nothing to say to the woman.

Well, that wasn't true; they had plenty they wanted to say but the drama wasn't worth the words. Even if it would feel good to say them.

Jack was...he wasn't particularly enjoying the solitude; the lack of company was...something he had easily forgotten. He'd been alone for so long but had very quickly become accustomed to having people around him all the time. He was sitting on the ground, in a different spot today, leaning back against the lower section of a stone pillar; the top half had crumbled long before he had arrived and was laying in pieces on the ground beside him. He didn't so much as see her appear in front of him, rather there was suddenly a cloud of...pink smoke in front of him. It also could've been a cloud of...pink powder, drifting up from the snow covered ground of the graveyard. Smoke or powder, both looked the same when they were pink.

"Stupid fricking rabbit!" The voice came from amongst the pink cloud. Jack stared, eyes widening, remembering Bunny threatening him ages ago; a way to keep him out of the Warren. "Dammit I'm gonna burn that whole stupid Warren down! Stupid rabbit!"

Jack couldn't stop himself from starting to laugh. She was more visible now, the cloud having thinned out; her dark pants and coat were covered in splotches of pastel coloured powder, as was her face and her...no, her hair was entirely one colour. It was a pastel pink, which reminded Jack of...a certain...sweet he'd tried to take once, only to be caught by Bunnymund.

"...Did you try to steal from Bunnymund?" He asked, grinning at her; she spun to face him, looking up from her own hands as she did. Her eyes found him; swirling and dark.

"Um..."

"Oh, you so did."