Once we made it back and all of us were together again, I slowly walked up to Emily, feeling more nervous than ever. "I...I told him." I told her just before looking back at Aster.
"You told him the truth? Of...who you are?"
"Yeah...I think he's still in a bit of shock...but not as much shock as the others will be."
"Right..." She trailed off with widened eyes.
"Why would we be in shock? We know who Jack is." North crossed his arms waiting for a response.
"Well...I'm...a bit different than what you think..." I drawled out as I held Emily's hand for comfort.
"How different?" Tooth questioned as she seemed to notice my anxiousness.
"Like um...like Pooka different." I then look to my children who were extremely concerned and confused. "A Pooka is what Bunny is." I clarified for them, and their eyes widened.
"Jack...are you well?" North asked with concern appearing on his features. "You don't even look like a Pooka. Why do you say such things?"
"Because...they're true..."
"They can't be true. Why do you lie? Do you know how much your words hurt Bunny!?" North shouted, and at that point Aster rushed to stand in front of me.
"His words don't hurt me! They don't hurt, because I know they're true. Manny told me so himself. He preformed soul magic on my little brother from my home world, and he knew that Jack as a human was his reincarnation. So, Manny offered my little brother a chance to live past the battle...and well...that's Jack. They're both the same. It's as if Snow...my little brother...fell asleep a Pooka and woke up as human Jack...but he found everythin' out once he had to put his staff back together after we ran him off at Easter. Pitch had snapped it...affectin' his heart and soul...and therefore, activatin' the memories of my little brother when the staff was put back together. They're one in the same. He's not lyin'."
A moon beam shined down on all of us and we heard Manny speak. "Aster and Jack are not lying. I did indeed do this, and I was honestly frightened that Aster would be angry with me for not only time traveling, but for preforming soul magic. Both are considered forbidden arts, but I did it for Aster. They are both telling the truth. Do with the information what you will, but know...they are telling the truth."
"J-Jack...you're...you're Bunny's original little brother reincarnated?"
"I am...otherwise the spell wouldn't have worked. When I...when I was dying as a human...there was just enough of my soul left to bring me back to life if I was given my Pookan soul, and I was...but because of the two souls and the fact that I was nearly dead...I didn't have any memory of anything."
"Bunny...are you okay?" Tooth questioned, and I could hear the concern in her voice.
"I'm more than okay, believe me. I have my brother back, and I have a lot of makin' up to do, but...I have him back." A few tears left his eyes, but he didn't seem to care.
"So..." I heard Abungu start with an amused expression. "...are you telling us that you used to look like that?"
I chuckled and nodded my head. "Yes, but I was taller. Aster is 6'1, but I was 6'6. I may have been the youngest, but I was the tallest."
"Wait a minute...!" I heard Aster start so I turned to face him, and then a look of realization with widened eyes appeared. "...you found out FOUR YEARS AGO! You ALREADY KNEW about Sandy and I!"
"Oh, but it was absolutely hilarious to see your reaction! Don't worry...a lot of the questions I asked you or Sandy...they were completely genuine, because I wanted to make sure everything was still the same."
"I'm gonna get you back for that!"
"If you can." I challenged, just like I used to when we were on a different planet in a different time.
"Father?" Flora came forward as she looked back and forth at me and Aster.
"Yes, Flora?"
"Um...your soul...it's not different is it? You still love us right?"
"Oh!" I pouted slightly as I wrapped my arms around Flora. "Of course I love you. I love all of you! Nothing could stop me from loving my children!"
The moon then shined on me again and Flora immediately stepped back. "Jack Frost, I will add to your powers. A gift...something I planned to add much later, but I believe your soul will be able to take it. You'll know it when you are done glowing, and also...as a thank you to both you and Aster for not being angry with me." I started glowing, and my eyes closed as I felt myself being enveloped by a pure warmth, and I could hear Manny speak directly to me. It was different than when he spoke to all of us. It was almost as if he was whispering to me directly as he stood next to me. "Jack, when I spoke with you in your dream, and you said that you missed your form, it gave me a lot to think about. I hope you enjoy this, oh, and I added a little something for you. You'll find out...and thank you for your trust, patience, and friendship." Once I stopped glowing, I still felt the warmth the glow came with, and as I briefly thought about Manny's words, I immediately knew what he had given me. I looked down and noticed I was still human.
"Jack?" I heard Aster ask cautiously with concern in his voice.
"Aster! I know what he gave me, and you're not gonna believe it...but first...children...come here." Once they surrounded me I breathed in deeply quickly before whispering as low as possible so that not even Aster could hear me. "Okay, so I told all of you that I used to be a Pooka once. Well, Manny has granted me the ability to transform into my Pookan form and back again..." I stood up and spoke a little loud to where the others could hear me. "So you think I should?"
"Yeah!" They all said at different times.
"Go for it! I wanna see!" Isla shouted with a wide smile.
"Alright then...let me ask your Mother. Emily..." I moved over to her, and covered my mouth from their view as I whispered into her ear, "...My sweet Emily Jane Frost...Manny has granted me the ability to transform back into my Pookan form. Only Aster would know that you courted me a very long time ago. Do you think you could handle me transforming into the first form you fell in love with?" I dropped my hand and stepped back a bit to see an amused smile play at her lips.
She then looked at me with soft and loving eyes as she nodded her head. "I think you should. I won't love you any less. You're my husband and the love of my very long life."
"Good." I turned to look at Aster, and gave him a knowing look. "Alright, you ready"
"As I'll ever be..." He told me as he furrowed his brow with mild amusement.
"Okay..." I trailed off, and focused on the Pooka body I once had, and I started to glow immediately. I felt the transformation, and oddly enough it wasn't painful. It was actually warm and comforting. Once the glow dissipated I glanced down at my Pooka form quickly and then looked up at Aster. "Surprise."
"S-Snow!" He shouted in disbelief, and I couldn't really blame him. "Y-You're...you're a..."
"So this is what Father used to look like..." Nimbus came forward and inspected my Pooka form. "I'm gonna be honest...this suits him way better than a teenager."
"Oh gee...thanks for that!" I laughed out, and then turned to face North, Tooth, and Sandy who were gaping at me in shock. "Uh...guys?" I questioned as my ears went back in slight embarrassment.
"Jack...you're a Pooka!" Tooth blinked in surprise.
"Uh...yeah...I am. Is that okay?" I questioned as I started to feel a bit anxious.
"Yes, I mean...it's just unexpected."
"Hey, how do you think I feel? I thought I was never gonna be a Pooka again."
"Jack...you are Bunny..."
"Ah...no..." I laughed out. "My Pookan name is Snowdrop Frost Bunnymund."
"Oh my...I'm an idiot." I heard as Aster face palmed himself.
"I've been trying to tell you that for years."
"Not a word, Snow."
"Not likely." I laughed out. I then focused on changing back to normal, and I started glowing again. Once I was done I looked at Aster and the others, and they were all staring at me wide eyed. However, they weren't staring on in shock as much as they were in amazement. "What is it?"
"Uh...Jack...any chance ya can create a life sized body mirror out of ice? And uh...I'm gonna need you to make it about 6'2."
I gave him a skeptical look and created a mirror out of ice like he asked, and now it was my turn to be amazed and shock. In front of me, in my own reflection stood me, but not me. I looked down at myself to make sure I was seeing things correctly. When I realized I was, I looked back at the mirror, and noticed I didn't just have a change of clothes, a nice change of height, and a more muscular change in looks, but my physical age matched my mental and emotional one. I looked twenty years old now. I wore a deep sapphire blue colonial styled shirt, with a white dress vest that had swirls and snowflakes embroidered into the vest with silver thread, my pants were black with leather straps around the calves. I also wore a sapphire blue cape that stopped just before the back of my knees. "I...I look..."
"Ya look like a King!" Aster shouted, and I had to hold back the amusement, because I've worn a similar outfit before.
"Well..." Adara started. "...Mother is also known as the QUEEN of Nature. So, when they got married."
"Oh..." He breathed out, and then he looked at Emily who hadn't moved a muscle since she stared at me with widened eyes.
"Um..." I faced Emily head on, and I took note of her facial expression. She was stunned, and to my surprise, speechless. "Emily?"
She got closer to me and placed her right hand on my cheek. "Jack?" She questioned as she looked up into my eyes, while I looked into her her's.
"It's me, Emily." I breathed out as I held the hand that held my cheek. Just to make sure she knew it was really me, I leaned down and brought my lips to her's.
I had to stop myself from smiling as I felt Emily's knees become weak. I held onto her tighter to keep her standing, but as I did so, I deepened the kiss, and I nearly became dizzy. Once the kiss ended, I helped Emily to stand as straight as she could. "I..." She drawled out in a daze as she looked back up at me.
"Um...I know this may sound ridiculous...but what do you think of this form? I hope you're not upset."
"U-Upset? Wh-Why w-would I be upset!?"
"Well...because I don't look like the same person."
"No, but the way your dressed, and the height difference...that's nice and um..."
"Emily?" I breathed out just before I gave her another quick kiss on the lips. "What do you think?"
"I-I think...I think we may end up giving Eira a sibling soon..." She stated with a blush as she looked up at me.
"I wouldn't mind that." I chuckled low, feeling a sudden wave of excitement rush through me, but then I remembered that we were being watched. I cleared my throat and stood as straight as I could. "Well...this certainly makes things different and interesting from now on."
"No kiddin'." Aster bellowed out a laugh.
"Oh..." I looked to my smiling children, and my daughter Eira. "...I have SO many embarrassing stories about your Uncle Aster that I can tell you now!"
"Wahoo! Story time with Father!" Flora and Nimbus cheered together.
"Can't wait to hear this." Bram chuckled low.
"Now, c'mon...we don't really have to...do we?"
"Oh, but you see...it's been thousands of years for you, but only a little over three hundred for me. So, yes...brother. I have to."
"Fine...but Sandy doesn't get to add in."
"Oh, don't worry, I'll add some embarrassing stories about Sandy too." I giggled as I caught the instant glare from Sandy.
'Watch your words carefully, Jack. I have embarrassing stories about you as a Pooka.'
'Understood loud and clear!' I laughed in my mind, and the glare on Sandy dissipated into a content smile. "So...what should I tell you all first?" I questioned as I created ice chairs everywhere, and we all started to sit down. "Oh! I know! How about the beginning of Sandy and Aster's friendship!"
"Oh no..." Aster groaned out.
"Oh yes!" I grinned. "So...first off...Sandy taught the Easter Bunny how to paint and..." The night continued on like that with some embarrassing stories, brotherly stories, pranking stories, and I actually ran out of stories. "I think that's all I got for now." I admitted to them about seven hours of story telling.
"Oh! I have one! It involves when Jack was a Pooka and something Emily came to ask me about."
"Is it about what I think it is?" I questioned allowed, before mentally asking him, 'Is it about Emily asking to court me?'
"Yes it is, but um...Tooth, could I ask you to work with Emily and Sandy so that we can all see it as a memory of mine and her's?" Tooth nodded and the four of them stepped to the side to discuss it. Then, they seemed to all come to an agreement, and they returned. "Alright, here's what's going to happen...we're all going to be connected by Emily's vines around our right wrists only, Tooth is going to hold a hand to mine and Emily's head, and then will quickly place her hands onto the vines, enchanting them with memory magic. After that, Sandy will make us all fall asleep and we'll see it and feel it plain as day."
We all nodded our head in agreement. When the time came for Sandy to sprinkle dream sand over us, I was starting to feel a bit nervous, but allowed it anyway as my vision faded to an emerald green and storm gray color.