„This is just typical..." Bunny grumbled and impatiently tapped his fingers on the wooden table.
"I'm sure he'll be here any second." Tooth tried to ease the tense athmosphere which was currently emitting from the pooka next to her.
"He should have been here exactly 13 minutes ago." he remarked after a glance at the big clock on the wall.
"You know being on time is not Jack's strong point. Should have gotten used to it by now, no?" North stated.
The anthropomorphic rabbit crossed his furry arms and glared at the big Cossack.
"That's no excuse for makin' us wait here as if we didn't got anything better ta do."
"I doubt he does it intentionally." the tooth fairy insisted.
"Pretty naive, don't ya think?"
"Bunny! No reason to get snappy."
"Yeah, yeah, but I swear if he doesn't appear in 2 minutes I'd say we just start without him."
The sandman shook his head and formed dreamsand versions of them all with Jack being pushed out of the group and standing there miserably.
"Sandy's right, Jack would feel excluded if we did that. Guardian meeting needs all of us to be assembled." North agreed.
"Well, the brat's own fault if he doesn't bother ta show up!" furry paws were thrown in the air as the pooka groaned in annoyance.
Tooth pondered for a moment before she turned to her Russian friend.
"Do you have any idea where Jack could be? When was the last time you have seen him? Did he maybe say what he was up to?"
North mentally recalled the event sof the day when suddenly something clicked in his mind.
"Well, he arrived at Pole in the morning and complained he was bored because it's summer in most countries right now. I suggested he could read something and told him where library was but he didn't seem too enthusiastic about it. Then a yeti asked me something concerning new walking lion toys we are working on and when I turned my attention back on Jack he was gone. Haven't seen him ever since."
"So maybe he's still in the library reading?"
"Pfff, that's a good one!" Bunnymund snorted. "As if the bloody show pony could sit still for more than a few seconds and concentrate enough ta read a book. I even doubt he can read at all!"
"You're crankier than usual today, aren't you?" Tooth stated matter-of-factly.
"I wouldn't be cranky if I didn't waste my time here instead of painting eggs!"
Sandy showed them a 'stop' sign but as so often, he was totally ignored. Rolling his eyes he grabbed the Easter Guardian's mug of eggnog which he hadn't touched at all anyway. Would be a waste.
"Oh, so you think our monthly meeting is a waste of time now?" the hummingbird-hybrid shot back, finally getting enough of his sullen mood.
"No, but waiting here for that icy troublemaker when it's obvious he doesn't give a damn IS!"
"ENOUGH!"
The loud Russian accented voice which echoed through the globe room caused everyone to flinch and refrain from saying any more. All eyes were focused on the Cossack as he rubbed his temples and thought about how to solve the problem at hand.
"Alright." he said after a while of silence. "I say we go check library for Jack."
No one dared to question his decision so they followed the big guardian as he stood up and made his way through the workshop. Soon later they arrived at said library. It was the first time they saw this part of North's home so they stared in awe at the thousands of books being neatly stowed away in countless mahogany-like shelves. A few wooden ladders were leaning against the walls to reach the shelves at the top. The center of the room were a big table and several velvet armchairs right in front of a stoney fireplace. It looked like a perfect place to hang out, but there was no sign of the winter spirit.
"Told ya so." Bunny muttered, not bothering to hide his triumph
Tooth shot him a reproachful glare but wasn't willing to just let the matter drop like this.
"Maybe he's in his room? We should go look for him there."
A suspicious furry eyebrow was raised at her suggestion and the pooka looked at her like she was crazy.
"Seriously? Ya still think he's here? It's late evening now, can't imagine the kid willingly stayed inside all day."
"Isn't very likely but I agree with Tooth. If he's not there then we have no other choice but start meeting without Jack." North explained.
With a grumbling Easter Bunny in tow the group headed for the frost teen's room which was, especially to the pooka's dismay, at the other side of the building. Finally the white door came into view and before the Russian Santa had the opportunity to knock the Guardian of Hope decided he could just skip common courtesy and pushed it open right away.
To everyone's suprise they found the sought winter spirit sitting on his bed, a little startled at the sudden interruption but otherwise completely unimpressed by the four of them standing in his doorway. But what really caught their attention was the fact that he was holding a book in his hands. And the pile of books on his nightstand.
"Uh, can I help you guys?"
"Ya could have dragged yer skinny ass to our meeting, we've been waiting for ya for who knows how long!" Bunny shouted, annoyance dripping from every single word.
Jack's eyes widened for a moment as he looked at the pale blue clock on the wall and then back to his comrades.
"Whoops, sorry." he smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Guess I got carried away with reading."
"Ya can read?"
It was a mystery to all of them if Bunnymund's question was meant as insult or if it was just plain astonishment. According to his facial expression it tended to be the latter but Jack couldn't deny it still hurt his pride.
"You seriously think I can't read?" he asked, his voice having a hint of challenge in it.
Everyone sent reprochful glares at the Australian rabbit as if he had just started an unnecessary argument which would lead to even more unnecessary drama.
"Well, I can't imagine who should have taught ya."
"Then you clearly lack imagination." the white-haired boy snapped back.
To ease the tension which was hovering in the room Tooth floated between the pooka and the bed Jack was still occupying and let her curiosity get the better of her. Besides that she was sure the others had the same question on the tip of their tongues as well.
"Would you mind telling us how you learned it? Don't get me wrong but as far as I remember not many people from the period you lived in were able to read..."
Jack's features softened and he turned down a corner of the page he was on before he closed the book but still let it rest on his lap.
"You're right, I couldn't read in my past life. But even if I could I probably wouldn't have remembered. Anyway, I hung out around kids a lot and was dissappointed when they didn't have time to play but had to go to school. Back then I had no idea what that was so I got curious. I think it was roughly 100 years ago when I stepped into a classroom and joined the lessons. At first it seemed pretty boring but the kids were so excited about learning how to read that I decided to give it a try as well. I gotta say it was worth the effort."
North, Sandy and Tooth stared at the young winter spirit in amazement while Bunny just couldn't grasp the mental image of Jack Frost studying in a classroom. He really had to suppress a cynical remark forcing its way out of his mouth.
"That's great! So you read a lot since then?" North exclaimed.
"Nah, not really. Just sometimes when I found books someone had thrown away. Gotta admit I haven't read a book in 30 years and when you told me about the library I wasn't eager at first. But when I saw all those books it got me interested and I found a few that sounded promising. Started reading and suddenly lost track of time, obviously." he smiled innocently.
"What is it you're reading right now?" the Russian Santa asked curiously and pointed at the book in the winter spirit's lap.
"Treasure Island. I've almost finished it, it's pretty cool."
"Haha, yeah it is, a real classic!"
"Mates, I'm horribly sorry about interrupting yer little chat but can we please get over with the guardian meeting so I can go back ta my Warren? My googies ain't painting themselves, ya know?"
Four pairs of eyes were rolled at the complaint but to Bunny's relief North agreed with him and asked Jack to accompany them back to the globe room.
"You can continue reading later." the Russian assured the frost teen who nodded and put the book on top of the pile on his nightstand.
With his staff in hand he followed the other guardians out of his room and closed the door behind him, grinning and muttering quietly.
"Fifteen men on the dead man's chest-Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!"
A/N : Shamelessly inserted my favourite novel. Mwuaha. :3
