Author's Note: Thanks to all the reviews, faves, follows, etc. :) I honestly wasn't expecting to have another update ready to go. I told myself I was just going to work a little bit on the next chapter. I had been vaguely planning on something with Bunny, and then this just popped out of my head. I promise I'll have something non-angsty sometime. Really. Anyway, don't be too mean to Bunny. He means well. He doesn't even like Jack at all at this point, so it's only natural that he try and right what he perceives is a wrong. And yeah, I never thought of Pitch as a stern teacher, but I can see it.
Anyway, I really will try and leave more time between updates. Honest! If you haven't read chapters 6 and 7 yet, go back and read them! I updated super fast!
Chapter Eight: Bunny
While Lillian and Jack were running around Burgess spreading spring, Bunny found himself wondering how Burgess was doing. It had been over a week since that horrible blizzard, and he was concerned for Spring.
He hadn't seen the spring spirit in quite some time, and he felt concerned that Spring might not be on track now thanks to Jack's little blizzard. Sure, the season would naturally get under way eventually, but it would need a little extra boost from a spirit to get past all that snow, even if there was only a few inches left.
He frowned as he puzzled that one out. When he and the other Guardians had gone to talk to Jack, he hadn't noticed it at the time but the snow was actually significantly less than it had been. How could that be? They hadn't seen any sign of the spirit of spring around.
He shook his head, dismissing this thought for now and gazed around his Warren. Easter was over now, for better or worse, and he had some time yet before he had to begin preparations for the next Easter. He would have to make sure Burgess had an extra special Easter now, to make up for this year's disaster.
With that thought in mind, he opened up a tunnel to Burgess and hopped inside. A hole appeared in a park in town and Bunny soon hopped out of it. He looked around and was very surprised.
He had expecting to see a bunch of snow on the ground yet, and for a winter chill to be in the air. While some parts of town still had some snow, a lot of parts of town - including the park, had a definite feeling of Spring to it.
As he looked down at his feet, he could see nothing but grass and a few wild flowers growing here and there. He could even feel a warm breeze carrying the scent of the flowers along. He glanced up at the sky to see that it was lovely blue with not even a hint of a cloud in the sky.
How could this possibly be? Snow did not naturally melt that fast. He furrowed his brow. Had the spring spirit been here after all? The spring spirit usually liked to stop and have a chat with Bunny about the Groundhog's prediction for the year before Easter, so Bunny would know what kind of weather to expect.
It was well known throughout the spirit world that the Easter Bunny did not get along with the Groundhog for some reason. Nobody dared to ask Bunny what had happened, and the Groundhog refused to explain.
So their go-between had always been the spirit of spring. But Bunny hadn't seen him in several years - in fact, Bunny was starting to think that something had happened to the spring spirit.
Now however, was the evidence that the spirit was very much alive. With an annoyed huff, Bunny began to carefully walk around town, looking at the evidence that Spring was very much in season now.
Childish laughter made him smile and he looked over, only to have the smile wiped right off his face.
Right there near the park, was none other than Jack Frost. Bunny narrowed his eyes.
How dare he show his face here again!
Was he trying to wreck Spring now?! He just didn't know when to quit!
Just as Bunny was about to march over there and give that winter spirit a piece of his mind, a little girl ran up to Jack, grinning merrily.
..What? Since when could he be seen?!
"Look~!" she pointed over to where a bunch of wild flowers were growing in the park.
"That's great, kiddo." Jack grinned at her. "Hey, want to have to some fun?"
The girl nodded happily at Jack, and Jack leaned down to whisper in her ear.
Bunny narrowed his eyes again. What was this? He watched, not bothering to hide himself as the girl carefully stepped onto the sidewalk and waited on the side a bit as a man came walking toward her.
Right when he was about to reach her, she quickly jumped off the sidewalk and landed on the soft grass beside the man.
The man looked very startled as suddenly a bunch of wildflowers sprouted up from nowhere. He quickened his pace and soon became very unnerved when the flowers that were sprouting up started following him.
By the time he reached the corner, he was practically running. He turned the corner and took off in a sprint, not looking back.
Lillian stopped at the corner and burst into a fit of giggles at the silly man.
Bunny stood staring at her with mouth open. That kid just made flowers spring up from the ground by running on it.
Wait a second..
Was this kid the new Spirit of Spring?
He quickly shifted his gaze over to a grinning Jack Frost. Oh he knew it. He knew exactly what Frost was up to!
He marched over to Jack whose grin quickly vanished at the sight of an enraged Bunny.
What had he done now?
"H-hey, Bunny." Jack said, trying to summon a nonchalant smirk.
He was halfway successful.
"Don't 'hey' me!" Bunny said scornfully. "I see what yer up ta mate. I gotta tell ya, I thought yeh were better'n that."
Completely bewildered, Jack looked at Bunny, openly confused.
"Oh don't play stupid with me!" Bunny shouted. "I know yeh didn't have any sense of responsibility, but ta try and corrupt the spirit of spring!"
Jack's trademark smirk hitched itself onto his face, even if his eyes did look a bit hurt. He should've known that running around making it spring in Burgess would draw Bunny's attention.
He turned to where Lillian was still giggling away at the corner.
"Hey, Lillian!" Jack called to her. "Come here!"
"Coming!" Lillian called back as she ran over.
She slowed down when she saw Jack was talking to a giant rabbit and stopped a short distance away, her eyes widening.
He was big.
Bunny turned to look at the girl. His harsh glare softened as he gazed at her. She looked so young!
"This here is the Easter Bunny," Jack explained as Lillian's eyes grew wider at that. "So tell him, am I corrupting you?"
Lillian tilted her head at that.
"What's.. cor.. corrupt.. thingy?" she asked Bunny, looking up at him in innocent confusion.
Bunny had the sense to look a little abashed. She was so innocent! But then he paused. That just made what Jack was doing all the more dastardly!
"He's tryin' ta get ya ta think Winter's the best, and he doesn't want ya to spread Spring in Burgess. That's what 'corrupting' is," Bunny explained gently to her while shooting Jack a glare.
Lillian scrunched her face in confusion.
"No he's not," she said to Bunny. "He's help - "
"'Course he is!" Bunny interrupted her, raising his voice. "That's all he is!"
He pointed an accusing finger at Jack.
"He makes a mess wherever he goes!"
Lillian's expression had gone from wide-eyed awe, to confusion, and now she was frowning at Bunny, looking thoroughly disenchanted.
"No he doesn't!" she shouted back at Bunny. "Jack is the bestest spirit EVER! He's helping me to learn how to spread spring!"
Bunny rolled his eyes at this.
"Look, ya don't even know what yer talkin' about. Why don't yeh come with me to my Warren if ya need ta practice yer powers. I know more about Spring than he could ever hope to!"
Hurt pooled in Jack again. He should've known that it would turn out this way. It had been centuries since he had been able to have anyone beside the Wind that he could call a friend, and now Bunny of all spirits shows up to take her away from him.
Why shouldn't he? He was the Easter Bunny, he knew all about spring and probably how to spread it as well.
And what was he? Jack Frost, troublemaker. Winter spirit, outcast.
He was nobody.
Jack looked down, letting his bangs cover his eyes.
He was startled when he felt a small hand slip into his and give his hand a gentle squeeze.
"No," Lillian said vehemently, glaring at Bunny. "Jack is my friend!"
Bunny scoffed.
"Friend? Listen kid, Winter and Spring spirits are not friends. Now come on, let's get ta the Warren," he said reaching out for Lillian.
Lillian shrank back from Bunny's paw. Pitch hadn't said what to do if this happened. It had never occurred to Pitch that a spirit might try to take Lillian away from him, even if they didn't know that she lived with Pitch.
"..I.. I don't wanna.." Lillian said uncertainly, squeezing Jack's hand harder.
"Look ya anklebiter, I ain't gonna hurt ya," Bunny said a little impatiently. "I just wanna help ya. I can help ya better'n he can."
With that, he reached out and yanked Lillian over to him. Lillian looked over at Jack with frightened eyes as Bunny tapped his foot on the ground.
Just as Bunny was going to hop into the hole however, he felt a sudden jerk on his hand and looked back to see that the kid had completely disappeared.
He frowned at Jack, who was staring at the spot Lillian had been with a surprised look on his face.
"Alright," Bunny demanded. "What did ya do with her?"
Pitch was pacing around his lair. He was getting that nagging feeling again. Lillian had left earlier that morning to learn about her powers and go spread spring. He had been looking forward to getting a nice long nap in.
He wouldn't admit it to Lillian of course, but ever since she came into his life, sleep had been a luxury.
He went out every night (except when Lillian was sick, of course) to go spread his nightmares, and only returned when the sky was starting to become light with dawn. Instead of collapsing into sleep as he usually would, he now stayed up for a few hours until Lillian awoke.
They both ate breakfast and then he would stay up for a little longer while Frost picked her up for her daily 'spring lesson' and he would have the lair all to himself.
Instead of sleeping however, he would marvel at how suddenly very quiet it was. Then he would sit around in his globe room and try to plot how best to spread the next night's nightmares.
He would soon become distracted by thoughts of what Lillian was up to, however, and before he could even think about exactly what he was doing, he would be spying on Lillian, trying very hard not to feel guilty about it.
It was for her own good after all. She was so young and there was no way he was going to entrust her safety to Jack Frost of all people.
So he would spend the remainder of the afternoon spying on her, and it was only after she would return safe and sound, that he would finally catch a small nap before it was time to head out and spread nightmares again.
He gave the corner of the globe room where the darkest shadows were a glance. Normally he would've already started spying, but his conscience was playing with him. And he had that feeling.
That horrible feeling that something was terribly wrong.
If he didn't know any better, he would almost say it was some sort of parental sixth sense acting up.
Rolling his eyes at himself, he went over to the corner and melded with the shadows. After searching around the forest, he soon went from shadow to shadow to find himself in Burgess.
It didn't take him long to locate Jack and Lillian, playing a prank on some unsuspecting man.
He rolled his golden eyes at the sight. Of course that's what the so-called 'lesson' would morph into.
But as he looked around, he couldn't help but notice that despite their childishness, they had done a good job on the town. It looked like there was hardly any snow around now.
As the golden eyes looked around in appreciation from the shadow of tree, he suddenly froze.
The Easter Bunny.
What was he doing, staring at his Lillian?!
And why was he glaring at Ja- Frost that way?
Not that he cared.
Not in the slightest.
As Bunny started yelling at Jack however, he couldn't help moving to the shadow of a tree that was closer to them.
Just in case.
As he watched, Jack called Lillian over to him.
What was the boy playing at?!
Lillian tilted her head in confusion innocently at Bunny, and as the pooka replied, he could clearly see the look on Lillian's face.
Pitch smirked.
Nice job, Easter Bunny.
Down one believer.
Not that it actually mattered. Whether or not other spirits actually believed in beings like the Easter Bunny, the spirit could always see them no matter what.
His eyes narrowed as Bunny reached out for Lillian.
Jack seemed frozen, uncertain on what to do, clearly cowed by the insufferable pooka.
And then before Jack could even think about reacting, the Easter Bunny actually reached over and dared to touch his Lillian and yank her away from Frost.
With a declaration that they were going to the Warren, panic flared up in Pitch as Lillian seemed at a loss on what to do.
They hadn't covered this. He hadn't even considered this being a possibility.
Lillian looked over at Jack for help, but Jack seemed reluctant to cross a Guardian.
So Pitch did what he did best, he moved into a shadow - Lillian's shadow - and reached up while the pooka had his back turned.
Jack stared as a gray hand reached up through Lillian's shadow and yanked her out of Bunny's grasp and down into it.
And just like that, she was gone.
Pitch stepped out of the shadows in his globe room, holding Lillian in his arms. That was close.
Far too close.
Lillian looked around in confusion and saw that she was in Pitch's arms. As soon as she saw him, she burst into tears.
"Th-the E-Easter Bunny tr-tried to kidnap me..!" she sobbed as she clutched onto Pitch's robes for dear life, as if she was afraid he would disappear on her.
He awkwardly pat her back, not really knowing how to deal with an upset child yet. He was the one who was used to causing children to become upset and afraid. He wasn't used to dealing with the aftermath of it.
Her fear called out to him as he awkwardly continued to pat her back.
What if he took me away from Pitch forever?
Pitch's look might have softened just a touch as he heard it. Nobody ever wanted to be around him, and here was a child no less, afraid that she was almost forced to leave him forever.
He murmured to her softly while she cried.
"I would never let you get away from me."
As he continued to comfort the distressed Child of Spring, he heard the telltale woosh of the wind.
Oh great.
"What did yeh do with her?" Bunny demanded of Jack.
Jack's attention snapped to Bunny.
"Ah.." he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.
"I'm warnin' yeh.." Bunny said, taking a step towards Jack.
"Look, the Groundhog!" Jack pointed suddenly, gasping in astonishment.
Bunny looked around.
"Where?!"
He felt a shiver run through him at the feeling of a crisp winter wind blowing by, and heard Jack call out to him as he flew away.
"Later, Bunny!"
Darn it.
Was this all some elaborate prank of the winter spirit's?
Bunny frowned as he surveyed the obvious evidence of spring again, before he hopped into his hole. He left behind a delicate flower on the ground as he raced back to his Warren.
Should he bring this up with the other Guardians at their meeting?
Jack's grin disappeared as he urged the wind to move faster. He raced as fast as he could to Pitch's lair and didn't even bother trying to be polite as he flew at breakneck speed under the bed and into Pitch's globe room.
In fact, he was going so fast that almost crashed right into Pitch and Lillian.
It was only quick maneuvering on the wind's part that saved him from crashing as he went sailing by Pitch to come to a rough stop near the globe.
He gave a sheepish look at Pitch's admonishing glare, then looked concerned as he saw Lillian clutching at Pitch like a lifeline, sobbing as if she had almost lost a parent.
"Hey," Jack said as he carefully approached her, so as not to startle her. "You okay?"
"Does she look alright to you?" Pitch said a little more harshly than he intended.
Jack flinched at Pitch's tone and turned hurt blue eyes on Pitch.
He thought he had an.. understanding of sorts with Pitch.
Was he not going to be welcome at Pitch's anymore?
I'm never going to be able to see my friend again.
Pitch sighed as Jack's fear washed over him.
"Look, Jack.." Pitch said, making sure his tone was a little softer. "Lillian needs some time to herself. And I don't think she'll be leaving here any time soon."
Jack scuffed his foot on the floor, looking ashamed. His friend had almost been taken away from him and Pitch, and he hadn't done a single thing to stop it.
"..Okay.." Jack said softly. "I'll uh.. I'll.. see you later, I guess.."
He turned to leave, and Pitch looked up at the ceiling for help.
All he wanted was one day of calm.
One day, really.
That wasn't too much to ask, was it?
As he felt the coolness of Jack's wind start to enter the lair, Pitch tried his best not to regret this.
"..Wait," he said to Jack.
Jack turned back, not quite looking at Pitch or Lillian.
"Yeah?"
Pitch waved a hand vaguely over towards where he and Lillian ate their meals, off in a room away from the globe room.
"Stay for some tea."
Author's Note: Pitch would solemnly swear that he's not going soft, but I think Jack's worming his way into Pitch's black heart, just like Lillian has. I'm not sure if Jack will ever have the sort of relationship that Lillian has with Pitch, but I'd like to think Pitch will eventually have a sort of mentor kind of role for Jack. Jack needs someone to set him straight after all. Who better than the King of Nightmares? I'm definitely thinking of having Lillian (maybe Jack too?) meet some more of the Guardians in the future. Any suggestions on who should be next? And should Bunny let the Guardians know about Lillian? I was originally planning on having the Guardians not really know that Lillian was a spring spirit, but that plan flew out the window.
Oh, and don't be confused by the different perspectives. I like backtracking a bit and showing the same scene from Pitch's point of view, when it's his turn to pop up in the fic. I don't know why, it's just the way it comes out. And I had to show what was going on with Jack after Lillian disappeared. I was thinking of continuing on with Jack and Pitch's talk, but this seemed like a good place to end the chapter.
