A/N: Edited 12/26/14
Previously White Wings Part 2
Betaed by the awesome AGmegan101. Thank you!
It always seemed like North got interrupted during important moments. Take for example when Pitch messed with the Globe and the Cossack was forced to stop working on a crucial prototype. Or when Jack broke his arm and he'd been busy fighting against the elves' sugar induced mess in the Workshop. That wasn't to say that he never wanted to be notified during emergencies, but it was getting ridiculous!
So, when Bunny barreled into his private rooms, waking him up from a much needed nap, it wasn't as surprising as it should have been. No, the biggest surprise was Jack.
How did the boy get himself into these situations?
Soon, all five Guardians were gathered in the family room, discussing what would happen to the miniature Jack.
"Let me get this straight," Tooth said, looking directly at the toddler, "Destiny approached you in an alley, talked a bit about your destiny, and then forced you into your miniature form?"
Jack nodded absently, far too distracted by the elves that found him on the floor. From his position sitting there on the hardwood, all four of his companions seemed huge compared to him.
"But, I didn't know she could do something like that!" Tooth fluttered nervously near the ceiling.
Sandy frowned, "Destiny is a very powerful being. It would not be beyond her abilities."
North rubbed his forehead, muttering under his breath in Russian, "Я не могу справиться это прямо сейчас."
"I dunno how we're going to fix this," Bunny commented, worriedly glancing toward his shrunken friend.
Tooth hummed in agreement and zipped down closer to Jack's level, "Do you mind if I ask you how it feels?"
Jack glanced quickly at Bunny before shrugging, "It's weird... I dunno. It just feels like my brain got forced into a different body, I guess…"
Tooth creased her forehead before ruffling a hand through his hair and dropping the subject.
All four elder Guardians went back to discussing what to do, North occasionally slipping back into Russian while discussing Destiny. Jack sat on the floor, feeling completely left out.
"There's nothing we can do?"
"I dunno Tooth, we jus' gotta go along with it for now. We can look in North's library, maybe ask Manny…"
One particularly outgoing elf chose that moment to try and push the boy over. Jack's startled yelp attracted attention from the Guardians. As Aster leaped up to help him, North stood, a sudden rage coming over him, and stomped over to his helpers, grabbing the elf by its bell. Bringing it up high enough to his face, he quite nearly growled, "Leave Jack alone, you глупец!" before flinging the now shell-shocked creature back toward the door. Its companions quickly followed.
Silence fell in the room as the Cossack clenched his fists and stomped out the door as well, slamming it shut behind him.
Sandy let a confused question mark float above his head for a moment. Tooth and Bunny exchanged startled glances. Jack looked at them and back toward the door, feeling tears welling up in his eyes. Frantically trying to stop them, he brought his fists up to his face and rubbed.
For some reason, turning into a two year old made it harder for him to control his emotions.
He hated it.
And that just made him cry harder, making Bunny look at him with alarm.
The Pooka sighed, holding out his arms as he did back in Burgess, when he first found the spirit a few hours ago. Jack did the same thing he'd done in his hometown as well, hiding his face in Aster's fur and clinging tightly to him.
"Aw, c'mon Jackie, it's okay," he muttered, waving away both Sandy and Tooth as he comforted the toddler.
Jack whimpered, "I didn' mean to make North mad. 'M sorry."
Bunny fought annoyance at the Christmas figure as he realized why Jack was crying, "Hey now, Snowflake, it's not ya' fault."
It's North's. Honestly, what's gotten into him? He didn't dare say it out loud, but was sure the others were thinking it as well.
Tooth took another look at Jack before nodding authoritatively. She declared, "I'm going to go talk to North."
The queen zipped out of the room, leaving the three boys behind her.
Sandy tilted his head. Motioning toward the window, he explained how he needed to get back to his work. It went unsaid that the Master of Dreams would be sleeping on the issue at hand. That was how he got his thinking done.
Bunny nodded, still stroking Jack's hair as the winter spirit slowly calmed. His sobs turned into hiccups, and then stopped completely.
They sat there like that for a few minutes before Aster realized that Jack was asleep.
Smiling, the Pooka stood. After leaving a note and picking up some things from Jack's room, he headed back to the Warren.Only because he was the only one who wasn't busy at the moment! Not because he wanted to, or anything.
It's hard to lie to yourself.
Jack woke up as they arrived at the Warren. He blinked sleepily before settling back down in Bunny's arms with a quiet "hmph".
Bunny poked him, "What is it, Frosty?"
"I hate bein' little."
"… Why?" Aster hadn't reacted in quite the same way when he'd been forced to become his younger self. It definitely wasn't so bad in comparison to the situation they'd been dealing with at the moment.
The boy wiggled around a bit before answering, "It's messin' with my emotions."
Bunny sighed in sudden understanding. The winter spirit hated crying in front of people, so it only made sense that he'd be mortified about today's episodes.
"Well, we jus' gotta deal with it, Snowflake," Aster entered his housing area, still carrying his miniaturized companion.
Jack rolled his eyes, "Well, duh. What else are we gunna do?"
"Smart aleck."
"Kangaroo."
"How many times do I have ta' tell ya'? I'm a Bunny!"
The winter spirit stuck out his tongue. Aster retaliated by dropping the boy onto his nest, startling him.
"Hey!" Jack shook his head and pushed himself back up into a sitting position – much harder than it usually was, due to his size. "What was that for?"
"For being a brat. Now get some sleep," Bunny went to walk out the doorway.
Jack's eyes widened, "Hey! I thought we were going to find out what's going on with me!"
The Pooka paused in his steps and turned around to face the winter spirit, who was still sitting in his nest.
"Frostbite… I can't do much without North's library. And we aren't going back there until we find out what's going on with North."
As Bunny was speaking, Jack tried to stand up, but failed and toppled over. Aster walked back to help him back up, and noticed the expression on his face. Bunny's ears drooped.
"Aw, c'mon, Snowflake, it's not that bad."
"Oh, yeah? Well then, you try it! I'm sick of this body," Jack pushed away his paw and rolled out of the nest, "and I'm sick of being so small," he started walking toward the door, "and I'm sick of being powerless!" He shoved at the curtain before kicking the wall, "AND IT'S ONLY BEEN A FEW HOURS!"
Bunny's ears folded down again at the outburst. He felt the pit of worry in his stomach expand as he realized that Jack – their wild and crazy but generally even tempered Jack – was throwing a tantrum. Already, his face was turning a delicate shade of pink, a sure sign that something bad was going to happen. Bunny's eyes widened and he started to speak,
"Jack–"
"NO!" The toddler screamed, balling up his fists and falling to the floor, "SHUT UP!"
Aster covered his ears, wincing at the loud shrieks and backed up a few paces.
Jack's face was now a cherry red, and frost crawled up to his cheeks to combat the heat. "IT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S ALWAYS ME! I'M ALWAYS THE ONE IN TROUBLE! IT'S ALWAYS ME WHO GETS HURT! I'M SICK OF IT!"
Sobs now mixed in with his yells, rendering them nearly indecipherable, "I don't wanna! I hate this!"
Bunny crept closer to Jack, bending down to put a paw on his back, "Easy there, Snowflake. It's okay. Jus' calm down, everything's alright."
The Pooka's tone calmed Jack down, as he sniffled and hiccuped. Bunny deemed him quiet enough to be picked up and cradled the distressed child in his arms. Jack didn't react, other than to adjust his position and lay his head on his caretaker's shoulder.
Bunny sighed, trying to release the tension in his shoulders. This was not something he'd been prepared for. How was he supposed to take care of this toddler who was also a three hundred year old winter spirit?
"Hey, there, Frosty, let's talk abou' this, alrigh'? He carefully walked back to the nest, settling himself down on it with Jack curled up against his side. The boy pressed his forehead against him, looking down at his miniaturized self.
"Snowflake, look at me, kiddo," Bunny said, "C'mon, Jackie."
Big blue eyes looked back up at him, edges rimmed in red.
"Now, what we're gonna do, is talk about this calmly, okay?" Bunny gently spoke, some forgotten instinctual knowledge pushing him on in the conversation.
Jack nodded silently, still clinging tightly to Aster's side.
The Pooka let out a slow breath, the air tickling the toddler's hair, "Okay, Snowball, what were ya' talking abou' earlier, huh? When ya' said that it's not fair."
The boy shifted position, and mumbled, "It's nothing."
"Naw, it's not 'nothing' if it makes you that mad."
"Can't you just drop it?" Jack retorted, trying to sound irritated but coming off scared.
Bunny just blew out a breath, staying calm and collected for his brother's sake. "C'mon now, Frosty, just talk ta' me."
Jack rolled his eyes and curled up further, avoiding the topic.
Sighing, Aster shifted his position onto his back, making Jack jump at the change. One of his paws reached out to the side of Jack's nest and grabbed one of the stuffed animals he'd picked up before leaving the Pole. Ironically, enough, it was the boy's stuffed rabbit, but Bunny wasn't going to complain if it helped the conversation along.
The Pooka offered it to Jack, who hesitated, probably thinking that Bunny was going to ridicule him if he did take it.
Bunny raised his eyebrows and dropped it on the boy's lap. Jack bit his lip before grabbing it and holding it to his chest, eyes daring the older Guardian to laugh. Aster didn't, but closed his eyes and started telling a story – one that he hadn't told in a long, long time