Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians. I make no profit from this work of fiction.
Special thanks to Bloody-Rozez, Seryyth and snowing-in-the-spring-time – reviews are greatly appreciated!
Bloody-Rozez, brilliant queries! I have a plan for Jack's eyesight, fear not. I can't answer your other concerns without providing spoilers for future chapters. I still have a ways to go before revealing those details. ;)
Seryyth, I hope I can continue to entertain you. :)
snowing-in-the-spring-time, the ending was only meant to portray Bunny pestering Jack. A bit of normalcy and humor in a situation that's anything but. I didn't intend for it be confusing, but thank you for letting me know that the message I meant to convey was unclear. I welcome such constructive criticism as it helps me to know where and how I can improve.
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Her mad cackles echoed through the empty streets, reverberating from the rooftops and vibrating the foundations of the homes she would have loved to enter. Reveling in the terror she could feel flowing from the inhabitants of the houses as she passed by, she was still unable to erase the memory of her failures that evening.
Annis had been half blind for nearly a thousand years. The unfortunate result of that particular handicap was the loss of binocular vision. Having her depth perception returned to her so suddenly caused her some unexpected difficulty. She had, of course, assumed that she would be able to simply resume the fear-filled reign she had enjoyed for a long time. Finding that her returned vision would not be the boon she expected was less than fortuitous.
When she had reached her arm out to bring the first child she encountered towards her, her hand had only made contact with empty air. Her snarls had started as a soft rumble, only increasing in volume as the boy whose soul she had meant to consume overcame the debilitating panic that had overwhelmed him. As he had scrambled back from her, feet slipping on the ice-covered street, his yells for help had gained the attention of the inhabitants of nearby brownstones. She had slipped back into the shadows then, watching him run to safety with a sneer twisting her face.
The second attempt of the evening had been slightly more successful. Yellow braids had peeked out from the bottom of the knitted winter beanie covering the young girl's head. The ghastly smile that had slowly spread the witch's lips thin over her sharp teeth had quickly faded when the clawed hand she extended had only snagged in the girl's clothing. Shredded cloth clutched in her palm as her talons had closed into a fist clacking loudly against each other was all she had pulled away. The evil spirit had growled as the girl had run. Echoing footfalls as the child's sneakers had pounded against the pavement were the only sounds that had greeted Annis' ears other than her own displeasure.
Holding the tattered cloth had given the witch an idea for resolving the problem. Two of the strips were long enough to be tied together and then fastened around her head. A malicious grin once again alighting her face, she had simply manufactured an eye patch. The third child whose path she had crossed had no prayer of surviving. With her vision once more limited, she had easily been able to snatch the child to her. No amount of squirming had been able to break her grip. Relishing the tears that had streamed down the child's face, she had taken care to slowly draw out the mortal essence on which she survived. Once the body had been completely drained, she had dropped the empty shell, heedless of the sound of the bones cracking as they had connected with the underlying pavement.
She had ripped the cloth from her head. Her vision whole once more, she had left the scene, the wind she summoned carrying her to the next village. These children wandering so freely had not yet been told to fear her, or had not believed. The witch vowed to eat well, the gust bearing her further from her accepted sphere of influence providing her the exact opportunity to do so.
Toothiana giggled at the pooka's antics as he continued to goad the winter spirit. As the guardian of fun, Jack's ability to draw out the mischief in others was unparalleled. To his credit, the youngest guardian accepted the ribbing good-naturedly. He certainly did not allow his visual impairment to hinder him, using the sound of the rabbit's Australian drawl to aim several snowballs in his direction. The sound of the tightly packed powdery substance impacting with the fur covering his friend's arm brought a smile to the white-haired spirit's face.
"Cold, cold, cold!" The quiet mutterings were punctuated by the sound of North's booming laughter as Bunnymund worked to brush the moist matter from his coat before it could melt and seep into the skin underneath. Smirking, Jack chuckled, a breeze ruffling his hair as it passed by seeming to agree with his mirth. Their antics were prematurely ended when the sound of dream sand shifting noisily.
"Sandy?" Hummingbird wings buzzed rapidly, the sound not quite able to cover the gasp that followed the tentative query the fairy had voiced. "Oh, no!"
"What is it, sheila?" The lagomorph lumbered over to the pair, the sound of the snow crunching under the pads of his paws tickling Jack's ears. He exhaled in a whistle, the low tone sending shivers up the mischief maker's spine. "Strewth, mate! How'd that happen?"
Frustrated by not being able to see what the others were obviously staring at, the youngest guardian frowned as he carded a hand through his pale hair. Palm resting on the back of his neck as he massaged the tension building there, waiting on an exclamation from North before demanding an explanation. After several moments of silence, any semblance of patience abandoned him.
"What's happened?"
The heavy crunch of the ground under booted feet alerted him to the Russian's approach. Tilting his head back, he let the hand which had been lingering against his cool skin drop to join the wounded appendage resting on his staff. Angling his head upward, the winter spirit waited with anxious anticipation, entirely unsure whether he truly wanted to know what could rile his four compatriots so quickly. Several seconds of silence passed before the jolly giant revealed what he knew.
"When we were looking for you, we managed to make a map of the area that had been affected by the weather changes." Jack nodded, his brow furrowing slightly as he considered the implications. "The area where the cold has taken root has grown. It covers nearly twice the area it did." Pulling his staff close to him, the younger spirited rested his head on the shepherd's crook. "Her power is growing." The ominous statement lingered in the air, the group understandably troubled by the revelation.
Uninterrupted silence consumed them for several minutes before the white-haired guardian spoke. "You made a map from dream sand."
A smile erupted on North's face as the Christmas spirit clapped him on the back. "Da, we did."
Hearing the shifting of sand, the winter spirit smiled. "Sandy, whatever you're trying to tell me is certain to be an adventure I'll be sorry I missed." More shuffling sounds reached his ears as the small earthen granules were displaced. A smile quirking his lips, Jack merely shook his head as the noise continued unabated. Even as the group began chuckling, the movement of the tiny particles remained.
Quietly calling the wind to his side, he perched himself on the passing breeze, letting it float him over to the ancient spirit. Seemingly oblivious to the mischievous guardian's roost over his shoulder, Sandy continued with the rapidly changing images that relayed the tales of their exploits. The gentle tap he applied to the slumber guardian's shoulder had the others laughing raucously. Startling the dream weaver had caused the pictures he had been forming to explode, the dream sand flying outward in every direction.
Jack coughed and spluttered as he attempted to expel the dust from his lungs. The group calm once more, a serious demeanor settled over them. "I don't know exactly where her home is. She travels with the wind just as easily as I do. So our best option of finding her is going to be in the area she seems to be expanding into."
"Right, mate." Thumping the ground, the pooka created a tunnel for transport. "Get a good hold him then, sheila."
The winter spirit's brow furrowed in confusion before a shocked shout erupted from him. He felt Toothiana's small hands firmly gripping his upper arms as she pulled him to her. He could virtually taste the wind rushing past his face as she flew them quickly through the earthen passage. Once more above ground, relief flooded the youngest guardian as the dainty fingers hiding a surprisingly strong grasp release their hold. Asking the wind to keep him aloft, he hovered as the others arrived, listening for any indication their quarry might be nearby.
Though the sound was more sporadic than it should have been this time of year, Jack could clearly make out the noise of living insects. Unfamiliar with the night time inhabitants of Britain's bug population, he could not identify the culprit. He was acutely aware that it was an audible phenomenon that had been absent everywhere else he had recently traveled in the country. His ears having been straining to focus on the light pecking the creature was making, the white-haired guardian jumped when North muttered in shock several feet from him.
"What is it? What do you see?"
Looking around the dale where they had emerged, the other four were able to clearly make out the dying forest around them. The cold had spread so quickly that it caused devastation to the local plant life. Trees that had withstood seasonal changes for hundreds of years were unable to survive the onslaught of icy weather that had so quickly attacked them. Many aged trunks lay fallen on the ground, the thick trunks having been bored through. Piles of coarse dust covered the logs, tracked along by slimy white larvae before they burrowed deeper into crevices along the decaying lumber.
Lip curled with disgust, Bunnymund really did not want to describe the insects responsible for the racket he was certain that his blind companion could clearly hear. The sad fact that he was likely the only one of them who recognized the tunneling critters did not escape him. Even so, he omitted their existence from his description of the scene that lay before them. The silence hanging in the air when he finished his exposition on the forest whose trees were slowly being devoured by destructive bugs was disquieting. He had not spared the minutia regarding the frozen aspect of the ground, nor had he failed to mention the plethora of fallen oaks whose trunks lay dead or dying along the once fertile forest floor. Despite his best efforts though, the question could not be eternally delayed.
"So what's making the noise?"
A moue of distaste pursed the tall rabbit's lips as he hesitated. The mischief maker refused to be put off, going so far as to ask the breeze on which he was poised to float him directly over the hare's head. Rubbing the fur on his ears in the wrong direction caused the organs to twitch. When the lagomorph had finally reached his limit he smacked the youngest guardian's hand away.
"Deathwatch beetles. I've always avoided hiding anything near oak or chestnut at Easter because of them."
The name alone was enough to create pause among the five spirits, well aware of the deadly impulses of the witch they aimed to stop.
Pitch had not expected to see them again so soon after their last encounter. He had managed to keep himself from their sight. He was certain that Jack had stared directly at him, those cerulean blue eyes fixed on his position. The winter spirit said nothing to reveal him, though, which had peaked his curiosity enough that he had stayed. Enduring the ridiculous attempt the rabbit had made to avoid talking about the insects had tested his patience, but the question nagging him of why it should need to be described when the ice wielder could very well make note of the unnatural devastation for himself helped him to keep his presence hidden.
Drawing his shadows about him, he moved from the trunk against which he had been leaning when the hare finally revealed the names of the insects boring holes so close to his head. Despite the fact that they could not harm a spirit, he had no desire to be any closer to the vile things than the five spirits he was attempting to avoid.
Being held aloft on the wind, Jack had the best chance of detecting him. Yet even though that gaze swung in his direction several times, not once did the youngest spirit reveal him. Calling his Nightmares to him quietly, he waited until several of the gruesome looking horses were standing by his side before emerging from the shadows which had kept him so well cloaked.
"Well, well. Trying to learn a bit about the local shrubbery? I wasn't aware that you taught dendrology, mongrel." A boomerang whirred past his head, decapitating one of his Nightmares. He ducked as it passed back by, its return route taking it directly where his head had been. Narrowing his eyes as he stood back up, Pitch flicked unseen dust from his sleeve. "That was hardly hospitable."
"Wasn't supposed to be." The growling tone that colored the pooka's response could not be mistaken for anything less than a threat.
"Oh, now, don't be upset that I'm here. After all, I was here first." The dark horses left his side, heading directly for the gathered spirits. Sandy's eyebrow raised slightly as he regarded the one running towards him. He had barely formed the blade of dream sand before the glittering golden substance sliced cleanly through the body of the stallion. The black dust that had comprised the malevolent being immediately began changing, taking on its original golden hue.
Drawing his cossack sabres, North sliced through the underbelly of the dark horse that had been headed for Jack. The shashka piercing cleanly upwards, he drew the blade down the length of the sinister creature, a wide gash forming from behind its neck down to its tail visible for only a moment before it dissolved.
Though Tooth's attack was less vicious in nature, she was no less effective. Well-placed punches from her strong arms forced the wicked animals into the rebound of Bunnymund's hurled weapons. Indirectly responsible for their ultimate destruction, she felt no guilt at using her comrade's long range prowess to her own advantage.
The small number of the malicious equine beasts resulted in a very short altercation. Panting from the exertion of alternately tossing and catching his boomerangs as he had aimed to decapitate as many of the creatures as possible before the horses could reach the ice wielder for whom the majority had been headed, the angry pooka narrowed his eyes at their dark nemesis.
"Now, now. You've had your fun." Staring at his nails, Pitch made certain that the tall rabbit understood that he did not feel the least bit in danger from the display. "What I have to wonder is why exactly you all gathered around dear Jack so protectively." Taking stock of their positions, the group realized that – without consciously making the decision – they had affected a barrier separating their most vulnerable member from the danger which had threatened them. "I thought briefly it was my own worried mind playing tricks on me when he looked in my direction but said nothing. Then I realized he did exactly that. But why would Jack Frost protect me of all beings?"
"He wouldn't, you dunny. You got a kangaroo loose in your paddock?" The generally pleasant drawl was filled with venom as the Australian glared at their nemesis.
"My, my. Aren't you pleasant today? You sound like you don't like me very much."
"Don't like ya? Mate, right now, I want to hurt you."