Pooka, human or Guardian spirit, there were some things that were constant. One of them, was that when it came to the younger generation, you had to set ground rules right off the bat, and enforce them rigorously. Rule number one in the Warren for Jack after his last visit – no holding the staff in the vicinity of eggs or plant life.
Bunny accepted he'd been on thin ice after the bean spilling incident, so had tried to be lenient and keep his distance with Jack up until after Christmas. But with winter ebbing away, and Easter edging closer, Jack expressed interest in helping out, to help make up for his mistake of the previous year. The Easter spirit had happily accepted, but when the Guardian of Fun visits, Bunnymund sets down the second rule immediately.
"Cloak. Off."
Jack groans and mutters something no doubt derogatory, but Bunnymund just crosses his arms and stands firm.
"Not here Kit. You want to wear it above ground, I'll live with it for now, but in the Warren, you take it off."
"You know, I'm starting to think this was a bad idea" Jack mutters, though he is fingering the buckles slightly. The elder Pooka walks over, hand over his as he helps him unbuckle the hood.
"Hey, this place was made for me remember? You'll be a lot more comfortable navigating around without this bogging you down."
The Guardians had learned early the practical approach was, surprisingly, the easiest way to get through to Jack. The justification seemed to relax him, and shrugged the heavy cloak off, hands wrapping around his staff instinctively. Bunny frowned when he noticed Jack had tied his ears down again, and snapped the rope loose again as the younger Pooka removed the scarf and gloves. Now he was getting a closer look, he noticed the red marks about halfway up on the snow rabbit's ears from the constant restraint.
The cloak could wait, but that little bit of self mutilation had to go. In a move that was quickly becoming habit, he ruffled the icy fur on the younger Pooka's forehead, coaxing the ears up to their rightful position, getting a mild grimace from the buck for his troubles.
"You really shouldn't do that" Bunny warned. "Your ears are sensitive, and I'm getting tired of biting through rope."
Rather annoyingly, Jack's ears dropped down almost automatically, too used to the lower position to stand tall. "It was that, or live with them pulling the hood up, and that kinda hurts too."
Bunnymund threw the rope off to the side, and ignoring the startled yelp, slid one hand over Jack's right ear, lifting it up and fingering the red line. For Jack, cold was safety, and the mark felt unnervingly warm.
"I'd say if it wasn't for the fact you're immortal, you'd have lost both of these by now" Bunnymund replied. "And that wouldn't be an attractive look."
Jack rolled his eyes. "Yes, because that's my number one priority right now."
Bunnymund attempts to ruffle them back up one last time. "This rope goes the way of the boots kit. If it's actually damaging, it goes."
"Hey, I like my boots."
"...Yes...I'm sure walking like a clodhopper is very comfortable."
He tried to hide the frustration when the ears drop again, and Jack stepped back, arms wrapped even tighter around his staff, clearly nervous and agitated.
"Look, I get you feel guilty, or whatever. But you're not my parent or guardian or mentor or whatever it is you think you're supposed to be. So just drop it."
The Easter Bunny's heart twisted at Jack's reaction. He kept forgetting the young Pooka was used to his independence, and definitely wasn't used to people looking out for him. Might have to change his strategy a little.
He sighed and stepped back, arms up in a placating gesture. "I'm sorry, but no one wants to see a friend hurting themselves for no good reason. You wouldn't just stand by if Tooth started plucking out her feathers would you?
Jack faltered at the comparison, and Bunny took the opportunity it presented.
"Tell you what, if you can convince the other Guardians you need to pin down your ears and cripple your feet, I won't mention it again."
The younger Pooka blanched.
"Problem?"
Jack pouted, and when he saw the footwear kicked to the side, Bunnymund knew he'd won.
"Thought you might see it my way, now come on. Got a few things to show you kit."
Bunnymund adored his Warren. Although Manny had definitely helped out with its creation, and the belief of children kept it in top shape, he'd spent decades fine tuning every detail until it was 100% his. Of course, that meant it was made for Pooka, and it was a novel experience to actually show off to someone who could keep up.
Or at least should be able to. Jack was used to flying rather than walking, and years of not walking barefoot had apparently left him unsure of his own balance. That, and he stayed pretty solidly on two feet, even when Bunny started running and jumping ahead. He would usually just resort to using his staff to fly, being as careful as he could not to touch any walls.
As such, Bunny kept the tour short, taking in Jack's problems and adding them to his mental list of things to help the frost sprite with.
It didn't take long to reach Bunnymund's living quarters, and Jack whistled.
"You know, not as impressive as Tooth and North's joints, but not too shabby."
Bunny rolled his eyes. Frankly he didn't spend much time in this part of the Warren, often sleeping out amongst the plants, but even he liked to have some more modern day comforts every now and then.
His home was carved into the rocky underbelly of a cliff and decorated with the symbols similar to his sentinels. The roofs were high, with many levels, but few stairs – he didn't need them and meant he could get privacy from the more inquisitive eggs when they were being precocious.
It took Jack all of 20 seconds to ice up a slide between two levels and skid down. Eggs lunged towards the slide, eager to try, only to find they were stuck slipping on the bottom. And when Bunnymund complained, it only took the Frostbite five seconds more to have him flat on his back from the patch of ice under his feet. The Easter spirit stumbled back to his feet and glared up.
But when he spotted Jack grinning from the top level, ears up, alert and twitching, he couldn't find it in him to be angry.
Much.
The room was pretty bare – Bunny had never really needed to entertain company before so had to pull it together on the fly. Nothing more than a bed and whatever furniture he could scavenge from the other rooms. He admitted as such.
"Sorry it's not that fancy" he said. "I'm much better at decorating my googie's than rooms."
"Are you kidding?" Jack replied, a wide smile on his face. "I usually sleep in trees and rocks. This is a palace."
...Okay, add actually getting the kit a proper permanent address to that ever growing list too.
He was looking out the glassless window, then turned his head. "Though if you don't mind, can I try sprucing it up myself?"
Bunnymund sighed. "Just remember rule number 1 and keep it under control. And don't let any eggs up here without supervision."
Jack nodded, and then froze, blinking as something caught his eye. There was a mirror in the corner of the room, and he walked towards it, curious. Bunnymund followed his eyes and chuckled.
"Oh yeah, kinda forgot I had that. A memento from my more image obsessed days. Thought you might get more use out of it than me."
Jack however, didn't appear to hear him. Instead he was frozen, focused completely on his reflection.
"That's...me?"
Bunnymunds grin faltered. "Haven't you seen your reflection before."
Slowly, the frost sprite shook his head. "Not since I became a spirit..."
He cocked his head, ears twitching, and watched his reflection follow. "I'm taller than I remember. Maybe older...my cape never really needed altering so I didn't even think I was aging..."
The grin quickly became a frown. Admittedly none of the other Guardians aged, they were made immortal, essentially keeping them at their peak through belief. Bunnymund knew Jack had died, the frost sprite having shared the information not long after Pitch's defeat, but had just assumed he'd been in his teens at time, but if what he was saying was true...
"How old were you when Manny chose you?"
Jack shrugged, eyes breaking away and looking down at his furry chest and arms. "Not sure. I was with my family for four years, but I don't remember much before my sister found me. I looked almost like a normal rabbit then, and I started getting pretty tall after that."
Four years, at the start of a growth spurt. If that was true then-
Once again, Jack found himself in the arms of Bunnymund, held tight while the older Pooka hissed angry curses at the world.
"It was one thing to choose a teenager, but this? I'm going to have so many words with Manny, you hear me Moon Man!"
"Bunny...?"
"Kit, you couldn't have been more than eight to ten years old. Pooka's mature early, but still..."
Hesitantly, Jack reached over and stroked the fur on Bunnymunds back. "If it helps, it was a long time ago."
Bunnymund growled, but tried to relax under the comforting hand. "To be honest, it really doesn't."
Despite what North and Sandy and Tooth might think, Bunnymund is perfectly aware that Jack has been around a long time. And that however old he was when he was chosen, he is now technically an adult, and perfectly capable of taking care of himself.
But try explaining that to the instincts that are screaming at him to lock Jack in the Warren and never let him out of his site. He'd pretty sure the only reason he's managed to resist them so far is the fact that Jack would never forgive him.
The problem with being raised by another species, and then having 300 years in general isolation, especially from a young age, is that you had a tendency to develop a warped sense of self and feel the need to suppress perfectly respectable traits. His obsessive and damaging clothing habits were just one piece of the eggshell.
For instance, Jack had a severe reluctance for running on all fours. Somewhat justified, considering he needed his hands for his staff, and spent more time in the air than on the ground. But in the Warren, Bunny would see the Guardian of Fun prepare to chase after him, only to catch himself mid leap and stick to two legs.
Then there was grooming. Something Bunnymund, out of common courtesy, did try to do outside the other Guardian's presence whenever possible. But when you were covered in fur and travelling underground, there were occasions where he just had to take time to sort out his coat. Jack's fur had been hidden from the elements most of his life, but closer inspection showed it was somewhat matted, centuries of neglect and genuine ignorance playing a heavy part.
And inevitably, Bunnymund sometimes just got that itch in that spot just behind his ears and it was just easier to lift up his hind foot for a few seconds and take care of it. Jack clearly felt the same, he'd seen his feet twitch enough times. But rather than follow through, he got an embarrassed look on his face and scratched with his front dew claws, clearly never quite getting the sweet spot as he was at it several times in as many minutes. Whether it was thanks to years wearing those damnable boots or just not wanting to do something that would give away the shape underneath the cloak pre-spirit years, or even a combination of both, it was heartbreaking to see the young buck act so ignorant and ashamed of things Bunny didn't even think about.
Admittedly, the amount of human interaction Bunny actually had was limited, and the other Guardians had enough quirks not to even blink at his own. But Jack hadn't been so lucky, he'd been raised around humans, and had no memories or knowledge of how to be a Pooka. When Jack asked (and he was certain he would, eventually), Bunnymund would be happy to share the past of their tribe, their culture, that he was now entrusted with. But for now, he'd focus on the physical.
Safe to say, Bunny had his work cut out for him. However, he had the kit in the Warren for at least a few weeks to help out with Easter. And though Jack might not realise it, most of Bunnymund's procedures and preparations would easily double as Pooka training quite nicely.
This Easter, not only was Bunny going to pull out all the stops and make the children of Earth forget that last year's catastrophe ever happened, but by the end of it, he'd have a Jack that was infinitely more comfortable in his own skin, whether he realised it or not.