A/N: this was requested by both majestic. beauty. sealed .in. ice and Dragon. So I hope this was what you were looking for!

Chapter 10 - First Meeting

3rd POV

Aster was frankly quite bored, he had been told to accompany his Dam instead of his Da this year to the annual meeting of the seasons. A political garb of the usual things that held no interest, crimes –though far and few in between-, what Pooka would be sent where to help a planet strive and thrive. Then the feast and stories would begin of the epic battles of the nightmares, it was something he hated.

Oh, Aster loved the stories but he hated standing there when he could be out and doing something productive. There were still colonies and nests of families that are in need of aid, their own burrows failing in the time of mourning the fallen warriors in the wars of the golden age. But they were and still are thankful for Kozmotis and his leadership in helping capture and imprison the Fearlings, Dream Pirates and so on.

"Evergreen, my you have grown. You look much like your father, I am sure Armeniacum is proud." Sulphureum Thatch cooed as she stood by her mate's side, her pale yellow and brown fur glowing in the sun.

Blackhaw smiled and nodded, "Yes, as am I. Aster is fast becoming a mighty warrior and will soon be joining the Pookan Rangers." Aster looked down and away from his mother's boasting causing some to chuckle.

"My boy what wonderful news, the Rangers are a fine batch, no matter what season or style you choose!" Felonwood smiled, patting Aster on the back.

Aster smiled, "I'll be training in Bunnymund like Da and Queen Bunnymund."

"So the rumors are true Blackhaw! My son will be joining the rangers too, he's breaking tradition." Tecomanthe chuckled as he bound his way to the others, Phlox not that far behind him.

"Oh? Is he not going to the mountains like you did Teco?" Blackhaw asked amused and slightly surprised, it was an unspoken tradition that Kits when wanting to join the rangers they would go to the ones their parents went.

Phlox looked at her mate fondly before shaking her head, "No, Hellebore will be joining Bearberry's Core."

The others including Aster stared at her stunned, a winter Pooka willing to face the heats of summer for a period of five years was unheard of and very rare.

"That is brilliant! I expect mighty things from him then! Speeking of which, where is Hellebore? I thought for his first year too be allowed to come he would be all for it." Bearberry asked causing Tecomanthe to shake his head fondly.

"That boy is off who knows where. He bound out of the house and said he would be close to here but he would not join us, something more important. Now, shall we get this meeting started?" He asked with a smile, the others nodded and began to make their way towards the hall. Aster sighed as he began to follow only stopping when his Dam shook her head.

"Evergreen, why don't you go and look around. Go have some fun for once." She chuckled, a twinkle in her eyes. Aster smiled at his Dam in relief before bounding off towards the forest area that was a mix of all four seasons. He had been able to come to these meetings for a year almost and had always wanted to visit the way the magic flowed in the forest; he wanted to explore them before he gave it all up and became a warrior.

The first thing he noticed was the trees; they were scattered mixes of elements. Spring trees had veins and flowers growing over them or bared fruit of all kinds. The summer ones were golden and seemed to illuminate while the autumn ones were orange and red with falling leaves, but it was the winter ones he found amazing. Trees that seemed to be spun ice, he could feel the magic keeping them alive as they swayed to the breeze.

At the sound of laughter Aster's ears perked up, his body tensing automatically by being taken off guard before relaxing. Cautiously he slowly began to bound towards the laughter, he didn't know who else was out here as not many people were allowed into the seasonal forest.

The laughter stopped as he bound over a small hill causing Aster to freeze as cold air whirled around him softly. There was no one there but he could have sworn that someone was laughing.

"Hey there." A voice chirps excitedly causing Aster to jump and stumble in surprise. "Whoa, are you okay? I didn't mean to frighten you."

Hellebore stared down at the stunned Pooka in concern, he knew from the markings he was of spring decent. He was surprised to hear another Pooka bounding their way towards him as not many people came here, especially to his spot.

Aster stared up at the buck in slight awe; he had never seen fur a pure white as the snow in winter, not even the Winter Chief was as pure white snow. His markings were in white as well, it was truly astounding and rare. Shaking his head he took the outstretched paw before him, grunting as he was pulled off the ground.

"It's okay, I should have alerted myself. I was wandering the forest when I heard laughter, I was curious… Aster." He stated, holding out a paw for the other to shake.

"That's okay, my Da is in the court right now and I come here to play often. Nice to meet you Aster, I'm Jack." Hellebore laughed out as he saw the others eyes – such beautiful green eyes – widen at his nickname. "It's my middle name; my father has a sense of humour."

Aster smiles and shakes his head, "My Dam is in court too, Aster is my middle name, and I take after my Da."

"Well Aster, welcome to my special place! Do you feel up for a game?" Jack chuckled out as he hid his paws behind his back, using his hind leg to lift some snow into them.

Cocking his head to the side Aster frowned confused before shrugging, "sure wha…" he cut off spluttering as snow collided with his face.

"SNOWFIGHT!" Jack yelled before laughing. Aster chuckled before grabbing snow and prepared for battle, feeling light hearted for once. He was going to miss this.

A/N: well? What did you think?

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