Look! I'm posting to days in a row! That's been a while.


Terror filled Jack as he struggled to breath. He couldn't move, couldn't see, couldn't feel the Wind on his skin. He was trapped somewhere and he didn't know where, or how, or why. This time the Moon didn't shine on him to break him from his prison. It was only him and the darkness wrapping itself around him, suffocating him like the water of the lake he had drowned in. He kicked and called for help, struggled to free himself. It tightened around him, refusing to let him escape.

He felt pain on his left side as if he crashed into something and the world around him changed, somehow. It was still dark and he still couldn't move, but but the Wind no longer seemed so far away. He could reach out for it if only he held his staff. He could feel it nearby, but something trapped his arms. He struggled again and cried out in frustration. He wanted to be out of here. Now. But whatever was holding him merely tightened it's hold on him.

"Jack? What's the matter, mate?"

He could hear Bunny's voice, but even if he tried to turn in his direction, all he could see was a vague golden light somewhere far away. He trashed against his restrains again, trying to reach out to the Pooka.

"Get me out of here!"

"Calm down, Snowflake, you're making it worse."

He felt Bunny's hands through the frozen fabric surrounding him. His blanket, he realized now. He must have rolled off the pile of cushions in the middle of a nightmare, only to find himself still trapped in the dark. He could see the light of the Warrens through the fabric. He still wanted the damned thing off of him and Bunny wasn't going fast enough for his taste.

"Hold still, you're not helping," Bunny scolded him as he kept untangling the blanket.

"Get it off!"

"I would if you stopped freezing it together."

Jack forced himself to stay still while Bunny worked, tearing off layers of fabric and ice. When he uncovered his face, Jack took a long gulp of air like someone who had almost drowned. He could see the painted sky on the ceiling of his room in the Warrens. He could almost imagine he was outside. Even here, underground, the Wind could reach him and it played with his hair soothingly. He felt like such a child, having a fit over a nightmare and a tangled blanket. Bunny would never let him hear the end of it.

The moment he could move enough, he kicked the blanket away, only slightly remorseful that he hit Bunny too in the process. The Pooka grabbed him before he could stand and run away, pulling him against his chest.

"Calm down," Bunny repeated. "What happened, Frostbite? You had a nightmare?"

Jack glared at Bunny until he realized he wasn't mocking him. He didn't know if that was better or simply embarrassing. He looked down.

"Sorry I kicked you."

"Never mind that. You all right?"

"Yeah."

"So? Nightmare?"

He nodded, feeling his cheeks freeze. He still wouldn't look at Bunny, even as the Pooka started to rub his back to comfort him. It wasn't making him feel any less like a child.

"I just... don't always sleep well unless I'm outside. I know it's silly but... it's like the walls are trying to crush me in my sleep."

"Nah, it's not silly. You're not an indoor kind of spirit. Me, I don't like wide open spaces. They make me nervous. Must be the rabbit in me."

Jack smiled a little at that. He knew Bunny would not easily admit being nervous about anything.. Yet he had, to make him feel better about his earlier panic. He did not try to stand up or move away again, letting the Pooka hold him and rub circles on his back for now.

"Do you want to go outside?" Bunny asked.

"No. I think I'm fine right here."


Feels good to be writing shorter chapters again.

Someone asked a while ago for something about Jack being claustrophobic and I had no idea how to do it. It's not like it's easy to get him stuck in a closet, or something. It's the best I could manage. So, if you're still reading, I hope it was okay.