Alaia Skyhawk: You guys are gonna love this one, simply because of who shows up in it hehehehe!
And I figure since the question came up, I'll clarify it here. Non-believers can't see Jack's Ice Mirrors. Also, when he makes a mirror, it can only be seen on the side where he made it, not the side that it links to. The only exception is if he chooses to make a matching Ice Mirror on the other end of the portal, like he does for his permanent ones (Between the Winter Sanctuary and the Ice Caves where the Selkies live, and the permanent portal he made to Sandy's Dreamsand Isle). Hope that clears it up.
Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians, the Guardians of Childhood, or any related characters etc. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes.
And a shout-out to VanRah on Deviantart, for letting me use their awesome picture of Jack Frost as the new cover for this story! Seriously, go check out their page!
~(-)~
Chapter 38: Groundhog
A single moonbeam, swift and purposeful, spanned the distance between Earth and Moon. Sent from the hand of he who watched that vibrant world from his home within the great silvery sphere. That moonbeam eagerly obeyed his wish, to carry a message, and now it sought out the one for whom the message was destined. Not an easy feat, even for a moonbeam, for the recipient was one who could cross the world in a single stride. She who was tied to and cared for the Balance of Nature.
Mother Nature barely turned her head when the moonbeam alighted upon her shoulder, to twine with her long hair like a strand of silver through a night sky. And then she listened as it whispered to her, its words causing her to frown.
"Is that so?"
She sighed, a single step and a swirl of air, transporting her from a warm, forest night, to a cold glacial cavern whose floor had long ago been transformed into a winter forest.
When Mother Nature appeared beside the pond within the Winter Garden of the Sanctuary of Winter, Cernunnos raised his head from where he lay resting. It was, after all, the first of February, specifically of the year 1866, and it was the time he usually spent his time relaxing. But no one ignored Mother Mature when she chose to visit, no matter how tired they were.
The stag rose to his feet, and bowed his head in respect.
"Greetings. You wish to speak to Jack, perhaps? If so, I'm afraid he's not here right now."
Mother Nature tilted her head, her tone bland.
"I know exactly where he is, Cernunnos. It is not he who I wish to speak to, for I do not expect he would give me a truthful answer." She turned to face him fully, her expression now shadowed with a hint of concern. "I am aware of the civil war in America, which ended just a few months ago, and the Man in the Moon has informed me that Jack seems to have reacted to that war... rather badly."
Cernunnos now noticed the moonbeam still woven through her hair, and let out a deep sigh before coming over to stand beside her.
"You know of Jack's family, the descendants of his sister. It has been several generations now, since her, and with the numbers of children that there were in each generation, there were many branches which had moved away from Burgess and lost their belief in him... But he still watched them, checking from time-to-time, to make sure that they were safe... But with the war."
Mother Nature's eyes closed in pained understanding, before she placed a hand on the stag's shoulder.
"How many descendants from the branch families, were killed? It's been nine generations since Emily. Even if he only traced the male lineages, who carried the Bennett name, there must be thousands of them that he knew where to find. How many died?"
"In a normal year, deaths from the usual causes numbered on average, sixty... But during the first year of the war, one-hundred and two died, in the second year, it was over a hundred and forty... By the end of the war, over seven-hundred branch descendants that he'd kept a light watch over, had been killed. Most were men, of young-to-middle years, who fought in the war. But there were also many children slain, along with their mothers. Jack... didn't take it well."
Mother Nature wrapped her arms around herself.
"...Oh, Jack..."
Cernunnos hung his head, solemn.
"He has long accepted it when descendants of his sister died of illness, old age, or accidents, but those deaths rarely came close together in large numbers. But this was different. There were descendants on both sides of the fighting, in some cases taking part in the same battles with the possibility of directly fighting and killing each other. The children and mothers who died, were from parts of the family who had moved the Southern States. They died when their home towns and cities were attacked and burned. Of the rest who died, it was from the endemic illnesses that swept everywhere during the conflict, because of the conditions, or because of the cold during the winters."
"And Jack has now been avoiding most of you, correct? Spending most of his time alone, brooding."
At her question, Cernunnos nodded.
"Jack spoke to the Bennetts in Burgess, two weeks ago. Before now, they would tell him where those who left the town, went, and how they were doing. But now he's asked not to be told anything. He has decided that, from now on, when a Bennett moves away from the town, he no longer wants anything to do with them, because it hurts too much. But..."
Mother Nature sighed.
"That doesn't stop him feeling like he's abandoning those family members. He feels like he's betraying them, even though they have lost their belief in him." The moonbeam in her hair, chimed, and she nodded. Aware of what the Man in the Moon had in mind. "It seems that Jack is in need of a new Lieutenant, to break him from this cycle of self-blame, and Tsar Luna has located a suitable individual for the task... I will send them here, once I have found them. I will leave the rest to you, Cernunnos."
She was about to depart, but paused when the stag spoke.
"You seem to do that a great deal... Give him the people he needs, to have around him and keep him from losing himself. Every one of us who currently serves him, was chosen by you, and yet again it will someone else who chooses for him on this occasion."
Mother Nature regarded him, her voice quiet.
"Jack is a very independent individual, too independent at times, and that's one of his biggest flaws. He tends to isolate himself when facing problems, instead of asking those close to him for help... You are the steady hand on his shoulder, Cernunnos. Yuki is the little sister, for him to fiercely protect and look after. Zuě Hu is the brother, a supportive and understanding comrade. Marzanna is the voice of reason, to lead him when he finds himself struggling with what path to choose in solving a problem."
Cernunnos smiled at her explanation, or at least as much as a stag could smile.
"And what will be newest Lieutenant be?"
"I won't know until I meet them, but I trust that the Man in the Moon has already figured out what it is that Jack now needs."
Mother Nature vanished, following the guidance of the moonbeam, whereupon she found herself outside a small town a considerable distance north of Burgess, but still in the same State. Night had fallen here, but the moonbeam urged her to wait and watch. She did so, and sat within the branches of a tree to wait and observe.
When dawn came and the people of the town began to move about, she watched as they gathered and talked in hushed whispers, looking down the hill to where a mound of disturbed earth indicated there was a burrow of some kind. The people watched, intent, until a hint of movement was seen an hour or so later. At that moment they seemed to hold their breath, as a modestly-large rodent stuck its head up out of its home and peered around.
It was a groundhog.
The groundhog sniffed at the air, then at the ground, and turned tail to go back down its hole... and the people reacted with slumped shoulders, and grumbled complaints about spring being late again this year.
Mother Nature raised her eyebrows at that, having heard rumour that groundhogs were being watched in an attempt to predict spring for some twenty-or-so years. It was an obvious Legend in the making, and yet the Man in the Moon hadn't responded to it by creating a Legend Immortal to fulfil the role.
The moonbeam in her hair, as if sensing that thought, giggled and slipped free. It then darted down the burrow, now that the people were no longer watching it, and a few moments later a very angry groundhog came scurrying out with the thread of light close behind it.
The moonbeam darted around the rodent, making sure it couldn't go back down the hole, before Mother Nature drifted over and picked up the creature.
She then eyed the moonbeam with disapproval.
"That was entirely unnecessary. I could have called him out myself, without distressing him. Now go on, shoo! I have work to do." The moonbeam giggled again and flew away, before Mother Nature shook her head and began soothing the agitated groundhog. "Shhh, there now, there's nothing to be upset about any more. You've got an important role to play from now on, as an Immortal of Nature, but one who also has a growing Legend. You're going to help the Spirit of Winter, a great deal in the coming years."
The groundhog went quiet in her arms, for no creature panicked in the grasp of Mother Nature, and she continued to stroke its head and murmur to it. She continued for several minutes, with the delicate weaving of magic, until at last she set the little creature down.
And then it looked up at her, blinked, and spoke.
"Why me?"
She smiled down at this newest of immortals.
"My favourite General, Jack Frost, is in need of another new Lieutenant. You've already started a role here, that will be a useful addition to his team. You'll like working for him. He has a good sense of humour. Now go on, and go to the Winter Sanctuary."
She touched him with her power, to show him where that place was. The Groundhog then paused as if to think for a moment, before in a flurry of paws he disappeared down a magical burrow.
At the Winter Sanctuary, it was Cernunnos who came face-to-face with the furry critter first, when Groundhog came up out of his magical burrow in the only place with dirt in the Sanctuary, the Winter Garden.
The stag blinked and then snorted when he spotted the intruder, but mindful of who the fellow might be, his tone held only a mild note of warning.
"What are you doing in here, and who are you?"
The new immortal stood up on his hind legs, raising himself to his full height of eighteen inches, and then tilted his head.
"I'm Groundhog. Mother Nature told me to come here and be a Lieutenant for the Spirit of Winter."
Cernunnos remained silent for a moment, not sure what to make of this rather odd and obviously new immortal. An hour ago, Groundhog had probably been just a regular rodent digging around in his burrow or foraging for food... But, Mother Nature would not have turned him into an immortal, if she didn't think he was what Jack needed.
The stag rose to his feet and walked over to Groundhog, before indicating with a tilt of his antlers the tunnel that led into the main cavern.
"Then follow me, and we shall wait at the plaza for him to return."
"Ok!"
Groundhog cheerfully scampered after the much much larger immortal, following Cernunnos to the space in front of the Ice Palace. Once there, the stag sent a Winter Sprite out to tell Jack he had a guest. And then he watched as more Winter Sprites began to gather, Groundhog being basically the same size as them, which resulted in a game of 'tag' springing up.
Marzanna came out of the Lieutenants Residence to see what all the noise was about, and after seeing an obviously immortal groundhog skidding and sliding as he chased giggling sprites around in circles, she raised her eyebrows.
"What strange little thing has been sent our way now?"
Cernunnos glanced at her, and waited until she close before murmuring quietly.
"That little fellow is to be our newest comrade, and seeing him playing with those sprites, I dare say his carefree exuberance is exactly the distraction that Jack needs... Mother Nature was here a few hours ago, to enquire about Jack after she was alerted to something being wrong by the Man in the Moon. She warned me to expect the newest recruit to arrive, and as you can see, here he is."
The groundhog skidded past them, almost bumping into Cernunnos in the process, still yelling playfully as he chased yet another of the sprites. Marzanna then started to smile, unable to help but be amused, and she knew then that there was the point. Not even Jack would fail to find this scene funny enough to laugh at.
"I get the feeling that the Winter Sanctuary is going to be a far noisier place after this."
More might have been said, but for the chill wind that shivered through the cavern. Jack had arrived back, his face set into a frown as he flew over. Every line of his posture saying he intended to demand why he'd been ambushed by a sprite to the face.
But then he paused and stared at the brown rodent which was running around his plaza, laughing at the top of its lungs.
"Who is that?"
Marzanna stepped in to stop the game by picking up the new immortal, while Cernunnos explained.
"Mother Nature came by to say she would be sending you someone to be a Lieutenant. This is Groundhog, our new recruit, and he is very new from what I can tell."
Jack eyed the rodent, who stared at him from Marzanna grasp.
"So... How long have you been immortal?"
Groundhog tilted his head.
"Uh, since just before I came here."
When Jack glanced at Cernunnos, the stag answered.
"Three hours."
Jack's eyes widened in surprise, before he glanced at Groundhog again.
"And what exactly is it your job to do?"
The little creature raised his head, looking quite proud of himself.
"I tell people if winter is going to end early or not. I was sort of doing it for humans near my burrow anyway, because I could smell if it was going to stay cold. If I came out and went back into my burrow right away, they knew the cold was going to stay a while. But if I came out and stayed out, they'd start digging and planting stuff."
Jack ran a hand through his hair, a hint of a smile showing on his face.
"Is this to do with the confusion between the two calendars, where the 'start date' of spring is different by six weeks?"
Groundhog blinked.
"I dunno... What's a calendar?"
At that question, a small laugh burst from Jack, and he started to shaking his head in wonder.
"Well if humans have started believing a ground-dwelling rodent can tell them when spring is going to arrive, I suppose I can humour that. But we'll let the mundane groundhogs play in that role, you'll just nudge the tradition along. Adults can't see Immortals, or at least it's very rare. You're going to have to use stand-ins."
The rodent started to wriggle, until he dropped free of Marzanna's hold.
"But how can I be a Herald then?"
Jack laughed again, louder this time, and began to grin with burgeoning mischief.
"I have a idea about that. You can tell all the Legend Immortals that work during spring, when each Spring Threshold is going to be. And there's one guy I think you're going to have a lot of fun giving those messages to for every Northern Spring Threshold."
Groundhog tilted his head again.
"Who?"
Jack's grin widened.
"You can go see him now, and tell him that Spring Threshold will be in seven weeks and two days... Easter is going to be a little white, in more places than usual this year." He hefted his staff, and lowered the tip to touch the groundhog's shoulder. "But first, you need to become my Lieutenant. Then we can go have some fun."
~(-)~
The tuneful and contented humming drifted through the Warren, as the oversized 'rabbit' who was the source of that tune, worked away at checking all his special flowers were in top condition and ready for egg production and decoration to begin in a few more weeks. This was a time he generally enjoyed, before the urgency and panic that inevitably came every year as he worried himself about getting enough eggs done on time. And in a couple more hours, once these checks were done, he could go and sit down with a nice refreshing drink and enjoy the sunshine in his home.
A sudden pounding came from the main entrance to the Warren, causing Bunny to prick up his ears, turn his head, and frown. No one came to visit him during the first four months of the year, all his regular visitors knew not to disturb him. And if it were one of the Guardians with an emergency, they didn't need to knock because they could let themselves in. So that left the question as to who was at the door right now?
Bunny darted through the tunnels until he reached the entrance in question, and opened it only to find the tunnel beyond it was apparently empty. He closed it again, grumbling about stupid pranks, when the rapid and persistent pounding started up again. Resulting in him whipping the circular door open again intending to catch the culprit.
The tunnel looked empty, and the Pooka was about slam the door when a voice sounded from the region near his feet.
"Down here."
He looked down, to see a groundhog with an obvious smirk on its face.
"Who are you?"
Groundhog stood up on his hind legs, puffing up with importance.
"I am The Groundhog, Lieutenant and Messenger for the Spirit of Winter... I'm here to tell you when Spring Threshold will be this year, before I go round all the other Spring Legend Immortals to tell them too."
Bunny stared, rather surprised.
"You're new aren't you? How long have you been an Immortal?"
Groundhog tilted his head, thinking about how long it had taken Jack to tell him about how to find all the Spring Legends. That conversation had also included a quick lesson as to the concept and measurements of time.
"One day? Yeah, one day."
The rodent grinned cheerfully, and Bunny groaned and rolled his eyes.
"Great, a newbie."
The Groundhog's smile vanished, and he retaliated to that by head-butting Bunny in the shins. Hard enough to cause him to yelp in surprise.
"Oi, I'm just going my job here! Don't make fun of me!" Groundhog glared at him, practically pouting with immaturity. "Spring Threshold will be in seven weeks and one day. My boss said Easter is going to be white in more places than usual this year."
"What?"
Groundhog smirked in reaction to the Pooka's exclamation.
"Mother Nature decides the schedule, not my boss. So deal with it, Big Ears."
He turned and scurried up the tunnel, leaving a stunned Easter Bunny in his wake. Outside, on the beach of Easter Island, Jack was waiting having watched the entire scene using an Ice Mirror linked to a point near the door.
The Spirit of Winter was curled up on the sand, laughing so much he was pink in the face, and Groundhog prodded at him anxiously.
"Did I do ok?"
Jack righted himself, wiping away tears of mirth before nodding to his new Lieutenant.
"You did! I haven't laughed like that in ages! That was funnier than seeing his face when I freeze his ears together every Easter, and I've done that every year for thirty-eight years."
Groundhog's eyes widened, and he started to grin.
"Really? Are you going to do it again this year? Can I watch?"
Jack burst out laughing again, and then he nodded.
"Sure!"
~(-)~
Alaia Skyhawk: GROUNDHOG! YAY! And if you're wondering what he is, since Cernunnos is the 'steadying hand', Yuki is the 'little sister', Zuě Hu is the 'brother', and Marzanna is the 'voice of guidance'... Groundhog is, to coin a phrase my friend Julie suggested, the 'plucky sidekick' hehehehe! :D