Chapter Thirty-Five-What?
"What is this?" North asked, trying his absolute best to be stern but the sight was just so incredibly funny. He stood there with his arms crossed, hoping that the smirk-to-be he was repressing stayed convincingly repressed.
It didn't.
"Um…Jamie sneezed?" Jack tried.
"Sure…" North stroked his beard in thought, still trying his best to hold in a chuckle.
"And there is reason no one else is in here still?" He asked, laughter was threatening to overtake him.
"Um…" They both looked at each other in desperation. North couldn't take it, so much childhood fun all rolled up in one mischievous duo. He shook his head.
"Come now, what happened?" He asked, no longer bothering to hide his grin. In fact, he sat down on one of the sofas to wait for the story to unfold. Jack and Jamie gave each other the classic 'who's gonna tell him' look. He couldn't help it, he chuckled all the way over to the seat.
"They went to make dinner and I asked about what our jobs were and I tried to make a tiny cloud with snow but I sneezed and kinda sorta mighta frozen the assembly line down there…" Jamie glanced over the railing to the work floor below in hesitant apology.
"And Jack was…?" He asked, eyeing the boy in what might have been disapproval had he not been seconds from belly laughing.
"I thought he could handle it, he was doing really well…until he sneezed." Jack shrugged, knowing well enough that North wasn't angry, he had been around him at least that long.
North would be the first to admit it, he trusted Jack. If Jack had made that call, there was probably a reason for it. He chuckled and stood back up.
"Alright then, how about we go find out what is for dinner?" He enticed. The boys took to that immediately.
"So, do spirits really need to eat or is it a normalcy thing?" Jamie asked as they were making their way into the kitchen. He was actually walking with North rather than flying around.
"We do, it gives us energy, but we cannot actually starve, so speak." North explained, making a confused face as he realized that something he said sounded wrong. Jamie chuckled.
"Did you mean, 'so to speak'?" He asked.
"Ah! Yes, that is it." He laughed. Sometimes he lost his English phrases. They finally caught up to Jack in the kitchen/dining room area that almost never got used to actually eat in, and found all the others making food. Tooth and Jessica were collaborating on desert which caused Jack to chuckle at the irony. Bunny was making pasta and Sandy was making various side-dishes and eggnog. He was one of the best at it. Phil the yeti had poked in and made a giant pitcher of hot cocoa before sneaking back out, leaving them to their quality time with a smile. There was only one missing.
"Where's James?" North asked after a second.
"Oh! North, boys, James said he's sorry but he's got to get back to doing what he needs to do. Things dropped off a bit there and he even offered to give Sandy a break for a little bit." Tooth explained, fluttering away from the counter she had been working on, swaying nervously.
"Oh, okay. We'll see him later, right?" Jamie assured. Tooth's face softened again.
"You're right sweetie, I'm sure he'll be around later." She agreed.
"Hey kiddo, come help me out, will ya?" Bunny called.
"Whatcha need?" Jamie asked, taking off from the two guardians. Jack was already trying to snitch cookie dough from Jessica.
"Jack, no! That's not good for you!" They all heard. What they didn't hear was when she leaned over and whispered, "besides, this cake batter is so much better."
Jack took his prize up to the rafters with a grateful smile to pig out. Jamie was helping Bunny flash-freeze leftovers he hadn't used which was excellent practice for him, and North had taken to setting the table, pouring cocoa and such. They even made frozen cocoa for Jack and Jamie.
"Alright, dinner's ready!" Bunny called as he headed to the table with the last of the food, Sandy in tow. "Come on down, Frostbite!"
Jack flipped gracefully down from the rafters and Jamie was watching in even more awe than he would normally. Sandy, for his part, caught Jamie's looks and mentally prepared himself to catch the boy at some point that night. He figured between he and Jack there would be at least one casualty that would have him hauling someone to their room at the pole. He was almost on point with who.
Jack almost passed out from over-eating because no one was paying close attention, once again reminding everyone that he was a kid forever. It was sweet how sometimes he'd do innocent little things that a parent would normally prevent. Tooth and Jessica found it openly precious. North and Bunny less vocally so, and Sandy just thought it was funny.
"Let's get him to bed." Jessica chuckled. Sandy stood up and waved her back down to finish eating. She nodded, she wasn't arguing. Jamie was curled up in a ball on one of the sofas that were nestled around the fireplace that was the obligatory fireplace in every single room in the pole without fail.
Sandy scooped the both of them up in turn and took them to bed.
"So, you can help me learn more of the nature magic?" Jessica turned her attention back to her conversation with Bunny. The pooka nodded.
"'Course, sheila. My warren's really connected to the magic, bein' underground an' all." He seemed to consider something for a second before continuing. "You should stop by and stay a while, try to connect to the core of it." He suggested carefully. Jessica looked around and found the others absorbed in their own worlds.
"That sounds nice, when?" She asked.
"Any old time. Tonight?" He asked. She nodded.
"Sure, I'll just let Jamie know where I'm going so he doesn't worry or anything like that." She offered. He nodded.
"Good idea. Eventually you'll have to cure each other of that need though." He stressed the idea.
"I know, I know. Being a spirit and trying to keep tabs on one another is going to be impossible. I guess I'll have to trust North and Sandy to keep an eye on the little buggers." She teased.
"I know you're mostly kidding, but that's what you'll need to do." Bunny agreed. Jessica sighed, setting down her fork and pushing the plate back. She couldn't eat another bite and all the new magic she was carrying was wiping her out just as it had Jamie.
"Alright, we better get goin' before you pass out in your plate." Bunny teased.
"It's not that bad." She argued. Bunny's brows almost levitated off his head.
"I know you're a momma, mate, but tired is tired. I know wiped when I see it." He crossed his arms, daring her to tell him he was wrong.
"Okay okay, you have a point." She was rubbing her eyes and at this point North and Tooth had noticed. Sandy still wasn't back so Bunny's thought was to get her to the warren before he got onto her.
"Let's go." He mumbled, she nodded.
"Bunny? Jessica? Leaving already?" North asked cheerfully.
"Yeah, she's beat and we're going to try to connect her with the core of her magic. Do us a favor and make sure Jack and Jamie know she's with me?" Bunny asked, knowing she was losing energy quick. There was no way she was making it to Jamie's room and back. A quick nap and she'd be back to normal. Hopefully being in the warren was enough to connect her on its own, if not it could wait a while. North and Tooth agreed readily and they were off.
She actually fell asleep under one of the trees in the warren, not really liking the idea of a bed much at the moment. Bunny figured it was her magical core connecting with the planet, so being outside was going to be more comfortable for her for the time being. When she woke up Bunny was painting eggs beside her.
"Mornin' mate." He greeted without looking, too engrossed in his painting to take his eyes off it just yet.
"Mmm? Oh, how long did I sleep?" She asked through a yawn as she stretched. Looking at where she was, she was genuinely surprised at how comfortable she had been and how good she felt now.
"Oh, about two hours." He guessed as he was finishing the final coat on the experimental design.
"That's not long, but why do I feel like I slept all night?" She asked, but instead of an answer she got an amazed, stunned look from the pooka.
"Mate…you…you changed." He informed rather simply.
"Okay…what's so-" She looked down and found that he was very right. She had transformed, into what appeared to be a solid purple version of Tooth. Feathers were everywhere, including her head, and as she stood she discovered a tail! Exploring she found feathers dangling where her ears would have been and plumage sticking straight up from the top of her head.
"Do you have a mirror around here?" She asked in shock. Bunny nodded and stood, leading her into his home and to a full-length mirror.
"Wow!" She looked more carefully at the coloration on the feathers and found that whatever season she was thinking of, or channeling more accurately, the accent plumage changed. It varied different shades of blues, and against the purple of her main feathers it was brilliant. She started getting excited, and before she knew it yet another surprise blossomed from her feathers. "Wings?!" She fluttered up in excitement and almost fell on her face. She couldn't stop laughing and it was infectious.
They both took a moment to appreciate how beautiful they were. They were huge, for starters, at least twice the size of Tooth's, and they shone every color imaginable in the light. When they started to beat, they beat as fast as a hummingbird's. The result was a faint rainbow-like aura around them.
"Well who'd've thought you'd be a fairy?" Bunny chuckled when the shock wore off.
"I never would have dreamed…" She shook her head and sobered, touching back down for a moment.
"Jessica? You okay?" He asked quietly, his paw finding her shoulder in comfort.
"Yeah, I just…I guess the idea of immortality, I mean…I'm a fary, and I guess that kinda drove the idea home…" She sighed and her arms crossed. It was such a closed off posture, so unlike her.
"Sheila?" He tried to pull her back to the present. She looked up with her deep blue eyes sparkling.
"What am I supposed to do? How?" She just had everything hit her at once and he felt her hope take a gigantic blow along with it.
"Easy, you spend time with Jamie and Jack, you have fun, you spread the seasons with them, protect them, and live. I know its crazy to think about never dying, just existing for so long. Trust me though, all you need to worry about it living. Not surviving, we can help you with that, just live, okay?" He assured. She seemed unsure and he caught that worry, he was no stranger to it. He surprised her by tucking her into a hug. "Just let life happen." He muttered.
She melted. She couldn't remember the last time anyone had taken a moment to reassure her. It was always her job to do that. Something so small, a hug, did so much more than she had ever remembered it doing before.
"Of course, you're right." She nodded when he let go, shaking herself out. "Now, that magic?" She asked, reminding him of why they were there in the first place.
"Right, come on then. Let's test out those wings." He grinned. As she zipped off into the open warren he shook his head and chuckled. "Man, I can't wait until Tooth gets a look at 'er."
Alright, sorry for the wait, but I actually have this bit planned out for once! I wanted to make sure it was right. Thanks for the patience!