Chapter Thirty-Seven- Tundra
Bunny was at the pole in the morning when Jack and Jamie came romping through experimenting with Jamie's flight pattern.
"Hey Bunny!" Jamie greeted, almost managing to land without stumbling. Jack followed, landing in time to steady him.
"Hey kiddos, where's North?" He asked, not able to really assume anymore.
"He said he was going to make breakfast, he wanted us to meet him in here." Jack offered, perching himself on the arm of one of the couches. Jamie sat on the same couch but without the gravity-defying stunts. He still sat normally, which was hilarious as he kind of looked a lot more like Jack now. It was like seeing the more tame side sitting with the wild side.
"Alright." He nodded, returning to his egg painting.
"Where's mom?" Jamie asked, "I thought she was going to your place to practice magic and stuff." Jamie semi-asked like only a teen could.
"She did, I'm gonna go back and wake her up when it's dinner time if she doesn't wake up on her own. Magic is exhausting if you are use to it." He explained, purposely omitting her transformation. It was an easy acceptance from Jamie but a suspicious look from Jack. He didn't say anything though.
It took a few minutes for North to stick his head back in and call them for breakfast.
"Bunny! What brings you?" He asked as they made their way to breakfast behind the excited kids.
"Oh, just checkin' up on squirt here." Bunny offered slyly. North's suspicious eyeing of the pooka reminded him of Jack so much it was laughable.
"Are you certain that is all?" North asked.
"Yeah, I'll wake Jessica up for dinner." He offered. "I'm lettin' the poor sheila sleep, she's wiped." North nodded.
"Makes sense." North agreed easily, taking his seat. They watched the kids pick at each other and discover something about Jamie. He was about to reach for a steaming pile of blueberry pancakes when something clicked in Jack's mind.
"Woah kiddo, hold on there." He stopped him before he could get close.
"Why?" Jamie asked, clearly confused.
"You're a winter spirit, kiddo. Your body temperature is way too, it'll burn you." He explained.
"So…" Jamie was looking at the breakfast foods he loved in longing, not really seeing how they would still be good without being warm.
"Hey, you'd be surprised how your taste changes. We don't have to freeze it." He explained, snatching one up and instinctually cooling it just enough to not be harmful.
"Oh wow, it's hot!" Jamie shook his head. "But…you all but-oh." He chuckled, sighing about his momentary lapse in intelligence. It got the rest of them laughing too, and Jamie just folded his arms in mock offense. "Hey, I've been asleep for more than twelve hours, gimme a break." He argued.
"It's okay kiddo, we understand." Jack teased. They snickered for at least ten minutes, it had to be by Jamie's count. After breakfast North went back to his office, leaving the two boys to practice their magic. They decided to take training outside where they could work without worrying about wrecking things and Bunny decided to head back to his home to make sure his guest was still okay.
"Alright, control is one thing, but you need to know how to use it before you can learn to contain it." Jack explained. "This is the safest place to try."
"Okay, what am I learning?" Jamie asked.
"Well, you've got the fun magic and snow and ice making magic down…maybe it's time to work on weather. Just a little bit though." Jack offered, capping it off with a warning when Jamie looked like he was going to whoop excitedly. "Little bits at a time."
"Okay, okay." Jamie chuckled, seeing the concerned look Jack was giving him. "I'll be careful." He assured while twirling a snowflake he had made. When he was happy with the design and went to let it fly off into the air he froze, watching it go in awe.
"What?" Jack asked nervously, not liking how stunned the boy looked. He was worried until he broke into a huge grin, looking up at the taller winter spirit in amazement.
"How…how do I know this? All the designs…"
"Oh," Jack chuckled. "It's passed down, you know all the designs every winter spirit had ever used. That old story that snowflakes are never the same? It's true." He explained, flipping his staff over his shoulder.
"Woah!" Jamie stood there, making snowflakes for a moment before Jack brought him back to the real world.
"Alright, how about we start with a small cloud?" He suggested, nudging the boy out of his amazed stupor.
"Alright!" He cheered. At least he's eager. Jack offered.
"Okay, kiddo, just focus on the wind, she'll help you out if you ask nicely." Jack offered, leaning on his staff. The wind whipped around him playfully before heading to Jamie and nudging him.
"Oh, hi wind." Jamie greeted as he held back a chuckle.
"You don't actually have to say it out loud, it's part of the magic, but it's always nice to be appreciative." Jack chuckled as wind swirled in agreement around the two, whipping up some of the soft, fresh snow.
"Alright, thanks wind, wanna help so I don't blow us away?" Jamie asked sweetly. Wind whipped into action and winter magic poured out into the air around them. Jack had to admit he was a bit jealous- in a friendly way of course- and incredibly impressed.
The storm grew quickly and Jack was beside him the whole time coaching him through the process of morphing the storms and letting them settle.
"You're a natural!" Jack cheered when everything settled down.
"Really?" Jamie panted from his spot where he had plopped down in a snow-drift.
"Absolutely." Jack grinned, plopping down next to him to sit. "I think lunch is in order."
"But we haven't been out here that long, have we?" He asked.
"Actually yeah, look. The sun, it's getting lower in the west there." Jack explained, Jamie picked his head up and squinted in that direction.
"Yeah, but it was about there when we came out here." He argued. Jack chuckled.
"We're on the North Pole kiddo, that's a few hours." He pointed out, standing back up.
"Oh! Right, so…?" He had no idea how long it had been, or what he should be asking. Jack shook his head and offered him a hand-up which he quickly took and used as a springboard to float up. "Woah! Oh, thanks wind." He grinned. Wind ruffled his hair affectionately.
"She's warming up to you real quick." Jack pointed out.
"I wonder why." Jamie chuckled, having noted how similar they were sometimes. Suddenly wind was shoving them both forcefully toward the pole, but not to the door.
"What's wrong?!" Jack yelled over her. She kept shoving.
"Is something wrong?" Jamie yelled.
"BUNNY!" Jack and Jamie screamed at once when they caught sight of the blueish-grey fur poking out of the tundra. They sprinted to him and Jamie's now white face turned whiter when he saw that his fur was getting little hunks of ice in it.
"Jamie. Jamie look at me." Jack took him by the shoulders and spun him to face him. "Kiddo, I need you to go get North, okay? Quickly, but calmly as you can. Got it?" Jamie nodded and Jack turned back to the frozen pooka while Jamie took off running like all hell was on his tail.
"Oh no, oh no, nonononono." Jamie was on the verge of tears as he slammed into the door, which he had actually never really used before so when he made it through he had to take a second to get his bearings. He sprinted to North's still-open office door and slipped on a toy, skidding straight into his desk and knocking his head.
"Jamie? What happened?" North asked hastily, knowing that Jamie was usually much calmer than he was being, and seeing the ice spreading through his office. The poor kid struggled with words as North helped him up.
"Bunny, outside with Jack, he…" North stopped him.
"Alright, relax. Out front?" North asked, Jamie nodded. "Okay, stay here alright?" He asked. Jamie paled farther.
"But..." He looked back at the slug trail of ice in a mix of fear and worry.
"Jamie." North knelt down to be at relative eye-height with the boy, resting his hands on the small boy's shoulders. "You are very new at this, everything will be fine. My office can handle this, better than anywhere else in the Pole. Just sit, relax and I will come get you when we have things better under control, deal?" He asked. Jamie nodded, looking more and more distraught by the second.
"Okay."
"Alright, I will be right back." He assured as he ran back out and to where Jamie had directed. Granted he could have gotten more specific directions, but they were in a polar tundra, not many choices in where they could be, and they'd stick out fairly well.
I did this. He pulled his knees to his chest and waited, staring out the large balcony window. He quickly turned his thoughts elsewhere, it wasn't like the situation was going anywhere, it could wait. He would have to ponder his part in whatever happened next when North came back. In the meantime panic wouldn't help.
So when North said this place was better suited for this…he meant my magic, right? So, why? Maybe he ice-magic-proofed it when Jack joined 'cause he was here-wait. Those ice blocks. His toys. They don't melt when he…my ice! Jamie looked down and had caught sight of the slug trail of ice he had created. It wasn't spreading, but it also wasn't melting. The flying toys made of ice, the window…and I've never seen him wear gloves. Like, ever. He lives in the coldest place in the world and turns on the AC in winter…maybe he knows how to use this magic too.
Outside the Pole North was proving Jamie's thoughts to be more true than he would guess. As soon as he was close enough to see what was happening he pulled his coat off and quickly wrapped the frozen bunny in it.
"What happened?" He asked as soon as he was in earshot.
"I was teaching Jamie weather magic, just small stuff. He was doing well though, so I took him through moderate storms and he did well. I think cottontail got caught in the last one." Jack explained.
"You know this will put him off it for a while." North offered.
"I know." He sighed, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Honestly I can't believe he's doing so well, but that won't matter to him." Jack had stopped the snow and wind around Bunny until they could get him inside, but a flake or two still fluttered around in his distress.
"Jack, this was not his fault. Or yours. You two have done well, we will get this sorted out." North offered as he hoisted up the unconscious heap that was the Easter Bunny.
"I can handle a little mistake, North. It's Jamie I'm worried about." Jack provided in a display of maturity the elder had come to realize was not out of place on him. It still shocked him though, and made him smile. It was wildly inappropriate, but sometimes his boy made him proud at the oddest times and this was one of them.
Bunny on the other hand wasn't interested in anything that wasn't heated. When he woke up in the living room on a couch pushed so close to the fire his fur was almost getting singed, his first thought was of Jamie.
"Did he-" North held up a hand to stop him, tucking the last blanket around him.
"Everyone is fine. I am going back to the boy now, get yourself warm." He instructed kindly. Bunny's nose twitched uncomfortably, not really buying that, but letting it go. He had come back so he could wait until dinner was ready to go get Jessica. Poor nut had been asleep still and he hadn't wanted to wake her up until the last possible second. As North left Jack sat heavily on a farther couch to keep him company, and wait for the inevitable sneezing fit.
He had to admit he was vibrating, not shaking but truly vibrating like a cell phone after a particularly raging party. He could also feel the sniffles coming. If he was lucky he wouldn't start sneezing in front of Jack. That's the last thing I need, he doesn't need to see ho-
He couldn't hold it back and he almost fell off the couch with something that could be described as a squeak escaping.
It. Was. Hilarious.
"That was a sneeze?!" Jack snickered. Bunny rolled his eyes, it was going to be a long day and it was mostly over already.
Okay so this is turning into a soap opera or a TV show. Hope it hasn't lost its charm, because I don't see it ending soon. Love to hear what you think, and thank you so much for the recent reviews!