* I referenced the movie "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". I don't own "The Sorcerer's Apprentice".
Requested by: DoomCabbit and Zehava
Side Effects
Sophie held her hand flat against the dilapidated patch of grass, eyes closed and barely breathing. The refreshing spring breeze may have stilled, but nothing else was happening. It was when the girl's face started to pale did Jamie truly become worried. He shifted from his perch, ready to jump to aid his sister.
Then the pallor, dried grass starting shrinking, reversing its growth back into the ground only to sift back up, bright green and healthy again. Sophie exhaled, fluttered her eyes, and clapped her hands at her masterpiece.
"Excellent work, ankle biter," Bunnymund grinned with pride, trying to hide his giddiness. "I'm very impressed."
"Ride," the child held up her hands. "Ride, please?"
"Well," Bunny grunted, placing Sophie on his back. "You do deserve it. Oy, Jamie," The Pooka looked to the older sibling. "Want to come along?"
"Nah, I'm good." Jamie shook his head, still stunned by Sophie's magic trick.
With a nod, the pair bounded over a mossy crest out of sight, leaving the boy by himself. Jamie slid down from the egg statue. When Jack wasn't around, Jamie often spent free time with his sister, mostly in the Warren hanging out with Bunnymund and sometimes painting eggs. More often than not, though, did Bunny and Sophie speed off to play with each other. However, Jamie didn't mind being left alone; it gave him the chance to explore at his own pace. Actually, Jamie was surprised that he hadn't memorized the entire Warren yet.
The boy placed his hand against the new, stubby grass. It was only a miniscule amount of grass, but it left Jamie gaping wondrously. If his little sister could make plants grow, then why couldn't he make it snow like Jack? "Hmm," Jamie murmured, looking at his hand before glancing up. He spied a tree just a few feet off and he took a step from it.
Jamie breathed deeply and tried concentrating on his task. His gut wrenched as if on a rollercoaster and a tingling sensation flared down his arms. When the prickling stopped, Jamie opened his eyes. An excited grin lit his features as thin sparks of white zigzagged around his fingertips.
Jamie attempted to reign in the growing adrenaline rush, but that proved to be too arduous so he went along with it. The child faced his palms in the direction of the tree and made a slight pushing motion. He laughed energetically as the sparks tapped and fused into each other to form a mass of blue energy no bigger than a ping-pong ball. Jamie again shoved out his hands, but to his dismay, the energy flickered and sizzled out, but the white sparks on his fingers remained.
Frowning impatiently, Jamie started to focus again, speeding up his thought process this time. With his palms stuck out, the white sparks grew in length and hastily reformed the ball of energy that developed to the size of a tennis ball.
"No way," Jamie whispered as bits of ice grew between his nails. Tuning out every thought, Jamie focused on the tree and the energy hovering in front of his hands. Then the boy thrust his palms to send the ball of frost at the tree.
The energy ricocheted off the air, smacked Jamie across the chest, and burst open directly in his face. With a long, surprised yell, the child flew back several yards and landed in a field across one of the strings of rivers.
"Oh," Jamie groaned, trying to blink away the daze. "Ow," he yelped in pain as he tried to twist onto his knees. It seemed that no matter where he looked, the Warren spun like an overactive kaleidoscope.
A light breeze caressed his face as his eyes slid shut. He briefly remembered the cold, comforting touch of a hand on his shoulder before blacking out.
Jamie exhaled and opened his eyes.
The room was dimly lit aside from a few candles and rays of the sunset peaking through dark curtains. Instead of wallpaper, paint, or plaster lining the walls and ceilings, there were big chunks of wood stacked near and on top of each other, reminiscent of a log cabin. Jamie shifted his gaze.
The canopy bed's posts were garnished with stars and snowflakes embedded in its pine frame. The sheets, blankets, and pillows were a cool blue and white. But the best part was how the bed felt. Aside from laying on the softest cotton ever, the bed was cold. It was as if the mattress had its own built-in A/C system and it felt amazing against Jamie's sore back.
Jamie could've laid there all day if he didn't hear clattering outside the bedroom door, and was that his name he heard? Quirking a brow, Jamie wriggled from the blanket and onto the throw rug. He almost fell to his knees as he became lightheaded. He tried turning back to the bed when he heard familiar voices conversing outside.
Awkwardly shifting around the ache in his muscles, Jamie curled his hand and twisted the wooden doorknob.
"…should've been watching him!" Jamie heard Jack exclaim as he peeked around, using the door for support.
"This hasn't happened before," Bunny growled irately. "I wasn't anticipating it."
Bunny, North, and Jack stood in a circle, although Jack and Bunny were pretty much nose to nose. While they argued, the Guardian of Wonder merely pondered over the giant Globe of Belief.
"Jeez," Jack mumbled with a short pace. "I was just starting to make rounds over Alaska when I get this huge wave of anxiety from him."
"Jamie's perfectly safe in the Warren," Bunny reminded.
"Clearly. Riddle me this, Cottontail," Jack scoffed. "If he's so safe, then why did I find him completely unconscious there?"
"Both of you, enough!" North bellowed. "One," North remarked. "I am tired of your incessant fighting. And two, neither of you should be allowing your bonds to use their powers, powers they shouldn't be using until years from now."
"Our bonds?" Jack repeated.
"The ankle biters," Bunnymund said with an eye roll.
"But Jamie had no problems using his powers last week." Jack proceeded to tell them about Jamie's incapability of melting even the tiniest of snowflakes.
"Those aren't powers," the rabbit coughed. "They're side effects."
"Then how come Sophie can make plants grow?" All eyes turned to Jamie and he took a self-conscious step.
"Again, side effect," Bunny said. "Out of natural innocence, the ankle biter can only temporarily bring small plants to life. That patch of grass she touched has probably fizzled back out by now."
"But she still has enough power to do it," Jamie added, shuffling his way to his friends.
"But not intentional power," the Pooka elaborated. "Sophie thinks she's making something pretty with her powers. She doesn't think of it as any form of reviving."
"He already has a concussion," Jack scolded his comrade as he floated over to Jamie. "You don't need to make it worse by confusing him." Jack raised his hands to steady the younger boy's shoulders. "You okay?" He whispered, looking him square in the eyes. "Headache, nausea, dizzy?"
"A bit of everything," Jamie tried to straighten up, but staggered into the Guardian's arms.
"Forgive us, Jamie," North grinned lightly as Jack lifted the limp child off the ground. "We did not mean to wake you."
"It's okay," Jamie said against Jack's shoulder as he was being carried back into the bedroom.
Jack and Jamie sat themselves on opposite sides of the bed. "Is this your room?" Jamie asked as Jack pulled the covers over him, the dizziness lessening when he placed his head on the pillow.
"You like it?" Jack said, pointing out the balcony hidden behind a curtain on the far side of the room. Jamie nodded which, as one could imagine, made his headache a whole lot better. "Man," Jack winced at the sharp wave of pain that crashed into him. He covered Jamie's forehead with a chilly hand. "It's going to be brutal for both of us whenever you get sick." Jamie grimaced, but was grateful for the makeshift icepack on his head.
"Alright," Jack breathed. "What happened today?"
Jamie donned a sheepish grin. "I was just trying to use my powers." The little boy continued in detail of the energy field he created and even showed the ice that had coated parts of his fingernails. "I was trying to freeze a tree."
"Freeze a-" Jack shook his head incredulously. "You know, most kids in your position would try to throw that burst of energy randomly to see what happens. You, however," Jack wrapped an arm around the kid's shoulders. "try to freeze a whole darn tree with it. I couldn't even do that completely when I first got my powers. No wonder you look as though you're about to faint." Jack ran his free hand through his snowy hair. "What am I going to do with you?" The little boy chuckled. "I don't want you trying to use your powers again."
Jamie blinked. "What?" The boy asked. "But I was doing fi-"
"Until this happened," Jack motioned in general. "You can't force yourself to do magic, and that's what you were doing today. Anymore use of that energy and you might not even be awake right now. A couple years from now, you can start using full-blown magic, but until then we have to take it step by step. Promise?"
Jamie pursed his lips defiantly and sighed. "Promise." Jamie leaned against the Guardian's side, ready for another nap.
"I'll take you home before it gets too late," Jack murmured. "How's your mom going to take this?"
Jamie yawned and ignored the question. "Are you mad at me?"
"Mad at a kid like you? Impossible." Jack smiled. "I was worried. When I felt your anxiety I thought we were having a repeat of the wolf incident from the beginning of the week." Both boys shivered at the memory.
Before Jamie drifted off, he thought back to how awesome it was being able to control that kind of force and energy. It was the most exhilarating thing to have that kind of element. He briefly thought about practicing magic on his down time. Surely Jack wouldn't mind magic taking homework's place. However, Jamie remembered his promise and he didn't want to go back on it. Especially after how much worry Jamie felt rolling off the Guardian before the boy fell unconscious in the Warren. Jamie was just happy that Jack was feeling much more at ease now. …Feeling…
"Jack," Jamie whispered without opening his eyes. "I think I can feel your emotions now."
* By the way, for those who remember a previous chapter "Arguments", how do you think Jack should get revenge on the kid. I have a few ideas rattling around, but I want to know what you guys want to see.