Chapter Seventeen

What a Wicked Web

Jack Frost and Pitch walked to North's office, only to find that he wasn't there. The small note taped to the outside of the door informed anyone looking for North that he was helping the yetis with inventory in the storage rooms. So Jack and Pitch made their way there, Jack in the lead since he knew whereabouts the storage rooms were. When they got there, they found the rooms full of yetis and boxes. North was standing on the farthest side of the second room, a clipboard in one hand and a pencil in the other. A box of unused baby doll heads was setting in front of him.

When Jack and Pitch approached, Jack shoved Pitch forward.

Pitch's eyes widened as he was pushed in front of North, and when the big man turned to face him, he backed up a step all of a sudden feeling awkward and unsure of asking North for anything especially after the last time he and Toothiana had approached him for a similar reason. His mouth worked to speak now as he stared up at the imposing man, "Uh… North! Sorry to bother you; Jack and I were wondering if we could speak to you for a moment?"

"Sixty! HA!" North said after tallying up some figures on his paper. "I knew Clarence was wrong." he turned to Pitch and Jack, smiling. "Ah, yes, what can I do for you?"

Pitch steepled his hands as he cleared his throat, "Well, as you know, Frost and I have been working with the reindeer. It's been good, however a bit cramped. Is it possible if we ran them along the glacier wall outside the complex?"

North thought a few minutes, his eyes wandering to Jack and then back to Pitch. He gave a shrug. "I don't see why not."

"Really? …I mean great!" Pitch exclaimed looking back to Jack with a triumphant smile.

"On one condition," North added.

Pitch's face fell; of course there would be stipulations he thought as he turned back to North, "Oh? What would that be?"

"I want Bunny to go with you."

Pitch blanched, "Wha-what? Bunny? But he's not going to want to ride reindeer? What about Toothiana?" At least Toothiana wouldn't be such a stick in the mud. Pitch hated the idea of Bunnymund coming along; that sounded like no fun at all!

North shook his head. "Tooth is busy. Something about backlog of teeth during times she was staying here."

"I have to agree with Pitch." Jack cut in. "I'll be with him. So why does Bunny need to come along?"

"I have reasons," North glared at both Pitch and Jack. "Now, are you going to accept my terms or not go at all?"

Pitch folded his arms over his chest a little irate that North was making them have Bunnymund come along, but it was better than not being able to go at all. He grumbled, "Fine. He can come along, although surely he's going to be disagreeable to the idea as well." He added under his breath, "We need a nagging babysitter tagging along like a hole in the head."

Jack Frost huffed, crossing his arms as well. But then he smirked at the idea of Bunny coming along. Bunny might end up being a 'nagging babysitter', but he would be fun to poke at.

"When do you wish to do this?" North asked, beginning to count something else in a box near him.

Smirking now, Pitch replied, "Tomorrow afternoon maybe? We've already been to the stables today, but after getting the deer taken care of tomorrow would be ideal." Jack didn't know it, but Pitch was also thinking along the same lines as him about making poor Bunnymund miserable enough to not want to tag along again.

"Fine," North nodded, part of his mind still busy counting toy car wheels in the box beside him. "I will talk with Bunny tonight."

"What? Ya called me all the way out here for that! Ah come on North! What's wrong with them running the critters in their pens? I swear every time I come over here, Pitch is getting another inch with you. He throws a tantrum at his party two days ago, and now he's getting to leave the Pole to? Are you going to start taking him for sleigh rides next?" Bunnymund huffed his hands on his hips as he tapped his foot in agitation.

"He is not leaving Pole." North corrected. "He and Jack just want to take deer for ride in wider area. They just want to have little fun, which I'm not opposed to. It is good sign that we are moving in right direction with Pitch. While I trust Jack to look after him, I still would feel better if someone else went along. Just, you know, in case Pitch becomes too much for Jack to handle." He smiled. "And just between you and me, Jack can still be a bit of a rascal, too."

Bunnymund fumed, "Aye, ya don't have ta tell me that!" He growled spinning on his heel, "I'll come tomorrow afternoon ta do this, but you owe me one North!" Bunny shook his head mumbling as he left about how he managed to let North talk him into this.

Pitch had gone back to his quarters practically skipping with excitement for what awaited him the next afternoon. Oh the fun they were going to have! Well, he and Jack anyway, the rabbit on the other hand was likely going to be a problem. Pitch grinned devilishly, he was sure it wouldn't be too hard to lose Bunnymund though, and he doubted Frost would interfere with his penchant to cheat from their previous race. Yes, Bunnymund would be given Blitzen the most unruly of the reindeer; the thought had Pitch chuckle since the ornery reindeer would most definitely give the rabbit trouble.

In the meantime, Pitch soaked up the rest of his night practicing annunciation of the words for the first spell he'd been working on. He applied his new knowhow on a rag to try and get it to do the simple task of dusting the furniture in his room, but the rag instead turned into some creepy looking pile of sludge. "Now that's unfortunate," Pitch stated in disdain poking at the glob of goop that the washcloth had become. Taking another rag, Pitch scooped up the mess and brought it to the kitchen to throw it away once he knew it was late enough for the kitchen to be empty. Of course while he was there, he loaded up his robe with as many sugar cubes as he could carry. These reindeer were going to be diabetics by the time Pitch was done with them.

As Pitch moved back down the hallway to his room, he missed the lurch within the trashcan as the sludge that was once the washcloth gurgled and began to slowly devour the trashcan's contents.

The next morning, Jack Frost opened up the doors to the stable and walked inside. "Pitch, you here?"

Pitch had been busying himself since the early morning hours to finish tending to the reindeer and had left the stables to mill about by the pens since he'd already finished the chores. He cleared his throat seeing the boy had totally missed the fact that the reindeer were already grazing in the field. When Jack turned in his direction, he wore a haughty smirk, "Oh I see how it is, come to get all of the benefits of riding with none of the hard work put into to caring for them." Pitch's smile grew though obviously jesting with the boy. He had needed something to occupy his time in the morning, and although he liked the help, the solitude of the act was a form of meditation for Pitch, so he hadn't really minded doing it alone.

"Hey, this is your job, not mine. North assigned you to it." Jack said, holding his hands up.

Pitch rolled his eyes, "Semantics. Enough of the pleasantries; are you ready to get your frozen tail handed to you Frost?" Pitch gave the boy a cocky smile as he straightened to stand a bit taller now."

Bunnymund had seen Jack heading down towards the stables, and he was just now dragging his feet to the scene obviously quite disgruntled for having to be there in the first place, "Alright. I'm here. Let's get this over with already!"

Jack turned to Bunny. "Are you sure you don't need a coat or something?"

Bunnymund scowled, "I've got a bloomin' coat already. What I need is less snow and wind! So… uh, you are okay riding those things already?"

Pitch's smile turned malicious, "Oh yes, they're all rather tame it seems as long as you stay in the vicinity of the Pole. I've already got the reindeer ready to ride," Pitch motioned over to the pen, "Frost doesn't prefer reigns, but I thought you might Bunnymund, so I already have Blitzen ready for you." Pitch had tethered the deer lightly, so if they got moving at an extended pace, the bit might fall out of Blitzen's mouth. Pitch was interested to see how the rabbit would control the reindeer without the use of reigns! This was going to be quite comical!

Bunnymund's face softened a bit, "Ya did? Well… uh thanks Pitch. I guess we can go ahead down to the glacier then." Bunnymund was surprised the man would do anything to make this outing more pleasant for him. Maybe North was right, and he should give Pitch a break.

Jack looked from Bunny to Pitch as he walked over to mount Vixen. He secretly hoped the day would go smoothly, without any upsets. He knew Bunny wasn't fond of Pitch, so he hoped Pitch behaved himself and wouldn't do anything that would send down the rabbit's wrath on the both of them.

Pitch led Bunnymund over to Blitzen giving the reindeer several sugar cubes quickly to keep it distracted and tame enough for the time being. The last thing Pitch wanted was for the deer to act out before Bunnymund had even mounted him. Pitch was sure to keep Blitzen calm now as Bunnymund surveyed the beast and finally took a giant leap to land on Blitzen's back.

Seemingly subdued, Blitzen was only interested in the sugar cubes allowing Bunnymund to hop up on the beast without an issue as Pitch took the reins and led them over to Donner who Pitch had determined was the fastest of the reindeer and therefore the one he wished to race with.

Bunnymund quaked doing his best to hang on, "We need to get saddles for these buggers!"

Pitch only smirked at Bunnymund as he led both Donner and Blitzen out of the gate. He used the gate to propel himself on top of Donner still holding the reins of Blitzen as they trotted down the glacier side to get into the crevice that they had wished to race. Pitch wanted Bunnymund to have a hard time, but he didn't want him to actually get hurt, so he waited until they were in the alcove of the glacier wall to toss the reins back to the rabbit, "So here we are!" Pitch announced, "Now then, to make things clear… Frost," Pitch annunciated his name to ensure the boy was listening, "We follow the glacier wall to the front of North's fortress and under the bridge. Once we make it to the bridge, we turn back, and whomever makes it back to this point is declared the winner. Clear?"

Bunnymund grimaced already shivering from the cold and wholly wishing he wasn't a part of this adventure, "Got it, let's hurry up and be done with this, so we can get back to the fireplace!"

Pitch moved Donner into place as he gave a devilish smirk over to Jack and a small chuckle, "No other reindeer on the tracks to manipulate this go around Jack. Cheating is going to be oh so difficult! However do you expect to win this time?"

Jack shrugged. "Win or lose, it doesn't matter to me. Just so long as we're having fun."

Pitch clicked at Blitzen holding out a handful of sugar cubes, and Bunnymund's mount quickly trundled forward much to the rabbit's dismay, "Hey! Woah!" Bunnymund's eyes widened as he held on to the reins stiffly.

It was evident that the rabbit was not fond of the activity and was in no way a threat to winning the race. Pitch chuckled mirthfully at Bunnymund's discomfort with the beast as it jostled him about. Pitch tossed some cubes to the ground to satisfy Blitzen before giving his own reindeer a few to keep Donner from going after Blitzen's cubes.

Turning back a winning smile to Jack, Pitch dug in his pockets to throw a handful of cubes down for Vixen as well ensuring the beast would be distracted for the start of the race as Pitch responded gleefully, "Ready for some fun then Jack?" As Pitch said this, he kicked Donner's sides leaving Bunnymund and Jack at the starting spot both of their reindeer still munching on the sugar cubes he'd purposefully left.

Bunnymund kicked the sides of Blitzen to go, but the reindeer promptly ignored him as it continued to grab the last few scattered sugar cubes. He scowled shaking his fist at Pitch's retreating form, "Hey! That's cheating!"

"Hey, easy, Bunny, easy," said Jack. "Just relax. We're all here to have fun. He's trying to get me back for when I cheated yesterday. Although, to be honest, it wasn't exactly cheating. I was just trying to throw some obstacles in his path. But if you're going to ride a deer, you're gonna have to relax. Any sudden movements are going to make them nervous and jittery."

Bunnymund stiffened nervously looking down at the reindeer once more, "Fun? You and I have very different ideas about what fun is Jack!"

Quickly, Jack jumped off Vixen and grabbed a handful of snow, mashing it together to shape a snowball. When it was shaped to the way he wanted, he threw it, hitting Pitch squarely in the back of the head while his deer was still gaining on them.

Pitch's head rocked forward with the impact of the snowball. Whipping his head around to glare at Jack, Pitch spat, "Oh don't be a spoilt sport!" Knowing he still was beating Jack, Pitch smiled mischievously before turning back to the track giving Donner a kick to get more of a lead before Frost could have the chance to catch up to him.

Jack just shook his head as he mounted Vixen again and spurred her forward. He looked back at Bunny, "Just relax and be gentle!" he shouted.

Bunnymund watched Jack take off, and not wanting to be left in last place attempted to nudge Blitzen to catch up with the others, but the reindeer stood stubbornly in place refusing to budge no matter how Bunnymund pulled at his reigns or kicked at his sides. Getting frustrated, Bunnymund yelled, "Ah come on ya flea bitten excuse for a reindeer!"

Pitch hearing Bunnymund's gruff tone chiding the reindeer only made him laugh heartily. He glanced back at Jack now, "Well now, that takes care of the rabbit. It looks like it's just going to be you and I... and you're falling sorely behind my dear boy!"

Without stopping, Jack leaned down and scooped up another handful of snow, fashioning it into a snowball. He hurled it at Pitch, "Bunny is so going to get you when this is over I hope you know."

Pitch dodged skillfully the smile never leaving his face, "With his atrocious riding skills, he can't blame me. You're not going to tell him anything are you? I thought you'd want to ditch the rabbit to. Now we can race without a chaperone."

"I admit that he can be a pain sometimes, but I'm sure North had him to come along for a reason. You forget, Pitch, that I'm also a chaperone."

Pitch scowled his brow drawing down at Jack's comment. He didn't like to think of Jack in that capacity, and to have Jack play that card on him served to annoy Pitch, "You know, for the guardian of fun, you're doing a poor job at it now. Do you really want to deal with sir nag back there, or do you want to race me?"

Jack only shook his head as he gently pushed on Vixen's antlers, urging her forward. It was hard work and took about five minutes, but he finally got within a few feet of Pitch. He scooped up another snowball and threw it at Pitch's back.

"Am I?" he shouted, grinning. "Or do you just have a poor sense of fun?"

Pitch shivered as the snowball hit him, "Hey! Look who's talking! Is it only the right kind of fun when it's something you do?" As a recourse, Pitch dug in his pockets to throw sugar cubes at Frost who seemed to anticipate the move and kept Vixen distracted enough to ignore them. Pitch veered to the side and around a jutting rock to cut part of the path diagonally and make up for lost ground.

Bunnymund's mount finally decided to start moving towards the other reindeer, and within moments, Blitzen was galloping to catch up to them all the while as Bunnymund hollered in trepidation trying his best just to hang on.

"Aw, come on Pitch; lighten up." Jack shouted, pulling up beside Pitch. "Stop taking everything people say so personally. Part of your problem is that you haven't learned how to tell when someone's kidding with you. You see everything as an insult."

Pitch huffed, "Who says I wasn't kidding to? Maybe you can't see as much as you think you can Frost," Pitch grinned devilishly at him as he steered Donner into Vixen's side to cause the reindeer to slow down enough for him to jet by.

Bunnymund could be heard still yelling in the distance as Blitzen charged forward at an alarming speed for Bunnymund to handle. It became even worse for him as the bit became loose, and Bunnymund's reins flew off. Bunnymund's screams became shrill now as he clung to the antlers.

"Sometimes it's hard to tell!" Frost shouted. He shook his head in frustration as he again urged Vixen forward to catch up to Pitch.

Pitch saw the bridge in the distance and the winds whipped against the riders violently now as the tunnel became narrower funneling the gale directly at them. Pitch pulled himself tightly to Donner now to reduce any resistance as they sped along towards the fast approaching bridge. As they rode closer, Pitch absently wondered where he'd end up if he just kept going. He was far enough away from Bunnymund now for him to present a threat against an escape attempt, and out of all the guardians he feared Jack the least. He could ditch Frost easily enough he assured himself. The fearlings deep within him were coaxing him now, begging him for a chance at freedom. Part of Pitch deeply considered following the suggestion as he wanted freedom to. As Pitch made it to the bridge, he ignored these feelings burying the incessant plea of the fearlings and jackknifed Donner back in the direction needed to complete the race.

Frost was hot on his heels, and Pitch gave him a wink, "Looks like second place for you Jack!" Pitch laughed enjoying himself greatly now.

Bunnymund was holding on to the antlers solely now as his feet flailed behind him as if he were a flag whipping in the wind.

Pitch's eyes widened at the sight unsure if he should stop to help Bunnymund or laugh… maybe both? He didn't really want to help Bunnymund, but he supposed that he'd created this mess, so he should at least attempt to help him. Pitch sighed pulling back on Donner's reins and spurred the reindeer back in the direction of Blitzen.

"We'll see about that." Jack mumbled as he made the sharp turn and started off after Pitch. He whipped out his staff and urged Vixen forward. He raised the crook end of the staff into the air, taking control of the wind and commanding it to carry him and Vixen faster.

Pitch raced towards Bunnymund now as Blitzen bucked violently flipping the rabbit, so that he had summersaulted landing backwards on the reindeer with his arms hooked by the elbows on Blitzen's antlers. All the while Bunnymund squalled in terror.

The sight alone was too hilarious for Pitch, and as he got closer, he couldn't help laughing uncontrollably at how ridiculous the rabbit looked. Finally passing Blitzen, Pitch cut in front of the reindeer holding out a handful of sugar cubes in an attempt to distract the beast, but Blitzen wasn't interested having been spooked by Bunnymund's caterwauling.

As Blitzen barreled by him, Pitch stopped laughing realizing how serious the situation had become as he fought to have Donner catch back up again yelling out to Jack, "Frost! Blitzen won't stop! Cut him off!"

Jack had been completely focused on catching up to Pitch. So he hadn't noticed what was going on ahead of him, until Pitch's yelling pulled him back to reality. That's when he saw the run-a-way Blitzen with Bunny. His eyes widened. There was no way he would be able to stop now. He put down his staff and cut off the wind. But Vixen was still running too fast to suddenly pull to a stop, "Bunny!" Jack shouted. "Take hold of the antlers and gently pull back!"

Bunnymund spat back between yells, "I'm flipping backwards! How the heck am I supposed to grab anything like this!" Bunnymund's butt bounced precariously off the reindeer's shoulders threatening to spring the rabbit off its back.

Pitch had brought Donner in front of Blitzen as he loosened the bit in his mouth to slip the leather free. Holding on to one end of the rein, he shouted to Jack, "Frost! Catch!" If Jack could grab the other half of the rein, Pitch hoped they could effectively create enough of a barrier to deter Blitzen enough to slow down and get Bunnymund off his back before he hurt either of them. That would be bad. Pitch was worried now as he'd never meant for this to escalate into such a situation thinking the fact that they were just racing on the ground meant they had less chance of anyone getting hurt by rigging Bunnymund's reins.

Jack shook his head, motioning for Pitch to get out of the way, "I can't stop!" he shouted. "Vixen is moving too fast. Move out of the way!" he veered to his left, trying to steer Vixen as close to Blitzen's side as he could. He steadied himself and gripped his staff with both hands, waiting for just the right moment.

Deftly moving to the opposite side of Blitzen, Pitch braced against the deer as he worked to unhook Bunnymund's arms from the reindeer's antlers while not getting knocked off his own reindeer now that he no longer had reins himself. Thankfully, unlike Bunnymund, he was a much better rider. Unfortunately, Bunnymund's lack of trust in Pitch and his fear were causing the efforts to be moot.

"No! Get offa me!" Bunnymund panicked fully as Pitch worked to wrest his arm from the antler and jerked away from his touch violently. It didn't help that the rabbit's fear sent a thrill through Pitch as the fearlings pulsated and consumed the fright as they whirled inside Pitch in the wake of Bunnymund's terror. Pitch's eyes dilated as a sense of euphoria raced through him causing him to smile slightly making Pitch appear to enjoy Bunnymund's predicament when in reality it was just the rush of power.

Realizing the fearlings were getting a bit too much control, Pitch shook his head yelling to Bunnymund, "I'm trying to help you, you dolt! Let me already!"

"Bunny," Jack shouted as he was getting closer, "you're gonna have to let go! I'm going to snatch you off as I ride by. But you're going to have to be ready, otherwise I might hurt you."

Bunnymund turned towards Jack trusting his friend much more than Pitch. He nodded as he moaned, "O-okay!" Squeezing his eyes shut, Bunnymund did just that letting his arms slide loose of the antlers as he was promptly bucked off the reindeer towards Jack.

Pitch took the leather strap and hooked it around Blitzen's antlers wrapping the other side around Donner's antlers as the two yanked at each other getting tangled. Pitch took the opportunity to roll off of Donner's back to safety as the two circled around each other bucking and kicking each other angrily but otherwise remaining contained.

Jack knew he only had one shot at this. He had to perfectly time it, which sent a rush through him. He gritted his teeth and when he came within a few feet of the chaos, he reached out his staff and hooked it around Bunny, swinging him over to sit behind him on Vixen.

Bunnymund let out an undignified squeal as he was yanked clear of the reindeer and flung behind the winter sprite. He clung to Jack with a death grip shaking all over from the experience, "Crickey! That was a close one!" Realizing he was finally safe, he breathed a sigh of relief relaxing, "Aw man! Thanks mate, I don't know what've happened if you weren't there!"

Pitch backed further away from the aggressively fighting reindeer now. His eyes were wide as he took in the sight glancing over to Jack and Bunnymund, "Is he alright?" Pitch asked his brow etched in worry.

Jack gasped, trying to free himself of the rabbit's tight hold on him. "He's fine!" he finally managed to shout out. "Easy, Bunny. I need air."

Bunnymund realizing he'd been choking the boy out loosened his grip. Having also realized that they had come to a stop, the rabbit quickly hopped off the reindeer backing away from it, "That's the last of that I'm doing any time soon!" He still wobbled a bit from the previous jostling as he worked to get his bearings storming back towards where they had brought the reindeer down into the glacier.

Donner and Blitzen seemed to have worked out whatever beef they'd had and now stood complacently looking over at Bunnymund marching away.

Pitch looked a bit nervous now wondering what Jack was going to say as it was obvious that Bunnymund had no idea it was his fault, but Pitch knew that Jack was more informed about the reindeer than Bunnymund. He swallowed hard as he lurked over to the reindeer giving them a few sugar cubes to calm them further before hoping back on Donner's back. He wondered if he looked as guilty as he felt. Pitch glanced over at Jack now to see his expression.

Jack shrugged, jumping off Vixen. "What happened?" he shouted to Pitch.

Pitch averted his eyes down to look at Donner's head. He blushed slightly wondering if he should admit to Jack that he'd rigged Bunnymund's reins or just that he'd given him the worst tempered reindeer. No. That wasn't a good idea at all, he doubted Jack would understand it wasn't meant to cause any harm. Most importantly, Pitch worried he wouldn't keep it to himself, and the last thing Pitch wanted to do was get into trouble after he'd been doing so well. Pitch grimaced, "Uh, I don't really know. I saw he'd lost control over Blitzen and… and well, you saw what happened. Why are you asking me?" He spat defensively.

Jack rolled his eyes, not believing Pitch. "Why am I asking you? Because you were the first one to see there was a problem!" he shouted. "I just figured you'd know! Did Bunny spook the reindeer and lose control?"

Pitch glanced back at Jack tensely, "Uh… I'm sure that's what happened… It's obvious that he didn't know the first thing about riding. Who knows what he did to agitate the beast. We… we should probably get the reindeer back to the stalls." Trying to make light of the situation and make himself feel a little less guilty Pitch commented offhandedly, "I don't think Bunnymund is going to want to come back out here with us after this, so no more nagging chaperone… there's that eh?"

Jack lifted an eyebrow, staring at Pitch. Finally, he gave a nod. "Yeah, I guess." He mounted Vixen again and steered her in the direction Bunny went. He glanced back at Pitch once, thinking that something wasn't right about everything that had happened.

Pitch kicked Donner's side getting the deer to take off in a trot to remove himself from the scene not wishing to dwell on the situation any longer.

As Jack nudged Vixen into a trot, he caught sight of Blitzen's reins ahead of him, half buried in the snow. He slowed down when he got to them and bent over and picked them up to take back to the stables. He kicked Vixen into a trot again. On his ride back, he quietly examined the reins closer, noticing that they didn't look entirely right—almost like they had been tampered with. He quickly looked back at Pitch and then back at the reins, his face twisting into a frown. He briefly thought about confronting Pitch about the matter, but he figured he'd better wait until they got back to the stables. Bunny was probably freezing.