Barren Warren- Ch 8

Sorry about the wait. It's been a hectic holiday. Managed to catch a bit of the flu (or flu related symptoms thanks to stress). Anyways, standard warnings and disclaimers: me no own, you see what you want to see, no flaming please.

And a major thanks to all my reviewers, favs, watchers, etc! You guys really make my day!

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Bunny had to admit, after all these years, the Warren seemed rather dull without his Jackrabbit around. Sure, the flowers were always in bloom and the sun sparkled on every leaf of every tree, but it just wasn't home any more. It's been two days since the brat had departed from his cozy abode, and Bunny had managed to keep himself ridiculously busy without Easter preparations. However, a minor trip down a major hill left him sitting in the same spot for the last three hours while his ankle swelled to the size of a baseball. The egglettes were trying their best to treat their master's injury without his orders, and were jumbling over each other while trying to tie the last knot in the bandages. Overall, they seemed to have done an amazing job for armless beings, but Bunny didn't offer his thanks. He was too busy staring at the lake and thinking back to various memories of Lillith and Jack.

The first memory was when he taught the kits how to swim, and Lillith gave him a hand in holding the babes up in the water while they moved through the standard motions of swimming. Nero nearly drowned the first time he plunged into the water, but Aster was fast enough to dive in after him while Marina screamed from the shore. Lillith didn't even know what had happened until she looked up from Cato, who had managed to get his foot stuck in a small hole. Nero got a good lecture when they got home that day, but Bunny got an even worse one for allowing his brother to go swimming without permission.  

The next was when he'd done the same with Jack just a few days. He managed learn how to move his new, overly large Pooka feet through the water with the grace of a moose trying to perform swan lake. Bunny couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to do this with his own kids, but quickly shoved the thought out of his mind. Unless Manny had some very eccentric scheme up his sleeve, kits were out of the question. And Bunny didn't need to waste time thinking of what could have been and what should've been.

The last memory that kept fluttering through his mind were Jack's last words to him as he departed that fateful morning. Bunny felt like after all this fun with the white Pooka, going back to being plain, old Bunny's Warren was going to be a hell of a journey. The days spent gardening and minding his own business seemed rather boring compared to the fun filled mornings with Jack. And the nights spent curled up in his favorite chair were going to return to that boring state of him dripping various solutions of water and minerals onto plants to make them grow faster and stronger than before. Oh, and the afternoons were going to be a joy mixing up the same old colors he's mixed a thousand times before.  Yeah, real great existence he had to look forward to.

The egglettes cleared away the remnants of the bandages and various creams they'd used on their master's ankle as Bunny flopped backwards onto the soft grass. He remembered what the younger buck had said to him about the grass, and carefully rolled over to shove his nose into the emerald strands. He breathed in the scent of the fresh earth and healthy blades, taking in the sweet aroma that seemed second nature for him to inhale on a daily basis. He'd forgotten what it was like the first time he'd stepped into the Warren, back when he had just begun his existence as the Easter Bunny. Back then, he was much like Jack- barely beginning to understand why children needed to believe in him, and why he'd had such trouble getting someone to see him. It hurt to think that Jack had to endure that for so many years, when Bunny only had to go through a few months of not being believed in.

And part of him could see why Jack had such trouble getting someone to see him- after all, snow can't fall in just any old place on the planet. Since the temperatures were rising, Jack's potential domain had to be shortened. He could go through warmer climates, but staying long enough to decrease the temperature took a long time. Jack would get sick if he stayed in the warmer climates for too long, so that meant every child in the tropics would never believe in him. Bunny, Tooth, Sandy, and North didn't have that problem. They could send their gifts to whoever they needed to without a worry about how hot it was outside. Poor Jack could only give his gifts if the seasons were right and the climate was good.

Bunny shoved himself upwards slowly, trying his best not to fumble his newly bandaged ankle as he gathered the egglettes around him for a hug. His world seemed to be crumbling before his eyes, and yet, he refused to allow himself to run back to the place he once called home. That graveyard seemed to be the only place in the world where he could open up and just be Aster. It was also the only place he allowed himself to cry when all those bloody memories came back.

Bunny fell back in the grass, but decided to face the waterfall this time. The egglettes had seized up in his arms, but didn't leave their master's side as the large Pooka curled himself around the bundle of brightly colored eggs. Minutes turned into hours, and Bunny drifted off to sleep at some point.


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Footsteps fell on the fresh grass of the Warren as a familiar figure entered the Easter King's domain. He took a deep breath, making sure his nerves were ready for this.

One by one, his footsteps padded their way through the warren. It seemed like just yesterday he was here, and yet, he couldn't remember the paths as well as his worried mind overtook rationality.

After nearly half an hour of walking, the heavy laden footsteps of the being ceased when they saw the object of their quest resting on a large hill, not far from their position. Carefully, they approached the grey Pooka. They had to make sure to tread carefully over the vines, or else they'd get an earful from a very unhappy Pooka. He cared greatly for his plants, and certainly didn't want to have to grow his enlarged vines back to their previous curtain like stature in the Warren. Between the grass and the vines, the rabbit seemed to make a very good homemaker by just using their drape and carpet qualities. And without any predators in the Warren, you could just fall asleep on the lush surface of the ground without having to worry about being attacked or swarmed by nasty bugs.

They neared the Pooka with gentle steps, fearful that they would wake him with a start.

A large hand reached out to their friend, gently rubbing his shoulder to wake him.

"Bunny. Bunny. Wake up." They said. Bunny squirmed a bit before refolding himself into a curled position, defending his eggs from the evil of awakening.

"Brush off…" Bunny mumbled as he tried to block the normally welcoming sunlight with his forearm. The man would have nothing of it, and pulled the rabbit's forearm away from his face.

"Wake. Up." He said as he shooed the egglettes away. Bunny pried his eyes open to see who dared to wake him this fine afternoon. He didn't want to be awake right now, because awake meant thinking, and thinking meant thinking about everyone he missed.

"Wha-?" Bunny grumbled as he tried to brush the slumber from his eyes. Normally, Sandy would tease him about such habits, but this round was different. When he opened his eyes, it was not Sandy he saw. It was a large, red coated man.

"Have you seen Jack?"

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Yep. That's right. Not the last chapter! Anyways, kinda short, but the idea wrote itself like that. So, review if you don't mind, and be polite ~please~.  I'm gonna go see the Hobbit again. Want to see the hotness of Thorin… and the cuteness of Bilbo. Leave it to Jackson to make dwarves hot.