Rise of Mother Nature

Easter

“It’s fear,” I said as I walked toward the globe.

Jack flew up to look at the lights, “He’s tipped the balance.”

Bunny took out one of his boomerangs and twirled it in his paw, “Hey, buck up ya sad-sacks. Come on! We can still turn this around!” Everyone gathered around him to hear his plan: “Easter is tomorrow and I need your help. I say we pull out all the stops and we get those little light flickering again!”

I grinned as we walked through the double doors and into the small elevator that lead to the sleigh. All of the Yetis were still working to prepare for Christmas but we had bigger matters to attend to.

“Bunny is right,” North said proudly, “As much as it pains me to say old friend, this time Easter is, more important than Christmas.”

Bunny turned all around him, “Hey! Did everybody hear that?!”

North continued, “We must hurry to the warren. Everyone, to the sleigh!”

“Ohh no, mate,” Bunny laughed, “My warren my rules. Buckle up.” Bunny stomped the ground with his foot and one of his tunnels appeared.

North looked down in surprise, “Shostakovich!”

“WOO HOO!” I laughed.

Bunny and I bounded through the tunnel together as the others slid down after us. I thought it was hilarious at how they were flailing their arms and legs trying to keep themselves upright.

I looked at Bunny and he grinned at me, “Glad you’re back.”

“It’s good to be back.”

Soon we reached the end of the tunnel. Bunny jumped on top of a rock to wait for the others while I crouched in a nearby tree. After a couple seconds, the rest of the Guardians tumbled out of the exit.

“‘Buckle up’,” North breathed, “Is very funny.”

I leapt out of the tree next to Bunny as he announced, “Welcome to the warren!”

My ears twitched. I froze and squinted. I could hear something and I knew Bunny could hear it too. Bunny shushed everyone and drew his boomerangs, pointing them at a tunnel where a faint scream was beginning to echo. North drew his swords and Jack readied his staff. I crouched low, but then stood and giggled softly knowing what was coming. I jumped back into the tree where I was perched before and watched as the Guardians charged at the small girl screaming and holding eggs with legs.

“Sophie?” Jack asked surprised.

Everyone quickly put their weapons down. I laughed hysterically and almost fell off the branch I was sitting on, “HA HA! Bunny! You should’ve, HA HA! known it was a little girl! HA HA HA!!!!!!” I jumped down again and wiped a tear from my eye, “I must have WAY better hearing than those rabbit ears of yours!”

“What is SHE doing here?!” Bunny yelled pointing at Sophie.

North patted his robe, “Ah, snow globe.” (I had no idea what he was talking about.)

Bunny sounded really stressed, “Crikey! Somebody do something!”

“Don’t look at me,” Jack said putting his hands in the air, “I’m invisible remember?”

I walked up next to Jack, “Same here. Only a few out of millions believe in ‘Mother Nature.’”

I tuned out as Tooth tried to entertain Sophie with her bloody teeth, but instead she ran away crying.

“Blood and gums?” Jack asked sitting on a rock, “When was the last time you guys actually hung out with kids?”

Sophie followed some walking eggs under Jack’s rock, “Peek-a-boo!”

North explained, “We are very busy bringing joy to children! We don’t have time... for children...”

I tilted my head sideways and giggled as Sophie petted my ears. Then she picked a flower and put it in my hair, “Pretty!”

Jack made a snowflake and blew it towards Bunny, “If one little kid can ruin Easter, then we’re in worse shape than I thought.”

The snowflake hit bunny in the nose and he smiled at Sophie, “You wanna paints some eggs? Yeah? Come on then!”

I watched as a flood of walking eggs came down the hill of the warren. Their little legs took them through millions of flowers that painted them and gave them designs.

“Rimsky Korsakov! That’s a lot of eggs!”

I looked at Jack, “Uh, how much time do we have?”

I walked through the giant egg painting warren and admired every earthly contraption. I saw a paint spiral vine that looked to be withering. I smiled sadly and walked up to the plant.

“You poor thing,” I spoke to it.

The vine seemed to be drawn to my words and it reached out to me. I brushed it gingerly with the tips of my fingers and the bright green returned to its flesh. It brightened to life again and it seemed to thank me. My ears twitched as I heard something come up behind me a few feet away. I looked over my shoulder and saw Jack peeking at me over a rock. The vine curled my finger and I grinned at him. He smirked and disappeared from sight. I continued on as Bunny hopped on a rock in the middle of the warren.

“Alright troops!” he called to us, “It’s time to push back. That means eggs everywhere! Heaps of you in every high-rise, farm house and trailer park! In tennis shoes and cereal bowls! Oh, there will be bathtubs filled with my beautiful googies!”

I laughed as I stumbled upon an egg that fell over and started rolling around in circles. “Awe, hang on little guy!” I waved my hand and a branch grew under the egg so that it could stand again. “Bye!” I yelled as it ran off back to his buddies.

“There will be spring time! On every continent! And I’m bringing hope with me!” Bunny said majestically.

Jack sat beside Bunny and they started talking. I was glad to see they were getting over their differences. Behind me, a bird flew from a tree and onto my shoulder. I jumped a little but put my finger to my shoulder so that the small chickadee could hop onto it.

“What is it?” I asked at it began tweeting at me. “Jack is... WHAT?!”

I looked around. Jack was gone and so was Sophie. He had taken her home but the chickadee said he wasn’t on his way back. I thanked the chickadee and it flew away. I had been working on developing a new skill I had discovered by talking to the animals in the forest. I learned that if I could talk to animals, couldn’t I become one? After all I was part wolf. I closed my eyes and and concentrated hard. I imagined myself as a full blown wolf. I could feel my arms were elongating. My neck became a little higher and my head completely changed shape. I was now an oversized gray wolf with tints of dark brown in my fur. I couldn’t feel any changes in my eyes so I guessed that my eyes were still a bright green. Unfortunately my gorgeous hair disappeared and I was a little disappointed but at least I achieved my long practiced goal. I didn’t yet test if I could still use my “magic” in the animal form. I didn’t have hands anymore so I tried to psychically enhance my power. I focussed all my energy on one, small flower and it grew bigger and bigger until I had to stop or else it would’ve been noticeable to the other Guardians. I needed to keep my split a secret. I summoned my leaf path and blurred in my new form across the sky of the warren and out into the known world. My senses were even more enhanced than usual. I could smell the scent of every thing that had been in that area. But there was one smell that stood out to me. The sweet chill of Jack’s snow white hair. I followed it with my twitching nose to the middle of my well known forest and home. I came to a small grove. Surrounded my dead grass was a broken bed frame over a deep, deep tunnel. It wasn’t one of Bunny’s green, Springtime tunnels, it was dark and filled with shadow. I knew this place. It was the entrance to Pitch’s lair. I growled deeply and leapt down the hole, hoping that my dark fur would help conceal me in the darkness. Reaching the bottom, I saw Jack searching through golden cylinders. I had no idea what for but I wasn’t waiting to find out. I ran toward him, my claws scraping the cold, dark floor. Jack heard me coming and aimed his staff at my muzzle

“Pitch...” he said with disgust.