The wind ruffled my fur as I raced through the eternal spring part of my realm. I paid no attention to the millions and millions of full-blooms going past me. The only thing, the only person I was paying attention to was the childish figure quickly appearing on the horizon. I look up, catching a quick glance at my Bouncers and my 'visitors' on each of their backs. Spectators for the race against the human child and a full-grown female Pooka.
It is obvious who the winner is.
I ran past Sophie, who just started screaming even louder in excitement. I slowed down to a similar pace with her, shouting "Told ya not to race a rabbit, lass." "You never told me!" she giggled as a look began to form on her face. "What're ya plannin' in that pretty little head of yours?" I laughed.
Then suddenly, I felt a mass of body weight being thrown on top of me, taking me by surprise. I looked back to see a face half-covered in blond hair, as well as the others watching out in the distance. "Oi! No fair!" I laughed as she clung to my fur. "You never set any rules!" she sang, giggling.
"Well, ain't cha quite the mouthful!" I chuckled.
"Well, then. How 'bout we team up 'gainst yer friends ova' there?" I nudged towards my Bouncers who were now gliding closer to the ground.
"It's on!"
I turned towards one of my Bouncers, the one North was on top of, and shouted, "The little lass wants a race, Dan." Nodding, it began to change form once again, signalling towards the others. I heard gasps, and the occasional "What the bloody hell is goin' on?" from Bunny.
A bright light began to illuminate from my Bouncers' bodies as their bodies began to take the shape of felines. Emerging from their transformations are five black panthers, each with a pouch around their mid-sections and a Guardian on their backs. "Oi! What's goin' on 'ere?" Bunny exclaimed.
"Race you there!" Sophie shouted, before I picked up speed and left them in the dust.
North's POV
As our new-found friend, Ammo, raced off ahead of us with Jamie's little sister, I noticed as Bunny jumped off of the..Bouncer he was riding. I think, it was called. "Oh, no. The little ankle biter did NOT just challenge us t' a race." I heard him say in his Australian accent. "Oh, I believe she did." Came another voice, this time belonging to the one and only, Jack Frost.
I looked over at Tooth who was hanging onto the one she was riding, grinning an ear to ear smile at Jack, who shot her the same smile. And I would be lying if I said I didn't see something there between them. "This is fun, no?" I asked, laughing my hearty laugh as we raced through Ammo's realm of eternal springtime, similar to Bunny's. "Very!" Tooth laughed, smiling at her Baby Tooth who was desperately trying to hang onto the large feline.
I glanced in front of us and saw Bunny running on all fours, Jack flying at full speed and Sandy in a little race car complete with goggles. I looked back at Tooth, who also had a little determined gleam in her violet eyes. Ah, I get it now. This race just got a lot more serious. Haha! And I have no problem with it!
I gave the panther a little word of encouragement, making it run even faster, spurring Tooth to do the same. Bunny, and Jack were already far ahead, Sandy just trailing behind them. I gave a shout, "Поехали!" as the race progressed. This reminded me of my marauder days, racing away, further and further away from the angry shouts. I smiled at the memory as the nature around me slowly faded away, letting my imagination take over as I imagined myself back in the olden days.
But sadly, the race had to come to an end.
When me and Tooth reached our destination, us being the last, we saw the others already there. Bunny and Ammo were arguing about who came first, Sophie insisting that they had come first. I chuckled at this.
"No way, Sheila. I passed ya at t' last moment. Therefore, I came first," Bunny argued.
"No, me an' Soph came first," Ammo insisted.
"Well, I'm faster," Bunny shot back.
"No, yer was able t' catch up t' us 'cause we slowed down."
"And why'd ya slow down? Lack of stamina, maybe?"
"No way, buddy. Been runnin' all my life, in fact."
"But still bet I'm faster than ya, Sheila."
"Oh no, buddy. I bet ya dollars to doughnuts that I'm faster than ya."
"That's a whole lotta nonsense. I caught up t' ya."
"Yea. We just didn't think ya'd take the race seriously."
"And why wouldn't we take it seriously? I mean, you guys challenged a Pooka to a race! And us Pookas are practically obliged to accept races of any form!"
Ah, and again, I would be lying if I said that I didn't see anything between them. Young love is a beautiful thing. Especially when they haven't noticed it yet for themselves, no?
"You take everything seriously, Bunny," Jack added, leaning on his staff as he and Sandy watched the argument unfold.
"I do not."
"Yes, you do."
"No I do not."
"Every time, Kangaroo."
"I am NOT a kangaroo, mate."
"I was kidding! See? You took me seriously," the little winter sprite smirked.
"Why I ought'a-"
"STOP!" I shouted before anything happened. "We are not here to fight," I reasoned, placing a hand on both their shoulders, feeling the tension in the air slowly subside. "You're right." Came a voice.
We turned to Ammo. "You're 'ere partially 'cause ya wanted ta make me a Guardian." "Oh, we don't WANT to make you a Guardian. Manny wants ta," Bunny grumbled. Ammo ignored the snide remark Bunny made and beckoned us to follow her.
We walked on a clear dirt path, strolling into a cave with walls made entirely of vines twisting and intertwining with each other, a flower blooming ever so often amongst the green. I gave the wall a knock, only to find that it was rock solid. "Nothin' can break these vines. Been perfectin' them throughout the years," Ammo spoke, puffing out her chest in pride, reminding me of Bunny who had acted the same way when he spoke of his eggs. "And Jack, shove that comment down ya throat before I do it for ya."
We turned to Jack, who had put up his hands in surrender while grinning sheepishly.
"How do you know once they've been perfected?" Tooth asked. "Oh, I 'ave my ways of testin'," she replied, smirking. "What if they aren't as strong as ya thought they were?" shot Bunny. "I think it's best if ya shut ya trap, ya gavoon," growled Ammo, shooting him a look that could kill. He shot the same look back.
We walked a little more before we came to a tunnel that went downwards. "And from 'ere, we go down," she stopped. "Anyone care t' go first?" she asked, smirking. "Oooh! Me! Me me me! I wanna go first!" Sophie's hand shot up as she volunteered. "Me too!" Jamie's eyes lit up as he realized that there was a huge slide in front of him. The two children hopped down the rabbit hole, their excited screams travelling all the way down to the bottom of the slide.
"C'mon!" And with that, she hopped down the hole, with the rest of us jumping in one by one.
"Woohoo!" I shouted, putting my hands up as we went down in full speed.
Since I was the last one, I had a cushioned fall as I landed on top of the others, who were all sprawled on the ground. "Aw, get up North! You weight a ton!" Jack groaned. I laughed as I got up, helping Tooth and Jack up.
"Well, we're 'ere. Don't touch anythin', aight?"
A breathless "Whoa." left all of our lips as we all brushed ourselves off, staring at what was in front of us. Millions and millions of...bookworms? They were all rushing around, papers in their tiny hands as they rushed from one station to another. The excited chatter filled the huge room that was decorated to look like a news room with a bit of a 90's twist to it.
"Where are the files I asked for, Mara?"
"Hey! Are those who I think they are?"
"Make way! Fresh stories on their way to the Editor!"
"Stop goofing off, Finn!"
"Hey! Someone watch these for me! I swear the last two batches were liable to grow legs!"
"Drafts, people! I said I wanted drafts!"
The atmosphere had a bit of a vintage touch to it as well as a homey book smell. The others all had their mouths agape, eyes on everything in the room. "Keep up the good work, guys!" Ammo shouted at her helpers, ushering us behind a pair of vintage mahogany doors. Sandy quickly pulled the kids out of the room before they touched anything.
"That was impressive room, Ammo. Very 90's," I commented, nodding. "Oooh, I LOVED all the colours!" Tooth complimented, twirling in mid-air. "Eh. 'T was okay," Bunny grunted, trying to act as if nothing seemed to impress him. Haha! Tough Bunny act won't get him anywhere!
"Ah, but Bunny," I said, deciding to tease him just a little bit. "Weren't you the one who was so desperate to find Ammo?" I chuckled, crossing my arms. "W-What??" he spluttered, his eyes growing wide. Jack bursted out laughing at his expression as Tooth tried to suppress her giggles.
A snort came from Ammo as she walked in front of us. "Even if ya did manage ta find me, what were ya gonna do, Bunny? Get a pack o' greyhounds on my tail?" she asked before walking away. "Oh ho!" Jack stared wide eyed at the now disappearing figure, trying his best to hold back what I assumed was barrels and barrels of laughter.
A low growl came from behind me, whom I assumed was Bunny.
We walked through a long hallway full of doors of different colours shaped and sizes, each of us trying our best to dodge the creatures that were zooming and zipping past by us. The hallway changed in décor every few doors. They turned from waterfalls to galaxies, from medieval times to Japanese-themed retreats, from candy-wonderlands to a techie's dream.
But we didn't stop until we reached the end of the hallway, where there was a lift waiting for us.
"You guys didn't only come t' make me a Guardian. Why else d'ya come 'ere?" she asked, closing the doors and pressing the button on the bottom of the panel. "Crikey, didn't we already tell ya? We didn't come for anythin' else!" Bunny exclaimed, scowling.
"..."
"Then I'm guessin' ya don't wanna know just who ya're most prob'ly goin' up 'gainst then?"
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And here's the update I promised! Enjoy!
And sorry I couldn't update sooner. I had to go to my granddad's funeral right after Christmas
Anywho, hope you guys still like the story even though it still hasn't progressed much
And if you have any feedback for me, you know where to comments are