Hello!

So I know I haven't updated in forever, I'm sorry! I've been busy and had some wicked writer's block, which left me unable to write this up for awhile! DX But here it is! A new chapter!

Thanks to those of you who faved, followed, reviewed and PMed! You're all awesome! Please continue to let me know your thoughts on this story!

Also, at the bottom of this story, I have written a challenge! It's not like a contest or anything, its just for those who want to challenge themselves to write something new! Please take a look at it!

Disclaimer's on my prof.!

Enjoy reading!

Antartica was always Jack's go-to place when he was upset. Yet, considering just how upset and disconcerted he was, Jack got a bit turned around at some point. When he'd accidentally started towards Africa, the Wind had taken over and gently set the poor little Pooka kit down in Burgess, at Jack's lake. The anthro curled up immediately, staff clutched close to his chest. His mind was still whirling, trying to get a full grasp on what had happened.

They knew. All of the Guardians. They knew.

And that was terrifying. Jack had never felt so vulnerable or ashamed before in his life, and that was saying something considering he'd been around for three hundred years.

The young Pooka looked down at the lake's frozen surface, scowling at his reflection disdainfully. He still looked the same, even after three centuries.

The Wind gently ruffled his fur and brushed at his ears, trying to lift the boy's spirits, but the affection did little to help. And so the Wind simply remained as a silent companion while Jack fiddled with the pendant in his paws. He couldn't put it back on now, what was the point? The others knew what he really looked like, what good would trying to hide do?

With a cry of frustration, Jack chucked the pendant away from himself. The trinket skittered across the ice before coming to a halt by the lake's shore. Satisfied with this, Jack shifted into a crouch, head buried in his paws as he tried to figure out what to do now. He couldn't go back to the Pole, but he couldn't just stay here, this would be the first place someone would look! It was his territory after all-

"Jack! Jack!"

The Winter Spirit jumped at the sudden voice that cut the silence, looking up in alarm. Aster was just beyond the lake, in the forest and looking around. Spring green eyes met icy blue, and a look of relief washed over the older Pooka's face as he ran forward.

"Jack! Thank Mim, I-!"

Jack was on his feet and stumbling away within seconds, making Aster pause in surprise.

"Go away." Jack demanded, staff clutched protectively to his furry chest. Bunny gaped.

"What? Jack-"

"I said go away!" Jack snapped, whiskers twitching as he scowled. "Leave me alone!"

Aster's brow furrowed in both confusion and concern.

"Frostbite, Jack, jus' calm down kit." The older anthro held his paws out placatingly, slowly approaching. "Ya had us all worrie-"

At Bunny's approach, Jack stepped back slightly, hackles rising and the temperature of the area plummeting a few degrees.

"Just leave me alone!" He snapped. "I mean it! Go away!"

Bunny frowned, shaking his head as he continued to move forward.

"Jack, ya need t' calm down. Frostbite, jus'...Jus' talk t' me, yeah?"

Jack shifted back another step, grip on his staff tightening.

"There's nothing to talk about."

Bunny raised a brow.

"Oh? What 'bout tha' pendant? Or th' fact yer a-" An incredulous, almost tearful bark of laughter left Aster as he ran a hand over his head, pushing his ears back momentarily. "Yer a Pooka, a Pooka!"

Jack squirmed a bit, seeming uncomfortable and somewhat unsure.

"A- A what?"

Bunny blinked, taken aback.

"Y-...Ya don't know what ya are..?"

Jack frowned, shaking his head.

"No, I know what I am: a giant rabbit. What I don't know is what a Pooka is."

The temperature had gone back up a degree or two, a sign that Bunny was successfully distracting the teen. Encouraged by this, Aster continued to talk while he carefully approached Jack.

"Well, yeah, we look kinda like rabbits." Bunny admitted with a chuckle. "But 'Pooka' is th' specific name o' our species."

As he got closer, Aster took the time to get a better look at Jack's true form. While the teen was a kit, he stood around five-foot-nine (not including his ears). His fur was thick, like that of a Pooka from one of the Winter clans. Judging by the knotted clumps of fur here and there, the boy didn't take time to groom himself, or at least not recently. The teen's eyes were as big and blue as ever, and he was still so very, very skinny. The markings on his arms and forehead were only halfway grown in, a sign of his adolescence. If the boy were capable of growing older, those marks would've come in by next spring and he would've been an official adult, but that wouldn't happen now. Jack was a spirit, he was stuck as a kit forever. The Winter Spirit's paws, shoulders and ears were lightly dusted with frost, a physical feature that had manifested from Jack's abilities, it seemed. The boy's ears had swiveled back, a clear sign of his anxiety.

Bunny felt as though his heart as about to burst from his chest as the realization settled all the more firmly in his mind: he wasn't the last Pooka, he wasn't alone! There was another Pooka, a kit!

Jack still seemed to be distracted by their conversation, Bunny was only a few feet away now but the boy had yet to bolt. Shifting in place nervously, Jack glanced at the sky.

"I...Didn't know that. No one told me. Not even Manny..."

Aster shook his head.

"I don't know why he didn't say anythin'." He admitted. "But I'm tellin' ya now: yer a Pooka, through and through."

Jack frowned, gaze turning to the pendant that he had previously discarded.

"It doesn't matter. Manny obviously wants no one to know. He gave me that thing, after all." He nodded towards the trinket in question. "So apparently something's wrong with me."

Bunny gaped, taken aback by this. He quickly shook his head, moving forward in three long strides and taking hold of Jack's shoulders. The boy winced, but didn't pull away.

"No, Jack. Just...Just no. Mim isn't like tha', he wouldn't give tha' pendant t' ya for tha' kinda thing."

Jack scowled, half-heartedly trying to pull out of the older Pooka's grip.

"Yeah right." He scoffed. "Why else would he give me that then? For fun?"

Bunny shook his head once more, leaning down slightly to be more level with the shorter anthro.

"Most likely t' protect ya." He replied, trying to keep his voice calm and level. "Pitch killed most of our race, kit. Mim didn' give ya that pendant 'cause he was ashamed, he gave it t' ya t' protect ya from Pitch."

The teen hesitated, ears twitching slightly.

"Pitch...He...?"

Bunny nodded sadly.

"Yeah. Up 'til an hour ago, I thought I was the only one left." A smile curled at Aster's lips, his expression full of joy and excitement. "But it turns out I was wrong." Shaking his head with a laugh of disbelief, the older anthro gave Jack a light shake. "Strewth, kit, ya shoulda told me! I-"

Jack pulled back sharply, wrenching himself from Aster's grip and quickly moving to the pendant.

"Tell you what? That I wasn't a human when I became a spirit? What good would that have done, what difference does it make? I'm still different, I'm not like you! Kids like you, they know you as a giant rabbit, but if they see me like this? They'll run for the hills! It doesn't matter, I hardly take this thing off anyways," he held up the pendant in a paw. "So why would I bother you about it?"

Aster quickly followed the teen.

"What? Frostbite, Jack, it does matter! Yer a Pooka, d'ya know how amazin' that is?!" Bunny quickly reached forward when the teen went to put the pendant on, pushing the boy's paws down. "Jackie, jus' listen t' me fer a second!" Jack went to put the pendant back on anyways, but Aster only pushed his paws back down more insistently. "Jack."

The boy glared up at Aster, a low growl rumbling in the young Pooka's chest.

"Look, Bunny, I'm glad that you're happy that you're not alone, but do you realize how embarrassed I feel right now? For three hundred years I've been trying to keep up appearances and look human, you can't honestly expect me to feel comfortable looking like...Like this!"

Aster felt his heart drop at the boy's admission. Jack shouldn't have to feel ashamed, he should be proud of himself, of what he was! But the boy didn't even know about his own kind, all he knew was that for three centuries, he'd believed that Mim was ashamed of him...

All was silent for a long moment, and Jack was worried that he'd offended Bunny, he wondered if he should apologize-

A yelp of surprise left Jack as he found himself being embraced, face buried in a furry chest. It took him a second to realize that Bunny was hugging him, of all things.

"U-uh..."

As the boy stood awkwardly, Aster simply held the kit close, the white Pooka's head tucked under his chin. He wanted to make the boy understand that he shouldn't be ashamed, make him understand that he was a part of a proud race that had fallen long ago.

"Bunny...Bunny, I can't breathe."

Aster couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's muffled words and he released his hold of the kit. Jack appeared a bit dazed and confused, using his staff to balance himself. As the kit stared up at him, blinking owlishly, Bunny felt his determination become renewed.

"Look, jus'...Half an hour. Gimme half an hour before ya put that pendant back on. I haven' seen another Pooka in centuries, jus' give me half an hour b'fore ya go back t' lookin' human."

Jack looked unsure, gaze shifting away momentarily. Yet, after a moment of thought, the boy hesitantly nodded.

"...Okay."

Satisfied that the boy wasn't going to run off or put the pendant back on, Bunny relaxed. He watched as Jack moved to sit on a boulder beside the lake, and Aster couldn't help but notice that Jack didn't walk like a Pooka: he walked like a human. Or at least he tried to. There was still a slight skip to his gait, a quirk that the boy had been unable to iron out.

The Winter spirit was trying to hard to be human, to be "normal". But Aster wasn't about to allow Jack to go on thinking that it was wrong to act like a Pooka.

He'd prove to Jack that being a Pooka was a great, wonderful thing.

Hey again! So, as I mentioned before, I have a ROTG fic challenge! If you're interested, here it is!:

A brotherly Bunny and Jack fic (length doesn't matter, and it does NOT have to be related to any of my fanfictions, that isn't a requirement!), where Bunny shares a Pookan custom/tradition with Jack! Whether it be war paint, a rite of passage or something else, its up to you! The only thing it must have is brotherly awesomeness with Jack and Bunny! If you're interested but need help with coming up with an idea for a Pooka custom/tradition, then feel free to PM me!

Well, there it is! I hope some of you find the challenge interesting and give it a shot!