Bunny moans quietly, he's not sure whats happening. he winces, his body hurts, his energy is expended. he knows he's shrunken down again. he can't seem to get his eyes open, until there is a growl over him. his eyes snap open in worry.

there's a familiar furry white body crouched over him, with light blue tribal markings across the fur.

Yaca.

Bunny tries to get up but whines lowly, laying still.

"Bunny! do not move!" North shouts. Bunny looks even more confused, but can't move his head enough to see where the voice came from.

what happened? whats going on?

Jack growls, crouching over his mate.

Bunny notices something else growling, it snaps at Jack, catching his attention. a Wendigo. it snaps angrily at Jack, getting in his face. Jack snaps back. his hackles are raised, ears laid back as far as they can go, body tense. he's snarling at the creature that dares hurt his mate.

"what...?" Bunny mumbles, quietly. Jack moves one of his paws to push Bunny further under him gently. Bunny hisses softly, curling up. the only apology gets from Jack is a soft whine, before his attention turns back to the creature before them.

"Jack get back." North says.

"get Bunny out of here." Jack growls lowly.

"m'not... goin'." Bunny manages. the Wendigo lurches at Jack, but Jack holds his ground, easily swiping the creature away from him and Bunny.

"touch him again! I dare you! I'll eat you for breakfast!" Jack warns, crouching lower over Bunny. he's ready to pounce on the creature to get his mate out of here.

"J-Jack-" Bunny tries.

"don't move Aster." Jack warns. "you three stay back! don't come any closer!"Jack warns. Bunny grunts winces, slowly turning his head.

"N-North don'." Bunny warns, when the Crossack gets closer.

"Bunny you are injured-" North tries, stepping forward again. Jack growls lowly.

"st-stay back." Bunny warns. "he can' help it, but Jack will attack ya if ye get too close. he won' mean t'." Bunny winces. Tooth grabs Norths arms gently and pulls her back.

"North, back up. the last time Jack fought anyone like this because Bunny was hurt..." Tooth trails.

it was the war on their home planet. Bunny had attacked one of their friends once since Jacks Pookan form was revealed, accidentally. North still had scars on his neck from the incident.

the Russian frowns, stepping back. just as he does so, the Wendigo tackles Jack, snatches up Bunny and takes off running.

"Aster!" Jack shouts, rolling back onto his paws and taking off after the creature. "we've got to catch that thing before it gets to the lake!" Jack shouts, sprinting as fast as he can. the others are following after them as fast as they can.

"lemme go ya bloody dringo!" Bunny shouts, struggling with the Wendigo. "I am not a snack!" he growls. the Wendigo is suddenly tackled and Bunny goes flying. he lands on the ice hard and bounces across it. Jacks head snaps up, Wendigo immediately forgotten when his mate lets out a cry of pain.

"Aster!" Jack shouts, jumping over the creature to go after Bunny. the last bounce on the ice makes the ice crack. "ASTER!" Jack shouts as the ice lets go under Bunny. Jack jumps onto the ice, solidifying it under his paws, so no one else falls through. he's startled as the Wendigo tackles him hard, sending them both through the ice.

the ice water sends the creature into shock, making it easy for Jack to push it off him and swim after Bunny.

the other Pooka is struggling, though its weakly. his injuries and the shock made it hard. Jack screams for his mate while under the water and swims as fast as he can towards him.

he grabs Aster and pulls him up to his chest and heads for the surface as fast as he can.

both of them gasp as they surface, North grabs hold of Jack and yanks them both up. Asters limp against him.

"Aster!" Jack shouts, shoving North away and running to solid land. he lays Bunny down on his back quickly and carefully.

"Jack! Bunny!" Tooth shouts, running over to them. Jack growls in the back of his throat and she steps back quickly. "sorry, sorry." Tooth apologizes.

they watch Jack do CPR on Bunny, being as careful as he can.

it seems to take forever but Bunny jerks, spitting out water, and gasping. he wincing, curling up. he's shivering, entire body wracked with shivers. Jack scoops him up quickly and hugs him tightly.

"Jack we must get Bunny out of here." North says. Jack stands up, Bunny clutched to his chest. he taps his foot and a large tunnel opens, swallowing all of them. Jack takes off running the moment he hits the ground, the others stumbling and struggling to keep up.

he needs to get Bunny into a warm bath as fast as he can. the smaller Pooka is trembling so bad even his tail is shaking. he's almost vibrating in Jacks grasp.

"hang on. I know I'm not the warmest but just hang on." Jack murmurs.

Jack races into their den, carefully puts Bunny into the tub and turns on the warm water. he puts a small towel under Bunnys head to keep him from going under water completely. he stops the water before it covers his face and runs off to get Bunnys herbs and salves.

"keep an eye on Bunny!" Jack shouts, running past their friends. Sandy heads into the bathroom and peers over the tub. North and Tooth follow after him.

"Bunny?" Tooth asks, hesitantly. Bunny is laying still in the tub with his eyes shut. his chest is barely moving, but his ears twitch slightly.

"hmm?" Bunny asks, humming softly. its weak, but its responsive.

"Bunny are you alright?" Tooth asks. Bunny mumbles quietly. "honey?" Tooth asks. Sandy frowns, throwing up a few symbols.

should I put him to sleep...?

"no, do not put Bunny to sleep, Sandy he may not wake up." North murmurs. Jack runs back in, shoving them all out of his way.

his old Pookan warrior instincts are kicking back in. he knows what he's doing.

he's careful, not removing Bunny from the water, but ensuring he's generously covered in the healing elements, enough that the water won't wash it away.

"Aster?" Jack asks.

"m'okay." Bunny grumbles.

"are you sure?" Jack asks.

"yeah." Bunny assures softly.

"Jack you're bleeding!" Tooth shouts. Bunny winces softly. Jack looks down at his side, he's gushing blood.

"yeah, probably happened when that thing tackled me into the water." Jack murmurs, pressing his paw to his side.

"come Jack, we get you patched. Tooth and Sandy keep eye on Bunny." North assures. Jacks ears twitch and he shakes his head.

"I'm not going anywhere." Jack warns, eyes not leaving Bunny. the other Pooka isn't moving, but he could drown if he decides to move wrong or falls unconscious.

"just sit here." Tooth murmurs, pushing Jack gently towards the bathroom counter. Jack sits on it, his eyes stay firmly on Bunny. Bunny doesn't twitch or move, simply lays in the water letting himself heal. Jack can see his chest bobbing up and down so he relaxes. he sits silently and lets North wrap his side.

Jack stares down Bunnys prone body.

"Jack, sweet tooth, alright you alright?" Tooth asks. Jack nods slightly.

Jack doesn't answer when they ask questions, so eventually they stop and all gather to watch Bunny, who lays still.

they're not sure how long they watch Bunny, before his eyes snap open and he slowly sits up, rubbing his back.

"Bunny? are you alright?" Tooth asks. Bunny grumbles, rubbing his head.

"yeah, m'good." Bunny assures. Jack blinks slightly, looking more relaxed. "what in the hell happened?" Bunny frowns. the other Guardians look at Jack.

"we were hanging out at the lake and that thing came out of no where with a kid. Baby Tooth was with us, she went for the others, we went after the kid. fight broke out. I got the kid out of there and when I came back you were laying unconscious on the ground, kinda lost my mind a bit..." Jack trails, laughing bitterly.

"s'apples." Bunny assures gently.

"no its not!" Jack shouts.

"ya got protective Jack, it happens. I do it too. its instinct." Bunny assures, pulling himself up on the side of the tub. Tooth immediately reaches out to help him up, but Bunny waves her away. "I can bloody do it." Bunny grumbles. Tooth pulls back. Bunny had heard Jack bite back a growl, saw his ears straighten and his body stiffen. Jack was still aggressive, even if he didn't mean to be, and still very protective of his mate. Bunny smiles at him reassuringly when Jacks ears droop some. "what about the ankle-biter?" Bunny ask.

"oh, we need to go check on her." Tooth says quickly.

"she's fine." Jack assures.

"Jack please." Tooth says. Bunny nods at Jack gently. Jack immediately gives the other three the address and watches them leave.

its quiet between Jack and Bunny for a few minutes, before Bunny clears his throat. Jack looks over slowly.

"'ey, s'apples Jack, m'serious. y'saved me life." Bunny murmurs. "an the life of that kid." Bunny adds.

"I almost attacked our friends." Jack says.

"they wouldn've held it agains' ye. they know. they seen me do it too. can' tell ya how many times I jobbed North a good'en 'cause he tried t' touch ye when ya were hurt." Bunny explains. "or how many times I latched ont' Tooth 'cause she tried t' touch ya. Sandys pretty good at keepin' 'is hands t' 'imself." Bunny assures. Tooth still has the bite mark on her arm and North still has scars from Bunnys claws across his chest. he didn't hold back, he wasn't ashamed.

"I could have hurt them." Jack says softly. Bunny shakes his head.

"well, if ye'd done somethin' like that back in the day, the Pooka would've been shamin' whoever tried t' touch me." Bunny assures. "s'instinct Jack." Bunny adds softly.

"well its a terrible instinct." Jack huffs softly, looking away.

"I don' disagree, but ya can' help it." Bunny assures, hopping up onto the counter next to Jack. "Yaca." Bunny murmurs. Jack looks over.

"what?" Jack ask. Bunny smiles at him, patting Jacks leg.

"m'okay. yer okay. the kid is okay. our friends are okay. alright? everythin' is alright." Bunny assures gently. Jack reaches to scoop him up, but stops. he gets up off the counter, missing the confused look Bunny shoots him. "Jack- oi!" Bunny yelps, suddenly scooped up in a towel.

"I didn't wanna accidentally freeze you since you're already wet." Jack murmurs, hugging him tightly. Bunny grunts, squirming.

"I 'preciate that." Bunny mutters. "how about we lay in the nest, eh?" Bunny ask. Jack nods and carries him off to the other room.

"just stay in the towel. the mirror you put up was freezing behind me. I'm trying not to, but I'm terrified I'll freeze you." Jack murmurs. Bunny snorts.

"m'alright. won't be the first time." Bunny teases. Jack smiles and flops into the nest with him, cuddling him. "y'did great Jack. thank ya." Bunny murmurs. Jack nods, nuzzling him happily, gently.

"yeah." Jack murmurs.

they lay quietly, juts enjoying each others company.