The ceremony for Sandy's passing was tightknit.

          You've basically lost all your tears in the trip back to the North's workshop, all that was left being the solemn look that stuck on your face even after you parted ways and forced yourself to accept his death.

          You sat in some corner of the large gathering room, staring at the potted plant on the table in front of you blankly. You were trying to distract yourself by helping it grow (hearing from North a few days ago that it had trouble growing on its own) tapping on the leaves and sighing. The issue was North placing it in the darkest area of this place, and the poor thing was on the verge of literal death had you not saved it to give you enough time to place it under sunlight in the next few minutes.

          The nearest window was currently being used by North and Jack, and you couldn't help but listen in on whatever pep talk Father Christmas was giving his newest kid.

          "—would be proud of what you did," He smiled, and tears pricked the corner of your eyes once more. It didn't take much for you to know he was talking about Sandy, and anything that reminded you of him made your insides twist and your heart break even more.

          "I don't know who you were in your past life," North continues, patting his shoulder with no doubt a smile on his face, "but in this life you are Guardian."

          "How can I find out who I am, until I found out who I was?" Jack mumbles, but North is having none of that as he reassures, "You will! I feel it. . ." He grins, looking down before pointing, "In my belly!"

          They share a quiet laugh, before North goes off with a last farewell and excuses himself.

          You sigh, staring at the pot you had in your hands. Your tears were already soaking the dirt, and that somehow only helped it grow more life as the seconds ticked. "Are you okay, dorogaya?"

          You jump, almost dropping the plant altogether before clearing your throat as you see North's soft eyes and understanding look. "No it's. . .it's nothing, just. . ." You sigh, before forcing on a smile, not even bothering to hide the fact that it wasn't genuine "I'm fine."

          He sighs, but nods and places a hand on your shoulder, "You do know that it's. . .okay not to be, yes? No one's expecting you to accept it quickly, and no one will think any less of you for being sad." He squeezes one last time, "We're here for you, Y/N." before nodding and walking off, leaving you staring at his retreating form as another tear escapes you.

          "So are pep talks always his thing?" Jack attempts a joke, but even you felt the downright lack of enthusiasm or effort in it. But you smiled anyway, albeit pitifully, "Yeah. . .that's a side they don't show kids, him being a licensed therapist." You shook your head, a small snicker of his own before being followed by a sigh.

          You set the plant on the seat Jack had previously took, pausing at the drawn shape of your friend frosted in the glass.

          You shook your head, turning your attention back to him before you could lose control and start crying again over a drawing. "So, didn't know you could do that," You forced on a teasing look—even if you haven't really seen the full extent of that power, seeing as you were busy wallowing in depression—but he only rolled his eyes, a smile of his own, "Yeah I uh. . .I didn't know either."

          "Guess there's just a lot of things neither of us know about, huh?" You give the plant one last pat before you walked off, Jack falling behind a few paces and sighing. But he didn't sound as sad, "Guess there are."

          "Look how fast they're going out. . ." You hear Tooth say to your left, worry written all over her feathered face as her once bright eyes jumped from light to light in speeds reminiscent to that of her flapping wings. "It's fear. . ." Jack mumbles, stopping to stare at it from beside you. He flies to the large globe in the center of the room, some sort of desperation as he looks at the little, flickering golden lights that were dispersing slowly, "He's tipped the balance."

          "Hey buck up, 'ya sad sacks," You feel a heavy pat on your back as Bunny bounces to the control panel in front of you, crouching, "We can still turn this around! Easter, is tomorrow and I need your help," He smiles, and you couldn't help but mirror him. Bunny wasn't exactly. . .stuck-up, or whatever the right word was, but he wasn't one that openly asked for help that much. So seeing him be the first to propose such a thing warmed some part of your heart.

          Jack lands beside you, a dull thud as he looks at you, small hope on his face, "I say we pull out all the stops and we get those little lights flickering again!" You smile back.

         It didn't take much to have everyone moving again, leaning on the backside of the elevator as North stands proudly upfront, "Bunny is right! As much as it pains me to say, old friend, this time Easter is," You could've sworn you heard him sigh, and you did little to no effort to stop your snicker, "more important than Christmas."

          "Hey! Did everybody hear that?!" You bump shoulders with him on the way out, matching Jack's look of a shrug and 'touché', "We must hurry to the warren. Everyone! To the sleigh."

          "Oh no, mate," Bunny laughs, putting distance from the rest of you standing in front, "My warren, my rules. Buckle up," He taps his foot, and your look of horror pretty much mirrors everybody else's. But North had the worst of it, "Shostakovich."

          Soon the floor beneath you disappeared, yelping when it was too late for you to turn into a pile of leaves. You were sliding down the tunnels uncomfortably, going around in circles while sitting on your ass and having a hard time standing up. Meanwhile Jack was having the time of his life, using it as a means of surfing the curving walls with his heels. Maybe this was karma for letting Bunny and North fall down earlier. . .

          You emerged the other side backwards with your feet meeting the stable ground first, bouncing you off your balance and you were sent stumbling back. There was an arm that extended and caught you, gripping onto the shoulders instinctively and hearing an amused laugh, "Ow, your nails hurt."

          "Coming from you, that's good news."

          You removed yourself from Jack, refusing to ever rely on him for anything as you mumbled a half-assed thanks. He only grins, and you both turn your attention back to North, who ended up sprawled on the floor. "Aha, buckle up," He pushes himself to sit, a finger held up, "is very funny."

          Bunny chuckle, behind him various. . . things—statues?—made of moss-covered stone and shaped like eggs clunked, "Welcome, to the Warren."

          But then he pauses, head whipping back to a small, dark tunnel. His ears twitched, his nose scrunches and his brows furrow, "Something's up."

          About a hundred white eggs emerged from said tunnel, scrambling on little legs that honestly weirded you out. But your friend here probably would never let you hear the end of it so you kept your mouth shut, the distant, muffled sounds of a shriek making you remove your sickle and hold it up. It seemed that everyone else has the same idea, weapons unsheathed with even the stone statues turning parts of their head to show angered faces at the direction.

          It was quiet for a few moments, but the sounds of shrieking again made Bunny do a war-cry.

          Then North did, then Jack, even Tooth!—charging forward as a group with vines of your own steadily rising.

          It reaches a crescendo, but everyone halts in a panic upon finding the source of it.

          A little girl with a bad haircut stood in front of you all, about three of the eggs held in her grasps and a gawking look on her face. Jack from beside you raises a brow, weapon still held out, "Sophie?"

          Almost immediately everyone went to their best behavior, a large flower blooming from your wrist to cover the sharp weapon. This caught 'Sophie's attention, gasping at the bright red. But she does what little kids do best and gets distracted, the little eggs in her hold escaping and she chases after them with a laugh.

          "What is she doing here?!" Bunny cries out in exasperation, the little girl almost tripping as you made careful effort to step away. North said something about a snow globe, and Bunny cried out again, "Crikey somebody do something!"

          You turned to Jack, raising a brow, "Aren't you like the embodiment of fun and child-like wonder or whatever?" He shrugs, not denying nor confirming your statement, "Hey now no, don't look at me," He raises his arms, "I'm invisible, remember?"

          You glared at him, and he grins.

          "Don't worry, Bunny, I bet she's a fairy fan!" Tooth announces in a sing-song voice, flying to the little girl with a wide grin. "It's okay, little one!" Sophie gasps, shrinking as she stares at Tooth's bright feathers, "Pretty. . !"

          Your friend awes, "You know what, I got something for you!" She opens her hands, and you visibly cringed from where you stood, "Here it is! Look at all the pretty teeth!" You groan, quite audibly, and it seemed everyone shared your discomfort, "With little blood and gum on them!"

          As to no one's surprise Sophie screams, running off and earning a laughing sigh from Jack. "Blood and gums?" He flies off, sitting on a rock with a little opening at the bottom where many of the eggs scrambled to hide, "When was the last time you guys actually hung out with kids?"

          "PEE-KA-BOO!" Sophie giggled madly when the eggs ran out, the hair on your body raising when many of them started running in your general direction. "We are very busy bringing joy to children, we don't have time! . ." North pauses, staring at Sophie now chasing after butterflies, before at Jack again, "For children!"

          "If one little kid can ruin Easter then," Jack laughs, a twirl of his fingers as a small snowflake emerges from it and flies off, "We're in worse shape than I thought."

          You watch as Sophie chases after it, giggling and laughing as you moved aside, not so sure if you trusted whatever Jack makes. But it lands on Bunny's nose, and there was a brief look of confusion before his eyes lit up, a new smile forming on his face.

          Later on you found yourself atop one of the small, mossy hills, growing flowers to where you saw fit and Jack squatting on his staff to your left. Below you about a thousand of the eggs ran by, and you were more than a little awestruck. "Rimsky-Korsakov! That's a lot of eggs," North chuckles from beside Jack, who raises a brow, "Uhh, how much time do we have?"

          "Enough for this, apparently," You mumble, leaning down and helping one egg who somehow ended up stumbling. He grins slightly, flying off his staff and landing on a little ledge across you, careful not to hit any of the eggs, "You've been here before?"

          "No, Bunny doesn't like inviting us over either." You snort, sitting as you gazed at the sea of white, "Before this whole Pitch thing he hardly contacted us, let alone spent time."

          "Really, who would've guessed? I'd say he's a pretty social guy." He laughs loudly when you sent petals flying to his face against his sarcasm, shaking his head and going after you when you zoomed off in a pile.

          "Alright troops, its time to push back!" The man—rabbit?—of the hour loudly announces, his voice echoing as he's. . .somewhere playing with Sophie, "Heaps of you in every high rise, farm house, and trail'r park! In tennis shoes and cereal bowls!" You watch from a short distance away North standing on two of the small hills, a grin on his face as he waves at the young girl who passed by below him.

          She was still being carried by the eggs in a small crowd-surf like fashion, waiting just as she passed by you. You sat on a similar rock, legs dangling and with a flick of your wrist, little pink petals fell over the girl. She giggled, tapping and pointing as one even fell on her nose.

          From above you felt little pinpricks of cold on your head, looking up with a hand to shield your eyes to see Jack on a taller rock. He was sprinkling snow, and he only shrugs cheekily at you. "Dandruff."

          "Allergies."

          It didn't matter much, because Sophie was enjoying both.

          "Oh, there'll be bathtubs filled with my beautiful googies!"

          You traced the edges of a ledge, overlooking a small purple, pinkish river where many of the eggs jumped in. One elf even pushed one of them in, before he pays for his sins by getting pushed in as well. You watched North pick one of them up, sitting as Jack lands somewhere beside you, once again crouching on top of his staff. "Okay, that's little strange."

          "No, mate," Bunny scoffs a smile, holding about a dozen of them in his arms like a proud father, "That's adorable."

          The elf that you had seen get pushed in emerges once again, covered brightly head to toe and looking proud of himself. "Oh no, he's jumping jobs," You snickered, the thought of some stray elf helping with Easter preparations amusing to you. "You think Bunny's hiring?"

          "Doubt that, being egg-shaped's kind of a requirement." You held back a laugh, trying your best to keep up appearances and not break that quickly, "Well I'm sure he can change shape if he tries hard enough."

          "Ouch, don't you think that's a bit much?" You could tell he was trying hard not to laugh as well, a fist held to his mouth as he clears his throat, "I'd rather not get the job at all than lose. . .myself along the w. . ." He trails off, the chuckles that escaped his lips doing little to stop your own, the two of you in a fit of laughter as though it was the funniest thing in the world.

           "There will be springtime in every continent!" Bunny continues, his voice still echoing and still not quite sure where it was coming from, "And I'm bringing hope with me!"

          You flew off again—honestly a little surprise that Jack was putting in effort to just follow you around flying—landing cross-legged on a smaller rock, the moss tickling you even through the fabric when you sat. Below, the now-painted and designed eggs passed by, in the distance hearing some passing comment from Bunny and an exasperated groan from one of the yetis. "You ever wonder how life might've been different if we never got chosen?"

          He hums, just downright sitting beside you with his staff twirling in his hold, "Not really. Because you know, the whole no memory thing?" He knocks on his head as though it was hollow, a humored roll of your eyes before you sigh, "Sorry it's just. . .I don't know I guess I'm just. . .still wondering why Man on the Moon chose me."

          "Why not?" He asks, voice softer and curiosity growing at this suddenly solemn turn, "I'd say you're doing a pretty good job."

          "Thanks," You mumble, that darned feeling rising in your stomach again, but you chose to ignore it, "But. . .I don't know. Guess I just don't think I deserve it." Your mind wandered back to what Pitch had said, his statement of somehow being a part of you haunting your every waking moment. What did he mean? Was he somehow responsible for your creation? Or did he simply mean that in that current moment where he managed to infiltrate your dream?

          "Well for whatever it's worth, I think you deserve it." Jack finally spoke, the silence breaking and not being able to stop a smile, "Yeah. . ."

          . . .

          But then you realized that you had a reputation to uphold so you immediately added, "Even though it doesn't hold that much worth, but thanks anyway."

          Way to go, Mother Nature was a tsundere.

          Thank goodness he took it as humor, laughing as he shook his head and got up. "Alright, whatever you say. You wanna go bother Bunny?"

          You scoffed, accepting his extended hand. Funny, just yesterday you were reeling from how cold his touch was but now you couldn't even be bothered by it that much. "Duh."

          That's what you two told yourselves, but when you found Bunny you just stood on either side of him, watching him just wrap up explaining how Easter worked to the ever-grinning Sophie. You found yourself listening in as well, a smile on your face as you watched your absolute-tank of a friend on the battlefield be so soft to a small child. Sure, maybe Jack had some hand in him acting like that, but it did little to discourage the happiness on your face.

          You crouched next to Bunny while Jack was beside Sophie, watching the sea of brightly colored eggs take the large tunnels past the clear opening. "Not bad." Jack grins, the little girl tuckered out and getting scooped up by the softly smiling rabbit, "Not bad yourself."

          A few moments of blissful silence passed, hand reaching over and running it through Sophie's surprisingly soft hair. She cooed, snuggling deeper into Bunny's hold. Jack sighs, "Look, I'm sorry about the whole. . .kangaroo thing."

          If you felt surprise you certainly didn't show it, this being his second apology so far in the span of, what, forty-eight hours? Maybe people can change.

          "It's the accent, isn't it?" You three share a chuckle, looking behind to see the rest of your little group arriving. You scooted away slightly to let Tooth look at Sophie, to which she was silently grateful for. "Aw, poor little ankle biter. Look at 'er, all tuckered out."

          "I love her. . ." Tooth smiles wistfully, and you quietly laughed, patting her shoulder as you stood to stretch. "We should probably get her home," You announce, adjusting your neck the best you could as the fairy agrees, taking her into her hold. "Wouldn't want her parents scolding us for kidnapping her."

          "Hey it wasn't a kidnapping if she got here first," Bunny defended, fake look of seriousness on his face, "If anything we should be charging her for trespassing."

          "Good idea, Bunny, let's build a case against a five year old."

          "Okay, we are getting off-topic." North softly laughs, and Tooth nods, standing up while holding the girl. "How about I take her home?" Jack nonchalantly offers, standing up as almost all of you stared at him incredulously. "Jack, no!" She reasons, "Pitch is—"

          "No match for this." He gestures to his weapon, to which Bunny nods, "Which is why we need you here, with the eggs." You also nod, sighing, "As much as I'd hate to rely on you, we are gonna need you here where Pitch is no doubt more likely to strike."

          "Don't worry," He assures, hand raising and fingers mimicking that of running legs, "I'll be quick as a bunny."

          There was a hah from Bunny, and you groaned quietly.

          It took a bit more but you all eventually agree, cringing when you saw Sophie stirring slightly, no doubt from Jack's body temp. "I'm holding you to that, Frost." You tell him just as he adjusts his grip on the staff, rolling his eyes in a playful manner, "After all we've been through, and you still don't trust me?"

          "Trusting you is a lot worse than getting my ass kicked by Pitch." You were joking of