Secret of Frost and Moon

Mass Employment

Alaia Skyhawk: Well I've now read Book 4 of the Guardians of Childhood series (which was released yesterday), and I can FINALLY give Mother Nature her name. I've never given her one before now, since it was likely to be mentioned in Book 4, and it was! So yep, minor spoiler, her official name will be mentioned at some point in this chapter :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians, the Guardians of Childhood, or any related characters etc. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes.

~(-)~

Chapter 80: Mass Employment

When the summons came, Jack wasn't especially surprised by it. But given the timing, he was somewhat annoyed by it.

It was two weeks after Easter and, despite all the additional meetings over the past couple of months, the Guardians had still held their usual annual one at the usual time. Everything that had been reported, was things they all already knew.

Tooth, North, and Sandy had been doing the rounds of the world's teenagers with special dreams and temporary loans of tooth-boxes for reminding them of their childhood beliefs.

Bunny, besides his Easter duties, had been dashing all over the place like a mad march hare. Marshalling hordes of eggbots in the workshop area of the Warren, to build thousands of small Etheric Turbines and just as many electric transformers and water pumps. He'd been taking those round the most needy countries, to isolated villages where clean fresh water was a distant dream. They'd been going to sleep on an evening, and waking up in the morning to the 'miracle' of a powered water pump seemingly having appeared from nowhere overnight. Bunny had been burying the turbines out of reach below ground, but could add a surface 'power point' to them later to give the villages access to electricity as well as clean water.

In the meantime Jack had been lumped as the primary point of contact for the various scientists and researchers. After finishing up his Northern Winter duties, it being an earlier spring this year, he'd then gotten only three days of his normal two-week nap. He'd then been dragged from bed by necessity, when Kiyiya got word from Marcia that a liaison was needed and Bunny was too busy with the final run-up to Easter.

Sufficient to say, Jack was feeling somewhat grumpy. What with all the initial excitement having worn off, and the tedious work now started. And then, right at the end of the Guardians' annual meeting, a vine gate opened in the workshop and a Nature Fairy had come through it with the summons.

Jack was not amused.

With a sigh of resignation, he waved to the other Guardians and flew through the gate without a word. It led to the Garden of the Seasons, where he'd been for every formal meeting he'd had with Mother Nature in this sanctuary. And sure enough, she was sat in the gazebo at the centre of it, waiting for him.

She frowned a little when she noted his grumpy mood, and gestured for him to sit.

"You've not had enough rest."

He sat, taking a gulp from the lukewarm tea that had already been poured ready for him, and answered.

"I've not had time to. I got a quarter of my usual recharge-time, before I had to pick up the slack for Bunny. And even with him now having loads of free time for the next eight or so months, I'm still stuck racing around because I'm easier to believe in than the 'Easter Bunny'."

Mother Nature's frown deepened, this time with concern.

"Jack, you already have two jobs. You're going to wear yourself out if you try to take on three without any extra help. You should have asked me to arrange a dedicated liaison to replace you. It wouldn't even have to be one of the Immortals. I could send a fairy to do it."