Rise of the Guardians 2: Return of the Nightmare King

Aftermath

Jack's P.O.V.

Tooth flinched as I hissed in pain. "Sorry," she mumbled quietly. I didn't answer, instead choosing to look down at the sheets that covered the bed. My hoodie was beside me, exposing my bare chest. I barely noticed though, because of my wound. It hurt where the wolf pounced on me, but it wasn't bleeding and the stitches were still closed. A nasty bruise was starting to form around the closed wound. I was lucky it wasn't worse. Tooth put bandages over it anyway, to form some sort of protection. "There you go, just be careful," she offered a small smile. I pulled on my hoodie and offered a hand.

"Thank you, but it's your turn now," I patted the spot next to me, "let me see it." She sat with her legs folded underneath her and faced me. Tooth held her arm out, clenching her jaw as she did so. A large bite mark circled around her forearm, the feathers around the wound either missing or bloody. "I'm so sorry Tooth," I whispered, "that looks bad."

"If you hadn't frozen the wolf, it probably would've done much worse," Tooth shrugged her shoulders, "so thank you for that." I didn't answer, completely focused on healing Tooth. As a yeti walked by I called out to it.

"Hey, can you help her?" I asked. The yeti merely looked at the wound and nodded. He walked away to get some supplies, leaving me and Tooth alone again. "Do you think she'll be okay?" I asked Tooth. I looked over at the bed next to us. Angela lay on it, breathing slowly, her face contorted into one of fear.

"Jack, she clearly went through something that terrified her," Tooth laid a hand on my arm, "she'll talk about it when she's ready. As for the wound on her ankle, I know the yetis will be able to heal her. She'll be alright."

"I just don't want her suffering," I sighed, "she's been through so much already. I feel like I owe her one. She's done so much for us." Tooth turned her head to look at her and smiled.

"She's been so brave," she said. Tooth leaned up to peck me on the cheek, making me flustered. "We'll make sure nothing bad happens to her." Before I could kiss her, the yeti returned with a first aid kit, medicine, and cleaning alcohol. The creature opened the kit and unraveled a few bandages. He grumbled something in his language and opened the cleaning alcohol. He poured some on paper towels and dabbed it gingerly on Tooth's arm. She squeezed my hand as she flinched. I rubbed the space between her wings in comfort, trying to calm her down. After he cleaned the wound, he wrapped it tightly in bandages and put two pills in her hand. I guessed that it was some sort of pain medication. I nodded to him in thanks and took the glass of water he held out.

"Here Tooth," I held out the medicine, "this'll help with the pain." She put the pills in her mouth and gulped them down with the water. After she set the glass down, she scooted herself closer to me so that her head was leaning on my shoulder. I put my arm around her and pulled her closer. "We had a hard battle, just rest for now," I reassured her. The attack from Pitch scared all of us. It brought me back to that moment of the last time we fought in Bunny's warren. The fear I felt when Pitch attacked me with his words, whispering my fears into my ears. I remember the overwhelming guilt piling onto my shoulders as Bunny stopped himself from hitting me in the jaw. The memories of that day rushed back to not only me, but everyone else. I was afraid for Angela as she stumbled out of a tunnel, bruises all over her body and a bleeding wound on her ankle. Her eyes were unfocused, trying to tell us something. I remember trying to talk to her, but all she said was a whispered apology. I didn't want her to feel the same guilt as I had felt. It takes hold of you and drags you down until there's nothing but the hateful words from your friends and the memories of your fears echoing in your mind.

"Jack," Tooth looked up at me with sad eyes, "we won't turn away from her as we did you once. We'll make sure to let her know that it wasn't her fault." I nodded, believing every word she spoke. I knew that she still felt guilty for treating me like that once.