Cold and alone ✔️

⚠️Eating again - 20

Warning - eating disorder

   When Jack woke up he felt for Bunny only to find an empty spot on the bed. With a quick stretch, being careful to not strain his injuries, Jack got out of bed and was greeted by the usual pang of hunger. He didn't understand, he was a spirit that had loved for nearly a hundred years and didn't grow or age. He shouldn't need to eat, so why was he still always so hungry?

   Jack hadn't eaten in a very long time. Where was he supposed to get food anyways? He had seen many starving on the streets without food so why should he get to eat? Almost everyone hated him anyways so he definitely wasn't getting food from them. He didn't want to be a burden on those who did talk to him either. And then there was Pitch who said he didn't deserve food so he wasn't much help either. Now that Jack was free and he assumed was actually allowed to eat again, he wasn't sure if he could.

   After going so long without food and growing used to feeling hungry, he wasn't sure if he would be able to eat. Jack hated to admit it but he was scared to eat. Every time he thought about it his hands would clam up and his throat would feel tight. Panic would sink in and he didn't have the courage to ask the guardians for food. They had already helped him out enough. Once he was all healed they would only keep him close because the moon told them to. After all, they had all made it very clear in the past they wanted nothing to do with him minus Sandy.

   Before going to the Warren with Bunny, Jack had snuck a cookie and attempted to eat it. But he literally couldn't, no matter how hard he tried. The smell made his stomach growl but the food in his mouth felt foreign and he couldn't force himself to swallow without getting sick. The cookie felt rough in his throat and was painful when he tried to swallow. He had a hard enough time drinking the water Tooth tried to give him on occasion without coughing it up.

An hour or so later, Bunny came back to find Jack drawing in his new sketchbook with a slight tremor in his hands. On his sketchbook was a detailed sketch of himself drowning just like he had in one of his many nightmares after being punished for trying to visit outside. Bunny could see the very visible fear on Jack face and carefully blew on his face as not to scare him to get him out of his trance.

Jack felt his hair ruffle up and his eyes shot up to see Bunny looking at him with kind and worried eyes. Eyes could tell him a lot about a person and their personality or current feelings . He didn't know why but the way Bunny looked at him made him feel safe. Jack didn't know what it was about Bunny, but it made him relax. Next thing he knew, he was in Bunny's arms in tears, explaining the sketch and nightmares Pitch had put him through. Even though Bunny had wanted to ask Jack about his eating habits, he pushed it off for another time and simply sat and listened to Jack for the next few hours.

Edited October 22, 2022