True to his word, Bunny took Jack the long way around to the meadow that lead to the egg tunnels that were still covered in the remains of Easter.
Jack, for his part, was staring about himself in wonder. Bunny finally gave in to his curiosity and spoke up, expressing surprise that Jack was so curious. "Didn't think Spring was your thing, considering..." he trailed off, the subject of a certain blizzard heavy in his thoughts.
Jack shrugged, hovering over a hyacinth and sniffing deep. He landed to take a better look at the flower, reaching out a gentle finger to trace over the soft petals, careful not to leave frost. "Most folks are pretty happy to see the back of me by the time these flowers are out," he said noncommittally, trying for casual to cover the hurt left by that. He glanced at Bunny out of the corner of his eye, not sure if he should bring up what they were both thinking about or not.
Finally he sighed, deciding to get it over with. It was fun while it lasted, at least. "Go on and ask, Cottontail. You're gonna keep thinking about it until you do."
Bunny looked at him steadily and Jack fought to keep a straight face, staring back at him as levelly as possible, perhaps even glaring a little, before finally looking away. "Right. Well. Frostbite, I reckin' I prob'ly jumped the gun a bit that day, an' assumed things tha' weren't true, but just tell me why. Why Easter?"
"I didn't know it was Easter," Jack said, hating how stiff he sounded even to his own ears. "And..." he scuffed a foot along the dirt path, trying not to frost it in his anxiety. See if they still wanted him as a Guardian after this. "I just...it had been a really long time, okay? Since anyone even acknowledged I existed. And then there were all these new ice rinks and snow machines, and no one needed me anymore. So...so I'm already on edge, right? And then General Winter starts brewing up this massive storm, and it's a killer one, really bitter cold and way too late in the season for snow so no one's going to be ready for something like that, hell they wouldn't be ready for it if it was winter, but he runs off when he sees me coming and I still don't really get why but he does, and I'm trying to wrestle it under control but it's really not what I do all the time and I'm already worked up and I managed to get it a bit gentler than it was but..." he finished the breathless recitation with a eloquent gesture of arms and hands and staff, trying to imply 'just couldn't take anymore,' 'lost control,' and 'had to let it all out' without the words for it. "So. Yeah. Easter of '68."
Bunny, meanwhile, had a somewhat startled look about the eyes, ears tilted back as he stared at Jack, nose twitching as he processed the flood of words that had erupted so unexpectedly.
Jack shifted from foot to foot, wondering just what Bunny was thinking. Probably how they shouldn't have sworn someone as weak as he was into Guardianship. There had to be a reason not even the Man in the Moon wanted him after creating him.
"Well, tha' explains a lot," Bunny finally said, crouching to scratch behind his ear thoughtfully. "Leaves out a lot, too, but explains a lot. Shoulda known better ahead a time. Ya hadn't been malicious 'fore that, just irritating, so I shoulda known ya wouldn't ruin someone's holiday out o' spite."
It was Jack's turn to look surprised, and Bunny chuckled as he set out again for the tunnels they meant to clean. "It wouldn't be th' first time someone tried messin' with Easter," he said conversationally as he loped along and Jack floated overhead, now more interested in Bunny than the flowers. "Or Christmas. They usually leave Tooth 'n Sandy alone, since they don' have one big day. Spirits underestimate 'em an' what they do. But me 'n North, well..."
