Rise Of The Guardians - The Life Of A Spirit

Wildfire

Bunny could feel something wasn't right the moment he opened his eyes in the morning. He immediately did a full search of his Warren, suspecting the Frost had somehow snuck inside and was wreaking havoc upon his home, yet his searches yielded no results. So why was he feeling so uneasy? He set the sentinel eggs on high alert and took a tunnel to the surface. He came out of the ground in the middle of the Australian outback, yet there was no sign of trouble there either. Not even a stray snake threatening him. His senses told him the danger was to the north so he opened another tunnel and reappeared in Darwin, cautiously peering out of the hole. And saw a black cloud of smoke rising from the forest in the distance to the south. Bad, bad very bad. This summer had been particularly hot and a forest fire like this could well destroy the city and the surrounding area. 

He leaped from the tunnel and raced towards the fire, travelling faster than most of the vehicles on the road and arrived at the scene of the blaze within minutes. Firefighters and fire trucks were scrambling to keep ahead of the inferno and attempted to douse it with gallons of water. Planes and helicopters passed overhead dropping even more yet nothing seemed to deter the inevitable march of fire. Bunny had to do something. Right now, the fire was nearing a small settlement in Eva Valley where he knew there were a number of children living. He dove back underground and directed the tunnel to form ahead of the oncoming flames, making it wider than he usually did before collapsing it and leaping back to the surface. He watched and waited as the fire reached the trench in the ground and for a split-second, seemed to hesitate before stray sparks caught by the wind reached the foliage on the other side and the fire continued, forcing Bunny to retreat. This was no good. Nothing would work if the wind continued to blow the fire towards the township. He needed help.

Jack was accompanying some skiers as they made their way down the slopes of the mountain. Using a makeshift snowboard made of ice, he whooped with excitement as the wind whipped past his face. As well as enjoying himself, he was also ensuring that the group didn't encounter any hidden dangers or rocks, and made sure that the ice was strong enough to not start and avalanche. The last thing he expected was Bunny to abruptly appear from a tunnel directly in front of him. He yelped and swerved, losing his footing and going flying through the air as the snowboard shot off sideways. He landed in a heap right in front of the other Guardian and groaned.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, staggering to his feet and checking that his staff wasn't damaged.

"I need your help. Right now. Let's go."

Bunny gestured to the tunnel but Jack remained where he was, sensing a trick.

"What's going on?" he asked warily, looking around for the joke.

"Jack, please."

That was enough to force him to look Bunny directly in the eyes. Bunny never said please. At least not to him.

"I'm going to need some sort of explanation before I-"

He was cut off as Bunny abruptly grabbed him by the hoodie and dragged him into the tunnel with him, racing as fast as he could to their destination.

He couldn't get a word in through the wild and jolting ride until they finally rose back up from the ground and he was deposited on the ground.

"Bunny, what the h-"

He froze, staring at the wall of fire that was bearing down on them and noticed the impossibly hot air. He staggered slightly and quickly summoned a cold wind to circle him but in this heat it was already taking a toll on his energy.