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Jack groaned as he heard the door slam open, North's enthusiastic bellow making his head feel like it was going to explode already. “Oh god... North, please don't.” He whimpered, trying to suffocate himself with the thick down quilts and the super fluffy pillow that came standard on the bed that someone, probably Raven because he was responsible that way, had poured him into the night before.
“NONSENSE! If you are responsible enough to get drunk and sing ode's of love, you are responsible to wake up early for BREAKFAST!” North bellowed, and Jack winced, wishing his head would explode now, and not only because of his hangover.
“Oh god, please North, I'm begging you,” Jack stated, whimpering when the old Cossack and his Yeti helpers pulled back the quilt and let the bright morning light of the North Pole shine down on him. “I'm dying North. Seriously, I'm about to croak. Please, give everyone my regards and tell Bunny I love him.”
“Hah! Too late for that, my young friend! You told him last night during party! In fact, you told everyone gathered at party! Double hah!”
“Oh god, North, please, please oh please tell me I'm not remembering this right, and I wasn't naked in the rafters singing...” Jack was cut off from his words as North laughed and pulled him upright, and Jack looked down to realize that yes, he was still almost naked, wearing only his smallclothes. Unfortunately, North picking him up had another effect on him than just letting him see how nude he was, and his stomach, already very upset with him, decided to rebel at the rough treatment he was receiving.
“You are definitely going back on naughty list for this,” North sighed, looking down from where he held Jack at arms length, but the snow sprite couldn't find it in himself to feel bad about North's boots all things considered.
“I told you I'm dying. This is poetic justice, North,” Jack stated, groaning and closing his eyes against the too bright glare of morning.
“Well, if you are done administering justice to my boots, is time to go to kitchen for breakfast, was not joking about that,” North sighed, somehow less boisterous now.
“Oh god, please tell me Bunny's not joining us?” Jack didn't think he could face the Guardian of Hope after what he had done last night, and he was pretty sure that the Pooka wouldn't want to see him.
“No, Bunny went home last night shortly after Phil poured you into guest bed. The friend I love as a brother seemed to be mortally embarrassed about what happened,” North said sternly, and Jack made a strange noise somewhere between a whimper and a groan. “I know you were, shall we say, unable to hold your liquor, but how much do you remember of what you did last night?”
“Enough to know I screwed up big time,” Jack groaned, collapsing forward against North's chest to hide his tears, though his voice was enough to give his emotions away.
“BAH! May not be as bad as all of that. Come, we will discuss over breakfast! Yeti are amazing cooks!”
Jack had actually been pretty flattered that North was willing to invite some of his friends to the party he was throwing to celebrate the newest Guardian and their defeat over Pitch Black. Of course, he couldn't tell North to invite all of his friends, there were a lot of spirits that Jack had befriended over the years ranging the gauntlet from General Winter, though the old man tried hard to deny their friendship and kept throwing knives, boulders and cannons at Jack, to Anansi who always had some spare time to help Jack with his latest pranks.
It hadn't been hard to narrow the list down though to his closest, non-Guardian, friends. Loki, Coyote, Anansi, and Saci-Trique were the ones Jack chose to invite, although a few of his other friends, Hermes, Bacchus, and Dionysus among them, had shown up as 'standard' guests to any Guardian shindig apparently.
Jack found out that it was North's standard practice to have vodka in the punch, although Bacchus usually managed to slip something stronger into the drink after a little while. It wasn't that big of a problem to Jack of course, anyone who regularly made the meetings of the Trickster's Association had a decent alcohol tolerance. He didn't think much of drinking the punch because of it, and he was having a great time.
Right up to the point he was intoxicated enough to ambush Bunny by one of the food tables set up for the whole party.
Jack groaned, burying his head in his arms as more of the party came back to him. “I can't believe I confessed to Bunny. He must hate me now.”
“Hah! Hardly, Bunny was more concerned with how badly the alcohol seemed to be affecting you than he was with the confession itself,” North said, putting down a large plate with scrambled eggs, bacon, buttered toast, and sausage on it right in front of Jack. The snow sprite valiantly held his stomach still as the smell of grease hit his nose, but he did have to pull away from the table some.
“What do you mean, more concerned about the alcohol? I can hold my liquor, its practically a requirement to hang out with Loki and the rest of the tricksters. Whatever Anansi spiked the punch with was a different matter,” Jack groaned, absolutely certain that the African trickster was the last one to 'modify' the punch.
“Yes, what did spider add to punch to give it, well, such punch?” North asked, looking mildly uncomfortable.
Jack sighed, accepting the glass from the tray that the tall, black-skinned shape shifter had bought him. It was just unfair that he seemed like the only Trickster who wasn't a shape shifter sometimes, especially when he really wished he could turn into something more appealing to a certain someone.
“Thanks Anansi. Anyways, that's the tale of how I managed to ruin Easter. Again,” Jack sighed, downing half the cup of punch before leaning back in the plush couch that the tricksters had claimed for the night.
“It can’t have been that bad, they did still want you to join their little club after all,” Hermes pointed out, and Jack rolled his eyes at the Greek messenger god.
“Maybe, but that doesn't mean I don't have a lot to make up for. I can't believe I let Bunny down like that, even after...” Jack trailed off, sighing deeply before drinking some more punch.
“Even after you vowed, so elegantly, to impress him the next time you saw him,” Saci said with a chuckle, drinking his own punch and snuggling against Dionysus's side, already far more drunk than the man he was cuddling.
“Well, I did screw up royally the last time I tried to impress him. Who knew that a spring spirit would be so oblivious or objectionable to winter courting habits,” Jack grumbled into his cup, before finishing it off. He could barely taste the alcohol in it, which may not have meant much considering the tricksters present, but it was probably safe to keep drinking more.
Probably.
“You know what, Jack? You should just go tell him how you feel already,” Loki growled from where he sprawled along the other side of the couch. “You've been pining over him for decades now, I mean, by the Norns, you would think that you would have worked up the courage to tell him why you've been stalking him at least.”
“Shut up,” Jack said, a thick layer of frost covering his blush as he buried his face in his hands while the red haired god laughed. “One, I have not been stalking him. Two, even if I was, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't appreciate the sentiment, he's not a rabbit, he's an alien leoporidae. Three, I am pretty sure that he would try to run away, again, before I could tell him how I feel.”
“Hah! Of course he wouldn't run away! You're a Guardian now, why would he run away from a comrade? As much as it pains me to sound like my nephews, you've shared meals and spilled blood together, he has no reason to run!” Loki started laughing, and Jack rolled his eyes because it was sounding like a really good idea even before he downed half of the fresh cup of punch that Hermes handed over to him.
“Right. I'll tell him then. What's the worst that could happen?” and if Jack was a little wobbly when he got to his feet, none of the Tricksters thought to say anything about it.
Jack moaned, feeling bile in his throat as he pushed away from the table, certain North would be even less impressed with him puking near the food than he had been about his boots.
“So Trickster friends made suggestions to get you to go to Bunny last night? Makes sense, but was terribly painful for Bunny. No one wants to court him because he is not animal spirit, but neither is he human spirit,” North said shaking his head.
“It wasn't all their fault North,” Jack said, feeling his face flush with frost again even as he brought his hands up to cover his whole head, no matter how ineffective it was. “I wanted to find Bunny last night.”
“Why? And I am warning you now if it was for some kind of revenge for what Bunny said right after we told you about Guardianship, you will spend rest of day recovering in Workshop and helping Yeti do their work,” North threatened, and Jack winced, sensitive ears still reacting to the muted noises of the Workshop that reached even this guest room several floors away.
“No, it wasn't revenge North. I was serious when I told Bunny I, I wanted...” He choked up, unable to continue as he remembered how well his confession had gone the night before.
Jack giggled as he found Bunny over by a bunch of other spring spirits, recognizing a few of the dryads from his own less that successful encounters with the warmer types. He really wasn't going to say anything to them though, and instead he caught Bunny's hand, getting the tall Pooka to look down at him.
“What's up mate? You seem to be enjoying the party,” Bunny stated, looking a little haggard despite the cheerful look on his face and tone in his voice. It was probably something about the way that the corners of his bright green eyes were tight, and had only relaxed fractionally when turning his attention to Jack. The fact that Jack still noticed despite being drunk was one thing, but he attributed it to either the way Bunny was stiff when addressing the other spirits, or that he didn't want Jack around.
Since there was really only one way to test his theory, Jack steeled his nerves, looked Bunny in his gorgeous bright green eyes, and confessed.
“I like you, Bunny. I really, really like you a lot,” to make sure that the Pooka didn't get the wrong idea, or misinterpret what Jack meant, the human spirit reached up and wrapped his arms around Bunny's neck, pulling him down just far enough for Jack to kiss him.
He fully expected the Pooka to push him away after a few minutes, to tell him he was a horrible winter spirit and not worthy of the spirit of Spring and New Life. He expected once Bunny got over his stiff shock he was going to laugh in Jack's face, or pull away from him.
He was not expecting for the stiff Pooka to sort of lean into him, long furry arms wrapping tight around Jack and pulling him closer as Bunny deepened the kiss, his tongue gently tasting Jack's lips, and Jack was eager to taste right back.
Until one of the nearby dryads made a disgusted sound, and suddenly Bunny was three feet away from him, a shocked look on his features that lasted only for a bare moment. Then the look on his face was morphing to anger as his nose twitched furiously, his ears laying back even as the other seasonal spirits around them suddenly took up talking again.
“Bloody hell you're full as a bloody boot!” Bunny exclaimed, and the words sounded like English, but Jack had no idea what they meant when Bunny said them that way. “You're bloody pissed, mate, might wanna mosey on.”
Bunny was not happy, judging from the scornful set of his features, he was very not happy. Jack did the smart thing, turned and ran.
Jack groaned, leaning to the side so that when he put his head down on the table, he wasn't putting his face in a plate of greasy eggs and bacon and potatoes that North considered a breakfast. Jack would have been happier with an apple and a biscuit, or better yet nothing but a bit of water and the ability to go back to bed.
“Oh god North, Bunny hates me,” the snow sprite lamented to his arms. It came out more as unintelligible garble than really recognizable, but judging from North's hearty laughter he got the idea. “He was disgusted with me. I can’t believe I blew it so badly, he'll never even want to be my friend again, let alone anything else, and I've liked him for so long.”
Again, all of this was mumbled into his arms, and Jack wasn't speaking up to make sure that North heard him over his own laughter, which would serve the sadistic Cossack right. Jack's head was still rebelling, and it felt rather as if he had spikes of ice driven into the back of his eyes, or the front of his brain.
“Alright, enough of teasing, yes?” North asked, and Jack half glanced up from where his head was pillowed in his arms to see the old man wiping tears of mirth out of his eyes. “You say you were fairly sober still as you approached Bunny, yes? Do you remember what you did after that?”
It took Jack several minutes to answer, several tense moments where he hoped with all his might that the floor would just open up and swallow him already.
“Yes.”
Jack downed another cup of the punch, glaring straight ahead as the other tricksters around him laughed and joked about this or that. He could honestly say he was barely paying attention as he tried to numb some of the pain of rejection.
Sure, he had known it was a bad idea, and that the odds of Bunny ever finding him attractive were nil, but that didn't mean he felt any better about how Bunny had pushed him away. “Well screw him! I'm not that disgusting, there was no reason for anyone to get so snide about it!”
“Right on!” Saci toasted, finishing the cup of punch he was holding and falling against Dionysus again with a giggle, the dark skinned youth at his limit.
“I mean, I'm a fine fellow when it comes to winter spirits, I've never even tried to take anyone’s eyes out with ice daggers, which is the in thing to do for winter spirits,” Jack frowned at his cup, wondering why it was empty for a few moments before holding it up with a shout. “That's what the Snow Queen said! Stab their eyes with ice and they'll always be yours! But I don't do ice!”
“Of course not! You've got that blue stuff!” Hermes chuckled, and Jack nodded amiably as the messenger god refilled his cup from a convenient pitcher nearby.
“Right! I've got my Blue Stuff! My happy snow flakes! Much easier on the eyes!” Jack shouted, taking another large gulp of his drink. “I'm a great catch, a stunning example of trickster-hood that you won't find in anyone else!”
“Got that damn straight,” Loki chuckled, standing up and slinging an arm around Jack's shoulders to steady the ice sprite, or maybe because he wasn't steady himself on his feet at the moment, although that could also have been the way that the room was spinning.
“I mean, screw it! Just because I'm not good enough doesn't mean I'm not a great catch! It doesn't matter if he won't have me, there are plenty who will!” Jack was speaking in normal tones, he was certain he was, so he wasn't quite sure why there were so many eyes turned to him, some amused, some dismissive, but most of them relatively respectful. This was his party after all, well him and Sandy, the later having come back essentially from the dead. Jack was a Guardian now though, even if his friends kept refilling his cup when he wasn't looking. If it would just get empty he could put it down and go tell Bunny off for rejecting him.
Then Coyote had his drums out, and Saci was putting his flute together while some of the dryads and fauns who were there looked on in interest.
Jack groaned, whimpering.
“It definitely cannot have helped the situation at all that I was down to my underwear not long after, pacing the rafters and singing 'I will survive' at the top of my lungs. I, well, looking back on it, I don't think that's what the others were playing,” the look of pure horror on his face once more had North laughing hysterically, or so he assumed from the way that the old Cossack was having trouble breathing.
“No... no is not what others were playing at all, but was party and everyone was having fun, so is no big deal,” North said when he finally calmed down some. “I think it was less helpful that you were calling out for Bunny and crying in between, heh, chorus.”
“Oh Winter strike me down, I actually did that?” Jack groaned into his arms, whimpering.
“On bright side, was just after you finished song that Phil poured you into bed,” North said helpfully, laughing brightly.
“Not much of a bright side big guy,” seriously, the winter sprite felt pathetic, but he looked up at the old Cossack with a bleary eye. “Why aren't you more upset about this?”
“Bah! I know my parties, and that was a particularly good one. I also know repercussions. If Frost boy is serious about his confession, the repercussions from this party could be very good indeed,” North said with a wink. It was scary, and creepy, in a 'Santa knows everything' kind of way, but it was also reassuring and very encouraging.
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Aster couldn't believe the way that Jack Frost had insisted on humiliating him the night before, first with that kiss out of nowhere, and then singing those rowdy songs with his hooligan friends. The tricksters had been getting out of hand, and thankfully Jack hadn't invited more than a handful. Loki had been getting on Aster's nerves the last time he saw him, before that debacle with Atlantis. More and more he disapproved of the tricksters.
Not in the least because he didn't know if they were actually getting worse or if he was getting old. Frost probably didn't mean his little prank to be so mean spirited, but it got way out of hand. Problem was the kid didn't even realize it had gotten out of hand, or why.
Aster growled, raking his claws through thick dirt as he turned the ground, digging out rocks and softening hard bits as he made sure this corner of the garden was going to be ready for planting. He wasn't sure yet what he would be planting, but working out the energy of his anger in the earth was a good way to make sure he didn't do anything rash.
Like shake that crazy drongo until his teeth fell out for pulling something like that when he didn't mean it. It was all good and great for spirits to mingle, but he wasn't just a spirit, he was a Pooka, and that was where the problem came down. Even here on Earth, so different from the planets at the height of the Golden Age, there were certain protocols and boundaries that didn't get crossed. Animal spirits took animal spirit mates, although there was still a fuss whenever a kitsune fell in love with a raven, and it was accepted. Human spirits wed other human spirits, and they were even less picky about taking lovers outside their clans, although there were some pairings that still got funny looks here and there.
At first glance, a Pooka might look like an animal spirit, but animal spirits had certain characteristics, and were very proud of them. Characteristics that didn't fit Pooka very well at all, like being proud of their instincts and always following them, the lack of shame for anything they did, and the fact that very few animals had thumbs.
Shame, reasoned thinking, and yes even thumbs, were things that the human spirits laid claim to, things that Pooka had. Hell, just like humans, Pooka had forward facing eyes instead of side facing ones like most animals. However, the human spirits weren't furry, and didn't run on all fours half the time.
He was too much like an animal spirit to be considered good mate material for human spirits, just like the animal spirits considered him too much like the human spirits to make a good mate. He didn't fit on either side, and Jack's little stunt just made that stand out more and more.
He didn't like to show it when he was hurt, which was one of the few things that both animal spirits and human spirits did as far as he could tell. Well, the males at least, females often didn't have the same stigma about that sort of thing and asking for help when they were injured. Which actually made him feel like he fit in less, and he growled as he ripped out several plants before packing up his weeding supplies. He had just pulled out plants that hadn't flowered yet, he didn't mean to do that.
Taking his things he headed for a corner of the Warren that was more in need of weeding than his usual garden. It wasn't hard to find an overgrown patch in the Warren because it was a very large place meant for many more hands than Aster had. Most of the time it was a bittersweet reminder of what he had lost, but sometimes it came in handy, like right now. He wasn't sure when he had last seen this particular part of the Warren, but it was overgrown and needed a thorough weeding, so was someplace he could happily wear himself out.
All the anger, the pain, and the sorrow could be safely poured into the ground and would come back as new plants. Perhaps beautiful plants, perhaps useful plants, perhaps both; they wouldn't be anger and useless pain though.
Old pain had to occasionally be siphoned off to keep it from overwhelming everything else, and he carried some very old pain. Even when the other Pooka had been around, he had been no great catch. Barely adept at shape shifting with a less than attractive base form no matter whose standards were used.
To be reminded by Jack's prank that he was so much a reject dredged up all of that old pain and pulled it forward. Why couldn't the boy have kept it to himself, or at least chosen a less public place to carry through with his little joke? Knowing that the boy was playing with him was one thing, but seeing the looks of disgust and disapproval on the faces around him, the laughter and mockery that came from all directions.
The Pooka growled as he pulled the weeds out viciously, throwing the mangled plants into a pile for later transport to a compost heap. If he got around to it once his anger had cooled, which might happen sooner rather than later if the frost traveling over the bare ground nearby was any indication.
“WHAT DO YOU WANT, FROSTBITE?” He demanded after watching the frost spread for a moment, spinning in place with a throaty growl, glaring at the snow sprite only a few feet away. Jack had frozen where he was standing, one hand on his staff, the other holding a large foam cup of the kinds that human food stores occasionally used to sell things and if Jack thought he was leaving that here in his Warren, the human had a rude awakening coming.
“Woah! Peace offering! Banana smoothie! Thought you would be thirsty since you've been tearing up your garden for a while now,” Jack said soothingly, holding the cup out in a conciliatory gesture.
Aster didn't take the cup, growling at Jack for several moments as he tried to get himself to relax and let go of the tension knotting his shoulders and straining his legs. If he let go, he would bowl Jack over and he didn't know what he would do after that. He had a nasty suspicion that he would maim the sprite as worked up as he was though, which would definitely get any ideas of playing future pranks on Aster out of the kid’s head, but at the same time it would be giving in to instincts and rages that he had worked so hard against for the last millennium.
“What do you want?” Aster demanded again, modulating the tone of his voice so that he wasn't shouting, though he was still growling at the sprite. He had the pleasure of seeing Jack taken aback, the snow sprite looking shocked even as his cheeks frosted over in the winter spirits version of a blush. So the boy did realize that there was something wrong with what he had done, the cruel prank he had played. Good, he deserved to feel shame for what he had dredged up in Aster.
“Uhm, well. Peace?” The boy stammered for a moment, his breathing hitching and bringing out everything predatory in the Pooka as he looked away. “I didn't mean to upset you, honest...”
“But you did mean to humiliate me,” Aster growled, stalking to the left and not taking his eyes off the boy. He was a Pooka, and so above his instincts and above the urge to bowl the boy over and teach him a lesson about teasing and not following through. On the same hand though, he was a Pooka, as much magic and nature and instinct as reason and thought and magic, and he wanted Jack to understand that in his very bones. He didn't rise to his back legs as he stalked around the boy, scenting the boy's sweat as cold beads of liquid began to run down the pale human's neck.
“No! Geeze Bunny is that what you think of me?” There was a stutter as the boy started speaking, and indignity on his face as he turned until he caught sight of Aster again where the Pooka was stalking a slow circle around him. Then there was only a deep hitch of breath as the boy's eyes dilated and his cheeks once more flushed.
“Then why would you do it then?” Aster demanded, the boiling tension inside of him reaching a frenzied peak and just stalking around Jack wasn't enough to bleed it off. He didn't want to maim the human spirit, but he couldn't control himself as he jumped forward, knocking the large styrofoam cup out of Jack's hand as he pinned the boy to the ground. His paws were holding down Jack's wrists, and his bared teeth were right in front of the boy's face. “Why would you think it was a good idea to pull a prank like that in front everyone?”
Oh dear god Bunny's eyes.
The Pooka had been absolutely gorgeous as he glared at Jack, stalking around like a predator which was not the first thing that came to mind when thinking of a giant rabbit, but damn if it wasn't hot as hell. His fur was on end, fluffed out like a wild beast, looking so soft and touchable, and the low growl the Pooka emitted was doing delightful things to Jack's hindbrain and his pants were way too tight right now.
But his eyes, oh Dear Lord, Bunny's emerald eyes were the deepest green that Jack had ever seen, vibrant, dark, and bright all at once with so much emotion in them that the snow sprite could have gotten lost in them for a decade at least. The last of his hangover seemed to have disappeared as all the blood in his body rushed south.
“What prank?” Jack asked, moaning softly at the heat of the other against his skin, even through his hoodie and pants. The look of shock on Bunny's face was so worth it, and Jack took the opportunity to lean up and kiss the Pooka again, wanting nothing more than to wrap himself around the other and never, ever let go.
His hands were pinned though and Bunny was sitting on his thighs, oh so close to the tightness in his pants that Jack almost lost control then and there. After a moment he let his head drop back down, and was rewarded as Bunny followed him, not breaking lip contact until Jack squirmed, trying to press his body upwards and into the Pooka.
It was enough to get a look of panic on Bunny's face as he started to scramble away, but Jack wasn't going to have that, not now. He was quick as lightning, wrapping his legs around Bunny's waist and bringing his now freed arms around the others neck, effectively pinning himself to the Pooka.
“No prank Bunny. I like you, and I want you, and I have for a long time now,” He said softly, his breathing harsh and ragged as he nuzzled Bunny's cheek, his fingers digging deep into thick fur to hold on tight.
“But last night, you were drunk,” Bunny gasped, and Jack growled, squeezing with his legs and delighting in the feeling of heat against his front.
“Not that drunk.”
“You can't be serious. The other spirits would never accept...”
“I don't care.” Jack's words had a definite ring of finality to them, an edge of steel that he wasn't going to let Bunny ignore. “The only ones whose opinions matter are you and me, and I think I've made mine plenty clear.”
Bunny let out a groan, pulling just far enough away so that he could kiss Jack, something that the snow sprite wholeheartedly approved of and he wasn't quiet about letting the Pooka know. He moaned, and gasped when Bunny pulled away again to bite his shoulder. He returned the favor a moment later, biting into Bunny's shoulder with a shout as the Pooka's hips thrust against him.
Oh Bunny was definitely enjoying this as much as he was.
“Aster,” Bunny suddenly gasped out, and Jack moaned, wondering why the Pooka was talking about flowers now. “Its my name... and I want it on your lips when you come.”
Oh well that was something completely different, and Jack moaned again, testing the name on his lips as he did. It sounded good, and tasted good. He could definitely work with that.
Aster purred softly, his nose buried in the crook of Jack's neck and his body limp with satisfaction. He felt good, and judging by the way the boy was plastered to him Jack felt good too.
“I'm sorry, Aster, but we have got to do that again. Lots,” Jack's voice was a soft drawl, almost a slur and Aster found himself chuckling.
“You sure you want to mate? I'm a bit... prickly,” Aster sighed after a moment, his mind suddenly racing as reality crashed into his thoughts, turning them from cool molasses to quicksilver.
“Love, you passed prickly decades ago,” Jack purred, nuzzling at Aster's chin with his nose and dropping soft kisses along the Pooka's Jaw, and Aster couldn't help but gasp at the implications of Jack's words.
“Love?” he squeaked, his voice breaking partially in panic and partially in hope. It had been a long time since anyone had been interested in him, not for himself. The idea that Jack was interested in a long term relationship, despite the fights and general prickliness they would encounter in each other, and the trouble that would undoubtedly invade their lives when others found out, well, it hadn't occurred to him.
“Bunny... Aster. I have had my sights on you for decades. I'm just, well... clumsy,” Jack blushed in time for Aster to glance down and see it frosting his ears.
“So that blizzard...?”
“Yea. It was General Winter's idea, and its kinda how winter sprites court each other,” Jack admitted and Aster found himself laughing out loud, much to the snow sprite's outrage. “Hey, I didn't know that spring spirits were different back then.”
“Its not that. Honestly,” Aster stated, wiping his eyes where mirth was making them water. “All this time, I thought you were just being mean, and that you hated me.”
“Not at all,” Jack said, laughing himself as he ran cool fingers through Aster's fur, making the Pooka purr loudly. “Quite the opposite in fact. Well, most of the time. I can be mean if you ask nicely.”
The boy's waggling eyebrows and bright eyes made Aster laugh again, the last of the tension draining out of him once more as he rolled Jack over.
“I'll think about it. For now, sleep. I've still got a hangover you crazy drongo.”
“Wait, I thought you didn't drink anything?” Jack sounded shocked, and Aster had to laugh again.
“Not booze at least. Doesn't work for Pooka so I spiked the punch with something a bit more potent to try to relax.”
“Wait? That was you? North was blaming Anansi!”
“Serves him right.”