Jacked looked like he was very narrowly resisting the urge to pull out his hair at this point.
"I swear if it wasn't already white, I'd be going grey right now..." only the closest people to him would hear him mutter to himself.
But Molly was a kid, and she was a scared kid, so when Jack turned to her, the patience was forced but it wasn't fake, and neither was the concern on his face, the earnest desire that she understood she was safe.
Walking over to her and crouching down, staff resting against his shoulder, he said, "Listen, Molly, Bunny and I have - we have a lot we have to worry about right now. Every day, there are kids out there dying and getting hurt, and our friends - we don't know if they're okay right now, we don't know what the bad guys might be doing to them. And there're lots of little things we have to do to keep the world safe that none of you guys can really help with - not yet, at least."
He sucked in a deep breath through his nose. "We have a lot on our plates right now, is what I'm trying to say. And I know none of you chose to be here, but the timing wasn't so great for us, either."
Just because they weren't prisoners didn't mean they were wardens. They hadn't chosen being put on interdimensional babysitting duty anymore than this crowd had chosen to be here. And it looked like, for a handful of them, it was going to be babysitting duty. (He's looking at you, Tony.)
"It's going to be hard for me and Bunny to do all those things we need to do and keep this whole crowd safe, especially if we're splitting up the group that much. And there are some things even the grownups here will need us to do to keep them safe - and they deserve to be safe just as much as you kids do."
Jack tried to figure out how to word it in a way she'd understand, and as he pursed his lips together, trying to collect the words, he looked for a moment not like a jovial teenager or the ancient, fairly competent spirit guardian he was, but a boy a bit in over his head, very tired from trying to break through to the surface.
"We can fix this and save the world and keep everyone safe, but to do it, we need this to be as easy as it can be, or we're not going to be able to keep doing all this. We don't have it in us." He pointed. "Now, Sam, see Sam seems like a pretty good guy. So do most of the grownups here. They probably aren't going to give you any trouble."
He went on, "But if they try to, I promise you, Bunny and I will keep you kids safe. So far, I know it sounds like what Guardians do is protect the world in general - and we do. But the main thing we protect, the thing that's most important to us, is protecting kids. That's what a Guardian is, that's the oath we took, to protect the children of the world. Right now, the reason we're protecting the world is to protect the kids in it."
He shook his head. "So to make this easier, we really, really need to keep you all in one place, but I promise you, if any of the grownups try to hurt you, we'll kick their butts so hard they won't have butts anymore, okay? Do you think it'd be okay if everyone mostly stayed in the same place if Bunny and I were careful about kicking their butts if they do anything wrong and try to hurt you?"
no subject
"I swear if it wasn't already white, I'd be going grey right now..." only the closest people to him would hear him mutter to himself.
But Molly was a kid, and she was a scared kid, so when Jack turned to her, the patience was forced but it wasn't fake, and neither was the concern on his face, the earnest desire that she understood she was safe.
Walking over to her and crouching down, staff resting against his shoulder, he said, "Listen, Molly, Bunny and I have - we have a lot we have to worry about right now. Every day, there are kids out there dying and getting hurt, and our friends - we don't know if they're okay right now, we don't know what the bad guys might be doing to them. And there're lots of little things we have to do to keep the world safe that none of you guys can really help with - not yet, at least."
He sucked in a deep breath through his nose. "We have a lot on our plates right now, is what I'm trying to say. And I know none of you chose to be here, but the timing wasn't so great for us, either."
Just because they weren't prisoners didn't mean they were wardens. They hadn't chosen being put on interdimensional babysitting duty anymore than this crowd had chosen to be here. And it looked like, for a handful of them, it was going to be babysitting duty. (He's looking at you, Tony.)
"It's going to be hard for me and Bunny to do all those things we need to do and keep this whole crowd safe, especially if we're splitting up the group that much. And there are some things even the grownups here will need us to do to keep them safe - and they deserve to be safe just as much as you kids do."
Jack tried to figure out how to word it in a way she'd understand, and as he pursed his lips together, trying to collect the words, he looked for a moment not like a jovial teenager or the ancient, fairly competent spirit guardian he was, but a boy a bit in over his head, very tired from trying to break through to the surface.
"We can fix this and save the world and keep everyone safe, but to do it, we need this to be as easy as it can be, or we're not going to be able to keep doing all this. We don't have it in us." He pointed. "Now, Sam, see Sam seems like a pretty good guy. So do most of the grownups here. They probably aren't going to give you any trouble."
He went on, "But if they try to, I promise you, Bunny and I will keep you kids safe. So far, I know it sounds like what Guardians do is protect the world in general - and we do. But the main thing we protect, the thing that's most important to us, is protecting kids. That's what a Guardian is, that's the oath we took, to protect the children of the world. Right now, the reason we're protecting the world is to protect the kids in it."
He shook his head. "So to make this easier, we really, really need to keep you all in one place, but I promise you, if any of the grownups try to hurt you, we'll kick their butts so hard they won't have butts anymore, okay? Do you think it'd be okay if everyone mostly stayed in the same place if Bunny and I were careful about kicking their butts if they do anything wrong and try to hurt you?"