tampered | CLOSED;

Entry tags:

CLOSED;

When; After this post
Rating; PG (to be safe)
Characters; Pitch Black and Toothiana
Summary; An unfortunate encounter in the dark and wintry woods.
Log; There was something distinctly unsettling about being the sole Guardian in the City now that Pitch Black had arrived. Prior to his making himself known, Tooth had thought her greatest concern was weathering the curses or the thing called the ticking, but with the Boogeyman in town, all of that was changed. Her greatest threat was the one that he posed, not only to her or the kind people she'd met since arriving, but to any and all of the children in this world.

Of course, knowing what the threat was didn't make it any easier to eliminate. Pitch Black was stronger than any one Guardian by themselves, which was why they'd always done better in the past when they'd worked together to stop the Boogeyman. More than that, though...this strange place, it did much to breed fear on its own, and it did more to fester shadows. The number of places Pitch could hide were too numerous to count.

Tooth was at a loss for where to go, where to look...so she did the only thing she could: she kept vigil.

At first she and her fairies flew about the innermost parts of the city, checking on children tucked away in their beds. If there was no sign of trouble, they moved on to the next window, and then the next after that. Eventually, Tooth's search led her to the City's fringes. She'd run out of bedrooms to visit and windows to peek through, and was now fluttering slowly between burly tree trunks bare with winter, her eyes upon the low-hanging moon in the sky. It was not her moon at all. It was faceless and unfriendly and as cold as the snow that powdered the ground.

From it, Tooth would receive no wise counsel. She had only her own judgment to guide her...and only her fairies' sudden chirping to alert her to another presence in the woods around her.

Feathers raising along her shoulders and neck, she spun in midair, eyes searching the penetrating darkness. "Who's there! Show yourself!" She hated being caught off guard almost more than anything else.

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"No telling at all," Pitch said, deceptively agreeable, spreading his hands in front of him as though to say I thought you were the one making the terms here.

"I have no other qualms for the moment," he added. "Though meet me back here in one week's time, and give me the location of your chosen sanctuary. I'm sure it will be nothing in comparison to Punjam Hy Loo, but we must all make sacrifices in difficult times."

There was nothing else that sprung to Tooth's mind, but that didn't mean there weren't things that hadn't sprung to Pitch's. Asking was better than not asking, so she had thought...even if, in this case, it hadn't really served to help her at all.

But if there truly was nothing else to discuss, then there was also nothing demanding she stay and further tolerate Pitch's presence. "One week," Tooth agreed, and already she was beginning to wonder if staying at the Welcome Center was wise. She needed to find a place of her own, and fast. That way, if Pitch ever did feel inclined to start a war with her, others wouldn't be in his direct line of attack.

Saying nothing more, she spun and took to the sky, weaving through the tangled canopy of bare limbs overhead, fairies in toe.

It would take time and distance for his final jab to wear off. One week had been just barely enough, though Tooth hadn't forgotten the remark and never would. The truth in it was painful. This place would never be the world she belonged to, and any home found here would not compare to Punjam Hy Loo. Though, hopefully, the home she finally settled upon would be just as safe.

By the time seven days had come and gone, Tooth made her way to the spot in the forest where she'd met Pitch a week prior. This time, her fairies were not with her. She came alone, but alert.

It's been a very informative week for Pitch and he returns to the outskirts of the city to meet Toothiana a fair deal wiser about their situation and the limits imposed on him. He'd visited nearly every corner and space he could find where there were shadows, uninhibited by traveling the darkness within the established boundaries. Trying to leave them simply... failed.

The Boogeyman noted the absence of her faeries immediately, casting a glance around.

"Good evening."

Tooth did not return Pitch's greeting. Instead, she met his gaze evenly, gave a bob of her feathered head, and then found a moonlit perch above where shadows were kept at bay. It would be safer up there for her, she calculated; below, there were too many lightless spaces, and Pitch was in command of those.

"Shall we get this over with?" Tooth prompted, her tone about as civil as she could muster. She didn't want to be near him any longer than necessary.

Although Pitch could have moved abreast of her, moving up the shadow cast by the tree trunk, he stayed on the ground, head turned expectantly up toward her. He noted the briskness and extended a hand, in almost a mockery of a bow.

"Ladies first."

It was easier in theory to make plans to tell Pitch Black the location of her chosen home than it was to actually tell him. Tooth didn't trust the Nightmare King, but he had no real reason to trust her, either...

Besides, one of them had to go first.

She didn't take her eyes off him when she replied, "The block nearest the gardens, not far from the Turnabout Café. There's a small cottage there...stay away from it." It was enough of a distance from the Welcome Center so as not to pose a problem, but still near enough that, on a day-to-day basis, Tooth would be able to continue to help Penny clean without leaving her new home dangerously unattended.

"Where have you decided to hole up?"

"The southernmost subway station within the City's limits," Pitch said promptly, though he did entertain the idea of just not telling her. "It appears as though it was never connected to the main line and remained unused. I have thus decided to repurpose it."

Golden eyes gleamed against the shaded backdrop. "Have you been settling in well?"

A subway station? That suited Pitch, thought Tooth. Underground, a real dingy hole just like the last one he crawled out of, no doubt.

"I'll be sure to keep my distance," she murmured.

The truth was, it wouldn't be hard. As for his question...well, things weren't as bad as they could have been. She'd met numerous people, many who seemed nice, and had even gotten to speaking with Dewey, the child everyone seemed to know. She was fond of him already, and with that in mind, finding a purpose here wouldn't be difficult, and it would tide her over until she could find her way back to their world.

It would be nice to rub it in, to tell Pitch she was probably having an easier time of it than him, but knowing the Boogeyman, he'd turn that jab right around on her and make her feel guilty for it. Not that it would be hard. She did feel a little guilty.

"You don't care, so don't ask," Tooth said instead, her fists gripping at the branch beneath her. "What will you do if people decide to reclaim that station?"

Her rude reply caused him to purse his lips momentarily. "A week ago you were insisting that we needed a truce," he reminded her, emphasizing the bargain she had pushed. "And as displeased as I am to be in any contract with you, you seem more eager to undo it with that tone of yours."

"Maybe," Tooth responded, "but you're not innocent, either."

She pushed away from the tree limb now, fluttering in the air, arms folding over her chest. It was colder all the way out there, although it might have had something to do with being put on the spot like she was, too.

"...can you tell me that you sincerely cared about my answer, Pitch? I may be guilty of being angry, but if I am, it's because I feel like...like you're deliberately trying to make me feel that way."

It wouldn't offend her if they didn't get along. What was more offensive was the false niceties and how he seemed to expect her to swallow them with a smile and a thank you.

Pitch had actually thought himself to have been rather restrained this past week, though that was more in part to still recovering his strength than any overt desire not to, ahem, ruffle any feathers.

"If I wanted to be deliberate you would not have to make a guess at whether it were happening," the Boogeyman shot back. "No, I do not care whether you have settled in a new nest or a garbage heap. What I do care about is that you expect me to be some sort of slathering beast incapable of holding a conversation in your presence. Should I gnash my teeth and snarl at you? Would that make you feel more at ease?"

Every word, every dig was another feather indeed ruffled, her crown's plumes rising until the longest, most golden feather nearly stood on its end.

It took every bit of resolve she possessed not to lunge, but if this kept up, Tooth knew what it would come to. She didn't want that, she reminded herself. If it came to that, to the pair of them fighting, this entire week would have been for nothing. Not only would she need to relocate, but she would need to make sure Pitch didn't retaliate against her by targeting other people.

Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, but when Tooth spoke, it was clear, slow, and very, very precise.

"If I thought so little of you, do you really think I would have proposed the truce?" If he were anything like the maharaja had been, for example, Tooth didn't think she would have been able to bring herself to cooperate with him. But Pitch was different. He'd once been a noble man. A hero. The maharaja had never been those things, had always been greedy and selfish. There was nothing redeeming about that creature. And she couldn't say if Pitch could be redeemed or not, she didn't know, especially with all the loathsome things he'd done in his lifetime as the Nightmare King...but it was still easier to believe possible. "The only thing I expect of you is honor."

"Then pass your judgment as to my egregious lack of it since we've been here," Pitch retorted, folding his arms across his chest. "I'm waiting."

"You've upheld your end of the agreement so far," Tooth answered, but accompanying her words was an adamant shake of her head. "That's no excuse for baiting me, however."

And she knew baiting when she saw it. Most of her life she'd spent trying to avoid traps of all kinds, but there were two men who knew very well how to get beneath her skin: the maharaja and the Nightmare King. She was no fool; Tooth didn't believe for a second that Pitch wasn't taking advantage of that.

But she had to let it go. She had to. And with a deep breath, she did.

"I'll let your actions from here on dictate for you." Tooth's fists found her hips. "You never did answer my question about the station, though. If they decide to put it to use, what will you do? Have you thought about where you'll go?"

"The same as I have done in the past when it has happened," the Nightmare King said coolly. "It won't be the first time I have had to relocate. Not all are gifted with Lunar-blessed homes that cannot be intruded upon by humans," he added shortly. There was a veil of sorts that shrouded the residences of various spirits: Punjam Hy Loo, the pooka's Warren, the Workshop at the Pole-- these were only a few examples. Not only the Guardians who possessed such retreats but many spirits in the world, magic made it so that they could not be detected or discovered.

Pitch had inhabited many places over the long centuries since being released from Nightlight's pinned prison; the underground lair was the latest and the one he'd thought would have been the most secure, locked away from any moonbeams, Lunar's messengers and spies.

This meeting was taking a lot out of her, Tooth realized. These exchanges with Pitch zapped her of her energy and patience, especially when so often his replies were short or loaded with sarcasm.

Smoothing her feathers, she said simply, "I hope it doesn't come to that."

Then, because Tooth had forced herself to not scour the network for signs of Pitch interacting with others, afraid that she might see something she didn't like and speak before she thought better of the fact, Tooth asked, "...how have you been settling in otherwise?"

"As so I," he answered curtly, apparently quite done with that portion of their conversation. Like he expected she was feeling, it rankled him to tell her where he intended to spend his time. Of course there was nothing stopping him from proactively relocating if it came to that, or even if the urge struck him, but he had decided he rather liked the little abandoned underground station as more than just a casual haunt, for the short time he'd known it.

At her question, he finally unclasped his hands from behind him, posture changing to something less militantly bearing and he turned to glance at the lights of the City.

"It has been... strange," he said thoughtfully. "There are some here who are industriously searching for a way to leave and others... seem rather content to be here. I am not sure what to make of these 'curses'," he said, a momentary frown puckering his mouth at the term. He hadn't been affected by anything yet but he'd been advised that would probably not last.

"It is not like magic I've known."

Toothiana listened attentively to Pitch, minutely surprised he had chosen to be so forthcoming with his response. In a show of appreciation, she decided to tell in turn what she knew, though it wasn't much to offer at this point.

"You've heard of the Anonymous Movement, then?" she prompted. Some said they were trustworthy and some said they were not, but in all recounts, the Movement consisted of individuals who kept busy and, at the very least, appeared to be aiming toward the betterment of the people here, perhaps even the safe return of outsiders to the worlds they came from. So far, however, they'd met with little success.

Not sure what to make of that story herself, Tooth sought Pitch's opinion on the matter. After all, it was a point of common interest between them, and one of the only ones they had to hold onto.

"I've heard very little about them myself, beyond what appears to be common knowledge, but of the curses...I've asked and heard a lot." Her eyes narrowed, not at Pitch but in reflection of something she was told, a very troubling something indeed. "Most of the time, the curses are things that people seem to recover from rather easily, but there are some curses that are dangerous. And no one seems to know if they happen naturally and because of the City, or if there is someone...casting them, like a magic spell."

Ombric and North would have disliked this troublesome magic very much. It was unpredictable and unchecked, harming and inconveniencing at random.

A note of them had been included in the information provided from Spock and he'd done a little investigating of his own. "I am less than hopeful the solution lays there," he said dismissively and then elaborated on his thoughts.

"If they were powerful enough to make an impact on a place like this, they are powerful enough to not fear retribution from those trapped here... rendering moot their need to be anonymous. If they are not capable of doing so on their own, which appears more likely, then remaining anonymous prevents anyone from assisting them, which seems as though they don't helping as a genuine motive."

Oddly, he was also thinking of North and Ombric when it came to likening the curses to spells gone awry. He had a rudimentary knowledge of magic -- enough to have been able to test the spells in the books from Ombric's library and know they were fakes when they did not work -- but he was not a magician on the level of either of them.

"The solution?" Toothiana shook her head. "I never expected them to be the solution, but I've heard they sometimes outsource for help." That's what John had said, at least, though he'd also mentioned never having taken it upon himself to work with Anonymous personally.

"In any case, they're not completely anonymous, and they might know something," Tooth said in conclusion. Whether that something was big or little, whether what they planned to do with the knowledge was good or bad, in the right hands it would almost certainly be worth knowing. Or so she hoped. It wasn't very likely that any of them would see home again without help from the inside, after all. Even with some foreigners being present in the City for five years (maybe more?), they couldn't possibly know everything there was to know...

Shoulders relaxing, Tooth glanced in the direction of the town. She'd found work, shelter, and friends...and there were even some leads to follow, though where they would take her she didn't yet know. She thought it probable that she would investigate them with time, though. But what were Pitch's goals for their uncertain future here?

"Have you decided what you'll do now?"

"I have not," Pitch said slowly. "Beyond what I am crafted to do, just as you are."

Meaning of course that he would continue to sow fear where he went, just as she had automatically begun protecting children in this City. Yet aside from that, and from having time to properly reassess his strength, he didn't know. Pitch was loathe to make any sort of long-term plan with so little information at his disposal.

That was the answer Tooth had dreaded, but it was also the one she'd expected to hear. What else could either of them do but what they were crafted to, as Pitch had put it?

It would make things difficult for her, especially being unable to warn people about him, but so long as no lines were crossed, so long as things didn't venture out of hand...she would have to learn to live with this compromise.

"There's nothing you're curious about?" she asked, probing a little. Whether he would volunteer the information or not, she wanted some idea of where and with what he might be spending his time in the days to come.

"A few things have arisen," he answered with a vague flick of a hand, making it difficult to tell whether he was being purposely unhelpful or not. In fact the truth of it was that even in the short time he'd been here, several things had seemed both familiar and new to him and for someone who had lived as long as he had, that was simultaneously attractive and disconcerting.

Well, that was something at the very least, although Tooth could see there would be no point trying to pry further details out of Pitch; he was being reluctant, and getting anywhere with him would take forever. Besides, the more time Tooth spent here, the less time she was able to spend doing what she did best. If she wanted her answers, she would just need to be both observant and patient. In due time, all would reveal itself.

"Well...alright, then." She exhaled heavily, cocking her head skyward. "I need to be going. Don't...don't cause too much trouble. Please."

"I could say the same to you," Pitch retorted slyly, knowing it would get a rise of out her. They really couldn't go very long without baiting each other.

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