Aster glanced around uneasily, taking in the dark, shadowy woods.
Why did he let North talk him into this?
There had been sightings of shadowy figures coming and going in this area, and the others had been too busy to investigate, so Aster had to be the one check it out.
He didn't mind really, but why did it have to be at night? He wasn't fond of the dark; he wouldn't call it fear, he just didn't like not being able to see everything. Not even the light of the moon could pierce through the thick foliage.
The dead leaves crunched under his large feet, and he winced as he listened for any other movement. So far, the only sign of life he'd seen was a crow watching him from a branch earlier, but it had taken off when he'd tried to get a closer look.
'This is bonkers...prob'ly just some birds or somethin'...' he thought.
He was just about to open a tunnel for the Pole so he could report to North and go home, when there was a sudden commotion from deep in the woods. A flock of black birds took to the air and flew off with shrill caws, and the wind picked up as a chill filled the air.
Aster instinctively pulled out his boomerangs, and glanced around nervously as he tried to locate what had startled the birds; birds didn't just take off like that without a reason.
"Ello...?" he called, wishing his voice wouldn't quiver.
He didn't receive an answer, and that scared him more than actually getting an answer would have.
"Whoever's there betta' come out now!"
This time, he heard a distinctive chuckle, and it sounded from deep in the woods.
'Turn around, Aster, just turn around now!' his mind was shouting.
Ignoring the sirens going off in his head, he took a few steps in the direction of the laugh, keeping his senses on high alert. He kept feeling like there were eyes boring into his back, but every time he looked back there was no one.
"I'm gonna kill North when I get back..." he mumbled, trying to keep his nerves from shattering.
There was another laugh, closer this time, and he whipped around in a circle to try and locate the emitter.
"Who's there?!" he yelled.
Something brushed against his back, and he whirled around, but there was nothing there.
"Hello, Love..."
He spun around again, and found himself looking at another Pooka. The other was about a foot and a half taller, and his fur was the darkest shade of black, it even stood out in the dark of the woods. The only other splash of color on him was his eyes, which were glowing yellow.
Aster's eyes widened as he stumbled backwards.
"P-Pitch..."
Pitch grinned, flashing sharp, yellowed teeth.
"What brings you to my nick of the woods?"
Aster didn't answer, and took another step back. Pitch suddenly vanished, before reappearing behind the other Pooka. Aster found this out when two hands grabbed his arms and yanked him back into Pitch's chest.
"What's the matter, Aster? You're not still scared of the dark, are you?"
"Rack off!" Aster hissed breathlessly.
He tried yanking himself free, but Pitch kept an iron grip.
"Now, now, what's the rush?"
"Let go'a me, Pitch-!"
Needle sharp claws dug into his arms, making him wince.
"Do behave yourself, or I might just have to punish you."
Aster inwardly shuddered, before once again trying to twist out of his grip. This time, he added a kick to Pitch's leg as well, and the shadowy Pooka let him go with a yell.
Aster wasted no time in taking off on all fours. There was a furious shout from behind, before all went eerily silent. Looking back, he saw that Pitch was gone. The area seemed to grow darker though, and the temperature dropped further.
"Do you think you can run from me? This is MY forest; no one leaves this place ALIVE unless I allow it!"
Something wrapped around his ankle, and yanked. He yelped as he fell forward and the ground, and he was stunned for a moment. When whatever was holding him started dragging him back, he snapped out of his daze, and looked back to find out what was going on.
A tendril of black was wrapped around his ankle, and dragging him towards a black hole in the ground. Eyes widening, Aster gave a yell as he tried to grab hold of anything that would stop his descent. His boomerangs had slipped from his grasp when he'd fallen, and were now lying a few feet away, well out of reach. Whimpering, he sank his claws into the dirt, but it did little to help.
The tendril pulled him thigh deep into the hole, and that's when hands grabbed his ankles and started pulling as well. This gave him a burst of energy, and he once again started fighting against the hold as he screamed, praying Manny, someone, ANYONE, would hear him.
He continued sinking though, and the hands moved from his ankles to his legs, then to his waist as he fell further, eliciting another scream. He kicked out at his captor, but he was still dragged in with one more strong yank, and screamed one last time as the hole closed over him.
The air was knocked out of him upon hitting the ground. The tunnel was dark, but he could still see the glowing yellow eyes staring down at him hungrily. A large foot placed itself on his chest, and the eyes grew closer as pressure pushed down on him chest, leading him to the conclusion that Pitch was kneeling over him.
"I've been waiting a long time for this, Aster..." was the last thing he heard before darkness took him.
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...Well, finally found a ship I could contribute to...the only way I could write it so it worked for me though was either A) Pitch was a Pooka, or B) Aster was human. And since Bhis something I myself will never write, I went with choice A. I hope you enjoy this trip into my twisted insanity. Next part will be uploaded later today!
P.S. I wrote this on my iPad, so now my hands are cramped up, and I went through the painstaking process of uploading it FROM my iPad, so ya better appreciate this! Enjoy.