A/N: And yet again long delay... To make it short, made it over halfway through the chapter and my speakers keeled over and died on me. Silence grates on my nerves to the point it quite literally drives me crazy, so no music means no typing. I'd rather not snap and throw the computer just because it's dead silent...
Many thanks to the reviews and the follows and such! I'll try to speed things along as best as I can now that I can play my music again and finally focus.
The first few moments alone Pitch spent thoroughly inspecting the cave in which he had been left. It seemed as though everything around him resonated with the Rain Maker's essence. The dim lighting gave the room a mystical but peaceful ambiance as the reflections from the rippling water danced gracefully along the walls, and the endlessly flowing waterfall gave a constant murmur of sound that was far better than the empty silence that he had grown numb to. And of course, the water itself was just as mystical.
It came as a surprise when Pitch first splashed a finger over the surface to test the waters. The crystal clear 'liquid' moved around his hand like a glowing fog from the moment it was touched, and rather than being splashed away instead it clung to him for a moment before slowly ghosting its way back into the pool. It felt similar to the Rain Maker's healing magic, though heavily diluted in power, and once it fell away there wasn't a lingering trace to be felt. "Well..." Pitch spoke idly to himself, "At least I don't have to worry about getting wet."
Silently the Nightmare King slipped into the pool, and found that the waters would not affect him through his clothing. But where the clothes were lacking, his skin was assaulted with a lukewarm soothing sensation. "So it works just the same as the healer's touch..." he mused to himself, unsure whether that was a good or a bad thing considering his mixed feelings about the subject. And mixed feelings did not make a happy Boogeyman.
Pitch Black was decisive - it was that simple. Those who play his game will be used, those on the opposing team will be crushed, and those who betray him will be destroyed. There were no 'ifs' no 'ands' and no 'buts' about it. Unless he were to lose, of course... Not that he had lost - it was just a minor setback. Alright, a major setback. "But this is far from over..." Pitch seethed in his thoughts as he hoisted himself onto the floating lilypad.
"Ooh, this is comfy."
"..." the thought was so sudden that Pitch was stunned. Another side-effect from being in this sickeningly peaceful realm, "Curse that Rain Maker..." It wasn't as though the Warden deserved to be cursed for all he had done to assist him - even the Boogeyman knew that. But this was cheating! Throwing the gamemaster off his game with this suffocating peaceful air, what nerve! ... though, it wasn't as if this was intentional...
With a frustrated sigh Pitch ran a hand through his slicked-back hair, clutching at the spiked strands. "At this rate I'll be mad enough to pull my hair out," he thought with a sarcastic laugh. But truth be told it really was getting to him. To think that there was a being in existance that could so easily disengage his rage - even now, with his power restored. Though, the Rain Maker had done nothing to deserve his rage, other than making him feel this way. In fact, Rain had been the first to show him genuine kindness. "Perhaps that is why..." Pitch mused deeply.
Only once before had there been someone who he didn't outright despise from the beginning, and that someone was Jack Frost, who, sadly, had already been won over by the Gaurdians before Pitch could get to him. He sure handled that rejection well. "I should have killed him," the Nightmare King whispered darkly, before laughing to himself, "No, death would be too easy. I'll make them all suffer for this..."
Now that was more like it! If there was one thing that could overpower this insufferable feeling of tranquility, it would be his insatiable appetite for revenge. The Guardians left him humiliated! His pets turned against him, the children were practically laughing at him, and all of that fresh confidence from Frost... One victory and it all went straight to his head! Let him think he's won. Let him believe that this is all over..! Let him relish this era of peace to the fullest so that it hurts ten fold when everything is plummeted into Darkness! Leave him weak, helpless, forced to witness the Light's end from a front row seat!
And never... let it... end.
Even once the last glimmer of hope dies in his heart, when the every single cheerful memory fades away into a forgotten blur, when even the best of dreams are as dark and twisted as nightmares, when the spark of wonder gives a final flicker as it leaves his eyes, and when the only fun being had is for those who ravage the world with sorrow... Even then he will remain imprisoned, as the broken husk of a winter sprite. As cold as ice, numb and unfeeling... Hopeless, helpless, soulless... That will be Pitch's revenge...
And the same goes for the other foolish Guardians! No one crosses Pitch Black and gets away with it - NO ONE! " It's only a matter of time..." the Boogeyman spoke out loud with a wicked grin. He could see them already, their very souls shattered into a thousand tiny little pieces!
Pitch laughed at the thought, softly at first like a devilish chuckle. But it wasn't enough. His laughter quickly grew, rising in volume until it echoed against the cave walls and growing louder still. It was filled with evil, with pleasure, with every ounce of sadistic joy he felt while envisioning the Guardians' demise!
The Nightmare King was back...
"Sounds like he's feeling better," Rain thought to himself with a smile as his realm was filled with the Boogeyman's maniacal laughter.
A series of erratic clinking noises caught his attention as Aok's flailing marked the Earth Sprite's disapproval. A smile? Really!? The most hated spirit in all the world is in there laughing like a lunatic, and Rain wants to SMILE about it!?
The Warden sighed quietly and looked down at his concerned companion. "You still think I should have left him to die, don't you..?" Rain said aloud.
With a single 'clink' Aok nodded firmly.
"Well I couldn't... And even if I could have left him there, I wouldn't have. It just isn't my nature to do nothing when someone's in pain," the Rain Maker replied strongly, "For good or ill, right? That's what Mother always says..."
Aok's twig-like arms crossed, and his head tilted with a muffled tick. Mother huh? Now what do you think she would really say about this mess you made!
Again Rain sighed, and patted the small sprite. There was no point in trying to talk to these creatures. Their nature was as solid as their bodies, and they were stubborn little things whose only concern was following Mother's instructions and nothing more. "Just don't mention this to anyone, okay? He'll be gone when the sun sets tomorrow and that'll be the end of it... Things will go right back to the way they were before as if nothing ever happened..."
After a moment Aok nodded, and Rain gave the wooden creature a half-hearted smile before heading into the drizzling rain outside of his home. "As if nothing ever happened..." the Warden repeated to himself. Those words were bitter, and hard for him to accept. Something had happened - something that hadn't happened in years beyond what he could remember. For just an hour... for that one tiny span of time, he didn't feel like he was alone.
Solitude was peaceful, yes, but it was an empty feeling of peace - a somber tranquility that leaves a great void in the soul... For so long that void was all that Rain knew, so long that he had grown numb to his own feelings of lonliness. They were always there, and Rain knew it, but they had simply stopped effecting him... until now. Having just a moment of true companionship with another social, talking and feeling being reminded him of how much he missed that simple pleasure... And now, knowing that in a matter of hours he'll once again be alone with the speechless, simple-minded spirits of his realm... it was painful.
After a few minutes of walking across the water Rain finally stopped in front of a large rocky pillar, and started to climb. It was an easy task, given the footholds that had already been formed long ago. How many years had even passed since he came to this spot..? Clearly it wasn't long enough for him to forget since he had instinctively walked straight to it, but considering the layers of loose dirt it must have been decades...
Midway between the water's surface and the ceiling was a hidden perch dug into the rock. It was about the size of a small room, but plenty comfortable for its lone inhabitant. With a heavy sigh Rain leaned back against the rocky wall, and slid down into the slight indention on the cold hard ground. This was it... this was the one place he would always go to escape. To escape what exactly, he wasn't sure. It was just as empty as the rest of his realm, and he was just as lonely here than anywhere else... but no one else could get to him. The Earth Sprites were horrible climbers, the Water Sprites were bound to the waters below, and the Wisps would never survive being this close to the crystal's light.
Perhaps that's what he was escaping... The other spirits just couldn't understand his feelings because they simply didn't have them, and it was impossible to explain it to them... So, this was it. The one place he could go where it was okay to feel, where everyone understood his feelings because he was the only one there. But for years beyond count those feelings had simply faded because there was nothing to fuel them through the monotonous and unchanging peaceful days... Nothing until today, at least, and though it was only a small spark of emotion it was more than enough to make him realize just how empty he had felt without it. "... I don't want to be alone again," Rain thought solemnly, "I want to laugh, and smile, even cry. I'm not like the other spirits here... I can't just exist and be fine with it, I need something more. I want to feel..."
With a steadying breath Rain sat up, and reached into the side pocket of his coat. From there he removed a small wooden fife, an instrument that had been long neglected... In the beginning this had been the only outlet for his emotional strife, a way to process everything through something as simple as musical melody. But as he grew more accustomed to his new life as a Warden of Nature those emotions had faded, and the fife's purpose was lost along with them.
"I wonder if I even remember how to play..?" Rain thought to himself as he brought the instrument to his lips. He closed his eyes and took in a breath, and in an instant the melody returned to him. The shrill notes traveled through the large cavern as he played, and though the Warden had never realized it even the rain fell to his slow, somber tune. The melody carried his awakened sadness, soon overtaking the feeling of melancholic peace and serenity, and filling the realm with a dark and gloomy chill...
It didn't go unnoticed when the mood changed, and shortly afterwards the Rain Maker's song reached Pitch's temporary room. Curious the Nightmare King rose from the admittedly comfortable lily pad and made his way towards the cave's opening, and within seconds Pitch was able to spot a glimpse of sky blue hair along the orangey-red pillar of rock. The Rain Maker seemed entirely lost to the music, as if there was nothing else in all the world. "Delightfully depressing..." Pitch thought with a smirk, and simply watched the other spirit from the shadows.
The music was like an invisible window to the young Warden's soul, and through it the Boogeyman easily picked up on something that wasn't seen before... Fear. "So you are afraid, Healer. But of what..?" Pitch grinned wickedly, and took a deep breath as he felt out the emotion. It didn't take long for him to discover the source of fear. "Loneliness..? No, not quite..." he thought deeply as the melody shifted to a more shallow tune, "Emptiness. Strange, it didn't seem to bother him beforehand. Why the sudden change..?"
Intently Pitch continued to watch him, his interest piqued as the Rain Maker left himself so exposed. On occasion, he soon noticed, the Warden would just slightly turn in the direction of the cave where Pitch was hiding, and a slight change could be heard in the way he played. As it clicked the Nightmare King smirked, "So that's why. You found my company an improvement, then? You poor child..."
Satisfied with his inspection Pitch Black shrank back into the cave, and hummed along with the Rain Maker's melody.
A/N: Ah, there we go! Pitch is back to his old evil self and plotting revenge! And Rain has had an emotional revelation and realized that his current life sucks. Being emotionally numb, I can imagine, is not very fun. Hopefully the next chapter won't be such a long delay away. (I shall do my best!)
