Snakebite.

Ch. 7

Pairing: Naga!Pitch/Tooth (Cavity)

Genre: Humor, romance.

Rating: T (for swearing and minor sexual content)

~S~

X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X

The universe must have some kind of personal vendetta against Pitch, he was sure of it…

Because he was not damned to this planet for the sole purpose of constantly waking up – in pain – with a hazy mind conveying an undertone of even hazier circumstances. It absolutely made no sense!

'Oh how the mighty have fallen…' he thought sleepily. Well he supposed the only good thing about waking up this time was the fact that he was on something comfortable. And scaly…why was it-? Oh…oh right.

Blearily, Pitch cracked his weary eyes open with a groan that seemed to reverberate all the way down into his serpentine form. He no longer felt like a furnace was about to explode inside of him, the nausea was not but a minor pang in his belly, and the aches and pains were reduced to unnoticeable pin pricks.

Though blurry, Pitch's vision was able to make out the general shape of his environment, and the colors. He seemed to still be by the pool – he honestly didn't expect Tooth to have the ability to pick his now heavier body up – and the colors were dimmer and richer now; it was probably sundown.

Sighing, Pitch stretched out his arms over the arch of coils he was flopped over. His scales shuddered and shuffled as he woke up and shifted. But an odd sensation against one of his coils made him pause in his languid stretching. His already shuttered eyes narrowed even more; what was that? It felt like…feathers?

Tooth sighed softly and shifted in her little 'nest'. Said nest was actually a smaller, second coil consisting of Pitch's lower tail. The fairy had hardly left his side when he had fainted from the drain of his power – the only exceptions were when she went to assist her fairies or to get a snack for herself. It had gotten to the point where all her work and physical, and mental, exhaustion had caught up to her, and she fell asleep in the most appealing place. Case in point, in the serpent Boogeyman's coils. It didn't sound hospitable when you say it, but really, Pitch was actually very comfy. His scales were silky smooth and soft, and she could clearly hear his heartbeat reverberating through his tail. It had surprised her at first; she didn't think Pitch even had a heart. But then once that statement passed through her head, she had to wonder just who was really the heartless one in the palace…

Shifting, Tooth shuffled her wings against her back before curling up further into the mass of scales and warmth. Pitch's new body was surprisingly warm; likely from his ability to absorb and dispel heat. And it only seemed to lull her further into sleep.

She contemplated trying to go back to sleep for a few more minutes, but a sudden rumbling from deep within Pitch's coils shook her awake. The vibrations tumbled against her body pleasantly, but the fact that it never happened before now put her on alert.

Tooth peeked one eye open to look around blearily. Nothing was wrong or out of place, and Pitch wasn't moving much, so he was likely still asleep. Right…?

Pitch, meanwhile, was now more alert and far from tired anymore. Though his body was still weak, he literally had to put every ounce of his strength into pushing his upper torso up from his coil by his arms. His chin landed heavily on his collar. He hissed painfully; his head felt like lead, and his neck was stiff and aching.

He groaned and shakily placed a hand to his eyes, 'Gods, did I get into a bar fight with Patrick?'

Groaning to himself, and feeling like he had the worst hangover of the century, Pitch looked around at his clearer surroundings through his fingers. He was definitely still in Tooth Palace – apparently it wasn't a dream or hallucination. He didn't know whether to be relieved or outraged.

Another strange shift against his coils caught his attention. And now that he was more aware, and this time not completely defenseless, Pitch tensed up. The muscles in his tail tightened like bow strings, and he felt the oddity tense against him as well. His body now pulled taut, and his needle-point teeth bared, Pitch lunged over his coils and towards whoever – or whatever – had the gall to touch him while he was-

"EEK!"

When Tooth decided to take a look at Pitch's torso over the hill of coils blocking her sight, she wasn't expecting to get a face full of Pitch's fangs and his nasty scowl. And if that wasn't unsettling enough, the flickering forked tongue and slit pupils were.

Feathers puffed up like a startled cat, Tooth stared into Pitch's snake-like eyes with a renewed admiration. The gold burst, now narrowed along with the cat-slit shaped pupil, was like looking into a freshly cracked quartz of gold and silver. The obsidian shard of his pupil only seemed to add onto the strange anomaly, if not made it all the more attractively haunting.

Tooth couldn't seem to tear her own amethyst eyes away from the other's sharp irises. She was struck deaf, dumb, and blind from sheer surprise and…attraction?

'Oh dear Moon, I am doomed…' she thought.

Pitch, meanwhile, was a bit unsure as what he should be feeling at the moment. Tooth had yet to move away from him, her body frozen in…not so much as terror, but not quite surprise…? Her gaze was wide and shocked, yes, but her eyes seemed to express a vague sense of intrigue. Estranged curiosity perhaps? Stunned awe? It was certainly something along those lines. He just couldn't put his finger on just what it was he was reading from her.

His eyes narrowed suspiciously, his tongue flicking out of his mouth briefly. This seemed to break Tooth's intense staring as her eyes swiveled down to his mouth. She looked utterly dumbstruck!

Really, it was now a matter of whether or not he should feel flattered or embarrassed…

"You know, it's impolite to stare at one's mouth." He remarked dryly.

"Huh? Oh!" Her face flushing various shades of red, and only made more prominent by her cool-color feathers, Tooth swiftly flew back a few feet from Pitch. She hastily tried to smooth down her feathers and cleared her throat.

"So uh, sleep well?" she started, "Any good dreams?"

The absolutely blank stare Pitch gave Tooth made her cringe. She mentally kicked herself and had the sudden urge to crawl into a hole somewhere. Did she seriously just ask Pitch Black if he had good dreams? Why? Why did she ask that? Was she insane? And wasn't there supposed to be some kind of filter between her mouth and her suddenly scrambled brain? What was wrong with her?!

"That," Pitch deadpanned, "Was by far, the utmost cruelest joke I have ever heard."

Tooth's face suddenly became a furnace at this – her embarrassment was only made worse by the fact that Pitch wasn't responding violently, but impassively. She couldn't be sure if it was because of exhaustion on his part, or her statement was just so utterly tactless that he couldn't even muster up the drive to be angry.

And in her flustered state, Tooth suddenly found herself unable to shut her mouth.

"I-I am so sorry! I-I didn't mean – well, I did mean it but I – no wait! I didn't mean it like, good-good dreams, I just meant like nightmares-

"Toothiana…" Pitch tried, his expression still blank yet somewhat annoyed.

"I mean, you being you – not that there's anything wrong with that – you would probably like bad dreams more than good dreams-

"Toothiana."

"I-I mean, not that I'm trying to be stereotypical or assuming, it's just that, well, I figured you would-"

"Toothiana!"

"But then again, I think I recall you dreaming of butterflies last time we met? Gah! I-I mean! W-we kind of got off on the wrong foot, even though you took my fairies and the teeth and-"

"TOOTHIANA!"

The fairy queen's mouth clamped shut with an audible 'click' – she winced at what kind of damage she could have done to her teeth from the action. Although she was a bit distracted by the fact that Pitch's hand was clapped over her mouth, and she was slightly startled by its size. She never paid too much attention to Pitch's hands – she was far too focused on his jagged mouth – but now she could certainly say they were big enough to wrap halfway around her head. His palm was expansive, and his fingers were eerily long. The hand felt very hot, like a heating pad against her mouth…

"Gods above, take a breath before you start turning blue and let me get a word in!" Pitch snapped. Though he didn't seem so much as angry as he was just exhausted.

"Now listen to me carefully," he said emphatically, "I am going to take my hand off of your mouth, and then you are going to tell me, calmly, how long I was out, what happened to me, and more importantly, why the hell you were sleeping on me. Am I clear, darling?"

His purred, though sharp, 'darling' sent a frightening yet exhilarating shudder up the fairy's spine. And the flicker of his forked tongue with each 'S' he spoke with made him seem so…exotic.

His hand slid off her mouth – why did she suddenly miss it? – and he crossed his arms over his lean muscled chest. Seriously, where did he get that figure, Tooth thought absently. She cleared her throat and smoothed down some of her feathers before she spoke.

"Um…" brilliant, she thought. Eloquent as ever. What was wrong with her? She shouldn't be having this much trouble talking to Pitch – she was a lady damn it!

Pitch quirked a brow in…not concern, but almost like a silent inquiry – though it was a touch bit condescending. The fact he was still towering over her like a looming cobra over a mouse was quite disconcerting, but it also sent a thrill through her feathered body.

Quickly composing herself – or as much as she could while under that intense stare – Tooth cleared her throat before she spoke.

"You, ah, passed out, most likely from taxing yourself from the transformation and your condition." She explained.

Pitch frowned but considered this. It would make sense; the event itself was nothing but a very colorful blur, but he did remember something about heatstroke. And now that his head was much clearer, he wasn't about to deny the possibility.

"And? What else?" he urged curtly.

"Um, what else…well, you pretty much slept through your illness after that," Tooth said with a shrug, "I was getting kind of worried, but you were doing fine despite how long you were out so I-"

"Wait," Pitch cut in, "Just how long was I out?"

Tooth bit her lip and wrung her hands, unsure if she should answer straight up or not. Though judging by Pitch's past history with impatience, she decided it might be best to just be blunt and honest. She could think of the consequences later.

"Um, you've been asleep for about three days…" she said meekly, ducking her head slightly.

Pitch openly gaped at Tooth. Three days? He had slept for a whole three days?!

"Why didn't you wake me?!" he snapped, his scales rising like hackles from his agitation.

"I tried! But you were completely out," Tooth defended, "And even if I could wake you up, I wouldn't have. You needed the rest…"

Pitch groaned and rubbed his temples in irritation. This whole thing was giving him a headache. She was giving him a headache. The whole world was giving him a headache! Now he just had to wait for the migraine to set in, and then his miserable life would be complete.

The Boogeyman pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "Alright…anything else I should know?"

"Um…" Tooth pushed her index fingers together meekly, "You are staying here until summer is over…?"

Pitch took a moment to contemplate if his hearing was playing tricks on him. He caught a vague sense of déjà vu when he scrutinized Tooth and waited for the 'I'm joking' part of her sentence. It never came.

"…I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was 'what can I say to piss off the Boogeyman' day." Pitch sneered.

Tooth groaned to herself. He picked now of all times to be an immature diva? Really? Did he have no sense of decorum? She was only trying to help!

'More like I'm blackmailing him…' she sighed. There was no helping it now.

"Pitch, listen, I know this is very…" the fairy paused to think of a good word.

"Tactless? Crude? Boorish? Unperceptive? STUPID?" Pitch sneered.

"…I was just going to say odd, but sure, all those too…" Tooth deadpanned irritably, "But Pitch, it's not like you can – what are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm leaving." Pitch snapped. The serpent then proceeded to slide unsteadily along the edge of the pool and towards the nearest shadow.

"Wait, what?! No!" Tooth snapped, flitting over to hover alongside Pitch, "You can't just leave! You're recovering!"

"And I should care, why?" Pitch hissed, swaying slightly. He didn't have time to acclimate to his body – he was going to hurt himself if he didn't get out of there soon.

"You should care highly! And we made a deal!"

"I don't recall such a thing," Pitch growled, "But then again, even if I did, I still wouldn't listen to you."

Tooth's face took on a very intense shade of red at this, and she resisted the urge to throw a fist at his mouth. Now was not the time to be throwing punches – he was obviously still weak, and even if he couldn't fight back, she didn't doubt that tail of his could be as deadly as it was comfy. In fact, in this form, he could just sit on her, and it would be a done deal.

Clenching her hands into fists, Tooth flitted directly in front of Pitch, stopping him just as he was mere feet from a shadowed wall.

"Listen here, snake-boy, you're not leaving," she snapped, "I did not sneak out of North's Workshop, without telling anyone, and save your scaly hide just to be ignored!"

Pitch scoffed, "Darling, I did not ask you to save me, I had everything under control!" he snapped.

"Oh right, I'm sure finding you sweating bullets and passed out on your bed meant you had everything 'under control'." The fairy queen said sarcastically.

Pitch growled at her, a rumbling snarl that reverberated down into his tail and caused his scales to ripple like waves. At any other time, the phenomena would have been fascinating – but right now, Tooth was starting to consider the possibility that he might now be able to eat birds. Big birds.

"Now listen here you harpy," Pitch steadily rose up higher on his coils until he was sneering down his nose at Tooth, "I don't give two rat's asses about what you want, or what may have happened in my delirium. I am leaving, and you cannot stop me!"

The Tooth Fairy was far too stunned to retort. Never…in all her years, has she ever come across such a disgustingly rude person. And did he seriously just call her a harpy?!

"How dare you…?!" she rasped.

"Oh I dare just fine, darling," Pitch sneered, "Now if you will excuse me, I think I hear a shadow calling my name."

And with that, the Boogeyman slithered around the rage-paralyzed fairy and towards the shadows of the sheer wall. He approached the darkest shade before turning back to the still fuming fairy woman.

"As lovely as this has been, I must bid you adieu." He sneered, placing a hand onto the shadow.

Nothing happened.

Brows raising, Pitch placed his other hand to the shaded wall. Again, nothing happened; he did not sink into the shadow. He frowned deeply and pressed harder into the wall, focusing on trying to mentally grasp onto the comforting darkness that should have whisked him away. But again, nothing was happening. No shadows were crawling over his form, no cooling shade embraced him like a silken blanket, no darkness whispered soothingly with a lover's croon to him; nothing was happening!

"What in the-?"

"Tooth!"

Feathers and scales both rising in perfect succession, the two spirits veered and looked up into the high ceiling of Tooth Palace. An all too familiar sound of bells rung in the air, and not even a moment later its source flew right over the ravine.

'Oh crap…' was their collective thought.

Pitch suddenly scowled and hissed at Tooth, "Did you summon them here?"

"What? NO!" Tooth hissed, "Why would I-?! Oh Moon, what are they doing here?!"

"I suppose it wouldn't do with what you mentioned about sneaking out of the Pole, would it?" Pitch asked sarcastically.

Tooth felt a cold burden of realization drop into her gut at this. Unbelievable, she had been so distracted with the ill Boogeyman, she had completely forgotten to tell the others she was at her palace!

"Toothy!" they heard North bellow.

"Hey Tooth, where you at, sheila?!" Now Bunny. Which meant that all of the Guardians were in that sleigh.

Pitch swore something foul under his breath and slammed his hands back into the shadows. But again, nothing was happening. What was going on? Why couldn't he command the shadows anymore?! Was it his form? Was he still too weak?

"What are you doing?!" Tooth hissed to him, "You need to hide!"

"I know that!" Pitch snapped, "My shadows are not responding!"

Tooth fidgeted and paced in midair as she tried to think of someway to hide the Boogeyman. She bit her lip as she surveyed his serpentine body. This would be so much easier if he wasn't so damn big now; he wouldn't be able to hide in anything short of a bus!

"Tooth!" Jack's voice called from above. Pitch hissed and pressed as hard as he could into the shadowy wall just as a snowy head peeked over the edge of the ravine.

"There you are! Hey guys, I found her!" Jack called over his shoulder

"Damn it…!" Tooth's head veered around the oasis frantically. This was not how she had planned things to go. If they found Pitch here, in his current form no less, they would tear him apart! He wouldn't stand a chance in his weakened state!

'Urgh! Why couldn't he turn into something easier to hide? Like a squirrel, or a bird, or a fish, or-' Tooth gasped suddenly. Of course!

"Pitch!" The Boogeyman tensed when the fairy grabbed his arm and started tugging him back to the pool, "The water! You can hide in the water!"

"Are you mad? It won't work! They'll still see me!"

"Well we have to try!" she snapped, "Which do you honestly prefer? Hiding in the water, or taking your chances with four armed Guardians?"

"Four?" Pitch challenged with a raised brow.

"Urgh! Get in the water, now!"

"And why should I even listen to you? Maybe I want to take my chances with the Guardians." Pitch sneered, crossing his arms. Tooth felt like ripping her feathers out.

"Why are you being so damn stubborn?!" she snapped.

"Why are you getting so worked up?" Pitch asked in mock innocence, "What do I get out of listening to you?"

"You…?!" Tooth squeaked when she heard the sound of North's sleigh landing on one of her plateaus. They didn't have time for this! He was going to be found, and then they were going to ask just why he was in Tooth Palace!

'Can't stay, can't go, come on Tooth, THINK!' The fairy wrung her hands as she wracked her brain to think of something, 'Come on, this is Pitch! What can I offer that's good enough to get him to cooperate?'

Tooth fidgeted as she looked around the oasis. Nothing there was giving her any help. She highly doubted Pitch would cooperate if she offered him meager jewels or gems, and like hell she would give him a child's memories! She didn't have anything he would want! She didn't even know if he liked anything!

Biting her lip, and growing more and more flustered by the second, Tooth's gaze finally landed back on a smarmily smirking Pitch. His arms were crossed over his toned, lean chest, his tail swaying lazily in an almost mocking imitation of a swinging clock pendulum. Gods his scales were gorgeous…

'Ugh! This is NOT the time to be drooling over his scales!' she thought, before her eyes widened. Scales…his scales!

"Your scales!" she chirped. Pitch narrowed his eyes, his grin dropping to form into a thin line.

"What about them?" he growled.

"I-I'll polish them!" Tooth stammered. If she couldn't appeal to Pitch with items, she could at the very least try to appeal to his vanity.

Pitch planted his fists on his hips, regarding the fairy queen with a quirked brow, "Oh really?"

"I'll polish your scales for a week!" Tooth urged. Pitch scoffed.

"Six weeks."

"What?!"

"You wanted me to stay here, darling," Pitch purred, "If I'm going to be stuck here for a summer, the least you can do is be a good hostess and make me feel comfortable."

"Comfort-?!"

"Tooth!"

"Urgh…!" Tooth was sure her feathers were starting to fall out, she was so damn frustrated.

"It's either that, or we can spin a lovely tale on how I got here, and why." Pitch said, nonchalantly examining his nails, "Take it or leave it."

"I-! You-!" Her wings flinched when she heard North's boots stomping towards the edge of the ravine. She was out of time, she had to make a decision now!

'What's six weeks of lost pride?' resisting the urge to scream, Tooth sagged with a deflating sigh.

"Fine." She rasped, suddenly exhausted.

"It's a deal then." Pitch all but purred, as he reached out and grasped the fairy's dainty hand in his own. Compared to her hands, his were absolutely massive, yet thin.

With a bow of his head, and a gentleness Tooth didn't think the Boogeyman possessed, he curled his spidery fingers around her own and brought her knuckles up to his chin. His warm, black lips pecked at her pale hand, a flash of fangs making her feathers fluff and quiver. He smirked when his lips left her knuckles and he released her hand.

"Have fun with the boys, darling." He purred.

Casting one last grin at the fairy woman, he took in a deep breath and slithered into the water. Using his tail as a rudder, he swam down to the bottom and coiled down into a cluster of dark rocks. They weren't as dark as his scales, but it would have to do. Pitch clutched at a large rock to keep himself anchored to the pond floor, and waited.

Once she recovered from the initial shock, Tooth sighed in relief as Pitch vanished under the crystalline water. She could still see him, but he was completely indistinguishable under the ripples and shifting surface. He basically just looked like a cluster of big black rocks.

'And not a moment too soon…' she thought.

Bunny was the first to reach the bottom of the ravine, followed by North, Jack, and Sandy. They all landed just on the other side of the pool, weapons drawn. Really? Did they think she was being held hostage in her own home? Tooth was suddenly worried they'd see Pitch from their vantage point over the pool. Thankfully, when their eyes settled on her, they completely ignored the oasis and rushed towards the fairy queen.

"Tooth! Where have you been?" North bellowed.

"Yeah, we got worried when you up and vanished on us!" Jack added.

Sandy added in his own two cents with various frantic symbols conveying his own worry. Tooth wrung her hands and bit her lip, suddenly feeling guilty for worrying them so much.

"I'm so sorry you guys, but I…" she sighed, "I couldn't just stay at the Pole forever! I had work to do." She said. And it wasn't a total lie either; she really did want to get work done, and she really couldn't just stay cooped up in the Workshop infirmary.

"Tooth, we know we were smothering you, but it was for your own good. And we are sorry if we pushed you away." North said.

"I know, I know, but I just…" Tooth made a noncommittal gesture, "I had…things…I needed to get done."

"Like getting' that missin' tooth back?" Bunny accused, putting away his boomerang and standing with his arms crossed next to North.

Tooth felt her feathers ruffle, "For your information, I didn't get the tooth back!" she snapped. She suddenly flinched as her own words sunk in.

'Oh Moon, I forgot the tooth…!' Great, first she forgot to tell the others she left, and now she forgot to get that missing tooth back from Pitch's lair, 'Am I going to forget how to blink and fly at the same time now?!'

Sighing in exasperation, Tooth rubbed her temples and gave the others a weary look, "Guys, really, I am fine. I'm sorry I flew off like that, and I know I should have said something, but I completely spaced it!"

The others glanced at one another meticulously as her words sunk in. It wasn't like her own behavior was unheard of; they themselves would probably do the same thing in her position. And it wasn't like she was hurt or anything – she was perfectly fine, and simply caught up in her work. They all knew how 'flighty' she was, and it wasn't fair of them to expect her to simply lay around at their whim.

North sighed and sheathed his sabers, "We understand Tooth. We were just worried – we've been looking for you since yesterday."

"Just yesterday?" Tooth asked carefully, trying to keep her annoyance out of her voice. Bunny gestured to Jack.

"Frostbite here was supposed to check on you the day before yesterday," an embarrassed look from Jack, "He got distracted by North's new Snowball-Slinger."

"Snowball-Slinger…" Tooth repeated, deadpan. The others – sans Jack, who was grinning ear to ear – gave North exasperated looks.

"What? Is good invention! Children will love it!" he defended. Tooth sighed and rubbed her forehead. She was getting a headache from all of this.

'Whoever said it was girls who made all the drama, should have their molars removed. Painfully.' She thought. Bunny gave her a slightly concerned look.

"You alright, Tooth?" he asked.

"Yeah, you look kind of…flustered." Jack added, canting his head towards the fairy.

Sandy waved a hand at her and formed a sand image of a bird sleeping in a nest, and a question mark. Tooth took a moment to process what he was asking, before it clicked in place. She waved a hand and gave them all a small smile.

"I'm fine, I've just been working a lot lately," she said, "I actually just woke up from a nap a half hour ago." Also true, but she wasn't about to tell them where she slept.

A bubble then decided to break the surface of the water with a soft 'pop'. Bunny's ears perked and he swiftly veered around, frowning at the pool of water while Tooth bit the inside of her cheek. Oh dear Moon, she forgot about him! He didn't need to breathe did he? Can't snakes hold their breath for a long time?

"Um, anyways!" she exclaimed a bit loudly to catch the Pooka's attention, "Why don't you all head back out? I mean, not to be rude, but I got lots of work to do, and now you all know I'm safe!"

Her hopeful smile was a bit exaggerated, but it seemed to reassure the boys. They all glanced at one another briefly before they steadily relaxed and focused back on the fairy woman.

"Alright Toothy, we will leave you to it," North yielded, "But I want you to check in with one of us later, just to be safe, da?"

"Sure! No problem! I'll check in with one of you in a couple days!" she was trying to rush them out as passively as possible. Another bubble broke the surface of the water, followed by a second, and a third.

"Alright, aright, we'll get out of your feathers." Bunny held his paws up as the others turned to leave.

The Pooka paused, however, when he walked beside the pool's edge. His green eyes narrowed as he stared down into it. He hummed to himself as he stared at the black mass resting at the bottom of the otherwise mostly blue oasis. Tooth felt frozen to the spot, staring wide eyed as Bunny scrutinized the water and whatever was at its bottom.

The Pooka huffed a breath through his nose before straightening. He gave the fairy one last glance and a nod, before he thumped his foot, and vanished down a tunnel.

Tooth waited a full five seconds before she flitted over to the pool and kneeled at its edge.

"Pitch? Pitch!" she called, "A-are you okay?"

A sudden cloud of bubbles erupted from the surface as the black mass roiled and writhed. Tooth yelped and leaped back onto her rear as the Boogeyman broke the surface with a large splash, a loud gasp straining the air around them. Tooth watched the Boogeyman gasp and pant as his torso flopped onto the shore, his back heaving with each breath he desperately tried to drag into his strained lungs. His eyes were wide, his hair soaked and plastered to his face in short, wild tendrils. He coughed briefly before groaning and shooting a weary glare at the fairy.

"Took your time, didn't you?" he rasped.

"What? H-how was I supposed to know you needed to breathe?" Tooth asked, "I didn't even know you had to breathe."

"I don't, normally," Pitch coughed, blowing a wet lock of hair from his face, "But when I transform into this, I have to adopt a few 'mortal' traits. It takes a lot of magic to hold this form after all…"

"Wait, so…" Tooth frowned slightly as she shifted to sit on her knees, "You're mortal now?"

"Only partly," Pitch elaborated, "Not that you should care, but I require oxygen, food, water, sleep, and shockingly, sunlight now. I don't have mortal human needs, I have mortal snake needs."

Tooth blinked her amethyst eyes in shock at the new information. It made sense though; shape-shifting was a natural trait to Pitch, but it didn't mean it was easy or came cheap. The few other shape-shifters Tooth has ever talked to or inquired about often said their powers were taxing, and that was just to change their appearance. It was one thing to change one's shape and form, it was a whole other level of shape-shifting to change and not gain traits from whatever it is you transform into. In this case, Pitch's form was somewhat symbiotic; he can use it to survive the heat and direct sunlight – or so she assumed – but in exchange, he had to adapt to a more 'mortal' lifestyle.

"I'm guessing it's a bit of a hassle?" she inquired. Pitch snorted.

"It is," he said, folding his arms on the shore to rest his head on his forearms, "I am not used to eating or drinking, let alone breathing."

"Well it can't be all bad, I mean, you eat sometimes even before this, right?" Tooth asked.

Pitch didn't respond immediately, instead opting to watch a small bug craw along a blade of grass.

"For your information, I don't eat regularly like you high-class Guardians," he hissed, "I can't go out and get food for myself as a luxury, nor can I send Nightmares to get any for myself. It's too dangerous."

"Dangerous? How is it dangerous? Who would hurt you-" Tooth paused while Pitch gave her a condescending look. Oh…oh, well then…this just got awkward.

"Um…" she started, hoping to break the tension between them, "So…how does breakfast sound?"

The fairy felt herself cringe at her overly eager words. Pitch was also looking at her strangely, which did nothing in easing her silent embarrassment. He didn't say anything, so the fairy took her chances. She hovered back into the air and cleared her throat.

"So, right! Breakfast! I'll, uh, get on that now," she said, "You uh…just…make yourself at home?"

"Is that a question or an invitation?" Pitch deadpanned, deftly trying to get his hair back into its trademark crested sweep.

"…just stay here, don't harass my fairies, and please don't touch any of the teeth." Tooth didn't give the Boogeyman time to respond with a snarky remark, as she zipped by him and up past the edge of the ravine. To where, he could only guess. He didn't know if the fairy had a kitchen or food faculty…

Sighing, Pitch opted to stay in the water for a bit longer. He was tired as hell, and he did not feel like hauling a few hundred pounds of waterlogged scales out of the pool. The Boogeyman yawned widely, his jaw popping and sharp fangs clicking.

Pitch shut his eyes and rested his head back in his arms. Maybe he could get in a few more hours of sleep before that upstart fairy comes back…

"Chirp!" Pitch yelped when something pricked his forehead. Recoiling, he hissed as his eyes settled on his new assailant.

Baby-Tooth, with her arms crossed, was giving the Boogeyman the best stink eye a fairy her size could conceive. She chirped shrilly at him, and he scoffed.

"Go away, runt…" he grunted, putting his head back in his arms and shutting his eyes.

Another prick, this time to the back of his neck, caused him to jump and his scales to rise in aggravation. He hissed at the fairy, and she hissed shrilly right back. Pitch sighed in exhaustion.

Looks like he wasn't going to be sleeping the time away…

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