Hello and MARRY CHRISTMAS! XD Joy to the world I am still alive and I come bearing updates and family fluff!
I'm sorry as always that it took so long for me to update this story! I was actually going to update it last night but for the first time in over five years I was actually FORCED off my computer and told to go to bed. I never thought I'd have to deal with that ever again. Then I was going to update earlier today before whatever reason I was unable to get onto fan ! So again I'm so sorry but I'm here now and I give you all the gift of fluff!
First though, I have a few announcements! First off! This is an announcement for my good friend The One Named MoonLight regarding her story 'The Darkness isn't all Bad' which is now been renamed 'The Darkness isn't all Bad ch1-11 edited '! Though most of you probably already know this the reason she hasn't really been updating much is because she is currently editing all the chapters of her story! And people I thought it was good before but now it is simply beyond amazing! So all of you should go check it out!
Another announcement is actually a shout out! To my new friend Sumi-Sprite! I have actually been having a lot of writers block concerning this story recently but not too long ago I read her story called 'New Years Child' and I just became completely inspired! My writer's block was cured and I was able to get a ton of work done on this! So all of you can thank her for this chapter! You should all go check out her work! Especially the stories 'New Years Child' and 'Snake in the Grass'! Both of them are amazing and the second one it never fails to make me laugh out loud!
The next announcement, which is again actually a shout out, goes to the amazing writer, and my very good friend Mystichawk! As always she has helped me so, sooo much with writing this chapter and it would be nowhere near as amazing without her! Thank you Mystic! XD
I would also like to give a big 'THANK YOU' to everyone who has reviewed, followed, and/or favorited the story! And of cores another thank you goes to my friend Fantasydreamer244 who is still my amazing friend and editor! Fanty, hun. I know your busy but please try and come back to us soon! We love you and miss you bunches!
But as always I am neither William Joyce nor DreamWorks, and thus I do not own either The Guardians of Childhood book series or Rise of the Guardians! If I did there would already be a sequel and a TV show for it! So without any further ado please allow me to present the ninth chapter of;
Of Shadows and Moonlight
Chapter 9: Fears, Foods and Stuffed Animals
Pink. Pink. The word reverberated inside Pitch Black's skull as he tried to get a handle on the situation. The little girl in his arms was laying stalk-still in her swaddle of blankets and staring up at him with wide, pleading eyes. She gripped bunches of his robes in her tiny fists and cling to him like a lifeline while he glared down at her. Pitch felt his brain gears come to a screeching halt at the realization of the little girl's fear.
"Pink?!" He demanded again, looking down at her with a mixture of vast annoyance and slight surprise. "Pink?!"
Kadence jerked a little and ducked her head downwards to look away from him, as if the sound of the color physically disturbed her, but Pitch wasn't going to let this go so easily.
"I cannot believe this!" He said, his voice a mix of outrage and irritation. "Of all the things that would make you afraid, pink is the least likely thing I would have ever chosen!"
Kadence jerked again and her tear-stained face, which had already been flushed a bright shade of the color she so was afraid of, turned a deeper hue of red. Pitch didn't notice however. He was still trying to get over how utterly ridiculous her fear was.
"Is there anything else that you're afraid of I should know about?" He demanded harshly as he looked down at her, completely unamused. He hadn't noticed how red her cheeks were, nor the tears that were slowly trickling down her face. "Rainbows, Unicorns, baby animals?"
Kadence looked up briefly, just catching his eye before she ducked her head down again. That brief connection brought Pitch out of his rage and he frowned.
"Kadence?" He asked, peering down at the little girl in his arms. "Are you alright?"
She didn't respond. Only ducked her head away from him again, pulling herself closer and trying to hide her face in the dark fabric of his robe as she sniffled and choked out little sobs.
Pitch's eyes widened when he heard the soft cries. Oh no. "Kadence?" He asked, trying to get her to look at him again. "Kadence, what are you-" he cut himself off when the little girl suddenly flinched away from his touch. He felt his heart suddenly sink with guilt as she gave a small wine and curled tighter into a little ball.
Had he gone too far? Was she actually scared of him now?
Was it because I yelled at her? He wondered, inwardly beginning to panic at the thought of the little girl being afraid of him. His breath caught in his throat and he felt the cold, crushing sensation that he had become all too familiar with run through his body; the feeling of disbelief.
No, his brain was whirling with doubt and fear. No, no no no! Not her! Please, anyone but her!
"Kadence?" He begged, moving her blanket so that he could see her face but she refused to look up at him. "Kadence please, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for yelling at you little one. I'm sorry."
The little girl ignored him, burrowing deeper into her blankets and Pitch felt his shoulders drop as his body was flooded an ice like emptiness. That was it. It was over.
Just like the others.
Pitch felt the crushing weight of sadness now. Sadness that he was sure he had gotten over, but apparently not because it swelled in his heart, making it hard for him to breathe. He was a fool to think that this child wouldn't come to see him like everyone else. He wasn't meant to make a child happy. He wasn't meant to make anyone feel anything besides fear and hate. He wasn't a father. Not anymore. He was just the monster that hid under beds.
How could I be stupid enough to think that I could make a difference? That's their job, not mine! How could I be stupid enough to think anything otherwise?!
His eyes were down cased as he started mentally screaming about just how much of an idiot he was and he could faintly hear the voices of the Fearlings joining him as they tried to make him lose control by fueling his despair, but he didn't argue. It was true, wasn't it? He was a monster and he wasn't meant to be happy. That was his lot. Someone had to do it. But why? Why did it have to be him?!
Pitch was so focused on the hissing voices and emptiness that had begun to build in his chest that he didn't notice when the baby girl which had caused him this trouble slowly raised her head until she was looking at him again.
Kadence was still scared from the bright color that she had been forced into battle against, but she was still able to tell that something was wrong with her daddy. He wasn't moving or petting her wings, and he wasn't making those strange noises he made whenever he looked at her and opening his mouth so she could see those pointy white things. She didn't know what they were but she liked them, and she wanted to see them again.
He wasn't humming or smiling, and she wanted to hear those funny sounds again and for him to hold her close. He was so warm and she liked it when he held her. She wanted him to hold her and to smile and to not be...
Was it… sad?
An infant's brain should not be able to decipher what the emotion sad is, but Kadence did. Of course she didn't know why he was being sad and, as an infant, chocked it up to him being afraid of the same thing she'd been afraid of. That evil, bad color.
Kadence reached up and tried to grab her daddy's robe. She didn't want to lay down anymore, she wanted to sit up! She also wanted him to stop crying and hold her. In her experience, holding something made the bad things go away and made someone happy again. Maybe it would work for her daddy.
"Dada?" She asked, tugging on his robe. "Dada, dada!"
The hissing voices of the Fearlings echoed throughout Pitch's mind like a haunting wind as they whispered taunts and threats to their dark host, who was too focused on them to notice the little girl in his arms, trying to regain his attention. I'm nothing, he thought. I'm just a monster that children fear.
The child was starting to get scared that the Nightmare King was paying her no mind, and was also slightly irritated that she couldn't seem to get his attention. She tried cooing and gurgling up at him, she tried wiggling, tugging on his robes and pulling on his hands, but nothing she did seemed to have any effect.
Kadence tried absolutely everything to get him to snap out of it. Even though she didn't know what the 'it' was, she still didn't like it. It made her tummy feel funny and her ears buzz. The girl continued to whimper and cry, tugging on Pitch's robes fruitlessly and trying to make him react to her again.
She was getting scared, but despite her rising fear Pitch still didn't notice.
Kadence gave one last wine and looked pleadingly up at the Nightmare King, her eyes turning glassy with tears when he still didn't react to her cries. She whimpered as the tears started falling again but Pitch still didn't move. His eyes remained downcast, staring at nothing as the Fearlings hissed and screamed in his head.
After another few minutes of this the baby girl had had it. She was still crying and she was scared out of her mind of what was going on, but she was done. He wasn't listening to her, and she was sick of it!
She looked up at the Nightmare King one last time before reaching up her little arms. His head was lowered just enough, so she reached and grabbed a fistful of his spiky black hair.
Without warning she gave one last shrill cry and yanked down, hard.
The resulting yell was loud enough to shake the caverns as Pitch Black was roughly pulled back from the brink by a sharp stinging pain on his scalp.
The hand that wasn't holding her immediately went to rub the searing spot where he was sure the girl had actually pulled some out. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he demanded as he glared down at her. Momentarily forgetting that yelling was the very thing that had gotten him into this mess in the first place and that he should not be cussing in front of a baby.
The loud noise startled the little girl and she immediately went into her ball position. She was still scared from the way her daddy was acting earlier and she was able to quickly realize that he was unhappy with her, this only added to her fear with the thought of him being mad at her. She curled into herself to make her seem even smaller then she already was, retracting her hold on Pitch's robe with the speed of a whip and drawing her tiny hands back into the folds of her blanket. A soft crying sound began to emanate from the blankets and Pitch heard her little voice say, "D- dada…" She spoke softly but it came out as more of a pleading whimper.
Pitch's eyes widened and he felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach, instantly feeling guilty for screaming at her like that. The feeling only grew when he saw the tears that were slowly trickling down her cheeks and her bottom lip quivering slightly.
"Oh Kadence I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry little one, I'm so sorry." He picked her up carefully and leaned her against his shoulder as he held her close. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and whimpered a bit. Pitch slowly extended one of her wings and began to gently run his fingers over the dark feathers as he swayed back and forth slightly and continued to apologies to the baby girl.
Eventually she began to calm down. Her fear slowly disappeared and the girl gave one more tiny little whimper before going silent, making only an occasional sniffling sound as she relaxed in his arms. She kept one hand held tightly to his robes and raised her other hand to suckle her thumb, extending her wing just a little more as if asking him to continue petting them.
Pitch continued to apologizing to her while stroking her wings for fear she'd start crying again. But she wouldn't. Because what he was doing right now was all that she wanted in the first place. To have her daddy hold her and pet her wings. To be safe, happy, and to have her daddy not to be sad anymore. Which he wasn't. So she was happy.
They stood in silence for a long time, Pitch holding the little sniffling girl and Kadence nuzzling her little face into his shoulder. He stroked her wings gently with rhythmic rapidity, keeping her calm until she had fully recovered and all the while whispering, "I'm sorry."
He couldn't help apologizing for his actions to the little girl, just like he couldn't help holding her now. He knew that he'd almost lost control, and he knew that it was thanks to the baby girl that he hadn't. I'm not completely a monster, he thought. Maybe, just maybe she sees that.
As Pitch felt her fear finally dissipate he adjusted his hold on the baby girl, cradling her against his chest as she stared up at him.
Her eyes were still glassy and her cheeks were flushed from all of her crying.
Pitch looked down at the small girl; part of him was wishing he could take it back and hoping that she wasn't terrified of him now while the rest of him was calling him an idiot. He slowly brought up his hand to wipe away the leftover tears that remained on her plump little cheeks, silently praying that she didn't flinch away from him again.
That's what he had expected her to do, or to even start crying again after he had yelled at her like that. But what he didn't expect was for her to latch onto his hand again.
She wrapped her tiny arms around his wrist, clinging to him as tightly as she could.
The Nightmare King's eyes widened when she suddenly hugged his arm. Pitch blinked, unsure if she was wanting him to hold her a different way or if she were just showing him affection as she snuggled his hand like a teddy bear. But he quickly realized witch reason it was when the baby girl suddenly looked up at him.
Although she was still crying slightly, the second her eyes locked with his she beamed, mumbling and gurgling as she smiled up at him, more than happy to have her daddy back.
Pitch felt the lead weight in his chest disappear as she snuggled and nuzzled his arm and crooned happily. Breathing a silent sigh of relief that she was back to normal he wiped away her tears with his still captured hand. He smiled gently down at her and she giggled, only to laugh and squeal when he tapped her little nose again.
I guess she's accepting my apology. He thought as the baby girl continued to let out joyous streams of mirth.
"You truly are the oddest child I have ever met." He said softly, beginning to realize just how thankful he was for that.
He smiled down at her as she continued snuggling with his wrist and gurgle happily, then he shifted her position in his arms until she was lying back down again. She gave a sad wine when he broke her little hug and pulled his hand away, but was quickly silenced when he ran his long fingers down her ebony wings again.
Her eyes fluttered closed with a little hum of approval as she put her thumb back in her mouth, still clutching the dark fabric of Pitch's robe in her other tiny fist. The Nightmare King smiled slightly down at her and continued to run his hand over her feathered wings.
She looks so peaceful, he thought. As if their earlier spat had never occurred. She smiled beneath her hand and leaned into the warmth of his chest, curling back into a ball when he paused for a moment to cover her back up with the blanket.
The two of them stayed like that for quite some time before his strokes began to ease. Kadence gave a tiny yawn before looking back up at him sleepily, her hand still remaining in her mouth as she continued to suckle her thumb. Looking for all the world like she wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep in his arms.
Pitch smiled down at her as she blinked innocently up at him. Truth be told he would have very much liked to stay like that, with her snuggled up in his arms and sleeping peacefully as he held her. Eventually though, as all good things must, their peaceful moment ended when he noticed that the baby girl was shivering slightly and his mind was brought back to the original problem, which she had oh so cleverly side-tracked him from.
Pitch knew that, while his lair was actually furnished nicely and had many of the amenities of a normal home, it was still a cave and therefor was actually quite frigid. While cold temperatures really had no effect on him, he did not know how they would affect the little girl. She might not be human but that didn't mean she couldn't get cold or sick. So simply keeping her in the diaper was not going to cut it.
He nearly dreaded to attempt it again, but he had to get her dressed.
"OK little missy," Pitch began gently. "Now that we've gotten this taken care of, I think it's time we actually put something on you so that you don't freeze to death. Is that alright?"
She smiled up at him and cooed happily.
He nodded and moved her to sit up a bit in his lap. "Good. Now, I promise it won't be anything..." he hesitated, unsure of the word would cause her any distress. "That color," was what he finally decided on. "But you do have to wear something to keep you from freezing." He didn't know if she could actually get cold, but there was no way in hell he was taking the chance of her getting sick. And now that he thought about it the little green onesie he had been trying to put her in first wasn't going to be warm enough.
He shifted her weight to hold her in one arm and then reached back into one of the plastic bags that had lay on the table. Kadence flinched a bit and held onto him tighter when his hand passed over the pink cloth that had caused that whole mess from earlier and he smirked, letting his hand linger over the clothes just a bit longer than necessary and glancing down at her before moving on. She visibly relaxed and he had to keep himself from chuckling.
He reached into one of the bags, this time making sure to look at the clothes before he chose something. It wasn't easy and he realized he'd have to send a few Nightmares out again to get different clothes for her. Nearly everything in here was an abominable shade of neon pink!
Pitch rolled his eyes and muttered, "Stereotypes." Then he decided that he had to use both hands to look and, remembering the sleeve trick, laid Kadence down on the table and shook his arm out of his robe sleeve. Kadence happily took the garment and Pitch was allowed to rout around with both hands briefly until he finally found a set of blue footed pajamas at the bottom of the bag. He paused for a moment after he'd picked it up but scowled when he saw what patterns it was covered in.
"Snowflakes... and snowmen." He deadpanned, looking at the article of clothing with a sneer on his face. "Utterly ridiculous." And isn't blue supposed to be the color of boy's clothes anyway?! He thought begrudgingly as he resisted the sudden desire to chuck the thing in the fireplace.
Sadly though, he knew that wasn't an option at the moment. It was the only thing that wasn't pink and would be able to keep the little girl from getting cold.
The cloth was soft and thick so it would keep her warm enough down here at least. He knew that beggars couldn't be choosers, but that didn't mean he had to like it. The only think he could do was put it on her for now and pray she wasn't also scared of snow.
Though that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. He mused. Oh, the irony.
Silently deciding that his Nightmares were ether idiots or colorblind Pitch detangled her from his robe sleeve and, making sure to give her one hand to keep ahold of, slid it back over his arm. Then he started to dress her, sliding her little legs through the fabric and then lifting her up so that her little arms and head could go through. Thankfully Kadence didn't try and play around this time and she let him get her dressed without fussing or starting up another game of 'keep-away from the irritated Boogeyman.'
Pitch figured it was because she was just tired again from all the crying she did and was slightly thankful when she let him get the clothes on her without farther incident. He folded her wings down gently but firmly against her back and buttoned the snaps of the cloth over them, concealing the black feathers from view. If one were to look at her they would think she was just a normal baby.
Kadence looked down at the clothes curiously. She wiggled and kicked her little feet while gurgling happily, seeming to like the soft new clothes much more than the thick diaper she was being forced to wear.
Pitch chuckled softly and the little girl giggled back, keeping a secure hold on her as she to bounced and squirmed. She waved her hands around and crooned softly when she felt the soft vibrations in his chest and he just couldn't help but smile down at her.
"Better?" He asked.
She giggled happily and clapped her hands in response.
"Good." Pitch tickled her chin and she let out another squeal of laughter. He took her moment of distraction to gather up the various articles of pink clothes that lay discarded on the table and put them back into one of the plastic bags, then summoned one of his Nightmares to take away the bag of offending clothing. "Burn it," He instructed the horse. "And bring back a bag of warmer, less colorful clothing. Preferably green or blue. Black if you can actually find something."
The horse nodded and took the bag in its mouth, then disappeared into the darkness.
Pitch nodded and turned back to the little girl in his arms, who was staring after the Nightmare.
"What?" He asked, looking from the little girl's face to the shadow which the Nightmare had come and left by. "You miss it?"
She didn't answer.
"Isn't there anything a normal little girl likes that you do?" Pitch wondered aloud, giving her a questioning look. "Stuffed animals? Flowers?"
She stared blankly back at him and he suppressed the urge to chuckle. It was like she was asking, are you serious?
"True, you'd probably be afraid of all those things." He said, tickling her. "Odd little girl that you are. You're not afraid of dresses, are you?" He teased while smirking down at her.
But instead of laughing and gurgling happily like he expected her to do, her eyes suddenly went wide and she buried her face in his robes again. His jaw nearly dropped when the little girl suddenly tried to hide from him, once again feeling guilty and concerned.
"Kadence?" He asked, raising his hand to get her to look back up at him. "Kadence what-"
And then he saw it.
Kadence's little ear, the only part of her head that was visible, aside from her cheek, was almost glowing bright pink.
Pitch briefly worried that she was sick and that he hadn't gotten the blue pajamas on her in time, but then he noticed the pink tinge creeping down from her ears and over to the side of her face and he blinked, slowly beginning to connect the dots before he felt his eyes widen in realization. This was why she had started crying when he had yelled at her earlier? This was what had started his minor panic-attack over not being believed in?!
He tried not to but he couldn't help the loud laugh that escaped from his realization.
Kadence's head snapped up to look at the Nightmare King when he suddenly laughed, only for her face to turn an even deeper shade of red as she let out a long wine and tried to hide again. Pitch tried to control himself because he knew he was only making it worse but he just couldn't help but find the situation more than a little amusing.
She-she's actually embarrassed!
Again the sudden revelation caused him to guffaw from both amusement and relief. Kadence hadn't been afraid of him at all! She had just been embarrassed! How the hell was that even possible?!
Yet another thing I didn't think infants could do. He mused as he finally began to regain some semblance of control over himself.
The baby girl was still trying to hide herself from his view with little avail, digging her little hands into his robes and her blanket. Pitch chuckled as he smirked down at her.
"Sorry little one, but you're not going to be able to hide from me like that." He spoke softly as he leaned her back a bit, forcing her to let go of his robes. She wined in protest at the loss of her ingenious hiding place and instead covered her eyes with her little hands, once again causing the Nightmare King to chuckle at her antics.
He cradled her close as he gently pulled her hands away from her face. She whimpered a little and sheepishly looked up at him; her cheeks still flushed a light red. He grinned down at her and she quickly lowered her eyes.
Pitch sighed and tilted her chin up with a long gray finger.
"Now you stop that missy, you have nothing to hide from." He chided "Perhaps I shouldn't have laughed quite that much," he admitted, struggling to keep himself dignified and to not laugh again, if only for her sake. "But still, that's no reason to stop looking at me."
The little girl blinked innocently up at him but remained silent. Pitch held her gaze and eventually gave a sigh and admitted defeat. Damn, those eyes were absolutely impenetrable! "Alright fine, I'm sorry." He said. "I shouldn't have laughed at you like that little one."
Kadence's eyes widened slightly before she broke out into a fit of giggling, causing Pitch to role his eyes and smirk down at her again. And of course, she only gets it when it's convenient for her. Little sneak.
Said little sneak mumbled happily up at him, looking almost self-satisfied that she had gotten him to apologize. She grabbed back onto the front of his robes settled into his warm arms with a happy hum of approval, once again content, before she started giggling for no apparent reason.
Pitch could feel another laugh building in his chest, and slowly brought up his hand to tap her little nose once more. Just as he expected the baby girl let out a squeal of delight, laughing and giggling in mirth as she bounced happily in his arms.
Pitch held her just a bit closer and gently gripped her tiny hand in his, letting her play with his fingers as she cooed happily. Kadence stopped squirming and began to calm down as she grabbed onto his fingers and tugged softly. Pitch allowed himself another light chuckle.
After a moment though she started tugging a little harder, pulling down his hand and sticking his index finger in her mouth. He momentarily had the urge to pull his hand away like he had the last time she did this. But he didn't.
Seeing her there, so happy and innocent... He just couldn't seem to bring himself to do it.
She hummed happily when he didn't pull away, her eyes slowly closed as she turned her head slightly towards the Boogeyman's chest, snuggling deeper into his warmth. Pitch's eyes widened slightly before softening, a gentle smile creasing his lips as he let the baby girl suckle his finger like a pacifier.
He should have pulled away, he should have found it bothersome and put a stop to it then and there, but he didn't. For whatever reason he found he didn't actually mind it.
The reason for this suddenly became apparent when a small memory briefly flashed through his mind, leaving him with a thought that made his smile grow just slightly.
Seraphina did this to, when she was a baby.
He could see her, just like Kadence was now. It brought her comfort when she was scared to hold onto him, and when she was teething she liked nothing better than to take ahold of his fingers and suck like her little life depended on it.
Pitch had to smile. It was uncanny, how much this little winged girl was like his original daughter. He wondered briefly if it had been her and Lunar who had concocted this little scheme which was working clearly all too well, but then he dismissed the thought. He hadn't spoken to Mother Nature, as she was known now, in decades. Centuries even. Why on earth would she choose now, of all times, to try and pull him back from the brink of darkness?
She wouldn't. That was obvious. It was only Lunar at work here, trying to turn him gooey and soft like the rest of those guardian henchmen of his.
They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity in a calm silence. Both were quite content with the current situation in their own way, and Pitch had half a mind to take the girl to his library where she could sleep more peacefully by a warm fire. But he didn't know if she would wake up and protest when he moved.
Then, after weighing his options, he decided that it would be a good idea for her to be in a warmer room. Despite the thick cloth of her clothes there was the chance that she could still get to cold down here and he didn't want to risk it.
Besides, he thought, standing up. If she wakes up I could just rock her and stroke her wings until she falls asleep again.
Or so he thought.
He moved to stand but he wasn't paying attention to the hand that the baby was still sucking on and his finger accidently fell from her mouth. Kadence's eyes suddenly flashed open with a startled cry at the loss of her new binky.
The baby whimpered and quickly started to cry.
Pitch immediately reacted as his parental instincts suddenly kicked into play. "Hey now," he cooed gently, trying to sooth the crying child as once more. "It's alright Kadence. I'm still here. It's alright little one, don't cry." Babies liked to hear the sound of your voice, Pitch knew this from his years as a parent before, and if you didn't talk to them they fussed more than normal. But, apparently little Kadence didn't want to hear the sound of his voice because she didn't calm down.
Pitch shushed her cried and swayed her back and forth gently, but the baby continued to sob loudly despite his attempts at calming her. Remembering her and his other child's fondness for sucking on fingers he quickly raised the hand for her to take hold of again, but she refused to take it and just continued to whine and burble.
Pitch unbuttoned the small clasps on the back of her clothes, gently releasing one of her black wings and extending it slightly. Running his hands over the soft feathers he continued to rock her and even going so far as to hum the tune he'd sung to her the night before in hopes of it calming her down, but the little girl continued to cry despite his soothing.
Pitch found himself at a complete loss of what to do. Humming didn't work, stroking those beautiful obsidian wings of hers didn't work, rocking her didn't work! What was wrong?! His paternal instincts suddenly began to panic and he quickly looked back to the table where another two bags waited. Pitch reached for the closest bag and searched through them for anything that could get her to calm down.
Eventually, he found it and his eyes widened in triumph as he found what he was looking for.
He hurriedly unwrapped a little green pacifier from its loose packaging while keeping a firm hold on the baby girl who had begun squirming and thrashing about in his arms, as if to say, I'm unhappy! Do something!
The second he had the thing out of its packaging he stuck it in to the screaming child's mouth with a small pop.
Kadence froze when strange foreign thing was suddenly forced into her mouth, her glassy eyes widened as she stared up at the Nightmare King. She blinked once, twice, three times, and then visibly relaxed her tiny body as she settled back down in her little nest of blankets, all of her tension and annoyance slowly draining away. She gave a soft hum of approval, then leaned back in his arms peacefully and started sucking on the rubber pacifier. She seemed to like it even more than the Nightmare King's fingers and Pitch found himself thinking, how helpful would it have been to have these things back in the Golden Age.
He smiled fondly down at her as she curled into his arms, humming softly as she gripped bunches of his robe in her tiny fists and nuzzled her cheek against his chest. Once again finding herself content and very sleepy. She blinked innocently up at Pitch and his resolve to get her to the warm library was only strengthened when he saw her give a little yawn and was forced to catch the pacifier as it tumbled out of her open mouth.
He held it close to her and popped it right back in the minute she was done, knowing full well that she would not hesitate to start making her opinions known if she was denied another binky.
"There we go," he said, shifting her in his arms once again. "Now, I think it's time for you to go back to sleep little miss."
Kadence cooed happily and closed her eyes again. Pitch reached for the plastic bags that were left on the counter to bring them with; just in case the little troublemaker decided she needed something else later, but paused when he heard Kadence make a very odd sound.
He stopped and glanced down at her; just in time to catch the little girl's eyes snap open as she stared up at him with wide, unblinking eyes and what had to be the most confused expression he had ever seen. Pitch almost lost it right there, but he had to keep it together. He didn't want her to get all embarrassed because he was laughing at her again, and heaven forbid she throw another fit like the last one!
Kadence startled a little and looked down at herself when she heard the noise again before looking pleadingly back up at Pitch, then letting out a small whimper when she heard the strange sound a third time and started curling back into a ball.
She once again had no idea what was going on but she knew for a fact that she did not like it.
Pitch's eyes widened in realization when the small girl's stomach made a second loud growling noise and she looked back up at him helplessly, he cradled her closer when she began to whimper and curl into herself. Shushing and rocking her gently for fear that she'd start crying again.
If it wasn't for his holding the baby he could have smacked himself.
How could I be such an idiot?! He berated himself as knowledge of the most basic child care suddenly came rushing back to him.
"I dealt with this more times than counting before," he muttered as he set the bags back on the kitchen table. "How could I have been so stupid?!"
Kadence was an infant, and a rather young infant at that. "Young enough to where she should be being fed every few hours!"
Back when Pitch had been a father, these were rather foggy memories but at least he was able to partially bring them to light, he had had to get up and help take care of his little girl for hours sometimes, no matter what time it was. Back then they had used goat's milk, but now they had special formulas for infants.
"Full of chemicals," he muttered, cradling her close as she tried to curl in on herself. "Shhh, Kadence." He whispered. "Shhh. It's OK; you'll be fine in a minute."
If I can let go of you long enough to make you something.
But Pitch pushed that thought away. He had to get her something to eat, or else she was going to get sick!
Babies had a very delicate digestive system, he knew. They could only eat certain foods until they grew older, milk being chief among them. And he had to get some nutrition into her or else she was going to start throwing up what little she had in her stomach, which would not be good.
I don't know how she's lasted this long! He thought as he searched for the formula that he prayed was there. Most babies had a limit of about eight hours before they would need to be fed, maximum. But most couldn't even make it past six. And they had been sleeping for almost half the day!
How the hell did she not wake up screaming five hours ago?!
I guess it must be another of her peculiar quirks, he thought. And if it is, it's going to make her a lot easier to take care of. Kadence wined and whimpered as Pitch moved to cradle in one arm while he briefly looked into the bags on the table again. Quickly finding what he was looking for he grabbed the bag, and a few bottles, taking them and a now very fussy child over to the dark counter.
He smiled to himself and bounced her gently in his arm. She was still crying. "It's OK little one," he said, taking pause for a brief moment to look down at her. He smiled and tickled her chin. "I'm here. It's OK."
Kadence let out an unwilling giggle when he tickled her chin and, after a bit more coaxing, calmed down. The growling continued, however, and she squirmed with discomfort whenever the sound made itself known.
"I know, I know! I'm working on it." Pitch said as he set the bag and the bottles down; shushing the small girls whimpers unconsciously as he looked through the bag, finally finding the tin with the label 'Infant Formula' at the bottom under a few stuffed animals. He yanked it out and in the process a black horse doll fell out as well. It landed with a soft thump on the countertop, but Pitch didn't pay any attention to it. He was too busy reading the formula label and wishing he didn't have to do this. Most baby foods these days were processed and made of artificial nutrients.
He was about to set it down on the counter but paused for a moment when he saw a second label.
"Organic?" he raised a brow when he read the large blue letters stamped across the tin. "I guess the Nightmares aren't complete idiots if they knew well enough to get something other than that powdered poison mothers are feeding their children now a days."
Pitch found himself rather pleased with this little bit of information and proceeded to turn a small handle to start a stream of warm water from the tap in his sink.
Yes, the Boogeyman has a sink.
He also has a fridge that he seldom ever uses, and a lot of empty cupboards. Really, there isn't much call for eating when you've got revenge plans to concoct.
Pitch laughed. "Right. Revenge plans. What are those again?" He muttered, trying to open the formula tin one-handed. He only succeeded in causing the tin to fall onto the floor.
"Damn it." He stooped to get the tin and almost lost his hold on Kadence. She slid forward and Pitch had to move his arm in a very painful way to keep her from falling as he groped for the tin. He couldn't look down at it, because his eyes were fixed on Kadence to make sure she didn't slide out of his grip.
"This would be so much easier if I could just put her down!" He mumbled, his fingertips finally making contact with the tin and latching onto it, then bringing it up to the counter and straightening. "But," he said with a smirk down at the little girl. "That's not an option, is it little troublemaker?"
Kadence, who's stomach was still grumbling, cooed through her pacifier and reached up her little fat fist at him, wanting to touch his hair again.
Pitch allowed her to play with his fingers for a minute while thinking what else to do; was he going to try the robe sleeve trick again, or would she not fall for it? Could he put her down, just for a minute, and mix the formula? Doubtful.
Maybe if I just explain to her... he mused. Then, no, we already went through this with the clothes.
What then?
Thankfully for Pitch, Kadence herself provided the answer when she saw the black horse plushy that had fallen out of the plastic bag out of the corner of her little eye and let out a squeal of delight. Then she started thrashing and kicking, trying to get at the horse.
Pitch thought she was just throwing a fit because she was hungry again.
"Hey!" He admonished. "I'm trying to, but-" then he noticed which way her arms were waving and saw the black horse. "Where the hell did that come from?" He asked, arching his eyebrows.
Kadence giggled and waved her hands towards the horse.
Pitch blinked. "You want it?" He questioned her.
She waved her little hands with more enthusiasm and even added a little whine.
"OK, OK," he said, quickly grabbing the stuffed black horse that, when he took a closer look at it, found it greatly resembled his nightmares. So much so that for a moment he thought it WAS one of them. But upon closer inspection turned out to be completely fake, made with soft black cloth and yellow buttons for eyes. "You can have it."
The absolute second he handed the horse over to her she quieted and was absolutely still. She wrapped her little arms and legs around the toy clung to the thing like a lifeline, and when Pitch had to move her a little bit she didn't protest or squirm a single inch.
It was then that Pitch got an idea. It wasn't a new idea really, but this time it might actually work because of Kadence's new found toy. He decided to try it, and after mentally preparing himself to get screamed at, he set her gently down on the black counter top.
Three...two...one! Pitch braced himself for her screams and positioned his hands to pick her up almost instantly, but, to his utter surprise and confusion, she was silent as a grave. She just held onto the horse and sucked at her binky like any normal child.
"Wow." He said, staring down at her with a smirk. "If I'd known that this was all it took to calm you down, I would've ordered these things in bulk!"
But still, Pitch Black was not one to look a gift-horse in the mouth. Or the eye. And so he set to work as quickly as he could, mixing the water and formula to its exact measurements, then pouring it into the bottle. Making sure to stand close enough to Kadence to keep her from getting close to the edge of the counter and glancing down at her every few moments to make sure the little girl was still content with her new toy.
The baby girl just remained calm and quiet. Only making a soft suckling sound from the binky in her mouth and letting a happy coo every now and again as she snuggled the soft horse. Nuzzling her cheek against the plush cloth with little hums of approval and causing the Nightmare King to smile fondly down at her.
When the formula had been mixed precisely and poured into the bottle Pitch held it under the warm tap for a few moments before testing it. Once he deemed it to be an acceptable temperature he wiped off the excess water and picked up the little girl off the counter, cradling her against his chest as she released one hand from the soft toy to hold tightly onto his robes again. She gave a little wine when he removed the pacifier from her mouth but quieted down when Pitch shushed her soft cries, instead moving to hold tighter to her soft new doll.
"All right Kadence, it's time for you to eat now." He said gently as he lowered the nipple of the bottle down towards the little girl's mouth.
Little did he know that actually getting her to take it wasn't going to be so easy.
And that's the chapter! XD
I'm currently on Christmas break right now so hopefully I should be able to update the next chapter of this story in my other one very soon! If we're all lucky I'll be able to do it for years! But I can't make any promises here!
Oh! And please for all of you who read this story! If you have already followed or favorited the story or you are going to after you read this please, please review! I'm sorry but it just makes me feel kind of bad when people fallow my work but don't give any sort of reason why. Please. It doesn't have to be anything long more elaborate! Just a single word review saying 'Update!' will make me happy!
So anyway! Until next time people! Keep calm and-... you know what? Screw it. Matt Smith is dead so feel free to cry. Regenerated or not I'm going to miss him! Him AND his bow tie! DX
But anyway! Marry Christmas and REVIEW!
PLEASE! For a Christmas present I'm begging you people!