Mend
Break
Pitch woke, casting aside the sights of his dream as he did so. He'd not dreamt since he'd tried to kill himself, it was odd that they came to him now. The foreshadowing was not lost on him. The worry, he pushed from his mind and followed the tug which had woken him in the first place. He entered the main room. The sand which scattered around him and the sulphurous scent, he gleaned were from a fight. Still he knew not why he'd been summoned here.
"Well, I came here, what did you seek of me?" The sand twisted in the air, constricting with what little strength it had left, and rasped beside him.
'A choice will be offered to you, usurped king.'
"I've a choice? Oh wondrous! I'm so special." Pitch sneered. He watched the movements of the sand, wondering whether to snuff it out or leave.
'Do you desire to know of it, or shall I return to my master?'
"What is she offering?" Cold, he felt old at the thought of his replacement.
'The queen deigns that you return.'
"And the cost?" Pitch nearly whispered.
'You would have to become our host again. No more, no less.' The sands' rasp quieted.
"Pitch!"
The spirit turned to the voice and frowned, his eyes gleamed with calculation.
'Call upon us when you have come to a decision, usurped king.'
"What do you want, North?" Pitch growled, annoyance masked his apprehension. North wiped the sand from upon his cheeks.
"I had come to tell you that your information worked. We hardly suffered any injuries and it took a quarter of the usual time to defeat them!" North nearly shouted, he clapped his hands on Pitch's shoulders.
"That's wonderful-"
"However, when I came to tell you all of this, you were gone. I only came here when I heard you speaking. Only to find a dull eyed king transfixed on the air before him." North peered hard at Pitch, and were he a lesser spirit, Pitch would've been cowed.
"So," North continued, "Who, or what so held your attention?"
Pitch tilted his head, an angered look crossed his face, "It is for I alone to know," The spirit near hissed. Pitch tried to wrench his arm from North when the guardian tried to stop him.
"You'll excuse me," Pitch began.
"I will not. You've been hiding quite a bit since you got here. I'm not inclined to let you hide more." North pushed.
"Is that so? I seem to remember being a king of darkness and of fear, I answer to no one."
"King, really? You've no subjects, nor land to be held. You may be a king, but a fallen one at that. You're no better than anyone here." North yelled. Pitch's façade chipped a bit. North could not comprehend the shift that had occurred in Pitch's demeanor.
"Fallen king you say. Very well, I will acquiesce to that. However, you seem to forget that I am no Guardian, I do not need to follow your orders, and I don't quite care for you."
Pitch sank into the void, a soft grin on his face at North's confusion.
"You can't leave the barriers, we will find you!" North shouted at the inky shadows.
"You will only find me when I want to be found, have fun searching, Guardian." Pitch muttered, projecting his voice to the room.
The shadows greeted him, clutching at the soreness upon his skin which they too felt.
"So, tell me more about this deal, nightmare?" Pitch called out.
Edited 6-26-2016