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(At Chandrakumar)
The palace of the moon, a place that for centuries had been silent now echoed with laughter and joyful conversation. If you had been in the alabaster hallway you could follow the sounds to the Great Room. Upon entering you would have seen a curious sight, inside the room a vast stone table that was large enough to seat at least a hundred occupants stood in magnificent splendor. Etched into the gray stone lines of gold, mixed with tiny diamonds, ran like veins throughout the surface. Congregated at one end of this impressive table five spirits sat enjoying stories that were being told. One such story was being recounted by Chand, the keeper of the palace, who was in the middle of a harrowing tale of suspense, adventure, and danger.
"…and then with a yell I plunged my blade deep into its scaly skin, and with a quick jerk sliced straight through the hydra's neck!" Chand waved his fork as if it were a sword, he thrust it deep within the 'food' on his plate.
"And then what happened?" Jack and Sam were both on the edge of their seats while Akal face palmed at Chand's antics
Chand grinned, "With a sickening sound the creature's head fell to the floor, purple acidic blood spilling onto the stone. I had won, but just as I turned to leave …" he paused here enjoying the anticipation that was clearly evident on Jack and Sam's face and thinly veiled on Pitch's
"What?" the winter spirit looked as if he would bounce out of his seat
"The hydra's headless body rose from the blood soaked floor, spurts of purple still flowing from the gaping hole where its head had been. Within seconds to my horror, a sickening sound not unlike paper ripping filled the air. With an explosion of blood two heads sprouted from the wound, each one with me in their sights." he grinned at the teens expressions.
"So what did you do?" Blue eyes gleamed with excitement
"I decided the best way to deal with the beast was to kill it in one fatal fell swoop." Chand grinned, "So I took my sword and slammed it into the cave wall, and with a surge of my power through the blade brought the whole cave crashing down."
Pitch raised an eyebrow, "Did you not think about the fact that you'd be crushed?"
Chand chuckled, "I wasn't worried." He suddenly flung an arm over Akal's shoulder, "This guy had my back."
Akal rolled his eyes, "You got lucky I got there in time to halt the flow around you to keep you from being flattened."
A loud timer going off interrupted Chand's reply
Pitch grinned as he pushed back his chair, "That would be dessert."
"Here I'll help you get it." Chand rose as well
Sam watched them leave, a look of horror on his face, "Jack, I don't think I can handle dessert! I swear I'm going to need my stomach pumped after this." The teen pointed to the yellow lumpy mush on his plate, a small indent indicated that a bite had been taken out of it.
The mass had large lumps of 'something' throughout the milky yellow substance. If one looked hard enough, they would have seen that the entire thing glistened due to the enormous amount of salt that had been used in its creation. Bits of green chives dotted the surface, as well as red tiny rock hard clumps that could only be assumed were supposed to be bacon.
"I know Sam, but I can't tell him it's horrible." The teen shuddered having almost lost his own stomach after a bite of Chand's famous 'Egg Surprise'. Jack figured the only surprise the dish had to offer was if it actually didn't kill you.
Sam poked the food on his plate with his fork "I think it winked at me before I took a bite Jack."
"Be nice Sam, my dad went through a lot of trouble to fix this…food." Jack cringed as he pocked the mush on his plate.
A chuckle caught their attention; they glanced at Akal who was sitting across from them
"What?" Jack glanced at him, he then caught sight of the man's empty plate "You can't possibly have eaten that?" the teen didn't know whether to be amazed or horrified
"Yeah, come on. I know Pitch ate his," Sam pointed to the Nightmare Kings plate, which looked as if it had been licked clean, "But he has no taste buds what so ever, at least that's my theory."
"You are correct, I wouldn't eat Chand's cooking if I were on the brink of starvation." Akal laughed.
"Then how…"
"I have my ways of getting rid of it, have been for millennia." Akal smirked
"Please, you have to show us!" Jack and Sam jumped at the opportunity to be rid of the poison on their plates.
"Here hand it over" Akal grinned, he glanced at the two teens, motioning for them to slide him their plates. He glanced at the door, "Be quick before they get back from the kitchen with the dessert."
Sam and Jack quickly pushed their plates to him, both teens watched with curiosity as the man pulled a golden pocket watch from his pocket. He flipped the watch open, so that a diamond clock face glinted with the light of the room.
"Emehcs dnarg eht ni dedeen si ti emit a llit. Maerts eht otni rettam siht dnes." Akal's eyes began to glow brighter with each word that left his lip. With a quick flick of his wrist he clicked the watch shut. A luminous light settled over the two plates, completely obscuring them from view.
Both teens stared in amazement when the light cleared, revealing empty plates.
"Did you destroy it?" Jack grinned at the older spirit
"Not quite." The man smirked, "I simply used my power to send it somewhere into the future."
Crimson eyes widened in fear, "You mean I have to worry about globs of mush hitting me in the near future?"
Akal smiled, "Perhaps…" he glanced up when voices drifted into the room
"I could have toted it Pritchard." Chand was saying, his tone clearly irritated as the two of them walked into the room, "I am not an invalid."
"Never said you were father." Pitch rolled his eyes, "But you are still recovering and I did not want you to stumble and drop my creation."
Jack's heart nearly stopped at his brother's comment, "Ummm, whatcha got there Pitch?"
"Pumpkin pie." Pitch grinned as he placed the silver plate onto the table, he glanced at Sam, "I know it is your favorite Sam."
"Gee, thanks." The teen groaned when Pitch removed the lid off the tray, revealing a blackened round object topped with a glop of red, white, and yellow mush.
Chand grimaced slightly at the pain that erupted from his side as he sat down, he forced a smile "So, let's try this creation of yours Pritchard. I am most interested in those green spicy things you put into the mix."
Jack shook his head, "Why, why does he ruin everything with Jalapeños?" he sighed when Pitch placed a slice of 'pie' on his plate. Blue eyes glanced at Chand who had just taken a bite, "Please don't say anything about it being horrible…"
"Oh gods…"
Jack cringed, waiting for Chand to break the news to Pitch of how terrible his cooking was. He was surprised when a smile came to his father's face.
"Pritchard! This is absolutely amazing!" the man grinned as he happily took another bite, "You must write down how you made it."
One of Pitch's rare smiles came to his face, "Of course father, it was actually quite simple." The Nightmare King took a bite, a look of satisfaction coming to his face. "Last time I could not find mustard or whipped cream to go along with the ketchup topping."
Chand nodded, "They definitely give it a zing." He took another bite, "Perhaps adding peanut butter to the mix as well…"
"I didn't think of that." Pitch grinned, his mind turning with how he would remake the dessert the next time
"They are both insane." The winter spirit moaned as he tried to think of an excuse to not eat the food. He startled when a bright light suddenly settled over the 'food', he glanced at Akal and mouthed 'thank you'.
"Wow, you three must have really liked it." Pitch beamed with pride when he looked up and noticed their empty plates, "Would you like another piece?"
"That is ok Pritchard." Akal spoke quickly, "I mustn't eat too much, I have to transport us all home." He glanced at the boys who were obviously trying to think of an excuse "Jackson, Sam would you mind helping me take these plates to the kitchen?" Akal spoke as he grabbed a few dishes and walked out of the room.
"Sure!" both boys jumped to their feet, grabbing dishes and then rushing from the room as fast as they could.
(Unknown)
Rustling above him brought Faine's attention skyward, oaken eyes filled with terror as Tithus appeared in the morning sky. He watched the demon land with a thud, a sense of dread filled him at the cruel expression on the creature's face.
"Hey buddy, how are you?" Tithus grinned at the panicked teen. The leaves cracked in agony as the creature made his way over to the spirit.
Faine shut his eyes, he scooted back against the tree as the creature knelt in front of him
"Look at me."
Faine whimpered when a clawed hand lifted his head up, he cracked open his eyes when the demon squeezed his face.
"Come on, I thought you were enjoying your outing." Tithus chuckled when the teen pulled his face away. "Guess not." The demon's head snapped to the side when a loud crackling resounded into the air
A muffled cry escaped Faine when Tithus suddenly grabbed his shoulder and flung him to the ground. The teen yelped when a burning pain racked across his cheek, he could feel blood running down his face as the demon held his head to the cold forest floor.
"Do not move, or make a sound if you do I will rip your skin from your bones and send you to the Abyss." The demon hissed getting to his feet quickly.
Faine's breath caught in his throat at the threat, he knew Tithus would have no problem doing so. He shut his eyes and forced himself to lay completely still, the sound of leaves crunching filled his ears as Tithus walked away from him.
"I am here Stitcher."
At those words the boy could have sworn his heart leapt out of his chest, he chanced the demon's wrath and raised his head. It was hard to see since Tithus had positioned himself in front of him but Faine did catch glimpses as the demon shifted his body nervously.
Tithus stood in front of a small fire, flames were crackling and wavering as they consumed the leaves and grasses around it.
"Where have you been! The imps reported that you left last night and have not been back!" the flames flickered as the woman's voice screeched
Tithus gritted his teeth, "I have simply been looking for Sam for you."
"Kazim is in charge of searching for 2467. You lost that chance Tithus. That is why you were demoted to guard duty you worthless piece of shit! Now get your ass back here!"
"Yes, Stitcher." The demon ground out his words through clenched teeth. He growled as the flames rescinded into the ground.
Faine cringed when the demon slammed a clawed hand through the trunk of an unfortunate tree. The teen scooted against his own tree, trying to make himself smaller.
Yellow slit eyes turned at the sound of the chains rattling Tithus glared, "I thought I told you not to move."
"Mmpm!" Faine cried out when the demon turned and slammed his foot down hard onto his back.
Tithus smirked at his cry, he glanced at the branches of the tree "These will do nicely."
The spirit panicked when he heard the snapping of the trees limbs, he twisted his head to look up at Tithus, his eyes pleading silently for the creature to not hurt him.
"Just calm down Faine." The demon sneered as he placed the two limbs on the ground beside the teen. That leg of yours needs to be set," a cruel smile twisted onto the creatures face "And I am not going to be here for a while so I need to do it now."
Faine thrashed wildly as he realized what the demon was about to do "Mmp mhp!" he shook his head vigorously pleading vehemently with the demon standing over him. Salt tears streamed down his face and soaked into the cold forest soil. Sobs echoed from behind the gag as the teen begged for Tithus to just leave him alone.
Tithus sneered, "I'm doing this for your own good Faine. That leg won't heal properly unless I snap that bone together." He pressed his clawed foot down harder on the teens back greatly limiting his movements further
The nature spirit wailed into the gag as the creature lifted up his broken limb
Yellow eyes gleamed with cruel pleasure at the spirits cry, "One…" the demon gripped the broken leg with both hands
Another muffled shriek tore from Faine, he tried to twist out from underneath the demons foot.
"Two…"
Pain spiraled down his leg, spiking into his brain.
"Three!" a loud snap echoed
"Mmmmmph!" Faine's muffled scream filled the air, black dots exploded in front of his eyes. The boy heard the demon laugh, then he lost consciousness.
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Till Next Time.