Author's Note: I decided to give you guys another update! I'll also be updating for sure on Friday, maybe earlier since I'm super eager for the next chapter. I also decided on actual PLOT since a reader assumed I hadn't figured out what I wanted the latest trouble to be.. I have to admit, I sort of wanted to skip this entire chapter and just zoom off to that, but I knew that wouldn't be fair to you guys and Pitch still has issues and things, sooo..
Anyway, reviews:
A guest suggested that I do another Christmas time and have Bunny's gift for Lillian be a set of paints. This is a good idea, if Lillian gets into painting after writing her book. I'll keep this in mind! There probably won't be a Christmas for awhile yet though, since I have things coming up with the Seasonals, so Summer will be coming up pretty soon.
CrossoverJunkie suggested that Tooth would be a good confidante too, especially since Pitch is dealing with his memories and she is the Guardian of Memories. I decided to go a different route, but that doesn't mean she couldn't help Pitch out in the future, since I'm sure this won't be solved in just a few chapters. Plus it gives the Guardians a good reason to focus on Pitch a bit more and help him out too.
Spritefire suggested that Pitch accidentally let something slip to Bunny. At this point I'm thinking Bunny would scoff and not actually help Pitch.. but I think Pitch could let something slip later on, once Bunny's less in Pitch hating mode.
Natalia Faye suggested that Sandy or Tooth would be good choices for Pitch, but probably not Bunny or North. She also suggested that Bunny and Pitch get in a little bonding time when they all go to the Warren for some painting time. I think I can wiggle this in before Lillian runs off to interview August Bay, the Summer spirit.
Lastly, The Skeleton Girl suggested that it would be awesome if Emily Jane (aka Mother Nature) showed up. She suggested that Emily Jane have dual identities - one as Mother Nature and the other as a Weather Spirit of some sort. Since CrossoverJunkie confirmed that Mother Nature does have some abilities over weather, I think I'll just stick with her being known only as Mother Nature. She's also going to be showing up sooner than I had planned, so expect her to come up in maybe a chapter or two! :P
I think I covered all the reviews.. For some reason they're not wanting to show up on fanfiction, so I'm having to rely on my email to see them. SIGH. Stupid internet. Anyway, on with the story!
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Toy Time Part 2 & Sandy Intervenes
Pitch took a deep breath to calm himself, and after an awkward pause he suggested that the Guardians go see how Jack's plans were coming along for his toy.
Bunny frowned at Pitch, but instead of it accompanying his usual glare, this frown was more like the frown of someone trying to figure out a puzzle. For a moment he could have sworn it sounded like Pitch was..
Bunny shook his head a little.
Nah.. this was Pitch Black.
It's not like Pitch ever cried.
With that thought firmly in place, he went over by Jack's table to see how Jack was getting along.
Sandy gave Tooth a look, the both of them knowing that Pitch wasn't fine at all.
Tooth, being the more vocal of the Guardians, hesitantly spoke up.
"..Pitch..? You know.. ah, if you ever have anything you want to talk about.. you can come to us." she tried to give Pitch an encouraging smile, but Pitch was too busy looking down at his sketches. "We're good listeners!"
"Some of you, at any rate." Pitch muttered, thinking of Bunny's hasty retreat, and all the times Bunny yelled at him recently.
Tooth's wings fluttered a little nervously and she played with her fingers.
"Yes, well.." she started to say, but one of her fairies fluttered over to her and she instantly went back into Tooth Fairy mode. "Molar in Seattle! Baseball accident!"
It was so sudden that both Sandy and Pitch jumped a little at her declaration.
"Think about it, alright?" Tooth said brightly to Pitch and then flew over to Jack's table, where everyone was trying to figure out the mechanics of this heat-seeking snowball bazooka.
Pitch shook his head. He knew that Tooth meant well, but she was honestly so busy that even if he did feel like talking, there would probably be constant interruptions.
After a moment of quiet, Pitch realized that one Guardian had failed to take their leave. He looked over to see Sand still standing by him, with his arms crossed.
Pitch rolled his eyes at this.
"I suppose you are going to say the same? Forgive me for saying so, but the Guardians don't strike me as confidantes, especially after all our differences." he snapped at Sandy.
A few golden images appeared over Sandy's head to indicate that their previous problems are now water under the bridge and that they would all be there for all of them, not just Jack and Lillian.
Pitch sighed at this and ran a hand through his hair.
"..I don't want to talk about it," he finally said. "I'm sure this matter will clear itself up. I haven't been myself for quite some time, so of course there's bound to be... issues. Now why don't you run along so I can work on my designs, hm? This is going to be particularly boring."
Sandy almost did leave, but then he remembered that pretty much nobody liked Pitch and all the times they just.. ignored him. They had done that to Jack too, before they got to know him better. Pitch might not have a light shining on the globe, but he was good now and it wouldn't be right if they went back to ignoring him again.
Pitch might have Jack and Lillian to keep him company, but he knew that Pitch didn't have many adult friends.. if any. Even though Pitch claimed to have whatever his problem is under control, he was probably lonely.
With a nod to himself, Sandy stubbornly floated up into the air so he could see Pitch's drawings better. He contented himself on just watching Pitch for awhile, but after a little bit he started to chime in with suggestions.
Even though Pitch didn't have any comments on Sandy's suggestions, Sandy noticed that every once in awhile Pitch would write down comment or adjust one of his drawings to Sandy's suggestion with another pencil that was nearby.
With a grin, the silent Guardian continued to help out Pitch.
Meanwhile, things were busy over at Jack's table.
"It's not really a bazooka," Jack corrected Bunny for the umpteenth time. "It's more like one of those nerf guns, but with snowballs!"
Bunny harrumphed, but didn't bother saying anything else, since he was actually having a conversation with the kid and he didn't want to blow it.
"Still, ya gotta be careful with the force of it," Bunny said, as if Jack hadn't already thought of this.
Jack nodded absently, and rubbed his forehead. He knew absolutely nothing about mechanics, and all this planning was making his head hurt.
"Can't we get a nerf gun and alter it?" Jack whined a little. "That'd be easier."
"Ah ah ah," North said, wagging his finger at Jack. "Copyright issues! Nerf toy, I do not make. Is toy company thing. However, I do make similar.. I'll see if I have one on hand! We can take apart and study how it shoots, then make something a little bigger for snowballs."
"Alright!" Jack cheered with a grin. "Now we're getting somewhere."
He drew on his own sheet of paper.
"Now.. what designs should it have on it? It's gotta look cool."
"Omigosh, it could have little teeth or floss around the edges!" Tooth exclaimed, only to get weird looks from her fellow Guardians and Jack.
"Well.." Jack said, not really wanting to hurt Tooth's feelings. "I guess it could have a stripe that sort of looks like floss."
"Here," Bunny said, stealing Jack's paper and pencil. "What about somethin' like this?"
He redrew Jack's current design and then took some colored pencils nearby to color it in. He had the actual gun be a blue, but not a dark blue. The end of the muzzle was white that tapered off into what looked like little snowballs. There was an exciting darker blue stripe that ran down by the bottom of the barrel and at the end of it had what appeared to be a snowboarder zooming away from all the snowballs. The darker blue stripe connected to the snowboard, to make it clear the guy was moving fast.
Jack watched Bunny color all this in a matter of minutes and stared at the drawing in wonder.
"That's perfect," he breathed.
Bunny preened at the comment and twirled the colored pencil he was holding.
"I don't paint all those eggs for nothin', mate," he grinned at Jack.
Jack grinned back at Bunny before he remembered about that Easter and his grin faded away.
More subdued than before, he spoke to Bunny.
"Thanks," Jack said quietly to him.
Bunny nodded at Jack, but looked a little sad now. He wondered how long it would be before Jack would completely forgive them for their greatest mistake.
Before they all knew it, it was getting more towards dinner time and it was time to go, as Pitch declared to two very disappointed child spirits.
"But..!" Jack exclaimed, as his table was strewn with all sorts of parts from a dismantled nerf gun and a partially assembled snowball thrower, as Jack kept stubborning calling it, and not a snowball bazooka.
Pitch hadn't accomplished much in the way of finishing his toys, but he did have all of them drawn out, complete with costumes and he had several fabric swatches picked out for the outfits and the bears. It would seem that the next time they came back, he'd actually be able to get started on making the things.
He carefully handed over all this to Phil with the instructions that Jack and Lillian shouldn't see them.
Phil nodded dutifully and proceeded to head off to tuck them in the back where they wouldn't be discovered or disturbed until the next time the three spirits came over.
"Aww!" Lillian exclaimed right after Jack. "But we just got here!"
Pitch rolled his eyes at their antics. The always said that no matter where they went and no matter how long they actually stayed in a place.
"Say your goodbyes, it's time for dinner." Pitch said to them in his no-nonsense voice.
Jack and Lillian shared a look at that.
Adult mode.
North butted in before there could be any more whining.
"You are all welcome to stay for dinner again!" he boomed out jovially. "It would be fun and it would save you some trouble, Pitch!"
Even North had noticed how tired Pitch looked.
Pitch was about to protest, when he noticed that everyone was giving him a hopeful look.
"Fine.." he sighed. "But after that, we have to leave."
"Excellent!" North exclaimed while he clapped his hands together. "Why don't you all go to sitting room while I make dinner? Will be ready soon!"
So after a little time spent cleaning up, all of them minus North headed out to the globe room, where there were couches and chairs near the fireplace.
Pitch took a look at the setup and drew one of the chairs further away from the fire. Jack gave Pitch his thanks and plopped down in it while holding his staff.
Pitch, Lillian and Sandy all shared a couch while Tooth and Bunny took chairs nearby. Thanks to the elves, they soon were all supplied with some hot chocolate and cookies to snack on while they waited for dinner.
Pitch firmly told Jack and Lillian that they were only allowed two cookies apiece or else they'd ruin their appetite, and Pitch also reminded Jack to wait to have his hot chocolate, since the drink would be too hot for him.
"Yes Mom," Jack chuckled as he set his hot chocolate aside for now. He took a bite out of one of the cookies while ignoring Pitch's annoyed look with practiced ease.
Tooth smiled warmly over at Jack, glad to see that he was at ease now. Even Pitch looked less tense than when he'd arrived! It was a good thing that she and Sandy were able to take time out of their duties to hang around too. She just knew that if they did this enough, all of them would become friends.
She would make sure Bunny would be friends with all of them as well, even if it killed him.
Sandy found himself having similar thoughts about Pitch.
One way or another.. He would get Pitch to confide in them.
It wasn't until the beginning of May before Sandy was finally able to track Pitch down one night.
Ever since Pitch had admitted that there was a problem, Sandy had secretly begun keeping an eye out during his nightly duties for a certain nightmare spreading spirit. Sandy used to get pretty irritated with all the nightmares, but now he understood that kids actually did need a few nightmares to help them while growing up.
That still didn't stop him from spreading as many good dreams as he could though. It wasn't too late in the night, so Sandy was still hanging around Burgess. He was in a particularly good mood since had just finished spreading good dreams to Jamie and his friends.
He waved at a few of Tooth's fairies he saw flying and the tweeted at him happily. That was when something dark moving along on the ground caught his attention. It looked like someone had just stepped out of a shadow.
He only knew one person who could do that, so Sandy flew down lower to investigate. Sure enough, he caught Pitch looking around at all the houses in the neighborhood, as if deciding which child should get a nightmare first.
Pitch wearily rubbed his eyes. Even though he had caved and started using the dreamsand himself occasionally, when he didn't use it, he had horrible nightmares. It had reached the point where he wasn't sure if these nightmares were things his mind made up, or if they were actual memories his subconscious was calling forth. He hoped like hell that it was the former, but he couldn't be certain.
He scowled as he surveyed his surroundings, not noticing the golden cloud descending right behind himself. If he had been more awake, he certainly would have noticed Sanderson Mansnoozie sneaking up behind him.
But he wasn't more awake, so he was surprised by the tap on the shoulder he received. He turned around to glare at Sandy, as who else would bother him at night?
Sandy ignored Pitch's annoyed glare and gave the spirit a look. He could see that Pitch still wasn't sleeping well.
Sandy pointedly gestured at Pitch as dreamsand images appeared over his head.
Pitch sighed at Sandy's not-so-subtle hint that they would talk.
Now.
"There's nothing to discuss," Pitch tried telling Sandy, but Sandy merely gestured at his golden dream cloud, indicating that Pitch should get on.
There was a long, awkward moment as Pitch and Sandy stared at one another, neither one willing to budge.
Unable to stand Sandy's glares, Pitch finally looked away.
"If I do, will you finally leave me alone?" Pitch said, sounding a little defeated. If he had been feeling one hundred percent, there was no way he'd let Sandy get the better of him.
Sandy nodded happily and with a less-than-pleased sigh, Pitch walked over and gingerly perched on Sandy's cloud, which had expanded to include Pitch.
Pitch tried his best not to look down as the cloud took off for Sandy's home. When Pitch finally did look down however, he was surprised to see that they were flying high above an ocean with no land in sight.
Just when Pitch was wondering where the hell Sandy was actually taking him, he spotted a golden island in the distance. It was pretty with golden sand tendrils that spread out from it, reminding Pitch a little of a starfish. He could see in the center of it was a golden house, apparently made out of Sandy's dreamsand.
Sandy had his cloud land outside his home, which was nice and not super fancy. It had enough room for Sandy and that was just fine for the Sandman.
Pitch looked around curiously after they disembarked from Sandy's dream cloud. He couldn't ever remember seeing this island before, but then again.. When did he ever venture out into the middle of the ocean?
Sandy ushered Pitch inside and to the kitchen. It wasn't long before Pitch found himself sitting at a little table with Sandy, with a steaming mug of tea sat before himself.
Pitch gave Sandy a startled look and wondered how Sandy knew that Pitch preferred tea as his favorite drink, or that this is what he did when he wanted to talk seriously with someone.
It almost made him feel like Sandy was spying on them.. Then he recalled his latest good dream, which involved this scenario with Jack. Could Sandy see what they were dreaming about? He wondered if Sandy's powers were similar to his own, since he could certainly see what children were dreaming about when he gave them nightmares.
Sandy had his own steaming mug in front of himself and he stirred his cup while waiting for it to cool down a little.
He looked up at Pitch and suddenly gave him a piercing look that Pitch didn't have to interpret.
Pitch fidgeted under Sandy's gaze and looked down at his tea.
Since when had tea time turned into silent interrogations?
Author's Note: I'm not sure how it happened, but this chapter went from me thinking Pitch would find someone to confide in, to Pitch being all stubborn and Sandy having to silently interrogate Pitch. Ah well. Tea time with Sandy for the next chapter! I wonder if I should eventually have all the Guardians have some sort of tea time with Pitch. That would be cute!
Also, all my info on Sandy's island came from the everhelpful Wikia. I did however, make up Sandy's house since there was no mention of a dwelling on there. It was described as a desert island with tendrils spreading out and Sandy could be found in the middle. I don't feel too bad for leaving it on a cliffhanger, since I know that I'll be updating soon. If Sandy's tea time doesn't hog the whole chapter, then we can skip along to Summer or at least to a certain Spring Spirit complaining..
I really like all your guys' ideas that you're giving me, so if you have any more, send them along! I could especially use ideas for future bad guys or evilness that could come their way, as while I do have a pretty good idea of what's eventually coming up, I'm not sure how to tie it all in with the Nightmares that are sneakily popping up at random intervals, or if the Nightmares are just something entire separate from this new plot that's coming up.
As always, thanks to you guys for all the reviews, faves, and follows! I'm really enthused by all the reviews I got by the last chapter, so keep it up! :)
Edit: Fixed some typos!
