She knew she hit a soft spot. Part of her wanted to ask more, but the other part of her held back. Pitch's tone, the way his eyes failed to meet hers, it wasn't right. His story was mysterious, dark, depressing. And it struck a thin cord in Tooth's heart. "I-I'm sorry," her head turned to face the floor. Her eyes followed along the patterns in the flooring and her voice was shaky. She sniffled loudly, and her shoulders sank. "You don't have to tell me anymore." Her hand met with her cheek and it was wet. Was she crying? She was so overcome with emotion that she indeed was.
His eyes shot to her with slight surprise. Was she crying… because of him? Because of his past and what he'd gone through? Though his heart was already aching and his chest already heavy, seeing her cry for him caused both to be even more burdened than they already were. So, without another word, he knelt beside her and took her into his arms. He held her to his chest silently. Though he wasn't exactly sure of what he was doing, it felt right.. to comfort someone like this, that is. And while he was comforting, he was also comforted. He just hoped that she didn't mind the contact.
Her arms instinctively wrapped around his neck and she buried her face into his chest. Her wings lay limp against her face and her body was tense. Her fingers softly grasped at the smoothness of the back of his robes. Her chest rose and fell softly with each staggered breath until she sniffled and rose her head to wipe her tears. She noticed that she had gotten the front of his robes wet and attempted to wipe them away, but it had already soaked through the fabric. "I'm really s-sorry," she said quietly, rubbing away the rest of the wetness in her eyes.
As he held her, he ran his hands over the feathers of her back somewhat awkwardly. It was odd holding someone who felt so much like a bird, yet who one knew really wasn't. He'd imagined holding her many times, even if most those times were on a passing whim. It was.. different. But it wasn't unpleasant in the least,even with her crying against him. He shushed her soothingly, giving her a slight smile as she lifted her head. "Shhh, it's alright. A little moisture never hurt anybody." Since his clothing was formed from back sand and shadows, the tears almost immediately seeped through to his skin, though he didn't really even notice. And suddenly he was at a loss. He didn't know what to do next. He couldn't soothe her the way he was compelled to; by drying her tears and kissing her forehead. That wouldn't be right. He couldn't show her how he really felt for her, not yet. So he dropped his arms back to his sides and cleared his throat, his cheeks darkening as he glanced to the side. "Do you feel better now that you've gotten it out a bit?"
She wiped away the small tears that hung onto her long magenta eyelashes. "Yeah, I'm sorry," she sniffled, then laughed awkwardly. "I don't mean to get emotional, but some memories just end up making me get that way. So I uh…I apologize. That was very unprofessional of me," her cheeks pinked in embarrassment. She attempted to wipe the wetness from his cloak, but realized they had already seeped through and she couldn't do anything about it. She batted her wings and hovered in the air before carefully looking around from a literal bird's eye view. The shelves glowed with a golden hue from the cracking fireplace. She spotted a section of his library filled with leather bound books with yellowing pages on animals. She fingered through the volumes and dusted off one with the letter H. "An animal encyclopedia," she said half between a question and a comment. She clung the book to her chest and brought it back down to the table next to Pitch. She opened it up, and a page had been dog-eared on the article on hummingbirds.
He nodded, not sure about what to say. She was being so kind to him right now.. and it made him regret everything he had done in the past even more than he already did. He wanted to apologize, but he wasn't sure if now was the time nor the place. How would he explain? How would he tell her that it wasn't fully him that was responsible? Not his true self, anyways. But that even to him sounded like devious lies spun together by a manipulative mind. Maybe she would be more understanding because she contained many of his past memories, but now wasn't the time to bring something such as that up. Perhaps it was, but he wasn't ready.
So he simply stood and looked up at her as she flitted around, arching a curious brow. He followed her with his hands folded behind his back as she moved along, his silvery-golden orbs following her gaze the best he could. "What is it that you're looking for. Oh, those." A smile turned up the corners of his mouth when she made her choice. "Ah, why am I not surprised?" He leaned over her shoulder as she looked down at the book with her. It was one that he hadn't looked at in quite some time, but that he had enjoyed very much when he had. "I suppose that is what your species is akin too, hmm?" Then his cheeks darkened as he realized what he had said. There were no more other kind, not as far as he knew. Not other than her. "Ah.. I apologize.. I didn't mean.." Damn.. and now he didn't know what to say again. So he simply looked to the side and away from her, awaiting her reaction with trepidation. Why did he have to say something like that? Why?
"Ah hummingbirds? Well, I am closely related to hummingbirds, yes. I wouldn't say I'm particularly close to the trochilidae class of birds though. See, I am part human, you know," she stuck her tongue out and him, and found a seat at the top of the back rest of a neighboring chair. "Now i'm sure you've read this, since you've dog-eared the page and all," she gave him a teasing wink, "you'll know that I can beat my wings up to 80 times per second. Pretty impressive eh? Ah, well, not me. Mine beat much slower than my animalia brethren Well, you might not recall to much form back then, but you were there for some of it, but my father was a servant to a king in the East, and my mother was a creature known as a Sister of Flight. And they had fallen in love and thus sprouted a wee little me! And then of course the forest had turned my father's ruler into a horrible monkey king. Ultimately my mother and father were killed by the monkey king's hands and he searched for my capture. A Sister of Flight and a human's offspring were quite uncommon, and the village hunted for me. But I made do on my own. Unlike the monkey king, the forest treated me well. And then there was the war, uhm…well, we know that you and I were on very opposite ends on that fight…" her voice slowed down a bit and her lids lowered. "But, ah, those were times far, far in the past now, yes? Moved on far from then." She clenched her jaw. She was not normally this emotional about telling the story, as she had told it many times over. She fought back the urge to break down again, but Pitch was here, a changed man, a new soul. At least she had hoped for it. He didn't seem the same as he once was, so cruel and unforgiving. But he led her into his house, showed her his private belongings, and held open arms to her as she cried. He most certainly wasn't the man he once was.
"Ah yes." He nodded slightly, almost visibly relieved that she didn't take offence at his words. "I did know that. But I really wouldn't mind hearing it all again." And he really didn't. He listened to each word with interest, enjoying watching her as she spoke. She seemed to enjoy sharing such knowledge, happy to do so even. And that caused a small smile to curl up at his lips. Even the possibly painful events of her past she spoke of without guile or resentment, many of which he indeed knew and caused him to wince. She had such a painful past and yet she took it in stride and with a brave face, which was something that made her truly admirable. Perhaps that is why she took pity on him; why she had been kind enough as to attempt to comfort him.
"Yes, those things are in the past." He said slowly, his golden eyes never leaving her even when she looked down and away. He reached forward hesitantly, pausing a brief moment before he closed the distance and placed one of his hands on hers gently. "It it helps.." He paused and flicked his tongue over his lips before continuing. "If it helps, I am sorry for what I have done. I never truly meant to cause so many deaths. Not that way. Or many I did." His own gaze dropped and his eyes turned towards the floor. "I'm not sure anymore."
She inhaled sharply and looked over at him. His shoulders were slumped and his eyes didn't meet hers, but instead they faced the floor. She raised her eyebrows and half smiled. Both of them had been through a lot, and while he was still a giant mystery to her, she could almost sympathize with him. She had seen memories from his past, and the Pitch he once was was not the monster that blacked her world for those few hundred years. But also the Pitch in front of her now was almost as human as the memories that still danced in her head. She leaned over and cupped his chin in a delicate hand and lifted. "Look at me, Pitch. It's alright. I forgive you. Really," she calmly in almost a whisper. "I uhm, I know it must be hard. I'm not really too sure happened, but times have changed, people have changed…hearts have changed," her lips curved into a gentle smile, and her cheeks started to feel warm. His silvery-golden eyes were locked onto her bright magenta ones, and a strange twinge of nervousness made her heart beat at a more quickened pace.
He lifted his head slowly, almost afraid to meet her eyes. But her touch was gentle, and he found that the look in her eyes was as well. This eased his angst somewhat and he gave her a small smile, though the look in his eyes was still pained. All he could do is nod for a moment as he attempted to gather his thoughts around the large swell of emotion he suddenly felt. It was almost enough to make him tear up, but he couldn't let that happen. That only showed weakness; a vulnerability he wasn't ready to fully admit to. All his life he'd only wanted to be accepted and a small part had him felt jilted for being forced into a roll that he knew he had never truly wanted. And now she was showing him that acceptance. "It seems as if you are right. Though if I were you, I wouldn't believe me. I would think it a farce or manipulation of some sort." His gaze left hers once again, but then moved back; shining with earnestness. "But I can assure you that is not that case, if you still had some doubt." He suddenly felt nervous as well, so he pulled back and cleared his throat slightly. He felt a sudden attraction to her, even more so than before, but he quickly stifled it for he didn't quite know what to make of it. "Well.. now that we've gotten that out of the way. What do you wish to do next?" He may have sounded gruff, but that was only to hide his sudden awkwardness. "We could return to our tea, or move on to something else."
"Oh, no doubt at all!" Her eyebrows jumped up and her wings stirred. She bit nervously at her lower lip, and now it seemed she couldn't look him in the face. Instead, she suddenly became interested in the dark wood of the table piled with barely dusty books. "Tea? Ah, yes, I almost forgot about that. Seems ages ago, doesn't it?" she said with a half-hearted chuckle. "Well, uhm, is there anything you'd prefer to do? After all, Mr. Black, this is your home. And I am very grateful to that fact that you have shared what a beautiful home it is indeed." A sweet smile played on her lips. Then a strange though popped into her mind. Possibly she was the first one to see all of these treasures and collectibles he had. She had quickly back-tracked in her mind that Pitch really didn't have any friends, and he really only shared his home with his shadows, which were hardly friends at all. She was suddenly very aware of her presence. Her brightly coloured feathers were shockingly different from the darker colours blending around her. The hand she had resting on the back of a dark leather arm chair seemed to stick out cringingly. She quickly drew it back and held her hands in front of her, wringing her wrists. "I, uhm, I'm okay with what ever you would like to do?" It came out sounding like a question, but the meaning behind it was solid. He was still a mystery, but one that she was determined to solve.