From Nightmares to Dreams

by spankingfemfatale

It's been several years since the Guardians defeated Pitch, but they are bound to cross paths again, and when they do, the Guardians have decided that things between them have to change. WARNING! Contains non-sexual spanking! This lovely fic is a co-written piece by myself and the lovely WindChimeGhost! (Her Archive of our own account name!)

29. Magic Always Comes with a Price

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Magic Always Comes with a Price

Toothiana quietly followed along behind Pitch until they arrived at the stables. Once there, she hovered near Pitch while he went about taking care of the deer.

Pitch, in no rush to get back to his room, plodded along in the chores once the deer were actually fed. He couldn't stop thinking about his situation though no matter how much he tried. It didn't help to glance across the way and see that there were still yetis milling about going back and forth from the landfill site. Pitch frowned thinking back to the killer robot and decided to vent to Toothiana, if just to distract himself further, "Why would North even have a death machine like that? You know, it almost incinerated me!"

Toothiana shrugged. "Who knows? North is mysterious sometimes. He builds things that not even the rest of us know about."

Pitch huffed as he shoveled some hay into one of the stalls, "Yes, Santa Claus bringer of militant war machines was not a title I ever imagined for North."

Toothiana frowned. "He doesn't deliver everything he makes to children, Pitch. I'm sure there were reasons behind why he made that thing."

"It was awful! I mean why make something that dangerous in the first place? I never would have gone done there to see it for myself if North would have just been upfront about what was in there you know?" Pitch tried to justify to himself more than Toothiana his reasoning for venturing into the secret room.

"North doesn't have to tell you everything, Pitch. Don't you think you're shifting the blame? Seems to me like you were being too nosy. You didn't have to know what was in there, and you didn't have to open it up."

Pitch scowled, "I'm not shifting the blame! All I'm saying is that a lot of this situation would have been avoided if he had told us. Frost and I discovered the entrance to that place, and of course we were both curious, I mean hello secret door! Who doesn't want to know what's behind a mysterious locked door?"

Toothiana raised an eyebrow. "Out of you and Jack, who actually went and opened it up?"

Pitch shrugged, "Well technically I went in through the attic and only opened the door after I was in the room…" Pitch didn't like where she was going with this conversation and frowned moodily as he moved one of the reindeer from out of their stalls to the tethering pole to groom.

Toothiana decided not to press the matter further as she watched Pitch take the deer out and begin grooming them. She knew everything involving the recent disaster was tense and touchy, so she didn't want to risk angering the Boogeyman and make the situation worse for him. Although, it did concern her that he seemed to disregard the fact that everything had been entirely his doing and his fault.

"Hey, Tooth!" Jack's voice came to her ears. Tooth looked up to see the boy float into the stables. "Wow, I didn't expect to see you here." he said when his eyes landed on Pitch. "I didn't think North would have let you out of your room. Hey, you know, it's a good thing we got that ride in when we did, because I'm doubtful you're going to want to ride again for a good loooooong while."

"Jack!" Tooth frowned.

"What?" Jack shrugged innocently.

Pitch was surprised by Jack's appearance, and as the winter sprite commented on his being there at the stables and their recent jaunt with the reindeer likely being their last for a while made him blush fiercely, "That's not funny Jack! And don't you worry about whether or not I'm allowed out of my room! It's none of your business!" Pitch pouted feeling very sorry for himself and awash once more with a pang of dread. Jack was right he knew, and thinking on the fact only served to remind him once more what he had to look forward to.

"What?" Jack laughed. "What did I say?"

"How dare you make fun of me for what I'm about to have to endure!" Pitch spat angrily as he untethered the reindeer leading it off towards the field gate in a huff, "I'm glad my suffering amuses you so much Frost!"

Jack and Tooth watched as Pitch disappeared outside.

"Jack, that wasn't nice." Tooth scolded.

"Sorry," he said, trying to hide his smile. "It was too tempting."

"He's been through enough already without you teasing him." Tooth angrily said.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry,"

"Don't tell me, tell him." Tooth pointed in Pitch's direction.

Jack's smile withered as he looked toward the doorway, hesitating. Suddenly pain shot through his left ear.

"OW!" Jack shouted, wincing and struggling to look to the side. He saw that Tooth had grabbed him by his ear, using it to spur him forward.

"Go on and apologize before I spank you myself." Tooth said irritably.

"You wouldn't!" Jack whimpered, his eyes widening in shock at the threat.

"Try me," she said, letting his ear go.

Jack quickly bolted forward, partly sliding when his feet hit the snow outside. He ran a few feet, and then stopped, quickly glancing back toward the stables. He cringed at seeing Tooth hovering in the doorway, watching. Jack continued walking until he got to Pitch, trying to act as casual as he could.

"Uh... Pitch," he began, rubbing his sore ear. "I'm sorry for what I said back there."

Pitch was just latching the gate as Frost sidled up next to him. He had been about to say a scathing remark until the boy apologized. His expression changed to dejected as he sighed, "It's okay. I …I can't say you're not going to be right." He bit his lip, his features etched in worry now, as he whispered, "You should have seen how infuriated he was with me Jack… I'm… I'm really frankly terrified of what he's going to do to me. I've never seen him so mad!" Pitch gulped looking on the verge of tears again as he fiddled nervously with the gate latch.

Jack couldn't help but feel pity for the man, "I wish there was something I could do, but… I'm sorry to say but this is your mess."

Pitch shifted looking down, "I know, believe me I know, and what a mess it is! I've never felt more of an urge to melt into a shadow and disappear as I do right now," Pitch sighed looking back out at the deer. That was the last one to go into the pen he knew. It was only a matter of time before he'd have to go back to his room now that the excuse of chores were finished. He planned to stall as long as he could… for the reindeer's sake to keep running in the field… or at least that's the excuse he planned on using.

Toothiana floated up to the two, clearing her throat. "I hate to dampen the moment, but I really think we should get back to your room as soon as possible, Pitch. I think you've been out long enough. I really don't want North seeing you out, just in case you aren't supposed to be out of your room."

She had a point, but Pitch really didn't want to go back to the excruciation of pacing and waiting. North was going to tear his behind up one way or another, the least he could do was push off the inevitable right? "But… Toothiana, the reindeer just got put into the field, they need at least twenty minutes to get some exercise… preferably an hour to make sure they're fit." Pitch pleaded.

"I'll watch them for you." said Jack. "And put them back in their pens when they're done."

Pitch's face fell knowing he didn't have any other excuses, "Oh… thanks Jack," he stated a bit deflated now as he set mournful eyes on Toothiana and started moving, regrettably, back towards his room. He rubbed absently at the wound on his hand now that had started to throb in irritation caused by the chores he'd just done.

Tooth followed after Pitch, noticing his injured hand for the first time. She wasn't sure how she managed to overlook it before. "Pitch, is your hand okay?" she asked.

Pitch looked down at his hand and unwrapped the make shift bandage. It wasn't grievous, but the cut was an annoying slice across the middle of his hand. It had stopped bleeding now and had started to scab over. He showed it to Toothiana, "I cut myself last night… popping the bolt off the attic door," he blushed as he said this, more destruction of property to add to his long list of offenses.

"Aw," Tooth said, her brow wrinkling in pain at seeing the cut. "Does it hurt? Do you need to stop by the medical ward?"

He was about to say it was fine, but the medical ward could be a nice detour from his room, and Toothiana seemed more than willing to pamper him over it, so why not? He shrugged, "I gather it could use a little tending to, or at least a real bandage," he said giving her a small smile.

Toothiana nodded and led him to the medical ward where a yeti nurse greeted them and tended to Pitch's hand.

The whole ordeal took far less time than Pitch would have liked before the two were silently making their way back towards his room. Every step felt like his feet were laden in led, and the knot in his stomach tightened further as they neared his room. Would North already be inside? Angrily awaiting him? His heart caught in his throat as he twisted the knob, and he breathed a small sigh of relief to see the room was still empty.

"Pitch, I need to go." Tooth sighed, fluttering over to pick up her painting and card. "Sorry, but I've stayed as long as I can."

He turned back to her looking not unlike a lost puppy as he gave her a small nod stating softly, "I… I understand. Thank you for coming by… it helped… a lot."

Tooth gave Pitch a pitying look as she lowered herself to plant another small kiss on his forehead. "I'll try to see if I can calm North down a little." she whispered. "But I can't make any promises."

Pitch closed his eyes enjoying the tender kiss finding it sent a warmth down his spine. Under any other circumstances the gesture would have brought an immediate smile to his lips. As it was, Pitch looked stricken because he could only dwell on the consequences he was ever nearer to facing.

Pitch watched Toothiana fly down the hall, and he was once more left alone to be consumed by his own trepidations. He spent the next few hours pacing about and looking fretfully out of his bedroom door until the strain of the situation left him curled in a ball in the middle of his bed restlessly staring at the wall. Pitch almost wasn't sure which was worse, the punishment or the waiting for it to come. All Pitch knew for sure was that he just wanted it to all to be over now.

Before going back to her realm, Toothiana flew down the hallway until she came to North's office. The door was standing open, so she peeked in. She really didn't expect anyone to be there, but sure enough there was North sitting at his desk. He looked tired and haggard, not to mention dirty and sweaty. She thought for sure the man would have taken a shower by now and changed into some clean clothes, but his appearance told her he had come here straight from the battlefield. She remained hovering in the doorway a few minutes, noting that North was casually working at some project that she couldn't exactly see from where she was. Whatever it was, it was in his lap. Every so often he would cut a piece off with the pocket knife he held in his right hand. At first, she thought he was whittling at a piece of wood for a new toy, because she knew he enjoyed doing that to calm his nerves. Suddenly, North placed what he had been working on down on the top of the desk, and she could see clearly that it was a thick strap made from a supple leather.

Tooth still wasn't sure where she stood on spanking. She was starting to realize that the punishment did hold its good points, and she admitted that Pitch needed something stronger this time, but as her eyes rested on the strap, she couldn't help but feel deep pity for the man.

"Um… North?" she said, softly, coming into the room. North looked up at her.

"Well? Did you get whole story out of him?" he asked, his voice a tad hoarse.

Tooth nodded. "It seems that all of this started when he found some spell pages in the library and attempted to master one of them."

North's brow drew down in a scowl. "My magic spells?"

Tooth nodded. "Something went wrong the first time he tried one of them, and he says he cleaned the mess up and threw it away, not realizing what it was breeding." she sighed. "When he found out about it, he wanted to try and patch up things himself, only it snowballed and ended up making things worse."

North went back to work on the strap. Tooth looked from it to North, feeling the air suddenly become thick.

"North," Tooth began again after several minutes of silence, "he feels a lot of guilt for what he's done."

"Good," North said flatly. "He needs to."

"North, I'm not going to stand in your way of what you're going to do to him." she continued. "I've already seen that he's trying to put the blame on others and hasn't fully accepted that he and he alone did it. I agree that he needs a… firmer… punishment this time."

North nodded and continued working.

"But please, before you go in there, be sure that you've calmed down enough. And… show him a little bit of mercy."

North stopped, heaving a big sigh. "Tooth, I am tired of showing mercy. I've showed mercy to him up until now. He has taken things too far this time. He is going to learn this day that I will not tolerate anymore." He looked up at the fairy. "I will not permanently hurt him, if that's what worries you. You know I would never do that. But he is going to learn a deep and hard lesson after I am done with him."

Tooth nodded and turned to leave. Whenever she left, North pulled himself out of his chair, threw the strap down on the desk, and reached to pick up a hammer and a nail. He stiffly lumbered out of his office and down the hallway until he came to Pitch's room. Not even bothering to knock, he pushed the door open and walked inside.

Pitch snapped up from where he was laying on the bed. His wide eyes went to first North and then to the objects in his hands. His brow scrunched in confusion. Pitch found it was hard to speak as thrills of fear ran up his spine like a freight train, but he managed a stumbled, "Na-North?" Pitch wasn't even sure what he would say to the Cossack as he pulled his pillow into his lap nervously clutching it to himself.

North said nothing—didn't even acknowledge that the Boogeyman was even there—as he made his way over to the wall opposite Pitch's bed. He placed the nail up to a spot on the wall and gave it several quick hits with the hammer until it caught. Taking his fingers away, he gave it several more deafening whacks that pushed it in farther and secured it. Still not paying Pitch any notice, North turned and walked out of the room again, closing the door behind him.

Pitch watched on in morbid curiosity afraid to speak further to the man since he still seemed quite angry. His eyes followed the Cossack warily, and as North struck at the nail in the wall, Pitch found his body shuddered with every swing of the hammer. Pitch's eyes did not leave the man until he'd exited the room, and when he had, Pitch's attention was drawn to the nail placed in the middle of the wall. What on earth? How strange? Pitch was confused by the action, but he had a bad feeling the reasoning behind the action wasn't going to be something he was going to like.

It was at least three hours later when a heavy knock sounded on Pitch's bedroom door.

Pitch had remained clutching his pillow sitting in the same spot on the bed for close to forty minutes before resuming to lay back down the way he had been before North had come. Of course since the man's visit, his level of anxiety had increased tenfold. He had just started to relax again when the knock came.

Pitch's mouth felt like a desert as he squeaked, "Come …come in?" As he said this, he scrambled up pressing his back firmly against the headboard. Pitch stared fearfully at the door as he sat rigidly with his legs tucked snugly against his chest trembling in anticipation.

A few minutes passed before the door creaked open, and North stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. He looked better this time. He had cleaned himself up, put on clean clothes, and looked like he had squeezed in a couple hours' nap. In his right hand, he held his newly crafted strap.

Pitch had been watching North's face to see his demeanor as the man entered, and he was slightly relieved to see he seemed to be in a much calmer state. It wasn't until North had fully entered the room did Pitch's eyes fall to the strap, and he gasped in terror, "What, what! You, you aren't going to hit me with that are you?" Pitch shrank away feeling more than a little panicked. He'd expected to be spanked, but he certainly wasn't expecting this!

North didn't speak. Instead, he moved slowly and quietly to the side of the bed and roughly sat down.

Pitch's heart was racing, and the fact that North refused to respond only served to scare the nightmare lord more. He gulped frozen in place as he pleaded, "I... I know you're angry North, and I know I made a huge mess of things. I get that you feel the need to punish me, but ...but isn't that," he pointed at the strap in horror, "...a bit extreme? I didn't do this on purpose! It was an accident!"

"Pitch," North finally said. "I am tired. I am tired from cleaning up your mess. I am tired of your 'accidents'. You have gone too far this time. So I suggest that you think carefully what you say."

Pitch had to plead his case wisely, so crawling over on all fours, Pitch moved close enough to make eye contact as he spoke earnestly, "I'm ...I'm sorry! I'm so very sorry! Please take a day to cool down at least! I think you're in an irrational state, and it's got you taking this whole thing out of context. You see, I was actually trying to make things right... granted I made them worse, but that wasn't my intention!"

North raised the hand with the strap as he glared down at Pitch. "Silence!"

Snapping his mouth closed, Pitch skittered back across the bed away from the man's close proximity as if he'd been bitten.

North sighed, "I know everything, Pitch. The spell pages… everything. It might have been accident, but what you did is still wrong. You were playing with something you should not have been playing with—something you had no understanding of."

Pitch grimaced as if every word that North said was a nail in his coffin, "I… I know. I… I should have left them alone. I should have come to you when I realized what I'd done, I know! I know! I… I was just curious! I didn't think a little cleaning spell could cause so much trouble! And… and I was afraid okay! I didn't… I didn't know what to do, and I chose poorly. Please… North, I…"

"Pitch, you are not stupid." said North, cutting Pitch off. "Spells are tricky. Any spell is tricky—does not matter what that spell does. One wrong move and you could bring about disaster, which you now know. On top of everything else, you completely disobeyed me by going in a place I distinctly told you not to go… and made things worse, as you've already said. I am glad you understand what you have done and the size of the mess you have made."

"I… I do! It was stupid, and I'm sorry!" Pitch moaned pitifully. He knew he was just talking in circles now since North had said his peace, and if Pitch had perhaps come to North for help and not disobeyed a direct order, he may have still been spanked, but he doubt he'd have raised the ire of the man so greatly as to fashion an implement to leave a more lasting impact. Still the weight of actually enduring it was rather intimidating, and Pitch hoped he could at least talk North out of such a level of harshness by showing him he truly was remorseful.

"I am glad to hear that you are sorry. And I accept your apology. But you are still getting this to help this lesson stick." He held up the strap. "And after you get this, you will aide yetis in repairing the trash conveyor, which got damaged in your little escapade. When work is complete, you will be grounded to your room for one week."

"Grounded?" He said the word like it was an alien concept. Was North serious? Pitch didn't think he could blush any deeper, although at this juncture, he was in no place to argue with the man. Shaking his head to refocus his thoughts Pitch croaked out flatly, "Of course …I'll …I'll help fix whatever needs fixing." He didn't want to upset North further by offering resistance. Pitch knew to fight this was only going to earn him a much more severe spanking. It was a losing battle, and knowing this had tears springing to his eyes as he slumped in his defeat.

North closed his eyes, sighing heavily. He really didn't want to carry out the next part. He felt like he had been doing things on purpose all day just to hold it off as long as possible.

Pitch knew North would want him to come to him and lay himself over his lap, and as much as Pitch just wanted to get this over with, he found he just couldn't bring himself to do so on his own accord especially not now with the fear he felt towards this new unknown element. Instead he sat there cringing and wallowing in self-pity that he'd have to suffer such a fate.

"Pitch, I think you know what to do." North finally said, his eyes still closed.

North was forcing him to do this; Pitch knew he would, but it didn't make it any less hard to comply to. Stiffly Pitch jerked his body into motion as he whimpered in dismay that he was going through with it. His face felt hot and his limbs felt numb, but he found himself moving into place pausing halfway across North's lap to look back at him in a silent plea for mercy before he muttered a watery, "Please… I'm sorry!"

"Yes, I know," said North. "But don't you think you deserve this? If you are truly sorry for what you did, you will fully accept the consequences."

He didn't answer, couldn't answer. Unable to face North any longer, Pitch let out a choked sob as he lowered himself the rest of the way across North's knee. He was shaking like a leaf, his whole body going rigid in anticipation. There was no turning back now he knew.

At feeling Pitch on his lap, North opened his eyes and moved Pitch into place over his left knee, securing his legs between his own.

His stomach lurched as the bigger man's bicep easily moved him about like a ragdoll. The all too familiar feeling of this loss of control had Pitch gasping in short breaths as his trepidation grew. He hated knowing that the way North had placed him left him so vulnerable and unable to avoid the pain he was about to feel. His legs reflexively strained against the backs of North's thigh as Pitch couldn't help pushing his hands against the mattress to lift his torso, so he could see past North's beefy arm. This of course only made him feel ill at the sight of seeing his rear end prostrated just so over the other man's knee so as to insure the most sensitive parts of his bottom were angled to receive the most direct blows. Pitch whimpered hoping the other man would at least spare him the thin layer of clothing that remained.

"I will show small mercy by giving you only twenty swats." said North.

Twenty?! Twenty still sounded like too many Pitch thought remembering how much seven quick swats with the switch had felt unbearable. He didn't argue only staring back unable to tear his eyes away from the scene.

North moved the strap to his left hand long enough to pull Pitch's robe up and out of the way. He then grabbed onto Pitch's pants and swiftly yanked them down to his knees.

His stomach dropped and Pitch bit his lip as North shifted the awful piece of leather into the hand that held his waist in place. It was finely crafted as were most things that North took the time to make. Pitch cringed to look at it knowing without a doubt that the heft of how it had flopped casually between hands promised exquisite pain that would linger with deep impact. Of course seeing this, golden eyes darted back to North's right hand making quick work of divesting him of his dignity. Pitch's fingers dug into the comforter as he sucked in air breathing out a weak drawn out, "No!" It sounded more like a wounded animal than a word. His body convulsed in a shiver as the black garments gave way to light milky ashen flesh unmarred save a rash of goosebumps that rippled across his skin. The constant tremor that wracked his body was quite discernable now as Pitch visibly clenched his muscles tightly in preparation for the first blow.

North took the strap in his right hand again when Pitch was properly positioned for punishment. He sighed heavily and wearily. "You do understand why you're getting this? I want you to tell me so I can hear it from your own mouth."

Pitch squeezed his eyes shut the standing tears fell silently down his cheeks. He hated that North always made him admit his faults before proceeding as if he needed to rub salt in the wound. His chest tightened as Pitch turned his face away now for the shame he felt. He shifted uncomfortably his nakedness signifying preparedness to begin once Pitch had laid his sins bare before the both of them. Pitch sobbed now, "I… I dabbled in something I had no business dabbling in… and… and I disobeyed you by going in your secret room," as Pitch spoke, he slowly sank into the mattress burying his face into the comforter.

Satisfied, North raised his hand and landed the first slap across Pitch's cheeks.

As the strap connected, even though Pitch was bracing himself for it, the pain was so remarkably exact that Pitch's whole body arched upward, and he released a blood curdling cry. The sting erupted across his skin like a thousand angry bees, and the bulk of the belt left a radiating pain that dug deep into the tissue and remained refusing to dissipate once the leather left his skin. It didn't help that the width of the strap covered almost the entirety of the surface it aimed for, its supple form expertly molding itself to his backside to catch the most flesh with every bite it took.

Pitch panicked, this was only one, and by stars it was awful! He was expected to endure another nineteen?! As the second one came down, Pitch let out a banshee scream, eyes bulging, as his body writhed and twisted in the very small capacity it was allowed fighting on its own accord to avoid another blow. The pain from the first swat still resonated presence, and the second one only amplified the pain that was already there and added a fresh layer of pain over already tortured flesh. Pitch spun back around to face the Cossack as cried out in desperation watching in suspended horror as North raised back his arm to deliver a third lash, "North! No! I can't! I can't take this! It's too much! Please! Oh stars it hurts so badly!"

"You can, and you will." said North. "Maybe you will think twice next time."

Pitch moaned, "I'm more than thinking twi-IEE-AH!" Pitch's words were halted abruptly as the third swat laid a scathing brand against his rear. Pitch frantically bucked trying to wriggle and move away from the horrible onslaught of agony as North methodically placed timed slow stripes over the entirety of the underside of his bottom and thighs. Pitch couldn't stop the cacophony of high pitched wails that escaped his throat every time the strap made its mark. The anguish was seared in his brain, and he found himself begging after the twelfth strike, "Mercy! No more! Please! I'll do whatever you want! IEE YIE! YAAAH!" Pitch sobbed heavily now repeating a mantra of, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" in rapid succession, his body convulsing in tremors of anxiety.

"Do whatever I want?" said North, a bit surprised. "This is not something to make you submit to me, Pitch. It is punishment. It's supposed to help you think about actions you've done to deserve it and to give you something to remember so you will not repeat wrongdoings. We still have little bit to go. I suggest that you think hard about what you did that put you here."

North finished his statement by bringing down the next heavy swat, and the short pause only made the renewed pain bristle and ignite in a horrible wash of remembrance over the ache that still emitted a combined symphony of suffering. Pitch screamed at the top of his lungs bucking wildly and squalling until he was hoarse finally collapsing on the bed bawling uncontrollably and only wriggling and kicking out at a fresh swat was applied but otherwise remained limp on North's lap accepting the punishment and praying for the last strap to fall.

"This is no one's fault but yours." North continued. "You put yourself in this place. You brought this suffering on yourself."

Pitch only cried harder in response, but the sobs took on the tone of regret as they hitched miserably in his throat. Finally the last swat fell, and North made sure that it was the hardest of all of them leaving Pitch to scream out girlishly at its application before returning to hitching sobs that caught in his throat as he tried to reign them back without success. He didn't think he was ever so appreciative just to know that he'd made it to the end of his punishment and that that dreadful implement was no longer going to strike him.

North placed the strap on the bed beside him and released hold of Pitch's legs. He continued to sit there in silence, allowing Pitch to gather himself. He put a massive hand down on the man's back and gave it gentle pats of comfort.

As soon as North released his hold on Pitch, the nightmare lord's hands shot back cover his heated flesh gently rubbing as he hissed pitifully at the uncomfortably that still radiated from his throbbing bottom. He sniffled and hiccupped breaths as he fought to stop crying. He whined as he rubbed fiercely trying to remove the burn, "Oh that stings! I'm surprised you didn't flay my flesh off with that thing!"

"It is punishment, not torture. I would never permanently hurt you." North said in a gentle voice.

Pitch whined gently grazing the swelling left from North's ministrations, "It sure feels like torture!" He arched his back to look at his backside and pouted, "It looks like torture to!"

North said nothing as he shook his head at Pitch's griping.

Seeing North's look of disapproval, Pitch frowned tentatively asking, "May I ...get up now?" Being draped across the man's knee still with his well spanked bottom on display as a testament of what he'd just been forced to endure was more than a little shaming.

"You can get up anytime you like." North replied. "I just thought you would like few minutes to recover."

Pitch hissed as he reached down and carefully pulled the fabric back in place and crawled from North's lap back on to the bed. He was still sucking back tears wiping fiercely at his face with the back of his hand as he regarded North warily. Every movement he made chafed against his sensitive skin and was a reminder that he was going to be feeling this application for quite a while.

Now that the whole thing was over, all Pitch felt outside of his soreness was guilt and embarrassment that he'd pushed the man so far as to feel he needed to fashion a tool to get his point across. Pitch's eyes fell to the instrument now with a fierce glare and thoughts of seeing it burn in the fireplace.

North stretched out his arm and put it around Pitch pulling the smaller man to his side, "I wish you would stop making me have to do this. And it saddens me that you push me so far as to have to make this thing." He held up the strap with his other hand. "I never thought it would go this far."

Pitch was stiff at first, but as North pulled him closer, he found himself slumping into the embrace. It was enough to know North was no longer angry with him which helped to alleviate some of the guilt he was feeling. Pitch lowered his head as North spoke, and when he'd finished fresh tears spilled down Pitch's cheeks, "I don't know how I manage to make everything such a disaster. I was doing so well until that spell went sour... I actually did manage to perfect it though," Pitch stated off handedly.

North looked down at Pitch at hearing he had perfected the spell, "If you wanted to learn magic you should have asked."

Pitch's head shot up at North's admission, "You... you would have taught me?" His face reflected surprise and shock.

North raised an eyebrow. "Maybe I would have, maybe not. But the fact is, you should have asked before dabbling."

Pitch sighed looking back down, "I know. I... was curious, and I didn't think you'd let me to be honest..." Pitch grimaced as talking about this only made his thoughts draw back to the soreness he'd earned and was still acutely feeling due to his said curiosity and attempts to thwart North's will.

"There is nothing wrong with being curious. That is way we learn about things. But you must learn to exercise common sense along with it. Like I said, you are not stupid, Pitch. Don't act like you are. You should have known beforehand that magic is risky and dangerous to mess with, especially if you have no knowledge of subject."

Pitch scowled, he most certainly wasn't stupid! He'd managed to learn how to work that spell all by himself, granted he'd botched it incredibly by doing so, but still! Okay maybe it wasn't the brightest move he'd made. Pitch sighed, "I was thinking more pride was my downfall over stupidity, but perhaps lack of insight also played a role in this instant. I'll admit, I can let boredom influence my decisions... on occasion."

"And this is why you need things to keep you occupied, like your painting." said North.

"I do like painting, and you're right, I need something to keep me... occupied. I just... I don't know North, I need something more. Like you said, I need to find a purpose. I need to find my place," Pitch's eyes made their way up to North's eyes searching for guidance.

"I agree." said North. "How do you think you will find out?"

Pitch looked frustrated; he didn't really know what he needed to do, and he was too proud to ask for help.

"How about getting back to what you were doing with Bunny? Hm?" North continued. "Since you were getting somewhere with it."

Pitch was surprised North had suggested he go back to training with Bunnymund since the guardian had seemed against it. After everything that had happened, Pitch was left feeling unsure about that avenue and at odds with the guardians (which was most of the reason he'd told Bunnymund to decommission the idea having lost faith that he'd have the self-control to stop himself from going too far.) Pitch blinked looking skeptical, "You want me to go back to training with Bunnymund? I thought you didn't think it was a good idea?"

North nodded. "Yes, I didn't think it was good idea. I still don't, but I never said for you to stop. You were the one who fell into a mood and wanted to stop. You proved me wrong on it, and I am proud that you got somewhere with it. If you think you can really make something of it, then you may continue. I will not stop you."

"I think I would like to," Pitch still seemed hesitant obviously held back by North's own reticence but not enough to abandon the idea entirely.

North sensed hesitancy in Pitch's voice as he sat and studied the dark man. He knew that Pitch was confused and frustrated over everything that had happened, as well as his current life in general. He knew the man had no self-control and even struggled to control his fearlings. North smiled lovingly at him. "Before you think of continuing with Bunny. Would you be interested in learning some magic?"

Pitch's eyes lit up at the prospect, "You'd teach me even after everything that just happened? I mean yes! Yes I would," Pitch smiled brightly. He had still wanted to practice magic, and after the current incident had regrettably decided that would be the last of his dabbling in that department as his rear end couldn't take another bout like the one he'd just bore. To hear North would teach him left Pitch excited anew.

"It will be a while. You first have to help repair damages and then go through your grounding. If you can show me that you will go through rest of punishment without any more upsets, then we can start your training after that."

This news made the happiness leech from the conversation for Pitch as he visibly deflated. Repairing the damages would likely be a dirty smelly job that Pitch didn't want to do, but it wasn't as if he hadn't already been cleaning out reindeer stalls, so he'd manage. The grounding though felt too much like the imprisonment he'd been subjected to being sealed in the hole, and after just half a day in the tiny room waiting for North was driving him stir crazy, a whole week of it sounded altogether painfully boring. He decided he'd just take extra-long taking care of the reindeer, so it wouldn't feel so much like confinement. Pitch still didn't like it and muttered, "Isn't grounding a bit… not unlike suffering in the hole?"

"It's not going to be forever, Pitch. Just a week. And you will be here in room." North waved a hand at the room. "I will bring you plenty of paint supplies and books, if you wish, to keep you occupied. I will ask Jack Frost to take care of reindeer during your grounding. So not to worry about them."

Pitch gasped at North's admission that someone else would be tending to the reindeer other than himself. It was a punishment in itself since taking care of the creatures was an activity that brought him joy. The fact that Jack, the reindeer whisperer, was going to be the one to tend to them in Pitch's absence sparked an immediate flash of jealousy to course through him. If it had been the yetis or anyone else for that matter, Pitch would have been disgruntled, but he otherwise would have gotten over it. But Frost! Jack could speak to the deer in a way that Pitch could not, and the reindeer liked Jack and listened to the winter sprite. Pitch imagined Frost riding them as well, and all of these thoughts made him instantly bitter, "But... but tending to the reindeer is my job! I need to make sure they're getting cared for properly! Frost is so flighty, he might just forget to check on them! Besides, it's a chore, shouldn't I still be keeping up on them daily? I could always do my chores in the morning and come back here straight afterward." Pitch regarded North with a tinge of desperation.

North turned an irritated stare to Pitch. "Grounding means you will stay in room. Jack may be flighty, but he can be responsible when it calls for it."

Pitch had felt the tension in North's arm that was still placed loosely around his shoulders, and he caught the note of aggravation in the man's face, so Pitch thought it best to just nod solemnly lips pursed in a small frown.

"I'm sorry," North continued, "but it is your own fault. Just remember that whenever you get urge to push blame on someone else."

"I'm not putting the blame on anyone else!" Pitch huffed in annoyance. Why did everyone assume he was going to blame someone else? It nettled Pitch greatly seeing himself as having already taken the blame since he'd suffered the consequences.

"Just making sure," said North.

Pitch wanted to talk about happier things since he had already gone through the worst of this day, "When this punishment business is over, and we can start practicing magic, what spells do you plan to teach me?" Pitch was quite curious to know what he could look forward to.

"Well, at first we will start off with simple ones, like one you already know. Once you have mastered those, we will move up to more complicated ones."

Pitch's eyes glittered with excitement, "I'm looking forward to it! I can imagine you've amassed quite a numerous amount of spells by now," Pitch was smiling widely as he stared off thinking of himself wielding this new knowledge. It wasn't often being as old as he was that Pitch would encounter something new that he was extremely interested in.

North nodded. "That I have. I will go through them during your grounding time and pick out ones I think we can use."

Pitch was excited to see what North would pick, but the reminder of further punishment was souring his mood, and he had to take a moment to control the immediate retort he'd wanted to lash out with. Deciding quickly that any kind of negative response might invoke an equally negative reaction, Pitch remained quiet a moment before resolving to just change the subject. He was curious about the robot still, so he figured now was as good as any time to ask about it, "I've been wondering ever since I discovered that death dealing relic you had stashed away in your secret room, why ever would you of all people have something like that?"

North was silent a few minutes. "I built it to defend against the abominable snowman." he simply answered.

"Abominable what? That myth actually has some bearings to it?" Pitch perked with a start, there had been rumor of such a creature, but Pitch had assumed that some mortal had just seen one of North's yetis and had greatly exaggerated a story out of the sighting.

North nodded silently. "Afraid so."

Pitch was very curious now to hear the story behind what the abominable snowman had done to cause the Cossack to go to extremes enough to build something so deadly, "You have to tell me this tale!" Pitch shifted now to stare up at North with rapt attention.

North shrugged. "What is to tell? World was different back then. I was still in process of building Pole and my fortress here. Abominable snowman came out of nowhere and attacked me and yetis. We fought and eventually won, but not without casualties. There were two more attacks after that. So I decided to build robot as part of defense."

The abominable snowman raised a great deal of interest in Pitch as he rattled off questions, "Really? Is it still out there? Did the robot defeat it? Or did it just disappear?"

"No one knows." North replied. We never saw it again after third attack. The robot was never used, which is why I locked it away. I kept it in case snowman came back."

Pitch looked wistful, "So it could actually still be out there somewhere! It must have been quite ferocious for you to have built such a machine in defense. How is it I never heard of this creature?"

North was silent a few minutes. "I do not know. The abominable snowman arrived shortly after we defeated you. And it disappeared by the time you broke free again."

Pitch had a vague recollection of when North had been building his fortress, one of the many times they'd battled, and also one of the many times he'd been locked away for decades at a time, so it wasn't hard to believe he'd missed such events. So many years wasted Pitch thought sulkily. "Well, I'm glad you never built anything like that to do battle with me," Pitch stated thankfully.

North held up the strap. "Well, I did have to build something."

Pitch blanched mortified by North's brazen statement his cheeks flushing deeply feeling the need to quietly wriggle out from under North's arm and remove himself from the Cossack's vicinity as he sputtered, "Well… uh, that… that really wasn't necessary."

"I think it was." North said. He got up from the bed and walked over to the wall. There he hung the strap on the nail he had hammered into it earlier. "It will stay here for any future use." He turned to Pitch, giving him a warning glare. "And it had better remain on this nail."

Pitch skittered backward away from the big Russian watching on as North lumbered forth and hung the dreaded strip of leather on the wall. Pitch visibly paled biting his lip as he listened to the Cossack's words and absently reached back to rub at the soreness in his posterior that still made itself well known.

Realizing now what the nail had been placed for, a sick foreboding tossed in his stomach and chest. North had draped it on the wall like a morbid decoration, and Pitch was more than sure he'd done so as a reminder to behave rather than just for easy access, although that too was a troubling thought. North was making it clear that the kid gloves were officially off, and Pitch could expect any further insurrection to be followed up with the use of that ghastly weapon. Pitch gulped, a cold chill rising up his spine at the thought of ever facing another spanking like he'd just faced. No, he was going to be at his best behavior from now on! He promised himself this, but deep down, Pitch knew he likely wasn't going to be able to keep that promise to himself. Heck, he'd only barely made it two weeks without ending up back over North's knee, and with the numerous times he'd already managed to make trouble for himself, Pitch knew that his chances of avoiding another spanking at a future date was remarkably slim. This in mind, Pitch's face had drawn down into a sad frown, his eyes reflecting worried concern.

Satisfied with Pitch's reaction, North walked over and sat down on the bed again.

Pitch's eyes lingered on the wall a moment longer before moving over to North as he timidly queried, "Does it… does it have to hang there? Can't it just… I don't know, go in the nightstand drawer?" Pitch really didn't want to be forced to look at it on a daily basis. The immediate thought to use one of his paintings to hang over it sprung to mind then. That wouldn't be removing it from the nail, but it would effectively make it disappear from sight.

"It stays there." North replied. "It serves as reminder of what will happen if you ever test me again."

Pitch grimaced his eyes shifting away as his hands worked together nervously; he was afraid that North would say something along those lines, and hearing so made him sigh dejectedly, "So… when do I start repairs on the conveyer systems?" Pitch very much wanted to escape this particular conversation and North for that matter as he could swear the Cossack worked to make him feel uncomfortable.

"Day after tomorrow. We will need a little time to gather supplies." North answered.

"So… so then …the grounding, it doesn't start until after the work is finished you said. Does that mean I can tend the reindeer and move about freely until then?" Pitch was careful in his questioning as he planned to get in as much roaming as he could if that were the case, and he planned to stretch the work out on the conveyer belts for quite some time. As long as he could manage to keep Frost away from tending his deer!

North sat in silence, seeming to contemplate Pitch's question. "Yes, this is true. You cannot properly start grounding until after work is finished."

Pitch nodded lightly taking this fact in before relaxing a bit as he tested, "May I go for a walk then? I'd like to… remove myself from these four walls while I'm still given the opportunity."

North nodded. "You may, if you feel up to it."

Pitch really wasn't, but the narrowing window of freedom was enough to spur him to want to avoid this room as much as possible just to move about freely, "Uh… yes. I… I think a walk would do me well about now."

"Fine," North nodded, getting up off the bed. "I will go with you. When you are finished, you will come back to room. Until your grounding starts, you are not allowed to wander about unattended."

Pitch's jaw dropped, "What? But…?" This was not at all what he wanted! The whole point of the walk was to get away from North and this room! To hear that he was basically being grounded without being grounded served to ignite an indignation in Pitch as he scowled, "I thought you said I wasn't going to be grounded until after the repairs were finished! Now I have to have a chaperone to walk me about, or I can't leave my room? I might as well already be grounded!" Pitch complained.

North raised an eyebrow. "Grounding is when you are confined to room without setting foot outside of it. I am showing you small mercy now by allowing you to go out. But I am not going to allow you to wander about unsupervised. Not after what you've done. You are still being punished even though true grounding hasn't started. I am granting you some leeway so that you can work to repair damages."

Pitch crossed his arms as he spat grumpily, "If that's the case, why don't you just start the grounding now. Stars knows I've already been confined here all day! With today and tomorrow, I can work off a couple days of this grounding business before the repairs start and finish out the rest of the week once the repairs are done."

"Have it your way." North said, walking to the door. "I will come back later to see if you want to go on walk then. But you are not to leave room without escort."

Pitch watched on silently with balled fists as North walked out of his room shutting Pitch's door with a soft click behind him. Pitch wanted to kick the door in his mounting fury, and no sooner did the thought occur to him, his eyes moved across the room to regard the strap that silently mocked him from across the room. His lips pursed in his anger, but it dissolved into a pout as his lip quivered and his eyes gleaned with fresh tears to be reminded how little control over anything in his life he had these days. He wearily crawled under his sheets to lay on his stomach (Stars knew he couldn't lay on his back and be at all comfortable!)

Every time Pitch thought he'd reached the height of what North could do to put him in line, the Cossack managed to tweak and twist Pitch to conform to more than he would have possibly dreamed he'd ever willingly submit to. He knew he couldn't refuse though, so instead, Pitch silently cried his sorrow into his pillow. It was too hard not to feel mounds of self-pity for all he had to continuously tolerate and suffer through. He'd been so happy, and now he'd managed to create a living nightmare for himself.