Believe in Me

The Cost of Anger

Pitch arrived back at his lair from his visit to the boy, Jamie, the shadows welcoming him by parting at his footsteps. Soon, everyone in the entire world would move from his path, bowing as the shadows always had. He would win, he was confident of it now, but a rage still boiled within him. A rage he would release on the only one he could reach who deserved it. 

To be honest, The nightmare king would've much rather had caught Jack Frost for his next scheme, but this would work just as well, if not better. "Maybe the little ice freak will realize the price of being so important.." He spit to the fearling that galloped with awe around his chest. He shoved open the door, slamming it for further affect. There was a small whimper from the darkest corner Pitch had in his already blackened lair. A whimper of fear. Pitch loved it.. maybe this would work well after all, both guilting Jack Frost and lowering his spirits, punishing the child for her mistake, and giving him more power from the fear that would come from the both of them. "Hello, Ilia, did you miss me?" He asked kindly. She looked up slowly from the huddled form she had curled herself in to to hide from the fearlings that Pitch allowed to constantly run at her, those aweful shining eyes specked with slight hope. Is she THAT gullable? It was both amusing and horribly annoying how filled with hope she really was. What fueled it?! She had no friends, no family to come save her! She was just another broken stupid spirit that the man in the moon had had spit back to the earth to wander peacelessly, how was she so happy?! The anger was building in his eyes and her look of possible freedom quickly faded, the snow white fox ears ducking further to her head. "S... sir.." She whispered quietly, trying to appeal, beg for help. But he wasn't ready for her to beg, oh no, she had NOTHING to beg for for now. He was fuming, not just with the anger to her, but with his anger to everyone and everything. Each and every one of the faces of the guardians, that stupid child who refused to give up his belief, the Man in the Moon for EVERYTHING he did. Darkness surrounded him, encasing him in pure nightmares, his eyes glowed, not with hope like hers, but with a sting of wickedness beyond even Pitch Black. He had held it in so long.. 

Jack flew through the air as fast as he could, he was so close to Burgess now, he could finally see Jamie! It was a worry that had been eating away at him for some time now finally being relieved. The small boy was the only one he could truely have no stress fun with, the guardians were kind and all but were much more mature and up for hard work.. Jack was still a kid in his mind, despite his further growing age, and needed to be with others who had the same thought process and hopeful glow to them. He was almost there, soaring through the peaceful skies of Canada and allowing the heavy snowfall that begged to be dropped down to do their job. One worry down but.. his mind slowly found its way back to that girl like it always did when he stopped to sit and think, the rare times that he actually got the chance to fly to where he pleased or chill down. Ilia, North said her name was.. Mother Nature herself. He admitted, he had always pictured mother nature to be... well.. older. More mature. Not a small child of all things. He never would've guessed who she was if he saw her walking around.. it made him wonder how many spirits there were, how many happened to run into each other and finally make a friend, a friend who would understand. Jack was lucky with the guardians, he had four.

Suddenly, he felt himself drop near twenty feet, decending down so unexpectedly towards the unwelcoming ground. What..? The wind never dropped him like this, but sure enough, he was falling at full speed with no way to stop himself, right into the trees around where his old pond was. "Wind..!!" He shouted as beggingly and nicely as he could but nothing came, not even a light breeze to make him aware of its presence. His bright blue eyes widened as the ground flew forward to meet him and he slammed and skidded across the foresty ground. 

Lucky for him the dirt was so soft, the snow acting as a cushion itself, and there being no trees in the path he skidded in. The impact was definatally a surprise, jerking him so suddenly, he was afraid something might have broke inside of him. He slowly sat up and while he felt horribly sore around his shoulder and chest where he had hit, nothing was too concerning or unbearable. The winter spirit sighed in relief. If he had gotten distracted or pulled from Jamie AGAIN, he would've seriously started to get irritated. But as he pulled himself to standing, he heard a faint cry.. something so faint he mistook it for the simple call of a night bird miles away. But then it happened again, sounding like an animal wounded. Jack immidatally pushed aside the pain he felt, still feeling it but only barely as he rushed as quickly as he could without the missing wind's help to the sound he had heard. It was so far away.. he thought. "The only reason I could hear it at all was because of the echo around here," he muttered quietly, nervously. Still he ran, panting heavily and having to clutch tightly across his chest to muffle the pain if just barely, but he wouldnt stop until he knew whatever it was was okay.

An hour later, Pitch started to feel his anger slowly but surely draining out of him. It was extremely rare for him to resort to physical violence, yet it felt so good everytime he heard a scream, a cry, a whine at all. He looked down, half in satisfaction, half in guilt at the pitiful figure curled up at his feet. He had all of the weapons in the world at his desposal, he could easily turn his nightmare sand into something hard as steel, and he did just that. The pale delecate skin on the child was now stained with blood, both drying and fresh from all of the small and bigger cuts running up her arms and legs. She was doubled over on the floor, holding tight to her stomach. He had made a club, beating the child like an over-powerful master might beat a dog, nonstop until he heard a snap, then a scream so loud and filled with pain it almost reached out to him. He was addicted almost, like his anger had taken his body from him and was doing this on its own. He didn't like watching pain, he liked fear, but she was more hurt than scared now.The child was covered head to paw with fresh forming bruises and cuts, nothing near enough for her to bleed out,or so Pitch thought, but enough to make her already fair skin deadly white. The only color left on her was the redness of irritation over her cheeks and nose from the yelling and crying. Her hands had been enclosed into tight fists, a small reddish brown puddle of blood starting to form under her. She was still concious, he hadn't even spared her the chance to sleep the pain away. To a child.. Pitch was starting to realize what he had just done, the price of his anger had been paid. He hated spirits, but even he couldn't have the mentality to do this, not yet.. he still had humanlike instincts as much as he hated it, he still had sympathy.. he still was guilty. Now something so weak and helpless was possibly dying at his feet, crying even though she had already cried every tear she had in her, the pure white fur blotched and stained messily with blood, the softness in its appearance ruined by the rough dusty texture of the drying red liquid. Something so amazing and beautiful, a creation from the Moon itself.. and he had torn it apart in under an hour out of rage for something she hadn't even done. "What monster am I.." Pitch said quietly, unsure on if she could even hear anymore or not, not caring either way. He turned from the girl, regretting with the pit of his sorrowed heart. Are you happy..? A voice suddenly reached his head. His eyes widened, he remembered that voice just barely; the man in the moon. The nightmare king tried to sneer but he didn't feel the confidence from before anymore, just the weakness in his stomach that came with his first actual physical breakdown. You got what you wanted.. she'll probably be afraid for the rest of her immortal life. The voice was strong but calm, angry but kind. Pitch hated it, Against his will, the anger that fueled him to attack was coming back. He wanted the voice out, he didnt want anything to do with the man in the moon. It put him here, it made him such a monster, it made him to be a failure and it all led to this, the stupid creator mocking him for the anger that would inevitably come from all of the sadness and pain Pitch felt?! He roared, rushing out of the room in the last attempt to keep his mind from the insanity trying to tear its way in, dashing out with the door left hanging wide open.. a few seconds after the nightmare king had left, a smaller figure ran in, blue eyes widening at the small unmoving girl in the corner. "Ilia.."