Believe in Me

Decisions

Grey is going to be less of a common character for a little while. Sasha is also going to become more common, since her role is coming into play soon. Thing'll get actiony really soon, just laying out what's going on right before. Thank you for reading and have a good night. 

No one had ever thanked him before. No one had ever even attempted to look at him and see anything other than a monster, anything other than the blood of their loved ones on his hands. Not one person, not even Ilia when her name was still Iris and she was still fully human could manage to keep themselves from feeling upset with him at least slightly… after all, it was part of his job to take that hate. He thought at some point he’d get used to it but no, each tear was still a tear and each scream was still a scream, every eye that caught his own was either afraid or burning with anger, and most humans perceived him as a skeleton in a black hood, a heartless slaughterer. It was his job to go along with that, to not let them see him, to not let them understand him. Because eventually they’d die as well… every flower wilts at some point after all.

But this child had thanked him. She was halfway through tears and hadn’t even gotten the chance to say goodbye and yet she could see him, she looked at him and smiled and actually thanked him. He didn’t understand…  What made her do that? For all a human would know he could’ve just killed her parents. Grey shook his head slightly as he attempted to forget that… He was at the pole, he realized, the large wooden support beams of the medical room blocking sight of the frosted window. He checked his mental clock, an instinct that easily told him when it was, where he was some of the time as well. January… Had he fallen asleep? For a month? It hardly seemed likely. The spirit of death shoved off the blankets carelessly, somewhat frustrated with himself. He didn’t like falling asleep in the presence of others. What if they watched him? Plotted against him? Took his scythe? It had happened before, it could easily happen again. No one could be trusted… no one except Ilia. And Ilia wasn’t here.

As he began to push the door open he saw in the hallway two figures who appeared to be having a conversation, Tooth’s greenish feathers glinting slightly in the bright, cheery light of the pole. Her face was downcast, saddened, her hands moving in expression as she spoke… whatever she was saying must’ve been important to her. Directly in front of the fairy was North who was shaking his head, his own eyes filled with a sodden sadness, an arguable one. Grey listened in silently, leaning against the door that the two guardians failed to notice was open.

“North, it’s been over a month now! I’m scared for Jack and Cloti and Ilia and…!”

“And we can do nothing about it! I want badly to help them but we can’t! When the time comes we may find Jack and bring him home but until then… it’s too dangerous.” Too dangerous… that hadn’t stopped them the past few times Pitch had unsuccessfully attempted to take the winter spirit. What were they so afraid of that hadn’t stopped them before? “I’ll go if you want,” he said cooly, his voice returned to its old empty tone. Two pairs of eyes widened as they turned to see him there, Tooth’s mouth still hanging slightly open as she was about to argue back when he spoke. “Grey!!” She cheered, her mouth curving into a smile. He didn’t react. No one could be trusted.. What’s up with you? You trusted them at least a little before you were put to sleep. And the voice in his mind was back. He had trusted them, that was true, as much as he wanted to deny it. He worked to keep them safe… but it wasn’t for them, he wouldn’t allow himself to care for anyone, excluding Ilia because… well… he still hadn’t come up with an excuse for her. But if something happened to the guardians the world would be completely overrun with the maddened spirits that had flocked to Pitch over the course of the past year. They were the only light, the only hope and the only joy that still wanted to help the humans live as they were meant to. Yes he belonged on the side of darkness, Death and Chaos were made together simply because they were the two darkest forms of all. The end of life and the ruin of it… but he couldn’t do it anymore. He couldn’t throw himself to the enemy and allow them to tear him piece by piece along with the one child he cared about like they had before, he couldn’t let the world he was born to protect be destroyed by its defenders. Each spirit had a purpose, a purpose to serve the earth in some way, and now they were aimed on breaking the order into pieces. He wouldn’t join that cause… No matter how cruel the world might be to him, it was still his duty to guard it with his life. It was part of the reason his life would never end. To protect the world until its own, inevitable death. It was the same for Jack, for Pitch and for the rest of the spirits. No matter how important their purpose was it was necessary, just as every piece to a puzzle, no matter how small, was necessary to fully complete an intricate picture. His thoughts were drifted away into the depths of his mind as a voice shooed them out. “You wouldn’t wake up, we were worried.” Worried… for what? He could still pass lives on easily outside of his consciousness, the balance of life was still easily in order. The first time they glanced at him they were just as freaked out as most others and that expression still hadn’t faded from the guardians that claimed to ‘care’ about him. “I’m going to get the others now that I’m not any ‘threat’ to you anymore.” Wait… what? Grey was surprised at his own words, which had trailed out of his mouth without him even attempting to say them. What he a threat…? Was that why Jack and Ilia and Wind weren’t alright yet? Then he realized… Chaos could use the beast again… and his mind was finally made up. He had to go. He couldn’t stay with the guardians any longer if all he did was pose as a threat, a risk, a warning label strapped invisibly to a soldier. If he hadn’t been there then the guardians wouldn’t have hesitated in finding the others. Your fighting saved Ilia and the others plenty of times. That was nonsense. His fighting had gotten nowhere, he was beaten to the ground. Ilia was still taken, Ilia was still injured… his radar could ding at any time indicating a death from somewhere underground, the death of one of the three children that had vanished. Tooth looked slightly astonished but swept that look away quickly. “I… don’t think you should. It’s not safe.”