Mischief

Lida would never understand how the Boogedyman acquired a working shower, but at this point she didn't care. The cleansing water was such a relief after traversing that vile tunnel. The woman reached for something to cover herself. She had to roll up the sleeves and lift the bottom of the dark bathrobe before exiting the bathtub. The fabric was made of silk. She could imagine the reprimand when Pitch discovered she had trespassed in his private quarters…again.

Bare feet made a soft patter on the marble as she traversed the hall. Lida was quite surprised by the opulence in Pitch's private chambers compared to his debilitating palace a few steps above. She entered his bedroom where the woman had left a new set of clothes sitting on a black Northwind chair. Her fingers brushed the face carved on the back. These rooms made her feel as if she stepped back in time while was main area made her feel time had passed.

The carved face was soon covered with the bathrobe and the vampire redressed. Lida could have made her clothes form onto her body, a helpful trick when needing to dress in a hurry, but sometimes she needed a sense of being normal. Even for a second, a nice shower and changing like any person would do after a long evening. She was starting to button her boots when she felt a presence. Lida paused, but continued after a second.

It wasn't Pitch. She had become familiar when he was lurking around her. This was a heavier energy, almost demonic. In a split second Lida turned with her gun drawn. She had pinpointed the entity. The woman was staring at a wardrobe, a wardrobe that was not there moments before. "What are you?" It was silent. Then its doors started to creak open. The furniture fell back with a mighty crash with three gunshot wounds. "I think I know what to do with you."

…

A young teenage girl gave a shrill scream as she scurried into the street light with her friends. "What are you screaming about?"

"It felt like something was chasing me." The girl glanced back and for a brief moment her heart missed a beat seeing a pair of gold eyes. The next second she saw it was only the dual lights on a porch. She retreated into her winter coat as a sudden gust of wind blew past. "Can we hurry up? It's so creepy out here." Her friends laughed at her anxiety. One of her male friends jeered about being a scaredy-cat when it got dark out. "Yeah sure make fun of me, but if we were in one of those horror movies you'd be the first to go." The girl took a hold of one of her female companion's arms, an act to achieve some sort of comfort.

As they passed an old oak tree, a dark figure stepped out of the shadows. Pitch leaned on the trunk as he watched the teenagers. A group of five was returning from the movies to order pizza at one of their houses. The one girl had kept lagging, so the Boogeyman…helped her along. He managed to grab at her heels and that earned the scream seconds before. There was a tiny bit of belief in her for him to touch her…but only a little.

Now the Shade felt a challenge was being posed by the one male. "Let's see…" Pitch saw his opportunity in one of the lawns the group was going to pass and gave a dark chuckle. "You weren't much of a fan of those lawn gnomes."

…

Pitch made his way back home with a sense of accomplishment. He couldn't touch the humans. Very rarely could he make their hair stand on the back of their necks by blowing or whispering a frightening thought, but inanimate objects acting on their own accord was an effective alternative. The boy had jumped across the street when the lawn ornament slid onto the sidewalk. The group laughed at him, it was his turned to be teased.

The drawback was they thought the gnome was possessed not orchestrated by the Boogeyman. Yet the mouse girl he had chased seemed to be staring at him not sure what she was seeing. A slight acknowledgement was appreciated these nights.

Pitch paused when he noticed Lida up ahead. So the little vampire went out after all. "Feeling refreshed now?" His inquiry earned a slight startle. He chuckled and pulled her hood back. A scent of lavender reached his nose from her damp curls. Pitch noted the bag she was carrying. "What have you got?" She answered she planned to make S'mores. His face showed suspicion, he was unsure if the strange name meant an action much sinister. "And what are…smurfs exactly?"

"S'mores, it's a snack." Lida rolled her eyes when given a blank look. She motioned for him to follow. Now Pitch could smell smoke and saw she had built a fire right next to the entrance of his lair. He shielded his eyes from the light, but then he noticed she wasn't burning firewood.

"What…are you burning exactly?"

"A wardrobe."

"A war…" His words caught in his throat as he started to make a connection. "That wouldn't be the wardrobe in my private quarters would it?"

"Correct." She raised an eyebrow when a look of horror appeared in his eyes and he disappeared with a scream of anguish. "…Drama Queen."

"Are you mad?!" Pitch reappeared with a bucket of water. "Do you realize what you've done?!" He extinguished the flames and looked ready to either kill her or have a mental breakdown.

"I made a bonfire."

"Stupid girl!" He snapped. "This thing is going to destroy the both of us!"

"No it's not."

"It's possessed by a demoness. She is an evil and vengeful creature." He started to pace. The hands behind his back were fiddling, his fingers wriggled to find a solution to this terrible situation. So much for a pleasant night! "We, we should leave before she recovers."

"It's dead."

His head snapped in her direction with a harsh glare. She did this. He should offer her undead person as replacement and beg for forgiveness. "Do you know how many times I've tried to kill her?" Pitch tried everything in his power to be rid of her. He wouldn't believe for one second that a young vampire destroyed the demon with such ease.

Lida motioned to her gun. "Holy bullets, Krasavchik." Pitch scoffed at her proclamation. "You are free to look. She is gone." And he did. For several minutes Lida stood in those woods and listened to the winter breeze rattle the dead tree branches. She almost thought he forgot her there, but he returned. "Well?" Pitch walked past her deep in thought, towards the damaged furniture.

"I…I don't sense anything." The evil energy from the wardrobe was gone and Pitch had to take a minute to process this. All those decades of putting up with the possessed object, of sneaking around his domain to avoid contact and now he was rid of her. The idea was liberating and mind numbing. Lida elbowed the Shade and handed him the lighter fluid.

"These marshmallows won't roast themselves." She instructed him how to relight the flame and the woman watched with slight worry. The Nightmare King was too eager to spray the flammable fluid. What interest her was he didn't reach for the matches, but found a piece of flint and began to create a spark. "The matches work to the same effect." Lida's back was turn as she heard a loud whoosh and Pitch yelled in surprise. The vampire turned with the items and took in the scene. A huge fire had started, a little bigger than desired and there sat Pitch with a charcoal face and singed hair.

Lida snorted. "Didn't burn your eyebrows off did you?"

Pitch never had eyebrows to begin with. "No." He retorted. When she sat down and was opening one of the packages Pitch took the opportunity to wipe off his face on her cloak.

"Rude." She scolded and wrenched the cloth from his hands. "Watch." Lida motioned to her demonstration of making S'mores as if he was mentally challenged. "Graham cracker, chocolate, roast marshmallow," the vampire roasted the white square on a stick and placed it on the piece of chocolate. "Graham cracker," She completed the sandwich and passed the treat to him, "S'mores."

Pitch looked over this food and he now remembered seeing this before. Kids around a campfire telling spooky stories had made this contraption. The Nightmare King scoffed and threw it into the fire. "I don't indulge in human pastimes." He raised his brow seeing Lida licking her lips off of melted chocolate.

She poked the flames, "you were human once, it's fine once in awhile." Pitch chuckled. "Something funny?"

"I have never been human. Sure," He started to elaborate, "there are some who were mortal and became immortal, but I was born from Man's first fear."

She took this information with mild curiosity. "What was that? The first fear?"

Pitch perked up at being asked. He was never asked that question before. He almost told her, but decided against it. "Something so pathetic even I've forgotten."

"My Sire remembers how he was created and he is over two millennia old."

The Boogeyman scoffed, "good for him." He continued to stare into the flames and for a moment the two were silent.

She was interested now. "So why do you take the form of a man?"

"Why does a wolf wear a sheep's clothing?"

"They can't see you."

Pitch hummed his discontent at being drilled for an answer. He honestly never thought about it and didn't have an answer. What could he say? "Does it matter?"

Lida shrugged. "I was curious if there was a reason."

The conversation tapered off. The two were thinking to themselves. The vampire started roasting another marshmallow. "What does your true form look like?"

Pitch concealed a smile and turned to her with a straight face, "that's quite a personal question. I might humor the request…if you answer some of my questions."

Lida blew out the flaming gelatin and glanced at him, "like what?" So began their cautious dance.

"I was wondering what it feels like changing into a vampire?"

The woman was quiet, deliberating and then she closed her eyes to remember twenty years ago. "It was painful at first then the pain stopped, everything stopped."

"Were you scared?"

She rolled her eyes, briefly breaking the memory, "of course you would ask that."

"I was curious." Pitch recalled the death of a soldier slowly dying from his injuries. The pang of fear when he realized he was going to die and the next second the soldier stopped breathing.

"Then I tasted the vitae. I felt a surge of power rushing through my veins. I felt ready to explode, it was…euphoric." Her voice sounded flushed and Pitch stared at her thoughtfully. Most women were shy to admitting such lustful thoughts. "I suppose that's why they call it bloodlust." They shared amused smiles. Her smile faded soon after as her mind still recalled that time. "That first year was tough." Controlling the blood call, the powers, learning about the supernatural world and conducting her behavior in a way her Sire approved. "I had to start all over again."

"It must have been hard on you."

"I managed."

Pitch let out a low chuckle. "You don't give yourself enough credit, my dear. It takes great mettle to be the offspring of Melancton."

"Well aren't you sweet," her response was in sarcasm and ended with, "you better watch that glib tongue of yours." What he said though brought another question. "How well do you know my father?"

"We've never been personally acquainted, but I…observed the incident with his first Ward." The memory made that cocky smirk of his' spread across his face. "I recall him stating 'no daughter of mine is going to be with that womanizing, vagrant blond stable boy.' I wish I could have seen where the drama went, but I was a little occupied with part of the Roman Empire falling into disarray." He glanced at Lida for some kind of conclusion.

The vampire shook her head. "Dante never speaks of it and Roseanne is rarely ever at the estate to get the story from her. I guess you can infer she didn't wind up with the stable boy." So he gave the girl immortality then? But not in the way she intended Pitch was sure.

Pitch gave a toothy grin. "So no saucy stories of secret trysts in stables. A pity." He snickered at her confused expression. The smile turned to a frown as he sensed a heavy energy. Oh great. "She's right behind us." Pitch stated in a matter-of-fact tone. The two could not see, but a sinister woman stood behind them, dark fangs bared and gnarled fingers inches from Lida's neck.

"She is," Lida agreed and pointed her gun behind her.

…

"Never again," the two collapsed next to the globe in pure exhaustion. Pitch managed to remain sitting upright, but Lida was sprawled on the floor. "I will never fight a demon again."

"And a vengeful one at that," Lida raised herself on one elbow, "but at least we learned something."

"Like what?"

"…A crucifix works well as a spear and demon blood is revolting." The bullets only repelled the demon and made her angrier. After a failed attempt to consume her blood they lured the monster to a church. It was dumb luck when the holy object fell down and impaled the demon. "I can still taste it in my mouth."

Pitch cringed when the woman spat across the floor. "I'm glad it was a learning experience for you." The Boogeyman grunted as he rose and straightened his crooked back. "I need to soak in a bath."

"Me too."

He grimaced and narrowed his eyes. "I only have one bath." The two stared at each one another for a long time. "Don't you…" The Boogeyman gave a snarl when she vanished in her spectral form to his private quarters. He took after her. "DARE!" The exhaustion they had moments before was gone as the two squabbled for the right to the bath. "You already got to bathe!" She managed to smack him against the wall and barricaded the door to the bathroom. Pitch attacked the door soon after and shook the door handle. "This was your fault!" He screamed and after taking several breaths he took to lying on the floor.

Pitch Black would never move again. He listened to the tap running and felt a wave of envy. The little brat would probably use all the hot water and he'll be left to sit in an ice cube. "Don't you have people's limbs to shoot off?"

"All in good time."

Silence pervaded that hall and something dawned to the Shade. "So when we first met you shot me with holy bullets?" She could have killed him.

"A bullet, three times does the trick."

Pitch gave a harsh laugh. "The demon would disagree." He was starting to reconsider his guest's stay here.