Before the Day is Done

For Nicki K, who inspired me with her suggestion.

P.S. It's not overly necessary to read Holy Water Cannot Help you Now, but it does make this story make a little more sense.

The thing is, being a guardian isn't much different from not being one. Sure, they meet bi-monthly, but about a third of them are canceled and about a sixth more only a few people actually show up for. It's one of those meetings, where it's only Jack, him, North and Mother Nature. Jack keeps chattering away to his fellow winter spirit, but Pitch knows (no matter how much he wishes he doesn't) that Mother Nature is torturing the man beneath the table if the way he squirms is anything to go by. Drumming his fingers, Pitch watches and waits for the moment Jack needs to take a pause-they are few and quick-he's been waiting nearly an hour, when he sees the slight unhinging of the frost spirit's jaw. Arm shooting out, he snags the other boy and tugs him up and away from the table.

"Come along Jack, I have something fun I'd like to show you." He tells the boy.

Jack blinks innocent eyes. "Um, okay," turning back to North and Mother Nature he waves. "Bye guys." Grunting, Pitch hoists the boy around and begins to march him out of the cozy workshop, it's when they reach the door that Pitch dares to glance back.

"Gross...!" He grumbles at what he sees, Mother nature half-hidden in the old man's beard as they kiss. North hears the teenager, one eye sliding open he vibrates with silent chortles and winks at Pitch who scowls back. Shoving Jack into the winter wonderland, he shouts, "Call up you're wind! We need to get out of here quickly!"

"Why can't we use your shadows?" Jack whines.

Slamming the door behind him with a little more force than necessary, Pitch rolls his eyes. "Because there are none to be had, you idiot!"

Blinking at the glitter snow, Jack has to concede to Pitch's point. "Yeah, okay," he sulks. Lifting a hand, he waits until the wind threads between his fingers strongly before snagging Pitch's arm to whisk them off. Happily riding the current, Jack turns to his stiff friend and asks, "So where do ya wanna go?"

Trying to curl in to himself as much as possible, Pitch responds in muffled tones. "Wherever it's night!"

Jack laughs, but agrees. "Okay!"

The wind carries them for a long time, the blue sky slowly darkening the farther south they travel until they are in some mountain town where frost still coats roofs and tree branches. Tumbling out of the wind, Jack drags Pitch down with him who scrambles to land on his feet as surely as Jack, (he still trips). Hands on his hips and face shining with a broad grin, the winter spirit announces, "Here we are!"

Brushing imaginary dirt from his body, Pitch scoffs, "Yes, I can see that." He steps away from Jack then, taking in a breath, he feels and reaches out for the fears of those in this little town-village really. Soon, a single fear takes shape above all the rest and Pitch begins to follow it; Jack trailing not far behind. The fear leads him to a little home, no more than two rooms, easily slipping through the shadows he comes into the house to see several children sprawled in a pile on one bed. Hovering above them, the Nightmare King picks through their collective fears until he finds the one that drew him here in the first place. A slow smirk cutting across his face, Pitch realizes it belongs to the only boy of the four, he fears his sisters will not heed him and accidentally wade too deep into the village's river and drown. A gray hand reaching out, he brushes it down the boy's face.

"A good brother," He compliments, "I shall remind your sisters to listen to you." He promises.

Working his dark magic, Pitch lifts a small swirling sphere of dark sand from nothingness and blows it on the trio of braided heads. Soon, raging rivers and flailing limbs take shape above their heads as they begin to squirm and whimper in their slumbers. Stepping back into the shadows, Pitch lets the nightmares take their courses as the girls wake one after another screaming. It's as his younger sisters' voices vibrate in his ears, the older boy wakes from his sleep only to pull all of the smaller children down with him to go back to sleep. One of the girls-the smallest-glances in Pitch's direction, sees his feral gold eyes glimmer in the shadows and with an even shriller shriek than from her nightmare, she points to Pitch; babbling about him. The other girls are quick to see as the younger does, even though the brother doesn't. Smiling with more teeth than necessary, the girls squeal again and Pitch takes his leave.

He meets Frost outside the home, where he coats the little town in a thin layer of ice that will no doubt melt with the morning sun. Pushing himself off the house's wall, he inquires, "Are you done for tonight?"

Pitch barks a rueful laugh, "Whenever is our work done, Frost?" He asks of the teenager.

Jack licks his lip and considers this. "Sorry, it's just...well, it's hard to listen to them scream, you know?"

Striding out into MiM's light, Pitch turns to flash a quick, sad, smile in the younger spirit's direction. "Fear is not for the faint of heart, nor is delivering it," He explains, "But, someone has to do it." Gliding from the gentle glow and into a tree's long shadow, Pitch sinks into the ground, back to his lair to wait for his next victim.

How is this guys? Is it good? Is it Bad? Do you Like it? Dislike it? Does it seem like a fair follow-up to Pitch becoming a guardian? I thank you a bunch for taking the time to read this and hope you'll consider reviewing.