Chapter Text
But there are a LOT of questions when they actually start flipping through it. At first it seemed to be another history book, one speaking of an ancient golden era that had obviously been long over even when it was written. But then it started to tell another tale. One of a dark prison world where the terrors and fears of the universe were kept. How something had risen from there, how the fearlings took a body and gained a physical form that ravaged the stars and spread fear through the universe. It didn't take a genius to realize they were still dealing with that unnamed horror.
Jack listened to the tale with increasingly wide eyes. "So Pitch is just....a whole bunch of these things in one body?"
Bunnymund looked physically ill. "Crikey, he's a bunch of parasites that took over their bloody host!"
North idly flipped through the book, eyebrows raised. "So it seems. What we see as Pitch, he is just a sort of, how you say, vessel. Most likely is that they took over a dead body that happened to be nearby I am thinking."
Tooth shudders, feathers ruffling. "That's terrible!”
“Gross. But it would explain why he’s all...y’know...” Jack waved his fingers by his head, raising his eyebrows significantly. He pauses for a beat, then frowns, nose wrinkling. “Wait, you guys didn’t know?”
North shrugs and closes the book. “Pitch is oldest of all of us. He is older even than Sandman. There is much that we do not know about him.”
“A lot that we don’t WANT t’know.” Bunnymund adds.
There was more talk, but really, the new knowledge didn’t change much. Pitch may have been a conglomerate of fearlings that were currently acting as a committee in one body, but he was still Pitch. So Jack didn’t think too much more of it after that (aside from the occasional thought of things like ‘what if they don’t all agree on something?’ or ‘does that mean they all have to take a vote before making decisions?’ and ‘which one is responsible for the dancing?’)
But North and Bunnymund (who apparently was quite the scholar, who knew?) had put a LOT more thought into it.
And it was only a few months later when the Big Five were called back together.
North looks serious, but Bunnymund is practically bouncing around with glee.
Jack is...apprehensive.
“Un...seal him?”
North nods, “It is complicated process, but relatively simple spell. Bunny is one who found it. Pitch, he is merely a walking gathering, so-”
“So you break up the gathering! Send the little blighters scattering off back to where they belong! And that’s it!”
Tooth looks as unsure about this as Jack feels at least. “Bunny...can we even do that? I don’t like Pitch as much as anyone but we need to keep things balanced.”
“Pitch ain’t natural Tooth! The fearlings aren’t gettin’ destroyed, they’re being disbanded! It’s not getting rid of the fear, it’s just makin’ it less focused, makin’ it more like the way it was supposed to be!”
Jack still doesn’t feel quite right about this...but he’s also new. And he has a feeling that trying to defend Pitch won’t go over too well.
Which makes sense, he figures. He didn’t even see Pitch at his worst, didn’t see what he had been capable of when he was powerful.
So he doesn’t say anything, he just chews his lips in worry while the others plan.
It seems way too easy when they actually go through with it.
It’s easy to corner Pitch in his lair, he’s a lot weaker now and only yells in rage from the shadow he’s backed up into. Jack can only wince from where he is behind the Guardians while Pitch snarls and hisses helplessly at them.
He shouldn’t feel guilty, he reminds himself. Pitch isn’t really a person right? He’s a puppet, a bunch of things making one body move.
That doesn’t help when the screaming starts.
It doesn’t keep Jack from having to turn away and cover his ears to stop from being sick when he actually hears the single scream start fracturing, turning into shrieks from thousands of shadows as they scatter.
He feels Tooth’s small arm come around his shoulders and he huddles into her, trying to focus on her rapid heartbeat instead of the way the shadows are writhing and screaming into the air as they rip away from the convulsing THING that had been Pitch.
Finally it stops, and Jack is left with the sound of his own gasping as he slowly lowers his hands from his ears. The echoes of the last fearling are dying on the air and it’s all so strange.
That’s it.
It’s over now. Their greatest threat has literally been scattered to the wind.
He had expected to hear cries of celebration, but the dark room (less dark now, he notices) is filled with a heavy, tense silence.
He looks up and can immediately see why.
They never really knew what would be left after the fearlings scattered. The main guesses were either nothing or the remnants of whatever body they had taken.
But Jack can see Pitch, whole and lying on the ground. And breathing.
Something is wrong. Something is really, really wrong. Jack can only see one outflung hand, but the skin is lighter. It’s still stone grey but it’s not smudged with coal-like nightmare sand now. There’s an almost silvery quality to it (‘Like it’s lit by the moon’, Jack thinks, and he feels insane for even considering that.)
And Pitch’s robe doesn’t do that odd blend into his body. It’s a simple black coat now, frayed and worn around the edges.
Everyone stays back, staring in shock at where Pitch is sprawled.
Then he moves.
There’s a collective inhale, a tensing all around while they watch in horrified fascination.
It’s a slow, shaking movement as he pulls his arms in under him with a groan. He seems weak, impossibly weak and barely pushes himself up with another pained sound.
He just sits there then, holding himself up on his hands. His head is bowed, like it’s too heavy, and Jack can see the way his body trembles. They’re just small little shakes, like earthquakes, that start at his center and move out until it looks like his arms are barely holding him up.
Jack breaks away from the group, ignoring the hissed warnings as he slowly walks towards Pitch. As he gets closer, he can see the delicate embroidered patterns picked out in gold at the edges of the long coat.
Pitch’s whole frail form is shaking now, and Jack can hear the way his breath is hitching in quick, shallow inhales. He doesn’t know what’s happening doesn’t know whether to reach out or not.
“Pitch?”
Pitch’s head flies up with a pained gasp and Jack nearly falls backwards. It’s still Pitch’s face, but his skin is indeed lighter, cleaner and an almost translucent pale grey. But it’s his eyes that get Jack. They’re not that odd, gleaming grey-silver-gold (Jack could never figure out what color Pitch’s eyes were supposed to be), they’re just gold now. Almost as gold and bright as Sandy’s body.
And they’re wide and brimmed with tears and so completely and utterly terrified that Jack feels his lungs clench up.
“What am I?”
Jack almost doesn’t hear it. Pitch’s voice is already cracked and hoarse from screaming and he whispers it so quietly.
Jack cautiously edges closer.
“What did you say?”
“What am I!?” Pitch nearly screams it this time. He looks like he’s falling apart, like he’s breaking more than he was when he was actually falling apart. Jack grips his staff, he doesn’t know what to do doesn’t know how to even begin to handle this.
“Pitch, what-”
Pitch yanks back like he’s been physically struck. “Don’t!” He curls in on himself, hands shaking again as they cover his head like he’s trying to block Jack out. “Don’t call me that!”
What does he do, what CAN he do? Jack slowly crouches down by....Pitch? But maybe not. What was he...
He sucks in a breath when he thinks, ‘Maybe the body wasn’t dead when the fearlings took it.’
He feels sick. Bites his lip while he looks at what Pitch USED to be. At what the fearlings had taken and destroyed.
And now Jack and the rest of them were left with the pieces. How much of this was Pitch? He looked like Pitch, his voice was the same, but everything else...
“What...what do I call you?”
Pitch (Not Pitch, Jack corrects himself) stays where he is, knees tucked up and head clutched between his hands. He’s still shuddering in small shocks and barely breathing without hyperventilating.
Jack is starting to think that the man didn’t hear him, when his voice finally cracks through the shallow gasps. It’s a small whisper again, and sounds like he’s almost ashamed to say it. Like saying it is the most painful thing he’s done.
“Kozmotis...”
Jack just stares, mouth opening and shutting on something to say. He sees Tooth start to move forward and waves them all back. This guy...Kozmotis, doesn’t seem like he’d take crowding too well right now.
“Okay....okay...so, Kozmotis.” It’s a weird name, it’s not like any name Jack’s ever heard before. Who was this guy? What had happened to him? “Do you remember anything?”
The man - Kozmotis - looks at Jack over the tops of his hands, eyes wide and confused and Jack still can’t stop thinking of this guy as Pitch. It’s just unsettling, seeing Pitch’s features so creased with terror and so obviously disoriented.
“I don’t-” Pi-...Kozmotis’ brows crease as he begins to look around. “Where- where am I? I was-...” Jack quickly steps back as the man starts to push himself onto his feet, leaning heavily on the wall. He looks like he’s about to collapse any second, moving slowly along the wall as he stares up and around at Pitch’s lair (his lair?)
“Okay easy there. Don’t worry if you can’t remember it’s okay.” Jack tries to sound as soothing as he can, tries to get the guy to just stop and sit and calm down so they can all DO something about it.
“Jack! What is happening?” He winces a bit, though North keeps his voice as low as he can.
“I don’t know! He says his name is Kozmotis? I don’t think this is Pitch.”
He notices Sandy’s eyes widen, but he doesn’t worry about that right now. He can ask later. Bunnymund however, just scowls in confusion. “If he ain’t Pitch who the bloody hell is he?”
The ‘he’ in question was still stumbling along the wall, Jack can hear bits of him muttering and tries to keep close and make sure their new problem doesn’t go wandering off. “I don’t know okay! I don’t even know if HE knows!”
“Why are the cages empty?” It’s said so softly and in such a low, hoarse voice that Jack almost doesn’t hear it. He turns and Kozmotis (he’s still not used to that name, what kind of name WAS that?) is staring out over the endless cavern of hanging cages.
“The cages?” As far as Jack knew they were just there for creepy decoration.
“They’re... Where are... They shouldn’t be empty what happened what-” Kozmotis is sounding more and more agitated, running a hand over his face as his eyes dart about. “Where are they? I don’t...” He winces, as if trying to remember is physically painful. “I was looking-... Where...”
“Hey it’s okay, just calm down. We’ll get this figured out and-”
Kozmotis’ eyes suddenly go wide and vacant. And completely panicked. “Where is she?”
She?
“Who?” Jack doesn’t like where this is going. Doesn’t like the way Kozmotis starts shaking where he’s leaning on the wall.
“Where is she where is she?! No, no I need-...” He pushes from the wall, stumbling a few steps as he looks out over the cages. “They took her! No nononono what happened I don’t-where is she no what happened!”
Jack quickly flies over to his side. “Calm down! Who is she? Um, maybe we can help? You just need to-”
“I need to find her, I need to find her they took her! I was looking, I was trying to find her and-” Kozmotis tries to take another step, tries and fails as his legs buckle under him and he falls like a puppet with its strings cut. He curls in on himself where he falls, seemingly unaware of Jack hovering over him.
“Guys! Guys ok can uh... you can come over here now, I don’t know what to do! He lost someone? I don’t know! He’s freaking out!”
Tooth comes up first, putting a hand on his shoulder while she watches Pit-Kozmotis with wide eyes. North comes up next, holding a hand out like he’s approaching a wild animal as he talks softly.
“We need to get him out of here. This, we were not expecting. Bunny and I thought it would just be poof! No more body! This is...”
Kozmotis goes still, still as stone and his voice comes out a low, dangerous hiss. “Get away from me....”
Everyone tenses, Tooth’s hand clenching on Jack’s shoulder while Bunnymund and North slowly reach for their weapons. Sandy frowns, but doesn’t call out his sandwhips. (Jack has a feeling Sandy has an idea what’s going on, but he’ll ask about that later. Right now they need to deal with this Pitch who isn’t Pitch.)
“Jack,” Bunnymund approaches slowly, boomerang out. “You sure this ain’t Pitch?”
“All I know is that he said his name was Ko-”
“Get AWAY from me!” Kozmotis (though it looks like Pitch now, the skin and eyes are still wrong but Jack knows that snarl) throws himself back up onto his feet, backing away from the Guardians with bared teeth and wild eyes. “What did you do to me!?”
Okay...so maybe this was still Pitch? He definitely looks like it, raged and hissing even though the shadows aren’t coming to him. Pitch-Kozmotis-whoever, backs away towards the wall, hand tensing oddly out to his side.
It takes a few minutes for Jack to recognize the movement. He’s seen Pitch do that several times, reach out and flex his hand and instantly close it around a scythe made of darkness. At least it’s not working anymore, so Jack will be glad for that. The last thing they need is a delirious and confused Pitch with a weapon.
“Ok Kozmotis just-... It’s ok. We’re not going to hurt you.” Jack cautiously steps towards where the man’s backed up into the wall. “It’s Kozmotis right? That’s your name?” Pitch... Kozmotis’ eyes dart over to Jack, the snarl is still there but he’s starting to look unsure again. Jack keeps talking, “Right, it’s Kozmotis, that’s what you told me. Who were you looking for? Maybe we can help?”
Pitchmotis (Jack really needs to figure out WHO this guy really is) slowly deflates, eyes darting between Jack, the Guardians, and the hanging cages. “No, nono they took her I couldn’t stop them I couldn’t find her.” He leans against the wall again, looking lost. “I have to find her! I need... Where is she where’s my princess...”
Jack steps closer as Kozmopitch sinks down again, grabbing at his hair like he’s trying to pull the memories out. “Where is she I need...” His voices goes distant and quiet, it sounds like an echo, like the whimpering of a child. “I need to find her-- Daddy’s coming daddy’s coming just wait I’ll... No I failed I- They took her! They got out they got out I let them out-”
Jack’s gut clenches, he feels sick and can hear Tooth’s sharp gasp behind him.
Daddy? Pitch was a dad? But how long ago was that? What had happened?
Kozmotis curls in on himself again, hands clutching his head and body shaking. “No no no no nonono she’s gone!” His voice cracks, breaks on a dry heave of breath that looks like it tears through his whole body. “I let them out I let them out I failed and she’s gone what happened no nono I don’t want-I don’t want to see, I don’t want to know! Stop stop stop!”
Jack doesn’t know what to do. The man is shaking and hyperventilating and sounds completely SHATTERED and Jack can’t do anything but stare in shock and be completely useless.
Luckily Sandy snaps out of the stunned silence and carefully floats over to the sobbing man. Jack has never seen Sandy look so sad and pitying as he brings up a small wisp of sand. It curls towards Kozmotis-Pitch, brushes over his face and winds around him as the trembles die and his sharp gasps calm and even out.
Sandy helps ease the man down onto the ground while another tense and heavy silence falls over them.
“Ok...” Jack finally says. “I take it that wasn’t supposed to happen?”
“Who the hell is this!?” Bunnymund replies. That answers that question.
“He said his name was Kozmotis.” Jack doesn’t look away from the prone figure on the ground. Or, more accurately, he doesn’t look away from the golden butterflies softly fluttering over his head.
He had seen those before, and had thought it was funny at first. But now he can’t help but wonder about them. “Sandy...why do both of them dream of butterflies?”
Sandy just shakes his head sadly. This definitely isn’t over, Jack’s gonna get some answers out of him after they figure this mess out.
“Pitch wasn’t supposed to still be here!” Bunnymund looks ready to tear his fur out and North is just frowning in thought.
“I don’t think it’s Pitch, Bunny.” Tooth says, fluttering over to look down at the man. “He did give a different name.”
“That sure as bloody hell looked like Pitch trying to pull that damn scythe of his out on us!”
“But he could not.” Noth finally says. “So Pitch or no, the spell did work in some way. He no longer is a threat it seems.”
“Yeah but now what do we do with him?” Jack resists the urge to prod at the Not-Pitch with his staff. He doubts the man would be able to sleep through a small coat of frost and Jack doesn’t want to deal with more of... All that emotion.
“We can’t leave him here.” Tooth says. She’s peering down into Not-Pitch’s face and Jack gets the feeling that she’s trying to look into his mouth as if that will tell her what she needs to know.
“Damned right we can’t.” Bunnymund growls, “I wouldn’t let the bastard out of my sight. Even if he ain’t Pitch, he obviously isn’t right in the head and was all too ready to attack us.”
Jack frowns, still watching the circling butterflies. “He was scared. He was... I think he had lost a kid or something, right before the fearlings somehow got him.”
That quiets Bun up, though he still frowns at Kozmotis suspiciously.
Sandy raises a hand to get their attention and quickly goes into a blur of pictures. Jack can’t even follow most of them, he catches a strange star symbol and then what looks like a cartoon castle before he loses track of the images entirely.
North brightens up though, so at least someone was able to follow that. “Are you sure Sandy? It is a good idea, he would do well there.”
Jack frowns again (he definitely DOES NOT pout), he never did like feeling out of the loop. “Do what where now?”
“Sandy’s castle!” Tooth says excitedly. She then blinks, her bright smile giving way to a surprised look at Sandy. “Sandy are you sure? You’re really busy!”
Sandy gives her a look that clearly expresses what he thinks about her doubt. Jack is momentarily distracted from the Kozmopitch problem and raises his eyebrows. “Sandy has a castle?”
Why did everyone have castles? Or palaces or workshops that were practically palaces on their own.
Well, Bun had a hole in the ground. But it was a really impressive one.
Sandy grins and nods brightly, another series of images flashing above his head as he carefully lifts Kozmopitch (Jack needs to decide on a name at some point) up on a small cloud of golden sand.
It still doesn’t seem real. Jack feels like it was a lifetime ago that they had Pitch snarling and hissing at them from the shadows, hands clawed and eyes flashing in the sparse light.
And now Pitch was lying in front of him, pale and brittle and... No longer Pitch. Someone else was there. Someone who had snarled in rage just like Pitch...
But who had also cried out for what sounded like a child.
Jack shudders and looks away, he doesn’t really want to think about the possibilities of Pitch once being a father.
“He looks so peaceful.” Tooth says quietly next to him.
“For now.” Bunnymund growls.
Jack for once finds that he has absolutely nothing to say. Everything is still sinking in and he can’t work out what he’s even feeling about all of this mess.
The sand shifts, rises up around Kozmopitch’s body and Sandy lifts off of the ground.
“You will keep us updated yes Sandy?” North asks. “Let us know anything that happens!”
Sandy nods and gives an “ok” sign, smiling slightly though he’s watching his new charge with tired eyes.
There’s a swirl of sand, blurring up around the two figures and just like that
They’re gone.
*****
****
After that was a bit of a blur really. There was more talking, most of which Jack didn’t pay attention to.
They would all keep in contact, all keep each other updated. But other than that...
Well they couldn’t stop their work. Another night was coming and children needed to be taken care of.
So they go their separate ways, continue bringing joy to kids, and life goes on.
It was kind of the most anti-climactic “final battle” Jack has ever witnessed.
He tries not to think about it too much as he travels with the winds. But it’s too strange, thinking that there is no Pitch Black lurking in the shadows anymore. And instead, there’s a man somewhere in Sandy’s castle, who looks like Pitch but somehow isn’t.
He gets updates mainly from his run-ins with Tooth. Besides him and Sandy, she does the most travelling since she decided to do more “field work.” North and Bunnymund are prepping for their big days and Sandy is either flying around in a hurry or tending to his unexpected guest.
For the first several months it sounds like the same general news. Sandy isn’t letting anyone see the guy, who apparently spends most of his time screaming anyway.
Which is something Jack is ok not visiting, to be fair.
But things start looking better. Screaming eventually gives way to actual coherent conversation.
It’s been almost a year when a small meeting is called.
“So?” Jack prompts, “What’s he like?”
Sandy had started allowing visitors recently, spaced out and carefully guarded in case his guest had what they were calling “an episode.” Tooth and North had already been, though Bunnymund was still busy getting ready for the rapidly approaching Easter.
“Well he... Isn’t quite what I expected. Though I’ll admit that I didn’t really know what to expect.” Tooth starts. She flutters a little nervously, chewing her lip in thought. “He was really tense the entire time and obviously didn’t want me there. I think we only talked for about ten minutes at most. It was really hard to get a good reading on him though, he was so uptight the whole time.” She pauses, eyes going distant as she thinks back.
“There was one bit though... When he got really quiet and just... Sat there. He looked like Pitch all of a sudden. I can’t explain it, it’s like everything went dark and he just got... focused.” Her feathers ruffle and she shakes herself out of the memory. “Then he kinda shook himself out of it and was back to being nervous and wound up. He seems ok but... I wouldn’t say he’s exactly stable.”
North nods, stroking his beard. “He was not so bad when I talked to him, though he also did not really appreciate the visit. I am thinking he’s having troubles with memories, must be difficult so I am willing to give him time.”
Jack nods, twirling his staff. He’s really feeling kind of useless here, he has no idea what they’re talking about really. “So when’s my turn to visit the new guy?”
The other two get suspiciously quiet, sharing a look.
“Jack...” North begins, and he can already hear the apology there. Oh this can’t be for real. “We are not sure it is a good idea, you visiting.”
“What!? Come on! It’s not like I’m in danger! I was the only one who could really fight Pitch at first if you don’t remember!”
He doesn’t really like bringing that up, but REALLY! He doesn’t want to be left out here!
Tooth sighs and zips over to him, putting a placating hand on his shoulder. “Jack we just don’t know how stable he is! This isn’t really Pitch but we don’t know how much of Pitch is left in there! And Pitch-”
“Pitch was not safe with you, Jack.” North says carefully. “We are not sure how why, but you said he wanted you on his side and the man was always... Very determined.”
Jack nearly throws his staff up in frustration. “He wanted me to be his buddy, ONCE! I said no, he threw a tantrum, and I never heard of it again! And I don’t see what the big deal is!”
“You’re still not in your full power as a Guardian!” Tooth says, she’s obviously worried about this, and Jack still doesn’t get WHY. “Pitch always focused his attacks on you after that Easter battle Jack, you had to have noticed! He never really forgave you for choosing us and we don’t know if seeing you will do anything with Kozmotis’ recovery!”
“This is stupid!” Jack snaps. It’s not that he was THAT intent on seeing the new guy, he just hates that he’s being left out! And for such a dumb reason!
“Just be patient Jack.” North says calmly. “You will have your time. But for now we must ‘play it safe’ as they say, yes?”
“Yeah.” Jack mutters. “Fine. Ok. I’ll wait.”
****
****
It wasn’t nearly as hard finding Sandy’s castle as he thought it would be. All he had to do was follow one of the thin streams of sand on it’s winding way back to the source.
It was a long journey over an impossible expanse of ocean, Jack was starting to wonder if he had gotten himself well and truly lost when he saw the gleam of gold on the horizon.
“Heh, cute.” He grins at the approaching site of what can only be called a castle-boat. It’s an immense thing that defies any real logic. It looks more like it GREW instead of being built. A huge ship with sweeping curves and arches that meld seamlessly into a palace where there should be a deck. Jack thought it was like a boat had decided to be a castle halfway through but couldn't make it's mind up about it.
Jack can see swirling images on the sides of the ship and up the towers and walls of the castle, things that get lost if he looks at them too hard. The whole thing is sculpted from gleaming, luminous golden sand.
And if he looks too close he starts getting a headache when he notices that the whole thing is constantly shifting. Staircases changing and and walls moving slowly as if in thought.
Jack watches in fascination for a bit, it’s like the whole thing is alive.
That’ll certainly make his search interesting.
But Jack is anything if not stubborn, so he sets off and starts circling the towers, checking in on all the large, round windows. He’s not even sure the guy is being kept in a place Jack could find but hey, he’s not gonna just let this rest without trying.
Really, the others should have known better than to tell him he couldn’t do something.
He spends nearly a whole day flying around the castle and is just about to give up when he spots a figure in a window a little ways away.
“Gotcha.” He whispers to himself, grin growing wide. He rushes over and perches on a ledge on top of the window, peering down into the room.
The guy, Kozmo, Pitch, whatever, doesn’t even notice him. Even though he’s sitting right there in the windowsill with Jack only a couple feet away. He’s completely absorbed in some thick book perched up on his knees, frowning in concentration as his fingers tap along the edges.
Jack takes the chance to watch him for a few moments. It’s just...so weird. Pitch’s lanky form is wearing normal clothes for one. Well, normal-ish. They're a bit formal for Jack’s taste. The man's wearing a tailored, high collared coat that fits in sharp, clean lines down to mid-thigh and is such a deep blue that it’s almost black. Jack can see flashes of intricate gold embroidery along the hems of the coat but can’t make out any particular pattern to it. Jack can see the edges of a cream and gold undershirt and Pitch’s weird shadow tights deal have been replaced with plain, dark pants and what look suspiciously like a pair of riding boots.
Where was this guy even GETTING these get ups? Was Sandy somehow making them? Jack shrugs the question off and looks around the room. It’s spacious, airy and all colored with dark, royal blues, satiny cream whites and golds. There’s an impressive set of bookshelves, even a couch and large overstuffed reading chair. Not too bad at all.
He looks back at the strange man wearing Pitch’s face, who hasn’t even looked up from his book. The thing must be fascinating.
“Good book?” Jack finally asks, unable to contain himself anymore.
Not-Pitch jumps about a foot in the air and the book nearly goes sailing at Jack’s head.
There’s an explosive flurry of flying arms and legs as the man scrambles at the book to keep it from flying off into the ocean and ends up clutching it to his chest, staring at Jack with wide eyes.
Ok then.
Jack grins in what he hopes is a comforting way and the guy’s eyes just go a bit wider at that, still clutching the book to his chest.
“Ha! I’m not used to being the one startling you instead of the other way around! This is nice!” Pitch had always had a nasty habit of popping up right behind Jack to threaten and hiss in his ear. Got him almost every time with that.
And that was one of the most impressive startled flailings Jack has seen. He’s still chuckling to himself as he flips down and lands in the room (ignoring the small strangled noise of protest from the window), pivoting on the spot to get a better look.
He can see a door to what looks like a bathroom and a bedroom area, more blues and golds and whites and what looks like MORE bookshelves.
Then he notices that there are no other doors. Nothing to the outside except a window that’s almost a mile above flat ocean.
He whistles to himself as he turns to look back at Not-Pitch, who is still staring at Jack with wide eyes and clutching the book to his chest like it’s a shield.
“They really keep you locked up in here, huh?”
The man just blinks owlishly at him, looking like Jack is some monster that just popped into his room. His golden eyes are darting from Jack to the window and if anything he’s just looking more and more freaked out as Jack smiles at him.
Weird.
“You really don’t talk as much as you used to. I can go with this, it’s a nice change of pace, being able to get a few words in.”
That seems to snap the man out of whatever weird trance he was in. He inhales sudden and deep as if he had stopped breathing for a second and stands quickly, nearly falling over as he backs away from Jack until he hits a wall.
Then keeps going along the wall until he’s over on the other end of the room. Jack watches in fascination as Not-Pitch eyes him like a dangerous beast to keep far away from.
“Mainly came by to say hi.” Jack continues. Is he really this terrifying? “I know the other guys were stopping in to check up on the leftovers of their project and figured I’d join the party. By the way, we haven’t been properly introduced,” He walks up and holds a hand out to Not-Pitch. “The name’s Jack Frost.”
Not-Pitch just cringes away, fingers clutching white at the book and staring at the proffered hand like it’s deadly. “We’re already quite well acquainted, Frost.”
Jack nearly yanks back, it sounds like Pitch even the way he says Jack’s NAME is just like Pitch. Same inflections same soft but dangerous growl. He has to remind himself not to bring his staff up, that this isn’t Pitch.
And besides, now he at least knows that it can speak!
“Well, me and the other guy, yeah. I only got a quick mention of your name when you were wheezing it.” Which was followed by a lot of yelling and screaming but Jack is polite enough to not mention that.
“Kozmotis...” The man says cautiously. He then frowns and continues, “and there was no ‘other guy’, only me.”
Jack shrugs, watching as Kozmotis sidles away again, approaching the bookshelves like they’ll save him from the terror that is Jack.
“You were going by a different name and were slightly more crazy. Well,” He pauses, staring as Kozmotis actually grabs onto the huge, HEAVY reading chair and drags it between them as he goes towards the shelves. Kozmotis pauses long enough to glare at Jack over the top of the ridiculously overstuffed furniture before shuffling out from behind it.
Only to grab the couch. Jack just watches with wide eyes as Kozmotis succeeds in making a furniture barrier to keep the scary Jack away.
“I assume you were more crazy...than you are now?” Jack finishes, staring as Kozmotis backs up behind his protective wall of furniture.
Oh what the hell.
Kozmotis just starts eyeing the shelf like it’s perfectly normal to drag furniture around when going to put a book away.
“Yes well. You’ve introduced yourself now, so you can go. I can’t give any promise as to my mental state,” as if on cue he does a strange shudder, nearly dropping the book he’s putting up. “But I can assure you that I don’t plan on destroying anything soon if that’s what you’re concerned with.”
Jack’s about to say that he really wasn’t too concerned, especially with how Kozmotis is apparently TERRIFIED of him, but stops as Kozmotis does another full body shudder. The man sucks in a breath like he’s centering himself and lets it out slow, every one of his muscles going tense.
“You should go.” His voice sounds strained, like he’s barely keeping himself from running.
“Wait, what?” Jack frowns, he was only starting! “Come on! I just got here! I heard Tooth managed a whole ten minutes before things got too awkward!”
Kozmotis’ jaw clenches and he glares at the shelf, refusing to look at Jack. “You will have to find some other record to break. Leave.”
Jack blinks, Kozmotis is looking pale, his hands are shaking as they clench on the spine of the book that he put on the shelf a while ago. He takes a cautious step closer, feeling worried, the guy doesn’t look too good. “Are you alright?”
“Yes I am perfectly fine!” Kozmotis snaps, stepping away as Jack steps closer. Jack stops, Kozmotis looks even more strained now, like he’s in physical pain. Maybe Jack shouldn’t have made that leftover joke? He can never tell what is and isn’t ok to say.
“You know, I didn’t really mean it earlier right? About you just being leftovers? I mean it’s more like Pitch was the leftovers of you right?”
That was about right wasn’t it? Pitch was what was left when this guy was taken over by fearlings. It doesn’t seem to comfort Kozmotis any, he just keeps breathing slow and even and carefully controlled.
“Yes thank you but my poor delicate feelings are stronger than that. Now please. Get out.”
“Do you need me to go get Sandy? I mean if you need any help-”
Kozmotis whips around lightning fast, golden eyes blazing and hands curled at his sides (not clawed, Jack notes, so that’s something). “GET OUT!” he roars, practically shaking on the spot now as he snarls at Jack.
Jack jumps back slightly. “Ok! Ok wow! I’m going I’m going!” He can take a hint!
He heads back to the window, feeling Kozmotis’ glare on him the whole way. It was weird, so weird. That snarl was Pitch. That had Pitch written all over it, even the clawed hands and blazing eyes.
But it wasn’t Pitch.
He hops up onto the window, turning to give Kozmotis one last, considering look, “Y’know, if it makes you feel better, you’re not nearly as good at that whole angry growling thing as Pitch was. I give that one a four out of ten.” He grins and waves his fingers in a mock salute, “See ya!”
And then he hops out, leaving Kozmotis gaping after him.
As far as first meetings go it wasn’t the most stellar. Awkward didn’t even cover that mess. But it wasn’t the catastrophe Tooth and North were worried about!
Maybe he should stop by again sometime. The guy had to be going nuts locked away up there by himself.
Jack grins as he flies off over the ocean, if nothing else, this was something new. Someone new to bother and talk to and visit.
This was something fun.