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felinefables2018-12-15 03:01 pm
ks_claw) wrote in felinefables2018-12-15 03:01 pm
Entry tags:
Prompt request - My memories keep fading and I don't know why
from Prompt batch 34 on tumblr, requested by heypapergirl.
Having a family all of a sudden could be rather overwhelming, so once in a while, Jack found himself back in the woods around Burgess, walking alone to think about all that had happened. About Easter, the Guardians, his own initiation, about Pitch… Sometimes he had company from Baby Tooth, but most of the time he was on his own.
And one evening around twilight, Jack found Pitch. He had been walking along one of the many paths, when he thought he heard a voice. It had not been like his sister’s voice, distant and mysterious and alluring. No… this one was closer, more… physical. And yet, it also sounded distant and ominous.
Carefully moving closer, Jack moved up a small hill and peered over, finding himself looking over a small clearing. And there was Pitch… he looked like he had seen better days, but considering how he was being dragged away by his Nightmares the last time Jack saw him…
The Boogeyman sat alone, his tattered robes spread out behind him, seeming to become one with the shadows, as the woods around them became darker. And yet, he didn’t seem to be paying any attention to his surroundings, staring intently down at his hands as he spoke. Jack frowned when he noticed, that there was something there, not between Pitch’s hands, but on the ground, glimmering faintly in the dying light.
“… Sometimes I remember what you looked like… your hair. Your smile. Your eyes… In my dreams, I remember everything! But as soon as I wake up…” He seemed to wince, reaching up to clutch at his head.
“My memories just keep fading and I don’t know why.”
After a long moment of sitting like that, he let go of his head and looked up towards the skies with a harrowed, exhausted expression.
“I’m so tired…”
“Pitch?” Jack didn’t know why he spoke up. Why he tried to draw the other’s attention.
The change was instantaneous. Pitch shot to his feet with a cacaphony of sudden shrieks and hisses, his cloak seeming to come to life as he drew himself up.
“GET AWAY FROM ME! HAVEN’T YOU DONE ENOUGH TO US!!!”
For a moment, his face was almost completely demonic, and Jack felt certain that if he had been human, he would have positively died of fright.
Instead, he found himself jumping back, grabbing his staff and holding it up like a shield between himself and Pitch, the shepherd’s crook glowing a bright white and blue.
Pitch drew back with a hissing screech of fury, his eyes shimmering in pure fury. Then, as sudden as that had happened, his face seemed to change, his entire posture deflating. And for a moment, he looked so miserable, so wounded, so human that Jack was left in a silent stupor, as the Boogeyman retreated and disappeared into the darkening forest.
Though it might have been the wind, Jack could have sworn that he heard a softly murmured ‘I’m sorry… I’m sorry….’ as Pitch disappeared out of sight.
And on the ground, where Pitch had been kneeling, lay an open locket. Picking it up, Jack found that it contained two things:
On one side was the image of a little girl. And on the other was a scratched out image of what might have been a woman.
‘My memories keep fading and I don’t know why.’
For a moment, Jack thought back to how Tooth had punched out one of the Boogeyman’s teeth. Then, he set off, the wind carrying him upwards and in the direction of the Tooth Palace.
He had some questions, and could only hope to find some answers.
Having a family all of a sudden could be rather overwhelming, so once in a while, Jack found himself back in the woods around Burgess, walking alone to think about all that had happened. About Easter, the Guardians, his own initiation, about Pitch… Sometimes he had company from Baby Tooth, but most of the time he was on his own.
And one evening around twilight, Jack found Pitch. He had been walking along one of the many paths, when he thought he heard a voice. It had not been like his sister’s voice, distant and mysterious and alluring. No… this one was closer, more… physical. And yet, it also sounded distant and ominous.
Carefully moving closer, Jack moved up a small hill and peered over, finding himself looking over a small clearing. And there was Pitch… he looked like he had seen better days, but considering how he was being dragged away by his Nightmares the last time Jack saw him…
The Boogeyman sat alone, his tattered robes spread out behind him, seeming to become one with the shadows, as the woods around them became darker. And yet, he didn’t seem to be paying any attention to his surroundings, staring intently down at his hands as he spoke. Jack frowned when he noticed, that there was something there, not between Pitch’s hands, but on the ground, glimmering faintly in the dying light.
“… Sometimes I remember what you looked like… your hair. Your smile. Your eyes… In my dreams, I remember everything! But as soon as I wake up…” He seemed to wince, reaching up to clutch at his head.
“My memories just keep fading and I don’t know why.”
After a long moment of sitting like that, he let go of his head and looked up towards the skies with a harrowed, exhausted expression.
“I’m so tired…”
“Pitch?” Jack didn’t know why he spoke up. Why he tried to draw the other’s attention.
The change was instantaneous. Pitch shot to his feet with a cacaphony of sudden shrieks and hisses, his cloak seeming to come to life as he drew himself up.
“GET AWAY FROM ME! HAVEN’T YOU DONE ENOUGH TO US!!!”
For a moment, his face was almost completely demonic, and Jack felt certain that if he had been human, he would have positively died of fright.
Instead, he found himself jumping back, grabbing his staff and holding it up like a shield between himself and Pitch, the shepherd’s crook glowing a bright white and blue.
Pitch drew back with a hissing screech of fury, his eyes shimmering in pure fury. Then, as sudden as that had happened, his face seemed to change, his entire posture deflating. And for a moment, he looked so miserable, so wounded, so human that Jack was left in a silent stupor, as the Boogeyman retreated and disappeared into the darkening forest.
Though it might have been the wind, Jack could have sworn that he heard a softly murmured ‘I’m sorry… I’m sorry….’ as Pitch disappeared out of sight.
And on the ground, where Pitch had been kneeling, lay an open locket. Picking it up, Jack found that it contained two things:
On one side was the image of a little girl. And on the other was a scratched out image of what might have been a woman.
‘My memories keep fading and I don’t know why.’
For a moment, Jack thought back to how Tooth had punched out one of the Boogeyman’s teeth. Then, he set off, the wind carrying him upwards and in the direction of the Tooth Palace.
He had some questions, and could only hope to find some answers.