shadowbound | First Scare

[The video feed comes to life, revealing one of the cabins. Limited light filters in from the window, drapes pulled closed, but a single candle lit up the desk in which a figure sat at.

The flame flickers, revealing a man's face, highlighting his displeased face. With his lips pursed, silver eyes narrow at the video feed, which changed to gold whenever the light from the candle shone in their direction.

Those eyes roll in their sockets, and the man looks away, his face enveloped in shadows once more.]

This is ridiculous. [He mutters into the darkness, exhaling heavily through his nostrils.]

Reduced to nothing but almost a mere mortal. [The spirit lifts his hand, his eyes concentrating on it. But for the nth time, nothing came. His hand shook and the side of his fist slams onto the desk.]

Locked up like some criminal. Unacceptable. This is no place for me. [His hand soon rests on his face, running down the front of it, pulling at skin.]

What am I even talking about; no one will hear me on this thing. Why even bother?

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They sniff out any source of fear they could find. I was beaten down, surrounded by my enemies.

[Bending the truth? A little.]

Instead of helping their master, they attacked me. [But he shrugs and looks over to Edward as they approach the elevator.]

What about you? What brought you here?

[Edward doesn't really want to talk about himself, but Pitch has been relatively forthcoming, and it would be rude to deny him an answer.

He presses the elevator button before speaking.]

Not meeting certain societal expectations, I suspect. It's thin justification for keeping me here, so we're rather in the same boat -- pun intended.

[And that tells Pitch exactly nothing. Good job, Edward.]

Am I right in identifying your enemies as The Guardians? Very strange that they should all gather to attack you. I would have thought them to have better things to do with their time.

[He eyes Edward for a moment, but he doesn't press the issue. He watches the elevator expectantly.

But he nods with a small laugh at the mention of the Guardians, more bitter than humorous.]

If I told you who the Guardians were, you probably wouldn't believe me.

[Edward arches a thin eyebrow in amusement. After being on the barge for so long, there's isn't a lot he won't believe, with a little convincing.]

I'm speaking to the bogeyman. Please, do tell.

Good point.

[He waves his hand in the air as he lists them off.]

They consist of the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, The Sandman, Jack Frost, and Santa Claus, otherwise known as North. All of them place their existence in the hands of children.

Luckily, fear has a wider demographic.

[That's very amusing to Eddie, who chuckles.]

What an embarrassing bunch to be defeated by. I feel as if you're describing the plot to a children's novel.

[The elevator comes to a stop, and while Edward steps out, he's shaking his head, smiling.]

Your demographic couldn't be that much wider. You're all basically in the same vein, targeting children. [Unless he means The Guardians themselves.]

[He rubs at his brow and continues to follow him.]

Don't remind me. [It was quite embarrassing to be defeated by characters such as them.] They're much different than you expect them to be. The Rabbit, for instance, knows tai chi.

[He shrugs.] Mostly children, yes, but I can also affect adults as well, if they believe enough in me.

I was, at one point, confronted by anthropomorphic, pastel-coloured ponies. The easter bunny being trained in Taijiquan definitely wasn't my first association, but unexpected -- no, not quite.

[They arrive on deck, and Riddler gestures extravagantly to the blanket of space and stars beyond the rails.]

Here we are, the deck. Beautiful view, and fresh synthetic air.

This place is getting stranger by the minute. [Pastel ponies? Wonderful.] No matter, I'm sure stranger things will occur here.

[Pitch steps out onto the deck, wincing a little at the artificial lighting up on deck but manages to still walk beside Riddler, looking across the deck, taking in a deep breath of said air.]

Are inmates free to roam about most of the Barge?

First Scare | Video

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