A young boy sat in a tree, looking around. Hearing footsteps, he tensed, attempting to conceal himself further amongst the branches and leaves of his perch. He peeked to find another boy looking in a nearby bush. He laughed silently to himself, Tootles would never find him up here! Feeling a presence behind him, Slightly turned around, finding the face of their boyish leader grinning at him. He let out a startled shout as he almost fell from his branch. As the older boy laughed, rising higher into the air, he pouted.
"That's no fair, Peter! You weren't even it!"
"No one can hide from the Great Peter Pan!" He laughed, sticking out his tongue.
Peter awakened slowly, still clinging to the warmth of the dream. He frowned as he heard the peals of laughter from the other boys as they began to awaken. Knowing that a return to his dreamworld would now be impossible, he rose to face the day.
As he washed his face, he avoided the mirror at all costs. He knew what he would find there; a taller, more muscled boy, with the beginnings of a man's beard on his face. It had been this way since the Aging, and he could feel himself inching ever closer to Adulthood day by day.
It wasn't just Peter feeling the effects; The Lost Boys, the pirates, the Indians, and even some of the trees had all begun to age. With the ever declining fairy population, less of their magic was available to help keep everyone suspended at a younger age.
Peter hated it. He hated having to trim his hair to keep it out of his eyes. He hated how Nibs's voice was cracking. He hated how some of the Boys were starting to think about girls. He hated the man's baritone that insisted on pushing itself from his mouth. But most of all, he hated that he couldn't do anything about it.
He left his room, pushing aside the bear hide that separated his room from the rest of the hideout. He found himself entering the chaotic scene that daily greeted him as the boys roughhoused their way through breakfast. The boys, seeing their leader, immediately ceased whatever action they were in the middle of in order to crowd him and demand that he heed their request for the day's activities.
"I want to go hunting–"
"We did that yesterday! I want to fight pirates!"
"No, let's swim with the mermaids–"
"That's a girl activity, you're such a girl!"
"ENOUGH!" Peter bellowed, as the boys began to tease Slightly, "We're going to do a manhunt."
The boys began to chatter excitedly, as they had not done a manhunt in a long time. A debate soon began about how they would select the boy to be hunted. After much debating (involving a pick a number game versus having someone close their eyes and point), it was decided that a bundle of sticks would be cut to an equal size, with one shorter than the rest. The boys would close their eyes and draw a stick, and whoever picked the shorter stick would have a minute to hide somewhere on the island as the other boys planned their strategy to catch him. They cut the sticks and drew, and Peter laughed to find himself with the smallest one.
"You can't fly, though, Peter. That's an unfair advantage!" Slightly called after him.
"Still sore about me finding you that last time? I think it's time you got over that!" He chuckled, as he walked off toward the tree line.
He figured a minute would surely be enough time to find an abandoned animal den, especially with his knowledge of the island. Sure enough, within the first minute (for he had walked very far to give himself more time), he came across an old fox's den. Covering his tracks and nestling inside, he smirked to himself.
"Oh, the cleverness of me!"
As he waited for the boys, he began to get quite a bit bored. He almost wished he hadn't suggested manhunt so he could play his reed pipes for a bit. But he resisted, knowing that half the fun of the game was gloating his victory in front of the boys. Just as he was about to rest his head, he propped himself up again, hearing the shuffling of feet.
"Check the trees! He's sure to have hidden in there!"
Peter snickered silently to himself, but froze when a pair of feet stopped in front of his hiding den.
"Hey, guys, look! A fox den! Do you think maybe...?" Nibs squeaked.
"No way, Peter always prefers higher ground."
"I'm not seeing him!" called one of the Twins.
"Me neither!" shouted the other.
"Alright, let's move on, then. There are other trees."
Peter waited about two minutes after they left before he popped his head out of the hole. Smirking, he gave a proud crow at his success. Now he only needed to make it back to base without the boys finding him. He strode off for home, only to be interrupted a moment later by a floating ball of light tinkling urgently in his face.
"Wha– A council meeting? But they're so boring." He whined to the sparrowman in his face.
The tinkling became laced with anger as the light fluttered ever more urgently in front of him.
"Fine," he sighed, "lead the way."
He followed the light through the woods, playing his reeds with boyish delight. As he continued, though, the smile fell from his face. He remembered how brilliant the flowers used to be, how they seemed to be from some ethereal place. Now, they were easily outshone by some of the better tended gardens on the Mainland.
They came across their destination; the Fairy Tree. Legend had it that the Fairy Tree was what connected Neverland to the Earth, that it was what provided the fairies their magic to nurture the land. It was the source of life, and without it, it was doubted that Neverland could continue to exist. Those on the Mainland called it by a different name; Yggdrasil.
The fairies were already arranged in their circle. Peter took his place, hovering above the ground with his legs crossed so he may "sit" with the council and avoid tainting the ground in which Fairy Tree was rooted. He murmured a happy thought to the Fairy Tree, one of the warm Mainland sun on the day he left, then bowed his head to the King and Queen of Fairies.
"Yarrow, gather some of your fellow guards and ensure this meeting stays entirely private." the King addressed the sparrowman who had fetched Peter.
The sparrowman bowed, before nodding to a few flowers and trees. Out flew a number of other scout fairies, who began chasing out some of the butterflies and other creatures.
"I now call this meeting to order." announced the Queen.
They went over some of the basic items found at nearly every council meeting; ways to reduce killings by hawks, flower pollination schedules, ideas for maximizing their daily use of fairy dust. Finally, all were dismissed.
"Except you, Peter." the Queen twinkled softly, "My husband and I need to speak with you privately."
Peter sighed internally, but stayed, not wishing to show any disrespect. The King smiled bemusedly.
"You do not enjoy being here?"
"Not to offend your majesties, but I can't help but to find council meetings horrifyingly boring."
"Oh, Peter," the Queen giggled, "growing so old, and yet still such a boy."
Peter stiffened, and the fairies took notice. They said nothing, though both had been filled with the recent worry that their fairy boy might soon grow up. They feared that, should he stop believing, he would decimate the fairy population.
"Peter, we have a new assignment for you."
Peter sighed. He already had assignments from them, too many assignments. They had him traveling to the Mainland nearly every day recently in order to convince some of the non believing children that fairies did, in fact, exist. And when he wasn't doing that, he was playing his pipes and telling tales in fairy language to infants to make them laugh, and make more fairies.
"As you wish, your majesties. Might I ask who I'll be convincing today?"
"Don't take an attitude, Peter. These children are different. For some reason, they flit back and forth between belief and disbelief in our existence. The boys should be an easy fix, considering they're young and it's still their time to believe, and you needn't worry about the girl, she's close enough to adulthood to be a lost cause for us. But ensure the boys' faith in us, through whatever means necessary."
"Yes, your majesties."
"Thank you, Peter. Now, go search for the Darlings."