The Indian Village was hidden deep within a valley in the treacherous jungle of Neverland. It was there that Princess Tiger Lilly lived with her tribe. She lived in a relatively small tribe, it was close-knit and fierce, the people had to be if they wanted to survive in Neverland with Peter Pan and the lost boys. Tiger Lilly was no exception, she was a fierce girl with impressive speed and stamina, although she was a lousy shot with a bow and arrow, she was deadly with a spear.
Traditionally, the women in her tribe did not learn how to wield weapons, that was a task for the young braves. It wasn't until Pan came to Neverland all those years ago and the Lost Boys began to wreak havoc among the natives did the women begin to learn how to protect themselves, although they were still forbidden to hunt.
The Lost Boys had made a game out of kidnapping the Indian women, and creating magical maps that unless solved would lead the braves in circles for days. Upon getting bored, Pan would release the women, but the women would never be the same afterwards and some of the braves were lost in the woods forever, some even taken to become Lost Boys themselves by Pan's shadow.
Tiger Lilly befriended Peter Pan by mistake one day when she was walking along the beach digging for clams. She heard the clatter of weapons and crouching behind the exposed rocks, watched the scene as Peter Pan and another boy with brown hair and strange clothes battled on the sand.
"You cannot keep me here forever!" the boy cried out angrily.
"Oh, but I can Baelfire." Pan replied with a smirk as he parried the other boy's attack.
The fight continued, with Pan and the other boy continuing to fight one another. The other boy, Baelfire was blind with rage and determination "I am not going to waste my life here!"
"Waste? You will never grow old here. You will waste away if you leave."
"No I will live."
"Where will you go? Back to the Darlings? Wendy is long gone by now." Peter taunted.
Baelfire paused long enough that Peter knocked the sword from his hands and instead of running the other boy through, he tackled the other boy to the ground and pinned him. "You're staying…forever."
A flash of silver caught Tiger Lilly's attention as the boy on the ground managed to pull his dagger from his sleeve and use it to cut Peter's hand.
Peter pulled his hand away, only to have his eyes widen. "Dreamshade." He stated more than asked as he rolled off of Bealfire.
"Good bye Peter." The other boy said before running down the beach and disappearing from sight.
Peter was staring at the sky, "To die would be an awfully great adventure." He mused to himself.
It was at this time that Tiger Lilly decided to leave her hiding place and walked cautiously towards the wounded boy. If he had indeed been exposed to the dreamshade, there was only so much medical aid she could give him…if any.
Upon closer inspection, she noticed that Peter was an attractive boy, probably around her own age, with pixie like features and brown hair. He was dressed in green and was currently laying on his back on the ground, his blue eyes half open as he looked up at the sky.
"Peter Pan?" she asked.
The boy rolled his head lazily towards the sound of her voice. "Well if it isn't Tiger Lilly." He greeted with a smirk.
The girl kneeled before him. "You've been injured."
"Yes. Looks like I might die today. Ruffio will be the new leader of the lost boys."
Tiger Lilly assessed the boy with her eyes looking for any obvious injuries until she noticed the cut on his hand only that was already beginning to fester.
"I know a mermaid who owes me a favor, if you can make it with me to the lagoon, I will save you from your wound." Tiger Lilly explained.
"Why would you waste a gift like that on me?" he was suspicious.
"Because I believe that no one deserves to die this way." Tiger Lilly replied.
"You're a fool, you could be rid of me forever. Your people will hate you for saving me." The boy stated as he struggled into a sitting position.
"Fine. If I take you to the mermaid, she is not one of your floozies in the lagoon might I add, then you have to promise to stop kidnapping the people of my village."
Peter paused and seemed to think about these terms. "If your people get in my way then I have permission. This deal does not mean that we have to stop 'playing' with your people does it?"
"As long as you do not kill anyone or hurt them in a way in which they cannot recover." Tiger Lilly agreed.
"Deal." Pan held out his hand which Tiger Lilly shook.