Yoohoo! Oker doke so this chapter is already too long without the notes, so I'll keep it short and sweet. I hope you like the new character I'm adding in today. I'm not sure if I'll have the chapters structure like this, either in the past or present. Drop a review if you want and tell me what you think, thanks so much!
Felix's POV ~Past time~
Felix wasn't sure it was a good idea to follow Auria out into the woods, especially since the Evil Queen lady had gone into the castle to figure out who had taken it over. Felix took one look at the over decorated shack and stuck his tongue out. Why anyone would want a place so big was past him, but nonetheless it seemed that he'd be staying there for a while. Training to be some sort of knight, or whatever David liked to call it.
He was a pity case, he knew that, yet he didn't really care. Besides, he'd only be a pity case if the dumb fairy didn't get them killed. "Do you have any idea where you going?" Felix drawled, closing his fist and wishing he had a club, or something else to fight with. The trees here stretched high into the sky, and the undergrowth was thin compared to Neverland. Felix moved around easily, but kept glancing up to see the sky clearly through the gaps in the trees.
He had distant memories of staring up at the sky in the middle of the woods bordering his family's farm. He'd been younger then, a kid that hadn't had anything better to do with his time. Part of him resented how naïve he'd been then, before he'd met Peter and everything had changed. Felix never held much sentiment toward his family, but when the disease had taken them...he'd only had Peter. A kid that had become his bestfriend, and kept him moving when his mind drifted to the days where he'd watch the sky between the trees.
"I just heard something from this direction. It was like a scream." Auria said, and Felix watched her rub the pendant she never let stray from her neck. He raised an eyebrow thinking about how much fairy dust that she could pull from it. Often Felix got annoyed at her uncanny ability to read people, especially when she was reading him. In his experience, fairies mostly helped royalty, important people that could spread the word about how helpful the fairy was. No fairies came to help his town when so many people died from sickness.
Just as Felix was about to insist they turn around before getting lost, a young woman stumbled in the forest a small distance away from them. "That'll teach you to refuse my gift! You slimy, bottom-feeding cheater!" The woman screamed at a passing flash of green. Felix was taken aback, scrunching his nose at the situation. The woman was dressed in a beige color that resembled animal skins. She wore a skirt in the same beige material, lined with dark stripped fur. Her top covered only her chest and around the area, leaving her stomach and lower back exposed.
The top came up and wrapped around her neck, dark brown fur looping over her shoulders. Her gloves wrapped around her thumb and cut off midway between her wrist and her elbow. Her hair was a loose brown that flowed past her mid back, and her cheekbones were as sharp as the knife protruding from her boots, also lined with fur. All in all, she reminded Felix of the Piccaninny tribe that lived on Neverland.
The thought suddenly occurred to him that they'd been left to face whatever happened to Neverland alone. If things were the way Trinity said, then Felix figured that Neverland should've returned to a happier, temporary place for little boys to escape to in their dreams.
"P-Po!?" Auria gasped and took a step back, a flash of fear passing through her eyes that Felix didn't miss. He stepped forward and clenched his fist, plotting a way to disarm the woman if she took her knife up against them. Instead, the woman just stared at the two of them shocked, before a grin slowly split her face. The wind rushed past her and at them, making the leaves on the ground swirl in a spiral up and then down again. The sun was beginning to descend, yet even though dusk wasn't quite there, Felix felt a chill.
His features remained stony and unyielding, despite the friendliness that woman showed as she approached them. "Auria! Look at you, pet!" She exclaimed and grinned brightly. "You look amazing, but you've been gone for so long! Blue said you came back from wherever you'd disappeared to, but you didn't come visit anyone!" The woman put on a pouty face as she tried to slide past Felix.
He narrowed his eyes and side stepped in front of the woman, who just looked at him curiously. Auria put her hand awkwardly on Felix's arm, and he glanced back to see her give him a reassured smile, although she chewed her lip a bit. "Felix, it is alright. This is Po, she's a fairy." Auria explained and Felix eased back, with one raised eyebrow. Auria's hand slid off his arm, but the spot she touched remained warm for minute after, causing Felix to rub it unconsciously.
He was sure he didn't missed the look in Auria's eye when she first saw the woman, but maybe that was beyond what Felix could help. "I'm Auria's friend! My name is a mouthful so most folk call me Po. You however..." Po leaned in and studied Felix with big, brown, oval eyes. Felix leaned back a bit as she moved in to get a close up look of him. "You're lost, aren't you?" She asked with a low tone, and the words rang a bell in Felix's mind. He was about to ask her exactly what she meant when she pulled back, straightened herself and waited for a response with a smile and bright eyes.
His deep and gruff voice was unpleasant next to Po's, a severe contrast that didn't fit well together. "Uhh, no. We know our way back." Felix answered, and the woman closed one eye and made a big show about thinking about something. Auria fidgeted behind Felix, staring at anywhere but at Po. Suddenly Felix realized an obvious question hadn't yet been answered. So before Po could theatrically display what she was building up to with pinching her lip and shifting her weight from left to right, he blurted out a question. "Who were you yelling at?"
"Oh." Po sighed and shrugged. "Just a nasty little boy." She said in a teasing tone and Auria grabbed the sleeve of Felix's shirt.
"We should go." She said and Felix nodded, disliking Po's atmosphere. Po tilted her head and bit the nail of her thumb with a sly look on her face. "Po...um, where are the other fairies?" Auria asked, and Po strutted over to Auria to wrap her arm around her shoulder. Once she walked past Felix, he was able to see a pair of simple, brown wings.
"Why don't I go back with you, and I'll tell Tinkerbell about it too? Blue said something about turning a new leaf, giving you two a second chance. I wouldn't worry about it that much, I mean you only stole two magic beans, which we had so precious few of, and disappeared for several decades." Po listed and as she started walking Auria back the way they'd came, she turned to Felix and beckoned him with a small twitch of her pinky finger.
He frowned when the fairy turned back around, and suddenly thought about the very real possibility of Auria going back to the fairies. Felix stalked behind them and occasionally, through Po's monologue of describing to them in detail about the changes in the enchanted forest, Auria would turn her head to glance at him.
Peter's POV
His thoughts were rampant after the Dark One exclaimed the words that neither Peter, nor Neal, nor the king and queen wanted to hear. That there weren't anymore loopholes to the curse, and that there was no magic other than dark that would change it. Peter sat crossed legged with his back to a tree, on the edge of the camp that had been set up.
He sliced through wood with a simple knife, pouring his loose magic through to the half-shaped pan flute. What the others were discussing wasn't his business, but he would bet that it had something to do with Rumpelstiltskin using magic to take the girl, Belle, and Neal away. Peter didn't know what they had been expecting, that the Dark One would stick around and help out. Rumpelstiltskin was a very different man in the enchanted forest than what they'd grown used to in the cozy town of Storybrooke.
He heard footsteps and looked up from his work to see Snow White looking down at him. "Hello, Peter." She said and he raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side. "I was about to go out and catch something for dinner, and I heard you were good with a bow." The woman's voice held a sharp note, that gave the hint of a challenge.
"Does your husband know that you're asking Peter Pan to go hunting?" He said with a sarcastic hand on his chest. Snow White just gave him a look, and with that they were soon walking in the woods, not too far from the camp at all. "What's this really about?" He asked with a bow in his hand, peering out for the unlikely chance of finding game this close to where the movement of the traveling town stirred the forest.
Snow White sighed, blowing air out through her nose. It was cold, and Peter wondered if he imagined the trace of her breath in the air. "I want to know what you're here for." She said, and Peter twisted his lips in a joking manner.
"I thought we were looking for game." He commented innocently, and she chuckled.
"No. This close to the camp? The Merry Men are doing that. I just thought you'd rather talk about this privately." She said, her tone growing serious at her last sentence. Peter twiddled with the bow string while he stopped to lean against a tree. "So, what are you here for?"
He finally answered her after thinking about it for more than a few moments. "I don't like to dawdle. If I had a plan, or a goal, I'd be working towards that instead of playing this game with you. I'm waiting for the opportunity to arise, to find another way back to the world without magic." He said and Snow sighed.
He expected her to say something about how she expected him to be caught up over it, or that she would explain to him slowly that the way was blocked. Instead she beckoned him to keep walking. They silently made their way through the woods until they reached a small incline that, when they made it to the top, had a seemingly spectacular view of the Enchanted Forest. The castle stood in the distance surrounded by a greenish dome, a barrier that kept the royals from getting in.
Aside from that, Peter could see for miles. The horizon was slowly becoming more and more tinted with red as the sun set, and even the huge trees couldn't hide the remnants of a town from his sight. A few miles from the castle, a large path of land was cleared of trees and carried houses and inns, appearing as spots from where they were. "Regina only protected the castle, so the towns that were effected by the curse are worse for wear. Even if the buildings still stand, Regina said it was likely that they are empty. They only came back because the curse was destroyed." Snow explained and Peter shifted his weight to one foot.
For a moment he didn't think about what she was saying, but just imagined the view from Dead Man's Peak. Looking out over a place like this, he could almost feel the darkness at his back. "I suppose you'll eventually have a point to this." He prompted and pulled out his flute from his cloak, letting the bow settle on the ground so he could continue to carve it out.
"I understand if you think you have no place here, but you could. If the Evil Queen can change and amend her actions, than so can Peter Pan. Despite the history you have here, it's not impossible for you to make up for what you've done and be accepted." Snow said gently, but her words felt like knives twisting inside of Peter. He put the half flute and knife away, straightening himself to stare out at the forest.
'it's not impossible for you to make up for what you've done and be accepted.'
"What I've done." Peter repeated and the words seemed to echo in his head like a cruel, horrible spell. "You've mistaken something about me, old lady." Peter said and shifted his jaw. She didn't know a thing about Peter's history here, she didn't know a thing about what was impossible for him. "I couldn't care less about 'making up for what I've done' or 'being accepted.' Not by the people here."
Snow White seemed to realized she'd struck a nerve, but she kept a calm gaze in her eyes. "Peter I'm only trying to help." She said and he almost spit out that he didn't want her help. It was then that he realized suddenly how out of place he was. He wasn't meant to be there, not where he could hardly sport the idea of traversing realms without someone shooting the idea down.
Not where he would only be accepted if he strived to make up for what he'd done. "You've tried to help a lot of people today, but I think you've reached your limit." He spat out harshly and turned away from the woman, leaving the bow on the ground that he'd stood moments before. Green smoke billowed around him as his anger and frustration allowed him to grip his magic enough to transport away.
Auria's POV
She breathed a sigh of relief when they made it back to the camp, and Po finally took her arm off from around Auria's shoulder. The memories Auria held of the fairy made her wince, remembering the way Po would tease her and order her around. She shortly introduced Po to David, but the flamboyant fairy practically introduced herself.
Tink quickly came to Auria to asses the damage, but Auria assured her friend that nothing had happened, as far as she knew. See, Po had a history of causing people misfortunes more than she's actually helping them. Most of the time the situations get resolved, but often enough people get turned into different animals for a week or two.
Auria would admit, a lot of times they did learn their lessons, it was just a little traumatizing when you spend a week as a cricket, bear, or frog. After a few minutes with Po in camp, she pulled Auria and Tink away excitedly. Felix watched with a bored look on his face, and Auria couldn't help but wonder if leaving him and the others of Storybrooke to find Blue was really the best idea.
"Come on, you'll most likely be coming back." Po said cheerfully with Tink and Auria's arms gripped tight in each of her hands. Tink ripped her arm out of her grip, but Auria knew that she probably didn't have the strength to do the same. "Whoops sorry Tink, I forgot you like your space." Po said, but pulled Auria closer. "Auria will stay close to me though."
Tink shot Auria an apologetic look, but Auria just swallowed and stared at the ground. "How far away are Blue and the others? It's getting dark and I think Auria should get back to the others before they break camp." Tink insisted, yet Po just scoffed.
"Oh they're just a few minutes this way. Besides you two belong with the fairies, not living with regular mortals like them. Although, I suppose Auria understands them more than fairies." Po said with a short laugh at the end, and Auria sighed. In fact, she did find herself more at home with humans as oppose to fairies.
"Rufio is waiting for me back there, I told him I would be back before midnight." Auria said firmly and Po cut her a glance with just her eyes, not moving her head. Po didn't say anything else, but Auria could tell she was storing the information. Eventually, after moving through the woods that were slowly coming alive with the creatures of the night, they saw a fire in the distance.
Silhouettes were decorated with dancing flames, and as they approached, the firelight casted dark shadows in the edges of Auria's vision. Blue was standing next to the fire, but blocking them from her was a peppy light pink fairy. "Hello! I'm taking up names on the fairies that have gathered! Oh, hi Po! I haven't seen you other two before!" The happy fairy bounced in front of the three and smiled perkily. Auria and Tink shared a look before Po answered for them.
"This is Auria and Tinkerbell, although I'm not surprised you've never met them, I'm sure you've heard of them. I wouldn't write their names down just yet." Po whispered the last sentence in the fairy's ear, yet Auria was still able to make out the words. She walked past Po and the pink fairy, entering the clearing with the fire and hearing a few gasps from the older fairies.
Blue looked up as Tink joined Auria, and she could feel all the eyes of the fairies on her. She doesn't regret what she did, but she just wished she'd been able to do it without betraying the fairies. "Tinkerbell and...Auria." Blue says and hands something off to an assisting fairy. Fully donning her blue dress and wings, Blue had apparently missed the fairy fashion, even if Auria thought it was a bit much.
"Miss us?" Tink asked, shooting the comment in the direction of the fairies that were watching and whispering. Auria shifted her feet, and looked down when Blue stepped up to her. While Auria's eyes were fixed on her shoes, a hand touched her cheek. She looked up quickly to see Blue staring at her with unnerving eyes.
"I was worried, I'm glad you've found your way back to us safely." Blue said, which caused the audience of nosy fairies to silence themselves as if that was the last thing they expected Blue to say. "Now that you're back, it's about time you grew serious about your duties." Blue said, seemingly speaking only to Auria. Then, with a shake of her head, Blue glanced at Tinkerbell. "You too."
Auria bit the inside of her cheek, realizing that Blue was waiting for her to say something. "Yes, uhm, actually today I was just going to say hello, because I have to be back to Rufio before midnight." She said and Blue sighed. "I still have to take him back to our-...his family." Auria explained, twisting the amber-orange wing pendant in her fingers nervously.
"No, it would be better for you to stay here tonight. We have to discuss how you'll make up for what you did." Blue said, more harsh this time, and both Auria and Tinkerbell flinched. "Since we're on the matter, I'll start with you Tinkerbell." Blue turned away from Auria for the first time, who sighed a breath of relief at having the intimidating eyes off her.
Blue seemed to think about it for a minute, but Tinkerbell notched her chin up and stared determined at Blue. "Tinkerbell, you will assist Pocahontas in her duties until, together, you've helped three individuals." Blue's tone was simple, a stark contrast to Tink's look of horror.
"Assist? Po? You want me to work with her?" Tink exclaimed and Blue nodded, turning away from Tink as quickly as the fairy was able to storm away the way they'd came. Auria noticed Blue's posture sag a bit as the eldest fairy glanced at Tinkerbell leaving.
"And you." Blue said, and the other fairies started whispering. Po leaned against a tree and smirked, apparently enjoying Auria and Tink's distress. "You have much to learn before you discover what you were meant to do." Blue's voice rose, and Auria suddenly wanted to shrink away, reverse time so that she never came back here in the first place.
"I'm a fairy, I know that now Blue." Auria managed to say, despite the immense pressure she inexplicably felt weighing her down. "I've learned that over the years." Why did it feel like Auria was pleading with Blue, insisting that she understood when she was hopelessly lost.
The shadows from the fire felt sinister now, reminding Auria of their battle against Pan's shadow."You have a duty to these people, Auria! That is what you have forgotten." Blue said with a wide gesture to the other fairies in the clearing. She continued with less passion and more frankness. "Until you remember, you need to find your creator." Blue seemed a bit hesitant to even say this, and shock followed around the clearing.
Po stepped up with crossed arms and spoke in disbelief. "Blue, you don't mean...the child that created Auria with its first laugh?" Blue nodded, and Auria gripped her pendant tightly.
"Has that ever been done before?" Auria asked nervously, and Blue nodded again.
"Once, a long time ago. Still, that is not all." Blue's eyes seemed cold in the moment, and Auria's mind flashed with indignation. "I've heard that you've met Peter Pan. It is now your job to handle that situation." The others started whispering sympathetic phrases, but Auria only felt cold dread seep down her skin. "If you can't accomplish both of these things then you will be banished forever." Blue's sentence for Auria rang in the air, and echoed in Auria's ears.
Her hand dropped from her pedant and hung loosely at her hip, her jaw dropping to the floor. A sudden burst of green light in the distance was barely enough to pull Auria out of her shock, and Blue bit her lip apprehensively. Auria closed her mouth and glanced to the ground, thinking about what lay ahead of her if she chose to do this. Confidence filled her as she remembered that she was a fairy, and she was able to finish what she set out to do. "Fine, have it your way. Wings or not, I'll come back and for once you'll look at me like an equal." Auria vowed, speaking mostly to Blue, but also to the fairies watching.
With that she turned and walked out, figuring that the green light would set the people of Storybrooke on edge. She didn't want to be away from Rufio if anything dangerous started to happen. Glancing at the bright green fading from the sky, she felt as if the danger had only just begun.
Yo Yo! That's it for today! You know what Auria needs? A cat. Or twelve~ Thanks for reading!