Holy muffins, I finally finished up this chapter, sorry it took so long to get up, it's been a little crazy due to the holidays coming up. But, here it is, I hope you all enjoy it :D:D:D
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Chapter 11: A Shocking Discovery, Part 1
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Toony didn't know how much time had gone by since they had left Neverland, that was really they only annoyance that there wasn't a clock anywhere on their vessel. But it didn't really matter because it was probably the most relaxing time she'd spent aboard as she and Marie began talking more than a few words with each other now that they were finally on good terms; She may have been tired and exhausted from the fight they had with Hook and his crew, but she was so excited and eager to spend this time with her guide.
They talked about what happened after Marie was kidnapped, and she was surprised to learn that the reason Hook had wanted her to bring their boat was because they couldn't get inside the first time thanks to magic wards that prevented enemies from entering.
You learn something new ever day out here...
They also talked about the little things, which Toony stated before that she liked learning the most about someone new, and in that she learned a great deal of what Marie's likes and dislikes were.
She was born and raised in Louisiana, but she didn't go into too much detail about it which Toony didn't mind, and that she had a bit of a soft spot smaller animals, such as little dogs and cats; Though anything bigger than what could fit on her lap she didn't like all that much, not because she thought bigger animals were bad, she just always had a fear of them ever since she was little.
Marie also loved children, but she didn't at all tolerate rude manners or needless, wild behavior, which explained why she was so abrasive with Peter and the lost boys in the beginning. And she enjoyed cooking and baking, and loved to read crime solving mystery novels when she had a moment to herself; All of which Toony really enjoyed hearing about as it felt like she and Marie were growing a bit closer.
"...I think our boat needs a name." Toony suddenly said out of the blue in the conversation she was having with her guide.
"A name?" Marie asked as she took her eyes off the purple star they headed towards, which had grown bigger over time during their talk, and gave Toony a confused look.
"Well yeah, we shouldn't keep calling it 'the boat' all the time, especially since we're probably gonna be using it for a while longer." Toony said, tapping her chin as she tried to come up with a good name. "How does the Cosmic Phoenix sound?"
"Why that name?" Marie questioned, looking a bit interested in her choice.
"Well, look around, doesn't it look like we're sailing right through a starry nebula?" The fox tailed woman asked, gesturing at the swirling pink and purple ties that surrounded them as it twinkled with stars. "It makes sense to have 'cosmic' in the name."
"Alright, I'll give you that." Marie said with a smile "But where does 'phoenix' come from."
"uh, well that's because...nah you'll just think it's dumb." Toony said, looking away in embarrassment.
"What? No I won't, tell me!" the darker haired woman insisted as Toony shook her head 'no' again. " I promise, I won't so much as giggle."
"Come on Toony, you can tell us!" Cheo assured her.
"Yeah, we wanna know too!" Hiromi added with an eager nod. "Pleeease?"
At that, Toony finally relented and let out a small laugh.
"Alright, alright...it's because my grandparents used to have a fishing boat called the 'Arctic Phoenix', and the whole family would go fish for halibut on it every summer since I was five." she explained to them, that embarrassed expression still on her face. "They sold it a few years ago to get a bigger one, but the Phoenix will always be my favorite."
"So, you know...I want to kind of honor it, if that makes sense."
"You're so goofy." Marie suddenly commented with smile that made the blush deeper on Toony's face. "But...it's sweet. Alright, the Cosmic Phoenix it is. "
"Hey look!" Cheo suddenly stated as he pointed ahead with his little paw.
Following it, Toony stood at attention with a look of amazement at the sight. They were so close to the star that it looked just big enough so that the phoenix could perfectly sail right through the middle, and it almost seemed to glow like purple fire. But there were also glimmers of white, sparkling light that shimmered around and inside it.
"What's happening?" Toony finally asked.
"We've arrived, that white glow you see in the light means we're fixin' to go right on through the veil." Marie explained. " Cheo, could you and Romi please sprinkle a bit more pixie dust over the Phoenix? Just enough were we can land safely when we enter the new world."
"Okay Marie, we can do that!" Cheo told her and as he and Hiromi both gave her a salute and fluttered off to do as she asked.
"Hold on, this part might make you feel a little queezy." the guide said as Toony braced herself.
She watched intently as they got closer and closer until it was like they were flying through a purple mist and straight down a tunnel that made it look like they were going warp speed as the light at the end got brighter and brighter until they were sailing through open sky; It was a little disorienting, but amazing to see none-the-less. And as Toony looked around, she watched as they descended down towards a large lake that was surrounded by wooden hills that gave off such a serene feel to it, that she couldn't help but feel relaxed by the sight of it.
"All of this looks very familiar..." Toony commented, mostly to herself as she took in the lush and beautiful scenery. "But where's it from?"
It didn't take long for them to finally reach the still, pristine waters, and after Marie steered the boat making it come to a stop near the banks under the shade of an overhanging tree and dropping anchor.
"Well, while the sun is still high, ya'll might want to get started on this as soon as you can." Marie said, making Toony look back at her.
"You're not coming with me?" she asked.
"I came to this decision after you rescued me from the pirates, but I'll always be here for you to check in with and give advice if you need it; And there needs to someone to watch the Phoenix, anyway, so better that it be me since this quest is yours to solve." Marie explained. "Only if you really need my help, then I promise I'll go with you."
"Are you sure?" Toony asked. "I really didn't mind you with me..."
"Oh baloney, I was a terror and you know it." Marie said playful slap on her arm as she walked back over to the wheel.
"I'm a take charge kind of gal, and if things aren't run my way, I'm irritable and hard to get along with, in case you've forgotten." the guide continued. "You'll be better off figuring this out in your own unique way without me there to stop you."
"Just...if there's anything or anyone dangerous around, don't do something reckless, okay?"
Toony laughed as she walked over to the door little door at the side of the boat, but as she opened it, she hesitated "But what if someone see's the Phoenix? I don't want you to get kidnapped again if they happen to be bandits..."
"Naw, they wouldn't even be able to get in the door, remember?" Marie asked with a smile before she suddenly reached over and grabbed the handle of a solitary lever Toony hadn't noticed before that was by the ship wheel. "Plus, nobody can inspect what they can't see..."
And before Toony could asked what she meant, Marie pulled down the lever and the fox eared young woman gaze a short gasp as the boat suddenly pulsed under her feet. Thought nothing really looked different after a little while of waiting...but when Toony looked over the rail at the water, her mouth dropped open to discover that the only thing she could see in the reflection was her own head hovering in mid-air.
"Did you just make the boat invisible?!" Toony asked in surprise.
"Well, I didn't pull the emergency break." Marie said jokingly. "The sorcerer really knows how to keep a person safe, and if I stay inside the cabin, people will just stride right past me without giving this area so much as a second glance. Maybe if I had thought to do this at Neverland, we could have avoided the extra head ache."
"Ha, yeah, but then we probably wouldn't have become friends if you did." Toony said. "Count your blessings, right?
Marie smiled and gave a short nod before she ushered Toony towards the deck door to land. "Now, you three better skedaddle, the sooner you do what you need to, the sooner we can head out to the next world."
"But if nothing happens, try not to stay out when it starts to get dark; just come back and we'll try again tomorrow, got it?"
"No sparkle, no stay out, got it." Toony said as she gave Marie a thumbs up while her fluffballs followed after her excitedly before she opened the door and jumped out. But as she flew through the air, her eyes widened in surprise when she suddenly noticed that the bangle started to glow with a bright light before cloths shortly began to shine as well; And once her feet touched the grassy earth, her mouth dropped open in absolute shock to see that her sweater and jeans had been traded in for long green skirt, a brown corset and a long sleeve, off shoulder white top.
"Hey, what the Marie!" Toony nearly yelled at the top of her lungs.
After her cry, she heard the rapid foot falls of her guide running towards the side of the vessel before her dark haired head popped into sight.
"What? Where's the fire?!" she demanded, her hazel eyes darting left and right to see what the problem was.
"What's going on?!" Toony demanded, gesturing to her new change in attire.
"Oh, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" her guide told her as she relaxed and she sent Toony a humorous smile. "The bangle changes your outfit to better match the people of the worlds we visit, did Yen Sid forget to tell you that?"
"Yes, he neglected to share that bit of information!" Toony stated through gritted teeth. "It didn't do this in Neverland!"
She knew she was making too much of a fuss about something that really wasn't all that bad, but she really didn't appreciate it when things would suddenly go changing on her without warning. Especially when it involved her cloths.
"It didn't need to because we hadn't officially started the journey." Marie explained. "Plus, Peter and the lost boys were kids, and as kids, there's many other things that are more important to them then how others are dressed."
"But now that we are visiting other worlds, we don't want people asking questions about where you come from."
"Oh, but they won't ask me that if they see these?" Toony asked, gesturing to her ears and tail.
"Hey, I don't have all the answers all the time, just say your some kind of mythical creature...or hide them." Marie told her with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Well you're a great help!" the fox eared woman grumbled out as her tail flicked in agitation as Cheo and Hiromi both giggled a little.
"Like I said, I don't have the answers." Marie reminded her with a wink. "You're a smart girl, Toony, you can figure anything out if you only go and put your mind to it."
Letting out a sigh, Toony only nodded; She was in a dress now, she didn't have to be particularly happy about it, but it was no use to just stand there and complain; So, after making sure that everyone was ready, minus Marie as she left to go inside the cabin, she lead the way into the forest before them...hoping that they wouldn't end up lost as they searched for what ever it was they were supposed to be looking for.
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"Toony, are we lost?" came Cheo's fourth time asking during the hour they had spent wandering around in the forest.
"No, Cheo, we are not lost..." Toony told him as she paused and looked left and right while she tried to decided which way to go. Though before she could make up her mind, her fluffballs flew before her with worried expressions on their faces.
"But...that's this same flower patch we passed by before." Hiromi told her as she pointed a little paw towards a large patch of daisies.
"How do you figure? These woods are full of flower patches, they all look the same." Toony said as she spread her arms around the place.
"Because this is the one I picked." Hiromi told her, fluttering down and picking up a daisy that had been laying on the ground away from the others. "I wanted to pick some, but you said we didn't have time to stop right then..."
Chewing on her lip as she wanted to say that it was only a coincidence, but after a few moments, Toony finally relented and leaned against a tree with a tired sigh before she slide down to sit on the soft grass.
"Okay, so maybe I've been leading us around in circles, but we're not lost." Toony promised as Cheo and Hiromi rested on her knees. "See that path by the broken tree trunk with all the primroses growing around it? Going down there will take us right back to the Phoenix...But I guess that's about all I know as I have no idea where I'm supposed to go or who, or even what, I need to be looking for."
"Don't worry Toony, it'll turn out alright." Cheo told her as he offered her a catty grin. "Maybe we'll get lucky and something will happen that'll tell us what to do."
"And we can sit here if you want." Hiromi said. "It's still sunny outside, so it's okay to stay here for a little bit."
"Aw, you just wanna pick your flowers." Toony said with a laugh. "Alright, it wouldn't hurt to take a little break; You guys go have some fun."
With happy cheers, the two fluffballs did just that as they zoomed over to the daisies and began having a field day with each other; Occasionally wrestling and chasing one another around before they finally settled down and began picking many daisies with white and yellow petals as they could while Toony just watched with a smile.
She was happy that they were having so much fun, and there was something about this woods that made her feel so...at ease, like she could just take this moment and forget about all her troubles; and taking a long breath, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the tree trunk; But after a few moments, she suddenly began to hear something...she opened her eyes and looked to her right through the trees as her ears perked forward. It was faint, but she could swear it was someone singing.
"Hey guys, quiet down for a minuet..." She called to Cheo and Hiromi as she stood to her feet and took a few steps in the direction the sound was coming from.
Doing as she asked, they both watched intently as their creator looked around with twitching ears, but Toony couldn't hear anything at the moment. But when she began to worry if she missed it, it suddenly started back up again.
It definitely was singing, and whoever it was, had one of the most beautiful voices she had ever heard.
"It's down this way," Toony told her fluffballs as she started hurrying on through the trees. "Come on, follow me!"
"Hey, wait up!" Cheo called as he and Hiromi quickly followed after her, still holding on to the flowers they had picked.
Thanks to her fox ears, Toony didn't have any problem tracking down were the voice was coming from. She had to stop and wait a couple of times as it would cut out with a pause, but thankfully, it would start right back up again; She didn't stop until she slowly and carefully stopped behind a large tree as it sounded like the person was only a few feet away from her.
By this time, after listening to this beautiful voice, she finally had an idea of where she was, and if the person she was thinking of really was there, she could barely contain a smile as her fluffballs looked at her in confusion.
"Why did you stop Toony?" Hiromi asked. "Don't you want to see who it is?"
But the fox tailed young woman put a finger to her lips before she made a motion for them to wait right in this spot until she called for them. Then dropping low, she slowly crawled around the tree trunk and started towards a thick patch of leafy bushes so she could get a better look and think of a plan; She had already knew that the person who was singing was a young lady, and she could hear her humming and giggling on the other side. And occasionally, she saw the top of a blonde head bob over the top of the bushes, as though she were dancing around.
So when Toony finally made it and she carefully parted some leaves and peeked through, her smile widening as her guess turned out to be right...
There, twirling around with a basket filled with berries, with long flowing hair that seemed filled with sunshine and rose red lips that were set in a beautiful smile on her equally beautiful face as she played with the animals of the forest, was the princess Aurora.
It took everything Toony had to stifle a laugh of excitement as a real Disney princesses was right there before her, but she managed to stay quiet as she quickly looked her over to try and find out where she might have been in time; Aurora was dressed in her peasant girl cloths, that large violet shawl resting about she arms, so that must have meant Toony had arrived sometime before she met prince Philip...though how long before, she couldn't say for sure.
But as she continued to watch the young maiden Toony suddenly found that she had no idea how to proceed in this situation. Aurora must be the person she was trying to help since she was one the movie was centered around...but what should she do now? Did she need to talk to her? Did she need to keep out of sight and figure out how to help in some other way? What was she supposed to help with anyway?
If she ever saw that sorcerer again she was gonna let him have it for leaving her with so little to go on!
Snap!
Toony instantly ducked down and glared down at the twig that had broken in two underneath her hand and blown her cover.
"Oh, what have we here?" she heard Auroras sweet voice ask. " A new forest friend?"
Toony greatly hoped that a bird or a rabbit had come out and distracted Aurora and her animals from the noise she made as her ears picked up the light and soft footfalls of the gentle princess.
"Why, a fox has come to join us." she stated happily.
A fox? Well that was kind of surprising considering the changes in Toonys' appeara...wait.
"Don't be shy little darling, come out and say hello." she heard the young maiden say before Toony suddenly felt fingers stroke along the shell of her left ear.
And although they were gentle, it still made Toony let out surprised cry at the unexpected touch before she quickly sat up and clamped her hands over her ears and met with the lavender gaze of an equally surprised princess Aurora
"Oh!" the young lady exclaimed, obviously startled as her animal friends scattered about.
Toony felt like a really long time had passed as she and Aurora just seemed to stare at each other, but after a while, Toony finally decided to break the silence by clearing her throat and letting out an uneasy laugh.
"Um...hi?" Toony began with a nervous smile as she gave a weak wave of her hands. "I'm Toony, nice to meet you."
But Aurora didn't answer back as her eyes seemed to be glued to Toony's head, and she realized that she was staring at her ears.
"Okay, I know I may look a bit strange to you." Toony continued in a soft and easy tone, walked out from the bushes and into open as slowly as she could so she wouldn't scare her even more than she most likely was. "But I promise, I'm not here to hurt-"
"My goodness, what ever sort of creature are you?" Aurora asked, curiosity seeming to out weigh any wariness she may have had as she looked from Toonys' ears to her tail, much to the fox tailed womans surprise.
"Uh, well I-" But Toony wasn't given a chance to answer when the young princess began asking even more questions.
"Could you be a woodland sprite?" the inquisitive maiden asked as she walked around redheaded young woman to further inspect Toonys tail. "Are you a fairy of sorts?"
" Well, um..." But again, Toony wasn't able to answer when Aurora suddenly reached up with both hands and rubbed her ears, making Toony feel a little like InuYasha when people would touch his ears in fascination.
"Oh my, they truly are real!" she exclaimed with a fascinated smile. "But how can this-"
"Haha, hold on!" Toony said with a laugh as she put her hands on the princesses shoulders so she could get a word in.
"Like I said, my name is Toony." she told her. "And I suppose you could say I'm like a woodland sprite, some of them could look like I do...oh hold on, I have a couple of friends standing by."
"Cheo, Romi, come on out and say hello."
Now sooner did she say that, they quickly zoomed into view, big smiles on their fuzzy faces as they fluttered their little wings over close to the young princess, her eyes wide with wonder.
"How sweet!" Aurora commented as she clasped her hands together.
"Hiya, I'm Cheo." Cheo introduced excitedly as both he and Hiromi suddenly offered her the flowers they had picked.
"I'm Hiromi." her little girl said shyly. "You're really pretty!"
"Oh what little darlings you are, it's very nice to meet you all," the princess said as she accepted the white and yellow daisies. "My name is Briar Rose."
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Toony didn't know how long it had been since she and her fluffballs had met Aurora, but she wasn't complaining as they helped her picked some berries. She had to be careful not to address her as 'Aurora' just yet, but it was still fun to hang out with her like this, even more so as her animal friends started getting braver and seemed more interested in the new comers.
Aurora sang some more as well, a tune that Toony recognized as the little love song she sang right before the owl, the squirrel and the two rabbits and little birds stole prince Philips cape and boots to try and cheer her up after confessing that she dreamed of meeting someone; But instead seeming sad like she had before, the princess looked more cheerful.
Maybe it was because she thought that she had finally found new friendship, other than her beloved aunts and forest friends, which Toony was all too happy to extend.
Finally, when it looked like they had picked enough, they all sat down to rest for a while and Aurora started putting some of the daisies Cheo and Hiromi had given to her in Toonys' hair, which she allowed without any complaint; It was all a bit girly for her if she was being totally honest, but still nice and relaxing nonetheless.
And who else could have the chance to say that she had spent the day picking berries and having her hair played with by with a Disney princess?
"...And my birthday is tomorrow." Aurora said after a little while of talking about herself at Toonys' request. "I'll be sixteen years old."
"Well that's awesome!" Toony stated with a grin. "Sixteen years old, huh? That's cause for a real party!"
Aurora let out a little laugh as she took one more daisy from Hiromi and started tying a strand of her red hair around it.
"I hope you don't think me rude, but you have a very...different way of talking, Toony." she commented. "Does everyone speak in the same way in your land?"
"Oh uh, yeah, I guess you could say that, most of them do anyway." Toony said, a little hesitant to really share too much and give herself away. But as if there was someone looking out for her, Toony suddenly let out a long yawn that was followed in suit by Cheo and Hiromi.
"Wow, holy muffins, I'm sorry about that, I just remembered that we haven't really slept all that well in a while..." Toony apologized sheepishly, taking her fluffballs into her arms when they started loosing altitude from exhaustion. "Just been having a lot of fun to really notice until now."
"Oh my, well it's no wonder, it's very well into the evening." Aurora stated as she looked to the sun that was drifting along the horizon. "I should have returned hours ago, aunt Flora, Fauna and Merryweather will be so worried about me."
With that, most of the critters that were there seemed to agree as they soon started to scurry and fly back to their nests; and Toony and Aurora stood to their feet.
"Can we meet again tomorrow, Toony? I simply must introduce you to my three aunts." the young girl said as she gathered her things. "I'm sure they would adore you as much as I do."
At that, Toony had to mentally restrain herself from squeeing out loud at the princesses sheer, innocent adorableness. But she did allow herself to wrap Aurora up in a big hug to which the golden haired maiden happily returned.
"Sure thing, I'd love to meet your Aunts, hun." Toony told her sincerely before she pulled back and gave her a thumbs up before she started off down the way she came before they met. " I'll definitely see you tomorrow!"
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It had taken a little bit of time to find the tree stump with primroses, but thankfully, Toony finally managed to find the path and make it back to the lake before it had gotten too dark to see around her; Though it was a bit of a challenge to find the door since the boat was still invisible on the outside.
She had to wake up Cheo and Hiromi to help her out some, and although they were still sleepy, they flew over inside and opened up the door for her before she climb in and had them follow her inside; And to her surprise, she saw that Marie was already snuggled in the covers of her bed under the loft, sound asleep.
But she didn't stay surprised for long, Marie must have been as exhausted as she was after the pirate fiasco in Neverland and spending the whole trip here talking with Toony, she was bound to use the chance that Toony was away for some well deserved shut eye. Which Toony fully intended to do as well right after she took a relaxing shower; Finally, she was ready for bed, and this time, dressed up in pink pajama pants with white pinstripes and a dark gray tank top that she wore under a large white night shirt that went down to her knees.
She tiptoed up the steps so she wouldn't wake her guide as her fluffballs rested on her shoulders, looking just as run down as Toony felt. But thankfully, neither of them had to wait much longer until they were in the cushy bed and under the blankets.
But as Toony lay there in her bed, she couldn't help but let her mind wander here and there. She thought about tomorrow, wondering what it was she needed to look out for; So far, nothing out of the ordinary had happened, she actually had a lot of fun spending time with Aurora and her animal friends today; Though as she looked at the bangle on her wrist, her eyes took in all the different colored diamonds, she wondered which of the other worlds she would be visiting if she ever figured this out...
But she also thought of home, of what her family must be doing...especially her husband.
To say she simply missed him would be a severe understatement; It hurt her to imagine him right now...maybe looking for her everywhere, but not able to find her, she truly wished there was a way for her to tell him that she was alright and that she would be home as soon as she was able...
Movement at her side made her glance over to see Cheo and Hiromi, curled up around each other as they snuggled closely against her. The adorable sight was enough to put her mind at rest, at least for now as she felt the pull of sleep beckon to her sleep and recover for a new day.
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Welp, there it is, I sincerely hope you all enjoyed the chapter, I'll try and get some more done soon X3
Oh, and if your interested to see what kind of outfits you can expect to see, you can always visit my account on DeviantArt, just type it 'THP Outfits' in the search engine of my gallery.
See ya later!
