It took very little time before the feast was fully under way, with the baskets of fresh fruits laid out and roaring fires with meats and other foods that needed to be cooked being set up. Caroline took a deep breath, enjoying the tantalizing scents that filled the air. A few of the natives not working to prepare the meals began to take up musical instruments which led others to start dancing about the open spaces in the center of the village. A few of the Lost Boys even joined in, Caroline however remained sitting on a log off to the side. While she might have been well versed in how to dance in the elegant ballrooms of London, what the natives and boys were doing was like nothing she had seen before. It was clear the Indians did have particular steps and the Lost Boys for the most part seemed to have attended feasts enough to have some basic idea of the steps. Though she did notice a few of them adding their own personal touches to the dance.
Not wanting to make a fool of herself, Caroline decided to stay on the sidelines of the group, watching the dancers. That was until she noticed the woman who had greeted the little boy when they first arrived in the village approaching her.
"Lost Boys said it was you who first found my son," the woman spoke, her accent was more pronounced than the chief's had been. Caroline could only guess it was because she had less reason to use English than he did since it made sense that the chief or those close to him would be more likely to interact with the Lost Boys if they needed to discuss something than one of the villagers. "I wish to offer my personal thanks. May this feast be pleasing to you and the Lost Boys for all that you have done. Wild Wind is always running off somewhere. It is hard to keep our eyes on him." She added, glancing off to the other side of clearing. Caroline followed her gaze to see the little boy jumping around in a circle around his brother who was playing an instrument that looked a little like a flute. Their father stood nearby, leaning against a nearby post, his eyes following the path of his youngest son.
"Wild Wind, is that his name?" Caroline asked. Realizing she had not thought to ask for the child's name amid all the excitement.
"In your language, yes," his mother replied with a smile, though she continued to look towards her family instead of Caroline. "He is well named. Always full of energy and wanting to go out and be free as a breeze."
"Well, I'm glad we were able to get him back. And all this is quite wonderful already." Caroline assured the woman.
The woman briefly turned back to face Caroline and gave her a gentle smile. "I am glad. Again, we are all very thankful to you." Caroline gave a small nod and with that the woman returned to her family, standing beside her husband to watch their sons' fun.
"Come on, Caroline, join in," Peter's voice pulled Caroline's attention away from the little family. He had decided to incorporate flight into his dance.
"I don't know this dance," Caroline replied as her brother leapt off the ground to perform a series of summersaults in midair.
"So?" He replied, landing gracefully beside a young native girl. He mimicked a few of her steps until she began to twirl. At which point Peter also began to spin, with the slight difference of rising an inch off the ground with every rotation. "Make one up," he added, stopping his spins to gracefully float back to the ground to again show off his footwork.
Caroline was about to point out that she did not know the first thing about making up a dance when Jaunty suddenly appeared in front of her. The Lost Boy gently, but rather firmly took her hands. "Then just follow my lead," he said, pulling Caroline to her feet. In seconds the two of them were whirling around the fires. Initially Jaunty kept his steps slow and simple, allowing Caroline to register what he was doing and keep in step. However, slowly she noticed his pace quickening to better suit the music and his movements growing more and more complicated. For the most part she still managed to mirror him though a few times she wound up misjudging him and doing something different. Still, he did not seem to mind much and they both remained conscious enough of the other's movements to avoid bumping into each other or stepping on someone's feet.
Soon enough they had spread away from each other. Caroline found her self laughing in pure delight as she wove between the other dancers, seeing their performances and making up her own. Once she was no longer troubled at the idea of not following long established precise steps the twelve year old found dancing could be a great deal of fun.
The sun was nearly set by the time someone announced that the food was all prepared. Caroline and the boys eagerly made their way to the logs arranged around the largest fire. Not realizing how hungry all the excitement of the day had made her until a small bowl of some kind of soup was put in front of her, Caroline happily ate the offered food. Whatever the ingredients were, it was nothing like anything she had eaten back in London. She could tell their was some of vegetables and herbs she had seen the natives preparing earlier and some sort of meat. The combination had just a hint of sweetness to it and seemed to melt in her mouth and slide easily down her throat.
For the most part, everyone seemed to be enjoying the meal as much as Caroline resulting in relative quiet. However, after a few minutes with the diners finishing the last of their portions, which Caroline noticed was surprisingly filling as well as tasty the chief stood up from his place.
"We are all pleased by Wild Wind's return," he said, nodding kindly towards the little boy who sat beside his family. The boy's parents sat on either side of him and his brother sat beside their father. The brother was leaning around his father apparently having been talking to Wild Wind before the chief spoke. At the chief's gesture, his mother wrapped her arm around his shoulders in a quick hug while his father gently tousled his hair. "Perhaps our guests will share the story of his rescue," the chief continued, turning his warm yet keen gaze to where the Lost Boys and Caroline sat.
"Caroline was the one to find him in the first place," Nibs spoke up, causing all eyes to focus on Caroline.
"Well, I'm afraid I'm not much of a storyteller," Caroline said, she could feel the color rising in her cheeks. Still, it made sense to share the story with the boy's people so she knew she should at least try. "I was flying over the jungle when I noticed him. He really was making a valiant effort, trekking through the forest. But then I noticed the pirates and that they were headed straight for where he was. They were not being all that subtle, so I suppose he would have heard them coming on his own soon after but I was not really thinking about that at the time." Caroline added, remembering that the reason the boy had been out in the first place was because he wanted to prove he was ready to join the hunting party. So she wanted to make sure she did not make him sound completely incapable. Making it sound like he was in dire need of rescuing would risk embarrassing cause him to make another attempt at proving himself. "Anyway, I just swooped down and grabbed him. All I could think about was getting away from those awful pirates- you see I'd seen how terrible they were when I first arrived here with Peter. But that's beside the point. As we were flying away from them, I noticed the Lost Boys," Caroline gestured vaguely to the others sitting around her. "So I landed, wanting to warn them that the pirates were headed right for them. But then the pirates caught up with us so there was nothing left to do but fend them off." With that Caroline trailed off, glancing around at the others. Everything happened so fast during the battle she honestly was not sure she could recount it in detail.
Peter lost no time in seizing the opportunity to regale everyone with this latest adventure. He stood up and began describing the battle, with particular emphasis on his own part. He even took to the air, demonstrating the different maneuverers he had used against the pirates. Despite having been there herself, Caroline felt herself being drawn into the suspense of the story. It was not so much that Peter was a grand storyteller, he explained things rather simply and spoke little about what was happening to the others unless it had caught his attention for some reason. But he had such enthusiasm that it was rather contagious.
As the story continued Caroline's gaze began to drift to the people around her. She had, after all, witnessed the battle for herself. True things had happened too quickly for her to have taken in every detail she still already had the basic idea of what happened. The villagers however, had not had the benefit of seeing for themselves and so were giving Peter their full attention. Caroline could not help but smile as Peter's voice drifted around the circle. It really had been quite the adventure. Her smile faltered however, when she saw Wild Wind and his family.
His mother had her arms wrapped tightly around him, her eyes wide with concern. Even his father and brother seemed tense as Peter spoke of the gunshots echoing through the jungle. As the story finished and Peter slowly floated down to the ground the family seemed to relax a bit, though his mother still held him close.
"I speak for Wild Wind's family as well as the entire tribe," the chief began, "when I offer the Lost Boys and Girl our great thanks."
At this everyone present gave a cheer and a new serving of food was brought out. Caroline however, found her mind drifting to the sight of a woman in a dark dress. Her pale fingers reached out to a painting, gently tracing face of a boy. At first the vision just seemed strange and a bit fuzzy. However, a few moments later she suddenly realized it was her own mother she was remembering. Caroline had been only five years old when she stumbled upon her mother looking at the portrait with Peter. Her parents had told her about her missing brother some time before that but it seemed seeing her mother's face as she looked at the painting was the first moment Caroline understood what it really meant for her parents to have lost their child. And now, Caroline had to close her eyes and concentrate with all her might just to recall the details of her mother's face. Somehow though, she could still sense the pain that face had held, the same that Wild Wind's parents must have worn while he was gone. Blue eyes opened and shifted to the little family. But the Pan's never got this reunion. Mrs. Pan had to make due with her fingers on pain and canvas instead of wrapping her arms around her son's shoulders.
"Are you alright, Caroline," Peter's voice broke her out of her thoughts. Blinking she focused on the curly haired boy, stuck as she noticed that he wore the same expression her father did when he thought Caroline was not feeling well. "You look a bit peaky."
"I'm fine," she replied, giving her brother a forced smile. "Just think I'll get away from the smoke for a bit," she added rising to her feet.
"Alright," Peter said with a nod. "Don't be gone too long, you'll miss all the fun."
"I'll just be a minute," Caroline assured him. The words were barely out before Peter's attention had returned to the celebrations. Caroline slowly made her way away from the center of the village. She knew it would be a bad idea to venture beyond it's borders but luckily the village was wide enough that she was able to find a quiet place. She could still hear the sound of instruments as some of the musicians decided to forego a second course to play and the chatter of many conversations. However she turned herself to face away from the direction of the festivities, instead looking out at the setting sun and brilliant colors that streaked across the sky. The sunsets of Neverland had even more colors than any she had seen in London or even the countryside trips. Caroline felt herself relaxing as she watched the clouds drift by through the sea of color. Unconsciously, Caroline's hand reached for the locket around her neck, idly running her fingers over the rounded edges.
"You look like you could use some company." Caroline jumped slightly at the sound of the voice but smiled as she turned to see Jaunty approaching.
"I just needed a bit of quiet to think," she replied, "I don't want to keep you from the party." She frowned slightly. Hadn't someone not wanted to keep her from a party some time ago?
"I can spare a few minutes," Jaunty said, a playful smirk on his lips. His eyes however, held a keenness that seemed to see right through Caroline's assurances. "Wantin' to get away from a crowd's not the same as wanting to be left all alone."
"It's just a bit difficult to get my thoughts in order. I thought stepping aside might help."
"Thinking about your folks?" Jaunty asked, his grin widening at the surprise Caroline knew was evident in her expression. How could he have known that? Before she could ask however, he seemed to guess her thoughts again. "It's always that, or something to do with 'em that's hard to recall. I think it's something about Neverland, it's magic, you know. Your not supposed to think about grown ups and grown up things here so it makes you forget."
"You have trouble remembering your parents as well?" Caroline asked.
"Don't remember anything at all." He gave a small shrug.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Caroline said softly. "Does that mean you've been here a long time?" Jaunty seemed to have thought the matter threw quiet a bit and while she had trouble remembering details Caroline could hardly say she remembered nothing about her family. So it made sense that Jaunty having no memory meant the magic of Neverland had been effecting him for quite awhile.
"Peter's the only one of the boys who've been here longer," he answered. "That's why he forgets almost everything."
"So…did you come here soon after him?" Caroline asked, her earlier concerns fading at the prospect of learning more about her brother's time in the magical place. "What sort of adventures did you have? When did the other boys come along?"
Jaunty gave a slight shrug. "Not really sure, exactly, nobody really keeps track of time here. Except maybe the croc." He added with a chuckle. At Caroline's confused stare he gestured towards a large boulder nearby. "Let's sit down, it's sort of a long story."