TO ALL WHO LIKE THIS STORY - all right, people; I know someone's stolen your brains, now all you have to do is tell me who. I will recover the stolen brains and see if it makes any difference in how much you like this story. Thanks for liking the sibyl; I like her too. And now onto chapter three, and yes I know they're too short! Signed, Your beloved Talia ~~~ Anja only just managed to get to the bed Peter had provided for her, when she collapsed into sleep. She dreamed deeply and vividly, which was, in truth, the effect Never Land had on many people. Pan dozed nearby, in a rope hammock slung from one side of the hollow tree to another. In the corner, a very large, but quite tame wolf slept, her ears pricked for the slightest disturbance. Her name had been given as Bince; she was the classic dusty gray, with yellow-gold eyes. Her dreams slid into each other, whispering with silent, and yet not silent, voices. She had no idea of the tears that Peter glimpsed on her cheeks when he heard her cry out in the darkness of the night. He spent several long moments watching her afterwards, watching the play of light and shadow across her features. Then he lay his head back down with a sigh. ~~~ The sun in her eyes woke Anja, and she sat up slowly, remembering where she was. Bince saw that she was awake, and barked a short greeting before she returned to her pacing. The girl moved slowly, rummaging in the chest at the bottom of the bed for the clothes she knew Peter had said would be there. She found a green tunic and a pair of tan, calf-length breeches, but no shoes. A moment later, a wiry, red-haired boy swung down from a higher level of the tree and grinned at her. "I'm Muilyn. Peter say's you're Anja?" "That's right, yes. How many Lost Boys are somewhere around here? Used to be six or seven - " "I think we're five main, including Pan. That's me, Marc, Jaksi, and Rulaaj. Pan left breakfast out, but he didn't know what you liked. So there's honey, flatbread, fruit, cheese." "Coffee?" "Say what? There's something Pan calls hot chocolate, but." "Never mind, forget I said anything. Lead on." Anja sighed, rubbing the sleep out of her still-blurry eyes. Muilyn seemed much too awake for so early an hour. The red-haired youth gave a high, piercing whistle, and a few moments later, a kestrel came out of nowhere to perch on a branch. It cocked its head inquiringly, and Muilyn said, slowly and clearly, "Xiza, listen. Go find Peter. Tell him Anja's up. Understand?" The bird bobbed her head and took wing, and Muilyn shook his own head in amusement. "Xiza's smart, but she's not human. Pan'll get the general idea of what I just told her, though. C'mon and eat." ~~~~~~~~~~~~ There was a slender boy with vaguely Indian features seated at the rough table on the ground level of the enormous tree. He looked up at them with a grin, and introduced himself as Rulaaj. There was a fox sitting on the table in front of him, whining softly as the young man bandaged a long gash on its foreleg. Rulaaj finished quickly, then said, "There you are, Teek. Stop getting yourself into so many scrapes! I'm sorry, what did you say your name was?" "Anja. Where's the breakfast?" "I moved it so Teek couldn't get at it. 'Tis over on that other table. The younger boys have been at it already, so it's a bit depleted. Thank the gods that they don't all live in this tree. Pan takes in *far* too many nowadays. We've been here almost since the beginning. There's one boy who has been here, for everything. His name is Tootles, I think." "That's very possible," said Muilyn thoughtfully as he filled one of the rough wooden plates with everything on the table that was even remotely sweet. "That's what he tells us, and he hasn't the imagination to lie that well." "Jaksssi? Is Jaksssi in therrre?" "No, Ravven, she's not. Come on in, though. There's flatbread and honey, if you want it. Can you still fit through the door?" "Of courrsse I can, fool. Do you know wherre ssshe iss?" A huge, black- feathered head and torso appeared through the opening, the huge green-gold eyes bright with intelligence. Anja felt her breath catch. A griffon.the beak opened and the creature spoke again in a breathy voice. "And wherre'ss that honey?" "Who, Jaksi? I have no idea. It's on the table. Ravven, this is Anja, Pan's newest foundling. Anja, this is Ravven Wingstretch, our resident scholar and genius. She brought us books, Rav!" "You flatterrr me, Muilyn. And by the way, if you sssee the little wrrretch, tell herr I'm waiting.verrry pleassant to meet you, Anja." The griffon snatched a piece of bread and honey on her way out, leaning Rulaaj laughing in her wake. As soon as he got control of himself, he called, "Come on out, Jek, and consider yourself lucky she didn't hear you." A tall, lithe girl swung down off the huge root she'd apparently been stretched out on, hidden from where the griffon's immeadiate line of sight had been. She swept her short, dark hair out of deep blue eyes, and smiled at Anja. "Jaksi. Call me Jek. Ravven wants to teach me something, and I have no desire to learn. Do you know what it's like to be one female among twoscore boys?" The sudden change of topic startled Anja. "It's a living hell, that's what it is." "Jek, cool it. Let her eat. Have you had breakfast?" the voice was laughing, and came from somewhere above. Anja glanced up to see Peter peering in a broken window at her, and she waved. "No, I haven't. Come on down, why don't you?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Like it? I do. And I like Jek. Yers, TalFal