***
5
***
The twilight ocean vomited the two boys onto the rough sand of Neverland's shore, and it was Billy who made it to his feet first, sputtering around mouthfuls of seawater and eyes stinging from the brine. He slipped in the loose sand and fell on his belly in the waves, and resigned himself to crawling further in to where the shore was cold but dry. He flipped onto his back to stare at the withering sky. Stains of pink, orange, and red had bled into the higher spheres of the heavens and only a few brave stars stood fast against it in the west.
He was vaguely aware of Slightly climbing the sand beside him and falling onto his rump, body supported by his arms while he dropped his head back and panted. Pink reflections trickled down his face and arms as the water obeyed the pull of gravity.
"So…now what?" Slightly asked as his pulse began to slow, though his shoulders complained sharply at the sudden escape through the waves.
Billy didn't look at him. "I don't know."
In the trees behind them a robin began it's complex chain of warbling, but it was an ignorant robin, one who hadn't heard the Night Watch's calls to attack. Billy didn't even look up for the bird.
"You know…" Slightly started hesitantly. "The fairy did say it was slightly possible that the potion came from a bad batch."
"I know that." He growled. One of his arms snaked over his eyes to block the light.
"A-and he might not even have been telling the truth. He was slightly mad at you." The boy added.
"I know!" Billy sat up and scowled out across the waves. "But just think about it cully, what makes more sense? A demon or..or…" he shut his mouth and dropped his chin down against his chest, his eyes jamming shut. A drop of seawater danced sickly on the lashes of a quavering eyelid.
"But Billy, how is it even possible? If you were a ghoul you'd slightly have to know it, wouldn't you?"
His lips pulled back from his teeth and a low sound slowly rose in his throat. "How would I have to know it?!" He shouted abruptly, clenching his fists on his knees. "HOW? Tell me that! I've spent my whole life being passed hand to hand like a water bucket, I don't remember where I came from! For all I know some gravedigger found a baby squalling in a hole and handed me off to the first person who'd take me!"
"Billy—"
"How do I know what I am!?"
His voice cracked in his outburst and he dropped his forehead down between his fists, tendons twitching with the monumental effort not to cry. Slightly hadn't the time to react because to prevent the impending humiliation Billy stood up and cracked his fist into the shallow rock ledge that edged this side of the beach. He let an undignified squeak at the impact and stood, eyes pinched shut and teeth gritted, concentrating on the bolting panics of pain that spasmed up his joints, through his shoulder, and down the side of his back.
After a moment he pulled his arm back against his chest and twitched his eyes open, flicking momentarily down to the blood damped skinlessness of his knuckles. None of the bones were broken but they complained sharply in jagged lines through his flesh.
"S-slightly?" the boy managed shakily.
"What?"
"I…I ……" He paused and trailed off, forgetting whatever comment had tried to drip from his jaw. The robin began to chortle again and the sound seemed somehow grating against the quiet push of the dawn lit ocean.
"…Come on, Billy." Slightly said quietly into the thick silence, standing and brushing the sand off his backside almost unconsciously. "We slightly need to get away from the shore before the crocodile makes her rounds."
Billy nodded numbly.
"Besides, we can still try the Indians, right?" he said with false cheeriness.
Billy looked up at him with no mild confusion in his eyes.
"The Indians? The Indians hate the pirates…"
"Great Big Little Panther won't turn you away if we ask for his help, I know he wouldn't. He could tell us if the fairy was right, and he might even know how to help."
"But what if he tells Peter?"
Slightly sighed, though he hadn't meant it to sound so pathetically forlorn as it did. "If the commotion on the island was any clue, Peter will know soon anyway. It slightly doesn't matter what Great Big Little Panther tells him."
Billy nodded again, eyes down. Then, abruptly: "Thank you."
The boy blinked. "What for?"
"Everything."
At Slightly's blank look, he furrowed his brow.
"You could have walked away yesterday, when you were with Peter. You could have just pretended you didn't see me, or not have come back for me." He frowned. "You didn't have to give them up, and you shouldn't have, not when all you're getting is a stranger who could kill you in your sleep."
Slightly laughed, uncomfortable as Billy was with the frankness of this, but finding that somehow amusing.
Billy went on the defensive. "What's so funny?"
"I've been living with Peter nearly my whole life, haven't I?" he gasped, being one of the few Lost Boys old enough to remember the disappearances of Caps and Ledger. He remembered, only faintly, that they had grown older when he was just a tiny thing, and Peter had made them disappear. He'd seen blood on Peter's boots afterwards and had cried for days.
Billy scowled at Slightly's giggling, not understanding it and feeling it was somehow aimed at him, but he couldn't help the corners of his mouth twitching up into a smile as the giggling continued. Slightly sat down hard in the sand and didn't bother to try to stifle it as he fell back on his elbows and just laughed into the lightened sky. All the stress and anger and quiet, maddening terror that had been festering in Billy's stomach began to twist and he found himself grinning, then chuckling softly behind his hand, then finally degenerating into pointless and girlish giggles that dictated he fall to his rump on the sand to accommodate them.
The stark sound faded to companionable silence as they sat in the sand with dumb smiles on their faces, having frightened the robin into muteness. Before them the ocean rolled. Long before the comfortable quiet drifted into silent thought Slightly stumbled to his feet and held a hand out to Billy, who allowed himself to be dragged upright. Neither broke the quiet as they headed towards the Indian village.
5
***
The twilight ocean vomited the two boys onto the rough sand of Neverland's shore, and it was Billy who made it to his feet first, sputtering around mouthfuls of seawater and eyes stinging from the brine. He slipped in the loose sand and fell on his belly in the waves, and resigned himself to crawling further in to where the shore was cold but dry. He flipped onto his back to stare at the withering sky. Stains of pink, orange, and red had bled into the higher spheres of the heavens and only a few brave stars stood fast against it in the west.
He was vaguely aware of Slightly climbing the sand beside him and falling onto his rump, body supported by his arms while he dropped his head back and panted. Pink reflections trickled down his face and arms as the water obeyed the pull of gravity.
"So…now what?" Slightly asked as his pulse began to slow, though his shoulders complained sharply at the sudden escape through the waves.
Billy didn't look at him. "I don't know."
In the trees behind them a robin began it's complex chain of warbling, but it was an ignorant robin, one who hadn't heard the Night Watch's calls to attack. Billy didn't even look up for the bird.
"You know…" Slightly started hesitantly. "The fairy did say it was slightly possible that the potion came from a bad batch."
"I know that." He growled. One of his arms snaked over his eyes to block the light.
"A-and he might not even have been telling the truth. He was slightly mad at you." The boy added.
"I know!" Billy sat up and scowled out across the waves. "But just think about it cully, what makes more sense? A demon or..or…" he shut his mouth and dropped his chin down against his chest, his eyes jamming shut. A drop of seawater danced sickly on the lashes of a quavering eyelid.
"But Billy, how is it even possible? If you were a ghoul you'd slightly have to know it, wouldn't you?"
His lips pulled back from his teeth and a low sound slowly rose in his throat. "How would I have to know it?!" He shouted abruptly, clenching his fists on his knees. "HOW? Tell me that! I've spent my whole life being passed hand to hand like a water bucket, I don't remember where I came from! For all I know some gravedigger found a baby squalling in a hole and handed me off to the first person who'd take me!"
"Billy—"
"How do I know what I am!?"
His voice cracked in his outburst and he dropped his forehead down between his fists, tendons twitching with the monumental effort not to cry. Slightly hadn't the time to react because to prevent the impending humiliation Billy stood up and cracked his fist into the shallow rock ledge that edged this side of the beach. He let an undignified squeak at the impact and stood, eyes pinched shut and teeth gritted, concentrating on the bolting panics of pain that spasmed up his joints, through his shoulder, and down the side of his back.
After a moment he pulled his arm back against his chest and twitched his eyes open, flicking momentarily down to the blood damped skinlessness of his knuckles. None of the bones were broken but they complained sharply in jagged lines through his flesh.
"S-slightly?" the boy managed shakily.
"What?"
"I…I ……" He paused and trailed off, forgetting whatever comment had tried to drip from his jaw. The robin began to chortle again and the sound seemed somehow grating against the quiet push of the dawn lit ocean.
"…Come on, Billy." Slightly said quietly into the thick silence, standing and brushing the sand off his backside almost unconsciously. "We slightly need to get away from the shore before the crocodile makes her rounds."
Billy nodded numbly.
"Besides, we can still try the Indians, right?" he said with false cheeriness.
Billy looked up at him with no mild confusion in his eyes.
"The Indians? The Indians hate the pirates…"
"Great Big Little Panther won't turn you away if we ask for his help, I know he wouldn't. He could tell us if the fairy was right, and he might even know how to help."
"But what if he tells Peter?"
Slightly sighed, though he hadn't meant it to sound so pathetically forlorn as it did. "If the commotion on the island was any clue, Peter will know soon anyway. It slightly doesn't matter what Great Big Little Panther tells him."
Billy nodded again, eyes down. Then, abruptly: "Thank you."
The boy blinked. "What for?"
"Everything."
At Slightly's blank look, he furrowed his brow.
"You could have walked away yesterday, when you were with Peter. You could have just pretended you didn't see me, or not have come back for me." He frowned. "You didn't have to give them up, and you shouldn't have, not when all you're getting is a stranger who could kill you in your sleep."
Slightly laughed, uncomfortable as Billy was with the frankness of this, but finding that somehow amusing.
Billy went on the defensive. "What's so funny?"
"I've been living with Peter nearly my whole life, haven't I?" he gasped, being one of the few Lost Boys old enough to remember the disappearances of Caps and Ledger. He remembered, only faintly, that they had grown older when he was just a tiny thing, and Peter had made them disappear. He'd seen blood on Peter's boots afterwards and had cried for days.
Billy scowled at Slightly's giggling, not understanding it and feeling it was somehow aimed at him, but he couldn't help the corners of his mouth twitching up into a smile as the giggling continued. Slightly sat down hard in the sand and didn't bother to try to stifle it as he fell back on his elbows and just laughed into the lightened sky. All the stress and anger and quiet, maddening terror that had been festering in Billy's stomach began to twist and he found himself grinning, then chuckling softly behind his hand, then finally degenerating into pointless and girlish giggles that dictated he fall to his rump on the sand to accommodate them.
The stark sound faded to companionable silence as they sat in the sand with dumb smiles on their faces, having frightened the robin into muteness. Before them the ocean rolled. Long before the comfortable quiet drifted into silent thought Slightly stumbled to his feet and held a hand out to Billy, who allowed himself to be dragged upright. Neither broke the quiet as they headed towards the Indian village.