Disclaimer:
I Aslansphoenix declare that I do not own 'Peter Pan', Neverland or anything that you find familiar. Technically some of the characters did come from my head ... but I think they belong to Neverland just as much as any canon characters.
*/*/*
Author's Note:
I am sorry that this chapter took so long. This particular chapter has been … causing me issues. I know how I want the story to end, I have many chapters planned, but with this one chapter I just have struggled. It's such an in-between chapter; not because nothing (in fact it's highly relevant to the plot – what little there is), and that is the hard part.
Ugh, I'm rambling. Sorry, and thanks.
*/*/*
"All Children Grow up Except One"
Everyone Knows about Neverland,
About the home of Peter Pan.
Second to the Right, and Straight on till Morning.
To the place between dreaming and awakening.
There are rules in Neverland
Rules that must be obeyed.
Boys forget much easier than Girls.
"No Girl can resist Peter Pan,
When he uses a specific voice."
One more thing, which is True ...
In Neverland, You learn all about You.
*/*/*
Chapter Nine.
*/*/*
Peter crowed triumphantly. Mitchell rolled his eyes, George felt confused as well, but as it was what George wanted, George didn't protest when Peter started to lead them through the jungle trees.
*/*/*
If this were an orderly adventure; the group would have met the groups in a certain order. But this was Neverland; the land that existed in the dreams and imaginations of children, the land that ran on stories, the land where Peter Pan was the heart of the island. And no one could, or would ever accuse Peter of being 'orderly'.
It was one of the reasons why he needed a mother.
It is common knowledge that when Peter Pan is away from the island, Neverland would fall into a kind of peaceful doze. The Indians feasted well, the Mermaids sunbathed in the shallows of the sea, the fairies took a relaxed time to complete their duties and the Lost Boys and Pirates merely pulled faces at each other when their paths crossed.
But, as Peter Pan returned, the island would start to buzz and thrill of adventure would spread across the land. And, unlike when Wendy first visited the island with her brothers, Neverland didn't wake only after Peter had arrived back, instead it started to when it sense the immortal boy was returning with a Mother for the Spring Cleaning (always called that, regardless of the time of year it was on the Mainland).
This did give the natives of Neverland a longer chance to prepare themselves for the endless energy that was needed in the adventures with Peter Pan … But mostly it was because Peter wanted to arrive right in the middle of fight. That way he could show his Mother, and any other visitors, how brave he was for saving the day.
So it was the group went some ways through the forest, then Peter stopped and headed in a different direction. George was confused until slowly some sounds not usually found in the woods started to make themselves known. Banging, and clanging and shouting. Then they came across a clearing.
*/*/*
The Lost Boys were fighting a group of the Indian tribe's warriors; who had been startled out of their hunt by the noisy children. So, in part due to the need to defend pride and honour, but mostly to settle the itch that had started to form longing for a good fight, the groups had begun to attack each other.
Naturally they weren't in danger (well not any more than what is usual for living in Neverland.), as most of the time they were allies.
George's eyes went wide at the first sighting of the fighters. The Lost Boys (five that George could see) were all slightly muddy, rough-and-tumble looking children. They looked like a fun bunch to play with. The Indians were more imposing. Absolutely fierce warriors of strength and skill; even the shortest female of the group seemed imposing and skillful (George was reminded of Maria at her most stubborn).
The Indians were clearly the better fighters, but the Lost Boys were scrappy, and their smaller size allowed them to be quick on their feet. It made for a fairly even fight.
This was all taken in within a short time, but before George could really think about it, Peter had let out a crow of excitement and launched himself into the fray … which kind of stopped it from being a fray - temporarily.
The Lost Boys paused their brawling and beamed excitedly as they announced excitedly "Pan's back!" The Indians stood paused in fighting position and Peter crowed triumphantly at the adoration of his boys. But he didn't allow the inaction to occur for too long; he came for a fight, so a fight he would get.
"Come on boys – let's get them!"
And just like that, the fight was back on. George felt the pull of the adrenaline start to flow and moved to join the fight (because why not?) when Mitchell scoffed and rolled his eyes "Pan said 'boys', and you're a girl."
George did not scowl, but pointed into the fray. "That's not stopping Angela" and indeed there the youngest was, having slipped away from her sister's grasp. George smirked and side-stepped Mitchell to join in the brawl. Mitchell spluttered and the two ended up pushing each other in order to be the first in the fight.
It was a very short fight. George was vaguely aware that Margaret and Eliza standing off to the side, apparently neither felt the pull of battle. Everyone was just kind of fighting everyone, George certainly had no idea if the opponent was Indian, Lost Boy or tree (though that last one would be denied until the end of time).
It would have gone on for longer but Margaret spoke up. "Boys I think that's enough. The Tribe are our friends, not our enemies." Her voice seemed to still the Lost Boys. They glanced in her direction and then four pairs of eyes lit up.
"Mother!"
"Mother's back!"
"Gosh is it Spring time already."
"Brilliant! I get the first hug!"
And with that four of the boys broke away from the group and rushed to Margaret, shouting how he wanted to be the first to greet their 'mother'. As such Margaret was pulled into a very affectionate group hug. To which she laughed and smiled fondly, so it couldn't have been unwelcome.
The littlest Lost Boy glanced between the groups then gazed up at Peter and asked softly "Did you bring us a mother Peter?"
When Peter responded with smug conceitedness, the boy's eyes went wide and he looked at Peter as if the skeleton-leaf clad child had hung the moon, (though in Neverland that may well have been the case). This was obviously the reaction Peter wanted for he crowed at his own genius as the little one shyly joined the rest.
Unlike the first interruption, the Indians didn't hold their fighting position. In fact … most of them seemed to have faded into the jungle (unfairly showing off their skills – thought George). Only a couple of people remained.
They made some gesture of respect towards Peter, and started to make their way back into the woods, but the elder one stopped and gave a piercing look towards them. And George heard him say in a deep warning.
"Be wary Pan. Whilst you were away, something started to stir in the air. Our Wise Man believes that there is something coming, something even you may struggle with."
George felt a tingle of worry, one obviously not shared by Peter who threw his head back and laughed "Ha! I'm not scared, and I never struggle with anything!" The warrior with the warning looked concerned, but allowed the younger one to lead him into the jungle.
Peter shrugged and joined the throng of boys, leaving in the clearing just George and Mitchell; standing in confusion. Angela popped up between them with a grin "Come on let's go say hi to everyone. Oh – you do know that Maggie's not really our mother right?" George nodded in silent confusion, and Mitchell "Of course she's not."
"Remember that." Angela said as she gave them a look that George couldn't decipher.
*/*/*
Margaret stood encircled by the Lost Boys, everyone talking at once. When the cousins joined, they could hear snippets of the boys all trying to tell Margaret about their adventures. There was shoving and yelling, and through it all Margaret smiled at each boy and tried to respond accordingly, and George firmly understood why the Lost Boys were so keen to accept her as their Mother.
Suddenly one of the boys paused then stated something different. "Hey Peter, there are more of us than there were before."
"Are there?" asked Peter unconcerned.
The boy looked around and started counting on his fingers. "Yes, there is definitely more than one hand's worth of people here."
Margaret (who must have also heard the statement), called over the hubbub "Boys please, one at a time. Peter, help me please." Peter put two fingers to his lips and blew a shrill whistle that silenced the area (even the twittering birds). He then puffed out his chest and said (in a very commanding way) "Boys. We must respect our Mother, so stand to ATTENTION!"
Somehow George felt compelled to join in the scrambling to stand up straight in a line. But that was okay; so did Angela and Mitchell (Eliza hovered behind Margaret, looking a touch overwhelmed). They stood to attention in a line and Peter strutted up and down in front of them, giving something that sounded like a lecture on respect.
George admittedly didn't really listen. Angela, Eliza and Margaret all giggled at certain moments, but George was distracted by how little Peter was. He had such a huge personality, and held such a commanding presence … but he was he was physically quite a small child* - only Angela and the smallest Lost Boy were smaller.
Peter stopped speaking and saluted to Margaret. "All ready, Mother."
"Thank-you Peter. Oh Boys, it is so good to see you all."
The smallest boy tugged gently on her hand "Are you really here to be our Mother?" Margaret smiled, though her eyes briefly flickered with a sadness of sorts.
"Until it's time for me to leave. But that isn't for a while, and we can talk about it at a later time. Now, you're quite right there are more people here. I'm sure most of you remember Angela", the mentioned girl beamed and waved. "And this is George, Mitchell, and Eliza – they're family."
George felt oddly exposed as the Lost Boys (Peter included) examined them with something akin to mistrust in their eyes. Obviously (and reasonably) wary of these strangers. They did look a bit out of place – Mitchell in his pyjamas, George in an over-sized coat, and Eliza in her nightgown, hair a bit ruffled from flying, but still held in her deliberate curls.
A boy covered in freckles looked at Eliza (who definitely stood out the most someone different) and asked "Are you a Mother too?" Eliza looked surprised and a tad flattered "I? Well, no that's more, well you see, that is to say ..."
Angela piped up "She's an Aunt." She shrugged when everyone glanced at her in confusion. "What? I'm the Lost Boys sister, Maggie's the Mum, and now we have Aunt – Every family needs one." Well that was true, thought George, even those without Aunts by blood had an Aunt.
Peter beamed "Ooh I've never had an Aunt before!" He walked up to Eliza and proudly shook her hand while saying in a pompous voice "How do you do?" For some reason Eliza shot a glare at Angela, but before George could think on it, everyone was shaking each other's hands introducing themselves and saying 'how-do-you-do.'
"Hi I'm Scruffy." The boy who had noted there were more people than usual.
"I'm Specks." The boy with all the freckles said as he proudly shook George's hand.
"I'm Wit." A sly looking brunet with mischief in his eyes.
"Hey I'm Stubby" A name that must have been irony, as the boy with the huge smile was tall, thin and nothing like what George imagined a 'Stubby' would appear.
"Mouse." Said the tiny little shy Lost Boy.
It was almost a choreographed danced … except a little more chaotic. They all stood in a complicated, constantly moving circle shaking and re-shaking hands, saying their names and asking 'how-do-you-do?' Even to people that had known each other for as long as they could remember. George and Angela thought it as a fun game, Mitchell looked annoyed (which seemed to amuse the group) and Eliza slightly terrified.
It probably would have gone on for a lot longer, if the cannon hadn't whooshed passed them, missing Peter's head by that much.
*/*/*
End of Chapter Nine.
Author's Note:
Here this chapter ends.
I (theoretically) should be bit faster with the rest of the chapters … at the very least I have a better idea of what to write in them.
*In the book, there is a sentence where Peter is described as being smaller than the rest of the Lost Boys, which does amuse me as he has such a huge presence.
Hopefully this story is not too horrible.
If you have read this, then thank-you.
I will update whenever I update.
Saturday 11th August 2018.