"Boys! I need a few of you! Come on! Let's go!"
Felix's voice rang throughout the camp as if a flute were played in a room of silence. The Lost Boys were sleeping, resulting in when they heard the shout. Many of them were unsure as to why Felix was summoning them this early in the morning. Sure, life in Neverland was wonderful, but was sleep not a necessity once one came here?
"Boys! I know you're tired and pissed at not getting enough sleep, but get up!" His voice was harsher this time, signaling to the boys that he meant business. Rarely had this tone of voice been spoken by Felix, except in the rare times when something desperately needed to get done.
"Wha- what's going on Felix?" One of the boys rubbed his eyes, yawning as he asked his question.
Felix looked at him, letting a slight smile escape onto his face. This smile frightened the young boy, partially because of the way it slithered onto Felix's face and partially because Felix was an authority figure that held great power over any of the other Lost Boys – everyone knew he was Pan's number one.
The smiled put such fright into the heart of the boy that he started to slowly slip away from the closeness of Felix. Luckily more Lost Boys had arrived by the young boys' side at that time, and so he began to feel more safe and secure.
"Alright boys. Now that there are a few of you here, I need to talk with you. Pan needs us."
Some of the boys shuffled their feet – never had they been called to attention before in this way, while the more experienced Lost Boys stood firmly in their place.
"I need five of you to go scout the forest. Make sure that nothing has changed, and that all our set-ups are still intact." After this statement the commander pointed at five of his most trusted boys, having them nod and immediately vanish into the forest, all in different directions. It may not have seemed like a lot of people to scour such a large forest, but Felix knew his boys and knew that they would be done before the day was up.
"Alright good. Now I need two of you to go check on Tinkerbell; make sure she hasn't started getting any ideas and that she's not trying to backstab Pan by helping the others on the island." Felix didn't need give an indication of who should go – he had given this particular assignment enough times for the boys to know who took care of this job. The two that had been repeatedly trusted gave each other a nod and went in search of Tinkerbell's hideout.
"Okay that should cover it. If anyone has a problem with not being out there, deal with it. The ones that have been sent out know what they're doing and how to do it. Maybe you'll get an assignment later, but for now just go back to sleep or start a fire and make food if you want."
He knew that a few of the boys would be upset with this statement, but that was to be expected. He didn't care if the newer ones didn't get any experience yet – their time would come soon enough. Felix just needed to make sure that the jobs Pan assigned would need to be done properly, and so he needed his best men on the job. Besides, everyone had to work their way up in the ladder of work in Neverland.
Felix turned to leave to go to the bay when a small hand grabbed the side of his sleeve. He sharply turned, unnerved by a touch other than Pan's on his arm. "What?" His tone was harsh – Felix rarely liked to be disrupted when he was on a job.
"Uh…I was wondering…" It was a small boy who was quivering in his loose-hanging clothing.
"What! Snap to it! I don't have time to dawdle!" Felix's voice was getting harder and harder with each word.
"Co-co-could I maybe come with you?"
This drew Felix off-guard. Never before had he been asked by one of the boys to be on an assignment after they had already been given out. He examined the boy from head to toe; the young one was scrawny, insecure, and seemed scared. But the underlying tones of what the boys' potential could be gave Felix some reassurance. Once Felix had been this boy, just wanting to get ahead, so who was he to stand in the way of another's success? As long as that other could be approved of, that is.
"Alright come on."
Felix's clothing rushed behind him as he turned to face towards the direction he needed to go. He could hear the little one trying to keep up behind him as they rushed through the forest, barely able to hear the sound of the question being asked behind him.
"Where- are- we- going- exactly?" The boy had difficulty getting out the words between pants, but his determination to discover his destination had kicked in, allowing the words to magically appear from his mouth.
Felix didn't look back, but instead shouted back with a grin upon his face.
"To make sure that a certain someone isn't getting out of hand…again."
The boy just nodded this answer off, continuing to keep his breath as he ran throughout the deep woods. Meanwhile Felix had other things on his mind, such as why Peter had been acting so different lately, and what the potential feeling that had been putting Peter at unease could possibly be. Felix had always been Peter's right-hand man, and so not knowing the thoughts that were surrounding his mind created anxiety through every flow of Felix's pace. Felix hoped that once he was able to speak with the mermaid that things would steadily become clearer.
The last thing he wished for was Pan to be in harm's way once more.