Writer: lazzchan
It had come up a few times, the business of growing up—but no one really spoke about it. It just wasn't normal and no one liked to think about it. There were rumors that some of the pirates had once been boys, but—if they had been, they didn't remember and they were adults forever. Sora was determined to get Riku back from the pirates, to make sure that he didn't grow up. He wasn't sure how long forever was, but it sounded like an awfully long time.
"So, what's the plan?" Sora asked, standing before their leader. He was going to prove to Pan and to Riku that he could be strong enough to rescue Riku. This wasn't just the simple 'raid the pirates' sort of game, or sneaking up on the Indians. This was serious.
Pan shrugged, flopping back in his chair. "Sneak up on them and steal him, probably," his voice was casual and he fingered his pipes in one hand. "Not too difficult, unless they got him locked up or something. It'd explain why he hasn't escaped yet." Pan's expression clearly questioned why Riku hadn't escaped yet. "We'll wait until the night and then catch 'em all while they're sleeping."
Sora nodded and all the Lost Boys did as well, as faithful as puppies. Even Kairi gave a slow nod at the idea—it was a good one and soon they'd have Riku back and all the silly things about her being the cause of the boy growing up would all be put behind them. It had to be….
She tugged Sora down next to her; out of the air as the rest of the Lost Boys circled Peter and listened to him describe what they would do. She liked Riku, even for the short amount of time that she had known him and it was obvious that he and Sora were best friends—so she wanted to get him back.
"Well, men—we have our plans for tonight, so let's head out and forage today—gotta get food and all," he declared. He gave Kairi a pointed look. "This is your first time and so you'll stick close to…" he glanced around and pointed, "Sora and he'll show you what to do." He looked doubtful for a moment. Kairi was obviously a girl, but she was a Lost girl and that changed things. "D'you know how to cook?"
Kairi blinked at the question. "I… maybe?" she asked, biting at her lip. "I watched … I watched…." She couldn't remember who she had watched, but that person had cooked. It hurt to remember. "I can't remember," she finally said, wondering if Peter would be angry with her.
Peter didn't seem to see anything wrong with her not remembering, though—it happened to all the Lost Boys. They fell or appeared through the jungle or from washed in from the sea and it seemed however it happened, their memories couldn't seem to keep up with them and they were lost along the way.
"Well, don't worry about it," Peter waved if off. "Just stick close and watch what we do. We'll have to have a lot of food to celebrate our victory tonight." There was no doubt, of course, that they would be triumphant.
It wasn't quite the same game as they had played before, but to the boys, it was still a game, wasn't it? And it was their turn to win.
Nobody expected a new player to the game.
The borders of Neverland always let a child slip in and sometimes the unmentionable adult, but no one had ever really snuck in before. But this time—there was something new on the horizon—a dark ship on the water. It wasn't Captain Hook's ship and the denizens of the water shivered at the newcomer.
It rowed quietly and it was searching—those that were gathered on the ship had sharp eyes and cold expressions. They were adults but there was something wrong about them. Neverland wasn't supposed to change without the thoughts and wishes of children to guide it. There was nothing childlike about these newcomers. This felt very wrong and they of the water fled to warn those that they could.
Kairi stayed close to Sora as she had been instructed and he was cheerful again—confident that Peter and the Lost Boys would fight the pirates and bring Riku back. The group was paired off in twos, to get the most food and the most treats—Sora was leading Kairi towards the water, near the cove to ask the mermaids for treats.
Since he had come from the sea, he understood them the best next to Peter. Fira hovered nearby him and then alighted on Kairi to make a more smooth ride, as Sora was bouncing in step. He loved talking to the mermaids—they always had such interesting things to tell him.
"Sora…" Kairi whispered, "is it okay that I didn't remember? Peter didn't seem angry, but…"
Sora shook his head quickly. "No, no--you don't want to remember," he said authoritatively. "Remembering is almost as bad as growing taller. You don't want to remember what happened before, it's…it's usually kinda bad and all." His face twisted in thought. "All I know is that Riku found me in the ocean and we found you among the stars."
Kairi nodded and clasped the slingshot Sora had given her tighter in her hands. She couldn't remember, but she also wasn't sure she wanted to stay here forever. Sora seemed unconcerned and she wondered how long he had been here, but she didn't ask. She already knew that the Lost Boys concept of time was…different.
They were close to the cove now and Sora leaned down to try and call the mermaids out to him, when one reached up and nearly yanked him in. Kairi shrieked and grabbed hold and the mermaids glared at her, whispering something and Sora waved Kairi off to better hear them.
His expression was unusually serious when they passed their message—and even though Kairi couldn't tell what they were saying, they were clearly terrified. Sora finally dislodged himself from their hold and came up without treats and took a hold of Kairi's free hand.
"The rescue mission is off for right now—" he said slowly, eyes narrowed faintly. "There's a new enemy and he sounds really bad. The mermaids are terrified."
Kairi didn't understand all of it, but she let Sora lead her back to Peter. She felt a slight thrill that they were the ones imparting this important message to their leader (because Peter was her leader, too—
--and she hoped that Riku would understand that they couldn't rescue him right away.