Here is chapter two! I had so much fun with this chapter! I hope you like it, too. While the Lost Boy's names may sound a bit weird, it is because I am a bit weird! I'll explain them later, kay? At the end of the chapter.
Disclaimer: I own Melody, Toriko, Luep, Mota and Niko. Everything else, I do not.
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The second star to the right and straight on 'til morning. I did not quite know what was happening, or really how we got here, but it felt amazing, like my heart was filling up with joy so quickly it would burst any second. Now, that does not sound like a very fun feeling, but believe me, it is. Peter and I landed on a cloud, allowing me to take in the beauty of Neverland from the sky. "Awesome." was the only word I could think of to describe my feelings. I leaned over as far as I could, trying to see everything at once. "The Indian Tribe, Mermaid Lagoon, it's all really here."
Peter crossed his arms across his chest, gazing proudly at his homeland, "Pretty amazing, huh?"
I nodded fervently, "Uh-huh!" I exclaimed breathlessly.
"Do you want to see it up close?"
I looked up at him and smiled, "More than anything." was my cliched answer.
Peter took my hand and led me while we flew though the area. Waterfalls and mermaids splashing in the lagoon. Smoke rising in spirals above the Indian grounds, stereotypical tepees dotting the area. Heavily wooded areas abound. Everything I had ever read about and more. It would take an author far more talented than I to explain and describe all of these beautiful sights and do them justice. Which is precisely why James Matthew Barrie is the famous author and not I. My eyes scanned the area once more, finally resting on a body of water, a lone ship bobbing on the surface. That ship was so oddly familiar. Then it hit me. "Peter, that isn't Captain Hook's ship, is it?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, that's his ship alright." Peter said.
"But, didn't the crocodile get him? And didn't you take Wendy and the boys home on that ship?" I asked, utterly puzzled.
"I sure did. But the ship didn't exactly fit in our hideout, so I just left it there." he shrugged, not seeing it as anything important.
"Oh." was all I could say, feeling embarrassed for my sudden outburst. "Are there any pirates on that ship?"
"Sure, there are a few. The Lost Boys and I always keep them in line, though." he grinned proudly.
"Where are the Lost Boys?" I asked, suddenly remembering half the reason I was here.
"They're waiting at our hideout." he replied. I simply loved the fact that he said 'our hideout' and I could not hide the wide smile on my face.
"What?" he asked, noticing my goofy smile.
"Nothing, I just can't wait to meet the Lost Boys and begin my duties."
"Well, then let's go." he smiled, setting of in the direction of a forest. We flew over the treetops, and then Peter swooped down, gently setting me down on the ground. He then dragged me in the direction of a large tree. He opened up some sort of secret door, and softly pushed me in.
"Peter?"
"Just go on!" he called, closing the door behind me. He threw his head back and crowed.
I made a face, though he could not see it. I slowly and cautiously made my way forward, only to slip and fall. When I fell, it felt like I had fallen on a slide, and was now sliding down it in the dark. I was terrified, but I have to admit, I would do it again. I finally saw a patch of light ahead. Before I knew it, I rolled into a huge room, and Peter was rolling right towards me. I found out later that there are various entrances into thei-our hideout, and Peter had come in through the entrance across from mine. We rolled into each other, our foreheads bumping together, stopping us as we fell backwards from the impact.
Peter threw his head back and laughed, considering what had just happened great fun.
I rubbed my head, but couldn't help but smile. It was sort of fun. I looked around, the room I was in was amazing. There were chairs and a table in one corner, and various weapons in another. It was every little boy's dream room, and it was pretty neat to me, too. Across the room was a curtain, most likely Peter's room was on the other side.
"Peter!" came a chorus of voices.
I snapped my head to a different part of the room to see four boys bounding towards us. The hair on each of their heads was tangled with various things such as feathers and leaves poking out. Their clothes were made of animal skins, tattered and torn shirts and trousers underneath them. They all crowded around me, bright eyes inspecting me. If I had to take a guess, i would say the four of them ranged in age from twelve to six years of age.
"Who are you?" asked one boy, freckles doting his cheeks. His hair was a scraggly, yet adorable, wavy mop of blond hair.
"This," Peter began, floating over to me, "Is our newest recruit."
They all stared up at me, smiles plastered on their faces. "Is this our new mother?" two boys asked in unison, they looked like twins, both with brown eyes and shaggy black hair.
Peter shook his head, "No, she is not."
"Then why is she here?" asked one who seemed to be the oldest, next to Peter, of course. He sported a red-tipped mohawk, which I found amusing to no end for he looked like a rooster.
"She's going to be our new member, and as the second oldest, she will be my second in command." he explained, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder to point at me.
Rooster-boy did not look pleased, "And that's it?"
"Well, I guess I'll do a little cleaning for you boys." I shrugged.
"She said she'll cook for us, too." Peter added.
"Yeah, a little bit, and If it's not too big of a job for me, I can do some sewing." I held up my thumb and index finger, signifying how little I planned to do.
"Will she tell us stories?" the boy with freckles asked. He was quickly becoming my favorite.
I looked up, trying to appear deep in thought as I crossed my arms.
All the boys stared, waiting for an answer. Even the oldest seemed to be interested in my answer.
I looked at each of them, my eyes finally landing on the youngest who had asked the question. "Sure, I could do that."
The twins and the youngest jumped up and cheered. Even Rooster-boy smiled.
"What makes you different from a mother?" one of the twins asked.
I scanned the little boy's face, hoping to find some differences in his features from his twin's. "I'm not going to tuck you in at night." I stated, placing my fists on my hips and looking away, hoping the boys would see I was serious and not protest.
Rooster-boy shrugged indifferently. I had a feeling I was going to have trouble with this one.
The other three pouted, but quickly recovered, finding the idea of stories everyday far more appealing.
"So if you are not our mother, what should we call you?" Rooster-boy asked.
Peter smacked his forehead, "I forgot." he cried. He took my shoulder and swiveled me around to face all four of the boys. "This is Melody. But all of you are to address her as ..."
"No, Melody is fine." I interrupted.
Peter obviously did not like being interrupted. "When you become a part of the Lost Boys, you get a new name. That's a rule." Peter informed me.
I blinked, "Really?" I asked, "What are all of your new names?" I looked over at the Lost Boys.
"I'm Toriko." Rooster-boy mumbled. At least he was beginning to respect me.
"Luep!" the first one shouted.
"Mota!" the second one chimed in.
"I'm Niko." the youngest with the freckles smiled up at me.
"You." Peter touched my head, perhaps as a way to christen me, 'Will be known as Kino."
"Kino." the boys repeated.
"And, you must swear to me."
I looked up at his face.
"It is this, if we meet Hook in open fight, you must leave him to me."
"I promise." I smiled, now I was officially part of the Lost Boys. Wait a minute ... "Um, Peter?" I asked.
"Yes?"
"So, I'm a Lost Boy now, right?" I asked.
"Yes."
"But, I'm not a boy."
"So?"
"But I thought girls were better than boys."
"You are our equal now. You yourself said you didn;t want to be on a pedestal." said Peter.
I smirked. I guess I'll let it go this time.
"Now, on to our next matter of business." Peter began, disappearing into his room. A few seconds later, he emerged with a sword in each hand, Tinker Bell following closely behind. He threw one blade in the air, skillfully catching it on the edge of the hilt. He thrusted the hilt towards me.
I reached out my hand, curling my fingers around the hilt. Peter released it, allowing me to hold it up and examine the sword.
He held his own sword out, pointing it at me. "Now, we must teach you how to fight." he gave me a cocky grin. "But don't worry, I'll go easy on you."
I held my sword out in a similar fashion, grinning back. I am not quite sure who swung their sword first, but before I knew it, we were in a heated battle. Now, I had a little bit of experience in sword fighting for I had received four months worth of fencing lessons for my last birthday. My mother did not quite understand, or like, my interests, but she supported me all the same. In those our months I had learned quite a few techniques and some fancy footwork, which I was able to use here. Those four months of training, however, were no match for the great skill of Peter Pan. I put up a good fight, if I do says so myself, but Peter was able to overpower me in a matter of minutes. I looked up at him in defeat.
A proud smile spread across his face, "Not bad, but you will definitely need some more training to keep up with me." he turned his head and signaled for the lost boys and Tinkerbell, who had been watching from the sidelines, to join us in the middle of the room. "Toriko, I want you to begin Melody's training tomorrow."
The boy addressed did not seem to like this one bit, that is until Peter said with a devilish grin:"Show her no mercy." to which Toriko responded with a grin of his own.
Peter explained soon after that if I wanted to participate in any form of battle, I would need to be in top condition as soon as possible. I was still a little bit wary of the idea of a twelve-year-old boy who already seems to dislike me training me with real swords and showing me 'no mercy.' But, thankfully, Peter appointed Tinker Bell to supervise my lessons.
"And now that that is settled." Peter began, "It looks like it is time for all of us to get some sleep."
None of the lost boys protested, which seemed uncharacteristic for a bunch of small boys living in Neverland. But, I soon realized, bedtime meant one thing: stories.
Even Toriko, despite being twelve years of age, was eager to hear a story. It does not matter how old you are, you are never too old to appreciate a bedtime story, especially if you had never heard one before.
All the boys, tucked away in a large fold-out bed, stared at me, willing the story to begin.
I smiled as I began my first story-telling session. I began with those infamous four words: "Once upon a time ..."
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When all of the boys had nodded off to sleep I silently crept to the back of the room where Peter had been listening to my story. "Where am I going to sleep?" I whispered, utterly exhausted from my full night. Why, it had to be at least four in the morning!
"Hmmm, I didn't think about that." he mumbled, scratching his head. "Come." he took my hand and lead me into his room. The moment he set foot in his domain, he began is work, tossing some blankets and pillows made of fur and stuffed with leaves into a separated section in his room. "You can sleep here tonight." he wiped some sweat off of his brow with his hand.
I looked over at the hastily made bed. It was a lot nicer in here than the room of the Lost Boys. It was a little less cluttered in here. "Thank you." I yawned as I plopped myself down on my new bed. Now that I think about it, I probably should have brought my pajamas instead of leaving them on the floor of my room. My old room that is. Oh well, hindsight is always 20/20. I crawled under the blanket fully clothed. The boys did it, why couldn't I? I lay in my bed, the pillow stuffed with leaves was surprisingly soft.
"Hey, Melody?"
"Yeah?"
"I can't sleep, could you tell me another story."
Now, I was very tired, I did not want to tell another story. But, I couldn't say no to Peter Pan, could I? "Okay, but I'm going to tell you a different kind of story." I yawned.
"Really, there is more than one kind?" Peter asked.
"Uh-huh." I reached into my pocket for something I had stored away before we left: my harmonica. "Okay, I'll start now."
Peter became silent as I softly began to play. I used soft breaths, both short and long, inhale and exhale to produce a soft, sweet, bluesy melody. (Is that considered a pun?) I moved my lips up and down the length of the harmonica with great skill. I don't want to toot my own horn, but after so many years of practice, I had become quite talented after all the years of annoying those around me. I stopped playing when the soft sound of Peter's snoring reached my ears. I smiled, it was just like a boy to nod off before the 'story' was over. I tucked my harmonica away, closing my eyes and snuggling under the covers, Peter's rhythmic breathing slowly lulling me to sleep.
after all the years of annoying those around me. I stopped playing when the soft sound of Peter's snoring reached my ears. I smiled, it was just like a boy to nod off before the 'story' was over. I tucked my harmonica away, closing my eyes and snuggling under the covers, Peter's rhythmic breathing slowly lulling me to sleep.
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Okay, as promised, the Lost Boys and their name explanations:
Toriko: This one,I made on a whim, wanting to instill 'bird' somewhere in his name. I tried to change the spelling around, but I liked it like this. He is twelve years old. Toriko is also loosely based on one of the Lost Boys in the movie 'Hook.' I think he was the one Peter Pan left in charge when he left.
Luep: It was originally 'Lupe' I typed it wrong on the rough draft and when I read it over, I liked this spelling better, I thought it was cuter and more unique! XD He is around nine years old.
Mota: It is an anagram of my brother's name in Spanish with a letter or two left out. I originally intended for the twins to have rhyming names, but I could not come up with a rhyming name I liked for either of their present names, so I gave up on that idea. he is around nine years old.
Niko: I intended it to be Liko, an anagram of 'Loki' the Norse god. I did a spell check, and one of the options for a re-spelling was 'Niko.' I thought that was incredibly cute, so I kept it. Niko is four. Part of the reason he is so young is because I wanted there to be a range of ages. And I kind of wanted a little one around that Melody always looks after and keeps out of trouble, kind of like a big sister. XD
Looking back, the only name that stayed the same was 'Toriko' All the others changed. But I like them, do you? XD
Also, Melody's new name, 'Kino' has a meaning, too. It is short for 'Kinoto' which means 'second in rank.' Clever, ne? To be totally honest, I picked the name before I knew the meaning. It's like destiny, ne? XD I just thought that was neat, and thought maybe you'd think so too! XD
If you want profiles of the boys, let me know! I'll put them at the ends of the chapters! XD