Now this chapter, well ... I re-wrote it, I had it ready before now, but I really wanted two scenes added in. I wanted a certain part to sort of show Kino's dedication to the boys, for a woman's hair is her life! XD I heard that somewhere. The other scene is in because I wanted it in! XD
Disclaimer: We've been through this before, you remember what I do and do not own.
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The men stood planted to their spots on the deck, unable to move.
"Well!" Hook shouted, jolting the men out of their spots.
The crew all scrambled about the ship, retrieving every pocket watch, wrist watch, wall clock and alarm clock aboard the ship, placing them in a pile at the Captain's feet. A fatal mistake for yet another pirate.
Hook stood stiff-legged, his eyes wild and fierce. "You fools!" he spat, raising his hook menacingly. "Get them away from me!" he screeched, his whole body twitching with every tick of the clocks.
"You heard him! Get rid of these clocks. I don't care how you do it, just get it done." Smee barked.
The pirates flinched, then ran to the clocks, scooping up arm fulls and disappearing.
Hook's heart rate soon slowed to a normal rate as the pile of ticking menaces dwindled. Once the last clock had disappeared, Hook had regained his cool composure. "Now then," he continued, pacing back and forth in front of the men, his wooden peg clacking against the floorboards, "what are you still doing here?" he asked. "Get back to work!" he he threw his arm over his shoulder, dismissing them.
Smee followed them, attempting to sneak away from his Captain.
"Mr. Smee?" Hook called, causing Mr. Smee to flinch.
"Y-yes, Cap'n?" he answered, his voice cracking.
"Come." he ordered, disappearing into the Captain's Quarters.
Smee tried to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. This would not go well. He scurried after the Captain, trying to ignore the looks of pity he was receiving from the crew.
Hook sauntered over to a large desk, settling himself down as he examined the contents of the drawers. He looked on in disgust as he pulled an apple core out of the drawer, tossing it aside. "Tell me, " Hook began, causing a very nervous Mr. Smee to nearly jump out of his skin, "what has happened during my absence?"
"N-nothing much, sir." Smee paused, trying to steady his voice. "Nothing worth calling attention to, sir."
Hook began to twirl his moustache absent-mindedly, "Nothing?"
"Nothing." Smee repeated.
"And the abomination?"
Mr. Smee flinched, wishing he were any where but here, "N-nothing has ch-changed." he squeaked, suddenly becoming engrossed in the detail of the floor boards beneath him.
Hook's hook stopped twirling, "I see." he whispered, "How is our young Peter?"
"The last time I saw him he was flying over the islands with an unidentified person. He had long hair, a strange looking fellow."
"Hm, interesting." Captain Hook raised himself from his seat. "I would like to take a stroll in the forest in a few days, I have not done so in such a long time."
(---.:. ADVeNTuRe AWaiTS! .:.---)
I awoke to another splash of water in my face. I rolled out of bed, hitting my head on the wall. "Ow." I whined, sitting up to see Toriko snicker.
"Time for your training." he smirked.
I began to rub the sleep out of my eyes, slowly rising to my feet. "Okay, I'm coming." I yawned, taking up a short sword as I followed Toriko outside, through my own exit. The thought brought a smile to my face, which instantly disappeared once I remembered another event that had taken place the day before. What did Peter mean by what he said yesterday? I had been up all night, unable to push his words from my mind.
'But the feeling in my stomach says you are different. It tells me to call you 'Melody''
"Hey, space cadet!" Toriko yelled, throwing a dirt clod at my face. I ducked, the dirt just barely missing me. I glared at him, giving a quick bow before unsheathing my weapon and charging at him.
He grinned as the ground beneath me lurched, swallowing me up. I screamed as I landed with a 'thud' at the bottom of a hole.
Toriko burst into laughter, "Lesson two: Be aware of your surroundings." he managed to choke out between laughs.
"That was a dirty trick!" I spat.
"Hey, my job is to teach you to fight pirates. What makes you think that a pirate won't try and pull a trick like this." he asked, the giggles dying down.
I shut my mouth, he had a point. "Okay, fine, but at least help me out!"
"Would a pirate help you out?" he asked me.
"Help me out, Toriko!" I said through gritted teeth. His attitude wasn't cute anymore.
"Nah, I think I'm going to get a snack. Catch you later." I heard the dirt crunch as he walked away.
"TORIKO!" I howled. "Come back here!"
No answer.
"Brat!" I flopped down on the ground. How am I going to get myself out of this mess? I blew a puff of breath to knock my hair out of my face. I stood up and tried to estimate how far up I would have to climb. It was about four feet above my head. That rat, how in the world did Toriko manage to dig this? No matter how upset at him I was, I had to admit I was impressed. I dug my fingers into the wall, kicking my feet into the wall I tried to hoist myself further up the wall. I cringed as I felt the grit of dirt crawl under my fingernails. I pulled my hand out, digging it in further up the wall. After repeating this process, I was able to throw myself over the edge. My knees were covered in a thick layer of grime, my elbows had been scratched up from dragging them across the dirt and I had a sickening amount of dirt under my fingernails. I flipped my head back, trying to get my mid-back length hair out of my face. I rose to my feet and heaved a mighty sigh. Toriko was going to get it! I stomped over to the hideout, slipping through my entrance and tumbling to the floor.
Toriko looked up at me. He turned his head, his hand flying to his mouth. I could hear his stifled giggles.
I scowled at him, stomping over to him. "To-ri-ko!" I growled. I almost had him too, but I felt a sharp tug at my hair. I turned to see Peter holding a handful of my hair.
"It's too long."
"Wha?"
"Your hair is too long, it was getting in the way yesterday when we went hunting. That could be very dangerous." he told me, reaching for his dagger.
"What are you doing, Peter?" I asked suspiciously.
"I'm going to do you a favor and cut it for you, now sit down." he slightly tugged on my hair, pushing me down onto a stool. He gripped a handful of my hair, holding his dagger in the other. With one quick motion, probably done to minimize the pain, he was done. He dropped my detached hair on the floor carelessly as my hands flew up to my head. He had cut it into a choppy style slightly longer than a bob. I ran m y fingers through it, already missing the length. Bu, he was right, my hair only got in the way.
"Melody." Peter called, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Can we have breakfast now?"
"Yeah, sure, just let me wash my hands." I shot a glare at Toriko, adding a smirk.
He rubbed the back of his neck, he had forgotten that I was to prepare the food that day, and what a day it was! I had made breakfast, lunch and dinner, and Toriko refused to eat a single bite, preparing his own food instead. What made it even sweeter to me was that I had done nothing to his food, so instead of eating what I had prepared, he had to eat bear jerky, which is as disgusting as it sounds.
The day was uneventful, so I won't bore you with the details. The boys took me to Marooner's Rock today, which was very beautiful. Niko and I splashed in the water while Mota and Luep attempted to fish. They caught a few good sized fish, which is what I served for dinner, in case you were wondering. Take my advice, if you are going to prepare a fish for cooking, find a beautiful little boy like Luep to do it for you. Toriko, trying to be stoic as always, was failing miserably at trying to look cool. Peter quietly snoozed in the corner, that boy could be so lazy sometimes. Although, when we got home is when the real adventure started.
I went through the motions as I always did, I told 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' today. There was not much I could change about this one, so I integrated a bit of 'Sleeping Beauty' into it, so the boys got a taste of action.
Then, there was Peter, half-asleep in his special chair, as always. He yawned and led me to our room. We had never gotten around to giving me a proper room, as I said before, Peter was a bit of a lazy boy. He crawled into his bed and I flopped onto my make-shift sleeping bag. I could not bring myself to roll under the covers, for I was covered in a thin layer of salt water after washing off the grime. I pulled out my harmonica, playing my own special rendition of the crowd favorite, 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.' I played the song slowly, trying my hardest not to fall asleep before finishing my song. Then, I heard it. Whimpering, mumbling ... crying. I rolled over to see Peter's sleeping form twitching, small cries erupting from his throat.
I jumped up, remembering this from the book. I slowly made my way over to him. I slowly touched his forehead, his neck craning to my touch. I quickly withdrew my hand, and the cries continued. What was Peter's bad dream? I can't remember anymore. What did Wendy do. That thought left a bad taste in my mouth. I did not need to do everything Wendy did.
Peter whimpered again, a small tear curling down his cheek. I sighed, darn you, Peter! I silently sat down on the corner of his bed, looking down at him. I moved my arms towards him, trying to steady the shaking. I gently pulled his head onto my lap, softly stroking his hair. I wanted to tell him something, anything to rid him of his fear. But, just my luck, I could not think of a single thing to say. So, instead, I hummed. I hummed song after song, running my fingers through his hair.
His whimpers began to quiet, the tears stopped falling, he finally was able to calm down. I tried to move him off of my lap, but the smallest gasp erupted fro him. I could not just leave him to his nightmares. I was able to move him so I could lean against the wall, I curled his auburn hair around my fingers, muttering a few stanzas of poetry, little quotes I had memorized over the years, anything that sounded like it could be soothing. His breathing soon steadied itself, and I was able to steady mine. I leaned my head against the wall, closing my eyes as I muttered one last quote, my fingers becoming still as I drifted to sleep.
"Like the moon in the sky, I'll never leave your side."
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I couldn't resist! Sorry if you didn't like the fluff-y part. That quote is one of my favorites! R&R!