31/5/07

Title: The Care and Feeding of Flying Boys

Author: Squeezynz

Chapter: Twenty - When Enemies Conspire...

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Wendy stared up at the steam wreathed foliage above their heads and let her mind drift. Peter was a warm, heavy weight across her torso, his arm trapping her against the crushed grass, his breathing puffing the hair away from her cheek with each exhale. Images and sensations flashed through her mind, the taste of his mouth, the rough callouses on his hand smoothing over her skin, the incredible feeling of having another human being get closer than anyone she'd ever known before. That she'd passed over the ephemeral barrier between girlhood and womanhood was both exciting and overwhelming, the consuming passion of the physical act almost as insubstantial as a vivid dream, only the ache between her legs confirming otherwise. She would dearly love to believe that she was still in one of the dreams woven during her time in the cave, the clarity of the visions as real as reality itself. Could this just be an extension of what she's seen and done there? Was it really possible that she'd thrown every tenet and rule that she'd been taught by her mother, by society, by her own common sense out the window? It would appear that she had, and all for the love of a youth who was more magic than mere flesh and blood, his world of Neverland a place where mortal wounds could be healed in a fragrant pool, and giant crocodiles wreaked havoc on a sandy beach. If this was real, surely she'd be hardly able to move, her arms and shoulders in agony from hauling Peter's insensible body across the burning sands, and wouldn't she have put up more of a resistance, asked more questions than simply offer herself up like a sacrifice with nothing more profound than "I will."

Did those simple words mean she was married to Peter Pan? How absurd. She was certainly fascinated by him, by the magic in everything around him, of the exotic world he lived in, but did she really think that she could live here too? In the moment, half awake, dreamy with sleep, it had all seemed so right, so fated to happen this way, but now she had doubts. She wasn't so sure that her actions were entirely rational or remotely sensible. Why did she fight him so hard before if she was going to give in so easily. Surely one didn't fall in love with someone without getting to know them first, have a courtship, a romance. Thinking back she wondered what madness held her in it's thrall to so blind her and lead her to where she was now. All her life she had longed for adventure, had read about daring exploits and heroic quests, where a hero rescued a heroine and they lived happily ever after. But all those childhood stories didn't tell you what happened after the end, didn't detail how one was supposed to feel, or act or say beyond the comfortable resolution. She was past that point now and had no one to guide her forward, her feeling no longer to be trusted, her resolve apparently paper thin to allow Peter such an easy breach of her defenses. Did this mean she was all grown up now?

"What are you thinking?"

Wendy gave a start and turned her head to meet Peter's clear gaze. "Nothing important."

"You're frowning."

"Am I?" She consciously relaxed her face, the frown line disappearing between her troubled eyes. "Peter?"

"Yes."

"What are you feeling...right now, at this moment?"

"I'm feeling...well...good. Happy. Aren't you?"

"I guess so...I just wasn't...I mean, I didn't expect that we would..." she raised a hand and waved it vaguely. Peter frowned, not understanding what she was trying to say.

"Are you not happy Wendy?"

"I...I'm not...unhappy. I just...oh Peter, I don't know what to feel. I thought it was all so simple before...you saved me, I saved you, the dream didn't come true.."

"What dream?"

"When I was in the Cave of Dreams I saw several visions. Some were, I think, possible futures depending on the decisions I made. Some were good...but mostly they were not nice visions, dreams. One was quite horrible."

"What happened in that one?"

Images chased themselves through Wendy's head, her heart rate increasing and tears pricking at her eyes. "I was too late to save you."

"I died?" With his eyebrows climbing his brow, Peter hitched himself onto his elbow and stared down at her. "You killed me?"

"No...not me, not really. It was Hook. Then all of Neverland disappeared and there was nothing here."

"I think you ate too many of those berries at the feast." Peter gave her a rueful grin, patently disbelieving. "I'm not dead Wendy, in fact very much alive. See?" He pulled her hand over and placed it over his chest, his heart thumping reassuringly under her fingers, his mouth pulled into a lopsided grin. Wendy smiled back, the details of the vision already fading, only disjointed wisps remaining to tease her memory.

"Of course you're not dead Peter...and I'm glad we found the pool in time to save you."

"We?"

"The she-wolves, remember? They found us in the desert and dragged you here. I was so shocked at first when they rolled you into the pool, I didn't understand then." She fidgeted a little, "I'm certainly glad there are such wondrous things here, or I'd be as stiff as a post for sure." Stretching her arms above her head she spread her fingers to flex them.

As if summoned by having their name simply mentioned, the she-wolves appeared from all sides out of the mist. Wendy gave a small shriek and sat up, clutching her shift to her body, her hair providing an adequate cloak for her back. Peter also sat up but remained as he was, uncaring of his naked state as he watched the animals pad forward to encircle the young couple. The wolf that approached was unknown to Wendy, the one she had thought of as her particular friend choosing to remain unnoticed among the pack, all of them forming a tight circle on the verdant grass, dark brown eyes intent. The one that stepped forward was not unknown to Peter.

"Tisa. I have you to thank for my rescue, so Wendy tells me."

"We have come for another purpose, we come to warn you, to tell you of treachery." Tisa growled, the words barely understandable to Wendy, but clear as a bell to Peter.

"Treachery? What do you mean? Is this to do with Hook?"

"Not Hook. I was sent by our pack mother, our alpha female to warn you not to return to the north end of Neverland. Ferru and his pack will tear you to pieces if you set foot beyond the boundary of the Scorched Valley."

"Ferru? But...I saw Ferru, outside the cave of dreams. There was nothing to indicate..." Peter held out his hands in bafflement. "There was nothing...what has happened for the wolves to make such a decision?"

"Ferru made a pact with Walbassa, to lure you to the cave of dreams and there to strip you of your powers." Tisa whimpered, her posture subservient as she related what Lupa had told her to tell Peter. "Ferru couldn't believe his good fortune when the Wendy human appeared in our domain."

"Was Jack a part of this pact?" Peter asked, his expression like flint, a dangerous glitter in his eyes.

"Black Jack new nothing, his plot was not of Ferru's design." The she-wolf crept closer on her belly, her eyes wary.

"Is Hook party to this plot against me?" Peter asked, rising to his feet, his fists clenched at his side. The she-wolf whimpered and pressed herself against the grass, the others following suit until every animal lay on it's belly.

"We know not Pan. Lupa order me only to tell you of her mate's decree. Ferru was angry when Sidu told him you had spared Jack, and worse that the Wendy woman had been spirited away and given to Hook. Walbassa was wise not to try and claim his reward."

"What was to be his reward?" Peter asked, his shoulders relaxing slightly.

"Release from his guardianship of the cave," Tisa growled, her eyes never leaving Peter's face. Wendy sat very still on the cool grass, her shift clutched in front of her, her breathing shallow as she tried to remain invisible, her ears gradually becoming attuned to the animals' voice. She had understood some of the conversation but it still made little sense to her. Standing as he was with his feet braced apart and his fists clenched at his side, Peter looked like some avenging Greek God, towering over his subjects and angry enough to start throwing bolts of lightning, going by the glow in his eyes.

"So Ferru thinks to banish me from my own realm? Does he think to become ruler of Neverland over me?"

Tisa and the other females set up a chorus of yips and howls, Wendy placing her fingers in her ears to block the unearthly sounds that sent shivers up and down her back and left the hair on the back of her neck standing up.

"He thinks to end your rule, by any means at his disposal," Tisa growled, putting her paws over her head as if expecting a blow.

"Is Ferru and his pack the only ones in open revolt, or are others joining the cause to overthrow me as Neverland's King?" Peter asked, barely restrained anger making his words terse.

Tisa appeared too overcome to answer, so one of the other she-wolves slunk forward before collapsing on her belly in front of Peter. It was a wolf that Wendy recognized, the one that befriended her before.

"Tisa knows only what Lupa, my mother, told her. You know me Peter...I would not lie to you, on my mother's heart."

"I know you Diz."

"I was in company with Jack before joining my sisters. He knows nothings of this pact, neither do the Indian's or your Lost Boys. I left them at the mouth of the Green River, waiting for you. They were concerned for your safety and that of your Wendy. My mother is at this moment sending the pups and their mothers into the hills for safety, as she fears a battle is likely to take place before too long."

"Will it come to that Diz? Will Ferru not consider a peaceful end to this?"

"Ferru bears you a grudge, Peter Pan, from when he was not as he is now. He has built up his pack of strong males particularly for the fight to come. His plan has been long in the creation, and secretive, even from his family."

"I bear you no ill will Diz, or Lupa. How many does Ferru have to call on?"

"We have grown many in number Peter...more than any one realizes, I think. The males alone would outnumber the Piccanniny braves and pirates combined!"

"Will the females fight on his side?"

"No. We are but a small deputation, but we represent our sex and our breed. The females want only peace to raise their pups and have no quarrel with their circumstances. Those of us not mothers or breeding are prepared to fight our mates on your command."

"Does it have to come to a fight?" Wendy asked, her expression anxious. "If Peter agreed to leave that part of the island to the Wolves, would that not keep Ferru happy?"

Both Diz and Peter turned to face her, surprise and disbelief clear on both man and animal's faces.

"Would you have him call me a coward?" Peter asked. "Of course I must fight. If I don't, every villain on this island will think they can dictate who rules!" His voice had risen towards until the last word was a roar that sent birds flying out of the tree tops in alarm. Both Wendy and the wolves winced.

"Peter is right, he cannot allow Ferru leniency. Any sign of weakness and Ferru will overrun Neverland." Tisa woofed, the other she-wolves slowly raising their muzzles in agreement.

"You must call that animals to aid you," Diz growled, staring pointedly at Wendy. Taken aback, Wendy could only stare wide eyed back at the wolf.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"You have the power, I felt it the first time we saw you, so did Lupa. You could command an animal army to aid the Pan in defeating Ferru. It was you that called us here, to rescue Peter. We only knew that you were somewhere in the dunes."

Now Peter was looking at Wendy, his eyebrows climbing to his hairline. Wendy could only stare back at them both, confusion and hysteria competing for supremacy.

"I don't have any power? What on earth do you mean? Peter..?"

"It must be your magic, Wendy."

"But I don't...I've never...you must be mistaken!"

"No mistake, Pan's Wendy. The pull was strong when you walked amongst us, many felt it, particularly among the females." Diz took a step towards the girl, but Wendy reared back as if in fear. The she-wolf exchanged a glance with Peter, who shook his head and made a slight signal with his hand. Immediately the pack of wolves moved backwards, giving the young couple some room. The mist that had been ever-present was starting to disperse, bright sunshine flooding the grassy glad and bringing everything into pin sharpness. Peter crouched down beside Wendy and put his hands on her shoulders, drawing her distracted attention to him and away from the animals around them.

"I always knew there was something special about you, something extraordinary. I felt it here," he touched his chest, Wendy's eyes following his hand, eyes that seemed unfocused and huge in her face. "The wolves don't lie, they know about these things. They are half way between mortal and magical beings, their spirits reborn as many times as their bodies. If they say you have the gift, they must be telling the truth."

"But I'm not special Peter. I'm just a girl that's taken your fancy, just one among many..."

"You're wrong Wendy. There's never been a girl like you, never. It's what drew me to your window, what drew me to you. You're the other half of me, of Neverland. Chief Talagumpa knew this, so did Walbassa."

"Walbassa?"

"You told me you saw dreams...you remember them."

Wendy shuddered delicately. "I do."

"And he was supposed to use you to lure me to the cave into Ferru's trap."

"I did...didn't I?"

Peter shook his head. "Only partly...I think Walbassa saw who you were, who you could be and sent you to safety, away from the cave, then sent Jack back to me."

"But I was found by Hook."

"Maybe that was the final test." Peter gripped her hand tightly between his own. "The mermaids only told me roughly where they knew Hook had last been. He could have taken you anywhere, and you would have been lost for weeks among the inlets and dunes of the Spit. Instead I found you in a matter of hours. You drew me to where you were, like a beacon. I didn't realize it at the time, but it's true."

"Then you rescued me, and I rescued you?"

"And you decided to stay. Stay with me, stay in Neverland. Don't you see...we're meant to be together, everything says it's so. You have a gift, that, when combined with my magic, will make us invincible. We'll be able to vanquish our enemies and send the villains running for their lives. You and me, Wendy...together."

"You really think I have this...gift?"

"I know you do. Tisa and Diz know it too, and Lupa, and I think Hook must have realized you have a special magic as well."

"Because he kissed me?" Wendy asked, screwing up her face.

"Because he knew that I would come to rescue you, that I would risk everything for you."

"Oh Peter...you do say the loveliest things." Blushing, Wendy lowered her head, only to have Peter tilt it back up with a firm finger under her chin.

"Be the Queen to my King, Wendy. Rule with me over Neverland and live with me forever."

"Forever is a very long time."

"Not nearly long enough..." Peter whispered, sealing his declaration with a kiss, his lips warm on hers as they slid and molded together, the sun gilding them with a golden corona, blinding the watching animals for a second before normality returned. Blinking, the young couple drew apart, the world rushing in and reminding them that time was inexorably passing and things needed to be done. Turning away from Wendy, Peter spoke to the wolves.

"Diz...return to Jack and tell him to meet us in the Silver Forest. Tell them of what you know and ask Tiger Lily to inform her father what is going on. The Chief probably already knows, but it won't hurt for him to hear it from her in person."

"At once Peter," Diz barked, bounding in two leaps out of the glade and into the forest.

"Tisa...I'll need you and your pack to send your best runners to the spit to keep an eye on Hook and the Jolly Roger. I need to know the moment he sets foot on shore. The rest will need to meet the others in the Silver Forest, understood?"

"It is done Peter. Ferru will have his scouts out looking for you and those that you know. Should we kill those we see?"

"I want Ferru to know that I'm gathering a force to meet his. If you see a scout, don't attack unless he does."

"As you wish." Barking his instructions to the others, Tisa and the she-wolves took off at a run, disappearing into the jungle in a flurry of paws and tails, their excited yips fading quickly into the distance.

For a moment neither Peter or Wendy moved, the sudden silence and stillness of the glade a force that held them both in its thrall until the harsh call of a seagull broke the spell. Wendy was in a ferment of conflicting emotions, her thoughts a jumbled confusion of images, many of them overlapping recent events until she hardly new what was the past or the present, what was illusion or reality. Clutching her shift against her body, she got to her feet and took a couple of steps before stopping again. Peter also stood, his hands on his hips, his expression thoughtful as he started to make plans for the hours and days ahead.

"Peter?" Wendy was starting to feel acutely uncomfortable, the shift barely covering her, the sun burning a hole between her shoulder blades. She gestured vaguely to Peter when he looked up, his glance taking in the situation and lack of clothes.

"Oh...yes." He held out his hand. "Come on...what we need is just over here." He led her to a thicket of familiar looking shrubs, their leaves rustling loudly as if in anticipation as the young couple approached. Peter strode into the heart of the thicket and lifted his arms, the leaves heaving and seething around him as they plastered his body with leaves, a loop of vine twining itself about his upper arm and across his chest. Wendy cast aside her shift and gingerly stepped among the bushes, her hair falling over her upper body, her arms held limply out to the side. Again the shrubs set up a loud whispering, as if discussing the best way to clothe her, their branches whipping back and forth in a frenzy, the whole experience a little like being tickled with a very gentle feather. Peter was once more clad in his leaf costume, his legs bare from the knee down, his back and chest also uncovered except for a vine across his torso sporting tiny acorns with soft, petal leaves. Allowing the magic bushes to guide her, Wendy turned this way and that, most of her front was decently covered, and all of her legs encased in silky, leaf trousers reaching to just below her knees. Her long hair had been brush back behind her shoulders and she could feel something moving among the strands, like fingers weaving her hair into a plait. Finally the bushes stopped their thrashing and she stepped out, Peter greeting her with a wide grin and applause at her fetching attire. Wendy reached up a hand to touch her head, finding that fine vines had been twisted in and through her hair to hold it away from her face and to bind the rest behind her back. She twirled a little pirouette for Peter's amusement, her face split with a wide smile.

"You look as beautiful as a princess," Peter bowed from the waist, his eyes dancing. Wendy curtsied, holding out the edges of an imaginary skirt.

"Why thank you, handsome prince." The smile slipped from her face. "Does there have to be a battle Peter? We've had so little time together, and that only snatched from the jaws of chaos."

"I have to squash this uprising Wendy. You see that, don't you? If I do nothing then nobody will be safe, and anyone with aspirations to become the next ruler of Neverland will feel free to plunder and pillage and destroy the peace anytime they choose." He saw a flicker of guilt in Wendy's eyes and stepped forward, his warm hands coming to rest on her shoulders. "This is not your fault. Ferru wouldn't have just decided to take this stance because of your arrival. He will have been plotting this for some time, and the pirates are just as bad. They spend their entire lives plotting and scheming and thinking up ways to disrupt everything all over again. It has to stop, and your arrival has just proved a catalyst. A match to the flame that has been building for longer than I can remember. So please, don't think you are to blame, you're not. It's just the way it is and I intend to put an end to it. Especially now that I have something much better to do than chase rotten old pirates around the island." Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to her cheek, then another and another, grinning madly between each salute until Wendy started to giggle at his foolishness and pushed him away.

"Alright, I believe you. But I still have a hard time believing this nonsense about a magic power to control animals, or whatever it is you think I have." She held up her hands, palm upwards. To her everlasting surprise a huge butterfly fluttered into the sunny glade and made a beeline for Wendy. It fluttered slowly over until it alighted on her upturned palm, it's wings opening and closing in a leisurely fashion, displaying the metallic peacock colors glimmering all over the surface of each.

"Oh goodness," Wendy managed to gasp out, the monstrous butterfly dabbing at her fingers with it's long, curling proboscis as if the slender digits were exotic blooms full of nectar. "What shall I do?"

"It's a King Flutterbye, a very rare species on the island. They usually only fly near dawn or at dusk, and I've never seen one come close to doing what that one just did." Peter told her, his voice full of awe.

Wendy raised her hand as if the Flutterbye was a bird of prey, willing it to fly away with a little shake of her hand. As if to oblige, the creature rose majestically into the air, it's wings catching the sunlight as if coated with a million gems, glittering brightly as the insect rose higher and higher. Suddenly, where there'd been one, there was two, then three and then more, until the air above Wendy's head was full of slowly circling Flutterbye's, a myriad jewel shades flashing in the sun and forming a colorful column of moving wings, somehow managing not to collide with each other as they slowly spiraled in the air.

"They are so beautiful," Wendy breathed, gazing up at the insects in wonder. Peter had been struck dumb, having never seen such a spectacle before, thinking himself lucky to have seen just one of the brilliant Flutterbye's, let alone such a large gathering in one place of the fantastic creatures. The sound of the wings was like the wind rustling the leaves overhead, the two on the ground staring up at the mass flying above their heads with wide smiles painted on their faces.

"They're waiting for you to command them," Peter whispered in an aside. He didn't take his eyes off the display above, and didn't see the quick look that Wendy shot him.

"What do you suggest?"

"I don't know...just think of something."

So Wendy did. She held out her arms and closed her eyes, thinking of the image she wanted the Flutterbye's to create. Instantly they started to fly down to her, settling gently on her outstretched arms, her head and shoulders, anywhere they could find to perch on her body, their wings opening and closing in an ever changing array of brilliant color so that Wendy looked to be covered in cloth-of-gold adorned with a millions different gem stones, only her face left free. A few Flutterbye's still flew around her head, unable to find a place to land, making a swirling coronet above Wendy's head to complete the picture.

Peter folded his arms over his chest and stepped back. Here was proof that what Diz had said was true. His Wendy did have a power, a magic that drew living things to her.

"See Wendy? It's magic, and you have it."

Wendy opened her eyes and grinned back at him, careful to keep her arms outstretched as she slowly turned, the Flutterbye's easily holding on, acting the part of a rainbow robe for the future Queen of Neverland. Again she closed her eyes, and at once the insects lifted away from her body and floated sedately away, dispersing among the branches of the trees once more, returning to their lives, leaving behind a girl who truly believed at last that she possessed a special gift.

"Weren't they just wonderful?" She breathed, in awe at the spectacle she's just stage managed.

"Beautiful. Now if you've had enough fun, we need to meet up with a few more magical creatures before we rendezvous with Jack and the others. Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Wendy replied, taking the hand he held out to her. Together they took a little run and jumped into the air, Peter flying them upwards until they cleared the tree tops, then flew forward, the sun on their right already starting it's downward plunge to the sea far below.

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...tbc