After their visit to Pixie Hollow, Peter had led Jack around the island. They'd stopped by Mermaid's Cove, visited the Indians, flipped off the waterfall at the top of the mountain, and gone on a treasure hunt along the beach. Jack was surprised at the sheer amount of bullions Peter had managed to collect, storing them away in a hidden cave under a mountain cliff. He considered briefly how long the blond had been living on this island. Needless to say, he'd estimated it as a long, long stay.
"Peter," Jack asked, easily keeping up with the other as they flitted between the trees, "Is there anyone else on the island?"
"The Indians," Peter shot back, laughing as he plucked a feather from an owl, who ruffled her feathers angrily.
"Besides them," Jack shot back.
"The pirates and the fairies and the mermaids."
"Other than them."
"The Neverbeasts and the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky."
"Who else?"
"The stars and the sun."
Jack frowned. "Other than them. Is there no one else?"
"You and me." Jack sighed, grabbing Peter by the wrist and pulling them both suddenly to a stop.
"Anyone else?" He asked, looking the blond in the eyes sternly.
Peter paused, quite sure he'd forgotten something or someone. "Perhaps," he shrugged, "But if there were, they're long gone by now."
Giving up, the winter spirit released his companion, turning to look where they'd stopped. They were in the forest, not too far from Hangman's Tree, leaves scattered about on the dirt and grass-laden grounds. Nearby, Jack could see what looked to be a small house made up of leaves and twigs.
He moved closer to it, curiosity perked, Peter following, interested in seeing what he'd found. "What's this?" He asked, looking inside the small window. It was empty.
Jack reached for the doorknob, intent on entering the small space, when a tanned hand shot out, stopping him. Blue eyes looked back into brown ones, surprised at the anger they held.
"Don't go in there." Peter snapped sternly, still holding onto Jack's wrist in a somewhat painful grip.
"Why not?"
"That's the Wendy House. Only Wendy is allowed to enter without a Wendy's permission." He replied sharply, and Jack slowly withdrew his hand. Peter released it, albeit somewhat reluctantly.
"Wendy has her own house?" He was too shocked to say anything, though later he'd deny that he was perhaps somewhat hurt by the tone with which Peter reprimanded him and defended the woman back in London.
Peter huffed, as if already tired of explaining everything. "Well the lost boys already live with me and you can't expect a mother to have nothing in return from her sons." Jack's expression dropped for some inexplicable reason, and Peter sighed once more, grasping his wrist, this time in a gentler manner. "C'mon; let's go have dinner."
The sprite pulled incessantly until eventually Jack ceded, letting himself be pulled away.
Hook watched the two fly off farther into the island, presumably back to the brat's hideout. Not that it was much of a hideout anymore, as Hook knew where it was. At a great cost, but nonetheless. He had been saving up for this moment, literally. All the dried meats and fruits he'd stored away were disappearing at a fast rate, and he felt livelier and more energized than he'd ever been.
But he wasn't the only one who had changed. The boy had changed too. He was no longer innocent, no longer that happy, carefree child his so-called friends had come to know. There was nothing left of their old friend. Only a monster.
So really, Hook was doing the world a favor, getting rid of Pan. And by extracting the boy's ability—the one that gave him the ability to fly and tied him directly to the core of Neverland—it was like killing two birds with one stone. He'd get power, return to his former glory, and that blasted Pan would be gone. And it was foolproof, minus that one discrepancy.
Beady eyes, now filled with fire, glared at the head of white amongst the greenery before it disappeared again. The sprite was a hindrance to his plans, an unknown in an otherwise perfect scenario. If he was a true sprite—and there was little doubt he was—there was no way Hook could kill him. Not in such a short time period. It was an issue, but James Hook was a brilliant man.
The man's thin, pale lips twisted in a grotesque sneer, black eyes glittering with delight. They had met recently; the sprite had yet to know of Pan's true nature. It would be so easy to simply turn them against each other. All that was needed was a few well-placed words from him. Hook couldn't help the grin that split his face, malevolent thoughts springing forth in his glee.
Oh, the things he could do…
North stood in his workshop, watching the yetis and elves without really processing what was going on. His mind wandered to Jack and Peter. The two, while causing way more chaos in the place than he would've liked, really did get along well. The youth spirit was around Jack's age physically, and the two had similar interests and likes.
Peter was what North would classify as a "summer-based spirit", one that thrived in the warm weather and sun, though more than anything, he suspected the weather itself wasn't quite the reason for it. He would do well for Jack, as the boy hadn't interacted with many spirits aside from other winter sprites and the Guardians themselves.
But that didn't stop the large man from worrying. Something about Peter seemed… off. As if he'd lost his core—but no, that was impossible. He trusted the blond, trusted him with Jack, but he hoped the latter would be careful, or at the very least cautious to an extent. MiM knew the kind of trouble those two could get in together.
More than anything, perhaps, was the feeling in his belly. It wasn't a pleasant one, and foretold only of hard times ahead. Just the mere notion made North want to go to Neverland himself to protect the boys. But he also knew that he couldn't. It mattered not whether or not he was immortal; he was an adult, and thus couldn't get there by any normal means. Neverland would not welcome his presence, and without Peter or a fairy guide, he'd never be able to find it.
Regardless, he knew, that whatever happened, the boys would have to face it on their own.
So! Setting up for things. :3 This story should be about 12 chapters long, and I've already got like the next three or something written out. Updates will still be on the slow side until I have every chapter finished, and from there it should be like two-three times a week, if not more.
