The new day filtered through the trees' leaves, painting anything near them with spots of green. Birds rehearsed their happiest songs in preparation for Peter's return. The waves danced joyfully near the shore. The winds throughout Neverland whispered, "He will come back. Two others come back," as they cleared the dust and unsightly things.
Friendly and Slick were swimming in the Mermaid's Lagoon. The mermaids had not woken up, so there was nothing to disturb the playful Lost Boys. The two children splashed each other, laughing.
Suddenly, a bell rang out.
"What was that?" Slick asked.
Friendly looked around, trying to see if there was a fairy hiding somewhere nearby. "I don't see anything," she said, slightly confused.
Slick took a gulp of air before replying, "You may want to look down." He swam to shore as fast as he could.
Friendly looked down. She screamed, and shot off after Slick. The menacing shadow in the water was swimming close behind her. It reached out, grabbing for Friendly's foot. Friendly scrambled up onto the rocky shore just in time. A tall mermaid burst out of the water, blond hair covering most of her face. She shrieked at the Lost Boys for trespassing as she tried to attack the children. They were safely out of her reach. Friendly and Slick stood up, running away from the lagoon.
Once they were in the meadow near Home Tree, the children stopped running. They were in a safe place now. Nothing could harm them here unless it wanted a death sentence. The meadow was too close to the tree, which was too close to Peter's heart. If Peter saw any island creature had harmed the Lost Boys, he would go out on the hunt, taking them down with one fatal swoop of his brightly flashing blade ... or so the Lost Boys thought. In truth, neither of them had ever come to enough harm to send Peter into such a rage.
A joyful, familiar crowing resounded through the air. "Peter!" the Lost Boys exclaimed. They looked to up, in the direction the crowing came from. Peter's green, leafy costume and blond hair was unmistakable against the blue morning sky. Peter flew high above the Lost Boys, swooping and diving, flashing his signature grin. As they stared up, it became clear he was not alone. Two others, a British boy and girl, flew in behind him.
"Who are they?" Slick whispered.
Friendly paused, thinking hard, then responded, "The guests, maybe."
Slick sighed, "Maybe." They hid in the bushes, not wanting to cause a disturbance.
The trio in the sky began to prepare for an easy landing. They flew downwards, Peter going first, the other two behind him. Peter landed with his usual graceful yet strangely rough style. The boy and girl, clearly not as used to flying as Peter, were slower to land. Once the newcomers' feet were firmly planted on the ground, Friendly and Slick crawled out from their hiding place.
The boy was about half as tall as Slick. He had a round face, and jolly blue eyes. He wore a neatly pressed white shirt, a dark blue neckerchief, matching medium grey jacket and pants, suspenders, plaid stockings, and shiny black leather shoes. He turned to the other newcomer, asking the other newcomer something the Lost Boys couldn't hear.
The Lost Boys stared at the other newcomer. Her blond, curly hair graced her shoulders. She had the same blue eyes as her brother, lined with beautiful, long eyelashes. Her pale skin was highlighted by rosy blush. Her lips formed a kind, loving smile. She wore a green skeleton leaf dress. The skirt went up to mid-calf, something that seemed to make her feel uncomfortable, though nobody else cared. Her feet were covered with leather slippers decorated with beads.
Friendly thought back to something Peter told her. He said there were beautiful creaturesMichael called "Girl". A Girl could cook and clean, and was always dear. They seemed enchanting. Friendly guessed this could be a Girl.
A horrible though crossed Friendly's mind. What if the Girl was here to replace her? With her messy, short, brown hair, tanned skin, animal skin shirt, pants with holes in the knees, and bare feet marred by rough terrain, there was no way she was as good looking as the Girl.
"I'm faster," Friendly reassured herself, "and I'm stronger, and I bet that Girl can't hunt at all."
The Girl spoke. "Hello. I'm Wendy, and this is Michael"
Slick and Friendly straightened up, embarrassed. Peter confirmed that these two were, in fact, the new Lost Boys. As he explained this, the Lost Boys stood up, ajusting their shirts and smoothing down their hair.
Wendy asked Slick, "Who are you?"
He replied, rather slowly, "I'm Slick."
She turned her head towards Friendly. Sky blue eyes met mossy green. Friendly could barely think straight. Wendy repeated, "Who are you?"
Friendly took a deep breath before replying, "I am Friendly, your beauty."
Wendy just laughed. "Yes, you certainly are, but what is your name?"
"My name is Friendly, your grace."
"Ah," Wendy smiled, "now I understand. Peter has told me a lot about you over our travels. We have had a very long flight, and we are tired. Can we please go to your house, Peter, so we can rest a while?"
Peter quickly replied, "Sure, Wendy. Let's go."
Peter, Michael, Wendy, Slick, and Friendly all started off to Home Tree. Friendly unconsciously began to emulate how Wendy was walking. Wendy's movements had a strange fluidity to them that Friendly's lacked. Wendy was something different and new. Friendly wanted to know more about her. Where had Wendy and Michael come from? Why were they here now? And why was Peter treating this wonderful angel as if it were an old friend?
Author's Note: Wendy and Michael are back in Neverland! They'll be there for the majority of the story now. It's going to get interesting