Suddenly, loud crunching of twigs sent shivers down Ember's spine as she turned to face the noise, hoping it wasn't a wild animal intent on having her for tea.
Ember called out, twiddling the necklace around her neck, which she did from time to time in order to comfort herself.
As two shadows emerged from the trees, two men carrying hunting weapons seemed full of themselves, carrying dead carcasses of animals they had killed. "Hey, what's a pretty girl like you doing out here?" one of them giggled.
"Is this a joke?" Ember replied, rolled her eyes, and walked away.
"Hey you brat don't walk away from your elders!" The man sternly snapped as he quickly rushed over to Ember, smacking her in the face, knocking her to the dusty floor."Maybe I should teach you a lesson." He chuckled, making an approach on Ember, clenching her fists in anger. They started to glow, emitting bright orange sparks as a fireball formed in her hands, aiming it at the man who caught a fire and screamed in agony and pain.
As Ember watched the man burn, a delighted feeling awakened within her. For once, she wasn't getting told what to do; she was taking control of her own destiny. She took off in a sprint. Suddenly, she tripped and rolled down a ravine, landing with cuts and bruises at the bottom. "Ow!" she gasped, sitting up in a daze.
Suddenly, a whooshing shadow made Ember skin crawl as a sudden giggle cackled threw the air." Who's there now?" Ember called out her hand still ablaze.
"Calm down little firecracker " A floating boy laughed. "I'm not going to hurt you" He reassured landing on the ground. "The names Peter Pan".
"Nice to meet you, I think" Ember greeted. "As long as you aren't going to kill me".
"Don't worry, you're the person I was looking for to join me and the Lost Boys in Neverland." Peter explained. "I'm offering you a place to call home."
"Home?" Ember wondered if her eyes lit up with the invitation to go to Neverland. "But I need to find my birth parents" she politely declined the offer.
"I can help you find them, but in the meantime, let's have adventures." Peter Pan reassured, holding out his hand. "Let's go!".
A couple of hours later, Ember decided to sit up in a daze. She knew Peter could be ruthless, but having lived on the island for so long, she felt she owed him that. She hadn't questioned his madness he had caused over the past couple of months, even if at one time she would now. She focused on herself. Neverland was her home, and she had no intention of letting it die. Slowly, she picked herself up and dusted herself off, determined to make her way back to camp.
Quietly, Ember rested by the open fire as many lost boys who where busy making sure that all was well in the camp they seemed content knowing that Peter was showing Henry around the island that he could not shouted at them like he usually did. Feeling well rested Ember decided to go for a swim in order to wash off the blood she didn't want to scare Henry on his first night here Peter would never forgive her.
After a while, Ember squeezed the excess water out of her hair. Her attention turned to the footprints on the sand. She knew that the lost boys avoided going near the water's edge in case the playful mermaids dragged them to a watery death. Using her magic, she dried the remaining water and intended to follow the footprints and discover who they belonged to.
Carefully, she tracked the footprints up the mountain, making sure she didn't lose sight of it. It was quite easy to hide amongst the jungle; in fact, she was quite surprised that they hadn't covered their tracks. Hiding up in the tree branches, she peered down to where the group of unwanted visitors were busy talking. An argument seemed imminent, which made Ember smirk in a mischievous manner. Although her stomach couldn't help but swim with butterflies, she spotted the woman who had given birth to her. It was thanks to Peter that she had gained this information.
After 30 minutes of ease dropping on their conversation satisfied she retreated back into the deep jungle intending to return to camp after a stressful day and couldn't wait to sleep away the harbouring emotions that had been brewing. Upon returning to the camp she heard the laughter from the lost boys who were enjoying a lovely spread of fruits that they had collected thought the day it was the main source of food on the island. Taking a seat under a tree she bit into a mango allowing the sweet juice to flow down her throat clenching her thirst as a gleeful peter bounced into camp followed by Henry.
Meekly, Ember approached Peter she didn't want to start another argument although she was interested in finding out what Peter had been getting up too over the past couple of hours. "I've got some news" Ember whispered into Peter ear as to not alert Henry.
"Okay, Henry, make yourself at home." Peter, friendly, instructed, before following Ember into the jungle.
"I knew that they would come for him, but I didn't suspect they would find a way so soon." Peter acknowledged, sitting on a nearby tree trunk overlooking the island.
"What are we going to do, Peter?" Ember wondered, joining Peter as he sat on the ground with his feet dangling over the edge.
"Don't worry, they won't make it to camp tonight. Plus, Peter Pan never fails." Peter reassured, bopping Ember on the nose.