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Yes, two updates! It seems to work out that way. Anyway, you can find chapter eight of Drowning Not Waving there at ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
douse_house. Be warned!
This Neverland update is a little short, i admit, but hey...sometimes that's just the way the storyline breaks! Was sick again, better again - getting so very tired of it but man, every test i've taken is 'normal normal normal' so...wtf? Whatever, blah. Don't wanna dwell. Cool and lovely here, sixties in the night, overcast and rainy and just - *nice*. I'm ready for autumn, ready to turn the ac off for *good*.
To everybody out there who said they were gonna read 'Peter Pan' because of this - or who might be thinking about it...that just makes me *smile*. I am such a geek.
Previous chapters here.
Enjoy!
The feast was - bizarre. Six more boys came - Nibs, Curly, John, Michael and the Twins, who were nothing like twins at all. And a girl, sullen and silent. Wendy. They along with Tootles and Xander - Spike had decided to call him that instead, to irritate Peter - and Pan himself sat down at the table and ate...nothing. Peter described a huge feast of mangos and breadfruit, fish and honey and roasted bear and all manner of delicacies. But there was nothing. They all pretended to eat from empty plates - drink from empty cups - with a desperate sort of look on their thin faces. Except for Wendy, who crossed her arms and scowled and stared at Spike who was sitting up in Xander's hammock, smoking.
"Why isn't the new...boy eating with us, Peter?" one of the twins asked - the black one.
Peter made a show of chewing and swallowing a mouth full of air. "Because - he's not a real boy. He's something else. He's going to help us defeat the pirates once and for all!" A ragged cheer went up, and then the other twin - an Asian-looking boy with a missing front tooth - looked up from his plate.
"If he's not real, then - what is he? Is he a - a spook?"
"No -" Pan said, and Xander interrupted him.
"No - he's something much worse."
Peter sent a scowl Xander's way. "He's better. Boys - look at him! With him, we're going to send Hook down to Davey Jones' locker! He's a vampire!" The boys cheered again but now the looks they sent Spike were speculative and a little wary and Spike deliberately let his eyes gleam golden in the dusky half-light of the tree house.
"Vampires ain't real," Wendy said, glaring at Spike, and Peter smiled.
"Of course they are, Wendy! We've played vampires before. And William the Bloody is a vampire! I heard this old man talking about him. They were talking about how terrible and evil he was - all the killing he'd done!"
"Who was talking?" Xander asked, and Peter shrugged.
"I don't know - this old man with glasses and these three girls. No - four girls. I wanted the quiet blonde one for our mother since this mother won't do the Spring cleaning."
"It ain't Spring," the girl said, narrowing dark eyes at Peter. She sounded East Coast - was black, with her hair cropped in a ragged afro that stuck out around her face like a fuzzy corona. She looked maybe fifteen, with fairly large breasts all but spilling out of a too-small top. The top, Spike realized with a little jolt, that she'd probably been kidnapped in. It was something a younger girl would wear; pink and white with little strawberries and it strained across her chest and didn't meet the waist of her too-small jeans. Spike figured he knew why Peter wanted a new Wendy. This one was too...grown up. All of them were. Xander looked the oldest – maybe eighteen – but the youngest was past puberty and all of them taller than Pan.
*No wonder he thins them out so often. Grown-ups in Neverland…*
"I say it is," Peter hissed, standing up, his hand on his knife hilt. All the boys tensed and Wendy looked nervous - but still pissed off. "And if I say it's Spring, then you do the Spring cleaning!"
"I ain't -" Wendy was cut short by Tink darting madly into the room, shrilling something at Peter.
"What is it, Tink? Oh!"
"Peter, what is it?" Tootles asked, eyes bright, and Peter turned to him with a grin, bouncing up out of his chair and hovering several inches above it.
"It's Hook! He's captured Tiger Lily! Tink says they're rowing her out to Marooner's Rock!" Tink flew in wild loops and figure eights around Peter's head, tinkling wildly.
"We must save her!" Tootles cried, and Peter crowed loud and long.
"Come on, boys; get your bows and arrows! We'll lure them into the rocks and see them drown! And when we save Tiger Lily and bring her back to her camp, the redskins will want us to feast with them!"
The cheer that rang out was stronger this time - more real - and Spike wondered why. The boys scrambled up, diving into the corners and shadows and coming out with weapons in their hands. Knives and bows and arrows, a long bone club for Tootles and a staff for Xander in addition to a bow and his knife. He was grinning. Wendy was looking pissed. She got up and stomped away - swung herself out and up, and Spike could just see her through a crack, crossing a rope bridge to another, smaller house.
As the boys stomped and danced around Peter, crowing and shouting, Spike grabbed Xander by the scruff and dragged him into the darkest corner.
"Why in bloody hell is everybody so fucking excited about this Tiger Lily?"
Xander shivered under his hand, twisting a little but not trying to get away very hard. "If we save her and smoke the peace pipe with the redskins they'll invite us to feast with them." Xander's eyes were bright - the red in his cheeks hectic and almost fevered looking. "The redskins have real food."
douse_house. Be warned!This Neverland update is a little short, i admit, but hey...sometimes that's just the way the storyline breaks! Was sick again, better again - getting so very tired of it but man, every test i've taken is 'normal normal normal' so...wtf? Whatever, blah. Don't wanna dwell. Cool and lovely here, sixties in the night, overcast and rainy and just - *nice*. I'm ready for autumn, ready to turn the ac off for *good*.
To everybody out there who said they were gonna read 'Peter Pan' because of this - or who might be thinking about it...that just makes me *smile*. I am such a geek.
Previous chapters here.
Enjoy!
The feast was - bizarre. Six more boys came - Nibs, Curly, John, Michael and the Twins, who were nothing like twins at all. And a girl, sullen and silent. Wendy. They along with Tootles and Xander - Spike had decided to call him that instead, to irritate Peter - and Pan himself sat down at the table and ate...nothing. Peter described a huge feast of mangos and breadfruit, fish and honey and roasted bear and all manner of delicacies. But there was nothing. They all pretended to eat from empty plates - drink from empty cups - with a desperate sort of look on their thin faces. Except for Wendy, who crossed her arms and scowled and stared at Spike who was sitting up in Xander's hammock, smoking.
"Why isn't the new...boy eating with us, Peter?" one of the twins asked - the black one.
Peter made a show of chewing and swallowing a mouth full of air. "Because - he's not a real boy. He's something else. He's going to help us defeat the pirates once and for all!" A ragged cheer went up, and then the other twin - an Asian-looking boy with a missing front tooth - looked up from his plate.
"If he's not real, then - what is he? Is he a - a spook?"
"No -" Pan said, and Xander interrupted him.
"No - he's something much worse."
Peter sent a scowl Xander's way. "He's better. Boys - look at him! With him, we're going to send Hook down to Davey Jones' locker! He's a vampire!" The boys cheered again but now the looks they sent Spike were speculative and a little wary and Spike deliberately let his eyes gleam golden in the dusky half-light of the tree house.
"Vampires ain't real," Wendy said, glaring at Spike, and Peter smiled.
"Of course they are, Wendy! We've played vampires before. And William the Bloody is a vampire! I heard this old man talking about him. They were talking about how terrible and evil he was - all the killing he'd done!"
"Who was talking?" Xander asked, and Peter shrugged.
"I don't know - this old man with glasses and these three girls. No - four girls. I wanted the quiet blonde one for our mother since this mother won't do the Spring cleaning."
"It ain't Spring," the girl said, narrowing dark eyes at Peter. She sounded East Coast - was black, with her hair cropped in a ragged afro that stuck out around her face like a fuzzy corona. She looked maybe fifteen, with fairly large breasts all but spilling out of a too-small top. The top, Spike realized with a little jolt, that she'd probably been kidnapped in. It was something a younger girl would wear; pink and white with little strawberries and it strained across her chest and didn't meet the waist of her too-small jeans. Spike figured he knew why Peter wanted a new Wendy. This one was too...grown up. All of them were. Xander looked the oldest – maybe eighteen – but the youngest was past puberty and all of them taller than Pan.
*No wonder he thins them out so often. Grown-ups in Neverland…*
"I say it is," Peter hissed, standing up, his hand on his knife hilt. All the boys tensed and Wendy looked nervous - but still pissed off. "And if I say it's Spring, then you do the Spring cleaning!"
"I ain't -" Wendy was cut short by Tink darting madly into the room, shrilling something at Peter.
"What is it, Tink? Oh!"
"Peter, what is it?" Tootles asked, eyes bright, and Peter turned to him with a grin, bouncing up out of his chair and hovering several inches above it.
"It's Hook! He's captured Tiger Lily! Tink says they're rowing her out to Marooner's Rock!" Tink flew in wild loops and figure eights around Peter's head, tinkling wildly.
"We must save her!" Tootles cried, and Peter crowed loud and long.
"Come on, boys; get your bows and arrows! We'll lure them into the rocks and see them drown! And when we save Tiger Lily and bring her back to her camp, the redskins will want us to feast with them!"
The cheer that rang out was stronger this time - more real - and Spike wondered why. The boys scrambled up, diving into the corners and shadows and coming out with weapons in their hands. Knives and bows and arrows, a long bone club for Tootles and a staff for Xander in addition to a bow and his knife. He was grinning. Wendy was looking pissed. She got up and stomped away - swung herself out and up, and Spike could just see her through a crack, crossing a rope bridge to another, smaller house.
As the boys stomped and danced around Peter, crowing and shouting, Spike grabbed Xander by the scruff and dragged him into the darkest corner.
"Why in bloody hell is everybody so fucking excited about this Tiger Lily?"
Xander shivered under his hand, twisting a little but not trying to get away very hard. "If we save her and smoke the peace pipe with the redskins they'll invite us to feast with them." Xander's eyes were bright - the red in his cheeks hectic and almost fevered looking. "The redskins have real food."