![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Hullo!
Ahhhhhhh, it's so *nice* today! All this week, really. Cool and overcast and rainy, chilly at night. I have on socks! I'm so excited for summer to be *over*. I really hate that season.
We had an animal crawl under the house and die. Gah. So horrifying. You could, of course, smell it in the house... Yuck. Stupid possum. Had to get under there and drag it out - such fun! Lucky for me, dinner-time hospital talk all through my childhood has pretty much given me immunity to stuff like that. Still not *nice*, though.
I feel like i should rec stuff and talk about stuff but...i got nothin'! It's so sad. Oh wait!
There's this lovely fic by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hotspur18 - post everything, Illyria/Spike/Wes. Sort of. It's just amazingly cool, very different. Have a look! Seven Bridges Road.
And now, Neverland! Thank you thank you,reremouse, for the usual. You rock. And special thanks to roxymissrose for her help, too. *smoooch*
Previous parts are here.
"What are you lot doing back here?" Spike growled, defeated in his search for a bit of quiet. Xander and the black twin jerked around guiltily.
"We're not –"
"You shut up – leave 'em alone," Wendy said, stepping out of the shadows. Her eyes were red and she had a blanket wrapped around her, up over her head like a hood. It was one of the striped ones from the 'redskin' camp.
"Why are you lot lurking around? I thought you'd be having your victory feast." Spike tipped his head toward the noises of the camp – chanting and drumming, some strained laughter. Food-smells, but nobody seemed to be eating much.
"Some victory," Xander muttered, his voice cracking. "More like the end of Platoon."
"Nate's dead," Wendy whispered, and sniffed hard. The black twin shuffled around and put his arm around her and they all three stared at Spike. "Did you get one?"
"One what?" Spike asked. "Who's Nate?"
"Nate. He – my – the other twin," the black twin said, his voice rasping. His eyes were too dark – pupils too big. Concussion, probably. There was still blood, dried black, in a messy smear over his temple. The drizzle that had started up not long after the fight had spangled in his hair, diamante drops in the flickering light from the fire.
"He got one, yeah. Got a pirate," Xander said, and Wendy nodded slowly.
"Good for you, then. Fuckers." She blinked up at the blank, cloud-choked sky, tears streaking down her cheeks in sudden silver lines. "I gotta – gotta go back. The Wendy's not allowed at the feasts."
"I'm comin' with you," the black twin said, his arm tightening, and Wendy nodded.
"Xander?"
"No, I – I need to stay. Tootles –"
"Yeah, a'ight." Wendy leaned forward kissed his cheek softly. "I'll… I'll have the book ready for Nate and Simon."
"Thanks. Thanks, Roxy."
"C'mon," the black twin muttered and the two slipped away into the darkness.
Xander let out a long breath, gingerly rubbing his arm. There was a bruise there, red-purple with a lurid black heart. From where the pirate had thrown the rock. "Is he – out there?" Xander asked, gesturing toward the tall, black shapes of the tepees, stark against the firelight.
"Who – Pan? Still having his peace pipe, last I saw." Spike drew out a cigarette and watched Xander slump a little. He looked exhausted – raw about the eyes. Smelled of tears and blood and sand. "What's this book?"
Xander flinched a little – shrugged finally, his fingers settling on the knife-hilt at his hip. Automatic gesture that meant nothing at all. "It's just…it's a list. All the ones that…die. Their real names." Xander looked up sharply at a sudden noise but it was just Tink, circling in from the trees. The fairy hovered in front of Xander for a moment and then darted forward – kissed his forehead.
"Thanks, Tink," Xander whispered. He sighed and rubbed the back of his hand over his mouth – looked back at Spike. "I'm the Slightly. It's the Slightly's job to keep the book. If…if I go home I have to take it with me so…they'll know. So nobody'll forget."
"Huh," Spike said, smoking. Leaning away from Tink's too-close form and then huffing out a resigned breath when the fairy settled on his shoulder.
"There's a book for the Wendys, too. They don't…die so much. A lot of them are over at the town -"
"There's a town?" Spike asked, astonished, and Xander looked surprised.
"Well, yeah. Where do you think the pirates get their stuff, 7-11? The tribe trades with them too – they bring in skins and meat and the town gives them flour and stuff. They can't farm up here." Xander slouched over to the edge of the woods, looking out. Just beyond the thin fringe were the sloping, granite edges of the tall promontory where the camp was situated. The sea on three sides and a narrow, slotted trail coming up. Highly defensible but also easy to get trapped. Spike wouldn't have made it his first choice.
"Where's the town?"
Xander shrugged again, staring out into the drizzling dark. His pants had never really dried from his dip in the sea and they clung to him, tattered at the hem. His fingers idly brushed over and over the worn bone hilt of his knife. "Tink can show you. We're not allowed. They were – together. You know?"
"Who?" Spike stepped up behind Xander, studying his profile in the dim, magenta glow that Tink gave off. Following the curving slope of throat and shoulder – seeing the ruddy glints in the too-long, salt-clotted hair.
"Roxy and the – Roxy and Nate and Anthony. They're…in love."
"Lovers," Spike murmured and Xander nodded, blinking slowly.
"Pan doesn't know. He doesn't…understand it. He killed the last Wendy when he found her and – and a John. His name was Thomas." Xander shivered – closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them again. He looked cold, the drizzle condensing on his naked shoulders. "He gave her to the mermaids. If the Wendy gets too old or – or pisses him off he gives 'em to the mermaids so they run away to the town before he can. Some went to the pirates. They don't last long." Xander turned around and looked at Spike, his wide, dark eyes full of bitterness – shuttered. "He gives us lost boys to the pirates, too. Or picks a fight with somebody, or has a bear hunt. I'm – getting too old. He's going to send me off soon. Maybe after we beat the pirates."
Spike took a slow drag off his cigarette. "Why don't you just run, then? Go to the town yourself? Or hell – get off this bloody island and go home? Can't you just – fly home?" Tink made a little noise, not quite a word, tugging at Spike's coat-collar. Spike ignored him.
Xander gave a strange little laugh. "'Cause it's in the book? They've tried – a lot of them have. The town gives us back if we try to hide there. Peter's burned it down before. Or set the pirates on them. This is his place. He controls who comes in and who gets out. He controls…everything." Xander's voice wobbled and he shut his mouth hard – took a moment to just breathe, not quite looking at Spike. Spike inhaled the scent of his misery and his fear and wanted to put his mouth just there, where the bone of Xander's shoulder pushed up against his caramel skin. Xander rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.
"The tribe says Hook got out – got away. The book says he died. Either way, Peter brought him back but..." Xander shook his head – made a little gesture with his hand. "He came back wrong. He's…worse, they say. Used to he'd let you be a pirate – let you win free, if you wanted to try. Now they – he…" Xander shook his head. "It's not the same. Wasn't there…I remember a movie. I think…" Xander pushed at his hair, wincing when his fingers hit tangles. "Burying a kid in a – a pet cemetery and he came back all – crazy. That's what Hook's like, now."
There was a sudden escalation of noise from the camp and Xander's gaze darted that way. "I gotta go. Peter's gonna expect me – there's gonna be speeches and stuff. And the food…" He looked momentarily happier at the thought. He took two fast steps toward the camp and then turned around. "You better come too. They make this – beer? Kind of. From birch bark. It's okay – kind of sweet. It…helps."
"In a minute," Spike said, and Xander nodded.
"I used to like the movie, you know?" Xander said softly. He turned and walked swiftly away, limping on the leg the mermaid had savaged. The redskins – the tribe – had cleaned it and bandaged it, touching swiftly and gently. They'd tended to the other wounded too. And laid out the dead Nibs and twin – Nate – under a little hide and stick shelter, covering them with the inevitable striped blankets. Spike wondered if there would be a burial.
*This place is sodding insane. That bloody Pan is… But I can fight. Fight him, the little bastard.* Spike finished his cigarette and tossed the butt away. *Wonder about this Hook…and the town. Guess I'll have to go calling. Pity I didn't bring my cards.* He laughed mirthlessly to himself and Tink murmured in his ear, press of a tiny, warm hand to the skin just behind – barely-there tug on a handful of hair. "Let's go get drunk, Tink, want to?"
Spike was pretty sure Tink said yes.
*Bones tonight! Yay!*
Ahhhhhhh, it's so *nice* today! All this week, really. Cool and overcast and rainy, chilly at night. I have on socks! I'm so excited for summer to be *over*. I really hate that season.
We had an animal crawl under the house and die. Gah. So horrifying. You could, of course, smell it in the house... Yuck. Stupid possum. Had to get under there and drag it out - such fun! Lucky for me, dinner-time hospital talk all through my childhood has pretty much given me immunity to stuff like that. Still not *nice*, though.
I feel like i should rec stuff and talk about stuff but...i got nothin'! It's so sad. Oh wait!
There's this lovely fic by
hotspur18 - post everything, Illyria/Spike/Wes. Sort of. It's just amazingly cool, very different. Have a look! Seven Bridges Road.And now, Neverland! Thank you thank you,
reremouse, for the usual. You rock. And special thanks to roxymissrose for her help, too. *smoooch* Previous parts are here.
"What are you lot doing back here?" Spike growled, defeated in his search for a bit of quiet. Xander and the black twin jerked around guiltily.
"We're not –"
"You shut up – leave 'em alone," Wendy said, stepping out of the shadows. Her eyes were red and she had a blanket wrapped around her, up over her head like a hood. It was one of the striped ones from the 'redskin' camp.
"Why are you lot lurking around? I thought you'd be having your victory feast." Spike tipped his head toward the noises of the camp – chanting and drumming, some strained laughter. Food-smells, but nobody seemed to be eating much.
"Some victory," Xander muttered, his voice cracking. "More like the end of Platoon."
"Nate's dead," Wendy whispered, and sniffed hard. The black twin shuffled around and put his arm around her and they all three stared at Spike. "Did you get one?"
"One what?" Spike asked. "Who's Nate?"
"Nate. He – my – the other twin," the black twin said, his voice rasping. His eyes were too dark – pupils too big. Concussion, probably. There was still blood, dried black, in a messy smear over his temple. The drizzle that had started up not long after the fight had spangled in his hair, diamante drops in the flickering light from the fire.
"He got one, yeah. Got a pirate," Xander said, and Wendy nodded slowly.
"Good for you, then. Fuckers." She blinked up at the blank, cloud-choked sky, tears streaking down her cheeks in sudden silver lines. "I gotta – gotta go back. The Wendy's not allowed at the feasts."
"I'm comin' with you," the black twin said, his arm tightening, and Wendy nodded.
"Xander?"
"No, I – I need to stay. Tootles –"
"Yeah, a'ight." Wendy leaned forward kissed his cheek softly. "I'll… I'll have the book ready for Nate and Simon."
"Thanks. Thanks, Roxy."
"C'mon," the black twin muttered and the two slipped away into the darkness.
Xander let out a long breath, gingerly rubbing his arm. There was a bruise there, red-purple with a lurid black heart. From where the pirate had thrown the rock. "Is he – out there?" Xander asked, gesturing toward the tall, black shapes of the tepees, stark against the firelight.
"Who – Pan? Still having his peace pipe, last I saw." Spike drew out a cigarette and watched Xander slump a little. He looked exhausted – raw about the eyes. Smelled of tears and blood and sand. "What's this book?"
Xander flinched a little – shrugged finally, his fingers settling on the knife-hilt at his hip. Automatic gesture that meant nothing at all. "It's just…it's a list. All the ones that…die. Their real names." Xander looked up sharply at a sudden noise but it was just Tink, circling in from the trees. The fairy hovered in front of Xander for a moment and then darted forward – kissed his forehead.
"Thanks, Tink," Xander whispered. He sighed and rubbed the back of his hand over his mouth – looked back at Spike. "I'm the Slightly. It's the Slightly's job to keep the book. If…if I go home I have to take it with me so…they'll know. So nobody'll forget."
"Huh," Spike said, smoking. Leaning away from Tink's too-close form and then huffing out a resigned breath when the fairy settled on his shoulder.
"There's a book for the Wendys, too. They don't…die so much. A lot of them are over at the town -"
"There's a town?" Spike asked, astonished, and Xander looked surprised.
"Well, yeah. Where do you think the pirates get their stuff, 7-11? The tribe trades with them too – they bring in skins and meat and the town gives them flour and stuff. They can't farm up here." Xander slouched over to the edge of the woods, looking out. Just beyond the thin fringe were the sloping, granite edges of the tall promontory where the camp was situated. The sea on three sides and a narrow, slotted trail coming up. Highly defensible but also easy to get trapped. Spike wouldn't have made it his first choice.
"Where's the town?"
Xander shrugged again, staring out into the drizzling dark. His pants had never really dried from his dip in the sea and they clung to him, tattered at the hem. His fingers idly brushed over and over the worn bone hilt of his knife. "Tink can show you. We're not allowed. They were – together. You know?"
"Who?" Spike stepped up behind Xander, studying his profile in the dim, magenta glow that Tink gave off. Following the curving slope of throat and shoulder – seeing the ruddy glints in the too-long, salt-clotted hair.
"Roxy and the – Roxy and Nate and Anthony. They're…in love."
"Lovers," Spike murmured and Xander nodded, blinking slowly.
"Pan doesn't know. He doesn't…understand it. He killed the last Wendy when he found her and – and a John. His name was Thomas." Xander shivered – closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them again. He looked cold, the drizzle condensing on his naked shoulders. "He gave her to the mermaids. If the Wendy gets too old or – or pisses him off he gives 'em to the mermaids so they run away to the town before he can. Some went to the pirates. They don't last long." Xander turned around and looked at Spike, his wide, dark eyes full of bitterness – shuttered. "He gives us lost boys to the pirates, too. Or picks a fight with somebody, or has a bear hunt. I'm – getting too old. He's going to send me off soon. Maybe after we beat the pirates."
Spike took a slow drag off his cigarette. "Why don't you just run, then? Go to the town yourself? Or hell – get off this bloody island and go home? Can't you just – fly home?" Tink made a little noise, not quite a word, tugging at Spike's coat-collar. Spike ignored him.
Xander gave a strange little laugh. "'Cause it's in the book? They've tried – a lot of them have. The town gives us back if we try to hide there. Peter's burned it down before. Or set the pirates on them. This is his place. He controls who comes in and who gets out. He controls…everything." Xander's voice wobbled and he shut his mouth hard – took a moment to just breathe, not quite looking at Spike. Spike inhaled the scent of his misery and his fear and wanted to put his mouth just there, where the bone of Xander's shoulder pushed up against his caramel skin. Xander rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.
"The tribe says Hook got out – got away. The book says he died. Either way, Peter brought him back but..." Xander shook his head – made a little gesture with his hand. "He came back wrong. He's…worse, they say. Used to he'd let you be a pirate – let you win free, if you wanted to try. Now they – he…" Xander shook his head. "It's not the same. Wasn't there…I remember a movie. I think…" Xander pushed at his hair, wincing when his fingers hit tangles. "Burying a kid in a – a pet cemetery and he came back all – crazy. That's what Hook's like, now."
There was a sudden escalation of noise from the camp and Xander's gaze darted that way. "I gotta go. Peter's gonna expect me – there's gonna be speeches and stuff. And the food…" He looked momentarily happier at the thought. He took two fast steps toward the camp and then turned around. "You better come too. They make this – beer? Kind of. From birch bark. It's okay – kind of sweet. It…helps."
"In a minute," Spike said, and Xander nodded.
"I used to like the movie, you know?" Xander said softly. He turned and walked swiftly away, limping on the leg the mermaid had savaged. The redskins – the tribe – had cleaned it and bandaged it, touching swiftly and gently. They'd tended to the other wounded too. And laid out the dead Nibs and twin – Nate – under a little hide and stick shelter, covering them with the inevitable striped blankets. Spike wondered if there would be a burial.
*This place is sodding insane. That bloody Pan is… But I can fight. Fight him, the little bastard.* Spike finished his cigarette and tossed the butt away. *Wonder about this Hook…and the town. Guess I'll have to go calling. Pity I didn't bring my cards.* He laughed mirthlessly to himself and Tink murmured in his ear, press of a tiny, warm hand to the skin just behind – barely-there tug on a handful of hair. "Let's go get drunk, Tink, want to?"
Spike was pretty sure Tink said yes.
*Bones tonight! Yay!*
no subject
Well Spike still has some fight in him. What happens to the Wendies in town, I wonder?
Pan needs a good killing.
Sami
no subject
Could be. Pan's a bit...off.
Thank you!
no subject
no subject
And thank you so much!
no subject
I'm really not liking this Pan and he needs to be rendered powerless. I wonder what your Hook will be like and foresee a possible Captain Spike reluctantly replacing him (as he appears to be trying not to get involved), gathering the troops and overthrowing Pan in order to save Xander.
Eagerly awaiting whatever your devious mind has planned.
Shakatany
no subject
And thank you so much.
:)
no subject
Julia, great, but chilling
no subject
Thank you so much.
:)
no subject
Can't wait for more.
**smooches**
:)
Yay! Bones!
no subject
*smooch*
Thank you thank you!
no subject
no subject
:)
*bounce*
*goosebumps*
no subject
no subject
Thank you thank you!
And oooooooooh. I icon lurve.
no subject
I love that Tink has takena a shine to Spike and that Spike has taken a shine to Slightly/Xander. *worries for the Wendy*
no subject
Heh.
Thank you muchly!
no subject
no subject
:)
no subject
Marie
no subject
:)
Thank you so much!
no subject
no subject
:)
*bounce*
*pet pet*
no subject
no subject
Oh, i like your vision.
:)
Thank you!
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
:)
no subject
But now Spike is planning to sort Pan, which can only be good, but he'd better get going before Pan decides that Xander is too old. Sits and chews fingernails in anticipation of the next part.
no subject
*smooch*
Thank you!
no subject
no subject
no subject
*smoooch*