maneater

But that did not mean she would let her new friend fall into that darkness. How arrogant.

                                                  Strange. Sounded controlling.

              ❝ Actually, I’m fairly certain that you have               wasted plenty of time trying to escape here.               The only difference is—you didn’t have an               enchanted vessel. The Jolly Roger can travel               through realms with ease. ❞

       Their only hope of escaping was the ship as Pan wasn’t        the type to simply let them walk out. Hook’s gaze shifted        from her to the ship in the distance. Things wouldn’t be        so difficult if he’d never burned the Pegasus sails in the        first place. Now, they were faced with making another set        of sails, which was what he’d need her help with.

Pan had nary said a word before Felix noted the subtle change in the trickster’s demeanor.  Ever by the boy king’s side, the knight watched the flickering of his friend’s Stygian gaze as the lieutenant canted his head in askance. 

"What is it?" the blond had asked when his physical reaction failed to prompt an answer.

"We have visitors," came Peter’s glided reply.

We should make them feel at home…

And thus Felix found himself  overlooking the moon-stained sea from the jungle’s shadowy edge. Though he stood alone, he sensed the presence of his fellow Lost Boys, scattered strategically amongst the trees. They all listened with hungry interest in the doomed cries as they carried across the black waters.

A quirked grin laced across the flaxen devil’s weather torn lips, causing them to crack and bleed, as he mused about the massacre that was unfolding beyond their sight. 

Whoever these intruders were, fortune had opened their portal in the middle of the ocean when the mermaids slithered from the deepest brine to play in the midnight rays. Cold, clawed fingers wrapped around the warm limbs of the forsaken travelers and dragged them down into a dark embrace. 

A few of the stronger managed to escape with the help of nearby comrades. But the elderly and stray children that were lucky enough to be spared the horrors that awaited them on the island would be naught more than white bones nestled in the seabed. 

Felix knew not what their original numbers were but from their haggard visage and pitiful wails, the daughters of the depths must have had culled the most precious of the lot. 

Dangerous eyes watched as the weary forms collapsed upon the warm, pale sands in a mixture of mourning and fear. But the keen observers cared not for the display of humanity before them, their attention rested on Felix awaiting his longer fingers to give the signal to end these foreign pangs of misery.

But the knight remained unconcerned for the steely eyes that goaded him. He patiently waited till no other drenched figures dragged themselves from the maw of the ravenous tide before taking a quick headcount.

It was clear that the Lost Boys were outnumbered—

—but outmatched?

Felix grinned.

Ignoring his soldiers, the lieutenant materialized from the opaque treeline and sauntered towards the litter that marred these haunted shores. 

Dark skin, dark hair, dark eyes, and bright tears. If it wasn’t for the drenched leathers that clung to their bodies, Felix might’ve thought them forged by the very waters they crawled from.

"Seems the mermaids bid you welcome," came is slow drawling voice, eliciting gasps and uncertain looks from the alert crowd. Felix’s gelid gaze cut through them as he studied their sallow faces. Children, men and women—some of which had the look of a warrior about them—gawked at him with a ghastly mix of emotions.

Except for one…

Her piercing gaze met his own, he lingered there, taking in her fire as a cruel gleam glittered in the frigid blue of his eyes. 

--where had they gotten such an idea?  What dream wasn't pleasant?  What gave the pair of girls the right to suggest their peoples' futures?  Oh, yes, they were the chief's daughters, and their mother was a sage, well-respected woman, but they were only girls still.  Apparently, there were more things to be taken into account – especially the unpredictable nature of walks between realms.

The displaced native had only just thanked her lucky stars that her father had seen fit to instruct his girls how to swim when something dark and terrible slithered forth from the briny deep.  Tiger Lily halted immediately, treading water with her sister only a length or so behind her.  The water rippled once, twice, and a head began to rise from the dark seawater.  She sucked in a sharp breath, dark eyes widened as she paddled backwards, giving the object some space.  But even after wiping the droplets away from her face, the object continued to approach, stringy hair clinging to the crown of its head.  Or was it algae?  What was it?  A demon?  She'd never seen one in her dre—

But Tiger never got to finish the thought, as the creature lurched forward suddenly.  The youth only felt the slither of its tail as it shot past, and a breath later, Panther Lily shrieked.  Even as she spun, her sister was pulled over, and only instinct dictated that the older girl dove after her, grappling for her sibling's wrist.  Whatever the creature was, it would not have Panther Lily. 

Its strength was shocking.  Even between the two girls, they struggled and writhed.  Strong swimmers, perhaps, but there was no fish tail, no fins.  No gills.  Tiger's chest was already beginning to burn, but the girl was certain that were she to surface for a gulp of air, her sister would be spirited away, never to be seen again.  Her eyes stung as she grappled for the knife she knew hung on Panther's leather belt.  Fumbling in the dark water, she drew the blade and sunk further down.  She would only have one chance at this before she needed to surface, or she would drown for her best efforts.  Opening her eyes as wide as she could, Tiger swooped forward, and sunk the blade into the demon's body.  The bit took the creature by surprise, and it released its grip on Panther Lily to grapple with the weapon hanging from its flesh. 

The pair raced for the surface, sucking in air as they paddled, clinging to one another in a desperate dash for the shore.  It was not the only demon – the terrified cries of children and their parents painted the night, but Tiger was forced to swallow her guilt and paddle onwards.  She had Panther, and only enough energy make it to the sandy shores, collapsing onto hands and knees as she crawled up the embankment, flopping by her sister's side as they gasped for breath.

It was the sound of sifting sand that bade Tiger Lily sit, and no sooner did she right herself did she realize a shape shifting through the survivors.  Even in the moonlight, his shadowed face was horrendously pale, his smile that of a feral beast as he met her gaze, and approached.

Without a second thought, she gathered her feet, bringing herself to her full height as she stood between the demon and her younger sister.  Warily, her hand went to her own knife, and she bristled, dark eyes alight as she bared her fangs.  "What do you want, spirit?"

Absence makes the heart grow fonder… or forgetful.

All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again.

Dreams do come true if only we wish hard enough.

Every time you say you don’t believe in fairies, a fairy dies.

For to have faith, is to have wings.

Forever is a very long time.

I don’t want to go to school and learn solemn things.

It is not in doing what you like, but in liking what you do that is the secret of happiness.

It may have been quixotic, but it was magnificent.

Just always be waiting for me.

Never is an awfully long time.

Never say goodbye, because saying goodbye means going away, and going away means forgetting.

Odd things happen to all of us on our way through life without our noticing.

Sir, you are both ungallant and deficient!

To die would be an awfully big adventure.

To live will be an awfully big adventure.

Would you like an adventure now, or would like to have your tea first?

You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end.

You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it.