20 April 2020

Saving Neverland - Ch 6 - A smile can make a big difference

(Josie Sayz: This is a story that I began working on several years ago. I am finally reading through it/editing it. This is a fanfiction piece of what would happen if two of my favourite characters Peter Pan (from J M Barrie’s book) and Jack Frost (from ‘Rise of the Guardians’) met, why and what adventure would they go on. I originally wrote this story as a present for a friend. I have decided to dig it out and plan to release each chapter as I edit it. This is Chapter One: ‘Just Keep Reading’.

Note: I do not own Peter Pan or any of the relating characters or places to the story; these are all owned by J M Barrie and ‘Disney’. I do not own Jack Frost or any of the relating characters or places to the story; these are all owned by William Joyce and ‘DreamWorks’.

Chapter One: ‘Just Keep Reading’ can be found here: https://josiesayz.blogspot.com/2019/06/saving-neverland-just-keep-reading.html


A smile can make a big difference
As they waited for Jack and the Lost Boys to find them, Tinker Bell made Peter and Izz explain to her everything that they knew about Captain Hook, Pitch Black and their terrible plan. Beginning with Jack Frost falling through her bedroom window, followed by Peter Pan and the evil cackling on the other side of the curtain, Izz went on to tell the fairy about their flight to Neverland, chasing the rainbows, meeting the mermaids, the Lost Boys and the tiger. All the while the tinker fairy jingled away, with Peter interpreting for Izz all the while. During the recollection of their escapade, Tinker Bell noticed the leaf and ivy bandage that Izz had made, strapped to Peter’s arm. Again, the fairy turned deep red. Flapping her wings, she zipped between Izz and Peter’s face, her eyes slits, her ears steaming. “Calm down Tink!” Peter exclaimed. “Izz helped. She fixed me.” He lifted up his arm and showed it to his flying friend. Hovering over his arm she shook her head and began tugging at his shirt. Then she zoomed in front of Izz, her arms flailing in the air, pointing towards the water to Izz’s left.
“What’s she saying Peter?” Izz asked. “What’s wrong?”
“Tink says the leaves are dirty and might infect my arm,” Peter told her. “She needs you to go over there,” he said pointing to the edge of the water. “And grab her bucket and fill it with water from the Babbling Brook.”
“The Babbling Brook?” Izz repeated. Turning to the water ahead, she glanced at the waterfall. “Of course,” she sighed. “This is the stream that leads to Pixie Hollow.” Flapping in Izz’s face, Tinker Bell nodded, but continued jabbing her arms in the water’s direction. “Alright, alright, I’m going,” snapped Izz, as she skipped to the edge of the water. Reaching the edge of the flowered meadow, Izz crouched down beside a small cluster of objects. Scooping them up in her hands she found a wooden button, a bent paperclip, a rusted screw, three white pebbles and a sewing needle all gathered together in a small, copper bucket the width of Izz’s palm. Pulling at the bottom of her pyjama top, she scooped it up, creating a small nest and dropped the content of the bucket onto it. Holding onto the hollow of her t-shirt with one hand, she lowered the bucket into the brook with the other. Scooping the bucket out, she gazed at its content as she ran it back to Tinker Bell. Tiny sparkles shimmered in the water, popping as they rose to the surface.
While Izz was gone, Tinker Bell has stripped Peter of his shirt and tore off Izz’s leaf bandage. When Izz arrived back, Tinker Bell tugged on Izz’s top, trying to guide her and the bucket towards Peter. As Izz held the bucket near Peter’s arm, Tink drove her hands into the water. Cupping them, she scooped up some water and carried it to Peter. Pressing her fingers into a patch of skin above Peter’s wound the shinning liquid trickled from her hands and down his arm. As the water dripped down his arm and through his gash, the blood evaporated. Leaning closer towards Peter’s arm, Izz gasped. Tinker Bell came back for more water and repeated the procedure. As she did, the edges of Peter’s cut skin knitted themselves back together. After Tinker Bell splashed another three handfuls of water onto Peter’s arm, his injury had vanished. “That’s amazing,” Izz breathed. Peter gave a stretch of his arm and smiled.
“Thanks Tink!”
While Peter retrieved his shirt from Tootles, who had run off to a soft patch of grass and fallen asleep on it, Tinker Bell turned her attention to Izz. With Peter now healed, Tink took the bucket from Izz and poured the remaining water onto some nearby flowers. Fluttering back, she hovered in front of Izz, gazing at the collection of objects which she held in the hollow of her top. Tink’s eyes widened. She gave a tinkle as she neared the cluster of objects. Her eyes scanned over them. “I save them for you,” Izz told her, as she watched Tink examine the gathering of lost things. Zooming up to Izz’s face, she pecked her on the cheek, before shooting back down to gather up her things. Izz gave a little giggle.

*

The first of the two groups of Lost Boys to arrive at the Babbling Brook were Slightly, Curly and Nibs. Running towards them from the trees, Curly tripped. As his head fell forwards, his feet kicked over him and he rolled towards them, knocking Nibs and Slightly to the ground in the process. Tinker Bell fluttered around them jingling. With Peter at her side, he interpreted for them. Watching from a distance, Izz sat by the water bank amongst the meadow of flowers with Tootles curled up at her side. “Can any of you understand Tink?” Izz asked Tootles as she stroked a hand down his back.
“Nope,” he sang back. “Only Peter.”
“And why is it he can understand her, and we can’t?”
“Peter understands all the fairies,” Tootles told her. “He’s kind of part fairy himself.” To this, Izz’s brow rose. She stopped stroking her hand and turned herself around to face Tootles more.
“What do you mean part fairy?” she asked him.
“You see,” Tootles began. “When Peter ran away from home, he stayed in Kensington Gardens for a long while. But being a baby and with no mother or father to look after him, Peter became poorly. That’s when he met Tinker Bell. She looked after him and brought him to Neverland. Once Tink explained to the other fairies what happened and why he ran away, the fairies wanted to help him. They shared part of the heart of Neverland with him, which is the fairies’ secret power source and what helps make Peter fly. That’s why Peter’s got pointy ears like the fairies and why he can fly for so long and never gets hungry or tired.”
“But what is the heart of Neverland?” Izz asked, curling her legs around her. Wiping his nose up his arm, Tootles shrugged.
“I don’t know. Not exactly,” he told her. “Slightly’s better at explaining stuff than me.” Izz smiled at him and wrapped her arm over his shoulder. “But I do know that the heart of Neverland is what keeps the island alive and is what stops us all from growing up… without it we’d all die.”
Once acquainted with some of his gang, Peter joined Izz and Tootles at the edge of the brook. “Tink’s gone to tell the other fairies,” Peter told them, as he sat down beside Izz. “I told her that we’d meet her at Hangman’s Trees, because she wants to patch up my shirt before we set off to find Hook.”
“Hangman’s Trees,” Izz breathed, clasping her hands together. “You mean I really get to see it… your home…”
“Of course,” Peter replied.
“But what about the others?” she asked. “Jack and the twins.”
“They shouldn’t be long,” Peter told her. “I’ve got Curly and the others standing guard, crowing every now and then, so that they don’t lose our trail.”
“Can I crow too?” asked Tootles, shooting up. “Can I Peter? Can I?” Smiling Peter gave a shrug.
“Sure, why not?” said Peter jumping to his feet. He swiped Tootles from the ground and arched him around to face the direction which the other Lost Boys were. “Go and join the boys. I’ll show Izz some more of the island.”
Pinching her lips together, trying to hide a smile, Izz looked up at Peter. He held his hand out to her. As she took it, he pulled her up. “Hold on,” he said, taking her right hand and wrapping it around his waist. “You ready?” he asked leaning his left arm underneath her chin, taking her left hand in his. She gave a nod. “Alright then. Here we go…” With a bend of his knees, Peter shot into the air with Izz at his side. Touching his right hand to hers around his waist, he eased his grip of her left hand. “Keep your arm nice and steady,” he told her as he let go of her left hand. He felt her shudder. “Don’t worry, we’re only gliding. You’ll be fine – I promise.” Arching left, Peter flew over the glistening water of the Babbling Brook to a ledge on the left of the waterfall. Izz stretched out her hand and scooped a floret of baby-blue blossom. Leaning to the right, they swept past the waterfall, curving around the outskirts of the cove. The colours of the flowers in the meadow created a kaleidoscope of patterns and shapes as they zoomed over it. “So… What d’you think?”
“Wow…” was the only syllable Izz managed to utter. Her mouth wide open, her eyes shimmered as she gazed at the passing views. Peter gave laugh.
“I thought you’d like it,” he smirked. “I remembered the story you told about a treasure buried underwater, near a flower-covered meadow and I knew that you’d want to see it – especially from up here.”
“Peter…” Izz breathed. “I… I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you like it,” Peter told her with grin.
“Like it? I love it.”
Hearing shouting from the Lost Boys, Peter dove back towards the meadow. He stayed hovering in the air, as he let Izz down, before lowering himself to her side.
Shouts bellowing from their stomachs, Jack and the twins ran from the forest. “Tiger!” the twins shouted. “Tiger!” Having peeped through the trees Slightly, Curly and Nibs began shouting, flailing their arms in the air as they ran towards Peter and Izz. Tootles, having grown tired of waiting for the twins and Jack to return had fallen asleep again on a patch of soft grass nearby; however, even the Lost Boys screams did not wake him. Reaching Peter and Izz, the boys heaved over gasping for breath. “A tiger…” panted the twin closest to Peter.
“It chased us,” puffed the other.
“Did you not hear us screaming?” Jack exclaimed, throwing an arm to the forest behind him. Seeing Peter with an arm around Izz he rolled his eyes and muttered, “Obviously not.”
“Not that tiger again,” Izz cried. “I hope you’re all okay,” she said, bending down and scooping one of the twins’ cheeks in her right hand, whilst ruffling up Nibs’ hair in the other.
“We’re alright,” the twins sang.
“Yeah,” Jack added, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck and he glanced back towards the Neverwood. “This place is dangerous.”
“Nah!” croaked Curly. “The tigers are alright; it’s the bears you gotta watch out for.” He thumped a fist to his chest, showing off his bear skin.
“No!” argued Nibs. “It’s the hippopotamuses.”
“The crocodiles,” Slightly shouted.
“No, the lion!” added the twins. Hearing the word ‘lion’ Tootles flinched. Eyes open, he clambered up and fumbled over to the others.
Having gazed at the change of scenery around him, Jack turned to Peter. “Did you find the fairies?”
“Yeah,” Peter gave a nod and rose into the air. “That reminds me… Lost Boys,” he shouted. “Fall in!” Upon Peter’s demand Slightly, Curly, the twins, Nibs and Tootles all lined up in front of him. Izz and Jack walked over and stood either side of the line. “Tinker Bell’s gone to warn the other fairies about the heart of Neverland, but I promised her that we’d meet her in Hangman’s Trees.”
“What?” gasped Jack with a frown. “Why? No more detours. We need to find Hook and Pitch as soon as possible. The Black Castle-”
“Won’t be reachable while the tide’s in,” Peter said over the top of him. “If Izz is right,” he said throwing her a smile. “Then the Black Castle’s located inside the caves at Cannibal Cove, but the sea floods the entrance during the day. And we can’t swim there,” Peter added, as Jack opened his mouth to reply. “Because the creatures in that sea are cannibals, they’d eat us alive. And there’s nowhere to fly, not while the tide is in. Besides…” he said as he marched up and down the line. “Hook’s ship isn’t here… but he left the Mainland before us and travelling by ship is far faster than flying… he must be up to something… if we make our way down there, a whole army of pirates could appear and overthrow us in one go – we’d be done for.”
“So, what are you suggesting?” Jack asked with a shrug. “We wait around like sitting ducks until they take the island?”
“No,” Peter laughed. “You’re forgetting one thing… Hook still doesn’t know the location of the heart of Neverland,” Peter said in a whisper, conscious of even the trees hearing him. “If he’s really going to destroy the Neverland, he’ll need the heart of the island if he wants to live forever… and I know Hook, when he wants something he never rests until he’s got it.”
“So?” Jack replied. Izz bent her head around the line and scowled at him. Catching her glimpse, he shrugged, and his eyes widened.
“So…” Peter went on. He raised his voice and folded his arms, bringing his pace to a halt in front of Jack. “Izz tells me that you and this Pitch Black are like us, never aging… if Hook’s really sided with your nemesis then he’s not going to want to be left behind. But there’s more to the heart of Neverland than that. Hook knows that… but he doesn’t understand its purpose or its power. It’s capable of things far greater than just keeping us all eternally youthful and alive…”
“It has healing powers too,” Izz added, looking at Peter’s arm through the tear in his shirt. Peter turned to her and nodded.
“It has power and mysteries even I don’t know of, but more importantly,” he said, turning to each of them in turn. Inhaling, he forced himself to swallow. “Without the heart of Neverland… Neverland will die.”
The Lost Boys gasped, throwing hands over their eyes and covering their ears. “No…” Curly sobbed. His knees buckled and he fell to the ground. Curling his arm on the floor, he buried his head in it and began blubbering. Slightly dropped to his knees and threw himself over Curly and began crying also. The twins turned to each other and hugged, wailing over the other’s shoulder. Nibs grabbed hold of one of the twins’ racoon tails and blew his nose into it. Tootles curled himself up into a ball and began to whimper. “I don’t wanna die,” Curled wailed.
“Me either,” cried Nibs.
“Us either!” added the twins. A hand to her mouth, Izz watched as the Lost Boys fall apart. Crouching down beside Curly, she rubbed a hand to his and Slightly’s backs.
“Don’t cry,” she whispered. “Please don’t. We’ll save Neverland, I know we will.”
“Really?” wheezed Curly as he turned his head towards her. Forcing a swallow, she smiled and nodded. “Gee,” he snivelled. “That’s awfully nice o’ you.” As he clambered up to throw his arms around Izz, Slightly rolled off Curly’s back, bounced into Nibs, rolled into the twins and landed at the ball that was Tootles.
“Pull yourselves together men!” barked Peter, hovering above them. “We can’t save Neverland with you blubbering about.” Jack watched on, proud of their leader for keeping his cool, when he, himself, felt like joining the Lost Boys. “Now I promised Tink we’d meet her back at the tree. The quicker we get there, the sooner we can plan how to stop Hook. Now, wait here one moment,” Peter added. Spinning away from them, he flew off over the Babbling Brook and into the waterfall. Water splashed. Gasping, Izz jumped back, bumping into Curly.
“Where’d he go?” Jack asked stepping forward. The waterfall gave another splash as Peter emerged from its centre.
“Wow!” the Lost Boys sang out in chorus.
Throwing his hands out over Izz and the Lost Boys Peter shouted, “Pixie dust for all!” as golden sprinkles twinkled down upon them. Landing at their feet he told them. “Now you can fly.”
Holding out her arms, Izz gazed at the golden glitter landed on her clothes. Tingling against her skin, it seeped into her pours. She exhaled, her mouth open, her smile wide as the dust continued to shower them. As she looked around, the Lost Boys had already ascended into the air and were swimming around in circles, kicking their legs about, shouting and waving at one another. She turned to Peter, who remained by her side and bit the edge of her bottom lip. “But Peter,” she told him, shifting her sight to the ground. “I don’t know how to fly… what if I can’t…”
“Of course you can,” Peter said with a smile. “You more than most, you know why? Because,” he said pointing at her pyjama top. “You believe.” A smile crept up on her face, as she looked over at him. He held his hand out towards her. “Now, take my hand and just think of a lovely, wonderful thought.” Pressing her lips together she nodded and took Peter’s hand. She closed her eyes. “You ready?” he asked. Opening her eyes, Izz was about to reply, ‘yes,’ when her mouth gave a gasp. Looking down at her feet, she was already in the air. “See,” he told her letting go of her hand. “It’s that easy. Try to keep up now,” he told her as he raced off to herd up the Lost Boys.
Floating on her own, in the air, Izz gave her arms a slight flap. She wobbled a little to her left. Her heart tingled and her stomach churned. She tried flapping again, this time kicking her feet a little. She swayed a little to her right and rose up higher from the ground. Jack slid to her side. “Are you okay?” he asked her, placing a hand near her side.
“I… I can fly!” she cheered. “Look Jack! I can fly!” Full of excitement, she gave a spin, giggling all the while. Jack smirked.
“You’re a natural,” he told her with a grin. “Now let’s catch up with the others, shall we?” She nodded and with Jack’s help, they flew towards Peter and his troops.
High above the treetops, Peter pointed to their far north: over the mountains of the Never Peak and far beyond the line of trees. At the front of the group, facing the Lost Boys, Peter stood, back straight, shoulders out, hands on hips. The Lost Boys, not used to flying as often as Peter, bobbed up and down, drifted from side to side and waggled their arms and legs about. Curly had to grab onto Tootles’ skunk tail to stop the little Lost Boy from floating away. “Right men!” said Peter in a deep and commanding tone, as Jack and Izz neared them. “And Izz…” he added. “We’re heading straight north, home. Be careful not to get too distracted, because your pixie dust won’t last long an’ I don’t want t’ have to carry you all back, although I’m sure our new friend Mr. Frost might be able to help me out. But we don’t want that. The sooner we get to the tree, the sooner we can plan how we’re going to get to the Black Castle.”
“Peter!” Jack gasped, pointing to his left. They all turned to look. A huge shadow dragged over the treetops. Following the shadow’s body, it led to a large timber structure. Although it appeared no bigger than the size of Jack’s hand, the distance between them and the actual object was vast enough for all of them to know that this was larger than any of the animals, trees or rocks that they had seen in the Neverwood.
“Hook’s ship!” cried Peter. “They’re back. Come on men, we must move quickly. Home we go!”

*

Soaring over the Never Peak, Izz arched her head over her shoulder, taking in every detail: the trees that sprouted in random shallows, the vines that lined the rocky outer layer, the inlet that appeared to be the home of a family of large, round, white birds with bright red beaks, the moss and blossoms that clung to the ragged rock and the steep drop that one would take if they were to step off the peak. As she turned her head back to face forwards, Jack caught her left arm. She flew towards him. “Careful,” he told her with a laugh. “You’ll crash if you don’t watch where you’re going.”
“Sorry,” she replied, as she wobbled at his side.
“You nearly flew into that tree,” he told her jabbing a thumb behind his right shoulder.
“Really?” she said creasing her forehead, as she twisted her head around. “I didn’t see it.” As she spun her head back, Jack gave a chuckle.
“Lucky you’ve got me at your side then,” he told her. She smiled and gave a small nod. Jack placed a hand on her elbow and guided them nearer towards the others.
Kicking and flailing their legs, the Lost Boys swam through the air, chasing after their leader. The twins both seemed to have the knack of flying better than the others. Holding onto one another’s shoulders they waggled their ankles and stuck one arm out either side. With their heads facing the direction of their home, they drifted across the tops of the trees with only the occasional sway. With his arms out in front of him, Slightly swept them apart, as if swimming the butterfly. With his legs following in a similar motion he managed to skim the edges of the trees. Leaning to the side every now and then, he used the top branches of trees to push off with his feet and get him back flying straight again. Floating about, Tootles clawed at the air in front of his with his hands, as though he were digging for buried treasure. His tiny ankles flung up behind him. He often kicked too hard and caused himself to somersault his legs over his head. Curly tried his best to act like the best natural flyer out of the bunch. With his arms out, in line with his shoulders and his legs pointed straight out behind him, he appeared to have mastered the art of flying well. However, below Curly hid Nibs. With his arms pointed out, Nibs rolled them around in continuous circles. Scissoring his legs in and out, to the surprise of the others, he managed to crawl along with them. Although unknown to Nibs, Curly had fastened a piece of thread to his friend’s rabbit tail and around his own stomach. That way, from a glance, it appeared as though Curly was a keen flyer, but if someone were to cut the rope, Curly would, no doubt, be wobbling all over the place, crashing into everybody else.
Sailing by a little further behind everyone else were Jack and Izz. Keeping her arms stretched out, Izz surprised herself by managing to keep her balance most of the time, without flapping about like a bird. Between gazing down at the streams, wildlife and exotic trees, Jack kept watch over Izz, making sure that she kept up with the others and did not crash into anything. Brushing his hand through some passing leaves, Jack turned to Izz. “Isn’t the view from up here amazing?”
“Yeah,” she agreed. Her gaze crossed from a long tailed, fire-red bird flapping by, to a cluster of yellow curls clung to the branches of trees. “Are those bananas?” she asked pointing down.
Skimming his arms out as he swam towards them, Slightly answered, “Yeah, do you want some?”
Izz gave a nod. “I’m starving,” she said feeling her stomach vibrate inside of her.
“I can get you some if you like,” he told her.
“Really?” she asked. Tipping a little to her right, Slightly gave a nod. “Aww, thank you.”
“Wait,” said Jack, sticking out his staff, stopping Slightly from flapping away. “Are these real bananas, you know, are they edible?”
“Sure,” Slightly replied, jerking his head in the fruit’s direction. “Come on, I’ll pick you some.” Jack gave a groan.
“Come on,” he mumbled. “Is that all anyone says around here?”
“Quit being such a spoilsport,” Izz told him, giving him a nudge. He gave a sigh and followed her descent to a banana tree.
Turning back constantly to check on his crew, Peter spotted Slightly, Izz and Jack stop at a cluster of trees. With a scratch to his head, he ordered for the rest of the boys to follow after them to see what they were up to. Soaring over to them, Peter shouted, “What cha doing?”
Clung to the tree, Slightly peered up at Peter and shouted back, “Picking some bananas for Izz.”
“Bananas?” Peter repeated. His brow furrowed. “But Izz isn’t a monkey.”
“Oh yeah…” Slightly replied. Removing a hand from the tree he scratched at his scalp.
“It’s okay Peter,” said Izz as she hopped over to him. “I was feeling hungry and Slightly offered to fetch me a banana.”
“Hungry?” Peter echoed. “Well in that case… Lost Boys!” Peter called.
“Aye, aye Pan!” came a collection of voices, with a, “Yes Peter?” echoing from the distance.
“Izz’s hungry,” he told them. “So let’s pick some fruit – anything you can find.”
“Yep,” Nibs, Tootles and Slightly called.
“Got it!” said Curly with a salute.
“Alright,” said one of the twins, with an, “Okay,” from the other.
“Grab as much as you can carry and meet me back here as fast as you can,” he ordered. “Ready… go!” he yelled as he zipped down under the treetops. With a wriggle and a yelp, all of the Lost Boys darted off in different directions under the trees below.
“Oh dear,” Izz mumbled as she turned to Jack. Having perched on the top of the tree Jack gave a laugh and shook his head. She leapt towards him and sat on an adjacent branch. “What?” she asked.
“Would you like me to go down and search for some fruit for you, your majesty?” Jack asked between sniggers.
“It’s not funny,” Izz declared, shoving Jack. “Peter’s just being… helpful…” she said selecting her words with care.
“Helpful?” smirked Jack, rolling his eyes at her. “Is that what you call it?”

*

Zooming about from left to right, up and down, in and out, Peter and the Lost Boys zipped here, there and everywhere to try and find as much fruit as possible and within the shortest time. Kicking away with his feet and grabbing at the air with his hands, tiny Tootles was the only Lost Boy to wriggle forwards towards a tree bearing fist-size, spherical, green coloured apples. As he neared the tree, he grabbed out for a branch. Clinging to it, he shimmied along and tugged at the dangling balls of fruit.
Some distance away, the twins had been swiping bundles of bananas away from one of the largest edible fruit trees in the whole of Neverland. Dangling from a branch high up by his legs one twin hung upside down, thieving bananas from the branches and throwing them down to his brother. Flying from left to right, the other twin hovered about, catching the fruit as his twin dropped it. Steadying himself on a branch underneath a falling banana, the twin’s neck stretched up as he waited for the banana to fall to his increasing pile. As the banana landed at his shoulder, the twin felt his left shoulder pull back. His head twitched to the left. Something tugged him back again. He shook his head and spun around. As he did a banana dropped on his head, as his twin continued collecting. The twin below gave a yelp as his eyes came face to face with another pair. These eyes were large, round and of a hazelnut colour. The twin jerked away. A hand clawed at him. He jumped back. The creature in front of him leapt forward. It clung hold of the pile of bananas. “Mine!” snapped the twin, yanking at the bungle. “Bad monkey!” The monkey squealed. Sliding down behind the monkey, the other twin tapped it on the shoulder. The monkey flung around, swinging its claw. It screamed again. Floating over to his brother, the one twin split the bananas between them and scarpered up towards the top of the tree. As they ascended, monkeys leapt at them from all angles, trying to steal back their bananas. “No!” the twins cried. “Bad monkey! Bad!”
Doubled over in fits of laughter, Slightly watched from an adjacent tree, as he plucked at pairs of cherries that hung at his sides. As Peter flew past, he too stopped to laugh at the sight of the twins, dropping a round, blue fruit with pink spikes. He did not let the twins’ calamity distract him though, for he raced off to find more trees bearing even more different and exotic types of fruit than the last.
Kicking his legs out behind him, Curly wriggled towards a chunky tree, baring small, spherical, puce-purple fruit. Howeverr, no matter how much he kicked his legs and grabbed towards the tree, he never seemed to move any closer towards it. From the next tree hung small, oval, fur-coated, deep green fruits. Straining hand over hand to reach them, Nibs’ paws never stretched any closer. Burying a frown on his forehead he spun around. Something yanked at his tail. Curling his head around his back, he noticed a piece of sting tied to his tail. Following the line, it led him to Curly. “What a ya think you’re playin’ at?” Nibs yelled, yanking at the string.
“What?” replied Curly as he jiggled on the other end. Nibs gave a yell as he charged at Curly. Flying into him, they both rolled around, thumping each other in the air.

*

Sitting at the top of a tree, they sat in silence. Staring ahead at the five distant mounds of the Never Peak, Jack heard Izz fidget beside him. He turned to her. Curling her knees up on the branch, she twisted her head around, looking over her right shoulder. Holding one hand onto the tree, Jack arched his head around to see what had caught her attention. He watched the smile drop from her face, as she fixed her stare ahead. Its masts flapping in the breeze, the Jolly Roger swayed in the centre of Cannibal Cove. Bobbing in the water, the boat began to sway, as waves lashed up at its sides. “Where do you suppose they went?” Jack asked, gripping onto his staff.
“Huh?” Izz replied, turning to face him.
“Hook and Pitch… they must have gone somewhere before coming here. They left before us, we beat them, and that ship can fly far faster than I can,” Jack said as he ran a hand through his hair. “It just doesn’t make any sense.” Fiddling with her fingers, Izz shrugged.
“Pitch probably just wanted to continue taunting children’s dreams… it’s been a while since you and the other guardians put a stop to him,” Izz explained, as she twisted her body around to face him. “And don’t forget, it’s always night on one side of the world.” His eyes unfocused, he gazed at the boat, Jack gave a nod. His eyes twitched. Shifting his weight on the branch, he turned to Izz.
“So, what’s with Hook?” he asked her. “What’s his role in all this?”
“Every child dreams about pirates,” Izz said with a slight smile. “That’s partially what Neverland is all about. Dreams of sea battles, swinging from the sails of ships, slashing swords with buccaneers… and coming face to face with the most fearful and most terrifying pirate of them all – Captain James Hook,” she said with a shudder. “Although these are the words of Hook himself, he was apparently the only man that Barbecue feared – and even Flint feared Barbecue,” she added.
“Okay…” Jack laughed. “So, what does any of this have to do with them planning to destroy Neverland?”
“Neverland is the one place that all children dream – even Captain Hook knows that,” Izz told him. “By destroying Neverland Hook and Pitch will have control over all children’s dreams…” She lowered her sight to the bark on the branch between them.
“Turning them into nightmares,” Jack added.
 “Yeah…” she agreed. As she stared at the branch, her eyes clouded. Her sight blurred. She shuddered. “But if they destroy Neverland…” her voice trailed. “Jack,” she said as she turned to him. “This place is so magical. It’s every child’s dream… once they destroy it, they’ll be nothing but… fear and dread in the hearts of children… we can’t let that happen.”
“We won’t,” he told her with a nudge and a smile. “You’ll see.” She forced a smile back. “I’ll put an end to Pitch,” he told her. “And Peter’ll stop Hook… and we’ve got you. You know snippets of what they’ve been planning and where they might strike next. With your help we may be able to get one step ahead of them and stop them before anything too bad happens. And I might need you to tell me a thing or two about Hook and I dare say you’ll be the one filling Peter in about Pitch.”
Izz’s face frowned. “Why me?” Shifting his sight to the leaves below, Jack shrugged. “You two don’t seem to get along too well, do you?”
“What?” Jack laughed, rubbing the back of his neck, as he looked up at the view. “What makes you think that?” Raising an eyebrow, Izz folded her arms. Her mouth poked up in the right corner. “It’s nothing,” he told her.
“Jack,” she said, her voice stern.
“What?” he sighed, holding out his hands in surrender. “It’s nothing I can’t handle… trust me.”
Izz swung her legs back and forth as she stared off in the direction that they had just traversed. She tilted her head to one side and squinted at the mounds that made up the Never Peak. The jagged greys and browns of the highest mountain shadowed most of the beauty behind it. The others coated with a rug of evergreen pines, painted colour on the high altitude’s blank sky canvas.
Sat beside Izz, with one knee up, hands laced across it and his chin on his hands, Jack stared at her. A smile crept on his face. Sensing him stare at her, she blinked several times fast, before turning to face him. “What?” she asked. He gave a shrug. “You were staring at me,” she told him. Lifting his head from his hands, Jack gave a stretch.
“I was just thinking,” he told her.
“About what?”
“That you look so happy and excited here,” he told her, pulling out his staff from underneath him. “You’re so full of life and of energy. It’s nothing like the you back home…”
“Yeah?” Izz mumbled. She thought for a while and then smirked. “Is that a good thing?”
“Of course,” said Jack with a grin. She smiled back. “See,” he told her. “You smiled… I like it when you smile. I believe that everyone should do at least one thing a day that makes them smile – no matter how big, or how small. A smile can make a big difference.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Izz stared off again to the mountains in the distance. “I like it here,” she said bringing her gaze back to his. “I know we’re on a mission to try and stop Hook and Pitch, but… this place…” she said, her last two words a whisper. “It’s so magical… so… beautiful…” She smiled as she looked down below, noticing Curly and Nibs chasing each other around a tree trunk. “Back home, everything’s so… different, so dull and frustrating.” Her hands at her sides, she clawed her fingers into the bark of the branch that they were sitting on. “I wish I never had to leave here.” Curling her lips inward, she forced a smile at him.
“I know what you mean,” he said back. “I bet you wish you could just stay here, forever.” With a sigh, he slid his hand towards hers. Their fingers touched. Izz jerked her hand away.
“Sorry,” she said, as she curled her hair behind her ear, before placing her hands on her lap.
Sweat trickling down the side of his face, Jack swallowed. He crossed his ankles, bringing his feet underneath the branch beneath them, as he shuffled to her side. “Izz…?” he said, his forehead puckered as he looked at her.
“Yeah,” she replied. He tapped his hand against his staff. He swallowed again, tugging at the neckline of his hoodie.
“I know we haven’t exactly known each other very long…” he began. As her eyes met his, Jack shot his sight to his knees. Rubbing a hand to the back of his neck he told her, “But in all my three hundred years of being Jack Frost… I’ve never met anyone quite like you.” The right side of his mouth turned up at the corner, as he turned to look at her. He gave a smirk, seeing her cheeks turn red.
“Erm… thanks,” she replied, staring at her fidgeting fingers. Lifting her head to face him, she admitted, “I’ve never met anyone like you before either.” A gust of wind swept by, wafting part of Izz’s hair across her face. Jack pinched in his lips and gave a smirk. Izz exhaled a laugh. Leaning forwards, Jack reached a hand towards her. An icy tip of his finger stroked across her forehead, looping her hair behind her ear. Her heart shuddered at his touch. She gazed into his eyes. He stared back. She swallowed as he neared her. Her lips parted. As his head tilted to her left, she felt herself lean to her right. His breath tickled her cheek. She closed her eyes. She leant forwards. “No,” she whispered, squinting her eyes tight as she backed away.
Scooping a hand to the back of his head, Jack shuffled back. “I’m sorry,” he breathed.
She shook her head. “I like you Jack,” she told him. “I really do. And I can honestly let you that I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.” Rubbing her hands across her upper arms, she smiled, biting the corner of her bottom lip and stared out at the treetops. “Up until last night,” she continued. “Both you and Peter were nothing but a fantasy to me and now you’re both here… and you’re both real.” She inhaled. Her chest quivered. The pulse tingled through her fingers, as she scrunched them into her palms. “I’ve liked you both for a really long time,” she said looking over at him. “I just wouldn’t want to risk ruining a friendship between either you or Peter until I’m sure about how I feel.” Her shoulders rose, as she twisted the cuffs of her sleeves around her hands. Exhaling through his nose, Jack rubbed the side of him head.
“Sure,” he told her forcing a grin.
“Thanks Jack,” she said smiling at him. Placing a hand upon his fingers, she added, “I knew you’d understand.”
Leaves rustled behind them. Their heads jerked around. A brown silhouette, with a dark green hat, burst up from the trees. His arms cradled at his chest, he carried a huge pile of different coloured fruits. “Last one to the tree’s a smelly, ol’ codfish!” he called. With a twitch of his head, he zoomed off towards Hangman’s Trees. A billow of leaves blew up into the air. Slightly bounced up, his arms hugged around masses of small, deep red balls.
“I’m no codfish!” he called after Peter.
As heads from the Lost Boys began peeping up from the trees, Jack gave Izz a nudge. “I think we’d better fly.”

- Josie -
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