A Neverland Tale - HOOKED (eng)

Chapter 3.2 - Capt. J. Hook

An instinct, a hunch, or a hunch that fate breathed into him? James wasn't sure, and didn't necessarily want to know.... he simply didn't think about it anymore. Something had quite abruptly diverted his attention and caused him to pause. At this very spot. Moonlight made a threadbare path through dense leaves, and solid branches slipped down dew-covered flower heads and finally drew a pattern of shadow and white light on the honed features of Captain James Hook, the terror of the Neverseas.

It took a few moments for his breathing to settle. The sprint through the forest had been exhausting even for an enduring fighter because the little beasts knew that a whole crew was following them through the undergrowth and whoever was caught... for him, the sun no longer rose. Hook's chest rose and fell as he began to listen and concentrate his senses. Sounds of animals moving in the undergrowth - but only those still too clumsy to set their paws, claws, or hooves silently. Alongside them, from countless directions, choked crackles, rustling leaves - fleeing children running for their lives into the woods, not even knowing if they might step on a bear's paw with their next step.

It would only suit Hook if the beasts in Neverland did the work for him... but at the same time, it increased his contempt for the so-called leader Peter Pan even more - if that was possible at all. Besides these, nevertheless quite usual things were to be heard however still far more. A whirring as raindrops on a water surface, bright tones, released by tiny wings as transparent as glass. Long ago, this chant must have filled the entire forest, but since the fairies became rarer and rarer, only sometimes their humming wing beats were heard. At that moment, the hint of a smile crossed the serious face, revealing that his anger had been stifled for a breath by the beauty of the island. Out here among all the chaos, dirt, and disorder, there was finally a bit of peace for him as well. Rarely tasted peace that made waves in James Hook.... he was never alone here, rarely at least. The dangers of these woods, fight or no fight, could never be underestimated.

Watchful eyes scoured the undergrowth, perhaps looking for the very disgusting bastard he had wanted to hunt down for so long. But the goblin would hardly have the guts to join his brothers in death. No. He would rather linger in safety, far from the action, and let them pass tests he himself shied away from.

Coward.

A little resigned, James heard his own men breaking through the undergrowth, trampling their way, merging as little with the surroundings as one could. Inwardly, he rolled his eyes and wondered how anyone could be so poor in their senses. But in front of the rough dogs, he didn't even need to start with composure and attitude... They would not have understood it anyway, let alone internalized it. This distinguished them from Hook and made him their leader. The thinker, the strategist, and the reason for their cohesion and reputation.

Once again he reviewed the last few minutes. Silent as they were, they had made their escape... With his coat. Mater wanted to roar, to rage, in anger and despair because the coat was still roaming the woods here somewhere. What if the boy was stupid enough to let the beasts tear him apart? No telling what condition the coat would have been in... And the lad. James himself didn't know exactly why that of all things should matter to him, but still, the thought sat crosswise in his mind. Possibly because the kid had nudged something that had been gathering dust, unmoved, in Hook's soul for quite some time. Now the dust swirled in the pale light and a few small hands plucked at strings of which they had no idea how long no sound had flowed from them.

Suddenly something moved. Just a slight twitch, a tiny shift of shadows at the edge of that small opening in the foliage. Hook's lips twisted into a grim smile before he slowly turned his head. It didn't take him long to find the source of the bump. A sight that felt as little right here as the trampling pirates at his back. There, behind some thick trunks, the moonlight seemed to point to something that didn't fit there at all. White light plucked at a small embroidery of gold threads and let his gaze fall purposefully on a tip of blood-red brocade.

Calmly, he exhaled before James started moving, silently putting one foot in front of the other. A hunt you had to know your prey for and oh, Hook was a good hunter. He knew the pesky brats intimately and if he made it to within a certain proximity of the log, all he had to do was grab it. In fact, Hook managed to approach reasonably unheard. Luke made... made no move to flee yet. Why not? The captain was relatively sure that the fellow must have noticed him long ago, and there wouldn't be much opportunity to escape. People were frozen in fear, James had seen it so many times. How muscles cramped and hands suddenly clung to something for support - no matter what it was. A weapon, the hand of the best friend, crouching on the ground and clutching the boot of the worst enemy, because underneath all the hatred suddenly flickered the plea for mercy?

But mercy had lost its place in Neverland. James was sure that Luke would not be able to make the jump, and so he was all the more surprised for a moment when the jolt finally came. As if he had finally realized at the last moment that his life depended on it, the lad pushed off and ran. But it was already too late. Hook was prepared for this reaction and when Luke hurried forward, James was already sprinting. Tension, adrenaline, and even anger glowed in his muscles as he rushed headlong after the boy and his coat. Branches and leaves hit his face, leaving tiny scratches that Hook didn't even notice.... so fixed was his gaze on the small figure directly in front of him.

The extraordinary shadow that, not too far away, tried to slip out of his hopeless situation. This time there was no window, nothing separating him from Hook. He put all his strength into these few meters, stretched out his hand after only a few steps, and...

now the devil will get you!

James got hold of the collar of his coat. He put so much force into this one movement that it jerked Luke backward and he could hardly stop the momentum. They stumbled, the momentum carrying the little chase a few more feet, landing not only the brat but also Captain James Hook in damp leaves. Instead of letting him go, however, he just gripped tighter and didn't let go even as they rolled on for a few more meters. The descent ended at a tree trunk that forced the air out of James' lungs for a heartbeat. There was little time for a curse, though, because the captain was taking advantage.... he had landed on Luke and before the fellow could free himself, James grabbed the wriggling wrists. How pathetically thin they were, useless in any shape for the imp and any instance of Neverland at all. On the Jolly Roger, they might still have managed him-somehow, with enough hard work and if the men took extra pains. But when would they ever have seriously cared about a lost man?

In this situation, Hook was the stronger one, and Luke had no chance to free himself while the captain fixed the lad's joints with one hand.
"This...," he interrupted himself to catch his breath, ".... is my..." again he had to stop for a moment ".... Coat!" The rest of the sentence ended in a low growl, actually more similar to a beast than a man.

Like small daggers, the ice-blue eyes stabbed at their counterpart, glinting angrily at Luke. The moon, as if to illuminate the scene, slipped out from behind some branches moved by the wind and laid its pure light on the boy's features. An embrace painted in silver patterns of light and shadow.
James' brows drew together slightly as that same light probed under the wide brim of the sailor's cap and illuminated a dirtied face. Ocean-colored eyes glowed from beneath it, wild and untamed, as clear as the starry skies over Neverland had been for a long time. And the melody on dusty strings continued as the steel-blue violets could not break away from the sight of night sky and moonlight.