A Neverland Tale - HOOKED (eng)

Chapter 5.8 - Capt. J. Hook

With a calmness as if they still had dozens of nights, James waited until the lost man had finally sat down and the food was served. Luke reminded him of a small wildcat, still too clumsy to stand on his own paws and as timid as a deer. One had to move carefully, not make too fast and jerky gestures to not scare the animal. Already abandoned by its mother but far from being able to survive completely alone on the island. How long did it take for him to break his fine limbs? The countless dangers of Neverland would cost him his life, whether tonight, tomorrow, or by some bizarre coincidence only in a few weeks... it didn't matter. Neverland always took the weak first.

Well, about as dirty was Luke... but if Hook had been seriously bothered by the filth, he probably would have had to make three-quarters of the crew walk the plank. You couldn't force them to have decent hygiene, not really, but just give them the hint that lack of personal hygiene attracted disease and vermin. Well, at least they tried to wash themselves as regularly as they could on board. But there were enough filthy brats among the lost - who, on top of that, were children and couldn't stand washing anyway - that Hook wouldn't have been surprised if a plague of rats took the boys.

There was something about this boy, James could see it in his movements, the way he tried to sit still, and... the way it saturated the air around him. It almost reminded Hook of... Peter. Only the newcomer wasn't yet dripping with Neverland's essence, his conscience was clear - no weight pressed down on his slender shoulders. Sure, he was afraid, feared for his life... but his soul had not yet pressed down Neverland, hands not stained with blood. Innocence completely lost to Pan, lost - like all of them. Oh, their sacred leader was not a lamb, he was a plague that soaked them all little by little. To play with a person's loneliness and doubts, to exploit his trust... it was a bad deed, but at least Hook made only expedient use of such means. The goblin, on the other hand - he lived on such moments, when he fed lies about the pirates to his obedient followers, and put fluff into their heads like red coats and the captain's cabin. Then that's exactly what happened. Boys were captured at best, and at worst they died while still fighting.

And yet... as deep-seated as hatred and loathing were, the hero and the terror were in some ways alike. Both did not want or could not see it, and closed their eyes to the dark truth. That perhaps they needed each other just a little bit? What would their lives be without the eternal struggle, good against evil - who still believed in that? It had been about nothing else for a long time... Hook or Peter. Shadow and light. One could not be without the other.

"After you Captain." (Luke)

Hrm, apparently Luke actually distrusted him about the food. Well, either he believed Hook would take any opportunity to harm him, or it was purely habitual distrust.Clever fellow.But in this case, he was wrong. With a low groan, James finally leaned forward and took some of the roasted meat that he carefully placed on his plate. This was followed by some potatoes and some of the berry jam that Smee bought in the seaside town and only served up on really special occasions. But presumably, the kitchen boy had tipped the smutje off that Hook was talking about a guest - and Smee also had that touch of style that told him unerringly when to serve up properly and when a simple dish would suffice.

Calmly, James poured some of the dark red wine into his goblet and then put the decanter back. He took a slice of bread and some of the stewed vegetables. Most of it came from the seaside town, where at least a few farmers supplied the port with food. However, there wasn't much of the rarer stuff that was hard to come by in Neverland. Vegetables were only available in summer and fall, at harvest time, and otherwise, everything had to be pickled. Flour for the fresh bread, the spicy, impressively color-perfect wine, and even the venison was not available in rough quantities. For the red game, the pirates or inhabitants of the maritime city either had to venture into the tribal territory of the natives - and from there no uninvited guest usually returned - or they penetrated the rest of the island's green jungle.