Aristia - Peter Pan OUAT

4

"Where are we going?" Arista questioned as she stepped over a fallen log following quickly behind Peter Pan who was leading her further into Neverland's forest. 

They have been walking what seems like eternity but had truly only been around fifteen minutes. Peter Pan arrived at her usual beach earlier that evening and surprisingly asked if she wanted to take a walk with him. She was taken off guard and suddenly that she quickly accepted. But she never expected to be walking so far.

"You complain too much." Peter grumbled and pushed a branch away from his face that was in his path. He released it when it was out of reach, causing it to fly back and smack Arista directly in the face.

The poor mermaid let out a small oomph from the impact and gave the back of the boys head an hateful glare. She plucked a leaf out of her mouth before continuing with slight anger. "I am just curious." She stated defensively picking up her pace into a jog to catch up with the persistent boy.

"Ever heard the term curiosity killed the cat?" Peter questioned leading her over a small stream in the path by jumping from stone to stone.

Arista followed being Peter and her eyes fell to the large boulders in the stream to make sure she didn't slip on the slippery surfaces. "Isn't that from Wonderland?" She asked aloud.

When she made it to the last rock she didn't bother checking the grass when she leaped off the rock and when she landed, she was instantly met by a large boulder that caused her to stumble. Or in her case, a boy. Peter Pan.

The harsh impact made her stumble back and almost falling back into the creek if it wasn't for Peter hand that grabbed her forearm and pulled her into his chest instinctively. 

She let out a small yelp and her eyes widened in shock. Her gaze shot up to Peter's seeing his face inches from hers with the same evil glimmer in his eyes and mischievous grin on his lips that suddenly made her forget how to breathe. 

"Maybe." Peter replied lowly. "But I think it can be applied to curious mermaids like you."  His hand slipped away from Arista's arm and she gulped thickly from the absence of his warmth, watching him continue his trek through the forests and leaving her alone.

She took a deep breathe to compose herself. "Has anyone ever told you that you are kinda annoying?" Arista called out short-breathed.

She could have sworn she heard Peter Pan let out a low chuckle through the wind, his figure now a smaller one in the distance. "Maybe but never to my face." Peter called back.

Arista rolled her eyes and chuckled at his egoistic hating how her cheeks were burning. She flicked her hair over her shoulder and broke out into a small jog to catch up to Peter who continued his walk through the forest. When she fell back inline behind the boy, she let out a tired sigh and notice a small smile on the corner of his lips.

"Are we there yet?" She complained.

"We are." Peter replied under his breath.

Arista verbally gasped as they stepped out of the forest and into a small opening thats beauty stunned froze her in place. 

A few fallen scattered logs covered in moss filled the void and the absence of overhead trees provided a small skylight. Peter walked towards the center of the opening but Arista was frozen in place staring at the night sky above her. The starlight night sky glimmered  and was mixed with the dozens of fireflies dancing around her. The lightning bugs blended with the night sky making it feel like the stars were just a few feet away from her instead of millions feet away. A few grasshoppers sung and frogs croaked in the distance providing a calmer and romantic tone to the naturalistic atmosphere. But it overall was stunning. She has never, ever, seen anything like this before.