Starlight

24

"One bright day in the middle of the night. Two dead boys got up to fight. Back to back they face each other, drew their swords and shot each other. A deaf policeman heard the noise, and ran to save the two dead boys. And if you don't believe it's true, go ask the blind man, he saw it too."

"Do you really have to sing such an ominous thing?" Emma for one was growing more and more disconcerted by the tune which was coming from their guide. The worst thing was how cheerful Aoife sounded, the tune itself and the lyrics however, so not cheerful. Considering their current surroundings, it just made it all too morbid and unnerving.

Aoife looked down at the group who were walking below her. "Not cheerful enough? Sorry, where are my manners? I always forget this is the land of sunshine and happiness." She tapped a finger to her chin with a wistful sigh. She hopped to another branch and continued walking along, she was fed up of being on the ground surrounding by all that awkward tension.

Emma looked up at her bluntly not really appreciating the retort she got to her previous words. "Are we almost there?"

"Sure."

"That didn't sound so sure." Emma said slowly, it was increasingly hard to believe whether Aoife knew what she was doing, or if she was making it up as she went along; how much was she being genuine in comparison to being secretive towards them. For all she knew, Aoife could turn.

Aoife stood up on the branch and walked along it with her arms outstretched. "You search for a tree house, I am in a tree, therefore I have better sight." She turned and pointed. "You search for Tink, her home is over yonder, just another five minutes." She looked over her shoulder and smiled.

"Great," Regina mumbled and sat down on a log. "I'll be here waiting for you."

"What?" Emma turned to her sharply, in the background Aoife had taken to rhyming another ominous song. It seemed like one way to pass the time, although the timing was off. Aoife could rhyme ominously any other time, but now. "You can't stay here." Emma frowned lightly.

"Look, we've been walking for hours. All I want to do is sit and rest for five minutes." Regina answered.

"I think that's a spiffing idea!" Aoife said mimicking a posh English accent, her accent was usually very reminiscent of Hook's, but the sudden turn and the pitch sounded wrong from her. "Her lagging behind is making everyone else slow down." Aoife just smiled and rocked on her heels looking quite chuffed with her obvious statement.

"Do you like it up that tree?" Regina shot a look up at Aoife. Her dark eyes narrowing, already she was thinking of all the different ways in which she could literally stick the poor waif in amongst the foliage and bark.

"As much as you like being on the ground, I'm sure." Aoife retorted and jumped to clamber up onto another branch, she wasn't heading upwards ever more.

"Fine," Emma said cutting in before they further argued, or Aoife wound up seriously injured. "Just stay here."

"Where else are you expecting me to go?" Regina asked flatly.

"You shouldn't annoy her," Mary Margaret said sternly while Aoife jumped down and shuffled along quickly. Aoife looked sadly at her, she nodded slowly and gestured to the tree ahead of them. She bowed and stepped aside. Mary Margaret just had a natural way of making Aoife feel scorned, she hadn't ever really been told off. Not even Hook's telling offs were like hers, Mary Margaret seemed to relent and smile softly, there was no point further berating.

"Tink's tree house, enjoy."

"You're not coming with us?" David asked.

Aoife shook her head. "No, no, I'm fine here." She stepped back again and leaned against a tree. Her eyes moved past the group as they walked on towards the tree house.

----

"Allow me," Hook moved to the front of the group and looked over the ladder in front of him. the others didn't stop him, if there were any traps or trouble in that tree house they were all willing to let him walk into it. This caused him to frown as he commenced his climb up. Slowly pushing the trapdoor he looked around. "It's safe, come up." He called down and moved aside as the others appeared.

Frowning, he walked over to a curtain, pushing it aside he looked over the second bed. Leaning back he managed to look out the window. Aoife stayed near her tree, kicking at the leaves. She had moved from her camp to stay with Tink, that made sense, Hook knew they had some sort of friendship. Tilting his head to the side he reached down, stashed under the bed was Aoife's bow and arrow.

"Found anything?" Emma's voice asked, she could see him rummaging about at something and was interested.

"No," he turned and looked at her. "Not unless you want this?"

Emma looked over the bow and quiver of arrows before shaking her head. "No, you're all right actually." She moved away.

"This is Regina's." Mary Margaret said while turning a piece of white material over in her hands. The group looked at each other individually before quickly escaping the tree house. Tink was tracking Regina.

"Where is she?" Emma asked seriously, she rounded on Aoife quicker than any of them and cornered the woman practically against the tree.

Aoife smiled and looked at her. "What?" She was good at acting ignorant as she stared blissfully ignorantly at Emma and even looking at the others.

"Regina, Tinkerbell has her, where would she go?"

Aoife looked away from her and shrugged. "I don't know. What am I her personal supervisor? She goes where she wants, I don't keep tabs." Aoife crossed her arms and started to walk off. She wasn't going to watch and tattle, who did that? Neverland had a reasonable free pass sort of thing going on.

"You knew." Hook walked after her. His eyes narrowed at her, he would say he was surprised but he wasn't. In the time away, it seemed if anything Aoife had acquired a conniving aspect of her character. It was something he didn't like. It wasn't something that came from being around the pirates, but something which came from being around an angry fairy and this place.

Aoife beamed, "Yes, I did." She sighed and continued walking. "Secrets shared is an interesting concept."

"Your helping her get what, exactly?"

"Why do people do silly things for? Revenge. It's always revenge." Aoife jumped over the log Regina was previously sitting on. Crouching down she looked up as Mary Margaret stood near her. "You can track too?" She looked at her interestedly.

"Yes, this way," Mary Margaret said bluntly while walking off.

"Perhaps whatever trust you did have has gone." Hook said while passing her.

"Like any of you really trusted me anyway. I'm the insane islander, remember?" Aoife trailed after the group solemnly, Hook looked over his shoulder at her. "You'd do the same," she defended pathetically. "If you had a friend who wished for revenge. You'd help them out. Don't say no, because I'll know you're lying." She practically spat at him while her eyes narrowed slowly. She would help them find the fairy and their missing companion, but she couldn't say she was too happy about doing so. She could shoulder their hate, their displeasure on and over her was nothing she couldn't handle. It was pathetic in comparison and in the grand scheme of things.

——

(Edited: 24/August/2020)