Neverland's Angel

Chapter 6

Something was tickling her face. A soft, feather light touch that traced her nose, cheeks and eyes and faintly, she could hear whispers all around her. Little voices that came from all sides. "She's starting to shrink too." "Who is she?" "She looks different." "I think she's pretty." "You think all girls are pretty, fatso!" "Shut up!" "Guys, be quiet before she wakes up!" Someone touched her hair, which sometime during the night had come loose from her braid. They tugged gently on the strands and she had to suppress a smile. "Her hair's longer." "I like it." Emily felt a smile split across her face without restraint and she cracked her eyes open to find all six tiny boys surrounding her where she'd fallen asleep in Peter's chair. "Well good morning." She said past the heavy lump in her throat, noticing she now stood as tall as a four year old. During the night it had become raw and scratchy. Her clothes still clung slightly to her form, damp and horribly uncomfortable. Her temple throbbed with the onset of a headache. Emily grimaced. She couldn't afford to get sick, not with Peter in the condition he was. The boys stared at her with wide eyes, abashed at having been caught. Slightly touched her arm, his expression grim. "You're not sick too, are you, Emily?" She swallowed and rubbed at the base of her sore throat. "No. I'll be fine." She told him, patting his little hand reassuringly. She turned to the other five faces staring worriedly up at her and smiled. "Could one of you get me a glass of water?" She'd go out into the Neverwood later and find some honey to soothe the ache. Nibs raised his hand. "I'll do it!" "No me!" Cried one of the twins. And then Cubby went to push roughly past both of them when Emily clapped her hands. "Alright, that's enough." She said, straining to work her vocal cords. "Nibs was first." At this, the rabbit boy grinned cheekily and dashed off. She would have laughed if she could at the sullen faces that she was left with. The twins dropped to the floor and sat by her feet while Cubby crossed his arms and pouted. She turned back to Slightly. "Has anyone checked on Peter?" "He's still sleeping." He said.Tootle's climbed up to her shoulder, tugging at the strands of her hair, twirling them over and under his little fingers as she kissed his cheek. Emily nodded. "He likely will for a day or so. We'll have to keep a sharp eye on him, in case his fever spikes. Will you help me?" She asked with a gentle smile, running a lone finger over his sandy hair. She wondered if he'd been sleeping well; there were dark circles under his eyes. "Mm hmm." He sniffed quietly. Emily sighed and scooped his up, bringing him to rest against her shoulder. "Shh. He'll be okay." She held him when he wrapped his arms around her thumb and Tootles picked at his hair, playing with the strands like he'd done with hers. Slightly graced the toddler with a tiny, watery smile and tickled his neck until the boy giggled. Nibs returned with her water then, and Slightly released her, swiping furiously at his eyes as young boys do. She took the drink from Nibs; clear water sloshed in a tin mug, dented and worn from use. The drink was cold and soothing to her throat and helped to temporarily ease the burn and clear her speech. Now, if she could only do something about her clothes. But she'd think about that after she'd looked in on Peter. One of the twins yawned and leaned against her sneakers. She wondered what time it was. There was no way to tell underground like this but from their sleepy expressions, she gathered it was probably still very early. She patted his head and raised her arms above her own in a languid stretch until her back and shoulders popped. Her lower back protested the movement, sending sharp jolts of pain up her spine. It was probably not a good idea to spend the night in a chair but it had been either that or the floor. Emily was beginning to think the floor might have been better. Distantly, she could hear the sound of heavy rain through the thick walls of dirt and wood above them. Thunder rumbled, muffled to their ears and lasted for a long stretch before finally fading again. She glanced across the room, at the hanging bear skin that shielded Peter from her view. She should check on him and change his bandages. The poultice would have had plenty of time to extract the infection in the night and would need to be replaced. "I'm hungry." Cubby said drowsily, rubbing his belly. He pushed back the hood of his bear skin and scratched his temple, ruffling his already unruly brown hair. Nibs scoffed. "You're always hungry, fatso." This of course earned a glare from Cubby, who picked up a discarded pillow and threw it at him. "I am not! Buckteeth!" Emily sighed and shook her head. She'd almost forgotten how tiresome they could be. "Boys, settle down." She said, cradling Tootles – who had fallen back asleep in her hands – against her chest as she stood. His little head nestled against her collarbone, a tuft of skunk's fur tickled her skin. "We'll make breakfast after I check in on Peter. In the meantime, why don't you four come up with something to pass the time?" This would keep them busy at least. One of the twins perked up. "Like what?" She placed Tootles back in one of the swinging hammocks and rubbed his back soothingly when his grasping fingers held on to her pointer finger. "Shh." She hushed him, waiting for little eyes to close again and gently pried her finger away. When she was sure he had settled again, she turned back to them. "Well, how about a game?" This had each of them straightening, drawing a breath in preparation for calling out exactly what game they should play when she quickly added, "a quiet game." And like little balloons that had been pricked with a needle, they deflated. "That's no fun." The other twin said as Emily busied herself with gathering fresh water and setting it to boil. Slightly – who she noted had been strangely quiet – stood to help her. "You have to be quiet." He said stiffly, rolling the sleeves of his fur pelt up and gathering a few sticks he could lift from a stack near the stove. "So Peter can rest and get better." He built a fire in the oven while she pumped water into a kettle. Emily watched him from the corner of her eye. There was a look of grim concentration on his face, like he was trying to be older than he was. She recognized it as a look she often wore as a child. It unsettled her to see it on him. The mood dampened after that and became tense as Cubby, Nibs and the Twins shuffled restlessly by the chair. Emily hoisted the water-heavy kettle up onto the stove and pushed her hair away from her face. "How about Hide and Seek?" She said, earning half-hearted protests of 'that's for babies' and 'that game's boring.' Slightly snorted and Emily smiled, taking a tattered rag from where it was hanging off a root to her right. "Not the way kids where I'm from play it." Ten minutes later, Cubby was wandering around the room, stumbling slightly with the cloth wrapped securely around his eyes. He held his hands out in front of him and clapped twice. There was a giggle to his right as Nibs climbed up onto a thick root next to one of the twins and clapped in reply. Unknowingly, Cubby walked right under him and Emily thought the two boys would fall right out their hiding place trying to suppress their laughter. Satisfied that they would be kept busy for the time being, she patted Slightly's shoulder and gestured silently for him to hold onto her as she went into the back room. She had left a lamp burning low on the far wall the night before and went to it first, turning the flame up and taking it off its hook. Slightly crawled over the furs covering Peter's body down as she pushed them down carefully knelt on the floor beside him. Tinkerbell rubbed her eyes from beside his ear, yawning drowsily.
Poor thing. Emily thought, rubbing the top of the fairy's head with her finger. "How is he, Tink?" She whispered. Tinkerbell waved a hand by her face as if she were hot and Emily pressed a hand against his forehead. He was still warm, but less so than when she first found him, which was good. But he was sweating, her hand came away wet and Peter released a pained groan at the loss of her touch. She brushed the back of her fingers across his cheek and bent to retrieve her satchel at her feet, where she'd left it half pushed under the bed. "He's still hot." Slightly said, mimicking her actions and frowning. "Hmm." He hummed thoughtfully. "I know. It's the infection causing it. We need to try and get it down or at the very least, keep it low. If it gets too high, we'll have to put him in a cool bath and I want that to be our last resort." "Why?" She pulled a syringe from the bag as well as a small vial with an amber colored liquid in it that deepened in color when she shook it, having to use both hands to shake it. Slightly eyed the needle warily as she pushed it upside down in the vial and withdrew the medicine. "Because the water may irritate his injuries further and..." She took a length of rubber and tied it tightly around his upper left bicep. "If he's still sleeping, I don't want to risk hurting him more by trying to move him." Slightly was silent as she pushed the needle into the crook of Peter's elbow. He watched the amber fluid disappear into the boy's skin and cuddled his leader's limp hand when he flinched in his sleep. Outside the room, he could hear the other's giggling softly as they played and wondered how they could be so happy at a time like this. They're leader, they're father, was so sick he wouldn't wake up and they were playing! He could die and it was like they didn't even care. It made him angry. The emotion must have showed on his face because Emily had paused from untying the rubber around Peter's arm and was looking at him. Tinkerbell, who had flown up to sit on her shoulder was looking too, her face pinched with worry. Slightly bit his lip and looked back down, his arms tightening around Peter's finger. Emily reached out and tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear. "Slightly..." "It's like they don't care at all." He said quietly. Soft thumbs framed his face and tilted his head upwards. His eyes were watery again but Peter always said boys don't cry, even though Cubby cried all the time. He wanted to be strong, like Peter. He'd never seen Peter cry. Emily sighed and rubbed his cheeks with the pads of her thumbs as he sniffed. "C'mere." She slid her hand behind her, pulling him closer to her until he stood in her palm, staring at the ground and wiping his nose with the sleeve of his furs. She put her hands on his shoulders and rubbed them up and down his arms. "It's not that they don't care..." She said, pushing his bangs out of his eyes. "They just don't understand. They're too young..." He snorted. What an interesting thing to say too young. What did that mean about him then? Was he too old? Peter wouldn't like that. But then, he couldn't like or dislike anything lying there like that. "Well, they should! This isn't a game!" Emily's breath hitched. Tinkerbell flitted over to land on his shoulder as Emily framed his face with her thumbs again. "Listen to me." She said seriously. "It's better this way. Peter wouldn't want them or you to worry. He'd want you to keep playing." His lip quivered and she rubbed her thumb across his jawline. "It's okay to worry, but not too much, okay?" That's when the tears finally came. They cascaded over his cheeks as if a faucet had been turned and Emily pulled him into her embrace faster than if he'd jumped into it himself. She hugged him close and rubbed his back as her own throat tightened with restrained tears. Growing up didn't mean growing old and she wondered if any child, even in Neverland, would be able to escape it. He sobbed quietly into her shoulder; great, heaving sobs that wracked his shoulders and soaked her blouse even further. He wrapped his arms around her thumb and held on as if she would disappear, maybe he thought she might. "Shh, I'm right here. I've got you. Let it all out." She crooned, rocking him gently. And when he finally began to settle, it left him drained and sleepy and he slumped against her, sniffling pitifully. She pushed his bangs away from his forehead, hot and sticky from the exertion of his crying and kissed his cheek. "There now. You know, I always feel better after a good cry but..." She smiled at him. "It does tend to leave you feeling rather sleepy afterwards."
He nodded his head and wiped his nose. "Peter says boys shouldn't cry..." Emily snorted and waved her hand out beside her in a gesture of irritation. "Pfft, of course they do. Even Peter." Slightly sniffed. "Really?" Her smile was gentle, motherly. "Of course. You may not see it, but I'm sure even Peter has his moments. Now..." She took his hand and stood, pulling him towards the door while Tinkerbell clutched his ear to keep from falling off his shoulder."You get some rest and when I'm done in here, I'll make us all something to eat. Kay?" He nodded and let her lead him into the common room where the others paused in their game to look at them. He blushed and lowered his face while Emily held a finger to her lips and waved her hand at them to resume playing. She tucked him into one of the beds cut into a high shelf on the wall and pulled the cover up tight around his neck. Peter did that sometimes, when he finished telling them a story before bed. Then she kissed his temple and disappeared back behind the bear skin once more. Tinkerbell hovered over him for a second and he listened to the soft tinkling of her voice as she tried to comfort him. He of course couldn't understand but then he didn't really need to. Then she kissed his nose and flew away after Emily. When he could hear Emily whispering to the fairy again, Slightly released a shuddering sigh and curled on his side as his limbs began to grow heavy and his eyes started to droop. He rubbed them; they were still itchy and hot. Then someone touched his arm and he looked up at Nibs who had climbed up to stand on the mass valley of bed. Three other faces followed him and the Twins had to jump the gap because they were almost too small to climb. "Slightly, are you okay?" Nibs asked him. He yawned. "Yeah. M'okay." "Why were you crying?" This time, one of the Twins. "Because I was upset. I'm fine now." "Oh, okay." The other twin touched his face. "Peter will be okay." He said, gently and it surprised Slightly. How did...? "Yeah, Peter's tougher than all of us. You'll see." For a long time, Slightly didn't say anything and then he smiled. "Yeah." He said. Satisfied with his answer, the boys resumed their game and Slightly watched them until his eyes couldn't stay open anymore.