Dizgaia ~ The Dreamfinder's Daughter

Chapter 36 ~ The Temple of Nev

A week prior...

"Why are we doing this again?" moaned Slightly. He was clinging to Peter's back as Peter flew slow circles around Neverpeak, the tallest and centermost mountain on Neverland.

"I told you," said Peter impatiently. "The Eye of Neverland is for Mia. If we give that to her, then she can always find Neverland, no matter where in the world she is. And if we ever want to see her again, we have to give it to her. Now get off! I gave you pixie dust! Stop riding me like a horse!"

Peter shoved Slightly off him. The Lost Boy tumbled through the air before righting himself and shooting off after Peter again.

"Why don't we just keep her?" asked Slightly. "Who says you gotta take her home? I thought she liked it here."

Peter shot Slightly an annoyed glare. "You wouldn't understand. But it's what I've got to do. Plus, she said she'd come visit if she could only find the island again." He stopped in midair and spun around to face Slightly with a dangerous look. "You do want Mia to visit again, don't you?"

Slightly flushed. "Of course I do," he mumbled. "I just didn't think finding this hidden temple thing was gonna be so hard."

"Legend has it," said Tiger Lily, "that the eye of Neverland is a mystical talisman, created by the ancients of this world. It is said that whoever should possess The Eye shall always find the island where dreams are born."

Peter already knew that much, but he let her go on. It wasn't what the Eye of Neverland did that Peter wanted to know. It was how to find it.

Tiger Lily didn't think it wise for Peter to be meddling in relics of the Ancient past, so it was with reluctance that she shared with him what she knew.

"Within Never Mountain, an ancient guardian slumbers. It is said to be the Spirit of Neverland itself. An entrance to the caves is hidden somewhere on the mountain's face... where sunlight grows short and shadows grow long, and time moves at its own pace. If you find it, a few moments within will be as days outside. Be mindful in the Temple of Nev, Peter... and be careful."

Keeping all this in mind, Peter had taken the Lost Boys with him to search for the entrance to the Temple of Nev. But they'd yet to discover any such entrance.

Suddenly, the Twins came zooming around from the other side of the mountain towards Peter, shouting in unison, "Look, look! We found something! Is this the eye, Peter?"

In their hands they held a large pink egg with white spots. Peter crossed his arms as he hovered in mid-air, frowning.

"That's not the eye. That's an egg. The Neverbird's egg, in fact. She's gonna be really mad if she finds out you've taken it. You'd better put it back. Besides, the eye is gonna be inside the Temple of Nev, which is in the mountain. Did you forget what you're supposed to be looking for?"

"I told you it wasn't the eye!" said First Twin, giving the other a shove.

"Nuh uh! I told you!" said Second Twin, shoving him back.

The two identical boys continued to shove one another and argue in mid-flight.

"SCRAAAAWWWK!"

An enormous bird with a long neck, bulging eyes, and shining rainbow-colored feathers came soaring through the air toward the Twins.

"AAAAHHHH!!!!"