¥ - Lost and Found - Peter Pan (Robbie Kay) - ¥

¥ 4 - Lost ¥

On arrival, Aria had gotten many looks from the other boys, all of which were younger than her. It seemed she was the oldest if you discounted Pan. Though the boys were wiser than their looks and she knew that some were many years older than the boys she saw them to be. There was no guessing how long they'd been here on Neverland.

"Now boys, time to give a warm welcome to our newest addition. Don't treat her any differently," he announced, his words supposedly meaning well, but the emotion behind them being mocking and insincere. The boys laughed with him and she wrapped her arms closer around her body. Her nerves gave her butterflies and she felt sick already.
"This way, I'll show you around, give you a rundown of the rules," a Lost Boy told Aria, taking her towards a tent at the end of the row. "Dump your stuff in here, then I'll give you the tour. Stay close if you want to live."

Aria dumped her stuff by the hammock and hid her rucksack beneath it. She didn't trust any of them yet. When she came out she followed the same boy, her nervous energy allowing her to match his quick walking pace. "So what's your name?" She asked.

The boy remained silent until they got deeper into the forest. "I'm Edward. How about you?"

"Aria."

"Well Aria, I wouldn't recommend talking too much about your past around Pan. It's safer when we're out here. I'll give you a tour of our grounds then I'll debrief you on our rules."

"What is it with these rules? I thought you guys were supposed to be free-spirited kids?" Aria asked, recalling her memory of the Disney animated film of Peter Pan.

"We follow Pan's orders. Break them at your own risk and don't expect anyone to save you because they won't. If you go against him you will not survive."

"So instead of freedom, it's child labour?"

"We do as we wish. We only work because we must to feed ourselves and gather supplies, but we also play games and we have Pan's music. It's not all bad," Edward explained.

"Well when you put it that way it doesn't sound too bad," Aria commented.

"Not all the Lost Boys are as nice as me. Look out for Felix, the tall boy with the scar on his cheek. He's Pan's favourite so be wary," Edward warned.

"I will. Thanks for, I guess being nicer than you should be."

Edward scoffed, "You're the first girl we've had in a while. I figured you'd need all the help you could get. Good luck by the way."

"Good luck with what?" Aria asked confused, skipping over the mention of other Lost Girls.

"After this tour, you'll have your induction to the group. It's fun for the rest of us, just not the fresh meat coming in."

Edward had been right about the induction process. Pan had gathered all the boys together and had placed her in the centre. She hated being the centre of attention, it was a key reason for her leaving her life behind. A world where she didn't have to worry about society noticing her. Now she was all the Lost Boys seemed to care about.

"So Aria, settle in well?" Pan asked her.

"Yeah sure," she replied, her skin itching from the eyes all over her. She felt unsafe being surrounded by so many boys. She knew that this was not the world she came from, but her mind was still there and the fear of being used for a man's pleasure was still rooted in her instincts. Looking around the circle she spied Edward, but he grinned and laughed like the others. She couldn't tell if he meant it or not.

Then she found a break in the circle, opposite her on the left was a younger boy and much easier to run past. If these boys tried to have their way with her she would make a break for it.

"Why so scared? Do you not like it here?" Pan taunted.

"It's nice, not what I expected but nice all the same," she replied, keeping her answers to options that would please the leader of the group.

"Well then, time for your first game. It's simple enough. You hide, and we'll seek."

"But I'll get lost!" Aria protested.

The boys laughed and Pan grinned, "I guess you better hope we find you then. Time's running out Aria. Let's see what you can do."

Aria ran out of the camp as fast as her feet could take her. She was glad she was still wearing her trainers but also glad that she had ditched the hoodies in the tent. She jumped over tree branches and sprinted through the bushes and leaves. Her heart raced and she felt salt in her mouth as she was crying from fear. This game was not fun, it just made her anxious. Nothing gave her more anxiety than waiting for something bad that she knew was coming, because she had no way to save herself.

She ran as she wished for a tree that was easy to climb or a cave that was easy to hide in. Then she was reminded she did not know of what dangers lurked within them and grew increasingly nauseous as her anxiety got worse. On top of all this, she was constantly paranoid of the Dreamshade plant that Edward had reminded her about first and foremost due to its deadliness. Neverland was growing more and more dangerous by the second.

Tripping on a branch she thudded to the floor, but when she looked up she saw a hollow tree, just enough so that she could squeeze inside it. She pushed aside the plant life in front of the hole and huddled up inside. She tried to steady her breathing as she waited, counting to ten in her head to try to focus her scattered mind.

What felt like ages passed and Aria had heard the footsteps of Lost Boys pass her on multiple accounts. If there was one thing she was good at, it was being quiet. So as they taunted her and mocked her, she refused to break and reveal herself. It wasn't until she heard the distant hooting of an owl did she finally come out of hiding. It was night now. Aria was hungry and she knew that what she ate now would not be part of her previous diet. She had some adjusting to do.

Brushing the dirt from herself, she wandered back the way she thought she came, hoping to return to the camp where she had left her belongings. Aria thought she had run further but now as she pressed through the trees, the familiar sound of panpipes drew her back to the bonfire. The boys were dancing around the fire and behind them, Pan stood playing his panpipes from the balcony of his treehouse. When he saw her he stopped playing, but she dashed to her tent, fearing the wrath to come.

As she sat on her hammock she closed her eyes and counted to ten again, her voice an inaudible whisper amongst the howling of the boys around the bonfire. Her heart raced and the crunching on the soil outside her tent warned her of Pan's approach. She looked down as she fiddled with her hands, waiting for the boy to enter her small pocket of safety. "I'm surprised you found your way back," he commented.

"Guess I'm not as pathetic as you expected," she snapped, now angry at the mental strain he had caused her.

A knife sunk into the wood beside her, missing her fiery waves and flitting quickly past her earthy brown eyes. Aria flinched back and gasped from shock, receiving another mocking laugh from Pan. "You act tough but you're a coward. You're lucky I like your fiery spirit," he commented, walking past her to retrieve his knife. Despite her fear,  Aria's anger still boiled as she muttered under her breath, "play with fire and you're bound to get burned."

"What was that?" He sharply asked, the knife pointed towards her.

"Nothing, I swear," she defended herself. The knife came closer as he tried to search for the truth in her words. He seemed to find it as he put the knife away and grabbed her wrist. "C'mon, you won today after all. Time to celebrate. You're officially a Lost Girl."

The celebration was rather bigger than Aria had expected. She didn't think Pan liked her at all and the boys seemed to be intent on mocking her every move. Though after they ate, when Pan raised her hand and announced her victory, they cheered for her and whooped for her victory. She laughed as they jumped and cheered and found herself among them as the melody of panpipes filled her ears. She smiled a very real smile and jumped around, dancing around the flames with the boys, beating a rhythm with the sticks she had been given. She lost herself in the victory and felt the anxiety that ate her alive earlier disappear.

Tonight she was victorious. Tonight she was confident.