FicWad

It had been a cold morning. The sky, as per usual, was gray and dark, still covered with clouds as far as the eye could see. While it was usually dry and there was not much rain, besides maybe an occasional shower here and there, the Neverland inhabitants were now noticing that the light breezes were beginning to turn to strong gusts, and the air was starting to grow cool.

A lot of birds still had not returned from the south yet, perhaps still predicting the weather in Neverland, but those that had come back were becoming harder and harder to find, either burrowing deep in some secret nest or hiding in the thick trees, trying to keep warm. As such, hunting birds would be difficult until summer would finally come.

But thankfully, with the lack of birds present, it would mean that the next few days would feel very quiet, the constant chirping and cheeping absent. And Tiger Lily found herself to be rather happy about it.

She had just gone out hunting again, as part of her daily routine, spearing three trouts and one mighty tuna, all four which were now in the process of drying out in her bag. While it was considered smarter to go fishing in warmer weather, Tiger Lily had seen some fish swimming around in the more shallow ends of the rivers and thought that it wouldn't be so bad to bring back some fish during an out-of-place colder season.

At the moment, she was sitting near Mermaid's Lagoon again, still keeping her distance from the water, with her legs bent and her head resting against her knees. It was almost the exact same spot as where she had sat when receiving Midnight the wolf puppy from Peter. Tiger Lily hadn't intentionally thought of sitting there; it was more of where her mind had just wandered and naturally brought her to the very spot.

She sighed, closing her eyes, drinking in the peaceful and tranquil silence and feeling truly at rest. It felt different, with the birds out hiding, with the area finally quiet, with only the sounds of the waterfall in the lagoon and the running water from the nearby rivers. Yet Tiger Lily still felt herself yearning for something.

"BOO!"

Tiger Lily jumped in her spot and instinctively pulled out her tomahawk, ready to fight.

But to her surprise, it appeared that the Lost Boys were stepping out from the thick groves of trees, some with their heads poking out. They eventually came out into the open and came to greet Tiger Lily. They were all full of grins at the sight of her, triumphant that they had managed to fool the stony-tempered huntress.

Tiger Lily found herself lowering her tomahawk and she exhaled with relief, although her heart was still beating quickly and her face felt hot already; to have mistaken the Lost Boys for an enemy not to be trusted was thoughtless of her.

"Good morning, Tiger Lily," Nibs greeted her.

"How was your hunt today?" Tootles asked.

"You smell like fish," one of the Twins noted aloud.

"Do you have fish for us to eat?!" the other demanded.

"Sorry we scared you..." Curly added nervously.

"G-Good morning," Slightly said awkwardly.

Tiger Lily wasn't sure whom to reply to first, but she decided to give it a try.

"Good morning, Nibs," she said to Nibs.

"It was good," she told Tootles.

"I might give you some fish if you'd like," she said to the Twins.

"It's alright," she said to Curly.

"Good morning, Slightly," she told Slightly.

The Lost Boys seemed to be in awe that she responded to all of them, or better yet, responded at all. Perhaps Tiger Lily was becoming more comfortable around them, allowing her to speak up more...

"Guys, you're crowding around her again!"

Peter had been standing behind them the entire time, silently frowning. He looked over them with a stern look, once again.

"Sorry, Peter," the Boys said in unison, sounding apologetic.

"Well you're crowding around her with us too..." Slightly muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?" Peter asked darkly.

Slightly crossed his arms and looked away stubbornly. "Nothing."

"Why are you here?" Tiger Lily inquired.

"We're here to see the mermaids," Nibs explained.

Mermaids? The name seemed to startle her. Tiger Lily narrowed her eyes slightly, but tried not to distract them too much with her concern. "I see," she responded.

"Why don't you go on ahead to see if they're nearby?" Peter told the Lost Boys, and after hearing his suggestion, they went off to the water, some whispering between themselves as Peter and Tiger Lily were left alone.

Peter sat down beside her, crossing his legs, his knee brushing her ankle softly. "I forgot to say hi to you," he noted, before smiling at her. "Good morning."

"Good morning," she replied.

He looked out to the Lost Boys, who were each investigating a different side of the water, looking through the surface to see if they could spot a mermaid. Tiger Lily felt herself stiffen as she watched them with him, imagining the worst case scenario in which a mermaid leaped out of the water and lunged for one of the boys, the sounds of snapping teeth and horrified screams being heard.

"Are you okay?" Peter's voice brought her back to reality. "You look tense." A twinge of worry was in his words.

Tiger Lily breathed out and relaxed her muscles again. "I'm fine," she said, trying her to best to not stutter. Peter must have sensed this, but he seemed to try not to pay it too much attention. Instead, he brought it up casually.

"The mermaids won't hurt us," he told her assuredly. "They wouldn't hurt you either."

Tiger Lily hesitated, but her hands tightened around her legs. "How can you be so sure of that?"

"They just won't." Peter stretched back, leaning on his arms, propping up his back as he leaned backwards while keeping his chin up. "They've never hurt us for as long as we've been here."

Tiger Lily was silent, biting her lip.

"Would you come swim too?" he asked, his gaze directing over to her, but it bothered him that he could still easily see her anxiety. "It'd be more fun..."

Tiger Lily gave an uneasy smile. "I don't trust the mermaids," she replied. "And they don't trust me."

"You're sure about that?" Peter asked, sounding a little curious.

"I assure you, the feeling is mutual." And with that, she felt a shiver run down her spine.

"Hey, is there a certain reason why you're so worried?" Peter sat back up, leaning forward, furrowing his brow as he tried to face her.

Tiger Lily couldn't tell him. "It wouldn't be important for you to know."

Something stirred slightly in him. "Please tell-"

"PETER!" Nibs shouted. "We've found them! They're here!"

He quickly looked away, grinning and waving back at them, to show he would be coming, but he quickly looked back at Tiger Lily, frowning again. "You're telling me later," he spoke quietly. And then he rose up, jogging lightly over to the Lost Boys.

It was interesting to watch what happened next. The Lost Boys went into the water first, clothes on, dog-paddling alongside the mermaids and splashing each other lightly with water, occasionally submerging themselves into the lake. Tiger Lily could feel her jaw tighten with every passing minute, her teeth nearly grinding when the mermaids pulled them down underneath for a few moments.

Eventually the boys got out of the lagoon and wrung the excess water out of their clothes, collapsing onto the grass and laying with their arms stretched out, as if imagining they were basking in the sun.

What bothered Tiger Lily most was the fact that Peter went into the lake alone. He was the only one to undress slightly at all, removing his shirt and shoes, and he waded slowly into the water, carefully watching his steps, as if each little pace could make him fall. She narrowed her eyes, uneased that he wasn't beginning to swim.

Tootles approached her and sat beside her, smiling in greeting. His clothes were still damp and they dripped onto the grass. "The mermaids love Peter," he explained to her, the two watching the lagoon as one of the mermaids held Peter's hands in hers and began to pull him out into the deeper end of the lake. "That's basically their condition; as long as they get to swim with Peter themselves, and as long as he's there, they'll never hurt us."

Tiger Lily watched spitefully as another mermaid wrapped her arms around his waist, keeping his torso affloat. "They have to hold him up because he can't swim," Tootles added. "I wonder sometimes how he's brave enough to do it. After all, when you're in water, you can't swim, and you have to depend on someone to keep you alive, it can be really scary."

"He can't swim?" Tiger Lily asked.

"Nope. It's the only thing he can't do."

The mermaids continued to swarm about Peter, swimming around him, touching his chest and his face and his hair, even sometimes holding onto each of his legs so they could kick them for him to help him float. They were full of smiles, their eyes all lit up, laughing and speaking to him lovingly. Tiger Lily felt as if she was going to burst.

"Are you okay, Tiger Lily?" She looked over to Tootles, who looked worried about her. "You looked really angry for a moment. Is everything alright?"

She was actually surprised with herself; someone whom she had not known for too long was able to read her so easily. Were her emotions from the inside beginning to show themselves so strongly on the outside?

"It's nothing," she assured him.

The next day was the same as the day before, the weather just as identical. The birds were still gone, although every so often a little cheep could be heard if you went close enough to one of their homes.

Tiger Lily found herself sitting by the lagoon again, for no apparent reason, perhaps to force herself to face her small wrongdoing the day before. She had decided to leave while Peter was still swimming with the mermaids and while the Lost Boys were preoccupied with themselves. Although she had heard them shouting her name countless times on her way back to the village. As such, she couldn't help but feel a bit guilty.

In her defense, Tiger Lily had simply gotten too worried about Peter and the mermaids. It wasn't just the fear of him getting pulled down to the bottom of the lake and killed by the aquatic monsters, but it was something else, something that kept tugging at her heart. She didn't like the feeling and it angered her whenever it happened. Although the only time it had clearly happened was when she was watching him and the mermaids together. She was then overcome by a darker mood for the rest of the day, even as she slept.

Yet she also felt a bit disappointed with herself, as her poor demeanor had led her to become unsuccessful with her hunting; she had attempted to kill the same jackrabbit at least six times and in the end, she could only let it run away. Tiger Lily had never been able to not catch anything at all until now.

Just as she was about to let herself fall into a deep state of depression, Tiger Lily heard a rustle in the trees to her left. They were the same trees in which Peter and the Lost Boys came out of. She normally would have let her hand go to her tomahawk, but somehow, she didn't have the heart too. Instead, she looked away and gazed at the lagoon sadly.

"Nice finding you here again."

A familiar voice spoke out from the trees and Peter stepped out; she could see him out of the corner of her eye, but she didn't feel like she could face him either.

Peter sat down beside her, crossing his legs as he always did, and gazed out into the lagoon with her. But judging from her silence he immediately noticed that there was something amiss.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Tiger Lily was surprised from the concerned tone. She could feel his eyes staring through her, as if trying to look for any sort of answer or response.

"It's nothing," she mumbled, but her words were muffled out due to her mouth being against her bent legs.

Peter was about to respond, but then he decided not too, and resumed staring out in the lake like she did.

Tiger Lily felt as if her heart was breaking itself. She needed to say something back to him, but something weighing her down was preventing her from doing so. Why couldn't she say anything?!

Then she felt a hand begin rubbing her back, pressing along her spine and over the backs of her ribs. It was like a light massage, gentling pushing in and out with his fingers, and it felt really good. She looked up to see that it was Peter's hand, but he continued looking away.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

And with that, he must have been trying to pull her in closer, because next thing she knew, Tiger Lily's head was resting on his shoulder.

His arm went around her waist and held her up against him, even turning his head towards her, his lips touching her hair. Tiger Lily felt him breathe on her, bathing in his warmth as she experienced the comforting heat coming from his neck.

They sat that way for several moments, quietly leaning against one another.

It was then that Peter broke the silence.

"Can I show you something?" he asked, his voice low. "It might cheer you up, if you want to."

Becoming curious, Tiger Lily reluctantly sat back up, her head coming away from his shoulder, his hand coming away from her side. Peter stood up, holding a hand out to her to help her up. She reached out and took it, standing beside him.

"Come." He walked forward, and Tiger Lily followed him, the two approaching the lagoon. Her brow furrowed; even though mermaids weren't visible through the murky water now, they could appear at any time.

"The mermaids won't come if I'm here," Peter told her. He then pointed over to the waterfall. "Have any idea what's behind it?"

Puzzled, Tiger Lily began to wonder. "I-I'm not sure," she said uncertainly.

Peter smiled. "There's a cave back there. Let's go explore it, shall we?"

Tiger Lily nodded. "We'll just walk through the water," Peter added. "It may not look like it, but it's actually pretty shallow from here to there."

Peter then took his shoes off, carrying them in hand, and rolled up his pant legs to his knees and started wading slowly into the water, moving over with short steps over to the tall cascade. Tiger Lily unwillingly came in behind him, holding her boots, still unsure about the mermaids, but she tried not think of it too hard.

Peter managed to make it there quickly enough and waited for her by sitting on one of the rocks closest to the waterfall. His clothes getting lightly sprayed.

Tiger Lily began walking over until suddenly her foot slipped on a rock and with a loud splash, she found herself submerged under the water.

Tiger Lily quickly rose out from the water, her hair and dress completely wet, and cleared the water from her eyes, now treading water to keep affloat. She saw Peter's horrified face for one moment, but in the next he seemed to sigh with relief, beginning to laugh.

"You really scared me there!" he called over the loud falling water.

In turn, Tiger Lily pushed the hair away from her face and behind her ears and grinned, giving a happy smile while showing all teeth, laughing a little herself. Peter seemed to stop for a moment and study her, his face a bit pink.

Tiger Lily then swam over to the rock and Peter helped her up, hauling her from her wet hands. While she dripped of water, she squeezed some of the water out of her skirt and braid, Peter smiled. "You look like a mess," he joked, to which Tiger Lily wiped some of the water onto his shirt as a comeback.

The two then walked in the cavern behind the waterfall.

It was a massive cave, the walls smooth and without many cracks or scratches. Tiger Lily found herself admiring its impressive beauty. The cave was divided in two from a running river coming down the middle, but it still left a good amount of space on either side. She followed Peter as their steps echoed across the grotto.

While they were mostly silent during this moment, it then led up to a large step on the path, perhaps as tall as Peter himself. He somehow managed to climb it, putting his feet in the crevice footholds, and reached his hand out to Tiger Lily.

She had slightly more trouble, as she was little bit shorter than Peter, and she cut her knee against one of the sharper rocks; muttering an 'ow' under her breath, ignoring the blood running down her shin. But with their hands connected, he was able to pull her up.

Tiger Lily somewhat swung up and into Peter, and his lips accidentally made contact on her neck. His hands were holding her arms, and it was after a few seconds that he pulled his lips away, breaking the little kiss. They were at eye contact now, and Tiger Lily felt her face grow a bit red.

Embarrassed, Peter quickly removed his hands from her arms and turned around, walking straight ahead. Tiger Lily felt it would have been to awkward to thank him, so she stayed silent and continued to follow him.

It was a few moments later that Peter then spoke up. "You know, you never told me why you were so worried about the mermaids."

Tiger Lily flinched, but she could hear the darkness in Peter's voice, as if it was piqued with curiosity and concern. She never thought she would tell him the exact reason why, and she was a little scared too; why Peter wanted to know, she would never know herself. It was a memory that caused her a lot of pain, as it had stained many of her memories in fear and hatred.

But, breathing in deeply, she then decided she would tell him.

"My father rescued me from the woods when I was a child," she began. "I was too young to remember but he named me after the flower he found me under, a tiger lily. He raised me in the Sky Eaters village and trained me as a huntress and warrior in his spare time. He was always usually busy, because he was in fact the chief."

Peter was silent, listening to her story quietly.

"But my father was lonely, and he had no wife with whom he was married," Tiger Lily continued. "He wanted someone to love, so very badly. It soon became apparent that he was becoming desperate and it would soon affect his abilities as our chief. But then," Tiger Lily squeezed her hand, "he found that love he wanted. And he found it with the mermaids."

She bit her lip, not wanting to tell more, but she was already this deep into the story.

"He met the mermaids one day after a hunting trip and became entranced by their beauty. They were kind and sweet to him, always flirting with him. He fell in love with them. One of them in particular promised him that she reciprocated his feelings. She told him that a kiss with the man she loved would turn her into a human, and then they could live in the village and be together."

Peter kept walking ahead, but she could tell he was paying attention intently.

"That didn't happen."

Tiger Lily swallowed, feeling a tear well up in her eye but she wiped it away quickly. "Just when he was about to kiss her, the mermaid opened her jaws, revealing her jagged teeth, and sunk them into his shoulder. He yowled in pain, but she held a clawed hand over his mouth. The other mermaids rose too, digging their fangs into his limbs; his sides, his legs, his arms, his hips, his feet, anything they could grab. They began pulling him down as his blood permeated the lake, spilling into the rivers and down the streams. As they began to submerge him, he began to cry, to wail from the pain of being betrayed by the ones he loved, instead being turned into their meal as he was dragged down to the depths of the lagoon."

Peter suddenly stopped walking, and Tiger Lily stopped as well, but she kept talking. "That's why I'm worried about the mermaids," she told him. "That's why I'm more than worried about them, that's why I hate them. Because I've seen them kill and I've seen them destroy. Because I've seen how they tear out their prey's body until they are nothing but flesh and bone. Because I've seen them feast like the true monsters they are. Because I've seen them ravage my father to nothing but chunks and pieces..."

Tiger Lily stepped up close behind Peter. "And because I don't want to see the same happen to you."

Peter didn't talk. He didn't say a word. He didn't even look at her. Tiger Lily wiped away what tears were present, hoping he wouldn't see. The bleeding in her knee had stopped, and the blood had pooled down on the top of her foot.

But when he did turn around, Tiger Lily was surprised. His face was blank, chalky white, but it was clear that he had been shocked from the horrible story. When he looked at her, his eyes were full of sadness and sympathy, and Tiger Lily quickly looked away.

"I'll walk you back."

Peter took Tiger Lily's hand and walked her back through the cave, back towards the waterfall. She tried not to wince from the hurting cut in her knee while they moved. They clambered down the big step and went out into the open from behind the cascade, and Peter still held it as they walked through the water, carefully evading the fallen rock that Tiger Lily had tripped over.

Peter then quickly pushed her away, his hands going to his mouth. He turned around over a bush and began to gag over it. He retched heavily over it, the ejected matter from his stomach spilling its contents over the little branches and leaves. Peter then began to cough, as if he had just breathed in the scent of his own vomit.

He went over to the lake to wash his mouth out.

Tiger Lily instantly felt guilty. Perhaps she shouldn't have described the death of her father in such graphic detail. She didn't think it would have made him feel so uneasy like this. Perhaps he had imagined it himself.

She looked over to one of the herbs by the trees, and remembered being introduced to it from her father. The memory stung slightly, but she picked off the green leaves and gathered them tightly in her palm.

Peter stooped over the lake, breathing heavily, and Tiger Lily approached him. She reached down and showed him the herbs. "Eat these," she told him. "They'll get rid of the stench in your breath and clean out your mouth."

Peter looked up at her, his eyes watering slightly, and then back at the herbs, which he took and put in his mouth, chewing them slowly. After a few chews, he then swallowed them, and breathed out, relieved, his breath tasting subtly like mint.

He then went back over to the places where they had sat before and sat down, crossing his legs as he always did, but he had a hand on his stomach. Tiger Lily followed him and sat down to his right, leaning against her legs with her arms wrapped around them.

After a short silence, Peter spoke up. "I-I'm sorry," he managed to say.

Tiger Lily shook her head to show it was no problem. "It's alright," she replied, "I threw up too when I saw it, so I know how you feel."

"No, not that," Peter blurted out. "I'm sorry about your father. I'm sorry that he was killed and betrayed that way. I'm sorry that you had to see him die so horribly, and, and..." He faced her abruptly. "It's unfair to you to know what that feels like at all."

Tiger Lily was surprised, and seeing the young man's expression in such pain, she felt a little happy to know that he felt that way about her. She smiled a little.

"It's not your fault," she said, reaching her hand out to stroke his hair comfortingly, almost like a petting motion. Peter was surprised by her action and blushed, looking at the ground, but he seemed to calm down as she brushed through his straight, soft locks.

"And besides," she added, removing her hand from his head, now no longer smiling but looking a bit sad, "you have an idea of what it feels like to lose a loved one too, right?"

Peter hesitated, still looking down, but then he looked up at her. "Do you have a mother?" he asked, even though it seemed odd to ask that sort of question after hearing about her lonely father.

Tiger Lily shook her head. "No. And even if I did, she would probably never remember me."

Peter stopped for a moment as he looked at her, as if studying her again for a second, but then he relaxed and smiled. "I'm actually glad you say that."

Tiger Lily felt her cheeks get hot but she tried to ignore it.

Peter then looked over to her knee and noticed the cut, which was beginning to scar. "I should have noticed that along the way in," he noted, looking at the remnants of dried blood against her shin. He glanced at her again, a more worried glow in his eye. "It doesn't hurt, does it?"

Tiger Lily poked it, feeling a tiny shock of pain, but it didn't make her wince like before. "It should be okay," she responded, although it had hurt slightly when they were walking out of the cave.

Peter narrowed his eyes, as if suspicious of her words. "Well, if you insist."

Peter then leaned forward and kissed the scar lightly, trying not to make it hurt, before then going back up and kissing her lips as the two locked eyes.

It was at first a short kiss, lasting only a few seconds, but when Peter pulled away, Tiger Lily pressed her lips back against his, as if refusing to let such a short moment go to waste. This one was different from the first long-lasting peck on the lips; it was instead much more warm and tender, their mouths moving against one anothers. Tiger Lily's eyes were closed as Peter's hand slipped up against her cheek, his fingers going into her hair, his other hand going for her waist. Tiger Lily placed her hand on his shoulder and the kiss became slower and more deep and sensual.

Just as the two pulled back, their foreheads touching, a strong gust of wind blew across the lagoon; so strong, that Peter lost his balance and fell forward.

Tiger Lily fell onto her back on the grass and found Peter on his knees standing over her, his hand still caressing her cheek, his other hand which had been on her side holding him, her hand still resting on his shoulder. The two blushed furiously, but then Peter began to laugh.

"This was almost like how we first met, remember?"

Tiger Lily recalled back to when Peter had followed her and knocked her over, sitting over her legs and taking her pendant from her. It was also like the time when Peter was being chased by a pirate and he fell on top of her. And here they were, yet again.

"Why did you take my necklace, anyway?" Tiger Lily asked, her hand pushing away some of his hair hanging down so she could see his face.

Peter unbent his knees and rolled over to the side, pulling her by the arm to face her, the two lying in front of each other on the grass. "Probably because I just wanted an excuse to follow you," he replied. He then laughed a little, embarrassed. "I know, a stupid reason."

She remembered fighting with her father, arguing with him about always going everyday to see the mermaids, telling him repeatedly that it was dangerous.

"I love her!" he had shouted. "And she loves me in return! Why is this such a hard reason for you not to accept?!"

"Because it's a stupid reason!" Tiger Lily had screamed.

Then, gazing at Peter, she grinned, showing her teeth, and pulled herself closer to Peter, her head in his chest.

"That's fine," she said. "I'm okay with stupid reasons..."