FicWad

It was a darker day than usual. While the days previous had been more overcast, with gray fluffy clouds covering up every inch of the sky, the clouds had instead taken on a much darker color palette, the masses of condensed water vapor turning into the color of dark flint. Every so often, a bit of thunder rumbling could be heard in the distance, but it wasn't too often enough for it to be something to be concerned about. And a lightning storm hadn't come yet in quite the while.

Tiger Lily had just awoken and was shifting out of her bed, wiping the sleep from her eyes. She could tell it was morning from the slight bit more light than last night, and it sounded as if people were moving about outside. Letting out a loud yawn as she stretched her arms and back, Tiger Lily tossed her blanket aside and started getting herself ready.

It was in only a few moments that she arose from her hut, long black braid swinging gracefully in the air, a different darker deerskin dress worn upon her body, signature black crow feather tucked gently into her hair. With her tomahawks and knife at her belt and bag over her shoulder, Tiger Lily began to head off towards the entrance way, preparing for a good morning of hunting and, hopefully, spending time with Peter and the Lost Boys.

Just as she was about to exit the village, a grim voice spoke from behind her. "A moment, please, Tiger Lily."

Tiger Lily stopped and turned around, surprised to see that it was the chieftain standing there. His usual serious and dismal expression stared down at her from his tall stature, his shadowy eyes piercing into hers.

"Yes, sir?"

"Come with me," he said.

The chief turned around, his back facing her, and walked over to the back of the village, Tiger Lily following him. Some of the villagers looked up from their work and over at the two, some beginning to whisper amongst themselves, curiosity piquing their voices.

"About time someone did something about her actions," one muttered.

"She's just trying to forget about the dead chief's loss," another added.

"Well, she doesn't have to by staying out the whole day and then coming back at questionable hours," one sighed.

"She's up to something," one whispered.

Tiger Lily tried her best to ignore the villagers' comments and noted that she was being led to the chief's hut. He went inside and she followed him in, letting the curtain fall down behind her.

The chief's hut was always the most decorated hut in the village. Its walls were covered in blankets and tapestries, the ground layn with thick carpets and mats, to keep it warm. His bed was large and adorned with abundant blankets and cushions, his clothes all stacked and kept in big woven baskets. Tiger Lily felt a twinge of pain as she remembered coming to visit the hut when her father was still alive.

The chief sat down upon one of the cushions and gestured for her to take a seat. He sat down on his calves and placed his palms on his knees, his back straight. Tiger Lily, who was about to sit down cross-legged, quickly rethought for a moment and copied his way of sitting.

"What business do you have with me, sir?" Tiger Lily asked politely.

The chief was silent for a moment, heaving in a great sigh. His head was adorned with braids weaved into a grand hairstyle, embellished with multicolored feathers of rare birds. His face was long and hard, large cheekbones and an impressionably sized nose on it. It was easy to tell that he was growing older, the wrinkles jetting into his dark skin after the hundreds and thousands of years he'd been alive. What annoyed Tiger Lily the most was that he carried a similar appearance to the former chief, one which threatened her and weakened her as well.

"Tiger Lily," the chief began, his tone stony, "the villagers, I myself included, have noticed that you have been too wild as of late. You have been going out hunting all day, but you have been coming back very late with scars and cuts on you."

Tiger Lily narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but she continued to listen.

"As the chief, I need to be able to make sure that you are not out of my control. Thus, I have come up with a way of succeeding at this."

She found herself becoming curious of what consequences he was willing to shove on her. But at the same time, worry was growing within her.

"I have decided that you are to be engaged and married to one of the men of the village," the chief said. "I will have the honor of picking your fiance, and you will serve him as the future wife you are to be. A wedding will be held in the near time future, and a long life of servitude and commitment will start for you from then on."

Tiger Lily felt herself stiffen. Her jaw tightened and her hands balled up into fists. She had thought that the punishment would be less demanding, such as staying in the village to help with hut work, or only going hunting once a week. But marriage hadn't been expected.

"And not only that, but it will teach you to straighten out your unrestrained and disorderly ambitions and show you that you serve a different duty in this village than you do outside of it."

Tiger Lily forced herself not to shake, the stare of the chief boring a hole through her.

"A-And who is the man with whom I shall be married to?" she finally asked.

The chief's presence remained the same, unchanging. "After a good deal of considering, I have chosen one of the elders' children," he said. "You will be married to the child of Aunt Agda, Giant."

Tiger Lily almost wanted to throw up. Giant was an oaf of a man who was messy, loud, and enormous in size. Out of all of the men in the village, Giant was the worst possible fiance that could have been made.

"Now that this has been told to you, the wedding celebration will be arranged soon, and as of now, you are to go serve Giant and his mother. They should be waiting outside at this very moment."

Tiger Lily looked up reluctantly, her eyes becoming dark. "Do I get time to hunt?" she asked slowly, perhaps her final question.

The chief moved his head to the side slightly. "That is something your fiance will decide."

Tiger Lily immediately stood up and prepared to leave the hut, her mood changing suddenly. "Did I say that you were excused to leave, /Tiger Lily/?" The chief's said her name again in that strange way. "I believe that as the chief, only I can control your actions, especially in my very presence."

Tiger Lily didn't sit back down. "You aren't a chief to me," she growled.

"Ah, still mourning over your father, I see?"

Tiger Lily looked back, her eyes glowering. "You are half the man that he ever was!"

"Your father was a fool," the chief responded, his voice more menacing. "He died of his own impulses because he was blinded by a false sense of love. Even you know this."

"That will never change my view of him," Tiger Lily snapped.

The chief sighed. "You really have taken after my brother, haven't you, foolish niece?"

"He was no brother of yours, and you are no family of mine!" she spat.

Then she stomped out of the hut, the curtain getting thrown back behind her violently as dust picked up in her stead.

For the whole morning and into the afternoon, Tiger Lily spent the rest of the day in the village, busy constructing Giant's hut. As his fiancee, she now had to build his own hut so he could move out of his mother's, and while Giant sat on the sidelines, grunting as he ate a cooked chicken Tiger Lily had prepared earlier, Aunt Agda coached on her every move.

Just as Tiger Lily began tying the wood with the planks she had cut, a heavy foot impeded her in the side and knocked her to the ground, her ribs bruising in seconds.

"You imbecile!" Aunt Agda shouted. "This wood is cut too short! Don't you realize how tall my young man is?! Redo this, right now!"

Tiger Lily began to gather herself back up and returned to work, casting the shorter planks aside and went to collect more logs from outside.

She would split the logs in half down the middle and prepare the planks, going out again to cut down more trees. For the day, she carried around an enormous axe over her shoulder, it weighing down so heavily upon it that she swear it was denting into her muscles.

Finally, after what felt like weeks but which lasted only a few hours, Tiger Lily managed to construct the hut to Aunt Agda's liking. She said it still needed more work, but it would do for now, and ordered her to go off to her hut to take a rest, as she would be needed tomorrow as well.

But before Tiger Lily could enter her hut, a large thick hand grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her around, her face meeting a fat slap across her cheek. It was Giant, now holding her up by the collar of her dress. His tiny eyes on his enormous face glared at her intently.

"I need more food," he snarled. He then thrust her onto the ground, kicking her hard again, causing her to turn over on her side. "Go hunt me my dinner."

Tiger Lily forced herself to steady her breathing, and then cursing under her breath, went to get back her tomahawks and knife inside, having had to put them away when working on the hut.

Tiger Lily walked through the trees, carrying two jackrabbits in her sac. She held her tomahawks at either side, ready to catch anything in sight. She winced every time she moved her right knee and her bruised sides made it harder to breathe. Not only that, but she could feel like her cheek was becoming more and more sensitive to anything, even opening her mouth slightly.

The sky was even darker now, and thunder could be heard even clearer now, although it hadn't started raining quite yet. But it was obvious that a lightning storm would pass over Neverland that night.

Suddenly, she began hearing familiar voices as she went around the bushes. They were loud and cheerful, and they sounded somewhat innocent, like young boys. They were moving around, it appeared, she could hear something rustling in the trees ahead.

"Bet you can't get me!"

"Yes I can!"

"Where'd you go, Slightly?"

All of a sudden, a figure tripped and fell out of the tree above, landing right on top of Tiger Lily. She fell on her back and let out a groan as pain spread through her ribcage, while the person who fell yelled "Ow!"

Tiger Lily looked up to see Slightly on her. Leaves were stuck to his hair and clothes. His face furiously turned a bright red and he nervously sat up, his hands accidentally brushing over her ribs. She flinched sharply, Slightly moving his hands away quickly.

"O-Oh, I-I'm so s-sorry!" Slightly quickly got off of Tiger Lily and kneeled beside her. "U-um, are you okay? Please tell me I didn't hurt you!" he asked.

"Slightly, what happened?" Curly's head suddenly popped out from one of the trees, before his expression became shocked and he quickly climbed out of it. He went up behind Slightly and hit him in the head. "Did you just hurt Tiger Lily?!"

The other Lost Boys began gathering out of the trees, standing beside Curly and over Tiger Lily. "Tiger Lily doesn't look like she feels so good," Nibs noted.

"Tiger Lily, do you need help up?" Tootles asked.

The Twins nodded silently in agreement, moving next to her attentively.

"Here, I'll help you up," Slightly said, standing up and holding out his hand to her.

"No, I'll help her up," Curly retaliated, about to shove Slightly to the side.

"No! I was the one who knocked her over in the first place!" Slightly snapped angrily.

Slightly then gestured out his hand, and Tiger Lily reached out for it and took it, sitting up slowly rather than standing, although she winced as she moved her ribs.

"What happened here?"

Tiger Lily and the Lost Boys looked to see Peter Pan jumping down from a tree and jogging over to them. He looked surprised to see Tiger Lily, although he looked a bit distracted by something on her face; she assumed it was the bruise she had gotten a little while ago.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, approaching them.

Tiger Lily nodded, a little smile appearing on her face as she held up her hand with her thumb up, but she winced again, as her bruise made it painful to smile.

"Slightly fell on her," one of the Twins explained in unison.

"But I don't think Slightly would have made that many bruises on her," Tootles added.

"I'm really sorry, Tiger Lily," Slightly said sadly.

"It's okay," Tiger Lily replied, trying not to get her bruise to hurt too much.

"We were just playing around in the trees," Peter told her, as Slightly helped Tiger Lily stand up. He then looked to the Lost Boys. "Get back to your game, you guys."

The Lost Boys reluctantly ran back out, heading off to another part of the woods, Slightly the most quiet.

Peter then gazed at Tiger Lily, his expression stern. "You look badly hurt," he told her. He reached his hand out towards her bruised cheek, and she flinched at his touch as a shock of pain erupted in her face. He inspected it carefully. "What happened to you?" he asked.

Tiger Lily looked away, scratching her hair. "I-It's a long story," she responded. "I just hurt myself along the way here, is all."

Peter's brow furrowed. "You hurt yourself that much while going hunting?"

Tiger Lily nodded, hoping he would take in the lie.

"Where else does it hurt?" he asked, putting a hand on her arm gently and looking over her for any noticeable bruises.

"Just my shoulder and ribs," Tiger Lily said. "And my knee. And my cheek. But it's no big deal," she added quickly. "I'm fine, really."

Peter put each of his hands on either of her arms, looking into her eyes, still seeming worried. "You're sure you're fine? You don't look fine to me."

Tiger Lily nodded. "I promise you, I'm fine."

Peter looked away for a moment, but then he glanced back at her, his hand gliding softly over her other cheek and his fingers brushing into her hair. "You know, you don't have to lie to me, Tiger Lily." His eyes looked meaningful and considerate, his expression becoming more caring. He was genuinely concerned about her.

Tiger Lily blushed, but she stood her ground, trying to not let his romantic gesture weaken her. "Well, I have to lie to you now," she replied slowly, sounding hesitant. "I-I'm sorry."

Peter just sighed, but he still smiled kindly. "If you insist." He leaned forward, kissing her bruised cheek lightly, and let go of her, walking towards where the Boys had gone. Tiger Lily's hand went over to her cheek, not touching it directly; all of a sudden, it didn't hurt so much anymore.

"Come on, follow me," he said, turning back to her for a moment. He then smirked cheekily. "If you claim that you're so alright, then you're gonna have to be able to last in a game of Tree Tag with all of us."

Tiger Lily was a little surprised, but she grinned back, able to smile a little more, despite her hurting cheek. And she ran after him, following him to where the Lost Boys started climbing.

Peter began climbing up a tree, his movements quick and nimble, scaling up its trunk in a mere matter of seconds and crawling up into the thick foliage of its leaves. He made it look so easy that Tiger Lily wondered if she too could climb that quickly. To which her answer was going to be yes.

Determined, she chose a tree nearby and began climbing up, swinging up onto a branch and leaping up into the tree, wincing slightly from her pained knee and shoulder, but she persevered on.

As she clambered up through the leaves, her feet pushing her up with every branch she met, Tiger Lily noticed that the sky was darker than before. The thunder sounded closer than ever. Was it really alright to be playing around in the tall trees when a thunder storm was approaching? She wasn't too keen on the idea so far.

She heard a sound of crackling leaves to her left and she stealthily jumped into an other tree, landing smoothly on a wide branch and climbing up through other branches to get safely to the other side. Tiger Lily then peeked up through the leaves reluctantly to see if she could spot any of them from the outside.

As she looked over the tops of trees, Tiger Lily didn't see any people in particular, but she could see some of the branches moving, as thought people were moving through them. Then she heard some rustling coming her way and she quickly ducked back down into her tree.

Tiger Lily vaulted from branch to branch, coming into contact with one before pushing off to fly to another, doing so repeatedly so she could cover as much ground as possible. Yet she could still somehow hear her pursuer coming after her.

Just when she stopped to take a break, a familiar voice spoke out. "Is someone there?" It sounded like one of the Twins' voices, perhaps Twin 2. Tiger Lily found it shocking to not hear Twin 2's voice coupled with Twin 1's. She stayed perfectly still and perfectly silent, even holding in her breath.

The rustling disappeared for a moment and Tiger Lily spied through the leaves up towards the sky, where she saw Twin 2 walking on the very tree tops. He was hopping through, looking around, searching through the foliage every so often, when Tiger Lily saw something bright flash across the sky and looked in horror at Twin 2 standing dangerously out in the open.

"LOOK OUT!" she shouted.

Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck the tree tops and singed one of the trees nearest to Twin 2. Twin 2 screeched and fell through the branches, until a loud thump echoed on the ground.

"Twin 2!" Tiger Lily jumped down from every branch in sight, trying her best to maneuver around branches in the way as each of her muscles screamed in pain, but she refused to let it distract her, her heart racing fast.

She hit the ground on both feet and saw Twin 2 lying on the ground, breathing fast, his hand to his chest, one of his eyes closed. She scrambled to him quickly, going to his side.

Tiger Lily held his hand in both of hers. "Twin 2!"

Twin 2 turned his neck slightly and looked over at Tiger Lily, a surprised expression on his face. She could feel the tears welling up slightly in her eyes; she had been so afraid...

And once he saw those tears, then Twin 2 began to cry.

Soon enough, all of the Lost Boys, including Peter, gathered around them, and Tiger Lily was unsure of what to do as Twin 2 continued to wail. Nibs then picked him up, putting his head over his shoulder, Twin 1 running to his side.

"Take him back to the cave," Peter ordered, and the Lost Boys began jogging back, himself about to follow them, until he noticed Tiger Lily slowly getting up.

Peter went up to her and brushed his hands gently over her eyes, wiping away her small tears. "Now you really don't look alright," he noted. "Come on, let's go back with them."

Tiger Lily didn't respond. An immense feeling of guilt filled up within her, remembering the moment of Twin 2 nearly getting struck by the lightning and tumbling through the trees. If only she had reacted fast enough and lept out through the trees and dove him out of the way, perhaps getting shocked herself instead...

"It's not your fault," Peter told her.

"I could have saved him," Tiger Lily said forcefully.

"There was nothing you could have done," Peter retaliated firmly. "And besides, he'll be fine."

Tiger Lily stayed silent, but she walked off ahead of Peter, following the faint footsteps of the Lost Boys to their home underground.

Once at the cave, Tiger Lily and Peter went inside to find Twin 2 still crying. No one could blame him, after all; the poor boy had nearly been struck by lighting. He most likely could have been killed.

The Boys sat around Twin 2, trying to calm him down, but the tears kept flowing from his eyes. Tiger Lily sat behind them and Peter sat near the back as he usually did, observing the scene quietly.

"Stop crying, Twin 2," Tootles told him.

"If you keep crying like that, you're just gonna catch a cold," Slightly added.

But Twin 2 would have none of it. The Lost Boys sighed. "At this point, he'll be wailing until morning," Nibs grumbled.

Tiger Lily kept herself silent as the boys kept trying to stop Twin 2 from crying. Even Twin 1 couldn't do anything. He tried countless times to make Twin 2 laugh and smile with funny jokes or silly gestures, but nothing was working; Twin 2 just kept crying and crying.

Peter then spoke up. "Let's just hope that he calms down once it's time to go to sleep," he said to them. "He'll be tired out by then."

They waited for a few moments, feeling like hours. It was even darker outside, and Peter kept looking over at Tiger Lily. She knew what he was implying. She should be leaving now, but seeing Twin 2 continue to cry kept her planted on the ground there. She would get such a massive beating from Giant, being late with his dinner.

At this point, the Lost Boys were getting frustrated, and started threatening him.

"Twin 2, we'll kick you out of the cave until you stop crying," Curly snapped.

"You'll have to sleep outside all night," Tootles added.

"And you'll be all cold and shivery the entire time," Nibs continued.

"Then once you'll stop crying, we'll bring you back inside, with a promise that you'll stop for real," Slightly muttered.

Tiger Lily had never seen someone at Twin 2's age acting so vulnerable; it was as if she was finally seeing the true colors to how they really were, besides when they had gotten drunk by Mermaid's Lagoon.

While they kept threatening him, Twin 2 then turned around, still sniffling, when he looked at Tiger Lily, who sat dejectedly on the side, staring sadly at the ground, picking at it. He seemed surprised that she was there at all.

He crawled over to her, causing her to look up, but it was clear that her eyes showed her guilt. Twin 2 stopped wailing for a moment, wiping his nose, when he said, "Y-You c-came here too, T-Tiger Lily?"

Tiger Lily was shocked, but she nodded. "Mm-hm..."

Twin 2 then paused, as if remembering what had happened, and then the tears started welling back up again in his eyes.

"I-I'm s-sorry for m-making y-you s-sad, T-Tiger Lily..." Twin 2 began crying again.

Tiger Lily had been angry with herself the entire time, in rage that she hadn't taken responsibility and tried to save Twin 2. But in that moment, she realized that he was apologizing to her for making her worry. And she had never seen anything more adorable in her entire life.

She then placed her hand on Twin 2's head and began stroking his dark brown hair tenderly. Twin 2 looked up to his surprise, to see Tiger Lily smiling so sympathetically and sweetly. He then thrust himself onto her and wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"T-Tiger Lily!" he wailed, sobbing through her dress with his head resting on her chest. Tiger Lily, at first taken aback by his action, then just smiled and continued to pet his head lovingly. She then hugged him, her chin resting gently on his shoulder and her arms around his thin body.

"I'm just happy you're alright," she murmured in his ear.

And with that, Twin 2 gradually quieted down in her arms.

The other Lost Boys just looked shocked that Tiger Lily was acting this kind around one of them.

"You looked really cute there for a moment," Slightly blurted out, before covering over his mouth quickly.

"He's right," Nibs said, grinning at her. "Look how cute she is..."

"Just sitting there all curled up with Twin 2," Curly sighed.

"That's adorable," Tootles sighed happily.

Even Twin 1 was starting to get teary-eyed. He too ran to Tiger Lily. "Tiger Lily, hug me too!" he wailed.

Twin 2 looked up from out of her arms and glared angrily at him. "No!" he shouted. "Tiger Lily can only hug ME!"

"NO! I want her to hug me too!" Twin 1 snapped back.

"Hey, stop it, you guys!" Curly went over and tried to stop them two from fighting with each other.

"I've never seen them fight like this before," Tootles said in awe.

Twin 2 unwrapped himself from around Tiger Lily and started trying to throw punches at Twin 1, who did the same in return, if it hadn't been for Curly sitting in between them and blocking their attacks. Tiger Lily just laughed nervously.

Then she remembered how late it was, and she panicked. "I-I have to go," she said quickly, getting her bag back over her shoulder. She waved goodbye to them. "Goodbye."

"Why do you have to go now?" Nibs asked.

"I can go see you out," Slightly suggested.

"I'll see her out." Peter stood up and stepped through the sitting Lost Boys. "Say goodbye to Tiger Lily," he told them.

The Lost Boys waved goodbye to her. "Bye, Tiger Lily!" they said together.

Tiger Lily smiled warmly and waved back. "Bye..."

She and Peter then stepped outside.

Tiger Lily walked over to a close thicket of trees with him, and he stood next to her.

"Alright, well I guess I'll see you later this week?" Peter's questioning tone seemed longing and yearning.

Tiger Lily wanted to say yes, but she remembered her engagement to Giant and stiffened. "I-I don't know," she responded.

Peter put his against the tree she was in front of and looked her in the eye. "Look, did something happen at your village which I don't know about?"

Tiger Lily stared back into his eyes, but then she glanced away. "It's nothing," she told him. "I'm just going to be a little busier there than usual."

"But will you still be able to see us?" His voice had a prick of desire in it, edged with sadness.

Tiger Lily was surprised at his question. Hopefully she'd be able to see him a few times, with Giant sending her out hunting, but it would cut their meetings short.

"Not as much as before."

Peter was quiet for a moment, taking in the information. "Will I still be able to see you?"

His arms went around her waist, pulling her in closer to him, feeling his breath on her face. His eyes looked more in pain now, and it hurt Tiger Lily as much as it hurt him.

"I hope so," she whispered.

As their faces leaned closer, Peter kissed her, Tiger Lily putting her arms around his neck. He then broke away reluctantly, staring into her eyes quietly.

"I love you, you know," he murmured.

Tiger Lily felt her cheeks turn pink, even her bruised one. She wiped away a small tear in her eye as she smiled. "I love you too."

Peter then let go of her, his hands slowly pulling away from her, and he held her hands in his.

"You'll tell me after this, right?" he asked. "The reason why you won't be able to come as much. And the reason why you're injured too."

Tiger Lily sighed, looking down at their two hands, interlaced together. She then gave him a smug smirk, grinning as she did so. "If I live to tell you."

Peter let go and shoved her to the side. "Hey, don't tell me things like that!" he scolded her sternly.

Tiger Lily laughed, rubbing her arm. "Sorry," she said jokingly.

Peter couldn't help but smile at her lightheartedness. He reached over and planted another kiss on her bruised cheek.

"Just come back safe," he requested finally, the sincerity in his voice making Tiger Lily decide she would make a promise to herself; she would come back no matter what to see this young man, no matter what it took, and no matter how much it hurt her.

"I will," she said firmly.