"Ah…it's an island. Rather difficult for most people to access, so…" He didn't exactly want to say why it was so hard. That Neverland was only accessible by flight, sometimes by sea but not always. He gave a quick smile, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand.
Elissa nodded, smiling a bit as well. She couldn’t let herself get comfortable. These niceties weren’t doing anything to help her, and she couldn’t trust anyone. Still, it was nice to talk to someone decent, unlike that young woman from earlier. “That sounds lovely. Thank you again, but I probably should be going,” she began, eyes darting around again. She hoped he didn’t ask why she was going somewhere, because as much as she enjoyed talking to him, she had to remind herself that she couldn’t trust anyone.
Peter nodded. "Right. Me too, I've got stuff to pick up." he replied with a soft smile. "Hope you're doing better than you seemed to be earlier." he stepped away from her, hoping he wasn't making her nervous or something. "Good luck with…whatever it is you're doing." it was quite obvious that he had no idea at all who she was.
Elissa nodded, relaxing slightly. Her stomach flipped, giving her a different kind of anxiety. Wonderful. “You too. Hope you get everything you need,” she responded, smiling back. “It was nice to meet you.” And that time it wasn’t a lie at all. She stepped back as well, reluctant to walk away for a moment before forcing herself to turn and walk around the corner.
Peter nodded again. "Yeah." he replied. He watched her go for a moment. "Peter, my fabric!" Tink chimed impatiently, and he let out a soft laugh, shaking his head as he started walking. "I know, Tink, I know." he replied softly, smiling.
Elissa was confused at the sound of chimes again but kept walking until there was no one else in sight. She leaned against the wall, trying another breathing technique. If this kept up, she would surely transform before she could find her father and grandmother.
Elissa focused instead on counting to one hundred. Counting always calmed her down. At least that guy was nice, even if Elissa was beginning to suspect the young woman of stealing her knife. What she really should have asked the guy for was a place to sleep, but she had a plenty of time to worry about that. She just had to focus on calming her emotions.
After some time of fleeing the scene, Oliver took a breather somewhere away from the town, namely the more peaceful neighborhood. People were nicer and certainly cared less than the people in town. God, why did they have to show unnecessary kindness towards one another… that’s gonna get them used one day or another if that act keeps up.
It wasn’t his intention to hurt the merchant. He really acted out of instinct. At least… that was what he chose to believe. He sat down on a slope of an open field, sighing softly while looking down at his hand.
These strings of his…
The weird puppet guy had stopped and sat down on a hill, on the outskirts of town. Elara and her gang had followed him there, and she jerked her head in the guy's direction, motioning for them to surround him. When they had done so, she smiled her wolf-like smile and sauntered iver to him, hands deep in her trouser pockets.
"You're interesting, newby," she said, standing before the guy. "Why are you here, anyway? We don't get many new people around, and none like you." She looked him up and down with some appreciation, not even bothering to disguise her crude actions.
After finally being calm again, Elissa decided to go look for a place to stay. Her stomach grumbled, making her realize that she was actually quite hungry as well. She had some money that she had taken from both where she had hidden it and her father’s supply, so she had enough to get by for now. Of course, Elissa wasn’t sure how long that money would last, but she tried not to think about it. Hopefully she would find where her family was being kept and free them before her money ran out.
All of this was going through her mind as she searched for an inn or a tavern, thinking that maybe an ally would be helpful. But how can one find an ally if no one can be trusted? At least this trail of thought was making Elissa more exhausted than anxious. She had to keep the wolf at bay, and anxiety only led her more precariously close to transforming again.
The weird puppet guy had stopped and sat down on a hill, on the outskirts of town. Elara and her gang had followed him there, and she jerked her head in the guy's direction, motioning for them to surround him. When they had done so, she smiled her wolf-like smile and sauntered iver to him, hands deep in her trouser pockets.
"You're interesting, newby," she said, standing before the guy. "Why are you here, anyway? We don't get many new people around, and none like you." She looked him up and down with some appreciation, not even bothering to disguise her crude actions.
Oliver glanced at the woman and her… men. He sighed loudly once.
”Get to the point. What do you want…?” he asked with an uninterested tone. Some strings came out of his fingertips and danced with the winds, touching some of the men’s legs. When their skin came into contact with the strings, the strings immediately wrapped around their legs. When he pulled back, some of them managed to slip and some even knocked out cold.
Elara didn't seem intimidated at all. She snorted, lips curving into a cruel smirk. "Rather blunt, aren't you? That's no way to talk to a lady." She didn't take her hands from her pockets, but looked around at her men that had been knocked down. "Try not to kill them," she said mildly. "I do need some of them alive. They're rather fun to play with." She bared her teeth in a smile.
Oliver sighed.
”Just what is it that you need from me…?” he retracted the strings, allowing the men to stand. Out of pure spite, though, he stomped on one of the men’s torso hard and making them feel that pain directly.
”… why do you keep people like this with you anyways…? They seem quite useless to me…” he added, his eyes averting between the men and making some stumble back just by his gaze.
"Oh, they are," Elara said, snorting. "But I don't always want to do the dirty work, you know?" She pulled her hands from her pockets and sat down on the grass cross-legged, seeming unconcerned about this guy, who could probably cripple her in a heartbeat.
"Why are you here?" She asked, voice calm and cheerful, as if she was asking about the weather, although there was a dangerous undercurrent in her tone.
Peter walked down the road, heading over to the woman who was selling the fabric. He purchased a few different fabric samples, putting them in his bag so that Tink would stop reminding him every two minutes.
Oliver let out a slightly annoyed exhalation.
”Escaping the officials from where I’m from… apparently I’m their most wanted…” he answered unwillingly, sitting down in front of her and pulling his cloak down to hide his face from anyone who he deemed unwanted or just anyone in general.
"Really? Now what would such an innocent looking guy have done to be the most wanted?" Elara raised her eyebrows. She pulled the knife she had stolen earlier from her jacket and started cleaning her nails. It was unclear whether this was a threat or not.
Oliver eyed the knife a bit, using his index finger’s string and take the knife’s handle and pull it towards himself.
”If there’s one thing you need to know about me is that I dislike sharp objects…” he mentioned, handing the knife back to her with a small grin under his hood.
"Hey, that's mine!" Elara said, sounding faintly annoyed. "I stole that fair and square!" She shrugged and pushed herself gracefully to her feet. "Whatever. You can keep it." She put her hands on her hips. "Why are you here, anyway, you strange puppet boy?"
Oliver met the eyes of the woman again and with a soft sigh, replied…
”Looking for a life” he accepted regretfully. If anything, he didn’t want to accept the fact that he had put himself in a place where he practically had to beg or commit crimes to get what he wanted. It was a stressful life from his perspective. Perhaps maybe it was because he was viewed as a weirdo from the village he came from as well.
"Well, if you want a life, this probably isn't a place to find a good one." Elara shrugged. "You might try the next town down. I hear they have stricter laws." She glanced dismissively at the men laying on the ground. "If you stay here, you'll have to listen to me." Her smile widened. "After all, I make the laws here."
Oliver gave Elara a glare that was a mix between confusion and surprise.
”Even if you say that… you don’t seem to mind my actions so much… why’s that…?” he asked, genuinely curious. Because more likely than not, if he’d caused this much trouble she would’ve told him to frick off.
"Because I'd do the same," she said with a wave of her hand. "I, unfortunately, am woefully untalented, so I can't." Her voice was light and cheerful, her usual cold smile on her face. "So I have to deal with being a poor mortal."
Peter was still walking through the market, picking up supplies for the Lost Boys. The letters from his father weighed heavily in his bag, or maybe that was just his imagination. He knew he needed to learn to read, but every time he tried, the letters swam in front of his eyes, blurring together until learning was impossible. He didn't have Dyslexia, he just…he couldn't teach himself, and Slightly was a shit teacher.
After several minutes of searching and doing her best to avoid talking to anyone, despite her earlier mishaps, Elissa managed to find a tavern that had rooms for rent. The ground floor was a fairly popular tavern, and while the crowds made her a bit nervous, there was also anonymity in a crowd. She got a room without incident, taking the key and hiding it in one of her dress’s pockets.
She sat down in the only table that was completely empty, eating at last. The food was okay and Elissa got water instead of ale, because she wanted to remain alert as she made her plans.
(bump)