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“C’mon Slowpoke! Can’t keep up in your old age?” Jack razzed, flying between houses, launching between chimneys in London, England.
“Now what have I said about racing Rabbits, mate?” Bunny hollered back, launching himself from the corner of a townhouse roof and taking a playful swipe at Jack’s bare foot, missing by a hair.
In the background Tooth giggled, actually collecting teeth along with her mini fairies like all of the guardians were supposed to be doing. While they were taking the task of collecting teeth seriously, it was also an excuse to get together and have some fun competition that, more often than not, turned into a worldwide game of keep-away. Crouching down on a gutter, Jack ducked Bunny’s attempt at a tackle as the Pooka overshot his target. “What the…?” Spotting something in the alleyway below, a slow grin crept across his face like frost on a windowpane. Diving down face-first, Jack snagged what looked like a child around the waist with the crook of his staff before launching himself and his cargo up into the air. With a mighty shove of his staff, Jack tossed the boy-child up into the air and into a small flurry of his personalized snowflakes, turning surprised screeching into hysterical laughter.
Surprisingly, instead of the boy falling to earth as gravity took hold, he spread his arms like wings and flew, starting an impromptu game of aerial tag which Jack gladly joined in on. While Jack’s flight was graceful and assured of every move, the boy was halting, his flight looking more like controlled falling. But every time that the boy dropped down too low or looked like he was about to crash, Jack would swoop close and pull and prod with his staff until his flying evened out. “Happy thoughts! Happy! C’mon Peterbird, smile!” Jack would almost sing, flying mere inches below the child, facing up with one hand in his pocket, ready to catch the boy should he fall.
Eventually, the duo landed, both in their little world as Jack practically engulfed the boy in a hug, bending over and prodding spots that he knew were ticklish. “Umm… Jack?” Tooth was the first to speak up when she noticed that their youngest was no longer in the race.
Looking around, North was the first to spot the flying duo a few roofs over. “Jack!” North called as the quartet of guardians gathered on the far end of the roof that the young duo had perched on. “Who is young boy?” He asked, startling the two. Immediately, the younger turned with a glint of sharpened steel held in one hand, seemingly appearing from nowhere. His snarl would have been more frightening if he didn’t have a mouth full of perfect baby teeth, as immaculate and even as a miniature white picket fence. Tooth couldn’t help but coo at the sight.
“Adults!” The child hissed, raising his dagger in a defensive gesture, his spring green-gold eyes cold and wary, with just a hint of fear.
Jack nodded, his chin resting on the boy’s crown and his arms draped loosely, ready to restrain or release if the situation called for it. “Yep.” He raised his hand and vaguely gestured to the four. “Nickolas St. North, Toothiana, Sanderson ManSnoozie and E. Aster Bunnymund.” He couldn’t help but put on a fake high-class accent when it came to Bunny’s name, making the child giggle slightly. The sputtering coming from said ‘E. Aster’ was completely worth the posturing that he’d have to deal with later. “Guys, this is Peter Pan, finder of Lost Boys.” Jack spoke with the pride of an older brother, ruffling the young one’s auburn shaggy hair. “You can trust them,” Jack murmured, only for the boy’s ear, only to stand up and draw the boy closer.
“Bu-But they’re adults!” Peter exclaimed, waving his hand at the guardians in disgust, forgetting that said hand held his dagger.
Jack nodded in understanding, coming around and kneeling at the boy’s eye level. “They’re the guardians, Peter, I’ve told you about them.”
“Yeah, that they’re stuck up, selfish, blind adults.” The child huffed, taking a mocking lilt.
“Oi!” Bunny hollered, completely ignored.
In the background, the remaining trio gasped, not understanding the reasoning behind the child’s harsh words. “That they are, blind and deaf to us as much as you are ignorant and idiotic to them.” Jack said with a playful poke, lessoning the harsh words with the light action. It was time to change the subject before Peter dug Jack’s grave even deeper. “Now, what were you looking at in that smelly alley?”
Looking back down at the alleyway, Peter’s expression fell as he sank down to sit on the nearest ledge overlooking the dumpster. The child spirit didn’t have to say anything for Jack to understand. “Did you want my help?” The boy nodded, allowing himself to be gathered into a hug from his big brother.
“I was waiting for the seventh day to be up.” Peter murmured, ignoring the tears that wanted to spill in sorrow. “Its almost time.”
Taking a calming breath, Jack pulled away enough to kneel in front of the boy and gave a smile, blowing some of his special snowflakes into the younger spirit’s face. “Good, then its almost time to bring him to his new home, and that’s something to celebrate, isn’t it?” Peter nodded, the snowflakes at least bringing a sweet smile to his face. “Alright then, lets get down there and welcome your new Lost Boy.” A baby’s wail pierced the air and everyone felt the shift in the air. Nodding to himself and taking a steadying breath, Jack kissed Peter’s head and they both jumped down beside the dumpster. The alley was dim, with only a half burned out streetlight across the way to light the area. Trash bags were piled in and around the dumpster, like black plastic modern art, concealing where the wailing was coming from. Walking all three exposed sides and peering at the miniscule space between the grungy, graffitied brick wall and the rusted once-green dumpster, Jack could only come to one conclusion. Not wanting to say it out loud, Jack looked up at the sky that shone darkly between the two high-rise buildings and prayed to Manny that he wasn’t right. From above, the four adults watched curiously, backlit by the stars and Sandy’s golden light.
“Should I?” Jack asked quietly, looking at the green-rust barrier that separated the pathetic mewling from the outside world, “Or would you be able to?”
Taking a half-step back, Peter looked at Jack with wide eyes. “It’s a baby.”
“Yes, he is.” Jack said with a small smile. The younger spirit wouldn’t know how to deal with a baby, what with practically being one himself. Stepping up, Jack stood tall and held out a hand, palm up with semi-curled fingers. Whistling a soft lullaby, the crying died down and soon a white-silver glowing orb came out of the dumpster and landed in his hand. “Hello, little bird.” Jack spoke softly, bringing the orb to cradle by his heart as it grew and changed into a human shape. His heart broke as he took in the little one’s features. It truly was small, a newborn, that was thrown away like the garbage it was surrounded with.
“Jack?” Tooth was the first to flutter down, drawing a reaction from Peter that had the boy drawing his knife again.
“Hey, Sandy?” Jack called, not taking his eyes off the infant, but sensing where the eldest spirit hovered, “Could I have some Sand for her please?”
“Her!” Peter Yelped, pulling on the taller boy’s arm, nearly causing him to drop the girl in his rush to see.
“Yes, her,” Jack pulled away and flicked Peter’s nose in reprimand. “Just because most girls know better than to go and get themselves lost, doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.” Seeing the boy properly chastised, Jack knelt so that the boy could see his newest charge.
“Oh, the poor girl.” Tooth sighed, one hand floating over her mouth and tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. “What monsters would just throw away a baby?”
Jack sighed, his free hand up in the air and forming ice around a tendril if Sandy’s sand. Bringing down the golden ice cube, he set it at the baby’s lips to suckle at, her eyes falling closed and her breath evening out with only the occasional hiccup. “People that feel like they have no choice.” Jack kept his voice quiet, mourning the family that never would be. “Either things happen where they can’t keep the baby and have no idea what to do, rape victims, women that have no attachment to the child they carry, stillborns, political reasons. It happens, and more frequently in the bigger towns and cities around the world.” Ducking down, Jack kissed the girl-infant’s downy hair and smelled. She didn’t even have the new-baby smell of powder and milk before this happened. “Then there are children like Peter who were carelessly forgotten or abandoned, fell through the cracks of the government or ran away from home. It happens more often than you might think.” A bitter note crept into his voice and Jack took a mental step back before he caused an unseasonal blizzard. Already, the alleyway was covered in a fine layer of frost.
Stepping up, Peter tugged at Jack’s hoodie, “You want me to carry her, Peterbird?” The boy nodded before bending down to whisper in the sleeping infant’s ear, he spoke of promises and warm things, of fun and never being alone again, of being protected and loved. All beautiful things that loving parents and families provided but the lost children found in each other. Where blood wasn’t so much important as the feelings they held close. Finishing his speech, Peter stepped back and bit his lip looking at the guardians.
“Um… Bye.” Peter waved shyly, now that his bravado was gone, he was like every other six-year-old boy, all baby teeth and unsure how to act around strangers.
“Oh, darling, don’t do that, you’ll damage your beautiful incisors that way.” Tooth gave a friendly smile, gently tugging his lip from between perfect baby teeth. Peter couldn’t help but to nod in agreement; the last time he had heard a tone like that was a voice that he couldn’t remember the face to, but the feeling of love was there all the same.
“Are you a mother?” Peter hadn’t meant to ask, but did anyway. Tooth gave him a bittersweet smile and shook her head.
“Not really. I have little fairies that are like my daughters, but that’s it.”
“Oh.” Peter didn’t say sorry, but it was in his voice as he stared down at his mud-crusted leather bootie. “You sound like one.”
Jack couldn’t help but chuckle as he stood straight and pressed the infant to his chest securely with one hand; she was small enough to do that easily. “Ready to go then, Peterbird? You know how long of a trip it is.” In that moment, with Peter’s words still in her mind, Tooth looked at Jack and found a young father, not a big brother. She could easily imagine that had he not become a spirit, he would have been a wonderful family man. In the age that he grew up in, he could have easily been starting a family, or at least been married. The children grew up so fast even a hundred years ago, let alone three or four.
“Be careful on your trip!” Tooth started out of her thoughts, seeing the boys start to rise. “Here, take Baby Tooth with you.” The small fairy flew from the flock and perched in Jack’s hood, secure for their next adventure.
Jack couldn’t help but smile and give a half-laugh, welcoming his smallest friend along. “I will, so don’t worry. I’ll be back as soon as I can and come over so I can tell you how the trip went, ok?” He promised with a wink before looking at Peter and catching the floundering boy with his hook. “C’mon, happy thoughts! Christmas snow and chocolate eggs; mermaids and rainbow feathers.” Tossing the boy ahead of him easily, Peter gave a smile about as tentative as his flight path, but eventually evened out as he started naming off some of his own favorites.
“Ha! He said Christmas first!” North crowed in an aside to Bunny, whom rolled his eyes as they all waved the boys off.
“Snow, mate, he said snow,” He replied, absently scratching with his hind leg. “Well, let’s get this show on the road! We still have the Americas and Burgess to hit before the night’s done.” He called, barely giving the others warning before he shot off. The best way to not have to think about how they abandoned their own ‘Lost Boy’ for over three hundred years was to work, and the work for tonight was collecting teeth.