charlieslost

[charlieslost]

leaderoflostboys​:

Peter lowered himself to the forest floor, and wrinkled his nose in a smile when he spotted the girl. He couldn’t place her, but she seemed to know him, and fondly so. Quite right, he thought, a grin spreading across his face. Pan crossed his arms over his chest, and surveyed her. “You look very clean; did I miss bath day?” He asked, laughing down at his scuffed and mud encrusted toes. 

From the way Peter reacted, Charlie knew Peter didn’t remember and that fact stung in her chest. She never wanted to give him the satisfaction though, so kept a brave face. “Thank you.” She cocked her head at him. “Don’t you always?” It felt like the lost kids had always been messy in one way or another. She’d had fun with that for a while, but had come to prefer being clean with time. 

[charlieslost]

fitz-patrick​:

Fitz snorted a laugh at the notion of pirates procuring a box of mac and cheese, but he did like the idea of having his old favorite foods back. “I would never ask you to share your mac and cheese, but I would have to steal a pop tart from you.” He secretly thrilled at how easy it was to get a reaction out of her, how obvious her disappointment was. Disgust was a lot of people’s natural reaction to him. And though he appreciated that she at least made an effort and did not always acknowledge it, the burned child in him enjoyed the familiarity of being looked at with disappointment. “Of course, if you went to the mainland, you could bring me back a box of my own.”

“You’d be right not to ask because I would never share my Mac and cheese!” Charlie laughed, and shrugged away the missing pop tart. That one she could manage losing. Charlie opened her mouth to speak but paused when she truly considered what it would mean to return home. The magic of the island was strange, there was no saying what time she might end up in, but all she could think was ‘Would my parents be alive still? Would anyone be looking for me? Did they ever?’ “That would be great, I could pick up a tonne of fun things. Last time, my friend brought me back a few bits but it would be different choosing for myself.”

[charlieslost]

leaderoflostboys​:

Peter had thrown the mango pit to the bushes and leaned back again, cracking out another crow to call his boys towards him. His ears perked at the sound of movement approaching and he grinned, floating himself to a low branch and sitting with his legs dangling down. He peered in the direction of the noise, a whip of blond hair moving and he whooped. “Hallo there!” Peter added, unable to see who it was yet.

Charlie looked quickly up at the sound of a voice. So much time apart from the lost boys and she appeared to have forgotten how easy it was to sneak up on someone from the air. At least Peter was in an amiable mood. She smiled at him softly, waved far too casually for how she felt. “Hello Peter.” Charlie searched for recognition in his face. She’d spent years acting like she didn’t care anymore, it was disappointing how easily the facade dropped away in his presence once again. 

[charlieslost]

fitz-patrick​:

“Oh my god, I ate so much of that mac and cheese from a box!” Fitz exclaimed, his eyes widening and a rare smile spreading across his face as he thought of it. “I actually miss it sometimes, so I’m glad to know it’s still there. I’ve never tasted anything so artificial since, but sometimes you just want to eat something fake.” The quality of the food was far better on Neverland, but there was something to be said for eating something he knew he shouldn’t. “Yeah, I get that. Obviously, it wasn’t all bad. Even when everything was terrible, there was always boxed mac and cheese and torturing animals.”

“It’s the best meal!” Charlie enthused, ignoring the fact it was also the easiest meal, which had been the main concern at the time. “Maybe if the pirates ever do one of those trips to the mainland again I can get someone to bring me a box.” The idea of making something like that in this magical paradise island was beyond bonkers, but Charlie couldn’t resist the idea. Charlie cocked her head at him and scrunched her nose in disappointment and disgust. She’d gotten past chastising for every nasty thing he said, but it still upset her nonetheless. “And pop tarts.” 

[charlieslost]

Charlie had revelled in the calm of the island every day since the pirates had told her she no longer had anything to worry about. No more evil witch trying to destroy her easy life. She wandered through the meadow, hand brushing through the wildflowers and into the forest to gather a few bits before heading back. She was plucking an apple from a tree when she heard a sound she’d not heard in years, something that took her right back to her childhood. Her breath halted in her chest and she looked in the direction of the sound. She’d avoided Peter and the lost boys for the most part, only making time for Delia and Fitz, but her feet were moving before she could question whether it was a good idea. 

don’t fear the warnings || open

A plump mango in hand, Peter flew idly over the trees. It had been a week since the great fight for Neverland, and although they’d worked together nicely, he couldn’t get over the grimy feeling of being on the same side as Hook, if only for a few days. The old codfish was as greasy as ever, and Pan was anxious for things to get back to normal. Planning a battle was a cure for almost all of life’s problems, and Peter had some good ideas for menacing the pirate captain in future. He’d give them a break for a bit, let them get cozy in the wake of everything that happened, and then he’d strike. Maybe they’d stuff bars of soap into their rum barrels one afternoon; he’d have to make a plan with his lost boys. They deserve a party after all the hard work they’d put in to stopping Helena, he thought to himself, biting into the ripe mango. He lowered himself down to the forest floor, bare feet falling on soft dirt and leaves, and made a beeline for the fort. He took another bite, and then, cheeks full of the fruit chucked his head back and let out a loud cockerel crow to gather any Lost Boys from nearby. 

[charlieslost]

fitz-patrick​:

Fitz rolled his eyes. It was impossible to be too negative for Charlie. She always found a way to be positive, and he couldn’t wrap his head around it. “It’s strange to think that the whole world has just kept going. Some things we remember might not even be around anymore. I would never go back, but it would be a completely different world if I did. It would be nice to reminisce, as the few who remember the way things were. Even if even I can’t remember everything,” he said.

“I know right? It’s kind of mad. The music is different but it’s still good. The mac and cheese from a box still exists! It’s cool to know it’s still going, I made that all the time as a kid.” Her parents often weren’t aware enough to cook dinner for her. “Even if there were lots of bad things, it’s nice to see those things we liked and remember how those made us happy, you know?” 

[charlieslost]

fitz-patrick​:

“Tell that to all of my old ‘families’ on the mainland,” Fitz said with a dark laugh. He appreciated how much she was trying, and thought he might as well make an effort, too. He resolved to try to talk to Delia, no matter how awkward and uncomfortable he was sure to feel. And he would try not to be his usual self, just so he wouldn’t reflect poorly on Charlie and her judgement. “That is true. I definitely wouldn’t mind talking about all that with her. I feel like I’ve forgotten so much of my time. I haven’t talked about it since coming here, so I won’t upset Peter, but I am curious.”

“If I ever see them I will.” She stated, chin lifted proudly. Everyone had their faults, Fitz included, but there were good things to. In her eyes, those families had failed him. “See, that’s perfect! She knew about things from my time, and it was nice to reminisce about it all. The time, the music, the things that we don’t have here.” Occasionally her family would creep in there, but it was the rest of it she missed. Delia and her brother had helped keep it alive for her. “It’s worth it, I think.” 

[charlieslost]

fitz-patrick​:

Fitz rolled his eyes and snorted, but he secretly felt like flying at her words. It was a rare thing for someone to see the best in him; Peter and Charlie were the only people who had really taken a chance on him. Her saying that drew out a softer side in him, one that wanted people to like him and see the best in him, though he kept that side as repressed and hidden as possible. “I am a horrible creepy creep,” he said, though he struggled to keep a straight face at the verbiage. “Maybe I will, especially since you’re still friends with Delia. It’s just easier with you, because we’re already friends, so I don’t have to try anymore. I’m not as good at making friends as you are. I feel like I’ll tell her you and I are friends, and then I’ll run out of things to say.” One of the great disadvantages of never being socialized as a child was that he had no clue how to do things that seemed so natural to other people.

“Are not!” She retorted. scrunching her nose up and she shook her head at him. “There will be loads to talk about.” Charlie leaned back on her palms and hummed in thought, knowing there was something the pair could talk about, she just needed to think of it. “She’s from the twenty first century so you could ask her about the modern stuff. I’m sure she’d be happy to tell you about them. When I heard about them, it blew my mind! And we’re only thirty five years apart or something.” She cocked her head to think about the other things. “There will be crossover between you.”

[charlieslost]

Lucy Boynton by Agata Pospieszynska for Stella Magazine, January 2022

[charlieslost]

Charlie shrugged her shoulders, “Maybe I just saw the best in you.” She did that a lot, and it might have been naive and occasionally end badly, but the times when it went well outweighed any of the bad. “Oh please, you act as if you’re stalking around like a horrible, creepy...creep.” Charlie laughed at her failure to come up with a better word. “You should talk to them! Some of them are just great, like Delia. She’s the only other person I’ve kept in touch with, and she’s one of my closest friends still.  If you see her, definitely try to make friends. You can say you’re my friend too, and then you guys have an instant connection.” 

charlieslost

Charlie laughed and raised her shoulders in a shrug, “You’re probably right there.” She eyed him carefully, smiling briefly at the compliment, but she reached out and put her hand on his arm. “If anything ever happens I’m here for you okay?” She tried to reassure him, giving his forearm a gentle squeeze. She didn’t think he’d struggle anyway, he was resourceful and capable of hunting animals. He would just need somewhere safe to sleep. “I’ve always been soft.” She joked in return, bringing up the tone again from their serious conversation. It was true though, she’d never been out there fighting or hunting, she’d been playing and pretending she wasn’t crushing on the boys her age. Things that weren’t condusive to being a Lost Kid, but worked alright out in the port. 

Fitz averted his eyes, trying not to bristle at her touch. This time it was not so much at the touch itself, because he was never more comfortable with anyone than he was with Charlie, and he knew that she was being kind and supportive, as ever. He was embarrassed, though, at his vulnerability. He was embarrassed that he needed her support, that he had shared his fears, that she even needed to say that she was there for him. Maybe he had gone soft. “Thank you,” he whispered before looking back at her and forcing himself to laugh with her. “That is true. It’s a wonder you ever even spoke to me, but I’m obviously glad that you did. I don’t really talk to any of the other Lost Kids now, which doesn’t bother me, but it was nice to have someone to talk to.” It was her softness that had made him want to make his very first friend. Even though he knew he should have hated her for being so starkly different from him, he couldn’t help but admire that softness within her that he so completely lacked.

[charlieslost]

fitz-patrick​:

“That’s on you, though. You should have known it would never last, not with some of those absolute gremlins running around,” Fitz said, cracking a smile, which only lasted for a moment before he grew serious again. “It would be so much easier if he didn’t. It would be nice to not have to be so secret, but I don’t want to test it. I don’t think I’d manage half as well as you have, if he kicked me out.” The thought crossed his mind more often than he cared to admit, but he knew that, if he fell out of Peter’s favor, he would be right back in the terrible position he was in before Peter found him. The only difference now was that he had killed far, far too many pirates for them not to hunt him down the moment he wasn’t tied to Peter. He would never be welcomed anywhere near the port, as Charlie had been, and, though he certainly wouldn’t mind taking a few pirates with him on his way out, he knew that the numbers would not be on his side. It was better to be invisible among the Lost Boys, only making his presence known in battle, where he felt he had made himself indispensable at Peter’s side; but there laid the trick of it. Everyone was irreplaceable until they weren’t. His smile returned when she said that she didn’t want anyone to get hurt on their behalf. “You’re getting a little soft, Charlie. I wouldn’t mind it that much, as long as I was the one hurting them. But you’re probably right, if only for our own sakes.”

Charlie laughed and raised her shoulders in a shrug, “You’re probably right there.” She eyed him carefully, smiling briefly at the compliment, but she reached out and put her hand on his arm. “If anything ever happens I’m here for you okay?” She tried to reassure him, giving his forearm a gentle squeeze. She didn’t think he’d struggle anyway, he was resourceful and capable of hunting animals. He would just need somewhere safe to sleep. “I’ve always been soft.” She joked in return, bringing up the tone again from their serious conversation. It was true though, she’d never been out there fighting or hunting, she’d been playing and pretending she wasn’t crushing on the boys her age. Things that weren’t condusive to being a Lost Kid, but worked alright out in the port. 

[charlieslost]

fitz-patrick​:

Fitz grimaced and shook his head. “We’d only destroy it if we did, and we don’t have time for pretty things, not when there are pirates to be fought and adventures to have. Peter would certainly catch onto the fact we’re still meeting if I ever picked a flower, anyway.” There was no way he would ever have such an idea, and, though he knew she was joking, he couldn’t keep his mind from wandering to the deadly consequences. “I can take care of the pirates,” he snorted. “It’s Peter I’m worried about.” 

Charlie laughed loudly, nodding in agreement. “You so would destroy it. I’d put something nice out and two minutes later it would be covered in some nameless sticky goop.” She considered for a moment, lips pursed. “That’s true, if he even remembers me.” Charlie ate her sandwich and nodded because she knew he could hold his own, but she was also wary of which pirate might follow. There were a few she cared about, and she didn’t want them caught in the crosshares. “I’d rather just be careful and make sure we’re not followed by anyone. I don’t want anyone getting hurt because we’re friends.” 

[charlieslost]

fitz-patrick​:

Fitz doubted her assurances, but said nothing for her sake. He had never known a pirate to be anything other than brutal and cruel, and he couldn’t imagine that they had collectively changed hearts so quickly. Then again, if anyone was to make friends of enemies, it would be Charlie. He returned her smile and said, “That does sound nice. I also do my fair share of wandering, but I don’t pick any flowers.” He had never understood the utility of them, but he didn’t want to say anything disparaging to Charlie. “Not as much has changed for me as it has for you. I hang out with the lost kids for as long as I can bear, but I mostly go hunting. I’m actually often in your neck of the woods; the woods next to the port are always teeming with pirates. Maybe one night I’ll drop by and say hi. It’s unfortunate that we always have to meet in a cave.”

“What, you don’t want to prettify the hide out?” She teased, knowing it wasn’t really his thing. Charlie raised her brows at his suggestion, nodding in agreement. “We could do that. Probably best not to come to my house, but we could find somewhere out and about. I’ll just have to make sure no pirates are nearby.” Her past with the lost kids wasn’t common knowledge, she’d hate for it to come out in a bad way, or for Fitz to get caught or followed home. Whilst her obsessive loyalty to Peter had faded, she still cared about all those kids who’d be hurt. “Maybe you could scout out some good meeting spots.” She suggested, taking another bite. 

[charlieslost]

fitz-patrick​:

“If any drunk pirates ever bother you, just tell me, and I’ll rip their intestines from their bodies with my bare hands,” Fitz said with a scowl, his fingers itching for his dagger at the mere thought of drunk men bothering his friend. While he knew that she was more than capable of taking care of herself, he also knew that he craved violence more than she did, and would gladly rip any pirate limb from limb, even without provocation. “I’m glad you don’t mind it, though. I’m glad you’re happy,” he said, even though he felt a sharp pang of jealousy and fear that she preferred her new life to the one she had with him. He thanked her when he took his sandwich and took a bite before saying, “It is nice that you get free afternoons, though. What do you do other than work?”

Charlie smiled gratiously, she wasn’t keen on the violence aspect, but she knew that it was his way of saying that he cared, and for that she was grateful. “Nothing’s been worthy of that, but I’ll let you know.” She smiled, touching his forearm gently. “Thank you, it’s not perfect, but it gives me things I probably wouldn’t be able to do on my own.” She wondered what her life would be like had she found the elixir in time, had she been able to stay with Peter and the gang. “Sometimes I gather any extra ingreditents, but most of the time I just go wandering. Pick lots of flowers.” She smiled brightly, she’d always loved flowers. “I entertain myself with reading and music, too. How are you spending your days?”

[charlieslost]

fitz-patrick​:

He momentarily considered the idea of stealing pixie dust for Charlie, if only to give her one last chance at doing something she used to love, before fearing retribution from Peter. He did not envy her situation, and, while he wished he could help, he did not want to end up in the same place, cast out once more. Instead, he simply nodded and said, “We miss you, too.” Even though he suspected she already knew, he didn’t want her to forget or think they had forgotten her. “That’s so perfect for you. I can’t believe they’re making you all have jobs, though. That seems so rigid. How do you ever have fun if you spend so much of your day forced into labor?” He shuddered at the thought of being stuck somewhere for hours, unable to leave when he was tired of it and forced to interact with people he didn’t know or care for. “But obviously I’m glad you get free afternoons, even if it’s mainly for selfish reasons.”

Charlie smiled at the idea of others missing her, but something told her it was a lie. She doubted anyone other than Fitz and Delia ever cast her a passing thought; she was just another one of the lost, lost kids. “It is rigid, but if I realy think about it, I actually prefer it. It means less drunk pirates in the middle of the day, which is always nice.” She laughed, though she did wish for more free time for Alex. He worked hard, always, and deserved more leniency because of it. “Yeah, it works for me. I’m happy, even with having to do a bit of work in the morning. At least it’s something I like.” She justified, though she knew lost kids weren’t keen on the whole idea of work it did have some benefits, and she got to spend time with the girls she’d made friends with in the town. Charlie unpacked the two sandwiches she’d made, wrapped in clean muslin, and handed one off to him. 

[charlieslost]

[charlieslost]

fitz-patrick​:

the moon will sing || charlie & fitz

Fitz was never not taken aback when touched, even by Charlie, despite the fact that he knew to expect it from her, and thus didn’t sink a knife into her heart. After flinching and a brief second of shock, he returned the hug, his small smile returning. “Oh, you know. I’ve been alright, just killing pirates and running around. You remember the tedium,” he said, sinking back into the rare ease he felt with Charlie. It was nice to be with her again, though he hated that their meetings were so infrequent and secretive. It was difficult enough for Fitz to make friends, and he didn’t understand how he could be expected to drop one of his best friends solely because Peter did. “Thank you, that’s so thoughtful. So what have you been up to?”

Charlie laughed airily. She remembered it well, and she’d never been entirely comfortable with the murder side of things, on either side of the coin. She was nervous for her old friends out in the home underground, and she was nervous for her new friends in the port. “I do, I miss the flying around with everyone.” She mused, finding that frolicking alone wasn’t quite as fun. She lead him towards the basket she’d brought and sat cross legged on the floor. “They wanted us all to have a job of some sort to live in the town, so I started up a little business where I make lunches for people. That way I tend to get a free afternoon.” Charlie tapped the side of her nose, like she’d cheated the system and wanted to keep it a secret