𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐄𝐀, peter pan

Chapter Forty-Eight

The hunt game lasted all day before evening arrived. Mara ended up bringing in four stones from the preys she caught. From Rufio's, Nibs', and two others. The boys had thought she wasn't a hunter and all she did was to play the role of prey and lied that Curly was the hunter, James, Slightly, any of the boys she thought of and that convinced them that she was a prey.

She didn't think she'd catch anyone, she was surprised how okay she did in this game. She had to fight Nibs to get the stone when he refused to give it to her when she caught him. She barely got it off of his hand, she got lucky when he loosened his grip and dropped the stone then she got on her hands on it first.

There was a whistle by Peter Pan echoed through the forest which signalled everyone that the game was over, it wasn't even sun down and that meant that hunters caught every prey.

Once everyone were back in the caves, Pan called out the hunters to hand in the stones. There was Slightly, she had no idea he was a hunter, he had three stones and tossed them on the table. There was Ace with two stones, Twin Two with three, a boy named Luvic had only one, Devin had three and Ezekiel had two. All of them had less than Mara and that surprised her.

When she handed in her's without looking at Pan, it seems difficult to look at him after last night, or she was merely avoiding eye contact with him. "It looks like Turner caught the most" Pan said aloud and Mara heard a proudness in his tone.

There were murmurs and looks of surprises. She tried not to smile but pursed her lips and had a little smug smile on her face as she sat down on her ground.

Night was calm and quiet as the Lost Boys were getting ready to sleep for the night. "Okay, but how?" Curly asked her. "How did you catch four of them?"

Mara shrugged, "Just pretended and lied, they seemed easily convinced and probably because a girl can't be a hunter"

"It's like the game was easy for you"

"Wouldn't say it was easy" She was looking at a bruise on her where Nibs had gripped on with a stone against it as he pressed his palm too hard. "Had to fight Nibs for it"

"Well, he wasn't supposed to fight, supposedly once you're caught, you're out and you're not allowed to fight"

"Is that cheating?" She rubbed her wrist around the bruise.

"Doesn't matter, you beat him anyways" Curly laughed. He then looked across cave toward the back "Hey Nibs!" He called.

Nibs turned around and looked toward them.

"Is it true she beat you?!" Curly teasedj.

"Piss off, Curly" Nibs replied.

The blonde boy chuckled "anyway, I'm gonna hit the hay, big day tomorrow, mate. Have good dreams" he stood up and went to his spot.

Not long before the boys quieted down and went to sleep. Some were sleeping already while the rest were whispering to one another and Mara was trying to sleep. She still wasn't used to the ground, how solid and uneven it was, she missed sleeping in the camp, on her hammock. When she couldn't sleep, she began counting sheep like what Curly does when he can't sleep. She closed her eyes, then started to count. She didn't even reach three hundred before she fell into a dream.

The dream was peaceful and happy. With her mother and father, the three of them living in a farm, all happy like nothing bad ever happened to either of them. No death took her mother when she brought her daughter into the world, no war swept her father away from her, no illness took her guardian from her. And no adventure or world took Mara from her home.