How was Mara supposed to work with the boys who hate her? Felix, the right hand boy who gives her the looks that is full of hatred, Nibs the boy who attempted to kill her on her first day, Rufio who threw a spear at her once during the hunting game and Twin Two who hasn't done anything wrong to her yet but she knew he hates her.
As for her tentmates, James was teamed with Ace, the other Twin and other two she couldn't remember their names. Tootles was with Devin, Thomas and the other two. Curly and Slightly with the rest of the boys but both in separate teams.
Mara approached Pan in the middle of the camp while everyone were getting ready for the hunt, she saw Felix and Nibs already talking to each other, and even Rufio and Twin Two as well. "Is this another of your joke you're playing at?" She whispered.
Pan glanced at her, wrinkled his brows in confusion, "Of course not" he sounded sarcastic.
"Felix? Nibs? They hate me, you know that. Rufio nearly killed me once and Twin Two is--" she gazed to her left, finding Twin Two with Rufio and collecting their weapons. "--I'm sure he hates me too. No way we're going to able to work as a team"
"This game is a test, not just for you but for everyone else and see how well all of you do, see how long before you all kill each other or if you all work together. Not all of these boys are fond to each other" he explained in a low voice, "since you have nothing against your new team, I suggest you'll be the one keeping them from kill each other, can you do that?"
Mara scoffed, "That's if they don't kill me first" then she walked back to her friends.
Before the hunt began, Pan explained that they'll be hunting deers, one for each team and the hunt won't stop until they all catch one. The animals were already on loose before the Lost Boys woke up and they could be anywhere on the island now.
"Anyone I should worry about?" Mara hushed, crouching down beside James as he was sharpening his wooden spear. He responded with a confused look as he looked at her, "Felix? Nibs? Twin Two? Rufio?"
James glanced back over where her team were, "Nibs is hard to talk to, he'll probably avoid you if you attempt to talk to him. Felix is easily annoyed, when Pan announced that there's going to be a first Lost Girl and he attempted to persuade Pan to reconsider it so, if I were you, I'd watch out for him." He blew off the carved wood on his spear before standing up. "Rufio, to tell you the truth, he's not that bad, trust me, try and talk to him. And Twin Two, he's a little quiet but it'll take a while for him to get used to around you"
Mara could try not to think about Rufio when he threw a spear at her and not bring it up if they talk.
When the hunt began, that's when Mara left her tentmates, even they left as well and all five of them went to their team. She was nervous, almost scared of her team.
"Hey, arseling!" Nibs called, she glanced up at her team, "You deaf or what? Come on now!"
Thanks to Curly for that stupid nickname he gave her and now probably most of the Lost Boys call her that. She had to do this, it's only today and just all day. If she could move fast, if her team move fast then they can get this game done.
She was behind them, Felix was leading and she was walking behind Twin Two. Only couple yards ahead of walking, that's when the boys started jogging away and she had to as well. She hated running, even jogging, she must stay right behind them.
Deers are swift, and quickly startled. It wouldn't be difficult to find one if the island wasn't that big. It would be hard to catch the animal, maybe her team will be quick enough to catch one. Felix had been here for a long time and was one of the first Lost Boys, he could have done this thousand times.
They slowed down when Felix waved them to stop, "Look out for deer tracks, I hope at least one of you knows how to track a deer"
"I do" Mara uttered, the four boys shifted their heads and looked at her over their shoulders. "What? Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I don't know how to track a wild animal, think I've been knitting and dressing up in pretty dresses all my life?" She shook her head as she narrowed her eyes.
"That's how you and your tentmates caught a boar back in the day" Rufio stated.
"Girl's far better than the twins" Felix jeered then Nibs laughed.
Only Mara, Rufio and Twin Two weren't laughing. Twin proceeded walking, he went around Nibs and Felix and kept walking on the side and Rufio followed him. Mara didn't move until the rest followed.
Mara didn't talk to any of the boys, she didn't want to try. After an hour of searching for animal tracks, there was no luck and noon was getting near. All five would separate to search the area they were in until none of them finds anything.
Mara would find only shoe prints, from the other Lost Boys maybe. Felix called out all of them to regroup and look in another area.
On the last search, Mara found fresh tracks of an animal and that's when she informed the boys, "I found one here!"
Only Rufio and Twin Two came to her while Nibs and Felix went on looking despite what Mara had told them. Rufio examined the tracks before saying, "Yes it is, it appears it went that way" he pointed west. "I'm going to inform Felix"
Rufio ran to Felix and Nibs as Mara and Twin Two were standing around the tracks as they waited. This was Mara's chance to attempt a conversation with Twin Two, James said he's quiet and will take time to get used to around her. "Is Twin Two really your name?" She asked.
The boy raised his brows, he didn't reply quickly, it took a moment to do so, "No, it's not but Twin is my real name"
"Twin" she repeated, "Twin One and Twin Two, what's with that? Twin One's name is Twin as well?"
"No" he shook his head, "He doesn't know his real name, Pan was the one who gave us the names 'Twin One' and 'Twin Two'"
"So you two are not really related at all?"
He shook his head in response.
"So Twin is your real name, yet you're Twin Two, you could've been One instead"
She heard a sharp and soft breath from him like he just laughed, when Mara looked at him and she could see a half smile from him. "Said the similar thing to Pan long time ago"
When Rufio came back, he was running until he was close, "Felix implies that we should split up because they found another tracks heading east, he and Nibs are going that way and the three of us are going the west one"
"Good" Twin Two answered, "can't stand that bastard anyway, let's go"
Mara took the lead. She followed the tracks of an animal. Along the way, only Rufio and Twin exchanged conversations while Mara didn't speak at all even when she wanted to. The two boys talked about the previous games they played the past week, how it went for them, how their tentmates played, they joked about their own friends and they'd laugh together.
"Hey, Turner"
It was probably the first time someone called her by her last name in Neverland. It was Rufio who called. "Yes?"
"How do you know how to track an animal?"
"I travel a lot since I was thirteen, been on my own since then" she told them. "Along the way, I hunt. Not good with bow and arrow or spear throwing, just make traps to catch an animal"
"Huh" Rufio responded in an impressed tone. "So how do you like this place? How is it for you?"
"I don't know" she shrugged, she kept walking, "It's only been a week, you know? First week aren't the best, right?"
"Aye" Rufio agreed, "First week is difficult or the first month"
Good thing they started talking despite he tried to kill her once, she can forget that now, she wondered if he's thinking about it or may have forgotten about it already.
An hour passed, they had reached the line between the Native land and their land and no sign of the deer as they continued followed the tracks.
"They're fresh," Rufio stated as he looked at the tracks, "Just very recent and it must be around here" he prepared his spear, already on his shoulder while Twin had his bow ready and the arrow loaded.
The three of them cautiously, slowly and quietly moved. "What if it's on the other side?" Mara asked in a low voice.
"Then we look for another one" Twin replied.
They went forward, another fifty feet ahead, Mara was gazing left to right before spotting a deer on their right and it was about fifty feet ahead of them and it was sniffing and eating something in the ground. She nudged Twin's back, he looked, she nodded at the deer and he spotted it right away. He nudged Rufio to stop, Twin prepared to shoot, on his one knee and aimed at the deer. Even Rufio prepared to throw spear as a last resort in case Twin misses.
It was a long moment of silence as Mara stood behind Twin and Rufio beside him. The deer moved to the left and there was a sudden snapping wire noise ahead all at the same. It was a quick second when Mara spotted a native boy far straight ahead when the deer moved aside, and Twin and Rufio both gasped before something sharp and pierced into her arm up above her elbow.
***
Uh oh, I wonder what happens next, what do you think will happen?
Stay weird everyone and stay cool in this hot summer ^_^