( PETER ) // closed starter for @darkesthowl
The boy was crying and shaking in the dark, his sobs quiet, almost inaudible, as if they were part of the forest’s nightly stage. He sat hidden away behind scrub and brambles, easy to overlook for anyone who wasn’t looking. Silently Peter flew through the air, his arms stretched out to the sides to brush the leaves and little twigs of the trees and bushes. He loved the tingling feeling on his skin. It was a cool night, the sky clear and lit by a galaxy of twinkling stars, but not a breeze moved the leaves on the trees or the hair on their heads. Without a sound Peter landed on the moss that covered the ground, bare feet sinking into the soft surface before the little boy.
For a moment he just looked, curious about his finding; then he sank to the ground, cross-legged and met the sobbing boy with a questioning gaze. His fingers dug into the moss beneath him, petting it like a living breathing thing.
“Are you all alone?” he asked the boy, while his eyes wandered over him. Alone or not, lost he certainly was. The spot he had picked to hide in was lovely, green and cozy and dark, but even so he couldn’t stay. Lost boys had no place in the woods of this world, not if no one would come to claim them.
“You can stop crying. I’m here now. So ---you’re not alone anymore!” Peter announced cheerfully. The boy’s clothes were torn and dirty, as were his hands and feet. Peter didn’t mind. His own hands were quite dirty most of the time.
