Wolf heart.

Kai. Rebel, native.

[messed-up-curly]

Curly was running through the woods, ditching trees and pushing branches to the side while adrenaline was filling up her systems. She ducked, tumbled but swiftly continued trying to get away from the other boys. Soundlessly she laughed, only her lips indicating her amusement.

It’d only been a few hours ago since her mood had changed to this happy state though. Back at home, Curly had felt bored. They all had felt a bit down really. It seemed uncommon but not impossible that going around the island and picking out victims, that being stuck in this daily routine and joining in playing war sometimes didn’t appeal. Something else needed to happen, just a small thing so they could break through the everyday dread. That’s when she’d poked the boy next to her and had gotten away as soon as she’d yelled: “Tip, you’re it!” In joy, all of them had moved quickly and played along, yelling in delight at the little distraction. By now their little game of tag had stretched itself out over a huge part of the island already. The other Lost Boys were just like her, scattered around in the woods somewhere, running away from their chaser or his bow and arrow. Because you see, there still needed to be a bit of fun involved.

Running out of breath, Curly slowed down and took a careful look around. She sighed and pushed branches out of her way to clear her path. She needed a break from the all the adrenaline being pumped around in her body. Besides she hadn’t seen one of them in a while anymore and she didn’t recall anyone following her direction. Although you could never be completely sure with her brothers, she was convinced she’d shaken them off for now.

A sudden noise of brushing leaves and footsteps that weren’t made by her, made her turn her head quickly. It couldn’t have been the boys because she’d never heard them coming close. She smiled at the thought but ditched the game for a second to go investigate who else was out here. She smiled when she was met by a bow and a stranger. “So on whose side are you?” She grinned and mockingly held up her hands in defense, her sharp knife clutched between her fingers. Not that it really mattered, pirates or rebels, she’s against them all. Especially against those who try and threaten her.

[thenativerebel]

Before her stood a girl with a mocking smile and a large bush of dark, unruly curls. Her cocky expression and sarcastic gesture lead Kai to believe that she was one of Pan’s followers. The rebels she had met were more serious, and it seemed unlikely that they would be asking a native what her alliance was, as Kai had not heard of a native considering themself to be on Hook’s side. Kai thought their neutrality was foolish, but she believed none of them could possibly side with the people who destroyed the island they had lived on for as long as anyone could remember. Still, even if Kai’s assumption was incorrect and the girl was not one of the so-called Lost Boys, her demeanour did not seem that of a person who was looking to avoid trouble.

“I’m on no one’s side,” Kai replied, her eyes resting on the knife clenched between the girl’s teeth. Telling her that she was looking for the rebels with the intention of joining them did not seem like a smart move, and as most natives were neutral it was an easy lie to tell. She kept her weapon aimed at the girl, ready to impale her with one of her arrows. Kai was not usually one to avoid a fight, especially not with one of the people who had contributed to the death and despair that had filled the past centuries. Some considered the Lost Boys children, but Kai did not. They may have the appearance of children, but they had lived long lives already, and they had done things that no child would – or should – be capable of. There was nothing innocent about them, and Kai refused to let their young appearance trick her into thinking their crimes were any less unforgiveable than they were. However, this time Kai decided it would be better to avoid confrontation. Getting into a fight with one of the Lost Boys was not on her list of priorities. Not until she found the rebels.

[tramp-the-rebel]

Tramp noted the her suspicion of him. She seemed on edge. Then again, everyone on the island was at this point. After all the constant death and fighting, it’s hard to not be wary of everyone you come across. He understood why she hadn’t lowered her weapon. If he were in her situation, he wouldn’t have either. It’s too difficult to trust people during times like these. But Tramp did not want a weapon aimed at him. “You can lower your weapon,” he assured. “I have no intentions of attacking you unless you strike first.” 

A small smirk appeared on his lips. “I could ask you the same thing,” he said. “After Hook set fire to the Neverwood, he managed to burn a lot of herbs with it. I had to come this far to collect the ones I need.” Hook’s name tasted bitter in his mouth as it always did. But more so now that he had scorched the place where Tramp had resided for centuries. He could run through those woods with his eyes closed. A combination of all the years he had spent alone before the rebellion and the system of hideouts the rebels had built there allowed him to venture through those woods often. Now they were scarred almost to the point of not being able to be rebuilt. Almost.

"And you?" he questioned. "Why are you so far away from town?" Tramp took his eyes off of her for a brief moment to look at the sea. "Cannibal Cove is a dangerous place, you know. Mermaids are ruthless creatures. They get one look at you and you’re their next meal." That was the case most of the time. However, the rebel had managed to walk away from a mermaid unharmed twice in his life. A surprising thing, really. It wasn’t often you heard stories about merfolk being kind. But Tramp did know for sure that there was one mermaid who was actually kind to humans. He wondered if that was who the girl was here for. 

[thenativerebel]

After a moment of hesitation, Kai complied, lowering her weapon and slipping her arrow into the quiver on her back. The boy did not seem like a threat, and if he was, Kai figured she would be able to defend herself just as easily as if her weapon were already aimed. She had centuries of practice when it came to archery, and knew it did not take her long to nock and shoot an arrow. Plus, she had two knives in sheaths strapped around her waist, just in case. She was not as skilled with knives as she was with a bow and arrow, but she knew she was still better than many of the other natives were. Besides, if the boy was a rebel, communication was more important than intimidation, even though the former was not her strong suite.

Kai’s jaw clenched at the mention of what Hook had done to the Neverwood, fury welling up inside her. She was ashamed that she had not joined the rebels before, perhaps then she had been able to do something to stop it… She vowed that she would have vengeance for what he had done, to the island as well as her family. It seemed everything she had once cared about had hurt or taken from her by the pirate captain, and Kai knew that the destruction and death would only continue, unless the pirates, the soldiers and the Lost Boys were gone. Kai would give everything for that cause, even her life. After all, what else did she have left to give? There was but one person in her life she could call a friend, and she knew that by leaving the tribe, she had already ended that friendship. She was too proud to return to the tribe anytime soon, and knew her friend would feel betrayed and hurt by her decision to leave. Perhaps he would not want to see her anyway.

“I do my best to avoid the town,” Kai answered honestly. She could hardly remember the last time she had been there, before Hook’s takeover. It felt like a different life. Kai’s eyes flitted to the bay before returning to the boy’s face. “The mermaids cannot walk on the land during daytime,” she said coolly, “and I did not plan to venture closer to the water. I was only passing by.” She wanted to somehow communicate to him that she was looking for the rebels, but she did not know how to do that without sharing too much information. She assumed he was a rebel, but if she was wrong, telling him that she wanted to join the Rebellion might be dangerous. It was hard to tell who could be trusted nowadays, and Kai had never been the trusting type.

[tramp-the-rebel]

It felt like it had been a lifetime since the most recent battle on the island. The forest was still burnt, the rebels were still trying to rebuild their main Hideout, and the wounds were still healing. Both sides took incredibly amounts of damage during the attack on the port town, but Tramp knew well that recovery had to be swift. Rest wouldn’t remain for too long. Although he was injured badly himself, the rebels always took priority in his mind. His wounds would be attended to last. They always were. He had become a healer, a hunter, a protector, and most of all a rock for his family to lean on. It was his job to keep them safe and that’s exactly what he planned on doing.

Tramp left the area they were stationed for the moment so that he could grab herbs and supplies to tend to the wounded and dying rebels. As always, he remained on his guard, but was not looking for a fight. The mere thought of it caused the near fatal wound on his neck to ache. After gathering most of the supplies he needed, Tramp decided it was time to head back to his family. He neared closer to the edge of the forest to find himself located outside Cannibal Cove. He sighed, knowing he should have been paying more attention to where he had wandered. Being caught in Cannibal Cove was a dangerous thing, seeing as he was as susceptible to the siren song as anyone. And Tramp didn’t have his strength to fight off a mermaid.

Before turning back, someone caught his eye. Another human— a native to be exact— was knelt down just outside the edge of woods where Tramp was. The rebel considered himself lucky that he’d stumbled upon a native rather than a pirate or Lost Boy. Natives tended to remain neutral, so he saw this girl as no threat. In fact, any Native was a potential ally to him. The more people that joined the rebels, the better their cause would be. But Tramp decided to leave her be and head back to the rebels. Turning away, he accidentally made a noise and knew he had startled her. Looking back at her, she had her weapon raised towards his and he silently swore to himself. His intention was never to cause a confrontation. Tramp put his hands up in surrender and spoke cautiously, “I mean no harm. I was just gathering some herbs. I’ll be on my way.”

[thenativerebel]

A young man stood between the trees, not that far away, and Kai scolded herself for not noticing him before the deer had alerted her of his presence.  It was foolish to let herself be so immersed in thought that she had not heard another person nearby.  The stranger raised his arms in surrender and reassured her that he meant no harm, but Kai did not lower her weapon.  He did not look like a pirate or a soldier, but she knew better than to let her guard down before she was certain there was no sign of danger.  It was surprising, however, that someone was collecting herbs this far away from civilisation.  The neutral citizens usually lived in the port town, and it seemed unusual that someone would venture this far away from their home just to collect herbs.  Was he a rebel?  Kai could not help but hope, but she was not naïve, and refused to let judgment be clouded by her emotions.

Kai narrowed her eyes, scrutinising him, attempting to somehow learn more about him and his intentions just by soaking in his appearance.  He seemed tired, and there was a wound on his neck, but that was all she could deduce by looking alone.  Kai had never been able to read people the way her mother used to; she had not spent nearly enough time in the company of others to learn such a skill.

“What are you doing so far from the town?” Kai demanded, loosening her grip on the string, but still keeping the arrow nocked, just in case.  It was hard to believe she had been so lucky as to run into a rebel this quickly, especially when she had been worrying about how to find them just moments before.  She hoped his answer would shed some light on what his alliance was.

[thenativerebel]

Kai was loath to admit it, but she was uncertain about how to find the rebels.  She had never asked Tiger Lily what their location was, not wanting to share her plan of leaving the tribe and joining the Rebellion with anyone, and she doubted the chief’s daughter would have shared such confidential information with her, if she knew in the first place.  Kai walked in the direction of the town for several hours before she stopped, doubt filling her mind.  She hated the uncertainty, and was not used to it.  Even when faced with extremely hard situations, Kai always felt that she knew what she was doing.  Although she did not regret leaving the tribe, she wished she had more information about the rebels, so she at least had a clue of where to start looking. 

It had been centuries since Kai had last visited the town, and she had heard that it was riddled with pirates since Hook’s takeover.  It seemed unlikely that the rebels frequented the area, and if they did, Kai was sure they would do their best to blend in.  Sighing, Kai knelt down next to a large tree, her knees digging into a moist bed of moss.  Cannibal Cove, then?  It seemed unlikely to her that the mermaids would know of the rebels’ location, and even more unlikely that they would tell her if they did.  Kai frowned in frustration.  She had wasted enough time on Neverpeak, attempting to make a difference as a part of Tiger Lily’s group of rebels.  She refused to waste even more just time trying to find the group of people she knew shared her determination to end the destruction of the island and its inhabitants.  But what could she do?  She knew how to track animals, but finding a group of humans and the like who were actively avoiding being found… That was a whole different thing.

Kai was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of something – or someone – nearby.  She stood up and raised her bow, pulling the string back and aiming at the source of the noise, ready to defend herself.  As soon as her eyes focussed on the bush the sound had come from, she recognised the graceful silhouette of a deer, and lowered her weapon.  Kai was about to kneel back down and continue her trail of thought when the deer abruptly darted off in the opposite direction, presumably hearing something approaching before her human ears were able to.  Kai spun around, readying her trusted weapon once again as she scanned the woods for signs of unwanted company. 

[thenativerebel]

Fact 01

Kai's mother used to wear a white feather in her hair. After her death, Kai kept the feather and now usually wears it in her own hair. Aside from the sentimental value attached to it, it serves as a reminder of what she has lost at the hands of Hook and his army. Kai has not shared the story behind the feather with anyone so far; the only people who know about it are those who knew her mother well enough to recognise the feather.