Snippet #2532835

"Just loch th' mermaids, ye really dornt have a way wit' girls. But don't worry, Ah t'ink yer prettier then all th' flowers an' th' mermaids."

Compliments were nothing new from Peter, although in the old days it was how she could tell he wanted something. Perhaps that had changed with time? It was still nice to hear, however, especially since her history with boys and flattery was fairly sparse. Peter himself had usually flattered her skills, or her gender, not her looks. Wendy had often felt confident that he never noticed what a girl looked like at all, no matter her species. She laughed inwardly as she put it down to Peter's long awaited completion of puberty, and tucked it away in her memory where she put all of the things that mattered to her.

Wendy wrinkled her nose at him, thinking of Neverland's mermaids, her face a study in mockery. "Girls I have no problem with. I lived with Alice, and we got along just fine, and she isn't the only friend I have who happens to be a girl. Mermaids, however, aren't girls at all, and you know that, Peter. They're just... horrid!"

She looked where he did at the purple goo and her expression turned sour.

"Thes looks loch somethin' Alice woods cook, or maybe a wee worse. Ye t'ink all th' ponds in Wonderland looks like this?"

"I doubt it," she responded, no desire to give it a poke. "Why would anyone want to drink that? It looks horrible! And Alice's cooking isn't that bad." All right, Alice wasn't the best cook in the world, but she couldn't just let Peter slight her like that... even if it held a grain of truth--but only when Alice attempted certain dishes! Or got distracted by something in the middle of cooking... or decided that a certain recipe needed a particular "Wonderland" flair that struck everyone who hadn't visited the place as completely odd.

She ducked when his hand went up to throw some goo at at her, typical Peter! but they were interrupted by a loud sound. Something dark and angry, that echoed through the trees and made the goo vibrate beneath them.

"Ya t'ink we shoolds worry?"

Wendy floated up a bit higher. "Perhaps. Alice told me of many things that live in these woods, and some of them are quite dangerous. We'd better stay far off the ground... and find Alice. Quickly. She'll know how to deal with it, and if she doesn't, her Hatter will. They're both enterprising individuals, and as much as I know you'd love to throw yourself into battle, my dear Peter, forewarned is forearmed."