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All thoughts of giant invisible chameleons were blown away when the trotting birds led you into a village that was far smaller than it had any right to be. Considering how these guys have been here for over a century, you would’ve thought that they put some effort into expanding their territory. But then, you remembered what Anastasia said about there not being any newborn animals on Neverland. Maybe the same applied for the people that lived here.
If that were the case, then expansion would be almost pointless without people to fill the villages. As it stood, their land seemed particularly crowded with overgrown animals. Most being creatures that you didn’t think belonged in an ecosystem like this one.
The Redskins didn’t seem at all disturbed by the presence of these giant animals. On the contrary, they were coexisting peacefully. You somewhat expected the mutant Lost Boy to be holding them all hostage. Instead, the Picaninny Tribe in its current form was like a fucked up picture of paradise, where man comingled with beast in a Disneyfied and idealized land of wonder. Out of everything that you’ve seen thus far, this seemed to resemble your previous ideas of what neverland would look like the most.
Rather than focusing on expansion, the Redskins seemed to focus on decorating tents and carving elaborate totem poles above all else. It was all very minimalist, and you were pretty sure that was exactly the way that they liked it.
As you went deeper into the village, you started to gather more attention from the other tribesmen. Not the giant sparrows that were leading the pack. No, <span class="mu-i">you</span> were somehow the more interesting and potentially dangerous out of the bunch.
The crowd parted before you, Redskin and giant beast alike, until you came across a pale kid wearing a tattered frog costume, hovering above the ground in a sitting position. He gave you all a perplexed look as the young woman’s sparrows trotted over to stand by his side.
For a moment, your brain struggled to process the physics behind what he was currently doing. But when you saw Cat flip her goggles on and off, you realized that he was actually sitting atop one of the giant chameleons. This was made even more evident as the imperceptible thing rustled beneath him. Slightly throwing off the perfect balance that he’d been maintaining until now.
<span class="mu-g">“Tiger Lily? Who are these guys?”</span> Croaker asked. <span class="mu-g">“They don’t look like any Lost Boys that I know.”</span>
<span class="mu-r">“They wished to meet with you.”</span> said the one known as Tiger Lily, in perfect English.
A moment of stunned silence washed over the group. Anastasia didn’t seem particularly surprised, though.
You were once again grateful that your mask could perfectly hide your embarrassment. That whole “how” thing was most likely unnecessary, and probably more than a little racist. Which would explain why those other tribesmen had been laughing so loudly back there.
(Cont.)
