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Now I don't want to sound pretentious when I say this, but no matter how much this camera blows, you can't deny this view. [ booms the voice of some guy who still manages to find a great angle to showcase a particularly beautiful shot of the gardens that most residents are probably already familiar with. yes, residents. he's done his research. he's tech-savvy enough for that and smart enough not to run screaming, blabbing to the first person in his vicinity. he recovers what's left of his sanity and he waits; he learns. then he appears on his own terms. ]

It damn near takes your breath away. [ so does arriving face first in the pool. ] There are only a few things in life that have that kind of power. That kind of sway over you. [ hm? he shakes his head clear of it and steers the view away from the fountain ( far, far away ), cutting the feed and switching to text without ever revealing his face. ]

so, i wanted to pose a question to you, Land of Wonder. what would you describe as a sight for sore eyes, and why? is it something that can be physically found or does it exist strictly in the imagination? and don't worry, i know all about how curiosity killed the cat. i'm more of a dog guy. on that note, if anyone's seen either one of mine, i'd really appreciate whatever information you have. one of them is like a wrecking ball. he's big, hairy, and he leaves a huge mess. he answers to Derek, and no, you never get used to the drool. the other one's kind of small, but he never stops trying to learn the same darn trick. Scott's just so predictable. you almost have to like him and feel sorry for him at the same time.

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Curiosity doesn't kill cats here, or anything else for that matter.

But to answer your question, imagination and dreams hold the most power over us. Until you make something physical out of a dream.

_{[Two cents from the magical not-king of an island that runs solely on imagination. Hey, Matt, welcome to Wonderland!]}

really, not even in Wonderland? [ surely it eventually got the cheshire. ] have you ever made a dream come true?

[ dreams are like goals, in that regard. if you want something, sometimes you have to take it. ]

Especially not in Wonderland. Or more accurately, a little death is nothing you can't recover from. Have you ever been to a place like this before?

_{[And isn't being able to exude as much curiosity as you want an exciting prospect in a brand new world? Peter certainly thinks so, even if the landscapes in this realm aren't to his tastes.]}

If you'd ever visited Neverland, you'd see dreams are well within your grasp. I've made plenty of them come true. The only way you really fail at it is if you stop dreaming at all.

Your dogs, by the way, are sniffing around here somewhere.

out of a story book? no. [ but i've died before. twice. and i came back both times. he has Wonderland to thank for that second one. ] i come from a town that has its share of weirdness, but nothing like this. yeah, when i was like four and my parents took me on the ride. next you're going to tell me you're one of the Lost Boys, or a pirate. well, you know dogs. they can't help it.

Then I can't imagine you'd recognize how special the magic is here without more travel experience.

_{[But the rest of Matt's message almost, almost makes Peter smile. Ah, someone's who quite a bit out of their depth. That's nothing new around these parts, but it doesn't cease to be amusing.

Matt's sort of on the right track... If he can't guess who Peter is after a few more hints, he may very well be a lost cause.]}

A good guess. I crossed paths with pirates, and I founded those Boys. Whatever replicas of Neverland there are, they didn't come out of thin air.

I don't suppose they can, or the messes they make.

i understand that it's wonderful and not strictly because it's in the name of this world. [ people don't have magic! they can't do the sorts of amazing things that he's read about in books or seen online or in movies. but here? here, they can come back from the dead. they can heal. they can very possibly fly, if this guy is who he thinks he is. ]

you have to be pulling my leg. otherwise, you're implying that /you're/ Peter Pan. it's hardly their fault that they're so easily excited.

It is at that.

_{[But why would he pull your leg about something so mundane? There's plenty of better things to lie and spin half-truths about.]}

I am. Not a believer? I can hardly fault you a little doubt, either, under the circumstances. Need a little proof?

_{[Always happy to provide in the name of keeping people's heads spinning.]}

after the things i've discovered in the past few weeks at home, i'm willing to try to wrap my mind around anything. i never thought half of what was going on around me could be real. [ hm. he's not going to spill the beans on that over the network. but is it so uncommon here to be from a world where supernatural things occur? werewolves were in story books, myths, but so were the furies. and so was Peter Pan. it's not that out there. ]

it would certainly help your case along.

Are you a fan of impossible things being real?

_{[This is the question he leaves Matt with before giving him the proof he desires.

Without so much as a stir in the air to announce his presence, three guesses who's suddenly going to be standing behind Matt, arms crossed. Green-eyed and whip-thin, Peter is a rough sight in comparison to the gilded gardens, looking like he's stepped straight out of the jungles of Neverland. His communicator is nowhere to be seen, but around his waist is a sheath to hold his dagger.]}

How about now?

_{[Peter smiles. Teleporting can be just as nice as flying with the help of pixie dust.]}

someone has to appreciate the small miracles in life.

[ it's delayed. in fact, he probably sends it off just as Peter appears around him. he's as far away from the fountain as he can be because he doesn't doubt the possibility of being able to drown in a glass of water. his clothes are drying and while his shirt is almost complete, his jeans aren't. it might look like he decided to walk through the fountain, or maybe he fell into it. nobody's been able to sneak up on him in awhile, so genuine surprise and caution flashes across his face as he spins around. Matt's quick to put a foot between them. anyone that can move that fast and that quietly doesn't belong within an arm's reach. ]

Was that supposed to prove anything other than you brought your ninja shoes out to play?

[ he's a little unnerved, so. forgive him. ]

Don't worry, I didn't come to kick any cats.

_{[The boy springs back like one--every curious cat needs a healthy dose of caution--but Peter is reassuring, letting his body language speak friendly words, even if he doesn't always with his tongue. Matt's a boy, not young nor old enough to be excluded from rough games, and in this strange new land, that practically makes them allies.

As a boy himself, his time's always better spent with friends his own age, and consequently boys get the better sides of Peter's personality.]}

You wanted to see some real magic, didn't you? _{[He keeps on speaking without stopping for a breath, but when he continues he's behind Matt again, keeping the distance between them. Making things disappear and reappear is a favorite trick of his.]} Well, here I am.

_{[But they could play that game all day. To take the sting out of it, Peter grins and does some real magic. He waves his hand toward the other boy.

Maybe Matt's clothes feel much drier than they had a moment ago?]}

You look a little wet, that'll leave a mess. There now.

[ he does have an issue with dogs, and he likes to think he can outsmart them, even if he can't overpower them, so maybe that does make him more feline than he wants to be. Peter doesn't come across as intimidating but to be frank, he never would have thought Gerard Argent was a threat. he can't afford to take any more chances. he's on a truce with those from home but he doesn't think for a second that all of them will keep to it. someone's bound to have a bone to pick and when they do, if they find a way to save Jackson, he's screwed.

he doesn't need any more enemies.

but death has made Matt a paranoid guy. for that matter, so does a young man that can teleport. amazing as it is. ] How are you doing that?

[ he spins around again with the intention to keep his eyes on Peter. but then his clothes are dry and he has to pat them down to be sure it's not an illusion. ] Thanks. I needed that. I thought you could only fly.

_{[How is he doing what he does? Easy, he's Peter Pan! His smile grows.]}

You come from a town full of things you never thought were real, I come from a world full of magic. _{[Does that answer satisfy Matt?]} Stay in Neverland a while and you pick up a few tricks.

_{[Peter omits a good part of the tale, that he isn't the Peter Pan Earth children think he is, that he's tapped into Neverland's magic thanks to a very dark deal he'd made long ago, but there's only so much sharing and caring one should do during a first meeting. He saves all the best parts for later, provided there ever is a later.

A fellow teenage boy is the best kind of candidate for the group he has in mind, though, so he has hope... At least he's relative sure this one isn't a wolf who needs to howl at the moon every month.

He nods at Matt's thanks, only quirking his brow amusedly at the mention of flying.]}

The stories must get that confused. Flying is the one thing anyone can do without magic, as long as you have a little belief in it. _{[He gestures at the boy with his index finger.]} Now you might be on your way.

[ if Matt survived his revenge and got out of Beacon Hills, at least he knew the weirdness might go away. or be less rampant. his town seemed like a fixed point for werewolves and anything that wanted to kill them. Peter makes it sound as though he came from a world where no matter where he turned, town to town, he would have encountered magic and with it, the wonder. ]

Just a few? [ he doubts he's going to learn which other tricks Peter has up his sleeve, but it's worth a shot. ] What about Wonderland? Have you picked up anything during your stay here?

[ thanks but he's cool without wings. without hovering through the air and flapping his arms like a retarded bird. ] To flying? I'd rather pick up your parlor trick. Appearing somewhere else within a blink of an eye? That sounds way more useful. [ he's talking preferences, not what he actually believes he can just absorb somehow. Matt's blowing smoke; talking to talk. ]

_{[His eyebrows dart up, a noncommittal gesture that comes across as teasing.]}

A few. I lived in Neverland a long time before coming here. This Wonderland's a bit of a long story itself--based on what I saw in that video of yours, you must be new enough to still be finding your way.

_{[Very new. Peter makes a habit of learning faces and he knows Matt's isn't just a case of someone going unnoticed.

And still, he smiles. He's never minded talking to talk when a good mood allows it.]}

I think you'd be surprised at the kind of view you'll find when the whole world falls away. It's one of those moments you mentioned. _{[He believes that, he does. Peter then shrugs with exaggerated nonchalance, smiling playing about his mouth, playing magic off as no big deal when they both know it is. Power never stops being important.]} You'd have to learn a little magic for that. A little magic, but mostly sleight of hand. Knowing where to make people look is half of it. Like a camera, in a way?

This is my first day. [ it already feels like a lifetime. not because it's been ~so scary~ but because he's trying to come to terms with the fact that he has to make it work in Wonderland. he has to like it here. there's no getting out and escaping for him because this is borrowed time. and how's one person supposed to deal with that alone? he spent sixteen years trying to and that only put him on the hit list of very powerful people.

he doesn't know how he's going to do it again, except to repeat history. to avoid it. ] You mean when you stop thinking about everything going on around you? I don't think it's as easy as you make it look.

[ both to letting the world around them go and picking up magic tricks. for most people, it doesn't work that way. then again, is he most people? how can you be attached to a life if you don't have one? ] Sounds more like directing, or magic tricks. Not like the stuff you're doing. The fake kind that's more for the show.

Then welcome-- _{[He waves his hand, jokingly drawing on Matt's choice of words.]} --to a land of wonder. Among other things.

_{["Other things" being nonsensical events, people coming and going from different times and places, and magic that breaks the very laws of magic itself. Peter can deal with being in this world while suspecting--knowing--he's dead outside of this place precisely because he has hope he can pick himself back up with a new group of friends.

A person doesn't need anything but their own life and their youth, and Matt has both. That's enough. The rest follows.]}

Maybe you'll get the chance to see things from on high. You're here now, you have time. And there's not much you need to worry about here aside from a few days a month when the magic gets a little... out of sorts.

_{[In other words, hakuna matata. Perk up!]}

Directing... _{[Peter chews that word over in consideration before nodding. Yes, in a way he's plenty experienced in directing productions.]} Both have their appeal, wouldn't you say? If you prefer real magic, there's more where that came from. I can show you. Not a lot of my friends followed me here, it's always nice to make some new ones. Most people just call me Pan. What about you?

It wasn't so wondrous when I opened my eyes face down in the pool. [ he shares, feeling bold and spiteful. he doesn't admit that he can't swim. it's not a pleasant arrival for anyone, even those that can, to suddenly be in water. he remembers sinking, not floating, from home but what's the difference? one pool of water's as suffocating as the next. ] But it's getting there.

[ he's caution to lend trust where it doesn't belong but if Pan's willing to reach out and tell him about magic, walk him through what to expect here, then he can at least be somewhat honest. ] Time isn't what I'm worried about. Or magic. I can deal with weird. Once I opened my mind to the possibilities, I was happy there was something else in the world. It's the people I know from home that I want nothing to do with.

[ he's been warned to steer clear of them but he can't. he can't trust that they'll do the same, so he's going to need to keep tabs on some of them and make the others that will talk to him think he's okay without the swim team here for him to hunt down. ]

Matt Daehler, [ he hands out freely because names have no power where he's from. it seems natural to give out a full name. ] And let me tell you, I could use some friends too.

_{[Peter thins his lips in a sympathetic-looking way. Since it's not raining and it doesn't seem likely the boy had dragged his sorry self out of the ocean, Peter would have guessed Matt had taken a dip in the garden fountain.

People arrived in all sorts of ways, some ways more telling than others.]}

That's some entrance. Forget it, you'll find your feet soon enough.

_{[Peter offers this with the same confidence he does Matt's mention of unwanted types lurking about. He can relate. With an easygoing smile, he clasps the other boy's hand.]}

New world, new chances to break away from the past. I know a few faces I wish were elsewhere, too, but look at it this way, Matt: that can always change with better company. _{[The smile widens.]} I'm always on the lookout for more friends my age. Look at that, not doing so bad for your first day.

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