hold your ground, we're safe and sound

[Devon Peregrine]

Rufio had to admit that he never thought he would see the Neverland dwellers ever again. It was bad enough that there were now pirates running around Storybrooke. But as soon as he saw the ship, and the people that started trickling from it . . . Rufio knew this wasn't good. He was presumed dead by the Lost Boys, and if he had remained alive he would have been considered a traitor. Fortunately, the others that had joined with him had not been discovered for he saw them depart from the ship as well. But, now was not the time for Rufio to make his survival known. He needed to tread carefully, unsure where their loyalties lay as it seemed that Pan was not among them. The one person that he did pause at their sight of was Tinkerbell. She was alive; she was safe.

That allowed unimaginable relief to wash over him, though he showed no sign of it. Had he not been unconscious, he would have refused to leave her. But seeing that she was free from the tyrant's wrath, was indeed a great relief. The massive crowd that had come to greet the returned began to disperse, and Rufio was not going to stay for long. He had managed to remain unseen, and would keep it that way for the time being. He was however, eager to seek out the company of one new arrival in particular; one whom he knew he could trust. It had taken a few hours, and a lot of sneaky following, but he managed to discover where and when Tink was in her room. He had to wait until the late hour, for Granny's also held other Lost Boys that he was still remaining dead to. When the hour was late enough that he could be certain all were asleep, he quietly made his way up the stairs and to the hall checking the door room and taking a deep breath, he lightly knocked on the door of Tinkerbell's room.

@tinkerbell

[Deleted]

Tink hadn't exactly been sleeping soundly. She had been tossing and turning, trying desperately to get comfortable. There wasn't some deep, dark meaning behind it.. she was just having trouble getting rest. She decided for awhile to try reading, but even that wasn't holding her interest. Her mind kept wandering and it was difficult to get it back on track. "Tink... just put the book down..and go to sleep." It was so late. No one was likely awake at this hour. She just had to close her eyes... and count sheep. Or whatever it was that people did. Finally, she was able to drift off in to dream land. She was fast asleep, dreaming about wonderful things..when suddenly, she heard a knocking sound.

She grumbled a few times before realizing that the knock was coming from her door. A visitor? At this hour? Hopefully something wasn't wrong. Actually.. she just fell asleep so something had better be very wrong. "Comiiiing.." she grumbled again, this time a little louder.. but not too loud since there were rooms that were against her's where people could hear her. When she opened the door, her sleepy eyes widened. She gasped, and stared at the younger boy. "Rufio.." she whispered. It had been so, so very long since she had seen him. She knew that Hook had saved Rufio, but she never thought she'd be able to see him again. She flung her arms around him, and hugged him tightly. Was he here the entire time?! She clung tightly to him, closing her eyes. "You're here..." she could feel tears stinging her eyes. It was one of her best friends..her brother. A man that mostly everyone in the b&b right now, thought was dead. 


Devon Peregrine

[Devon Peregrine]

When Rufio saw the door open to reveal Tink, he quickly assessed her appearance, just as he had when she came off the ship only this time he had a closer look. And she appeared to be uninjured. That was a massive relief. He then suddenly felt her arms wrap around him in a hug. Now, Rufio wasn't much of a hugger, so he just stood there a bit awkwardly, before his hands very slowly found their way to rest on her back. He eased into the embrace, closing his eyes for a few moments, and he felt waves of sentiment that he had not experienced for quite some time. Not since he left the island. Not since the curse, or even since the curse broke. Hearing her tear filled words caused him to slowly move back and look at her. He hated to see her cry, though he supposed it was better to see tears of joy than ones of pain.

"The more shocking bit is that you're here," he told her, looking her over once more. He couldn't believe it. Tinkerbell was really the only person he would have wanted to see from Neverland, and here she was. As were the others. But he wanted to focus on one thing at a time. "Can I come in?" He asked, his eyes glancing down the hallway, clearly not wanting to be discovered right now. "I think we have a lot to talk about," he said with a half, ever so slight smile. The first genuine one he had cracked in so long. Thanks to her. Thanks to seeing she was safe. He had failed in protecting his sister, and when he woke up on that damn pirate ship and found out they had left her behind . . . well, angry did not even begin the cover the emotions he'd felt.

[Deleted]

Tink knew that Rufio had never been one of those lovey-dovey types of people. He'd had a pretty tough life, and he came out strong..sometimes overly so. Still, he showed his softer side with her.. he'd always had. She wiped her eyes quickly, knowing how much he hated to see her cry, and when he asked to come in, she nodded quickly. "Right! Of course." The other lost boys were here. That meant that no one knew that Rufio was alive right now, and those boys were trained to be on their guard for anything. She quickly pulled him in by the hand, and closed the door behind him, releasing his hand a moment later. "We -do- have a lot to talk about, don't we?" So very, very much. Like for instance.. how she was here. "Seeing you here now proves to me that Hook kept his word and he took you back to the Enchanted Forest where you'd be safe." She didn't doubt the pirate, but this was further proof that he had been a good man all along. 

"I was so worried about you, Rufio... I missed you every day that you were gone, but..at the same time, I'm glad you didn't stay on that island. You could have been killed." Overthrowing Pan had been a brilliant idea, but one that nearly got her best friend, her brother, murdered by the hands of someone that she had began to care about. The lost boys always had a way of finding out conspiracies. Tink bit down on her bottom lip, realizing she hadn't given Rufio a chance to talk. "Sorry.. You probably have a lot of things to say too, don't you?"


Devon Peregrine

[Devon Peregrine]

Tink allowed him inside and Rufio felt instantly better now that he was within the walls and privacy of her place of stay. It was a rather uncommon feeling, of not being watched all the time. He had grown so used to it being in Pan's territory for so long, that having this sort of freedom was . . . odd. But in a good way. "I hate pirates," he grumbled, displeased with them, regardless of whether they spared his life or not. He woudln't have had it not been for Tinkerbell. She told him that she missed him, that she was glad he hadn't been there any more for he would have gotten killed. "So could you have," he told her.

"If Pan had known that you knew of my plans, he would have killed you too for treason." Whatever rule Pan held over everyone, breaking them had their consequences. "I never would have willingly left without you." He was not pleased that he had. "So what I have to say is that you shouldn't have done that," he told her. He knew that he should be thanking her, but he had been far too fearful thinking that something had hapepned to her . . . and now he was able to express that as they were reunited after so many years. "Dumping me on a ship full of pirates was not the solution." And because he saw himself as a leader . . . he didn't like others making such decisions for him. Especially when it involved those -- or a particular person -- that he cared about.

[Deleted]

Tink knew that he now had a hatred for pirates, but still.. Killian -did- save him. She refused to argue about that, though..nothing was going to change Rufio's mind about it, and he had every right to feel the way he did. His anger began to show.. it happened suddenly. Again.. he had every right to feel the way he did. When he was finished speaking, was when she addressed every issue that he'd had. She didn't want him to be angry with her, but she did what she had to do to keep him safe. "First of all.. Pan wouldn't have killed me. I'm far too pretty to be gutted." She mused with a smile. She could tell quickly he wasn't amused. She cleared her throat, and continued. "He trusted me much more than he trusted you. I know that you wouldn't have left without me, which is exactly why it happened the way it did. Because you, nor Hook, wanted to go without me on that ship. Pan offered your life for his freedom, and I saw that as an option to get you out of here. He knew what you were doing, Rufio.. someone told him." 

She didn't exactly know who, but there was a rat on the island. It could have been any of the Lost Boys. "Listen... I'm safe.. and so are you. Pan has met his end.. finally. We're safe, Rufio.. for the first time. In a very, very long time, we can actually talk, and be free. I'm sorry that I couldn't go with you..but he wouldn't let me leave. It.. it was the only way. Please don't be angry with me for saving your life, because you would have done the same." 


Devon Peregrine

[Devon Peregrine]

Tinkerbell was right about that. He was not at all amused and he knew his face showed it. She grew more serious as she then spoke of trust. Pan had once trusted him, for that was the only reason that he became his second, but he also knew that the trust would have inevitably dwindled considering what Rufio was planning. "I'm not surprised," he mumbled when she said that someone had told him. Disappointed, yes. But not surprised. It had been an almost perfect plan. But whether it was a rat, or whether it was just Pan knowing everything . . . Rufio had known it had been a risk.

"It wasn't your decision to make," he told her in a low voice. He didn't want to argue with Tinkerbell about such matters, for as she said, she was safe as was he. Besides, as she said, he would have done the same. He would have dne whatever it took to protect her and perhaps that was what frustrated him so much . . . was the fact that he hadn't. He had been tossed onto a ship and sent out of Neverland, unknowing of her fate. "I'm glad you're ok," he finally admitted.

"But I don't get how you escaped. How all of you did." How they had defeated Pan. How they convinced the Lost Boys to come back. "Guess that's a story for another day though," he added on, already planning to ask the proper authorities at a later time. "You're alright then?" He asked. "Pan didn't know that . . . you knew; he didn't find out?" That had been Rufio's biggest fear; that she would be exposed right along with him, and he wouldn't have known a single thing about it.

Tag @tinkerbell

[Deleted]

Rufio had every right to be angry.. Tink would have been angry as well, so she couldn't judge him for that. He told her that it wasn't her decision to make, and that was also true. "No.. it wasn't.  But I don't regret it because you're alive right now, and safe..and no matter how angry you are, or were at me, I still wouldn't take it back." She was being honest.. something she'd always been with Rufio. He then said that he was glad she was okay, and she gave him a small smile. "Likewise, old friend." She reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I was hoping I'd see you again one day." But she never expected it to be here.. and she hoped with every fiber of her being that it wouldn't be in Neverland.. because that would have meant that Pan had found him. 

He went on to say that he didn't know how they managed to defeat Pan and escape. She smiled once more. "It is indeed a story for another time, Rufio. Just know that he won't be harming anyone ever again." At least, that was what she had thought. In her mind, Pan was gone, for good. "I'm fine.. I promise you." She finally took her hand from his shoulder, and she clutched her other hand in front of her. "Pan never found out until the end that I wasn't on his side. By then, he had bigger fish to fry and he didn't care about me." 


Devon Peregrine