[Peter] Hangover

[ihadfaith]

It was the sun that eventually roused Peggy. Instead of waking cozily in her darkened hut, the light and heat of the sun on her face brought her to reality, and she almost wished she hadn't.

Overindulgence was not Peggy's style, and she'd never been in a position where she hardly remembered what she'd done the night before or where she was waking up. Not since her first night on the island, when she had to remind herself the next morning that she was indeed there. It was a different thing entirely to find herself waking on what felt like sand, underneath the sun, with the sound of the ocean all around her, and not the faint whisper of waves she usually heard from her own home.

She squinted, trying to look around as she pulled herself into a seated position, wondering where the hell she was. It was still too bright to make anything out except for a body beside her, and as her eyes finally began to adjust to the light, she realized it was a boy. Peggy reached out to shake him away, but as she looked up and around them, her hand tightened on his shoulder as she froze, taking in the view.

They were surrounded by water. They were on a sandbar, surrounded by the bright blue of the ocean, and she hadn't the first clue how she got there, only the memory of going to bed the night before. But she'd obviously woken and somehow found herself here, though she had no possible idea how, and a big blank when she tried to remember.

Comments

[high_king]

Have you ever experienced, while perhaps visiting with distant relatives or staying at a hotel on holiday, the sudden jolt of waking up in an utterly unfamiliar locale? A primal sort of panic seizes up your stomach until you wake enough to remember where you are and why you are there. Now imagine that sensation, only apply it to an uncomfortable place you don't recognise at all, and toss in a complete inability to remember how you got there. You will, then, be coming close to the way Peter Pevensie felt when he was stirred by a firm hand clutched at his shoulder on this particular day.

His head felt fit to explode as he came abruptly awake to the deceptive lull of ocean water close by. The light was bright, painfully so, and he squinted against it and the ringing in his ears as he sat up, all aches and confusion.

"I SAY," he began, and immediately regretted the veracity of his tone as the ringing became a solid clatter. He squinted against it a moment until the sensation had subsided a bit and it felt safer to crack open his eyes again.

It was at this precise moment that a tiny, reptilian head chose to peek up over his companion's shoulder, regarding Peter with interest. "By jove," Peter exhaled, eyes gone round despite the glare of the sun, "is that your little dinosaur there?"

[ihadfaith]

Peggy winced when the boy finally spoke, his tone going straight to her head the way she imagined many soldiers felt the morning after a night off carousing. She let go of his shoulder to bring a hand to her temple, but stilled at the mention of a dinosaur.

She'd seen them from a respectable distance, and had gained a healthy respect for how easily one could die if they weren't careful around them.

Her tone was measured and low when she replied. "What little dinosaur?"

The last thing Peggy wanted to do was turn around to see what he was talking about.

[high_king]

That answered Peter's question well enough, and while the reptile was small in stature, it did seem to be in possession of some sharp teeth. Immediately concerned for the woman's safety, he reached out for her hand to pull her quickly away. As they had both been sitting down, there was a great deal of scrambling involved. The dinosaur watched all of this with curiosity, canting its head this way and that.

"I do apologise for being so abrupt, Miss," Peter said, a hand held up to shield his eyes from the painful brightness of the sun as he peered back at the lizard. "It had a rather ill-favoured look and I was worried it might injure you."

[ihadfaith]

"What on earth is it doing here?" Peggy asked, voice steady as she kept her confusion and panic at bay. She'd rather have been back in the heat of battle with bullets flying at her, instead of dealing with a splitting headache and a whole host of questions she was sure she wouldn't find an answer to.

The third of which was why on earth she seemed to be wearing some form of the American army uniform. (The first questions being how she got here and why there was a dinosaur with very sharp teeth staring at them as though they were breakfast.)

"Do you have a weapon?" she asked, ignoring her headache in favor of looking around on the sand for anything that seemed to be of use. All she found was more sand, water, and a strange looking mechanical toy.

Honestly, this was all so undignified.

[high_king]

On instinct, Peter's hand fell to his hip for Rhindon, only to find nothing there but his shirt. A brief glance down confirmed there to be nothing on his person aside from his clothing, which wasn't even what he'd normally wear. (Particularly confounding was his shirt, which declared in bold black letters that he "Likes Boys." As a boy, Peter couldn't imagine why he wouldn't like them as a general group unless he'd been a great sourpuss like cousin Eustace, who didn't like anyone but himself. Declaring it to the world at large seemed unnecessary. However, there were more pressing matters than his attire at just that moment.)

"I'm afraid not," he replied, and held out an arm to offer some small bit of shielding to the woman should the thing attack. In addition to the pointy teeth, it had some very nasty-looking claws on its back feet.

"Shall we slowly back away?" he suggested, under his breath as though the dinosaur could understand him. "Most animals won't attack unless provoked, and we're a good deal larger than he is. I'd not want to tussle with us, were I him."

[ihadfaith]

Though she would have liked to push his arm away and explain just how good she was at taking care of herself, Peggy was still too disoriented and confused about the entire situation to say anything. Besides, he was young and obviously braver than he seemed -- or just very good at staying calm under duress.

"I'll have to agree with your assessment, but even if we do manage to back away, there's nothing but ocean around us," Peggy replied. She looked over her shoulder to confirm her suspicion, but was surprised (and relieved) to see the island. "Never mind that. Are you a swimmer?"

[high_king]

Amongst the four of them Susan had been the star swimmer, but one doesn't live over a decade so near to the beach without becoming at least passable in the water. When Peter afforded their circumstances a more assessing glance, he recognised the calm, clear water of the lagoon—An easy swim, and it likely wouldn't even be cold.

"Yes," he was quick to answer, eyes trained upon the lizard again as he backed them up one slow step. "This is hardly how I typically prefer to go about it, but needs must. Do you?"

[ihadfaith]

"When the occasion calls for it," Peggy replied, carefully slipping off her boots which were, thankfully, not laced up. She took off the jacket as well, knowing she couldn't keep on this that would simply weigh her down. "I do believe this occasion calls for it."

[high_king]

There wasn't much to Peter's ensemble. (Truly, he wasn't even entirely sure he was wearing underpants beneath his shorts.) He might have forgone the confusing t-shirt, but that didn't seem at all proper with a lady present, and it wouldn't impede his mobility much.

"Let's do hope our friend is less capable than we are, then," he allowed, bare toes digging into damp sand as he backed them up another step. The lizard made a curious noise Peter could only compare to a purr, and then darted briefly forward, almost as if at play.

"I daresay he's smarter than he looks."

[ihadfaith]

Peggy could hardly be blamed for darting back a half step when the animal made to move closer to them. Despite having seen the larger of the dinosaurs from a distance, they were still a species so alien to her that she didn't trust a single movement it made.

And she didn't fancy finding out just how many sharp teeth it had.

"Well then," she said brightly when she felt warm ocean water lap against her bare feet, "off we go."

There was no dignity in the hasty retreat Peggy made, water splashing about her as she ran into the waves before diving under and surfacing. She paused just long enough to be sure the boy was alongside her and there wasn't a tiny dinosaur nipping at her heels.

She could hardly imagine the look on Steve's face when she would inevitably tell him of the morning's events.