While riding Growling Bear, Gwen caught flashes of smaller battles. Redskins stalked through the woods and took prisoners in a variety of manners. It surprised her to see a black coat strapped to a post atop an ant-hill; she knew from experience that Neverland's ants never bit, only tickled. The poor solider laughed with hysterical frustration as the little purple ants crawled all over him.
Lost children flitted through the forest like fairies—still hiding for this battle, given their fragile nature. The black coats fruitlessly pursued the children through an alien world where they had no idea what was possible. The lost children had a home team advantage that extended all the way into the laws of physics which governed—or failed to govern—their island.
She only caught snippets of the chaos, until Growling Bear came to a halt. Gwen didn't know why he'd paused. The forest seemed calm and empty where he stopped.
“Growling Bear?” Tiger Lily asked. She and Storm Sounds emerged from behind the brush right in front of them. The creeping redskins could move so seamlessly through the wilderness! Gwen didn't know how Growling Bear had even spotted them.
They carried a post with a bound and gagged black coat hogtied to it. He had given up squirming for the most part—he seemed more flabbergasted than anything.
Tiger Lily and Storm Sounds dropped their captive. “Gwen!” the redskin princess exclaimed, delighted to see her friend peeking up at her over the furry back of the grizzly bear. “What news?”
“The adults have sent their shadow soldiers out into the jungle,” Gwen informed her, pointing to their shadow-less prisoner to prove her point. “I haven't seen any of them though.”
“Neither have I,” Tiger Lily agreed.
Growling Bear growled.
“I think they're looking for the Never Tree,” Gwen told her. “And I think shadows might be magical enough to find it easier than the soldiers themselves.”
Tiger Lily's troubled but alert expression told Gwen that she had pinpointed a problematic possibility. “What happened to your shadow?”
“It's a long story,” Gwen answered. “I lost it during the night with Piper.”
Tiger Lily nodded. “Growling Bear, can you take this white man to the pirates?” She pointed in the direction of the pirates' search and capture mission. “I need to find my father. He will be able to help hide the Never Tree from the shadows.”
She and Storms Sounds lifted the staff with the hogtied solider into Growling Bear's impressive mouth as Gwen slipped off him.
“Are you okay?” Tiger Lily asked, indulging the brief concern that the moment afforded them.
“Yeah. I think so,” Gwen answered. “One of the black coats shot me, but I think I might be able to fly again…”
She tried to lift off her feet. She managed to hover, and attributed her recovery to the confidence she gleaned from riding a magical grizzly bear through the woods.
“Stay safe,” Tiger Lily warned her. “I'll tell the Chief about the shadows.” She pulled her into a hug. Tiger Lily smelled of crisp leather and honeyed sweat, which suited her much better than the smell of laundry detergent and the stale trailer home had.
“You too,” Gwen told her, but Tiger Lily was already letting go, already dashing away. Storm Sounds examined the ground for tracks, and took off in pursuit of another invader.
Gwen drew the tin can out of her satchel and shouted into it, “Peter, are you there?”
A moment's pause followed before Peter picked up. “Where else would I be?”
“I don't think the shadows are coming after us. Have you seen any?”
“Hm, I suppose not.” His voice sounded thin and metallic as it bounced out from the tin can phone.
“I think they're looking for the Never Tree. I told Tiger Lily—I think she has a plan. Where are you?”
“By golly, I think you're onto something, Gwen-dollie,” he replied, his seriousness lost in the high, tinny tone of the can. “I'm keeping a perimeter around the tree with a few others. No body has gotten past us, but I'm not sure about shadows.”
“Keep your eyes peeled for them, too.” Gwen wished she could do more to help. She wished she could have called with a plan in mind. What good would it do to watch for shadows? Gwen had only ever seen them fought off with the shadows of swords, and she doubted any of the lost children had the dexterity for such combat. What's more, the splotchy lighting in the jungle offered plenty of shade for the sentient shadows to camouflage themselves against.
“I'll radio for support,” Peter answered, without elaborating who he could possibly radio. The tin can line went dead, and Gwen assumed that Peter had returned his attention to his patrol.
Lacking direction, Gwen decided to head for the Never Tree. The soldiers who had landed on Neverland's nouth beaches had spread out so well it made no sense to continue making her way toward that shore to stop them. Besides, if shadows were searching for the Never Tree, the children monitoring it need every extra set of eyes they could get.
She tested her flight once more, but could only hover a bit. Continuing on foot, Gwen would just have to take care not to trigger any traps. She had seen plenty of them set up and knew what to look for. Making her way to the Never Tree, she didn't have any reason to suspect she was being followed.